Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Vampire Lord
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Meanwhile, at that moment...
*Boom!*
"Guhk!"
Sword Flower, sprawled on the ground and caught in the warp gate, couldn't react in time and slammed into the floor.
Having lost both legs and collapsed on the ground, there was no way she could have braced herself even if she tried.
She'd never seen a warp gate before and knew nothing about them, so even with an intact body, there wasn't much she could have done anyway.
"Urgh..."
As she lay there on the floor, clutching her head where it had struck the ground and trying to piece together what had just happened...
"Hoo. Whose familiar are you?"
*Shiver!*
A bizarre voice she'd never heard in her life echoed out.
A peculiar tone that sounded neither masculine nor feminine.
*Thump thump*
It didn't end there—merely hearing it sent strange reactions rippling through her body.
A body that had escaped humanity, revived after death.
"Wh-who are you?!"
She couldn't help reacting sharply, her voice rising involuntarily.
How could she stay calm when something unknown was exerting a weird influence over her body?
"Hmm. Whoever your master is, you're a cheeky familiar. Daring to raise your voice at me."
She whipped her head up, looking toward the source of the voice.
There stood a man she presumed was its owner.
Skin pale beyond white, almost translucent.
Jet-black hair that seemed to embody darkness itself, the night incarnate.
And red eyes just like hers.
Instinct told her this man was no ordinary opponent.
At the very least, he was surely connected to whatever had revived her.
"Well then. First, won't you tell me? Who is your master?"
A sinister gleam flickered in the man's eyes as they met hers.
The instant she locked onto that light, her mind grew foggy, her thoughts slipping toward his alluring beauty...
"What trick is this?"
She made no effort to hide her disgust at the sensation of her mind being tampered with.
"...Huh?"
Had he assumed she'd answer his question obediently?
He couldn't conceal his shocked expression.
"...How did you shatter my enchantment?"
"Enchantment...?"
"I didn't fail to cast it... Let me try once more..."
The man's eyes glowed again, the same sensation surging over her.
*Whoosh!*
Still on the ground, she snatched up her sword and hurled it at him like a spear.
Whether from sloppy aim or some other reason, it grazed right past his head and thudded into the wall.
Frowning, she snapped,
"Yuseong is the only one for me. Cut the weird tricks."
"...Hmm. Is it because you already have someone in your heart? Even then, it shouldn't fail..."
"...So what the hell have you been pulling since earlier?"
"Very well. You're no ordinary familiar, then. Congratulations, young vampire. You've passed the trial of Barshutain, Vampire Lord and Third Legion Commander of the Immortal Legion."
*Snap!*
With those words, the man flicked his fingers.
It was still all gibberish to her.
Vampires, Immortal Legion—she could grasp that Barshutain was the man's name from context, but nothing else made sense.
Yet her confusion didn't last.
*Click.*
"Th-this..."
"Chatting while lying down or face-planted would be rude, wouldn't it? Just a small courtesy—no need to feel burdened."
Glancing at her lower body, she saw the legs her master had neatly severed regenerated flawlessly, as if they'd never been cut.
A feat impossible without divine intervention or major surgery.
Yet this man had fixed it with a single finger snap.
"Now, sit. I have plenty of questions."
At his words, a red chair materialized before her.
The more she saw, the more she doubted her own eyes.
A scene that screamed sorcery.
"Why am I... with you..."
"I've acknowledged you, but that doesn't mean I'll overlook your rudeness forever."
*Chill!*
The aura radiating from his body washed over her, goosebumps erupting instantly.
Her instincts screamed a warning.
Keep defying this man, and it wouldn't end well.
"...Fine."
"No honorifics?"
"I still don't know who you are."
"That reaction even after sensing my presence? Bold as brass. I like it, though. Feels like finding a decent plaything after ages."
Being arbitrarily labeled a plaything should've irked her, but given the man's power staring her in the face, it clicked.
Like her master's. A realm forever out of her reach, no matter how she thrashed.
Someone in that league would naturally view others as toys.
"Now, once more. Who is your master?"
Irresistible pressure coiled around her body.
Refuse, and her hard-won new life might end right there.
But there was an issue.
"...What even is this 'master' thing?"
She had no clue what he meant by 'master.'
She wasn't some slave.
"Hm? Surely someone revived you, right?"
"Someone revived me...?"
"Didn't he explain? No... even without explanation, you'd know instinctively..."
His words jogged her memory of right after waking.
Hmm...
[Only Yuseong can make me move.]
"...No idea. I was alone after waking up."
"Looks like an accident during revival. Rare, but it happens. A familiar operating without a master, though... fascinating."
He wore an intrigued expression.
"Fine. Normally, your master would explain, but given the circumstances, I'll handle it. You were born and raised in this world called the Central Plains, right? Then met your end for some reason?"
"...Yeah."
"Simply put, we—known as vampires or blood demons in Central Plains tongue—hail from another world. Not this Central Plains."
"..."
She couldn't speak for a moment, the meaning eluding her.
So...
"You mean the Outer Murim?"
"No. Literally another world. Another dimension. A different star altogether."
"Hmm..."
Tough to wrap her head around.
"If it's too much, just think of us as outlanders from some impossibly distant land. People here seem oddly resistant to the idea of other worlds."
"...Got it."
She roughly accepted it and pressed on with the talk.
More stories followed.
Immortal Legions, battles for dimensional survival, fallout from defeat—concepts beyond her grasp.
"Tch. Lucky your body got reconstructed. Reviving intact would've been a disaster. If that Sword Empress wench's stab wound in my chest lingered, you wouldn't be alive in any real sense."
'Chatty, huh.'
The initial oppressive aura had dissipated.
Explanations droned on.
Bottom line: she wasn't human anymore.
A vampire race. Undead. A new breed.
Blood as staple food, growing stronger with every sip, endless regeneration unless decapitated.
That summed up her body as she understood it.
"Speaking of, how've you gone without bloodsucking till now? The urges must've been brutal."
"...Haven't."
"...You resisted them?"
Now he mentioned it, she recalled the sensation she'd forgotten.
Before meeting Yuseong, the mad impulse to grab a passerby and drain them.
But she'd held back, thinking of him.
If she had to suck blood, it'd only be Yuseong's.
"...So not a single drop till now?"
"Yeah."
"Huh... how's your body even holding together."
He looked grave, as if it were dire.
His next words left her flustered.
"Can't have that. Drink my blood at least. I'll grant it personally, impressed by your willpower. Feel honored."
He proffered his hand.
*Smack!*
Instinctively, she scowled and swatted it away.
He blinked in puzzlement.
"Why refuse? For a vampire, my blood is the ultimate honor."
Did he genuinely believe that? It rang true, at least.
*Thump thump*
Her body craved it, will or no.
The reason she rejected it anyway was plain.
"...I don't want any man but Yuseong touching me. Not even a finger."
Because he was male.
Male, and not Yuseong.
Just as she loathed the thought of him with another woman, it went both ways.
Honestly, she wanted out of there right now.
Hearing her, he spoke up.
"Ah, because this form is male? Uncomfortable, was it?"
"..."
"Should've said so sooner. No need to suffer pointlessly. One moment."
*Snap!*
He flicked his fingers again.
His appearance shifted in a flash.
Once done, she stared in shock.
"There. Better now?"
'...Yeah?'
Her master's beauty had always been unmatched.
Yet here was a transcendent beauty who could rival her—maybe even surpass.
"Wh-what the... just now..."
"Other vampires might be bound, but this form was crafted by Her—the Death Lord transcending life itself. Why shackle it to something as petty as gender for breeding? This body has no fixed sex."
Incomprehensible jargon aside,
for some reason, hostility welled up toward her.