Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Transformation
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Dazed...
I was currently spacing out, hugging my knees as I sat and stared into the fire.
Just how hard could it be to burn down a single wooden house?
Fire is difficult to start, but once it catches, it burns well on its own as long as you keep feeding it fuel.
Pour a little oil on the foundation pillars and light it with a match, and a mansion made entirely of wood will serve as its own kindling.
[Level Up! Check your status!]
[Level Up! Check your status!]
The occasional level-up notification popped up, which meant the vampires inside were dying off one by one.
Though mostly drowned out by the roar of the flames, I could faintly hear screams coming from within.
Being burned alive is the most excruciating pain a person can endure.
And that applies just as much to vampires as it does to humans.
The vampires in this world don't have the weakness of bursting into flames under sunlight.
So, this was likely the first time they had ever felt the agony of their own bodies burning, which made their screams understandable.
"Not many vampires are getting out."
"Well, that's to be expected."
Escaping a burning building is an incredibly difficult task.
There's a reason fire drills exist, teaching you how to act when a fire breaks out.
Once a fire starts, there's no telling how the internal structure might change.
A collapsing building could block the original exit, or flames could turn a clear path into a dead end.
On top of that, doorknobs become too hot to touch, and rooms fill with thick, black smoke.
A fire is a disaster where the suffocating heat all around prevents you from thinking clearly.
"So it's a crapshoot in there right now?"
"A crapshoot... you say?"
"Yep."
Burning to death is not the only way a fire kills you.
You can be crushed or struck by debris from the collapsing structure, or you can suffocate from the carbon monoxide produced by the flames.
Dying from suffocation or being crushed would actually be a more merciful, painless way to go.
A modern person, well-versed in emergency procedures, might look for a fire escape chute, but unfortunately, this world lacks such advanced technology.
That leaves only two ways to escape that mansion.
Brave the flames and escape through the first floor.
Or break a window and jump, hoping your body can withstand the fall.
It might be doable from the second floor, but from the third? Even a vampire's legs would probably be shattered, wouldn't they?
Indeed, a few vampires who tried to escape by breaking windows either died from the fall or survived for a moment before being consumed by the flames.
It took a long time for the entire building to burn down, about as long as you'd expect for its size.
Roughly an hour.
By the time it was over, only a skeletal frame of charred wood remained.
And yet, amidst the ruins, one room on the far corner of the first floor...
...stood out, completely unscathed.
"What's the deal? Why is that part fine?"
"I can feel magic emanating from the entire room. It seems a thin barrier has been cast over it."
"So there's still a live vampire in there?"
Magic truly is an all-purpose tool.
I was just starting to space out because the hunt had become too dull, but it seemed things weren't over just yet.
I walked over to the one intact room and kicked the door.
-CRASH!
"FBI, open up!!"
The room that came into view was utterly filthy.
So much blood had been spilled that, despite the inferno outside, the stench of iron overwhelmed the smell of burnt wood.
As if a recluse lived here, the windows were boarded up with wooden planks, blocking out any sunlight.
And in the center of the room, a bed.
There was no other furniture, only the bed, and on it, a silver-haired beauty was bound by her arms and legs.
The scene was strangely reminiscent of a couple engaged in some S&M play.
"Hmm. Looks like we interrupted your fun. We'll be on our way."
"B-Be careful!"
Just then, the girl, who wasn't gagged, shouted at me.
And then a mellifluous voice echoed from somewhere.
"Blood Magic."
The blood on the floor writhed, forming into the shape of thorns that shot toward me.
After the blood thorns had indiscriminately pierced my body, the largest pool of blood surged upwards, eventually taking the form of a man.
"You've certainly made a huge mess... you damn human. But this is the end of—"
"Ow, you son of a bitch. That fucking hurts."
"Wh-What...!?"
What do you mean, "what"?
I drew my greatsword and swung it wide, forcing him to leap back and dodge.
All-Attribute Resistance.
The skill I'd acquired from the last hunt did exactly what its name implied, heightening my resistance to the blood attribute.
Thanks to that, even with my measly 10 health, I could get away with it only hurting a little.
"Sir Luke. Are you alright?"
"You're a little late to ask."
Luna, who had been standing behind me the whole time I was being stabbed, came closer and spoke.
I suppose it made sense she wasn't worried, having seen my high resistance before, but still, shouldn't a normal person at least scream in surprise?
Isn't that proper etiquette for a heroine?
"How are you still alive!"
"I'm alive because I'm alive, you idiot."
What a funny guy.
This was the first time I'd ever seen someone criticize a living person for being alive.
"Shut up and die, you walking sack of experience points."
I swung my sword again, but the vampire swiftly dodged.
I felt like I was dealing with a gnat.
"Sigh. Just like a little bat, all you're good for is running away."
"I will not fall for such a pathetic taunt."
"When you've got nothing to say, you call it a taunt. I'm just speaking my mind."
I just wanted to slice him cleanly and level up.
But all he did was scurry around, continuously flinging his useless blood magic at me.
With Luna's help, it wasn't that the vampire was particularly strong, but he was just so good at deftly running away. Catching him was proving to be quite difficult.
'Come to think of it, he wasn't around when Arthur showed up.'
What was his name again? Dmitri? Dotori? I don't remember exactly, but I recall him being the culprit who awakened the vampire queen Yui, who's lying over there. I also remember him being the first one to die at her hands after she awakened.
There's a special remedy for cowards who only know how to run.
It's not my original technique, but a new one with a slight twist.
"Luna! Time to transform!"
"......"
"Hurry!"
"...Yes."
Luna seemed hesitant at the word "transformation."
But at my urging, she poured the rest of the oil we'd used on the mansion over me.
The vampire and Yui began to stare at me with puzzled eyes, but I paid them no mind, took a match from my inventory, and set myself on fire.
-Fwoosh.
In an instant, my body was engulfed in flames.
But as you know, I won't burn to death.
Because my skill protects me.
To think the All-Attribute Resistance skill is purely defensive would be a grave miscalculation. A 'hell yeah' moment for me, though.
Not a miscalculation, but a 'hell yeah'.
Doesn't that mean my opponent will let their guard down?
"Uoooo!!! Blazing Luke!!! Fire☆Style!!!!"
No one who has seen this form has lived to tell the tale.
Why?
Because I'll make sure of it.
"Hah, of all the humans I've seen, you are the first to so eagerly hasten your own demise."
He doesn't understand the terror of this transformation.
In that case, can he ignore this?
"Fire☆Hug!!!"
I spread my arms wide and charged at the vampire.
Startled by the sight, he tried to dodge as nimbly as before.
But the room was small, and a grab is not a skill so easily avoided.
If anything, it's more of a targeted skill than a skill shot.
Countering it would be more appropriate than dodging, but this little bat, who had done nothing but run, had no time to think of that.
In the end, the vampire was caught by me, and we shared a passionate embrace between men.
A literally burning, passionate embrace.
"Gyaaaaaaahk!!!!!"
The vampire didn't incinerate at once.
As a last-ditch effort, he sank his fangs into my shoulder.
As if sucking a little blood now would change anything.
Still, I've had enough of things sucking my blood with just mosquitoes, so I squeezed my arms tighter.
-Crack! C-crack! Crunch!
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!"
I don't know my exact level right now, but my Strength must be over 70.
The bottom line is, in terms of raw power, I'm already past D-rank.
It was far more than a scrawny vampire could handle.
In the end, the vampire went limp with his fangs still in me, giving up on life and choosing to burn to death instead.
And just like that, the vampire turned to ash and vanished.
Immediately after,
[Level Up! Check your status!]
[Level Up! Check your status!]
[Level Up! Check your status!]
The familiar notifications appeared before my eyes, signaling the end of the battle.
I'd leveled up quite a bit from this fight. I'll have to check how much later.
"Alright, now to kill the queen and head back."
I approached Yui, who was still tied up.
Silky white hair like a snow-covered hill in midwinter, a petite frame that seemed to just miss 160cm, maybe 159.5cm, and blue eyes that looked like they were carved from sapphires.
Her appearance made it clear why she was a queen.
I remembered how the author had given this monster, destined to die, a beautiful illustration, as if to show the dignity of the top-ranked foe.
That was Yui, and thanks to that pretty illustration, she had managed to secure a fanbase.
The problem was she got sliced in half by Arthur the moment she appeared.
The comment section was on fire that day.
People were spamming things like, 'Give us back our queen!'
Seeing her in person, I think I might become a fan myself.
As I stared intently at her, tears welled up in her eyes, and soon, she spoke in a trembling voice.
"P-Please spare me... I'm not with those vampires...!"
"No."
You're the one who's going to give me the most experience here, and you want me to spare you?
Not a chance!
"P-Please! If you let me live, I'll do anything!"
"Anything?"
"Y-Yes! Anything!"
In the original story, her personality wasn't this cowardly.
I remember her being more arrogant and condescending. Her personality must be different from what I knew because she hasn't awakened yet.
"Hmm... anything, you say..."
Killing her would follow the original story, but...
'I can't resist 'anything'!'
Whatever. Since when have I been following the original story anyway?
"Luna. Untie her."
"Yes."
I've acquired a new high-class slave!
***
I finished the request and returned to the count's domain before morning, just as I'd promised the Count.
With my newly acquired high-class slave, Yui.
It was a little late, but I figured I should get some sleep now, and was heading to the inn when...
"Finally found you, commoner."
"Don't you ever get tired of this? Piggy."
The little pig was waiting at the entrance of our inn with a group of thugs.
This time, he'd brought men who weren't the soldiers I saw with him during the escort mission, so it seems Isaac handled that matter properly.
But he still wanted revenge, and since his trusted Isaac wouldn't lend him any soldiers, it seems his chosen method was to throw some money at a few thugs.
For people struggling to make a living day by day, beating someone up for money would be a simple task.
"How dare a hired hand like you go off and play around instead of doing the job you were hired for? Thanks to you, I had to search every single inn in the domain."
Oh, yes. You must have gone through so much trouble. They say a dull mind makes for a tired body, and right before me was a textbook example.
It seems his plan is to beat me to a pulp and snatch Luna, and he looks like the type who won't be swayed by ordinary means.
This is why dealing with guys who are all pride is such a pain.
I might as well stomp them all down so hard they can never get up again.
"Luna. Can you do anything for me?"
"Yes...?"
"Can you, or can't you? Answer me."
"...Yes."
"Is that so."
Heh heh heh. You're so dead, you little piggy.