CHAPTER 50: TIME TO MEET THE FAMILY (2)

"I doubt she’d go that far just for you... This world doesn’t even have warp gates."

The sound of rustling paper came through the orb, Karel’s fingers likely sifting through pilfered scrolls and coerced confessions.

"H-Hurry up and find out!"

"Don’t rush me. It’s not like I can find it instantly."

As Mardyn stomped impatiently, Karel not only flipped through papers but also gathered intel through humans he’d brainwashed. Though they were trained in martial arts and resistant to brainwashing, Karel had approached them meticulously, leaving them no choice—subtle illusions woven into dreams, suggestions planted like seeds in fertile soil.

After a long while, Karel spoke into the orb, his voice measured once more.

"It seems she went there to find someone."

"Someone...?"

"She had a disciple who, ten years ago, caused an incident and destroyed a new disciple’s dantian. She’s been searching for that disciple ever since, apparently to repay a debt."

"Dantian... This world’s mana heart..."

Even as otherworldly vampires, they understood how grave that was. A core shattered—power severed at the root, a warrior reduced to frailty. It mirrored their own hungers, the eternal thirst for vitae that bound them.

"So that disciple is in this area?"

"At least the current candidate is. The Sword Empress going there doesn’t know if he’s real or fake either. She’s just following a possibility."

"No matter how magicless this world is, taking over ten years to find one person? Gotta give it to these primitives."

A vampire who’d never contributed to magical advancement himself let out an ominous chuckle, the sound scraping like dry bones.

"Real or fake doesn’t matter. Brainwash him into being real, and it’s done."

"...What scheme are you cooking up?"

"Just hand over all the info on that incident. I’ll show you. This body once fooled even a Sword Master."

"...Sigh."

Karel sighed, the exhale carrying the weight of reluctant indulgence. Mardyn. Definitely a low-tier vampire. His ability to create and maintain kin, and to blend into human society, was all lackluster, but he’d made his mark in the war. He’d once brought back a Sword Master’s head single-handedly. Well, technically, he lacked the strength to finish it himself, but he’d neutralized them 99%, so it was mostly his achievement.

"How about you don’t stir up trouble and just stay quiet? If you lie low underground and do nothing, she’ll leave on her own."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Heh, even a Sword Master’s mind is frail human stuff. Mix trauma and guilt with brainwashing and drugs, and turning her into a puppet is child’s play."

"...Getting cocky over one fluke success."

"Shut it. Give me the info already. You know info is life in these things."

Karel sighed and relayed the details, his voice a monotone recitation of borrowed lore. If Mardyn failed and fell, it wasn’t his problem. For vampires, their lord’s orders and personal desires were all that mattered—alliances of convenience, severed at the first whiff of threat.

"Good... Family name Dan, given name Yuseong, right?"

"That’s everything I’ve found. Good luck."

"Heh, soon I’ll show you a Sword Master turned kin. You’ll be shocked."

Beep.

With that, the orb lost its light, plunging the chamber back into gloom.

Karel stared coldly at the darkened crystal.

’I’ll need to dispose of this orb soon.’

He didn’t think Mardyn would succeed. If he did, it’d mean one fewer hero before the real war began—a bonus, thinning the ranks of these qi-wielding pests. If he failed, it’d be Mardyn’s blood spilled, not his. With luck, Mardyn might activate the warp gate in his lab to escape, but Karel doubted he could outrun a Sword Master’s blade to do it.

"Ugh..."

"Done. You can go now."

He dismissed the man whose eyes had lost their light, the thrall shuffling out like a puppet with cut strings. By morning, he’d remember nothing of the night—another blank slate in Karel’s web of control.

As the man turned to leave, his mouth opened, compelled by lingering threads of suggestion.

"...Oh. There was a rumor I forgot to mention."

"...Hm?"

Not mentioning it earlier meant it wasn’t deeply ingrained in his mind. Info he’d likely dismissed the moment he heard it.

"Ten years ago... I heard it from those who kept records... They said the Sword Flower tried to assault Dan Yuseong..."

Sure enough,

"...Ha. Ridiculous."

It wasn’t worth hearing. Human nature might hide dark sides, but that was too far-fetched.

"A grown woman assaulting a boy in his early teens? What nonsense."

Shake shake.

It defied common sense. Even succubi waited for secondary sexual characteristics to emerge before feeding. What sexual appeal could a child’s appearance possibly hold? It was beyond Karel’s comprehension.

"Just slander from those mocking the fall of a shining star."

With that conclusion, he sent the brainwashed man away. Perfect timing—he’d been planning to secure a few corpses today. With that woman off the mountain, it was an ideal chance.

Swish.

Using his vampire abilities, he cloaked his presence and headed toward a pre-scouted corpse storage site.

’Good thing this world still has a culture of preserving bodies.’

In the last world, after the war, the human side burned all corpses to ash. That left nothing for zombies or skeletons. Of course, even he wasn’t bold enough to target the truly valuable corpses of "important people" right now. For now, he was limited to quietly siphoning off the bodies of lesser-noticed criminals.

’A Sword Master’s corpse would be nice...’

As he scanned the energies, he found something decent. Not the Sword Master he’d hoped for, but it carried significant resentment.

’Peak Sword Expert level, maybe.’

Not a Sword Master, but still quite usable. And that immense grudge. If he could control it properly, it might make for an interesting creation.

"The name... It’s a mess."

Even for a dead person, the nameplate was slashed beyond recognition. Must’ve committed a serious crime. Straining his language skills to decipher it,

"Han... Damn it. Can’t read it."

He could only make out the family name. The given name was illegible.

’...Speaking of which, Mardyn should at least know that names in this world put the family name first, right?’

Even a lab rat like him wouldn’t miss that.

...Probably.

+

Sword Empress’s POV

"...How dare you..."

Crunch.

It’d been a long time since I’d felt this enraged. My head cooled, and my eyes sank.

"How dare you use that child to mock me...?"

This crossed a line—far beyond it. No matter who did it, it’d be unforgivable, but for the Blood Cult, the group I despised most in the world, to exploit my life’s greatest sin like this?

Rumble rumble rumble.

"You’d better not think you’ll die peacefully."

"H-Hiik...!"

Master, you told me to show kindness even to the wicked, but I don’t consider Blood Cult scum human.

As I raised my sword to strike,

Flinch.

"..."

I felt a gaze from beyond the empty wall.