Corridor of Sacred Blood (4)
I swung my Flowing Wind Sword toward the archbishop as he charged in a blind fury.
The bastard was no fool, however. A split second before the edge connected, his physical form dissolved into a crimson mist, evading the strike before immediately launching a counterattack. In a bizarre, uncanny feat, his dispersed body split cleanly in two, converging on me simultaneously from the left and the right.
It caught me off guard for a moment, but dealing with it wasn't particularly difficult.
Wuuung.
I conjured a rift into my subspace to swallow the attack coming from one side while swinging my sword at the other. An afterimage of roaring flames trailed the blade, snapping hungrily after him.
Szzzzz!
A sound like water boiling violently against a white-hot griddle echoed through the air, and a thick plume of dark red steam hissed into existence around the flames of Incineration.
"Guh!"
Swallowing a pained groan, the archbishop hastily recoiled. Getting scorched seemed to have knocked some sense back into him, clearing away the red haze of his rage.
Yet a faint, mocking smirk crept onto his lips.
"Night has fallen."
"?"
"The dark belongs to me."
Right on cue, the faint, dying embers of dusk beyond the stained glass behind the goddess statue vanished completely. The tail end of twilight had surrendered, plunging the cathedral into true night.
Watching the archbishop swell with newfound confidence, I dialed into my spatial perception. It was the perfect opportunity to test a new application I had only ever practiced back at the training grounds.
I thrust the flame-wreathed Flowing Wind Sword directly into the subspace rift I had opened moments ago to block his strike.
Hummm.
In an instant, an exit portal materialized right beside the archbishop's flank. Just as he sensed the sudden distortion in the air and whipped his head around—
Thwack!
The blazing edge of the sword pierced straight into his side.
The technique was born from a simple thought: If I can redirect an enemy's incoming magic through subspace, why can't I send my own blade through to strike from afar?
The entire trick hinged on the speed at which I could deploy that second portal. While I had experimented with it during standard combat gates, this was my first time unleashing it against a high-tier opponent. Judging by the result, it was more than viable.
"Aaaargh!"
The archbishop shrieked in agony. In that same breath, I triggered Leap. Instead of blinking behind him, however, I deliberately jumped right in front of his face. Conditioned by instinct to expect an ambush from his blind spot, the bastard violently spun around on reflex.
Which meant he offered his wide-open back directly to me.
Fwooooosh!
The blade carved diagonally across his spine. The heat stoked by Incineration erupted into a raging blaze, gnawing into his flesh and bone.
Howling in sheer torment, the archbishop frantically scrambled backward to put distance between us.
"So what if it's night? What are you gonna do about it?"
The Corridor of Sacred Blood was originally intended to be a grueling trial of a gate. The entire scenario was structured around an uphill struggle. Challengers were supposed to be aided during the public execution, break out of their shackles, scavenge crude weapons, and fight their way through the corrupt cult. By the time they reclaimed their gear from the dungeon vaults and made their way to the old cathedral, midnight would have already fallen.
There, the vampires were meant to use indoctrinated believers as meat shields, wielding the Sacred Blood drained from the Saintess to confront the exhausted intruders along the grand corridor.
"Aaaaagh!"
Except an irregular named Han Hye had completely derailed that script. I had skipped every intended beat of the narrative, charging straight into the heart of the old cathedral to confront the archbishop from the very start. I confiscated the stockpiled Sacred Blood before a drop could be consumed, sealed the Saintess's open wounds, and completely cut off the vampires' source of power.
To make matters worse for them, the elemental matchup was disastrous.
Under normal circumstances, vampires could regenerate nearly any wound by drawing upon their blood reserves. But Incineration's flames flash-evaporated that blood into vapor. Even with the arrival of night, an archbishop stripped of his Sacred Blood was no match for me, regardless of his base strength.
Worse still, having unlocked a new combat application, I gleefully rained attack after attack upon him until he was reduced to a battered, ragged mess.
The exterior seems stable.
While my spatial perception didn't extend all the way outside the cathedral, the echoes of battle drifting through the stone halls were plenty informative. The combined defensive racket of a mage and a Dragon Knight was unmistakable. They were clearly wrapping up the perimeter.
Even so, looking at the bruised and broken archbishop, I felt a slight twinge of disappointment. He was turning out to be quite the decent training dummy.
Should I toss him a vial of Sacred Blood?
The absurd thought flickered through my mind for a second before I dismissed it with a firm shake of the head. Anything else might have been negotiable, but blood saturated with divinity was Chunbae's precious fuel source. It would be an unforgivable waste to squander something so rare just to extend a sparring session.
Have I been spending too much time around Shin Chang?
I was beginning to understand how that spear-obsessed battle maniac thought. I had never noticed it before, but there was a distinct, addictive thrill in having combat epiphanies mid-battle. Doing something you were good at was always fun, of course, but I couldn't help feeling Shin Chang's bad habits had rubbed off on me.
That's enough playing around.
Seeing that the situation was essentially resolved, I extinguished Incineration. The moment the oppressive heat died down, the archbishop's sunken eyes flashed with desperate hope.
"Hah! I knew you couldn't maintain that monstrous flame indefinitely!"
Gathering the last dregs of his strength, he transformed into a crimson mist and shot straight toward the altar to drain the Saintess. But he never made it.
Fwoosh!
A protective wall of Incineration flared into being around the Saintess, sealing off her perimeter in an instant.
"What are you even doing?" I asked, tilting my head.
The archbishop swallowed a silent string of curses. Abandoning all pretense of fighting, he dissolved into a frantic swarm of red bats and bolted for the shattered exit of the cathedral. He was making a run for it.
"Krr-waaaah!"
Even that desperate bid was cut short. Having cleared the courtyard, the members of the Dinosaur Guild chose that exact moment to regroup at the entrance. Traumatized by the heat of my sword, the archbishop took one look at Yong-yong's incoming dragon breath, shrieked in terror, and tumbled right back into the hall.
"You're all here?" I called out.
"Yeah. Quite a mob swarmed us out there," Uncle Choi Cheol-gi grumbled, shaking his head in disgust. "Total madmen, the whole lot of 'em."
"What happened?"
"We tried holding them off without killing too many, but the second the sun dipped, the vampires hiding in the crowd started stabbing their own worshippers in the back and using them as bait."
"Nobody got hurt, right?"
Uncle nodded reassuringly. "Min-jae and Shin-hee carried the brunt of the work."
"Oh, come on, Uncle. You were the one holding the line so we could cast safely," Min-jae replied with an easy smile.
While the Dinosaur Guild casually chatted among themselves, the archbishop glanced frantically back and forth, desperately seeking any gap in our perimeter. But the main entrance was blocked by a dragon and a heavily armed Dragon Knight, while the rear windows behind the goddess were guarded by me.
"Is that thing the archbishop?" Uncle asked, pointing his chin toward the pathetic heap on the floor.
"Yeah. He's on his last legs."
"Looks like it." Uncle gave me a knowing look.
"What is it?"
"Mind if I try that thing I mentioned earlier?"
"Whatever it is, go ahead. Be my guest."
Sensing the ominous shift in our demeanor, the archbishop dropped to his knees and wailed, "S-Spare me!"
"Spare you?"
"Wouldn't it be far wiser to swear fealty to the Lord of the Night than to cling to a silent goddess who offers no salvation?! Swear your allegiance, and you shall rise to a station far greater than mine!"
I tilted my head in mild amusement. Is this another narrative branch? Given that this was a story-type gate, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. It was just like the Evil God's armaments before—a classic "corruption route" prompt in an RPG.
—A proposal entirely beneath consideration, Chunbae warned hastily, sounding anxious that I might actually entertain the thought. It is nothing more than the twisted dregs of a fallen deity, remade through corruption. Even if your physical parameters increase or grant new skills, the resultant debuffs will far outstrip any meager benefit.
'I wasn't going to accept anyway.'
Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to Uncle Chul-gi. He was staring down at the archbishop with an uncharacteristically solemn, theatrical gravity.
"Weep."
"...?"
"Weep, and prove your purity."
The entire hall fell dead silent. Everyone froze, utterly bewildered by the deep, melodramatic baritone rumbling from Uncle's throat—a register completely alien to his usual boisterous self.
The archbishop stared blankly, and the rest of us were just as stunned.
"Uncle, what on earth are you talking about?"
"Ahem. It's... a thing." He rubbed his nose sheepishly, his tough facade cracking under the embarrassment.
The archbishop darted a suspicious look between the two of us. "If I cry... you'll let me live?"
"That's right," Uncle declared with supreme, unblinking conviction.
The archbishop immediately looked to me, desperately trying to gauge if this was a legitimate bargain or a cruel joke. I offered him nothing. How could I? I had no idea what kind of nonsense Uncle was pulling either.
"..."
"Can't do it, can you? Just as I thought—"
Just as Uncle tightened his grip on his spear to strike—
"*Waaah. Uwaaah.*"
The archbishop squeezed his eyes shut and let out a pathetic, dry wail.
Smack!
Uncle's left hand cracked violently against the back of the vampire's head.
"Don't fake it, you bastard! Real tears! Show me actual tears!"
"..."
Getting smacked upside the head after doing precisely what he was told seemed to have dealt a catastrophic blow to the archbishop's dignity. He stared back with an expression of pure, unadulterated grievance.
For a brief moment, I actually felt a pang of pity for him.
Evil monster or not, his circumstances were undeniably miserable. First, his Sacred Blood was looted; then, his sacrificial battery was patched up; and now he was being forced to perform in this bizarre theater.
"Tsk."
Whatever scene Uncle had envisioned in his head, he seemed ready to give up on it and finish the job.
And right then, as if the sheer absurdity, helplessness, and humiliation of his situation had finally overwhelmed him, genuine, shimmering tears began streaming down the vampire's pale cheeks.
"Uh... he's crying."
"Wait, is he actually crying?"
Caught off guard, Uncle looked visibly flustered.
"What the hell? Why is he crying?!"
"You literally told him to cry!"
"Well, sure, but..."
It wasn't my imagination—Uncle looked genuinely annoyed that his dramatic monologue had been spoiled.
"You're not actually going to spare him just because he shed a few tears, right?"
Before the words had even fully left my mouth, Uncle's spear punched straight through the archbishop's chest.
"Are you out of your mind? Of course not," Uncle scoffed, leaning into the thrust. "How else are we supposed to clear the gate?"
It was painfully obvious he had struck mid-sentence just to silence the guy before he could accuse him of breaking his word.
"Aaaaargh!"
The vampire let out a shriek of blistering agony—far worse than anything he had uttered when scorched by my flames.
Ah, right, I almost forgot... Uncle's spear carries divinity, doesn't it? Even after making such a fuss about refusing to use silver.
From the archbishop's perspective, there were no villains in this dungeon viler than the party standing before him.
"So, what was all that about?" I asked, wiping my blade.
"There was this novel I read back in the day. Said vampires were physically incapable of crying."
"And that line about 'proving your purity'?"
"Ahem. Drop it. It's a thing." Uncle cleared his throat loudly, turning his face away to hide his burning ears.
All vampires have been eliminated.
Subjugation of Gate [Corridor of Sacred Blood] Complete.
With that, the gate came to an end.
I glanced toward the altar. Seeing the Saintess still unconscious, I felt a slight twinge of regret that she hadn't awakened to hand over some legendary relic.
—Do not fret, Master, Chunbae chimed in smoothly. We have obtained far more Sacred Blood than originally anticipated. That alone is more than sufficient reward. It can rightfully be called a hidden achievement.
'Is that so?'
Come to think of it, he had a point. By completely reversing the standard dungeon path and rushing the old cathedral, we had secured every single vial of Sacred Blood and sealed them away into subspace. Had we fought our way in normally, every vampire along the corridor would have consumed those reserves to battle us.
'Hey, Chunbae. Out of curiosity, could a paladin use this Sacred Blood for anything?'
—Technically, yes. However, in a world devoid of living deities, the conversion efficiency is abysmal. The hard limits are far too restrictive.
That made sense. The stockpile was limited, and there was no guarantee we would ever come across more. It was infinitely better spent fueling Chunbae.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a fresh window flickered into view.
You have safely rescued the Saintess while exterminating the vampires.
Spirit stat increased by 3.
Three raw stat points?
Keeping the Saintess alive really had been a hidden condition. Considering the vampires had been openly bleeding her dry, she certainly would have perished from blood loss had the battle dragged on in the corridor.
A full level and three bonus points in Spirit.
On top of that, Chunbae had secured an unprecedented bounty of divinity. Burning a priority pass on this gate had paid off in spades.
—From this moment forth, I shall instruct Master Han Hye in the optimal utilization of your mana circuits.
After a brief rest, I retreated into the subspace to meet with Chunbae. The unexpected windfall of divinity had altered his plans entirely.
—Originally, my intention was to prioritize the guild's mage, as Master Han Hye is already exceptionally formidable on your own. However, the quantity of divinity acquired far exceeded my initial estimates.
"Are you sure you can spare it?"
—Affirmative. There is more than enough reserve power to guide you through restructuring your mana circulation.
Had we cleared the gate by standard means, we wouldn't have walked away with even half this amount. It was an enormous harvest.
—A comfortable margin remains to advise the mage as well, so there is no need for concern.
Naturally, once Chunbae siphoned away every trace of divinity from the Sacred Blood, what remained was ordinary mortal blood. I disposed of it without hesitation. Carrying jars of mundane human blood around in my subspace would just be creepy.
"All right. Let's do it."
—I shall use my own energy to directly guide the flow within your mana circuits. Please maintain absolute concentration.
"Understood."
—I am entirely serious, Master.
Chunbae, already a naturally solemn spirit, spoke with an intensity I had never heard from him before.
—Without formal instruction, a mortal's mana efficiency remains locked at baseline. No matter how rigorously one trains, an awakening born in a world previously devoid of mana will always encounter severe structural ceilings.
"Makes sense."
—The circulation method I am about to impart hails directly from the homeworld of the Pre-predecessor Space Lord. Once integrated, it will expand your mana efficiency by up to twofold.
My jaw dropped.
"Alright. I'm completely locked in."
Doubling my mana efficiency?
That wasn't something that could be measured by mere numbers on a status screen. It was an astronomical leap in raw power—meaning I could sustain devastating skills like Incineration for twice as long.