Mr.L, Vampire Hunter (𝓓𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓸 𝐗 𝓜𝓻.𝓛)

6 🩸 Nosferatu

Luigi sighed to himself, leaning back as he shook his head. Merlon and Blumiere were also nearby, the three of them going on about a slightly less serious topic of conversation on account of Mr.L and another being missing from the group.

"I-I just feel really bad about all of this, and I don't know what to do to make up for it!" Luigi exclaimed. "First Mario went off to the castle without us, and then Mr.L gets hurt because I wanted to stay with Mario!"

The man in green buried his face in his hands with a loud sob. Blumiere reached over and gave him a gentle reassuring rub on the shoulder, a sheepish expression on his face.

In all honesty, even if they wanted to, they probably wouldn't have even made it to the topic of the recent mystery injuries with how distraught Luigi was.

"Oh man, I'm a horrible brother!" Luigi cried.

"No, you are not, Luigi. Just an overly concerned and panicked one at the moment," Blumiere reassured with a firm, but still gentle, tone.

Luigi replied with a small sniffle and a quiet "Sorry" before frantically trying to make the tears stop before they even started. Merlon simply sat there at his desk with a gentle smile, not having anything to say to Luigi, nor wanting to accidentally upset him further by saying something unnecessary.

A quick burst of knocks came from the door, each one sounding more and more frantic. With a nod from Merlon to Blumiere, the count stood from where he was attempting to console Luigi and made his way toward the door. However, before he could even make it close, the new arrival let himself in all on his own.

Mr.L barged into Merlon's office, a stern yet determined look on his face. Seeing his brother appear, Luigi quickly and frantically composed himself.

"L-L! You're here!" Luigi pointed out, smoothing down his hair beneath his hat. "I-I hope you're not hurt! O-or-"

The mechanic interrupted his brother's stammering by pointing an almost accusatory finger at him and Merlon, looking back and forth between the two.

"I need you both to tell me Mr.StuckInTheHospital's description of the monster he was attacked by at Castle Bleck, NOW," Mr.L demanded. "You two were the only ones to be near him before he passed out, and I'm betting that one of you heard him try and explain what he saw."

Luigi and Merlon quickly exchanged glances, both of them keeping quiet as if waiting for the other to start.

"I... well..." Luigi paused and sighed, shaking his head. "I-I'm sorry, L, but I didn't think to ask Mario anyth-"

"It was a man, or at least something pretending to be a man, Mario told me," Merlon stated.

The mechanic, plumber, and count all turned to look at Merlon, the wizard simply sitting there with a neutral expression as he recounted his talk with Mario.

"Go on..." Mr.L requested.

"This thing that resembled a man hid itself underneath a lavish blood-red cloak with gold trimmings, no doubt hiding its horrible nature under all that extravagance, but its mess of long black hair, pasty white skin, claws, sharp teeth, and evil red eye gave away its true nature; a monster," Merlon continued. "This thing attacked Mario and the policemen sent there, according to the man in red himself, with nothing but its teeth and claws."

Merlon briefly paused, readjusting in his seat as he looked toward the ground.

"Those two little marks on the poor man in red's neck did more damage than any weapon could've done in only a fragment of the time," Merlon murmured. "With nothing but a bite to pierce his skin, our dearest man in red fell ill with his spirit seemingly drained..."