SKIRMISH (4)
Another high-ranking vampire had appeared.
I offered citizenship just in case, but once again, they turned it down.
"What a shame."
Had they accepted, the initiative would have shifted entirely to our side.
I could have used quest assignments to extract information about the size of their forces or even about him. Or I could've just killed them outright.
More importantly, I could've kept them from taking any information about us back. If everything went perfectly, I might even have been able to feed them false information.
A vampire with wings, huh.
Unfortunately, there was no way to stop a flying vampire.
The only one who could possibly keep up was Kim Gun, who could also fly—but even then, I doubted he could take down that vampire alone.
"It is what it is."
Anyway, the information the vampire could carry back was limited.
Just the appearance of the World Tree, the transparent barrier protecting it, and the fact that they'd been offered citizenship—that was about it.
"They responded faster than I thought."
After the first high-ranking vampire was killed, it took a whole month for the next one to show up.
Naturally, I expected it to take just as long this time too—but barely a day after the second one died, a new high-ranking vampire appeared.
"Can they sense the death of their underlings?"
It wasn't out of the question.
Even I got system alerts whenever a citizen died.
Still, thanks to that…
We now had their exact location.
Kim Gun was currently tailing the winged high-ranking vampire.
His speed was slightly faster, which made it possible.
Perhaps because the raven's black feathers blended perfectly into the dark, he hadn't been noticed yet and was following undetected.
I was watching him keep a steady distance from the vampire when—
"Son."
My dad called out to me from the kitchen island, where he was drinking alone.
"Yes?"
"Got a moment to talk?"
I answered, keeping a light edge of tension in case a battle broke out.
"Sure. Go ahead."
He lifted the bottle and asked,
"Want a drink?"
"No, I'm good."
"Really? That's too bad."
As he moved to pour himself another shot, I offered,
"Let me pour for you."
Dad chuckled and held out his glass.
"Fill it to the brim."
The soju rose to the edge of the glass, surface tension making it bulge just slightly above the rim. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Nice."
After downing a gulp of soju, he began.
"Son."
"Yes?"
"Drop by the house now and then. Your grandmother misses you."
My grandmother was still asleep most of the day.
Thanks to the fairies' growing power, she was awake for about ten minutes a day now, but that was still not much.
Mom had been devotedly caring for her by her side, so I didn't worry too much.
Still, not showing my face even once—that was definitely my fault.
"I'll visit soon."
"Good."
The ramen my dad had cooked was perfect bar food, with spam and dumplings thrown in.
"Want a bite?"
!!
"…Sure."
He handed me a bowl, chopsticks, and a spoon, and I ladled out some ramen.
One sip of the broth and its oily, salty richness coated my tongue. Just the taste I expected.
It had always been this way—dad's throw-it-all-in style of ramen somehow always tasted great.
"Not bad?"
"Yeah. It's good."
Only then did my dad get to the real point.
"About the vampires."
He finished his soju and continued.
"What are you planning to do?"
I refilled his glass and answered,
"First, I need to figure out their numbers."
"And after that?"
"Then I'll decide how best to wipe them out."
That's when my dad asked,
"Is there a reason you have to wipe them out?"
!!
"If those bloodsuckers have taken over all of Ulsan like you said, isn't that dangerous? Your people could be at risk."
His gaze was serious as he went on.
!!
"Do you really need to take that risk? Even if they come here and attack, it won't be too late to respond then. And if you fight here, you can fully use your safe zone ability. Worst case, everyone can just hide inside your domain."
He wasn't wrong.
Even if those vampires did come here, they wouldn't be able to cross the transparent barrier.
Then he asked,
"Why go through all this?"
As he questioned me, I asked myself the same thing.
Why am I trying so hard to wipe out the vampires, even at great risk?
And then—the faces of the dead flashed through my mind.
Ah.
I remembered the final moments of the innocent people who had died because of my carelessness, even after obtaining citizenship. I saw the image of children crying their hearts out over their lost parents, vivid as ever.
I…
I never wanted to go through something like that again.
I had taken various precautions, but I still felt uneasy.
I wanted to cut off every sprout that had the potential to grow into a tragedy.
"It was about a month ago. Without realizing it, I let a vampire in as a citizen."
I briefly explained to my dad what had happened back then.
Hearing about that day's massacre, he clenched his mouth tightly, his face stiff.
"Dad, those things eat people. I can't accept that."
As I spoke, I found myself growing more and more certain about what I wanted to do.
"Even if Ulsan has fallen into the vampires' hands, there must still be survivors. I'm going to wipe out the vampires in Ulsan and save those people."
I let out an awkward chuckle and continued.
"Of course, Mr. Hadongun's party will be taking the lead again, but I'm not just sitting around either. I'm doing everything I can to help within my limits. And this time, I'll also…"
Suddenly, my dad downed a shot of soju and let out a groan.
"Kkeuuuhh. I'm sorry."
"…For what?"
Face flushed from the alcohol, he refilled his glass and averted his eyes as he spoke awkwardly.
"I thought you were doing it all just for the experience points."
"…Huh?"
"Well, uh… I mean, killing those vampire bastards gives you crazy amounts of XP, right? So I thought…"
When I gave him a cold, withering stare, he took another swig of soju.
"Aren't you drinking a bit too much?"
"Kkph. I'm fine, I'm fine. Want more ramen?"
"I'm good."
I replied, watching him fumble to change the subject.
"Well, I guess the XP is pretty decent."
"Sorry for the misunderstanding."
By the time we finished the ramen and I'd done the dishes, I saw a high-ranking vampire entering Ulsan. Even as she crossed into the city, she didn't slow down.
Thankfully, it seemed she still hadn't detected Kim Geon's presence.
"Good night, Dad."
"Y-Yeah."
After confirming that my dad had gone into the bedroom, I focused all my attention on the Eye of the Absolute.
'She should be arriving around now.'
The high-ranking vampire continued flying for a while longer before finally descending rapidly in Samseon-dong, the center of Ulsan.
'So this is their stronghold.'
From above, the city looked intact.
There were no collapsed high-rises or massive footprints.
"I'm going in."
[Be careful.]
From a distance, the city looked peaceful.
But as I drew closer, its true nature began to reveal itself.
***
"Huff, huff!"
Park Saerom was running for her life.
From behind came the excited howls of vampires in pursuit.
"It's a human!"
"Get her!"
She'd had terrible luck.
That one shout had drawn every starving vampire in the vicinity straight to her.
Before she knew it, vampires were approaching from ahead and both sides, baring their fangs.
"Ugh…"
Fighting back sobs, Park Saerom scrambled desperately to survive.
Just as she was climbing over an apartment complex fence—
"There she is!"
"There's a human over there!"
"Move!"
She saw a horde of vampires rushing toward her from inside the complex.
She froze in the act of climbing over the fence.
"Ah, shit. I'm so screwed."
She regretted it.
Coming here was a mistake. She was going to die a meaningless death.
She had overestimated her own abilities.
At that moment—
"Ugh?!"
A strange pressure clamped down on her shoulders and armpits.
Before she realized it, her body was lifting off the ground.
Park Saerom slowly tilted her head upward to see what was happening.
There it was—a monstrous being in the shape of a crow.
"Ha… ha…"
She felt empty.
She'd escaped the vampires only to be caught by a crow monster.
'No… maybe it's better this way. At least I'm out of there. If I stay sharp, I might get a chance to escape from this thing too.'
If she was given enough time, she was confident she could get out of this situation with her abilities.
Trying to stay positive, Park Saerom glanced down at the ground.
Below her, the vampires were shouting in frustration, left helpless like dogs chasing a chicken.
Seeing that made her weirdly cheerful. She forgot her own situation for a moment and shouted down at them.
"Hey, you dumb fucks! Drop dead already!!"
That's when it happened.
"Please be quiet."
A human voice suddenly rang out, and Park Saerom slowly looked up again.
"…What?"
"I said keep it down. You'll draw more vampire aggro."
She stared in stunned silence as the crow's beak moved, speaking in human language.
The crow-like monster gently set her down on the roof of a nearby building, then landed beside her.
It opened its beak again, facing her.
"There are a few things I'd like to ask you."
Still wary, Park Saerom took a step back and replied cautiously.
"L-Like what?"
"How much do you know about vampires?"
"…About vampires?"
"Yes."
"Hmm… that if you destroy their hearts, they die?"
After a brief silence, the crow monster asked:
"Is that all?"
"Wait! Wait a sec, I've got something I want to ask too."
"Go ahead."
Park Saerom blinked with curious eyes and asked,
"You… are you human?"
It was a question asked half in hope, half in suspicion.
In a world overrun by monsters, it wouldn't be surprising if there were men turning into something new. It seemed more plausible than a crow monster simply learning to speak human language.
The crow monster answered.
"I'm human."
"Prove it."
He hesitated for a moment, then released his transformation.
A crow peeled away from his body and fluttered off, leaving behind the form of an ordinary man.
"Is that enough?"
!!
"…You really are."
The man turned to Park Saerom and said,
"Please tell me everything you know about the vampires. Just how widespread are they in this city?"
"Hmph, you want to know where the vampires are gathering, huh? When it comes to that sort of thing, I am kind of an expert."
"Please."
"Hmm, I don't know if I should just tell you… This is pretty high-value intel…"
She snuck a glance at him—and saw him staring back with a cold, unimpressed look.
"You're really shameless, you know that?"
"That's kind of my thing."
Park Saerom gave a small laugh and continued.
"Relax, I'm just kidding. I'm not that much of a bitch. I just want a small favor…"
She had been about to ask him to help her get out of the vampire territory—no way she could do it alone—when it happened.
Bzzzt—
A can of cola and a chocolate bar materialized in midair.
And then—
"Will this do?"
Park Saerom absentmindedly cracked open the cola first.
Psshhh—
The fizzy carbonation hissed out.
She brought it to her lips and gulped it down.
"!"
It was the real deal.
The sharp sting of the carbonation burned her throat, but instead of pain, it filled her with bliss.
She downed the whole can in one go and opened her mouth.
"Burrrp—!"
She immediately reached out for the chocolate bar in his hand.
But the man pulled it back a step and said,
"Please answer the question first."
Park Saerom, eyes sparkling, replied sweetly,
"What would you like me to tell you, Master?"
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]