Chapter 29 : Hunter Hunt – (1)

“Not bad.”

A week after that, Luerin said this as she looked at me.

At my feet was a puddle of blood.

It wasn’t mine.

It was animal blood I had obtained from the butcher’s shop in Glintmarch.

The blood of the animal, which was supposed to harden, was moving like liquid under my control.

I flicked my fingers, and needles sprang out of the blood puddle.

It was the same technique used by the vampire baron Hoover in Berington last time.

Although the power was weaker since it wasn’t my blood, it was still enough to pierce through leather armor.

“With this, I think I can use it quite effectively in actual combat. I never expected to succeed in just a week.”

As Luerin said, I had completed the task she gave me in less than ten days.

“Well, the advice you gave me helped, and there were results from my research.”

“Research?”

“There was such a thing.”

Every two days, I had been conducting research on vampire traits in Eleonora’s interrogation room.

As a result, I had learned how to temporarily manipulate animal blood as if it were my own.

“Even if it’s animal blood, if I drop a few drops of my blood in it, I can use it freely for about an hour.”

“Hmm? How did you find that out?”

“Through blood, of course.”

It was literally a bloody effort.

I couldn’t even imagine how much blood I had drawn.

I had often wondered why the vampires I captured revealed information so easily, but now I understood.

Eleonora, alias the Heretical Inquisitor, was truly a demonic figure to vampires.

“Hmm. Looks like you’ve had a lot of hardships.”

Luerin seemed to have guessed some of the circumstances from my expression.

She smiled bitterly and continued,

“Anyway, magic tends to rely on imagination. Theoretically, there’s no mystery that magic can’t create. Blood magic relies on blood as a medium, so it’s less versatile than regular magic, but in terms of lethality, it’s comparable or even superior.”

“Seems that way. At least, the spear I shoot out with my blood would be more effective in terms of destructive power than your magic.”

At my words, Luerin’s gaze turned sharp.

But what could she do, when it was the truth? Aside from the fact that it consumes blood, my blood magic surpasses her magic in power and speed.

The only disadvantage is the need to consume blood.

To compensate for that, Eleonora and I decided to store my blood in advance.

“Is that a blood pouch?”

“That’s right. I plan to use the blood stored here when needed.”

There was a pouch hanging from my belt, filled with the blood I had drawn earlier.

My blood contained Lily’s blood.

Maybe because of that, the blood didn’t coagulate or harden, even after a long time.

Thanks to this, I could store it in a pouch and use it whenever necessary.

But Luerin frowned.

“Doesn’t it hurt when you draw that blood?”

“It’s fine. Eleonora is really skilled in this area. She can extract the maximum amount of blood with minimal pain.”

“You’ve already reached the resignation stage, huh.”

Luerin shook her head as if she was tired of it.

Anyway, with this method, I didn’t have to spill blood and could use it just when I needed it.

“Next, are you going to see Uncle Ivan?”

“That’s right. I’m learning swordsmanship.”

The combat methods of the first-generation hunters, like Ivan and the priest, were different from those of the current hunters.

While modern hunters, like us, emphasize evasion, the first-generation hunters preferred direct hand-to-hand combat with vampires.

It was an outdated approach now, and it wasn’t taught in the training curriculum, but for me, who possessed the physical abilities of a vampire, it was a different story.

“I think that style suits me best.”

The so-called old school.

My physical abilities, which never falter in a struggle with vampires, made this method possible.

“Well, do whatever you think is best.”

Since Luerin was inherently a magician, she casually brushed off my talk about swordsmanship.

Instead, Luerin changed the subject.

“You’ll be going on a hunt soon.”

“Me? Not you, senior?”

“Yeah. I’ve singled you out.”

At Luerin ’s words, I frowned. Among the active hunters, there was only one person who paid attention to me, aside from Camilla.

“Wait, did the undertaker point me out?”

“Yep.”

Luerin nodded.

As expected of the guild leader’s disciple, she was quick to catch such news.

“Why did the undertaker pick me?”

At my question, Luerin’s expression stiffened.

“I don’t know. But one thing is for sure.”

“What is it?”

“The undertaker probably wants to warn you. About your existence as a vampire and about his role as an executioner.”

“Executioner?”

I had overheard this term in a conversation between Guildmaster Aila and the undertaker.

Luerin nodded in response to my question.

“Looks like you don’t know, so I’ll tell you. The hunter undertaker is an executioner.”

Luerin began to explain, and I gulped nervously.

A few days later, as Luerin had said, I was summoned.

“Ah, you’ve come.”

When I stepped out of the training hall and into the main building, the hunter undertaker was waiting for me, leaning on the railing.

He seemed ready for the hunt, as his massive scythe was strapped to his back.

“Long time no see.”

I gave a somewhat awkward smile and bowed, and the undertaker waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t be so formal. Just relax. I don’t really consider you my junior, and I’m sure you don’t see me as your senior either.”

“Ah, right.”

I gave an awkward smile and observed the undertaker’s face.

He wore his usual expression.

But after hearing Luerin’s words, I couldn’t help but feel tense.

Executioner.

That was the term I had heard from Luerin a few days ago.

Within the Hunter Guild, there was a group known as the executioners.

These hunters typically did the same work as regular hunters, such as hunting vampires, but in certain situations, they were assigned a different task:

To find and deal with hunters who had turned into vampires.

Executioners were hunters who hunted other hunters.

And the man standing before me, with his scythe, was a representative example of such an executioner.

As I had seen in the last hunt, the undertaker fought using his scythe.

This wasn’t a weapon designed for battling vampires but for hunting other hunters.

I realized why this man’s alias was “Undertaker.”

He performed funerals for fellow hunters.

With his own scythe.

That’s why he was called the Undertaker.

I also understood why Guildmaster Aila had assigned the undertaker to me.

If I, a vampire’s follower, were to go out of control, the undertaker would be the one to hunt me down faster than anyone else.

“Why that look on your face?”

The undertaker frowned as he looked at me.

I shook my head and tried to keep my expression as neutral as possible.

But I couldn’t escape the keen gaze of the veteran hunter.

The undertaker scoffed and spoke to me.

“Why? I suppose you’ve heard what kind of hunter I am?”

“Yeah. What you’ve heard is correct. I usually take on the dirty task of hunting down fellow hunters who’ve turned. Did that disillusion you?”

“Ah, no.”

“Right.”

Surprisingly, the undertaker didn’t get angry and openly revealed his identity.

“Of course, the guildmaster, that old hag, also sent me to keep an eye on you. I didn’t know it back then.”

The undertaker twisted his mouth in a dissatisfied manner.

Then he continued.

“Don’t worry. I won’t eat you. As long as you don’t eat humans, that is.”

“I would never do that.”

“Everyone says that.”

He snorted with a hint of bitterness.

“But I don’t trust the followers of vampires. Same goes for fellow hunters. Most of those who said things like you have either died or ended up in a state where they might as well have been dead. They became vampires and turned into bloodthirsty monsters.”

The undertaker tapped his scythe with a dull thud.

“I killed them all with this scythe. So I don’t believe in empty promises.”

“Then, what should I do?”

“You’ll come with me on a hunt. This is also a kind of warning. I’ll show you the fate of someone like you, a vampire’s follower, when they can’t resist their instincts.”

“A warning, you say?”

I tilted my head, unable to follow his words. He smiled faintly and explained.

“In this hunt, we’re not going after vampires.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah. It’s a fellow hunter.”

I finally understood the undertaker’s intentions.

He was planning to take me on a mission to hunt a fellow hunter who had recently become a vampire.
Including the warning he was giving me.