Ch.59Chapter 59: Vampire (15).

Lati’s expression turned serious as she observed the situation.

“What are you going to do, Valt? That guy is incredibly strong.”

Someone who could subdue the 8th Circle King Bladir couldn’t possibly be weak. Of course, King Bladir wasn’t in his normal state, but still, this meant they were facing at least an 8th floor Aura user.

“Yes, I can feel it too. If we intervene, we’ll only be dealing with those masked figures at best.”

When Valt turned to look at Liris, she appeared to be barely restraining herself from rushing out.

“This isn’t my decision to make. Choose, Liris. Will you save your father? Or will you go rescue your people?”

Though Valt spoke calmly, neither option would be easy to accomplish.

From what Lati had said, finding Franz’s Mirror wouldn’t be difficult. That option probably had a higher chance of success.

Besides, in Valt’s judgment, they couldn’t kill King Bladir if they wanted to obtain the Strigoi’s blood tears.

But the question was how Liris, as his daughter, would handle this situation.

The fact that citizens were dying one by one every minute also weighed heavily on Liris.

“…Damn it…”

As Liris struggled to make a decision,

Through the crystal ball, they watched another vampire’s head being severed.

King Bladir shouted at the sight.

“Stop!! Stop it!! You damned bastards!!”

But Prok merely gave a sinister smile.

“You know very well that’s not the answer I want.”

Finally, King Bladir squeezed his eyes shut.

“…I’ll give it to you. Just stop.”

The king had finally surrendered in the face of his people’s deaths.

“If you had decided a little sooner, no one would have died. It was always going to end this way…”

“You damned bastards…”

Crack-

Another stone shattered in Prok’s hand, and the killing spree that had been systematically eliminating vampires one by one finally stopped.

“Now, lead the way, King Bladir.”

Valt’s group watched the entire scene unfold.

Valt spoke first.

“This isn’t good. You need to decide quickly, Liris. What will you do?”

Finally, Liris seemed to have made up her mind and asked Valt:

“Do you happen to have any more of that Salamander blood crystal?”

Valt shook his head. He had received only one vial from Lamrfo.

If he had known something like this would happen, he would have brought several, but neither Lamrfo nor Valt knew that Salamander blood crystal would have such an effect on vampires.

It was just a story based on legend, after all.

“No. That was all I had.”

After nervously biting her nails, Liris finally made her decision.

“I’ll ask my father to stall for time as much as possible, and we’ll go rescue the people. Can you help me?”

She wasn’t sure if this was the best choice in the current situation, but Liris wanted to honor her father’s decision.

They could certainly try fighting alongside King Bladir now, but if they failed, everything would be ruined.

While King Bladir bought time, Valt’s group would rescue the hostages and strike at the enemy.

That was Liris’s decision.

“Of course. If you’ve decided, let’s act quickly. Can you contact King Bladir?”

“Yes, I can use blood magic communication. It will be hard for them to detect.”

Liris formed a hand seal and activated the magic.

[Father, it’s Liris.]

Flinch.

King Bladir seemed slightly startled to hear his daughter’s voice, but no one else noticed.

[Don’t come here, daughter. This is no place for you. Flee with those outsiders.]

[I can’t do that. We’ve found where our people are being held. We’ll rescue them, so please buy us some time.]

The Strigoi’s blood tears are kept deep beneath the palace. While vampires who can transform into bats might find it easy to navigate, the numerous stairs and maze-like underground of the palace make it the perfect place for King Bladir to stall for time.

[…I don’t want to entrust my daughter with such a dangerous task… but I have no choice. I’ll try to buy as much time as possible.]

[Stay safe. I’ll definitely come to rescue you.]

[Take care of yourself too.]

After ending the magical communication, Bladir nodded to Prok.

“…Follow me…”

“I like your cooperation. Lead the way.”

All the people in the audience chamber disappeared through the door behind the throne, and Valt’s group quickly began to move.

Valt ran toward the main square, joining the rest of his members who had been waiting outside.

A masked figure who spotted Valt’s group shouted:

“Enemies!!”

Thwack!!

An arrow pierced between the masked figure’s eyes, turning the warning into his last words.

As they ran at full speed, Valt expressed his concern to Liris.

“Are you sure this is the right course of action?”

“Yes, it’s fine. Do you think the place where the blood tears are kept is ordinary? There are powerful blood barriers in place. They won’t be able to alert those inside.”

Quick, decisive action assuming communication would be impossible—that was the strategy Liris had chosen.

‘Not bad. Cautious yet bold. Truly worthy of the royal bloodline.’

Though she had been trembling with the desire to save her father, she ultimately controlled herself and chose the most effective solution available to her.

Now that Liris had made her decision, it was Valt’s job to live up to her expectations.

‘I hope King Bladir stays safe.’

Not just for the quest, but because a vampire king friendly to humans would be a great loss if he died.

He might be safe for now, but if the blood tears fall into enemy hands, he could be killed immediately.

“By the way, I don’t see your uncle. Was he in on this after all?”

“I don’t know. I hope not, but given the situation, I wonder if he might have been killed.”

If Liris’s uncle had conspired with outsiders, there should be vampire enemies as well, but here there were only human masked enemies.

“We need to hurry. Yuria, Robin, pick up the pace.”

“Yes, Valt.”

Bang-

Suddenly, masked figures appeared in front of Valt, all of them at least 5th floor or higher in strength.

“Damn it! We don’t have time for this!”

In response to Liris’s curse, Valt’s form shot forward like lightning.

“I’ll clear the path!”

Valt kicked off the ground, launched himself into the air, extended both fists forward, and began rotating his body sideways.

Like he had turned himself into a drill.

Whiiiiiing!!

The magic gathered by the effect of his physical magic skill naturally began to wrap wind around Valt’s rotation.

“Aaaaaaaaahhhhh!!”

Lati, who was on Valt’s shoulder, screamed as she spun around.

“Ah, I forgot about that. Well, Lati, try using some fire magic.”

“Wha-what?!”

“Add your fire magic to my wind magic. You’re 5th circle, so you should be able to do that much, right?”

Wind strengthens fire. They have a complementary relationship. The magically talented Lati immediately understood Valt’s intention and activated a spell that would be affected by the wind.

“B-Blaze!!”

The 5th circle magic, Blaze. Though it simply raises flames upward, as befitting a 5th circle spell, its firepower is no joke.

Normally used defensively to block paths or keep enemies at bay, the flames of Blaze began to rotate violently when they met Valt’s wind.

Whoosh!!

Whooooooosh!!

The fire mixed with the wind and pushed outward, and Valt’s form resembled a straight line of fire whirlwind.

Naturally, the masked figures began to panic at the tremendous magical power.

“D-dodge!! Don’t get caught in it!!”

But that was just wishful thinking.

Not only was the speed incredible, but the range of the whirlwind surrounding Valt’s body was enormous, and it expanded even further when it met the fire.

‘Hahaha, this works! You have to try things to know.’

It was an improvised attack made possible because Lati was on his shoulder, but the magic they produced became an excellent combination spell.

Combination magic used by two or more people does exist in this world.

However, it requires incredibly complex calculations and precise execution to be possible.

Valt performed it without any calculations, using only imagery, thanks to his cheat-like physical magic characteristic.

Lati, who had been spinning around, seemed to have adapted to the dizziness and looked at the magic in astonishment.

“W-what is this?!”

“What do you mean? It’s the combination magic Blaze Storm.”

“There’s no such magic!!”

Whoooooosh!!

A dragon-like whirlwind extended in a straight line.

The screams of the masked figures caught in it echoed.

“Aaaaargh!!”

In an instant, more than a dozen were engulfed and reduced to ashes.

“M-my god…”

“Run!! We don’t have time to clean up each one!”

At Valt’s command, Liris and Robin occasionally launched attacks while keeping up with him.

Looking at the ruined alley,

Valt felt a bit sorry as he gazed at the houses that had been reduced to ashes.

‘Fire magic is powerful, but this is the problem. I should restrain myself in urban areas.’

Crackle, crackle-

As the remaining flames continued to burn some unknown vampire’s dwelling, Valt’s group swiftly moved on.