Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: I'm Ugly
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[Just wearing it exudes an ominous aura. Wrap your entire body in the robe, and you can slip into the shadows.]
Thanks to the enhanced Reaper's Robe, I sliced off the vampire's head with ease. Now I can trigger [Bonus: Ambush] anytime I want. Doesn't that mean I can take down any small fry? Me?
"You okay?"
Sophia nodded at my question. But her expression looked off somehow—the cause was probably...
"Sophia. What did you just say? You're not seriously taking that bastard's words—"
"Hey. Shut up."
Crunch!
I stomped on the guy's head with my foot. This bastard, that bastard, let Sophia go, blah blah. Ignoring every word I heard, I looked at Sophia.
"Kill him."
"Huh?"
"It's fine to kill him. He's a vampire anyway. Not even an upper one—a lesser one. Even if he survives here, he'll just go around sucking other people's blood like a criminal."
"Even so—"
I cut off Sophia's words with a hand gesture. Letting scum like this live would just mean they'd come back for revenge later and make things annoying.
"It's fine to kill him. He's not human."
Understanding what I meant, Sophia slowly nodded.
Sophia was a vampire herself, so she was choosing her words carefully, but she wouldn't get expelled from human society for killing vampires.
On the contrary, she'd be praised for saving people—nothing like the opposite would happen.
"Wait, Sophia. Just a sec!!"
Splat—!!!
A different sound from when I stomped. His head completely crushed, sending chunks of flesh flying through the air.
"Urk."
At the grotesque sight, I turned my head away but felt relieved all the same.
The progenitor hadn't come for Sophia. She wasn't the target.
Which meant the mist from earlier had the progenitor in it—
God, I really don't want to deal with this.
"Sophia. I have to go. You go around taking down the apostles."
"You're heading to the progenitor."
Damn, she catches on quick. Honestly, I want to run too. If it weren't for Raphael and Isia, I'd have bolted already.
Raphael vanished with Isia, so I came here, but while Isia might be fine, Raphael has no combat ability.
If I don't save her, she'll die. She can't even bring out her wings yet.
"I'll come with you."
At those words, I tilted my head.
"Are you crazy? Why would you go?"
"I have to kill it."
She's lost it. Going to meet the progenitor when she's been hiding from it her whole life. I was too dumbfounded to speak properly, but I chose my words carefully.
"Let me be clear: it's not here because of you. That's just your delusion, so stay put. If it was because of you, it would've come straight to you."
She mumbled something like "That's true, but..." As she did, I wrapped myself in the robe. I felt my body vanishing into the shadows and saw Sophia's panicked face.
"H-Hey, where are you going?! Take me with you!!"
"Sophia. Kill the apostles. Don't hesitate. Leaving them alive just causes more harm. You know they're different from the lesser vampire we just killed—they've completely lost their intelligence. Letting them live is torture for them. Kill them without fail."
With that, I melted fully into the darkness. Arguing more wouldn't end well, so I bailed. The progenitor can't sense others of its kind anyway. Even if it tries to sense through the mist, the apostles everywhere will interfere.
"Lee Seong-hoon!!!!"
"It called me master."
"And you still answer."
If Sophia met another progenitor, all that'd be left was her turning dark. I hate that future with a passion. It'd kill me first, since I'm nearby.
"Just in case you get weird ideas, if you think of yourself as human, you can live as one fully. I'll handle the progenitor, so hunt apostles and wait for your master."
So I'll make sure she can't get any weird ideas. Let her cool her head while killing apostles.
With that, I fully vanished into the darkness.
I talked a big game, but honestly, I'm scared shitless. No way I can beat a progenitor—odds are I'll die.
But the reason I'm going anyway is simple.
"Time to go save that damn angel."
I don't have to fight. Just rescue her and run.
[Affirmative, meow. Head straight, meow.]
Even in pitch-black darkness where I can't see an inch ahead, I can charge straight toward the mist.
—Vampire..? What the hell is that? Sucking blood..? Sorry, I have stuff to do at home!!
—You monster!! Get lost!! Don't you ever come near our house again!!
—Thanks for being honest. But sorry. I'd appreciate it if you left before I call a hero.
"If you want to be human, you should be able to live as one."
Sophia walked the streets with a hollow laugh. Screams echoed here and there, and apostles who seemed to recognize her bowed their heads.
No intelligence, but instinctively recognizing the progenitor, maybe.
They moved out of her way.
"I don't like that."
But Sophia didn't like it. Every time she passed, apostles burst like bubbles.
Collapsing while spewing blood. Magic using Chant Burst.
And still, Sophia didn't stop thinking.
Her life had always been like this. Chased out everywhere just for being a vampire, persecuted, clinging to any straw, only to be chased again.
Then she came here. This place was her last bastion.
—Shall we leave?
When she was first found out, she really thought it was over.
—Vampires are a race too, right?!
—I swear on the name of the dragon.
—If you think you're human, you can live as one.
Life really is unpredictable. For the first time, her vampire nature was discovered without her revealing it herself.
And for the first time, she met a human who understood vampires.
Lee Seong-hoon. That man treated her no differently even knowing she was a vampire. Got mad the same way, got annoyed the same way, smiled the same way.
As if she were just another human. It made her a tiny bit—just a tiny bit—happy.
But seeing him head off to fight the progenitor for her sake felt a little strange.
Why go that far? she wondered.
What made her worth that much?
He could just tell the Justitia faculty 'Sophia's a vampire' and be done with it.
Why go that far?
It didn't make sense. He was a man she couldn't understand from the start.
Lazy usually, bossing people around, always talking about money, personality, crazy shit—yet in danger, he was the most reliable—
"What do you mean 'I'll handle the progenitor'."
Boom—!!!! Apostles exploded. The person she saved just before thanked her, but Sophia just kept walking.
"What do you mean 'wait and trust your master'."
She thought trust was a luxury. Even the kids she thought were friends, the man who took her in, the uncle who laughed heartily and treated her well.
All betrayed her.
Yet somehow, the thought "If it's Lee Seong-hoon..." lingered in her mind.
The pillar of light from the wraith incident flickered, the dragon's eyes from the clubroom came to mind.
All chilling memories, but for some reason, if it's Lee Seong-hoon—
"I guess I have to trust him."
Once she decided to trust, doing it twice wouldn't be hard. Sophia forced a smile.
"Ugh. What is this?! Seong-hoon?! This place—"
Raphael looked around frantically, naturally searching for Lee Seong-hoon before freezing.
The reason was simple.
Lee Seong-hoon wasn't there. All she saw was rippling darkness and an oddly bright surroundings.
"This feels familiar from somewhere."
"Vampire."
"Kyaa?! Isia?! You scared me!! Warn me before you speak!!"
Raphael jumped in surprise. Her eyes nearly popped out—would she be okay? Isia tilted her head and stood beside Raphael.
"We're inside a vampire's stomach. We got caught last time, remember?"
"Ah, right."
Raphael smacked her palm as if it just clicked, then looked around again.
"How do we get out? No Seong-hoon here?"
"Is Lee Seong-hoon Doraemon or something? Gonna solve everything? We'll get out on our own."
"We call him Seong-hoonemon. He does solve everything, though."
"...."
Isia had nothing to say. Experiencing a vampire's stomach twice now—what if the Mana Eye gets us again? While thinking how to escape, she pondered.
There was only one way out of a vampire's stomach.
Kill the one who made this mist. That's how they escaped last time.
"Be careful of the Mana Eye. Now we know it's a vampire. Never meet its eyes. If you do, close them immediately."
"Okay~"
She answers well. Isia gave Raphael a distrustful glance before scanning the surroundings.
"Shouldn't we move?"
"Move where?"
"Hm. No idea? Better than standing still, right?"
"Moving won't help. To escape, we have to kill the one who spread this mist."
Then staying put is best. Vampires have an instinct to suck the blood of beauties.
Thinking of herself as a beauty was iffy, but she was fairly pretty, and with the prettiest person she'd seen so far beside her.
The vampire would definitely come here. Best to wait—that thought answered itself with a sound.
Clack. Clack.
At the sound coming from afar, Isia pulled Raphael behind her and took a battle stance.
A silhouette appeared.
A woman. Her figure unmistakably feminine even through her clothes.
Red hair swaying, eyes glowing even from a distance.
She drew closer.
Clack. Clack.
The heel sounds grew louder, Isia's heart pounding warnings. Then a voice joined.
An elegant voice.
"Sis. You have the pendant, huh."
"Sis?"
Isia tilted her head, and Raphael peeked out from behind.
"Me?"
"Yeah. But why aren't you with Lee Seong-hoon? I gave it to you assuming you'd always be together. Kinda feels like betrayal."
The woman looked older to anyone, calling her sis repeatedly—Isia suffered cognitive dissonance, question marks popping over her head.
"Sigh. Guess I have to go find him again. Love is such a pain."
Every word was incomprehensible. Raphael tilted her head too.
Finally, the woman approached fully, her face visible. She walked up disappointed, hands on hips.
"Sis. If you have the pendant, you should've been with Lee Seong-hoon."
"Seong-hoon? He was with us?"
Ah, my mistake then? The woman's face brightened into a big smile.
"But why keep calling me sis?! We just met?!"
"No, look closely."
"Hmm?!"
Raphael stared piercingly at her face, then yelled "Ahh—!!" and jumped in front of Isia.
"Silvia!?"
"Yeah."
The blonde jumped happily as if thrilled, and Silvia smiled and waved back.
"Isia! She's not an enemy! Her name's Silvia—how'd she grow so much already?! Anyway—"
Raphael's words cut off. Silvia grabbed her neck, lifting her into the air.
Isia couldn't react to the sudden event. She just broke into cold sweat, frozen.
"Sis. Can't read the situation? No sense, huh. If I suddenly grew, you should've suspected first."
"S-Silvia? This is a joke, right? What's going on?!"
"Still don't get it."
Silvia smiled, sharp fangs glinting. Finally grasping it, Raphael's face turned pale blue.
"You tricked me!! You trash!!"
"Tricked person's fault. Lee Seong-hoon would've said that."
"How do you—?!"
Of course. Silvia smiled innocently and opened her mouth.
"I-I'm not tasty!! Even if you eat me, I taste like nothing—!!!"
"Gotta taste to know. But from experience, beauties all taste good. Especially sis—you're a total beauty."
"That's true, but no? I'm ugly!! Uglier than Seong-hoon!!"
Raphael flailed, but Silvia held her steady with one hand, unmoved. And that expression?
Ecstatic, like someone facing a five-star hotel dish.
"I wonder what face Lee Seong-hoon will make if I kill sis? You're close. Always together. Oh, what if he charges in? I'm getting excited already."
She's insane! Raphael flailed in shock. She tried spreading wings, but only blue spears appeared.
Am I gonna die like this—? As that thought hit, sudden buoyancy enveloped Raphael.
Silvia had released her and leaped back.
A shadow loomed over Raphael as she fell on her butt in pain.
"Another sis interrupting."
Isia stood blocking between Raphael and Silvia.