Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Camilla
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Since she was arrogantly spewing curses, Ian personally hammered a stake into Camilla's other thigh as well. Whether sufficient etiquette had been drilled into her, Camilla slammed her head down, her lips trembling violently.
"W-We vampires can engage in reproductive activities, but since we lack any sexual desire, it's practically impossible to bear children like humans... Even if we did give birth, no vampires would be born..."
"Then?"
"Ghouls. Only after being killed by a vampire and slowly evolving can one become a vampire..."
"Hmm."
Ian mulled over her words, idly tapping his leg.
He already knew ghouls could become vampires. It was too famous a fact not to know. But he hadn't even imagined it was the only way. He'd assumed there must be something else, yet it boiled down to mere evolution. Darwin would've hated that.
"Then what's your origin? Progenitor, in modern terms? Does such an entity exist?"
"...Bathory Erzsébet, Gilles de Rais, Vlad III. They're practically the progenitors."
"Famous real-life vampires. But those three lived in different eras, as I recall."
"Inherited."
Camilla breathed heavily as she continued.
"The first vampire wasn't a living creature—just a pool of blood. Living, moving blood, though. It roamed across Europe, turning humans into vampires."
"..."
"That first one was a nameless homeless person, but it had no intelligence to speak of. So we vampires don't count it as the true first. Gilles de Rais holds that title."
"A Frenchman. Is that when it first appeared?"
"The progenitor slowly brainwashed Gilles de Rais's birth mother into a bloodthirsty beast. It even affected Gilles de Rais in the womb. His barbaric, filthy tastes all stem from this—"
"Not that interested in your history. Just summarize."
Ian cut her off, pressing the reloaded pistol firmly against the back of her head. Camilla gulped and nodded.
"...After Gilles de Rais, the progenitor gained human-level intelligence. It exploited the Hundred Years' War to scatter its blood—essentially its clones—across Europe. That blood infiltrated human bodies, turning them into ghouls, then slowly fed them more blood to evolve them. It had a higher chance of producing strong individuals than direct mutation like with Gilles."
"So no true progenitor exists."
"...Right. But there are 'first-generation' noble vampires. Their main stronghold is Greece..."
"You're quite chatty. Almost makes me wonder if you're lying out of excessive obedience."
Ian smirked and tapped her head with the gun barrel. Humiliated, Camilla gritted her teeth but offered no resistance. In this situation, even a stray dog could tell who was boss and who was underling.
"...I'm telling the truth. Verify it if you want."
"Never mind. It's not important info anyway. Satisfied my curiosity."
Ian swept back his hair and slowly rose to his feet. Her back relaxed from no longer bearing his weight, and he sat in the chair, opening the grimoire.
"Where are the other vampires besides you?"
"...I don't know."
"..."
Ian's expression turned icy. Sensing the chill killing intent, Camilla hastily added,
"D-Do you think all vampires are buddies? You mages are itching to kill each other too! Shadier than us!"
"Hm, fair point."
Ian agreed readily. It wasn't wrong, honestly.
"Anything else you know?"
"...Names, at least. I'll tell you those."
Ian nodded as if to say go ahead, and Camilla struggled to move her lips.
"...One woman, one man. The woman's American—Caroline. The man's French—Arthur."
"Appearance?"
"Caroline's a blonde white woman with red eyes. Arthur looks like your average black man. Shaved head."
"Purpose in Korea?"
"Territory expansion. All three of us."
Territory expansion.
The intelligent vampire he'd encountered at the club might be one of theirs.
If so, the one who'd unleashed vampires there commanded the largest force among the three. They'd released properly evolved vampires, not mere ghouls. Clearly stronger than Camilla, who was stuck playacting as a child in this backwater.
'Tracking them won't be easy. If they can evade the Cartel's info network, they're definitely using some trick.'
Alchemy had tracking tools, but pinpointing locations from just names and descriptions was impossible. The Cartel would pay a fortune for that intel if it existed. Pity.
Ian sighed deeply, drove the final stake into Camilla's regenerating sole, then pulled out his phone and called the Cartel.
The call connected before the second ring.
[Hello. This is Cartel service guide Kitty. How can I assist you?]
"High vampire extermination request complete. Captured alive—send a vehicle right now."
[Confirmed. Base service fee is 2 million won. Hazard pay added for vampire nest location—total 3.5 million won.]
"Some bloodstains here. Want to handle cleanup too."
[Please provide the size of the area. Pricing varies by square footage.]
"Just a normal room. Think studio apartment."
[Additional 700,000 won—grand total 4.2 million won. Is that acceptable?]
"Yeah. Bill me now."
[Payment received—thank you. Funds confirmed, staff en route now. Please wait just a moment.]
"Got it," Ian replied, pocketing the phone. Shifting his gaze, he spotted Camilla wriggling across the floor.
She'd tried to put some distance between them during the call, but with her lower body mostly paralyzed, she hadn't gotten far. Ian clicked his tongue, grabbed the leg of the Camilla trying to reach the door, and dragged her back.
"Urk!"
A pained groan escaped her lips. The sight of such a tiny girl's body bleeding and whimpering was bizarre, but Ian paid it no mind. Once he remembered what lurked inside—a vampire who'd drained hundreds, thousands of humans—any budding pity evaporated.
Monsters were monsters. They could never stand on the same level as a mage.
Ian stepped on her back and slowly pondered if there were any more questions worth asking. Nothing came to mind.
Just pedestrian stuff like how many humans she'd eaten or how many ghouls lurked nearby. Meaningless now that she'd been captured alive.
So Ian gave up on questions without regret and lit a cigarette. Camilla turned to look at him, murmuring with a faintly fearful expression.
"Y-You're really handing me over to the Cartel?"
"Yeah."
"You know what happens to anomalies the Cartel captures? Tortured alive for research data. I don't want that."
"Is that so."
"Not 'is that so'! P-Please, just let me go this once. I'll do anything. Really, anything. No desires? Lust! Humans rank sex as one of their top urges. I can give you as much as you—"
"Vampires feel almost no emotions. Anger, irritation, killing intent—that's the extent. Bloodlust, pleasure, and pain were learned purely for survival."
Ian cut her off, gazing down coldly.
"They can learn and mimic emotions, however. That's how they blended into human society."
"..."
"Famous line. Straight from a Clock Tower paper."
"...Damn Amy. That bitch's paper."
Camilla's pitiful expression vanished, replaced by pure rage and malice as she muttered.
"How does a Korean mage know that paper?"
"One of my acquaintances has a ton of Clock Tower books. Lee Seo-ah—ring a bell?"
"Sounds like a whore's name."
"About your level."
Ian smirked and kicked the stake embedded in her thigh. The wound tore open with a rip, hot blood gushing out.
"Grrk!"
"A bloodsucking mosquito dares insult a mage?"
Ian rose from his seat, knelt beside the caterpillar-like Camilla, and opened the grimoire. The pristine tome responded to his will.
"You didn't stay put like I said, so I guess I have to keep my promise."
"...Hah, do whatever. Fear doesn't exist for us anyway."
"True. But does it really not exist? Maybe just no situation to trigger it. Or the potential's there, unawakened."
Ian's eyes gleamed in the moonlight.
It wasn't a beautiful light. Far murkier—a thick, inky glow seeped from his pupils like ink along the moonbeams.
"Which is it? Let's find out with an experiment."
"...Mad mage— Mmph?!"
"Not much time, so let's start. First time experimenting on a live anomaly—kinda rusty. Gotta go quick."
Ian shoved the pistol into her mouth and tilted his head toward the grimoire.
"Leave the brain intact and recreate the rest?"
He didn't wait for a reply. Didn't explain what re-creation was.
He dropped the pistol from his hand, tapped her forehead, and murmured seriously.
"Be reborn."
Craaaack!