81
Karzan
‘···Is this okay?’
Inquisitor Farhan let out a sigh as he looked at the well-cooked meat placed before him.
“Farhan, what’s wrong?”
I turned my head at the sound of the voice and saw my fellow heretic inquisitor already with oily lips.
“It’s a bit odd that I left Inquisitor Joanna Ethan behind.”
A slight silence fell over Farhan’s muttering.
The feeling wasn’t guilt or regret.
I was worried that this might become a big deal later.
Discipline among the Inquisitors was extremely strict. Joanna, who had been demoted from the Knights Templar, was at the top of the Inquisitors’ ranks.
If this fact leaks out…
It was clear that it wouldn’t end lightly.
Farhan shivered slightly.
“···He seems satisfied there. His expression is better than when I saw him at the convention hall. Of course, he still has a blank expression.”
“Yeah. Subtly… very subtly, it was a bit brighter.”
Farhan also saw that she was much brighter than when she was in the main temple. Of course, she was expressionless.
“And you were the one who said that if you stayed there any longer, your head might explode, Farhan.”
“I almost broke it. Even when that guy Aaron tried to trick me into doing it with my eyes closed···.”
All three of them shivered at the same time at Farhan’s answer.
There were many mischievous pranks among the Inquisitors in the name of ‘proof of faith’, but no swinging of a greatsword to the head.
Of course, there was no way Joanna, a former Knight Templar, could have made a mistake, but she still closed her eyes…
“And we were given the ‘Black Blood’ job in the first place. That was our original mission. Inquisitor Joanna Ethan… seems to have been given a mission like eating cake or taking a nap.”
“Yeah, right. Let’s do what we have to do.”
Farhan nodded and answered.
The condition of the city of Karzan was more serious than expected.
Although blood-sucked corpses appeared every day, it was not easy to detect vampires in the spacious city.
“Is everyone eating well?”
Just then, the door opened and their senior inquisitor, Sermin Ith, came in.
“hammer.”
Farhan simply raised his hand and gave a slight salute.
“Yes, it tastes good.”
“Yeah, yeah. Eat a lot. You have a lot to work on.”
At Sermin’s muttering, Farhan exchanged glances with his colleagues.
“Have you found a way to tell the difference between vampires?”
“What is the method… And isn’t there already a procedure?”
Farhan swallowed hard at Sermin’s irritated reply.
There were procedures, such as tying them to chairs and throwing them into a lake, making them run around on hot iron plates, or forcing them to read the Bible.
“Isn’t there too many targets to enforce that?”
“So you three are here? Let’s do this quickly.”
Farhan was about to say something, but then swallowed and nodded.
This was the correct procedure from the beginning.
The case at Cassidy Castle was special.
“Yes, I understand.”
I nodded, but I felt uneasy for some reason.
‘···If that man had been there.’
Farhan muttered softly, but soon shook his head and checked the procedure.
The Inquisitor was God’s instrument to carry out and enforce the proceedings.
There was no need to think about anything else.
***
“I don’t have a dog!
A desperate voice can be heard beyond the violently rocking carriage and the wall.
“Now you have time to really focus on the Bible. Here, open it. I’d like to read it from the beginning, but if I do that, I’ll have to wait until I get to Karzan… No. Come to think of it, I’ll have to return. Then I’ll read it from the beginning. In the beginning there were nine, and their children….”
The abbot holds onto the Bible and reads it even though the carriage keeps shaking.
“Power cooperation.”
Even the abbot desperately whispered to me while glancing at him. After the abbot stole the cake, the abbot started to sneak up on me and kept whispering.
‘I should have just run there by myself…’
How did things end up like this···.
All I could do was laugh in vain.
“Honorary Monk Aaron. Inquisitor Joanna. Are you listening?”
“Yes, in the beginning there was one… no, nine.”
“···nine.”
The abbot nodded.
Finally, a low-pitched voice is heard.
I briefly wondered if I was harboring a demon and was suffering like this. However, looking at the writhing lungs next to me, it seemed like everyone was suffering equally.
As I was trying to figure out how to survive, I remembered the information I received from Google and took him out.
As I pulled out the thick piece of paper, the abbot finally closed his accursed mouth.
“What?”
“Information on the Black Bloods. They say the vampires belong there.”
“hmm···.”
Anyway, the abbot’s mouth stopped.
I quickly read through the paper carefully.
“Black Blood. A group of vampires. At first, they were nothing special, but recently, with the series of large-scale riots occurring in the East, they took advantage of the resulting hunger and quickly grew in size…”
It seemed like a bunch of small businesses had grown exponentially by targeting niche markets in a multi-level marketing manner.
‘But wouldn’t it be no good if we just increase the number without any substance?’
In the Middle Ages, where even the slightest sign of trouble would have them thrown into the water or roasted in the fire, increasing their numbers as useless people would only make them more quickly visible to the empire.
‘···The leader isn’t even written down.’
You don’t know who the leader is, but you are mindlessly calling out numbers in a multi-level marketing scheme?
There was a lukewarm smell in the air, like something that would make the front page of the news.
The abbot’s expression was strange.
It was as solid as usual, but it felt like there were subtle cracks. Seeing him act like that whenever the topic of vampires came up, it seemed like there was a vampire among my acquaintances.
‘I guess I can send this back.’
I muttered quietly, looking at the abbot’s frowning face.
“If you go to Karzan, there will be a lot of vampires.”
“···I guess so.”
The abbot answered shortly. His eyes were still straight, but the wrinkles around them seemed to have increased.
I looked straight ahead, almost tired, and collected my thoughts.
Why am I heading to Karzan?
If Karzan was completely consumed by the vampire, it would inevitably affect the nearby Cassadic as well.
It was a similar situation to when a fire broke out in the house next door.
If it had been a little further away, I would have just watched it as if it were a fire, but since it was right next door, I had to run over there and pee on the floor. There was no fire insurance here, so if it had spread, it would have been over.
And there were also ten gold coins to be received each month.
If I hadn’t received it, I wouldn’t know, but once I received it, the amount should only increase, and if it went down, I would definitely be very depressed.
There might be a strong guy there who could extend the ejaculation time.
After thinking about it carefully, there were quite a few reasons to go.
“I will decapitate every vampire I see. Every single one of them.”
I spoke as firmly as I could.
“···That must be so. I understand. You said it was the best you could do. They are already people who have crossed a river that cannot be crossed.”
Contrary to expectations, the abbot nodded gently.
Her eyes were still shaking, but she seemed determined as she bit her lip.
I thought the abbot still didn’t understand, so I gave him a more detailed and vivid explanation.
“I’m not kidding. There will be at least a hundred vampires, and I’ll use their heads to make a path from the front gate of Karzan to the back gate.”
I deliberately strained my eyes. The abbot, who had a vampire as an acquaintance, told me with his eyes to turn back at this point.
“I see. But was it really necessary to make a road? They also once… I see! I see.”
The abbot closed his eyes, taking a deep breath with a weary look on his face.
‘This guy is really poisonous.’
I didn’t really plan on making a road.
Not only did I not have the heart to do that, but if I left it on the street, children would definitely play with it.
It was just a remark to send the abbot back.
“···.”
At that moment, Lunggyup nodded his head very strongly.
The lungs were still expressionless, but judging by the strangely wide eyes, it seemed as if he was expecting the ‘Chit-Chit Vampire Head Lord’ I had just mentioned.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should really do it, seeing those eyes full of anticipation.
The monk nodded while looking at me for a moment, then turned his gaze to the cake that had been stolen by the abbot.
Lung-gyeop gulped and then held out his hand. It was a slow movement, but as I watched, I became nervous without realizing it.
Rattling.
The carriage shook and the hand that had been extended was thrown forward.
The embarrassment was clearly visible on the round back of his head, where his black hair was floating.
Then I hurriedly grabbed the belt of the abandoned ship.
The lung-lift barely stopped in midair. The lung-lift, with its eyes wide open, looked back at me and nodded, muttering, “Full-scale cooperation.”
The weight was heavier than I thought, so I briefly considered just letting it go, but I tried to hold back because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to turn back if I did.
The old man took a big handful of cake from the wooden box and nodded at me. It seemed as if he was telling me to pull it.
‘···What are you doing now?’
I pulled with a small sigh.
The man sitting in the seat nodded his head vigorously at me.
However, the gaze was more intense than before.
It feels like seeing a comrade who went through life and death with me.
After looking down at the cake in his hand for a moment, Lung-gyeop bit his lip as if he had made up his mind and cut it in half.
After looking at the two pieces of cake and pondering for a moment, Lunggyup handed me the cake that was obviously smaller.
Even though the cake had white hands, I still didn’t want to eat it because it had a hand-made flavor.
at that time.
“hmm···.”
The abbot coughed dryly.
The anxious Lung-gyeop swung the cake at my face.
I hastily accepted it and ate it.
The lips that had been hit by the lungs were cold.
Before he knew it, Lung-gyeop had eaten the cake and was pretending as if nothing had happened and was making his usual face.
“Joanna Inquisitor?”
The abbot returned with a stubborn look in his eyes and called out to the monk while looking at him intently.
“···.”
He met the abbot’s gaze with a blank expression as if nothing had happened.
That was a great poker face, worthy of a gambler, but…
‘It’s on your lips.’
There was cream on the corner of the mouth that didn’t match his dignified face.
I clicked my tongue and laughed out loud at the stupidity of the lung cancer.
***
The Abbot of Brighton sighed deeply as he looked at the couple with cream on their lips.
One was an honorary monk, the other was an inquisitor. But they both closed their eyes for a moment and secretly stole cake to eat…
In the first place, I took the cake to the inquisitor Joanna Ethan, telling her to eat it after she finished reading the Bible because she kept picking it up while reading it. How long does it take to read the Bible… She should have just endured it for a little while, until the sun went down.
When reading the Bible, they twist their bodies or change the subject by bringing up other stories… If you just look at the descriptions, these two people were devils.
‘The devil···.’
The Abbot of Brighton muttered quietly as he looked at Aaron. The more he looked at Aaron, the more he saw that he resembled his son.
‘It’s the best.’
The Abbot of Brighton rolled the sour-tasting words around in his mouth.
The vampire’s unique hunger is so strong that it sucks the blood of its own flesh and blood, bringing destruction to those around it. Also, the Abbot of Brighton knew better than anyone that there was no way to turn him back.
Sending it off cleanly with just one pain.
As Aaron said, it was for the best.
But it couldn’t have been as easy as it sounds to smash the head of a neighbor who had been laughing with you.
Aaron’s best words did not include him.
‘How···.’
The Abbot of Brighton faced Aaron.
A face covered in scars that leaves no clue as to what kind of life she has lived. Pure eyes that don’t match her appearance.
However, Aaron’s eyes still did not waver.
Brighton wondered what was at the root of that solidity.
Even I, who believe in God and rely on Him, am wavering like this, so how can he have such eyes?
Then Aaron opened his mouth.
“Oh, I was praying, and here comes the lungs… no, Inquisitor Joanna Ethan forced me to eat it….”
“···!”
Aaron wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth and pointed to Inquisitor Joanna Ethan.
Then Inquisitor Joanna Ethan straightened her back, glared at Aaron, and shoved him with her shoulder.
Joanna seemed to be about to say something as she turned her face toward Aaron, but Aaron completely ignored her.
The abbot of Brighton laughed bitterly at the childish behavior of the two grown adults… no, even those with status.
“Both of you sit up straight. From now on, I will continue to bless you until we arrive.”
The abbot of Brighton bit the inside of his mouth to keep himself from laughing as he watched the two frowning at the same time.
***
Duran, the outer guard of Karzan, scratched his head.
‘Isn’t this something I should run away from?’
It was funny that he, a guard, ran away, but that was how serious Karzan’s condition was.
From the blood-sucked corpses that appear every day to the inquisitors tying people up to chairs and throwing them into the lake to catch him…
Recently, a vampire appeared among the commanders of the foreign guards, so there was no one to trust anymore.
The vampires thought they had some control over Karzan, so they approached him openly. The prostitute they had met yesterday asked Duran if he wanted to experience the thrill of becoming a vampire and having his blood flow up to the top of his head.
Duran would have normally refused with disgust, but the prostitute who had become a vampire showed off a charm that was too dizzying to refuse. He also seriously considered the fact that she was only receiving a quarter of the price.
The recent spate of fires in warehouses in the city has caused prices to rise sharply, leaving people without much money.
Still, since it was a once-in-a-lifetime racial decision, Duran held back and asked the prostitute to give him until the next day to think about it.
Was it leisure or the certainty that Duran would come over? The courtesan nodded with a red smile, and Duran’s mind was in disarray.
‘Thrill··· Thrill···.’
Duran kept thinking about the prostitute’s round, red lips.
“Hey- Duran. Are you okay?”
Then, my colleague Shan asked.
“Umm… It’s okay.”
Duran answered, glancing sideways at the Inquisitor next to Shan.
As the vampire continued to cause trouble, an Inquisitor was stopped at the checkpoint. Duran gulped, feeling as if the heavy mace was about to hit his head.
“This friend said he went there yesterday···.”
Shan laughed, raising his eyebrows, not knowing Duran’s speed.
“Haha. I just came to say hello. Just say hello.”
Duran smiled desperately as the Inquisitor’s eyes turned towards him.
“Let’s go together after work today. I know a really good place… Okay, next time!”
Shan called out loudly, as if he was having fun, to the next opponent. The normally listless guy was jumping around as if he had recently taken some kind of drug.
Duran let out a small sigh and clung to Shan.
The inquisitor simply stood at the gate.
Then, when he saw someone suspicious, he would catch them, tie them to a chair, and throw them into the lake. If they surfaced, he would fix his mace and jump in. If they didn’t surface, he would simply pray for their soul.
Looking at him, it seemed like it would be better to come up and fight the Inquisitor than to be killed.
The next carriage was a large black carriage.
Duran habitually looked to the upper right.
‘Mosaic top? Didn’t you say that they were out of action for a while after the last incident?’
“Hello! We are from Cassidy.”
A rather mean-looking man sitting on the stable raised his hand and greeted me.
The man had quite a lot of iron and weapons on his body. He was a man more suited to be a mercenary than a groom. And he was the kind of mercenary who often went missing with his companions.
“What’s going on at Cassidy?”
Duran asked, putting some distance between himself and the man.
“Oh, um… Just yeah? Oh! I came to see a friend.”
The man quickly changed his words at the thick voice heard from inside.
“Isn’t this the carriage on top of the Mosk?”
Duran asked, pointing to the carriage’s seal.
“Oh, yes. That’s what it was, I picked it up.”
The man hesitated for a moment and smiled wickedly.
Somehow I didn’t feel good.
“Let me check inside.”
“Oh, yes? Oh! I came to see that second-class manager, Shone.”
‘Second Class Manager Showne?’
He was a person known to all the residents of Karzan.
A native of Karzan who rose to the rank of second-class manager. He was quite popular because he listened to the residents’ stories and worked hard.
When that name came up, Duran also became cautious.
But it was not something I could just listen to and let them in.
“Still, we need to check the procedure.”
“I get it.”
A thick voice came from inside.
At that, Duran swallowed and opened the carriage door.
And what was seen was…
‘···A devil?! No, that’s a vicious looking person.’
Sitting right in front of me was a very fierce looking man wearing colorful armor.
A beauty with short black hair standing next to that man.
Across from him is a middle-aged man who looks very stubborn.
However, except for the middle-aged man, the other two looked very uncomfortable.
No, it wasn’t that uncomfortable.
Clearly, both of them were very angry.
It feels like ‘just one kid is caught’.
The two men’s disgruntled eyes swept over Duran.
Duran, terrified, quickly closed the carriage door.
‘Hmm… I guess it’ll be okay.’
I couldn’t see it clearly because it was covered by a man so vicious that he could be compared to a devil, but the black-haired beauty was wearing armor that belonged to an inquisitor, and the middle-aged man was also wearing priestly attire.
It seemed like it would be okay to let it pass.
There, Duran instinctively did not want to get entangled with them.
“What are you doing, Duran? Aren’t you checking properly?”
At that moment, Shan, full of energy, approached.
“No… um… it’s confirmed. Let me in.”
“That’s right! I saw it close as soon as it opened. It wasn’t like that that Karzan became a vampire field.”
Shan’s smile felt cold.
A guy who was usually lethargic and didn’t smile much…
Duran swallowed with a sharp sense of unease.
Shan, who had pushed Duran, opened the carriage door.
The usual three were seen.
The black-haired beauty still had a slightly wrinkled face, but the expression on the man’s face had changed to a vicious one.
“Oh, the Inquisitor and the Abbot. Welcome to Karzan.”
When Shan bowed his head exaggeratedly as he spoke, Duran saw the corners of the man’s mouth turn up deeply.
···no.
With a chilling feeling, Duran muttered without realizing it.
“The smell of blood is vibrating.”
A thick man’s voice.
Then a silver line was drawn around Shan’s neck. It was only after Shan’s head rolled to the floor that Duran realized the man had drawn his sword.
“You, what are you doing···!!”
The middle-aged man screamed in surprise.
A woman with a bright expression ran out.
The woman’s movements were agile, not befitting her thick armor. She struck Shan’s head with the mace she had pulled out without realizing it.
Thud thud.
Black blood spurted out from the woman’s silver armor.
Duran came to his senses only after Shan’s blood was on his face.
‘Shan is a vampire?’
I muttered blankly.
A grim-looking man put on the helmet that was lying next to him.
A sinister black helmet. It was the kind of ominous helmet that an imperial official would wear.
A man wearing a helmet slowly emerged from the carriage. He was so large that he looked like a monster.
‘monster.’
A black helmet that doesn’t match the colorful armor.
It looked like a chimera, a monster from a horror story, created by a black magician by stitching together pieces of a monster’s body.
“First, one.”
Duran shuddered at the growling, beast-like murmur.
Hmm!
A woman covered in black blood stood next to him, staring at the Karzan Gate.
After that, a middle-aged man came down, sighing deeply.
“What’s going on over there now!!”
At that moment, the heretic inquisitor at the main gate came running.
He had drawn his mace after seeing the situation.
Looking at him, Duran felt a little hopeful.
If you are an inquisitor…
“Inquisitor Joanna Ethan?! You punk!!!”
The heretic inquisitor ran up and saluted the woman loudly.
‘···Let’s run away.’
Then Duran decided to leave Karzan.
***
“So now areas 5, 6, 7, and 8 are blocked?”
Dante asked with rising irritation.
“Yes… Fenne, the second-class manager in charge of that place, has issued a restraining order for us.”
Dante laughed in vain at the reply. There was a vampire riot in Karzan right now, and a restraining order…
‘···Did the 2nd class manager Penne get transferred?’
Dante continued to think, pressing his temples.
Karzan was a city. There was no way a city could fall to a vampire. Dante calculated it that way, so he didn’t contact him separately.
Dante thought he could somehow push him away. However, Karzan was more rotten than Dante thought, and the vampires were clever.
The vampires, whose numbers have been slowing down due to the recent indiscriminate trials of the heretic inquisitors, have even set fire to food warehouses. This has caused the prices of basic necessities to skyrocket. Naturally, the number of increases has increased.
‘Now there’s even a second-class manager… This could really be difficult.’
Dante pressed his fingers between his thumb and index finger on his other hand.
“But what’s so disappointing about a second-class manager that he’s joining the vampires?”
It wasn’t for nothing that vampires only targeted the lower classes.
Those who were well-fed and had free time did not need to join hands with vampires.
From the moment you become a vampire, your end is doom. Even if the lower class can’t do anything about hunger right now, why on earth would the manager?
“Her son···.”
‘She said her son was sick. He was treated by the abbot, but he didn’t get better. She told him to go to the cardinal, but as a second-class official…’
The situation was naturally drawn out. All information related to the manager was top secret, but I don’t know how the vampires found out…
‘···The tables are turning.’
They didn’t stop at just inflating their numbers, they were also picking a really dirty and petty fight. He was Dante’s specialty, but the difference in their hand was too great.
It was quite an achievement just to have held the organization together and made it this far in that shattered Karzan.
Now, if even the second-level administrators had gone over to the other side, the situation would have gotten out of control. Starting from the second level, each faction was built up in the city hall, and among them, the faction of Fenne, who had a strong popularity, was large.
Compared to him, Shone, who came up alone without holding anyone’s hand, had almost no power. In addition, because Shone prioritized the work of the residents, he was also hated by the other second-class managers.
I was able to hold on by being in contact with a first-class manager, but…
‘But isn’t Penne the woman that Shawn always said he admired? … This will be quite a shock.’
Although he was a bit of a jerk, Shoney was a great partner who consistently did his job well. Thanks to him, I was able to arrange meetings between organizations… I felt a little attached to him, so I felt uneasy for no reason.
‘···Should I call him?’
If you think about it calmly, there was no reason for him to risk his life and come to Karzan, which was under the control of vampires.
There was no conversation with him in the first place. The gold coins he sent were just a gift.
Dante didn’t even know what he was moving for in the first place. Even though he took over the lone wolf, he returned without any regrets. It was like a natural disaster that Dante couldn’t understand.
And even if he comes, what could he do in Karzan, which has already been taken over by vampires?
‘still···.’
The image he had shown back then was still vivid in his mind. It couldn’t be helped that from that day onwards, Dante would occasionally have nightmares about that day.
If only he could bring down the ‘lone wolf’ that ruled Karzan in just one day…
It was a vain thought. I had to deal with the problem once it had started.
“Then contact the remaining second-level managers quickly. If one more thing goes wrong here, we’ll all fall apart.”
“Yes! Then what about Penne···?”
Dante paused for a moment at the question.
Should I tell this to Shawne?
‘No, Shoune is too affectionate. This will be resolved without Shoune knowing.’
“Don’t tell Shoune, but contact the Inquisitor. They say there’s a vampire among the managers.”
I don’t know how this will come back later, but it was a problem that had to be dealt with immediately. And if there was any noise in this precarious situation, it would certainly be fatal.
[Aaron’s subordinate? Alright! I’m Aaron’s very close friend! Let’s do it together! Just promise me this. We won’t hide anything from each other!]
For Dante, who came from a back alley, lying to this extent was nothing.
“Everyone, move quickly. From now on, if you make even the slightest mistake, you’ll all be screwed.”
···yes!
Dante watched the bad guys disappear one by one, then slowly got up and headed to the room.
In front of the room, a knight was crouching down and sleeping.
‘···I clearly told you not to sleep during work hours.’
Judging by the strong smell of alcohol, it seemed like he had been drinking heavily during work hours. That was why I didn’t want to write articles about trash, but there was no way the organization could hire an article.
I was grateful that it was even this much.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel regretful about the gold coins he had to put in. Dante glared at him for no reason, then opened the door and went in.
The room was dark because I had been away for quite some time.
However, apart from that, I felt a sense of drearyness.
A rough feeling, as if you were entering the jaws of a beast.
It was a presence I had felt before.
Dante slowly found the magic light and turned it on.
I barely managed to hold back the scream that was about to burst out.
He seemed to hate noise.
“It’s been a while.”
Although he was wearing a helmet, the colorful armor and the roar of the beast made it clear that it was him.
However, the woman standing tall next to him and the man glaring at him from the opposite side were strangers.
No, I was also wondering why he was posing like that in the first place.
“Are you here?”
Dante suppressed his doubts and trembling and bowed his head deeply toward the true master of the Lone Wolf.
“Do you have a list of vampires?”
The man’s voice was businesslike, devoid of any emotion. However, there was something in it that tickled my instinctive fear.
“···yes.”
Dante handed the man a bundle of papers he had prepared.
“Tch, that’s a lot.”
The sound of the man clicking his tongue brought back memories of the burning Carzan to Dante’s mind.
