Chapter 25
Human ranch.
Literally, it was a facility where humans were confined like livestock and had their blood drawn as needed.
The project was intended not only to supply blood essence, but also to establish a base.
Though it was not yet complete, it was already fulfilling its purpose admirably.
The scenery inside the facility was nothing short of hell.
“Ugh, uh...”
Warehouse.
A space where kidnapped humans were kept.
Cages that were each less than a single pyeong, lined up tightly to form a prison.
In a scene reminiscent of a chicken coop, around a hundred people were trapped inside.
““......””
Had it been some time since they had last seen the light?
Every one of them looked gaunt.
Their eyes had lost focus, and they all stared blankly into space.
Among those half-dead people, only one person rolled his eyes around.
‘Fuck...’
He looked to be middle-aged.
He had a magnificent beard and wore a knight order's uniform.
His crumpled figure looked utterly miserable inside the narrow cage.
The man's name was Kantas.
‘Please let this be a dream.’
The Frontier Knights.
He was a veteran member who ranked among the more experienced knights.
The place where he was currently imprisoned was an underground area beneath the city of Riventa.
He had gone to investigate after hearing that disappearances had become frequent lately, only to be kidnapped by vampires himself.
‘Fucking bloodsucking bastards...’
It had already been a week since he had been locked in this cage.
From what he had witnessed during that time, this place was no different from hell.
‘Fuck, fuck, fuck... Fucking bastards.’
A facility built by vampires.
The way humans were treated here was worse than livestock.
Being drained of blood through hose-like devices was an everyday occurrence.
At the slightest whim, they would drag some of them away, torture them, and savor their flesh by slicing it into thin pieces.
‘The most horrifying thing was... pulling out their organs while they were still alive.’
That was only what he had seen within his limited field of vision.
What other things were happening in places his eyes could not reach?
That was not all.
The humans kidnapped as livestock were disposed of once they were deemed to have served their purpose.
Here, disposal did not mean death, but a process of being born anew.
The vampires turned those marked for disposal into mindless monsters.
‘Ghouls.’
The monsters they created became subservient to the vampires.
It was a place where one could not find peace even in death.
Kantas had no choice but to give up.
‘I'm not getting out alive.’
Kantas was fairly strong among the frontier knights, given his experience.
But the vampires stationed here were on an entirely different level.
He had been kidnapped without even having a chance to resist.
‘There are at least thirty vampires stationed outside.’
There would be even more if he counted those inside the facility.
Besides, even if he managed to shake them off, there was no way to escape while the place was underground.
Judging from the vastness of the space, they must have dug down at least several dozen meters.
The same word kept spilling from his lips.
“Fuck...”
Kantas of the Frontier Knights.
He had crossed the line between life and death several times while making his living by the sword, but this time, death seemed to be drawing near.
No... Since he would become a ghoul, perhaps he would not even be allowed to die.
He suddenly wanted to see his wife and daughter back home.
‘Reinforcements... There's no way they're coming.’
It was doubtful whether anyone could even discover this place in the first place.
He would be lucky if everyone else did not suffer the same fate as him.
There was no hope.
A helpless gaze.
“......”
Just as he was leaning against the cage,
a commotion suddenly reached his ears.
Rumble...
A sound coming from outside.
It sounded as though something had exploded, or someone was screaming.
Were those bloodsucking bastards torturing the livestock again?
Though he was sick to death of it, Kantas peered through a gap in the wall.
Even after giving up on escape, he still instinctively surveyed his surroundings.
“......?”
But what entered his field of vision was not a scene of torture.
For some reason, the vampires had gathered around a single point.
They were all looking in the same direction.
Following their gazes, he saw a black, fluttering robe standing there.
‘A mask...?’
A human.
A masked human was standing among the vampires.
He held a shining fragment in one hand and a colorful balloon in the other.
‘What the fuck.’
Kantas could do nothing but stare in confusion.
Regardless, the corners of the mask's mouth were grotesquely curled upward.
***
“......”
I quietly stared ahead.
Eyes glaring at us.
There seemed to be about twenty of them.
Apparently, they had heard the commotion and rushed out in the middle of their work.
“Hmm.”
They looked around at their surroundings.
Perhaps they were checking the size of the enemy force that had invaded.
But no matter how carefully they looked, there were only two masked figures standing before them.
“What... only two? And the one in the back is a vampire, isn't she?”
“They said there was an intrusion? Why the hell are they sounding the alarm when there's nothing here?”
“Those three sprawled over there. Don't tell me those two took them down?”
“Good grief, one thing after another.”
The vampires laughed among themselves.
While they murmured up ahead, I asked Carmilla,
“I know it's rather late to ask, but... Your Highness, are you all right?”
“What are you asking?”
“They are your kind, after all. I will try to deal with them without killing them if possible, but if necessary, I intend to kill them without hesitation.”
“......”
“Your Highness.”
“......I know.”
Whoosh.
Carmilla took a deep breath.
Her silver hair cascaded down in disarray.
“I knew from this thick scent of blood alone. I knew how many lambs had been sacrificed, and what a terrible place this was. Good and evil are absolute standards. One must not become good merely because someone is of the same kind, nor evil merely because someone is of another kind.”
Carmilla Blandir.
The princess did not waver.
“They deserve to be punished.”
“If it is too difficult, you may rest for a while. I will take care of everything.”
“No... Were they not once my subjects? I too must bear responsibility.”
The girl's gaze was resolute.
Blood magic unfurled from her fingertips, and she held a single slender spear.
Reliable backup.
“Then...”
I stepped forward.
Toward the vampires swarming before us.
“Good evening, everyone.”
“Huh... He's even crazier than he looks.”
“Is he sick or something? He's even wearing some strange mask on his face...”
“Well, we can beat them down first and figure things out afterward. The vampire girl behind him, too.”
They stared at me as if I were a madman.
Some of them even burst out laughing, saying this was entertaining.
One of the vampires at the very front trudged toward us.
A greatsword forged from blood.
He carried a sword as large as my body.
“Kid, did you two come here by yourselves? Are there no other humans?”
“That's right. Were there perhaps too many visitors?”
“Haa... You really are a funny bastard.”
Thud.
His heavy footsteps shook the ground.
Perhaps the three sprawled beside him still concerned him.
Even as he watched us, he did not readily close the distance.
“Can't you tell what's going on? Can't you see the vampires surrounding you on every side?”
“Of course I can. Though it is rather ominous that you are all covered in blood...”
“And yet you came with only two people? Are you hoping to commit suicide or something?”
“Of course not. I want to live a long time.”
“Look at this guy. He isn't even scared. You're definitely not normal.”
The vampire quietly groaned.
He seemed to be examining me thoroughly.
“Hmm... He looks ordinary. No, he's far weaker than ordinary. He has no visible muscles, I can't sense any magical power, and it seems he can't use divinity or sorcery either...”
“How impressive. How did you manage to notice all of that?”
“Hey, what gave you the nerve to come in here? More importantly, how did you get in?”
“That's a secret.”
I smiled sweetly.
Following that smile, the corners of the mask's mouth slowly twitched.
“Never mind that... You are all drenched in blood. Are you all right?”
“We're fine. This isn't our blood.”
“Oh?”
“When you play with humans, blood tends to splatter everywhere like this.”
“That is an interesting subject.”
I asked.
The hand was covered not only in blood, but also in clinging scraps of organs.
“Where did that blood come from? What did you do to the humans you kidnapped?”
“Haha! Don't worry. We didn't kill them. We just played with them a little.”
“......”
Perhaps it was because of his meaningful words.
The other vampires watching nearby joined in.
“Kik, kikik... That's not a lie. We did leave them alive.”
“We just pulled out their fingernails one by one, sliced their flesh into thin pieces, and ate it one piece at a time... Ah, is that a little too commonplace? Then I'll only tell you about the creative ones. My favorite was standing two humans up and making them eat each other's organs! We promised to spare the winner.”
“You didn't spare him, you crazy bitch. You turned him into a ghoul.”
“Tch... Anyway, we did spare him! I never said we'd let him live normally, did I?”
“Besides, I heard the people you stood up were a mother and son. That one was pretty entertaining.”
The vampires excitedly bragged about their exploits.
Carmilla's complexion turned deathly pale.
I listened in silence.
Did they think I was frightened?
The vampires enthusiastically poured out stories of their exploits.
“As expected, I like children best...”
“You're still too vicious. You pull out their organs while they're alive, then watch them slowly stop breathing... Do you know how filthy everything around you gets every time you do that?”
“That bastard is truly vicious. I bet he's kidnapped and brought back at least thirty children all by himself.”
“It's fine, it's fine. After that, we turned them all into ghouls right before they died.”
“Yeah, they probably didn't die. Now they'll live forever without being themselves... Kikik.”
Quietly.
I merely listened.
“Still, haven't we been killing too many lately? We're not supposed to turn the useful ones into ghouls. We need to draw as much blood as possible, don't we?”
“So what? His Majesty told us to collect ghouls, too.”
“Had we already piled up a hundred ghouls? We've certainly gone too far.”
Malice.
The malice woven into every word they spoke.
A thick breath caught at the back of my throat.
“The knights came to investigate last time, didn't they? I suppose it's about time we started exercising some restraint.”
“Come to think of it, where did that knight go? Did we put him with the blood packs?”
“His subordinates have already been made into ghouls. Only the one who seemed to be their squad leader is still alive.”
“That's annoying. Let's keep him around a little longer.”
They toyed with life and death far too easily.
Their lips spoke of blood and flesh as though they felt no guilt whatsoever.
Of everything I had heard, I had only one impression.
“Why.”
But.
It was something I could not help asking.
“Why?”
“Huh?”
“Your objective is blood, is it not? If you have an additional goal, it would be accumulating ghouls.”
Yet.
“Why did you do things like that? Things that bring you no benefit whatsoever. Torturing and tormenting someone. Giving them sorrow and despair... What meaning do such acts have? When you heard them begging, what were you thinking inside?”
““......””
Asking why was the bare minimum of humanity.
A brief silence settled over the surroundings.
And then,
“Pfft!”
Someone burst out laughing.
As the silence shattered, more and more laughter joined in.
Before long, the vampires were clutching their stomachs and laughing as though they were singing in chorus.
Amid that uproarious laughter, I seemed to be the only one who was not laughing.
“Aha! Ahahaha... What a hilarious bastard!”
It was the vampire holding the greatsword again.
He caught his breath and looked at me with a grin.
“Why did we do it...? That's a question I never imagined anyone asking. Well, since you want to know, I suppose I should tell you.”
A short answer.
“Just because.”
“......”
“Just because we could.”
“......”
“It is a role that suits you humans perfectly. You have no strength, yet you struggle like hell. Those reactions make you fun to torment. Besides, when we turn you into ghouls, you have a wider range of uses than other livestock.”
“......”
“What, got a problem with that?”
“......”
I did not react.
I merely stood there.
Someone behind me gripped my sleeve.
Carmilla's red eyes trembled, and her face had turned ashen.
“......Victor.”
“Yes, my master.”
“......”
“......”
The princess searched for words, but found nothing she could put on her tongue.
So I, too, put nothing into words.
The brief silence felt as though it were breaking my neck.
At its end, the sound the girl finally forced out was utterly wretched.
“......They have consumed human blood essence.”
“That's how it seems.”
“Their violent tendencies are intense. They will be twice as strong as ordinary vampires.”
“Do you think I will be overwhelmed?”
“No... Not at all.”
“Do you still intend to fight?”
“Yes. It is all responsibility I must bear.”
Tears.
Were the drops running down her cheek born of anger, or grief?
It did not matter.
“The plan has changed. A gentle restraint seems unlikely.”
“Yes...”
“I will leave them alive. I will cut off all their limbs and blind them, at most...”
By then, the balloon sword had already been returned to my inventory.
I was in no mood for playing around.
Instead, I held a pocket watch.
The fragment of the stake glinted in my other hand.
“What? They're just standing around talking among themselves.”
Whack!
While they were doing so, the one holding the greatsword charged.
Perhaps he thought I was sufficiently defenseless.
Or perhaps he had never considered us opponents in the first place.
“I'll have plenty of fun with you, too! I'll capture the bitch behind you, get some information out of her, and then...”
Whoosh!
His body shot forward like an arrow.
The blood-red greatsword raced toward me, about to crash down on my head.
Even then, I remained silent.
I merely fiddled with the watch.
Click.
At last, my thumb pressed the watch's button,
“Hmm.”
The next moment, I had already passed him.
“......?!”
The vampires around us were startled.
His greatsword had been parried and sent flying far away.
A distinct line was left across his body where the stake had passed.
Clear scars marked both arms and both legs.
“Urgh, ugh...?”
Crash!
Then his limbs separated from his torso.
The chunks that floated through the air fell scattered across the floor.
I grabbed him by the hair and lifted his face.
Then I rubbed the fragments of the stake into both his eyes as though searing them.
Sizzle!
“Ggh, ggh, ggaaagh!!!”
A scream burst between his lips.
I swung my clenched fist several times.
Thwack!
“Mouth.”
“Aah, aaaaagh!!”
“Don't open your mouth. Close it. Shut up.”
Thwack, crack, thwack!
His teeth shattered into pieces.
I stuffed a handkerchief into the gap through which blood was pouring.
His eyeballs were almost fully cooked, and his screams had faded away.
“Phew...”
I let out a slightly labored breath.
In my hand hung a torso reduced to a rag.
“Ugh, ueh...”
The man had been rendered useless in his arms, legs, eyes, and mouth before passing out.
I tossed aside the body that had served its purpose.
Flop.
““......””
The area had been noisy just moments before.
Now, not even the slightest sound could be heard.
The vampires stood there stunned.
“That's one, for starters.”
““......””
I dusted off my hands.
The mask smiled, but there was not the slightest trace of laughter in the voice behind it.
“So.”
It was merely cold enough to freeze them in place.
“Who's next?”
Before they could answer, I had already pressed the watch's button.
Click.
***
Afterward.
The smell of charred meat spread thickly through the area.
It had been a scene of utter panic.
I wiped the soot from my fingertips.
Perhaps because I had moved so forcefully, sweat streamed down my forehead.
“Haa, haa...”
Exactly fourteen vampires lay sprawled around me.
No... Their arms, legs, eyes, and mouths had all been taken from them.
For a moment, I wondered whether they could truly still be called vampires.
After thinking about it briefly, I decided I might as well call them larvae.
‘Did the other seven run away...?’
After some of them escaped, it had taken this long to turn the remaining fourteen vampires into larvae.
A mere 21 minutes and 54 seconds.
I roughly swept my hair back.
The corners of the mask's mouth had been split all the way to its ears.
Even though I could not smile in the slightest behind it,
“Haa... Fuck.”
I'm really weak.
I have the unprecedented stats of an overall E rank.
I have a body that could make a decent match against a passing farmer.
That was why I had not wanted to fight this violently...
“Fucking bastards.”
They made me lose my temper.
After taking a deep breath, I rose once more.
“Victor...”
Beside me stood the princess, who likewise looked exhausted.
Perhaps because she had supported me when I suddenly dashed forward, she seemed to have expended more stamina than usual.
‘Or... is it because of the mental stress?’
Her red eyes examined me.
She seemed to be checking whether I had been hurt.
“Are you all right...?”
“I'm fine. More importantly, you seem to have overexerted yourself.”
“I am fine as well. I cannot casually shirk my responsibility.”
Step.
Carmilla came to stand beside me.
Even if I tried to stop her here, she would not listen.
Rather than flee helplessly, she was the sort who would allow herself to be beaten until she broke.
I smiled.
“Ha...”
The thing boiling inside me settled down a little.
Matching her pace, I walked toward the crimson landscape.
“Shall we go right away?”
“Yes.”
We had not even discussed it, yet we already shared the same goal.
The human ranch.
A place that claimed to house livestock, while horrors beyond that description took place within.
We had to destroy this facility without leaving a trace.
Ding!
[Sub Quest]
-Title: Vulgar Slaughter, Groveling Survival.
-Contents: Prevent the New Kingdom's vampires from building a ‘human ranch.’ Rescue the people kidnapped by the vampires.
-Penalty for Failure: Destruction of the city ‘Riventa.’
-Reward: The infinite favor of the city ‘Riventa.’
[Time Limit: 1 hour 18 minutes 39 seconds]
“We should hurry.”
Also, to rescue the survivors who might still be left.
We walked toward the massive facility in the distance.
“If we're going to save them all.”
The night had only just begun.