novelraw Chapter 65 : Heavenly Scribes
Chapter 65 : Heavenly Scribes
Chapter 65: Heavenly Scribes
“Ah, no… I lost all the facilities, and even the Pure Blood….”
Yoo Gimyung muttered with a face as if his soul had left his body.
He had lost his entire foundation, so a clean death was out of the question.
Vampires were not known for mercy, after all.
“If you surrender quietly, I’ll end it without pain. It’s a much cleaner way to go than being toyed with to death.”
This incident couldn’t be hidden forever, but at least for now, it couldn’t be exposed.
Just one Boss Monster was already troublesome enough—if a powerful organization got involved, it would be utterly unmanageable.
But then—
“Ha, hahaha… You fools. You really don’t know anything, do you? He already knows. He knows everything!”
Yoo Gimyung burst into laughter, his voice echoing madly.
It didn’t sound like mere desperation.
His tone and expression were filled with genuine pity and scorn for his opponents.
‘Don’t tell me….’
Yohan’s eyes narrowed.
The area around Yoo Gimyung’s heart—
Thump!
A sudden surge of blood flow swelled rapidly within.
“Go ahead… I’ll be waiting ahead. Ha… hahaha!”
Puh-puh-puk!
Yoo Gimyung’s body exploded into a spray of blood.
At the same time—
Ding!
[A higher being has taken notice of you.]
With the crimson status window, an overwhelming aura crushed the entire laboratory.
“Ghh!”
Yohan gritted his teeth.
“Ah… ah….”
Reina stood frozen, mouth agape, stumbling backward.
It was a power on a completely different level.
Just feeling its gaze from beyond was enough to make one suffocate.
—Ho. So it was you who ruined my installation.
The voice echoed—not from the being itself, but from a projection of its will.
Even so, the pressure was monstrous.
That sticky, heavy voice and the aura accompanying it—there was no mistaking it.
‘Kalard von Estonpia.’
One of the Counts of Redmoon Corporation.
‘A big shot has appeared.’
Yohan licked his lips.
At minimum, a powerhouse of the Sixth Moon or higher.
Even if he used every drop of the Pure Blood he’d absorbed, he stood no chance.
—I asked you a question, didn’t I? Was it you who dared turn my carefully crafted domain into a pile of trash?
Kalard asked again, irritation faintly seeping into his voice.
“If you look closely, it’s not that badly damaged. With some effort, it could be as good as new.”
Those half-shattered beakers over there—he could just buy replacements.
And the broken machinery? A few secondhand purchases would do.
As for the lost blood—well, maybe borrow some from the Red Cross or a blood donation center.
You know, the kind of situation where people look at a half-filled glass and see it differently.
Perhaps, with a bit of positive thinking, they could resolve this peacefully.
Maybe.
Hmm. Probably not.
—……
When that short silence ended, the torrent of blood that followed made it clear—
Perhaps silence would have been wiser.
Crack.
Craack…!
Blood was forcibly drawn out of the corpses of Cave Trolls and followers.
More than twenty crescent-shaped blades of blood were formed, each over three meters long, each radiating a terrifying amount of mana.
Kwaaaang!
A single crescent blade grazed past Yohan, slicing the laboratory in half.
As if that weren’t enough, it crashed into the far ice wall and embedded itself deep.
Shields or armor were useless—mere sheets of paper before such power.
A single hit meant being cut clean in two.
“Uaaah! Crazy—so fast! I couldn’t even see it!”
Reina clung to the back of a spider the size of a large dog, leaping and dodging the crescent blades by a hair’s breadth.
‘We need to get out—fast.’
Getting caught in the wrath of a monster of Sixth Moon rank would leave not even a corpse behind.
Ah—almost forgot.
Yohan slung the trembling man in the corner over his shoulder.
“Why bother taking that guy with us? He doesn’t look like someone we can squeeze anything useful from.”
Don’t say that.
From a long-term perspective, this guy was far more valuable than the Pure Blood itself.
And besides—did Reina really think that every time he saved someone, it was just to rip some benefit out of them?
Well… that had been the case so far.
But that was only because he’d never had the chance to perform a genuine act of kindness. A mere coincidence of circumstance, really.
Above all, judging the future based on the past was a terribly narrow-minded view.
“P-please don’t kill me. I was only here to survive. I didn’t hurt anyone. I swear!”
The man pleaded desperately.
Eyes trembling like a frightened deer, voice quivering.
Acting score? Around 95 out of 100.
Unfortunately for him, this side had far too much experience with performances.
If he wanted to blame someone, he should blame his misfortune for running into a man who had gone through a thousand cycles.
‘Eyes of the Prophet’ glimmered.
[Lee Jaehwan]
Occupation: Heavenly Scribe
Star Rank: 6-Star
Unique Ability: Future Diary
Strength: 11 Agility: 9 Magic Power: 15
Physical Defense: 20 Magical Defense: 25
Trait: [Revelation]
As expected.
One of the rare occupation classes possessing the [Revelation] trait—Heavenly Scribe.
‘So that’s how Yoo Gimyung managed to know so much about us.’
These people hid their own existence and devoted themselves solely to recording the affairs of the world.
From the moment they first gained their occupation, they were given a special type of quest to do just that.
In the early stages, the naive ones exposed their identities, got caught, exploited, or even killed….
But once they passed the mid-phase, finding a Heavenly Scribe became nearly impossible.
And even if one was found, it was only because they themselves had revealed their presence to trade the information they held.
‘Out of all 1,000 cycles, this is the first time I’ve found one this early.’
Those people, using their [Revelations] to manipulate events from the shadows, were truly sickening.
Plans shattered, and new variables kept chaining one after another.
But now—
He’d found one by pure chance.
If raised and used well, this could become a tremendous asset in future information warfare.
“Stick close if you want to escape alive. Don’t fall behind.”
Everything he needed to do here was finished.
Now, it was time to leave without regret.
‘Unless Kalard fully manifests, his reach shouldn’t extend too far from Yoo Gimyung’s corpse.’
In other words—
If they could just escape beyond his effective range, victory was theirs.
Paang!
Yohan kicked off the ground.
Thanks to wearing Fairy’s Shoes, his speed and stamina had greatly improved.
He could maintain full sprint to the entrance without even breaking his breath.
Just then—
A chill shot down his spine.
“Kh!”
Yohan ducked instinctively.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
A crescent blade passed right where his heart had been.
—Did you think you could escape me?!
It seemed the Count had no intention of letting them go.
He must have used his superior trait—[Blood Flow Manipulation].
The blood running through the blades accelerated, multiplying their sharpness and speed several times over.
‘At the very least, I have to stop that thing.’
He couldn’t keep dodging something he could barely even see.
Then….
Yohan opened the Subspace.
[Using ‘Leaf of Aver Shamansia’!]
[Using ‘Eleven Blood-Drinking Peonies’!]
Items he had received from the trio—An Seungchang, I Danbi, and Jo Jeongmu.
Alone, they were nothing more than herbs that stopped bleeding quickly.
But if he mixed in a single drop of the Pure Blood he’d stored inside his body….
He could create an extremely potent coagulant.
Paaang!
Three more crescent blades flew toward him.
The moment one brushed past his cheek—
Tap.
Yohan dropped the finished herbal leaf.
Jjeojeojeok!
The massive blade instantly hardened, the rampaging blood within freezing solid.
The following crescent blades crashed into the first.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Kwaaaang!
The scattered blood congealed again, solidifying into hard crimson barriers.
Each collision created an even thicker wall.
The corridor soon filled with debris and hardened fragments.
“Yaaah! That was awesome!”
Reina shouted gleefully.
Now nothing stood in their way.
Keeping their speed, they sprinted down the passage, and the place they had first entered came into view.
They were almost out.
However—
There was one thing even Yohan had overlooked.
That rage sometimes made one forget all sense of reason.
＊＊＊
“Chiiiit!”
“Chizzzik!”
Swarms of black bats poured in.
Pachichik!
Red sparks burst among them, crackling wildly in every direction.
“Don’t tell me….”
“Damn it!”
Yohan and Reina’s expressions froze at the same time.
The murderous intent from before had already been overwhelming, but this—this was on an entirely different level.
A chill that seemed to freeze even the marrow in their bones.
This was unmistakably—
[Vampire Count ‘Kalard von Estonpia’ manifests!]
The real body.
Not a mere projection of will, but his true form.
A handsome young man in a white tuxedo stepped forward through the red sparks.
“My little joke… went a bit too far. I tried to see it as cute, but I just can’t hold back.”
Kalard bared his fangs.
……The air grew heavy.
‘His Star Rank… equal to or higher than White Spirit’s.’
Without a doubt, one of those beings one should never face in this early stage.
Now that he had fully resolved himself to appear, there was no need to even mention how dangerous it was.
Should he use all of the Pure Blood here?
That might at least create a small window for escape.
But if he did, all his efforts up to this point would vanish in vain.
That couldn’t happen.
He wouldn’t give up until the very last moment truly arrived.
Yohan swiftly rearranged his mana.
[Lv1 ‘Blood Fireball’ is activated!]
Flaming orbs infused with blood through Bloodline Incantation and Blood Reinforcement flew straight toward Kalard.
“Tch!”
Judging that escape was impossible, Reina joined in as well.
The spiders summoned through Arcade World shot sticky threads.
Bwoooong!
Yoyo burst out dazzling effects, aiming for Kalard’s flank.
Kwa-kwak-kwak-kwang!
A tremendous explosion erupted.
However—
“Ho. Better than that wretch Yoo Gimyung, at least. Not that it matters—vermin all the same.”
Despite the concentrated bombardment, Kalard’s body bore not even the slightest scorch mark.
Well, Yohan hadn’t expected it to work anyway.
[‘Blood Bind’ is activated!]
[‘Sleet’ is activated!]
He used grapples and restraints to steal a fleeting instant.
At the same time—
Tap.
Through the thick smoke, Yohan lunged forward, pressing both hands onto Kalard’s back.
He converted about 10% of the absorbed Pure Blood into internal energy.
The smooth flow of blood surged from his heart to his fingertips.
Dual Hands as One.
Fwoosh!
A small flame ignited.
Petals of fire blossomed, growing larger one by one.
His vision was dyed in crimson.
The warmth quickly turned into a searing flame that melted even bone.
Fire Dragon Emerges.
Kwa-kwakwa-kwakwa!
A massive torrent of flame pierced through Kalard’s abdomen.
The fiery wind turned into a raging gale, tearing across the icy cave corridor.
[The Karma Flame stored in ‘Ring of Crimson Lotus’ is consumed in large quantities!]
Not yet.
Not yet!
Squeezing out the last of his remaining mana, Yohan cast a second spell toward the heart of the explosion.
[Lv1 ‘Black Devourer’ is activated!]
Kwa-jijik!
The void magic swallowed Kalard whole.
＊＊＊
Fwoosh!
Ku-ku-ku-ku!
Crimson-black flames shot high into the air.
Powerful enough to instantly kill an Apostle-class enemy from Episode (2).
“Did we get him?”
“Looks like we did?”
If only the clueless duo—Reina and Lee Jaehwan—hadn’t said that.
“He might’ve taken a little damage, but no way that’s enough.”
They had to be satisfied with the time they’d gained.
Yohan turned without hesitation.
And in that moment—
Kwaaaang!
An immense shock slammed through Yohan’s entire body.
Thrown mercilessly across the ground, he spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.
“Guh! Khhh….”
Even though he had immediately summoned the Bone Shield of the Stag of the Blue-and-White Forest and Frozen Armor, they hadn’t absorbed even ten percent of the impact.
His bones rang with a dull, aching vibration.
Had it not been for the True Ancestor’s unique defensive power, his spine would’ve been shattered.
Thud!
“Aaagh!”
Reina was also hurled in the opposite direction.
“What a peculiar power you wield. Not dangerous now, perhaps, but if left alone, you could become quite a threat in the distant future.”
Kalard looked down at the small wound on his hand.
It healed quickly, but the dull pain only intensified his growing rage.
“Tell me—should I tear out every claw and nail, then slice off your limbs? Or would you rather I drain your blood slowly over decades until you’re a dried husk?”
He spoke with deliberate cruelty.
He would exact the price for having interfered with the great affairs of Redmoon Corporation.
Kalard took a step forward.
Ku-ku-ku-ku!
The air ignited, dyeing the surroundings in a thick crimson hue.
“Ha… haha. Guess this is it. If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I would’ve abandoned the money and the items altogether.”
Reina muttered self-deprecatingly.
“Do you mean that?”
“What?”
“The tone sounded like you’d do anything, as long as you could live.”
“Of course! Isn’t that obvious? Better that than dying.”
Reina answered without even a second’s hesitation.
Well, in truth, anything was better than dying.
“Remember those words.”
“I’ll admit you’re strong, but no matter how powerful you are, you can’t win against that monster. He’s a True Ancestor!”
Indeed, if it were just the two of them, there was no chance of victory.
But soon enough, it wouldn’t be just the two of them anymore.
As if to prove that—
Tok!
The sound of a staff striking echoed from the opposite side.
Tok…! Kwaang! Tukwang!
The rhythmic strikes grew louder and louder.
It wasn’t the sound of footsteps, but of deliberate, emotion-laden blows.
“Who goes there?!”
Even Kalard sensed the disturbance.
Chwi-chwi-chwik!
Hundreds of bats surged toward the direction of the noise all at once.
Their intent—to drain every drop of blood from the intruder.
Yet, strangely—
The deafening sound of beating wings vanished instantly.
As if something had devoured all those bats in a single gulp.
Tok. Tok. Tok.
The sound of the staff echoed again.
Through the darkness, a pair of faint violet eyes appeared.
“I was willing to overlook most things, thinking of them as mere entertainment. After all, I promised not to interfere beyond my place. But tell me—”
The voice trembled faintly.
“Did you say… you’d tear out fingernails and sever limbs?”
It was the voice of someone enraged—because the being she revered had been threatened.