Chapter 109 - Vampire Hunt
*Inside a dark alleyway.*
A man was embracing a woman wearing a miniskirt.
“Ah ah.”
A moan leaked out of the woman"s lips, and it sounded as if her strength was being leeched away. After a lengthy time, the man and woman separated from each other. The woman fell to the floor, and the man wipe the blood from his mouth as he laughed.
“Koo koo koo. Is this place a paradise?”
Humans with fresh blood was overflowing in this place.
He"d never seen a dimension with this many humans. He had already sampled the blood of 24 people today. In the past, he had to survive by drinking the blood of animals and monsters. If those bloods were like gra.s.s porridge, human blood was like sweet cookie.
He coveted more blood, but it was time for him to move.
“Kook. I have a lot of time.”
He was the loyal va.s.sal of Railer. His great lord was of the 7th Step, and he possessed 7 Thrones. His name was Veymort, and he was Railer"s best scout. He was sent to earth, so he could find the most suitable dungeon his master could link to.
“I"ll enjoy it slowly.”
He had a lot of time. He"ll look around the human world, and he"ll slowly gather information. He"ll have to find a place to sleep, when the morning sun ascends.
He was about to transform into a bat, when his expression suddenly hardened.
“Whew. I finally found you.”
Veymort slowly turned his head when he heard the sound coming from behind him.
There were two men standing there. One was a pale young teen, and the other one was a well-built man with a dangerous atmosphere hanging around him. His instinctive wariness made Veymort take a step back.
“Uh-huh. Where are you going?”
“Who are you?”
“You don"t really need to know.”
When Woojin smiled, Veymort felt an unknown sense of threat to himself, so he quickly turned around. He jumped high into the sky to run away quickly, but the hand on his ankle pulled him backwards. He couldn"t fly away.
Kwahhng!
As soon as Woojin grabbed Veymort"s lower leg, he slammed the vampire to the floor. Woojin didn"t stop there. He kept lifting Veymort up as he repeatedly slammed the vampire on the floor. In a flash, Veymort"s face was ruined.
“Ooh-ooh-oohk.”
Woojin stepped on the neck of the moaning Veymort.
“Koo-roo-rook.”
As if he was having a hard time breath, Veymort let out a gurgling noise. After pressing down firmly with his foot, he called towards Jaemin, who was still standing at the entrance of the alleyway.
“Come here.”
“…….”
He had heard a lot about it. He read numerous articles, and he had even watched the vids.
However, it was something else to confirm it with one"s own eyes. The person called Kahng-woojin was amazing. The vampire, who had bitten him, could do nothing as Woojin dominated the vampire.
Jaemin thought Woojin was amazing, but he also felt fear within his heart.
Woojin took out a short sword from his inventory, and he raised it towards Jaemin, who was walking stiffly toward him with a fearful expression.
“Grab it.”
When Jaemin awkwardly grabbed the shortsword, Woojin pointed below.
“Stab his heart.”
“What?”
Jaemin was surprised, but Woojin spoke with an indifferent face.
“Hurry up and stab it.”
“…….”
Jaemin"s hands holding the shortsword was shaking.
“You don"t want to live?”
“Ah... No, I want to.”
He wanted to live, but he was also afraid. Jaemin sniffled.
“Uh. So how do I stab...”
“Uh-whew.”
Woojin put his hand around Jaemin"s hand, which was grabbing onto the shortsword. Then he immediately lowered it towards Veymort"s heart.
“Uh uh?”
When the tip of the sword touched the vampire"s clothes, Woojin let go.
As if he was trying to catch the sword from falling, Jaemin crouched in an awkward position. Woojin spoke as he looked at Jaemin.
“Stab.”
“H...hyuuuuung.”
If he was going to help, he should help all the way….
It was like a bungee jump. He didn"t have the courage, so he wanted someone to forcefully push him off the platform. He could act as if he was reluctant, but he won"t resist when he was pushed.
Currently, Jaemin didn"t have any courage.
“You have to do it yourself.”
“Hoo-ooh-oohk.”
Woojin"s voice was indifferent.
Tears and snot leaked out of Jaemin, and Woojin could only sigh when he saw this.
“When the sun comes up, you"ll die and this b.a.s.t.a.r.d will also die. However, this b.a.s.t.a.r.d will probably be resurrected in his domain.”
The va.s.sal could be revived after receiving the master"s favor. Woojin had read the Dimensional Domain Manual, so he was aware of this fact.
“Choose. You can die or you can absorb this b.a.s.t.a.r.d to live as a vampire. It"s your choice.”
Woojin wasn"t saving him.
He was just providing Jaemin with a choice. He could decide for himself if he wanted to live or not.
Woojin silently observed Jaemin"s action.
“Hoo-oohk, hook.”
Jaemin cried.
After throwing up blood, Veymort was looking up at him with a devastated expression. The vampire Veymort wasn"t human. Several dozen thoughts flitted through Jaemin"s head, and it made him hesitate on making a decision.
“The day is pa.s.sing away.”
“Hoo-oohk. Hoohk.”
Jaemin wiped his tears with his sleeves.
He wanted to live. He had to live.
He didn"t even have to make an excuse about his sister, who was crying for him right now.
He wanted to live. If he wanted to live then he had to kill.
The light in his eyes darkened. This b.a.s.t.a.r.d had tried to kill him by sucking out his blood.
“Ooh-ahhhhk!”
Jaemin used his strength to stab down with the shortsword.
Too-toohk.
“Uh?”
The vampire"s skin was thicker than he thought, and the short sword was having a hard time penetrating the skin. Woojin shook his head from side to side.
“Uh-whew. How can a guy be so weak? Hurry up and stab him. The sun will really rise for real soon.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Puh-uhk puhk, poo-oohk!
The first strike was the hardest, but once he hardened his heart, he was able to strike down with more force.
“I...I did it!”
Jaemin"s happiness lasted only for a moment. Blood fountained forth from the pierced heart, and it dirtied Woojin and Jaemin" body. The scattered blood defied the law of gravity. It coalesced into grains of blood in midair, and it flowed into Jaemin"s mouth.
Succession of Blood.
The servant inherits the master"s blood, and one wakes up as a true vampire.
“Ooh-uhhhhhhhhk!”
The blood was being sucked into his mouth endlessly. Jaemin struggled as if he was about to pa.s.s out. When he drank all the blood, he crumpled to the floor.
“Ooh-oop!”
Just the thought of it made Jaemin"s stomach turn, so he covered his mouth with both hands. He dry heaved several times, then tears started to fall.
“Hoo-oohk. Hook hook.”
“You are a man, so why do you keep crying?”
“Hoo-ook. Hyung….”
“What?”
“The blood… It"s so delicious. Hook hook.”
It was sweet and delicious. It was better than any drink he"s had before. The strange sensation and ecstasy made Jaemin cry.
It felt as if he had shed his human self. It made him very sad.
“Jeez. I thought…. Let"s go after we wrap this up.”
Veymort"s body had turned into gray light, so they didn"t need to take care of it. Woojin retrieved his Warrior"s Weapon, and he changed it into a spear. Jaemin"s eyes turned round when he saw Woojin approach the woman wearing a miniskirt.
“H...hyung! What are you going to do?”
“Huh? We have to take care of her and go.”
“A p...p...p...per.. A person?”
“It"ll be daybreak soon. Anyways, she"ll turn into a mindless bloodsucking monster, so we have to take care of her.”
“…….”
Woojin spoke so dispa.s.sionately when he talked about taking someone"s life. Jaemin wondered if he really knew, who this person was. He felt a sense of incompatibility.
“What? Do you want to part with your own heart? Then you"ll be able to save her.”
“…….”
Woojin smirked when he saw the silent Jaemin.
“Are you really valuing a life of a woman, who only has 30 minutes left to her life? What if she turns into a blood sucking monster and kills a person. Don’t you value that person"s life?”
“That"s….”
He didn"t have to even ask that question. The calculation was obvious, but how could he be so calm and cold about it?
“You want to do it?”
“N...no.”
“You"ll have to get used it.”
What did he mean?
He"ll watch Woojin kill a lot of people? Or was he talking about this crazy world that had changed so much?
Poo-oohk!
Woojin pierced the heart of the fallen woman with the pale face.
Jaemin closed his eyes tightly. Woojin smiled, when he saw this.
He was still soft and innocent.
Jaemin was like himself 5 years ago, who had stepped onto Alphen for the first time.
“Calm your thoughts. Slow down.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Well, he didn"t have to be in a hurry. Jaemin will become tenacious like him or he"ll continue to be soft and die. The choice was on him. If he wanted to live on, he had to own up to his own decisions.
“Go in before the sun comes up.”
“Where?”
“Mmm. You can probably go there now."
Woojin looked at Jaemin"s level.
Jaemin had been level 5, so he had been a civilian instead of a Roused. However, the Ceremony of Blood increased his level by 10, so he was above the 1st circle now.
He wasn"t a human now. He was a Roused.
The prerequisite to enter a Dungeon was met in his case.
Jeeeeeeeeng.
Woojin opened a portal that connected to his Dimensional Domain, Alandal.
“I"ll send word ahead. Go in and find Bibi.”
“…yes, hyung.”
“Go pull yourself together. I"ll be there soon.”
“Yes, hyung. I"m sorry.”
Jaemin was embarra.s.sed.
He knew Woojin hadn"t done anything wrong. He just felt a fear at an instinctual level.
Wasn’t this all done to save him? Woojin saved his inconsequential life. Jaemin wouldn"t judge Woojin"s morals.
Woojin smirked as he pushed Jaemin in the back.
“Just go in. You"ll burn to death if you see sunlight.”
“Heek. Yes.”
When Jaemin pa.s.sed through the portal, Woojin closed it immediately. The bright sunlight washed over Woojin after couple minutes. He let out a bitter laugh.
*
Daegoo"s Dungeon Break happened contrary to the existing rules regarding Dungeons. When the Seoul"s consecutive Dungeon Breaks happened not too long afterwards, the world fell into a state of shock.
The existing rule of a Dungeon Break happening after 30 days of a failed clear was debunked.
It wasn"t only a problem that worried Korea. Any country, who possessed Dungeons, were on a state of high alert, and they were busy coming up with a solution.
Still, they had a great sample case they could study.
The unexpected Dungeon Breaks had devastated Seoul.
If the world was shocked, Seoul was in a state of panic.
A widespread exodus occurred.
No one wanted to live next to a Dungeon that might Break at any time.
Everyone was busy evacuating. The government tried to stop the chaos by saying they could suppress a daily Dungeon Break, but not many people believed those words.
The government tried to recover the public support that was broken, so they pressured the Alandal Guild to combat the Dungeon Break that could happen at any time.
Every media company packaged Alandal Guild Master Kahng-woojin as a hero, who will help Korea pa.s.s through this turbulent times. They expected him to protect Korea.
This caused the people to focus their expectations on Kahng-woojin. However, he was nowhere to be seen as if he had gone underground. Moreover, Guild Alandal"s actions were questionable.
The price of the real estate had gone to s.h.i.+t. While everyone was leaving Seoul, Guild Alandal bought the land around the Seoul Station, and they were getting ready to move.
After two days, Seoul"s roads were repaired. After four days, a little bit of calm returned to the people. On the fourth day, the people wanted a countermeasure for the Dungeon Breaks. The citizens occupied a square and they held a demonstration.
The crowd had a chance to turn violent, so the government was worried about the demonstrators. The only thing that could allay the anger and uncertainty of the people was Kahng-woojin, so the government kept trying to push Kahng-woojin forward.
However, when they searched Guild Alandal, he wasn"t there. It seemed he was clearing a Dungeon, so they had no way of finding him.
On the fifth day, the congress and the Cheongwadae decided to suspend the plan of Sejong relocation project. The news was leaked to the media, and the size of the protests grew larger. The demonstration was turning tumultuous.
On that day, the Holy Maiden stepped onto Korean soil as she arrived at the Incheon airport.
“Look over there.”
Melody got off the plane. She pa.s.sed through the airport security with 7 Holy Knights guarding her.
“Wow… Jackpot.”
Her beautiful appearance had the magic of pulling the gaze of the pa.s.sersby towards her.
“Isn"t that Melody?”
“Hul. You know that person?”
“You know. The Holy Maiden. I think I saw her on youtube….”
“Really?”
There were some who knew her, and some who didn"t. Still, she received attention from everyone. She started walking calmly, and she stopped in front of a man at the entrance, who was holding up a placard.
“It"s been awhile, Minchan.”
Jung-minchan was surprised by her fluent Korean. Minchan smiled as he slowly bowed to greet her.
“You"ve come a long way. President is waiting for you.”
Jung-minchan had come to the airport to greet her. He guided Melody and the Holy Knights to Alandal Guild"s new location.
“Please come this way. I"ll hold that for you.”
“It"s all right.”
She declined his offer with a smile on her mouth. She clutched the small bag as if something important was in it. The Immortal had asked for this "doc.u.ment", and it was within this bag.