"Hmm. This game… isn't difficult."
Ethan gently closed his eyes. He deliberately shut off his sense of sight to heighten the sensitivity of his sense of smell.
"Elder Richie passed through these corridors on his way back to the first floor of the Field Hospital. By now, he's probably taking care of the discharge paperwork for his daughters. But that well-groomed man's scent - the fragrant, spicy aroma of wine, the sweet, bitter scent of dark chocolate - is still lingering in the air."
"That's right, bro. You Bloodbounds really do have sharp noses. Maybe your nose is even better than a dog's now, huh?"
"Hmm! Maybe Elder Richie didn't deactivate his Awakened state when he passed through this corridor. That would explain why his scent has lingered for so long. So I think all we have to do is follow Elder Richie's scent, and we'll be able to get out of Basement B3."
Even as he said that, Ethan felt somewhat uneasy.
Because the direction of that intensely Vampire-like scent was completely opposite to the place that sent chills down Ethan's spine whenever he thought about it:
…The staircase leading to the door down to Basement B4!
Ethan was deeply conflicted.
After all, he and Royce had reached Basement B3 through the emergency staircase. And if things hadn't turned out the way they had now - if the way back had remained exactly the same as the way in - then the fastest way back to the first floor would simply be to find the door leading to the emergency staircase again.
But after Basement B3 suddenly transformed into a maze like this, Ethan found himself growing restless.
He truly had no idea which path they should take anymore.
Follow Elder Richie's scent?
But there was no telling what might be waiting for them at the end of that path.
If they were lucky, the group would find an elevator and be able to go straight up to the first floor.
If they were a little less lucky, they might find a staircase instead and have to spend even more time solving the mazes of Basements B2 and B1.
Or should they try to find the door leading back to the emergency staircase?
What if the emergency staircase itself was no longer the same as before?
And worst of all, what if there was a monster waiting for them along that route - just like in those situations in video games?
Royce wasn't in his best condition right now. With only one arm, there was no way he could protect Ethan and Elder Fidelis and his wife all at the same time.
Unlike his Vampire friend, who was practically bursting with excitement, Ethan's stamina had limits. And he only had one life. The two humans accompanying him were the same.
So it was best not to take unnecessary risks, and not to explore every single path.
More importantly, they absolutely could not allow anything else to happen to Elder Fidelis and his wife. Their son nearly becoming a Vampire had already brought them enough misery.
"Wait a second, Royce. Let me sense the space around us one more time…"
"Hey, bro. I forbid you from using your Bloodbound ability. Using that power is hacking the game. It's using cheat codes. It's the kind of thing that gets you condemned by the public and looked down upon by society. Got it? I FORBID YOU!"
Royce shouted. Then he shoved his face right up against Ethan's, probably trying to intimidate him, but Ethan honestly didn't feel frightened at all.
"Come on, bro. Consider this me begging you. Let's play this game together like two normal guys. No one gets to use any special abilities here."
"But what are you planning to do to solve this maze?"
Ethan didn't agree with Royce right away. He wanted to see how his game-obsessed friend intended to tackle the maze of Basement B3 in the real world.
"Just watch."
Royce leisurely approached Elder Fidelis and his wife with a radiant smile like some multilevel marketing salesman.
"Elder, do you happen to have a notebook and a pen with you?"
Elder Fidelis merely stared at Royce suspiciously. He seemed to have been struck speechless after nearly getting sliced in half moments earlier.
"Mrs. Mariposa, could I borrow your eyeliner pencil?"
Royce turned to ask Mrs. Mariposa. But she firmly shook her head.
"Or your lipstick would work too…?"
The woman shook her head even more vigorously than before. She clutched the stylish handbag containing her makeup tightly in her arms, as though the elegant teenage boy standing before her might snatch it away at any moment.
"Oh, come on! I need those things to draw a map and mark the paths we've already taken. That's how I solved all one hundred floors of the Chrysler Building in Parasite Eve I. But these people won't cooperate at all. What am I supposed to do?"
Royce turned to complain to Ethan, while Ethan struggled to hold back his laughter.
"Why do you keep making things difficult for yourself? You're a Vampire. Just manipulate them into handing the stuff over."
"No, no, and no!"
Royce remained stubborn. He absolutely refused to use his Vampire manipulation ability in this situation.
Suddenly…
Grrrrrrr!
A strange sound suddenly rang out, startling all the humans there.
Except Royce, of course.
Naturally, that melodious sound, like some sad and mournful piece of music, had come from Royce's stomach.
"Damn. I'm hungry, bro. I could eat a whole cow right now."
Royce gloomily rubbed his six-pack abs.
Royce had always been a big eater. On school days, even after having breakfast at the Field Hospital, he could still wolf down another one or two breakfast servings at Harmony School's cafeteria.
And right now, the two boys really had not had a chance to eat breakfast yet, while they had already burned through quite a bit of energy in this place, so it was only natural that Royce's stomach was crying out.
And the moment Royce's stomach stopped growling, Mrs. Mariposa turned pale and immediately slipped behind her husband. Elder Fidelis spread his arms to shield his wife. Only now did the two of them truly look like a married couple.
Judging from the two adults' body language, Royce immediately understood the problem.
"Human blood isn't part of our food pyramid. I thought you and your wife, Elder, would know that better than any other humans."
Royce approached Elder Fidelis and his wife, trying his very best to appear friendly. In contrast, the Elder and his wife tried their very best to move as far away from him as possible.
"We Vampires only need human blood to heal our injuries. Human blood basically works on Vampires just like HP potions in games. You must've played games when you were younger, right, Elder?"
The more Royce explained, the more terrified Elder Fidelis and Mrs. Mariposa became. They kept staring fixedly at his left shoulder - where an arm should have been.
"No. I really don't need human blood to grow my arm back. Drinking human blood can easily become addictive because of Vampitoxin. Once you start drinking it, it's very hard to stop. So I swore to myself, to the Moon and the Darkness, that I'd only try a little after I came of age."
"Nooooo!"
Mrs. Mariposa cried out from behind Elder Fidelis.
Her beautiful face, remarkably youthful for her true age, had gone deathly pale. Even so, she still had enough strength to open her mouth and plead with Royce.
"Please! Please spare us."
"Oh my God! I swear I have absolutely no intention of doing what you and the Elder think I'm going to do."
"We have to live. We have to work so we can earn money to pay the hospital bills for our poor son."
"I told you, I don't mean to do that."
"Please. We still want to live. We still have so many dreams we haven't fulfilled yet."
While Mrs. Mariposa kept pleading in panic on behalf of both of them, Elder Fidelis, on the other hand, showed remarkable courage in the face of Royce.
"You bloodsucking demon! You may have my blood. But you will never have my soul."
"Please, Elder, Mrs. Mariposa. You two are already pretty old. I only need one sniff to tell that your blood is full of cholesterol, uric acid, cortisol, and maybe even parasites. There's nothing tasty or nutritious about your blood at all."
It was very difficult to read Elder Fidelis and his wife's emotions after Royce's impolite assessment of the quality of their blood.
Theoretically speaking, they should have felt relieved after learning that the young Vampire had no interest in drinking their low-quality blood.
But for some reason, sweat was still pouring down their deathly pale faces while their arms and legs trembled uncontrollably. If they had not been leaning against each other, the middle-aged couple might have collapsed onto the basement floor.
Could this be a human instinct when standing before one of the most dangerous predatory species on the planet?
Noticing the unusual panic in Elder Fidelis and his wife, Royce had no choice but to try to reassure them with the gentlest manner he could manage.
"If we absolutely have to drink human blood, we Vampires would prefer to choose beautiful, young, healthy girls. Middle-aged folks like you two would only be our last resort. He he he."
Unfortunately, Royce's laughter - which had probably only been intended to ease the tense atmosphere - echoed throughout the place.
And apparently, it had helped awaken the Infected being treated in the patient rooms of Basement B3. Because…
…Ethan could hear doors being pounded on and howls that sounded half beast, half human erupting simultaneously from every corner of the maze.