Editors: Ytho, LaidBackGuy
“I’ve chosen well.”
(E/N: as in she’s chosen a good next target)
Geniella looked at Lee Sungmin’s expression before glancing at the armour that he was wearing and the inside of his large robes appraisingly.
“You seem to be carrying interesting things. One is a familiar. Or is it? …No, it feels a little different from a normal familiar.”
“Wuu… ”
Rubia trembled as Geniella’s eyes reached her. She couldn’t maintain her form and flew out of Lee Sungmin’s robes. Rubia sat on the floor, gasping for breath, cold sweat running down her back.
“Cat ears… It’s not an Ajin. But it’s not human either. What a strange being.”
Geniella’s eyes flashed. It was one of the various types of magic possessed by the vampire queen, Geniella. Truth Perception. It was the ability to look through someone’s existence at a glance. Rubia trembled, and her whole body seemed to break out into goosebumps because of Geniella’s inner sense peering into her existence.
“The body was made based on humans, but the soul is not human. There are bones, organs, and blood, but all of it is just for show. Who are you built this way for? The creator who made you? Or for yourself? A well-made doll… No, it’s like an artificial spirit. There seems to be a metabolism, but that doesn’t mean you need it. What kind of creature should I call you?”
“S-stop… ”
“Is it unpleasant to be seen through? Anyone would say that. This magic inspects everything.”
Geniella burst into a mischievous laugh. She turned her eyes to look at Lee Sungmin. To be precise, she looked at the armour that Lee Sungmin was wearing.
“Heoju. The nightmare of the South. You have really hit rock bottom… Or should I congratulate you on having survived that way?”
[Hahahaha!]
Heoju burst into laughter at Geniella’s words. Lee Sungmin’s armour vibrated as Heoju’s power soared.
[The little girl’s head became thicker. This is why children should be educated well from childhood. That’s how they learn proper manners.]
“So? Are you going to educate me starting now?”
Geniella’s laughter grew louder. Using her Truth Perception ability, Geniella peered into Heoju’s being.
“Your body and soul are completely separated. Did your soul have that strong of a purpose for you to hold on to your existence? I admit it’s an unusual case. But compared to when you were in your prime, it’s still quite lacking… ”
What she said was true. Heoju, at his prime, was one thing, but the current Heoju, with his body and soul separated, couldn’t threaten Geniella. It was only natural. Geniella was at the pinnacle of vampires in the land called Eria, and one of the strongest monsters belonging to Predator. Even Gui Lang sect’s master, Juwon, who was once called Mad Wolf, was a few steps behind Geniella.
“And you… ”
She directed the Truth Perception at Lee Sungmin.
“You are… ”
Geniella pouted. After a bit of silence, she tilted her head. Then she rubbed her eyes with her hands and looked at Lee Sungmin again.
“You are?”
There was a hint of surprise in Geniella’s voice. It wasn’t that obvious, but it was proof of the agitation felt by her. Geniella rubbed her eyes and looked at Lee Sungmin once again. But she still couldn’t see it.
“That’s strange… ”
Geniella raised her finger.
“Why can’t I see it?”
Puuk. Two long fingers pierced through Geniella’s eyes. She rotated her finger to cut off her optic nerve and pulled out her eyes. Then she opened her mouth and swallowed the pair of eyes. Immediately after she swallowed them without chewing, Geniella’s eyes regenerated. She looked at Lee Sungmin using the Truth Perception of her new pair of eyes.
[This guy is a strange one.]
Heoju smiled.
[You cannot see through him using Truth Perception… Hu-hu! Isn’t it fun?]
“Definitely.”
Geniella spat out a greasy thing. It was the stem of the optic nerve that was dangling from the eyeball. She glanced down at what she had spit out and looked at Lee Sungmin again.
“Excuse me. I’ve shown you something unseemly.”
Geniella’s tone had changed.
“I don’t have any intentions of being forceful. But I’d like to sincerely recommend it. Walking down the creaking corridors in a trashy place like this, sleeping in a moldy bed in a room with cockroaches and rats… ”
Geniella’s words become faster. She even spoke without breathing.
“Instead of spending the day making food out of leftover ingredients and listening to the noise of such vermin and parasites, while eating terrible leftover food over and over again daily that even a pig wouldn’t eat-”
Geniella’s words stopped. She said all the words she wanted to say in one long breath, then smiled towards Lee Sungmin.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to go with me?”
There was no way of telling what her true intentions were.
Lee Sungmin continued to feel a sense of discomfort from the moment he encountered Geniella. An encounter that did not happen in his previous life. If that was the case, he had already felt it countless times. The sense of discomfort he felt from Geniella was not of that sort. He didn’t know what it was, but he did not feel the need to get away from it.
“Alright.”
Lee Sungmin paused, then nodded as he supported Rubia up.
Perhaps she was the person he was fated to meet in the north.
[No.]
Heoju’s voice rang out in Lee Sungmin’s mind.
Heoju no longer released his aura and hid his power in the armour silently. When Lee Sungmin came out along with Geniella, there was a gorgeous carriage that seemed extremely out of place, standing in front of the shabby inn. The door of the carriage opened as Geniella approached. She turned to Lee Sungmin, asking him to get on, without going in first.
“Come on.”
Lee Sungmin got into the carriage with Rubia silently. It wasn’t until they got on that she climbed onto the carriage and sat opposite to Lee Sungmin.
[The emotion you feel right now is the ‘bewitchment’ of a higher class vampire. Vampires prey on humans. They don’t hunt prey using force. They approach intimately, quietly, inserting their fangs in your neck without any fuss. That’s how vampires primarily hunt. Bewitchment is a convenient hunting tool that they possess.]
He focused his mind and raised his consciousness. A light shone in the midst of his blurry mind. Then, the strange sense of discomfort he felt from Geniella faded away. Lee Sungmin stared at Geniella with both eyes clear. Looking at Lee Sungmin’s eyes, Geniella laughed.
“It’s definitely unique.”
Geniella said as she pulled out the hairpin holding up her hair. Thick blood-red hair poured down in waves.
“Usually, you can’t escape immediately even if you notice it since a vampire’s bewitchment works on you unconsciously. However… Your strength of will is special. Special to a greater extent than I think should belong to an ordinary human.”
The carriage began to move.
“Why did you approach me?”
“I was curious about the human travelling along with Heoju. Apart from that, I had some personal business with you.”
Geniella tilted her head as she spoke.
“Ghost Blade.”
An unexpected name came out from Geniella’s lips.
“He was a child I really liked until I got my hands on him. So persistent, passionate, and yet so desperate. Not wanting to give up to the point where he was overflowing with indignation… Hu-hu! So I liked him. I like those sorts of kids, you see.”
The same way she liked Bloody Heavenly Demon.
“I didn’t take much care of it, but,” She paused before continuing. “Ah. Did you know? For a ‘Lord’, forming blood bridges is similar to having a child. So Ghost Blade was my child. My youngest child that I had years ago.”
Geniella’s voice was low. Lee Sungmin listened calmly. The meaning of what she said was clear. The person who turned Ghost Blade into vampires was Geniella.
“I see.”
Why would it matter to him?
It was Ghost Blade that chose to become a vampire. Even in the previous life, Ghost Blade would have become a vampire. Although it was Wijihoyeon, not Lee Sungmin, who killed the Ghost Blade who had become a vampire in his past life, Ghost Blade being turned to a vampire path had not changed under any circumstances.
Just because Ghost Blade was turned into a vampire by Geniella was not a reason for him to have any kind of feelings against her.
However, Geniella thought differently.
“I killed Ghost Blade. Do you want to hold me accountable for that?”
“I wanted to for a bit.”
Geniella did not lie. She replied frankly with a bright smile.
“But not now. It was just a toy. Can’t it be ruined? It was unavoidable. I’ll think of it like that.”
When she said so, she looked into Lee Sungmin’s eyes.
“You. Would you like to become a vampire?”
This was an irresistible case. She had countless blood bridges, but that didn’t mean she had been recklessly increasing them. For a Lord, who stood at the pinnacle of their clan, increasing the number of blood bridges they built meant that their strength would be dispersed. Of course, such scattered forces would also increase a Lord’s power to a certain extent, but the absence of ‘blood’ handed to them would create a deadly void as the number of their blood bridges increase.
That’s why pure-blooded vampires, who have the ability to create a clan and build a clan, would choose their members carefully to create a clan that would gain them more than they lost. It was the same with Geniella. She looked at ability as well, but satisfying her dark pleasure was her top priority.
Just like Ghost Blade and Bloody Heavenly Demon did.
“If you want, I can turn you into a vampire right now. It’s not difficult, yes? You can become a vampire straightaway. You can belong to the blood of Geniella, the Vampire Queen. What do you think?”
Geniella whispered and urged him. She was deeply interested in Lee Sungmin. This was an unusual feeling. Geniella made her own conclusion. Ghost Blade’s desperation rose from his aging body. He tried to overcome it himself, but he eventually chose to become non-human to gain more time. Bloody Heavenly Demon was not too different either. He was desperate and devastated by his lost arm and the overwhelming defeat he had suffered. Soon, even Bloody Heavenly Demon would choose to become a vampire.
But what about Lee Sungmin?
Lee Sungmin seemed strange in the eyes of Geniella. Age didn’t matter when it came to martial arts. In this ridiculous world, geniuses with absurd talents, monsters that surpassed martial arts practitioners, or mages that had practiced for decades, even at a young age, were not uncommon. It had always been the same for the past 600 years of her life.
If he wasn’t tempted by gaining power for himself, then what could he be tempted by? Geniella didn’t know Lee Sungmin. She didn’t know what kind of life Lee Sungmin had lived. Not being able to see through him? Yes, that was also quite interesting.
But the reason why she wanted to make him a blood bridge.
‘It feels dangerous.’
Geniella looked into Lee Sungmin’s eyes. His eyes were not suitable for someone of his age. He had eyes that held something that looked like it had accumulated for years beyond anything Geniella could guess. Geniella was attracted to those eyes. Even with the danger held within them. The opportunity of getting to shatter the spirit in such eyes made Geniella’s heart tremble.
“I will refuse.”
Lee Sungmin replied. It was a question not worth thinking about. He had no intention of becoming non-human, and he did not want to become a vampire under her control. If he wanted to be non-human, there was another way for Lee Sungmin. To become a ghost, like Heoju had suggested.
“Is that so?”
Geniella laughed as she heard Lee Sungmin’s answer.
“Then I can’t help it.”
Geniella no longer invited him. If he had accepted her offer right here, she would have been disappointed. Geniella was deeply satisfied with Lee Sungmin’s refusal.
‘Continue to refuse.’
Geniella hugged her shoulders as she felt her body warming up.
‘I much prefer that.’
The will that they think of as so sturdy. Breaking it down like a sandcastle.
She shivered in anticipation.
*****
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