Chapter 137 : Proving One's Ability (2)
Proving One's Ability (2)
Scarlet was in the western region of the Loderun Empire.
"Welcome, Ian Greysel."
Thanks to the tracks she'd left in Nightingale, it was easy to find her.
Western city of Loderun, Riyol.
An old underground building in the slums.
It must have once been a tavern, but now, it served as a vampire den.
"Wow... You've gotten huge, haven't you?"
As soon as Ian entered the hideout, Scarlet compared their heights.
Ian was in the mid-190cm range.
By now, he was a full head taller than Scarlet.
"I almost didn't recognize you. Humans really do grow in an instant. How long has it been?"
"Five years."
"Five years? Wow... It's already been that long."
Scarlet, being a vampire who lived eternally, and having lived at least a thousand years, must have felt that five years had passed in the blink of an eye.
"I didn't even realize time was passing."
"You must have been quite busy."
"... Well. That's true."
Scarlet gave a wry smile.
It seemed a lot had happened.
"Heh. When I first saw you, you were a complete brat, but now you actually look like a man. Oh! I should introduce you. These are my blood kin."
She now had three companions with her.
A girl sitting at the bar table, eyes sparkling.
An old man in the corner, holding a cane in both hands and smiling kindly.
And a bulky man leaning against one wall, sipping a beer and glaring at Ian.
All of them were blood kin Scarlet had rescued from the Demon Cult during the past five years.
"The girl is Judy. The elder over there is Grandpa Marcus. And that big guy is Morgan."
"Hello~"
"Heh heh. Nice to meet you."
"Hmph!"
"..."
Ian met the gaze of each one of them and greeted them.
"Pleased to meet you."
Two seemed friendly, but one's atmosphere was rather hostile.
There was a bit of animosity in his eyes.
"Hey."
Just as expected.
Morgan, whose body was packed with thick muscles, stomped across the floor and approached.
A shadow that could fully cover Ian.
Was he a barbarian half-blood? He seemed about 2.4 meters tall.
"They said you saved Scarlet, right? Is that true?"
Not knowing Morgan's intentions, Ian glanced at Scarlet.
Scarlet slapped Morgan's arm.
"Hey!"
― Smack!!
"Argh!"
Morgan recoiled, clutching his thick triceps.
"What was that for, sis!?"
"What are you trying to do to my guest? Don't glare at him like that!"
"A-Anyway! It's not like I did anything... I thought my skin was going to peel off!"
The slap was loud enough to rival a gunshot.
"I tried to make you back off, but you just wouldn't budge—you're needlessly sturdy. Go! Get lost!"
"No! I can't go!"
Morgan huffed.
"I have business with this man!"
"Business? What business!"
"It's all right, Scarlet."
Ian raised a palm and nodded.
Scarlet glared at Morgan once more before stepping back.
"Don't harass my guest. I'm watching you."
"..."
Morgan rubbed his reddened arm, pouting his lips.
Then he looked down at Ian again, face scowling.
"I can't trust this man."
"Huh?"
Scarlet went to hit Morgan's arm again.
― Slap!
"Argh!"
"If you're just going to talk nonsense...!"
Even as he howled in pain, Morgan was undaunted.
"Am I wrong, though?"
"What?"
"You said yourself you barely know anything about this man!"
"Huh?"
Scarlet's hand paused in mid-air.
"All you know is his name and affiliation, and everything else about him is suspicious."
From the beginning, Ian had known Scarlet's name.
He survived her unrestrained bloodsucking.
At just fourteen, he massacred seven expert-level demonic humans and a master-level demon alone.
There was obviously something special about him.
A fourteen-year-old kid should never have been able to do such things.
Yet, whatever it was, he never revealed it, keeping it tightly hidden.
"In my hundreds of years of experience..."
― Crack! Crack...!
Morgan folded his arms, rolling his neck until it cracked.
"When you get tangled up with someone with so many secrets, the aftermath always turns rotten."
"Hey. Morgan. That's enough,"
Scarlet spoke seriously.
"What you're saying isn't entirely wrong, but Ian and I have only met three times now. He's allowed to keep things from me. Besides..."
Scarlet slowly placed her hand on Morgan's shoulder.
"If not for Ian, we wouldn't have been able to meet like this again."
"No."
Morgan pushed Scarlet's hand away.
"You're too soft, sis. That's why I have to step up for you."
"What?"
"Our blood kin are all too damn nice. Too naive and trust too easily."
At that moment, Judy, still sitting at the bar, giggled and interjected.
"You're always the first to get fooled, though~."
"Judy-sis, please, don't interfere either!"
"...?"
Ian tilted his head.
That one was the older sister?
"Hey. Ian Greysel!"
Morgan pushed his large face up close.
"..."
Ian calmly met Morgan's gaze.
Morgan growled, face fierce.
"I don't even know what you came here for. Don't tell me you just wanted to see us after so long."
"..."
"So, what's your reason for coming here? Be honest!"
"..."
Ian gently pushed Morgan back.
"I get it, so back off a bit. You're suffocating me."
"Pfft."
Scarlet let out a small chuckle.
"Ian wouldn't even accept my kiss—you think he'll accept you?"
"W- What is that! I never asked for a kiss!"
"Just back off, you're suffocating him."
"Phew!"
Morgan let out a snort and folded his arms.
Still, he listened to his 'sister' and stepped back a couple of paces.
"Now explain yourself! Why are you here?!"
Ian answered directly.
"I'm here to increase my strength. I'll help rescue your blood kin."
"What?"
"Huh?"
Morgan and Scarlet both reacted in surprise.
Even Judy widened her eyes, and Marcus perked up his ears.
"You're here to help?"
Scarlet spoke up first.
"I thought for sure you'd come to ask us for help? Since we owe you a debt."
"Hmph! Suspicious, as expected!"
Morgan took a step closer.
"Why would you help us!? Can you even help? With that scrawny body?"
"..."
I don't think I'm scrawny.
Ian's frame was 194 cm, 93 kg.
By no means was he on the frail side.
"If you want me to prove my strength, I can do that."
Morgan grinned, curling his lips.
"Hohoho. Prove your strength? Humans can be so cute. But before that..."
Morgan's expression turned severe once more.
"Why do you want to help us? What's your scheme?"
Ian answered with patience, calm and measured.
"... I can't say I have no ulterior motive."
At that, the vampires' eyes focused on him.
Ian met each vampire's gaze in turn and continued.
"My purpose is to form a powerful alliance with you, Scarlet, Morgan, lady Judy, elder Marcus—and your blood kin."
"Haah?"
"Hm."
"Oh?"
Morgan looked completely dumbfounded.
The rest of the kin all showed their interest in their own ways.
"You want an alliance with us? Human? Do you even know who we are?"
"Vampires. What more do I need to know?"
"We drink living human blood. And we handle blood energy tainted with evil darkness. Our power is sinister and ominous to your kind."
"But you're strong. You're not mindless monsters that only speak violence, just because you're called children of darkness. Besides, I heard the Noxcar bloodline is gentle toward humans. Isn't that so?"
"... Huh?"
Morgan looked in confusion at his blood kin, as if to ask who had told Ian that.
At that moment, Marcus, quietly sitting to the rear, spoke in a gentle tone.
"What he says... is true. His desire to form an alliance with us. His thoughts about us. All of it is genuine."
At those words, Ian looked at Marcus.
One of Marcus's eyes glowed with a strange light.
He must have used some special ability to verify Ian's sincerity.
Morgan recoiled in surprise.
"Is that true!? He's sincere!? Old man, your eye isn't broken, is it!?"
"Heh heh heh... Morgan, it's been too long since you got a knock on the head from me—that's why you doubt me."
"N- No. Not that I want to get hit! Why is everyone so eager to hit me!?"
Scarlet answered in his place.
"You're sturdy. And striking you feels satisfying."
"No! It hurts me, you know!?"
"Hmmm~."
Judy also flared her small nose, smiling.
"Smells good~. Liars always have a stench, but not him. I approve! He seems like a nice guy."
"E-Even you, Judy-sis!?"
Morgan shuddered as he glanced at Judy, then slowly turned back to Ian.
Ian, as always, gazed back at him calmly.
"Hmmm..."
Morgan still didn't look completely free from doubt.
But, after hearing his companions' judgments, his previously rigid vigilance had faded.
His eyes now said, "Was this really just goodwill?"—he seemed confused.
"Ahem!"
Morgan, making eye contact with Ian, coughed awkwardly and unfolded his arms.
"Well... Looks like I may have been overly suspicious. Sorry about that."
Ian shook his head.
"It's all right. This actually makes things clearer."
"Huh? Wait a minute!?"
Morgan's face rapidly flushed red and blue again.
"I was speaking informally! Why are you speaking informally to me!? I'm hundreds of years older than you!"
"I speak informally with Scarlet, too. If I use honorifics with you, it gets confusing."
"Sis!?"
Morgan urgently looked back at Scarlet.
"What's going on!?"
"Well..."
Scarlet scratched her cheek, embarrassed.
"He's spoken informally from the start, and he's my lifesaver... it never bothered me much, so I let it go. Just roll with it."
"N-No... What is this..."
Morgan shook his head fiercely.
"It'd be one thing if I acknowledged this man completely! But I haven't fully accepted him yet!"
Ian smacked his lips.
"There's more?"
"Of course there is!"
Morgan stepped close again.
"I know you bear us no ill will! But, there's still the matter of proving your strength!"
Proving strength.
This was a welcome topic for Ian as well.
He was confident no matter how he proved himself, and as a swordsman, nothing was more definitive or efficient to earn recognition.
Morgan, veins bulging, began to rant.
"Saving our blood kin is no simple task! You'll have to face late-stage masters or even grandmasters at times! If you get involved, you'll just get in the way instead of helping! And, honestly, that's more of a problem because you seem like a good man! If you end up in danger, I'll be forced to save you!"
"Haha. You think you'll have to save me?"
Ian put his hand on his hip and laughed.
"I'll probably do ten times as much as you."
Judging by Morgan's aura, he was at least a late-stage master.
Even if he was a top late-stage master, Ian's magic power was still more than fifteen times his.
Ian was a grandmaster top-rank, just shy of half-divinity.
That was like the difference between a child and a great general.
"Heh! What!?"
Morgan's eyes reddened with anger.
"Sis! This punk is provoking me!"
"So what?"
"I can't just let this go, for the honor of our bloodline!"
"I never entrusted you with our honor..."
Ian rested his hand on the hilt of the sword at his hip.
"If you can't let it go, fine. No need for more words."
"Let's move to a larger space. Wouldn't want to destroy the city."
"Suit yourself."
Late afternoon, near sunset.
Ian and Morgan left the underground hideout.
Scarlet, Judy, and Marcus trailed quietly behind.
Everyone wore looks that said they found this unexpected event rather entertaining.
Since the hideout was on the edge of the slums, it didn't take long to reach the nearby canyon.
"How do you want to do this?"
"A duel, of course!"
The test of proving strength had begun.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】