Chapter 84
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: I Hate Black Blood!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
84
I Hate Black Blood!
I paused for a moment, struggling to catch my ragged breath.
I glanced around, taking in my surroundings.
The city was burning.
‘Setting fires just because they're excited? ...Savages.’
They had no sense of moderation. Of course, it wasn't my city, so I didn't care.
Screams and the clash of weapons rang out from all directions.
For the city to be in such chaos... the Karzan Guard must be completely incompetent.
*Tap.*
Just then, with a soft footfall, the reject, covered in black blood, landed before me.
Dilated pupils, flushed red cheeks. This place, teeming with vampires, seemed like an amusement park to the reject.
I took the fangs the reject offered, stuffed them into my belt, and pulled out a slice of cake. It was a cake I'd happened to pick up from a house whose wall I'd been forced to break through in my haste.
Considering I'd taken care of three vampires around that house, I'd more than paid for it... in fact, one could say I'd overpaid.
The reject’s eyes widened as it held out a hand caked in black blood. I took a handkerchief from my pocket, gave the gauntlet a cursory wipe, and placed the cake on it.
“Wait!”
I said it as a joke, but the reject paid no mind and shoved the cake right into its mouth. Then it stared at me with its usual blank expression, though its cheeks were now puffed out.
‘Can it only do ‘come back’ and ‘fetch’?’
It seemed “wait” was still too advanced.
I licked my lips and turned my head.
Thanks to my diligent work, the scent of vampires had thinned.
It had been difficult to distinguish them at first, but the more of them I killed, the easier it became.
At some point, the vampires started baring their fangs and hissing the moment they saw me. Some of them even pissed their pants. It made things much faster.
As I hunted them indiscriminately, they must have sensed the danger, because they began to openly reveal their fangs.
There was even one vampire hiding among the people, sneakily swinging a pickaxe at another vampire.
It was so amusing that I just watched. The vampire actually managed to land the pickaxe in the other's head. The pickaxed vampire swiped its claws, and the attacker got stabbed. It then bared its fangs, only to be beaten down by the others around it and disappear.
‘Takes all kinds, I guess.’
The reject’s shoulders bounced.
A signal to move on to the next one.
I looked at the low building in front of me and loosened up my body.
This was a secret vampire hideout the prostitute vampire had told me about.
She must have been quite popular, because all the information she gave was top-notch. Every location she mentioned was a prime spot, half air and half vampires.
The reject held its greatsword horizontally and nodded.
The signal that it was ready.
There was a small door, but knocking and entering politely felt ridiculous and lacked flair.
After all, a proper raid…
“FBI!!”
I roared as I slammed myself into the front wall.
It must have been shoddy construction, because the wall crumbled instantly.
“...?”
The vampires who had been waiting in formation around the door stared at me, their eyes wide as I appeared from the side.
They seemed to have planned things out meticulously; one was aiming its fangs high, another low. And with the line of vampires spreading out to the side… it was the crane wing formation… no, the vampire wing formation.
‘They must have prepared hard for this.’
I felt a twinge of guilt at the bewilderment on their faces as they turned their heads, their bodies still frozen in position.
“I-It's the vampire hunter, Takku!! Takku is here!!”
*Kyaaaaaaak!!*
One with particularly yellow fangs pointed at me and shrieked, and the rest began to hiss along.
Takku was truly starting to become a legendary vampire hunter. As they say, believing in yourself is the most important thing.
*Nod.*
Just then, the reject entered through the hole I’d made and charged at the vampires.
The greatsword drew a thick line through the air, and their heads went flying.
‘Two more places to go, I think.’
Watching the ecstatic reject, I readjusted my grip on my sword.
The night was almost over.
***
*Pant— pant—.*
Gurun, leader of the Cute Rabbits, gasped for air, his breath catching in his throat.
He was nearing forty, and his body ached all over. Trying to grapple with vampires felt like it would make him faint.
But he kept moving for one reason.
Black blood was being spilled on every street.
With that thought, Gurun pushed his exhausted body onward.
“If we could have just pushed them out by banding together like this from the start…”
At the mumble from his side, Gurun shook his head.
‘No, if it weren't for that man and woman…’
The legendary vampire hunter Takku and his trusted subordinate, the Inquisitor. If not for those two, the situation would be completely different.
Once Takku began to move in earnest, the vampires who had been hiding in the shadows came pouring out into the open. In the all-out war that followed, the prowess displayed by Takku and his subordinate was enough to frighten even Gurun, who was no vampire.
The vampire hunter Takku, who ripped vampires' heads off with his bare hands.
His subordinate, the Inquisitor, who would decapitate them and then smash the fallen heads with a mace.
Their brutality was enough to make even the knights hesitate and retreat.
‘How on earth did Dante… no, Danso, know such a man?’
It was highly likely that Danso's sudden move was also because of Takku.
Karzan had suffered greatly, but as long as they could drive out the vampires, it didn't matter.
The suspicion and fear that anyone around you could be a vampire. The situation where no one could be trusted, the blood-drained corpses appearing daily, and the people being drowned in the Inquisitor's trials. Until now, Karzan had been a living hell.
‘It’s a fiery hell now… but fires eventually burn out.’
*Hoo…*
Gurun let out a ragged breath and slumped to the ground.
Beside him lay the corpse of a vampire with stakes driven through its limbs. It was a tanner whose personality had changed recently. To think he was a vampire…
‘Fucking vampires.’
He felt no remorse. If not for this, he or his family could have been that thing's prey.
Gurun gave a small shake of his head and looked around.
The city was burning and littered with corpses, but everyone was smiling. They all felt it instinctively. They had driven out the vampires.
“There you are.”
“...Yeah. You’re safe.”
“You sound disappointed.”
Jo Anderson, the leader of the Cold Daggers, said with a weary smile. Gurun looked up and chuckled when he saw that one of the man’s hands was missing.
“With those sticky fingers of yours, I knew it would happen eventually.”
“Half of us are dead. What’s a hand compared to that?”
He was right. A single hand was a cheap price to pay for surviving the night.
“By the way, that bastard mayor still hasn't made a move.”
“It’s not the first or second time those Imperial bastards have acted like this.”
Just then, Danso approached, a hint of fatigue on his otherwise expressionless face.
Gurun clicked his tongue softly at the sight of the uninjured man. At this rate, it was obvious Danso’s influence would grow.
“All of you, follow me.”
Danso glanced at them, spoke curtly, and turned away.
“Who do you think you’re ordering…”
Jo Anderson started to protest, but Gurun clapped him on the shoulder and followed Danso.
*Spit—.*
After spitting on the ground, Jo Anderson reluctantly followed as well.
Danso led them to a place that used to be called the plaza.
‘What happened here…’
Everything around them was destroyed. The walls were all torn down, and the debris of buildings filled the plaza.
Covering it all were the black corpses.
‘...There were this many vampires?’
Gurun swallowed hard at the sight of the densely packed vampire corpses.
The sheer number made his earlier celebration of killing vampires seem laughable.
Members of the Lone Wolves were bustling about, picking up something from around the vampire corpses with grunts and groans.
As he squinted at the bizarre scene, he saw him in the center.
‘The legendary vampire hunter, Takku!’
A giant of a man, clad entirely in black, stood in the middle of it all.
Near him, the Inquisitor, whose unforgettable performance from earlier was still fresh in his mind, was smashing something with a mace.
“I’ve brought them.”
“Good.”
The man slowly stood up, and Danso knelt before him. Gurun had never felt such a powerful presence emanating from a single person.
After looking down at them for a moment, the man slowly descended.
A vampire beneath him burst, and black blood splattered his boots. Gurun gulped and watched him from an awkward posture.
With each step he took, a heavy thud mixed with the sound of something bursting, adding to the pressure. The closer he got, the larger he seemed.
Gurun’s posture grew lower and lower. He snuck a glance to his side and saw that Jo Anderson was already kneeling like Danso.
‘Why is a vampire hunter…’
Gurun struggled to keep his knees from buckling.
“Hmm… I smell a vampire somewhere.”
“...Pardon?”
“I said, I smell one somewhere.”
The man muttered, taking another step closer.
His face was hidden by a black helmet, making it impossible to guess his thoughts. The Inquisitor behind him tilted her head and stood up.
At that, Gurun’s heart sank.
“Y-You mean there’s a vampire here?!”
Jo Anderson stammered in a terrified voice.
“Or maybe not? I definitely smell one, though…”
The man muttered playfully, wiggling a finger between Gurun and Jo Anderson.
Sensing something amiss, Jo Anderson clamped his mouth shut. Gurun’s eyes fell on a piece of flesh stuck in the seam of the black helmet, and he quickly lowered his head. Soon, the man’s boots came to a stop right in front of him.
“You know, it occurs to me… that your heads might be filled with demons… no, with vampires.”
A voice that was part laughter, part rasp.
When Takku saw a vampire, he either smashed its head or cut off its neck; he didn't ask questions. This question clearly had another meaning.
Gurun let his barely-holding knees give way and bowed his head. He glanced to the side and saw Jo Anderson, biting his lip, had also bowed his head deeply.
Having survived this long in the back alleys, they knew how to take a hint.
“Hmm… right. What a shame. Vampires are my specialty, you see.”
At the man's lip-smacking voice, Gurun trembled slightly.
Gurun knew, in that moment, that the three organizations that had terrorized Karzan had just fallen under the command of one unknown man.
***
‘They’re quick on the uptake, for a bunch of back-alley thugs.’
I looked down at the two of them and gestured to Danso.
Danso nodded and helped them to their feet.
‘He’s a sharp one.’
After I finished cleaning up the vampires, Danso had approached me with a proposal.
He said that now was the perfect time to bring the two remaining organizations under my control.
When I nodded, he set the whole thing up himself.
They were trembling like perfectly cooked meat, ready to fall off the bone at the touch of a knife.
All I did was make a simple threat.
I didn't think it would be this easy to take over the two remaining organizations, but if Danso handled things "well," it just might "well" work out.
‘Now, if I can just draw out the mayor, this will be over…’
I muttered, looking at the large inner fortress in the distance.
When dealing with the mayor, an Imperial official, I had to be more careful than usual. Not too weak, not too strong, just annoying enough to be a nuisance, and I had to leave no trace of my involvement…
BOOOOOOOOOM—!!
Just then, a pillar of fire erupted from the inner fortress, making my jaw drop. The pillar was so massive and spectacular that it felt like all my accumulated fatigue was washed away in an instant.
As I stared at it blankly for a moment, a question arose.
‘Who would do something so crazy?’
This was the Empire that had consumed two-thirds of the continent. The remaining third wasn't unconquered because they couldn't take it, but because they simply hadn't bothered.
To do something so insane to that Empire? Even the rebel groups that popped up from time to time would only test the waters, cautiously provoking them, not openly challenging the Empire like this.
‘I don’t know who did it, but they’ve got guts.’
I was grateful for the spectacular show, but whoever had done this was sure to meet a bad end.
I knew that better than anyone.
‘The timing is a bit tricky…’
If things went wrong, the blame could be pinned on us. I hastily gestured for Danso.
“That must be the work of Black Blood.”
I spoke decisively to Danso, who had rushed over, stating it as if I were declaring that water flows downhill.
“……Yes. It must be.”
His reply was a little slow, but it was the one I wanted.
“Right. It must be.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Danso gave a short reply and quickly gathered his men, giving them various instructions. The two new recruits glanced at me before nodding along to Danso’s words. It looked like a very productive meeting.
They dispersed immediately after the brief meeting, so they seemed to have understood my meaning perfectly.
I sat down and took out the high-quality waterskin Danso had given me. When I pulled the stopper, a fragrant aroma filled the air.
‘Ah, the helmet.’
I glanced around, lifted it slightly, and took a large swig. A deep grape aroma filled my senses, followed by a sweet taste and a rising warmth that pushed away my fatigue.
Beside me, the reject stared at the waterskin in my hand with slightly widened eyes.
‘Can I give it some? It's not chocolate.’
I held out the waterskin to the reject.
The reject took it, sniffed it, hesitated for a moment, then brought it to its lips. *Gulp.* With a refreshing sound, its throat bobbed.
Whether it liked the taste or was just thirsty, the reject’s eyes widened slightly as it continued to gulp it down.
‘It’s always the ones who say they’ll just have one sip…’
It was quite delicious, so I felt a little disappointed, but taking away something it was enjoying felt a bit mean, so I let it be. The reject finally drained the waterskin and gave a big nod.
But this nod wasn't the usual straight line; it was a wavy, squiggly line.
‘Is it okay for it to drink that much?’
It was just a drink to me, but it was still alcohol, so I felt a little uneasy.
And as always, my uneasy feelings were right on the mark.
“Urp—”
Making a strange noise, the reject pitched forward.
Its heavy armor hit the ground with a dull thud, splattering mud and blood everywhere.
‘Ah, this damn reject.’
I looked at its sprawled-out form, clicked my tongue, and checked the waterskin first.
‘It drank the whole thing.’
A surge of irritation made me consider smacking it on the back of its round head, but hitting an animal felt a little wrong, so I restrained myself.
I grabbed the unconscious reject by the scruff of its neck and lifted it.
The heavy armor made it quite heavy, but not so much that I couldn't carry it. I also grabbed its greatsword, which was lying on the ground, and headed for our promised meeting place, ‘The Choked Pig.’
The work of the vampire hunter Takku was done.
The cleanup was a job for the people who lived here.
‘I wonder if it’s open after all this chaos?’
Considering what happened in Karzan last time, it probably was.
Of course, the city was burning on a completely different scale this time.
Thanks to that, it was nice and warm.
***
The Choked Pig was open. I heard that Shoneh had paid several times the usual rate to rent it out privately.
‘Looks like his spending habits got bigger along with his promotion.’
I headed to the central table where I had sat before. I pushed some chairs together, laid the reject on them, and leaned its greatsword against the side. Then I gave a silver coin to a waitress and asked her to do the laundry. Her delighted reaction suggested this place also offered laundry services.
I took off my helmet, set it aside, and wiped my face and hands with a damp cloth. The smell of sweat and a general grimy feeling rose up, making me desperately miss washing machines. Being out here really made me appreciate how comfortable life in Casedic had been.
I rinsed my mouth with lukewarm water and wiped the grease from my hair as best I could. Feeling a bit tired, I took out my sword, placed it within reach, and closed my eyes.
A short while later, I sensed a presence and opened my eyes to see Shoneh sitting across from me.
He was still smiling, but unlike usual, there was a subdued quality to it. The black blood and dirt on his sleeve hinted at what he had been through.
“Ah! Aron! Did I wake you? I was trying to sit down quietly…”
“It’s fine. What about work?”
“It’s wrapping up nicely. Can you believe those Black Blood lunatics burned the Imperial flag?”
“...Even the Imperial flag?”
“Yes, it’s absolute chaos. All the Class 1 administrators have been summoned—”
Shoneh started chattering away. However, his voice occasionally choked up, but I didn't press him on it.
Soon, a waitress brought over a large joint of pork foreleg.
I tore off a piece and stuffed it into my mouth. Shoneh didn't eat, just stared down at the meat.
‘This place is good.’
As I was on my third plate, Shoneh finally spoke.
“Aron, I had a senior I really respected. Her name was Penneu… She was sharp, great at her job, and took good care of her juniors, so she was very popular. She didn't discriminate based on background, only judged people on their abilities… And her character was so outstanding that everyone around her had nothing but praise for her. …She was the complete opposite of me.”
Instead of eating the meat he was supposed to, Shoneh rambled on. I just nodded absently and raised my hand to order more meat.
The waitress, looking fed up, brought an even larger piece this time. I diligently started tearing into it again.
“Penneu had a son, you see. Her husband had wasted away from a high fever and died, leaving her with just the one boy. His name was Henneu. He was so adorable, even I gave him pocket money from my meager earnings.”
I shook my empty mug. Two waiters struggled to bring over a cask of wine. I lifted it and filled my mug to the brim.
“...But when Henneu turned nine, he started getting thinner and thinner. He used to love running around, but he couldn't even leave the house. So I visited him often. I liked Penneu, but I was close with Henneu, too.”
Shoneh pressed down on the meat with his knife. A little blood trickled out to the side. The rich smell made me pick my nose with my finger. A whole clump of black stuff came out.
“...But I got busy with work recently and couldn't visit. You know how rampant the vampires have been, right?”
“Mosquitoes are always bad in the summer.”
“Mosquitoes? Anyway, after everything blew up today, I suddenly thought of him. It had been a while since I'd seen Penneu, too. So I gathered a few people and rushed over.”
Shoneh finished speaking and bowed his head low. I looked at the ill-fitting hat he was wearing and picked a piece of meat from between my teeth.
“...They were dead. Both of them.”
Shoneh muttered again, his voice thick with unshed tears. It was so quiet it sounded like a breath.
I glanced at the black blood on Shoneh’s sleeve and pieced together what must have happened. I didn't really have anything to say to him.
“You gonna eat that?”
I asked, pointing to the piece of meat Shoneh had cut.
“...”
Shoneh looked at me with watery eyes, his mouth agape.
“Then I’ll have it.”
“...I’m eating it! You’ve already had plenty, Aron!”
Shoneh shrieked and shoved the pork into his mouth. He forced it in somehow and started chewing.
I watched him with a bitter smile and took a sip of wine.
Just as Shoneh had eaten about half the meat while trying not to gag, Dylan walked in.
“...Hehe.”
Looking like a man who'd lost his life savings on crypto, Dylan sat down next to me with a stupid grin.
A sour smell wafted from him, so I sent him over to Shoneh’s side. He complied without a word, sat next to Shoneh, and started giggling again, “Hehe.”
A waitress placed a plate of pork in front of him, and he buried his face in it, eating like a madman. Shoneh, sitting next to him, widened his eyes and scooted away.
A moment later, Dylan lifted his face, looked at me with clear eyes, and spoke.
“Boss.”
“What.”
“Boss, even if you fight the Empire, I'll be with you.”
“What the fuck are you…”
His bullshit startled me so much that a curse slipped out automatically.
With all the chaos outside, I needed to be more careful with my words than usual, and here he was making such a dangerous statement…
“Even if you fight the Empire, Boss! I’ll be with you!”
Dylan shouted again, steeling his resolve.
The subtle nuance in his words sent my mind racing.
The fire-shooting wooden stick I lent Dylan, Dylan suddenly spouting nonsense about the Empire, and the smell of smoke coming from him.
SCREEEEEECH—!!
The sound of a whistle from outside.
…Shit.
I muttered a curse under my breath and examined him.
The stick was nowhere to be seen.
But could that stick really produce that much firepower?
My survival instincts kicked in, and my thoughts raced.
‘Witnesses?’
The people who saw him use the stick at the mansion were already taken care of by me and the reject.
Next were the witnesses at the scene…
If he had set off such a huge explosion himself, he wouldn't be this clean. That means it must have gone off later…
‘A malfunction?’
It wasn't uncommon for magical artifacts to explode. There was no way those primitive medieval bastards could make anything reliable.
‘With a fire that big, the stick would be vaporized.’
I retraced my steps from the beginning, checking if I missed anything.
After running through it three times, I finally came to a conclusion.
‘Not bad. It could even be good… but with the Empire involved, it's hard to predict the fallout.’
*Tap, tap.* I drummed my fingers on the table and nodded.
It all depended on how well Danso handled things.
No, since this involved the Empire, the other residents would cooperate desperately, and if things went well…
‘...This is actually great.’
I had reached a favorable conclusion.
*SLAM!!*
I slammed my fist on the table.
Shoneh, his mouth full of meat, and Dylan, who was grinning stupidly, both looked at me.
“Black Blood, you bastards!! How dare you declare war on the Empire!!”
I roared, slamming my fist down again.
*SLAM!!*
The table shook. Shoneh tilted his head in confusion, and Dylan’s eyes widened.
“Black Blood, you fiends! To aim for the mayor! You wicked bastards!!”
I slammed the table again.
“Th-Those Black Blood… sons of bitches! Bastards! Scum!”
The familiar cunning returned to Dylan's eyes, and he slammed the table even harder than I had.
“W-What’s going on all of a sudden…”
Shoneh stammered, his eyes wide.
“Black Blood! The Empire will not fall! Our Empire! The eternal Empire! The greatest Empire! The Roman Empire!”
I shot to my feet, raised my right fist in the air, and shouted. I put so much sincerity into it that I almost teared up.
“Those vermin from Black Blood! How dare they target the Empire! I, Dylan, a citizen of the Empire, will not forget this day’s shame! I swear I'll never drink wine again!!”
Dylan, a fellow patriot, was so overcome with emotion for the Empire that he began to weep, spewing his rage.
“Our Empire! The magnificent Empire! The greatest Empire!”
“Those villainous Black Blood bastards!!”
Dylan and I went back and forth.
***
Having used his holy power to its very limit, Abbot Brighton pushed aside the hands of those trying to stop him and headed for the meeting place.
His holy power was depleted, and his legs felt weak, but he desperately focused his mind to maintain an upright posture.
Upon arriving at ‘The Choked Pig,’ Abbot Brighton swept his disheveled hair back and straightened his clothes.
‘Even if he is a beast, The Choked Pig. How could they give it such a name…’
Brighton resolved to say something and began composing a suitable scripture in his mind.
Having experience with children, Brighton knew many passages that wouldn't bore a child.
He recalled the one that always got the best reaction and pushed open the door.
“We love the Empire!”
“Love it! Love it!”
“We hate Black Blood!”
“Hate it! Hate it!”
There was Aron, standing on the central table, shouting and clapping. Below him, Dylan was responding, tears streaming down his face.
The waitstaff, silver coins in hand, were smiling brightly and chanting along.
And a little ways off, the Inquisitor Joanna stood with her arms spread wide, bobbing her head to the rhythm.
‘Hmm… on second thought, I should probably head to the monastery first.’
Abbot Brighton carefully backed out of the tavern.