The mornings of March were colder than expected. Winter had departed and spring had arrived, but spring had yet to fully bloom. The cold of winter was more tenacious than anticipated, and the flower buds trembled violently, silently yearning only for the chill to pass.
“Haa….”
And in that season of silent flowers, Ian exhaled into the empty air and stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. His hands were too cold to keep them out any longer.
He had considered putting on gloves, but gave up because it would be difficult to handle urgent situations.
After all, wearing gloves inevitably dulled his reactions. Turning the pages of his grimoire was one thing, but retrieving items from his inner pocket was also difficult, so it was more convenient to remain barehanded when resolving a commission. The cold? Unfortunately, all he could do was endure through sheer willpower.
‘Still, putting a hand warmer in my pocket does help a bit.’
Ian rubbed the crinkly hand warmer in his pocket and nodded to himself in satisfaction.
“Boo!”
As he stood there, someone approached from behind and covered his eyes with their hands.
A body temperature so cold it was like a block of ice traveled across his skin and sent a shiver straight to his brain. Ian flinched and immediately pulled the outstretched hands away.
“…It’s cold. Don’t do that.”
“Hehe, are you the type who’s surprisingly weak against the cold?”
The owner of the cold hands, Gim Yul, smiled brightly and looked up at Ian.
As always, her outfit was impeccably simple.
A tennis skirt that left her bare legs completely exposed, sneakers, and a thin athletic jacket were all she wore.
No matter how one looked at it, it was not an outfit suited for early spring. If an ordinary person dressed like that, they would be shivering uncontrollably before long.
But Gim Yul was a mage. Not just any mage, but one who could not feel cold or heat. To her, clothing was simply a means to cover her nakedness.
“Only the two of us are here so far?”
She stood pressed right beside Ian and said. Ian nodded and pulled out the phone he had kept in his pants pocket.
A message from Cecilia saying she was almost here had been sent five minutes ago.
The rest of the party had sent similar messages as well. It seemed everyone would arrive before long.
Unfortunately, Han Yuna had been excluded from this commission. It couldn’t be helped because a Management Bureau agent was joining; regrettable, but she had no choice but to request to join a different commission.
Ian put away his phone and turned to Gim Yul.
“They should arrive soon. Did you eat?”
“Why? If I haven’t, are you going to buy me something?”
“I’m saying that because there’s nothing to eat here.”
Ian subtly turned his head and gazed at the dark tunnel behind him.
A tunnel that was virtually the entrance to a rural village on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
Not a single car passed through the interior of the tunnel, where even sunlight could not penetrate. Thick fog had taken its place.
The fog, pregnant with yin energy, scattered on the wind and sent a chill gloom in all directions, and within that fog, grotesquely shaped ghosts swarmed.
Every one of them was an evil ghost that had died inside the tunnel. If an ordinary person were to pass through there, their flesh and bones would separate on the spot, and they would collapse to the floor with a heavy thud.
Of course, to a mage, they were hardly a threat. If they were ghosts handled by a necromancer, that would be a different story, but evil spirits that were not were no different from wild animals. Killing them was not difficult.
However, their appearance was quite repulsive; staring at them for too long only left one feeling unnecessarily unpleasant.
“Disgusting things.”
Perhaps Gim Yul felt the same; she stuck out her tongue at the ghosts in the tunnel.
“I hate ghosts. If they died, they should move on peacefully. Why make a fuss remaining in this world?”
“They must have lingering attachments.”
“No matter what lingering attachments they have, killing living people can’t be justified.”
“What more do you expect from a soul that has become a mystery? Anyway, did you eat?”
Ian turned his head toward Gim Yul and repeated his first question. Gim Yul nodded lightly.
“I took care of it at a convenience store.”
“Then that’s good.”
The moment Ian replied as such, two men walked slowly up the road. At those faces that were familiar yet had not been seen in a long time, Ian broke into a grin. The men also spotted him and curled up the corners of their mouths.
“Mage.”
“It’s been a while. Albert, Benjamin.”
“Yeah, you damned bastard. Exactly three months.”
The old man with snow-white hair and a beard, Albert, answered while adjusting his sunglasses.
“The kind of son of a bitch who only calls when he needs something.”
“Anyway, vampire hunting is something you want too, isn’t it?”
“That’s exactly why I’m here.”
Albert laughed cheerfully and tapped the revolver hanging at his waist with his hand. Benjamin stood beside him and took out the crossbow strapped to his back.
“Hunting a Royal Vampire is a commission I have no reason to refuse.”
Royal Vampire.
They were also called high-ranking vampires, noble vampires, and so on. The titles were all different, but their meanings were not very different.
“I heard you use mind reading.”
Albert muttered while checking the bullets loaded in his revolver.
“Please, I sincerely hope you’ll read my thoughts.”
“….”
“I wanted to engrave just what level of hatred I hold for them. With this opportunity, I can check one item off my bucket list.”
Ian gave no answer to his words, spoken with a smile.
Albert was a victim who had lost his wife and daughter to vampires. Naturally, his hatred and murderous intent toward vampires ran deep. He was someone who had jumped into this world driven solely by revenge, without undergoing memory erasure. It was impossible to even gauge the extent of the emotions he must be feeling.
Well, there was no need to empathize that deeply. Ian just nodded roughly and shifted his gaze to Gim Yul.
“As I told you ahead of time, they’re cooperating vampire hunters.”
“Hmm.”
“Don’t go looking for trouble.”
“Who do you think is the troublemaker?”
Gim Yul beamed a smile and took a step back.
“As long as they don’t pick a fight first, I have no intention of saying anything either.”
“Don’t worry.”
Benjamin, having heard Gim Yul’s words, answered while loading a bolt into his crossbow.
“We have no intention of provoking a mage for no reason. In the first place, we don’t care about much else besides vampires.”
“Then that’s good.”
Gim Yul shrugged and tapped her foot on a puddle collected on the ground. Ian left her be and turned to Albert and Benjamin before speaking.
“A Vatican nun and a few more Management Bureau agents are scheduled to come.”
“We know. Well, it doesn’t really matter. As long as we can catch and beat the hell out of some vampires, that’s enough for us.”
Then that was a relief. Ian sat on a nearby rock and waited quietly for the rest of the party to arrive.
About ten minutes later, Cecilia appeared at the end of the road dressed in a nun’s habit. It was an outfit Ian was seeing for the first time, but to her, it was more familiar than everyday clothes. Cecilia ran her finger down the massive handgun at her waist as she approached Ian.
“Ian.”
“You arrived right on time. Any witnesses on the way?”
“None. The Association gave me a ride.”
“Then that’s good. That cross on your back is….”
Ian’s gaze shifted to the huge cross strapped vertically to Cecilia’s back. Cecilia answered calmly, as if it were nothing special.
“A greatsword.”
“…A greatsword?”
“Yeah. A blade comes out when I draw it. Want to see?”
“…No, it’s fine. Show me later.”
Ian spoke with a wry expression.
A greatsword? It was bigger than Cecilia herself by a head; he wondered if she could even swing it properly.
No, well, since she had brought it herself, she could obviously swing it, but it still didn’t seem like a fitting image for her. He couldn’t quite picture it. Anyway, that was that.
‘Still, she showed pretty good sense at the hospital. She should be worth trusting this time too.’
Naturally, regeneration abilities and close-quarters combat produced effective synergy when combined. Therefore, rather than fiddling with guns from afar, it was a much more suitable combat style for Cecilia to wield a greatsword herself and plunge into the battlefield.
For Ian as well, her close-quarters combat was something to welcome. There was no reason to refuse when she offered to take the vanguard.
“Ah, Mage. There you are.”
While Ian was thinking this, a man and woman in suits slowly walked from the far end.
They were Management Bureau agents. Both were meeting Ian for the first time. They glanced at Gim Yul standing by Ian’s side, the two vampire hunters, and Cecilia, before shifting their gazes back to Ian.
“We’re Bak Hoseok and Gim Seorin from Response Division Team 4. This friend here, Gim Seorin, is mute and cannot speak. Please understand.”
Bak Hoseok said as he looked at Gim Seorin. When Ian’s eyes subtly turned to her, Gim Seorin bowed her head politely.
“…Are your skills reliable?”
“Yes. We have all worked at the Management Bureau for over ten years. The very fact that we survived that long proves we are veterans.”
“Then that’s fine. Now that everyone’s here, let’s head in.”
Ian put a cigarette in his mouth and turned. The Management Bureau agents nodded, and Albert and Benjamin took out cigars and stood behind him.
“I like that there’s no hesitation. Let’s go. The after-party today is blood soup too.”
“The blood is from the vampires.”
At his joke, Ian burst into a grin. He lit his cigarette and slowly began moving his steps toward the inside of the tunnel.
Positions were naturally taken. Cecilia and the Management Bureau agents took the lead, followed by the vampire hunters, while Gim Yul and Ian walked side by side at the very back. Gim Yul walked lightly with her hands behind her back, humming a tune.
“Reminds me of the old days, newbie girl. We walked like this back then too.”
“Isn’t that too recent to call ‘old days’?”
“You’ll be unpopular if you nitpick like that.”
Gim Yul stuck out her tongue and laughed. Saliva dripped from the tip of her tongue. Ian shoved her head away in disgust.
“Disgusting….”
“The saliva of a pretty girl like me is in high demand. It’s not dirty.”
“Stop talking nonsense and keep watch on the rear.”
“Yes, yes.”
Gim Yul giggled and turned her body around. Ian gripped the Abyssal Records in his hand and casually tossed the fully smoked cigarette into a puddle on the ground. Since it was a place where ghosts lived, Ian didn’t care about things like the environment or littering laws.
‘The grimoire’s recovery is complete. I can use summoning magic now too.’
Ian hadn’t gathered the party well into March for no reason. The Abyssal Records needed that much time to recover.
Of course, not being able to use summoning magic didn’t mean a crippling loss of combat strength, but it was still better to be certain. Ian tapped the grimoire, which was rejoicing at being back in full condition after a long time, and kept his guard up against the fog-filled tunnel.
Fortunately, the ghosts in the tunnel did not attack the party. No matter how much of a vengeful spirit that hated humans it was, it wasn’t stupid enough to attack a group that included a mage and a nun. Thanks to that, they were able to pass through the tunnel without any ambush.
Just before exiting the tunnel in that silence, Bak Hoseok subtly opened his mouth.
“Mage, have you heard the news by any chance?”
“…? What news?”
Ian tilted his head at the sudden words. Bak Hoseok turned only his gaze to look at Ian.
“The Nazis have landed in Korea.”
“…Nazis?”
“Yes. The conspiracy theory about a secret Nazi base on the far side of the moon? It has materialized as a mystery.”
“Hah.”
Ian let out a hollow laugh.
“Isn’t that dangerous? I thought the revival of a Nazi force was one of the Earth-destruction scenarios.”
“The secret base Nazis are in a slightly different category. There’s no Hitler-like figure over there. Their individual combat prowess is nothing special either. There are quite a few of them, but that’s hardly a problem.”
Bak Hoseok continued, skillfully spinning the pen in his hand.
“The Management Bureau is already tracking them, so there’s no need to worry too much. Still, just in case, I’m informing you like thi—”
“Halt.”
Cecilia’s beautiful voice cut off Bak Hoseok’s words. Everyone’s gaze naturally turned toward her.
“Ghouls up ahead.”
There was no one present who failed to understand those words. The vampire hunters’ faces twisted on their own, and the Bureau agents took out mist projectors and shone them forward. Then, sitting in a corner near the tunnel’s exit, a ghoul tearing into something became clearly visible.
Four in total. Not many, but not few either. Ian narrowed his eyes and checked the lump of meat they were devouring.
“……Tch.”
It was human. Perhaps it had not been long since the person died; blood was still constantly spurting from the corpse.
“Jackpot.”
Albert smiled and drew his revolver. Benjamin quietly aimed his crossbow.
Just then, Ian noticed something strange and furrowed his brow.
“Wait, those ghouls. The clothes they’re wearing are odd.”
An individual that had only recently become a ghoul usually still wore the clothes from when it had been human. As time passed, they would naturally tear and fray, but if less than a week had passed since it became a ghoul, the clothes often still hung over that pale body like a cloak.
That was why the presence or absence of clothing on ghouls was also used to determine whether a vampire still remained. Since the ghouls here showed almost no change in their attire, it was practically confirmed that a noble vampire was in the village.
But apart from that, the ghouls’ clothing was extremely out of place.
First of all, it was not modern clothing.
Long black coats and military boots, tops covered in all sorts of medals, bottoms with swords and guns strapped on. Not a single thing suited the modern age. To call them Korean soldiers, the colors and forms were far too different.
If he had to say…… European soldiers, and officers from World War II at that.
German officers.
Nazi officers.
“Oh, fuck.”
The instant he realized it, a curse slipped from Ian’s mouth. The existence of the lunar Nazis Park Hoseok had mentioned flashed through his mind like a panorama.
“They’re Nazis!”
Ian shouted at once.
“There are Nazis and vampires together in this goddamn village!”
There was no time for anyone to ask what the hell kind of nonsense that was. The ghouls who heard his shout immediately dropped the corpse they had been tearing into and turned to look at them.
[Grroooh……!]
From the blood-red gleam of their eyes flashing through the mist, the stench of blood seemed to waft over them. Before anyone could say a word, the creatures bared their blood-slick teeth and charged at the group on all fours.
[Gyahaaagak!!!!]
The distance closed rapidly. Thanks to that, the group was able to properly understand what Ian had meant by Nazis.
They confirmed the distinct symbols emblazoned on the clothing the ghouls were wearing, grimaced, and each drew their weapons.