Chapter 110
March mornings were colder than expected. Winter had passed and spring had arrived, but spring had not yet fully bloomed. The winter chill was more stubborn than expected, and the flower buds trembled as they silently longed for the cold to go away.
“Haa…….”
And in the season of those silent flowers, Ian exhaled into the air and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. His hands were too cold to keep out for long.
He considered putting on gloves, but gave up because they would make it hard to react in an emergency.
Indeed, wearing gloves would naturally dull his response. It would make it hard not only to flip through the grimoire’s pages, but also to pull out the things stored in his inner pocket, so at least when handling requests, it was easier to keep his hands bare. The cold? Sadly, he’d just have to endure it with willpower.
‘Still, putting a hand warmer in my pocket does help a bit.’
Ian nodded to himself in satisfaction, kneading the rough-feeling heat pack tucked in his pocket.
“Boo.”
As he did, someone came up behind him and covered his eyes with a hand.
A temperature colder than ice sent a tingling shock through his skin and straight to his brain. Ian flinched and immediately pulled the hand away.
“...Cold. Don't do that.”
“Hehe, are you actually bad with the cold?”
The owner of the cold hand, Kim Yul, looked up at Ian with a bright smile.
As always, her outfit was exceedingly simple.
A tennis skirt that exposed her bare legs, sneakers, and a thin athletic jacket—that was all.
No matter how you looked at it, it was not an outfit suited to early spring. If an ordinary person walked around dressed like that, they’d soon start shaking from the chill.
But Kim Yul was a magician. More than that, she was a magician who couldn’t feel cold or heat. To her, clothing was nothing more than a cover for nakedness.
“It’s just the two of us here so far?”
She said that as she came to stand right beside Ian. Ian nodded and took out the phone he had put in his pants pocket.
A message from Cecilia saying she was almost here had been sent five minutes ago.
The others had sent similar messages as well. It looked like everyone would be arriving before long.
Unfortunately, Han Yuna had been left out of this request. There was nothing to be done since a Bureau agent was joining; it was a shame, but all they could do was ask her to join another request.
Ian put his phone away and looked back at Kim Yul.
“They should be here soon. Did you eat?”
“Why? Were you going to treat me if I hadn't?”
“I was just saying because there’s nothing to eat here.”
Ian casually turned his head and stared at the pitch-dark tunnel behind him.
A tunnel that was practically the entrance to a rural village on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
Not even sunlight could seep into the inside of the tunnel, and not a single car drove through it. Dense fog had replaced that space.
The fog, steeped in yin energy, drifted on the wind and sent a bleak chill in all directions, and bizarre-looking ghosts swarmed inside it.
They were all evil spirits that had died inside the tunnel. If an ordinary person passed through there, flesh and bones would be torn apart and collapse to the ground in an instant.
Of course, they weren’t much of a threat to a magician. If they were ghosts controlled by a necromancer, that was another matter, but other malicious spirits were no different from wild animals. Killing them wasn’t hard at all.
But their appearance was so disgusting that looking at them for too long only made him feel unpleasant for no reason.
“Disgusting things.”
Kim Yul seemed to feel the same way, sticking out her tongue as she looked at the ghosts in the tunnel.
“I hate ghosts. If they’ve died, they should go quietly—why stay in this world and cause a fuss?”
“They probably have unfinished business.”
“No matter how much unfinished business they have, that doesn’t justify killing living people.”
“What more can you expect from a soul that became a Mystery? Never mind that—did you eat?”
Ian turned his head toward Kim Yul and asked the first question again. Kim Yul gave a light nod.
“I handled it at a convenience store.”
“Then that's good.”
The moment Ian answered that way, two men slowly walked down the long road. Seeing faces familiar yet long unseen, Ian let out a small laugh. The men also spotted him and curled up the corners of their mouths.
“Magician.”
“Long time no see, Albert, Benjamin.”
“Yeah, you damn bastard. Exactly three months.”
The old man with snow-white hair and beard, Albert, replied while adjusting his sunglasses.
“What a bastard, only calling when you need something.”
“It’s not like you don’t want to hunt vampires too, right?”
“Exactly why we came.”
Albert laughed brightly and tapped the revolver hanging at his waist. Benjamin, standing beside him, took out the crossbow slung on his back.
“The request to hunt a Royal Vampire is one I have no reason to refuse either.”
Royal Vampire.
Also called high vampires or noble vampires. The names varied, but the meaning of the term was basically the same.
“You said you could read minds, right.”
Albert murmured while checking the bullets loaded in his revolver.
“Please, I’d really like it if you’d read my mind.”
“…….”
“I wanted to make them understand just how much I hate them. This way, I can check one item off my bucket list.”
Ian said nothing in response to his words, spoken with a smile.
Albert was a victim who had lost his wife and daughter to vampires. Of course his hatred and killing intent toward vampires had to run deep. He had come into this world without his memories erased, driven solely by revenge; there was no way to even guess how intense the feelings he was carrying must be.
Well, there was no need to empathize with him, anyway. Ian gave a perfunctory nod and shifted his gaze to Kim Yul.
“As I told you in advance, these are the vampire hunters we're working with.”
“Hmm.”
“Don't cause any trouble.”
“Who do you think is the troublemaker?”
Kim Yul grinned and took a step back.
“I won't say anything unless they pick a fight first, either.”
“Don't worry.”
Benjamin, having heard Kim Yul’s words, replied while nocking an arrow onto his crossbow.
“We have no intention of provoking a magician for no reason. Besides, we aren't really interested in anything but vampires in the first place.”
“Then that's good.”
Kim Yul shrugged and idly flicked her foot against a puddle of water on the ground. Ian left her alone and turned to Albert and Benjamin again before speaking.
“There’ll be a Vatican nun and a few more Bureau agents on their way too.”
“I know. Well, that doesn’t really matter to us. As long as we can catch and beat the crap out of the vampires, that’s enough.”
That was a relief. Ian sat down on a nearby rock and quietly waited for the others to arrive.
About ten minutes later, Cecilia, wearing a nun's habit, appeared at the end of the road. It was clothing Ian was seeing for the first time, but for her it was an outfit even more familiar than everyday wear. Cecilia walked over toward Ian, running a finger along the enormous handgun hanging at her waist.
“Ian.”
“You came right on time. Any witnesses on the way?”
“None. The Association gave me a ride.”
“Then that's good. The cross on your back is…….”
Ian's gaze moved to the giant cross strapped vertically to Cecilia's back. Cecilia answered calmly, as if it were nothing special.
“Greatsword.”
“…A greatsword?”
“Yeah. When you draw it, the blade comes out. Want to see?”
“…No, it's fine. Show me later.”
Ian said that with a dubious expression.
A greatsword. It was at least a head taller than Cecilia; he had no idea if she could actually swing something that big properly.
No, well, since she brought it herself, of course she should be able to wield it, but it still didn't look like it suited her. Or rather, it was hard to picture. That was all.
‘Still, the hospital had shown pretty good judgment before, so it was probably worth trusting again this time.’
Of course, regeneration and hand-to-hand combat create a strong synergy when they go together. So for Cecilia, charging into the battlefield with a greatsword suited her far better than poking at enemies from a distance with a gun.
For Ian, too, her melee combat was welcome. There was no reason to refuse when she was volunteering to take the front.
“Ah, Magician. There you are.”
While Ian was thinking that, a man and a woman in suits slowly walked over from the far end.
They were Bureau agents. Neither of them had met Ian before. They glanced sidelong at Kim Yul standing beside Ian, the two vampire hunters, and Cecilia, then turned their eyes back to Ian.
“I'm Park Hoseok of Response Team 4. This is Kim Seorin, and she can’t speak because she’s mute. Please understand.”
Park Hoseok said while looking back at Kim Seorin. As Ian's eyes drifted toward her, Kim Seorin bowed her head politely.
“...Are your skills reliable?”
“Yes. We’ve all worked at the Bureau for more than ten years. The fact that we’ve survived that long is proof enough that we’re veterans.”
“Then that's settled. Since everyone's here now, let's head in.”
Ian put a cigarette between his lips and turned around. The Bureau agents nodded, and Albert and Benjamin took out cigars and stood behind him.
“I’m glad there’s no hesitation. Let’s go. Tonight’s after-party is blood soup too.”
“And the blood will be vampire blood.”
At his joke, Ian let out a snort of laughter. He lit his cigarette and slowly started walking into the tunnel.
Naturally, everyone took their positions. Cecilia and the Bureau agents led the way, the vampire hunters followed behind them, and at the very back Kim Yul and Ian walked side by side. Kim Yul hummed as she moved lightly with her hands clasped behind her back.
“It reminds me of the old days, newbie. We walked like this back then too.”
“Isn’t that recent enough to count as the old days?”
“If you nitpick like that, you won't be popular, you know?”
Kim Yul stuck out her tongue and laughed. Saliva dripped from the tip of her tongue. Ian was horrified and shoved her head away.
“Disgusting…….”
“Spit from a pretty girl like me is in high demand. It's not gross.”
“Quit talking nonsense and watch the rear.”
“Yes~.”
Kim Yul giggled and turned her body backward. Ian held the Deep Sea Chronicle in his hand and carelessly tossed the cigarette he'd finished smoking into the puddle on the ground. Since this was a place where ghosts lived, Ian didn't care about the environment or illegal dumping or anything like that.
‘The grimoire’s recovery is complete. I can use summoning magic now too.’
He hadn’t gathered everyone after more than three months for nothing. The Deep Sea Chronicle needed that long to recover.
Of course, being unable to use summoning magic wasn’t a fatal loss in combat power, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Ian tapped the grimoire with his finger, letting the book savor its long-awaited return to full strength, and kept watch over the fog-drenched tunnel.
Fortunately, the ghosts in the tunnel did not attack the group. No matter how much the evil spirits hated people, they weren’t stupid enough to attack a group that included a magician and a nun. Thanks to that, they were able to pass through the tunnel without any ambush.
Just before they emerged from the tunnel in silence, Park Hoseok casually spoke up.
“Magician, did you happen to hear that news?”
“...? What news?”
At the sudden question, Ian tilted his head. Park Hoseok simply shifted his gaze and looked at Ian.
“The Nazis have landed in Korea.”
“...Nazis?”
“Yes. You know that conspiracy theory about a Nazi secret base on the far side of the moon? It’s a Mystery that has become real.”
“Huh.”
Ian let out a dry chuckle.
“Then isn’t that dangerous? I think I heard the revival of a Nazi force was one of the end-of-the-world scenarios.”
“The Nazis from the secret base are a bit different as a category. There isn't a Hitler-like guy there. Their individual combat strength isn't anything special either. They do have a lot of people, but that's not much of a problem.”
Park Hoseok continued while deftly twirling the pen in his hand.
“The Bureau has already been tracking them, so there’s no need to worry too much. Still, just in case, I’m letting you know—”
“Stop.”
Cecilia's clear, sweet voice cut Park Hoseok off. Everyone's gaze naturally turned toward her.
“Ghoul ahead.”
There wasn’t anyone here who wouldn’t understand what that meant. The vampire hunters' faces twisted on their own, and the Bureau agents took out fog projectors and shone them ahead. Then a ghoul sitting in the corner of the tunnel exit, tearing at something and eating it, was revealed clearly.
There were four of them in total. Not many, but not exactly few either. Ian narrowed his eyes and checked the chunk of meat the things were tearing apart.
“Tsk.”
It was a human. Since it had only recently died, blood continued to gush from the body.
“Jackpot.”
Albert laughed and drew his revolver. Benjamin silently took aim with his crossbow.
Just then, Ian, who had spotted something strange, frowned.
“Hold on, those ghouls. Their clothes are weird.”
A ghoul that had only recently been created would still be wearing the clothes it had when it was human. They would tear and fray on their own over time, but if it had been less than a week since the change, the clothes would often still hang over that pale body like a cloak.
That was why people used the presence or absence of clothing on ghouls to check whether vampires were still around. The ghouls here had hardly changed at all in that regard, so the fact that a noble vampire was in the village was practically confirmed.
But apart from that, the ghouls' clothes were highly out of place.
For starters, they weren't modern clothes.
A long black coat and combat boots, plus an upper garment covered in all sorts of medals and trousers with swords and guns strapped to them. Not a single thing about it suited the modern age. Compared to a Korean soldier's uniform, even the color and shape were wildly different.
If anything, it looked like a European soldier—more specifically, a World War II officer.
A German officer.
A Nazi officer.
“Fuck.”
The moment he realized it, an expletive burst from Ian’s mouth. The moon Nazis Park Hoseok had mentioned flashed through his mind like a panorama.
“Nazis!”
Ian shouted at once.
“There are Nazis and vampires together in this damn village!”
There was no time to ask what kind of bullshit that was. The ghouls who heard his shout immediately dropped the corpse they had been devouring and turned to look at them, after all.
[Grrrr……!]
A blood-red glare flashed through the fog, carrying a thick stench of blood. Before anyone could say another word, the creatures bared their blood-slick teeth and rushed toward the group on all fours.
[Gyaaaagh!!!!]
The distance closed rapidly. Thanks to that, the group was able to fully grasp what Ian had meant by Nazis.
They confirmed the clear insignia embroidered on the clothes the ghouls were wearing, twisted their faces, and each drew their weapons.