Ch.25EP 1 Fenrir

Several Fusion Bodies were wandering around Fenrir, appearing to escort him.

He looked very similar to the one we could encounter in the game.

But why was a boss that should only appear in main quests here?

And at level 20, no less.

Fenrir is a boss monster that only appears in Chapter 1 of the main quest, so he’s not originally high-level.

In my memory, Fenrir was level 7.

Ravina’s memory also recalled Fenrir as level 7.

“Grrrr…!”

Hwang-gu revealed hostility at the sight of Fenrir.

Her adorable fangs and slightly exposed gums.

Her wolf ears and tail stood straight up.

I narrowed my eyes and patted Hwang-gu’s head.

Her aggressive demeanor immediately subsided.

Thankfully we were far enough from Fenrir—if he had heard Hwang-gu’s growling, we would have been forced into combat.

“Cheon-hwi.”

At my call, Cheon-hwi emerged from the shadows with a smooth motion.

His silver hair shimmered in the moonlight as it fluttered gently.

“What?”

“Do you know what that is?”

“It’s Fenrir, obviously.”

“Why is Fenrir here?”

“About a year ago, I think. He suddenly appeared.”

Cheon-hwi folded his arms and turned his head.

He was answering my questions as ordered, but he clearly didn’t like the current situation.

“He’s just a first act boss. Hasn’t anyone tried to defeat him?”

“Of course they have. Everyone underestimated him because he’s a first act boss and challenged him.”

“And then?”

“…Fenrir went nom-nom on them.”

Cheon-hwi’s story came out matter-of-factly.

But he was frowning as if recalling that day.

It seemed Cheon-hwi had been there himself.

Wait, “nom-nom”?

When I gave him a strange look, Cheon-hwi suddenly realized his odd choice of words and covered his mouth.

“W-what’s happening? Why am I…”

Cheon-hwi muttered in confusion with a pale face.

But none of us could answer his question.

First the crayon incident, and now “nom-nom.”

Maybe this guy secretly wanted to be a child?

Perhaps some deep-buried desire was surfacing in this situation without him realizing it.

Anyway, Cheon-hwi’s changes weren’t the important thing right now.

I folded my arms and continued.

“After Fenrir went ‘nom-nom,’ did anyone try again?”

“…Of course not. One death and it’s over. Even those who had volunteered quietly backed away.”

“Hmm…”

“After humans stopped trying, vampires and werewolves challenged him one after another. But seeing as he’s still alive, that says it all. They all failed.”

As Cheon-hwi spoke, he carefully reviewed his words with a serious expression.

He seemed very worried about making another verbal slip like before.

Indeed, in the main quest, Fenrir is defeated with the help of numerous NPCs.

It might be very difficult for users alone to hunt a level 20 Fenrir.

Especially users who don’t even have proper equipment.

Retreating was the right choice for now.

I pushed Cheon-hwi’s head down, stuffing him back into the shadow.

He flapped his hands in resistance as he went in, but it was just a small struggle to me.

“Stay in there quietly.”

Swoosh—

“Is it comfortable in there?”

Aurel asked, crouching down and looking at the shadow.

Judging by Cheon-hwi’s lack of complaints, it must be fairly comfortable.

Of course, I couldn’t give a definite answer since I hadn’t experienced it myself.

Flap-flap-

Just then, I heard the sound of small wings.

Somehow that sound felt familiar, and a black bat flew past my eyes.

The bat that suddenly appeared circled around me.

It seemed to be asking me to follow it.

An ordinary bat wouldn’t move like that.

I led Aurel and Hwang-gu to follow the bat.

Flap-flap-

Hwang-gu and Aurel began following behind me without much thought.

The bat’s guidance was very safe.

Not once did we directly encounter any Fusion Bodies while following it.

The place we arrived at after following the bat was in front of a large cathedral.

The cathedral, built with brown bricks, was in relatively good condition compared to other buildings.

Except for the broken stained glass, collapsed statues, and broken crosses.

It was a place that instinctively repelled me.

How ironic that a vampire’s bat would guide us to a cathedral of all places.

Just as I frowned at this ironic location—

The cathedral door opened and a woman walked out.

Black formal attire covering her entire body, with a pure white band around her neck.

She looked like a priest of the cathedral.

The female vampire stopped in place and opened her mouth with a gentle smile.

“Welcome.”

The bat that had been flying around descended to the woman’s hand, then scattered like a black shadow.

It seemed she was indeed the one who had guided us here.

“Why did you bring us here?”

“Well… we can’t disturb Fenrir’s mood.”

The female vampire spoke as if it were obvious.

I immediately activated my Mystic Eye in my left eye.

At that moment, I felt a burning sensation.

Blue particles scattered and burned, revealing information about the female vampire.

[MeriMeri]

Level: 20

Race: Vampire

Health 100%

Mana 95%

Emotional state: Interest, Calmness, Goodwill.

That wasn’t all.

Information about numerous other vampires inside the cathedral poured in.

The number was 52.

An incredibly large number.

A vampire clan using a cathedral as their base?

It was so absurd I almost laughed.

How did these vampires overcome their aversion to this place?

I frowned and glared at the cathedral behind Meri.

I wasn’t the only one feeling repulsed by the cathedral.

Aurel felt the same.

She clung tightly behind me with a shrunken posture.

“Disturb Fenrir’s mood? Haven’t you thought about trying to defeat him?”

“Defeat? That monster?”

Meri opened her eyes wide at my question.

She seemed to be operating under the assumption that Fenrir could never be defeated.

“I think we need a more detailed explanation. Since the story might be long, would you like to come inside?”

Meri gestured toward the cathedral interior as she spoke.

I exchanged glances with the children.

Aurel shook her head suspiciously.

Hwang-gu looked at me with a smile, seemingly fine with either choice.

And Cheon-hwi was subtly trying to poke his head out.

Of course, Cheon-hwi’s opinion didn’t matter, so I pushed his head back into the shadow.

“Should we go in and hear what she has to say?”

“Isn’t it dangerous…?”

“We’re all vampires.”

“That’s true, but…”

I turned my head to examine Meri’s face once more.

I didn’t sense any hostility in her emotional state.

The same was true for the other vampires inside the cathedral.

Meri just smiled at my gaze.

That’s when Aurel pulled my arm and said:

“What if we ask for blood?”

“Blood?”

“Vampires can read memories from the blood of their kind, right?”

“Hmm.”

That would be a good method, certainly.

But sharing memories through blood had one problem.

It would reveal all secrets, even those one wanted to hide.

Since Meri knew this fact, she probably wouldn’t offer her blood.

I didn’t particularly want to drink blood just to get information either.

One experience of learning someone else’s sexual preferences or embarrassing memories was enough.

I pushed Ravina’s memories aside and shook my head.

“Let’s go in.”

“Charlotte…”

“Don’t worry.”

There was no need to worry.

I was confident I could safely escape with Aurel and Hwang-gu even if all the vampires inside turned against us.

This wasn’t baseless confidence.

My game knowledge that slightly differed from Ravina’s.

Aurel’s unusual skill tree.

The shadow’s powerful attacks that could kill a level 20 human user in one hit, even without equipment.

And Cheon-hwi who hadn’t even reached level 20.

In my hazy memories…

The Cheon-hwi in my friends list was definitely a level 20 human user.

Perhaps.

No, I’m certain.

The version of Blood Carnival that forms this world’s background is from much earlier than the one I played.

The interior of the cathedral we entered following Meri was decorated very gloomily.

There were no crosses or statues commonly seen in cathedrals, and long wooden planks were densely attached to the windows where beautiful stained glass should have been.

I felt gazes from all directions.

Dozens of pairs of red eyes floated in the darkness.

There was even a vampire hanging upside down from the ceiling.

Didn’t the blood rushing to his head make him dizzy?

Judging by his red face, he seemed to be struggling…

At that moment, the vampire hanging from the ceiling dropped down.

He landed silently with great elegance.

After landing safely, he smiled with a very satisfied expression before crawling back into the darkness.

-Did I look cool?

-That was insane…

-Are you falling for me?

Whispers came from the darkness.

As I stood there dumbfounded at the ridiculous conversation, Hwang-gu beside me started growling.

“Grrrr!”

The vampires scattered in surprise at Hwang-gu’s threat.

Meri, walking ahead, opened her mouth with an awkward smile.

“They’re just kids…”

Their bodies might be adult, but their mentality was childish?

I frowned with my arms crossed.

The place we arrived at following Meri was a small room.

The only light illuminating the room came from a small candle.

Meri sat at the table and gestured to us.

She wanted us to sit down.

I pulled Aurel and Hwang-gu’s chairs closer and placed them right next to mine.

“Hmm… you seem to have many questions.”

I nodded at Meri’s words.

I wanted to hear in detail what had happened so far.

Knock knock-

Just then came the sound of knocking.

Hwang-gu raised her tail alertly at the unfamiliar presence.

“Come in.”

At Meri’s permission, a male vampire entered.

He bowed his head and arranged a large teapot and teacups on the table.

At that moment, Hwang-gu and Aurel began licking their lips.

A rich scent of blood wafted from inside the teapot.