Chapter 201
I realized what the grand duke was after.
He planned to unleash monsters resembling devils upon the world. Or perhaps they were actual devils.
When the world turned into hell because of them and people desperately wished for divine salvation—at that moment, the grand duke intended to appear before the world as God's apostle, together with the Holy Knights.
To that end, he had created fanatics. He increased the effect by framing me, his biggest obstacle, as a devil worshipper. Everything fit perfectly.
He intended to destroy everything and start anew. Countless people would die. He must have believed the old world needed to be destroyed to make way for a new one.
Afterward, he would come as the world's savior.
And then he would found the Holy State.
Could it be that the grand duke would even revive?
"Do you think the grand duke is still alive?"
"I don't know."
A devil's essence contains the energies of flame, ice, and the like. So even if his whole body was set on fire, it's hard to be certain of his death. His head wasn't even completely severed.
Even if he did die, the devil's essence would have been passed on to Art Syren. When I first saw Art at the palace, I'd sensed that Saihan darkness from him.
Maybe I had sensed it, even back then.
He might come as the world's savior.
As the avatar of evil disguised as the apostle of God.
This was the beginning of the vampires' appearance.
As their numbers grow, they'll become a strong faction, and attacks by monsters would gradually increase as well.
"I need to look up some information."
I headed to the Imperial Archives.
On the third floor, there was considerable information about the ancient war and devils. These were the Empire's top secrets.
So, I checked the related records.
To my surprise—
Even during the ancient war, the beginning was marked by the rampage of vampires. Back then, vampires were considered an incurable disease. A plague in which humans became devil's servants.
The vampires formed a powerful faction, and then devils began to appear. A plague arising from the power of darkness also spread. In all cases, it was a disease that turned people into the servants of devils.
"There's a hierarchy among devils."
"Read it aloud."
Donnie pulled out a book and read.
"There are four ranks among high-class devils: Demon King. Ma-Goon. Seongma. True Demon. The Demon King is the king of devils, Ma-Goon are the generals, seongma are the Demon King's descendants, and True Demon are the nobles among devils. All of them are the first devils."
"Which category do vampires fall under?"
"They belong to True Demon. They're upper-class nobles, and only vampires of True Demon lineage have authority; as their blood is diluted, their physical capacity and strength decrease."
So, the bloodline gets weaker as it is passed on.
If you're bitten by a high-ranking vampire, you inherit more power; if bitten by a regular vampire, you receive less.
"Then there must be a ranking system."
"That's right. They're divided into six ranks, and if the palace maid who died turned into a vampire, she'd be the lowest rank. There's only one True Demon vampire, and all others become part of the same clan."
"How strong are they?"
"True Demon-level vampires are equal to 10,000 legions. Even up to the fourth rank, they're terrifyingly powerful—there were cases where 30 knight order members perished. Most vampires are rank five or lower, though."
"But do they have any weaknesses?"
Donnie skimmed through the book again and spoke.
"From rank four and higher, they're immortal unless you sever their heads. Their regenerative abilities are extraordinary, and they're said to be pretty resistant to holiness as well."
Could there be a True Demon vampire in this world?
They say they're the first devils—so even if a True Demon doesn't exist, there must be lower ranks.
I could guess who it would be if one existed.
A person raising a faction in secret before appearing in public. If someone else became a vampire, they'd inevitably be part of the same clan.
/ / /
I examined the corpse of the palace maid.
Oren attended the investigation as head of the prosecution bureau.
There were clear fang marks on her neck. The veins stood out, and all blood had been drained from her body. There were also dental impressions—definitely, it was a human bite.
"If a vampire did this, then why didn't this palace maid become a vampire?"
That was Oren's question.
"Vampirism is a type of plague. The vampire that drank this maid's blood was starving and just fed, not intending to make her kin; to create clan members, they only bite."
"I see."
"We need to search for vampires focusing on the instigator factions. They've already been living among humans for some time. The likelihood is high that they already have their own clan."
"Understood."
Agents from the intelligence bureau were also pursuing vampires. If an ordinary agent gets bitten, they'll end up switching sides. Our own agents, turned into vampires, could even deceive us.
I moved straight to headquarters.
"Is there any intel pointing to the instigator factions gathering?"
"It's been quiet since the underground base in the north was destroyed."
"That means there's a vampire among them. No ordinary person would know about the situation over there."
"If we interrogate those currently in custody, we'll find out. We'll have a lead by tomorrow at the latest."
While walking, I got a call.
"Is there any other news?"
—They say there's been a major incident in Tern.
"What happened?"
—There were similar serial killings in the capital of Tern for some time, but now monsters have appeared throughout the capital. The same monsters you saw in the underground base.
"This just came in?"
—Yes. The Mogos information unit just sent a messenger to the Tris branch. About six hours ago, by the time. We don't know the exact situation yet.
"Tell everyone we might face an emergency soon—it could start here in the Empire at any moment."
—Understood.
Donnie spoke.
"Do you think the invasion has started?"
"I can't be sure yet. Rather than unleashing them all at once, maybe they're planning to spread chaos in small increments."
It started not in the Empire, but in Tern. Maybe they intend to take over the army in Tern and then invade the Empire. If so, the commander of those troops would be Tern's knight order commander.
I went to the office and opened the magic vault.
Eilin was reading a book.
I'd open the vault several times a day and eat with her. She mostly lived in self-training. After about three months of intense sparring, her skills had grown.
"What did your father say?"
"He told me to come back after just a few more months of training. I feel like I'm still a little lacking, too."
I'd received a letter from Eilin's father. I expected it would tell her to come home, but it was the opposite. Maybe there's a reason she's needed near me a little longer.
"Do you think I can infuse holiness into the spirit swords?"
"I've never tried it, but I think it's possible."
I took out the spirit swords.
Eilin took four of them and imbued them with holiness. Light glowed from the blades.
"If I keep infusing them for a long time, they'll become weapons with holy properties."
"Think that will be effective against darkness?"
"As weapons, they should be. To beings of darkness, the light of holiness acts like poison."
In other words, for those tainted by darkness, daggers imbued with holiness are as deadly as poison. Light always overcomes darkness—even if the darkness is so strong it might push back for a while.
"You need a lot of holy weapons, right?"
"Yes. Please help me."
Eilin nodded.
To catch vampires, holy weapons were essential. Even if it took a while, I planned to make some in advance.
There might be more vampires than I thought.
Who was the very first vampire?
It must've been someone who possessed real power.
/ / /
I walked down a pitch-dark alley.
I was with the Intelligence Division squad leader.
It was past midnight, and almost none of the factories nearby had their lights on. Where we were headed was a logistics warehouse area, so there were few people even during the day.
The Intelligence Division had tortured two members of the instigator faction and extracted information. That's why we wore spirit masks copied from their faces.
Recently, those attending the rallies had increased significantly. The two we'd caught had attended three meetings, and they said this meeting would have quite a large number of people.
When we entered, two big men appeared.
One of them looked us over.
"Password."
'Dawn at midnight.'
"Names."
"Rege and Ort."
The burly man shone his lanterns on our faces.
"Who introduced you?"
"Officer Angel."
"What's your purpose for coming today?"
"Divine baptism."
The burly man searched us.
He knew the two faces we were impersonating.
Clunk.
A watcher opened the door.
We went straight into the warehouse.
There was something near our feet, but it was too dark to see. It was painted black, too. That object passed by the guards' feet and entered through the door first.
After going down a dark corridor, we met two more guards. Thudthud—the guard knocked on a steel door. We heard a lock click, and the door opened.
Again, those objects slipped through between the guards' feet. Lying flat, even the one opening the door didn't see them. The object then clung to the wall and climbed up to the ceiling.
Thunk—
As soon as we entered, the door closed tight.
Inside, there were many people dressed in robes like us. These really looked like devil worshippers.
Hiding my right hand inside my sleeve, I mingled among the crowd. On the stage, a man was delivering a speech.
I'd never seen him before.
"... And so, their oppression won't last. Soon the god will descend, and if you wish to be saved, you must receive the divine baptism. Are you prepared to follow God?"
"We are prepared."
"Are you ready to judge the devils?"
"We are prepared."
"Are you ready to save this land?"
"We are prepared."
"Priests, prepare for the baptism."
Several in white robes appeared, holding trays with red liquid. There were cots on the stage with bloodstains—clearly, this wasn't the first time.
"Those who wish to receive baptism, come up."
Seven men and women stepped up and removed their upper garments, then lay down on the cots. The priests placed the trays of red liquid on tables beside them.
"The messenger of God will now appear."
Everyone present dropped to one knee. Soon a woman in white appeared.
Her clothing bore the symbols of the Seven Gods, and in her right hand she held a priest's staff adorned in gold. I felt no holiness from her whatsoever.
In fact, the hand she was hiding shone with light.
Someone here was sinister.
"Through the will of God, I carry out the holy baptism. May the limbs of God descend in holiness and guide these ones to His embrace. The Seven Gods protect you."
The so-called messenger of God removed her hat. She wore a white cloth, her face was painted white as well. She went to the woman lying on the cot.
A priest sprinkled what seemed like holy water on the supine woman, while another covered the woman's mouth with a handkerchief. Then the messenger of God brought her face down close by the woman's head.
"Mmmph."
The messenger bit the woman on the neck.
Veins stood out on the woman's face.
Then the "messenger" lifted her lips.
The messenger wiped away the blood at the corners of her mouth with the priest's handkerchief, then moved to the next cot.
The so-called messenger was a vampire.
The women bitten by the vampire trembled violently. Their upper bodies bulged with veins, and after a short convulsion, they went limp. The others were the same.
Anyone could see it was vampirism, but no one in the crowd showed any suspicion. Surely there were some who recognized vampires. Yet, as if brainwashed, they gazed on with reverence.
Just then, the squad leader traced characters on my back.
He revealed the identity of the woman called the "messenger."
Shushushuk—
Suddenly, daggers flew from the ceiling.
It seemed like a perfect hit—but, no.
Cha-chang—
The messenger deflected the spirit swords at lightning speed and leapt behind the platform, her movement incredibly fast.
I jumped after her immediately.
I kicked aside the priests trying to block me and dashed around to the back of the platform where the woman had escaped.
Clunk—
There was a door behind the platform. The messenger quickly opened it and sprinted out.
She stepped on a wooden box and jumped straight over the roof. I also ran through the alley in pursuit. She was leaping rooftop to rooftop.
Was this how vampires were?
Or was it because she was a high-rank vampire?
She leaped more than ten paces at a time.
The spirit swords pursuing her flew at the vampire once more. This time—from four different directions, in quick succession!
Tadadang—
The vampire parried two of the swords, but couldn't block the third in time—it struck with a dull impact, and the figure plummeted as she tried to soar away.
She broke out of the alley straight onto the main street.
The vampire was crawling. The sword embedded in her chest faintly glowed with holy light.
"So that's why you were so confident. All your assassin-like aides were vampires too."
The woman stopped.
Blue eyes in the mask.
Blond hair visible under her kerchief.
This vampire was Madam Mien.
She wasn't just a vampire—she was high-rank.
Puk—
The sword lodged in her heart again. Even with a sword in her heart, she refused to die.
Then countless daggers flew in.
With more than twenty vampires.
Vaulting-nimbly to dodge the daggers, I looked at Madam Mien. Someone—one of the mysterious figures—grabbed her by the nape and leapt away. That's the one. The very first vampire!
I ran straight after him.
Just who are you?