Chapter 2431 – 2431. Dark Moon
[Crisis Detection activated. Remaining stacks: 7]
The world stopped.
No, my thought process sped up.
‘Crisis Detection? I had this ability?’
Looking at the notification window, the inventory came to mind. The notification window also appeared when I used the inventory, explaining it to me.
Perhaps the Flash and the Inventory are essentially the same ability.
‘I thought I had several different powers… maybe the root of all powers is one.’
I pushed the complex thoughts aside.
The important thing now is the reason why Crisis Detection was activated.
‘It must have activated automatically by detecting danger, as the name suggests. But I don’t see any danger aimed at me.’
There’s no way Crisis Detection activated by chance.
‘Then, one thing. There’s an invisible danger.’
Since I can’t see or feel it, avoiding it is impossible. So, the only way is to block it.
Having calculated the spell, I put a load on the mana road. Mana was processed into a spell in an instant, weaving magic.
[Blood Barrier]
A barrier made of blood enveloped me.
Bang!
An invisible shockwave struck the Blood Barrier. The Blood Barrier didn’t last long and was torn apart as if it was crushed. In the meantime, I ran away without looking back.
‘It’s not wind… is it a telekinetic attack? Judging by the power, I would have suffered a fatal injury if I hadn’t blocked it.’
Fortunately, there was no sign of the flesh-tree monster chasing me. The one with a tongue in its armpit that I saw when entering the cave was dead, its head crushed by a large rock. It seems Aisa took care of it.
Aisa was waiting for me at the cave entrance.
“You’re late. Is it because you’re a mage? Aren’t vampires generally more physically capable than humans?”
“The sun is still up. And it seems you are more physically capable than I am.”
“The basics of a druid start with training the body to some extent. Mages just memorize math textbooks, right?”
“…Well, I’m a vampire, so I don’t know.”
I wasn’t a typical mage. As a former soldier, I trained my body more than the average person, but… I had no talent for physical abilities. All I got was improved stamina and reflexes. I was just bad at physical actions in general.
“Anyway, it doesn’t seem like that monster will come out of the cave. What are we going to do now? Go back?”
“Hey. Are you scared already? Eugene, the body collector?”
“My mission is to escort you. It’s better to go back quickly if possible.”
I was planning to come back here after taking Aisa back. That flesh monster and the uncivilized beings who worship it were unpleasant and disgusting, but they piqued my interest. The fact that it was related to Alpha Tier was another reason. I wanted to screw over Alpha Tier somehow.
“Too bad. I have no intention of going back. I need to know what’s really going on here.”
“I knew you’d say that. Let’s get out of here first and go somewhere safe. …I don’t know if there’s a safe place, though.”
“I know how to use a small barrier.”
• • •
We set up a barrier in a suitable place and rested.
Looking at the sky, the sun was beginning to set. The characteristics of a vampire were being activated. As night fell, my body began to feel invigorated. It felt like being released from a stuffy place.
“Do you know what that flesh-tree thing is?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s a monster created through genetic manipulation.”
“That wasn’t an ordinary monster. You saw it too. My magic was interfered with and suppressed. That’s not something that can be made simply through genetic manipulation. Genetic manipulation is already as developed as it can be. I don’t think Alpha Tier would be researching genetic manipulation now.”
“…I have one guess.”
“What is it?”
“A god from another world. It’s likely a god from another world. Oh, you know that other worlds exist, right?”
“I know that the world we live in isn’t everything, and that there are countless worlds.”
“A god from another world needs faith to exist in our world. Faith becomes the anchor for their existence.”
“It’s too early to conclude that it’s a god from another world. We don’t have enough information yet.”
“That’s true. The easiest way to get information is to ask someone who knows. Hmm. Actually, I want to do some reporting when it gets light… but I guess that’s not possible?”
Then, suddenly, a voice echoed from the sky.
“There’s no need for that, Aisa.”
Aisa and I were startled and looked up at the sky where the voice came from.
There, a man in white robes was standing in the air. The man, who had red tattoos instead of hair, looked down at us with sunken eyes.
“Senior Rahool…! Why are you here?!”
“That’s a foolish question, Aisa. It’s not me who came here, but you. Your barrier skills have improved compared to before… but they’re still immature.”
Rahool raised his hand. The wind blew. The trees around us swayed. The wind gathered in his hand.
“No, Senior. Wait a minute! It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, are you going to be like this?!”
“I have severed all ties. To transcend, one must cut off everything that binds them and be free.”
“Wow. Seeing you after so long, you’ve become a real jerk! If the master saw you, he wouldn’t leave you alone?”
“I told you. I have severed all ties. Even if that person appears before me, I will not waver.”
“So, why are you here?”
“Is there a need to explain the reason to those who are about to die? Now, die.”
Rahool dropped a compressed sphere of wind to the ground.
A bomb, like a kind of missile, was falling. I stepped forward and took out a Dark Hole from my inventory.
You can’t be a real black mage without a Dark Hole. Instead, I use black magic with another black mage’s Dark Hole. I could use the Dark Hole like an external hard drive. Because of this, the Dark Hole is consumed as I use it.
It doesn’t matter. It’s not difficult to get Dark Holes with money.
Black mana flowed out of the level 4 Dark Hole, which looked like a small black bead. I mixed the black mana with blood, which is a medium for blood magic. Blood magic and black magic were particularly compatible.
[Black Parade]
Black blood surged and appeared on the ground. The pools of black blood moved like waves, swallowing and absorbing the compressed wind that fell to the ground. Immediately after, using all the absorbed power, they shot up wildly and began to attack Rahool.
Rahool flew higher to avoid the black blood and moved his hands. His hand movements were slow, but precise.
‘Is it a beast? I can’t tell because it’s not magic.’
Thud thud thud.
The ground shook.
Rahool, having finished the beast transformation, raised his hand. A huge hand-shaped rock rose from the ground and slammed down.
Kwaaaang!
It wasn’t just a shockwave containing physical force. The mana and spells that made up the Black Parade shook and shattered.
The giant rock hand slammed down on the ground once more.
[Blood Barrier]
I blocked the impact with a blood barrier and first took care of Aisa. I grabbed her by the nape of her neck and pulled her back.
Rocks that had sprung up from the ground flew towards me.
[Blood Surfing]
Blood rose from under my feet, moving me at a rapid speed.
‘First, I need to throw Aisa somewhere safe and then have a go. That guy is strangely annoying like those crazy guys, so I’ll definitely kill him.’
Just being in the same space as Rahool was extremely unpleasant. It was like a cockroach was buzzing in front of me.
“Let’s run away.”
Aisa said. I frowned.
“What?”
“Your request is to protect me. You’re not going to abandon me and fight your senior, are you?”
“…Killing your precious senior will make it safer.”
“You can’t win. No, even if you win, it’s not a real win. That’s not his real body, it’s a clone.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, Senior Rahool is good at clone techniques. If he can use clones, why would his real body do something dangerous?”
I immediately understood.
Passing the risk to a clone. That’s the most ideal way to use a clone technique.
“Even if you win now, it’s not a real win. You’ll just be giving him information. Running away is the best option here. I happen to have a way to avoid his eyes. It’s a bit of a waste, but we have to use it when we have to.”
Even if you win, it’s not a real win. That was a very demotivating thing to say.
But just backing down like this didn’t suit my nature.
Fighting him would only give him information? What a joke. I’m not Eugene Meyer now, I’m Eugene. The information he has is only a fraction of what I have.
I threw Aisa behind me.
“Kyaaak?!”
Despite screaming, she did a somersault in the air and landed safely. I ignored her and jumped forward.
‘Now that I know she has a way to escape, I don’t need to protect her so much.’
Rahool’s eyes lit up when he saw me show my fighting spirit.
“Oh ho. You’ve decided to face me instead of running away? Didn’t Aisa tell you that I’m a clone?”
“I heard. That’s not a reason for me to run away from you. I’ll just kill your clone here and your real body too. I know my choice is inefficient. But… just looking at you makes my unpleasantness skyrocket.”
“Really. Don’t you know? I thought you would know.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Haven’t you received the blessing of a god like me? Your god and my god don’t get along, so that’s why we feel unpleasant towards each other.”
“……I received the blessing of a god?”
“Haha. I didn’t think you really didn’t know. This is… really enviable.”
Rahool suddenly became serious. I frowned.
“You don’t understand. The blessing of a god isn’t given to just anyone. I also received the blessing by becoming a servant of that god. Those who have received the blessing of a god like you but don’t realize it… are those who receive the love of a god without any cost. Now, who is your god?”
“……Who cares about gods or whatever. I just want to kill you right now.”
“Haven’t you realized it yet? That feeling isn’t yours, it’s the influence of a god. You’re just being controlled by a god.”
“Controlled by a god? Me?”
It was the moment I felt a question. Suddenly, it felt like the filth that had been stuck to my body had fallen off.
The strange unpleasantness I had felt from Rahool disappeared without a trace.
But I still wanted to kill Rahool. Why? I just didn’t like him.
I scratched my left palm with my sharp nails. My pale skin tore. If I were human, blood would have gushed out, but as a true-blood vampire, I could completely control the blood flowing through my body. Only one drop of blood came out of my torn palm.
Drip.
One drop of blood fell to the ground and began to multiply. In less than 10 seconds, a huge pool of blood that reached my ankles was created.
Rahool, who was still floating in the air, had a stiff expression.
“That ridiculous power of blood… could it be…? A true-blood? How did you get the genes of a true-blood vampire?”
