Episode 26 .
“Paladin, it would be better to walk from here.”
It was the man who was riding the horse with Iden.
The entrance to the manor began to appear, but nothing special.
I felt the presence of people in the snow-covered village, and I saw a few livestock in the grazing land.
Usually, demon-occupied areas are lined with corpses or covered in gloomy demons, but this wasn’t the case.
The exterior was very plain.
It meant that the vampires were controlling the population of humans. lest the seeds dry out.
Since the ruling one is a high-ranking demon, and the higher the intelligence, the higher the intelligence tends to be, so Iden felt the need to be nervous.
“Let’s move on foot from here.”
We stopped at a hill a little far from the entrance of the village. She tied Petra under a large snow tree and removed the gag from the mouths of the vampires.
“If you make a noise, I will kill you as painfully as possible.”
The two vampires had already confirmed Iden’s powerlessness. He knew full well that the moment he tried to call out his comrades with a scream, he could be killed.
Iden asked in a low voice.
“Tell me the name of your master.”
There was no answer coming back. As Iden grabbed his neck, the other responded hurriedly.
“That, the ban is hanging.”
Enough to imprint the taboo, it really wasn’t an easy opponent to look at.
‘I know why Tyrun ran away.’
In the early days like this, there were very few cases where a paladin was defeated by a demon.
It was because it was not a problem at all to slaughter a tolerable demon with only the skills that were commissioned after passing the ordeal.
but he lost It meant that the opponent was beyond the ordinary.
There were a few factors that took a long time to walk through the front door and smash his head.
When asked about the detailed structure of the lord’s castle and the escape route, the vampires gave no answer.
It was like killing.
Just as I was about to torture myself, Euron approached me.
“Sir Aiden, I learned something from the Inquisitor.”
Come to think of it, Xerath told Euron several things.
“Will you leave it to me?”
I wondered what he would do with that naive face, but he gave me permission because his expression was serious.
Euron chained the two vampires tightly together.
“Daryl, please follow me.”
“Okay, let’s just do it here.”
“Wouldn’t that have a bad effect on the public’s emotions?”
Daryl took one quick look at Sain, then cleared his throat.
“Yeah, what. Let’s see what our aristocratic doryeong is doing.”
“There is no status for recruits.”
“Yes, yes. Come on. be well.”
The two bickered and disappeared into the woods.
Iden called the biggest of the vigilantes.
“What did you say your name was?”
“This is Lark. There is no last name.”
“Yes, Lark. Have you ever encountered a pureblood?”
“Oh, I see him every day.”
Aiden nodded.
“Then describe the exterior.”
“But that… every time I saw it, it changed. Was a woman, was a man Sometimes it turned into a big bat and flew around the territory.”
The vampire Rark spoke of had the characteristics of pure blood.
However, pure-blooded vampires were high-ranking demons that could not exist on the continent.
Even in the demon realm, they are known as nobles and do not respond to the summons of the Demonic Cult.
In addition, the sacred barrier surrounding the continent was fatal to high-ranking demons, so pure blood could not directly cross over to the continent.
There was only one answer.
‘Natural molting object.’
He was a vampire who had acquired powers by continuously sucking human blood for at least 100 years.
Like the first bloodlines, they could make humans their own and sow their own seeds, but they were not purebloods.
called a mutant.
Vampire society was strict. Pure-bloods did not see mutants on the same level as themselves.
It was normal to have him as an aide.
Whatever it is, the fact that mutants are strong, different from ordinary demons, does not change.
never let it go It was clear that if he expanded his power, it would become a major stumbling block.
Suspicion about Tyrun passed by suddenly.
Why didn’t you report it to the church?
Is it just because you don’t want to be labeled a fugitive? It was a really trivial reason, but it was better than Aiden’s guess.
Lark was taken aback when Aiden blushed.
“······My, no matter what mistake I made.”
“no.”
Just in time, Euron and Daryl returned. Daryl’s expression darkened slightly. I thought he would make a noise as soon as he arrived, but for some reason he kept his mouth shut.
“Sir Aiden, I heard everything. I put my life on the line, so what can I do?”
The two chained animals had no color in their pupils. It was empty, as if he had lost his will.
“Not required.”
Suddenly, black blood splashed on the snow.
They too were once human.
Unlike people who were addicted to Hana Magi, vampires were beings who voluntarily abandoned their humanity.
The criterion for giving mutants and purebloods their blood was the size of the target’s desire.
I couldn’t figure out what the dead people became vampires for, but they weren’t the object of salvation.
Purification was impossible in the first place. Even with the power of the saintess and Yupe.
Aiden looked at Euron.
“I heard there’s a passage you can sneak in?”
“He said that there is a tunnel that connects the dungeon to the outdoors. It was dug by vampires in case of an emergency.”
When the church invaded, he must have tried to use it as an escape route. Aiden intended to use it in reverse.
“Where is the location?”
“I have it.”
“Good job.”
Euron’s lips twitched, but quickly became serious.
“It was my job.”
He imitated adults these days. I didn’t even know he was copying Iden.
Sein laughed and laughed.
“Brother, it doesn’t suit you.”
Euron scratched his head and cleared his throat. Daryl stared at Iden fed up.
“Sir, would you like to go in right away?”
“no. We move after completely blocking their escape route.”
When the mutant turns into a bat and flies into the sky, it becomes difficult. The possibility of failure had to be ruled out as much as possible.
“Sain, we must build a barrier around the castle before the sun goes down. I don’t know if that’s possible.”
“Five…, no. Four hours is enough.”
The 10-year-old was very capable. Aiden nodded.
“Lark, do you have a set time for borrowing people?”
“there is. They usually have their meal at midnight, so about an hour before that, they gather people at the lord’s castle hall.”
“All?”
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“Most of them get together.”
Rather good. There was no better place than crowds to hide.
Aiden wore a black cloak over the holy grail.
“i get it. Let’s move slowly now.”
After drawing a barrier ceremony around the outskirts of the castle, they infiltrated the cave connected to the dungeon under the cover of night.
*
Under the thick darkness, humans moved in a row among the sparsely installed torches.
It was a procession moving to the Grand Hall in the courtyard of the Yeongju Castle.
Despair and fear were clearly visible on people’s faces.
But no one cried. Even children held back tears in their parents’ arms.
It was because the demon that ruled this place hated loud noises.
Those who wept or begged for mercy were flayed alive. in front of everyone.
The devil’s cruelty did not discriminate against men and women of all ages, so parents walked down the street with a nervous feeling, fearing that their children would cry.
Dozens of people suck their blood today, and three or four of them will die.
People prayed that the misfortune would escape them.
Aiden and the others were in the middle of the procession.
If possible, I wanted to disarm all of them, but I couldn’t bear to leave them behind because I had to pay my best in combat as the opponent was my opponent.
Aiden walked with his legs bent while hiding his holy gauntlets under the black fur that covered his lower body.
Because of its size, it could have been suspected.
“Move quickly!”
A few vampires came and went and controlled people. He was like a shepherd tending sheep.
Lark, standing next to Aiden, quietly whispered.
“It is bright inside the hall. They probably suspect the paladin.”
If I could just go in, that would be fine.
“Does not matter. More than that, Sein.”
“yes.”
Sein, who was walking in the lead, gave a small answer.
“Can you narrow the barrier?”
“It is possible. The moment you build it, the scope will be pulled around the hall.”
The world’s barrier was a barrier that only blocked demons. Humans can pass through, so people just need to get out of the hall right away.
Euron and Daryl evacuated the people, and Iden planned to slaughter all the gathered demons.
Even if I missed a few, I had to kill the mutants. If you leave him alive, the vampires will never end.
Soon we reached the entrance of the hall.
Inside, people were lined up in rows and columns.
Crowds filled the huge hall. Inside, it was as quiet as a rat.
People were shaking and looking down at the ground.
Sein passed through the entrance, followed by Aiden and Lark. Finally, Daryl and Euron entered the hall.
Iden scanned all directions with his eyes.
The small puppies were giggling around, but the mutants were nowhere to be seen.
Lark said in a low voice.
“They will show up only when everyone comes in.”
After a while, the hall door was slammed shut. People trembled.
“Now, now, stand up straight! Raise your head!”
The demon with a strangely twisted face held a ledger in his hand and began counting the number of people.
A few vampires were scavenging through people, searching for today’s meal.
“You, forward.”
A woman who was nervous and trembling and the father of a child were pointed out. The disabled old man was dragged along like a dog.
The woman knelt down and begged silently, but was kicked in the stomach and turned upside down.
Still, he didn’t scream.
The seeker of destruction went into a maddening fit. not yet one
The devil, who was counting, tilted his head.
“Why are there so many?”
“No way. Even those who ran away today didn’t come back.”
“If you beat them, the numbers are completely wrong?”
They counted again, but it still didn’t match.
The vampires who were seeking food were also approaching the row where Iden was standing.
Lark tensed up and gasped for breath.
As they passed by one by one and stopped right in front of Iden, the vampire narrowed his brows.
“Why is this so big? hey! Come here.”
The guy who was writing the ledger came running like crazy.
“It’s not right. Was there such a person?”
“Listen to your face.”
Iden looked up and faced the demon.
The two looked through Iden.
“Oh, I don’t know. There are so many human babies, you can tell them by their faces.”
He even patted his face. Iden thought he was going crazy.
If I hadn’t been patient with Daryl, I wouldn’t have been able to hold on. thanked him
The vampire smiled and looked at Iden.
“But look at this guy’s face. Do you express with your face that you really want to be followed?”
Dirty fingernails slowly scratched Aiden’s cheeks. Blood leaked out.
Daryl and Euron felt sorry for the vampire.
Then, someone appeared on the podium. It was a handsome man with a wine glass in his hand.
There was something red in the glass, but I couldn’t tell if it was blood or wine.
The vampires knelt at the same time.
—-Meet Brunyu-nim.
Aiden wiped the blood from his cheek. Then slowly shed the fur.
“Sain, close the barrier.”