Ambush (3)
Crack—
Just as a blood-red claw lunged in, a kick targeted the opponent’s knee.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a beautiful red petal blossomed, distracting the eyes, and in that moment, the enemy had already inserted a fist from behind.
“Ugh… what the hell is this speed…!”
The 7th-level Vampire, Beta One, gritted his teeth while blocking the attack.
Soaked in blood, his entire body had turned red, and he had significant pride in his physical abilities.
He hailed from a dimension specialized in physical prowess rather than magic, rising to a high rank thanks to his unique skill, Diamond Body.
Since returning to Earth, he hadn’t lost in close-quarters combat except against Alpha.
While he often had to retreat in clashes with Guardians, that was because it was never one-on-one, and continuing to fight would only cause more problems, so it was moot.
That’s why he couldn’t understand the current situation.
Boom! Crash!
With each clash of limbs, shockwaves rippled through the air.
A close-range brawl.
The opponent was demonstrating martial arts skills beyond expectations.
Dodging attacks while targeting vital spots—such a style was remarkably adept.
Yet, it was a fact that he found it lacking against someone who had spent decades in battle.
Squish!
After several feints, he felt a solid impact from the punch that hit his guard.
In that split second, just as Beta One trusted his sturdy body to catch the enemy before they could escape…
Crack— Boom!
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, the opponent accelerated several times faster, kicking him away to gain distance.
The damage was minimal, but that wasn’t what mattered now.
“Cough…!”
Whoosh—
In that instant, another 6th-level was pierced through the heart and turned to ashes along with the red petals.
Ignoring Beta One’s attempts to restrict him with the Blood Blade, the enemy focused entirely on reducing the number of his subordinates.
From his perspective, there was no way not to explode with rage.
“Inom—! Don’t run away like a coward and face me head on!”
Frustrated, he shouted, but the enemy merely snickered lightly.
With just a glance, he surveyed the vampires before chuckling again.
While no words were spoken, the intent was clear.
Who are you to say such things when you’re ganging up on one person?
Mockery in their eyes made Beta One’s already-red face blaze like lava as he smashed nearby Undead.
“Argh—! Beta God! What are you doing! Try to keep him from escaping somehow!”
“I’m doing my best here! You should at least try to bind his feet a bit! You’re using your allies as shields to move around!”
The situation among the Betas was so dire that their voices were raised.
While low-tier vampires useless in battle were helping the Buncheon Society fight the Hahoe Mask’s Undead, they couldn’t fend off all of them, resulting in complete chaos on the battlefield.
But more than that, the opponent’s abilities were extraordinarily high, causing the biggest problem.
This vampire they fought was certainly a 7th-level, yet even with their combined effort, they couldn’t bind him down.
His speed, fast enough to elude attention, his power capable of bouncing back against Beta One, and his unpredictability were all troublesome.
Beta One had known from the beginning that the intruder possessed stealth skills, yet watching him suddenly vanish and counterattack during the chaos was nothing short of spine-chilling.
‘These Undead are annoying! And they’re using stealth too! Is this some hidden ability?’
At first, it had seemed like merely a tactic to momentarily evade detection, but after dispatching a few minions, he began using invisibility outright.
And critically, he was incredibly tough.
Despite landing several successful attacks and inflicting serious wounds alongside Beta God, he seemed to recover nonchalantly as if he had turned back time.
What’s more, he dodged the traps laid by Beta God and used Blood Magic whenever opportunities arose.
He was, in fact, the epitome of versatility.
‘And the more I fight, the stronger he feels…’
Beta One didn’t realize that it wasn’t just his imagination.
*
Heinz took a light breath.
Though it seemed like he was playfully toying with the vampires, fighting against multiple foes couldn’t be that easy.
With two 7th-levels and over ten 6th-levels?
‘Still, it’s more manageable than I thought. Must be thanks to the living potions?’
With the barrier preventing them from escaping, they couldn’t pull back even though their losses were mounting.
Of course, the incapable ones fell back for support, but would he just let that happen?
‘I might be confident in beating the Betas, but I need to move strategically. First, the number of enemies must be reduced.’
Taking advantage of the chaos unleashed by the Undead, he utilized stealth to ambush, and even if he sustained damage from overextending, he focused on thinning their ranks, trusting in recovery through cannibalism.
As a result… the number of 6th-levels had been reduced to below half, and the lower-tiered minions were on the brink of extinction, except for those with the Buncheon Society.
‘Thanks to that, I got Transparency by sheer luck. And the Paladin Combat Technique is proving to be more useful than I thought.’
Heinrich, still diligently training in the Order, found that part of the unarmed martial techniques he learned was working effectively against the vampires.
Though it wasn’t perfect.
Unlike Heinrich’s true Paladin Combat Technique, which required Holy Power as support, Heinz’s mimicry didn’t translate into a proper skill.
But it was still undeniable that it was practical martial arts.
Moreover, it was a combat technique that had been refined over generations to fight against non-human entities.
Combining it with Heinz’s overwhelming physical abilities made using his strength more efficient than before.
‘It’s ironic that a vampire like Heinz is using the Order’s Paladin Combat Technique.’
Wouldn’t the Order be appalled if they found out?
Thanks to Heinz gaining the upper hand against the vampires, Hans could research the Buncheon Society’s magic more comfortably.
[Oh…? So this is how you coordinate? The method of suppressing dark magic is intriguing as well. They each have different processes, yet they weave together to create a synergy.]
Even amidst the fierce back-and-forth, Hans analyzed the situation while lightly waving his wrist.
With his gesture, a black mist began to swell from the tip of his staff, rapidly enveloping the masked figures.
A curse was rapidly spread across the entire battlefield.
Though it was soon dispelled by the Buncheon Society’s sorcerers, in that fleeting moment, a rising shadow pierced through their bodies.
Yet even while allies fell, those confronting Hans couldn’t fully concentrate on him.
Gahhhh!
“Craaack! You disgusting corpses!”
A black wave of Undead, shrouded in a dark aura.
They surged forward, rapidly recovering unless completely obliterated, causing the damage taken by those blocking them to snowball.
“Damn it! What a monster! With this level of suppression, the mana circuit should have broken long ago!”
The suited man bore no trace of leisure left on his face.
The leadership of the vampires he had promised to cooperate with dumbfoundedly bound to one, and the capabilities he thought he had trapped with the Hahoe Mask were beyond imagination.
Even after being struck several times with opposing energy, they only swayed momentarily before recovering as if nothing had happened.
“What’s going on? Even with output suppressed like this, how are they allowing such attacks, and on top of that, continuing with reckless magic manipulation…? How can they still be unharmed? By now, their magic should have been in reverse flow.”
The Buncheon Society’s dark magic suppression impacted not only Hans but also the Undead he summoned.
Without Undead to act as shields, he wouldn’t have the luxury of casting, thus summoning was essential.
Yet he couldn’t just allow the precious Undead to be powerless and fall…
So he excessively imbued them with dark magic, and this reckless manipulation in a hostile environment should have taken a heavy toll on Hans… if he were an ordinary human.
His source of dark magic lay in the Fragment of the Undead King within his heart.
Unlike human wizards, there was no mana pool or magic circuit.
Simply drawing upon the black magic from the fragment.
And thanks to the Undead, no matter what damage he took, he could recover rapidly with the dark magic supplied from his heart.
Right after being hit, he experienced a temporary shortage, but it was no significant blow.
‘Rather, it was harder to keep the equipment intact.’
After the heart, which was protected by tremendous dark magic, safeguarding his equipment to keep his identity hidden became a priority.
Because of that, he became susceptible to the shocks transmitted internally, fracturing bones multiple times.
However, even if the output he could generate at once had decreased by about half due to the Buncheon Society’s arrangements, the dark magic supplied by the fragment was almost infinite.
As the battle dragged on, it was only advantageous for him.
Boom!
Once again, opposing energy shook the dark magic barrier and delivered an impact within.
Immediately, he reached out in the direction of the incoming attack, returning with a ray of death.
[…I think I roughly understand. Though it’s still a bit lacking, given the situation, I don’t think I can receive any more assistance.]
After feeling he had gained some return, Hans halted his attacks and slowly scanned around.
“Gasp, gasp…”
“Ugh, monster brat…”
Though the fight continued, even Hans was wearing out, the Buncheon Society’s situation was far worse.
Over half of the fallen had already been taken down, and the rest were hardly in good shape.
Though Hans had made research his main focus, that didn’t mean he took his time with the enemy.
Rather, he pressed even harder to observe how the opponent responded against the opposing forces and how they would cope in dire scenarios.
One could say it was a reckless experiment, disregarding the well-being of the opponent.
[Well, I can discover what’s lacking directly. Perhaps it might even be faster this way.]
Just as a brief respite passed…
As the Buncheon Society’s personnel fell, the suppression of dark magic released, and Hans unleashed an even stronger wave of dark magic than before.
Chheehee!
Clatter, clack!
“Damn it! Hahoe Mask—!”
The confident traps laid by the Buncheon Society were silently nullified one by one…
Its aftermath also affected the ongoing battles with the vampires nearby.
*
Fwoosh—
“Ugh… you…”
《Collecting new vampire factors. Due to the special skill Hybrid Evolution, enlightenment has been attained. Skill Blood Magic evolves into special skill Blood Mystery.》
《Special skill Blood Mystery absorbs and further strengthens its sub-abilities Blood Blossom and Blood Flow Amplification.》
‘Oh, this is good?’
Heinz detached his mouth from Beta God’s neck, which was slowly turning to ashes, confirming his new abilities.
It seemed worthwhile to have devoured the magically specialized opponent; the Blood Magic skill had evolved, making it easier to use.
No longer confined to a specific set of rules, he could now perform blood-mediated actions with more intuitive will.
The efficiency of generating the effects of Blood Blossom and Blood Flow Amplification had increased compared to before.
“Grrr—! You of all people! Cannibalizing your own kind! You’re a Blood Frenzy! No wonder it felt strange!”
In the moment he took his eyes off, Beta One reappeared, smashing through the surrounding Undead and advancing toward him.
His body shone a fiery red like molten lava, and the white smoke emanating from every pore indicated how furious he was.
Judging that it would be difficult to hunt him down directly with nearby defenses in place, he managed to take down Beta God first, thanks to Heinz’s assistance.
In the brief moments when the heavily fortified Undead stalled, dealing with the typical wizard-type Beta God proved manageable.
‘Of course, as a vampire, he’s not the same as an ordinary wizard, but to me, that difference is meaningless.’
Hastily approaching to take him down, Heinz suffered from the blood storm he created, tearing him apart, yet…
To Heinz, who had devoured most of the vampires present, it was nothing to fret over.
As long as the accumulated energy didn’t deplete, he could regenerate infinitely.
“How is it that you maintain your sanity? No, have you simply gone mad? But now that you’ve meddled with the taboo, it won’t end well for you!”
A classic case of hypocrisy.
Perhaps it was not even worth answering, so he immediately used the newly acquired Blood Mystery.
Swish!
Shhhh—
Blood scattered into the air, solidifying into chains that surged toward Beta One, with some becoming thorns shot from his blind spots.
“Ugh, something like this won’t capture me—!”
And in that instant, Heinz vanished, swiftly closing the distance to drive his claws into Beta One’s neck.
Crack, crack!
“Ugh—?!”
The sudden surprise attack ricocheted off his tough skin, yet the shock was delivered sufficiently.
Besides, without supporting allies nearby, to Heinz, he was nothing more than a sturdier punching bag.
Crack! Crack, crack! Boom—!
Blood-red chains rushed in from all directions, wrapping his limbs, while the rapidly moving Heinz rained down blows imbued with blood magic onto his entire body.
Every time they clashed, the red petals mingled and scorched his skin.
Drip—!
Among those, he targeted the most crucial area.
Under the relentless assault, the skin on Beta One’s neck finally tore, and blood splattered everywhere.
It signified that the solid durability of that body had reached its breaking point.
It was the signal marking the end of Beta One.
‘It’s tough to absorb blood from other areas since the 7th-level has strong blood control. The only way is to bite through the neck and suck it in.’
That’s why Beta God had to bite the neck to drink blood too, but…
That no longer mattered.
There wouldn’t be any witnesses anyway.
