Ch.53Chapter 53: Vampire (9).

At that moment, when only the occasional sound of gulping could be heard.

The quickest to regain her composure was Lilith, who had been waiting for an opportunity by Valt’s side.

Lilith, who had believed that only she and Valt were capable of facing 6th-rank powerhouses, turned her body to confront the 5th-rank masked figures after witnessing Valt instantly dispatch four 6th-rank powerhouses.

Then came her hand signs and incantation.

“Blood Restriction!!”

A wide-ranging binding magic that uses blood as a medium.

The crimson energy floating around Lilith’s body takes form, becoming red strings that extend toward the fifteen 5th-rank masked figures.

Whoosh!!

The magic instantly wraps around their legs, binding the enemies.

Since the spell was cast on multiple targets, its strength wasn’t particularly overwhelming,

But as it was 6th-circle magic from Lilith, the 5th-rank masked figures couldn’t help but be momentarily bound.

The rest of the group didn’t miss that fleeting opening, unleashing their attacks on the masked figures.

Yuria’s beast-transformed claws slaughter a masked figure while Robin’s arrow pierces another’s brow. Victor’s fist shatters a skull, and Lati’s magic pierces a heart—the 5th-rank masked figures are swiftly eliminated.

Valt, revealing his white teeth in a grin, looks at a masked figure clutching his abdomen.

“Only you left.”

The masked figure couldn’t comprehend the situation.

A force of twenty 5th-rank and five 6th-rank fighters.

Such military strength would be enough to occupy a small provincial city with power to spare.

Yet they had been defeated by enemies with only Lilith as a proper 6th-rank—this fact prevented him from thinking straight.

“W-what! What the hell are you people?!”

“That’s what I’d like to ask.”

“Damn it!”

It was a predictable situation.

Valt, who had anticipated the man would attempt suicide by biting into poison hidden in his molar, rushed forward like lightning and grabbed the man’s jaw.

Then he created a stone and forced it into the man’s mouth.

“Mmph!! Mmmmmph!!!”

After restraining the masked figure’s entire body with earth magic, Valt called for Lati and Lilith.

“Can you extract information from him?”

Lati responded with a hint of difficulty.

“Unfortunately, his mental fortitude is higher than mine. It would take some time to torture him and break his mind.”

Lati uttered these terrifying words with her cute face.

But Lilith seemed to have a method.

“Um… I do have one way…”

“What is it?”

“If I turn him into my servant, we could extract information more easily.”

The legend says that when bitten by a vampire’s fangs and drained of blood, the victim becomes a vampire.

“Hmm? Is that true? Books say it’s just a myth.”

“It’s not exactly biting the neck and draining blood, but a True Ancestor—a pureblood vampire—has ways to forcibly create servants. And I am such a pureblood vampire.”

It feels like hearing an incredible secret.

But something seems off.

“I thought True Ancestors had silver hair…”

Lilith speaks with a complicated expression.

“That’s because I haven’t awakened my blood. Besides the first True Ancestor, there have been no silver-haired vampires. No one has awakened the pureblood.”

Being a True Ancestor wasn’t just about bloodline.

The title of True Ancestor could only be obtained by awakening the true power inherent in vampire blood.

It’s a legendary title that no one has claimed in the thousands of years of vampire history since the progenitor, Raculad Bloodwell.

“But even without awakening the True Ancestor’s blood, I can still create servants. It’s just difficult to maintain them.”

Valt nodded and stepped aside for Lilith.

“Do it. And extract the information.”

“Yes, Lord Valt.”

Whoosh—

Crimson particles swirl around Lilith as her magical power begins to amplify.

Her closed eyes snap open, flashing with red light.

Her fangs grow sharper, giving her the appearance of a truly fearsome vampire, though it doesn’t diminish her beauty.

“Gruk brovken yashil repenta.”

As she utters the incomprehensible spell, a red pentagram forms on the ground where the masked figure is restrained, and bloody tears begin to flow from his eyes.

It’s a bizarrely grotesque sight, but Valt finds it interesting.

‘Fascinating. There truly are diverse magics in this world.’

Lilith removes the man’s mask and takes out the stone from his mouth.

His eyes, already red and unfocused, stare into empty space, his mouth remaining open and vacant.

Lilith’s long, white index finger hovers over the masked figure’s open mouth, and the crimson energy surrounding her gathers at her fingertip.

A single drop of blood forms.

Lilith lets that drop fall into the masked figure’s mouth.

Drip—

Intense red magical energy erupts from the magic circle on the ground, and Lilith begins to stagger, gasping for breath. Moreover, her height shrinks again.

Thump—

Valt catches the staggering Lilith and asks.

“Did it work?”

“Haa, haa, yes, Lord Valt… With my ability, I can only maintain it for about 30 minutes. We need to ask everything we want to know and… dispose of him within that time.”

“Understood. Good work.”

As the red magical energy dissipates, a pale vampire kneels before them with his head bowed.

“I… greet my master.”

The masked figure’s now-pointed fangs confirm he has indeed become a vampire.

Lilith gives an order to the masked figure who has temporarily become her servant.

“Hah, haah… Answer all of this person’s questions with everything you know…”

“As you wish, my Lord. So, what do you want to know?”

His attitude is now different—confident. His aura feels slightly stronger than before.

Remembering the time limit, Valt begins questioning him.

“What is your objective?”

“To steal the Strigoi’s Blood Tears.”

Since it would be faster to hear about this from Lilith, Valt turns to her.

Receiving his gaze, Lilith speaks.

“How did they know about that…”

With a surprised expression, Lilith continues explaining about the Strigoi’s tears to Valt.

“Since it’s been revealed… I should tell you, Lord Valt. The Strigoi’s tears are a treasure of the vampire clan.”

“I’m guessing it’s not just a valuable treasure.”

Lilith nods at Valt’s reasonable assumption.

“It serves as a medium that maintains a barrier. It contains immense magical power.”

“Predictable.”

Valt continues questioning the man.

“What happened to the humans?”

“They’re being protected in a separate dimension.”

“Protected? Is the vampire elder involved?”

“Yes.”

True to his 6th-rank abilities, he knows quite a lot.

After methodically questioning him about the situation and obtaining satisfactory information, Valt asks his final question.

“Who are you people?”

“We are… Argh!!!”

Seeing the man suddenly in agony, Valt checks if the time is up.

But Lilith’s expression twists strangely.

“N-no, this can’t be! A restriction that resists the servitude contract!!”

Reddish veins frantically rise all over the man’s body, as if Lilith’s servitude contract and someone else’s restriction are battling for control.

It looks like his body might explode if left like this.

Valt had no choice but to lower the level of his question.

“Explain about yourself and your organization to the extent you can speak.”

“We are chess pieces. Used only when needed. We have no idea what purpose we serve.”

Such a simple answer.

It seems impossible to get more information than this for now. But they’ve discovered that some organization is plotting something.

“…I think we’ve learned all we can.”

Slash—

Realizing time is almost up, Valt raises a wind blade and separates the man’s head from his body.

“Haak!!!”

At that moment, Lilith collapses in pain.

“Are you alright, Lilith?”

Drenched in cold sweat, Lilith forces a smile.

“I-I’m fine.”

“There’s a backlash, huh. So that’s why you can’t create servants indiscriminately.”

“Exactly… Whew… This is my first time doing this, and it’s not easy.”

Flash—

“Eep?”

Valt scoops up the diminished Lilith, who can barely support herself, with one arm.

“Unfortunately, it seems we don’t have time to rest. We must return to Brasov immediately.”

The rest of Valt’s group prepares to follow.

“Lisa, Arias, Victor—return to the village. Victor, I entrust you with protecting those two.”

At Valt’s words, Victor scratches the back of his head.

“Sigh… Looks like fun… but if you say so, I have no choice.”

Lisa remains surprisingly quiet.

But seeing her trembling fists, it seems she’s realizing how miserable it is to be weak.

Arias, on the other hand, tries to speak up to follow Valt, but he firmly refuses.

“I can’t guarantee I can protect you while fighting. If you got hurt, I’d be very sad.”

She’s a grateful friend who taught him spirit summoning.

But misunderstanding Valt’s intentions, Arias’s face reddens, and she eventually accepts his decision.

“I-if you put it that way…”

***

“Huh? Annihilated?”

Roksa seems surprised to realize that all the bugs she had planted have died.

“Annihilated, you say?”

Prok, hearing Roksa’s words, also looks surprised.

“Hmm… They were insignificant, but was there a force in this area capable of destroying such a military force?”

“I can’t think of anyone except the beast-folk.”

Roksa nods, finding Prok’s words reasonable.

“True, it wouldn’t be elves… Did they unfortunately encounter beast-folk warriors? That’s troublesome. But well… we have plenty of chess pieces.”

Despite losing a powerful force of 5th and 6th-rank fighters, the two remain incredibly composed.

“We’ll have to move up the schedule.”