Lize (4)
The world flowed slowly.
Power beyond reason filled his body.
A hand brimming with rage sliced through the belly and pierced the heart.
A chunk of flesh caught beneath the nails.
Intestines spilled like water.
Advancing forward while meeting the blood spurting like a fountain.
It was the first time he had committed murder to protect Lize.
No, was murder even right?
She wasn’t even human?
The body trembled with guilt.
But it was the opposite.
The heart pounding madly made it even more fierce.
It enveloped him in a mental high.
“Don’t come! Kyaak!”
“Hiiik! S-save me!”
When trying to rape a girl who was like a child, they always ran away with their tails between their legs.
How amusing.
Just then, one of the vampires who hadn’t managed to burst the heart writhed in pain.
Even considering the injury, his regeneration was absurdly slow compared to his own.
Even as a vampire, the difference was clear.
“Die…!”
Stomping the chest of the bastard who was begging for mercy while gushing blood.
The faint moans quickly faded.
Stomping again.
“Even after doing something like that…!”
Stomping once more.
“Arrogant bastard…!”
The overwhelming killing intent and bloodshot eyes cast a quiet silence.
The feeling that if they moved even a little, their hearts would be pierced immediately enveloped the vampires.
Like animals exposed to infrasound.
They couldn’t even think of escaping, only fear of death assaulted them.
The fear imprinted on the brain acted as trauma.
The remaining ten or so gazes were all directed at Seowoo.
“Where’s Bold?”
“B-b-below!”
“Why?”
“B-before we enjoy the report, tell him to take out his power…!”
The body fell.
The lackey who couldn’t finish his sentence in a stupid way couldn’t continue and died.
Looking at the hand that pierced his own heart, as if disbelieving.
Then, the familiar bald head and massive body opened the door to the hideout.
Creak.
“Hey, you bastards! Why is it so quiet? I told you not to touch first…”
Seowoo’s gaze met Bold’s.
“…Did you do this?”
Bold pointed at the corpse on the floor and said.
His hand trembled visibly, showing how angry he was.
“Yeah.”
“This son of a bitch…! Who sent you? Do you know where this is?!”
Seowoo didn’t move at all even as Bold approached with big steps.
The point that there was no tremor in his eyes was even more vexing for Bold, who planned to beat the guy in front of him like a dog.
Unless he was the type to cry and snot and beg, there was no mercy to send him off easily.
But as the distance got closer, there was a familiar feeling somewhere.
“Hey, that coat… Are you the human from the lab from earlier?”
I thought he was a vampire from another organization.
The coat drenched in blood was what caught the eye.
“Then?”
“Haa… Do the lab guys have a dirty hobby of dressing up as humans?”
Of course, that didn’t change anything.
That arrogant bastard was going to die today.
“Maybe.”
Before Seowoo’s answer finished, Bold swung his fist.
Whoosh!
The speed that couldn’t be believed for a massive body.
The sonic boom like a whip cracking swept over the head.
If it had been a human, the head would have burst easily.
But Seowoo was a vampire now.
“You mouse bastard…!”
After dodging a few more attacks, Bold, who had been provoked, didn’t hold back his praise.
Of course, it didn’t mean Seowoo had any martial arts skill.
He was just utilizing the dramatically increased physical abilities to the fullest.
The only difference from usual was that he had overconsumed the vampire’s blood.
There was almost no record of the body’s constitution in the books borrowed from the library.
Perhaps it was the effect of being subjected to procreative vampirism by Acid.
But that was all speculation.
“…Impossible.”
“The boss’s attack didn’t land even once…”
Bold was one of the top five strongest in ‘Kamil’.
Instead of flashy techniques, he used long reach and overwhelming physicality to pin down opponents.
Even though he experienced it directly, the lackeys couldn’t understand.
Their idol Bold had lost to the head of another force in a duel, but the opponent couldn’t avoid injury either!
The people watching the sight of sweat on his hands soon let out cheers.
Boom!
“Waa! As expected! Boss!”
“Kill him like that!”
Because he blocked the attack clumsily, Seowoo’s arm flew sharply and slammed into the wall.
Even Bold, whose whole body was drenched in sweat from the first clean hit, had the corners of his mouth lifted.
“…Can’t block it.”
For a moment, his brows furrowed in pain.
The torn arm regenerated immediately.
It recovered faster than when he had been pierced through the stomach with fingers.
“Eh, why?”
Bold, as if seeing things, looked at Seowoo’s arm and took a small step back.
Whether he made a dazed expression or tried to flee, it didn’t matter.
He only thought of thoroughly killing.
In the brief moment of opening a gap, Seowoo quickly closed the distance, raised his nails, and stabbed towards Bold’s chest.
“Kuk…!”
“…!”
Was he exhausted some of his power from the previous battle and regeneration?
The hand rushing to pierce the heart only went in halfway.
He almost let out a question in surprise, but bit his tongue to hold it back.
In a short moment, the situation required quick judgment.
With the expanded perception as much as the expanded thinking, he quickly read what needed to be done.
If he couldn’t kill, he had to thoroughly subdue.
The ‘Pavlov’s dog experiment’ flashed in his mind.
The remaining lackeys had already imprinted fear of Seowoo.
If he just showed a little killing intent, their bodies would stiffen and shrink on their own.
Then what was left was Bold.
He pulled his fingers out of the chest and switched to a strike.
Jaw.
Chest.
Solar plexus.
The attack from top to bottom connecting to vital points hit almost simultaneously and spurted a huge fountain of blood.
Thud!
Bold’s heavy body collapsed helplessly.
“…Noble.”
“What…?”
“Hey, you bastard! A noble living in the lab! Didn’t you see the regeneration earlier?! Damn… I should have known from the moment the boss dodged all attacks.”
“Really…?”
“Yeah, damn it! There’s no way a guy who wiped out all our guys in Kamil and is playing with the boss like that…!”
“…We’re all dead.”
The two lackeys who saw the beginning and end of the situation whispered in a small voice that only the other could hear.
“Hey, there.”
Seowoo aimed at the two who had been chatting happily until now and spoke.
The two who didn’t think they would be heard and became dumbstruck.
Thud!
He stomped the head of the unconscious Bold.
The lackeys flinched.
“If you don’t want to offer a memorial service for your boss, come out.”
“Aigoo~! Noble sir! I’m sorry! Please, just spare my life…!”
“S-s-save my life!”
Among the two who jumped out like lightning, the vampire with unusually many words had pointed ears.
The vampire who was a bit less sharp had a flat face.
“Hey, Pointy, you called me noble?”
“…Huh? Ah! Y-yes, that’s right!”
“How did you know that?”
Of course, the affirmation of “noble” was bluffing to extract information.
Turning misfortune into fortune.
If he used this situation well now, he could prepare for future dangers.
Because he was stuck only in the lab, he was like a frog in a well.
“I know well, but commoners like us, lower vampires, don’t have regeneration like yours! I thought even if I couldn’t, it would be at least a collateral of a noble family!”
“Hmm, I see.”
“Yes…! I never imagined you’d come out in the appearance of humans! I carefully say that the boss’s hesitation was probably not due to surprise at the regeneration equivalent to a noble… Please spare my life at least for this kindness…”
Pointy, who had a face like a schemer, quickly spat out the words.
Seowoo, who was maintaining the appearance of a vampire anyway, couldn’t kill him.
“Umm…”
Just as he was about to answer, Bold, who had come to his senses, let out a groan.
“Are you awake?”
“Eh… a…”
Bold, who had been arrogant, shrank in the red eyes looking down at him.
“What are you doing? Get up quickly.”
“Yes, yes.”
Because he was fast, he had no memory before fainting.
But one thing he could tell.
The body trembling like aspen leaves couldn’t be controlled by fear.
Perhaps the mind that couldn’t accept the truth was not acting as a defense mechanism.
The man in front of him had that much intimidation.
“…Boss, please greet. The one in front is the noble sir.”
“Ah…”
Even so, unlike Pointy, Bold had loyalty, so he helped the Bold who couldn’t stand properly.
“Earlier outside, you said that, right? Negotiation doesn’t work on bottom-feeders like you?”
“At that time… I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. If you spare my life, I’ll devote myself completely.”
Bold, who had barely stood up, bowed with his own etiquette.
“Hmm…”
Even though he had already decided to approve, Seowoo deliberately delayed.
To take the lead with the final blow.
With arms crossed, he took a gesture as if pondering something.
Every time the finger twitched, Bold and the lackeys’ blood froze.
Because his one word could make life or death, it was inevitable.
Seowoo, who had read the atmosphere appropriately, soon opened his mouth.
“I understand.”
“Huu…”
With that one word, the group let out a sigh of relief.
Bold, who exchanged signals with his subordinates, approached Seowoo.
His waist bent 90 degrees sharply.
“I will devote my loyalty to you for the rest of my life, boss!”
“I will devote my loyalty to you, boss!”
…He didn’t want something like this.