A Clash of Egos and a Crimson Palace

Heuk-heuk, who had been grinning in sheer relief after throwing the eyesore Golgol-i away, was thrown into a panic when something suddenly lunged at him from the darkness.

Why aren't those bastards chasing Golgol-i? Why are they coming after me?

The answer came almost instantly. Golgol-i was charging right back at Heuk-heuk, riding atop a Giant Vampiric Bat.

"You black lizard bastard! How dare you throw me?!"

"Are you insane?! This is a direct violation of orders!"

"Violation of what?! My orders were to draw their attention. Killing you still counts as drawing attention!"

A murderous flurry of slashes! With sharp, whistling swooshes, Golgol-i's blade sliced through the darkness.

Screeech!

The Giant Vampiric Bat seemed to have taken a liking to Golgol-i, even bestowing a buff upon him. Thanks to that, Heuk-heuk was the only one suffering.

Whoosh!

Heuk-heuk quickly deployed a magical smoke screen, executing a rapid mid-air maneuver to dodge the incoming strikes, and tried to reason with Golgol-i.

"I'm going to tell Master exactly what you did!"

"Ugh... G-go ahead and tell him! You threw me first! My conscience is clear!"

Golgol-i flinched for a split second but ultimately ignored Heuk-heuk's threat. That bastard was the one who threw him first!

"You incredibly stubborn, disobedient undead!"

"That's my line, you filthy lizard!"

At this point, Heuk-heuk couldn't afford to back down either. Casting aside his fear of being discovered, he began unleashing his fire magic and Sadiq's Authority skills.

Fwoosh!

The brilliant flames of Sadiq began to pierce through the thick, heavy darkness.

"Uh... aren't they drawing a bit too much attention?"

"Right? That idiot Heuk-heuk. He's totally overdoing it for no reason."

Watching the distant flashes of fire and the growing din of battle, Tae-hyun and Ed-an quietly slipped down. They had absolutely no idea that Golgol-i and Heuk-heuk were currently tearing into each other!

"Well, they've certainly drawn all the attention. I don't see any magic beasts around here."

Tap.

The two successfully made a quiet landing. The capital used to be brightly lit even at night, but ever since the Salavian Church took over, a magical fog rolled in after dusk, leaving everything in a hazy, dim shroud.

A magical fog that granted additional bonuses to vampires! It was so thick that discerning their surroundings was a challenge.

"Fufu. Lord Tae-hyun. It seems the time has finally come for me to show you my true skills."

"Can't you just shut up and be quiet?"

"Yes, sir..."

Rebuked, Ed-an slumped his shoulders and prepared to activate his stealth.

!

Tae-hyun had invested points into an Advanced Stealth skill himself. It was rare for someone who wasn't a Thief class to have an advanced stealth skill. Yet, for Ed-an to grant him an additional bonus on top of that...

Ed-an undoubtedly possessed a stealth skill at the Master rank or higher.

He really is impressive in his own way.

Though he was usually a hyperactive chatterbox, Ed-an was indeed an outstanding thief. This was especially true when recalling his past exploits.

"Fufu. What do you think? I am nothing like that fool Pelmas..."

The only problem was that he constantly lost points the moment he opened his mouth!

Because this bastard keeps acting like this, I end up getting the wrong idea too...

Listening to him talk, he sounded less like a Great Thief and more like an NPC pretending to be one!

"Eek!"

"!"

As they rounded a corner, a massive magic beast loomed in the street. It was a serpentine magic beast of Salabian!

"Fufu. Lord Tae-hyun..."

Oh? He's not running away?

Tae-hyun was surprised to see Ed-an standing his ground instead of fleeing. Normally, running away would be his default response.

"...My body won't move..."

"..."

Tae-hyun let out a sigh and slowly crept up behind the magic beast.

Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike...

It wasn't time to cause a massive scene in the capital yet. It was best to proceed quietly until they breached the royal palace. In that case, he had to aim for a single, decisive blow!

Thwack!

Screeech...

"!"

The magic beast didn't go down in a single blow.

I thought that would be enough?

He had approached from behind under stealth, stacked various buffs, and struck with everything he had. Yet it survived.

Even so, Tae-hyun didn't panic. His body instantly prepared for the next attack.

Archisus Swordsmanship!

As the next weakness was exposed, Tae-hyun's sword struck it in a fluid, seamless motion.

Crash!

Only then did the magic beast of Salabian collapse.

Tae-hyun quickly dragged the magic beast to the side and began dismantling it. He had developed a habit of immediately harvesting materials whenever he saw a magic beast.

"L-Lord Tae-hyun, shouldn't we keep moving?"

"Hold on. Let me grab this first."

"What are you even going to use that for?! We have to move! Have you picked up some bizarre habit like those Orcs?!"

"...!"

A direct hit to the solar plexus from Ed-an! Tae-hyun staggered.

Am I really that bad?

N-No way. I'm still better than those old men... right?

After finishing the harvest, Tae-hyun started moving again. Thanks to his Advanced Cooking skill, the dismantling process was over in the blink of an eye. With his wide array of skills, Tae-hyun could adapt to almost any situation.

By the way, it feels like Salabian's magic beasts have exceptionally high HP. Is high Constitution a trait of their church?

He had expected his initial strike to be enough, but it had survived. He had a bad feeling about this.

Every church had its own unique characteristics. Archisus was luck, Sadiq was fire...

He knew the Salavian Church was a cult of fallen vampires, but their specific trait was still somewhat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ambiguous. Blood?

If it's blood, then their HP would naturally be incredibly high...

"This way."

Swish—

The two dashed through the fog-shrouded streets, heading straight for the royal palace. They would raid the place and slip away before dawn!

"...!"

Arriving in front of the palace, the two froze in their tracks.

The royal palace was dyed a deep, bloody crimson, looking as if it were engulfed in flames.

Screeech, screech...

Salavian magic beasts were prowling all around the palace, and the system warned of powerful magic inside.

"L-Lord Tae-hyun, it's not like we absolutely have to grab the treasure right this second, is it?"

Ed-an, clearly terrified, tried to persuade Tae-hyun to turn back. However, Tae-hyun couldn't bring himself to walk away so easily.

For them to set up such a powerful magical barrier...

It meant there was definitely something incredibly valuable inside!

The tighter the security, the more expensive the treasure. This was a golden rule he had learned ever since the days of Pan-On 1.

If he could break in and steal it, it would be a massive jackpot!

"...!"

Even the Salavian Church wouldn't have anticipated this. Carbanog was practically an encyclopedia when it came to anything related to the gods!

It drains HP?

Tae-hyun found himself in a tight spot. He could handle other things, but HP drain was extremely dangerous. Compared to other rankers, Tae-hyun's total HP was absolutely abysmal.

Due to his Avatar of Archisus class characteristics and his relentless grinding, his stats and skills were top-tier, but his raw HP and MP pools were naturally limited.

He was only strong because he could cover that weakness with his exceptional control and skills...

But there was no way to counter a passive, unavoidable drain.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Now that is a great idea."

"...Master..."

"Sorry, Yong-yong. Just go in and out as quickly as possible."

"I hate Carbanog..."

"Me too..."

Yong-yong and Ed-an muttered under their breath.

"Intruder! Intruder!"

"How dare a filthy Black Dragon violate this place!"

"We shall capture you and drain every drop of your blood!"

I'm going to lose my mind, seriously!

Heuk-heuk took to the skies, fighting back tears. He was only supposed to cause a minor distraction, but because he and Golgol-i had failed to coordinate, the commotion was spiraling out of control.

Now, vampire warriors riding bats and ghosts were beginning to swarm the area.

Unlike the mindless magic beasts, the warriors of the Salavian Church actually possessed intelligence. This made things several times harder than when he was just dealing with beasts!

"Surround him! Don't let him escape!"

"Cast a curse on him to restrict his movements!"

"In the name of the Death Knights, I shall strike him down!"

"Wait... who are you?"

The fallen vampire warriors, who had been shouting excitedly, suddenly realized something was off. There was a Death Knight among them that they didn't recognize!

Judging by how he was attacking the intruder, he seemed to be an ally, but had they always had an undead like him?

"...I-I am on your side."

Only then did Golgol-i regain his senses. Ah, right. I'm supposed to be on the other side!

Because he had been so focused on chasing Heuk-heuk, he had unconsciously assumed he was part of their group.

Fortunately, his attitude had been so natural that the vampires didn't seem to suspect him.

"A Death Knight? Who summoned you?"

"Indeed. Who summoned you, Death Knight?"

"Uh..."

Golgol-i racked his brain. There was only one name he had heard of that would work here. Ah, whatever!

"L-Lord Dominic did..."

"What?! Lord Dominic?!"

Did I blow it?!

"Ah, forgive me. I failed to recognize such an esteemed guest and acted insolently. My apologies. Please do not mention this to Lord Dominic."

The vampires immediately bowed their heads in apology!

"??"

Tae-hyun, who was waiting after sending Yong-yong and Ed-an inside, was left utterly bewildered by the sudden influx of system messages.

Why all of a sudden? No, more importantly, what on earth did Golgol-i do after being sent to draw attention that allowed him to deceive the vampires?

Well, seeing as he successfully tricked them, it didn't seem like a bad situation...

"Just what is that Black Dragon's deal?"

The vampires gnashed their teeth as they watched Heuk-heuk make a hasty retreat. Golgol-i spoke in a solemn, authoritative voice.

"From what I know, that beast belongs to Sadiq."

"Sadiq!"

"That barbaric, violent, and filthy god!"

"Didn't they go ruin? I heard their church was completely destroyed."

"No. I hear an Apostle has appeared in the Erangs Kingdom."

"An Apostle? How formidable. We must also hasten to summon Lord Salabian..."

The vampires babbled amongst themselves.

"You are truly impressive, Death Knight. As expected of one summoned by Lord Dominic."

"I-It is nothing."

"What orders did Lord Dominic give you?"

"Uh... He... He ordered me to guard the royal palace."

"But you came all the way out here?! Why are you here?!"

The vampires questioned Golgol-i in surprise. Golgol-i was startled but stood his ground.

"Because... because you lot were failing to do your jobs properly! That is why I came! To think you couldn't even handle a single intruder."

"Ugh..."

"You speak the truth, Death Knight! Hurry back to your post. We will make sure to capture that beast and restore our honor."

"U-Understood."

Golgol-i nodded. Being able to walk right into the palace with his head held high... was this actually a massive success?

"Alright, shall we go..."

"Hey!"

"?"

Golgol-i called out to the vampires as they prepared to take flight once more. The vampires tilted their heads in confusion.

"What is it?"

"Do not dare give up! Chase him to the very end! For the sake of your honor!"

"...We already know that! Of course we will!"

Whoosh!

Heuk-heuk, who had been resting in the distance, gasped in horror as he saw the vampires flying right back toward him.

"Are you kidding me?! Why are they still chasing me when I'm not even trying to break in?! Can't they just let it go already?!"

Heuk-heuk flapped his wings frantically and began to flee once more. Since they were guards defending the city, he had assumed they would stop chasing after a certain distance, but they were pursuing him as if they had lost their minds.

"Ugh... my health..."

"Hang in there, thief."

"M-My name is Ed-an..."

"Did you not enjoy being called a thief? You always introduce yourself as one..."

"Great Thief! Great Thief! I am a Great Thief, not a common thief!"

"Ah. I see. Great thief-man."

"..."

Ed-an gave ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up on arguing. He felt utterly exhausted, as if his life force was being constantly drained inside this building.

"I need to drink a potion before we go any further."