Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 71
[ 71. Blood hook (3) ]
#71
Ophelia put her hand on Ronan’s cheek. Before long, mana gathered in her palms and gave off a cool light.
“Damn it…?!”
Sheeta’s eyes widened. Ophelia removed her hand. Ronan, who touched his face, frowned. The curve felt under the palm was different from usual.
“Damn, that feels weird. Is it right?”
“Yeah… perfect. Because it was a magic that even used a catalyst. I’ll walk you back when you leave the site.”
“Piyah…”
Looking at Sheeta’s disgusted appearance, it seemed like it had been properly eaten. Ronan and Sheeta left Phileon at dawn. I had to move my feet quickly to arrive on time.
****
It was a night where the crescent moon smiled.
A water mist was rising over the swamp covered with fallen leaves. White withered trees beckoned under the moonlight.
The walkable land, which made up about 30 percent of the swampland, was covered with short, yellowish grass. The meeting place for trading the essence of fresh blood was bulging in the middle.
It was a tomb now forgotten in people’s memories. Two strong-built men stood blocking the stone gate that served as the entrance.
The man with the mustache said, scratching his head.
“Who did you say was coming today? You are very late.”
“You idiot, have you forgotten? It’s the Jarodine Stone Song.”
“Ah, I remember. Did you say you were a wizard?”
“I am not an ordinary wizard. In the past, he was a big player who even competed with former swordsmen.”
The curly-haired man sighed. It was embarrassing to work with such a poor bastard.
Why did the masters give such a bastard the honor of becoming their household? He kept his eyes fixed on the front and opened his mouth.
“The masters are looking forward to this deal, so get your head right. Do you have a good scroll?”
“Yes, how many times do you ask? don’t worry too much No matter how much he is a flying and creeping wizard, he is still a human…”
“Shh! There he comes.”
The curly hair extended a finger and pointed forward. A light flickered in the distance, approaching.
Before long, a man with a torch walked out of the darkness. He was wearing a long robe that covered him from head to toe, so he couldn’t see his face. The gatekeepers drew their swords and approached him.
“Jarodin Stonesong… is that right?”
“okay.”
Mustache frowned. It was a terrible voice, reminiscent of a crow being strangled. The curly hair, holding out a portrait of Jarodine, said in a stern tone.
“Please take off your hood as we need to verify your identity.”
“I will.”
The unidentified man meekly turned the hood over. A skinny face with no face was revealed.
Blue eyes that are set too deep. Dark, clear eyebrows that retain even a little bit of the beauty of the past. Contrasting the portrait with his face, the curly hair drew a knife.
“Has confirmed. Top Mage Jarodine Stonesong.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Come in. Precious people are waiting for you.”
Curly hair guided him to the tomb. The moustache, which had been scanning Jarodine’s appearance, said sarcastically.
“You are too skinny. I thought it was a monster.”
“Shut up. Don’t be rude to your guests.”
“It doesn’t matter, open the door.”
“Ah yes!”
The gatekeepers opened the stone gate. A cool breeze blew in from the other side of the exposed passageway. The smell of blood stung his nostrils, and Jarodine’s brows narrowed. The curly hair pointed to the inside of the tomb and said.
“Just keep walking along the main road. It’s complicated inside, so be careful.”
“It seems that the scale is bigger than I thought… I’m a little blind at night, so can you guide me?”
“That’s…we also have work to do. sorry.”
The curly hair bowed politely. At least one of them could have helped, but it seemed that he had other duties besides guarding the entrance. Jarodine asked, rubbing his chin.
“Then there is nothing you can do. Doesn’t it look like there’s no one guarding the outside other than you?”
“yes? Uh… that’s right.”
“Good. I’ll give you a present.”
Jarodin, who was rummaging through his star bag, pulled out a scroll and held it. At most, it was a very small scroll the size of a finger.
Jarodine activated the scroll before the gatekeeper had time to question. Shuuk! A translucent cube wrapped around the three of them. The noise from outside disappeared in an instant.
“This…silent…”
was what the curly hair was about to say. Something flashed in Jarodine’s robes.
His world tilted with the feeling of wind scratching his neck. Took. The curly-haired gatekeeper’s head fell to the floor. The eyes of the yawning mustache widened as if they would pop out.
“Ugh! What is this…!”
“It dies right away. Were you human?”
I thought he was a vampire, but he seemed to be just a member of his family. Jarodine jumped straight ahead and swung his arms. squeak. As the black blade drew an arc, a red line formed around the neck of the mustache.
“Gagging…!”
“I think you drank a little more blood.”
He instinctively noticed that his head had fallen off his body. The regenerative power he gained from selling his soul to a vampire prevented him from dying instantly. Mustache pressed the top of his head with his right hand and took out the scroll he had put in his pocket with his left hand.
“Wow!”
“Ah fuck it’s a surprise.”
Mustache screamed and tried to break the seal on the scroll. Jarodine calmly delivered a slash. Awesome! His arms rose into the air at the same time as the head that had been cut off earlier. Jarodine let out a sigh of relief as he watched the corpse disintegrate.
‘Good job casting silence magic.’
At least, things almost went wrong from the start. What he used was a microscopic silent scroll he had received as a gift from Schlieffen earlier.
At that moment, a scroll rolled in a pool of blood caught my eye. Mustache was desperately trying to break the seal. Ronan, who polymorphed into Jarodine, to be exact, tilted his head.
‘What is this?’
I couldn’t guess the use. It was the moment Ronan picked up the scroll. The dangling string broke and the magic imprinted on the scroll was activated. Shuaak! A barrier of mana that suddenly rose up blocked the stone gate. Ronan laughed.
“…It saved me a lot of trouble.”
It seemed that he intended to seal the entrance so that Jarodin could not escape. Perhaps it was something prepared against Jarodine, so it certainly looked solid. To the extent that they themselves cannot break through.
Ronan rummaged through the sleeves of his curly hair just in case. Sure enough, the same scroll was hidden. Ronan, who took the scroll, lifted up his robe and said.
“Sita. put it away.”
“Damn it.”
Sheeta peeked out from under her robe. It was one of the reasons why he was wearing a robe that didn’t fit.
Checking the bloodstains everywhere, Sheeta spread her wings. The blood remaining in the body of the corpse, as well as the bloodstains the size of a grain of sand on the robe, floated up in droplets and were absorbed into Sheeta’s body.
Within seconds, the scene was clear. Seeing the mummified corpses, Ronan smiled contentedly.
“good job. This won’t go unnoticed.”
It was a measure to avoid attracting the attention of vampires. There was already a strong smell of blood coming from the inside, so it seemed like nothing would be discovered, but there was nothing wrong with being careful. After finishing her work, Sheeta hid behind her robe again. Ronan moved his steps down the aisle.
‘It’s in good shape.’
The passageway led underground. Elaborate masonry stood out. Since it was a swampy area, there was no sign of water leakage, even though it was supposed to be full of water and mud. Suddenly, Ronan noticed that the architectural style applied to this tomb was similar to that of Sarante’s temple.
‘No way…it must have been a coincidence.’
The inside was quite complex. It was a tomb with a structure that seemed to have buried the building intact in the ground.
Ronan only walked along the big aisle, as the curly-haired gatekeeper said. The deeper we went, the stronger the smell of blood. Before long, the field of vision widened and a space reminiscent of a banquet hall spread out in front of me.
“come. really came That Jarodine Stonesong.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve done business with humans.”
“You are too skinny. Not even three cups of blood will come out.”
In the middle of the banquet hall, there was a long stone table that looked to be ten meters high. Twenty young men and women were seated around a table. They were all owners of beautiful looks.
‘A lot came.’
It wasn’t too hard to figure out that they were all vampires. Forty red eyes were staring at Ronan. Ronan narrowed his brows at the sticky gaze that seemed to be licking.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu…”
“Stay still. A guest has arrived.”
Three men and women lay bound on the table. There were two women and one man, all of whom were bleeding profusely from the nape of their necks and wrists.
Ronan thought it was a good thing they had sacks over their heads. It might have been difficult to maintain reason when I saw the face begging for help. At that time, the vampire sitting in the front seat stood up.
“It is an honor to meet you. Jarodine Stonesong. I am Zwei von Arnstafel, the leader of the Blood Hook.”
Zwei was a fair-haired young man. Indeed, it was a loud name worthy of the leader of the mosquito club. He pointed to the people at the table and said.
“It took longer than expected, so we ate first. Would you like to join us right now?”
The soft voice, as if buttered, was impressive. Ronan didn’t respond. After scanning the faces of the vampires, he clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“It’s just a deal, but you brought too many.”
“Please excuse me. There are many people who want to see you.”
“Is this enough to say that everyone has gathered?”
“That’s right. Power, actually.”
“What is the essence of fresh blood?”
“Of course I brought it. As soon as the transaction is completed, we will extract and process it.”
“good night. What do you want?”
“Become a member of our household.”
For an instant there was silence. It was as Ophelia expected. Ronan answered calmly.
“…you’re talking nonsense.”
“I am not saying it should happen right away. I’ll give you a ten year grace period. You just need to sign a blood oath and come to us when the time is right.”
“Are you asking me to become a slave to you vampires?”
“I know you came to us because you were so desperate. The fact that mortals seek the essence of fresh blood… isn’t it to save someone dear to them nine times out of ten?”
Ronan’s face hardened for an instant. Zwei, who caught it without missing it, smiled hatefully.
“Haha, I guess I’m right.”
“Shut up.”
“Well…if this deal is broken, the essence of the fresh blood will be hard to find anywhere. We were able to find it after searching for a long time.”
Zwei replied politely. Judging from the conversation he had with Ophelia, there was a good chance that this was true. Ronan twitched his lips.
“What if I refuse?”
“It is unfortunate. You probably won’t die safely.”
“what?”
right! Suddenly, Zwei snapped his fingers. At the same time, twenty vampires raised their bodies in unison. They approached silently and surrounded Ronan as if besieging him.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t play nonsense. You will feel the mana being disturbed. There are treasures scattered throughout that even a wizard of your level can never ignore.”
I was not noticing it at all. Listening to it clearly, I felt a suspicious energy emanating from every corner of the banquet hall. Zwei laughed, showing fangs.
“Even if you use magic to escape, you will suffer irreversible damage. The circle may collapse and you may never be able to use magic again.”
“Did you prepare in advance?”
“It is your misfortune that you have been blinded by desperation. As a mage like Jarodine Stonesong, you’d better accept the offer with respect.”
I felt my life rushing around. Vampires were flashing their eyes with the momentum to rush at any moment. I knew it was a trick, but I didn’t know it was prepared this well. Ronan, who had been drooling, shook his head.
“…I accept the offer.”
“This is an excellent choice. Then we will proceed with the blood oath.”
Zwei took out a piece of red paper from his inside pocket. It was a parchment made from the skin of a male goat used for most magical oaths. Ronan let out a sigh and was about to squeeze blood from his little finger.
“Wait… before that, I need to see the essence of the fresh blood. Whose bowl is it?”
“You’ll find out when you finish the oath anyway.”
“vampire. Keep in mind that this side is also making concessions.”
Ronan silently glared at Zwei. The young leader of the Blood Hook knew it wasn’t a bluff. Zwei let out a light sigh and placed his right hand on his chest.
“Huh… I see. I will show you specially.”
As he raised his palm, a crimson mass of mana came out dangerously. The appearance matched what Ophelia said. Ronan nodded.
“Looks like you are a vessel. Are you setting an example as a leader?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s it. It took a long time.”
“yes?
Suddenly, Ronan lifted his robe and pulled the hilt. Sword strikes that flew at an imperceptible speed drew Zwei’s limbs. Awesome! All four limbs were torn from his body almost simultaneously.
“uh…?”
“If it was the real Jarodine, he might have been beaten.”
Zwei’s eyes widened. It was the moment when the vampires right around me were about to shout something. Ronan immediately swung his sword in a wide spin. Chow! Five heads shot up into the air.
“Care oh oh oh oh!”
“Zu Zwei!”
A belated scream burst out with a fountain of blood. Ronan stepped on the headless body and jumped up. The vampires hurriedly turned around and swung their nails and blades, but Ronan had already escaped the encirclement. He sighed as he watched the bodies of the vampires move as if they were alive even after their heads were cut off.
“Anyway, you fucking mosquitoes…”
Ronan’s movements were not those of a wizard. A black, translucent sword was clutched in his hand. Vampires cried out in astonishment at the sudden catastrophe.
“Ka Carl…?!”
“Damn you, I said wizard. What happened!”
“leader! Wake up, leader!”
“You idiots, these unfortunate things happen because you are blinded by preconceived notions.”
At that time, Ronan, who blocked the entrance to the banquet hall, threw off his robe. Sheeta, who had been clinging to his back all along, spread her wings and flew up.
“Ppa!”
“Didn’t you think Jarodine could wield a sword well?”
“That one…!”
Seeing Ronan’s waist, the vampires’ faces turned pale. Dozens of silver terminals dangled from his belt. Ronan opened his mouth as he tore the scroll he had taken from the gatekeeper’s corpse. “Well…no one wants to survive
. do not do that.”
A scroll unfolded, and a mana barrier rose, blocking the entrance to the banquet hall. Ronan grabbed the hilt and charged at the vampires.