Chapter 31 - New Enemy…?
I tried to evade the crimson rain.
But I failed.
Most of the droplets struck my body.
And surprisingly, they didn’t tear through my flesh.
Instead, the moment they touched my skin, I felt my blood revolt.
My heartbeat skipped.
The blood inside my veins began circulating wildly, surging in conflicting directions as if something was trying to seize control of it.
"Cough!"
Blood escaped my mouth.
"Blood Magic..."
Ignoring the pain, I immediately hurled the vial I had been holding.
Smash!
The glass shattered directly against the vampire’s face.
"AAAAARGH!"
Silvery liquid splashed across his skin.
It was Mercury.
Smoke immediately rose from his face as his flesh began to sizzle.
Contrary to popular belief, ordinary silver wasn’t particularly effective against vampires.
Only silver blessed by a priest could truly suppress their abilities.
Mercury, however, was a different story.
Its unstable nature severely disrupted a vampire’s regenerative abilities.
Against higher-ranking vampires, the effect was limited.
But the creature before me was little more than a low-class vampire driven mad by Predation.
He lacked the blood control necessary to neutralize mercury’s effects.
His regeneration visibly slowed.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, I charged.
Yet the blood mist surrounding him suddenly exploded outward.
Before I could retreat, part of it seeped directly into my body.
"Cough!"
Another mouthful of blood spilled from my lips.
My vision blurred.
The veins around my eyes bulged, turning them bloodshot.
It felt as though my own blood no longer belonged to me.
Fortunately, rejuvenation immediately reacted.
I could feel it working desperately, forcing my circulation back under control before permanent damage could occur.
But, the vampire gave me no time to recover.
Using the blood spilled by his fallen comrades, he condensed several crimson spheres in the air.
With a wave of his hand, they shot toward me like cannonballs.
I twisted my body dodging them.
But the last one slammed directly into my left shoulder.
Bang!
Pain exploded through my arm as blood sprayed across the floor.
A deep crater-like wound appeared in my shoulder.
I gritted my teeth and ignored it.
The moment we crossed paths.
My katana flashed.
Slash!
A long wound opened across the vampire’s chest.
Dark blood erupted from it.
Yet, instead of retreating he laughed.
The madness consuming his mind had erased every trace of fear.
"Damn it! He’s completely berserk."
Predation granted enormous temporary strength at the cost of sanity.
The more he consumed, the stronger and crazier he would become.
Continuing this fight would only increase my chances of suffering a fatal injury.
So, I changed my plan.
Without another exchange, I turned around and sprinted deeper into the facility.
The vampire roared behind me.
The corridor became darker with every step.
The walls gradually changed from rough stone to polished black metal.
The deeper I went, the more oppressive the atmosphere became.
And when I reached the end, the room before me was enormous.
At its center rested a massive black coffin.
Crimson magic circles covered the floor beneath it, layered one atop another in an intricate formation.
Dozens of transparent tubes extended from the coffin like veins.
Dark red blood continuously flowed through them.
The blood was collected inside large containers before passing through strange purification machines that refined it into a brilliant crimson liquid.
There were neatly stacked wooden crates nearby and inside each crate, there were rows upon rows of scarlet elixirs.
My eyes narrowed.
’And these bastards are just selling one or two in the market.’
Artificial scarcity.
That would explain the absurd price of this elixir.
Without wasting another second, I grabbed one vial, pulled out the stopper and drank it.
The liquid slid down my throat.
Instantly, my entire body heated up.
My heartbeat tripled and every muscle tightened.
The strange sensation I had felt since losing my fingers suddenly gathered in my left hand.
"Ugh...!"
Pain unlike anything I had experienced surged through my arm.
The severed fingertips trembled violently.
Then, before my eyes...
Bones emerged and muscles rapidly formed around it as blood vessels intertwined.
Skin stretched over newly created flesh.
Within seconds, five complete fingers had regrown.
I slowly opened and closed my left hand, regaining that sensation.
A genuine smile appeared on my face for the first time in days.
But, the joy lasted less than a second.
BOOM!
Something struck the back of my head with terrifying force.
My vision spun and the world flipped upside down.
I was launched across the chamber like a ragdoll before crashing directly into the black coffin.
THUD!
Glass tubes exploded as blood splashed across the floor.
The crimson magic circles flickered violently.
Alarms echoed throughout the chamber, but there was nobody to respond
Groaning, I forced myself to look up.
The berserk vampire had finally caught up.
But, he wasn’t the one who had attacked me.
Someone else now stood between us.
’A guardian?’
My eyes widened.
’Damn it! There was no mention of this thing in the novel!’
The creature resembled a gigantic bat, nearly the size of a grown man.
Its leathery wings were folded behind its back, its claws dug into the stone floor, and its body was covered in coarse black fur.
The strangest part was its eyes.
There were none present.
Instead, only two empty, hollow sockets hung there.
KWWWAAAAAGHHH!
Its deafening screech shook the entire chamber.
The sound alone made my head throb.
I dropped to one knee, using the coffin to steady myself.
’Where was it hiding?’
I had scanned this room but there was no trace of this creature.
I hadn’t sensed anything besides the coffin itself.
But, why attack me only now?
If it had been guarding this place all along, it could have struck the moment I entered.
Before I could think any further, the berserk vampire roared and lunged toward me once more.
The giant bat intercepted him.
Their bodies collided with a thunderous crash.
Claws met crimson blood constructs as both monsters tore into each other without hesitation.
’Good, keep each other busy.’
Taking advantage of the opening, I pushed myself away from the coffin.
Unfortunately, the bat had other ideas.
With a violent swing of one wing, it swatted the berserk vampire aside.
The vampire’s body became a living projectile and shot straight toward me.
"Oh, come on–!"
BOOM!
The vampire slammed into me before I could dodge.
Both of us crashed hard against the old coffin.
"Ugh...!"
Pain exploded through my back.
"Uh-fuck! My back."
The vampire recovered first, still driven by madness, he immediately pounced.
I swung instinctively.
Slash!
Another deep wound opened across his chest.
The impact forced him to stumble backward.
Crack.
A faint sound echoed through the chamber as everything froze for an instant.
My eyes slowly shifted toward the coffin behind me.
A web of fractures rapidly crawled across the old black coffin.
"I don’t have a good feeling."