Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Vampire Hunt
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A yellowish haze billowed. Amidst it, blood-red eyes gleamed.
Too murky to call it red. Too viscous and grotesque to call it dark red.
That was why it was blood-colored.
A bewitching hue. Just facing it made a fishy, metallic tang seep into his nostrils.
‘That’s a vampire.’
In most works of fiction, vampires were portrayed as highly intelligent, aristocratic beings. They craved human blood, but the process was often elegant or rational.
Some lost control to their urges and tore humans apart, but by and large, the ones in movies, dramas, and novels were depicted as beautiful and refined.
“Kyaaak!!”
Reality was different.
Emaciated to the bone, their gray skin revealed the outlines of bones and organs. With no lips, their sharp fangs were fully exposed, and their grotesquely elongated limbs were caked in blood.
Stripped of any reason, they were perfect beasts. Hunters didn’t call them instinct-driven for nothing.
Not a shred of rationality in their eyes—only the instincts of a vampire remained.
Monsters, plain and simple. No reason to hesitate, no reason for mercy. Ian immediately leveled his pistol at the vampire and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
With a loud crack and a muzzle flash, a silver bullet fired from the pistol.
The bullet pierced the vampire’s ear perfectly. A wound, but not fatal. He’d aimed for the head, but still unfamiliar with the pistol, he’d missed.
He wouldn’t miss the next one. Ian took a step back, held his breath, and hooked his finger on the trigger.
At that moment, the vampire’s body crumbled to ash around the silver bullet’s entry point.
“......What.”
A far more anticlimactic exit than expected. As Ian let out an incredulous chuckle, Alpha smirked while drawing the two revolvers holstered at his waist.
“Vampire-killer silver bullets. Hits anywhere and it’s dead.”
“......Even a graze does that?”
“Grazes the upper body, it dies. Limbs just get lopped off.”
As he spoke, a wine bottle flew at Alpha. The old hunter calmly fired, shattering it.
Glass shards rained down with the liquor. Alpha scooped a bit of the spilled wine from the railing with his finger, licked it off, and wagged his revolver at the vampire who’d thrown it.
“Leponge, huh. Fine wine. Don’t waste it—pour it in a glass and bring it over.”
“......Gaaak!!”
Right in front of the DJ booth. The vampire masquerading as human bared its fangs and sharpened its claws. Alpha beamed at the sight.
“Don’t want to? Guess I’ll come get it.”
Whoosh!
He vaulted over the railing, aimed precisely at the vampire, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The hammer struck the round, firing a silver bullet. The vampire deftly dodged, then thrust its elongated arm at the falling man.
Crunch!
Alpha tossed one revolver to deflect the arm’s path. He hooked his finger on the remaining revolver’s trigger and cocked the empty hand’s hammer repeatedly.
Bang bang bang!!
A deafening barrage echoed, ears ringing.
That was the signal. Vampires hidden all around began emerging.
“Whew......”
Ian tore his gaze from Alpha and turned toward the approaching stench of blood.
Beyond the thick smoke, two sleek vampire heads climbed the stairs from the basement.
The smoke should have obscured them, but his sunglasses pierced it, revealing them clearly. That explained why they’d given him the shades.
Ian sighted and fired immediately.
Bang! Bang!
Bullets shattered a vampire’s shoulder and head. As brains and blood sprayed, turning to ash, another burst through the ceiling. It sniffed Ian and leaped, jaws wide.
A speed no human could match. Ian scowled and gripped the railing, activating his magic.
Crunch!
The railing deformed mid-cast. A severed cylindrical chunk split into prongs, spearing into the charging vampire’s path like a lance.
“Gyaak?!”
Midair, evasion was impossible. It impaled with a wet squelch.
“Gyaak...... Gyaak......!”
But it didn’t die. It writhed in agony, still breathing. Ian observed with interest.
“Doesn’t die unless you hit a weak point? Brain and heart pierced, yet alive... that’s the only explanation.”
“Mage! No time to slack!”
Swoosh!!
As he muttered, a silver bolt from the side slammed into the vampire’s temple. Turning, Ian saw Beta reloading the crossbow strapped to his wrist.
Beta scooped a fallen bolt into his pocket and patted Ian’s shoulder.
“I get you’re fascinated by vampires, but we’re still fighting. Don’t wanna die? Stay sharp.”
“Yeah. Sorry. Focusing.”
Bang!
Ian replied, putting a bullet through an oncoming vampire’s forehead over Beta’s shoulder. Beta flinched at the shot by his ear, scowling.
“Ah, fuck! Nearly blew my eardrum! No military service?!”
“Orphan exemption.”
“Rough life. My bad.”
Switching gears instantly, he drew the crossbow string, pulled a stake with his other hand, and said,
“Second floor’s yours. You got three, I got five—six left. Deal with ’em, then join the old man. Got it?”
“......Didn’t I basically get that last one?”
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Not a contest.”
“Fair enough.”
Ian nodded.
He tapped Beta’s shoulder with his pistol and eyed the vampires poking heads through the gaping ceiling.
“Make it quick and let’s go.”
“You got it. Afterparty at Seonjitguk. No objections.”
“Vampires’d beg to differ.”
Ian chuckled dryly and aimed.
Then fired.
Bang bang!!
He emptied the magazine, dropping two vampires. As they ashed away, a larger one thudded down between them.
“Krreeegh!”
Its cry differed from the others. Likely an elite among vampires.
Ian adjusted his slightly crooked sunglasses and pocketed the empty pistol.
Instead, he opened the grimoire.
He touched the floor barehanded, activating Re-creation.
Crunch!
The tiles warped, forming slender arms that clamped the vampire’s legs.
As it panicked at the sudden grasp, Ian yanked the arms back. The vampire scraped across the floor, tumbling forward.
“Kregh!”
Off-balance and down. Ian Re-created a nearby chair into a long stake and jammed it into the vampire’s elbow. Blood spurted through the flesh-rending crunch.
“Kyaaak!!”
Screaming in pain, it lunged its other hand at Ian’s heart. Ian reflexively yanked the grimoire to his chest.
The instant its hand touched the grimoire—
Boom!!
A massive explosion blew off the vampire’s arm.
Unauthorized contact with the grimoire triggered it.
Ian seized the opening, dodged the spraying blood, and placed a hand on its leg.
“Be reborn.”
Gurgle......!
Re-creation activated. The vampire’s body melted like liquid from the leg, flesh sloughing off. It thrashed in horrific pain, but the staked arm pinned it.
“Krraaaagh—”
It didn’t last long, dissolving completely. Ian ignored the red-gray puddle and looked down at Alpha battling the leader on the first floor.
“Damn mosquito bitch. Tough one! Must’ve gotten blood straight from a noble!”
“......Per...ish, hu...man......!”
“Oh ho, developing intelligence? Nobles really infiltrated Korea, huh. Guess I’m sticking around awhile.”
Alpha reloaded his revolver deftly.
Despite his casual tone and movements, blood poured from his shoulder—a claw wound.
The leader vampire was battered too. A direct silver hit had ashed part of its torso; a stake in its throat bled profusely.
Ian eyed its faintly pinkish blood, then spotted Beta embedding a silver bolt in its forehead.
After the fierce clash, Beta bled from his thigh too—likely a vessel hit. He was hastily staunching it. His wrist crossbow lay broken on the floor.
‘No backup available.’
Only Ian remained. He pulled a ring case from his pocket and flipped it open.
Inside wasn’t a ring, but a fish eyeball wrapped in cloth. Ian unwrapped it swiftly, gripped the flat orb, and angled it so the vampire reflected on the retina.
......Click.
Something locked into place in his mind.
Target acquired. Ian checked the lifeless eye—just the vampire, crisp and clear.
He crushed it without hesitation.
Crunch!
“......!”
The eyeball pulped, and the vampire’s eye burst. With a pop, blood and fluid streamed from the shattered socket.
“KyaAAAAK!!!”
Unable to endure its eye being crushed alive, it bellowed. Alpha chuckled dryly.
‘Crushing eyeballs from range. Scary stuff.’
The thought flashed, but he refocused, aimed his revolver, and fired.
Crunch!
The bullet pulverized the thrashing vampire’s head, embedding in the wall. Head gone, it convulsed briefly before ashing away.
“Done.”
The last one gone, all vampires eliminated. Alpha tossed a small capsule to the floor.
Hiss......
Blue smoke billowed from the shattered vial. He let it spread, turned to Ian, and yelled,
“Evacuate! Cartel’s hired band should be here by now!”
“Parking lot?”
Ian asked, holstering the grimoire.
Alpha swallowed a hemostatic, holstered his revolver, and nodded.
“Yeah, move before the cops show! Run!”