Chapter 497
Chapter 497
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 497
Chapter Title: Believers (3)
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"Then use this room for today."
"Ah, thank you."
Following the woman's guidance into the lodging, Kang Taesan looked around.
It wasn't a particularly large room, but the neatly arranged furnishings and clean bedding showed how much care they put into maintaining the place.
The situation at this outpost didn't seem all that affluent, yet they were giving a room like this to a total stranger like him on first sight.
It seemed capturing that bishop single-handedly had left quite an impression on them.
"You're not expecting a luxury hotel in this backwater village, are you? Compared to sleeping rough, this is something to be grateful for, so don't complain."
"Complain? This is more than enough—it's almost too much. Thank you again."
He gave a light bow and plunked the bag on his back down on the table in the corner.
Then, recalling recent events, he let out a small sigh.
'I thought I'd be roughing it outdoors for a while when I first arrived in the forest, but things worked out better than expected. They seem pretty friendly toward me too.'
Transported to Nocternia by sheer bad luck, Kang Taesan had run into a bishop-level vampire right away.
Thanks to the intense training he'd undergone before arriving and some solid gear RNG, he'd escaped the crisis unscathed. But right after, he'd had to break a sweat explaining himself to the people who showed up.
'It was a necessary procedure from their perspective, of course.'
They'd geared up thoroughly to hunt a bishop-level vampire, barely caught up to the fleeing target mid-battle, only to find it already slain by some unheard-of human...
It would have been weirder if they hadn't been wary of him in that situation.
"I'll head out then, so get some rest. The chopper we called for tomorrow means you won't be able to lie down comfortably until we arrive. Oh, and don't wander around outside claiming you're hungry for women without an ID—you might get shot over a misunderstanding."
"No, what do you take me for...!"
Kang Taesan opened his mouth to protest in fluster, but the woman who'd guided him here just waved dismissively and stepped out the door.
Still clad head to toe in heavy protective gear, a large-caliber sniper rifle slung on her back, just like when they'd first met.
The international organization 'Slayers of Dawn'—colloquially known as S.O.D.—was a special vampire-hunting unit established to counter vampires more effectively.
These warriors, fighting on the front lines and spilling their blood for their own reasons, were the group he'd encountered in the forest.
"Slayers and vampires, huh."
Alone in the room now, Kang Taesan scratched his head and gazed out the window.
Familiar gray buildings of cement and concrete, massive lethal weapons installed everywhere, and soldiers on vigilant watch filled his view.
'Yeah, this is just about the best start possible. Not starting smack in the middle of vampire territory is a win.'
After a bit of not-quite-an-explanation at their first meeting, he'd hitched a ride on an S.O.D. military armored truck at the mountain base and finally reached this human outpost.
The population was thin now, and the buildings rundown and half-abandoned, but that made it ideal for S.O.D. as a forward base—easier to fortify for security.
"Anyway, I've got a breather now... Might as well study up a bit."
Rummaging through his bag for a moment, Kang Taesan pulled out a thin booklet.
It was a compiled record of the latest intel on this dimension, Nocternia.
He then reviewed the local info he'd gathered on the way here, committing key details to memory.
Pondering how to leverage the current situation for maximum growth efficiency.
At that moment.
The sniper woman who'd left Kang Taesan's lodging kept walking toward another building.
Beep-beep-beep—Ring!
A door with an electronic lock soon barred her path, but she inputted the code fluidly and entered.
Finally, her footsteps stopped.
There, her expedition comrades sat in stony silence, waiting for her alone.
"Just to be sure, I double- and triple-checked."
She spoke first.
Meeting each gaze one by one, she continued with conviction.
"He's definitely not a vampire clan spy. And he harbors no malice toward us."
"Saira, how can you be so sure? You said his mental barriers made it hard to read his thoughts properly."
"Direct reading, sure. But that's not the only way, is it? I've pierced the thoughts of targets miles away dozens of times to put a bullet in their skulls. If I go indirect, I've got plenty of methods."
"Hmm..."
The man with four large-bore shotguns strapped to his back and hips nodded at Saira's firm reply.
No way he could nitpick when a comrade who'd proven herself repeatedly spoke so confidently.
They'd entrusted her with it precisely because they trusted her that much.
"Uh, so Prove is definitely dead, right?"
"No doubt about that, is there? We extracted bishop-level true blood from his corpse."
"Then what the hell happened to him?"
The seated comrades began murmuring one by one.
Their eyes drifted to something in the corner.
Bishop Prove lay silently on a cot—pale-skinned like a corpse in rags, now truly just a corpse.
Holes riddled his skull and body; everyone grimaced at the gruesome sight.
Except for the military chaplain glued to the body, peering intently and tilting his head repeatedly.
"Then there's only one possibility left."
A bald giant with a massive cannon-axe hybrid slung on his back—hand cannon meets axe—spoke heavily.
"Otherworlder. Their special abilities could explain this anomaly just fine."
Kang Taesan had spouted various excuses, but they'd already pegged him as an otherworlder.
They just hadn't pressed it yet—timing wasn't right.
The giant's gaze stayed fixed on Prove's corpse.
On the remains proving some unknown force had severed the 'bloodline connection' that bound vampire clans.
"If we can figure out its principle and apply it to other weapons..."
They might wipe those damn monsters from the world entirely.
A strange fervor rose among the slayers at the prospect.
All had lost something dear to vampires and joined S.O.D. for revenge—it was only natural.
'Hmm, this is odd. What are these traces? Definitely bullet wounds, but not sanctified rounds. Magic bullets then? Can magic bullets even do this?'
As the group's mood lifted, the fortysomething chaplain kept probing the wounds' oddity.
But no matter how he checked, he couldn't pinpoint the cause.
It was only natural, really.
This dimension lacked the very concept of materialized divine power.
Nocternia's gods ignored mortal pleas.
Priests' blessings were just light-attribute magic, fundamentally different from other dimensions' divine power.
That laxity had let vampires dominate the world.
"Alright! Mission accomplished, and we even picked up an otherworlder with crazy powers. Let's drown in booze all night!"
"No. Until we return tomorrow, it's still the mission. You want to leave a bad impression on him—and with the op not fully wrapped—by getting blackout drunk?"
"Aw, Saira! Always so rigid? Let's drag that guy in for some real talk over drinks..."
"No."
While the chaplain brooded alone, the hyped slayers grew noisier than usual.
Not everyone, though.
The bald giant, immune to the vibe, approached him with a question.
"Father Kob, how long can you maintain the seal on Prove's remains?"
"No worries. At this level, days or even weeks are fine."
"Good to hear. Take care of it until we head back."
"Leave it to me."
Even the calm one couldn't escape the spotlight entirely.
The gathering ended in a warm, lively mood.
...And so.
They failed to notice.
What the slayers saw as opportunity—or more so—
The other side viewed as dire crisis.
How threatening the severing of a 'bloodline'—symbol of vampire clan unity—felt to them.
The slayers realized it around dawn.
Weeeeng—!
Vampire proximity alarms blared deafeningly.
Weapons everywhere powered up—
Kaboom! Boom!
Massive explosions erupted, flames shooting up everywhere.
"Attack! Incoming!"
"Argh!"
"Vampires out of nowhere... No, I gotta live...!"
A massive vampire assault, without warning.
Hundreds of pawns swarmed from all sides, dozens of knights commanding and sealing the outpost.
Bishops appeared one by one.
Atop them all, one descended slowly from the sky.
"This the place?"
The regional overlord who wouldn't stir unless something huge happened—not even for a few dead bishops.
Rook-level vampire Berno.
"Where those vermin dared sully our great Lakkus Clan."
In other words, this incident exceeded 'minor' for him.
Veins bulging in rage, red eyes glaring through twisted brows at the chaotic outpost.
"No idea what trick you pulled..."
If Bishop Prove had just died normally, he'd have let it slide.
But the bloodline severance wasn't simple.
'Right before death, most of his bloodline authority vanished.'
As if something higher had overwritten it.
A challenge to the king's pinnacle authority, an insult to the clan's absolute law.
'How is that even possible?'
Not even the Papal Court could touch bloodlines!
He'd brought every subordinate vampire under his command here for that reason.
To catch the culprits before they fled.
Failing to wrap up an incident in his jurisdiction could bring the king's wrath—even on a rook.
"Find them! Drag the fools who dared defile the Lakkus Clan's authority before me now!"
His command echoed in the minds of vampires flooding the outpost at the darkest pre-dawn hour.
Thus began the butterfly's flap birthing a storm.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Explosions and screams rent the air in pandemonium.
Rat-tat-tat! Kaboom!
Whizz—Thud!
Kang Taesan gritted his teeth, firing his Black Stars relentlessly.
'Damn it, what's this commotion all of a sudden?'
Right when his focus peaked during study!
What irked him more: despite all that studying, he had zero clue about this crisis.
'Whew, calm down. I took down a bishop. I can handle myself in any situation.'
No need to suffer alone, either.
S.O.D. slayers were already shining everywhere.
Boom! Crash! Bang!
A man levitating four shotguns and bullets with psychokinesis, relentlessly reloading and firing.
The bald giant unleashing devastating barrages, then axe-chopping close foes with his cannon barrel.
Uncanny sniper shots, pinpoint accurate yet origin untraceable.
A petite girl wielding a sword bigger than herself, mercilessly bisecting approaching vampires.
The slayers weren't going down easy.
Defenses boomed nonstop; each activation burst incoming bloodsuckers like ketchup.
'Right, even if they're stronger, we're holding a fortified outpost. A forward base packed with human tech won't fall easily!'
As hope flickered amid sacrifices—that it was mere pipe dream dawned soon enough.
Rumble! Kaboom!
Its movements were a storm.
Leisurely like a stroll, yet expensive defenses shattered helplessly.
"No! Stop it!"
"If the defenses go, we're done for!"
Brave warriors blocked it, but bought little time.
The shotgun man, firing all four at point-blank, exploded into gore.
The giant's prized cannon and he were bisected, rolling on the ground.
Sniper fire had long ceased; the massive sword lay with its owner's severed arm.
'What is that monster?! How the hell do you beat that?!'
Kang Taesan clenched his teeth.
Rook-level vampire Berno.
No one here could stop him.
"...!"
Then.
A chill raced down his spine.
No need to look far.
"...Found you."
A pair of blazing red monster eyes stared straight at him.
"It was you. The worm who dared sully our Lakkus Clan."
He couldn't grasp the words.
But one thing was clear.
'Ah, this is it.'
Thoughts flashed: grandma and friends on Earth, that coworker girl in a good vibe.
Indignation, regret, fury, and defiance surged.
'No, what did I even do?!'
Biting his lip snapped him alert.
Too much grit wasted to quit now.
How much had he rolled in the dirt, even beaten by his friend under 'survival training'?
'You think I'll give up here?'
Steadying his breath, Kang Taesan straightened his shaking legs and gripped Black Star tight.
Odds slim, but no surrender.
Even shattered, he'd resist to the end.
The moment he resolved—
"Hmm, is that 'worm' you're talking about me?"
A calm voice pierced the battlefield din, resounding softly.
Right after.
All noise vanished; the world fell silent.