Chapter 81
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Karzan
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81
Karzan
‘…Is this really okay?’
Inquisitor Parhan let out a low groan as he stared at the well-cooked meat before him.
“What’s wrong, Parhan?”
He turned his head at the sound of the voice to see a fellow Inquisitor, his mouth already greasy with fat.
“It feels wrong, leaving Inquisitor Joanna behind.”
A brief silence fell at Parhan’s murmur.
The feeling wasn’t guilt or remorse.
It was worry about whether this would blow up later.
Discipline among the Inquisitors was incredibly strict. Joanna, who had been demoted from the Order of Holy Knights, was at the very top of that hierarchy.
If word of this ever got out…
It certainly wouldn’t end well.
Parhan shivered slightly.
“…She seemed satisfied to be there, though, didn’t she? She looked much better than she did in the Great Hall, right? I mean, she was still expressionless, but.”
“Yeah. Subtly… very subtly, she seemed a bit brighter.”
To Parhan’s eyes, too, she seemed much brighter than she had in the main cathedral. Of course, that still just meant she was expressionless.
“Besides, you were the one who said our heads might get smashed if we stayed there any longer, Parhan.”
“It really felt like it was about to happen. Especially when that Aron fellow goaded her into trying it with her eyes closed…”
At Parhan’s response, the three of them shivered in unison.
There were all sorts of cruel pranks among the Inquisitors under the guise of ‘proving one’s faith,’ but swinging a greatsword at someone’s head wasn’t one of them.
Of course, there was no way Joanna, a former Holy Knight, would make a mistake, but to do it with her eyes closed…
“And we were assigned to ‘Black Blood’ in the first place. This is our actual mission. Inquisitor Joanna… seems to have been assigned missions like eating cake or taking naps.”
“Right. Exactly. Let’s just focus on our own work.”
Parhan nodded in agreement.
The state of the city of Karzan was more serious than they had expected.
Blood-drained corpses turned up every day, but the city’s sprawling nature made it difficult to single out the vampires.
“Everyone eating well?”
Just then, the door opened, and their superior, Inquisitor Sermin, walked in.
“Hammer.”
Parhan simply raised a hand in a light salute.
“Yes, it tastes quite good.”
“Good, good. Eat up. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
At Sermin’s murmur, Parhan exchanged glances with his colleagues.
“Have you found a way to identify the vampires?”
“A way? What way… We already have procedures, don’t we?”
Parhan swallowed hard at Sermin’s irritated reply.
There were procedures, indeed. Tying suspects to a chair and throwing them into a lake, forcing them to walk across hot iron plates, or compelling them to read from the scriptures.
“Aren’t there too many targets to carry all that out?”
“That’s why the three of you are here, isn’t it? Let’s get it done, quickly.”
Parhan started to say something, then swallowed his words and nodded.
This was the correct procedure, after all.
The situation at Casedic was the exception.
“Yes, I understand.”
He nodded, but an inexplicable sense of unease crept over him.
‘…If that man were here.’
Parhan muttered quietly to himself, but then shook his head and reviewed the procedures.
An Inquisitor was a tool of God, meant to follow and execute procedure.
There was no need for other thoughts.
***
“You damn horse! Listen to me! I pulled the reins, so why are you rearing up! No, I apologize for calling you a dog. Just… Hey, you son of a horse! Please, at this rate, we’re both going to get eaten! Just…!”
The violently shaking carriage, and beyond the wall, a desperate voice.
“Now, you finally have time to truly focus on the scriptures. Here, open it. I have a great desire to read from the beginning, but if we do that, by the time we reach Karzan… No. Come to think of it, we’ll be coming back as well. Then we shall read from the beginning. In the beginning, there were nine, and their children…”
The Abbot, stubbornly clutching the scripture and reading aloud even as the carriage swayed relentlessly.
“Strategic. Cooperation.”
And the reject, glancing sideways at the Abbot and whispering desperately to me. Ever since the Abbot had confiscated her cake, the reject had been sticking close, whispering constantly.
‘I should have just run here by myself…’
How had things come to this…?
All I could do was let out a hollow laugh.
“Honorary Monk Aron. Inquisitor Joanna. Are you listening?”
“Yes, in the beginning, there was one… no, there were nine.”
“…Nine.”
The Abbot nodded.
Soon, his deep voice filled the air again.
For a moment, I wondered if I was suffering like this because I harbored a demon. But seeing the reject writhing beside me, it seemed this torment was shared equally by all.
I searched for a way out, and remembering the information I’d received from Google, I pulled it out.
As I took out the thick stack of paper, the Abbot finally closed his cursed mouth.
“What is that?”
“Information on the Black Blood. It says the vampires belong to that organization.”
“Hmm…”
Whatever the reason, the Abbot’s mouth had stopped moving.
I quickly began to read through the papers.
“Black Blood. An organization composed of vampires. Initially insignificant, but with the recent series of major disasters in the east, they exploited the resulting starvation to rapidly expand their ranks…”
It sounded like a bunch of small-fry had cornered a niche market with a multi-level marketing scheme and grown exponentially.
‘But just increasing numbers without any substance can’t be a good thing, can it?’
In the Middle Ages, where the slightest suspicion could get you boiled in a lake or roasted over a fire, swelling your ranks with useless members would only get you noticed by the Empire that much faster.
‘…There’s no leader listed, either.’
Expanding their numbers thoughtlessly like a pyramid scheme, yet the leader is unknown?
This whole thing stank of a half-baked story you’d see on the front page of a newspaper.
The Abbot’s expression was strange.
It was as firm as always, but it seemed to have a subtle crack in it. He always reacted this way whenever vampires were mentioned, as if he had a vampire acquaintance.
‘I might be able to send him back.’
I muttered to myself as I watched the Abbot’s frowning face.
“There will be a great many vampires in Karzan.”
“…I suppose so.”
The Abbot replied curtly. His eyes were still straight, but the wrinkles around them seemed to have deepened.
Looking into his almost painfully straight eyes, I gathered my thoughts.
Why was I heading to Karzan?
If Karzan was completely consumed by vampires, Casedic, being so close, would inevitably be affected.
It was like a fire breaking out in the house next door.
If it were further away, I might have just watched the spectacle, but since it was right next door, I had to run over and at least piss on it. There was no fire insurance here; if the flames spread, it was game over.
And then there was the ten gold coins I received every month.
It would be one thing if I’d never received it, but having received it once, that amount should only go up. If it went down, I’d be thoroughly depressed.
Plus, there was a chance I might find a strong opponent and extend my short-lived power.
Thinking it over, there were quite a few reasons to go.
“I’m going to lop off the head of every vampire I see. Without exception.”
I said it as resolutely as I could.
“…That must be done. I understand. What you said about the best way. They are ones who have already crossed a river they cannot return from.”
Contrary to my expectations, the Abbot simply nodded.
His eyes still wavered, but he seemed to have made up his mind, biting his lip.
Thinking the Abbot still didn’t understand, I added a more detailed and vivid description.
“I’m not joking. There will be at least a hundred vampires, and I will build a road with their heads from the front gate of Karzan to the back.”
I deliberately put force into my eyes. My gaze told the Abbot, who had a vampire for an acquaintance, to turn back now.
“I understand. But is there really a need to build a road? They were once… I understand! I understand.”
The Abbot, looking fed up, let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes.
‘This old man is really stubborn.’
I had no actual intention of building a road.
Not only did I lack the dedication for such a task, but if I left them on the roadside, kids would surely kick them around for fun.
It was just something I said to send the Abbot back.
“…”
Just then, the reject nodded her head with great enthusiasm.
She was still expressionless, but her slightly widened eyes seemed to indicate she was looking forward to the ‘vampire head road’ I had just described.
Her expectant gaze made me briefly consider whether I should actually do it.
After nodding at me for a moment, the reject’s gaze shifted to the cake the Abbot had taken from her.
The reject swallowed hard—*gulp*—and slowly reached out her hand. The movement was sluggish, but watching it made me tense up without realizing why.
*Clatter.*
The carriage lurched, and the reject, who was reaching out, was thrown forward.
Her round head of black hair bobbed, her panic palpable even from behind.
I quickly grabbed the reject’s belt.
She stopped, suspended precariously in mid-air. Her eyes widened as she turned to look at me, muttered “Strategic. Cooperation,” and nodded.
She was heavier than I expected, and for a moment I considered just letting go, but it felt like that would be an irreversible mistake, so I held on.
The reject then scooped up a large handful of cake from the wooden box and nodded at me, as if telling me to pull.
‘…What is she even doing?’
I sighed softly and pulled.
Once seated, the reject gave me a big nod.
Her gaze, however, was more intense than before.
It was the look of a comrade-in-arms who had faced life and death together.
The reject looked down at the cake in her hand for a moment, then bit her lip as if she’d made a decision and split it in half.
She hesitated for a moment, looking at the two pieces, before offering me the one that was obviously smaller.
Her hands were fair, but I had no desire to eat a cake seasoned with her hand-sweat.
Just then.
“Ahem…”
The Abbot cleared his throat.
Panicked, the reject shoved the cake at my face.
I hastily took a bite.
My lips, which had been struck by the reject, tingled.
Having already eaten her cake, the reject now wore her usual expression, pretending nothing had happened.
“Inquisitor Joanna?”
The Abbot, his gaze now stubborn again, looked intently at the reject and called her name.
“…”
In response, the reject met the Abbot’s gaze head-on, her expression blank as if nothing had happened.
It was an excellent poker face, worthy of a master gambler, but…
‘You’ve got some on your mouth.’
There was a smear of cream on the corner of the reject’s mouth that didn’t quite match her defiant expression.
I clicked my tongue at the reject’s foolishness and chuckled.
***
Abbot Brighton let out a deep sigh as he looked at the man and woman with cream on their faces.
One was an Honorary Monk, the other an Inquisitor. And yet, the moment he closed his eyes, they had secretly stolen and eaten cake…
He had taken the cake in the first place because Inquisitor Joanna kept picking at it while he was reading the scriptures, telling her she could eat it when he was finished. How long would it take to read the scriptures… just until sunset, a little bit of patience was all that was needed.
Whenever he read the scriptures, they would either squirm or try to change the subject… Judging by their descriptions, one would think these two were the demons.
‘Demons…’
Abbot Brighton muttered to himself as he looked at Aron. The more he looked, the more the man named Aron resembled his son.
‘The best way.’
Abbot Brighton rolled the bittersweet words around in his mouth.
The characteristic hunger of a vampire is so powerful it drives them to drink the blood of their own kin, bringing ruin to all around them. Furthermore, Abbot Brighton knew better than anyone that there was no way to reverse it.
To send them off cleanly with a single moment of pain.
As Aron had said, it was the best way.
But smashing the head of a neighbor with whom he had once laughed and shared his days was not as easy as the words made it sound.
The best way Aron spoke of did not include him.
‘How…’
Abbot Brighton met Aron’s gaze.
A face full of scars that gave no hint of the life he had lived. And clear eyes that didn’t match it.
But Aron’s eyes remained unwavering.
Brighton wondered what the source of that steadfastness was.
Even he, who believed in and relied on God, was shaken like this, yet how could that man have such eyes…
Just then, Aron opened his mouth.
“Ah, I was praying, but this rej—I mean, Inquisitor Joanna forced me to eat it…”
“…!”
Aron said, wiping the cream from his mouth and pointing at Inquisitor Joanna.
At that, Inquisitor Joanna straightened her back, glared at Aron, and nudged him with her shoulder.
She seemed to be trying to say something, leaning her face close to Aron, but he completely ignored her.
At the childish behavior of two full-grown adults—adults who even held positions of status—Abbot Brighton smiled bitterly.
“Both of you, sit up straight. From now until we arrive, I will bestow blessings upon you without stopping.”
Seeing the two of them grimace simultaneously, Abbot Brighton bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.
***
Duran of the Karzan Outer Wall Guard scratched his head roughly.
‘Shouldn’t I be running away?’
It was funny for him, a member of the guard, to be thinking of deserting, but that’s how dire the situation in Karzan had become.
Blood-drained corpses appearing daily, and Inquisitors tying people to chairs and throwing them into the lake to catch the culprits…
Recently, a vampire had even been discovered among the captains of the Outer Wall Guard, so there was no one left to trust.
The vampires, thinking they had a firm enough grasp on Karzan, were now approaching people openly. Just yesterday, a prostitute Duran had visited casually asked him if he’d ever considered becoming a vampire to feel a thrill that shot to the top of his head.
Normally, Duran would have refused with disgust, but the prostitute, now a vampire, exuded a dizzying charm that was hard to resist. Coupled with the fact that she was only charging a quarter of her usual price, he had seriously considered it.
His pockets were empty due to the recent string of fires at the city’s warehouses, which had caused prices to skyrocket.
Still, it was a life-altering decision of species, so Duran held back and asked the prostitute for until the next day to think it over.
Was it confidence, or was she certain Duran would give in? The prostitute had smiled a crimson smile and nodded, and since then, Duran’s mind had been a mess.
‘A thrill… a thrill…’
The image of the prostitute’s pursed red lips kept flashing in Duran’s mind.
“Hey—Duran. You okay?”
His colleague, Shan, asked just then.
“Umm… I’m fine.”
Duran answered, glancing sideways at the Inquisitor standing next to Shan.
As the vampires continued to cause trouble, an Inquisitor had been assigned to the checkpoint. Duran swallowed hard, feeling as if that heavy mace might come crashing down on his own head.
“This guy went there yesterday, you know…”
Oblivious to Duran’s turmoil, Shan wiggled his eyebrows and laughed.
“Haha. I just went to say hello. Just hello.”
The Inquisitor’s eyes turned toward him, and Duran forced a smile.
“Let’s go together after work today. I know a really good place… Alright, next!”
Shan, in high spirits, loudly called for the next person. The guy, usually so lethargic, had been bouncing around lately as if he were on some kind of drug.
Duran sighed softly and moved to Shan’s side.
The Inquisitor just stood at the gate, striking a pose.
If he saw someone suspicious, he would grab them, tie them to a chair, and throw them into the lake. If they floated, he would ready his mace and dive in after them. If they didn’t, he would simply offer a brief prayer for their souls.
Watching him, Duran thought it would be better to float and at least get a chance to fight the Inquisitor than to just drown.
The next vehicle was a large, black carriage.
Duran habitually glanced at the top right.
‘The Mozak Merchant Guild? Didn’t they say they were halting operations for a while after that last incident?’
“Good day! We’ve come from Casedic.”
The man sitting in the driver’s seat, who had a rather detestable face, raised a hand in greeting.
The man was laden with a considerable amount of steel and weapons. He looked more like a mercenary than a driver. The kind of mercenary whose colleagues often go missing on missions.
“What business do you have from Casedic?”
Duran asked, putting some distance between himself and the man.
“Ah, um… just, huh? Ah! We’re here to see a friend.”
The man quickly changed his story at the sound of a deep voice from inside.
“Isn’t this a carriage of the Mozak Merchant Guild?”
Duran asked, pointing to the insignia on the carriage.
“Ah, yes. It was, but I found it.”
The man hesitated for a moment before flashing a vile grin.
Something about this didn’t feel right.
“I need to check inside.”
“Ah, what? Ah! We’re here to see the 2nd-Grade Official, Shohne.”
‘2nd-Grade Official Shohne?’
He was a figure known to all residents of Karzan.
A Karzan native who had risen to the rank of 2nd-Grade Official. He was quite popular for listening well to the residents’ stories and working diligently.
The mention of such a name made even Duran cautious.
But he couldn’t just let them pass based on their word alone.
“Still, I have to check as a matter of procedure.”
“Fine.”
A deep voice came from inside.
Duran swallowed hard and opened the carriage door.
And what he saw was…
‘…A demon?! No, just a vicious-looking person.’
Sitting right in front of him was an extremely menacing man clad in colorful armor.
Next to that man was a beauty with short black hair.
Opposite them sat a middle-aged man who looked stubborn.
However, except for the middle-aged man, the other two looked extremely displeased.
No, it was more than displeasure.
The two were clearly furious.
It was a look that said, ‘Just let one of you try something.’
The two pairs of resentful eyes swept over Duran.
Terrified, Duran quickly shut the carriage door.
‘Hmm… It’s probably fine.’
He hadn’t gotten a good look, obscured by the man who was as hideous as a demon, but the armor worn by the short-haired beauty was that of an Inquisitor, and the middle-aged man was also in priest’s robes.
It seemed okay to let them pass.
Besides, Duran instinctively wanted nothing to do with them.
“What are you doing, Duran? Not going to check properly?”
Just then, the ever-energetic Shan approached.
“No… um… it’s checked. Let them through.”
“Checked, my foot! I saw you close it as soon as you opened it. It’s because of sloppy work like that that Karzan has become a nest of vampires.”
Shan’s laughter felt chilling.
The man who was usually too lethargic to even smile…
A sharp sense of unease made Duran swallow hard.
Shan pushed Duran aside and opened the carriage door.
And there were the same three people.
The short-haired beauty still had a subtly crumpled expression, but the vicious-looking man’s face had changed.
“Oh, an Inquisitor and an Abbot. Welcome to Karzan.”
As Shan bowed with an exaggerated flourish, Duran saw the man’s lips curl into a deep grin.
…No.
A cold premonition made Duran mutter to himself without realizing.
“The stench of blood is overwhelming.”
The man’s voice was deep and coarse.
Then, a silver line was drawn across Shan’s neck. Duran only registered that the man had drawn his sword after Shan’s head was already rolling on the ground.
“You, what do you think you’re—!!”
The middle-aged man cried out in shock.
The woman, her expression somehow brighter, leaped out.
Her movements were unbelievably nimble for someone in such thick armor. With a mace that had appeared in her hand, she began to beat Shan’s head.
*Thwack. Thwack.*
Black blood splattered onto her silver armor and trickled down.
Duran only came to his senses after Shan’s blood spattered on his face.
‘Shan was a vampire?’
He muttered blankly.
The menacing man put on a helmet that had been sitting beside him.
A sinister black helmet. The kind of ominous helmet an imperial public enemy might wear.
The helmeted man slowly stepped out of the carriage. He was so large that he looked like a monster emerging from its lair.
‘A monster.’
A black helmet that clashed with the colorful armor.
He looked like a chimera, a monster from a ghost story said to have been stitched together by a dark magician from the body parts of various beasts.
“That’s one.”
Duran trembled at the murmur, which sounded like the growl of a predator.
*Hmph!*
The woman, covered in black blood, stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder, and stared at the Karzan gate.
Behind them, the middle-aged man disembarked with a deep sigh.
“What’s going on over there!!”
Just then, the Inquisitor from the main gate came running over.
He had apparently seen the situation and had already drawn his mace.
Seeing him, Duran felt a small flicker of hope.
If it’s an Inquisitor…
“Inquisitor Joanna?! Ham—mer!!!”
The Inquisitor who had rushed over snapped a sharp salute toward the woman.
‘…Time to run.’
At that, Duran resolved to leave Karzan.
***
“So you’re telling me that districts 5, 6, 7, and 8 are now blocked?”
Dante asked, his voice laced with surging irritation.
“Yes… The 2nd-Grade Official in charge of those areas, Penne, has issued a no-entry order to us.”
Dante laughed hollowly at the reply. A no-entry order when Karzan was in the midst of a vampire outbreak…
‘…Has 2nd-Grade Official Penne been turned?’
Dante pressed his temples, his mind racing.
Karzan was a city. There was no way a city would fall to mere vampires. That had been Dante’s calculation, which was why he hadn’t contacted him.
Dante had thought they could push them back somehow. However, Karzan was more rotten than he had anticipated, and the vampires were cunning.
When the Inquisitors’ indiscriminate trials had recently slowed their rate of increase, the vampires had resorted to setting fire to food warehouses. The resulting surge in the price of necessities naturally caused their numbers to grow again.
‘And now a 2nd-Grade Official… This could get really tough.’
Dante pressed the flesh between the thumb and index finger of his other hand.
“But what does a 2nd-Grade Official have to gain from siding with vampires?”
There was a reason the vampires targeted only the lower class.
Those who were well-fed and comfortable had no reason to take a vampire’s hand.
The moment one became a vampire, their end was all but sealed in ruin. While it was understandable for the lower class, driven by immediate hunger, why would an official do it?
“Her son…”
‘Her son was sick, right? He received treatment from the Abbot but didn’t get better. I told her to see a Cardinal, but for someone of her status as a 2nd-Grade Official…’
The situation pieced itself together naturally. Information regarding officials was top secret, but somehow the vampires had found out…
‘…The tables are turning.’
The vampires weren’t just swelling their numbers; they were playing a dirty, despicable game. It was Dante’s area of expertise, but the difference in the hands they were dealt was too great.
Just managing to unite the gangs in that godforsaken Karzan and hold out this long was a remarkable achievement in itself.
Now that a 2nd-Grade Official had gone over to the other side, the situation could spiral out of control. Officials from the 2nd-Grade up build their own factions within the city hall, and Penne, who was highly respected, had a large one.
In comparison, Shohne, who had climbed the ranks alone without taking anyone’s hand, had almost no faction to speak of. Moreover, Shohne prioritized working for the residents, which had earned her the ire of the other 2nd-Grade Officials.
She had managed to hold on thanks to her connection to a 1st-Grade Official, but…
‘But wasn’t Penne the woman Shohne always said she respected? …This is going to be a huge shock for her.’
Shohne, though a bit of a ditz, was a good partner who consistently did her job well. Thanks to her, he had been able to arrange meetings between the organizations… He had grown a bit fond of her, which made him feel uneasy.
‘…Should I call him?’
Thinking rationally, there was no reason for him to risk coming to a Karzan overrun by vampires.
They had no such agreement in the first place. The gold he had sent was just a gift from him.
Dante didn’t even know what motivated him. Even after taking over the Lone Wolf gang, he had simply left without a shred of lingering attachment. To Dante, he was like a natural disaster, something beyond comprehension.
And even if he did come, what could he do in a Karzan already under vampire control…
‘Still…’
The image of what he had shown them then was still vivid in his mind. It was only natural, as Dante sometimes had nightmares about that day.
If it was the man who had brought down the ‘Lone Wolf’ gang, which had ruled Karzan, in a single day…
It was a futile thought. He had to deal with the problem at hand first.
“Then contact the remaining 2nd-Grade Officials immediately. If even one more of them flips, we’ll be completely crushed.”
“Yes! What about Penne’s side…?”
Dante paused at the question.
Should he tell Shohne about this…?
‘No, Shohne is too soft-hearted. I’ll handle this without her knowing.’
“Don’t tell Shohne. Contact the Inquisitors. …Tell them there’s a vampire among the officials.”
He didn’t know what the consequences of this action would be, but it was a problem that had to be dealt with immediately. And in such a precarious situation, any internal strife would surely be fatal.
[You’re Aron’s subordinate? Great! I happen to be a very close friend of Aron’s! Let’s work together! But let’s promise one thing. No secrets between us!]
For Dante, who came from the back alleys, a lie like this was nothing.
“Everyone, move quickly. From now on, the slightest misstep and it’s all our necks.”
…Yes!
Dante watched the grim-faced men file out, then slowly rose and headed to his room.
In front of the room, a knight was squatting, asleep.
‘…I’m sure I told him not to sleep on duty.’
The reek of alcohol suggested he had been drinking on duty again. This was why he didn’t want to use washed-up knights, but a mere organization couldn’t afford to hire a proper one.
He should be grateful for even this much.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel it was a waste of gold. Dante shot the man a glare before opening the door and entering.
He had been away for some time, so the room was dark.
But apart from that, he felt a chilling sensation.
A prickly feeling, like stepping into the maw of a predator.
It was a presence he had felt once before.
Dante slowly found the magic lamp and turned it on.
He barely managed to stifle the scream that was about to erupt.
The man seemed to dislike loud noises.
“It’s been a while.”
He was wearing a helmet, but the colorful armor and the voice like a beast’s roar made it clear who he was.
However, he didn’t recognize the woman striking a pose beside him, or the man glaring at him from the other side.
No, in the first place, he had no idea why they were holding such poses.
“Welcome.”
Dante suppressed his questions and his trembling, and bowed his head deeply to the true master of the Lone Wolf gang.
“Do you have a list of the vampires?”
The man’s voice was devoid of any emotion, his tone purely business-like. Yet, it held something that scraped at a primal fear.
“…Yes.”
Dante handed the man the stack of papers he had prepared.
“Tsk, there are a lot.”
The sound of the man clicking his tongue reminded Dante of Karzan burning.