Chapter 499
Chapter 499
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 499
Chapter Title: Noctenia (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The forward base was a complete wreck from the commotion that had erupted last night.
"Hurry up, move it! Survivors are dying while we're dragging our feet!"
"If we touch this carelessly, it'll collapse right away, sir. We need to set up supports first..."
"Found one! Medic! Medic! Start over here!"
As dawn just barely broke, countless people bustled about, fully focused on cleaning up the aftermath of the incident.
Rescue teams sifted through the rubble for survivors, medical teams treated the wounded amid the chaos, and maintenance crews hurriedly repaired damaged defenses in case of another attack.
"Hoo."
Amid all that pandemonium.
Kang Taesan stood on the roof of a miraculously intact barracks building, gazing down below as he let out a deep sigh.
'What the hell is going on here.'
Far too much had happened in such a short time.
His clash with a Bishop-level vampire right after arriving in Noctenia had been just the beginning.
'It hasn't even been long since I followed those Slayers here to this outpost, and then we get hit with a massive vampire assault.'
And it had been a sudden raid led by Rook, who was known for rarely stepping up unless it was all-out war.
If it hadn't been Rook, the damage wouldn't have been this bad—and they might have even detected the enemies approaching from afar.
At this point, he couldn't help but wonder if he was the one bringing all this bad luck.
'No, this can't all just be coincidence.'
There was that being—Phantom—who had appeared at the perfect moment of crisis, saving not just him but everyone at the outpost from total annihilation.
Kang Taesan bit his lip slightly as he recalled how Phantom had effortlessly subdued the raiding party, including Berno, the Rook-level vampire leading the invasion, before vanishing without a trace.
'Out of all these people, I'm the only one who clearly remembers what happened after he showed up.'
No one else could properly recall the outsider called Phantom.
They just thought the Slayers had fought valiantly at great cost and that the vampires had been forced to retreat due to some unforeseen issue.
Phantom must have done something before leaving to make them forget.
'Haa, what's with all these secrets, Seonghyeon.'
With a small sigh, he drew the black pistol from its holster and held it up to the sunlight.
It was a precious gift from his friend, who had given it to him wishing for his safety on this dangerous path.
As its owner, he knew better than anyone that this was no ordinary weapon.
'Pawns drop dead the instant a bullet hits them. Knights last a bit longer, but not by much.'
He had confirmed that fact multiple times during last night's battle.
He had already hunted a Bishop once before.
Even that monster, which could regenerate from dozens or hundreds of holy silver rounds embedded in its body, hadn't lasted long against this gun before becoming a guest who never returns.
'Honestly, I didn't fully grasp it until now...'
After learning more details from the manual and witnessing others fight during the raid, his perspective had shifted.
It even explained why an entire elite S.O.D. special forces team had come just to take down one Bishop.
'And that aura I felt from Phantom... It was definitely similar to the power dwelling in this Black Star and my own body.'
That was the biggest reason for his unease right now.
Unlike the others who had frozen in fear the moment Phantom appeared, his mind had sharpened—likely because of that.
This gun's lethality against vampires might be influenced by the same factor.
Berno's rant about bloodlines and fury came to mind.
'In the end, this raid really happened because of me.'
Shadows fell over Kang Taesan's face as he looked down at the destroyed facilities and fallen soldiers.
It felt like they had died because he had come here.
"There you are."
At that moment, a familiar woman's voice came from behind him.
"Sayra?"
The sniper-type Slayer who had guided him to the barracks.
She walked over with heavy steps and stood beside him, resting her arms on the railing as she peered down below.
She had shed all her full-body protective gear for casual clothes, her entire form wrapped in bandages.
"Are you feeling okay? I heard you were pretty badly hurt."
"Huh? Pfft, this is nothing. My armor got totally shredded and I have full-body burns, but I'm alive and in one piece."
Sayra let out a genuine chuckle at his concerned words, as if it were truly no big deal.
And it wasn't exaggeration or bravado—just pure, one-hundred-percent fact.
"This is just a scratch. A few days' rest and I'll be good as new. To call it a serious injury, it'd have to be something like Victor, split clean in half."
"...Full-body burns heal in a few days? Wait, no—if someone's cut in two, don't they just die?"
"Haha! What are you talking about? A Slayer doesn't go down that easily. Victor's already recovering smoothly in the med bay. Probably fully healed in about a month? He's tough, so maybe even a few weeks and he'll be back on his feet."
The image of the bald giant wielding that massive cannon flashed through Kang Taesan's mind.
It was miraculous he'd survived being sliced in half with his guts shredded, but to reattach and fully recover in just a month or so?
'Come to think of it, the manual mentioned something like that. But I didn't expect it to be that extreme.'
Sayra smirked at his unsettled expression before turning her gaze back to the scene below.
"So, how do you think humanity has survived against those monsters all this time?"
Stabbed by blades, shot by bullets, hacked to pieces.
Vampires didn't die from ordinary means.
Not content with abilities far beyond human limits, they regenerated endlessly no matter how much you tried to kill them.
To fight back, Slayers had no choice but to become monsters themselves.
"It's all thanks to the Awakening Agent made from refined vampire blood. The moment you inject it, all your abilities explode upward, and with long-term use, your body starts changing permanently. It depends on aptitude a lot, and overuse has nasty side effects, so you can't just pop it whenever."
Vampires grew stronger by preying on humans as their staple food, apex predators of the ecosystem.
Slayers countered by hunting vampires and using their refined blood for power.
The history of this dimension called Noctenia was nothing but the power struggle between those two forces.
"...Of course, even vampire blood can't save you from attacks beyond your regeneration limit. Liverd, totally pulverized, and Elisa, headless—those are the cases."
"Ah. Those..."
Kang Taesan fumbled for words to comfort her as she made a bitter face, seemingly recalling her fallen comrades.
But her sadness didn't linger.
"Eh, what can you do? Someone had to do it. Otherwise, we all might've been wiped out."
Before he could even speak, she shrugged it off nonchalantly.
As if she were completely accustomed to seeing comrades off.
"Still, after spending so much time on the same team, the least we can do is get some revenge, right?"
But adaptation to grief didn't erase the built-up emotions.
Kang Taesan flinched as he met Sayra's gaze when she turned to him.
A hot fury writhing deep inside.
A familiar look.
It was the same emotion he always felt when looking at his friend he couldn't bear to leave alone.
"That's why I need your help. You seem to have some special power. Something that can completely smash those monsters."
She had closed the distance in an instant, her bandaged hand clamping down on his shoulder with gorilla-like strength.
Despite her smaller stature, her grip was ferocious.
"I saw you fighting. Bullets with one-shot-kill power even holy silver rounds can't match. If we could recreate even a tenth... no, a hundredth of that, it'd be revenge for us and salvation for all humanity..."
"Guh, my shoulder..."
"Ah! Sorry, got a little excited."
Kang Taesan sighed again at her receding manic gleam.
Who knew how many sighs he'd let out today.
At this rate, even his remaining lung capacity would run out.
"Got it. I'll help. Not sure how much good it'll do, though."
"Really?! Thank you!"
Right then, a crushing pressure squeezed his torso, and he squeezed his eyes shut in resignation.
Was this how a rabbit felt right before a snake devoured it?
If he hadn't steadily trained his body, his bones might've actually snapped.
Grateful for his sturdy frame, he tried to redirect his thoughts.
'This power is like holy power, right? It won't match what I have from the direct contract, but if I can spread it somehow, like through preaching...'
He could feel it instinctively.
It wasn't impossible.
That was why he'd accepted Sayra's request without hesitation.
'If this goes well, it could be a win-win for everyone.'
Humanity in Noctenia would gain a new power against vampires, and he'd earn massive karma from his influence in this world.
'Since it's like holy power, more users might even help Seonghyeon. Oh yeah, Phantom said he'd come back later. I should casually ask then.'
That sparked another thought.
The 'holy power' in Black Star and himself, and the strange sense of kinship from Phantom.
Phantom was probably another being contracted to Han Seonghyeon.
Granting special abilities to those he trusted via contract.
'Wait, if he's even made that kind of contract, isn't it more than just an ally?'
In the absolute worst case, if not just Phantom but the entire Masquerade were in a similar relationship...
That would make him closer to a leader guiding the group...
"...Nah, no way."
Kang Taesan shook his head slightly.
It was too much of a leap.
His friend just had some unique abilities—nothing comparable to monsters like Phantom or Hwayotal.
"No way? What do you mean?"
"Ah, nothing. More importantly, when are you gonna let go? I'm hitting my limit here."
"Haha! Sorry, sorry!"
Once freed, he rubbed his throbbing spots and looked up at the sky.
A brilliantly clear blue, as if last night's tragedy had never happened.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
The sound of helicopter rotors echoed from afar.
"Ah, the chopper we requested got here faster than expected."
It was the sound guiding one otherworlder—who'd been swept up in events—to a wider world.
A herald of change that would now unfold more proactively.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A lavishly decorated luxury mansion.
"Well now, this is even more splendidly furnished than I imagined."
"Thank you, Lord!"
Vern bowed deeply at Heinz's low murmur of admiration as he quietly followed behind.
Having received a transfusion of 「Purified Blood Essence」, he had been reborn as a completely different being.
Not only had his actual power surged dramatically, but his entire mindset had flipped one hundred eighty degrees, playing a huge role.
'This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! If I can just impress the Lord, I too could rise even higher...'
Noctenia had countless minor clans, but only nine were truly recognized in this era.
Vampire clans ruled by four Kings and five Queens who had reached transcendent ranks.
They divided territories encompassing several human nations and hunted without overexerting themselves.
Naturally, Kings and Queens weren't aggressive toward humans.
To humans, vampires were pests to eradicate, but to predator vampires, humans were simply essential livestock for survival.
That was why Berno had initially rejected Heinz.
No matter how mysterious his powers as a King, antagonizing nine transcendents would lead to swift annihilation.
'Foolish thinking. The Lord is no mere King. He is... He is...!'
The vampire god descended upon the earth.
There was no other way to explain it.
The moment the great god's pure blood mixed into his body, evolving him into a more perfect being, he had felt it viscerally through the soul-shaking shock.
'Even if all the Kings and Queens banded together, the outcome is set. My task now is to maximize this chance as the Lord's first servant.'
To do that, he needed to swiftly and flawlessly handle the Lord's wishes, proving his competence.
"As you commanded, Lord, I've compiled all the information! Even for missing data, I'll obtain it by any means necessary—just give the order anytime!"
"Mm."
Heinz 2nd nodded indifferently at the shout brimming with loyalty.
He spread out the documents Berno had presented and sank comfortably into the plush chair.
'Patience is essential when hunting.'
Rushing could complicate things unnecessarily.
Given the gravity of the matter, it wouldn't take long anyway—he could afford to wait this much.
And so, as the otherworlder who had come to devour an entire world fell silent.
Time passed quietly, like the calm before the storm.