< 71. Blood Hook (3) >
#71
Ophelia placed her hand on Ronan’s cheek. Soon mana gathered in her palm and gave off a cool glow.
“Bye…?!”
Sita’s eyes widened. Ophelia took her hand away. Ronan frowned at her as he touched her own face. The curves felt under her palms were different from usual.
“Damn this feels weird. “Is this correct?”
“Yeah…it’s perfect. Because it’s a magic that even uses a catalyst. I’ll walk you back when you get off her lot.”
“Biyaung….”
Judging from Sita’s disgusted appearance she seemed to have been well-fed. Ronan and Sita left Phileon as soon as dawn broke. She had to move her feet quickly to get there on time.
****
It was a night when the crescent moon smiled.
Water mist was rising above the swamp covered with fallen leaves. White dead trees were beckoning under the moonlight.
The walkable land that made up about 30% of the swamp area was covered with short yellowish grass. The meeting place for trading blood essence was bulging in the middle of it.
It was an ancient tomb that has now been forgotten in people’s memories. Two sturdy men were standing blocking the stone door that served as the entrance.
The man with her mustache said scratching her head.
“Who did you say was coming today? “It’s really late.”
“You idiot have you forgotten? “It’s Jaradin Stone Song.”
“Oh I remembered. “Did you say he was a wizard?”
“I’m not an ordinary wizard. “He is a giant who even competed with Sentai Sword Masters in the past.”
The curly-haired man sighed at her. She felt ashamed to be working with such a shabby bastard.
Why did the masters give this miscellaneous the honor of becoming a household member? He opened his mouth with his eyes fixed on the front.
“The owners are looking forward to this transaction so keep your wits about you. “You have a good scroll right?”
“Okay okay how many times are you asking? Don’t worry too much. “No matter how much he is a wizard who can fly and crawl he is ultimately human…”
“fizzle! “Here he comes.”
Curly Hair stretched out his finger and pointed ahead. A light was flickering in the distance getting closer.
Before long a man holding a torch walked out of the darkness. His face could not be seen because he was wearing a long robe that covered him from head to toe. The gatekeepers approached him with their swords drawn.
“Jarodin Stonesong…is that correct?”
“okay.”
His mustache frowned. It was a terrible voice reminiscent of a crow being strangled. The curly-haired man who took out Jarudin’s portrait spoke sternly.
“We need to verify your identity so please take off your hood.”
“Sure.”
The unidentified man obediently flipped his hood over. An unsightly skinny face appeared.
Blue eyes that are set too deeply and thick clear eyebrows that retain a little bit of the beauty of the past. The curly hair that contrasted his face with the portrait quickly sheathed the knife.
“Confirmed. Top Mage Jaradin Stonesong.”
“Okay thank you.”
“Let’s go in. “Precious people are waiting for you.”
The curls guided him to her mound. His mustache said sarcastically as he scanned Rodin’s movements.
“You’re too skinny. “I thought it was a monster.”
“Shut up. “Don’t be rude to the guests.”
“It doesn’t matter just open the door.”
“Ah yes!”
The gatekeepers opened the stone gate. A cool breeze blew in from the other side of the exposed passage. Zarodin’s brows narrowed as the smell of blood assaulted his nose. Curly said pointing inside her mound.
“Just keep walking along the main road. “It’s complicated inside so be careful.”
“It seems to be bigger than I thought… I’m a bit blind at night so could you please guide me?”
“That’s because…we also have work to do. sorry.”
Curly hair bowed his head politely. At least one of the two could help but it seemed like they had separate duties in addition to guarding the entrance. Zarodin asked stroking his chin.
“Then there’s nothing we can do. “It looks like there’s no one guarding the outside other than you?”
“yes? Uh…yeah that’s right.”
“Good. “I’ll give you a gift.”
Jarudin who was rummaging through his pocket took out a scroll. It was a very small scroll at most the size of a finger.
Jarudin activated the scroll before the gatekeeper could even question it. Shoo! A translucent cube surrounded the three people. The noise coming from outside disappeared in an instant.
“This is…Silent…”
Curly hair was about to say something. Something flashed inside Jarudin’s robes.
His world tilted with the feeling of the wind scraping through his neck. Tuk. The curly-haired gatekeeper’s head fell to the floor. The pupils of his yawning mustache grew so big that they seemed to pop out.
“Huh! “What is this…!”
“He dies right away. “Were you human?”
I thought he was a low-level vampire but it seemed like he was just a member of the household. Rodin jumped forward and swung his arms. Suddenly. As the black blade drew an arc a red line appeared on the neck of his mustache.
“Gagging…!”
“You must have drank a little more blood.”
He instinctively realized that his head had fallen off his body. The regenerative power gained from selling one’s soul to a vampire prevented instant death. His mustache pressed the top of his head with his right hand and with his left he took out a scroll he had kept in his pocket.
“Woah!”
“Oh fuck it’s a surprise.”
Mustache screamed and tried to unseal the scroll. Jaradin calmly delivered a slash. Suddenly! His arms rose into the air at the same time as his head which had been cut off earlier. Jardin heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the body being torn apart.
‘You did a good job casting the silencing spell.’
Things almost went wrong from the beginning. What he used was an ultra-small Silent Scroll previously received as a gift from Schlieffen.
At that time a scroll rolling around in a puddle of blood caught my eye. Mustache was desperately trying to break the seal. Ronan who had polymorphed into Zarodin or rather Zarodin tilted his head.
‘What is this?’
I couldn’t guess its purpose. It was the moment Ronan picked up the scroll. The dangling string broke and the magic engraved on the scroll was activated. Sigh! A barrier of mana suddenly appeared blocking the stone gate. Ronan laughed.
“…It saved me a lot of trouble.”
It seemed like the plan was to block the entrance to prevent Jaradin from escaping. Perhaps because it was prepared against Jaradin it certainly looked sturdy. So much so that even his own body couldn’t break through.
Ronan also searched the sleeve of his curly hair just in case. Sure enough the same scroll was hidden there. Ronan who was holding the scroll lifted his robe and said.
“Sita. “Put it away.”
“Pyeol-ah.”
Sita peeked her face out from under her robe. It was one of the reasons why he came wearing a robe that didn’t fit.
Sita seeing her blood splattered everywhere spread her wings. The blood remaining in the corpse’s body as well as the blood stains the size of sand grains on the robe floated up as droplets and were absorbed into Sita’s body.
Within a few seconds the scene was cleared. Ronan smiled with satisfaction after seeing the bodies dried up like mummies.
“good job. “At this rate we won’t get caught.”
This was a measure taken to avoid attracting the attention of vampires. There was already a strong smell of blood coming from inside so it seemed unlikely that we would be caught but there was still no harm in being careful. After finishing her work Sita hid inside her robe again. Ronan walked down the passage.
‘It’s in good condition.’
The passage led underground. The elaborate masonry was noticeable. Because it was a swampy area the area was probably filled with water and mud but there was no trace of water leakage. Ronan suddenly noticed that the architectural style applied to this tomb was similar to the temple of Sarante.
‘It couldn’t be…a coincidence.’
The inside was quite complicated. It was a tomb structured as if the building had been buried in the ground.
Ronan walked only along the main aisle as the curly-haired gatekeeper had said. The deeper we went the stronger the smell of blood became. Soon the field of view expanded and a space reminiscent of a banquet hall unfolded before my eyes.
“come. I really came. “It’s Jaradin Stonesong.”
“It’s been a long time since I had any dealings with humans.”
“You’re too skinny. “There won’t even be three cups of blood.”
In the middle of the banquet hall there was a long stone table that seemed to be about 10 meters long. Twenty young men and women were sitting around a table. They all had beautiful looks.
‘You’ve come a long way.’
It wasn’t that hard to figure out that they were all vampires. Forty red eyes were staring at Ronan. Ronan narrowed his eyes at the sticky licking gaze.
“Ugh…Ugh….”
“Stay still. “A guest has arrived.”
Three men and women were lying bound on the table. There were two women and one man and all of them were bleeding profusely from their necks and wrists.
Ronan was glad they had sacks over their heads. It could have been difficult to maintain reason when I saw the face pleading for my life. At that time the vampire sitting in the front seat stood up.
“It’s an honor to meet you. Jardin Stonesong. “This is Zwei von Arnstafel leader of the Blood Hook.”
Zwei was a blond-haired young man. He had a loud name worthy of being the leader of the mosquito club. He pointed to the people at the table.
“It took longer than expected so I ate first. Would you like to join us now?”
The soft voice as if coated with butter was impressive. Ronan did not reply. As he glanced at the vampires’ faces he clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“It’s just a transaction but you brought in too much.”
“Please understand. “There are many people who want to see you.”
“Can we say that everyone has gathered at this level?”
“Yes. “It’s actually the countryside.”
“What is the essence of fresh blood?”
“Of course I brought it. “We will extract and process it as soon as the transaction is completed.”
“good night. “What do you wish for?”
“Become part of our family.”
There was silence for a moment. It was just as Ophelia expected. Ronan answered calmly.
“…You’re saying things that don’t even sound like words.”
“I’m not saying you should do it right away. I will give you a grace period of ten years. “Once you make a blood pact you can come to us when the time is right.”
“Are you asking me to become a slave to you vampires?”
“I know that you came to us because you were so desperate. “When mortals seek the essence of fresh blood isn’t it nine times out of ten to save a precious person?”
Ronan’s face stiffened for a moment. Zwei who caught it without missing a beat had a hateful smile on his face.
“Haha I guess I’m right.”
“Shut up.”
“Well…if this deal is broken the essence of fresh blood will be difficult to find anywhere. “After searching for a while we were finally able to find it.”
Zwei answered politely. Judging from the conversation I had with Ophelia there was a high possibility that that was true. Ronan twisted his lips.
“What happens if I refuse?”
“It’s a shame. “You probably won’t return safely.”
“what?”
Perfect! Suddenly Zwei snapped his fingers. At the same time twenty vampires stood up all at once. They approached without a sound and surrounded Ronan as if he were surrounded.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t do foolish things. You will feel that your mana is being disturbed. “There are treasures placed here and there that even a wizard of your level cannot ignore.”
I didn’t notice it at all. After listening clearly I could feel a suspicious energy emanating from every corner of the banquet hall. Zwei smiled showing his fangs.
“Even if you use magic to escape you will suffer irreversible damage. “Your circle may collapse and you may never be able to use magic again.”
“Were you prepared in advance?”
“Your misfortune is that you were blinded by desperation. Out of respect for you as a wizard like Jardin Stonesong you might as well accept the offer.”
I felt my life swirling around me. The vampires’ eyes were flashing ready to pounce at any moment. I knew it was a clever move but I didn’t know that I had prepared this well. Ronan who had been drooling lowered his head.
“…accept the offer.”
“You are an excellent choice. Then we will proceed with the blood oath.”
Zwei took out a red piece of paper from her inner pocket. It was a parchment made from the skin of a ram used in most magical oaths. Ronan sighed and was about to squeeze blood from his little finger.
“Wait a minute… before that I need to see the essence of fresh blood. “Who is the bowl?”
“Anyway you will find out once you complete the oath.”
“vampire. “Keep in mind that this side is also giving in.”
Ronan glared at Zwei without saying a word. The young leader of Blood Hook knew that it was not a bluff. Zwei sighed lightly and placed his right hand on his chest.
“Huh… I understand. “I’ll show you something special.”
When he raised his palm a lump of bright red mana came out precariously. The appearance matched what Ophelia had said. Ronan nodded his head.
“I guess you are a vessel. Are you setting an example as a leader?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s it. “It took a long time.”
“yes?
Ronan suddenly lifted his robe and pulled at the hilt of his sword. The sword strike flew at an unrecognizable speed and struck Zwei’s limbs. Suddenly! All four limbs fell off his body almost simultaneously.
“uh…?”
“If it were the real Jardin he might have been punished.”
Zwei’s eyes widened. It was the moment when the vampires around them were about to shout something. Ronan immediately spun wide and swung his sword. Sigh! His five heads rose into the air.
“Koooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
“Tzu Zwei!”
A belated scream burst out along with a fountain of blood. Ronan jumped on his headless body. The vampires quickly turned around swinging their claws and blades at him but Ronan had already escaped the siege. He sighed as he looked at the vampires’ bodies moving as if they were still alive even after his head had been cut off.
“Anyway you damn mosquitoes….”
Ronan’s movements were not those of a wizard. In his hand was a black translucent knife. The vampires cried out in shock at the sudden disaster.
“Kakal…?!”
“I said damn wizard. “What happened!”
“heartbreak! “Come to your senses leader!”
“You idiots unfortunate things like this happen because you are blinded by prejudice.”
At that time Ronan who was blocking the entrance to the banquet hall took off his robe. Sita who had been hanging on his back the entire time spread her wings and flew up.
“Bwaaaat!”
“Have you ever thought that Jarudin could wield a sword well?”
“That thing…!”
The vampires’ faces turned pale when they saw Ronan’s waist. Dozens of silver pegs were hanging along his belt. Ronan opened his mouth as he opened the scroll he had taken from the gatekeeper’s body.
“Well…don’t expect anyone to survive.”
The scroll unfolded. A mana barrier rose up blocking the entrance to the banquet hall. Ronan grabbed the hilt of his sword and rushed towards the vampires.
