Black Dragon Association (1)
‘Keuk, I can’t resist.’
Heukyeong gritted his teeth.
Never in his dreams had he imagined things would turn out like this.
Rather than shaking the Blood Alliance that ruled Korea’s underworld to create an opening as planned, who would have thought he would end up like this, falling victim to them instead!
Who could have known that he himself would end up personally guiding Phantom, the master of the Blood Alliance, to the Black Dragon Association's secret stronghold?
‘The concentration of blood filling my body isn't that high even after the vampirization. Then why? Why can’t I refuse the compulsion!’
The majority of the enormous amount of “Refined Blood Essence” that Heinz II had used on him was consumed in breaking through that resistance.
Meaning, the vampiric factor that had gone into actually transforming Heukyeong's physical structure and binding him in shackles of blood was not all that great.
In truth, his current level as a vampire was not particularly high.
By Auterica's standards, he was barely beyond Impure Blood and had reached Pure Blood, and even by Earth's standards, he was only hovering around Level 4 or 5.
Given that his combat prowess, which had reached the edge of Hwa Gyeong, was equal to that of a Level 8 vampire, it was only natural that Heukyeong as a martial artist should have overwhelmed the identity brought about by his vampirization.
But reality was the exact opposite.
For some reason, he could not ignore the shackles of blood at all and had no choice but to obediently follow the commands of the one who had made him this way.
Unable to resort to any other tricks, he did his utmost with all sincerity.
“Keo-heok!”
“Ugeuk, Heukyeong! Why are you—!”
“This energy… Don't tell me you've become a vampire? How could a master of Hwa Gyeong…?”
The result of that was the current scene.
The secret stronghold turned into a mess by a sudden attack from an ally.
As an assassin, he was an outsider even within the Black Dragon Association where martial artists were the majority, but in terms of skill alone, he could be said to be second only to the leader, the Black Dragon Lord.
Moreover, due to the nature of his profession, he was already thoroughly familiar with the formations and traps installed at the main base, and he knew the trivial habits and weaknesses of those who had been his comrades until recently even better than they knew themselves.
Since such a man had set his mind to ‘assaulting’ them…
Cha-a-ang!
“What is the meaning of this? Heukyeong!”
“…Lotus Sword.”
Those who lacked even the minimum qualifications to clash with him as he was now could only be helplessly knocked aside.
If there was any fortune in this, it was that he hadn't intended to kill them from the start, so everyone had only taken injuries at a level where they could recover after a good rest.
Heukyeong let out a small sigh.
A young woman crossing her red sword, which seemed to blaze with flames, against his scythe and shouting fiercely.
She was a martial artist of the Black Dragon Association who, like him, had ascended to the realm of Hwa Gyeong.
“Calm yourself, Lotus Sword. Don't you know what state Heukyeong is in right now?”
“It makes no sense. Heukyeong, who stood before the Supreme Peak, couldn't overcome the blood corruption and became a vampire? How could that happen?”
“Indeed, no matter that Phantom is a vampire who has reached Transcendence…”
A group of martial artists followed up, surrounding the two of them.
A middle-aged man with a long beard dressed in a green dobok and wielding a crescent blade; a slender man in hip-hop fashion holding twin swords; a middle-aged woman with a sharp impression draped in luxury brands; and even a muscular man aiming a large bow from afar.
They were all masters of Hwa Gyeong who had somehow managed to prop up the collapsing Black Dragon Association.
“What of the Asura Fist King? Is he safe?”
“His life is not in danger. He is poisoned, but he is a sturdy friend; he'll shake it off and get up on his own.”
“…I see.”
Having steadied her breath at the middle-aged man's answer, Lotus Sword slowly retreated.
She too had ascended to the realm of Hwa Gyeong, but she lacked the confidence to face Heukyeong one-on-one.
No matter that he was an assassin specialized in ambushes, there were bound to be differences in skill even within Hwa Gyeong.
‘But if the five of us…!’
Actually, they didn't even necessarily need five.
Unless Heukyeong could continue his ambushes indefinitely, now that he had fully revealed himself, victory was assured with just two of them.
The five of them, plus Heukyeong, and including the Asura Fist King who had been on duty and was the first to be struck down—were they not the seven called the Seven Dragons of the Black Dragon Association?
Yet the reason they had all stepped out was solely to capture Heukyeong alive.
Because there might be a way to return him to his original state.
The fact that there had been no casualties so far was another factor that fueled that hope.
“Surrender quietly, Heukyeong. Then we will somehow find a way to return you to your original state. You too would find it best to…”
“You think he'd listen to that? If he could do as he pleased, he wouldn't have caused this mess.”
The man with the twin swords cut off the middle-aged man speaking with composure and took a large step forward.
“Since it's come to this, all that's left is a show of force! We just beat him until he can't resist, tie him up tight, and lock him away, right?”
“Mhm.”
“Hehe, you're not wrong. Seeing Heukyeong like this, it seems the operations in Korea have all gone bust too. We just need to subdue him and hold him until the Black Dragon Lord returns, no?”
At his words, the beautiful woman in luxury brands nodded and stepped forward.
If Heukyeong had failed, the relocation plan that the Black Dragon Lord had prepared would inevitably be thwarted.
Contact had already been made, so it shouldn't take long until he returned.
Then there was no difference from saying that their course of action was already decided.
“…Very well. There's no benefit in letting the commotion grow any further, so let's finish this as quickly as possible.”
As soon as the words ended, the crescent blade fiercely sliced through the air, aiming at the front.
“Tch, I don't like ganging up, but it can't be helped.”
The twin swords exhaling sharp killing intent and the red sword flickering like flames were the same.
Sharp throwing daggers leaped from her designer bag, emitting a sharp killing intent between her fingers.
But Heukyeong himself showed no reaction even while numerous weapons were pointed at him.
It was not his intention to ignore his opponents.
It was simply that there was no longer any need for him to step forward like this.
He slowly closed his eyes.
And.
“Hrm, so it seems the leader is away after all? I suppose the timing was off.”
In an instant—the air froze.
The voice of a third party, carrying overwhelming pressure, rang out abruptly.
The startled masters of Hwa Gyeong hurriedly moved, looking toward its source.
There he was.
The one wearing a pure white opera mask, looking over them one by one… the existence accused of being the mastermind behind the incident that had befallen the Black Dragon Association.
‘When?’
‘How?’
No one knew.
How long had he been standing there, and how had he deceived all their senses?
And why—why had they failed to notice this bloodthirsty momentum that stung their skin until now!
Tuk!
Then, a heavy figure dropped down among them, who had stiffened with tension.
There was no one present who did not know who it was.
“Gunggeui…!”
The muscular man, unconscious and slumped over. A member of the Seven Dragons like themselves, and a comrade who until just moments ago had been aiming his bow from the rearmost position.
Even if the bow was his specialty, how could a being of Hwa Gyeong be subdued without the slightest sign like this!
‘No, more than that, we who failed to notice anything until he ended up like that…?’
A cold shiver ran down their spines.
At the same time, they could instinctively realize.
The figure standing over there was somehow different from the Transcendents they had encountered until now.
It was not simply a matter of a higher level.
Beyond that… the very stature of his existence seemed to be of a different dimension…
“Hrm, you all certainly look quite useful.”
Heinz II muttered leisurely, looking over the frozen group as if appraising goods.
Yet they were in a situation where they could not act rashly due to tension soaring to its peak!
However, Heinz had not left everything to Heukyeong and used “Existence Negation” to observe quietly for no reason.
It had been the most efficient way to clearly judge whether they were worth taking in and how best to make use of them going forward.
‘It would also be troublesome if they made a fuss and tried to flee.’
Remote as this place was, even in China, it strictly belonged to the territory of the Bentian Association.
There was no benefit in drawing their attention needlessly when he hadn't even decided how to make use of the Black Dragon Association.
‘…But as expected, making them into vampires to control them is too inefficient.’
He glanced at Heukyeong.
On Earth, aside from turning a human into a vampire, raising that vampire's level likewise consumed an enormous amount of “Refined Blood Essence.”
It wasn't for nothing that Heukyeong had stopped at that level.
‘If it were that easy, I would have raised not only Jin Soran but everyone in Heterosis to Level 8.’
As one's personal realm grew higher relative to the power of the bloodline, the binding force of blood would inevitably weaken, but that was not a major concern for him.
Not only was the dignity he possessed as one of divine blood considerable in itself, but various skills including “Lord of Blood” and “Subjugation” assisted with all of that.
‘Well, if the purity is too low, control might be difficult, so I do have to invest at least that much.’
But investing any more than that would be a waste even for him.
Since they had already tempered their internal energy and built up martial principles to reach their realm, a deeper depth as a vampire would not dramatically increase their combat power.
‘Rather, it would be fortunate if their balance didn't collapse and make them weaker.’
Heukyeong was an assassin by origin, so he didn't have poor compatibility with vampires, but the story was different for the others.
Then how could he make use of them efficiently…
Kkaaaang—!
A deafening metallic sound rang out, as if cutting off his thoughts.
The crescent blade infused with full blade energy was swung with all its might toward Heinz's neck, only to be blocked by a single finger, and the resulting noise swept through the space.
The surprise offensive did not end there.
Shwik—
More than a dozen throwing daggers flew like lightning toward his vitals.
Simultaneously, three swords aimed for openings and dug into his defenseless body.
Destructive blade energy blazing fiercely with dense killing intent tore through the air.
“Hoo? Not bad.”
Heinz slowly nodded at this.
“Huh?”
“Keul-heok!”
“Wh-what the…!”
And as if time had been sliced apart, he looked down at those writhing on the floor without even knowing why they had fallen, and smirked.
Their spirit in trying to resist despite feeling the gap was admirable, but how could they dare lay a single fingertip on him when they hadn't even reached the Heart Sword?
‘Still, these guys are at a higher level than I thought? They tried to break through my pressure and launch a surprise attack. They're more than just the energy they possess.’
He scanned those rolling on the floor with strange eyes.
It was only because their opponent happened to be Heinz that they were suppressed so futilely; objectively speaking, they possessed abilities that surpassed ordinary masters of Hwa Gyeong.
It wasn't simply the influence of the system including their unique skills; something more was felt strongly.
‘Come to think of it, Heukyeong was the same. The fact that he played tag with Hali for a while at barely the level of the Supreme Peak itself…’
Rubbing his chin as he pondered, he reached a conclusion.
As expected, these were talents too good to simply discard.
‘Come to think of it, the Black Dragon Association is an organization that has survived for over twenty years within the Bentian Association's sphere of influence.’
There must be a reason that made it possible.
Including the fact that returnees from the martial world continued to support them until the end even in a situation where they had to relocate to a foreign country.
‘This smells like a big catch.’
Heinz looked at Heukyeong, who was subtly averting his gaze, and curled up the corner of his mouth.
It seemed the new vampire had quite a few facts he hadn't divulged, claiming he hadn't been asked.
It was an issue one had to accept when forcing subordination on someone without loyalty, but facing such a situation, he couldn't help but feel slighted.
‘I hope to see this so-called Black Dragon Lord soon too.’
This connection would be of considerable help to him.
Not simply as a force opposing the Bentian Association together, but…
Also in overcoming another wall that he himself had faced.
***
“Young Lord Ha? Are you alright?”
A cautious woman's voice flowed into the ears of the one who had been lost in thought for a moment.
At that, Ha Seunghun—Hugo—who had been blank for a moment, turned that way with a grin.
“Ah, something just came to mind, that's all. I'm fine, Lady Jegal.”
“…Um, I didn't disturb you, did I? Like a moment of enlightenment or something…”
“It's nothing like that, so don't worry. I was just thinking about where to go next since the business here is finished.”
“Phew, what a relief. I called out earlier and then realized my mistake. I'd heard that in moments like that you should just wait quietly, but I haven't had much experience going outside and traveling with others…”
Letting out a sigh of relief at his calm answer, Jegal Hyemi chattered as she opened her mouth.
Shaking her hair, streaked with white in places as if bleached, an aftereffect of participating in the ritual for world restoration.
“What! Why are you two having fun without me? I've been working hard and sweating!”
At that moment, a girl who had fixed her hair with a hairpin for mobility squeezed between them.
A girl in her late teens exuding health and energy, her large, mischievous eyes twinkling.
“Sorry, Soran.”
“Hehe, since you apologized, I'll forgive you! But you know what that means, right?”
“Huhuhu, I know.”
“Really, I don't know how I traveled without you before. Just being able to wash up on time changes your life this much!”
Hugo let out a chuckle as he watched Namgung Soran hugging Jegal Hyemi, who looked much younger than her actual age, and chattering away.
Indeed, Jegal Hyemi, who could freely wield dragon arts and call forth water at will, had long become an indispensable existence to the group in many ways.
If it weren't for her, he too would have been unable to avoid looking like a beggar while traveling the martial world.
‘Well, truthfully, I didn't expect things to turn out like this either.’
He looked alternately at the two women who had fallen into their own world at some point, and let out a small sigh.