This part of town is quiet at night. That's why Marie enjoys walking while everyone else is asleep. She has nothing better to do anyways, as her insomnia refuses to let her rest.

The moon cast a soft sheen on the night and the only thing she could hear was the faint rustling of the spring breeze, and Marie's own footsteps against the gravel on the park ground. All was peaceful and her mind was clear, until she noticed the silhouette of a man in the distance. At first it didn't bother her. While rare, it did happen on occasion that others were out walking at one AM on a Wednesday night, and so Marie slipped back into her peace of mind. But then she started to notice the man's walk was very irregular, and in fact, he was struggling to stay on his feet. As the two got closer and closer, the moonlight revealed more and more of the man. He was wearing nothing but a dirty, ragged jumpsuit, and his hair was blacker than the night, covering his hunched over face. And when they were no more than two meters apart, he stopped for a second, lifted his head ever so slightly, before he fell heavily on the ground. Marie rushed over, crouched beside him, and pushed him so he lied face up, and discovered underneath the long, tangled hair, a handsome young face.

Marie is not the brightest. Neither is she very cautious, skeptical, cunning, nor witty. In fact, Marie is sort of an idiot, and a perfect example of what youth nowadays would call an "NPC". But she has a big heart and a natural tendency towards kindness, so of course she decided to help the stranger.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Marie hesitantly asked the collapsed man, unsure what to do in a situation like this. She reached for her pocket and opened her phone, about to dial the emergency number, before the lifeless body reached out his hand and grabbed hers.

"Don't." He said sternly and looked at her with a disgruntled frown. "Leave me alone." He added, let go of her hand and closed his eyes.

"I can't just leave you on the ground like this. What happened to you, are you okay?" Marie was still not sure what's normal to say or do, but she knew she had to do what she could to help. The man sighed, and with an annoyed look on his face he looked hers up and down, examining it. He decided she was very ordinary looking. She looked youthful, perhaps in her late teens, wearing an oversized hoodie covering her small frame. She had long, brown hair and blue eyes. Her eyebrows were thick in contrast to her small button nose.

"If I told you what happened, you wouldn't believe me. And let's say you did believe me; your fragile little mind would break. Besides, aren't you afraid of a strange man, walking around in the middle of the night?" He sat up a little.

"Please tell me, so I can better know how to help you. Did you get robbed?" She gently touched his shoulder and gave him a tender smile. It didn't even cross her mind that he might be a drunk homeless man, an asylum escapee, or a murderous criminal. Marie is too stupid to assume anything but innocence in others, as she has been lucky thus far in life. Growing up in an average family in a low crime town, her trust has not been broken. She is generally kind to most people she meets, and those who might have evil intentions take pity on her and feel like it would simply be too easy to take advantage of her. He sighed again.

"I'm Dimitri Dracula, the heir of the oldest, most powerful royal vampire family, as well as the sovereign ruler of the nine realms of the underworld. I am the demon lord. Or rather, I was. My throne got usurped, my power broken into seven pieces and scattered across the surface world, and I've been imprisoned in the hell of hells for almost eighty years. I somehow managed to escape, and I made it to the human plane to look for my powers so I can return home and take back what's mine."

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Even Marie, who is slower than most, would maybe have started laughing if it wasn't for the man's perfect confidence. She blinked, and paused for a moment.

"Dracula? You're the Dracula from the stories and stuff?" Not even an air head like Marie believed that he was actually a fictional character, but she got curious about the extent of the handsome stranger's fantasy. Dimitri rolled his eyes.

"No, moron. That's Vladimir Dracula, my father. He lived in the human world for a while." In the darkness it was hard to make out his eye color. They were dark and colorless, and lacked emotion. He looked terribly tired, with huge bags under his eyes, and he was very dirty. But despite this, and his long unkempt hair, Marie thought he was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.

"Is everyone in hell a vampire?" Marie couldn't help her curiosity. The thought passed through her that she should probably not humor a crazy person, but then again you never know. He might just be the vampire king or whatever.

"Are you serious right now? If everyone was a vampire, what would we eat?" She agreed that it didn't make much sense.

"Oh, right. So are there humans to eat in hell? The souls of the dead sinful people maybe?" She smiled politely.

"No, there are all sorts of kinds of demons in hell. Ogres, trolls, shapeshifters, fairies, dwarves, elves, but not humans. There were humans in the underworld a really long time ago, but they got too many and too powerful too quickly, so they were banished to the magicless plane."

"Werewolves?"

"No, werewolves aren't real."

"Wait how are fairies and elves demons? Aren't they, like, nice?"

"Demons aren't necessarily all evil, and fairies and elves aren't necessarily good."

"Wait so sinful humans don't go to hell when they die?"

"They do. There are two parallel parts of hell. One for tormenting the souls of sinners, and one where the demons live. Humans are not allowed in the part inhabited by demons. Not human souls, but especially not alive humans. This is because many demons fear humans taking over the underworld again. Your kind is incredibly obnoxious."

"Huh. So, do vampires have any cool powers? Or do you just suck blood? Where are your fangs?" Marie was having more fun than she should questioning this random lunatic.

"I told you, my powers were broken into seven pieces and scattered across the human world eighty years ago. My fangs, claws, horns, tail and wings are sealed along with them."

"Do you still drink blood?"

"I can."

"Do you have to?"

"No, I can eat human food."

"Right. I'm sorry if this is rude, but you must understand it's hard to believe you when anything that could prove you're telling the truth, happens to be sealed and broken and scattered or whatever. Do you have anything in your pockets? A phone, a card, keys, anything?" Dimitri was not surprised by her disbelief and sighed.

"No. I was in haste and didn't get to bring any of my belongings to the surface realm with me. Not that demon tech would have worked here anyways." Marie figured he was probably homeless. Homelessness was very rare in her town due to high welfare, but occasionally she saw an old drunk here and there begging for coin. It broke her heart that someone this young had fallen out of the system, and especially since he needed psychiatric help. Maybe if she kept talking to him, she could eventually convince him to let her take him to the hospital.

"Why don't we try to get up? The ground is cold and dirty. Can you stand?"

He allowed her to put his arm around her shoulder and help him up. They limped towards the bench by the park road, and Marie noticed his bare, bloody feet.

"Jesus. For how long have you been walking?"

"I don't know. Weeks. I'm looking for someone, but it's hard without a phone or computer."

"Where have you been sleeping- w-what have you been eating?"

"I haven't." While Marie wasn't sure she believed that he hadn't eaten or slept for weeks, she believed that he was hurt, exhausted, and needed help. She wasn't very knowledgeable about mental illnesses, but she had read about some people who experienced manic episodes and psychosis sometimes and would otherwise be lucid. So, she decided she would go along with his delusion and help his bare necessities, at least until he got back to his senses.

"Why don't you come to my place and at least let me tend to your feet? I also have some leftovers in the fridge if you want. And a couch for you to sleep on."