Ch.23Kin

# Blood Carnival

In the game Blood Carnival, usernames cannot be duplicated.

Since there was only a single server, the username Cheon-hwi must certainly belong to someone I know.

I stroked my chin while looking at the man collapsed on the ground.

“Do you know him by any chance?”

When I showed no particular reaction, Aurel asked cautiously.

I didn’t answer. I do know him. But that was merely an acquaintance from the game.

We weren’t particularly close, so it would be misleading to say we knew each other.

“Um, Charlotte…”

“Yes?”

I turned around at the sound of someone calling me.

There stood a large, hairy figure.

A werewolf man, BongcheonDongHamJumeok.

“Thank you for helping us!”

HamJumeok bowed his head deeply to express his gratitude.

Looking around, I saw other werewolves bowing to me as well.

From their perspective, my help must have been significant.

I nodded with my arms crossed.

“Hmm…”

Suddenly, I noticed two humans sprawled behind HamJumeok.

Their arms and legs had been torn off, leaving only their torsos.

If their chests hadn’t been rising and falling with breath, I wouldn’t have thought they were human.

“What are those…?”

“Ah. Those are humans we captured.”

I nodded at HamJumeok’s words.

It was unfortunate for the humans, but from the werewolves’ perspective, it was justified revenge.

How many werewolves had died in this fight?

I looked at the corpses covered with white cloth.

“Should I give him to you too?”

“What? No, that’s…”

I pointed at Cheon-hwi, whom Hwang-gu had brought.

Despite our minimal acquaintance, we did know each other.

The thought of interrogating or killing someone I knew made me uncomfortable.

I would have preferred to leave the task to HamJumeok if possible.

But HamJumeok politely and firmly declined.

He said they couldn’t touch prey caught by my group.

It seemed to be a culture that had developed among the werewolves in a short time.

“Charlotte! Can I eat his arm?”

Hwang-gu wanted to tear off and eat Cheon-hwi’s arm.

I wondered what it would feel like to have your arm torn off while still alive.

For now, I shook my head.

“Wait.”

“Yes!”

Tearing off arms or legs would come later.

First, we needed to show him that his body was intact and interrogate him to get more information.

This was a group attack with 20 people. Surely they weren’t the end of it.

Leaving the werewolves cleaning up the camp behind, we dragged Cheon-hwi to a secluded corner.

“Wake him up.”

“Yes!”

Aurel nodded at my command.

She extended her dainty leg and kicked Cheon-hwi in the face.

Thwack-!

“Get up!”

Thwack-!

Although Aurel was only a level 12 vampire, her physical abilities far exceeded those of an ordinary human.

Even with such a cute kick, she could easily crack someone’s skull.

But her opponent was also a level 19 human user.

He should be as tough as a solid rock.

Aurel diligently kicked his head with her black-shoed foot.

After several dull thuds…

Finally, Cheon-hwi opened his eyes.

“Ugh, urgh…”

His blurry gaze gradually began to focus.

I called Aurel and Hwang-gu to stand beside me.

“Wh-what…”

Cheon-hwi blinked and looked around.

The way he tried to move suggested he was attempting to move his arms and legs.

But limbs bent in such grotesque angles couldn’t possibly function properly.

“Grrgh…!”

His face contorted in pain, apparently feeling it belatedly.

He half-raised his upper body to check his limbs.

“Huh, huh…”

A despairing groan escaped him.

He had realized how serious his condition was.

I cleared my throat with my arms crossed to get his attention.

“Ahem…”

“Y-you guys…!”

Only then did Cheon-hwi look at us with an expression of shock.

I would have been surprised too if I opened my eyes to find three small girls standing in a row.

Anyway, I frowned deeply and put on a scary face.

“I have questions. If you answer sincerely, I’ll let you live with your body intact.”

It didn’t seem like he would believe me, but this was the best I could offer.

Cheon-hwi, who had been gaping blankly at my words, eventually realized there was no alternative and nodded.

I was glad he was being compliant.

“Why did you attack this place?”

“To rescue the captured humans.”

“Anything else?”

“…To exterminate disgusting monsters.”

I activated my Mystic Eye to check his emotional state.

Judging by the lack of significant fluctuation, he wasn’t lying.

“Are there more of your comrades?”

Cheon-hwi didn’t answer.

Instead, he pressed his lips together and glared at me.

“How rude!”

Aurel shouted loudly from beside me.

I raised my hand to calm her down.

“Shh…”

“But Charlotte…!”

At that moment, Cheon-hwi flinched at the name Charlotte.

He looked up at me with a questioning gaze.

“Charlotte…? Could you be that Charlotte…?”

“Hmm, you know our Charlotte?”

When Cheon-hwi acted like he knew me, Aurel raised the corners of her mouth proudly.

The fact that he reacted to the name Charlotte meant that this person before us was definitely the Cheon-hwi I knew.

“Charlotte…! I-it’s me. I’m Cheon-hwi! You know me, right? We added each other as friends during monthly matchmaking!”

Cheon-hwi seemed to remember the day we added each other as friends.

Of course, I remembered that day too.

When Cheon-hwi shouted loudly with such a reaction, Hwang-gu and Aurel began to watch my expression.

I could tell what the two girls were worried about.

They were concerned about getting scolded for putting someone who appeared to be my acquaintance in this state.

I smiled faintly and patted the two girls’ heads.

“It’s okay.”

With those words, smiles spread across Aurel and Hwang-gu’s faces.

“Cheon-hwi.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Answer my questions truthfully, and I’ll spare you.”

“R-really? I-I’ll tell you everything!”

I was worried he might be stubborn, but Cheon-hwi began to spill information I hadn’t even asked for.

The organization Cheon-hwi belonged to operated under the name “Human Liberation,” and he revealed that not only human users but also a small number of vampires and werewolves were providing them with information.

“Is that true?”

Cheon-hwi nodded vigorously.

“Are there any here?”

“Yes…!”

“Tell me their names, no, their usernames.”

“Kim Sotteok”

That was the name of the werewolf Cheon-hwi revealed.

I gave Aurel a look.

If she was as quick-witted as I thought, she would understand my intention and find this werewolf named Kim Sotteok.

“I’ll be right back!”

Aurel answered energetically and ran off.

After some time had passed…

Just as Cheon-hwi was about to speak while checking his surroundings, Aurel came running back.

“Is he there?”

“He was!”

“Was?”

“Yes! Kim Sotteok is reported as missing!”

I stroked Aurel’s head while looking at Cheon-hwi.

Since the person was missing, there was no way to verify the truth of his statement.

Cheon-hwi, who had been rolling his eyes around, spoke urgently.

“H-he ran away!”

I nodded.

That could be possible.

Let’s move past this issue for now.

Just as I was about to ask the next question…

Aurel tugged at my clothes.

“What?”

“Are you planning to spare this person?”

Aurel looked up at me with genuine curiosity.

I hesitated slightly before answering.

Although we knew each other, it was just a very shallow online connection.

It wasn’t a sufficient reason for me to spare him.

But when it came to actually killing him, I felt strange.

I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Seeing me hesitate, Aurel smiled brightly and said:

“Then let’s make him a subordinate.”

“A subordinate…?”

“Yes!”

I tilted my head at Aurel’s words.

The “Subordination” skill.

It was a skill used by vampires who reached level 15, often utilized in PVP.

Typically, it was used to subordinate common animals like cats or dogs found on the street to secure vision.

That was the general use of the subordination skill.

“Using subordination on a person…?”

“Yes!”

Use the subordination skill on a person?

Of course, I had used it in the game. But the subordination skill couldn’t be activated on another user.

“If we make him a subordinate, he won’t lie to you, Charlotte!”

“But Aurel, subordination can’t be used on another user.”

“Oh…!”

Aurel was greatly surprised by my words.

It was information that a level 12 newbie might not know.

I smiled slightly and patted Aurel’s head.

“Let’s try it anyway?”

Nothing to lose, right?

With a casual attitude, I reached out toward Cheon-hwi.

Whoosh-

“Huh?”

Cheon-hwi gaped blankly at my sudden movement.

At that moment, shadows rose from beneath his feet, writhing.

“Th-this…!”

“Oh?”

“Wait! Charlotte! This is different from what you said! You said you’d spare me!”

Cheon-hwi screamed and struggled, but he couldn’t escape the shadow.

The shadow devoured Cheon-hwi’s body like a beast opening its mouth wide.

Immediately after, the shadow began to gather into a round sphere.

It looked like an egg.

As I stared blankly at the black egg, it began to shrink.

Thump-!

Thump-!

Thump-!

“Gasp…!”

Hwang-gu looked at the suddenly appearing egg with a surprised expression.

How much time passed like that?

After examining the large egg for about 10 minutes…

Crack-

The black egg suddenly began to crack.

The cracks grew larger as time passed.

Crack-!

I watched the scene with Hwang-gu and Aurel.

At that moment, the cracked egg split open, and a girl jumped out from inside.

“Ugh…”

As if lacking strength, she collapsed immediately with a small scream.

Her long silver hair barely covered her naked white body.

“Wh-what is this…”

The small girl sat down and began to look at her hands.

I activated my Mystic Eye just in case.

At that moment, the girl’s information came to me:

[Cheon-hwi]

Level: 15

Race: Vampire (Charlotte’s Subordinate)

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Emotional State: Anger, Confusion, Shame, Surprise

Her overall appearance resembled my character, Charlotte.

Cheon-hwi had become a vampire girl.

The subordination skill had been successfully activated.