Chapter 72 - Raid
Jin was heavy.
With muscles of ultra-high density, his body weighed much more than it appeared.
However, Natasha, carrying Jin, managed to run quite well.
Though she appeared delicate, it turned out she had a body packed with deep muscles—an endurance and strength that couldn't be explained in simple terms.
In fact, Psykers generally have superior physical abilities compared to regular humans.
While they may not be as powerful as genetically enhanced superhumans, they are still sturdier than they appear.
Still, Jin was heavy.
A body over 100kg hanging limply made Natasha's breathing grow heavier over time.
Though she likely tried not to show it, there's always a limit.
Now, Jin heard her labored breathing.
"···Hey, put me down."
"Are you done? Do you know there's a hole in your stomach?"
The answer came back broken as they ran.
Jin placed his hand on his lower abdomen and said, "It's all healed. Really."
"What? That's nonsense..."
Instead of the piggyback Natasha, Shotgun Natasha turned her head.
"···It's true."
She mumbled in disbelief as she checked Jin's smooth side through the torn clothes.
Jin lowered his legs, removing the hands around his thighs and standing on the ground.
At the same moment, monsters—whether zombies or vampires—rushed at them from the sides.
Kieeek!
With both arms wide, Jin grabbed the backs of their heads, slamming them together like cymbals with a loud clash.
It was a face-to-face collision beyond a kiss.
Jin jumped over the monsters that collapsed with smashed faces and chased after his group ahead.
Then, for a moment, he staggered.
He barely managed to right his leaning body.
To be honest, he still felt dizzy.
The wound in his lower abdomen had healed, but the problem was that the vampire's hand, which had torn his peritoneum, had melted into his body as blood.
It felt unsettling.
Why was his body so hot?
Jin gritted his teeth and quickened his pace, cutting through the monsters in his way.
He guessed they were probably former members of Underheart's crew.
Look at that.
He's wearing pajamas.
Jin smashed the jaw of a corpse wearing pajamas with a flying knee.
In the midst of that, he saw Maximo, who had fallen behind.
His ankle was caught, and the corpses were swarming around him like piranhas.
At the same time, Jin raised his right arm.
Kriiick!!
He shaped his lightning into a long spear, gripping it tightly, then threw it.
Boom!!
The upper bodies of the gathered monsters exploded simultaneously.
In Maximo's view, the scene of corpses filling his vision suddenly cleared with a violent explosion, and as flesh rained down like a storm, he hurriedly got back on his feet.
Jin, confirming Maximo's unscathed head, let out a sigh of relief.
With his legs still moving, he shook off the leftover lightning from his hands.
The lightning spear, created from the Polar Radiance.
Jin usually ignored this technique.
That's because it wasn't very cost-effective.
It used up too much mana, and with the same mana, Jin could stay in lightning form for over two minutes without having to throw anything.
So, it was always easier to just coat his body in lightning and strike.
Jin had always neglected the techniques etched in his mind.
But this time, it served its purpose in a pinch.
The problem was that his mana had drained quickly.
That's why Jin drew out Gravis.
Bang—!!
He kept running, puncturing the foreheads of the relentlessly clinging monsters, until he saw Natasha up ahead.
What should this be called?
Leftasha, Rightasha?
Anyway, the two Natashas were diligently shooting, punching, and kicking their way forward.
In the midst of the writhing enemy forces, suddenly, a massive roar echoed, and the next moment, a huge corpse appeared, crashing into other bodies with its shoulders.
Grrr!
It was a bear beastman.
It seemed to have died while in beast form.
Immediately, Natasha (Right) fired her shotgun, but the beastman didn't stop its charge, even with its head half destroyed.
Isn't a beastman supposed to be tough?
Since it couldn't feel pain anymore, its breaking power must have been insane.
In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance and was about to strike Natasha (Left).
But from behind, Jin charged at incredible speed and slammed into the beastman's shoulder.
The impact caused both Jin and the beastman to fly in opposite directions.
However, Jin, who regained his balance first, brought Gravis down with a series of "thunk! thunk! thunk!"
The bear beastman's head was completely obliterated, and its body collapsed to the ground.
At that moment, a voice rang out.
"Jin! Natasha! Duck!"
Reacting instantly, the three of them ducked as three grenades flew overhead in a perfect arc.
Then came the explosion.
The front lines loosened.
"Let's go!"
Jin led the charge, with the others following close behind.
***
How much time had passed?
After running madly for a long time, the group finally found a set of stairs leading deeper underground.
With no time to hesitate, they jumped down, and as they did, they felt the cold breath of the dead creatures that had chased them, brushing against their necks.
"Aaah!! Aaah!!"
The annoying scream of a mercenary echoed from behind.
By now, he had fallen behind and was on the verge of being caught, but he threw himself forward, narrowly escaping death.
But since he had collapsed to the ground, his only option was to crawl.
Right as the wave of dead bodies was about to cover him-
With the sound of a clap, something exploded.
KWAANG!!!
Immediately, a huge rock fell from the sky and stacked up at the entrance of the stairs, blocking the path.
"Come here. Hurry."
At the hoarse voice, the party turned their heads.
When the flashlight was pointed by the mercenary, they saw an old man with disheveled hair motioning for them to come closer.
If they hesitated here, things would get worse.
They decided to move.
Following the old man, they navigated through the dark, twisting cave until they arrived at a space surrounded on all sides except for a small entrance.
They collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
Everyone was covered in wounds, large and small.
Yet, their eyes were fixed on the old man who had led them here.
The old man, staring at them blankly, awkwardly sat down on the ground.
"Put out that light first."
At that, Maximo snatched the flashlight from the mercenary's hand and clicked it off.
At the same time, the old man snapped his fingers.
"Ooh."
A soft light appeared in midair, just bright enough to illuminate their surroundings, and Jin turned his head in admiration.
"…So who are you?"
The old man slowly raised his head.
His right eye had turned completely white, and his left eye was becoming opaque, staring at Jin.
"King."
If someone who didn't know heard this, they would probably laugh.
In a world where cars fly and skyscrapers touch the clouds, what sense does it make to talk about kings?
But this was a special environment.
A kingdom created by criminals who were buried underground.
The name itself was Underheart Kingdom, wasn't it?
So, what was the true identity of this old man, claiming to be a king?
"Damir Havo… Vich?"
Jin remembered the record in Dandore's notebook, and the old man nodded.
"Yeah. That's me."
Damir Havovitch.
A second-tier mage skilled in explosive magic, also known as the Bomb Maker.
He was the one who created Underheart, and had been living buried underground for over 30 years.
However, he had a severe rejection to implants, so his body had weakened greatly in his old age.
Thank you, D'Andre.
Jin wiped the cold sweat from his neck, recalling the notebook's contents, and spoke.
"Your kingdom is a mess."
"I know."
The curt reply made Maximo laugh wryly.
Meanwhile, one of the Natashas, who were sitting with their backs against the wall, stared at the old man and spoke.
"…Do you have any idea what you've done? A vampire? You awakened a monster that had been extinct for hundreds of years. What were you thinking? Don't you have any sense of danger?"
"It wasn't me."
"What?"
"It was the traitors."
The old man's brow furrowed as he answered.
"Those damned bastards opened the sarcophagus even after I warned them. They believed there would be a great artifact inside just because it was found in the ruins."
At this point, anyone from Jin's hometown might have recalled a particular movie.
Grave robbing.
The thing that had woken up from underground, causing a huge disaster.
It was a hit movie that had accumulated 11.9 million viewers.
Of course, Jin didn't know about that.
He was dragged here before it was released.
So, without thinking, he asked.
"...So, you smelled something fishy?"
"It was filled with ominous magic. They shouldn't have opened it. Never."
The old man trembled in anger as he continued, spitting out the words.
While expanding the tunnels, they accidentally discovered an underground ruin.
They investigated it with great excitement, and there they found a massive sarcophagus.
Usually, when told not to open something, the temptation to do so becomes even stronger.
Thinking there might be an artifact inside, the fools killed the guards and opened it.
Once the sarcophagus was opened, the magical seals etched on it, if unknown, were destroyed by those who embodied the phrase "brave ignorance."
As a result, a vampire was awakened.
And as luck would have it, it was a Lord-class.
A Lord-class refers to a creature specialized in controlling blood and law, capable of infecting others with its own blood and expanding its influence.
Maximo added a quick explanation in between.
Well, thanks.
In any case, such a being had awakened.
The first thing it did was recover its body, which had been in decline for a thousand years.
It created followers, made them offer sacrifices, used their blood to erect a barrier around the entire tunnel, and performed various magical feats.
There were detailed explanations, but Jin couldn't focus at all.
He wasn't interested in this kind of talk to begin with, and for some reason, his head felt hot, and his vision and hearing became dull.
Why was this happening?
Feeling a slight dizziness, Jin blinked, and the status window appeared again in his field of vision.
What now?
He had missed the earlier message due to the chaos, but now he struggled to read it line by line.
「(Hidden!) True Blood」─────────────
Would you accept True blood? (YES/NO)
If accepted, your species will transform.
If rejected, you will die within 24 hours.
(Remaining time 22:31:04)
─────────────────────
4 seconds, 3 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second.
30 minutes.
Only then did Jin realize his condition, and he flinched.
Did I get infected?
It felt like he had been struck by lightning.
Shit.
What is this?
"Absolutely not, you bastard."
He barely swallowed the curse that almost escaped his lips.
A vampire, huh?
One who screams in the sunlight, hates garlic and mustard, is weak to silver and holy water, that monster?
What else... doesn't like water, maybe?
The weaknesses of vampires, which he had come across in various media, quickly ran through Jin's mind.
Of course, the vampires of Lost City aren't those kinds of monsters.
As Natasha and Maximo had mentioned, they were a powerful, ancient race that had long since perished, a being whose origins differed completely from the rabid vampire myths born from rabies.
But so what?
Jin doesn't allow any changes to his body.
He is the leader of the isolation policy, the one who doesn't even allow the tiniest of chips.
If he doesn't allow a chip, what?
Change your race?
Is this insane?
Spouting nonsense like Hidden?
[Do you accept the True Blood?]
Jin glared at the screen, which tested his identity that he had stubbornly preserved through every crisis.
If his gaze had physical power, the status window would have been shredded to pieces.
At the same time, anger flared up like a wildfire.
That vampire bastard.
Instead of settling it with a fight to the death, he cowardly infects him?
You're dead.
Even if I die, I'll make sure you do too.
Jin's veins popped out on his forehead.
The heat was already boiling, and with the anger rising, he felt his vision spin for a moment.
Wiping his face roughly with his hands, he regained his focus and quickly turned to face the old man.
"So, are you just going to hide like this?"
"...What?"
"Your kingdom's been taken over. Criminals? Servants? Anyway, your subordinates turned into monsters too. You're a king, aren't you? Are you just going to put up with this? You need to get revenge."
Without waiting for an answer, Jin continued.
"Don't you have any plans? You're a second-tier mage, after all."
"...I'm planning to gather the survivors. Then, I'll strike before that monster regains its full strength."
"How will you find the survivors?"
The questions came without hesitation.
In a way, it was like the invader was pressuring the master.
Under the pressure of Jin's eyes, which were faintly turning, the old man involuntarily started moving his lips.
"...A life detection spell."
"Good."
Jin nodded, then waved his hand, scattering the status window.
He took a moment to gather his thoughts.
A time limit, limited space, and a randomly wandering boss.
Maybe because he had accepted a death sentence.
The elements that made it all feel like a game didn't trigger his panic this time.
Instead, he was just filled with heat in his dazed state.
Then, grinding his teeth, Jin muttered.
"Alright, let's do it. Raid."