Nun Route? #2
From her attitude, the nun clearly wanted to use me to track down the True Ancestor. So I'd negotiate with her and achieve my own goals in the process.
"Decide, huh... Sister, by any chance?" I asked, feigning concern. "If I turn out to be uncooperative, you won't eliminate me just because I learned about vampires, right?"
"What? I already told you I'm with the Vatican!" The nun snapped, sounding genuinely offended. "Do you think we're some kind of cult? Does the Vatican go around doing things like that? Assassinating civilians? That's ridiculous! We uphold the values of love and peace!"
I already knew her true identity. She was a half-vampire. I'd learned that during the giant incident, and she'd refused to drink blood right up until the moment of her death. Despite the vampire blood flowing through her veins, she was a genuine believer who would jolt awake even in her sleep to reject the urge to feed. Her reaction was only natural. That was exactly why I could trust her.
I poked at her pride, speaking slowly. "Really...? There's no secret Vatican special forces unit that would assassinate me to protect the world's secrets?"
"Your imagination is way too overactive!"
"I hear that a lot."
"Enough. Haah." The nun sighed and rubbed her forehead before waving her hand dismissively. "We don't do that kind of thing, so relax... Anyway, I need to clear up this misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?"
"It's true that vampires and other things exist on the other side of the world. Of course that would be shocking. But doesn't it seem strange that ordinary people don't know about such monsters?"
"Yes... So you're hiding it after all?"
"Stop being so suspicious!" the nun shouted, unable to withstand my doubtful glare. "Fine, yes! We do hide information! There's no benefit in ordinary people finding out! But that doesn't mean we'd assassinate someone over it! We fight vampires to protect people. An organization like ours killing someone just for learning a secret would be completely backwards, wouldn't it?"
She had a point. But those Fake Bureau bastards didn't follow that rule.
"Understood. I'll believe you, so please calm down. Then what exactly am I supposed to do? Honestly, I'm terrified of vampires."
"There are paths people like you usually end up taking."
"What?"
"Either you go mad and become a vampire hunter, check yourself into a mental hospital, or disappear without a trace."
"Excuse me...?"
"In modern society, running into a vampire never ends well. You'll be consumed by fear until you lose your mind. If not that, you'll eventually be hunted down and turned into a ghoul."
"A ghoul...!"
A thrall!
"You don't want that kind of ending, do you?"
"I want to live!"
"Good. I'll tell you how."
Only then did the nun smile. "If you follow my instructions, you'll definitely survive. After all, I'm a specialist at hunting vampires."
"Like Han Se-geon?"
"Yes, well. Like Han Se-geon."
"What about Constantine and Van Helsing?"
"Masterpieces. They're friends who stand shoulder to shoulder with me."
"You know your stuff."
"I've consumed every piece of vampire-related media. Regardless of nationality."
As expected of a professional.
"Now then, you. What's your name?"
"Here's my ID."
I showed her my identification first.
"Kim Geun-hong... Ah, oh dear. That's an unlucky name. Having 'hong' in it is bad."
"Sorry? Why?"
"Hong, as in red. It's connected to blood. That's not good in this world."
"What kind of nonsense is that? A Christian believing in superstitions?!"
"That's just how this world works! This is it!"
Hongik Ingan was supposed to be a good meaning...!
"Spells and meanings all exist here. Anyway. That blonde vampire you encountered. She's an extremely powerful one. Do you know what a True Ancestor is?"
"The progenitor of vampires?"
"See, we understand each other. Yes. Something like that. Anyway, I don't know the true name of the vampire that attacked you, but we call her the 'Red Woman.'"
The Red Woman. It suited Secrem perfectly.
"Is the Red Woman a True Ancestor?"
"More accurately, she's a clone of one."
A clone?
"She's an existence created by a True Ancestor using their own blood. Not by biting people or empowering other vampires, but literally from their own blood."
"How...?"
"How should I put it." The nun explained. According to her, it was created through a wicked ritual. You fill a large vessel with your blood, chant a spell, and a fountain of blood would gush upward to form the shape of the clone.
"Even though she's made of blood, there's no difference between her and a regular vampire. She's an independent being with her own will. That's why she's sometimes treated as the same entity as the True Ancestor and sometimes not. Either way, it doesn't matter. These clones are extremely useful servants to the True Ancestor, but at the same time, they're dangerous elements dreaming of independence. That's why they cause so many incidents."
Ah. So this was Secrem's backstory. Because I'd inherited some memories from the first loop, I knew a fair amount about Secrem, but I'd never known this much detail.
"So the reason the Red Woman is in Korea is because of her desire for independence?"
"It could be. Vampires engage in a lot of political fighting too. She might have revealed herself to build her own faction."
This deduction was probably correct. Secrem had indeed tried to build her own forces. In the end, it all went to hell because of Geha-nak's descent, but... I still needed to confirm that.
"Anyway, if these powerful vampires increase their influence, it will bring about a massive disaster."
"Wait a second." This had always been my question. "I understand that the Red Woman is an extremely powerful vampire. But why was such a formidable being trapped in the subway?"
"Honestly, I'm wondering the same thing."
What am I supposed to do if even you don't know?
"The Red Woman has been in hiding for a while now. I thought she'd either died or gone into hiding, but here we are. I really don't know either. There must be some reason..."
The nun stroked her chin and looked up at the ceiling.
"Could it be the Bureau?"
"The Bureau? What's that?"
She was the one who brought it up first?
"Haah. This is why dealing with newcomers is such a pain. I guess I have to explain everything." The nun began explaining about the Bureau. It was the general knowledge known in this hidden world. Naturally, as a former member, I already knew all of it. However...
"But it's also true that they're a suspicious organization. Or should I say strange, from the very beginning."
The Bureau, from the Vatican's perspective. The nun explained it.
"What...?"
"This is advice. If you ever meet someone who claims to be from the Bureau, never trust them. You never know what might happen."
"What exactly do you mean?"
"I understand they're an organization that protects humans from unholy things, but what they're protecting is humanity, not individual humans. They're the kind of organization that can dispose of a person's life whenever they please."
"..."
Was she talking about the Fake Bureau? In the end, even the Vatican didn't seem to know the difference between the real Bureau and the fake one.
"Now that you're involved in this, you have no choice but to live in hiding. If you show yourself too much, you'll fall under the Bureau's surveillance."
"..."
"But if you just sit around doing nothing, the Red Woman will definitely come after you."
I already knew that.
"The True Ancestor's clones are extremely arrogant. They're practically right below the True Ancestor in rank. If beings like that were defeated by an ordinary person, they absolutely won't let it slide."
Even if it was just a surprise attack, if I got punched by some neighborhood kid and went down, I wouldn't forget that grudge either. I'd want revenge no matter what.
"Huu... I know. That's why I prepared various things, thinking I'd be targeted for revenge."
"Still, don't worry too much. You met me, didn't you? Besides, something about this is strange no matter how you look at it."
"What is?"
"The Red Woman. She must be in a weakened state. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been defeated like that."
"Well... I thought the same thing."
Since neither of us knew why a clone of a True Ancestor had been trapped in the subway, we moved on. But being trapped wasn't enough—she'd also been affected by my garlic attack, so she was definitely weakened.
"Now, here's a question. What do you need to do to live without worry?"
"Kill the Red Woman...?"
"Bingo." The nun smiled. "Shall we catch her together?"
"Excuse me?"
"The Red Woman will definitely come looking for you. That means we don't need to search for her. Thankfully. Tracking is the hardest thing in the world, but now we don't have to."
Wait.
"Wait a second, Sister? Does that mean... you're going to use me as bait?"
"You like Han Se-geon, right, Kim Geun-hong? I'm a specialist on Han Se-geon's level. The vampires I've caught and killed could line up around the Earth in a single file."
"No! Do you really think I'd fall for that?!"
This crazy woman was trying to use a person as bait!
"I told you not to worry. The Red Woman is definitely weakened. And in that situation, you have me, who stands shoulder to shoulder with Constantine, Van Helsing, and Han Se-geon? This is basically a guaranteed clear, isn't it? Do you want to live in fear for the rest of your life? Aren't you worried right now that a vampire might come for you? You want revenge on that monster!"
Before I knew it, the nun had stood up and begun radiating light, creating a sacred appearance. Just as I'd acted naive to get on the nun route, she was also acting to use me as bait!
"Come on! Let's become Han Se-geon together! I'll even provide you with firearms! Just say the word!"
The nun extended her hand toward me. Her appearance looked incredibly holy, but her eyes were brimming with madness. This woman wasn't normal either...!
"Get a hold of yourself! How is a civilian like me supposed to lure a vampire? It's too dangerous! A priest trying to use a civilian as a combatant—does that even make sense?"
"You've already stepped into this mad moon world. Whether you like it or not, you have to deal with it."
She kept saying that!
"No, forget everything else! Is it really just the two of us? Can't the Vatican request reinforcements from the Swiss Guard?"
"You want to see the Swiss Guard fighting with halberds in Korea?"
"Of course I'd want to see that."
It'd look badass!
"The authorities don't like it."
"Do you care about the authorities? Didn't you get government approval or something?"
"Europe was fine, but Korea wasn't."
"Why!"
"Korea isn't part of the EU."
That was the reason!
"Don't worry. Of course I have backup. You don't think I'd go after something like that alone, do you?"
"Backup...?"
"There are crusaders who fight against demons."
Was she talking about the ones summoned by the church?
"Besides, how many churches are there in Korea? There are plenty of people who'd want to hunt down and kill a vampire. So let's go together! Into the mad moon world!"
She kept insisting we go to the mad moon world together, and it was driving me insane. However...
When someone suggested going to the mad moon world, there was no man who could refuse.
I'd been acting surprised, but in reality, I was calmly calculating in my head. First, what I needed to figure out was whether Geha-nak would descend in this loop or not. If he did, we were all screwed. I had to deal with it somehow. That meant I had to go to that city occupied by the cultists. Naturally, Secrem might find me in the process, and if Geha-nak descended, she might find me while running away. Either way, if I went there, Secrem would definitely discover me. In that case, I needed a bodyguard. The nun would make an excellent one.
Alright. Let's do this.
"Understood. Let's give it a try—into the mad moon world."
"Great! From today onward, we're allies!"
The nun and I looked at each other.
—Smack!
We executed a slam dunk high-five just like that.