Chapter 34

Chapter 34
## Chapter 34

Earth’s Vampire (1)

To be fair, I had crossed paths with vampires on a few occasions during my time as Hans.

One such encounter occurred quite recently, right when we were hitting the factory.

Back then, though, Heinz was occupied with a transaction, and the creature in question was nothing more than a low-level underling, so I didn’t pay him much mind.

Given that I could easily extract any vital details by tapping into his thoughts, there wasn’t much point in wasting effort to keep him breathing.

Consequently, stumbling upon a completely different vampire hailing from an alternate world caught me entirely off guard.

To make matters worse, this individual felt significantly more potent than Heinz had. A sudden wave of tension washed over me.

“Allow me to introduce myself before we go any further. My place of origin is Nokternia. I made my way back to Earth roughly 5 years back. For the time being, you can just call me Gamma.”

He possessed a handsome countenance, paired with an approachable grin and a very pleasant, welcoming tone.

His gaze locked onto mine, his striking dark eyes gleaming with life.

“The name is Heinz. As you’ve probably figured out by now, my return to Earth is quite recent, and my homeland is…”

Seeing as things had already progressed to this point, trying to play dumb would be completely useless.

Just as that thought crossed my mind and I prepared to offer a casual reply, a sudden sense of wrongness struck me.

A sharp, rapid amplification of my cognitive faculties caused the passage of time to stretch out thin, and the surrounding environment ground to a sluggish crawl.

‘Why am I speaking so freely? To a person I encountered less than five minutes ago? Why did I volunteer my identity first? Is there any way to verify that what he claims is actually the truth?’

Right at the apex of my skepticism, an atypical impression registered within the “Mind Hub.”

An intrusive wave of mental infiltration.

It blended seamlessly into my inherent emotions, rendering it incredibly difficult to spot right away.

‘Why am I so eager to share information with an attractive stranger who acts so politely, creating an illusion where absolutely nothing feels out of place?’

Even the “Enlightenment Index” was merely registering a faint ping of irritation, proving inadequate to completely block out the intrusion.

It was glaringly obvious that his mental capabilities were highly sophisticated.

Whether he was intentionally keeping his power subtle due to inherent restrictions, or if he had meticulously calculated the timing of this stealthy activation for some hidden agenda, remained a mystery.

‘A technique for psychological control. Is this an individualized trait of his, or is it a standard attribute of a vampire?’

Deep within my thoughts, I erected a firm barrier against him.

The critical factor was that this manipulation was actively occurring while I was in the middle of speaking.

Ultimately, a name is nothing more than a label, and my supposed recent arrival was just a fabricated backstory anyway.

Choosing not to betray my sudden vigilance, I resolved to keep the true nature of my original world under wraps.

“……From the Dottmire dimension. I haven’t been able to confirm if I’m the sole survivor from there, but there doesn’t seem to be any mention of it across the global data networks.”

“Ah, that makes perfect sense.”

He offered a relaxed reply as the standard flow of time resumed its pace.

Gamma appeared completely oblivious to the fact that I had grown suspicious, simply nodding his head while keeping his luminous dark eyes locked onto me.

“I’ve crossed paths with quite a few fellow vampires over the years, but the aroma of your life force is truly distinct. Fascinating, isn’t it? The multiverse holds an infinite number of worlds, and a great deal of them harbor our kind, each displaying entirely unique blood traits.”

Honestly, a similar argument could be made for just about any sentient race.

Carrying on with his commentary, his gaze swept over me from head to toe.

“A child of Dottmire, you say? If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of rank did you hold back there? The societal structures vary wildly depending on the realm. Judging by your current presence, you must have enjoyed a fairly comfortable position.”

His gaze shimmered once more, and like before, I felt that strange, insidious energy attempting to dig into my consciousness.

Instead of fighting it, I decided to play along and give him a believable answer.

“Well, I held the position of a mid-tier commander.”

“Ah, remarkable. That implies your home world possessed a rather rigorous hierarchy. Still, to accumulate that degree of raw power, you must have partaken in a significant amount of harvesting. That couldn’t have been an easy path.”

“I did what was required of me when the circumstances demanded it.”

Our dialogue flowed onward.

He seemed to be naturally loquacious, as his mouth simply refused to stop moving.

“I can’t help but be inquisitive. Do your kind from Dottmire possess any highly specialized traits? I’ve caught rumors that certain bloodlines boast near-limitless physical restoration. It truly makes one envious.”

Even though the interaction appeared to be a mutual swap of knowledge, he expertly steered clear of revealing any personal details.

I smoothly shifted the direction of the talk, offering a plausible justification that wouldn’t trigger his alerts.

“I’m afraid I can’t offer much insight on that. I haven’t encountered any other local vampires, so I have no basis to understand what sets my lineage apart.”

“Ah, of course. You did mention that your homecoming was quite recent.”

Showing a touch of disappointment, Gamma steered the conversation back to the matter at hand.

Capitalizing on the opening, I pressed him with my own inquiry.

“On that note, Gamma, you remarked earlier that you’ve run into numerous vampires. How exactly did you manage that? Did you go about hunting them down individually, much like you did with me just now? Our kind usually operates under extreme secrecy and is forced to remain in the shadows, correct?”

“Well…”

He cast a peculiar look in my direction upon hearing my question, though he quickly nodded in agreement.

“You aren’t entirely wrong. However, we aren’t common outlaws, and hiding away in the dark forever isn’t a real solution, is it?”

He hadn’t chosen this immortal existence by choice, and he openly voiced his resentment regarding how society viewed them, deeming it deeply unjust.

“If we want to survive out here, solidarity is key. I belong to a specific vampire collective, a clan. Group 6.”

“A clan? Group 6?”

“This public street isn’t the ideal setting to map all this out. Come with me.”

He proposed changing venues, likely feeling that he had sufficiently taken my measure by this point.

Perhaps he was under the impression that he could easily suppress someone of my caliber whenever he pleased.

The destination he led me to was a high-end sports vehicle stationed along the side of the street.

He slid into the driver’s seat and gave a sharp nod toward the passenger side.

Vroom—

Gamma brought the high-performance engine to life with a smooth twist and accelerated onto the road.

“Where exactly are we traveling to?”

“Wouldn’t you prefer to witness it firsthand rather than relying on a verbal explanation?”

“…Are we making our way to the primary clan base? How can you place such immediate confidence in me?”

Hearing my query, a low chuckle escaped his lips.

“It isn’t a central base, exactly. Think of it more as a regional outpost… To be perfectly honest, a centralized headquarters doesn’t really exist. It functions more like a cooperative association, resembling a fragmented web.”

Though it wasn’t a flawlessly integrated web, he added as an afterthought.

Pausing to collect his thoughts for a brief moment, he went on, “Look at it as a collection of like-minded peers offering mutual support across various territories. Calling it a transit station might be more accurate than calling it a complete network. We tend to call a gathered group a ‘crew.'”

Given the absolute necessity for constant concealment among entities endowed with supernatural talents, forming a massive, transparent organization simply wasn’t a viable option.

“And as for why I trust you? We’re all navigating the exact same hardships. It’s only natural to offer a hand when things become difficult.”

Gamma offered these comforting words with a gentle smile.

It certainly sounded like a deeply moving sentiment, provided one chose to ignore the persistent psychological drilling taking place in the background.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve heard a very similar speech from someone else in the past.’

The image of Malcolm, who had transitioned into a dependable ally, flashed briefly through my thoughts.

Supporting one another through adversity—undeniably a commendable philosophy.

“There is one more detail you should grasp. I noted earlier that I am Group 6, correct? Here on Earth, ‘Group’ levels serve as the uniform metric to gauge a vampire’s overall development.”

Because every disparate world utilized its own specific vocabulary, understanding one another on Earth proved quite troublesome despite everyone converging on the same planet.

“Certain factions categorized themselves based on aristocratic titles, while others leaned heavily on the Jinjoni and Sado frameworks. For context, the people of Nokternia utilized chess figures to determine rank. My own rank was that of a bishop.”

Thus, the standardized ‘Group’ framework was a mutual treaty forged by the most dominant vampires representing different sectors during that era.

“The movement originated primarily within the European sectors, which housed a dense concentration of formidable vampires at the time. The framework birthed there was eventually adopted globally, and we all concluded it was best to implement it.”

While every alternate world boasted its own distinct attributes, all vampires shared a single binding element—the ‘vampiric factor’ flowing within their veins, which served as the bedrock of their supernatural capabilities.

Quantifying the exact density of this specific vampiric factor and mapping it out systematically was the core purpose of the Group system.

“We’ve arrived. The space is relatively modest since every member maintains their own private residences, but we utilize this property for occasional assemblies.”

The elegant sports vehicle glided smoothly into the driveway of an opulent three-story estate.

It was quite evident that this individual’s financial standing operated on an entirely different scale than my own.

“Let’s step inside. We possess an apparatus capable of evaluating your exact vampiric factor.”

Gamma, his dark eyes flashing with anticipation, turned his gaze toward me and let out another chuckle.

It appeared he was abandoning all pretense of subtlety now, as the intrusive pressure clawing at my consciousness began to surge violently.

At this juncture, it clicked that his talkative nature was likely a mandatory requirement to amplify his psychological domination technique.

‘No wonder he was so incredibly chatty. Ah well, at the very least, I managed to extract plenty of actionable intelligence from it.’

“Why are you lingering out there? Step inside quickly.”

Given that we had arrived at his domain, did he assume the game was already won?

Choosing not to fight the external impulse dictating my physical movements, I passively complied and trailed him into the residence.

‘Even with my mastery over ‘Blood Magic,’ I couldn’t detect the defensive perimeter until I actually crossed the threshold. This level of obfuscation is genuinely remarkable.’

Silently scanning my surroundings, I kept pace behind Gamma.

Yet, as he was leading the way through the interior, he came to an abrupt halt.

Tracing the path of his bewildered stare, I discovered a tense standoff: six individuals were directly confronting a trio of outsiders right in the main area.

The unmistakable aura of vampires hung heavily around them, though one individual among the trio, much like Gamma himself, completely lacked any discernable scent.

“What is the meaning of this disruption?”

Gamma’s sudden entry immediately drew the attention of the six grouped on one side.

Simultaneously, the sole female within the opposing trio—the one devoid of any bloody scent—pivoted her attention toward us.

“Look who finally decided to show up, Dohan-soo. You certainly took your sweet time.”

“Tsk, address me as ‘Gamma.'”

“Whatever you say. Gamma, do you have any inkling as to why I’ve paid you a visit?”

She marched directly toward Gamma with aggressive, hurried steps.

As she closed the distance, her facial features came into perfect focus…

‘For someone belonging to the vampire race, her aesthetic appeal is utterly spectacular. Wait, is this truly my first encounter with her? I have an overwhelming suspicion that I’ve seen her somewhere before…’

An absolute breathtaking beauty.

An individual possessing that degree of allure wasn’t the type you would easily forget.

As I puzzled over this bizarre familiarity, the pair launched into a heated argument.

“Listen, Jinsol. I haven’t the faintest clue what brought you here so suddenly, but isn’t it incredibly disrespectful to simply barge into my property like this?”

“Excuse me? Suddenly? Disrespectful? If you hadn’t been so dense as to completely tune me out, I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of traveling all this way just to look at your repulsive face!”

Observing the bitter exchange, I pinched my brows together, trying to pin down a memory that felt incredibly close yet frustratingly out of reach.

That specific visage and tone of voice—I certainly hadn’t crossed paths with her in the real world, which meant she had to be someone from the digital space, right?

‘That’s it! Orchid. She was a prominent digital streamer. A multitude of her stream captures used to flood online forums because her looks were so highly praised. I distinctly recall viewing her content a few times back in the day.’

Granted, there was a minor variance in her look, likely a result of differing cosmetic styles.

The moment the memory clicked into place, my irritation dissipated completely, replaced by a wave of quiet cognitive gratification.

Immersed in my silent triumph, I abruptly noticed that her gaze had been anchored on me for several moments.

“This is the first time I’ve laid eyes on you; who exactly are you supposed to be?”

An explicit inquiry regarding my presence, yet I found myself entirely incapable of offering a reply.

I was currently trapped under the effects of Gamma’s psychological domination, which had stripped away my physical agency.

“He is a personal guest of mine. You have absolutely no business interacting with him, so keep your distance.”

Gamma stepped forward smoothly, placing his body between her and myself to cut off her path.

Even so, she refused to take a step back.

“I might be an outsider to you, but do you honestly not comprehend the reason behind my arrival?”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea what you are implying. Care to enlighten me?”

“Are you truly going to stick to this charade until the bitter end?”

Jinsol shot a venomous glare directly at Gamma.

“Do you want to know why I’m standing here? You’ve been hunting down vampires and performing twisted experiments! Just recently, you laid hands on a Crew affiliate who was explicitly under our jurisdiction, didn’t you? Did you honestly believe your actions would remain undetected?”

‘So, he truly was the culprit orchestrating the abductions of our kind from the very beginning.’

Jinsol along with her two partners stepped forward, applying intense pressure on Gamma.

In response, Gamma’s faction members moved to back him up, escalating the confrontation.

The tense impasse returned in full force.

“For your information, we explicitly notified the Crew leadership before heading to this location. If we fail to make it back, the matter will be escalated straight to the upper echelons. Do you fully comprehend the ramifications of that?”

Despite being heavily outnumbered, she and her companions exuded a dangerous aura that matched Gamma’s faction step for step.

When it came down to it, all three individuals in her group appeared to possess a level of power comparable to Gamma himself.

In fact, ironically enough, Jinsol’s presence felt even more overwhelming than Gamma’s.

It was highly probable that their organization had intentionally dispatched a specialized vanguard to handle this confrontation.

“Did you orchestrate the capture of the individual standing right next to you this time as well? What exactly is your ultimate goal here?”

“Well…”

Gamma narrowed his eyes as he studied her, letting out a heavy breath.

Even if he attempted to issue a mental command forcing me to contradict her claims, the resulting behavior would look completely artificial to onlookers.

His psychological hold over me didn’t grant him the fine control required to script complex responses.

“Hmph, a clueless amateur. Are you finally dropping the act?”

“Oh~? So you’re finally going to drop the mask and show your true colors?”

The moment Jinsol dropped into an offensive stance, her comrades backing her up mirrored her movements, unleashing their latent internal energy.

“Well, it seems we have no alternative. Subdue her. We can repurpose her body as a valuable asset.”

“Ha! You honestly believe it will be that simple? Take this!”

Swish—Crack!

Out of nowhere, an unexpected betrayal struck. She coughed up a spray of crimson as she was sent hurtling through the air from the impact.

Directly behind her, the heavily muscled man who had supposedly been acting as her rearguard—or rather, her supposed ally—slowly pulled back his clenched hand.