Chapter 49: Master of Hellscape Island (3)
Two port-born hires went missing.
Leaving only bloodstains, they vanished, sparking heated debate among the instructors.
“Could there be a monster in the sea?”
“Nonsense. We all know there are barely any monsters in the sea. We’ve never seen one.”
“That’s not 100% certain. You’re not saying fish ate them, are you?”
“Even if there was one, they were fishing near the barrier. Wouldn’t they have fled inside if something happened?”
“A sudden ambush could prevent escape.”
Amid such speculation, I stepped forward from the crowd of instructors.
Examining the boat closely, I voiced a doubt.
“Why are there only bloodstains? There should be torn clothes or at least body parts.”
No one answered readily.
I continued.
“We can assume two scenarios. Either a massive creature swallowed both hires whole, or something intelligent enough to hide the bodies.”
The instructors listened intently to my bold assertion.
“But the first scenario has too many contradictions. For a monster to eat two people on this boat so cleanly, the boat’s too intact.”
To consume two adult men neatly, a creature would need a Hydra-sized mouth.
Even if it swallowed them whole, the boat should be smashed or at least damaged.
Yet the boat was pristine.
“Then you think the second is more likely?”
Nell asked, representing the group.
“Yes, it’s not certain, but something with human-level intelligence could’ve done this cleanly. Though it missed the bloodstains.”
I said, touching the blood soaked into the wood.
“So, it’s a hassle, but we need to find the bodies. We owe them a proper funeral, at least.”
“Agreed. We need to know the cause to ease the other hires’ fears.”
As the instructors dispersed, Nell shared a lingering doubt.
“But a monster with enough intelligence to hide bodies on this island? Why hasn’t it appeared before?”
“I don’t know. That’s why we need to check.”
I was certain.
The hires weren’t eaten whole by a monster, and clues to their bodies were on the island.
Soon, I learned my certainty was half-right, half-wrong.
The hires’ bodies were hidden in the grass,
but they were found inside the barrier, not outside.
“Ugh! Here! The bodies are here!”
The bodies were reduced to skin and hair.
As if drained by a giant mosquito.
‘Bodies inside the barrier? Not a monster’s doing?’
Had someone, like the Viper gang, infiltrated the island?
Or were there natives on this crazy island?
‘Whatever it is, it’s not sane.’
To deduce the truth, I approached the bodies.
Kneeling, I examined them closely.
Turning them over, I found bite marks on the backs of their necks.
‘Got it. This confirms it. It’s a vampire’s work.’
In my past life, I loved reading the Empire’s monster encyclopedia.
Flipping through its pages in my mind, I recalled the suspected monster.
[Vampire]
[Danger Rank: 5~9]
[Vampires typically live for centuries, gaining strength proportional to their age. A newly born vampire has Rank 5 strength, so that’s the time to strike. To hunt a vampire, bring a priest wielding holy power or attack during the day. Also…]
Vampire.
A monster—and intelligent species—that once ravaged the continent before I was born.
The previous Emperor’s extermination policy made them rare, but they likely hid somewhere.
‘These marks are definitely from their blood-sucking.’
Vampires drew strength from blood.
Separately, they had a particular fondness for human blood.
The question was why such a monster was here, active now.
“I think these two were attacked by a vampire.”
I said gravely.
The instructors were shocked.
“Vampire? You mean bloodsuckers?”
“I heard they were all wiped out?”
No one could believe it.
Vampires hadn’t been seen in Hellscape Island or anywhere in the kingdom.
I showed the bite marks, explaining.
“Their teeth are human-like but with two prominent fangs. The bodies were drained of every drop of blood.”
“But, Evan… It’s daytime. They went fishing this morning.”
This was why the instructors doubted vampires even more.
Their common knowledge held that vampires only roamed at night.
But that was a misconception.
“Right. They usually move at night. But that doesn’t mean they can’t during the day.”
“What?”
“They’re just weaker in daylight. But that applies only to mature vampires…”
If humans reach adulthood around 20,
vampires hit that mark around 100 years.
“Has a vampire ever been spotted here before, or have there been deaths outside training?”
“Never. I can say that with certainty. If there were deaths, Hellscape Island wouldn’t be a training ground.”
Nell said firmly.
‘With the sea around, there’s no way for vampires to arrive.’
Vampires could fly, so one might’ve crossed the ocean.
But why choose the most isolated place from human society?
An intelligent vampire wouldn’t make that choice.
‘Was it sealed? Or hiding for some reason?’
Newly born vampires lacked intelligence and were less dangerous, but those over a century were different.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
“This barrier seems ineffective against vampires. Maybe it doesn’t recognize them as monsters.”
“Bloodsuckers?”
“Yes. Continental scholars debate whether vampires are monsters. I considered if they were brought in with a Red Ring, but…”
“No way. Vampires aren’t low-grade, and Red Ring distribution is strictly controlled by the kingdom.”
“Right, that’s unlikely.”
“So… They could be roaming inside right now?”
“That’s my thought.”
As the attacker’s identity became clearer, I grew serious.
‘There was much debate about whether vampires are monsters. Seeing this, they might not be.’
Vampires moved freely inside the barrier without a Red Ring.
We were essentially exposed to danger.
“There’s one silver lining.”
“What?”
“This thing targeted weaker hires. Even though we’re out here in the open. And at night? Haven’t we roamed freely during training and hunting?”
Indeed, as I said, we’d moved freely inside the barrier day and night.
If a vampire existed, it would’ve been perilous.
But no attacks occurred, and I used this as evidence.
“A proud vampire targeting the weak? There’s definitely a limitation on it.”
“So what do we do next?”
“Report to the Head Instructor. And we strike first, don’t we?”
Whether the Head Instructor would accept that was uncertain.
***
Learning of the incident, Head Instructor Everhart deliberated with a grave expression.
By late afternoon, he reached a conclusion.
“I’d love to halt training and evacuate, but we can’t. We’re stuck until a ship arrives. We’ll fortify defenses around the fortress.”
Everhart wasn’t willing to take risks.
He aimed to protect everyone by guarding the fortress area.
Most instructors supported this, but I had a different view.
“Hunkering down will let the vampire roam freely. Let’s set a trap instead.”
“Do you know how strong vampires are?”
“Yes, but it’s clearly limited. If it had full power, we’d already be wiped out.”
A centuries-old vampire would rival the Hydra outside the barrier.
If we were unharmed, it had a problem.
I pinpointed this.
Unbeknownst to me, the vampire hadn’t been awake the entire training period, but my reasoning was otherwise spot-on.
“So we catch it while we can.”
“Hm…”
Everhart pondered.
If the vampire was weakened, they might have a chance to capture it.
“I’ll gladly be the bait.”
“No. If anyone, it’ll be us. You stay put.”
Dismissing my offer, Everhart directed the instructors.
“It’s worth a try. At least we’ll learn how strong it is and how it moves.”
A bait operation to catch the vampire hiding inside the barrier.
“Instructors, swap clothes with the hires and board the boat. Pretend to fish.”
Nell and another top-skilled instructor were chosen to disguise themselves as hires.
They hid weapons on the boat and acted like they were fishing.
But unlike the plan, the vampire didn’t appear.
Not at night,
not with different instructors disguised,
or even with just one on the boat—it stayed hidden.
‘Tch, it’s sharp. It’s sensing the instructors’ aura and staying away.’
Learning the vampire didn’t show, I realized it wasn’t ordinary.
The other instructors felt the same.
“What now?”
“Damn it. Do we have to use the hires as bait? Even that’s too risky…”
Clearly, the vampire sensed the instructors’ strong auras and avoided them.
This meant we needed another approach.
“Um…”
Facing their indecision, I offered an idea.
“Vampires are proud. Hiding from us must sting their ego.”
“And?”
“We exploit that.”
“Provoke its pride?”
“Yes. Since instructors don’t draw it out, I’ll go. Let’s see if it ignores me.”
“Evan, you’re no different. You’re as strong as us.”
I already exuded an instructor-level aura.
They thought my presence wouldn’t change the outcome.
“Even like this?”
As I spoke, the instructors’ eyes widened.
The distinct aura they’d felt from me vanished, as if it had never existed.
“How…?”
“I’m confident in hiding my presence.”
“Even so… Not even the Head Instructor can…”
It was incomprehensible to their logic.
Completely erasing one’s presence was a feat for top-tier assassins.
‘They won’t get it. I didn’t learn it by choice.’
It was a skill honed in my past life.
A survival technique I developed to endure with meager aura.
“This should fool it.”
“Fine. But if the vampire actually appears?”
Provoking and tricking it was great, but what if it showed?
“I’d run. To where you’re at.”
I said this, but everyone here knew.
No matter what, I wouldn’t do that.
But since I said so, they had to trust me.
“I’m not planning to act recklessly. I’ll go out at dawn before sunrise.”
“Alright. To the coast, then…”
“No, I have a hunch. A place it’s highly likely to be.”
“Where?”
“The abandoned fortress in the central area.”
The ominous presence I’d felt before.
I vaguely suspected it was the vampire.
“Not disguising at sea? The fortress has too many variables. Is this the only way?”
“For now, yes.”
“Hm… Alright. We’ll stand by nearby. If it feels dangerous, don’t hesitate to run to us.”
As a safety measure, the instructors would guard near the fortress.
“Let’s move then. No training today.”
“I’ll prepare accordingly.”
Thus, at dawn before sunrise, I went alone to the abandoned fortress, carrying something wrapped tightly in cloth.
―Step, step.
As I entered the eerie fortress under moonlight, someone emerged from the shadows.
“Such an arrogant creature, daring to seek me out at night, not day.”
The vampire I’d insisted on, Count Gaiard, revealed himself.
“Whoa! A real vampire? First time seeing one. Why’s your speech like that? Acting in a play or something?”
Even with a vampire’s appearance, I was curious, not scared.
Gaiard, dumbfounded, continued the conversation.
“I’ve observed you. You’ve been scheming to lure me out. Did you think such tricks would draw me?”
As expected, Gaiard had noticed the instructors’ disguises.
“So you chickened out. You knew and still didn’t show.”
“What did you say?”
“Got it right. The noble vampire race, scared of humans.”
I prodded the proud species’ ego.
Gaiard’s veins bulged, reacting fiercely.
“Keep running your mouth, and I won’t kill you cleanly.”
“Now that I think about it, my pride’s hurt too. You showed up because you thought you could beat me, right?”
I tossed the bundle I’d carried.
The cloth unfurled, scattering various weapons on the ground.
“No way. To restore my wounded pride, I’ll kill you here.”
“That’s my line, inferior species.”
Gaiard formed a blood sword in response.