Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Jahad's Bloodline
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"Did that guy just say Jahad?"
Jin's eyes narrowed.
Right now, his sparkling bioelectricity lit up the surroundings in a vivid purple.
Even with some visibility secured, he still couldn't make out the opponent's shape lurking beyond the darkness.
All he got was that horribly grating voice drilling into his ears once more.
"Jahad—"
The word stabbed in even more clearly.
Jahad. Definitely Jahad.
No way—was it recognizing his bioelectricity?
Jin's mind raced.
Alright, let's assume the mercenary was telling the truth.
Something had awakened in the underground ruins,
and that something was the bastard standing before him right now?
A thousand-year-old ancient casually dropping the name Jahad.
...What the hell did that mean?
A flicker of concern crossed Jin's face.
Even as he pondered, his lips kept twitching.
Jin's specialty. His secret weapon.
The [Only sell Jahad's name when you're at a disadvantage] strategy was on the verge of bursting out like a sneeze.
Think about it.
The Age of Light and Roses was feudal.
A rigid class system was in full swing back then.
The status of the Seven Families?
No idea exactly, but untouchable. Absolute overlords.
To regular folk in their domain, they were no different from kings or patriarchs.
Got it! Nailed the intent.
His exam-honed analytical senses flashed brilliantly,
and in the next moment, Jin called out toward the front.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm Jin Jahad. The heir."
A master actor through and through.
Not a single waver in his eyes or tone.
As Maximo and Natasha flinched at the soul-infused bluff,
a slow response drifted back from the darkness.
"Jahad n’gha notog yett liveth."
"...What the hell was that?"
As Jin scowled at the incomprehensible tongue,
Splash.
Wet footsteps accompanied the emergence of a pale bare foot at the fuzzy edge of the gloom.
The next instant, Jin's eyes locked onto a gaunt, bald figure with blood smeared across his face.
He looked like a mountain corpse at first glance, but those red eyes fixed on them gleamed with an eerie luster—
As Jin met that hypnotic stare, visions unfurled before him: a blood-soaked wasteland, brick walls exhaling nightmarish memories, a mound of pale corpses under ashen skies, the chill reek of rot.
And twin trails of blood tears streaming down their cheeks.
"......"
Jin shook off the grotesque synesthesia and gripped Gravis with his right hand.
The man parted his parched lips.
"...Offspring of the sinner. How much false peace remains?"
Finally, words he could understand—but that was it.
Jin tilted his head at the vague ramble,
scratching the back of his skull with his left hand.
"I have no idea what you're on ab—"
Bang—!!
Gravis roared.
Pretended to talk, then fired on the spot!
Dirty trick?
No such thing as dirty in a fight!
Jin hammered the trigger repeatedly.
The man's head snapped back, his body convulsing like it was caught in an earthquake. Off-balance, he toppled to the floor.
Click, click—
The resistance in his index finger faded.
As Jin swiftly reloaded the freshly emptied magazine,
"...Got him?"
A magic incantation echoed from over his shoulder, and the fallen body shattered into thousands of fragments.
Black wings unfurled as they took to the air—bats.
"Maximo! You prick!"
Jin spat venomously, prompting a startled yelp from the black-haired man.
"My fault?!"
Maximo might've felt wronged, but he deserved the chew-out.
The bat swarm was blotting out the world.
Why'd you have to invoke the cliché!
"Incoming!"
Natasha bellowed, blasting her shotgun.
Buckshot shredded the bats, sending chunks raining down.
She racked the fore-end and fired again.
Bang!!
More plummeted. But there were too damn many.
Like with the corpses earlier, a pump-action shotgun capped at four or five shells couldn't handle this horde.
So she hollered.
"Maximo!"
"Shit! Catch!"
The black-haired guy rummaged his bag and hurled a rifle her way—
Natasha snatched it midair and hosed bullets everywhere.
"Uwaaaak! Aaaak!"
The mercenary finally snapped, clamping his ears and shrieking.
Meanwhile, the downed bats dissolved into a puddle of gore and pooled together.
A man rose from the fresh blood.
Leaving bloody footprints like ink stamps, his gaze fixed on Jin, who was spreading his bioelectricity wide to incinerate the bats.
Jin glared back, brows furrowed.
"Bats and blood? You're a vampire?"
A thousand-year ancient that should've stayed buried.
A long-extinct heterorace stood before him.
"Too fine to drain. I'll make you kin."
The man raised a hand.
Curled his five fingers, then snapped them open. Blood sprayed from his dripping palm.
Jin reflexively leaped back.
And—
Kwaaaang!!!
Shockwave erupted, blood reek billowed,
dust poured from the quaking cavern ceiling.
Jin had dodged the blast, but no time to breathe.
Bats pierced the blood mist, forming a human shape that thrust its arms back.
Bang!!
Exploding its own arms for thrust, it whipped a leg up.
Jin crossed his arms to block the mad strike.
But the leg detonated.
Scorching blast hurled him sliding back. He gritted his teeth.
His arms were drenched in blood instantly. Good—it hurt. Nerves intact.
In that moment, his eyes caught the vampire regenerating its mangled limbs.
He tried to Blink in for the kill, but nope.
Unlike Killgit's black flames scrambling coordinates,
blood mist was the issue here.
The thick crimson vapor blanketing everything acted like a barrier, blocking any teleport.
Jin kicked off the floor in a panic.
His fist whistled through empty air, smashing the vampire's face.
A drum-like thud, blood geysered.
Huge impact, yet the caved-in face just leered.
"Got a knack for scraps? Fine. I'll play your game."
Next instant, a blood-wrapped fist hammered Jin's gut.
Shock rippled through his core.
But Jin chewed it with raw grit and drove an uppercut into the vampire's jaw.
His eyes blazed.
Close-quarters? He'd only ever been pushed by Taha.
No way he'd let some fool invade his turf unchallenged.
He locked the neck with interlaced hands, yanked close, and smashed an elbow into the jaw.
Recrossed fingers, clamped the nape.
Knee to the gut.
Yanked the crumbling head in, knee again!
The cycle of brutality flowed.
Clinch control—head manipulated, center of gravity dragged inward.
Muay Thai's flower: the clinch.
Of course, Jin wasn't Muay Thai. No formal striking background.
Just a casual UFC fan catching the odd numbered event.
But his physicality had transcended human limits long ago.
Motor skills had ascended to superhuman heights through relentless training, letting him ape pro techniques effortlessly.
And these moves were sharpening in endless scraps, finding their groove.
His own style taking shape.
As trance-state Jin pummeled away, his mind flashed a colossal timeline bridging two worlds.
"Impressive."
A low chuckle warped Jin's nose bridge.
Consciousness yanked back to reality. searing agony.
Slowly glancing down revealed a hand buried in his flank.
Deep. Way deep.
Peritoneum on the verge of shredding—a bit farther and it'd snag organs direct.
Even for Jin, that'd be dicey.
Optimal call: release the grip now, create distance.
Buy time till the hole healed.
Fuck that!
Jin yanked the arm viciously instead.
Then whipped his head back into the foe's face!
Crack!
"You! Motherfu—!"
Saw something, and it cuts here?!
Rage surged white-hot.
Thus began the mutual slaughter brawl.
Polished: The best defense is a good offense.
Abs clenched iron-tight to stall the invading hand, clinch unbreakable, distance breath-close, unleashing kill shots.
Unyielding resolve to end it here fueled fiercer bioelectricity.
But the bastard wouldn't drop.
Shattering, cracking, pulping—yet absorbing blood mist and bats to hold form, that hand tore the peritoneum and gouged forbidden depths.
Left the gut-piercing hand, dispersed the rest into bats.
"You...!"
Reeling, Jin unleashed bioelectricity with bloodshot eyes.
Some bats ignited mid-flight in the savage arcs, but the rest regrouped at a distance, reforming.
Right behind Natasha.
She sensed it, whipping around—
"Hup!"
Maximo barreled in, swinging his bag wildly to swat the vampire.
It staggered, arm slicing harmlessly through air.
Natasha dumped her remaining rounds into it ASAP.
She backpedaled, body quaking.
Not terror. Not pain.
Her stoic face doubled for a split second, then split into two Natashas bolting apart.
One hoisted floor-bound Jin onto her back,
the other sprinted to explosion-tumbled Maximo, snagging the shotgun en route.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Insane barrage pinned the vampire.
Undeterred, she yanked shell-shaped cartridges from her belt and reloaded.
Rhythmic thunder resumed beyond, as dazed Maximo staggered up.
Cough cough. He dug out a grenade like a shrunken drum barrel, yanked the pin.
Siiiizzz!!!!
Sparks jetted wildly—he hurled it with all he had.
The spinning grenade smacked the vampire, erupting flames.
"Now! Run!"
Maximo hauled the downed mercenary upright.
"Brat! Wanna live? Run!"
Natasha emptied her final rounds into the inferno-wrapped vampire, retreating before sprinting to link with the group.
"You're a clone user?! Ain't that a super-rare superpower?!"
Maximo blurted; Shotgun Natasha scowled.
"That what matters right now?!"
And so the frantic retreat began.
No clue which way was which.
Kieeeek!!!
Worse: corpses lunged from every direction.
"Maximo! Any 12-gauge shells!"
"On it?!"
"Hurry!"
"Dammit! Hold up!"
Chaos reigned.
Jin, piggybacked on Natasha No. 1, just gnashed his teeth.
He needed to get up now.
But his body wouldn't obey.
Tinnitus rang, vision layered everything three, four times over.
Brain fried already—then the status window popped up.
Jin muttered faintly.
"Too dark... can't see... you bastard......"