Chapter 100 : The Hungry Temple (3)
Chapter 100: The Hungry Temple (3)
Yohan carefully accepted the Rune Seo Changhee handed him.
[No.998 'Shield']
Physical Defense +0.5
Magic Defense +0.8
No. 998, huh.
Hiss.
It would've been nice if he'd managed to pry a higher-ranked Rune out of him, but considering he got this one for free, he couldn't really complain.
'This would be better off sold or traded than used.'
'I'll bundle it together with that Inferior Assassin Skill Book I got before.'
With the Imperial Knights and Hunters crawling all over the place, finding a buyer wouldn't be difficult.
“So? Is it enough now?”
“Yeah. This should be enough.”
From the beginning, saying it was impossible to find the female had been a lie.
It was true that they all looked almost identical.
But there was still a way to distinguish them.
First...
Smell.
Sniff. Sniff.
Yohan's nose twitched repeatedly.
The queen's pheromones should contain acidic compounds.
The strongest sour scent would most likely point to her location.
'There.'
After roughly identifying the area, Yohan carefully examined the Corpse Beetles' appearances.
The queen's fangs were exactly 3.5 centimeters longer than the others'.
And the patterns on her wings formed a comb-like design.
Anyone who had fought them around 150 times would've noticed it easily.
Though...
It would probably be difficult for first-playthrough rookies.
If he added a little bit of proper theatrics...
[Lowest-Rank Skill 'Alarm Magic' is activated!]
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Alarm Magic rang loudly.
“Found her!”
Unexpectedly...
The female wasn't hiding in the rear.
She was leading the far-right flank.
[Seo Changhee activates his Unique Ability 'Equivalent Exchange with the World'!]
“May I never feel a single ounce of shame beneath the heavens.”
As his Trait, Dawn, activated as well...
A brilliant radiance illuminated the entire passage.
Letters crumbled away along the trajectory of his sword.
The famous quotations manifested through Words of Power became blades that annihilated his enemies.
“Kirik!”
“Keeeek!”
Countless male Corpse Beetles threw themselves forward to protect the queen.
They wagered everything to stop Seo Changhee...
Brandishing claws and fangs that devoured corpses.
But—
“Even the wind stirring among the leaves filled me with anguish.”
The incantation had already come to an end.
Golden leaves drifted downward...
Splitting cleanly in half—
Slash!
The queen Corpse Beetle's body was likewise severed into two perfect halves.
Success.
Now that the queen was dead...
The remaining Corpse Beetles should stop moving.
However—
“Kirik!”
“Keeeee!”
Not even slightly.
Their momentum showed no signs of weakening.
At that very moment...
A new voice echoed through the chamber.
“So... my children failed their mission after all. That was quite an entertaining spectacle.”
A man slowly walked forward through the swarm of Corpse Beetles.
He stood around 190 centimeters tall.
His dark skin was completely covered in elaborate tattoos.
Yohan's expression instantly changed.
There was no way he wouldn't recognize him.
How could he possibly not?
The ruler of this dungeon.
The king who commanded the Beast Tamers.
Belond.
“They're few in number, but every single one of them is strong.”
“Heh. That swordsman radiating light is mine.”
“Then I'll take the pretty white-haired one.”
Standing beside him were Daphne, Jakan...
And numerous other Beast Tamers.
Their entire main force had gathered here.
Every last one of them.
“This is a bit excessive. There are far more Imperial Knights and Hunters over there, yet you're committing your entire army just to kill a group like us?”
Yohan clicked his tongue.
“Numbers are not the measure of strength.”
“You're overestimating us.”
“That may seem true at first glance. But there was one thing I became certain of.”
“And what's that?”
“Corpse Beetles inhabit only extremely limited regions. Ordinary Hunters would go their entire lives without ever seeing one. Yet... this clearly wasn't your first time fighting them.”
Someone who knew information they should never know.
That...
was the most dangerous kind of enemy.
“......”
As expected.
He was an incredibly troublesome opponent.
Despite belonging to the Beast Race...
His intelligence was far too high.
This was going to be a difficult battle.
Yohan calmly regulated his breathing while reorganizing his mana.
[The Beast Tamers activate the Trait 'Wild Evolution'!]
A Trait that increased the potential of their tamed beasts by two entire stages.
“GROOOOAR!”
A gigantic armored Fire Bear roared savagely.
“GRAAAAH!”
“Keeeeek!”
Trolls.
Scorpions.
Spiders.
Every beast under the Beast Tamers' control charged simultaneously.
They're coming.
“Rodbrock!”
“UOOOOH!”
At Yohan's call...
The team's tank charged straight forward.
He needed to use Taunt...
Drawing as much aggro as possible while enduring the enemy's initial assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Claws.
Clubs.
Venomous stingers.
Every attack converged upon Rodbrock.
The impact was overwhelming.
Yet...
Rodbrock never retreated.
“Kuhahaha! Cough! Is this all you've got, brats?!”
He simply carried out his duty as a tank.
No matter what happened...
He stood firm on the front line.
The turn passed.
Yohan unleashed every spell he had into the center of the enemy formation.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A tremendous explosion erupted.
The surroundings instantly transformed into a blazing inferno.
And thus...
The true battle between the two forces began.
＊
Numerically...
They were overwhelmingly outnumbered.
Yet...
The strength of each individual closed that gap.
“We'll take the right side!”
“Evelyn! I'll do my best!”
Seo Changhee and Evelyn headed toward the area with the largest concentration of Beast Tamers.
“Insignificant vermin.”
Whoosh.
Scarlet leapt high into the air with her parasol spread wide.
[Bloodline Sorcery 'Banquet of the Crimson Night' is activated!]
Twisted Blood Threads erupted into a storm of crimson.
Bang! Bang!
Bang!
“Kiiii!”
“GRAAAH!”
The tangled web shredded everything within its range into tiny pieces.
Lick.
Scarlet licked the blood staining her lips.
Infinite Hunger devoured the blood flowing from her enemies...
Awakening even more primal desires.
Bloodshot crimson eyes.
A tongue slowly tracing her lips.
The True Vampire who thirsted for blood plunged straight into the enemy ranks.
Whoosh!
The spinning parasol sliced every Corpse Beetle flying toward her.
Its pristine white surface gradually turned crimson.
“You're awfully cocky.”
Tap!
Daphne lunged directly at Scarlet.
The same monstrous strength that had previously split Imperial soldiers in half...
Shot toward Scarlet's heart.
Whoosh!
Her fist was stopped by a web of threads.
Zip!
Blood Threads instantly coiled around Daphne's fist...
Climbing all the way to her neck.
“How vulgar.”
“Your speech. Your gaze... even the way you breathe.”
Scarlet flicked a finger.
Tiny droplets of blood began surfacing along Daphne's neck.
But at that moment—
BOOM!
Another giant figure intervened.
Jakan.
[Jakan activates the Passive Trait 'Intermediate Magic Immunity'!]
A Trait capable of repelling most magic cast by those who had reached February Rank.
Bang!
After severing the Blood Threads...
Jakan immediately closed the distance with Scarlet.
Scarlet instinctively opened her parasol.
“Not so fast!”
Daphne attacked from the side once more...
Destroying Scarlet's balance.
A relentless two-on-one assault.
No matter how rapidly Scarlet had grown...
This wasn't an easy battle.
Slash!
Blood trickled down Scarlet's cheek.
Her breathing became ragged.
Her mana rapidly dwindled.
“What a nuisance. Have Blood Sorcerers always been this strong?”
“She isn't a Blood Sorcerer. It's more accurate to call her... a vampire belonging to the Red Moon Corporation.”
“A vampire? Why would a vampire side with humans?”
“Who knows? She probably has her reasons. Either way... if we hadn't fought together, she would've been a serious problem.”
“......”
Daphne couldn't deny it.
Scarlet's strength existed on an entirely different level from anyone they'd faced before.
But...
It ended here.
Jakan and Daphne slowly tightened the encirclement...
Searching for an opening.
Just one strike.
They only needed a tiny opportunity to land a fatal blow.
[Daphne activates her Unique Ability 'Snake Dance'!]
Shhhk!
The two snakes coiled around Daphne's arms lashed out from impossible angles.
Crunch!
“Ugh!”
Scarlet let out a pained groan.
She had deflected one snake...
But the other slipped through.
“Even a vampire won't resist this poison. I'm rather proud of it.”
Paralytic venom rapidly spread from the wound.
Her veins bulged.
The injured area slowly turned green.
“I'll finish this in one blow.”
[Jakan activates his Unique Ability 'Battle Ogre'!]
An Ogre.
One of the strongest races among all land-dwelling creatures.
Manifesting that overwhelming strength...
Jakan swung his fist directly toward Scarlet's face.
No.
He tried to.
BOOM!
Crimson hands erupted from the ground...
Grasping Jakan's fist.
Step.
A new figure appeared before Scarlet.
“You held out well.”
“Thanks to that, we wiped out every Corpse Beetle.”
“And we've tied down all the beasts those Beast Tamers brought.”
“Yohan...”
Scarlet smiled faintly as she looked at him.
Yes.
It felt just like her Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
She remembered standing surrounded by countless enemies...
Unable to do anything except suffer one-sided defeat.
In truth...
She herself had been no different from the other vampires who looked down on Yohan.
He was the Prince of Ataraxia.
Yet he always remained alone.
Never interacting with anyone.
No matter how noble his bloodline...
She couldn't acknowledge a prince who had never proven himself.
So...
She had stepped forward.
To prove that House Juliard was different.
To prove they didn't need dirty or underhanded methods.
To prove she alone could overwhelm everyone.
'In the end... I was utterly crushed.'
No matter how hard she fought...
One person could never overpower many.
Even the Blood Threads she had taken such pride in...
Were reduced to worthless rags beneath countless opposing abilities.
Then—
'Bloodline Formula... Blood of the Empty Capital.'
The voice that echoed out at the very moment she thought everything was over.
The Blood Sword Formation composed of eleven greatswords.
And...
The awakening of the True Vampire's ability to dominate Dragon Blood.
It marked...
The opening chapter of a new vampire legend.
“You've done enough.”
“Leave the rest to me.”
His warm voice gently reached Scarlet's heart.
“Scarlet de Juliard.”
Now...
She understood.
The one standing before her possessed a bloodline greater than anyone else's.
“I shall obey the command of the great Ataraxia.”
Scarlet peacefully closed her eyes.
＊＊＊
Whoosh!
The Fire-element spell...
Burning Sword.
A blazing sword formed within Yohan's hand.
“So. You're the strongest one here, aren't you, Mage?”
The desire for battle burned brightly across Jakan's face.
“Probably.”
“Excellent. At least the strongest among the vermin should be worth hunting.”
Worth hunting?
He seemed to be misunderstanding something.
“I meant... I'm the strongest one among everyone here.”
Not just the Hunters.
Even including every Beast Tamer.
In a one-on-one fight...
He had no intention of losing.
“Your arrogance reaches the heavens.”
Inside a temple blessed by this stronghold.
And beneath Belond's influence...
For him to utter such ridiculous nonsense.
Things were different now.
No matter how much magic Yohan fired...
It would amount to nothing more than a slight itch.
Clank!
Jakan drew an absurdly massive greatsword.
Ogre blood surged violently through his veins.
His body began expanding to monstrous proportions.
This time...
He intended to transform his entire body into an Ogre.
Tusks protruded from his mouth.
Thick leathery skin enveloped his entire body.
And facing him...
Yohan lowered into his stance.
Bloodline Sword Art.
Crimson droplets rose from the Burning Sword.
The manifested form carved out an entirely new path of the blade.
Fourth Form.
The fourth form embodied...
The final remnant of the night.
The Warning Bell cut through the darkest moment before dawn.
Purple Cloud Black Moon Sword.
“GROOOOAR! DIE!”
Jakan's greatsword came crashing down toward Yohan's head.
SKREEEE!
The two blades scraped violently past one another.
A swift...
Ruthless strike.
The exchange ended without a victor.
Jakan spun around.
Raising his sword high once more.
The first exchange had merely measured each other's strength.
Now...
He had perfectly grasped the distance.
The speed.
Everything.
The second strike...
Would remove that arrogant enemy's head entirely.
“Well. You're not bad with a sword. Quite impressive... for a mage—”
Jakan suddenly sensed something terribly wrong.
His vision tilted.
Slowly.
But without stopping.
Continuing past the angle it should never have crossed.
“This can't...”
Thud!
Jakan's head fell to the ground.