Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Vampire (3)
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“Urgh...”
A stifled groan leaked out from the pitch-black darkness of the basement.
Crack!
“Gah!”
A sharp whipping sound rang out, followed by a short cry of agony, and then silence fell.
“Damn it, it died again? I was even trying to go easy on it. Pathetic humans.”
The Pureblood Vampire Tiapol tossed aside the whip in his hand.
The whip rolled across the floor, splattering blood everywhere.
“I thought this hideout life was almost over. What the hell has Wirak been doing to let things get this bad? Useless idiot. When I get back, I’ll report this mess to the Clan Lord for sure.”
He grumbled angrily for a moment before clapping his hands.
“You called, Master?”
A Servant had approached without a sound and bowed deeply.
“Clean that up and bring a fresh one tonight. Make it sturdier this time.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Servant gathered the corpse and vanished into the shadows.
Those stationed here as attendants—Servants and Slaves—would devour it themselves.
Tiapol headed deeper underground.
“Should I have gone outside the city instead of Pirita?”
He muttered complaints, but he knew that wasn’t an option.
He was needed to maintain the blood magic enveloping this hideout.
They could alternate shifts for short absences, but for prolonged outings like this, he had to stay put.
“Damn it! Stuck here like a rat for days without stepping out. What kind of bullshit is this?”
Tiapol opened the door to the deepest basement chamber and stepped inside.
“Huuuh~ Haaah...”
He deeply inhaled the thick scent of blood that hit him the moment the door opened.
The stone chamber’s floor, walls, and ceiling were covered in glowing red magic circles drawn in blood.
They pulsed like veins connected to a heart.
At the center, in the heart of the array, sat a black box.
“...All clear. No need to replenish the blood yet. Time to catch some shut-eye.”
After checking the sealed fragment, he headed back upstairs.
It was the same routine he’d followed every day since arriving in the city.
‘This is exhausting. I just want to get out of this damn city already.’
Tiapol entered his bedroom, lay on the bed, and closed his eyes.
Purebloods could go days without sleep, but he rested a few hours daily to stay in top form.
What else was there to do in this empty hideout?
‘Even my time-killer toy just broke.’
As he drifted off, hoping the next toy would last longer, his eyes snapped open, and he bolted upright.
“Black magic power?! Where the hell is it coming from?!”
Krunch!
The blood magic shield shattered the instant he sensed the black magic power.
Realizing intruders had breached, Tiapol rushed underground.
[Kieeeek—!]
Clatter clack!
Black magic rolled in alongside undead auras, and the creatures began storming into the mansion.
‘A Necromancer? How did they find this place? Vampires are scattered all over the city—how did they get here undetected?’
No one noticing until enemies reached the city center and approached the hideout? Incompetence had its limits.
Boom!
The Servants and Slaves guarding the hideout clashed with the sudden undead assault.
“Filthy corpses, do you even know where you are?!”
Servants—vampires’ heated-up versions—glared with bloodshot eyes, baring fangs and claws in the darkness as they hunted their foes.
“Kyaaak—!”
Slaves, stripped of reason and exposing every weakness for raw combat power, bellowed monstrous roars as their grotesque bodies swelled and tore into the undead.
Battles erupted everywhere as forces collided, but Tiapol had no time to care.
Whoosh—Boom!
He was too busy blocking black rays hurtling toward him.
“Nngh! Who are you?! Do you know what this place is?!”
Kaboom!
Black thorns surged to impale him, while dark flames blocked his escape.
“Tch!”
Splatter—
Blood spurted from Tiapol’s fingertips, turning into red energy that enveloped his body.
He dodged the relentless attacks in that state.
“Reveal yourself!”
Slash!
Blood streams from his swung hand coalesced into blades that flew toward the attack’s origin, slicing through a group of undead before vanishing.
Bang!
“You bastard! To the end!”
More dark flames came flying.
Amid the silent barrage, Tiapol barely kept up while trying to identify his foe.
After several exchanges, he spotted the attacker—and froze in shock.
“A Demi-Lich?! How the hell did that thing get here?!”
A human black mage skilled at concealing aura? He could grudgingly accept that.
Though they’d still be incompetent.
But a monster like a Demi-Lich slipping into the city center undetected? That went beyond mere incompetence.
How could they miss death energy vibrating this strongly?
‘Are all the vampires in this city useless? Wirak, what the fuck have you been doing?!’
Matching the black magic was grueling enough.
The spells were potent, but the overwhelming volume of black magic power crushing him was absurd.
Thorns of encroaching shadows.
Dark hands yanking at his ankles.
Black flashes erupting unpredictably.
Every kind of black magic poured forth without respite.
Kaboom!
‘What black magic power! But they can’t ignore this commotion. I’ll hold out until reinforcements arrive!’
The Demi-Lich had deployed a concealment barrier on entry, but it couldn’t hide city-center chaos forever.
‘No, things look shaky so far, but I have to trust and endure.’
Specialized in blood magic, he had poor matchup against undead.
Even with more blood, he doubted victory over that Demi-Lich—but it’d be better than now.
Fortunately, the tight space let his minions hold the undead, and he wouldn’t drop immediately.
As he desperately clung on, hoping...
“Lord Tiapol!”
Boom!
A vampire burst through a pack of undead.
A Lesser Blood not from inside the hideout—external reinforcements.
“Oh! You’re the backup? You spread the word outside, right?”
“Yes! As soon as we sensed the anomaly, I relayed it and rushed in to assist you!”
“Good work! Just a bit longer now!”
It felt like ages, but little time had passed.
For once, things were looking up. Tiapol relaxed slightly and eyed the Demi-Lich.
It had halted its attacks, seemingly thrown by the sudden ally, and was observing them.
“That Demi-Lich is a monster. Its black magic power is insane. Don’t try to win—just buy time for reinforcements and support me!”
“Understood!”
The tide had turned.
Undead were stalled by minions, and with Lesser Blood help, he could defend more easily.
‘Once reinforcements arrive, you’re done!’
Kaboom!
Tiapol blocked a bone spear with blood from scattered minions when he noticed the Lesser Blood had vanished.
‘Ambushing it? Won’t work, but if it buys me a breather...’
Stab!
Sudden impact froze his thoughts.
Looking down, blood-slick claws pierced his heart from behind.
“G... guh! Ack.”
‘An attack? From the Lesser Blood? Why? How...? Same clan... ignored the blood pact?’
Before he could process, a brutal hand grabbed his hair and yanked his head aside.
Something sank into his exposed neck.
‘Cannibalism...! This psycho, right now...? Wants us both dead?!’
Enemy right there.
Desperate to escape, Tiapol gathered his gushing blood for blood magic.
Pierce! Splurt!
The Demi-Lich struck without mercy, impaling him with bone spears.
His Pureblood vitality endured, but it was over.
‘Gah... dying like a dog because of one lunatic...’
As his mind faded, cursing the Lesser Blood...
Slurp!
Blood still drained through the fangs in his neck.
‘Even now...? Wait, something’s off.’
Every sense screaming, he pinpointed the wrongness.
‘The attacks missed that one...? Luck? Or did it dodge?’
The one latched on was unscathed, guzzling merrily.
Yet the Demi-Lich watched without attacking.
As if indifferent to the bloodsucker.
‘No—opposite. It’s feeding me to him!’
The bone spears pinning him seemed positioned for easy feeding.
Definitely.
Black magic flowed through the wounds, blocking his blood magic.
‘Why? What’s between that Lesser Blood and the Demi-Lich...? Did it bring him here...?’
No answers came as Tiapol’s head slumped.
The Lesser Blood Vampire clung on, draining away.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has inherited blood and gained enlightenment. Acquired skill 「Blood Magic」. Heinz slowly detached from Tiapol’s neck.
The withered corpse began crumbling to dust and scattering.
‘No mental corruption from cannibalism to worry about. Convenient and efficient.’
The bloodlust he’d suppressed was quenched, and the power surge was immense.
Cannibalism’s biggest risk: escalating mental pollution.
Vampire power stemmed from blood, laced with the original owner’s grudges.
Gulping that led to far worse than split personalities.
Even lower ranks were risky; higher ones with vast power and age? Instant madness.
‘Phew... perfect timing too.’
Hans had summoned right outside their lair, layered a concealment barrier, then invaded.
Tiapol, Pureblood Vampire, was weaker than expected.
At least two would be needed to match Necromancer Malcolm.
But he was obstacle enough in Hans’s time crunch.
More Servants and Slaves inside than thought stalled the undead; prolonged fight risked reinforcements.
Seeing it drag, he deployed waiting Heinz.
Approach Tiapol’s area, feign fighting undead to close in, then backstab.
Simple plan, stellar results.
‘Dropped his guard because same-clan vampire. Relieved at ‘reinforcements coming’ too.’
Lie, of course.
Vampires hadn’t noticed until Heinz struck.
‘But discovery’s inevitable. Gotta hurry.’
From Tiapol’s death, Hans helped undead wipe minions and headed deeper underground.
Heinz followed to the fragment room.
“Whoa... impressive.”
A blood magic barrier enveloped the entire room.
With effort, new Blood Magic knowledge could dispel it, but...
‘No time—hack it.’
Heinz pinpointed the barrier’s weakness.
Hans blasted it with overwhelming black magic power.
Rumble...
As it shook, Heinz seized partial control with blood magic, punching a hole.
‘Easy.’
Hans entered casually and flung open the central black box.
Inside: the familiar black gem seal.
‘Ahh... explains why they targeted black mages’ fragments.’
‘Oath of Reverse Heaven’s’ fragments had loose bonds causing deficits; this one was overly dense and solid.
‘Mature it and merge—perfection.’
No mature fragments for him, but his body was one with a fragment.
Hans gripped it without hesitation and began synchronization.
‘Too compact—takes longer than... shit, busted?’
A vampire pack breached the outer barrier.
Wirak, Pureblood, led them.
Before they entered, Malcolm and elite undead charged out, clashing under the sun.
‘With Malcolm and high-tiers, they’ll hold Wirak fine.’
Malcolm weaker than in life, but sunlight-evened odds against Wirak.
‘Me’ closed eyes, pouring all focus into sync.
Hans and Heinz 2nd on-site, Earth main body—every resource funneled to Hans.
First Avatar skill variant: stellar results.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has met the conditions and grown. Acquired special skill 「Forbidden Knowledge」. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Recovery becomes meaningless for the entity. Skill 「Super Recovery」 evolves into special skill 「Immortality」. Hans successfully absorbed the Immortal King’s fragment and evolved into an Arch-Lich.