Ch.50Underground Ruins

Clack- Clack- Clack-

On a road shrouded in deep darkness.

Hwang-gu was racing along that road with me and Aurel on her back.

I frowned as I looked around.

Even though we had left Seoul Station and been running for quite a while, it was difficult to spot any Fusion Bodies.

This was all because of the rumors about the Blood Fruit Tree.

The Blood Fruit Tree that could reduce bloodlust without having to eat humans.

Rumors about its fruit spread very quickly.

Of course, those who came after hearing the rumors couldn’t get their hands on the Blood Fruit Tree.

This was because the Blood Fruit Tree that had grown near Seoul Station was being managed by clans that had formed alliances with me.

Instead, they began settling in Seoul by either creating new hideouts near Seoul Station or merging with existing clans.

Even without the Blood Fruit Tree, it was only natural for them to establish themselves at Seoul Station.

A concentration of shops where various items could be purchased, and safe hunting grounds where human users didn’t appear.

That was what Seoul was now.

In this world, level directly represents power and status.

It’s only natural that all users crave leveling up.

Because of this, the area around Seoul had become devoid of Fusion Bodies.

It was a situation where one had to leave Seoul on an expedition to hunt.

To wage all-out war against humans, we couldn’t afford to drive away other vampires.

I had no choice but to leave Seoul with the children to farm.

“Ah! Over there!”

“Woof!”

With Aurel’s shout, Hwang-gu changed direction.

Indeed, at the place Hwang-gu was running toward, five Fusion Bodies were crawling around.

Hwang-gu and I, both at max level, didn’t need to hunt for experience.

Only my subordinates and Aurel needed to level up.

“Hiyah!”

Aurel naturally jumped off Hwang-gu’s back.

And a black shadow followed by her side.

Swoosh-

The shadow soon formed the shape of a small girl.

The strongest among my subordinates.

It was Yeppi.

“Hiyah!”

“Hoyah!”

Aurel began swinging her fists alongside Yeppi.

Befitting my subordinate, Yeppi started fighting using shadows, while Aurel pummeled the Fusion Bodies with blood energy emanating from her entire body.

These were ordinary Fusion Bodies wandering in a regular field.

There was no way they could withstand the attacks of the two girls.

It took less than a minute for the five Fusion Bodies to be destroyed.

“Yahoo!”

After smashing the head of the last Fusion Body, Aurel hopped around expressing her joy.

Wondering why, I activated my Mystic Eye to check her information and saw that her level had increased by 1.

Now Aurel’s level was 16.

Considering her level when I first met her, this was incredible growth.

Aurel, who had been hopping in place, came to a stop.

Seeing her close her eyes and start concentrating, she seemed to be choosing which skill to use.

Since I can’t level up, I don’t know what it feels like, but Aurel said that when her level increases, various things appear in her mind.

While waiting for Aurel, Hwang-gu, who had been sniffing around, started moving away.

Lying flat on the ground with her tail wagging, she seemed to have caught some suspicious scent.

Sniff sniff sniff-

Rustle rustle-

Hwang-gu squeezed her large body between collapsed buildings.

Aurel’s contemplation time was quite long.

It seemed the options that appeared in her mind were diverse.

I climbed onto the hood of a nearby abandoned car and sat down.

How much time had passed?

Just as I was considering speaking to Aurel, her eyes suddenly opened wide.

“All done?”

“Yes!”

Aurel nodded vigorously at my question.

Running hurriedly toward me, she looked around and asked.

“Where’s Hwang-gu?”

“Hwang-gu…”

In response to Aurel’s question, I looked at the collapsed building.

She was poking her head around there earlier, but Hwang-gu was nowhere to be seen.

“I think she went that way…”

“Hwang-gu!”

Though tilting her head at my words, Aurel called out energetically for her friend.

But there was no response from Hwang-gu.

Usually, whenever Aurel or I called, she would always bark loudly to indicate her position.

Could something have happened to Hwang-gu?

There weren’t many things that could harm a max-level Hwang-gu, but recalling the malicious actions of humans, I started to feel anxious.

“Hwang-gu!”

I jumped off the car hood and called for Hwang-gu.

But again, there was no response.

“D-did Hwang-gu become an abandoned dog…?”

“What…?”

I made a sour expression at Aurel’s question.

Although Hwang-gu looked like a dog, she was clearly a werewolf.

The term “abandoned dog” didn’t suit her.

Moreover, I hadn’t abandoned Hwang-gu.

The first place I started searching was between the gaps of the collapsed building.

Seeing that Hwang-gu had her head buried in this spot earlier, there must have been something here.

Who knows. She might have gone inside this collapsed building.

“Sniff sniff…”

I buried my head to the ground and tried to catch a scent, just like Hwang-gu had done.

Though not as good as a werewolf, vampires also have quite a keen sense of smell.

This means I can easily track the scent of a nearby werewolf.

As I expected, Hwang-gu’s scent led inside the collapsed building.

“How is it?”

“Seems like she went inside.”

“Through this small hole?”

“She probably transformed into her soft form.”

“Gasp…”

Just to be sure, I tried inserting my upper body into the small hole.

Indeed, small girls like me could enter through this hole.

“Can you follow me in?”

“Y-yes!”

Aurel answered energetically to my question.

There was a strange tremor in her voice.

“Hwang-gu!”

I called out for Hwang-gu as I crawled through the narrow hole.

Her scent continued inside, but there was still no response.

“Hwang-gu~”

Aurel, who followed me in, also called Hwang-gu’s name.

But still, there was no answer.

Strange. Werewolves have hearing as keen as their sense of smell.

This means she couldn’t have missed our voices.

“Hng…! Hng…!”

After crawling for a while, I stopped in place due to the peculiar breathing sounds coming from behind me.

“Aurel?”

“Y-yes…!”

“Are you having a hard time? Your breathing sounds rough.”

“N-no!”

“Really…?”

I tilted my head.

But contrary to her words, Aurel’s breathing became even rougher.

As if she was extremely excited.

“Heck… Hic…”

This is definitely strange.

“Are you really okay?”

I stopped again and asked Aurel.

At that moment, I felt a strange sensation on my buttocks.

“Gasp!”

“Eek…!”

I was startled by that odd sensation and shook my body.

I wanted to turn around to check what was touching my buttocks, but the space was too narrow to turn.

“A-Aurel!”

“Gasp! Ha! Yes!”

“S-something strange is touching my butt!”

“It’s not strange! I just bumped into you!”

“R-really…?”

“Yes!”

Was it really just a bump?

Aurel’s answer was quite suspicious, but there was no other way to check in this place.

I sighed and started crawling again.

Where on earth had Hwang-gu crawled to?

The narrow hole formed between the collapsed buildings seemed endless.

From what I could tell, this hole was leading underground.

I felt like I had already crawled more than 10 meters, but the end was still not in sight.

After crawling for a while, I had to stop.

The hand that was supporting my upper body by pressing against the ground couldn’t find anything to press against.

Having nothing to press against meant the path ahead was cut off.

If I had crawled without thinking, I would have fallen forward.

It seemed clear that Hwang-gu had happily crawled through this passage and then tumbled down.

At that moment, I felt something touch my buttocks, and my body was pushed forward.

“Ah!”

“Kek!”

My body staggered from the sudden impact.

Worse, there was nothing to grab onto.

In a hurry, I stretched out my legs and wrapped them around whatever had touched my buttocks.

What my thighs wrapped around was Aurel’s face.

It seemed that she had bumped into me again when I suddenly stopped.

I applied more strength to my legs to prevent falling.

If I were to release the strength in my legs, we would drop down.

I couldn’t just fall recklessly without knowing what was below.

“Kek… Charlotte… Gasp!”

“Stay calm! Aurel! Hold on slowly!”

“Kuhuk…!”

Right now, Aurel was all I could rely on.

Perhaps finding it hard to bear the pressure of my thighs choking her neck, Aurel patted my thighs with her palms.

But I couldn’t let go. Biting my lip, I shouted at Aurel.

“Aurel! Back! Move back! Pull me up!”

“Kehek…!”

Aurel’s face was starting to turn pale.

She closed her eyes with a strangely happy smile.

Right after, Aurel’s body lost its strength.

Her body, having lost its strength, began to tilt forward.

I, with my thighs wrapped around her neck, also began to tilt forward.

At this rate, we’ll fall!

“Eep…!”

I desperately pulled out my shadow.

I created wings on my back and shadow hands simultaneously.

The struggle to escape this situation began.

“Yap!”

The shadow hand stretched forward with a vigorous shout.

But-

Hiss-!

The shadow hand that was stretching out disappeared the moment it approached the passage I had fallen from.

“Huh…!”

It wasn’t due to someone’s interference. There was no physical impact either.

It just vanished.

In desperation, I created a new shadow and stretched it out, but the result was the same.

In the end, I started falling down with Aurel.

Swoosh-!

“Eek!”

I embraced Aurel, who had her eyes closed, and flapped the wings on my back.

Shadow wings don’t have the ability to fly.

All I could do was gradually reduce the speed of our fall.