Chapter 70: Crimson Night
TL: Potato-tan
Proofreader: Asianpotato
The azure night had disappeared. A pitch-black curtain covered the sky, and the star-like gems sparkled. However, since the moon had not risen, the small lights were not enough to illuminate every corner of the alley.
When the stars that burned themselves out gasped feebly in the distant sky, sending their past selves, countless corpses were being produced in the alleys.
They were the ones who once ruled the territory’s back alleys. But monsters with cold hearts and blood were now helplessly defeating them.
As the corpses lay on the floor, something strange happened. Somewhere, the spilled red blood was flowing. As if drawn by gravity. As if it had been called.
The emotionless, puppet-like faces dripped blood from their mouths and went out to find their next prey.
A deep and long night was about to begin, and not many people had noticed it yet. However, they would know soon enough.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Russell removed his foot from the man’s chest, and the man slowly got up, kneeled down, and bowed his head deeply.
He did not say a word, but his posture showed extreme respect for Russell. It was completely different from the fierce attitude he had shown earlier.
Russell said,
“You live.”
The man said this, still bowing his head.
“Yes. Master.”
“Master?”
“Yes.”
Once a vampire becomes one, it can only drink the blood of the living for the rest of its life. The vampire’s heart gradually hardens if it does not drink the blood of a living thing, and eventually it freezes.
And powerful vampires can turn the blood of the living into their true blood and inject a certain amount of that true blood into other living beings to create subordinates.
After hearing the man’s explanation, Russell said this:
“Were you created that way?”
“Yes. But not anymore. The blood that once governed my body has vanished. The master’s blood has now taken its place. My blood is now the master’s.”
Russell gazed at the man, stroking his chin. There was no lie in his voice. But then again, voices could be easily manipulated.
“If I am the master of your blood, Can you die if I tell you to?”
“Yes.”
The man said it without a moment’s gap. Russell tilted his head.
“Then die.”
The man looked up at Russell. An expression like a letter carved in fanaticism was engraved there. The man smiled brightly.
“Yes. It was an honor to serve you for a while.”
The man really stabbed his own heart. There was no hesitation in the gesture.
The elves were shocked. The human wizard and the young dragon were the same. The man’s execution of the order was so quick that they had no time to come out.
Once again, the regenerated sternum shattered, and the man grasped his heart. And he tried to burst it. No matter how stronger a vampire’s regenerative power is than a troll’s, if the heart bursts completely and scatters the true blood everywhere, it can no longer regenerate.
At that moment, Russell’s hand grabbed the man’s arm.
“That’s enough. Don’t do it.”
“I understand.”
The man became docile, as if he had never been that way. Russell was amazed, and so were the others who were watching. Russell had tried it on a whim, but he didn’t know it would work so well.
The man’s punctured chest gradually recovered. Eventually, only the hem of his clothes fluttered, erasing all traces of the wound.
Remeron, who had been watching the series of events with a tired expression but sparkling eyes on one side, muttered.
“It’s unprecedented for a vampire to break free from the constraints of the one who made them a vampire. How is that possible?”
It is difficult to control the mind and body of an intelligent being. This is only possible if a deep and dark contract or the devil’s intervention pawns the soul.
There are vampires, including those with true blood. A vampire with true blood can share its blood to create subordinates, but the master of the true blood denies the subordinates the right to life and death.
If he wanted, the true blood vampire could kill the subordinates at any time. That’s why Russell’s dominance over the man amounted to a direct denial of a fact that had previously been considered common sense.
It was based on Russell’s body’s secrets. What Russell had dropped on the dying vampire was only a few drops of blood, but it was different from human blood.
His blood contained an unimaginable amount of life force, which was also quite different from the average human factor.
Russell glanced at his palm, which was already healing. If someone else saw this sight, it would be enough to call him a monster. He also knew the rumors that had surrounded him since he was a child.
The young father’s week-long disappearance. The father, who suddenly appeared in front of the family mansion, was carrying a newborn baby. That was Russell.
A body clearly different from humans. Strange eyes. How many embarrassing incidents have occurred as a result?
But now was not the time to indulge in such memories. Russell told the man to explain.
“I’m just a low-ranking person, so I don’t know much, but I’ll tell you everything I know without fail.”
The man’s name was Jirach. He was born into the Errandis estate and lived in the back alleys, barely making ends meet. Then, after going through a process that he himself could not clearly understand, he came to his senses and discovered himself to be a vampire.
Remeron added.
“It’s common. Vampires basically have the power to charm living beings. It’s kind of like hypnosis. When a vampire’s scent or gaze possesses you, it dazes you as if you’re under the influence of drugs, eventually sucking you dry of blood or turning you into a subordinate. Without knowing it. To resist such a thing, you need special herbs, sacred church relics, strong mental power, or magic power.”
Russell cut him off.
“Thank you for the explanation. Continue.”
Jirach said.
“Yes. That’s how I became a vampire. And I obeyed my previous master’s orders to destroy and absorb the dark guilds. While I killed most of them, I spared some and transformed them into vampires.
“Vampires?”
“The master recently dispatched the mindless monsters. They didn’t receive true blood, but they did receive the vampire factor. Their reason and intelligence almost disappear, and they become monsters obsessed with bloodlust and killing. Of course, vampires who have received true blood can control those monsters and attack them with blood, just like you saw earlier.”
Russell scanned the monster corpses scattered around him. Jirach’s spells had blown them up, leaving only a little bit of leather and bone.
The monsters used all of their blood to attack Russell, shattering it and scattering it like red powder on the floor.
“Your purpose?”
“We received orders to unite the underworld and eradicate the seeds of discord. They instructed us to subdue or eliminate all the guilds obstructing our path and to augment our forces. I didn’t hear anything else, but I think they’re trying to devour this territory whole.”
Russell found it frustrating that his questions remained unanswered. He had one vampire in his hands, but he wasn’t a very knowledgeable guy in the first place. He was merely one of many tendrils of a sprawling network.
Then Russell remembered something a woman named Ridos or Ribes had said.
“You said the orc and the 2 beastkin were dead. What do you mean?”
“The Arkul Guild is the guild I was in. Kai and his leader, Orq, led the guild, which was the largest in the territory and the most powerful individually. A colleague who became a vampire like me was in charge of the Arkul Guild, and since you defeated Kai, you were considered an obstacle, so I came here. My colleague is as strong as me—or even stronger than me. Probably no one survived.”
“Assumptions. You do not know for sure.”
Jirach remained silent for a moment before he spoke.
“Yes. Assumption. I started the attack, and the other colleagues will have carried it out afterwards. If the resistance was stronger than expected, they may not be dead yet.”
At that moment, a scream echoed from somewhere on the estate. It was a chilling scream. Jirach said.
“It has begun.”
“What has?”
“The awakening ceremony.”
Jirach himself had a face that did not know what he was saying. It seemed that the vampire’s instincts had sensed something.
Aellasis grabbed Russell’s collar and shook it.
“Russell. Look.”
He turned his head in the direction Aellasis was pointing. It was the frozen blood that slowly melted. The blood slowly rumbled, then headed somewhere.
The scene of crimson blood moving on its own and flowing along the floor was more mind-boggling than the scream he’d just heard.
It was clear that something extraordinary was happening. Russell said to Jirach.
“How many guys like you are there?”
“There aren’t many. There is a limit to extracting genuine blood. Including me, there won’t be more than six.”
“There could be at least five. Got it. Guide me to the Arkul Guild.”
“I understand.”
Jirach did not ask why he was going there. He seemed to want only orders, and he actually took pleasure in carrying them out.
Russell looked at the others. Especially the two elves.
“Can you help me?”
Remeron and Phel nodded.
“Of course. The elves can’t turn a blind eye to the devil’s seeds. We will do our best.”
“Same here.”
Russell nodded too.
“Okay. You two will be the fastest, so I’d like you to inform the guards of the current situation.”
“I understand. We’ll also kill the monsters we see.”
“They have strong regenerative powers. Will you be okay?”
Remeron chuckled.
“Elves are not weak.”
Russell nodded. Remeron and Phel ran off like the wind. Evelyn said.
“I’ll go to the Magic Tower. I have to go and tell Auntie and the elders. And the Lord too. Maybe the Lord knew.”
Evelyn ran to the Magic Tower, leaving only Aellasis and the people of the Black Barley Inn with expressions of anxiety and fear.
Laura was struggling to turn her head away from the horribly dead monsters. Robin couldn’t see it properly either, but his admiration for Russell was stronger than his fear.
Russell said this to Luke, one of the dwarves.
“I think it’s better to avoid this alley for now. Vampires will start running wild, like the scream you just heard. It’s probably better to go to the center or the church.
Russell, who was trailing off, asked Jirach.
“You said the church wasn’t very active with the mummy-like corpses. What kind of tricks did you guys play?”
“Yes.”
“How? I only saw one priest, but even so, it should be difficult to turn those who believe in God into vampires.”
“We couldn’t turn them into vampires. Because they were priests. However, we used our charm spells to slowly disperse the priests’ faith. It would have been difficult to do over a long period of time, but the priests of this estate lacked divine power in the first place and were addicted to money and pleasure, so it was not difficult.”
Russell clicked his tongue. The corruption of priests was something that could happen even in this world where gods existed. If you send faith and build up trust, but you don’t receive power from that god, wouldn’t you have a different mind?
Even the history of his previous life, which he had lived through, demonstrated that religion was the primary cause of most wars.
If the priests were corrupt, it would explain why the supply of holy water had drastically decreased and the price had significantly increased. The scarcity of divine power must have made it difficult to create holy water, but they had been unwilling to give up their money and had raised the price instead. ‘Idiots.’
“But go to the church. That alone will make the monsters reluctant to approach.”
“That axe.”
Luke said something strange. The dwarf was looking at Russell’s white axe with glazed eyes.
“You mean this axe?”
“Don’t tell me, is it the Final Frost?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Oh, oh. . . . . . .”
Luke slowly approached and touched the elongated shaft of the axe that Russell had stuck in the ground with his blunt hand. He was as careful as if he were touching a glass artifact, even though it was harder than steel.
“Old man. It’s urgent, but let’s do it later.”
“. . . . . .Ah. I’m sorry. Right. Because there are monsters.”
Luke muttered in a dazed voice, as if he had just come from another world. The dwarf suddenly looked up at Russell.
“Be sure to come back.”
“I don’t want to die either.”
“No. I mean, show me this axe again. Got it?”
Russell looked at Luke and nodded. This old dwarf seemed to know something about his axe.
However, there was no time to leisurely listen to the history of the axe. Subsequent to the initial scream, distant screams continued to echo. Russell, who was sensitive, could barely hear them, but their number was increasing.
“What about me?”
Russell looked at Aellasis. The white-haired girl had not changed her expression much since the vampires and monsters first appeared. Rather, she had a twinkle in her eyes, as if she were interested in seeing something new.
“You are responsible for safeguarding Kry and the people at the inn. Others too, if you have time. Can you do it?”
“I want to go with you too.”
“I can’t take you and Kry through the alley. I’m more comfortable alone. Give me your hand.”
Aellasis held out her hand without saying a word. Russell took her small hand and breathed magic into it. Aellasis blushed as she felt his magic enter her body.
“Ugh, I felt this before, but it’s so ticklish.”
“Stop talking nonsense. I put in about half, so use it according to the situation. Don’t use too much at once. What else?”
Aellasis whispered softly.
“Don’t turn off the transformation. Don’t exhale in human form.”
“Okay.”
Russell patted Aellasis’s white crown. And as he was about to turn around, Laura and Robin called out to him.
“B, Be careful!”
“Yes! Sir! Kill all those monsters!”
Russell nodded and gestured toward Jirach.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Jirach immediately kicked the floor and led the way. Russell followed at a frightening speed.
As Jirach entered an alley, darkness swallowed him in an instant. Russell also flew. He, too, disappeared into the thick darkness. The thick smell of blood, deeply embedded in the darkness, did not seem to go away easily.
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