Chapter 49 - Dungeon Break (3)
A suffocating tension weighed down on the exploration team's shoulders.
Vladimir, shadows, medieval-style clothing, and a deathly pale complexion.
Every element pointed to one name.
Vampire.
Unlike the common portrayals in subcultures, this race—known as bloodsuckers—were boss monster-class beasts that only appeared in high-rank dungeons.
Their raw power was on par with the Fire Flower Dragon he'd fought in Gangwon Province—no slouch there.
They weren't something you could just charge at without any preparation.
"For the first course of our feast..."
"Run!!!"
As the vampire swept out with its elongated fingers mid-sentence, Kim Sun-woo bellowed at the top of his lungs.
That was the signal. Every hunter in the group gritted their teeth and bolted.
It was the decision from the strongest hunter on the exploration team.
Hesitate even a moment, and you'd lose your life before you knew it.
Blindly fighting head-on was stupid—better to link up with the other hunters waiting outside.
Shiak!
Kim Sun-woo scooped Jin So-hui under his arm and kicked off with Flash Flow Step.
The portal wasn't far.
Retracing their steps up the path they'd come, the glowing exit portal came into view.
Not a single hunter had fallen behind—they were all keeping up safely.
Kim Sun-woo lunged straight for the portal, but a shadowy figure blocked his path first.
"Can't let you do that."
With a voice laced with amusement, the vampire erupted from the empty ground and reached out.
Chwaaak!
Blood-red mist surged up, engulfing the shimmering portal in midair.
The once-blue glow was soon overtaken by crimson light, beginning to corrode.
Even Kim Sun-woo, who'd cleared countless dungeons, had never seen anything like it.
"I wondered how you'd ended up in this Death's Land. Kin from the Forbidden Realm, eh? Never dreamed a gate would open here too."
Forbidden Realm.
The Fire Flower Dragon had mentioned it too.
Was Earth originally off-limits to monsters?
The fact that they even knew Earth existed was shocking enough.
Proof that these beings weren't mere dungeon-spawned creatures.
The vampire, having blanketed the entire portal in blood mist, gazed languidly at the hunters halted before it with a bored smile.
"Then I can't treat you poorly. Rise, my legions. Greet our living guests with joy."
Tzuzuzuzu.
The darkness infesting Death's Land began to writhe and stir.
Spectral monsters clawed up through the ground, one by one.
Dozens... hundreds, by rough count.
Kim Sun-woo let out a short breath and asked Jin So-hui, tucked at his waist.
"What now?"
"...It's the commander unit. Useless attrition war if we don't take down the host body. We'll just tire out and drop."
In other words, they had to kill the vampire.
But it'd vanished into its summoned horde long ago.
To find it, they'd have to cut through the monsters in front.
Chwaak!
Zombies charging in were shredded as the Black Flow Sword whipped around.
These weren't your garden-variety zombies from low-rank dungeons—far superior quality.
Wounds regenerated in seconds, severed limbs stitched back, and they lunged anew.
"Pointless. Physical hits don't work on them..."
"Like this."
Hwaruk.
Circulating the White Flow Heart Method differently heated the Black Flow Sword's blade, crimson flames blooming along it.
Blazing Peak hadn't just given him fire resistance.
He could now channel inner energy into blazing red flames, like the Threefold True Fire.
Peuk!
Monsters along the sword's arc simply... vanished.
...Way more effective than I thought?
He hadn't even put much force into it, yet it inflicted lethal wounds without resistance.
The other hunters were struggling, so the monsters weren't weak...
"Sun-woo, let's dump everything we've got at once. You handle the vampire; I'll manage the portal somehow."
"You sure?"
"Gotta, even if it's tough. Can't stay trapped here forever."
Sharp resolve gleamed in Jin So-hui's eyes.
Kim Sun-woo nodded, and she thrust both hands skyward, shouting to the hunters.
"I'll clear the path! Straight to the portal—follow close!"
Paaaat!
Vast mana swirled around Jin So-hui.
No C-rank hunter could wield that much power.
It rivaled her own reserves.
Meaning Jin So-hui was hiding B-rank-level strength too.
Inferno
Similar to the Fire Flower Dragon's spell.
Flames erupted in a ring, forming a halo overhead before flooding outward.
The zombies, spectral types, had some fire resistance and didn't drop instantly, but as their bodies burned, their movements slowed noticeably.
Tadadak!
They pounded forward amid the vibrating, ashen ground.
Jin So-hui twisted her hands, finely adjusting the flames to carve a path for the hunters.
Right at the portal.
Crimson fire poured down on the densest zombie cluster.
Flesh charred, bones melted—and there, leisurely seated in a chair, the vampire was revealed.
"A mage wielding hellfire. Rare power indeed."
Watching the chaos around him like it was someone else's problem.
"But you're this group's leader, yes? Your aura stands out so vividly."
Bloody light gleamed in his crimson eyes fixed on her.
Kim Sun-woo said nothing, gathering inner energy and tensing his toes.
The opponent's a monster on the Fire Flower Dragon's level.
No time for second thoughts.
Shiak!
Flash Flow Step propelled him straight at the vampire, sword swinging.
The Black Flow Sword's path left the vampire's severed head floating.
...Like slicing water.
Something was wrong—he sensed it instantly as a pale hand pierced his chest.
"Hm?"
But the vampire's amused grin twisted to confusion.
Kim Sun-woo's form scattered like sand in the wind.
Seogeok—!
Simultaneously, the hand that had pierced his chest was sliced off.
"...Hoo."
The vampire murmured admiration, eyeing the spraying red blood and its severed hand drifting in the air.
Damn sharp strike.
Clean trajectory—he hadn't even thought to dodge.
Then, from the side, the Baek twin swordsmen—Baek Hwa-un and Baek Hwa-yun—charged, unleashing pale pink sword auras as they swung.
Jeojeogeok!
Countless slashes raked the vampire's body.
Limbs and ornate clothes shredded, floating in pieces.
—Kwaaaang!!
A massive fire pillar crashed down from above, flames flooding the ground.
Jin So-hui, seizing the moment, had poured her mana into incinerating the vampire's flesh with all her hellfire.
Won't go down from that.
But it'd buy time to purify the portal.
Tadadadak!
Leaping over the charred remains, he raced to the blood-mist-shrouded portal.
"How's it looking? Can you break through?"
"...Not just covered—looks like a seal or barrier. Need a bit more time to dispel."
Jin So-hui frowned, waving her hands as she answered.
"......"
The other hunters watched the fire pillar site.
Scanning the scorched wasteland for vampire traces.
"No way it goes down that easy."
"Stay sharp till we're out."
"Anyone got a silver cross or garlic? Heard vampires hate that stuff—"
Udeok.
A gruesome snap echoed suddenly.
Baek Hwa-yun, mid-joke, had his neck broken by an unseen hand.
"...Ugh, ah, euk......"
Even with a shattered neck, he flailed desperately.
But nothing connected. His skin withered, body mummifying in seconds.
"...Aa, aaaaaaah!!"
Drained of blood and inner energy alike.
"Hwa-yun!!!"
Baek Hwa-un screamed hysterically, slashing wildly.
Jjaengkang!
But unlike before, his sword didn't even pierce skin.
The vampire flicked a finger, shattering the blade and caving in Baek Hwa-un's chest.
The brother, rushing to save him, flew back spewing blood from mortal wounds.
"Can't let you leave without proper hospitality."
The vampire tossed the withered Baek Hwa-yun like deadwood and glared at Jin So-hui at the portal, eyes glowing red.
—Paaat!
A pair of laser beams shot from his eyes toward her.
Shiak!
Kim Sun-woo, hidden with Dark Flow Step, ambushed from behind.
Flying Moon Severing Shadow
Strongest form short of the fourth, Full Moon Night.
This should deal real damage.
The Black Flow Sword arced sharply at the vampire's neck—but.
Tuk.
It reached out, snatched its own airborne head, and reattached it.
"Sharp sword, but not quite enough to fell me."
The vampire smirked at Kim Sun-woo.
No damage at all—his lips trembled involuntarily.
...Use Full Moon?
No, even that wouldn't work.
Seemed immune to physical attacks.
Overwhelming regeneration? Or outright physical immunity? Unclear.
One thing was sure: no guarantee Full Moon would land meaningfully.
Squeezing out sword gang now was a gamble with his life—and the team's.
Chwaaak!
At least he'd diverted the blood laser aimed at Jin So-hui toward himself.
Dozens of trajectories split like shrapnel from a grenade, closing in—he twisted his sword.
Think.
Dozens of ideas flashed and faded in an instant.
Among his arsenal, one thing might work on the vampire.
Hwaruk—!
The sword gang cloaking the Black Flow Sword shifted.
No longer a sharp blade—it rippled into flames, radiating intense heat.
Even a casual swing had vaporized zombies; now it blazed fiercely overhead.
Shisashasak!
Dozens of arcs in a blink wove a seamless barrier before him.
Flawless—no gaps.
Instinctively executed, it blocked every blood tendril, burning them away.
"...Hm?"
One of the vampire's eyebrows twitched as its attack was cleanly nullified.
But no big deal.
They were rats in a trap the moment they entered Death's Land.
So he casually flicked a finger at the charging Kim Sun-woo.
Seogeok—!
"......!"
Blazing pain from its severed arm made its eyes widen.