Flames of Vengeance (Part Two) (3)

I had to remember.

The optimal means of wiping out that damned Vampire Lord and his entire clan as they closed in on us.

"Oh? What's this..."

The Vampire Lord stopped walking.

He came to a halt right at the boundary between the Sacred Ground and the ordinary asphalt road, then stretched out a hand—into the space where the effects of Sacred Ground were active.

Sssssss...!

"M-My Lord! It's dangerous!"

"Hmm. Indeed..."

One of the defining traits of Cleric skills in Brave Saga Online was that holy skills scaled in effectiveness proportional to an undead monster's rank. Against zombies or skeletons they produced only ordinary results, but against higher-tier undead like vampires, the effect was far greater. Exactly as it was unfolding before my eyes against the Vampire Lord himself. (That information, of course, had come from Han Sora.)

"M-My Lord...!"

"Do not worry. I have no intention of blundering into a trap laid out so plainly. Sacred power is certainly fatal to our kind, but it will not last forever. There is surely a time limit."

Sharp analytical skills, just like you'd expect from some self-styled "Lord." Damned bat bastard!

"Still, simply waiting is a bit dull..."

The one calling himself the Vampire Lord gestured. Pointing around us, he barked orders at his subordinates to take up positions.

Vampires—and ones that looked every bit as threatening as that Lord himself at a glance—moved to those spots and stood there. As if they meant to keep watch over us from every cardinal direction.

Wait... hang on. Could that be...?

Earlier, one of the people we'd rescued had testified about exactly this. That hanging around near the so-called Lord and those high-ranking vampires that hovered close to him made your energy drain away—no, get sucked out of you.

And right now, every last one of the bastards watching us from all four sides of the Sacred Ground's boundary looked like high-ranking vampires...!

I was right! Their stats were basically the same as that Alex-whatever from earlier!

Laying down Sacred Ground meant they wouldn't stroll in easily... but if those bastards started draining our energy from every direction the same way that Alex guy had? We'd wither and die like lab rats trapped in a cage. No matter what we tried, our strength would give out and we'd be completely neutralized.

Shit... for now we needed to gather as close to the center as possible and somehow get outside the radius of their influence.

"Uh... uhhh?"

Someone in our group suddenly made a vacant, dazed sound. The moment I heard it, a chill ran down my spine.

What now? Why all of a sudden... why did I have such an overwhelmingly bad feeling?! What the hell else was happening?!

Thud. Thud...

That anxiety soon took solid form.

Someone was walking in. A considerable number of human-shaped figures strode straight into the Sacred Ground as if it weren't even there.

No—calling them "human-shaped" was wrong. Because... they really were human.

"..."

"Eek...!"

"Damn it, damn it...!"

A sizable crowd of humans—some with blank faces, others terrified—walked freely into the Sacred Ground with weapons in hand, without the slightest hesitation.

This Sacred Ground primarily affected only the undead. Meaning these people were genuinely... human. And by a rough count, more than thirty of them!

"N-No way... that's Taehyung!"

"Minsu's over there too!"

"Yeonji!"

Most of the people on our side had, of course, all been in the same boat once—under that bastard Han Daegeon—so they recognized the unwelcome guests walking into the Sacred Ground all too well.

Fuck. This is a disaster... he's going to use the people he captured as meat shields! He really means to just sit back and let us die without us being able to lift a finger!

Rumble—!

The people who had entered the Sacred Ground then simply charged straight at us. Clubs, knives, even firearms gripped in both hands.

Whoosh—

"Kh...!"

One of them came at me too, so I had no choice but to step forward and block. I drew my iron sword, caught the club the man in front of me was swinging, and shoved him back. The weight pressed in, but it wasn't that strong.

Thud!

The man went down—but two more immediately rushed me. And the one who'd just fallen got right back up as if nothing had happened and charged me again.

Damn it. At least my strength hadn't gone anywhere, so I could hold off a few of these small-fry humans no matter how many piled on. But everyone else...!

"Taehyung! Snap out of it, man! Argh...!"

"Minsu, what kind of lunatic swings a gun instead of shooting it?!"

"Jeong Hoon, these people...!"

Kim Seyeon couldn't move—she had to maintain the Sacred Ground.

So naturally, guarding her fell to me. Park Seeun was struggling just like the rest of the party, fending off the controlled ones. Still, Park Seeun was managing relatively well. The problem was everyone else. The roughly fifty members of the expedition force couldn't bring themselves to use their weapons on their former comrades charging at them.

The biggest issue was that even Seo Hyejin's old companions—people we'd been counting on—were hesitating too. Close combat wasn't their job class to begin with, and none of them wanted to casually harm another person. The fact that their opponents were human weighed too heavily.

Goddamn it! I'd made a point of gathering relatively decent people to run the territory, but I'd ended up collecting nothing but disgustingly good-natured ones. This was definitely a misjudgment on my part. We needed people willing to steel their hearts and get ruthless when it counted...!

"Ugh, my strength is draining more and more... Aaaagh!!"

To make matters worse, near the boundary of the Sacred Ground's area, those four high-ranking vampires stood menacingly in place, sucking away our energy.

Was this what they meant by being caught between a rock and a hard place? Goddamn it... what the hell was I supposed to do? Wasn't there some kind of sharp solution?

No... actually, there was a way.

First, clear out every last one of the humans (puppets wearing human skins, controlled by the vampires) milling around in front of us. Then concentrate the firepower of our ranged dealers and take down the high-ranking vampires one by one.

But... that "clear out the ones milling around in front of us" part was the problem. I'd realized it earlier watching the orcs, goblins, and controlled humans. To stop the controlled, you either had to deal with the ones controlling them directly... or simply kill the controlled themselves. Those were the only two methods.

But...!

Could I even kill them?!

It wasn't just the others. I myself found it nearly impossible to commit slaughter against human targets. From the deepest part of my heart—the wellspring of my emotions—a rejection rose up so strong it locked my body rigid.

That sensation from the moment I'd killed Seo Hyejin, when she'd begged me to let her go peacefully... that feeling poured hesitation into my hands. No matter how hard I tried to force my will into action, both my exhausted body and mind slammed on the brakes, driving me into a situation where I could do neither one thing nor the other.

No... no! It wasn't simply because some notification would pop up and advertise to everyone around, "Hey, that bastard Jeong Hoon killed a person!" It wasn't something that simple!

Zombies, orcs, goblins, skeletons, the Skeleton King, trolls, all those gimmicky undead monsters... casting those things into hell and snuffing out a living person's life were completely, utterly different sensations!

That unpleasant feeling anyone who wasn't a psychopath would experience when they stopped another human being's life with their own hands. That vile sensation...!

For an ordinary person, it would be a feeling they'd never want to remember again. But for someone who had experienced it firsthand... it remained vivid for a lifetime, tormenting them endlessly.

...Look, the truth is, I'm a lord and a leader, okay? I've become the leader of a fairly large group, I've got four women with me, and I came this far with a fair amount of resolve. Meaning I'd already run simulations of moments when I might have to fight the very survivors I was supposed to rescue. As a proper leader, I'd told myself over and over that I couldn't afford to hesitate on that front.

But... fuck...!

Why now, of all times...!

Was Lawful Good clamping down on my body with heavier brakes than at any other moment, stopping me from making a decision?!

Why now?! At a moment like this?! What, was this Lawful Good bastard telling me to just die helplessly?! What the hell!

Whoosh!

"Ugh!"

It was right at that moment of total confusion, when my mind was more unsettled than it had ever been.

The controlled puppet who'd been trying to push me back (just trying, mind you) swung his club with a vacant expression.

The problem was that, of all moments, my legs gave out right then.

For a split second, my gaze flicked to my right.

"Kh...!"

Even at the cost of his own body taking damage, one of the high-ranking vampires—that Edouard-whatever—had pressed in so close he was practically glued to the Sacred Ground.

Naturally, that meant the range of the aura he used to drain people's energy had expanded.

In other words, my energy—and not just mine, but that of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠survivors near me as well—was being sucked away. In real time.

Anyway, I've described this at considerable length, but—

CRACK!

With my legs gone out from under me, I took a vicious blow straight to the head.

My vision, as one would expect, went black.

The person who saw Jeong Hoon fall more clearly than anyone else was, naturally, someone who wasn't currently swinging a sword or a club.

Kim Seyeon cried out as she watched Jeong Hoon collapse, her face stricken with horror.

"Jeong Hoon!"

One of the people who heard that voice was Park Seeun. Startled by the shock in Kim Seyeon's cry, she looked toward where Jeong Hoon had been—and immediately grasped the situation.

"Hoon oppa! Ugh, get out of my way!"

After planting a hard kick into one of the controlled people charging at her, she sprinted over.

To Jeong Hoon's side, where he had collapsed far too helplessly compared to before. She dropped down beside him and tried to shake him—

"No, Seeun! Over here... bring him over here!"

At Kim Seyeon's urgent words, she abandoned that impulse, hoisted Jeong Hoon onto her shoulder, and stood. Given the height and build difference, it should have been impossible—but it wasn't. A Level 28 Warrior could easily carry a full-grown man, and the game had always applied inventory weight corrections to begin with.

"Ugh, move!"

Shoving aside more controlled people who came rushing at her, she made her way to Kim Seyeon's side. Han Sora, Yun Mina, and Jung Yun had already gathered there as well.

"J-Jeong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hoon, is he hurt somewhere?!"

"O-Oppa?! Why all of a sudden?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Orabeoni seems to have lost consciousness. But why so suddenly?"

Jung Yun, Han Sora, and Yun Mina were all badly startled at the sight of Jeong Hoon being delivered to them so abruptly.

"Just now, it looked like he took a hit from a club... but before that, I had the feeling he just... slumped over all of a sudden...!"

Kim Seyeon kept casting healing spells in rapid succession while trying her hardest to explain as calmly as possible. But she simply couldn't manage it.

Their center. The one and only man who could serve as both their spiritual and physical anchor. Jeong Hoon had lost consciousness. And of all times, in this life-or-death crisis.

"His stamina should have... should have recovered by now... but he won't wake up... Jeong Hoon!"

Despite Kim Seyeon's desperate efforts, Jeong Hoon showed no sign of coming to easily. The absurd part was how peaceful his expression looked with his eyes closed. That usual blunt face of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his, eyes shut, all the tension gone from it.

"Maybe he got hit so hard he's in a coma... or something?"

"N-No way... Oppa!"

Park Seeun muttered the ominous possibility, and Han Sora's face beside her went pale in an instant. Yun Mina shook her head firmly, rejecting the idea.

"It shouldn't be that bad, Seeun. He just lost consciousness for a bit, so he'll probably come around if we give him a little time? The real problem is just that our current situation doesn't exactly leave us much room to spare?"

Park Seeun found herself impressed watching Yun Mina deliver such a bleak assessment with remarkable composure. In a chaotic mess like this, most people would completely lose their heads—yet Yun Mina was incredibly calm. Park Seeun had always thought of her as a bit of an oddball... but in a moment like this, she seemed surprisingly reliable.

Of course, that was only because Park Seeun didn't know what was going on inside Yun Mina. Yun Mina had subtly wrapped one arm around the other, hiding the way her clenched fist was trembling violently. She was doing everything she could to keep her own agitation from showing.

Jeong Hoon's mental absence. It was as good as dumping a bucket of cold water on the spark of hope that had somehow been burning steadily until now. And of all times, just as Yun Mina had said—in a situation that left them precious little room to spare.

Tragedy began to call forth greater tragedy.

"E-Eek! O-Over there...!"

Han Sora suddenly raised her voice. With a face just as pale as before, she pointed off into the distance. Not at the chaotic tangle of people inside the Sacred Ground's area, but outside it.

Thud. Thud...!

"Kuh-keh-keh-kek...!"

"Khh... humans... kill them all... kuh-hiik...!"

Sacred Ground was certainly an excellent holy skill. It blocked the approach of "undead" like zombies and skeletons, and even inflicted damage on higher-tier undead while keeping them at bay.

But that also meant it had little effect on monsters that weren't undead. At best it could lower their awareness—and that was all.

So what about monsters that had been placed under a kind of "control" by the vampires, their reason stripped away, rendering mental effects like awareness reduction completely useless?

Ssssss...!

"Th-They're coming in! O-Orcs and... goblins! They're coming in!"

Just as Han Sora said, the monsters began advancing across the boundary without the slightest hesitation.