Chapter 49: 99 Ways to Kill a Vampire (2)

Garlic rained down from the wide-open subspace.

Hududuk! Hudududuk~!

The endless cascade of garlic soon filled the entire surrounding area.

A moment later, just as the pile of whole cloves reached the ceiling, I activated the Close skill.

Ding-dong!

<Received ‘Close’ command.>

<Closing Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.>

A mountain of garlic towered inside the ancient castle.

The pungent, eye-watering sting of garlic filled the air.

Soon, I muttered while staring at the pile.

“Got her?”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than pale mist seeped out from the garlic mound.

Dada dada dada da—

The Vampire Lord reverted to human form and immediately dropped to one knee.

She hacked and coughed up mouthfuls of garlic cloves crammed in her mouth.

Crushed garlic chunks clung messily to her gray hair, while tears streamed from her bloodshot eyes.

The Vampire Lord began glaring at me with blazing eyes.

[Kr, kruuk…….]

I watched the scene intently before speaking.

“Garlic’s the weakness after all. Solid.”

[No! That’s not it! You barbaric human!]

The Vampire Lord flew into a rage, her face flushed beet red.

She crushed a whole garlic clove in her fist and continued.

[Dumping garlic like that would kill humans too, not just vampires!]

“Fair point. Next up, light.”

[What?]

I lifted one foot.

Bubbling brimstone fire dripped from the sole.

Sizzle—!

Crimson flames briefly flared where the embers splattered on the ground.

Only then did the Vampire Lord hurriedly scan her surroundings.

The floor was covered in black, glistening oil slime.

[……..!]

She stood right in the heart of the Gigasnail’s oil slime.

Then, I slammed down the raised foot with force and declared.

“Let there be light.”

Ding-dong!

<Activating item skill ‘Flame Charge’ of Brimstone Hell Cloak!>

The instant the oil slime met the brimstone fire, a blinding flash erupted.

At the same time.

—Kwakwakwakwa kwang!

The explosion rocked the ancient castle as a fierce flame storm raged.

Waves of fire surged, melting the walls, ceiling, floor, and everything in the area red-hot.

[Kyaaaaah—!]

Her agonized scream echoed from the sea of flames.

The Vampire Lord, engulfed head to toe in fire, tried to dissolve into mist.

But Cerberus’s brimstone fire incinerates everything in the hell realm.

Fwoosh!

Soon, the flames latched onto the mist, triggering an even more intense explosion.

Kwaang—! Kwakwakwakwa kwang—!

[Kyaaaaah—!]

Her cracked voice scattered amid the roaring blasts.

The furnace-hot air seared with enough fury to burn away nose linings, mouths, and lungs.

But I was perfectly unscathed.

No—energy was overflowing!

Ding-dong!

<Skill ‘Ember’ converts flame damage to energy!>

<Skill ‘Ember’ converts flame damage to energy!>

<Skill ‘Ember’ converts flame damage to energy!>

<Skill ‘Ember’ converts flame damage to energy!>

Because the fire crow feathers sprouting across my body absorbed every last flame.

“Sweet.”

At this point, I was a perfect self-sustaining thermal power plant.

Then.

Whoosh~! Whoosh! Whoooosh!

Fierce wind pressure instantly scattered the flames.

The Vampire Lord had flapped her massive bat wings sprouting from her back.

The Vampire Lord who emerged next was—

“Whoa!”

Pitiful enough to draw an exclamation.

Her gray hair had turned to drifting ash, her skin charred black and shriveled all over, and her gothic dress hung in tatters, barely covering her body.

[Kruuk…….]

Even her once-beautiful face was grotesquely twisted, resembling a bat’s mug.

The Vampire Lord bared her pointed fangs and screamed.

[Insolent human! How dare you…!]

She kicked off the ground and charged with ferocious momentum.

The distance closed in an instant.

Fast. The speed was beyond what most hunters could react to.

But.

I can see it.

Unlike before, the A+ monster’s movements were crystal clear.

Just as her sharp claws lunged for my nape.

Thud—

I jammed what I gripped in one hand right into her face.

A spherical mass of compressed pitch-black feathers.

A so-called compressed flame bomb packed with all the flame energy I’d absorbed from the explosion.

Fwoosh—!

The energy condensed in the fire crow feather cluster erupted as a dazzling light source.

The light, swirling like a red black hole, suddenly reversed direction and spewed blue flames.

A sight like blue lava erupting.

Kwarrrrrr—! Kwakwakwa kwang—!

A blue flame pillar shot up from under the Vampire Lord’s chin, piercing the ceiling and surging endlessly.

[Gr, gruuuugh~!]

A beastly roar burst from the Vampire Lord’s mouth.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle…

A acrid, meaty stench began stabbing at my nose.

Her hair—save a few strands—had burned clean away.

Over half her face lay bare, exposing white bone.

The Vampire Lord looked deep-fried in hell’s bubbling cauldron.

But.

Shhh.

Her undead regeneration kicked in, swiftly restoring her original form.

Well, about as expected.

No matter how cleverly I wielded A-rank skills, one-shotting an A+ monster was a tall order.

The damage was solid, but it fell just one notch short of a finishing blow.

Then, a brilliant red aura began swirling around the Vampire Lord.

[I’ll rip out every fingernail and toenail, yank every tooth, tear you to shreds, skin you alive to bare your muscles and veins, and chew every bone. I’ll make you beg for death.]

Her once-calm, elegant voice was long gone.

Fresh blood aura whirled around the Vampire Lord.

[Rise, my children.]

The aura splintered into hundreds of tendrils, spreading outward.

Ding-dong!

<Boss ‘Vampire Lord’ uses special skill Grave Servant!>

Soon, the corpses began to rise.

The first to revive were the vampires crushed to death by the ogre.

Next to stir were.

[Uuuuugh…….]

[……]

[Grraaah—!]

[1700…….]

The fallen ones—Kim Cheolwoo and the raid party members turned ghouls.

On top of that, countless more ghouls began swarming in.

10… 20… 30… 40.

Dead raid members were mixed among the ghouls.

In the blink of an eye, we were completely surrounded.

I smiled and said.

“Perfect timing. I had one more thing I wanted to test.”

At that moment, the ghoulified Kim Cheolwoo and raid members charged at me.

The Vampire Lord watched the scene and declared.

[Die torn apart by your comrades’ hands.]

“?”

Seems she was under a delusion.

Lumping me in with that trust-and-loyalty raid party or whatever.

Pisses me off quite a bit.

Ding-dong!

<Received ‘Open’ command.>

<Opening Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.>

…My real comrades are these guys.

Soon, the subspace gate linking to Morgue’s Magical Warehouse opened.

At the same time, a single shadow darted out swiftly.

Slash— Crackle—!

A thin line traced from the lead ghoul’s head down to its groin.

The ghoul’s body neatly bisected.

What emerged was none other than Jeanne.

“Your unworthy disciple has come at master’s call.”

Her body was slathered in deep green liquid.

Jeanne gripped her sword properly and continued.

“Regrettably, I have yet to locate the spider nest in the Observation Zone as ordered.”

I’d given Jeanne a separate mission: exterminate the spiders in the Observation Zone.

It was a two-birds-one-stone deal—training in the Seven Demon Strike secret techniques while scouting out that filthy breeding pit ahead of time.

I looked at Jeanne and said.

“No worries. More importantly, how were those three? Teamwork solid?”

“Could not have been better. Just as master foresaw.”

Jeanne smiled and nodded.

At that moment, the Vampire Lord’s sharp voice rang out.

[Making such a fuss over just one ally? I’ll make you share a miserable end.]

No sooner had she spoken than the ghouls charged ferociously.

Five ghouls lunged from all directions.

In that instant.

Swiiiiish! Papak! Papak! Pak! Papapak! Pak!

Harsh wind pressure erupted as all the ghouls’ heads vanished.

The five severed heads were already embedded in the wall.

Pierced dead-center through the foreheads by black arrows.

At the same time, another figure stepped out from the warehouse entrance.

“Warehouse Keeper, all sorts of freaks flock to you, don’t they? What a fateful life.”

Shadow Knight Yi Seonggye grinned heartily at me.

Then.

Kwak— Kwaddddduk~!

The ground heaved as ghouls erupted from the earth.

In an instant, a horde of ghouls encircled Yi Seonggye.

At that moment, another shadow burst from inside the warehouse, swiftly weaving through the ghouls.

Slash—

Sword light flashed simultaneously.

And there stood a man clad in black plate armor beside Yi Seonggye.

A taciturn-looking man with long hair tied back tightly.

[……………..]

Soon, as he sheathed his sword.

Thud— Hududuk—

The ghouls’ heads tumbled to the ground in unison.

The cuts were perfectly uniform, as if measured with a ruler.

Then, the vampires hurled dozens of sharp spears forged from blood.

Swiiiiish—!

But.

Kkang! Kang! Kkagang—!

The incoming spears were blocked by a pitch-black something conjured before us and fell away powerlessly.

It was a massive mountain in the form of an ink-wash painting, as if drawn with a brush.

At the same time, a man in pristine dopo stepped out from the warehouse entrance.

A scholar sporting a stylish gat hat, his mouth veiled by an elegant jukbu fan.

In his other hand, he held a yellow sable-hair brush.

Soon, Yi Seonggye laughed heartily.

[…Goksan clan’s fierce general. And the other is the Nine-Time Top Scholar.]

The Shadow Knights stood tall together.

Yi Seonggye straightened his eogung-gu and boomed.

[Hahaha~! Seniors and juniors united—what a splendid sight!]

Soon, a system window appeared.

Ding-dong!

[Shadow Knight]

▶Yi Seonggye — 「Rank: A+」

▶Cheok Jungyeong — 「Rank: A+」

▶Yi I — 「Rank: A+」