Ch.450Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

The Templar Knights who had crawled out of the basement could barely string words together. They could only point repeatedly at the basement with expressions as if they’d seen a monster.

After gathering testimonies from the two dazed members and the rest of the search team, Ibrahim led the members who were preparing to withdraw directly down to the basement.

And when he reappeared after going underground.

An argument broke out.

“We need to move it. Right now.”

Ibrahim insisted that the coffin needed to be moved immediately.

“…You want us to carry that massive thing through the sewers to escape? We’ve already recovered the Saint’s blood, can’t we just leave?”

Matt opposed, saying that was impossible.

“We can’t leave that coffin behind!”

“If we don’t move now, the entire city will be after us. Why not just burn it?”

“If burning it would solve the problem, I wouldn’t be suggesting we move it!”

“Then blow it up with explosives! How are we supposed to escape carrying that disgustingly large coffin?”

The two men’s arguments formed a stark contrast, each holding firm with different logic and reasoning.

“Pull!”

The Templar Knights gripped the ropes, straining with all their might to haul the coffin up from below.

“…The barrier is about to disappear.”

“We’re all going to die at this rate, damn it.”

The operation team’s intelligence officers readjusted their weapons, unable to hide their anxious expressions.

“Let’s deal with the blood packs first! If they fall into the cultists’ hands, the mission fails!”

I argued for disposing of the blood.

As time slipped away mercilessly.

Finally, when the barrier reached its limit and began to collapse like a sandcastle swept by waves.

-ㅡ!

A blue slash cut through the crumbling barrier,

And a familiar face, gently gripping a runic sword.

“…Didn’t I say we should just leave?”

She spoke to me.

Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

I awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door.

Rolling my suddenly open eyes, I saw the firmly closed sliding door. I slipped on my crumpled slippers and carefully opened the door to find Lucia with her radiant blonde hair.

“Lucia. What brings you here?”

“Your test results just came in, so I brought them to you.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Lucia nodded with a kind smile.

She opened the file she was holding and began reading the sheets herself.

“Your blood pressure is within normal range, and both vision and hearing are normal. No special issues were found in your blood, no skin conditions… Physical and cognitive abilities are above average. Yes, these are the results. Congratulations.”

She congratulated me with a bright expression. Words that came from genuine sincerity.

I checked the test results once more, thoroughly. Just in case I missed something.

Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any particular problems yet.

“Health is the most important thing.”

“It’s the greatest blessing.”

“One and the same.”

As I was organizing the results, Lucia, who had been smiling gently, brushed her finger below her ear. She seemed to have something to say.

“I heard from Camilla that you were dispatched to the provinces briefly. Did you wrap up your work well?”

I answered while packing my things.

“More or less.”

“That’s good then, since you’ve returned safely. How long do you plan to stay here?”

I don’t know that myself.

I had no idea when, where, or how I should move, so I didn’t have much to say, but seeing Lucia’s face, I felt I had to give some kind of answer.

I vaguely remember explaining something earnestly, but I can’t recall exactly what I said.

As I was changing from my patient gown into my regular clothes.

“Ah, I almost forgot. This.”

“What is it?”

“The priest who gave me your results asked me to pass this along to you. Though I’m not sure what it is.”

“……”

I stared at the envelope Lucia had placed down.

When she finally left the room, saying it was time to attend to other patients, I carefully locked the door and checked the contents.

What Lucia had delivered was a test report.

However, it contained information slightly different from what I had just heard.

“…Psychic sensitivity, normal. Mental contamination, normal. Object perception distortion also normal, and no reaction to sacred objects.”

A detailed examination report consisting of 28 items. Only after carefully checking its contents did I finally let out a sigh of relief.

After setting fire to the examination report and throwing it into the metal trash can.

I took off my patient gown, sat on the bed, and rubbed my face.

“……”

And quietly closed my eyes, lost in thought.

*

“Are you ready to leave, Brother Frederick?”

As I left the room with my belongings, a monk in a habit greeted me at the door.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Not at all, Brother.”

I pushed the sliding door closed with my hand and asked him a question.

“How are the others?”

“The Templar Knights and those who went to the port are mostly fine, but the two brothers who stayed underground for a long time aren’t in very good condition.”

“…Is it serious?”

“Not quite. They’re just mentally weakened from the shock they received.”

The monk led me to the back of the building. As if the church had prepared in advance, there was a temporary teleportation magic circle in the empty lot.

As my vision narrowed and then expanded in an instant, a desert began to unfold before my eyes. A plain with nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. I didn’t know the name, but I could tell this was somewhere on the Mauritani continent.

“Let’s go. Everyone is waiting.”

The monk pointed to a cliff. More specifically, to a path between red rock formations.

As I walked along that path, I suddenly turned to look at the monk who was guiding me.

“By the way… is it true?”

“What are you referring to?”

“That coffin found in the basement.”

The man walking ahead glanced at me briefly.

“Is it really a vampire?”

“……”

No answer came.

The monk just continued walking with a faint smile.

And finally, when we reached the end of the path.

Breaking the silence, he looked at me and said:

“See for yourself.”

*

An elevator that looked like it belonged in a mine took me underground.

The maw of a monster. Or a dark hell from mythology where sinners are captured and imprisoned. The massive cave extending endlessly downward reminded me of Tartarus that I’d once seen in a comic book.

“You’re here?”

“Matt.”

“Looks like you’re in one piece.”

As I was stepping out of the suddenly stopped elevator, Matt, who had been waiting, opened the door for me and extended his hand.

“Did you think I’d die so easily?”

“I suppose not.”

I grabbed his outstretched hand and came out. Matt pursed his lips and crossed his arms with an indifferent look.

He touched his reddened skin while looking in a mirror, then asked casually:

“You’re fine. How’s your girlfriend?”

“Matt, Francesca is not my girlfriend. How many times do I have to tell you?”

“A notoriously picky magician risked her life to save you, and you’re not dating? You’re completely clueless.”

“Let’s drop it.”

“Haha.”

Matt looked at me and chuckled. He seemed to find his joke quite amusing. I wonder if laughter is even appropriate in this situation.

Anyway.

After escaping Necropolis, Francesca underwent a thorough examination covering 28 items, but no major issues were found.

Similarly, Matt and the operation team’s intelligence officers, as well as the Templar Knights led by Ibrahim, were mostly confirmed to be in normal condition. Except for a few Templar Knights who went underground and were now slightly mentally unstable.

Everything was perfect.

There were no casualties, Francesca was safe despite her identity being exposed, and Lucia’s blood was properly recovered. The operation was set to end successfully and indeed half of it was a success.

In other words, half of it was screwed up.

And the reason was extremely simple.

“…Tsk.”

As I walked down the corridor, rubbing the back of my neck, I asked a question.

“So what did the investigation find? There must be something.”

Matt walked sluggishly with his hands in his pockets.

His indifferent voice continued along with the sound of his dragging shoes.

“It might be better for your mental health not to hear it.”

“Matt.”

When I snapped at him slightly, the jokes finally stopped. Matt paused for a moment and responded with a rather serious expression.

“It seems our religious gentlemen were right. Unfortunately.”

“……”

“Look.”

His thick finger pointed behind us. There was a glass window filling one side of the wall.

Smooth rock formations extended into a vast cave, with numerous equipped people busily moving around the site.

And in the center, where not even an ant could enter, sat an ancient coffin.

Matt approached the glass window and spoke.

“Can you believe it? They say what’s in that coffin is a monster that went extinct hundreds of years ago. Something you’d only find in fairy tales.”

“…Well.”

Whether it’s a centuries-old monster or a half-rotten corpse.

Needless to say.

“Something jumping out of a coffin is never a good thing.”

*

The Harbor of the Dead Whale. Ash Tree Street in Necropolis.

The hour when all objects are tinged with navy blue.

A man covered in a large rag entered the house, where a gloomy atmosphere welcomed the visitor. But the homeowners couldn’t welcome a guest arriving in the early dawn.

Thud, thud, as footsteps echoed loudly, startled flies flew up from an overturned head.

Splash. Ripples spread across a pool of blood.

As the rough footsteps left the puddle, red footprints followed a beat behind.

Simultaneously, the stairs creaked like screams with each step on the dark red steps.

The place where the man who waded through the puddle arrived was the mansion’s basement.

As dust mixed with the cold air made his throat tickle, the man looked around the empty basement and bent one knee.

“……”

Rough fingers brushed through the dust accumulated on the floor.

It was a spot with noticeably less dust than elsewhere.

“……”

A spot with relatively less dust, where something had been until recently. The man raised his head to gauge its size.

His rough fist clenched tightly. It was with such force that veins bulged, and at the same time, his fist trembled.

And then.

-……!

Through the fallen rags, a massive forearm was revealed.

The strange pattern engraved on that forearm began to emit a bizarre light, starting to drive away the darkness of the basement.