13 - I Have Chastised the Wicked Ones
[1. Blood Claw: Evolves the nails sharply to enhance piercing power.]
[2. Shadow Step: Hides the body in shadows to evade attacks and move swiftly.]
[3. Blood Veil: Condenses blood to deploy a sturdy defensive barrier.]
[Choose an evolution!]
What? I can evolve my familiar?
I hurriedly examined the three options floating before my eyes.
Option 1, Blood Claw, was an attack skill.
Options 2, Shadow Step, and 3, Blood Veil, looked like evasion and defense skills, respectively.
So, which one should I pick for her?
The most striking feature of the monster Siyeon was facing right now was its overwhelming physical defense.
Evasion or defense might buy a little time, but against something that sturdy, chipping away wouldn't work—it was obvious she'd be at a disadvantage in a prolonged fight.
In that case... obviously...
If the opponent's a tank with sky-high defense, what do you boost?
Armor penetration, duh!
Drawing on my gamer instincts, I quickly decided and selected the first option, Blood Claw.
Click.
Familiar 'Siyeon' receives the power of blood.
The familiar's trait partially evolves.
...Is this it, then.
Siyeon gasped for breath.
The bizarre monster lurking inside the shaman's body.
Its strength was beyond imagination.
She'd stabbed and slashed it dozens of times, but not a single scratch marred its tough hide.
Meanwhile, her own body was a wreck. Her suit was torn to shreds, deep gashes carved into her skin everywhere.
Her stamina was dwindling, and she was taking hits more frequently. But still.
No. Master so graciously bestowed new life and a name upon me...
She couldn't die so pointlessly.
To perish without repaying the savior who pulled her from hell.
To die without avenging her enemies.
What a shameful end that would be.
As she forced out the last of her strength and regripped her daggers—
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, a burning heat spread from her heart.
Yu... Si... Yeon... A voice echoed in her mind. Siyeon focused immediately, listening intently. The great blood slumbering within her was calling.
Master...?
Accept... the power... Siyeon closed her eyes and surrendered her body fully to the great blood's guidance.
Then.
Wriggle!
That same thrilling rush from when she'd first received Master's blood surged through her again.
The sensation of every cell in her body reconstructing in an instant.
I've gotten stronger? The instinctive realization flashed through her mind.
No. This isn't just 'stronger.'
Right now, her very existence had evolved to another level. Siyeon felt an itch in her fingertips. She could do something now.
Drop.
She unhesitatingly let the two daggers in her hands fall to the ground.
"Kukuku. Finally giving up the struggle, are you?"
The monster possessing the shaman's body sneered as it approached.
It seemed to think she'd surrendered, seeing her standing there barehanded without even a weapon.
"Taking over your body doesn't sound half bad! Be a good vessel for me!"
It lashed out with its tentacles viciously and charged.
But Siyeon didn't dodge.
Instead, she kicked off the ground hard and dove straight into its embrace.
"Tch, really. No learning ability at all."
The monster scoffed.
"That's why human attacks are useless, you—...huh?"
In an instant, the monster's sneer turned to shock.
Siyeon spread her hands wide. The nails on all ten fingers turned blood-red and elongated.
And then.
Riiip—!
The hide it had been so smug about being impenetrable tore like paper before Siyeon's claws.
"Gaaaaah!!"
With a horrific scream, the shaman's torso split wide open.
Siyeon mercilessly swung her claws again and again.
Chunks of its body flew off with every hit.
"You... you toy bitch dare...!!"
Finally, the shaman's body reached its limit and cracked open, revealing the hideous true form parasitizing within.
A grotesque black parasite covered in dozens of eyeballs and tentacles.
But Siyeon's blood-red eyes held no tremor.
This must be Master's arrangement.
This power was undoubtedly a miracle bestowed by Master.
Perfectly timed, perfectly suited to the moment. Which meant...
Master is watching me...!
The gaze of that great being was upon her. He was always with her.
That fact filled Siyeon's chest with overwhelming joy.
How far did Master's power extend, anyway?
"In Master's name—"
Trembling once more at that unfathomable greatness, Siyeon declared coldly.
"I now exclude you."
"How dare youuuu!!!!"
The monster thrashed wildly, firing tentacles, but Siyeon calmly evaded them all, closing the distance in a flash and piercing its core precisely.
Squelch—!!
Red claws burst out through its torso.
"Kieeeek—!!"
With a grotesque death cry, the hideous monster convulsed and went limp.
A perfect victory.
Siyeon exhaled heavily, retracting her black-blood-stained claws.
That was when.
Weee-ooo-weee-ooo!!
A blaring siren echoed nearby.
Some local must have called the cops, startled by the battle noise.
"......"
Siyeon gazed down at the monster's remains with cold eyes.
The shaman and the parasitic monster.
Her vile enemies' end was utterly pathetic.
"It's the police!"
"Don't move!"
As flashlight beams and voices approached, she leaped toward the dark window.
Kyahaha!! Good job, my Siyeon!!!
I clenched my fist on the chair.
It was that electric thrill of watching your favorite team score a comeback goal in the finals!
Just pressing one evolution button, and she shredded a monster her attacks couldn't touch before like tissue paper. So satisfying.
Tanks with bloated defense are best torn apart by penetration, after all.
Your familiar has subjugated the 'Parasitic Demon Beast Dark Oculus'.
Your familiar acquires experience.
Level increased by 3.
And Siyeon's level-up notices popped up one after another. In the Tower, it goes under my name so I get the EXP, but outside, it seems structured so the familiar grows stronger.
I'd heard that for someone as strong as her, even a single level-up is tough, but she jumped three levels! Must be because it was such a powerful monster—generous EXP.
Excellent work.
She returned through the window soon after.
Her clothes were shredded here and there, her body covered in wounds, but her expression looked incredibly relieved.
"Master. I have completed my orders and returned."
Siyeon knelt before me and bowed her head.
I approached and gently stroked her hair.
A pat of praise for a job well done.
"Hehe, thou hast labored greatly, my familiar."
"Ah..."
Her eyes quivered at my touch, and she bowed her head deeply. Eyes closed, blissfully accepting my pets—Siyeon.
Watching this, Katarina's shoulders twitched slightly.
She stared fixedly at my hand on Siyeon's head, biting her lip.
Jealousy was written all over her face.
Oopsie. Big sis is jealous.
As I started to pull my hand away,
Katarina cleared her throat awkwardly and spoke.
"Ahem. Not bad for a first mission. I praise thee for bringing results worthy of my Lord's glory." She also looked at Siyeon with eyes tinged with admiration. "And... thou hast grown another step. Congratulations, Siyeon."
Ooh. Jealous but still acknowledging and congratulating her junior. Katarina, you've grown! As expected of my first familiar.
Siyeon, too—unlike her earlier rivalry—bowed deeply to Katarina.
"Thank you, Lady Katarina."
A heartwarming sight of them mutually recognizing each other.
That night.
Thanks to Siyeon's exploits, Black Cow's leadership vanished overnight.
She'd taken out the boss, the chief shaman, and all the key executives.
But I didn't stop there.
Might as well go all in since our location's exposed—no need to leave loose ends.
Over the next few days, I dispatched Katarina and Siyeon in turns.
They wiped out every last remnant and base of the organization.
Mobsters without a command structure were no match for the two vampires.
The result was simple yet shocking.
One of the three major underworld guilds dominating Seoul's underbelly.
Utterly annihilated in a matter of days.