Chapter 19
A small parking lot behind the club.
Ian smoked in the smoking room set up beside the parking lot, looking up at the moon hanging in the sky.
He wasn't feeling sentimental or anything. It was just that the moon had been overhead for a long time, and the vampire hunters still hadn't shown up.
“……Haa.”
He exhaled smoke, took out his phone, and checked the text message.
The location wasn't wrong. It was a fairly large club in southern Gyeonggi Province. The entry standards were rather high, so among club regulars it was famous for having a good scene but being picky.
Ian had never been to a club, so he didn't know how this side of the business worked, but even so, he didn't think it was squeaky clean. If it had been clean in the first place, the vampires wouldn't have hidden here.
Anyway.
He'd arrived at the meeting spot about ten minutes ago, and there were exactly five minutes left until the appointment. It was about time they showed themselves, but the hunters were still nowhere to be seen.
'They didn't run off, did they?'
The thought flashed through his mind, but Ian shook his head inwardly.
These were people who called themselves vampire hunters. No matter what, they weren't idiots who'd run away with the vampires right in front of them.
They were people vouched for by the cartel, so he could trust them at least a little.
'If they don't come, then I guess I'll have to go in alone.'
The reward was a hefty 7 million won. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.
Just as Ian lowered his head and stubbed out his cigarette, the door to the smoking room suddenly flew open, and two men with their hats pulled low came in.
“…….”
“…….”
An awkward atmosphere hung in the smoking room.
The two men stared at Ian for a moment, then pulled out cigars from their coats, bit off the ends with practiced ease, and lit them with a hiss.
“Sssss…… Hoo…….”
Thick smoke poured from their mouths and noses. Ian tossed his stubbed-out cigarette into the ashtray and plopped down in a chair.
“You made it right on time.”
Following Seoa Lee's advice, Ian addressed them in a haughty tone instead of using polite speech.
As if they'd expected it, they laughed, holding the cigars between their fingers.
“You're the mage taking part in this vampire hunt? You look like a real bookish type.”
“Do you have a plan?”
Rather than keep chatting with them, Ian went straight to the point.
Apparently pleased by that, the older of the vampire hunters spoke up.
“There are fifteen vampires hiding in the club. Only one of them can disguise itself as a human. The rest are vampires who live by instinct, not reason.”
That meant they were nothing more than simple monsters. Ian lit another cigarette and listened closely to his story.
“First, we go into the club and figure out where the vampires are hiding. After that, we deliberately cause a commotion and evacuate the civilians inside the club. Then we take down the vampires. That's it.”
“Simpler than I expected. Who's doing the locating?”
“You are. I'd like you to use magic to find them. That should be possible, right.”
The old man's sharp gaze swept over Ian. Ian didn't look away; after thinking for a moment, he nodded. A spell for locating mystic beings was something written in the grimoire as well.
“I'll use the spell in the restroom.”
“Good. We'll do our own rounds and figure out their positions too. Be careful when you move. If they bite you, you'll be turned into one of them before you can do anything.”
The young man beside the old one said. He flashed Ian the pistol tucked into his coat pocket and grinned.
“I hope we don't have to lay a highway across your skull.”
“……You worry about the strangest things.”
“As long as you're confident, that's enough. More importantly, take this.”
The young man tossed a pistol and a pair of sunglasses into Ian's arms. Ian frowned at the weight of the heavy handgun and looked back at him.
The young man was chewing on peeled garlic as he spoke.
“There's silver ammunition in it. We met thanks to the cartel, but right now, at this moment, we're brothers with the same goal. Use it to protect yourself.”
“……Hoo. I won't refuse. I'll gratefully accept it.”
Though he unexpectedly ended up with a real firearm, Ian calmly checked how many bullets were in the magazine and racked the slide.
Fortunately, the gun seemed to work normally. He hadn't pulled the trigger yet, but this much meant it probably wouldn't jam at a crucial moment.
He slipped the pistol into his inner coat pocket, straightened his clothes, and stood up.
“Let's get moving. You're not planning to just smoke here, are you?”
“Yeah, yeah. Let's go. By the way, what should I call you?”
The old man asked. Ian thought for a moment, then gave a simple form of address.
“Call me Mage.”
“Good. Then I'll be Alpha, and that guy'll be Beta.”
“Sure.”
With that, introductions were over. The three of them went to the club's front entrance and slipped into the line to get in.
A short while later, their turn came. The club guard checked Ian's face first and immediately let him in. He gave Beta a dubious look, then reluctantly let him through.
Unexpectedly, the guard let Alpha in the moment he saw his face. Beta frowned in displeasure, but Alpha only let out a laugh and said nothing.
“Haa…….”
And so, they entered the club to the sound of Beta's sigh.
“Waaah!!”
The moment they stepped inside, they were met by deafening cheers and music.
All around them, half-naked men and women embraced and rubbed against one another. In the dim room, only tiny lights glittered faintly.
“Move.”
Alpha said. Ian nodded and immediately headed for the restroom.
“Oh my, oppa. A face I haven't seen before. Is this your first time here, by any chance?”
On the way, a woman called out to Ian. Ian smiled gently and nodded.
“Yes, that's right.”
“I knew it! No way I'd let a handsome man like you slip by! Honey, want to go over there for a bit and talk alone? I'll buy you a drink.”
“Ah, that sounds great. But I really need the restroom right now. I'll stop by for a moment and come back.”
“Okay! Come to table three!”
The woman planted a peck on Ian's cheek and disappeared, swaying her hips as she went.
Ian kept smiling until she was out of sight, then frowned the moment she disappeared and wiped the lipstick from his cheek.
He'd responded as gently as possible because he didn't want to cause any unnecessary commotion, but if he'd known it would come to this, he should've just been rough from the start.
Ian let out a sigh and went into the restroom.
The restroom was packed with all kinds of people, sprawled about in every imaginable state.
Ignoring them, he stepped into an empty stall and locked the door.
'Summon.'
The instant he thought it, the grimoire appeared in his hand. Without hesitation, he used the spell written in it.
[Mystic Tracking]
[Determines the locations of mystic beings within a 20m radius.]
[Materials: aberrant flesh, ether.]
The materials were as simple as the effect. Ian immediately took out the cube he'd slipped into his pocket and drew a magic circle on the wall with a pen.
When he placed the cube on top, it didn't fall off; instead, it clung to the magic circle and scattered a faint light.
With that, preparation was complete. Ian immediately recited the spell.
“Seek them. The one who shall punish them is here.”
The magic circle shuddered once, and the cube melted away. At that moment, information about the aberrations' locations flowed straight into Ian's mind.
It felt less like a sensory ability and more like freshly rediscovering knowledge he'd forgotten.
It was as if he'd known where they were from the very beginning.
'Three underground. Five inside the club. They're all crouched in boxes. Four are hiding in the pipes on the ceiling, and two are keeping quiet in the staff lounge. This side's already finished the hunt.'
The most important one, the vampire disguised as a human, was right in front of the DJ playing the track. Ian nodded and hid the grimoire behind the toilet.
[Humm!]
The grimoire vibrated as if in protest. Ian gave a bitter smile and stroked the cover.
“Sorry. Stay here for a moment. I'll summon you again right away.”
Whether his sincerity had gotten through or not, the grimoire fell quiet again. He stroked the cover a few more times, then opened the restroom door and stepped outside.
He made his way through the still-crowded club interior to find Alpha.
The old man was on the club's second floor, leaning against the railing and sipping whiskey. As Ian approached, Alpha asked right away.
“Positions?”
“Three underground. Five inside the club. Four in the ceiling pipes, and two in the staff lounge. The disguised one is right in front of the DJ.”
“Hmm. The one disguised is probably the blonde-haired woman standing over there.”
“What makes you say that?”
“The smell of blood.”
Alpha gave a little snort of laughter and pulled a bandanna from his coat pocket to cover his face.
“No matter how well you hide it, that disgusting vampire stench can never be erased.”
“…….”
“Put on the sunglasses.”
Alpha said. Ian stood there with a sour expression for a moment, then put on the sunglasses as if he had no choice.
His vision darkened slightly, but that wasn't much of a problem. Watching Alpha pull his hat down low, Ian asked,
“When do we start the commotion?”
“Now.”
Before Ian could ask again, a small sphere suddenly fell from the second floor to the first.
It was a smoke grenade.
A smoke grenade laced with garlic scent.
Pshhhhh!!!
The smoke grenade exploded, scattering yellow smoke in all directions.
Through the spreading smoke, Ian spotted Beta tossing smoke grenades everywhere and let out a dry laugh.
“What the hell?!”
“Kyaaah!! It's a terrorist attack, a terrorist attack! Everybody out!”
The sudden commotion threw the club into chaos. The packed crowd started fleeing down the stairs, each person trying to get out first. The club guards tried to handle things at first, but as the smoke spread everywhere, they spat out curses and backed out.
As a result, the only ones left inside the club were one mage and two vampire hunters.
And.
KWAANG!!
“Gyaaaah!!!”
Just the fifteen vampires remained.
“Haa…….”
Ian summoned the grimoire and glared at the vampire dropping from the ceiling, a pistol in his other hand.
The club's lively EDM beat pounded through the bass, matching his heartbeat.