Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Earth's Vampires (1)
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In truth, Hans had encountered vampires a few times before.
Just moments ago, during the factory raid, there had been one, hadn't there?
But Heinz had been in the middle of a deal at the time, and that guy was just Servant-level anyway, so he hadn't paid it much mind.
Since he could just read its memories for any needed info, there'd been no reason to bother keeping it alive for a chat.
So he was caught off guard by this sudden encounter with a vampire from another dimension.
One who was probably even stronger than Heinz, at that.
He had no choice but to stay on high alert.
"Well, let me introduce myself first. I'm from 'Nocternia.' Been back on Earth for about five years now. Name... for now, just call me 'Gamma.'"
He had a handsome face, a friendly smile, and a sociable tone.
His striking black eyes sparkled as he looked at me.
"Heinz. Just as you suspected, I've only recently returned to Earth, and my origin is..."
At this point, there was no use pretending otherwise.
But as I casually answered, something felt off.
My rapidly grown mental strength surged in an instant, accelerating my thoughts.
Time around me seemed to stretch, the space slowly grinding to a halt.
'Why am I answering so readily? To some stranger I've just met, not even five minutes ago? Because he introduced himself first? Is there any guarantee everything he said is true?'
The moment suspicion arose, an alien presence stirred in Mind Hub.
A psychic ability probing at my mind.
It had blended so seamlessly into my natural emotions that I hadn't noticed right away.
'An appealing appearance and demeanor, steering the conversation to make responses feel natural and unremarkable.'
Even Clear Mirror Still Water hadn't fully blocked it, only registering a faint sense of unease. That spoke to its impressive caliber.
Whether he held back overtly due to the ability's limits or out of caution for stealth, I couldn't say...
'Psychic manipulation ability. His unique skill? Or a standard vampire power?'
I raised my internal guard against him significantly.
The key point was that it had kicked in mid-response.
My name was just a designation anyway, nothing critical, and his "recent return" claim was likely fabricated.
I kept any wariness from showing and withheld my dimensional origin for now.
"...'Dotmier dimension.' Not sure if I'm the first or just unconfirmed yet, but I couldn't find anything online."
"Hmm, so that's how it is."
Back in normal time flow, I continued smoothly.
Gamma didn't seem to notice a thing, just nodding as his gleaming black eyes fixed on me.
"I've met quite a few vampires over the years, but your blood scent is a first. Isn't it fascinating? There are countless dimensions out there, many with vampires, yet each has distinctly different blood traits."
Well, that probably held true for other races too.
Continuing, he scanned me up and down like he was appraising me.
"A vampire from Dotmier, huh? By the way, what was your standing there? Strength levels vary wildly by dimension. Someone like you must've held a pretty decent position."
His eyes glinted again.
That intrusive psychic force probed once more.
I didn't resist, playing along moderately.
"Eh, mid-level executive, something like that."
"Oho, so it was a pretty high-caliber dimension. Must've taken a ton of bloodsucking to build that much power, though. Sounds rough."
"Didn't avoid it when necessary."
And so the conversation flowed.
He was quite the talker, barely pausing for breath.
"I've got a curious streak, you see. Any standout abilities among your dimension's vampires? I hear some have near-immortal regeneration. Makes you jealous."
He shared plenty from his side too, framing it as mutual info exchange, but notably dodged anything personal.
I deflected naturally with excuses that wouldn't arouse suspicion.
"Not sure. Never met any other vampires, so I wouldn't know what's unique."
"Ah... right. You did say you just got back."
Gamma smacked his lips in disappointment.
Seizing the opening, I fired back with a question of my own.
"By the way, Gamma. You mentioned meeting lots of vampires—how'd that work? No way you tracked them down one by one like this, right? We're treated like mines, always having to hide."
"Hmm..."
He gave me an odd look at my question, then nodded.
"Fair point. But we're not criminals—can't hide forever, can we?"
He grumbled about the unfair treatment, given none of them had chosen to become vampires.
"To survive, we gotta band together. I'm with Blood Alliance, level 6."
"Blood Alliance? Level 6?"
"Not great spot to chat here. Follow me."
Seeming satisfied with his read on me, he suggested moving.
Maybe he figured he could take me anytime.
We ended up at a sports car parked by the roadside.
He slid into the driver's seat and jerked his chin toward the passenger side.
Vroom—
Once aboard, he started the engine smoothly and pulled out.
"Where to?"
"Better to see for yourself than just hear about it, no?"
"...To Blood Alliance HQ? You trust me that much?"
He let out a chuckle at my words.
"Not HQ exactly. More like a branch office... We don't really have a central base. It's closer to a cell structure."
Not a perfect cell org, though.
Adding that, he pondered briefly before continuing.
"Think of it as like-minded folks cooperating regionally. More like relay points than pure cells. We call those groups 'Crews.'"
Made sense—mines had to stay hidden most times, so they couldn't openly cluster.
"And about trust: we're all in the same boat, aren't we? Gotta help each other in tough times."
Gamma flashed a warm smile.
Touching words.
If not for the psychic force still needling at Heinz's mind.
'Come to think of it, Malcolm said something similar back then.'
The now-reliable ally flitted through my thoughts.
Helping each other in hard times—solid advice.
"One more thing to note. I mentioned level 6? On Earth, 'levels' gauge vampire strength."
Everyone used their home dimension's terms, causing confusion once gathered here.
"Some divided by noble ranks, others by progenitor or apostle lines. Nocternia used chess pieces, for reference—I was a Bishop."
So the powerhouses from each realm convened—mostly in Europe, where strong vampires clustered—and settled on the 'level' system.
"It caught on naturally from there."
Though branches formed per dimension's traits, all vampires shared one core trait.
The 'vampiric factor' in their blood, foundation of power across dimensions.
Levels measured its concentration in detail.
"We're here. It's small since we live separately and just meet up occasionally."
The sports car pulled into the parking lot of a sleek three-story house.
His sense of money differed from mine, apparently.
"Come on in. Got a device inside to measure vampiric factor."
His black eyes gleamed as he grinned at me.
No more hiding it—the psychic intrusion ramped up boldly.
Now I got it: prolonged talk was the condition to amplify his mental control.
'No wonder he was so chatty. Still, scored some good intel.'
"What're you waiting for? Move it."
With things this far, did he think it was over?
I didn't fight the compulsion to act, stepping out and following him inside.
'Even with Blood Magic, I only sensed the barrier after entering. Insane concealment skills.'
As I trailed him casually, he suddenly halted.
Following his scowl, I spotted six on one side facing off against three.
The distinct blood scent of vampires from them.
But one—the woman in the trio's center, scentless like Gamma—whipped around to us.
"About time you showed, Do Hansu. We've been waiting."
"Sigh, it's 'Gamma Do'."
"Fine, fine. Gamma Do, you know why I'm here?"
She strode forward irritably.
Now facing her directly...
'Even for a vampire, she's stunning. Wait, no—feels familiar somehow...'
A real beauty.
No way I'd forget someone that striking.
Puzzling over the vague deja vu...
"Look, Jin Solan, I don't know why you're here, but barging in like this isn't polite."
"Ha! Sudden? Polite? If you hadn't ignored us outright, I wouldn't have dragged myself here to see your ugly mug!"
As they bickered, I furrowed my brow at the nagging familiarity of her face and voice. Not in person, so... online?
'Got it! Orchid. The internet streamer. Community screenshots of her pretty face circulated a lot. Saw a few.'
Makeup must've altered her look slightly back then.
Recalling it fully washed away the frustration with satisfying clarity.
I was quietly pleased when I realized she'd been eyeing me.
"Who's the new face? Friend of yours?"
A probe at my identity.
But I couldn't respond.
Gamma's ability had seized control of my body.
'Could resist if I wanted... but let's observe a bit more.'
"My guest. None of your business, so butt out."
Gamma subtly blocked her view of me, snapping back.
She didn't yield.
"You know exactly why I'm here."
"No clue. Care to explain?"
"Gonna play dumb to the end?"
Jin Solan gnashed her teeth at Gamma.
"You're the one kidnapping vampires and doing who-knows-what! Snatched one of our protected Crew members this time. Think I wouldn't find out?!"
'Figures. He was deliberately rounding up vampires from the start.'
Jin Solan and her two companions pressed him aggressively.
Gamma's apparent allies joined our side, reforming the standoff.
"FYI, we notified the Crew we'd be here. If we don't return, it'll go straight to the higher-ups. You know what that means."
Though outnumbered, their momentum matched Gamma's group.
All three seemed Gamma's peers.
Jin Solan might even outclass him.
Clearly an elite ambush.
"That guy with you—he one of your latest kidnaps? What's your game?!"
"Sigh..."
Gamma scowled, glaring before sighing.
Having me deny it under orders would just look suspicious.
I lacked the power to command him mentally.
"Tch, arrogant little punk who doesn't know his place..."
"Aha~? Finally dropping the mask?"
As Jin Solan readied for battle, her companions behind her prepared too, auras flaring.
"Fine, no choice. Grab the girl. We'll use her as material."
"Ha! Think we'll go down easy—ghk!"
Krunch—Boom!
Caught off-guard, she spat blood and flew back.
And then.
The burly man who'd guarded her back... no, her former ally... slowly lowered his fist.