“What, what the hell is wrong with this bastard? Why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden?”
Indeed, a solution presented itself.
A method to resolve my vampiric needs without compromising my internal principles.
Scum who parasitically feed on society’s darkness, thriving on the suffering of others.
Yes, like those trembling wretches right before my eyes.
If I were to feast on the blood of villains—awakened beings who are also criminals—my conscience would remain untroubled.
‘Of course, this approach isn’t without its risks.’
Annoyingly, South Korea has a law known as the ‘Prohibition of Private Sanctions Act’.
This law prevents individuals from privately punishing villains and criminals, prohibiting the arbitrary infliction of excessive harm upon them, unless it is in self-defense.
In essence, it means to subdue, not to kill, anyone.
They say that allowing private retribution would lead to the collapse of social order.
Regardless, my act of vampirism against villains would, naturally, violate the aforementioned Prohibition of Private Sanctions Act.
Ultimately, this method can hardly be called perfect.
Yet, I can at least assert that it is the closest to an ideal solution.
‘To sate my thirst, I’m bound to break the law anyway.’
If I must break the law one way or another, shouldn’t I choose the path that brings me the most peace of mind?
Conveniently, these types of scoundrels are most active at night.
And, coincidentally, the time when I, a vampire, can exert my full power is also at night.
‘Right.’
I’ve decided on my future course of action.
During the day, I will quietly lead my life within society, concealing my magical aura, while seeking ways to regain my strength.
Then, whenever my thirst becomes unbearable, I will hunt at night.
A villain hunt to quench my thirst.
‘Now, the problem is…’
How to deal with these guys right in front of me.
Given that feeding on villains is illegal, there’s absolutely no benefit to my actions being known to the world.
Therefore, the fewer witnesses, the better.
My deliberation was brief.
‘It seems I have no choice but to kill them all.’
I feel no particular pang of conscience.
These are wicked individuals who have committed countless atrocities, and now they are baring their fangs at me.
Of course, each of them likely has their own story.
Perhaps one of them is burdened by the duty to provide for their family.
Another might be staining their hands with blood to secure medical treatment for a loved one.
However, such circumstances do not grant them absolution.
Thus, it is better to consume them as sustenance before they can inflict more suffering upon the world.
Perhaps the me before my transmigration to another world would have felt sympathy for them.
Alas, that naive young man of yesteryear has long since vanished.
Slowly, I raised my left hand.
“Don’t do anything stupid; just die quietly…”
Then, I bit into my left wrist with all my might.
-Crunch!
“Wh-what… are you, you f*cking crazy?!”
“B-boss… this guy seems a bit off, doesn’t he?”
A sharp pain stung my wrist, and then crimson blood began to gush forth.
I don’t particularly have a habit of self-harm.
It’s simply more efficient this way if I want to fight effectively.
I am a vampire.
To fight, I need blood.
Ignoring their clamorous reactions, I channeled my magical energy with the superb mana sensitivity unique to vampires.
The flowing blood and the pooling blood on the ground absorbed my magical energy, then solidified, taking on a distinct form.
In my empty hand, a sword forged from blood, a ‘Blood Blade’, materialized.
Though the Blood Blade was a bit small, as I hadn’t shed enough blood yet, it would be sufficient to deal with these guys.
“…Hah, so you were an Awakened, huh? Making sharp things like that, you must be a mage. So, not crazy after all, is that it?”
At that moment, the man who appeared to be their leader readjusted his dagger and spoke.
“But what’s to be done? We’re Awakened too—”
-Slice!
His words were cut short.
His head, detached, floated in the air.
His body twitched for a moment, then slumped lifelessly to the ground with a thud.
…
…
…
In the sudden silence that descended, I stood alone, gazing at my sword and nodding.
Before, the overwhelming physical prowess of the vampire from the first volume had overshadowed it, but with my weakened body, the utility of the Extreme Sword (TL Note: ‘Geuk-geom’, referring to a powerful sword or swordsmanship technique) felt doubly apparent.
What would I have done without this Extreme Sword?
“…Th-this bastard—!”
-Slice!
The neck of the man who broke the silence once again floated in the air.
The metallic scent of blood wafting past my nose wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
With two heads severed, the enemies split into two distinct groups.
Those who fled, their eyes wide with terror.
And those who, still oblivious to their own limitations, charged at me, swinging their weapons.
Of course, that wouldn’t change the outcome.
-Whiz!
“Ugh…!”
“…My, my stomach!!”
I hurled the Blood Blade at the two men fleeing in a line, piercing their abdomens.
That took care of the escapees.
All that remained were these fellows charging at me.
-Whoosh!
I ducked easily to evade an axe, then delivered an uppercut to the jaw of the man who had swung it wildly into the air.
A barrage of daggers aimed at my chest.
-Thud! Thud!
“Ugh!”
I used the man I had just struck as a shield, deflecting the assault.
I calmly tracked each of their attacks, responding with calculated countermeasures.
Meanwhile, the blood profusely splattered across the floor swirled and coalesced, regenerating into a new Blood Blade.
Before I knew it, a new Blood Blade was clutched in my hand.
This time, its length was just right.
Therefore.
-Slice!
There was no need to continue this pointless sparring with them any longer.
-Slice!
I cut.
-Slice!
Analyzing every single movement of my enemies, I sought the most efficient sword path to sever their life threads.
-Slice!
With each swing of my sword, large sections of their bodies were cleanly sliced away.
I increased my speed.
-Slice!
Cut.
-Slice!
Cut.
-Whoosh!
Evade.
-Slice!
Cut again.
Dealing with these men was as utterly tedious as peeling a blood orange.
At best, they were D-rank, perhaps?
…
Eventually, the last remaining thug stumbled backward, trembling.
“P-please, spare me… Just once… just once…!!!”
There was a reason I had deliberately left one alive.
It was to sate my hunger here and now.
I seized the man by his hair, tilting his head back.
-Crunch!
Then, I sank my fangs into his neck.
……!!!
His scream, muffled by my hand, could not escape.
-Gulp.
The metallic, thick blood slid down my throat.
One mouthful.
Two mouthfuls.
Three mouthfuls.
With each movement of my Adam’s apple, faint memories surged into my mind, intertwining chaotically.
These memories were not my own.
They belonged to the thug I was currently feeding upon.
I could briefly read the recent memories—what the one I fed on had heard, seen, tasted, and felt.
‘…The memories are faint and brief; it seems this guy’s blood doesn’t quite agree with me.’
Still, it’s better than nothing.
It’s a good opportunity to figure out what changes have occurred during the ten years I spent in the other world.
I continued to drink, sucking the blood until my thirst was sated.
As I did so, a memory of the man touching his smartphone suddenly invaded my mind.
And on that smartphone, clearly…
‘…Wait. August 2025?’
So startled was I that my fangs slipped out of the man’s neck.
The thug, drained by my feeding, had long since expired.
No, that wasn’t what was important right now.
‘…I distinctly remember being pulled into the other world in February 2025.’
This is strange.
Surely, ten years should have passed.
Yet, only half a year had truly elapsed.
‘…Could it be that ten years in Veil리아 is only half a year on Earth?’
There’s no other way to explain this phenomenon, except to assume that the flow of time itself differs between Earth and Veil리아.
Fearing there might be something wrong with my abilities, I pulled out smartphones from the men’s pockets to check the date, but the result remained the same.
This was not good.
‘If I spend one year here, twenty years will pass in Veil리아.’
The more time I lingered, the longer my family would have to wait for me.
‘…No time for leisure, then.’
It seems I’ll have to move faster than I anticipated.
****
In a certain alleyway, thick with the stench of blood.
Into the scene where several men, dressed as thugs, lay brutally slaughtered, a woman with dark blue hair appeared.
The woman moved silently, surveying the scene.
Had the Sword Princess (TL Note: ‘Geom-hui’, a title indicating a female master of the sword, often used for powerful female fighters), an S-rank hunter, arrived?
The cross-sections of the dismembered corpses were incredibly sharp and precise, beyond description.
…
A relatively intact corpse lay sprawled on the ground.
On its neck, an unnatural wound was visible.
A wound as if flesh had been forcibly gouged out.
The woman knew.
That was a deliberate wound, left to conceal the tooth marks of a vampire.
Others might be fooled, but not her.
“…Am I too late?”
She had rushed here, sensing the aura of those abominable creatures.
She had been certain they were all eradicated, yet some still remained.
…
The woman gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.
She vowed to tear apart every vampire on this earth with her own hands.
Her tattered resolve flared anew.
****
Kim Min-chul, a manager in the Hunter Association’s Mana Control Department.
“Ugh… Finally, time to go home.”
Just as he stretched luxuriously and prepared to rise from his chair.
“S-Senior!!!”
“Oh, don’t come over. I’m clocking out.”
“Ah, Senior! This one is truly serious!”
His junior colleague scurried over and exclaimed.
“…What is it?”
“Please take a look at this.”
The junior showed Kim Min-chul, who was already frowning deeply, the data displayed on his tablet.
Immediately, Kim Min-chul’s face visibly hardened.
“…A mana fluctuation from a monster was suddenly detected in the middle of the city?”
“Yes! To be precise, it wasn’t just a human mana fluctuation, but a mana fluctuation that was detected…”
“That’s basically the same thing. Did a gate collapse or something?”
“No. All nearby gates are maintaining normal status.”
If it wasn’t a gate collapse, then perhaps a surge phenomenon occurred?
If it were a surge phenomenon—where monsters appear in the middle of a city due to a sudden concentration of mana—that would explain this data.
“So, did a surge phenomenon happen?”
“It’s… ambiguous to call it a surge phenomenon. We requested CCTV footage from where the fluctuation was detected… Oh, it just arrived. Would you like to check the video?”
“I suppose I have to… Hah, my plans to go home today are ruined.”
While Kim Min-chul sighed, his junior colleague manipulated the tablet, playing the pre-prepared CCTV footage.
A dark alleyway.
“What, nothing’s happening—”
Just as Kim Min-chul grumbled, a blue gate materialized in the middle of the alley.
And shortly after, a figure emerged from that gate.
A figure clad in a black suit, wearing a pure white mask that covered the upper half of their face, and gloves.
Their features were so thoroughly concealed that it was difficult to tell if they were male or female.
However, their gender wasn’t what was important.
“Are my eyes deceiving me…? That thing just opened a gate and stepped out, didn’t it? Oh, it closed.”
“You’re seeing it correctly. Senior, have there ever been monsters that could open and close gates?”
“If there had been, would I be this surprised? Insane… To think a creature that can even open and close gates would appear now.”
“That’s not a human, right? It looks exactly like a human.”
“Of course, it’s not human! You just said it yourself a moment ago—its mana fluctuation wasn’t human. It must be a monster mimicking a human form.”
Kim Min-chul stroked his chin, muttering in a grave voice.
“Its mana fluctuation itself is at a D-rank monster level… but considering its bizarre abilities, C-rank might be more appropriate.”
At that moment, something unexpected happened in the video.
A group of thugs, sauntering in from somewhere, approached the monster.
A brief exchange occurred between them, and soon, battle erupted.
No, it wasn’t a battle so much as a one-sided massacre.
The way it instantly summoned a sword and, with fluid, precise movements, sliced down the thugs one by one, was like watching a movie.
“Wow… what a sword. Ah, did you see that? That’s vampirism, right? Looks like it’s some kind of vampire. Purely based on combat power, it seems like a high-end C-rank, but considering its gate-opening abilities, how about we put out a B-rank warrant for it?”
…
“Senior?”
Receiving no answer despite calling out several times, the junior tilted their head and looked at Kim Min-chul.
And for the first time, the junior saw.
The face of the seasoned veteran, Kim Min-chul, drained of all color.
“…Senior?”
“Th-that… Where is it now? We can find it by tracking its mana fluctuation, can’t we?”
“Ah, well… strangely enough, its mana fluctuation disappeared mid-way. So, tracking it now will be difficult.”
“…Not only is it an intelligent monster, but it can even freely conceal its mana fluctuation?”
Kim Min-chul swallowed hard, muttering as sweat beaded on his brow.
“Th-that thing… B-rank isn’t enough. It’s A-rank.”
An A-rank monster.
A classification given to monsters capable of paralyzing an entire city.
“What? I understand concealing mana fluctuation, but other vampires can also converse with humans, can’t they—”
“Has this bastard been educated or not?! The other vampires you’re talking about aren’t monsters; they’re more like infected individuals. That’s why their mana fluctuations register as human.”
Kim Min-chul, his finger trembling, pointed at the monster in the video and continued.
“But… that bastard conversed even though it’s a complete monster. That means it possesses intelligence. Do you have any idea how vicious and troublesome intelligent monsters are? Those bastards hunt hunters in return! And on top of that, it can conceal its own presence… This is no ordinary matter. It’s dangerous.”
Kim Min-chul gripped his junior’s shoulder tightly, speaking in a strained voice.
“It disappeared. Fast forward. Is there any useful information after that?”
“Uh… just a moment. Ah, Senior. Someone just arrived at the scene.”
Shortly after the junior sped up the video, a woman appeared on screen.
It was a blue-haired woman wearing a pure white mask.
“That’s… A-rank Hunter Choi Seon-hee.”
“Oh, I know her. The Vampire Hunter who relentlessly tracks and mercilessly slays only vampires. This is perfect! If we ask her to subjugate the monster…”
“No. Dream on.”
Kim Min-chul shook his head slightly and continued.
“That woman would never listen to the Association. The Association committed an unforgivable wrong against Hunter Choi Seon-hee. There’s no way she’d grant our request.”
“Is that so…”
“Besides, there’s no need to ask in the first place. Hunter Choi Seon-hee is the type of person who kills vampires on sight. Whether we ask her or not, she’ll probably hunt it down.”
“Then, what should we do?”
In response to his junior’s question, Kim Min-chul adjusted his tie, letting out a sigh.
“We need to report it to the higher-ups. That a new A-rank monster has appeared.
