Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: 069. Vampire Detective
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‘…I couldn’t kill her.’
Moon Ji-hyuk gritted his teeth. In truth, he had tried to snipe Doris with his revolver. He had aimed squarely at the back of her head for a sure kill, but instead, he accidentally stepped on some fallen leaves on the ground, making a rustling noise.
‘I missed the perfect chance.’
Doris had used teleportation to vanish from his sight. Fortunately, she hadn’t gone far, so he could immediately pinpoint her location. Moon Ji-hyuk aimed his revolver at Doris, who was hiding behind a tree.
“Vampire hunter…? No, that reaction speed is more like a vampire.”
Doris had judged whether Moon Ji-hyuk was human or vampire based solely on his reaction speed.
‘They said she’s an executive of Kantra… She’s no ordinary foe.’
Moon Ji-hyuk tensed his body and gripped a knife in his left hand. It was the silver-plated knife he had received from Taker earlier.
“If you’re a vampire, why are you interfering with me? I am Doris Ziegler, the fourteenth pureblood of Kantra. Who are you?”
“I have no reason to give you my name. I’ll be taking the Life Orb.”
Moon Ji-hyuk checked his angles. Even if he couldn’t kill Doris here, he had to secure the Life Orb.
“Such presumptuous greed. Nameless vampire.”
Doris used teleportation to flank Moon Ji-hyuk from behind. He reacted swiftly, swinging his knife toward her, but Doris easily dodged and grabbed both his wrists, slamming him against a tree.
“Urk.”
“This strength… You’re no progenitor. …How do you know about the Life Orb? Who’s backing you…?”
Bang!
Moon Ji-hyuk’s revolver roared. With his wrists twisted to the breaking point, he had forced an angle and pulled the trigger. The silver bullet grazed Doris’s left shoulder.
“Kaaaaah…!”
Doris teleported away from Moon Ji-hyuk. She glared at her left shoulder, frowning.
Silver bullets were fatally toxic to vampires. Even just a graze, and the silver poison was already corroding her flesh. At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to move her left shoulder for at least ten minutes.
‘Who the hell is that guy? Where did the info leak from? Did Kang Wook-seong betray us?’
Her mind raced with complications. She had thought the one tailing her that morning was from the vampire hunters. But it wasn’t them? Then who?
‘No way a mere vampire would know about the Life Orb… or about me. Traitor or new organization, I need to find out.’
An unseen organization. For Kantra’s future, she had to uncover it.
Doris’s expression twisted. The guy was charging blindly toward the Life Flower.
“Ah, no!”
Doris hurriedly teleported in front of Moon Ji-hyuk. She kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying far away.
Moon Ji-hyuk crashed into a tree and rolled across the ground. Doris was a progenitor. Even setting aside her superpowers, their physical abilities were worlds apart.
“You’re a vampire too, so you won’t die even without arms or legs. I’ll recover the Life Flower and then slowly extract the info from you!”
“Hm. I am curious about that young man’s background.”
“Who’s there!”
Doris whipped her head to the right. Someone else was present.
Rustle, rustle. He stepped on the fallen leaves, slowly revealing himself. A man draped in a traditional robe, with a sword at his waist. His attire and weapon didn’t fit the modern era.
“……Baek Sang-gi?”
Doris muttered in disbelief upon seeing him.
“You know me?”
“……I heard from the boss. There’s a monstrous vampire slayer on the Korean Peninsula. But the boss said he must have taken his own life, unable to withstand the passage of time. And yet… you’re still alive.”
“I’m a dying man anyway.”
Baek Sang-gi approached him. Doris pulled a knife from her pocket and hurled it at him. It carried the immense strength of a progenitor.
A sword flashed from Baek Sang-gi’s waist, casually deflecting the knife. As Baek Sang-gi lunged, Doris clicked her tongue and retreated. Baek Sang-gi kept his eyes fixed on Doris while speaking to Moon Ji-hyuk behind her.
“You alright, young man?”
Moon Ji-hyuk leaned against the tree and forced himself to stand. Doris’s single kick had left his entire body aching. A human would have died instantly.
“Who might you be?”
Moon Ji-hyuk asked politely. The man Doris had called a vampire slayer.
“Name’s Baek Sang-gi. I have many questions, but I’ll save them for later and ask just one. What do you intend to do with the Life Orb?”
“……I want to become human again.”
“It’s been a while since I met a young man I like. What’s your name?”
“Moon Ji-hyuk.”
“A fine name. You’ll become human today. Watch from there.”
Baek Sang-gi moved. He had been walking leisurely, but now his legs accelerated into a sprint. Doris bit her lip and glanced at the Life Flower.
‘The second one hasn’t even formed yet.’
She could teleport away with the Life Orb. When it came to escaping, her ability was unmatched.
But she couldn’t settle for just one. How long had she awaited this day? She needed at least two.
Safety or greed.
Doris chose greed.
The curved sword and knife clashed in midair. Repeated metallic rings echoed as orange sparks flew.
Doris held the advantage in physical prowess.
‘Then why am I being pushed back?!’
The difference in combat experience was on another level.
Whenever Doris pressed with strength and speed, Baek Sang-gi’s sword deftly redirected the force. Then, in the opening, his blade would slice into Doris. She managed to react in time, so the cuts weren’t deep. But as time passed, the wounds would accumulate.
Doris was grateful that Baek Sang-gi’s sword wasn’t silver-plated. If it were, she would have had no chance from the start.
“Your left shoulder doesn’t seem to be moving well.”
“Why has a monster like you suddenly shown up? Coveting the Life Flower?”
“I have no interest in the Life Orbs, but as a human, I can’t let them fall to you pureblood scum.”
“More of a monster than a vampire.”
“I’ve heard that one before. It doesn’t faze me.”
Doris swung her knife and immediately teleported.
Appearing behind him mid-swing made it the perfect ambush. However, the sword blocked it again.
“Impossible, how….”
“Pureblood. I know your superpower from watching earlier. If you know it, you can prepare. If you prepare, blocking it is child’s play.”
Bullshit. Even knowing it, that strike was unblockable. Baek Sang-gi had parried Doris’s attack thanks to the immense experience accumulated in his body.
At that moment, Moon Ji-hyuk moved. He had been quietly approaching the Life Flower, but now he broke into a full sprint.
“You bastard!”
Doris bellowed at Moon Ji-hyuk.
“Ignoring me to look elsewhere. How bold.”
Baek Sang-gi’s curved sword sliced through Doris’s left arm. The arm thudded to the ground.
Doris teleported. Her left arm wasn’t the priority now. She appeared above Moon Ji-hyuk, grabbing his head with her right arm and slamming it toward the ground.
“Die! You don’t even know your place!”
As Doris’s right fist descended to crush Moon Ji-hyuk’s skull, Baek Sang-gi leaped in and swung his sword. Doris rolled desperately away.
“Baek Sang-gi!”
“Do I look that laughable, that you can ignore me, pureblood?”
Moon Ji-hyuk planted his palms on the ground and lifted his head. His skin was torn, his nose caved in—his face a mess. His body trembled as he pushed his upper body up.
Ten steps.
The Life Flower was just ten steps away.
“Yes, young man. That’s the spirit. Go take the Life Orb.”
“You bastard! Stop! The Life Flower bears up to four Life Orbs! Don’t you know that?!”
Doris shouted.
Baek Sang-gi clicked his tongue. He wanted to shut her up, but leaving Moon Ji-hyuk’s side would invite Doris to teleport-kill him.
“……Four?”
Moon Ji-hyuk hesitated.
He knew the effects of the Life Orb.
With four, even if he took two, half would remain.
“As an old man, my advice: Greed only brings disaster.”
Baek Sang-gi said.
“……I will become human.”
Moon Ji-hyuk cast aside greed and spoke, and Baek Sang-gi grinned.
“You fool…!”
Doris fumed, gripping a knife in her remaining right hand and eyeing Baek Sang-gi.
Moon Ji-hyuk staggered forward. He drew closer to the Life Flower. Ten steps became five, and five became within arm’s reach.
“Stop! Detective Moon!”
A familiar voice. Taker.
Moon Ji-hyuk felt a flicker of relief and looked toward the voice.
“……!”
There stood Taker—Sung Yu-jin—clamping Yang Jeong-min’s mouth with his left hand and holding a red-bladed dagger to her throat.
“Taker…?!”
Moon Ji-hyuk collapsed to his knees. The unbelievable sight before him made his legs give out. His brain couldn’t process the information.
Why was Taker with Yang Jeong-min? And what was that red sword?
“……That sword. Were you the Red Light?”
Sung Yu-jin looked at Baek Sang-gi.
Then, Sung Yu-jin smirked coldly.
“That’s right. I’m the Red Light.”
To Moon Ji-hyuk, it was like a bolt from the blue.
???
I knew exactly where on Seoraksan Doris would plant the Life Flower, thanks to the original drama.
Three days ago, I had scouted it in advance and confirmed the spot. Not content with that, I even planted a bug under a nearby rock.
I glanced at Yang Jeong-min beside me. She had come straight from leaving work early, still in her police uniform. Not ideal for hiking.
“Ms. Yang Jeong-min. This way.”
Focusing on the bug’s audio through the wireless earpiece in my left ear, I moved with Yang Jeong-min. Timing was everything.
While Moon Ji-hyuk fought Doris, I’d snag the Life Orb. If variables arose, I’d take Yang Jeong-min hostage. No variables? Grab the Life Orb as planned, kill Moon Ji-hyuk, and then have my way with Yang Jeong-min.
But halfway up the mountain, a variable hit. A real, completely unforeseen one.
‘…What the hell. Why is that bastard here?’
I spotted a man climbing the mountain quietly and swiftly. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but the black robe gave him away.
Baek Sang-gi.
A man who appeared fleetingly in the original drama. His total screen time was probably under a minute.
‘He ate a Life Orb 300 years ago, right?’
Rumors said he originally had a decent role, but the idol cast as Baek Sang-gi was so bad at acting that his parts got cut.
‘He really was terrible at acting.’
Legendary vampire hunter of the Korean Peninsula, or something. Honestly, I didn’t know the details. His role was so minor, and there was nothing about him in director or writer interviews.
‘……Shit, something’s gone wrong?’
“Mr. Taker?”
“Ah, Ms. Yang Jeong-min. Sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment. Let’s hurry.”
Combat sounds came through the bug. As expected, Moon Ji-hyuk and Doris were fighting. Now would be the perfect time to step in. But I couldn’t. Baek Sang-gi was lurking nearby.
“Mr. Taker, why’d you stop? We don’t have time to space out. Ji-hyuk is right now… Mmph?!”
I clamped her mouth with my left hand and pressed the blade of the Crimson Lotus Dagger from my inventory to her throat.
“Stay quiet if you don’t want to die.”
“……!”
Yang Jeong-min stared at me in shock. She seemed to realize I was the Red Light from the red blade at her throat. But I had no time to worry about her.
Keeping her mouth covered, I focused on the bug and quietly approached the combat zone.
“You bastard! Stop! The Life Flower bears up to four Life Orbs! Don’t you know that?!”
Doris’s shout rang out. I froze upon hearing it.
“Ha….”
A fact I had no idea about. In the original drama, Moon Ji-hyuk grabs the orb when only one has formed.
‘There was such a setting? Shit. Why didn’t the drama director or writer mention it?’
An unrevealed production detail. A gap I had never considered.
‘Four! Four Life Orbs!’
From afar, I could see Moon Ji-hyuk reaching for the Life Orb, where only one had formed.
‘That idiot!’
I stepped forward. I had no choice.
“Stop! Detective Moon!”