Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Chapter 20
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Archlich (1)
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Crunch—!
“Urk! What the hell is going on?!”
Wirak, the Pureblood vampire in charge of the Brocoslak Clan's Azantu branch, couldn't make sense of the situation at all.
The barrier spanning the entire city had been breached, and their hideout right in the center had come under sudden attack.
He could guess who was behind it.
'The bastard who took the fragment and hid it! He's after the fragment we had!'
What he couldn't understand was how it had happened.
'We had the whole city under surveillance to track down the fragment. How did he slip through our net? And how did he find the exact location where we hid it?'
Questions swirled in his mind, but right now, the priority was securing the fragment safely.
The attack had hit in broad daylight, when their defenses were at their weakest, so it had taken over ten minutes to notice and breach the perimeter.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ [Finger of Death] Boom!
“Damn it!”
And the bigger problem was those things.
A horde of undead had surrounded the building, blocking entry.
'Of all times, in the sunlight... Of course, that's part of his plan. But we can't delay any longer.'
Vampires were arriving one after another after the emergency summons, but no one knew how long Tiafol inside could hold out.
Rumble...
Just then, dark clouds formed in the clear sky, swelling rapidly to blanket the city in shadow.
'Damn! Too late!'
The city defense magic installed at their base.
Since the attack was unexpected, it had taken time to activate, but Wirak was in no mood to accept that.
“Push in now! Clear a path!”
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ [Guidance of the Death Spirit] “Grah! Lord Wirak, go ahead!”
Clatter— clack!
At Wirak's command, the vampires banded together solely to break through to the interior.
The clouds overhead offset some of the sunlight penalty, but unable to wield their full power, the vampires fell one by one in the reckless charge.
And by sacrificing a subordinate who threw himself in the path of black magic, Wirak finally breached the building.
“I'll head inside. You lot block the entrance here!”
Reaching the basement entrance, Wirak ordered the subordinates who had followed him.
There were only about a dozen Lesser Bloods left, but it was enough to hold the sunless basement entrance.
'Tiafol! Please hold on!'
Racing across the basement toward the fragment's chamber, he prayed desperately.
This mission had the Clan Lord's personal attention and direct orders.
If it went wrong...
'No! That can't happen! It can't...'
He arrived at the chamber door in haste, but could go no further.
Whoosh—
Overwhelming black mana poured from the warded room.
'Too... late.'
At that moment.
Creeeak—
The basement door slowly opened...
And abyssal darkness seeped from the widening gap.
Hairs stood on end; senses sharpened.
The moment the door cracked open felt like an eternity to Wirak.
His breath quickened unbidden.
He couldn't tear his eyes from the door.
It was like...
The gates of hell opening.
And soon, he faced it.
A being in a mask and fluttering black robes, wreathed in pitch-black flames, approaching.
Like a demon lord descending... a calamity scattering despair and terror.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚔ STATUS ⚔ Entity Name: Hans Species: Undead (Archlich) Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」, 「Clear Mirror Still Water」 Entity Traits: 「Corrupted Heart」, 「Wicked Wisdom」, 「Forbidden Knowledge」, 「Immortality」, 「Mana Affinity」, 「Black Magic」 Special Notes: Power elevated by the might of 'Fragment of the Immortal King (2/3)'. Innate black mana has exploded in quantity. Can extract own origin for immortality; will revive endlessly unless stored origin is destroyed. I stowed the absorbed power and opened my eyes.
The vampires' blood magic barrier around me had shredded under the surge of energy.
[Wow, this is incredible.]
Absorbing the second fragment hadn't just doubled my strength.
'Output at least five times greater... and with the new skills, my combat power must be ten times what it was.'
The effect of the newly acquired Forbidden Knowledge was straightforward.
True to its name, it granted knowledge of black magic, undead, and other forbidden arts.
'Feels like a massive library in my head.'
A repository filled with grimoires on summoning demons, human sacrifices, and other wicked sorceries.
'And Immortality on top... But first, time to deal with that one.'
I faced Wirak, frozen in place as I stepped out the door.
He'd fought hard through the undead to reach here, but he was already too late.
[No need for chit-chat.]
Raising my gloved hand—worn to hide my bones—I pointed at him. Shadowy hands erupted from all sides, engulfing him.
“Gaaah! Damn it! Where did this monster come from?!”
Wirak roared, bloodshot eyes blazing as he tore into the shadows.
He was far stronger than Tiafol, whom I'd already dispatched.
Unlike Tiafol, specialized only in blood magic, he wielded overwhelming physical prowess alongside solid spellcasting.
'Still, right now, he's just a decent punching bag.'
I stuck to the new black magics from Forbidden Knowledge.
Nothing beats hands-on practice, after all.
Scythe-tipped black chains whipped through the air; hellfire reeking of sulfur scorched the basement atmosphere.
The array of defensive wards around me didn't even let him approach.
Boom—!
He tried to flee several times, exploiting gaps, but this area was my domain now.
Darkness everywhere crushed down on him.
“Urk, damn... damn it! What insane mana reserves...! You fully absorbed the fragment...?”
[Heinz! I'll hold its attention—get out and report to the clan however you can!] Wirak's telepathic message hit Heinz, who was hiding nearby.
I'd thought he'd hidden well, but as direct kin, he couldn't fully conceal himself.
[Heinz! You hear me? That's an order!] The compulsion hit again as he stayed put, but with no reason to obey anymore, I ignored it effortlessly.
[Damn, don't tell me you're pinned down too and can't move?] He hadn't even considered defiance.
Wirak, still resisting, was soon bound by black chains and slammed to the floor.
Thud!
“Huff... huff... Who... are you?”
A voice resigned to death.
Yet his eyes still burned, glaring at Hans with unyielding fury.
Like he couldn't accept dying like this.
I smirked inwardly, then spoke.
[My name is Hans.]
No harm in sharing a name.
It wasn't even my real one.
[Sleep.]
Before he could become more trouble, I cast black magic to knock him out.
Wirak's limp body slumped.
Heinz emerged from the shadows, sank fangs into his nape, and drained him.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Entity has met conditions and grown. Special Skill 「Blood Clan (Lesser Blood)」 has evolved to 「Blood Clan (Pureblood)」. Wirak withered to dust.
After draining his second Pureblood, Heinz finally ascended.
'Seems there's loss during absorption. He's barely scraping the edge of Pureblood now.'
Even after becoming Pureblood via Wirak, fresh ascension left him weaker than Tiafol.
“Whew~ Can't be helped right after promotion. But keep draining, and he'll grow stronger.”
With cannibalism as his main path, his growth would outpace other vampires.
Heinz rose and headed upstairs.
Plenty of vampires remained above.
Surrounded by undead, unable to flee.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It didn't take long to clean up.
Draining resisting Lesser Bloods one by one, I felt the purity of my vampiric factors—the core of their power—increase.
“Ptooey, can't stomach this. Now I get why Roselika complained.”
I spat out a Servant's blood.
Servants and Slaves weren't even considered proper vampires.
Full of impure, mutated factors, draining them actually diluted purity.
'No wonder they're so incomplete.'
They were forcibly mutated via minimal vampiric factor injection.
Easy to make, efficient resource-wise, but inherently limited.
Heinz surveyed the surroundings.
The ruined hideout building and garden turned battlefield.
Hans repaired broken undead and revived uneaten minions' corpses.
Thanks to Hans's lingering concealment ward, residents remained oblivious to the commotion.
“Alright, time to leave this city.”
Wiping out the ruling vampires didn't solve everything.
With the crime lords gone, security would worsen.
Perfect time to slip away.
Heinz hurried to where the siblings waited.
The kids would be ready to go, waiting only for him.
'Still, leaving like this pricks my conscience a bit.'
After a moment's thought, I realized it was pointless.
I had two bodies in this world, didn't I?
'Right! Heinz is strong enough now. No need for Hans's help, so let's split here.'
Heinz would take the siblings and leave; Hans would stay in the city a bit longer for loose ends.
'Multiple bodies really are convenient.'
As Heinz headed to the siblings, Hans used his new knowledge to convert vampires into Ghouls and stored them in a sub-dimensional pocket.
[Hmm... A bit more research, and I could open one on Earth too.]
The synergy between Forbidden Knowledge and Wicked Wisdom was outstanding.
I could wield freshly learned black magics with proficiency.
Currently, pocket space magic relied on the negative dimension behind the 'Auterica Dimension'.
But with Wicked Wisdom refining new insights, an Earth-compatible pocket was imminent.
[I'll ponder that later. Time to gather the rest.]
Plenty left to collect.
With undead secured, Hans melted into shadows for swift movement.
Destination: the vampires' main base, naturally.
'Instant teleport unlocked, but too unstable yet. Besides, they'll have anti-teleport wards on the mansion.'
The base was in full battle prep.
The hideout raid had triggered emergency mode.
'Pointless thrashing, of course.'
I first draped a concealment ward over the entire mansion.
Time to go wild properly.
[Come forth. Sweep them all away.]
Hundreds of undead poured from the blackened floor.
I buffed them with black magic and followed at a leisurely pace.
Crunch!
“Groar!”
[Kee-eek—!]
Combat erupted between mansion minions and undead.
Two-meter bat-faced Slaves tore into similarly shaped Ghouls.
Servants dropping from ceilings smashed Skeleton skulls, only to be counterattacked and collapse bleeding.
[Huh... More than I thought?]
More Slaves than Heinz's estimate kept emerging.
He'd heard they hibernated in bulk underground for emergencies, but...
“Slaughter the intruder! Lord Wirak will come if we hold!”
“Kree-eek—!”
They didn't know Wirak was already dead.
Strongest here: a single Lesser Blood left to guard the base.
'No need to drag this out.'
I slowly spread black mana across the mansion.
Black shadows crept over floors, walls, ceilings.
[Kee-ee—!]
“Ngh! What the hell is this?!”
Once shadows blanketed every inch...
I lightly tapped the floor with my skull staff.
Pfbt—!
Whoosh!
“Urgh—!”
“Grooo!”
Blood mist filled the mansion instantly.
Black thorns burst from every shadowed surface, skewering vampires.
“Guh... L-Lord... Wirak...”
The Lesser Blood, pierced head to toe, twitched briefly before stilling.
Silence fell over the mansion.
[Wow... Even more impressive than expected.]
Mass slaughter like this let me truly feel my growth.
Strong enough now not to be underestimated anywhere.
'Well, that's obvious.'
Hundreds of corpses in a sea of blood; myriad undead exuding menace.
Hans at the center, radiating black aura.
Not intimidating—downright terrifying. Run-for-your-life visuals.
'What, am I the demon king now...'
I glanced around.
Usable corpses for undead; pricey decorations beyond.
Still much to loot.
'Gotta grab everything worth taking. Where'd they stash valuables again?'
I dispersed undead throughout the mansion, humming inwardly.
The more money, the better.
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