Chapter 55

The Black Dragon’s Fang Dagger boosted both physical and magical attack power. That was how it had managed to pierce through Hexley’s skin despite the massive gap in their levels.

Sure, it was barely a scratch, hardly even worth calling a wound, but the fact that it pierced at all was what mattered here. At the core of it, all beings were more vulnerable to magic that detonated from within than magic that hit from the outside. To put it in simple terms, it was far more effective to plant a spell inside and trigger it than to shoot it from a distance.

[Fangs of the Black Dragon]

Offense and defense danced together, each move shaped by the terrain and timing. It was a high-stakes equation, with every factor clicking into place like gears in a machine. In that split second, Do-Jin’s move was weighed and measured by the laws of LOST, and the outcome was made clear by Hexley’s agonized scream.

“

Aaaargh

!”

Despite the crushing difference in level, Do-Jin’s curse had successfully taken root in him. Hexley roared and hurled Do-Jin away and his gut was wracked with the sensation of a venomous serpent writhing inside.

“Y-you bastard...!”

He was going to kill him. Setting aside the fact that he had been cursed, if he didn’t rip that little shit to pieces right now, his brain was going to explode from sheer rage. Without even thinking about what had just happened to him, Hexley snapped his head up, ready to finish off the one he’d thrown aside.

“See ya, cult freak.”

Do-Jin didn’t give him a chance to retaliate. With a bright, almost cheeky grin, he gave Hexley, who was glaring at him like he wanted blood, a little wave and threw himself backward. Of course, the priest immediately moved to chase him, but Do-Jin no longer cared what the bastard did. The hard part, which was planting the three-minute time bomb, was done. Everything after that was easy.

As he let gravity take over and plummeted downward, Do-Jin launched a fireball toward where he had planted the mana stone bombs. It set off the first one, which in turn triggered a chain reaction. One explosion after another tore through the underground aqueduct. Although that wasn’t enough to cause a total collapse, it was able to wreck a few steel bridges and ladders here and there. He just needed enough time for him and Karin to slip down into the black pit, the gaping hole swallowing the city’s water like a glutton.

“Do-Jin!” The Elder’s panicked voice tore through the air.

Without looking back, Do-Jin yanked hard with his Psychokinesis at a rope dangling from the wall. As it snapped down, he caught it and pulled with all his strength.

“

Ah

?!”

The rope had been tied to the Elder, who was dragged along with him into free fall. As he watched her falling just slightly above him, Do-Jin smiled.

It’s perfect.

He’d planted a lethal, timed curse inside the enemy that was set to detonate in three minutes and destroyed the ladders and bridges, blocking any quick path to the Elder. With the rope prepared in advance, he’d sent her plummeting to the one place down here that could be considered safe, the deep underground waters.

That lunatic priest screaming above them wouldn’t be able to spot her in time, not once she got pulled under by the current. With her physical strength as an Elder Vampire, she naturally wouldn’t drown. With that, the fate quest could finally be complete.

Of course, I’m gonna die...

Everything else had gone according to plan, and this was how Do-Jin had made his choice. If the odds were that he’d lose his life anyway, he might as well sacrifice himself for the win. There was a splash as he hit the water, followed immediately by the brutal slam of the current. There wasn’t even time for him to try holding his breath before water forcefully rushed into his mouth and nose, filling up his lungs.

As he began to suffocate and gag, Do-Jin’s consciousness slipped away.

***

Do-Jin tied the rope around his waist, but Karin didn’t think much of it. She simply assumed he was preparing something, just as he had been all this time. Even when he set the mana stone bombs or carefully laid out his traps, she hadn’t questioned his intentions.

Karin had only been watching because, at this point, whatever happened didn’t really matter to her. If she happened to find something that could fill the emptiness inside her, that would be fine. If she never found it and simply disappeared, that would also be fine.

This isn’t right. This can’t happen.

She had never imagined the rope he had tied would be used like this. Karin had always assumed that if someone were to be in danger, it would be her. That was simply how things had always been.

Yet, Do-Jin had betrayed her expectations. He had done it over and over again.

So everything you’ve been doing... it was for this? All of it was to save me, even if it meant throwing yourself away?

Just as he had never asked for her name, she had never learned his. Now, as she watched him being tossed around by the raging current, Karin felt something she hadn’t experienced in centuries, gut-wrenching fear. It was the fear that he’d die, the fear that they’d never even find his body and the fear that she’d go on living, never knowing the name of the man who saved her.

Move. Please, move.

This kind of current should have been nothing to her. If she had been at full strength, she would have reached him in an instant, pulled him out of danger and taken him to safety without breaking a sweat, but for some reason she couldn’t. She couldn’t use her strength when it mattered the most. Her body just refused to move.

I’m an idiot.

Frustration swelled inside her. From the moment she had left the Principality, every decision she had made had led her to this moment. For the first time in a thousand years, she regretted them all. Something inside her shifted, unfamiliar yet overwhelming. And the more she realized that, her budding heart surged toward Do-Jin, blooming and overflowing, dragging the rest of her with it.

No!

Ahead of them, the water split into two currents. If this continued, they would be separated. Panic clawed at her. She fought to move, to break free from the paralysis gripping her body. All she managed was the tiniest twitch, but somehow, that tiny motion sparked a miracle.

Whip!

A rope fluttering near Do-Jin snagged around his body and tangled with hers. Just like that, the two of them were bound together, tossed around by the current, but no longer drifting apart.

***

They’d washed up in a shallow clearing, a hollow carved by the current over who knew how many years. Now Karin was on top of Do-Jin, kissing him with a strange, frantic determination.

“

Huff

...

huff

...

ptuh

,

ptuh

.”

She was trying to perform CPR, mimicking what she’d read in books. The real problem was that the only part of her body she could move was from the neck up. She’d had to crawl toward Do-Jin using just her chin. Even turning him over took every ounce of effort, ramming him with her head just to flip him.

As for chest compressions, all she could do was awkwardly climb up his body with her jaw and slam her forehead down to pump his chest. Even blowing air into him was a struggle. The angle was all wrong and she barely managed to line things up. But still, she gave it everything she had, dragging out whatever scraps of knowledge she could remember.

“

Cough

...

hack

...”

“Do-Jin!”

Maybe the world hadn’t completely turned its back on them. Do-Jin let out a weak cough, spitting up water as his body jolted ever so slightly.

Karin lit up with relief and looked at him, but he still wasn’t awake. Dragged through the torrent, slammed into who-knew-what along the way, he was a wreck. The faint breath and weak heartbeat she’d just found could’ve vanished at any moment. Sure enough, they were growing fainter.

With her head pressed against his chest, Karin silently begged.

Just hang on a little longer... Once I recover, I’ll save you. I swear.

Do-Jin’s heartbeat echoed through her, carving itself into her soul with a sound she could never make herself as a vampire. It gradually slowed down, the gaps between each beat growing wider.

***

It was hard to tell how much time had passed before Karin’s feet suddenly twitched. As if breaking from a paralyzing slumber, she tried to move but could only feel her fingers shift.

Slowly, as her body came back to life, Do-Jin’s life edged closer to the other side. As she became increasingly aware of her own recovery and his gradual march toward death, Karin felt her blood and soul drying up together.

If he dies... I’ll want to disappear even more than I already do, but I won’t be able to. It felt meaningless before. Now it’s crushing me... like the weight of his life is piling on top of mine.

These feelings she was starting to awaken to were something she wished she didn’t have to learn. At the end of all of it came a burning hatred, heavy as the guilt weighing her down, directed at the priest in the snow-white robes who had done this to Do-Jin.

He was probably the one who tricked me...

The face and voice were different, but Karin could recognize someone by the sounds they made, particularly the rhythm of their heartbeat. The odds of there being two people with the same heartbeat would be slim to none.

I won’t let you go, priest. I’ll hunt you down to the ends of this earth and make you pay for this.

Karin made a vow that even if she had to sort through the heartbeat of every living thing on this planet, she’d avenge the man whose name she never even got the chance to ask.

SPLASH

.

Just as she had resolved herself, a new sound cut through Do-Jin’s weakened heartbeat.

“So this is where you fucking cockroaches were hiding...”

There Hexley was, standing in the water, practically trembling with sadistic glee.

***

The curse had taken hold, but in the end, it just didn’t pack enough of a punch. Three minutes of ticking damage followed by a blast three times as strong was not enough to kill Hexley. That was exactly why Do-Jin had dragged Karin into the current with him in the first place. Enduring the three minutes until the final burst was hard enough.

If Hexley survived even that, they were truly screwed. Despite planning for the worst-case scenario, Do-Jin hadn’t accounted for one thing: Hexley’s sheer madness and obsession.

No matter how crazy the bastard was, Do-Jin never expected him to actually jump headfirst into a pitch-black, bottomless pit just to keep chasing him. The moment the curse damage eased off, however, Hexley did exactly that, making it all the way to where Do-Jin and Karin were now.

“

Hehehehe

... You really do look the part. Someone who defied the Great Order should be rotting in the dirt and that’s exactly what you look like, some soggy, half-dead bug.”

He sneered, eyes glowing white as he stared down at Do-Jin. “But you don’t get to die easy. No, you don’t deserve that mercy. First, I’ll cut off your arms and legs. Then I’ll gouge out your eyes. Your eardrums too. Even if you wake up, you won’t have a fucking clue what kind of hell you’re in. And you’ll just rot away, slowly and painfully. Yeah... that’s the kind of death you deserve. A pathetic, pitiful end so fitting for scum like you.”

Just as he was savoring the thought, Hexley’s gaze shifted and locked onto Karin. She was staring back with eyes burning like fire.

“Well, well... Looks like you still can’t move properly, huh? Don’t worry, just hang tight. I’ve got more than enough Holy Water and all the materials I need for binding spells.” He gave a low chuckle and started walking toward her. “Not sure how I’ll get out of here yet, but hey... no way I’m leaving behind such a precious little ingredient for the Great Order.”

“No... stop!”

Karin threw herself over Do-Jin’s body. She knew it wouldn’t help. She knew it was useless, but she couldn’t do anything else.

Just a few more minutes, maybe a few dozen at most, and I’d get my strength back.

Clinging to that hope, Karin squeezed her eyes shut. And in that moment, a barely audible sigh laced with the weariness of ages past tickled her ear.

“

Haaa

...”

Hearing the familiar voice, Karin’s body instantly relaxed. Her eyes flew open and she turned toward the source to see a figure cloaked in swirling black mist behind Hexley, the ruler of the Shadow Principality.

Karin uttered a word she’d never spoken before in her life. “Dad...”

Hexley, still unaware of the presence behind him, thought she was just panicking and calling out in fear.

He burst out laughing. “Oh, how fucking precious! Even giant bloodsucking mosquitoes like you cry for Mommy and Daddy when death comes knocking! Disgusting. Just disgu—”

Snap

.

A thin, wet line grew across Hexley’s wrist mid-gesture.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

His arm was neatly carved away, piece by piece. A second later, he finally registered the pain and let out a mangled scream, though it didn’t last long. As the sickly sound of slicing filled the air, Hexley was quickly rendered limbless, crumpling like a sack of butchered meat. There was no more screaming, just blood flooding up from his lungs, choking out the sound.

Despite his body begging to die, death wouldn’t come. In front of Grand Mage Carneth Tirund, the Duke himself, death required permission, and it was not being granted.

As he looked into the eyes of his daughter, he thought to himself,

So she still has that look in her...

Back when her heart still beat, before she became a vampire, she had once brought him a dead bird from the garden, eyes filled with the same sorrow and helplessness.

“Father... Please... Please save him...”

Yes. That’s what you used to say back then, too. And I would always answer the same way.

“You can’t bring back the dead. That’s the law of the world. The will of nature.”

And I remember it well, how I fumbled, lost for words as you wept in my arms.

“But this time... it looks like I won’t need to comfort you.”

Yes, thank the heavens. Because this time, the creature she brought home wasn’t dead yet.

“Let’s go home.”

Dark mist poured out from Duke Tirund’s body. It enveloped Do-Jin and Karin and even the mutilated, half-living Hexley who had been denied both death and life. Within the mist, they all vanished.