Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Exploration
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[For now, I think we've narrowed it down to this much. I'm not all that familiar with this world myself, but neither is he. If it's the guy I know, he'd have probably set up his base in one of these spots.]
As the Saintess spoke, Ye Sochen, who had been marking various places on the map, stood up. The map now bore countless traces, with three large circled locations remaining.
[There's a saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket. He probably wouldn't concentrate all his forces in one place, but in the end, he'd have no choice but to have a main base where he usually stays. He could delegate the resurrection ritual to his subordinates to some extent, but without him, it couldn't proceed properly. So it's being prepared at wherever he normally resides.]
"So that damned bitch is in one of those three places?"
[Probably. Given his personality, one of them is guaranteed to be his base. Even if not, I'd bet there's at least one hideout... Wait, hold on. Bitch?]
"...? Yeah. She's a bitch, not a bastard."
[...Huh?]
The Saintess looked flustered upon hearing Ye Sochen's words.
'What's got her so surprised?'
It couldn't be because Ye Sochen swore a bit.
She already knew he was the type to casually toss around profanity despite his youthful appearance.
[No... You mean... a woman? Not a man?]
"...She was a woman."
[Vampires basically have pretty faces even if they're male, so maybe it looked feminine...]
"No, she was straight-up a woman. Long hair, no Adam's apple, slim waist... no breasts, but still."
[...What?]
Something seemed off about the Vampire Lord's gender, though I wasn't sure of the details.
From what I could gather, the Saintess thought of the Vampire Lord as male, but what Ye Sochen saw was female.
[Hmm... Maybe his mindset changed after crossing dimensions. He's a being born from death and rejected by life, after all. There's no fixed gender for such an existence, so changing appearance isn't that strange. He might have switched genders as a fresh start in a new world...]
"...No fixed gender?"
[Gender is ultimately a distinction for living creatures that reproduce sexually. There's no reason for one born from death to have reproductive obligations.]
What, like some kind of sea creature that can switch sexes at will?
Apparently, such bizarre lifeforms existed.
...She said it wasn't even a lifeform to begin with.
[Anyway, you should keep in mind the possibility that he might change appearance and flee. For something that's not even alive, his obsession with survival is insane. He's prideful, but if needed, he'll do anything to escape—even if it means sacrificing every other vampire. As long as that one survives, he can rise again. Conversely, if you catch him, no amount of surviving vampires matters; revival becomes impossible.]
"...I won't let him escape. It's a chance we barely got, so no worries there..."
[I'm not so sure about that.]
The Saintess responded negatively to Ye Sochen's resolute words.
[Not to downplay you, but as someone who's faced him before, don't underestimate his survival instincts. It's not as simple as capturing and beheading him. He's probably tampered with his soul here too. Unless you track down and eradicate every fragment of his shattered soul—dozens of them—you can't truly eliminate him. And those fragments are naturally scattered everywhere.]
Can you confidently say you can do that?
"...If I burn his connected soul all at once with an ultimate strike..."
[If that were possible, it wouldn't have taken us so long to catch him.]
"..."
Ye Sochen bit his lip at the Saintess's words.
We had a lead on their base, but letting him slip would be worse than doing nothing.
A successfully surviving Vampire Lord would burrow even deeper, making him harder to find than now, worsening the situation.
"Then we hunt down and destroy his soul fragments one by one..."
[That would take too long. Even I can't guess where he'd hide the soul fragments. And he wouldn't fail to notice his fragments vanishing.]
"...Then what the hell do we..."
[That's why you've got me!]
As Ye Sochen was about to snap at the Saintess for her constant negativity, she pointed at herself.
[If you can subdue him and bring me before him, I can eradicate any number of remaining soul fragments for sure. We've got a custom anti-Barstein spell crafted solely to kill him by the greatest mages, scholars, sorcerers, priests, and talents from the Magic Tower and Holy Kingdom. It was finished too late for us to use effectively, though.]
"...How do we get you in front of him?"
[Hmm... The only channel connected to me is the Hero's... so you'd have to bring the Hero right up to him...]
"Don't talk nonsense!!
-Gasp!
Ye Sochen shouted so loudly that even I, listening quietly, jumped.
"How dangerous do you think that place is? You want to drag this frail guy there? Are you insane? What if he's taken hostage—who's responsible then?!"
"Uh..."
I appreciated the concern...
But hearing "frail" so bluntly stung a bit.
"If hostage is the best case—what if he gets hurt or killed? This world doesn't have magic potions like yours to revive the near-dead. How could you take a guy like this to a place swarming with vampires..."
[Then just let him go. But fair warning: subduing him and dragging him to me won't work. That cockroach will pull something on the way.]
"...Tch."
"...Hey, just take me along then..."
"No way. You have no idea how dangerous it is."
"But if I don't go, the odds of losing him skyrocket... That's one step closer to doom."
"Urgh..."
Ye Sochen agonized over my words.
I didn't want to walk into danger either, but they kept saying it had to be me.
'...Guess I have to trust they'll protect me.'
If we went, it'd be with Ye Sochen, the Sword Empress, and Master—all of them. No matter how dangerous, with that lineup, I wasn't likely to die to some stray blade.
As Ye Sochen kept deliberating, the Saintess cautiously spoke up again.
[Hmm... There is a way. We can temporarily transfer the Hero's channel to someone else, and they could relay for me.]
"...Say that sooner."
[But then I'd be separated from the Hero! That's a huge sacrifice for me too!?! Watching over him is my only joy in this life...]
"It'll only be a moment. Once ready, we head out immediately—it won't even take days. Can't you endure that much?"
[Don't take the meaning the Hero has to me so lightly. It's far more important than you think.]
...For a second there, the Saintess's vibe shifted. Imagination?
Anyway, that method would work.
"Then transfer the channel to Ye Sochen..."
[No, not her. Her body's full of another god's energy, so trying to connect would cause backlash. Someone else.]
"..."
Tricky.
Ye Sochen glanced at the Sword Empress and Master upon hearing the Saintess, and they seemed to grasp the situation too.
"So we transfer that 'channel' thing to one of us?"
"...Seems like it."
"What happens when we receive it?"
[Nothing much. The shop is Hero-exclusive, so no one else can use it. For the recipient, it's just internal chat with me—no other effects.]
"Hoh..."
The Master looked intrigued at the Saintess's explanation.
...Come to think of it, she eyed the Saintess curiously earlier too.
"Then transfer it to me. Time to see how my disciple's been living behind my back."
[When the Hero lived with you in the mountains, the channel hadn't formed yet, so nothing happened. He's only known of me for about two years anyway.]
"I see. How do we do it? Just stand still?"
[Hmm... Nothing fancy. Just a kiss...]
"A kiss. Got it."
The Master approached me as she spoke.
Just lips touching briefly, then done...
-Flash
Wait, hold on.
Why am I suddenly floating...
-Smooch slurp
"Mmphmmph!!"
In the blink of an eye, the Master's face was upon mine.
-Flail flail!
My limbs thrashed in the air, displaced instantly, as her beastly tongue invaded my mouth, my mind fogging over.
[D-Done! You can let go now!]
-Pah
"Ends quicker than expected."
[I never said to tangle tongues!]
"Isn't that standard for a kiss?"
'Typical fox spirit.'
Who knows if she was serious.
The Master's personality was twisted enough.
As for the state of my underwear... no comment.