Today, just like any other day, I was helping the volunteer group run the relief center.
For me, who had no healing abilities, and for the raid team members, our tasks were obvious.
“We’ll need more disinfectant.”
“Yes, I’ll bring it right away.”
Like finding and bringing out scarce supplies.
“Aargh! It hurts so much!”
“Brother! Please hold this patient down tightly!”
“Ah, yes.”
Or holding down a patient writhing in pain.
In short, you could say we took on all the physically demanding tasks.
However, there was one person who was proving more helpful than most of the volunteer group’s priests.
“Just wait a little. Big sister will heal you right away.”
That would be Ms. Han Juyeon.
Though she possessed talents more suited to a Buffer than a Healer, her healing abilities were also outstanding.
To be precise, it felt more like she was overwhelming things with the vast Mana reserves of an S-rank Hunter.
“Are you, by any chance, a Saintess?”
“Oh, no, I’m not.”
Juyeon, working amidst such high praise, couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.
“Ah… you’re so beautiful, I truly thought you were a Saintess.”
“Hehe.”
But why does she keep looking at me every time she hears someone say she’s beautiful?
Her gaze is exactly like, ‘This is the kind of person I am, brother-in-law,’ as if she’s boasting.
“Ah.”
I get it.
She’s telling me to treat her well while she’s around, isn’t she?
“That girl, really.”
I satisfy her day and night, so what more does she want me to do?
I smiled wryly and was shaking my head.
“Hey, Mr. Kim. Stop slacking off and carry the supplies.”
Foreman Shin Yujeong’s sharp warning flew in.
Let’s just work.
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Evening, as the sun set.
The people who had visited the relief center flowed out like an ebb tide, and we were busy with cleanup.
“Excuse me.”
From beyond the dark street, a familiar face walked towards the relief center, announcing his presence.
The visitor was Viktor Vadim.
And he wore a very troubled expression.
At the sudden appearance of the President, people hesitated.
With no other option, I stepped forward.
“Welcome, Mr. President. What brings you here at this late hour…?”
“I apologize for the late hour, Father. I know this is an imposition, but may I speak with Commander Michael for a moment?”
Even in his urgency, his perfectly clear voice echoed through the relief center.
Hearing this, Michael walked out from the innermost part of the relief center.
“What brings you here at this hour? Has an urgent patient appeared, by any chance?”
To his question, Viktor Vadim shook his head.
“It’s not a patient, but an urgent matter has arisen requiring assistance, so I’ve taken the liberty of visiting you at this late hour.”
“Assistance?”
“Yes.”
With a somber expression, he nodded.
“It appears there’s a problem with the Sanctuary of Blood.”
“……!”
A considerable ripple swept through the relief center.
Early dawn.
Leaving BraÈov by bus and speeding down a rough road were the volunteer group and the raid team.
Viktor Vadim, who had visited last night, claimed there was a problem with the Sanctuary of Blood and asked them for help.
So, what was this problem they spoke of?
-“You mean all the soldiers patrolling around the Sanctuary of Blood have lost contact?”
-“That’s right.”
The red barrier surrounding the Sanctuary of Blood was truly selfish.
Entering from the outside was impossible, but leaving from the inside was free.
That meant the vampires residing in the Sanctuary of Blood could leave whenever they wished.
For this reason, Viktor Vadim, with his limited forces, ordered constant patrols around the Sanctuary of Blood.
The monster rank of vampires ranged from B+ to A-rank.
It was to prevent the terrible catastrophe that would occur the moment they escaped.
Whether it was due to those efforts, or for some other reason.
The vampires, from the moment they confined their territory with the red barrier, had never once left it.
But four days ago, a problem arose with their always smooth patrols.
Contact with the patrols during the early morning hours was suddenly lost.
The problem didn’t end there.
Even other soldiers who went to search for them lost contact one after another, like bamboo shoots after rain.
The number of soldiers who went missing was a staggering twenty.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Viktor Vadim, considering the worst-case scenario of vampires appearing, immediately sought out the volunteer group.
Because priests, who wield divine power said to be the power of God, were practically the natural enemies of vampires.
That was why.
They were leaving the capital in the early dawn and heading towards the Sanctuary of Blood.
Inside the speeding bus, Kim Dojin, staring blankly out the window, was lost in thought.
“Vampires, huh….”
Having been a Hunter for over 20 years, he had, of course, faced vampires before.
Though dungeons with vampires were rare in South Korea, so he hadn’t encountered them many times, his memories were vivid.
“Hmph… they were quite troublesome bastards, weren’t they?”
They were monsters with very tricky abilities.
They could transform into bats and turn into mist, becoming immune to physical attacks.
And that’s not all?
As expected of vampires, they were naturally good at sucking blood and used blood to cast extraordinary magic.
Furthermore, though it varied by individual, some of them were skilled in martial arts or swordsmanship.
As a result, dungeons with vampires were always unpopular.
The rewards were generally good, but they were so difficult to clear that even excellent rewards were often ignored.
‘This might be a tough fight.’
As he thought that and calmly composed himself.
“L-look up ahead!”
One of the priests sitting in front pointed forward with an urgent voice.
When he quickly turned his gaze, he saw a red barrier soaring endlessly into the sky.
And also vampires flapping their huge bat wings and flying through the sky.
The red barrier, emitting a strong scent of blood.
Vampires flying from beyond it, and soldiers being chased by them.
In a chaotic situation like hell itself, the volunteer group and the raid team charged forward.
“Come this way!”
The priests immediately cast a divine shield, drawing the soldiers in.
Meanwhile, the raid team members, who had already shot forward, clashed with the vampires.
“You bat bastards!”
“You lowly blood bags, how dare you…!”
“Shut up, you mosquito bastard!”
Anyone listening would think humans were fighting humans.
One of the reasons vampires were tricky to deal with was precisely that.
The fact that they could communicate.
For whatever reason their words were automatically translated, he didn’t know, but it was utterly annoying.
“Ugh… w-wait a minute!”
“W-what is it?”
“I-I was wrong. I’ll go back into the Sanctuary, so just spare my life!”
“No, what’s suddenly…?”
Look at that.
A monster, of all things, kneeling and begging for its life.
And one of the raid team members was flustered by it again and was letting a sure victory slip away.
It seemed he had never once faced a vampire before.
While he hesitated for a moment, a vampire, fangs glinting, lunged forward.
“It’s a fake, you idiot!”
“Gah…?!”
I figured as much.
I immediately shot a fireball and plunged it right into the back of the vampire that had bitten the raid team member’s neck.
Boom!
“Kiiiaaah!”
The creature shrieked in pain and shot into the sky.
I approached the raid team member, who had barely escaped being a blood bag, and left a warning.
“Never hesitate. If you get bitten one more time, you’ll really die.”
“Ugh… thank you.”
Hesitate, and you die.
Common sense when facing monsters… no, something beyond even common sense.
Even knowing that, about 20 to 30 percent of those facing vampires for the first time involuntarily hesitated at their pleas.
Because they’re stupid?
Well, you can’t say that’s entirely not the case, but… the biggest reason is their appearance.
Aside from their sharp fangs, perfect for sucking blood, and their pale skin, they were no different from humans.
And very handsome ones at that.
You know, that saying.
That ‘face is justification.’
Indeed, male Hunters often fell for female vampires, and female Hunters for male vampires.
And one more thing.
“Ugh… please spare me! I’ll go back into the Sanctuary and never show my face again!”
Their acting skills were no joke.
Anyone would think they all graduated from the Vampire Castle University’s Department of Theater and Film.
Their handsome, human-like appearance and excellent acting skills.
These two things would momentarily sway the hearts of those seeing them for the first time.
And vampires were cunning enough never to miss that timing.
But this was only for beginners.
“You really messed up?”
“Y-yes.”
“If you messed up, you die.”
Thwack!
“Cough…!”
For an old-timer like me, it doesn’t work.
“You heartless, bloodless…!”
“Oh, right.”
I nodded towards the dying creature, which was spouting nonsense.
It wasn’t wrong, though.
My blood and tears dried up a long time ago.
After making one vampire ‘good,’ I looked up at the sky.
“Whew… there are more than I thought.”
I hadn’t counted properly, so it wasn’t exact, but the remaining number was roughly fifty.
Considering each individual’s power was at least B to A-rank, it was quite a formidable level.
But there was no chance of defeat.
Everyone gathered here was an elite among elites.
“Graaah!”
“Damn it all…!”
“How do mere blood bags have such power?!”
Indeed, the tide of battle was turning very favorably for us.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before everything would be cleanly dealt with, he thought, just as he was about to move.
“Everyone, stop.”
From the rear of the battlefield, a polite yet chilling voice stopped everyone, including me, in their tracks.
When I turned around, something truly astonishing was happening.
The soldiers who, just moments ago, had been chased by vampires and barely survived by entering the shield, were now holding knives to the throats of the priests, who were practically their saviors.
The one at the very front among them threw off his rusty military helmet and continued speaking.
“If anyone moves even one step, all the priests will die.”
A familiar face.
Among the many people, the guy who stared directly at me twisted his lips into a smirk.
“This time, it’s your turn to be buried.”
…I don’t like that. It’s stifling.