Chapter 120
The inside of the tunnel was filled with yin energy. The breaths of the evil spirits drifted over the ground like mist rising from the waters of the Sanzu River, and the evil spirits clinging to the walls stared at Ian with grotesque faces, keeping pace with him.
"......"
Ian tapped the salt bottle in his hand with his fingers, exchanging glances with them.
Since his re-creation magic now had a limit on the number of uses, it was hard to do as before—catching ghosts and using magic on them without a second thought.
So he’d brought salt.
Salt had long been the symbol of exorcists, a sacred object with the power of purification and exorcism. The evil spirits couldn’t possibly withstand it and were all rendered powerless. Spirits in the tunnel were no different.
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Ian took out the cross he’d kept in his pocket and sprinkled salt around him with a hiss. The spirits that had been sizing him up let out shrill screams and scattered.
Naturally, truly powerful evil spirits weren’t easy to exorcise with salt alone. They would instead take it as a provocation and rampage even more violently. But the tunnel spirits screamed in girlish shrieks the moment the salt touched them and fled. That meant they weren’t all that formidable.
Maybe they’d noticed he was a mage and bolted. Maybe they wanted to wander the afterlife a little longer instead of becoming ingredients.
Whatever the case, it wasn’t important to Ian. He kept sprinkling salt as he vaguely retraced the scenes he’d seen before his regression.
'The vampire is probably that black-haired girl.'
The village, having been hit not only by the Nazi raid but also by the Moon’s psychic attack head-on, had become the first place on Earth to become the Moon’s territory. All living beings had become devotees and shrine maidens of the Moon, and in the center of the village they held hands and sang hymns to the Moon.
And among them was a girl with blood around her mouth and crimson eyes flashing.
A girl far too beautiful to be a monster, and far too alien to be human.
She was probably the vampire that had made its nest in this village.
'That saves me the trouble of asking around.'
Tracking someone was a pain from the start, because finding the target was the hardest part. Since he’d skipped that most basic yet important step, the difficulty of the request would naturally drop sharply. All he had to do was roam the village, find the vampire, and either capture her alive or bring back her corpse.
'Given that this is the countryside, they might be hostile to outsiders, so if possible, it'd be better to move alone and not ask questions.'
While he was thinking that, he eventually reached the tunnel exit.
No Nazi ghouls were in sight. There were no corpses strewn across the road either. It was just wide open.
"......I should’ve come on the bike."
He’d parked it outside the tunnel just in case, but if he’d known this would happen, he should’ve just ridden it in.
Fine. Since coming this far and turning back would make the whole scene look awkward, Ian slowly walked along the asphalt road on his own two healthy legs.
"......"
Perhaps because it hadn’t been properly maintained, there were quite a few cracks and potholes scattered along the road.
They weren’t artificial wounds. Rain, snow, and wind had probably worn the road down like this on their own. At least, it didn’t look like the work of ghouls smashing it apart.
'The ghouls are probably hiding somewhere in the mountains too.'
As he moved forward, Ian stared at the trees and brush spread out on both sides of the road.
Even in the middle of the day, deep inside the nameless mountain where sunlight hardly reached, a heavy chill seeped out softly. For some reason, he also felt like he could smell blood, and there seemed to be a faint stench drifting on the air. It could have been his imagination, but there was no harm in staying on guard.
"......"
Ian tapped the handgun tucked inside his coat with his finger, feeling the hard touch of metal.
Every bullet in the magazine was silver. In addition to that, he’d packed plenty of stakes, crosses, and minced garlic in his backpack. He’d even eaten aglio e olio pasta for breakfast. Since this was his first time facing a high-ranking vampire, he had prepared everything he could.
Complacency is poison, but overpreparing often helps. Ian had no doubt this would be the case again.
"Mm."
While he was thinking, he reached the village entrance.
There was nothing particularly special about it. It wasn’t even a village with a proper name, so there were no signs or placards. A few jangseung totem poles stood forlornly by the roadside. One and all, they looked as if they’d been swept away by a typhoon, and their condition wasn’t great.
Ian thought about smoking one last cigarette before entering the village, but decided against it, thinking it might needlessly put the residents on edge. He cleared his throat a few times and then slowly walked into the village wearing a friendly smile.
'From here on, keep my thoughts to a minimum. They might have telepathy.'
The village was generally a place with lots of rice paddies. Most of the buildings were private homes, and here and there pavilions and benches had been set up. On top of them, old people sat in little clusters, chatting.
"My granddaughters contacted me recently. They said they'd stop by on Parents' Day, so I just wish May would come already...."
"Can you even hug them when they come? You said your back hurt."
"Even if I'm old, I still have enough strength left to hug our little mutts!"
Ian stared blankly at the two old men chatting in the pavilion, then smiled faintly and approached them. The two, who had been talking about granddaughters and health, turned their heads as they sensed Ian approaching.
"......Who're you?"
"I've never seen that face before."
The noisy elders tilted their heads at the sight of Ian's face. Ian chuckled and bowed his head.
"I'm a traveler passing through nearby. I'm on a motorcycle trip around the country, but the engine suddenly died, so I had no choice but to stop here."
"Hmm... Is that so? But our village doesn't have any lodging or anything like that...."
"Ah... I see. Then I suppose I'll have no choice but to sleep outside for one night. Thank you for telling me."
Ian replied as politely as he could, bowing deeply at the waist. Perhaps thanks to that, one of the silent old men adjusted his glasses and opened his mouth.
"Tsk, tsk... If you sleep outside in this weather, you'll catch your death. Don't do that—come along. If you tell the village hall, you should be able to stay for a day or so."
"Um... is that okay, though?"
"Of course it is, you old fool. What, you think we're the kind of narrow-minded people you see on the news? We can easily put up a visitor for a night."
The old man chuckled and painfully got to his feet. Ian hurriedly supported him.
"Please get up carefully."
"......Hoo, now this is a polite young man. Makes me think of my younger days. Hm?"
"When you were young, sir, I imagine you were a lot more impressive than I am."
"Right? I thought so too, actually. Listen here. Back when I was young, hm? Women were lining up, just lining up...."
Ian responded to the old man's words with the utmost sincerity and moved with him toward the village hall. Another old man also followed along behind them.
The village hall was a plain brick house. The old man, supported by Ian as he walked, flung open the hall's door and went inside. The old people who had been playing go-stop snapped their heads around at the sound of the door opening with a rattle.
"What, Young-su? Didn't you say you were going out for a stroll? Why are you back already?"
"Because we have a guest, you bastards!"
The old man called Young-su poked Ian, who was standing beside him, on the back.
"He's a traveler whose motorcycle broke down and he doesn't have anywhere to stay! So let him sleep here for one night!"
"Oh, really? Then it can't be helped. Hey there, young man! What's your name?"
"Uh, my name is Shin Ian."
"Oh, what a pretty name. Come, come, sit down. Have you eaten?"
An elderly woman with gray hair came out in her stocking feet and led Ian inside. Ian gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"I ate breakfast, but I haven't had lunch yet."
"Oh my, it's already past 2? That's no good. Sit down quickly. I'll cook something right away."
"Huh? Oh, no, there's no need to go to that trouble...."
"It's fine. Make yourself at home, just relax. You remind me of my son. I'll bring it right away, okay?"
She forced Ian down onto the floor and went into the kitchen laughing softly. Ian kept his poker face, scratching his head as if apologetic. No matter how you looked at it, he appeared to be a pure, innocent young man.
The old people playing go-stop laughed and spoke to him.
"Instead of standing there, come over and play a few rounds. Got any cash on you?"
"Mm... I have a little. Then shall we play a bit before dinner?"
"I like that fire in a young fellow. Come on, come on. I'll clean you out."
"It won't be easy."
Ian grinned and naturally joined the go-stop game.
That day, he was fleeced out of 50,000 won by the old folks' cartel.
*
It was only when the night had fully fallen that Camilla woke from sleep. She blinked her crimson eyes, bright even in the darkness, then slowly sat up and pulled back the blanket.
"......Phew, that feels refreshing."
For a vampire, the urge to sleep was a desire she might as well satisfy or not satisfy, but Camilla always got as much sleep as she needed. There wasn't any particular reason; she just felt better after waking up.
"Hmm."
She casually brushed back her tousled hair and checked the clock hanging on the wall.
6:30 p.m. It wasn't that late, but it was enough for the winter sun to have set. Camilla ran a hand over her face, wondering who she'd kidnap and drain tonight.
Her cold expression instantly changed into the innocent face of a child. After checking her face all over with her hands to make sure nothing was wrong, she opened the door and headed into the village hall's living room.
Step, step.
As she slowly descended the stairs to the first floor, she heard the voices of old people sounding strangely excited.
It was nothing to worry about. She'd known long ago that old people's moods swung wildly. Without giving it much thought, she opened the sliding door and went into the living room.
"Grandma! Grandpa! I'm awake!"
With a rattling sound, Camilla's bright voice rang out. But unlike usual, there weren't many eyes turned on her. Most were watching two people sitting in the center of the living room playing Go.
One player was a familiar old man, and the other was a young man with a face she'd never seen before.
Camilla tilted her head at the unfamiliar young man, then her eyes went wide and her cheeks turned bright red at the sweet scent wafting from him.
"Oh, Camilla's awake. Come here. Time to eat dinner."
"......"
"......Camilla?"
"Ah, ah, yes. Grandma. I'm listening. But who is that person...? I've never seen him before...."
"Oh, you mean that kid?"
The old man who'd been taking care of Camilla chuckled and tapped the spatula in his hand.
"He's a traveler who passed by nearby, and he had some trouble, so he'll be staying here for today. He'll probably use the room next to yours, so do bear with it for a day or so."
"Ah...."
Camilla opened her mouth and exhaled hotly. Saliva gathered in her mouth on its own.
'What is that smell! I want to drive my teeth into his throat and kill him right now!'
She bit her lip tight at a sweet scent she'd never smelled in her life. The sensation was almost intoxicating just to inhale. She wanted to use telepathy to see what he was thinking, but there were too many people around, so she gave up. Once there were more than five people within telepathy range, her brain would overload, and there was nothing she could do.
But thoughts like that were beside the point. Camilla trembled all over from the vampiric impulse and pleasure coursing through her body as she stared at Ian.
At that moment, Ian, who had been carefully playing Go, felt her gaze and raised his head. Their eyes collided in midair.
"......"
Clatter.
The stone Ian had been holding fell helplessly onto the board. His opponent, breaking out in a cold sweat, broke into a broad grin and threw both hands up.
"It's a loss! It's a loss! I won, huh? I won!"
"Damn it, you old fool! How can you suddenly drop a stone there?! That game was already in the bag!"
Ian stared at Camilla, not reacting at all to the noisy old people's voices. Looking into Camilla's vivid red eyes, the corner of his mouth twitched, and then he turned to the old folks with a wry smile.
"Haha... Sorry. I guess my concentration slipped at the very end. More importantly, who is that girl?"
"That girl? Oh, you mean Camilla."
"......Camilla? It doesn't sound Korean."
"That's right. She's a girl staying in our village for some reason."
"......Hmm."
"For today, you can stay in the room next to hers. Well, why don't you at least say hello?"
"......Shall I, then?"
Ian grinned and stood up, walking toward Camilla. Then he looked down at her and held out his hand.
"You're Camilla, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Shin Ian. Let's see how well we get along tonight, shall we?"
The corners of his mouth rose wide.