CHAPTER 63: YOUR BIG SISTER’S COMING SOON!

Dan Yuseong’s POV

"Guangdong, huh... We were definitely in Anhui before..."

"Uh... That’s quite a distance."

"Even by carriage, it’d take weeks. What in the world happened...?"

I was just as bewildered.

I didn’t even get to enjoy myself properly!

I’d ventured to Anhui with such resolve, only to barely savor Hanam and spend a mere day in Anhui. And now, Guangdong? The southernmost tip of the Central Plains?

...Can I have fun here instead?

The thought sparked a flicker of optimism. While I entertained the idea, the Sword Empress seemed lost in thought.

"...I don’t know how we ended up so far away, but we should head back. It’ll take time to travel from Guangdong to Shaanxi."

"You’re going back right away?"

"My life at Hwasan is mostly training with little else to do... but if I’m gone too long, people will worry. I said I was heading to Anhui and then vanished, so I should at least check in."

"Oh..."

If she was returning to Shaanxi, I’d have to follow. Dangerous things kept happening even with her protection—what chance did I have alone? The thought sent a shiver down my spine. Yet, I couldn’t help feeling a pang of disappointment at cutting my travels short so soon.

Perhaps sensing my mood, she softened.

"...On second thought, it’s not urgent. I can send word with a messenger bird."

"Then..."

"We can enjoy ourselves on the way back if there’s anything fun to do. But this region has many unorthodox sects, so security isn’t great—stay vigilant."

"...Is it that dangerous?"

"Even with unorthodox sects, people live here, so it’s not that perilous. But compared to regions managed by the Nine Great Sects, security is worse. Keep that in mind."

"Hmm..."

I recalled the chaos of the previous regions: vampires attacking, extermination squads forming, mayhem on a boat, people kidnapped in broad daylight and dragged underground...

Just how hellish is this place?

Those regions weren’t exactly safe havens, and this was supposed to be worse? Can people even live here? I began to think skipping the fun and heading back immediately might be the wiser choice.

+

???’s POV

"Hmm... Karel sent me quite a specimen, didn’t he?"

Pale skin, crimson eyes—a woman unmistakably a vampire licked her lips as she gazed at a coffin resting atop a magic circle.

"Well... he did cast some subtle glances my way in the last world..."

If Karel heard this, he’d grimace. He’d sent her this corpse out of necessity, constrained by familiar distribution—not out of affection.

"Her realm in life was at the Sword Expert level... and this immense resentment... With proper modifications, she could rival a Swordmaster."

Even as a vampire, the raw malice radiating from the corpse made her skin prickle. She clenched her jaw, thinking of other vampires who’d flaunted their Swordmaster-level familiars.

"They won’t dare look down on me now."

She spared no expense to transform this corpse into the ultimate familiar, using every high-grade material she’d painstakingly gathered. When that wasn’t enough, she dismantled her existing familiars without hesitation, pouring everything into this creation. But perhaps she hadn’t conserved enough—

"One arm might be too much..."

Restoring the entire body proved impossible. She could reverse most of the decay, but one arm would likely remain lost. Still, with a vampire’s ability to regenerate through blood, a missing arm could regrow swiftly once revived.

"First, enable it to walk in sunlight... enhance its regeneration... heighten its senses beyond what they were in life... boost its physical abilities slightly... and just in case, double-check the mind control magic."

Too much domination would stiffen the familiar’s movements, but she couldn’t take risks. If this creation, into which she’d invested everything, went rogue, she’d be ruined.

"Now, I just need to revive it."

She placed the corpse and blood into the coffin, inspecting the surrounding magic circle. The materials were flawless, the spell impeccable. All that remained was to infuse it with mana, and it would rise as a vampire.

Hum—!

Finally, a familiar to rival a Swordmaster!

Her still heart thrummed with anticipation as she activated the circle. The scattered materials were absorbed by the spell’s power, the blood-red light intensifying.

Then—

Thud!

The coffin jolted, and the circle’s glow faded.

"D-did it work?"

Suppressing the urge to rush over, she watched intently. If successful, she needed to greet her familiar with authority.

Clank!

It’s opening!

The coffin lid slid open, and a woman emerged. Her pristine skin, crimson eyes, and streaks of red woven through her black hair marked her as no ordinary denizen of the Central Plains.

"Ahem. Congratulations on your new life, my familiar. Your rebirth is thanks to the grace of the great Shatri, so from now on, you will serve me and—"

"Where’s my arm?"

Twitch—

The vampire’s brow furrowed as her familiar cut her off, fixating on her missing arm. Another vampire might have roared in fury, but she let it slide—just this once.

I’m a generous vampire, after all.

"I’ve revived you, but I can’t grant everything immediately. Serve me faithfully, achieve great deeds, and I could attach not just one arm but three—"

"If you don’t have mine, then give me yours."

Splatter—

Blood sprayed across the vampire’s right cheek. Trembling, she glanced at her right shoulder—her arm was gone, severed cleanly, blood gushing.

"Kyaa, kyaaaah!!"

"One arm isn’t enough to hold Yuseong in my embrace."

The familiar lifted the severed arm, pressing it against her own empty shoulder as if testing its fit. Naturally, it wouldn’t attach.

"You...! How dare you defy your heavenly master?!"

The vampire glared, cranking her mind control magic to its maximum.

"Kneel!!"

The spell, embedded in the familiar’s mind upon revival, should have forced her to her knees—

"Why should I?"

She didn’t.

"What?! Why isn’t the mind control working?!"

Frantic, the vampire tried to muster her mana again, but the familiar was faster.

Slash—

Her remaining arm was sliced off.

"Kyaa, kyaaaaah!!!"

"Hmm... My body feels strange..."

"What are you?! Who are you?! Why isn’t my mind control working?!"

The vampire stared, terror-stricken. This shouldn’t be possible. Even a Swordmaster, revived as a familiar, couldn’t resist commands so effortlessly. The spell had been implanted from the moment of revival.

Her familiar answered.

"The only one who can control me is Yuseong."

Slash—

The vampire’s head was severed. As it tumbled through the air, her fading vision caught the familiar’s face—

"Yuseong... Your big sister’s coming for you now... No matter where you are, I’ll find you soon..."

A twisted, unyielding love, unquenched even after ten years in death’s cold embrace.