The City of Maya

problems heard this name before?"

Ragnar spurted these words about knowing the terrifying yet strangely beautiful city named Maya, in front of which we stood with its king beside us.

"You have heard of it before? Where?"

"In the church document, they said that it was the ground zero for the spread of the curse. A bright light came struck right at the centre of the city."

"If that is true...?"

"I would love it if the two of you could converse for a while; we can talk all you want inside the castle."

Alucard interrupted our conversation, ordering us to hold it for now, and there was nothing else we could do but agree to it.

"By castle, you mean that building, right?"

I pointed at the few towers that came out of the fog. The fog was massive; finding these few pillars visible out of it was telling about how huge the real thing would be.

"You have good eyes. Yes, that is the castle."

The fog was hiding the central part of the city, but from the outside, it felt like a nightmare, one we could not escape.

"Please wait for a second; I need to do something important before you enter the city."

Saying this, Alucard began reciting some verses in a language we were not familiar with. He just stood there doing nothing, but my condition worsened with each second.

My heart rate increased, and my breaths were getting heavier each second. My legs were shaking, and my hands were getting numb. Fear had truly grasped my heart.

"It's complete now; please come near me."

Alucard ordered us to walk up to him, and we did so, but as soon as we approached him,

" What is hell are you doing!!"

Alucard just brought his nails forward and stabbed himself right in the heart; the blood spurted directly at us, covering us in red.

I was going to fall on my knees after all this insanity.

"My bad, please forgive me for my sudden actions, but you can't enter the city without my blood on your body."

We couldn't enter the city without Alucard's blood on our bodies, but it was a horrible way to get it on us.

"Doesn't that hurt you? You stabbed yourself right in the chest."

"I am beyond your mortal understanding; I don't have a heart, lung, or brain either; I am an undying undead in your language."

"So, you are not a vampire either? You are god or a devil!"

"A god might be too big of a position for me; I am nothing against the powers of a god or the devil. I am the strongest among the living beings in this world."

"The current strongest? How can someone be stronger than you?!"

"We can talk about all these things afterwards. Now, follow me into our lovely city."

Alucard saying this walked right into the fog and disappeared from our eyes. Ragnar and I moved onward into the fog,

"---"

It was cold and windy inside the foggy realm, but that sensation only lasted a second, and the world around me became normal once again as I opened my eyes.

"This is a Vampire city. It looks just normal!"

The city didn't look where one would expect monsters to reside; it was a vast land with open streets and houses.

The houses were large, painted beautifully and had an alluring aesthetic.

It felt like the city was the future version of what I expected Riaz to grow into.

"Surprised? Never has there been a sin who wasn't surprised looking at our beautiful city. It allures the mind of every mortal."

Alucard stood beside me and praised his city, which it truly deserved. Ragnar did not say a word, but his eyes showed that the city's beauty attracted him.

We started to walk toward the streets without a word from any of the three of us.

While walking towards the castle, the city was dead silent it felt like it was a ghost town with now people living inside it until,

"Kids!!!"

I saw three young kids holding the monster in their hands which I saw in the forest.

Their skin was pale, completely white as compared to Alucard they were looking like vampires and not humans.

"Don't worry, they mean no harm. They are just scared. Quite normal for my people to do that."

"Your people?!"

" What do you think? This is an abandoned paradise? People are living here."

His words made my guts shake,

" More vampires?"

Why or How were there so many vampires? Why do they exist?

" I am about to lose my damn mind."

Questions were bundling up each second, I was having nausea but swallowed it back.

" Don't worry. All of your questions will be answered. Just don't get cold feet now."

Alucard saw my situation and gave me more hope with his words, but

This smile was something else.

"After all, The fate of humanity hangs on your shoulders. I ought to help that much."

" The fate of humanity...."

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