MMORPG: I was BUGGED-Chapter 237: Bloodstained Reunion

From the blinding illumination emerged a child, her skin as pale as snow, her hair flowing like a cascade of white silk, and her eyes a piercing shade of crimson flunked by thick and long white lashes.

In a state of eerie calmness, she picked up the mushroom that had fallen to the ground and stared at it, her gaze distant and unfocused.

Wordlessly, she held the mushroom in her hands, seemingly lost in contemplation.

The chamber fell into a hushed silence, the air thick with anticipation as the girl’s arrival marked a turning point, although no one present fully comprehended the significance of her presence.

Caught in a whirlwind of events, Xin stood frozen, unable to follow the scene before him.

The fungal item he had grasped really turned out to be the key to awakening the vampire queen.

Yet, as she stood there, freed from her icy prison, he felt an overwhelming sense of trepidation.

His initial objective had been to rouse her from her slumber, but now that she was awake, he found himself at a loss.

Was she a potential ally or a formidable foe? Had he inadvertently unleashed a threat greater than the vampire lord?

Gazing upon her, Xin couldn’t help but feel the immense pressure emanating from her very presence. Despite the frailty of her form, an aura of ancient power clung to her like a shadow.

Curiosity piqued, he decided to use his [Monocle] to inspect her stats, but what he saw left him bewildered –– her stats were unusually low.

In a surprising turn of events, the vampire queen did something unexpected. With childlike innocence, she brought the mushroom to her lips and took a hesitant bite, her face contorting in distaste.

"Y-yuck . . . I know I created this fungus as a last-ditch effort to save myself, but . . . it tastes awful."

Xin stood in dumbfounded silence, torn between the seriousness of the situation and the surreal contrast of her actions –– a once-mighty vampire queen now reduced to a childlike demeanor, her voice high pitch and twinkling as wind chimes on a breeze.

"E-Evangeline . . . ," Lord Valerian’s voice trembled, cutting through the heavy silence that hung in the air. His eyes, once filled with malice, softened as he fell to his knees before the vampire child, completely oblivious to Lord Schrödinger’s presence.

"E-Evangeline," he repeated, his words laced with regret and longing. "I acknowledge the depths of my transgressions against you. How I ache for the years we’ve spent apart. I have always been by your side, a silent shadow in the darkness, watching over you right here.

"I have never abandoned you, even though I may have appeared to have betrayed you, but I only did that because of my deep love for you. My heart yearned to reach out, to feel the warmth of your presence, and to hear the melody of your voice once more."

His voice cracked with emotion, revealing the profound sorrow he had carried for centuries. "How I wanted to touch you, to hold you close and hear your laughter echoing in the halls of our forsaken home. The passing years have been cruel, stripping away my humanity but never my love for you, Evangeline. I beg for your forgiveness, for the chance to right the wrongs I’ve committed, and to prove my undying devotion to you."

There was silent for a moment before Evangeline spoke.

". . . Who are you, you pervert?" Evangeline’s delicate features twisted in disgust, her brows furrowing as she mercilessly kicked Lord Valerian away from her. "Get away from me. You disgust me!"

Xin’s eyes widened as Lord Valerian flew towards the ice, crashing face-first into the ground amid piles of rubble and snow that cascaded over him.

It was a definitive sign that the Queen wasn’t on Lord Valerian’s side. But it also didn’t mean that she was on his side.

"Oh . . . s-shit . . ." Evangeline weakly said.

Shit? Xin mused to himself. His astonishment mingled with disbelief.

Was this really the revered vampire Queen he had expected?

The elegant image he had conjured shattered before his eyes, replaced by a very different reality. She was more like the leader of a biker gang than anything else. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Xin stared at Evangeline, who was currently holding her head, her movements unsteady as if she had just awoken from a long slumber.

"Fuck . . . being asleep for so many years . . . I’m so hungry." Evangeline shook her head, her unsteady eyes focusing on Lord Schrodinger.

Her gaze squinted, and her hand reached out toward him. "F-food . . ."

Xin looked to the side and ignored her.

"Hey, you! I’m talking to you. Don’t pretend that you don’t hear me," Evangeline demanded, her voice growing sharper as she tried to capture Xin’s attention.

Xin glanced to the side, feigning ignorance and avoiding eye contact.

"Hey, you. I’m talking to you," Evangeline persisted, her frustration evident in her pout and furrowed brows. "Come here and offer your blood to me. You’re my food, right?"

There is something really wrong with this narrative. Xin thought. She must have misunderstood the situation.

Ignoring her protests, Xin continued to look away, hoping to evade her gaze.

"Evangeline!" Lord Valerian shot up from the rubble, his voice demanding as he desperately tried to capture her attention. "Don’t you recognize me?!"

Evangeline slowly dragged her gaze from Lord Schrödinger to Lord Valerian. Her crimson eyes bore into him, devoid of any familiarity or warmth.

She stared at Valerian for a while, her expression was a mask, before she calmly uttered, "Who are you?"

Xin felt a pang of pity for Lord Valerian when he broke down into tears.

"It’s me, Evangeline! Valerian Duskborne, your loyal servant!" Lord Valerian’s voice quivered with desperation. "You made me the first vampire with the promise that I would serve you and treat you like a Queen for all eternity!"

Evangeline’s face remained impassive. "Valerian . . . Duskborne . . ."

Suddenly, her features contorted in fury, recognition flashing in her bloodshot eyes as purple veins pulsed across her icy skin.

"YOU!"

Lord Valerian’s eyes sparkled with hope as Evangeline finally seemed to recognize him. "Yes! It’s me, Evangeline––!"

Valerian didn’t have the chance to finish his sentence. In an instant, a burst of crimson liquid engulfed him entirely, swallowing him whole.

Within seconds, Lord Valerian was nothing but a desiccated corpse drained of any blood.

"E-Evangeline . . ." It was the last word Lord Valerian uttered before he was reduced to ashes, his existence erased in the blink of an eye.