Akrich (2)
[Ooo… this is quite nice. Excellent!]
Hans stored all the items the undead brought into the spatial dimension.
He scooped up everything that could be worth money.
Bam!
With overwhelming dark magic, he scanned the entire mansion, smashing through any suspicious areas without hesitation.
[…Impressive.]
The hidden warehouse was filled with all kinds of valuables.
The wealth of the vampires, accumulated over a long time by devouring entire cities, was palpable.
‘But now, it’s all mine.’
That day, along with Hans’s spatial dimension, my heart could also become abundant.
‘Today is steak party day.’
*
“‘Hans’… what a common name.”
The capital of the Talia Kingdom in the west of the continent, Talaria.
In a dark room with thick curtains, a man was staring into a glass of red liquid.
‘Who are you?’
‘My name is Hans.’
A brief conversation with a bizarrely masked figure.
“Tch, not helpful until the end.”
It was the last memory sent by Wirak, the head of the Azhantu Branch.
If there was some interference barrier while sending information, that was all that was conveyed to him.
“I can’t just sit still.”
The fragment of the Undead King he was concerned about had been stolen.
The Azhantu branch was undoubtedly in a disarray.
First, he needed to grasp the exact situation.
He downed the drink in his hand in one gulp and hurled the wine glass to the floor.
Crash!
“Hans…”
Mulo Brokoslac, the clan lord of Brokoslac, sent an investigation team to Azhantu City.
*
It was a peaceful time.
“Oh dear, you’re amazing. How do you keep catching them so easily every time?”
“Hahaha, I just happened to see them while looking around and grabbed them quickly. Please take good care of them.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll prepare them right away.”
A middle-aged man took the rabbits I caught and began to prepare them.
“Hey uncle! Are we having meat today too? Wow~!”
Aaron, who was helping set up the camp with his sister, jumped up in excitement.
I smiled and ruffled Aaron’s hair.
We were heading east towards Tilak City, leaving Azhantu City behind.
It wasn’t hard to leave the city.
The vampires had all been eliminated, and the alley organizations had no time to pay attention in this direction.
After hiring a cart and driver, we moved for three days.
The driver, Walter, was once a mercenary, so I managed to learn various little know-hows from him.
“You did well, uncle.”
Diana approached and handed me a canteen.
“Ah, it’s nothing. Thank you for the water.”
I tilted the canteen to drink and glanced at Diana.
She looked much better than when I first met her, probably because she had been eating well these past few days.
And not being in the always tense Azhantu would have had a positive effect too.
As I was thinking, Diana noticed my gaze and cautiously glanced around.
Then she quietly came up to me.
“Um, uncle. Are you still thirsty? Would you like some blood?”
For a moment, I looked at her in disbelief and then chuckled.
I lightly pushed her forehead and patted her head.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I stuffed myself this time.”
I had feasted plenty on the Azhantu vampires, so I was fine for a while.
Even if not, how could I suck blood from this little girl?
Maybe when we reach the city, I’ll just do a blood donation from the bad guys.
‘By the way, I haven’t seen Rosilika.’
I suddenly thought of the Trueblood vampire, my instructor.
She was nowhere to be seen when the fragment was at that location or when we invaded the main base later.
Still, since we had a connection, it felt uneasy to harm her, but I was also relieved…
‘Well, it’s probably better for both of us not to see each other again. I hope she thinks she died in the city.’
Since I was an escaped body.
“I’m ready to grill the meat.”
“Wow~ Uncle! Sister! Hurry, hurry~!”
Walter and Aaron called us from the bonfire.
For the past few days, every time I grilled meat, they reacted wonderfully when I sprinkled spices brought from Earth.
I smiled as I headed to the bonfire with Diana.
One more day until we reach our destination, Tilak City.
It was a very peaceful journey.
*
In the early dawn.
In the woods near Azhantu City.
Rosilika, the Trueblood vampire, finished her report while bowing.
Next to her, the Pureblood, Pirita, who had gone outside the city to search for the fragment, was also bowing.
“Hmmm… in the end, there’s nothing certain.”
Rosilika had been dispatched immediately after the attack to summon Pirita back.
The problem was that by the time those who had gone outside returned hurriedly, the situation was already over.
The hideout where the fragment was hidden and the clan branch’s main base had been completely devastated.
And Pirita, who was specialized in detection abilities, noticed it.
There was an overwhelming dark magic sensed inside the city that couldn’t be fully hidden.
She realized that there were still outlaws left in the city and determined that the current situation was something they couldn’t handle on their own.
She immediately retreated and reported this incident to the clan.
Then they began monitoring the surrounding area, keeping an eye on the movements of that presence.
“Even after causing that commotion, they’re still inside the city? I guess they think we’re quite foolish… Who are they?”
The boy who had listened to all their reports stood up from the branch he was sitting on and gazed towards the city.
His red eyes shone brightly in the darkness.
“Then shall I go and see their face? Who dares to act like this in our territory?”
Rustle—
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of shadows rushed towards the city from the darkness of the forest.
Rosilika and Pirita, who had been bowing, followed behind them.
The one leading them was a boy standing on a tree.
The Trueblood vampire ‘Obor Brokoslac.’
Soon, a flock of bats headed towards the city.
*
Hans was also surveying the city today.
‘It’s not as chaotic as I thought?’
He expected the organizations to loosen up their control after the vampires were eliminated, but surprisingly, things were running systematically.
‘Well, it’s only been three days. It’s natural to be cautious until the situation is clearly understood.’
After all, their lives were on the line.
If they acted rashly, they could lose their heads to the returning rulers.
‘For now, I just need to clean up the ones that are a bit too far.’
As long as they didn’t cross a certain line, I decided not to interfere with the current organizations.
They were maintaining their own rules after all.
‘It’s better than ignorant punks taking advantage of the void left behind.’
Since I wouldn’t be in this city forever, it was best not to get too involved.
The ideal situation would be for the kingdom to send management personnel again…
‘But that’s unlikely. The mayor was already a vampire’s minion.’
He hadn’t been turned into a vampire, probably for external activities, but the mayor was pretty much a puppet that acted according to their orders.
‘This place will end up back in the hands of the vampire clans. But there’s nothing I can do about that… Hmmm, are they arriving?’
I sensed beings approaching the city at high speed.
This energy definitely belonged to vampires.
‘Now that they’re here, I should slowly get out of the city.’
I headed into the nearby woods, departing from the city in the opposite direction of where those guys were approaching.
‘They’re coming straight this way. Did they figure out my location? The magic concealment isn’t perfect.’
I wasn’t accustomed yet to handling the massive dark magic surging from absorbing the second fragment, and the spells I spread to monitor the entire city must’ve been an issue as well.
But since I didn’t intend to fight, it didn’t matter how many of them came.
‘Just blend in a bit and slip away…?!’
Bam—!
In an instant, my defense magic shattered, and I was flung backward.
[Ugh— that startled me.]
At that moment, something approached at tremendous speed and hit me.
Fortunately, I absorbed the impact with the magic barrier I emitted at the moment of the hit, minimizing the damage.
I looked at my attacker, adorned with various barriers.
A boy, seemingly in his mid-teens. He was definitely a vampire.
But the aura emanating from him was…
[Trueblood, huh?]
“Oho… I wondered who it was. With this level of death energy, are you perhaps a lich?”
A Trueblood vampire with white hair and red eyes.
He watched me with a nasty grin that didn’t match his cute boyish face.
It didn’t hit me when just hearing about it, but seeing him directly confirmed it.
He was a monster that couldn’t even be compared to a Pureblood.
“My name is Obor. I’m a Trueblood of the Brokoslac Clan. Are you affiliated with the ‘Oath of Reversal’? Are you after the fragment we have?”
[That’s right. I obtained information that you guys were aiming for the ‘Fragment of the Undead King’ and struck first. How long did you think you could keep hiding it?]
As soon as I seized the opportunity to trick them and create confusion, a lie naturally slipped out.
It was fine if it worked; if not, so be it.
He seemed to think it was an already won battle and casually started chatting.
Maybe he’s just waiting for his subordinates to approach from all directions to confirm his victory.
‘I think I can win against one Trueblood at least…’
But with five Purebloods and over twenty Truebloods added to that, it would definitely be overwhelming.
And the sun wouldn’t rise for a few hours yet.
Obor narrowed his eyes and regarded me as if assessing me in response to my retort.
“The villagers who were hiding were attacked by someone, right? You didn’t steal them, did you?”
[Hah! We simply had different goals. Then it’s inevitable that we settle this with strength, isn’t it?]
I raised my head, responding audaciously.
I couldn’t read his pupils, and I wasn’t sweating either.
Even my voice echoed out, resonating with magic.
“…At this point, it doesn’t matter. It’s already become an embarrassing issue for us because of you.”
Already, vampires surrounded me on the trees.
Upon closer inspection, it seems they had woven a blood magic barrier around me like a net, blocking all escape routes.
‘So that’s why they’re approaching from all sides…’
I could break through if I concentrated my power, but that Trueblood wouldn’t just sit idly by.
If I mobilized all the undead I had, the chances would rise significantly, but it would come at a considerable cost in strength.
“There’s nowhere to run. I’ll extract the fragment you stole from you.”
Faced with a strong opponent in a situation where I couldn’t adapt well to my newfound powers and surrounded by vampires…
It was clearly a crisis situation, but…
To me, it was just another interesting story.
[Hehehe… you cannot catch me. I’ll let you back off today.]
That was why.
With the situation feeling like a villain launching an iconic line, I couldn’t help but get excited and randomly threw words around.
A part of my brain seemed to scream in panic, but does it really matter as long as I’m feeling good now?
I resolved to think about future matters later.
[I will return.]
As I spoke, I gave a final thumbs-up to the ones coming from all directions.
Summoning Release.
Thus, the Akrich Hans vanished from the Auterica dimension.
And Earth.
As a result of my earlier rampage, Seong-hyun had to kick off the blanket for the next few tens of minutes, but…
It was meant to be.
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