The Genius Necromancer of the Barbarian Race

Chapter 80 : No Mercy Even for the Sleeping

No Mercy Even for the Sleeping

The female vampire, isabella.

Serena's idea to beat and tie up Isabella's regenerating body until sunrise was remarkably clever.

Yes, it would have been great if it was only clever.

"At this rate, the sun really might rise."

Barkal clicked his tongue as he watched Serena continue to throw her fists.

If they left her like this, Serena would probably turn Isabella into a pulp until sunrise.

She didn't even seem to be running out of stamina. If she did get tired at all—

"Heal!"

She would simply cast healing magic on herself, restoring her vitality.

He had never seen a cleric use their abilities so efficiently on themselves since birth.

Whether this was good or bad luck, one thing was certain:

They didn't have to wait until sunrise.

Inside the 'Rose of Blood' merchant guild's mansion, right in the armory, there were 'silver' stakes, and by driving one into a vampire's heart, it was possible to kill them.

"Kkyaaaaaaaa!"

Isabella's already mangled body. As the silver stake was driven into her chest, a wail resounded in the air.

At the same time, isabella scattered into dust. The efficacy of the silver stake was clear.

"Y-you knew about this kind of thing! You should have said so first!"

Serena spoke to me, her body drenched in sweat.

"Serena, even before I said anything, you were already taking that vampire apart."

"R-really...?"

Seems like she didn't remember. Well, it couldn't be helped.

Leaving her behind, I approached Rozenkranz.

"Ha, haha..."

The guy offered me an awkward laugh.

"Where should I start telling you?"

* * *

Rozenkranz said he would tell us anything, so I asked the simplest thing first.

"Are there any other vampires?"

In Dungeon God, vampire monsters usually form clans of at least two and act together.

Moreover, according to what I'd heard through Chunsik, vampires were the very ones who made Odheim's specialty, 'Bloody Rose.'

That meant, in other words, there were other vampires.

Thinking that one of them might have the Rune of the Abyss, I asked Rozenkranz, and he led us to the depths of the Rose of Blood merchant guild mansion.

"H-here it is."

There, in none other than a 'dungeon', it awaited us.

As expected.

There's no way vampires occur naturally. Any monster, by nature, emerges from a dungeon.

Even so, to leave a 'dungeon' unattended beneath one's own mansion was shocking.

"C-could I... withdraw now?"

Rozenkranz asked politely. But then Barkal seized him by the collar.

"There are two options."

"Yes?"

"You guide us! Or I'll guide you to the afterlife!"

Barkal intimidated Rozenkranz, flashing his axe. At that, rozenkranz, grabbing his head, began to take the lead.

The anticipated dungeon where vampires appeared took the form of a 'mansion,' just like the entrance.

But it felt gloomier than the Rose of Blood merchant guild mansion, lifeless, as if something could jump out at any moment.

"Lord Rozenkranz."

In that eerie atmosphere, Serena was the first to speak.

She approached Rozenkranz and quietly inquired:

"Do you know an adventurer named Garbidal? I heard he took a commission from this guild 15 years ago."

"G-Garbidal, you say?"

"Yes."

Garbidal, garbidal.

Rozenkranz kept muttering the name.

Then, as if remembering suddenly, he clapped his hands.

"Ah! You must mean that half-witted adventurer who was investigating our guild!"

Hey, hey.

Watch your mouth.

Knowing Garbidal's name and his relationship to Serena, I felt a cold sweat run down my back.

"I do know him."

"Where is he now?"

"Well... uh..."

Did he notice something was off as he spoke? Rozenkranz trailed off.

"M-may I ask what your relationship to this Garbidal is?"

In response, Serena smiled.

"He's probably my father."

Probably her father.

A strange answer, but very Serena.

Sweat began to bead on Rozenkranz's forehead.

Fifteen years ago, he took a commission from the Rose of Blood merchant guild and has been missing since.

No doubt, it didn't end well.

"Uh, um..."

"It's okay. Please, tell me."

"Ah..."

He kept trailing off.

"Brother."

"What is it, Barkal?"

"It's coming."

Coming? What is?

While I wondered, the corridor-like dungeon interior started to shift and blur.

More precisely, the torches on the walls flickered, almost about to extinguish and relight repeatedly.

At that moment, a massive shadow stretched out from inside the dungeon.

Touching it would be dangerous.

Thinking that, Serena, Barkal, and I pressed ourselves against the wall.

"It's dark magic! An evil spell!"

But Rozenkranz didn't manage to avoid it. As the shadow rising from the floor touched him, he sank into it as if falling into water.

"W-whaaaaaagh!"

"Lord Rozenkranz!"

The shadow surged like the tide. After absorbing Rozenkranz, it started ebbing back in the direction it came from.

What was this?

It looked like dark magic, but I couldn't figure out what type.

As far as I remember, no such magic existed in Dungeon God.

"Give us back our compass!"

As Rozenkranz was dragged into the wavering shadow, Barkal kicked off the wall and dived after him.

Is he insane!?

Just as I thought that, something emerged from the inky shadow.

It was Barkal.

He was swimming the butterfly stroke.

"Oof! That guy... oof! Hand him over!"

Just like a swimmer fighting against a strong current, Barkal butterfly-stroked through the shadow, following it.

No, wait.

He seemed to be getting swept away even further.

"Thrag! Lend me your strength!!"

* 〈Thrag sighs.〉 *

Barkal, the Thrag you believe in seems to be dumbfounded right now.

Tap, tap, tap!

While Barkal was messing about, Serena kicked off the wall and ran toward the spot where Rozenkranz had been sucked in.

But before she could reach it, rozenkranz's body was completely pulled into the shadow.

What on earth is this shadow? It looked more like black water.

"Oof! Brother!"

You fool, so noisy.

"There's something inside this water!"

There's something inside?

Like Barkal said, when I peered closely at the black shadow, I saw something writhing within.

"Oof... Got it, brother!"

Raising his head from the shadow while swimming, Barkal had caught hold of something that looked like a human leg.

"Well done, Barkal! Hold on tight!"

"Oof! I'll never let go, even if I die!"

With those reassuring words, Barkal thrust his arm up as he continued the butterfly stroke through the shadow.

* 【Uses Hardened Blood.】 *

Aimed at the spot, I fired a 'blood bullet.' Drops of blood exploded from the Blood-Colored Awl, hitting precisely the thing Barkal was holding.

KIAAA!

With a piercing scream, the shadow shuddered. Soon after, the black shadow receded from the area.

What appeared from the dissipating darkness was a male vampire, just like Isabella.

"Krrrk..."

The male vampire, bleeding from the leg and waist—exactly where the bullet hit.

With a face full of rage, the vampire glared at us. But instead of summoning more shadows, he fled in the direction Rozenkranz had been dragged.

"He won't escape!"

We immediately gave chase and, before long, arrived where he had run.

There, we were greeted by a garden, filled with blood-red roses, just like what we had seen at the Rose of Blood merchant guild's entrance.

Between the statue-like ornaments, tangled vines formed walls, and the air was thick with a sweet yet rotten, uncanny scent.

"These roses... something's not right."

Serena seemed displeased by the blood-red roses, her face twisted in a frown.

"These roses are woven from human flesh and blood."

While I was looking into the garden, the fleeing male vampire turned to face us and spoke.

"Our master created these roses to protect his own body."

Master?

I listened to the male vampire and examined where the rose vines originated.

There was something resembling a coffin. It seemed all these roses stemmed from that coffin.

"Was it you who killed Isabella?"

With sharp eyes, the male vampire glared at us.

"Do you even know who you killed? She was the child of the great Vampire Lord, luminari."

"I don't know who Luminari is and I don't care. Soon, I'll send you to join your child."

Barkal cut in with his usual, brutal tongue. Just as I marveled at his unfailing wit, the male vampire's next words startled me.

"Vampire Lord?"

The Vampire Lord I know?

In Dungeon God's lore, there are only five high-rank undead called Vampire Lords.

When explaining the power of a Vampire Lord, a famous episode in Dungeon God comes to mind.

It's called the 'Blood Pouch Guild' incident.

The story goes like this: a mid-tier guild, ranked about twentieth, attempts to defeat a Vampire Lord and fails.

But instead of giving up, they repeatedly charged at the Vampire Lord, and after drinking so much strong players' blood, the Vampire Lord grew powerful enough to wipe out an entire city.

In the end, several guilds joined forces to defeat the Vampire Lord.

Afterward, that once 20th-ranked guild became known as the 'Blood Pouch Guild' and dissolved, earning an infamous reputation.

Either way.

Even back when I enjoyed Dungeon God as a player, vampire Lords were tricky foes.

"Come out, lumin-whatever! I'll introduce you to my axe, Erindal!"

Whether or not he knew how I felt, Barkal kept shouting.

But the male vampire only bit his lips, glaring at us.

Wait.

On second thought, something was off.

Didn't Isabella say she was a child of 'Luminari,' a Vampire Lord?

Her own child was killed, yet there hadn't been any direct retaliation or attempt at vengeance.

Could it be the Lord isn't here? Or else—

"Is he recuperating?"

I looked over at the coffin smothered in roses. Even though an ominous energy was flowing from it, whatever was inside showed no signs of moving.

"Do not look so freely upon the master's coffin, you savages."

There was no doubt from the man's words. The 'Vampire Lord' was sleeping in that coffin.

Even with intruders.

Even with all this noise.

The silence was proof that he was indeed sleeping.

Which meant there was only one thing to do.

"Do you still have the silver stakes I gave you?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, I have them!"

"I have one too! The same one we use to kill the female vampire earlier!"

Alright.

Let's stake it.

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