A red hexagram flared up around the fallen Vladimir, spilling light in all directions.
The magic etched into his eyes activated in an instant.
Eyes met eyes.
Gaze met gaze.
In that brief exchange of stares—
The absolute terror conjured by the master of the night tried to devour Soohyeok whole.
In that moment, even Soohyeok couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
'This… is unavoidable."
A spell that had already begun, its outcome sealed-its power beyond imagination.
That's why he'd planned to strike first, before it could activate.
But Vladimir's spell was faster than expected.
A colossal presence-so overwhelming it could only be described as absolute-rushed into Soohyeok's vision.
Pop-!
His head snapped back, his spine arched.
It was the kind of sensation that felt like it might gnaw away at his very soul.
Ding-!
The spiritual grade of your essence is high.
Your karma score is high.
Comparing your karma with the caster's… Result: Equal.
C-rank Mental Contamination Immunity activated. Resisting enemy magic…
Mental Contamination Immunity has evolved to B-rank.
Completely resisting enemy magic.
A flurry of unexpected alerts rang out all at once.
The agony he was certain would follow-pressing down on him with that immense presence-never came.
Instead, within Soohyeok's wavering gaze, a pair of icy blue eyes locked onto him.
The reason why it was happening was still unclear.
But one thing was certain the situation was turning in Soohyeok's favor.
"You little bastard… who the hell do you think you are…?"
From Soohyeok's clenched teeth came a low, growling voice.
"W-what… what is this…?!"
Vladimir's smirk-expecting Soohyeok to writhe in agony-froze. His face went pale.
"You dare judge a human like that, you damned monster."
Boom-!
Soohyeok's fist smashed straight into the center of Vladimir's face.
Part of his once-handsome visage caved in, twisting grotesquely.
His blood-red eyes filled with disbelief.
"H-how… can a human…"
"Humans don't know limits."
Thud, thud, thud.
Soohyeok's fists rained down again and again.
His blows, wrapped in concentrated, materialized blue energy, hit harder than any hammer.
The only reason Vladimir still clung to consciousness despite the onslaught was because he wasn't human-he was something far beyond, sustained by immense willpower.
Which is why, instead of anger, the first thing that came to him was
bewilderment.
'He resisted… my mind magic?'
His magic might look simple, but its strength was immense.
It could forcibly dominate and suppress any being with a lesser spiritual grade-bend them to his will.
And the range of that "will" was terrifyingly vast.
Take, for example, Kim Jiwoon from the Tranon dimension-
His head had exploded instantly.
An overwhelming presence issuing a command engraved a powerful hypnotic
force into the victim's flesh, making the impossible possible.
That's what made Vladimir stronger than most beings on Earth.
Overwhelmingly strong.
Few could even dream of standing at his level.
And yet… now he was getting pummeled.
'Blood? I think I'm bleeding?'
Not just a little.
A lot.
When was the last time he even saw his own blood?
He couldn't remember.
Felt like… decades ago.
"GRAAAAGHH-!"
Fury overtook him once more.
He surged to his feet, unleashing his power.
Blood-red liquid boiled up from the floor, transforming into sharp spikes that shot toward Soohyeok, aiming to pierce him through.
Clang-clang-clang!
All of them bounced off.
Like needles crashing into a steel wall, they bent, shattered, and scattered in every direction.
"W-what the hell…?"
The sigh that escaped was one of disbelief.
"This bastard's still fine?
What kind of monster are you…?"
Soohyeok frowned, clearly annoyed-and began swinging his fists even faster, even harder.
"P-please, wa-wait a sec-'
""
Punch.
Punch.
Punch.
The relentless beatdown continued.
Even Vladimir's rock-solid mind began to crumble under the ceaseless violence.
And finally-something inside him snapped.
The world before his eyes went dark.
When Vladimir opened his eyes again, everything around him was pitch black.
'Is it still night…?'
Or… had he been knocked out until nightfall?
He didn't want to consider either option.
And as his senses slowly returned, he realized the gray stone walls around him weren't outside-he was indoors.
"You're awake, huh?"
The voice that followed made him shudder involuntarily.
'Me? Vladimir… progenitor of vampires… shuddering at a human voice?'
Unthinkable.
A humiliation so deep he wouldn't even dare imagine it aloud.
His face flushed hot, turning red without even realizing it.
A tangled swirl of emotions passed across Vladimir's face as he bit his lower lip.
"Why aren't you answering?"
The voice, which had sounded distant before, suddenly felt much closer.
In front of him now were black irises-locking eyes with his.
"No-Name… Soohyeok."
Soohyeok's eyes narrowed at the way Vladimir addressed him.
'What should I do with this monster?'
Vladimir's true identity remained a mystery.
But Soohyeok did know one thing-he was one of the Universal Eight, humanity's last line of defense, and an incredibly powerful being.
Beyond that, information was scarce.
"You deal in blood. Vampires, then? Or something along those lines?"
Soohyeok asked, but Vladimir offered no reply.
That didn't mean he stayed still, though.
His gaze calmly and slowly scanned their surroundings.
"A basement parking lot, is it?"
The response was somewhat off-topic-but surprisingly composed.
"That's right. Didn't have anywhere else to drag you."
Soohyeok didn't deny it.
He hadn't meant for the fight to happen-it just had. And he'd won.
If he'd been wearing the No-Name mask, he could've dragged Vladimir straight to Oh Shin-woo and dumped him at his feet. But unfortunately, he hadn't had the mask-or anything-at the time. Worse, dawn was breaking, and people were starting to show up.
Not wanting to cause a scene, he'd been forced to flee into the underground lot, avoiding prying eyes.
Hardly what you'd call a dignified moment.
"What a damn mess…
""
Clicking his tongue, Vladimir looked down at himself.
His pristine white suit was now filthy with dust and grime.
His once-prized handsome face was bruised and battered.
And more than anything, his whole body hurt like hell.
"Never thought I'd come to this tiny-ass country and get my ass beat…"
Even thinking about it made him snort with disbelief.
He didn't even feel angry anymore.
Whatever the explanation, whatever the excuse-the outcome remained the
same.
He'd lost.
Naturally, his curiosity about the man before him had grown exponentially.
"What… are you?"
The question made Soohyeok's expression twitch with disbelief.
"That's what I should be asking.
Didn't I ask first? You're a vampire, right?"
"Yeah. Isn't it obvious?"
Vladimir even smiled now, spreading his arms with a flourish.
Soohyeok clicked his tongue again at the sheer audacity.
"What a screwed-up world. A bloodsucking leech like you being part of humanity's final defense?"
"Hey, don't be like that. I do love humans, you know."
"Yeah, in the way mosquitoes love people, huh? Sucking blood to survive."
"Not… entirely wrong, but come on. It's not like I'm out there eating people. Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"You don't eat them, sure-but you still bleed them dry."
Soohyeok's eyes narrowed again.
A flicker of killing intent passed through his gaze.
Whatever the case, the man before him was a threat to humanity. A dangerous one. Under normal circumstances, that might be forgivable-but given everything that's happened, it might just be better to finish him off, no matter how risky.
At that moment, Vladimir groaned and raised both hands, pushing his aching body upright.
"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy! Damn, you're intense. Making a guy-well, a vampire-nervous here."
"You don't look nervous…'
""
"Well, you know. This body isn't the real one anyway."
Vladimir grinned as he let his arms fall.
Soohyeok's brow furrowed deeply.
…What?"
"You seriously thought the great progenitor of the night, grand archmage that I am, would bring my real body into some foreign danger zone like this?"
Whether it was a lie or the truth-Soohyeok's eyes gleamed, trying to pierce through him.
"Believe it or not, up to you. But if I were you, I'd believe it. Nothing to lose, right?
Wouldn't you say?"
Vladimir smirked and sat back down with a sigh.
"Ugh, man….. my whole body's wrecked. Thanks to you, I won't be using this avatar for a while. I'll probably need a solid recovery period once I get back to the homeland."
Soohyeok silently looked down at him.
At a glance, it looked like some exaggerated act meant to survive.
But ironically… it felt like the truth.
An instinct-call it a sixth sense, maybe. Soohyeok knew his intuition was unusually sharp.
"…It's real, huh."
"Told you. And hey, it's not like I've done anything that bad to humans. You think I'd just go around bleeding people dry these days? You'd get roasted alive on social media for that."
'…Tch."
"It's true! These days it's more like blood donations. Little by little, just like a transfusion. Hell, some fans even bring me donor cards saying they want to
contribute."
66
'…So you're saying… there are people who know you're a vampire?"
"Well, I wouldn't say a lot… but yeah, some do.
Anyway your curiosity's pretty well satisfied now, right? Don't you think it's my turn to ask something?"
"What now?"
Soohyeok's tone grew short.
He was already annoyed-he'd been wondering how to handle the aftermath, but now none of it mattered.
If the body in front of him was fake, killing it would be pointless.
All it would do is make things messier for him.
'No wonder…
Compared to that overwhelming spiritual pressure, Vladimir's physical body was oddly frail.
If Soohyeok hadn't reached a supreme state of mastery and learned to materialize his energy, it might have been dangerous-but just barely.
And yet, Vladimir's presence was massive-far beyond what even the "Universal Eight" designation suggested.
"You… what the hell are you? You're no mage, but you saw right through me—and even resisted my mental magic?"
Vladimir clicked his tongue again.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]