Flames of Vengeance (Part 2) — 5
"Surrender, Yun Mina. Hand that Jeong Hoon bastard over to the Vampire Lords and come under me. Do that, and I'll personally protect you — and those three... four women you're close with."
"What?"
Han Sora made a sound so vacant it was as if she'd just heard something that couldn't possibly exist in reality.
What the hell did this lunatic just say?
"I said come under me. Then I can spare a few of the women you're friendly with. Normally, any girl with a decent face gets used as the Vampire Lord's plaything until she's wrung dry and dead... but right now every last Vampire is fixated on that one bastard you're all killing yourselves to protect. So sell him out and come to me. I'll treat you well."
Han Daegeon laid the offer out again at length, his expression eerily calm — calm enough that Yun Mina tilted her head for a moment, genuinely unsure whether what she was hearing was real or imagined.
Of course, the second his face twisted back into something oily and full of lust, she understood. Ah. Reality it is.
"And once you're under me, you won't have to do a thing except spread your legs whenever I want. Pretty good terms, right? Just throw away that virginity you've been guarding so desperately and your friends get to live. How about it?"
The filthy proposal was more than enough to make the world itself feel filthy and pathetic.
"Han Daegeon, you really...!"
"Daegeon! How can you say something so vulgar...!"
From behind, Jung Yun's condemnation drove into Yun Mina's ears. Han Daegeon had been ranting so excitedly that even the people farther back had caught every sordid word of the offer.
But Han Daegeon completely ignored the censure of a woman he had once been interested in, focusing on one person alone.
On Yun Mina standing right in front of him — wavy hair stirring, her provocative outfit doing nothing to diminish the unshaken composure she carried.
"Well? Yun Mina. Hm?"
"Haa..."
Yun Mina sank deep into her own thoughts. Of course, those thoughts had absolutely nothing to do with whether she would accept Han Daegeon's proposal.
They were about how to keep talking to this horny bastard in front of her and buy even a little more time — time for Orabeoni Jeong Hoon to come back to his senses.
"Uh, uhh... O—!"
"Shh! Q-quiet...!"
Then a faint stir rose from behind her. Just for an instant, Yun Mina flicked her gaze away from Han Daegeon and glanced back.
And she smiled.
Aha. Buying time... doesn't look like I'll need it.
"Huh? What. Just now, what—"
Ah, this bastard Han Daegeon is trying to look behind me. Absolutely not. Don't you dare kill the mood, you piece of trash.
"Hey. Daegeon."
"Huh? Ah, Yun Mina! So, you decided? I knew becoming my sex toy wasn't a bad—"
"I refuse, Daegeon."
She had called out urgently only to reject him on the spot, and Han Daegeon's face contorted exactly the way she wanted.
"I'm refusing, and I'll give you three reasons why I made that choice. Consider it a compliment — for having the guts to bring such a filthy offer in front of me."
"What? What kind of bullshit—"
"Now, now. First."
Before Han Daegeon could spit another word, Yun Mina raised only her right index finger straight up and snared his attention.
"I'm stubborn, a lot like you. Once I decide something, I don't change it easily. I already made up my mind to hold out with my companions to the end. Even if I die, I'm not really inclined to change that."
"What? You crazy bi—"
"And second. This one's important, so listen carefully."
Yun Mina paused a beat, then let a smile settle on her lips. It was not a smile of goodwill. It was a smile built purely to deliver mockery.
And with that mockery, she did not hesitate to deliver a degrading assessment.
"Your dick looks ridiculously small, so I have zero interest in becoming your toy. Even if I'm a virgin who doesn't know men, I at least know getting fucked by a guy with a pathetic little dick would feel awful."
"W-what did you say? You fucking bitch!"
Han Daegeon's face flushed purple in an instant as he raised his right arm. Anyone could see he meant to strike her.
Yun Mina remained perfectly calm.
Because the sound of footsteps approaching from behind put her completely at ease.
Thud, thud—
"And finally, there's a third reason..."
Grab!
Because the someone who had walked up from behind seized the right arm Han Daegeon was about to bring down on Yun Mina.
"Ugh, uh? W-who the hell are y— Hah!?"
"Our Orabeoni isn't asleep, you know?"
CRACK!
Without a moment's hesitation, a fist flew from behind Yun Mina's back and planted a straight punch square into Han Daegeon's face.
And the one who had returned spoke in a tone utterly different from before, making Yun Mina's eyes go wide.
"You dare... raise that filthy hand against our Mina?"
The second I came to, I threw a straight punch into that traitor bastard's face.
Full revival. Jeong Hoon's moment had arrived!
"Uh, o-o—!"
"Shh..."
The instant I was back, I pressed an index finger to my lips and signaled the people nearby who were about to cry out to stay quiet. They were overjoyed, but they held their silence. The look in their eyes almost seemed to whisper that they had believed I would wake and waited for this future — and that left me with a strange feeling.
After that, I whispered to Sora. With that exceptional vision of hers, look carefully. Find the connections between the high-ranking vampires and the Vampire Lord.
Sora narrowed her eyes just as I told her, and before long she found them. I whispered to her again.
"You can hit them. Take them out. Sora."
"B-but... hitting all four connections in completely different positions..."
"It's hard. But that's exactly why no one but you can do it. I believe in you. Sora."
"O-Oppa...!"
The encouragement I'd delivered in that slightly off speech pattern seemed to move her more with gratitude than unease.
"Everyone — the moment Sora hits those connections... just as we prepared. Understood?"
"Ah, a... yes! We'll do exactly that!"
"I trust you. You're my precious companions. And Kim Seyeon seon... Seyeon. Hold on just a little longer. At least until only the Vampire Lord is left. I'm truly sorry, but I'm counting on you."
"Jeong Hoon-ssi...!"
They might have found the changed way I spoke awkward, but at the words I delivered as gently as I could, my companions didn't question a thing. They simply nodded with resolve written across their faces.
If nothing else, it felt like proof that my luck with companions was top-tier.
After giving them the word, I walked forward step by step... and drove my fist into the face of that Han Daegeon bastard who was running his filthy mouth at Yun Mina.
"U-uuaagh...! It hurts, it huuurts!"
"I hit you so it would hurt. And that's not all."
I stepped in closer and slammed my foot into his gut without mercy. Just one clean shot.
THUD!
"Ghhk...!?"
That single blow rolled his eyes back. For a second I wondered if he was dead... but no. The sense that he was still alive came through much stronger.
"Sora, shoot!"
"Yes, Oppa!"
I gave Sora the signal, and she loosed a Multi Shot. Of the six arrows, two flew toward a single target; the remaining four streaked toward four separate ones.
"Hm? This is...?"
The target of those two arrows was none other than the Vampire Lord himself. At first he seemed inclined to ignore them — he didn't so much as twitch as the arrows came in.
Except those weren't ordinary arrows. They were silver arrows mass-produced by the blacksmiths from silver ingots. Getting hit by one of those wouldn't end at mere pain.
Tuk, tuk!
"Only the tips are silver. The rest is no concern. An admirable effort to catch me in a bind, but..."
He read them in an instant, sweeping his palm through the air and batting both arrows aside. Damn it — true to having "Lord" stuck on his name, his instincts were disgustingly sharp!
Fortunately... his instincts didn't seem quite as sharp in other directions!
"L-Lord!"
"Th-the Blood Thread connections... have been severed!"
The four high-ranking vampires reeled in shock. Of course they did. Sora's remaining four arrows had severed every last Blood Thread linking them to the Vampire Lord bastard.
The fact that they could attach Blood Threads to humans to control them or drain their blood had always raised a question for me. Who, exactly, was the source of those threads?
Each individual vampire? Hard to believe — the first one we'd fought, that Alex-whatever, hadn't been able to restore his Blood Thread the moment it was cut.
Meaning there was one person... no, one creature capable of generating Blood Threads, plastering them onto others, and reconnecting them however he pleased. And inevitably, complex techniques like that tended to belong to powerful monsters... so the origin of the Blood Threads could only be one place.
On top of that, the decisive hint Orderly Good had given me played its part.
Can Blood Threads only be attached to humans? Do they only affect humans? And is that influence always negative?
That enormous hint had helped me turn a "what if?" into an "of course." I had been able to form the hypothesis that by connecting Blood Threads, he had granted the high-ranking vampires the ability to radiate that strange aura and drain people's vitality.
And just now, every one of my assumptions had become reality. The proof: my body felt considerably lighter. Until a moment ago it had been heavy.
"Lord! Quickly, reconnect—!"
"Hmph. You cunning little... but you didn't know the connection can be restored at any ti—"
I didn't listen. I pulled that from my bag and threw it straight ahead.
Straight toward the spot just outside the Sacred Ground where the Vampire Lord bastard stood so full of himself.
"What, you think a little toy like this will—"
The Vampire Lord snorted and swatted the strange vial that had flown right up to his nose.
Tak!
That was a catastrophic mistake.
BOOM! FWOOOOSH!
"Uh? Uwaaaaaagh! M-my eyes...!"
A massive flash of light detonated right in front of the Vampire Lord.
A flashbang. No — a flash potion. A joint creation of the Blacksmith and Alchemist classes, crafted specifically to counter vampires.
And of course, the old Seo Hyejin guild had contributed enormously to developing this new technology. The moment they heard vampires were the enemy, every countermeasure they prepared had originated with the former Seo Hyejin guild — Hope's Wings.
...Even now, I couldn't help but feel grateful to Seo Hyejin.
"Throw!"
Naturally, the flashbang — the flash potion — wasn't just one or two. From behind me, four more flash potions flew out in different directions, straight toward the noses of the four high-ranking vampires surrounding the Sacred Ground Kim Seyeon was maintaining.
As expected of the Hope's Wings guild members.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
FWOOOOSH!
"U-uwaaagh!"
"My eyes, my eyeeeees!"
That fantastical throwing skill — honestly better than mine.
Ah, and of course a flash like that is lethal not only to vampires but to other races as well. Almost nothing that walks around with its eyes open is immune to bright light.
Which is why I came prepared.
Sunglasses.
And I moved. Through the gap where the flash had blinded the sensitive vision of the vampires and monsters.
Above all, in this exact moment when they could no longer drain people's vitality.
Slash!
With my silver longsword.
Slash!
Without the slightest hesitation.
Slash!
Aiming precisely for the neck alone.
Slash!
Starting with the four high-ranking vampires, to make absolutely certain they died.
It was strange. My body felt far too light. Was it just because the oppressive weight of having people's vitality drained was gone?
No... that wasn't the only thing at work.
The reins had come off. Yeah — it felt like the shackles locked onto my arms, legs, and torso had finally been properly unlocked. The influence of Orderly Good, that awkward cohabitation, had ended completely. I could feel it spreading through my entire body.
It was as if I had become a bird soaring through the sky.
So...
There was nothing strange about these bastards getting wrecked like this. True mercy had completely vanished from my hands. For some reason, it also felt like my stats were being reflected properly for the first time.
Ah, but two of them weren't dead. They were already critically wounded, so I needed to finish them for certai—
Fweee, fweee!
No need. Two arrows flew in out of nowhere and finished off the two near-death high-ranking vampires.
I didn't even need to say who. One of my women — the one who, like me, had prepared sunglasses in advance.
"I-I finished them. Oppa!"
"Thank you. Sora."
Even as I thanked Sora for her excellent support, my hands never stopped.
Slash, slash, slash!
I cut down the necks of the orcs and goblins that had been restraining people, one after another.
The flash potions' effects were still lingering. Well — not for an enormously long time, but long enough.
"Urgh, this bastard...!"
"L-Lord! Parbang has—!"
"Mikhailov has fallen as well, Lord!"
"Th-the humans... they've been freed, Lord!"
Damn, the vampire bastards were already bouncing back. They were still squinting hard, eyes clearly still hurting.
I spun around fast and shouted.
"Throw — ready!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the Hope's Wings guild members raised that in their hands. The second trump card. Sharp as ever.
"You... when did you take out my subordinates...!"
The Vampire Lord had finally grasped the situation. With all four of his high-ranking vampires and every orc and goblin neck severed, of course he'd be rattled.
Thanks to that, some of the captives had finally been freed. I could see Park Seeun and Yun Mina racing over, quickly whispering for people to fall back. Through the middle of it all, I walked slowly forward.
Straight ahead. Right up to the Vampire Lord's face. Crossing the boundary of the Sacred Ground without the slightest hesitation.
"Ha! Truly, you are an absurdly insolent man! To leave that little nest of yours and charge at us so confidently. I understand you've grown swollen-headed after killing my subordinates, but... look at this!"
The Vampire Lord spread both arms wide. Flanking him on either side, still more than several dozen vampires squinted and locked their gazes on me.
That flash really had packed a punch. A rushed product... and at the same time, the greatest invention we'd made.
"Go on, then. Prove that insolence further before me. If you manage to survive my subordinates, I shall at least spare your life. No... more than that, I shall make you my direct subordinate. At my side—"
"Throw!"
I had no more patience for his nonsense. I took a small step back and shouted.
From behind me, a volley of vials came flying.