Chapter 109
Since we'd high-fived, the nun and I could be called true comrades. We were the kind of partners who could trust each other with our backs. Come to think of it, wasn't the Vatican the least suspicious of the factions I knew?
Anyway, I'd like to throw a party to celebrate becoming comrades, but there were more important matters to deal with right now.
"Do you know how to fight?"
"I don't go around getting beaten up. I know how to throw a punch."
Unbeaten after surviving countless battlefields.
Without a single defeat.
I had fought against anomalies.
"How long are you planning to shadowbox?"
"Until my burning fighting spirit dies out."
"Wow, then you'll be at it forever. Keep going. Don't stop."
Whoosh, thwack!
You vampire bastard!
When you show up, I'll go wham-wham-wham like this!
"Forget that pointless nonsense now. You have to fight vampires. It's on a whole different level from fighting humans, so give up that weird boxing."
"But the Church has monks too, doesn't it? The kind who beat demons to death with their bare fists..."
"Of course it doesn't! Is this Dungeons & Dragons?!"
What a shame there aren't any.
"How strong are they? Blade? Have you seen Blade?"
"I have. Well, even the lowest-ranking ghouls are extremely strong. Ordinary firearms can't do much against them, and they're as fast as carnivores."
"Hmm."
I see.
When I was with the Management Bureau, I never got a feel for it because I shot them dead with silver bullets, but those ghouls really did have impressive specs.
They were as fast as big cats, could climb walls, and apparently ordinary bullets barely worked against them. From an ordinary person's perspective, they were nothing short of a disaster.
"I'll protect you for now, but an emergency can happen at any time. Come on. I'll give you some basic combat training."
"Combat training?!"
She was going to do that?!
"You need to know how to protect yourself. Now, let's go."
This was getting serious.
"All right. Let's go. But are we taking a motorcycle?"
"That would be more romantic, but we're taking a Damas this time."
"A Damas? Is it some kind of Vatican Edition, like a Divine Damas?"
"Where would you get something like that?!"
"What? Lamborghini has a Papal Edition."
"As if a Damas would have one! Come on!"
And so, the nun and I headed to the parking lot.
"It really is a Damas."
"It's good for carrying things, isn't it?"
Looking inside, I saw that she was right.
It was packed with all sorts of boxes.
"What are all these boxes?"
"They contain weapons and exorcism tools."
"Exorcism? Don't tell me you hunt ghosts too?"
"Demons, rather than ghosts, though I do hunt them too. My main specialty is vampire hunting."
"Demons?! So demons really exist in this world too?!"
"You don't need to know too much. Nothing good will come from learning about demons. Now, let's go."
"Yes."
The nun started the engine.
* * *
We chatted about this and that on the way.
The nun was quite a strange person, but she had an incredible wealth of knowledge because she'd consumed every piece of vampire-related media out there, regardless of country of origin.
"Vampires really exist in this world, yet people just think they're monsters from movies."
"That's because institutions like ours control the information. Every country has something like that."
"Every country?"
"Ah, I should say every developed country. Honestly, poor countries barely have anything like that. They have local shamans, but that isn't enough. That's why the Vatican operates internationally."
This was the hidden mystery of this world.
"Then, Sister, there are wizards, werewolves, and things like that in this hidden world too, right?"
"That's right. They're all real."
In fact, I had been guiding the conversation while making small talk.
The grimoire.
I had to learn about it. I hadn't been able to ask Salhyeong, but because I'd been beheaded, I knew for certain that I mustn't casually reveal such a thing to clergy.
So I'd have to ask indirectly.
"Hmm... Then, are there things like Harry Potter wands or grimoires too?"
"Don't try to learn too much."
"But I've already got one foot in this world. Can I even get out? Honestly, it seems difficult, so why don't you tell me a little?"
"Hmm. Well, all right."
Good.
"Some people use wands and some don't, so let's skip that. Grimoires... yes. Grimoires are the most dangerous."
"The most dangerous?"
"A grimoire is a book that lets you use magic simply by opening it and reading it."
What?!
If I could use magic just by opening a book and reading it, then all I had to do was decipher these bizarre characters, and I'd be able to cast evil magic as I pleased.
"That's incredible. Even an ordinary person can use magic immediately, as long as they can read it."
"Who on earth made something like that? It's absurdly powerful."
"Some crazy wizard or an extremely evil being made it. A demon, perhaps. That's why the Vatican keeps a close eye on them too. We track grimoires constantly."
"You track them?"
"Yes. When a grimoire is discovered, we have to retrieve or destroy it. A mage appears? Then an extermination order is issued immediately. The Pope himself reads out the proclamation."
At that, I nearly swallowed my breath.
The nun was just like Salhyeong.
If she realized a grimoire existed, she would try to kill its owner, no matter who it was.
"That's how evil grimoires are. They're extremely dangerous. If you ever learn anything about a grimoire, report it to me immediately."
"Yes. But I'm not sure I'll ever get the chance."
"It's better if you don't."
While we were talking about that, we reached our destination.
"A shooting range?"
"It's a useful place. Now, I'll teach you how to fight them."
The nun began unloading boxes from the Damas. I helped her, and she took a handgun out of one of the boxes for me.
"A Tokarev. You're familiar with it, right? I've got silver bullets here too. I'll give you these."
"Oh...!"
So this was a Tokarev.
I really liked its rugged appearance.
"Honestly, we don't have much time. I can't turn you into a professional combatant. But I can at least get you to the point where you can defend yourself against vampire forces."
In other words, basic training.
"You'll need the silver bullets later, so just hold on to them for now. Here."
ㅡClick.
The nun loaded it with live rounds for me.
"Get into position."
Then she put the handgun in my hand and guided my hand into position. I knew how to do all this already, but since I was playing someone who didn't, I obediently underwent the lesson.
When the lesson was over, the nun went into the control room.
ㅡSsswish.
A total of eight targets rose up.
"All right, now shoot. Starting from the left, try to hit as many as possible."
The nun came back out and stood behind me.
Good.
I'll show her my shooting skills.
Take aim.
A rapid volley.
ㅡBang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Tokarev's muzzle belched fire.
I emptied the magazine in an instant, and all eight targets toppled over.
"Huh?"
The nun's eyes widened.
"Phew."
I blew on the smoke rising from the muzzle.
Perfect.
"What...? You can shoot this well? What unit were you with?"
"I served in Kim Il-sung's unit."
"You were a North Korean defector?!"
"Just kidding. I'm pretty good with a handgun."
"You're more than pretty good...? Do it again."
Reload.
The nun went into the control room, set up the targets, and came back out.
"Let's see if you can do the same thing this time."
And at the same time—
ㅡBang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Once again, I knocked all eight targets down in an instant.
"What the hell, are you insane?! How can you shoot a gun that well?! You're better than me!"
"Don't nuns practice shooting?"
"We do! But not this well! Wow, this is amazing!"
That was quite an intense reaction.
"With this, I don't think there's anything I can teach you about shooting. Just load silver bullets and hit them all like that. Most of them will die."
"Is that so?"
"But... hmm. These are stationary targets. Ghouls and vampires are extremely fast too. You need to put down anything charging at you quickly."
"I've never done it before, but I'm confident."
"Good. Let's give it a try. Reload."
While I reloaded, the nun moved a box over toward the targets.
"When I give you the signal, hit them! I'm going to send the targets flying!"
"Yes!"
What was she planning to do when she said she'd send them flying?
Was she going to throw them?
ㅡTzpat!
For a moment, blue radiance burst from the nun's body.
The moment the nun kicked the box with all her strength—
ㅡKwaaang!
Holy power overflowed, sending the disks shooting up!
Then, engulfed in holy light, the disks came flying toward me...!
"What the hell! Is this some kind of Conan?!"
Even as I shouted that—
ㅡBang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
I shot down every disk flying toward me.
All eight, cut down.
"Phew."
"..."
The nun stood there with her mouth hanging open.
"Sister, you can do things like that too?"
"I've never seen a marksman this skilled in my entire life..."
Naturally, marksmen on Kurosuna's level were rare.
"That's incredible. Good. You seem to have already been trained. With just a handgun and silver bullets, you could probably handle most ghouls and low-level vampires on your own."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Of course, they come at you from hiding. But with reflexes and visual tracking like yours... I don't think it'll be a problem. And you're obviously overflowing with the will to kill them."
"If we're talking strictly about murderous intent, I'm a higher grade than Han Segun."
"You really love that comparison! Anyway, you might qualify as a semi-combatant at this point. Let's give you a proper examination today."
"Yes."
And so, together with the nun, I ran around the shooting range while she measured my physical abilities. Apparently, I passed, because the nun was satisfied.
After that, I learned theory and such for fighting vampires.
"Here."
The nun held out a silver dagger shaped like a cross.
"It's quite a valuable dagger. Low-level vampires will be thrown into great confusion just by looking at it. It won't work on the Red Lady, though."
"So it's perfect for dealing with her minions, in practical terms. Can I wear it around my neck like a cross necklace when I'm not using it?"
"It's technically a dagger, so wearing it like that on the street would be a bit much. Put a cord on it and wear it only when you're in combat."
Hmm.
I liked this.
A huge cross necklace.
"If I stock up on this, strings of garlic, garlic packs, and things like that, I'll be all set."
"The more thorough your preparations, the better."
"Heh heh heh, I agree. Wow. I really look like a vampire hunter now."
By meeting the nun, I had acquired silver bullets, a Tokarev, and a cross-shaped silver dagger. If I also put on a wide-brimmed black hat and a coat, I would be absolutely perfect.
It would be nice to coordinate outfits with my true friends, the vampire hunters. We could all go hunting vampires with matching looks, and put Groucho glasses on whoever had the highest score that day—the MVP.
The MVP could cut the victory celebration cake with this silver cross dagger while wearing those Groucho glasses!
The cake would be divided according to the number of people, but the MVP deserved a perk. Let's have the MVP eat all the extra cake. It wouldn't matter if the others got jealous. More cake was the MVP's sole right.
"Are you really that pleased?"
"Does it show on my face?"
"I can tell you're in a good mood, but don't get too carried away. What we're about to do is going to be absolutely horrific."
Horrific, huh...
Well.
What was horrific about hunting down and killing vampires?
Killing them was nothing but fun...
"I'll be careful. By the way, Sister, you said there are vampire hunters, right?"
"Hmm? Well, yes, there are. You're classified as a vampire hunter too, after all. Once someone witnesses a vampire and starts arming themselves to protect themselves, they're a vampire hunter."
"There seem to be quite a few of them?"
"Like I said, there are some. Why?"
"How can I meet them?"
"Why don't you go to a psychiatric hospital?"
"No, that's not what I meant! I mean normal vampire hunters!"
"Where are you going to find normal vampire hunters?! They're all psychos!"
How dare this woman insult my comrades!!!
* * *
I diligently prepared with the nun to eliminate Secriem.
"..."
Would I hesitate?
I had my doubts.
Since the memories and emotions of the first round had been passed on to me, I had to admit that I might hesitate. That was all the more reason to act together with the nun. She would have no hesitation.
"All right. We're ready."
The preparations were complete.
"Where are we raiding now?"
"What are you talking about? Did you forget everything? They're going to come looking for you, remember? We just need to settle somewhere suitable and stay put."
"Ah, that's true."
It was about time.
I couldn't just sit still.
I had to find out whether Ghanak would descend.
Let's go down with the nun.
There was no opportunity except now.
"But there's something that's been bothering me."
"What is it?"
"Well, actually. Before I went to buy the cross that day, I was living on the run for a while. I went into a certain village, you see? But I felt something unusually strange there..."