MAEPG: Episode 19

Episode 19 Vampire (3)

“Ugh…”

A suppressed groan escaped from the pitch-black basement.

Crack!

“Gah!”

And with the sound of something being struck, a short scream rang out, followed by silence.

“Damn it, it died again? I tried to conserve it. Those weak humans.”

Tiapol, a Pureblood vampire, threw the whip he was holding to the ground.

The blood that had been on the whip splattered as it rolled on the floor.

“I thought this life would be over soon. What has Wirach been doing all this time? That incompetent fool. When I get back, I’ll definitely report this to the Clan Lord.”

He fumed for a moment, then clapped his hands.

“You called?”

A Servant approached and prostrated himself, bowing his head.

“Clean that up and bring a new one tonight. Something sturdier this time.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Servant gathered the body and disappeared inside.

The Servants and Slaves stationed in this hideout would take care of it.

Tiapol headed deeper underground.

“Should I have gone outside the city instead of Pirita?”

He grumbled to himself, but he knew he couldn’t do that.

He was needed to maintain the blood magic that surrounded this hideout.

He could leave for a short time when he was taking turns guarding the place with the other Pureblood, but he had to stay here when they were away for a long time like this.

“Damn it! I can’t even go out for days, stuck here like a rat.”

Tiapol, continuing his steps, opened the door to the deepest basement and entered.

“Haa…”

He took a deep breath, savoring the thick scent of blood that hit him as soon as he opened the door.

Magic circles drawn all over the floor, walls, and ceiling of the stone chamber, glowing red.

They pulsed like blood vessels connected to a heart.

And in the center of it all, a black box was placed in the middle of the magic circle.

“…Nothing unusual. No need to replenish the blood. I guess I’ll get some sleep.”

After checking the condition of the sealed fragment, he headed back upstairs.

It was a routine he repeated every day since he came to this city.

‘This is so tedious. I want to get out of this city soon.’

Tiapol entered his bedroom and lay down on the bed, closing his eyes.

Purebloods could go without sleep for a few days, but he rested for a few hours a day to maintain his condition.

What else could he do in this hideout where there was nothing to do?

‘My time-killing toy just broke.’

He hoped that the next toy that came would last longer and fell asleep, but then he suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.

“Dark magic power?! Where did this come from?!”

Crackle—!

The blood magic that surrounded the hideout shattered the moment he sensed the appearance of dark magic power.

Tiapol, realizing that an intruder had entered, immediately headed to the basement.

[Kieeeeek—!]

Clatter, click!

He could feel the energy of undead along with the dark magic power, and then they started to invade the mansion.

‘A necromancer? How did they find this place? No, how did they get this far with vampires spread throughout the city?’

It was beyond incompetence that no one noticed until the enemy entered the heart of the city and approached the hideout.

Boom—!

The Servants and Slaves guarding the hideout started to fight, responding to the sudden undead attack.

“Those filthy corpses, how dare they come to this place!”

Servants, weakened versions of vampires.

They glared with bloodshot eyes, sharpening their fangs and nails, targeting the enemy in the darkness.

“Kyaaagh—!”

Slaves, who had lost their sanity and traded all their weaknesses for enhanced combat power.

Grotesque monsters with swollen bodies charged, screaming, tearing the undead apart.

Battles broke out everywhere as the forces of both sides clashed, but Tiapol didn’t have the time to care.

Swoosh— Boom!

He was too busy blocking the black beam that flew towards him.

“Ugh, who is it?! Does he know where this is?!”

Boom!

Black thorns rushed towards him as if to pierce him, and black flames flew in at the same time, blocking his escape route.

“Ugh!”

Swoosh—

Blood vessels shot out from Tiapol’s fingertips, transforming into red energy and enveloping his body.

He used that state to move his body and dodge the continuous attacks.

“Reveal your identity!”

Slash—!

Blood vessels shot out from his swinging fingertips, gathering and forming a blade of blood.

It flew towards where the attack originated, cutting down a group of undead before disappearing.

Boom—!

“You bastard! You’re still going?!”

Black flames flew in again.

Tiapol barely managed to respond to his opponent’s silent attacks, trying to figure out their identity.

And after several exchanges, he finally found the one attacking him and couldn’t help but be surprised.

“A Demi-Lich?! How did that get here?!”

If it had been a human dark mage, who was good at concealing their energy, he could have understood with some difficulty.

Of course, even then, he wouldn’t be able to avoid being called incompetent.

But the fact that a Demi-Lich, which could be considered a monster, had entered the heart of the city without being detected was a problem that couldn’t be dismissed as mere incompetence.

How could they not notice with the death energy resonating like this?

‘Are all the vampires in this city idiots? Wirach, what have you been doing?!’

It was already difficult for him to barely hold on against his opponent’s dark magic.

Not only was the level of magic high, but the way he was being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of dark magic power was astounding.

Shadowy thorns that surged as if to cover the entire area.

Dark hands that grabbed his ankles out of nowhere.

Black flashes that exploded every time he forgot about them.

All kinds of dark magic poured out relentlessly.

Boom—!

‘What kind of dark magic power is this! But there’s no way they wouldn’t notice this commotion. I’ll hold out until reinforcements arrive!’

He, who specialized in blood magic using blood, had a bad matchup against undead.

Even if he had a lot of blood, he wouldn’t have dared to fight that Demi-Lich, but the situation would have been much better than now.

The only fortunate thing was that the subordinates were holding out well against the undead in the narrow space, and he didn’t think he would collapse right away.

As he desperately held on, praying earnestly,

“Lord Tiapol!”

Boom!

One vampire broke through a group of undead and approached.

A Fledgling vampire who wasn’t inside the hideout.

In other words, it was a helper from the outside.

“Oh! You came to help? You informed the others outside, right?”

“Yes! Of course. I immediately relayed the situation after sensing something strange from the outside, and I came in to help you, Lord Tiapol!”

“Good job! Now we just need to hold out a little longer!”

It seemed like he had endured for a long time since the situation arose, but in reality, not much time had passed.

Tiapol, who had finally encountered a favorable situation for the first time in a while, felt a bit relieved and looked at the Demi-Lich in front of him.

It seemed flustered by the sudden appearance of reinforcements and stopped attacking, looking this way.

“That Demi-Lich is a monster. The amount of dark magic power is abnormal. Don’t even think about winning, just focus on assisting me and buying time until reinforcements arrive!”

“Yes, sir!”

The situation had improved significantly.

The undead were blocked by the subordinates and couldn’t enter, and he could hold out more comfortably with the help of the Fledgling.

‘Now that reinforcements are coming, you’re finished!’

Boom!

Tiapol, who was blocking the bone spear thrown by the opponent using the blood of the subordinates scattered around, realized that the Fledgling who had been nearby had disappeared.

‘Is he trying to ambush him? It won’t work, but if it can buy me some time…’

Stab—!

His thoughts stopped at the sudden shock.

He looked down at where he felt the pain, and a bloody hand blade with sharp nails was piercing through his heart and protruding out the other side.

“G…ah! Ugh.”

‘An attack? A Fledgling attacked me? Why? How…? He was definitely from the same clan… Did he ignore the restriction?’

Before he could fully grasp the situation, a rough hand grabbed his hair and tilted his head to the side.

And he could feel something digging into his exposed neck.

‘Cannibalism…! This crazy bastard, in this situation… Does he want to die together?!’

We had an enemy right in front of us.

As Tiapol, flustered, tried to gather his flowing blood and use blood magic to escape the situation,

Thud! Thud! Splat—!

The Demi-Lich, seizing the opportunity, used dark magic to pierce his entire body with bone spears.

He was holding on with the life force of a Pureblood vampire, but the situation was practically over.

‘Ugh… I’m dying a dog’s death because of one crazy bastard…’

As his consciousness faded, he cursed the Fledgling vampire who was dying with him.

Slurp— Slurp!

He still felt his blood being sucked out through the fangs embedded in his neck.

‘This bastard, even in this situation… he’s still going at it? Wait, something’s strange.’

Using all his senses, he soon realized the source of the discrepancy.

‘The attack only missed him…? A coincidence? Or did he dodge it?’

The guy clinging to his back was happily sucking his blood with an uninjured body.

But the Demi-Lich wasn’t attacking anymore, just watching them.

As if he wasn’t even interested in the Fledgling sucking blood from his back.

‘No, it’s the opposite. He’s offering me to him as food!’

Now that he thought about it, the bone spears that bound him felt like they were positioned to make it easier for him to suck blood.

No, he was sure of it.

He was still channeling dark magic power through the pierced areas, preventing him from using blood magic.

‘Why? What’s the relationship between that Fledgling and the Demi-Lich…? Don’t tell me he brought him here…’

Tiapol couldn’t come to any conclusion as his thoughts scattered and eventually dropped his head.

Even as he died, the Fledgling vampire clinging to his back was just diligently sucking his blood.
_____________________

《The individual gains enlightenment by inheriting blood. You have acquired the skill “Blood Magic”.》

Heinz slowly detached himself from Tiapol’s neck.

His withered corpse began to crumble and soon turned to dust, scattering in the wind.

‘It’s convenient that I don’t have to worry about mental contamination from cannibalism. Efficient.’

The thirst for blood, which I had been suppressing as much as possible, completely disappeared, and the increase in power was also unparalleled.

The biggest problem with cannibalism was that the more you sucked blood, the more your mind became contaminated.

Since blood was the source of a vampire’s power, the thoughts remaining in it were also intense.

If you drank it carelessly, it wouldn’t end with just a mental breakdown.

It was so dangerous that even if it was from a lower rank than yourself, you had to refrain, so drinking the blood of a higher rank with more power and experience would definitely drive you crazy.

‘Whew… the situation was also very good.’

As soon as Hans was summoned near their hideout, he immediately cast a concealment barrier and infiltrated the interior.

Tiapol, a Pureblood vampire, was weaker than I thought.

It seemed like it would take at least two of them to face the dark mage Malcolm.

But he was enough of an obstacle for me, who was pressed for time.

There were already more Servants and Slaves inside than I expected, preventing the undead from entering, and he kept holding me back until reinforcements arrived.

I deployed Heinz, who was waiting nearby, as soon as the fight showed signs of dragging on.

He approached Tiapol, pretending to have fought his way through the undead, and ambushed him.

It was a simple plan, but it was more effective than I thought.

‘He was completely off guard because he thought he was a vampire from the same clan. He must have also felt relieved after hearing that reinforcements were coming soon.’

Of course, that was a lie.

There was no sign of the vampires noticing anything until Heinz entered.

‘But it’s only a matter of time before they find out. We have to hurry.’

Hans had already started dealing with the remaining vampire subordinates with the help of the undead and headed towards the basement as soon as Tiapol died.

Heinz also hurriedly followed him to the room where the fragment was.

“Wow… That’s amazing.”

A barrier using blood magic was spread throughout the room.

If I took my time, I might be able to disable it with the knowledge of “Blood Magic” I had just acquired, but…

‘I don’t have time, so I have to do it the quick and dirty way.’

Heinz used his knowledge to find the weak point of the barrier.

And then Hans immediately attacked it with his overwhelming dark magic power.

Rumble…

The moment the barrier shook from the impact, Heinz immediately used blood magic to seize partial control and create a small hole.

‘Easy.’

Hans casually entered the barrier and opened the black box in the center without hesitation.

Inside, the black jewel I had seen before was sealed.

‘Ah… I understand why they were after the dark mages’ fragment.’

If the problem with the fragment the dark mages, ‘Oath of Heaven’s Defiance’, had was the lack of cohesion due to its weak binding, this fragment was too condensed and solidified.

‘If they combined the matured fragment with this one, it would become more complete.’

I didn’t have the matured fragment, but I was practically one with the fragment.

Hans, without hesitation, grabbed the fragment in the box and started synchronizing.

‘It’s taking longer than I thought because it’s so condensed… Oh, were we caught?’

I could feel a group of vampires entering the barrier that surrounded the hideout.

Wirach, a Pureblood, was among them.

But before the vampires could enter the building, Malcolm and the other undead rushed out and started fighting them under the sun.

‘With Malcolm and the higher-ranking undead, they can hold out against Wirach.’

Malcolm was weaker than he was in life, but under the sun, he wouldn’t be at a significant disadvantage against Wirach.

‘I’ll close my eyes and focus all my mind on synchronizing with the fragment.’

Hans, who was directly in contact with it, Heinz the Second next to him, and even the original body on Earth, all of them.

I scraped together all the resources allocated to each individual and poured all my mental power into Hans.

It was the first time I tried to apply the “Avatar” skill like this, but the results were very satisfying.

《The individual meets the conditions and grows. You have acquired the special skill “Forbidden Knowledge”.》

《Recovery becomes meaningless for the individual. The skill “Super Recovery” evolves into the special skill “Immortality”.》

Hans successfully absorbed the Immortal King’s Fragment and evolved into an ‘Arch-Lich’.

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