No Particular Grudge
“Just to clear up any misunderstandings in advance, I don’t hold any particular grudge against vampires. They tried to kill me, so I simply responded in kind.”
“I know. If you really hated them, you wouldn’t have let me live.”
That’s a relief. If she had been so terrified that she ran away, it would have caused all sorts of trouble. I’m terribly clumsy at explaining my own innocence, after all.
If Bella had started to misunderstand me, I doubt I could have convinced her. It was the same back in the murim. Whether it was because of my infamous reputation or my awkwardness, not a single ordinary person ever believed in my innocence. To be fair, about half of that was karma I’d earned in my hot-blooded youth, but still—unfair is unfair.
When I shook off the old memories and looked up again, Bella was staring at me with a fascinated expression.
“Are you really human? You’re not some apostle of a god or the incarnation of a dragon or anything, right?”
“Do things like that even exist?”
I had zero interest in being a dragon’s incarnation, but the idea of a divine apostle was rather intriguing. Someone chosen by a transcendent being would surely be strong.
Just so you know, among all the divine apostles, no one is stronger than the dragon that Lady Hwaryeong caught first.
“...Did you really have to ruin the moment?”
Better than being disappointed later, isn’t it?
She had a point. Still… ugh. My mood was completely ruined.
Just when was this so-called Vampire Lord supposed to show up, anyway?
I spent the time chatting idly with Bella about nothing important, and before I knew it, the sun had slipped beneath the horizon.
“I think I can leave now!”
“It does look that way, but wait a moment.”
Night was Bella’s time, but it was also the time for the other vampires hunting her. She must be incredibly valuable to them. The way they revealed themselves the instant darkness fell said it all.
I brushed the dirt off my clothes and stood up.
“Enri. Do you remember what I told you about presence before?”
Yes. It wasn’t that long ago.
“Then here’s a question. How many vampires are currently surrounding the entrance to this cave?”
You can’t smell them, but you can still hear them, can’t you?
Six.
“...Huh?”
There are six vampires here right now.
Enri answered without the slightest hesitation.
“That’s correct, but how did you do it?”
It didn’t seem like she had sensed their presence and observed her surroundings to reach that conclusion.
I just memorized it.
“So you’re saying you memorized what enemies appear in this exact scene?”
Yep!
Enri’s bright, cheerful answer left me momentarily speechless. Just how many times had she played this game?
The moment I stepped out of the cave, vampires began emerging one by one from the shadows of the forest. They didn’t look all that different from the ones that had been inside the cave.
“Hwaryeong. Now.”
“Wait. I’ll clean this up quickly.”
I left Bella inside the cave and stepped forward. One of the vampires let out a rough voice.
“How arrogant, human. Do you even know who we are, speaking like that?”
“Do you know who I am, spouting such nonsense?”
The one who failed to gauge their opponent’s level was you, wasn’t it?
“Why is everyone talking like they’re the villains here?”
I think something has gone very wrong. A whole group has gathered to kidnap a single woman, so why are they cheering for the other side instead of me?
Sorry, but even I can’t defend you this time. Go vampires! You got this!
“Even you, Enri…”
What exactly did I ever do to the vampires for them to act like this? Sure, since they were so durable, I did run a few experiments while subduing them, but I still spared their lives. That should have been mercy enough!
It was unfair, but the public opinion had already sided with them. There was nothing I could do. In that case, I had no choice but to become the real villain.
I silently crooked my finger in provocation. From a distance, flames came flying toward me. Compared to what the lizard had used, this magic was pitifully lacking. Still, the lizard’s spells had at least been entertaining to watch. This was just… meh.
I brushed the flames aside with the back of my hand and deliberately clicked my tongue.
“Is that really all you’ve got?”
One hot-blooded vampire immediately charged at me. How foolish. Falling for such obvious provocation.
I had fought vampires inside the cave until I was sick of it. I had already finished researching exactly how durable their bodies were and what kind of attacks were needed to completely subdue them.
A vampire’s body was fundamentally the same as a human’s. It was simply far more durable and recovered at an absurdly fast rate. That was it.
To an ordinary person they might seem like immortal beings, but to my eyes they were nothing more than particularly sturdy sandbags. After all, as living creatures, they had limits to their durability and limits to their regeneration. If you kept hitting them until they broke, they were bound to malfunction eventually.
I dodged the vampire’s claw-like nails, then struck his jaw to rattle his brain. As he lost his balance and collapsed, I stomped down on his waist with my foot. The moment his spine snapped under the pressure, a pained scream burst from the vampire’s mouth.
I had already confirmed that simply breaking it would let him regenerate soon after, so I stomped a few more times to shatter his spine completely, then kicked him in the ribs to send him flying aside.
When I raised my head, I saw the other vampires flinching the instant my gaze landed on them.
Why were they all so scared? I genuinely couldn’t understand it. Where had all that confidence and arrogance from earlier gone?
If you lot are just going to stand there hesitating, then I have no choice but to come to you.
Dealing with these vampires was nothing more than a tedious chore. None of the ones here could even reach the toes of the lizard I had fought before, so there was no way their numbers would change the outcome.
I had planned to instill just enough fear to make them run away, but strangely, even while looking at me like I was a monster, the vampires refused to retreat. They kept glancing back and forth between me and whatever was behind them, then charged as if they had nothing left to lose.
After helping all five of them become intimately acquainted with the dirt floor, I turned my gaze to the last remaining one. He was the one who had simply watched his comrades get brutally beaten without lifting a finger. It wasn’t because he was frozen in fear. Arrogance still lingered in both his eyes and his posture.
“You’re quite strong for a human. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that you brought Bella out of that cave.”
“Then am I the monster?”
I had heard the word “monster” directed at me countless times before, but this was the first time I had heard it mixed with such playful teasing. Usually, those who called me a monster were either afraid of me or envious of me.
Letting out a small laugh, I took a step toward the vampire.
“However, since you are still human, you cannot defeat us. If you hand over Bella, I’ll at least spare your life.”
“Shut up and come at me already.”
“Hmm. Very well. I’ll do as you wish.”
The vampire snapped his fingers. Shadows spread across the ground, and from within them, various creatures burst forth—skeletal soldiers, moving statues, and other vampires. There were roughly a hundred of them. It wouldn’t be strange to call it an army.
But they were all nothing more than cannon fodder.
How troublesome. Did he really think numbers would make any difference?
It’s not that numerical superiority is meaningless. A large group can itself become a form of violence. But that only applies when the gap between sides isn’t too vast.
The chasm between these minions and me was so deep that even piling up mountains of corpses wouldn’t fill it. Even if their numbers went from a hundred to a thousand, nothing would change.
The skeletons were brittle. I didn’t even need to use strength—just a light tap and their bones scattered across the ground.
The statues were just as weak. They shattered like glass under a casual punch.
The vampires were no different. Since they weren’t much stronger than the ones I had faced before, I subdued them appropriately.
By the time the number of enemies sprawled across the ground went from one to ten and eventually surpassed a hundred, the only ones still standing were me and the vampire who had summoned them.
Defeat events are meaningless against Lady Hwaryeong.
Clap, clap, clap. The vampire applauded.
Even though all the subordinates he had summoned were now lying on the ground, he still carried himself with perfect composure.
“Amazing. Truly amazing. To think a human could accomplish such a feat! May I ask your name?”
“Baek Hwaryeong.”
“What a wonderful name! Nice to meet you. I am called Harkia.”
It might seem like he was praising me, but that wasn’t the case at all. The vampire who had introduced himself as Harkia was subtly placing me beneath him. He was saying that while I was inferior to him, I was decent for a human and therefore worthy of acknowledgment.
How truly arrogant.
“Is that all you wanted to show me?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I didn’t prepare much this time.”
Even as he admitted he had no more cards left to play, Harkia somehow still radiated confidence. He must know he couldn’t win, so how could he smile like that?
This felt familiar. I had seen someone act this way before.
Ah. I remembered.
“The body you’re using right now isn’t your real one, is it?”
“You’re sharp. I’m merely borrowing it for a while.”
I understood now. So that was his trump card. No wonder he could remain so relaxed even with me standing right in front of him.
This was the second time I had encountered someone who wandered around in borrowed bodies. The only other person who had done something like this was that trash who called himself the Blood Sect Leader, so it was probably the same situation here.
Now that I thought about it, this guy was eerily similar to the Blood Sect Leader. The subtly irritating gestures, that smug smile he wore while pretending to be relaxed, the way he drove others to their deaths without taking a single step himself.
Just thinking about that bastard made my irritation flare up again. Dealing with the Blood Sect had been one of the most grating moments of my entire life.
My heart grew cold. Just moments ago I had been somewhat enjoying myself.
“Well then, let’s wrap this up. Next time I’ll prepare something more entertaining and come back.”
I wanted to put my pipe in my mouth, but this was still inside the game. No matter how much I wished for it, I couldn’t summon my pipe here. Oh well. I would just have to vent my frustration by crushing that smile of his.
I walked toward Harkia. He spread both arms wide, waiting for me to attack. But instead of throwing a punch, I unleashed my killing intent.
I didn’t hold back like I usually did for my opponents. I gathered every ounce of murderous aura and crushed the vampire before me with it.
“What’s the matter?”
His face had gone stiff. Where had that earlier composure gone? It seemed he hadn’t expected this at all. Of course not. You never imagined that anything could actually threaten you, did you? That bastard from the Blood Sect had been the same way.
Don’t be too scared now. Your already pale face has gone completely white—you look just like a ghost.