Chapter 70 – 070. Vampire Detective
070. Vampire Detective
“Stop! Detective Moon!”
Moon Ji-hyuk looks at me. Soon, shock dawns on his face.
“Taker…?!”
Moon Ji-hyuk collapses onto the ground.
He seems to be in considerable mental shock from learning my identity. Well, we had gotten a bit close lately.
‘…Well, it’s not just that, his physical condition is a mess too.’
Moon Ji-hyuk’s eyes are shaking violently as he looks at me.
“……That sword. Were you Jeokgwang?”
I look at Baek Sang-gi. I wondered why he suddenly stepped forward, but maybe it’s because of me.
“That’s right. I’m Jeokgwang.”
I answer with a smile.
According to the conversation he overheard through the bug, Baek Sang-gi doesn’t seem to be greedy for the Life Orb.
His current goal is to feed the Life Orb to Moon Ji-hyuk and turn him back into a human.
“So, you were human after all.”
I ignore Baek Sang-gi’s words and approach the Life Flower.
The most important thing right now is the Life Flower. I have to protect the Life Flower so that it can fully bear the four Life Orbs. Of course, the most important thing is to make sure no one else takes it.
I kick Moon Ji-hyuk to create some distance. He was too close to the Life Flower.
“Mmph!”
Yang Jung-min tries to escape from my arms. I press my hand harder over her mouth and move the knife against her neck to the side. The cold sensation of the knife calms Yang Jung-min down.
Moon Ji-hyuk can’t get up easily. Even with a vampire’s recovery ability, he’ll need a few hours of rest to exert his full strength.
‘The one I need to worry about here isn’t Moon Ji-hyuk. It’s Doris and Baek Sang-gi. Especially Baek Sang-gi, he feels like the most dangerous guy I’ve met in this world.’
Doris is rolling his eyes. He hasn’t fully grasped the current situation yet.
On the other hand, Baek Sang-gi is calmly looking at me. When I kicked Moon Ji-hyuk, he didn’t even glance at him.
‘……Wasn’t helping Moon Ji-hyuk Baek Sang-gi’s goal? Why is he looking at me like that?’
Baek Sang-gi raises his sword and points it at me. I frown.
“What is it? Can’t you see I have a hostage?”
“If I can kill you with just one hostage, it’s a cheap price.”
“Weren’t you Moon Ji-hyuk’s colleague?”
“I was impressed by the will of a young man who hasn’t been corrupted by the power of a vampire. But, my goal is you. Jeokgwang. I didn’t expect you to be human… but that makes you even more dangerous.”
Baek Sang-gi smiles.
Since the actor who played him was a male idol, he is handsome. But that smile is somehow eerie.
Baek Sang-gi approaches me and swings his sword. I extend the Hwaryeon Blade, which was against Yang Jung-min’s neck, to block the sword.
Clack!
Yang Jung-min bites my left hand.
“Ouch!”
The strength in my left hand weakens. Yang Jung-min escapes from my arms. The bite marks are clear, she bit me that hard.
“Ji-hyuk!”
“Ugh, that girl.”
I don’t have the luxury to chase after Yang Jung-min or even complain. Baek Sang-gi has begun to swing his sword at me in earnest.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
I frown as I parry Baek Sang-gi’s sword. He’s no ordinary opponent. If I try to deflect the blade and counterattack, he cuts off the flow without fail.
His physical abilities are similar to mine. I don’t think I can win by pushing him with physical strength.
‘I’ll finish it with Byeokgye (碧溪).’
I step back from Baek Sang-gi and use Byeokgye.
“Indeed. A superb killing sword.”
It was blocked so easily that it’s absurd.
I saw his eyes waver. Byeokgye definitely worked. But the result was the opposite.
‘Sense of Qi. He felt my presence not with his eyes, but with his sense of Qi.’
Immediately after, Baek Sang-gi’s swordsmanship changes. The movements of his sword, which were nothing special, move as if they are alive. Feeling a sense of incongruity, I strongly deflect his sword and step back.
“My swordsmanship is Seongrigeom (性理劍). It is originally a swordsmanship for cultivating the mind and body.”
I pause. I remember what Jin Se-young said before. If the opponent reveals the name of their martial art, you must also reveal yours. It’s the etiquette of those who walk the path of martial arts.
Frankly, I didn’t understand Jin Se-young’s words. But in this world, revealing the name of your swordsmanship isn’t difficult.
“It’s Yeongcheonryu (影天流).”
I glance at Moon Ji-hyuk. Yang Jung-min is supporting Moon Ji-hyuk and they are going down the mountain. It’s okay. This is deep in Seoraksan Mountain. At Yang Jung-min’s speed, it will take 3-4 hours to descend even if they go on the proper path.
‘Yang Jung-min just followed me blindly, so she doesn’t know the way back. She’ll probably get lost after going down a bit.’
Just in case, I attached a transmitter to Yang Jung-min’s clothes. No matter where she runs, she’s in the palm of my hand.
“Are you worried about those young people?”
“I can’t let them live since they saw my face. And you too.”
“Haha. It’s been a while since I’ve had a life-or-death duel with a swordsman…. How wonderful. The moon is bright, it’s a perfect day to meet one’s end.”
Baek Sang-gi’s sword flies in a graceful trajectory. I try to deflect the sword and counterattack, but I’m surprised. Before I knew it, Baek Sang-gi’s sword was flying in the opposite direction.
‘Did I miss the movement of the sword for a moment?’
I quickly respond. I grip the sword in reverse and deflect Baek Sang-gi’s sword. But it’s a bit late. Baek Sang-gi’s sword cuts my left forearm.
Blood is flowing, but it’s not a deep wound. There’s no problem moving my arm.
‘I can’t just keep getting hit.’
Seogwang (曙光).
My sword draws a red trajectory and aims for Baek Sang-gi’s neck. Baek Sang-gi uses the end of his sword handle to deflect my sword from below.
“Haha.”
Baek Sang-gi laughs out loud.
I couldn’t laugh. I didn’t think I could beat Baek Sang-gi in my current state.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
I don’t know how many clashes it’s been.
My body is covered in sweat and blood. On the surface, it looks like I could collapse and die at any moment, but in reality, they’re all shallow cuts.
Baek Sang-gi is also sweating. But he didn’t bleed like me. While I was cut more than 15 times, Baek Sang-gi was only cut 3 times at most.
‘Damn it. I can’t even take out a grenade or a gun from my inventory, he’s not giving me any room.’
I feel annoyed at my ragged breathing and look for an opening in Baek Sang-gi’s defense. There was no opening.
Seongrigeom itself is not special at all compared to Yeongcheonryu. But his fundamentals are so thorough that it makes you want to throw up. Seongrigeom is a thorough defensive swordsmanship.
‘I’m saving my acceleration… but that guy isn’t at full power either. I don’t think I can win even if I use acceleration… huh?’
My eyes widen. Before I knew it, Doris appeared in front of the Life Flower and reached out his hand. I moved my body faster than I thought.
Yeongcheonryu Practical Technique Biho (飛虎).
I run like a tiger, grab the sword with both hands, and swing it with all my weight.
“Kuaaaak!”
I don’t stop there and aim for Doris’s neck. Doris uses teleportation and disappears.
“Cough!”
I hear Doris’s scream from my right front. When I turn my gaze there, Baek Sang-gi is behind Doris, having stabbed his heart with a sword.
“How, how did you know I would come here?!”
“I figured it out after seeing it a few times. Every time you activate your superpower, your eyes moved to where you were going to teleport. In the end, teleportation is just moving within your field of vision. I just predicted it and hid my body behind a tree. Die now, True Blood Demon.”
Baek Sang-gi lowers his sword. Doris’s body collapses. Even if he’s a True Ancestor, it’s impossible to survive in that situation.
“So, the True Blood Demon is also defeated. Now, let’s continue….”
[Acceleration is activated. It will last for 10 minutes.]
Yeongcheonryu Practical Technique Biho (飛虎).
I increase my speed with acceleration and swing my sword with great force.
The surprise attack was almost perfect, but Baek Sang-gi easily reacted and raised his sword to defend. The impact reverberates and Baek Sang-gi’s posture is slightly disrupted.
I don’t miss the opening and unleash a barrage of attacks.
After 10 minutes, the acceleration wears off. I couldn’t kill Baek Sang-gi even with acceleration.
“…Shit. Why isn’t anything working?”
I say irritably, exhaling hot breaths. A few minor attacks landed. But all the attacks that could have been decisive were blocked.
“Jeokgwang. Your swordsmanship is excellent. I can tell because our swords clashed. Your Yeongcheonryu has an unfathomable depth.”
Baek Sang-gi approaches me. He was also exhausted like me.
“Swordsmanship is just swordsmanship, Jeokgwang.”
I rush towards Baek Sang-gi once again. Baek Sang-gi subtly moves the wrist of his sword hand, deflecting my sword to the side. It’s not swordsmanship or anything. It’s just a trick.
Baek Sang-gi stabs his sword into my abdomen.
“It was fun. Jeokgwang. Thanks to you, I was able to completely cut off the lingering attachments I had in this world.”
“…….”
Instead of collapsing, I take another step forward. And I grab Baek Sang-gi by the collar and stab his chest with my sword.
I grimace.
“……Why didn’t you dodge?”
He could have avoided it simply by letting go of the sword handle and stepping back. But Baek Sang-gi didn’t dodge.
“I’m going to be your companion. Jeokgwang. It wouldn’t be fun going to the underworld alone.”
His nonchalant attitude makes my murderous intent surge. I wanted to swing my sword and chop him into pieces right away.
“…Ha.”
I let out a short sigh, push him away, and pull out the sword that was stuck in my abdomen. He falls to the ground and looks up at me.
“Thank you, Jeokgwang.”
What is he thanking me for? I frown, unable to understand.
“Idiot.”
I use Complete Recovery.
All the minor wounds on my body disappear, and the stab wound also heals without a trace.
Baek Sang-gi’s eyes widen, and his mouth opens. His shocked expression was quite amusing.
But that was only for a moment.
Baek Sang-gi soon returns to a peaceful expression and closes his eyes. There’s a subtle smile on his lips.
He looked like an old man who had met a peaceful death. It was annoying.
I turn my back on Baek Sang-gi and approach the Life Flower.
Seeing the two Life Orbs hanging on the Life Flower, my annoyed mood instantly disappears.
‘Wow~. The color is no joke. Really.’
I stare blankly at the Life Flower, then suddenly come to my senses and change my clothes.
I can’t touch the Life Orbs while wearing dirty clothes covered in blood and sweat. Who would take responsibility if it brings bad luck?
‘It was said that a total of four will form, right? It doesn’t seem like it will take long…. I’ll wait. Whatever.’
I sit cross-legged right in front of the Life Flower.
I don’t let go of the Hwaryeon Blade. I can’t be 100% sure that there won’t be another variable like Baek Sang-gi.
‘Ah. Right. Where are Yang Jung-min and Moon Ji-hyuk?’
I take out the tracker from my inventory. It looks like a square pad about the size of my palm. When I turn on the tracker, I can see the location of the transmitter.
‘As expected, they didn’t go far.’
Moon Ji-hyuk and Yang Jung-min were moving slowly. Judging by their state, they must be lost.
When you get lost in the mountains, it’s best to just call 119 and ask for help.
‘Moon Ji-hyuk and Yang Jung-min are likely not to ask for help. They know that if they call people, they’ll end up dying by my hand.’
Even if they report it, it doesn’t matter. My goal as the ‘Vampire Detective’ is almost achieved. I do have lingering feelings for Young Hye-jung, Hera, and Choi Sun-mi, but not enough to not cut ties with the Vampire Detective.
I look at the Life Flower and recall the battle with Baek Sang-gi. I felt annoyed. But it wasn’t like there was nothing to learn.
‘My swordsmanship itself was superior.’
But I couldn’t win.
I thought about what the cause was, but I couldn’t figure it out. I should ask Jin Se-young about it later.
Time passed.
Four Life Orbs formed on the Life Flower.
When I pulled out the Life Flower that was planted in the ground, it withered rapidly and turned into dust. All that was left in my hand were the four Life Orbs.
I put the four rainbow-colored Life Orbs into a plastic bag and put them in my inventory.
“Goal achieved!”
Clap clap clap!
I even clap my hands in self-congratulation and get up.
When I checked, Yang Jung-min and Moon Ji-hyuk weren’t far away. At my physical ability, I could catch up to them in 30 minutes if I ran.
“Then. Shall we go do the sub-mission?”
I ran through the dark mountains.
And I was able to find Yang Jung-min walking while supporting Moon Ji-hyuk’s shoulder. Moon Ji-hyuk’s steps are more stable than I thought. He seems to have recovered to some extent.
I quietly go around to the side and overtake them.
“…Jung-min. I’m fine, so just run away. My body will recover on its own over time.”
“How can I abandon you, Ji-hyuk? When it gets light, I’ll call 119. By then, Taker… no, Jeokgwang will have run away too.”
I chuckle and block their path.
“Why would I run away?”
