Vampire (3)
“Kuhh…”
A suppressed groan echoed from the basement shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
Shrak!
“Cough!”
Then came the sound of something being struck, followed by a cry of despair that quickly faded into silence.
“Damn it, it just died again? I thought I was being careful! Stupid weak humans.”
Tiapol, the pureblood vampire, threw his whip aside.
The whip rolled on the floor, splattering the blood that was caked on it in all directions.
“I didn’t expect this, but what has Wirak been doing until now? Useless fool. When I return, I will definitely report this situation to the clan lord.”
He fumed for a moment before clapping his hands.
“Did you call for me?”
A servant appeared, bowing deeply as he approached.
“Remove that and bring me a new one tonight. Make it a sturdier one this time.”
“Yes, understood.”
The servant disappeared, taking the corpse with him.
That was the job of the servants and slaves assigned to this hideout; they would take care of it.
Tiapol made his way deeper into the basement.
“Should I have gone outside instead of staying here?”
He muttered grumpily, but he knew very well that he couldn’t.
He was needed to maintain the blood magic surrounding this hideout.
It was one thing if the two of them were taking turns guarding the hideout while sometimes stepping out, but when it was like this, he had to stay.
“Damn it! What kind of situation is this, stuck here like a rat for days?”
As he moved, Tiapol opened the door to the innermost basement.
“Hoo~ Haa…”
As soon as he opened the door, he took a deep breath of the dense scent of blood.
The floor, walls, and ceiling of the stone chamber were adorned with glowing red magic circles.
Made of blood, they pulsed like veins connected to a heart.
In the center of it all, a black box was placed.
“…Looks good. No need to replenish the blood. Should I take a quick nap?”
After confirming the condition of the sealed fragment, he headed back upstairs.
This had been his daily routine ever since he arrived in this city.
‘This is really getting tedious. I just want to leave this city already.’
Entering his bedroom, Tiapol lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.
As a pureblood, he could go several days without sleep, but he still took a few hours to rest to maintain his condition.
What could he do while awake in this hideout?
‘The toy I usually use to kill time just broke…’
As he lamented that he hoped the next toy would last longer, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and got up.
“Black magic?! Where did it suddenly come from?”
Kwajijijik—!
As he sensed the emergence of black magic, the blood magic that surrounded the hideout shattered.
Realizing an intruder had entered, Tiapol rushed back down to the basement.
[Kieeek—!]
Clang, clang!
The energy of the undead, along with black magic, began to fill the air as they started breaking into the mansion.
‘A necromancer? How did they find this place? No, with vampires spread throughout the city, how did they get in here?’
No one had noticed the enemy entering right in the middle of the city and approaching the hideout, showing an extraordinary level of incompetence.
Bam—!
In response to the sudden undead assault, the servants and slaves guarding the hideout began to engage in battle.
“Filthy corpses, how dare you come here!”
The servant, a firestorm version of a vampire.
With bloodshot eyes, his fangs and claws sharpened, lurking in the dark for their enemies.
“Kyaaaah—!”
The slaves, having lost their sanity and sacrificed all weaknesses just to raise their combat power.
Screaming like monsters, they lunged at the undead to rip them apart.
Battles erupted everywhere as the forces clashed, but Tiapol had no time to worry about that.
Whoosh—! Bam!
He was too preoccupied with blocking a black beam shot at him.
“Kuhh, who are you?! Do you know where this place is?!”
Kwa-kwang!
Black thorns rushed at him as if to pierce him, while a black flame restricted his retreat.
“Kuh!”
Shwaak—!
A jet of blood erupted from Tiapol’s fingertips, enveloping him in a red aura.
He used that state to evade the continuous attacks coming his way.
“Reveal your identity at once!”
Skrak—!
Blood blades formed from the concentrated blood spurting from his fingertips.
That was sent flying towards the place of origin of the attack, cutting down several undead before disappearing.
Bang—!
“You bastard! I’m coming for you!”
Once again, dark flames barreled towards him.
With no words exchanged, Tiapol barely managed to defend himself while trying to figure out the identity of his attacker.
After several exchanges, he finally spotted who was targeting him and was left in shock.
“Demi-lich?! How did it make it here?!”
He could somewhat understand if it had been a human dark mage skilled at concealing their presence.
Of course, even that would be called incompetence.
But for a monster like a demi-lich to infiltrate the heart of the city undetected? That was a problem that couldn’t just be labeled incompetence.
How could no one notice when the aura of death was pulsing like this?
‘Are all the vampires in this city just idiots? What the hell has Wirak been doing?!’
Struggling against the opponent’s black magic was already a tough battle.
The level of magic was high, but the sheer amount of black magic was overwhelming.
Thorns made of shadows surged from all sides.
Grasping hands of darkness that unexpectedly snatched at his ankles.
Flashes of black light erupting at seemingly random intervals.
All sorts of black magic poured out without ceasing.
Bam—!
‘What kind of black magic is this?! But there’s no way they wouldn’t notice this level of commotion. I have to hold out until reinforcements arrive!’
Even though the demi-lich deployed a concealment barrier the moment it entered, there was no way to hide the anomaly in the middle of the city for long.
‘No, seeing how things have been so far, I’m uneasy, but for now, I have no choice but to trust and endure.’
Specializing in blood magic, Tiapol was not well-suited against the undead.
Even if he had plenty of blood, he wouldn’t stand a chance against that demi-lich. The situation had to be somewhat better, though.
The only fortunate part was that the confined space allowed his minions to hold their ground against the undead, and that he wouldn’t fall immediately.
While desperately wishing that, he kept holding on.
“Tiapol!”
Bam!
A vampire forced its way through a group of undead and reached him.
A vampire from outside, not one of the ones in the hideout.
In other words, a helper who had come from the outside.
“Oh! Have you come to support? You reported the news outside, right?”
“Yes! Of course. I sensed something odd from outside and immediately transmitted the situation. I entered to assist you, Tiapol!”
“Well done! Now we just need to hold out a little longer!”
It had felt like a long time since the situation started, but in reality, not much time had passed.
For the first time in a while, Tiapol found a situation he liked and felt a bit more at ease as he looked at the demi-lich in front of him.
It seemed taken aback by the sudden arrival of reinforcements, pausing its attacks and surveying the situation.
“That demi-lich is a monster. The amount of black magic is abnormal. Do not think of defeating it; just think of assisting me until reinforcements arrive!”
“Yes, understood!”
The situation had improved significantly.
The undead were held back by Tiapol’s minions, and with his help, he could hold out more comfortably.
‘If reinforcements come, you’re finished!’
Kwa-kwang!
Using the blood of the minions splattered around, Tiapol blocked a bone spear shot by the enemy.
As he did, he realized that the helper had disappeared from near him.
‘Is he planning to ambush that guy? It might not work, but if it can buy me a moment of respite, that will be enough…’
Whoosh—!
A sudden shock froze his mind.
Looking down at the spot where pain was felt, he saw a bloody hand with sharp claws piercing through his chest.
“Kuh… Cough.”
‘Attacked? By the helper? Why? How…?! It must have been a member of the same clan… Did he ignore the taboo?!’
Before he could fully comprehend the situation, a rough hand grabbed his hair and tilted his head to the side.
And he felt something digging into the exposed nape of his neck.
‘Cannibalism…! Is this lunatic trying to die with me in this situation?!’
Wasn’t there an enemy right in front of him?
Flustered, Tiapol attempted to use blood magic, gathering the abundant blood flowing from his body, but it was too late.
Fwoosh! Bam—!
Without missing a beat, the demi-lich used black magic to pierce Tiapol’s entire body with bone spears.
Though he was still holding on due to the vitality of a pureblood vampire, the situation was practically over.
‘Kugh… I’m dying alongside a lunatic because of this…’
As his consciousness began to grow dim, he cursed the helper who would also perish alongside him.
Swush—!
He still felt his blood being drained through the fangs lodged in his neck.
‘Is he still… until the end…? Wait a second. There’s something strange here…’
Using all his senses, he quickly identified the source of his discomfort.
‘The attack didn’t hit him…?! By chance? No, did he dodge it?!’
The fiend hanging behind him was fully intact, seriously enjoying the act of drinking his blood.
Yet the demi-lich showed no signs of attacking, merely watching.
As if he had no interest in the helper sucking the blood from Tiapol.
‘No, the opposite. This guy is offering me as prey to that fiend!’
Understanding dawned upon him; the bone spears that had pierced him felt deliberately placed to allow for easier feeding.
No, that was certain.
Even now, he was sending black magic through the pierced spots to prevent him from using blood magic.
‘Why? What relationship do the helper and the demi-lich have…? Wait, did he bring that fiend here…?’
As his thoughts gradually faded, Tiapol couldn’t come to a conclusion and eventually lowered his head.
Even in his death, the helper continued to eagerly drink his blood.
*
《The entity has inherited blood and gained enlightenment. Skill “Blood Magic” is acquired.》
Heinz detached himself slowly from Tiapol’s neck.
The withered corpse began to crumble gradually, turning into powder that scattered.
‘No need to worry about mental contamination from cannibalism; this is comfortable. Efficient.’
The thirst for blood that he had suppressed so far had completely vanished, and the increase in strength was undeniably substantial.
The biggest problem with cannibalism was that the more you drank, the more your mind became contaminated.
Since blood is the source of a vampire’s power, the remnants of the original owner’s thoughts lingered there stubbornly.
Drinking that indiscriminately could lead to mental breakdowns.
That was why, even an inferior rank, he had to restrain himself, let alone blood from a superior rank with far greater strength and history—it would definitely lead to madness.
Hoo… This situation looks really good.
Heinz had immediately applied a concealment barrier after being summoned right next to their hideout, then infiltrated the interior.
Tiapol, the pureblood vampire, was weaker than expected.
At least two were needed to face the dark mage Malcolm.
But given the urgency of the situation, he was just enough of a hindrance.
The interior was filled with more servants and slaves than he expected, preventing the undead from entering, and just hanging around would delay any reinforcements coming.
The moment he sensed the fight might be dragged on, he deployed Heinz who had been waiting nearby.
He approached Tiapol, engaged in a rough scuffle with the undead to maintain his cover, then ambushed.
Though it was a simple plan, the effectiveness exceeded expectations.
‘Thanks to the vampire being overly vigilant, thinking I was a fellow clan member, he must have felt some relief upon hearing reinforcements were on the way.’
Of course, that was a lie.
Up until Heinz kicked off, the vampires hadn’t sensed anything amiss.
‘But it’s only a matter of time before I’m discovered. I need to hurry.’
Since Hans had begun assisting the undead the moment he felt Tiapol’s life force wane, he quickly headed to the inner depths where the fragment was kept.
Heinz hurriedly followed after him.
“Wow… This is impressive!”
Inside was a full-on blood magic barrier woven throughout the room.
With some effort, he could probably find a way to break it using the newly acquired knowledge of “Blood Magic” but…
‘No time for that; I have to do it the shoddy way.’
Using his knowledge, Heinz pinpointed the weakness of the barrier.
And he immediately struck it with Hans’s overwhelming magical power.
Boom!
The barrier trembled under the impact, giving Heinz the opportunity to employ blood magic to snatch partial control and create a small opening.
‘Simple enough.’
Hans casually stepped into the barrier and yanked open the black box that was placed at the center.
Inside was a black gemstone that he recognized from earlier.
‘Ah, so now I understand why they were after the fragments of dark mages.’
The pieces held by the dark mages, the “Oath of Reversal”, were problematic due to their weak bindings. But this fragment was excessively condensed and solidified tightly.
‘If I combine this with a fully matured fragment, it should become more complete.’
While I had no matured fragments myself, I was practically one with the fragment.
Without hesitation, Hans grasped the fragment in the box and began synchronization.
‘It’s too condensed, so it’s going to take longer than I thought… Oh no, has it been noticed?’
He sensed a group of vampires entering the area surrounding the hideout.
Leading them was the pureblood Wirak.
But before the vampires could enter the building, the undead, including Malcolm, surged out to battle them under the sun.
‘Malcolm and the high-ranked undead should hold their own against Wirak.’
Though weakened compared to his former self, Malcolm wouldn’t fall short against Wirak under the sun.
I closed my eyes, focusing my entire mind on synchronizing with the fragment.
Not just myself and Heinz but even the original body back on Earth.
Pooling all the resources assigned to each entity and pouring every ounce of mental energy into Hans.
It was my first time attempting such an application of the “Avatar” skill, but the results were immensely satisfying.
《The entity has met the conditions and is evolving. Special skill “Forbidden Knowledge” is obtained.》
《The entity has rendered recovery meaningless. Skill “Super Recovery” evolves into the special skill “Undying”.》
Hans successfully absorbed a fragment of the Undead King, evolving into an “Archlich.”
