The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

“Is it this?”

The Blood Alliance’s reaction was immediate. The dawn of the next day, when the fatigue of the battle had not yet recovered. Vincent, who had appeared with a haggard face, was possessed by the head of the Blood Alliance, and she immediately examined the underboss’s corpse.

“Hmm.”

She poked it with a staff and kicked it with her foot, showing no respect for the dead. But her attitude was not careless. The hand that rummaged through the wound was delicate, and her eyes were sharp, as if she were performing an autopsy.

Insight is a type of ability that is accumulated through experience, not talent. The head of the Blood Alliance could see the same thing and realize more than others.

“First of all, it’s true that he was beaten without being able to do much. His mana is twisted. He couldn’t lead the flow of the battle as he wanted, so he overdid it.”

It looked like a cruel wound torn by the claws of a beast. Her gaze did not stay on the surface, but approached the deep layers beyond the skin and muscles, to the flow of mana.

“There’s a bruise. It’s extremely rare for a blood mage who handles blood magic to get a bruise. It’s a trace that remains when he used his own blood as a catalyst for magic as a last resort, and even that failed.”

To the ancestor of blood magic, even a mere bruise seemed to be seen differently.

“We had more numbers, and he was a guy who had a decent magical achievement, enough to have drunk a few sips of my blood. It’s strange that he lost so helplessly.”

The vampire admitted that she had to check the corpse herself.

“But you know that this can’t be the basis for your absurd claim, right? You should have at least brought his corpse.”

But it was not enough to be evidence that Shadowfang had restored the pure bloodline.

“Victor Laznik is an underboss, even if he’s a beast. He must have had a hidden move. In the first place, no matter how much you know, there’s no way you can tell whether the opponent werebeast is a pureblood or not.”

She also had a reason to be cautious. She had defined the dispute between Shadowfang and the Blood Alliance as a chicken game. A childish pride fight to see who would back down first.

She hadn’t planned the attack on Victor Laznik to see it through to the end. But if my thoughts were right, Shadowfang would run to the end, even if it meant all their limbs were cut off.

Because the restoration of the pure bloodline was the aspiration of the werebeasts. In other words, the current situation had turned into a war of annihilation that would only end when one side’s neck was cut off, from a chicken game.

That’s why I could understand the position of the head of the Blood Alliance. It would be difficult for her to readily admit it as the head of an organization unless it was irrefutable evidence.

“But if what you say is true, then everything that Shadowfang has been doing, as if they’ve suddenly gone crazy, makes sense.”

The vampire knelt down and poked her finger into the underboss’s corpse.

“If Shadowfang remains silent even after we cut off the underboss, then it’s circumstantially true that what you said is true… but we’ll lose time waiting for that.”

The finger that had been poked in as if crushing soft tofu broke the ribs and pierced the heart.

“So you can’t help it even if I use the vampire’s ability?”

I thought she was muttering to herself, but she looked at me.

“What’s the use of making excuses to me?”

“It means don’t blame me if a security officer happens to be patrolling this area, feels a presence, and attacks. It would be even better if you could ask for a consideration of the circumstances, since you’re on good terms with the Public Security Bureau.”

She was saying something terrible. Just in case, I asked the Guardian Hawk to scout, and in the meantime, the vampire exercised her authority.

Red mana rose from the vampire’s finger that had pierced the heart. The blood left in the underboss’s corpse circulated through the blood vessels as if it had been revived and gathered in the heart.

Naturally, the extremities, including the fingertips and toes, began to wrinkle and dry up, and soon they became as dry as a mummy.

Gulp!

It seemed that such a sound echoed in my ears. The finger submerged in the blood seemed to swell as if absorbing it, and then it slowly sank.

「The World Tree holds its breath at the terrible stench.」

A thick smell of blood spread throughout the area. It was enough to make one feel nauseous. On the other hand, the vampire’s complexion had returned, and she was full of life.

The tongue that licked her lips with satisfaction. The dark circles under her eyes that had come down to her cheekbones were erased, and her skin was glossy. She closed her eyes as if savoring the taste, rolled her tongue, and said.

“……Interesting.”

Several scenes flashed across her wide-open pupils, as if a projector were shining on them. She was reading the memories entangled in the blood.

And then, after the scene of the battle between me and Victor Laznik had passed, the vampire’s focus returned to reality.

“It’s not the first or second day that Shadowfang has been obsessed with pure blood and has been messing up… Although there are some flaws, they’ve come quite close to the real thing this time.”

The vampire, who must have even faced a pure-blooded werebeast, admitted it. It wasn’t that I had jumped to conclusions, but that Victor Laznik had the characteristics of a pure bloodline.

“That’s not right.”

It wasn’t a relationship where vampires and werebeasts would congratulate each other on one side’s long-cherished wish coming true. The threat of Shadowfang’s rampage to the concealment of the vampire’s information was now pushed to the back.

The vampires, who were old rivals, could never stand to see the werebeasts regain their former glory.

“How dare a beast try to crawl back up.”

She made a decision immediately, as if the time she had hesitated was a waste.

“I have to destroy Shadowfang.”

A sharp canine tooth protruded from under her crookedly raised lips.

***

“So that’s how it was.”

I told Cromwell the whole story. The full-scale war between Shadowfang and the Blood Alliance. Even if the battlefield was confined to just one city, its aftermath would not be limited to Gellerg City.

It would be fortunate if one side overwhelmingly dominated, but… the possibility was infinitely low. Even if I intervened.

If the Blood Alliance tried to chase the head of Shadowfang as much as possible, Shadowfang would try to run away. The fact that time was being dragged out was an advantage to Shadowfang, so it was the reason why the Blood Alliance could not start the action immediately even after deciding on a full-scale war.

“Whichever side becomes the winner, it will be terribly chaotic.”

The chaos that had come when the city government cracked down on the smuggling market was probably child’s play. One of the ruling factions of the Brotherhood would disappear, and the other would also suffer a blow that could not be ignored.

Regardless of whether they were from the underworld or the open world, they would be desperate to expand their power and tear off the exposed flesh, taking advantage of the weakness of the Brotherhood. The third faction of the Brotherhood would also be waiting for that time.

If the Blood Alliance and Shadowfang were in charge of the organization’s military power, their identity was closer to that of merchants who handled the funds of the underworld. They would have more than enough to use the chaos of their own organization, the Brotherhood, as an opportunity to increase their funds.

“To be honest, wouldn’t it be desirable to step away at this point?”

Such chaos inevitably brought about a revival of the contractor industry. Although contractors would do anything if the conditions were right, the majority of the requests were to borrow their military power.

The more chaotic the city, the more the value of a contractor with guaranteed skills would skyrocket. It was the same principle as the fact that despite the notorious reputation of the Mad House, the requests for them never ceased.

In the end, a contractor was a disposable piece. It was a profitable business if they could buy victory with just a little money while minimizing their own damage.

The story that Cromwell was trying to stop me was something that could be brought up enough under such calculations.

“They say that the city government is starting to talk about this case.”

“Your office has grown a lot in the meantime. Have you expanded your connections enough to hear about the internal affairs of the city government?”

“Reina gave me a tip.”

“Ah, the Public Security Bureau.”

When the city government makes a decision, the Public Security Bureau moves. And Reina was the only broker who mediated the requests of the military, to which the Public Security Bureau belonged.

It would not be strange if she heard about the movements of the city government in real time through the Public Security Bureau.

“Although the higher-ups of the Public Security Bureau and the Blood Alliance have come to a compromise, it has nothing to do with the politicians of the city government. And besides, they didn’t say they would look the other way indefinitely. It’s already been too long. They say that there’s a mood within the Public Security Bureau that they should take some action.”

They had destroyed several lower branches, and not only that, they had even carried out an attack on an underboss. A not-so-short period of time had passed in the process.

No matter how much the city government didn’t care about the commotion in the city, there was a line. Since the military demonstration of the Brotherhood had spread throughout the city, it was worth talking about among the councilors.

“To be frank, it’s a disadvantageous situation for the Blood Alliance. The request was to help stop Shadowfang, not to cooperate in a full-scale war with them.”

This was also true. It was common for the situation to change while carrying out a request, but a full-scale war with Shadowfang was going too far.

Even if I pulled out here, my reputation would not fall.

“But then, the price of the request that I set as a condition would be gone.”

Even so, I was in a position where I had to see the request through to the end in some way.

‘It also bothers me that the restoration of the pure bloodline, which was impossible in FP, suddenly succeeded.’

Al-Raid, the Guardians of the Dawn, and even Mirei, the coordinator of the Mad House. The incidents that had occurred, deviating from the knowledge of the game I remembered, all had an inside story that I would have regretted if I had just let them go, whether they were big or small.

This time was also the same. I had a strong feeling that I needed to dig deeper into the core.

“I thought you’d say that.”

Cromwell brushed off his disappointment with a shallow breath.

“A contractor who has risen to your position values the values or goals he pursues rather than being bound by the content of the request. I can’t force you with advice like I did when you were a foolish half-wit, so I just said it.”

“Don’t be disappointed. You’ve benefited a lot from me in the meantime.”

“It’s your decision, so there’s nothing to be disappointed about.”

That was true.

“If things get desperate, I’ll do something about it myself.”

It was a request where the option of giving up had been removed. As I had done so far, I was determined to succeed somehow.

***

The research institute where Shadowfang was experimenting with the restoration of the pure bloodline. The inside of the research institute was usually so noisy with the conversations of the numerous researchers and the sound of machines that it hurt the ears.

But today, it was so quiet that you couldn’t even hear the sound of breathing.

“Aaaah!”

The silence was broken right after the werebeast trapped in one of the laboratories struggled.

“Oh, ooooh!”

Cheers erupted, as if the room would be torn apart. The researchers, who were stuck to the glass wall that showed the inside clearly, smiled brightly and jumped up and down.

The old man, the head of Shadowfang, also twitched his wrinkled lips this time.

“It finally lasted for 24 hours. It’s showing stable brainwaves even after entering the werebeast transformation. The results are visible every day, so I’m proud too.”

However, the time he expressed his emotions was very short.

“Agent.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I asked you one thing.”

The old man’s face, who had turned to the man in sunglasses, was expressionless, as if he had never been happy.

“What does your employer intend to achieve with our research data?”

“Hmm, is that really important?”

“It’s just research data. You guys introduced this research institute, provided the research personnel, and even handed over the spirit’s cocoons. The cost-benefit analysis doesn’t match.”

“Hmm, let’s just say that we’re also aiming for the power of a pure-blooded werebeast.”

“This technology is not a technology that awakens the pure blood in ordinary people. Hmph, you have no intention of telling me.”

“As I said, it’s not an important part. Rather, isn’t it more important that the long-cherished wish of the werebeasts is within reach?”

The hearty laughter contained a clear meaning of letting it go.

“Research data. I see, if you used us to decipher and handle the spirit’s cocoons…”

“Now, now, rather than that, the interference from the Blood Alliance is said to be stronger than imagined. What are you going to do about that?”

It was a blatant change of topic. The old man also went along with the man’s tune at that point. As he said, it was just a trivial curiosity that could be asked and passed over, as the aspiration of the werebeasts was being fulfilled.

“There’s no need to worry. They don’t know what we’re doing.”

“So you’re going to stick to a non-response.”

“No.”

The old man erased the resentment towards the vampires from his mind.

“The Blood Alliance is being chased by time. We will present a false hope to those who are impatient.”

“Oho.”

“By pretending to take a step back and bow our heads, we can buy precious time.”

“You’re sworn enemies, doesn’t it hurt your pride?”

“Pride.”

The old man smiled brightly this time.

“It’s worthless in front of the aspiration of our clan.”

(End of Chapter)