Chapter 30 - Taboo Breaking
Instead of heading directly toward the mansion, I circled around its left side.
According to the map I had built over the past ten days, that route had the fewest patrols.
Even so, I avoided using my enhanced perception recklessly.
A vampire’s senses were nothing to underestimate.
Moving from shadow to shadow, I soon reached the backyard.
A luxurious swimming pool reflected the moonlight.
The moment I saw the water, a certain underwater laboratory immediately came to mind.
’Let’s not repeat that experience.’
Shaking away the unpleasant memory, I continued along the stone wall until something caught my attention.
Embedded into the wall was an enormous bat skull.
It was supposed to look decorative.
’There should be an entrance here.’
My perception had detected an underground passage beginning behind this exact wall.
I grabbed the skull and twisted it, but nothing happened.
’So it’s not a hidden lever.’
After making sure no one was nearby, I unsheathed my black katana.
A few days earlier, I had recharged it using several low-grade Monster Crystals.
I pressed the switch near the guard.
Buzz.
A crimson energy blade extended along the edge.
Slice.
The stone skull split cleanly into two pieces.
I carefully caught both halves before they could hit the ground, not wanting to make unnecessary noise.
Behind it, a narrow stone passage slowly revealed itself.
I slipped inside.
The tunnel was dark and damp.
I walked quietly as my grip tightened around the sword.
No matter how much I relied on my senses, this was still enemy territory.
After walking for several minutes, the narrow corridor gradually widened.
Then, the smell of blood and death hit me as I frowned.
’These lowly bastards.’
Rows of prison cells lined both sides of the underground chamber.
Inside them, hung the corpses of both humans and monsters, upside down.
Each body had been suspended above a massive bronze basin where blood slowly dripped from carefully made incisions.
The collected blood filled enormous containers waiting nearby.
It resembled a grotesque slaughterhouse.
The deeper I walked, the worse it became.
Some corpses were little more than skeletons now.
Others looked as though they had only recently died.
My jaw tightened.
This place was really fucked up.
Then, I sensed something different.
One cage still contained survivors. Nearly thirty people.
Men and women of different ages.
There were also two children looking around ten.
Probably being kept as fresh "livestock."
’I’ll free them before leaving.’
Continuing forward, the prison eventually transitioned into a much cleaner section as voices echoed from around a corner.
I quietly peeked inside.
Three vampires sat around a wooden table playing cards.
"How the hell do you always win?"
"You’re cheating."
"I’m telling you, I’m not cheating."
The third vampire laughed while collecting his winnings.
"Looks like the first meal from tomorrow’s batch belongs to me."
"Tch! What a waste."
"We have to keep sending fresh sacrifices to that thing underground."
"The boss wants money so what can we do?"
"Still, the number of sacrifices keeps increasing."
"Forget that, I wanted to taste wolf blood."
"Too bad it’s our shift today."
Their conversation gave me fragments.
Not enough for me to understand the full picture.
’Questioning them would only waste time.’
I quietly drew the pistol.
Three targets.
Two bullets.
Pfft! Pfft!
Two silent shots.
The two vampires jerked violently and the third one froze, as blood exploded from the foreheads of two Vampires.
Yet, the one who had bullets in their head did not die.
"AAAAAH!"
"What bastard—"
"What the fuck?!"
The nearest vampire never finished speaking.
I was already in front of him.
The crimson blade flashed.
Slash.
His head rolled across the floor.
He was also the one who did not take the bullet.
The remaining two clutched their bleeding heads in disbelief.
"What the hell?!"
Dark wings burst from their backs as they instinctively tried to take flight.
But instead, they stumbled.
The brain injuries had disrupted their balance.
Both crashed into nearby walls.
One suddenly looked directly into my eyes.
His irises glowed crimson.
"Who are you? What do you–"
A crushing mental pressure slammed into my mind as my vision blurred for a fraction of a second.
But I moved my body forward.
The first slash severed his right arm.
The second cut cleanly through his waist.
"AAAAAAAH!"
His body separated into two halves.
The last vampire stared at me with pure terror.
"You bastard! The Mistress will skin you alive!"
He spread his wings again and rushed toward the corridor.
He wasn’t even trying to fight, thinking I was stronger than him
Rather, he was trying to run.
But, I couldn’t allow that.
Without hesitation, I threw the katana.
Whoosh.
The blade pierced straight through his chest as his body crashed heavily onto the stone floor.
I walked over and pulled the sword free.
The vampire coughed blood.
"P-Please, spare me..."
Ignoring his plea, I crouched beside him.
"Where’s the coffin?"
His eyes widened.
"W-Why do you want to know that?"
He bit his lip as his expression rapidly shifted from fear to determination.
He suddenly twisted his body.
And before I could react, he bit directly into the neck of the decapitated vampire lying beside him.
Crunch.
Blood exploded everywhere and I immediately stepped backward.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
The vampire tore flesh from his companion like a starving beast.
He was committing Predation.
The greatest taboo among vampires.
Cannibalizing one’s own kind.
A dense crimson mist instantly gathered around him as his wounds visibly regenerated.
Even the bullet hole in his forehead began closing before my eyes.
His gaze slowly lifted toward me as madness had completely replaced reason.
A blood-red grin spread across his face.
"Heh, now I really have to kill you. No one can know what I just did."
Without another word, he lunged toward the second corpse and began devouring it as well.
"Shit!"
The regeneration accelerated even further.
If he finished absorbing both vampires, he would become far stronger than now.
Without hesitation, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small vial.
Just as I prepared to use it, the blood surrounding the vampire exploded upward.
A crimson rain descended upon the entire chamber.