Chapter 514: The Blood Sanctuary (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 514: The Blood Sanctuary (1)
After promising to convert one of the vacant units on the fifth floor into an office to improve staff efficiency, Shin Ji-yeon led the guild members to their final destination: the second basement floor.
Ting!
The elevator ride down felt several times longer than the trip from the first floor to the first basement. As soon as the doors opened, they were greeted by the sight of a steel door.
Shin Ji-yeon stepped aside and spoke.
“This area is restricted to combat personnel, including the Guild Leader.”
She pointed to a small terminal next to the door.
“It has an iris scanner. Right now, only the Guild Leader is registered.”
“Ah.”
Her words made Kim Do-jin recall something.
“So this is what they needed my authentication for a few days ago.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
He leaned closer to the terminal, which was at eye level.
His pupils were projected onto the black screen.
[Master Kim Do-jin, authentication complete.]
Kugugugu…!
A vaguely familiar voice announced the authentication, and the lock on the thick steel door disengaged.
Kim Do-jin stared at Shin Ji-yeon, who was standing beside the door, and asked, “By any chance, this terminal…”
Her face flushed.
“…Yes, that’s me.”
As if she didn’t want to discuss it further, Shin Ji-yeon subtly turned her head away.
Leaving her behind, he pushed open the incredibly thick door.
At this point, one couldn’t help but wonder.
A door so thick it wouldn’t get a scratch even from a direct hit by high-level magic, and a biometric scanner.
What exactly was this space, protected by such ironclad security?
Clank!
The door finally swung fully open, revealing the scene inside to everyone present.
It was a vast space where everything from the floor they stood on to the walls was enchanted with the highest-grade shock-absorption magic.
This area, spanning thousands of square feet, was none other than their training ground.
As she followed Kim Do-jin inside, she began to explain.
“This is a training ground exclusively for the Twilight Guild.”
“Whoa.”
“We get to use this whole place by ourselves…?”
“This is the size of dozens of the private training rooms at Korea University, and it’s all ours…”
This place was the main reason the building’s interior renovation costs had soared into the tens of billions of won.
The tiles on the floor and walls were sturdy enough to withstand an S-rank Hunter’s attack, and they even possessed a self-repair function as long as the damage didn't exceed sixty percent.
On top of that, there was an artifact that purified the air to mimic the depths of the Amazon rainforest, and equipment that maintained a constant temperature year-round.
And that wasn’t all.
To the left was a physical training room equipped with gravity magic, designed to push even a Hunter’s resilient body to its limits.
To the right, a row of individual training rooms, perfect for solo practice, stood waiting.
And one last thing.
On the wall opposite the entrance, there was a tile with a fist-sized indentation. This was one of the training ground’s core features.
“This is a mana concentration array. If you place a mana stone here, the mana density inside the training ground will increase.”
A magic circle with a mana concentration function had been installed throughout the entire training ground.
It had only been five years since research proved that training in a mana-rich environment not only improved efficiency but also helped increase one’s total mana.
The Twilight Guild had acquired a truly state-of-the-art training ground that most other guilds had yet to obtain.
Kim Do-jin spoke confidently to the guild members, who were standing there with their jaws agape, completely stunned.
“I told you, didn’t I? Trust in me, and you’ll have it all.”
Go on, enjoy it.
“This is all yours.”
“Goddaaaaamn…!”
“We believed in you!”
Trust in their Guild Leader surged among the members.
*
After the head-to-toe tour of the new hideout was complete, the guild members scattered.
Shin Yu-jeong immediately holed herself up in the physical training room, while Jeong-hee headed to the kitchen, saying she’d make a simple meal.
The others… well, they went off to explore the private lounges and other areas.
Left alone, I wandered around for a bit before heading up to the Guild Leader’s office.
As I took in the room at my own leisure, a realization dawned on me.
“…She really spent an astronomical amount.”
It was a testament to the high expectations the Saintess had for me—for us.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Didn’t she say so herself when I joined the Guardians?
That she would ensure the price for our dedication and sacrifice was paid in full.
In other words, without dedication and sacrifice for world peace, there would be no support.
You could say this wasn’t an investment, but an advance payment.
For the sacrifices and devotion to come.
“Well… it’s not a bad deal.”
It was a deal with no downside for me.
The Guardians’ primary enemies were the Seven Deadly Sins.
Their annihilation was something I, too, would welcome with open arms.
Of course, there was the pressure of having to hide my identity until the very end…
“But I think I’ve blended in well enough.”
Thanks to the dedicated front I’d put on during our few operations together, the suspicious glances had decreased significantly.
Now, it felt like people just thought, ‘Ah, that’s just how he is,’ and moved on.
Of course, I couldn’t let my guard down since I didn’t know what she was truly thinking behind her veil, but as long as I remained cautious like I had been, I probably wouldn’t be found out.
“The view is nice…”
Everything was peaceful.
Fooling around with women I liked.
Looking down at the city from the top of such a tall building.
It was all the more satisfying because I had achieved in my early twenties what had taken me until middle age to accomplish in my past life.
I was briefly lost in that tranquility, my eyes closed, when…
Beep— Beep— Beep—
An object on the desk began to emit a rhythmic noise, shattering the peace.
“That’s…”
The object was a long-range transceiver.
It was a closed communication system that allowed those with crystal orbs emitting the same frequency to contact each other.
It was an artifact that connected me directly with the core members of the Guardians.
For reference, a single crystal orb cost over a billion won.
I placed my hand on the incessantly beeping crystal and infused it with mana.
A holographic window made of mana formed above the orb, taking shape.
A welcome voice soon followed.
-“Hey, how have you been?”
I thought the only person who would call at such a perfect time would be the Saintess, but I was wrong.
The hologram was not of a woman, but a man.
A rather familiar one at that.
“Francis?”
-“That’s right, it’s me! Your old friend.”
The caller was none other than Francis Meyer.
The moment I saw him, a memory from the past surfaced.
-“The time has finally come, so I’m calling. Is now a good time?”
The moment he had asked me to stand with him on the battlefield.
Back then, she had definitely said it.
That they were planning to strike the base of someone presumed to be an Apostle of the Seven Deadly Sins.
The “time” he was talking about must be the time for that operation.
“It took longer than I expected.”
I was a bit surprised to be hearing from him only now.
Since he himself had said they didn’t have much time, I’d expected a call within a month or two.
-“Hm? Ah… the investigation took a little while.”
“Investigation…?”
-“Until recently, the probability of that place being the Apostle’s base was only about seventy percent.”
“And now?”
The holographic Francis grinned, showing his teeth.
-“Ninety percent… no, we’re practically certain.”
I see.
So they were increasing the accuracy of their intel to avoid sacrificing comrades on a pointless mission.
I asked him again.
“Where do I need to go?”
-“Well… about that.”
Francis fell silent after those words.
What is it?
Where on earth could the Apostle’s base be that he was hesitating like this?
Just as my curiosity was mounting, Francis spoke again.
-“My friend, have you ever heard of a place called Romania?”
Romania.
The name was vivid in my memory.
In fact, it was impossible not to know it.
“If you’re talking about the place where the EX-rank dungeon break happened ten years ago, then yes.”
-“Right, of course you’d know. It was a huge incident, after all.”
Romania, one of the countries in Europe.
Ten years ago, a dungeon deemed unconquerable existed there.
The dungeon’s name was the ‘Fortress of the True Ancestor.’
As the name suggests, it was a massive, perilous fortress teeming with ‘Vampires’—monsters of A-rank danger or higher, possessing both immense physical strength and mana.
The World Association and the Romanian government had not been negligent in its management.
They knew all too well the horrific consequences that would follow if an EX-rank dungeon became saturated and encroached upon the surrounding area.
But then, the unthinkable happened.
An earthquake, one of the strongest in the history of the seismically active region of Romania, struck.
The ground split open, buildings collapsed, and countless people died.
This terrible earthquake, already a worst-case disaster for humanity, managed to poke the sleeping lion.
The earthquake that turned Romania upside down also affected the dungeon within its borders.
The dungeon, instantly distorted and flooded with soaring mana density, burst open and consumed its surroundings.
And then.
A catastrophe unfolded, one so immense it made the worst earthquake in history look trivial.
The Fortress of the True Ancestor, which had existed beyond the rift, manifested in its entirety in reality.
Which meant that the boss monster that had made the dungeon unconquerable had also appeared in the physical world.
The name of the boss monster of the ‘Fortress of the True Ancestor’ was ‘The One with the Noblest Blood.’
The king of all vampires, a parent-like figure to them all.
The shockwave from the fortress’s appearance in the real world awakened him from his deep slumber.
And the enraged king stained a third of Romania’s territory red.
Afterward, the World Hunter Association formed a raid team and barely succeeded in putting the True Ancestor back to sleep.
That’s right.
They didn’t defeat him. They sealed him.
The Fortress of the True Ancestor still remains in the southern region of Romania.
And in a coffin in the deepest part of that castle, The One with the Noblest Blood, the True Ancestor, lies in a deep sleep.
And.
-“The True Ancestor was one of the strongest enemies I’ve ever fought.”
Francis Meyer was the leader of the raid team that had played the biggest role in putting that very True Ancestor back to sleep.
A chilling thought crossed my mind.
For him to bring up Romania in this situation meant…
“…The Apostle’s base you found is in Romania, isn’t it?”
-“Yeah, that’s right.”
Francis admitted it without hesitation.
But he wasn’t finished.
-“Not only that, but those bastards are using the very fortress where the True Ancestor sleeps as their hideout.”
“……”
For a moment, I was speechless.
To make a home in a place where a monster that had drenched a third of Romania in blood was sleeping.
Were they crazy and looking to die, or did they just have nerves of steel?
If it was neither, then I had to assume they were exceedingly clever.
-“It won’t be easy… no, it’s going to be a very treacherous journey. In the worst-case scenario, we might have to face not only the Apostle of a Deadly Sin but also a monster even stronger than them.”
An Apostle of a Deadly Sin and the True Ancestor.
A worst-case scenario where we might have to fight two enemies simultaneously, either of whom would be difficult to predict a victory against on their own.
With a stoic expression, he laid out the worst possible future and spoke to me.
-“My friend. I know it’s a big ask, but… I’d like you to lend us your strength.”
“……”
I sank into deep thought.
But my answer was already decided before I even began to ponder.
“I’ll do what I can. But if things go south, I’m getting out of there without a second thought.”
-“Hah… good. That’s my friend!”
Francis nodded, a satisfied smile on his face.
What could I do?
I’d already received so much, and I was in too deep to subtly back out now.
Even if the mission failed and I had to flee, I had to participate for now.
-“I’ll see you soon, then. I’ll be waiting for you with some very fine liquor.”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
After ending the conversation, I cut off the flow of mana I had been continuously feeding into the crystal orb.
The hologram slowly faded away.
“Hoo.”
Once again enveloped in silence, I sat alone in the Guild Leader’s office, lost in thought.
“Romania.”
After the Fortress of the True Ancestor appeared, the land in that region was stained blood-red, becoming a cursed land where nothing could grow.
And after the True Ancestor was put to sleep, the area was covered by a translucent red barrier, cutting it off from the world.
It exuded a sickeningly metallic scent of blood into the nearby regions.
At some point, people began to call the cursed land beyond the red barrier by a new name.
“The Blooded Sanctuary…”
Son Si-woo and Kim Do-jin.
Across both my lives, it was the most dangerous land I had ever known.
And that was my next destination.