The Record of Unusual Creatures

The Soulless sleeping in the shadowy realm had been awakened.

They were the inhabitants and masonry of the shadowy realm and dreamland. Before the disturbance, they were fused together with the world. They were the stone carvings and murals, the twisted faces on dead trees, weird stones in the corners, and the shadows of overlapping clouds. They were all hidden in various corners of the world. When the intruders came in, they all “woke up” and emerged everywhere.

As Hao Ren and the rest retreated, they shattered many phantoms on the way. They finally found their way into a tall and sturdy castle. As they shut the heavy oak door behind them, the never-ending shrills in the courtyard finally calmed down, becoming soft like a breeze.

However, that did not mean it was safe. The Soulless Guards were ubiquitous in that world. Hao Ren watched cautiously as they were now in a spacious, Gothic-style promenade. Pillars, semi-inlaid in the walls, divided the boardwalk into hundreds of sections. The narrow, tall windows in between the pillars overlooked the intruders like eyes hanging high above one’s head. Under each window, there was swaying, white candlelight, illuminating the oil painting that hung under the window. The atmosphere was eerie.

Just like any medieval mansion of nobility, the castle in the reflection had oil paintings and photo frames to accentuate its architecture. It was as if they were there to match the building’s atmosphere, style, and content. The oil paintings were morbid and strange; the portraits in the photo frames were blurry, faceless, and covered in shadows. Hao Ren was very wary of them; they could suddenly come to life under the shadows.

As if in response to Hao Ren’s vigilance, when everyone took a breather, the oil paintings near the door suddenly went up in flames. As white flames swallowed the pictures, translucent phantoms emerged and broke free from the smoke, each holding a long sword, just like an armed knight of the nobility. A knight even held a flag depicting wild rose and long sword. The Soulless, who awakened in the form of phantoms, shrilled as they charged toward the intruders.

Greeting the Soulless were the magic whip of Hessiana and the firepower of Hao Ren.

“There are just too many of them!” Lily cried after finishing off these phantom-like Soulless Guards. “Who are these Soulless Guards? When did Vivian have this army?”

“The Soulless is born from the dream of Vivian,” Hessiana said as she led everyone running in the seemingly endless promenade. “The Soulless will only appear during her hibernation. The longer she hibernates, the stronger the Soulless will be. These Soulless Guards are born out of the past memories of Vivian, and people and things she has touched may emerge as the Soulless in this shadowy realm. No one has ever dared to disturb Vivian in her hibernation except for the daredevil demon hunters. Any disturbances could wake up the Soulless, which then could leak out from the dream. There used to be a city thus destroyed in history when people dug the caves where Vivian was hibernating to steal the relics. The nightmare had devoured the city and left nothing behind.”

If given a choice, the demon hunters would not want to look for trouble with Vivian. They are just to protect their homes, Hao Ren thought to himself.

“Whoa, Battie… I mean Vivian is so cool.” Lily stuck out her tongue after the Freudian slip. “Do we have to fight all the way in? Did you not say that you can control the Soulless?”

“I am headed to the tower that controls the Soulless!” Hessiana was a little impatient now. “What more do you want? The route I choose is already the safest! I am afraid the other routes may be full of monsters. You would have died from exhaustion even before the monsters killed you on the outside.”

As Hessiana spoke, strange shrills and sinister laughter suddenly burst out from the surroundings. Hessiana immediately clenched her whip. She noticed that they had come to the end of the corridor and before a rectangular hall that looked like a crossroad. There were opened black doors on the four sides, from which the ghost laugh came. A gorgeous chandelier hung at the center of the hall, swaying without wind.

The temperature in the hall was dropping. A layer of frost had formed on the floor.

“How come the butler is here?” Hessiana face was solemn. “Is it not supposed to patrol the cemetery?”

“Who is the butler?” Lily asked curiously. “Now Vivian has a butler?”

“The Soulless is an empty shell without soul and thoughts, but they still instinctively form a family structure and hierarchy. The butler is the head of the Soulless Guards who specializes in the defense of the inner court. Under normal circumstances, it always stays in Vivian’s place of hibernation, patrolling the cemetery. But somehow, it has wandered into this place.”

“This time, Vivian has chosen to hibernate in such a troublesome place.” Hao Ren sneered while raising his spear slightly.

As soon as Hao Ren’s voice trailed off, the clattering of bones rose. Except for the door from which they emerged, massive figures appeared in the other three doors.

They were giant skeletons, each over three meters tall. Each skeleton held a heavy black sword and wore a crown made of fog. Inside the chest cavity, a red glow pulsated as if a heart. In this black and white world, Hao Ren had seen color for the first time.

Only Vivian’s power could produce color in that world. Undoubtedly, these three skeletons were Vivian’s trusted guards.

“Could there be three butlers?” Lily jumped out of her skin when she saw the three bone creatures. She drooled at the bones too, perhaps. “From where these three things come?”

“They are actually one!” Hessiana cried as she lunged at one of the skeletons. “We need to kill three of them at the same time. Otherwise, they just won’t die!”

As the battle in the Shadowy Fortress broke out, in the real world on the outside, a group of demon hunters in black finally found the deserted manor on the hill.

The demon hunter Lockheed dismounted from his horse, crouching in front of a building, his eyes glinted in white. A group of faint figures appeared in his field of vision. It was as if he was reconstructing the scene of Hao Ren and his team’s movements.

“The scent has been up in the air for a long time,” the demon hunter master said in a low voice. “They have the elder.”

“This is the ancient vampire’s place of hibernation.” A demon hunter looked at the castle ruins on the hill. “Has that bugger kidnapped the elder as a sacrifice for the vampire?”

“The vampire does not want such sacrifice,” Lockheed said. Apparently, he knew this vampire. “The entrance should be in the old castle. Let us split and search. Everyone, please be reminded that we are facing an ancient who has survived the Mythological era. She is extraordinary. Our mission is to hold her back until she wakes up. Don’t try to be a hero. Even the elders would not dare. Understand?”

“Understood!”

“Let’s move!”

At the ‘junction hall’ in the Shadowy Fortress, the battle ended with the crumbling of three clattering bone creatures.

The butlers, so-called many times stronger than the ordinary Soulless Guards, were nothing but average. The Soulless in the shadowy realm overwhelmed their enemy by their sheer number and endless rounds of resurrection. But when the butlers broke away from the group and wandered alone, they lost their most significant advantage of the Soulless. After a round of fierce combat, Hao Ren and his team finally crushed the skeletons to the ground, devastating the hall with magic spells and firepower in the process.

The cracks on the walls and on the ground began to squirm and self-heal. The shattered bones of the butler gradually turned into smoke and drifted toward the three doors. It would soon resurrect in a room somewhere in the Shadowy Fortress. The Soulless would forever linger in this illusory building until Vivian woke up. The three skeletons left behind only a complete skull, which rolled up to Hessiana’s feet. She lightly kicked the skull, her brows knitted together with a thoughtful look.

“What have you found?” Hao Ren glanced at Little Bat.

“The butler would not leave the cemetery unless under the order, or there was something more powerful that drove it out.” Hessiana tapped her chin with her finger—she had the exact same habit as Vivian. “During the battle, I found its actions uncharacteristic. It indicated that it was self-contradictory. I am afraid that something has gone wrong in the cemetery.”

“It is the Malevolence,” said Hao Ren. “She is active now.”

“Then we must split up,” Hessiana suddenly said.