Chapter 41

Blood Art (3)

"Ah, fuck... "

I maintained a poker face and looked around at the surrounding vampires.

The Immovable Barrier excellently blocked all the incoming attacks.

This absolute defense, which was a 9-star skill in the game, wouldn't be penetrated by just this level of attack.

But that was the end of it.

All I could do in this situation was stand still and defend, or just bluff and talk big like I did just now.

Still, it seemed to have some effect, as the vampires were frozen and couldn't do anything.

'What do I do now?'

If this fight continues, we will eventually lose.

I'm too busy protecting myself to use instant kills, and they have a strong fighter like Ashel, plus far more numbers.

And this is their territory. They can keep reinforcing their forces.

Even if Ashel manages to take down the War Chief, it's a fight with no answer from the start.

Damn, should I have been more cautious about coming to this forest?

"......Excuse me."

I turned my gaze when I heard a bewildered voice from the side.

Ashel, who was almost leaning against me, couldn't find a place to look.

I let go of her shoulder, having forgotten in the heat of the moment.

Ashel looked around the ruined area with a slightly dazed expression.

I had never used the Immovable Barrier in front of her before, except for a brief moment with the Orc King.

I looked back at the War Chief and said,

"Are you going to do more?"

Since all I can do is talk, I have to try to turn the situation around with that.

He couldn't answer and just glared at me, but his eyes showed more tension than before.

"You are not just shameless, but truly foolish."

"......"

"You don't know who I am, or the extent of the power gap, and yet you attack without hesitation. You should be grateful that I have no hostility towards you. Otherwise, your tribe would have been wiped out today."

"......Human, who are you exactly?"

The War Chief asked with a flustered expression in response to my words.

Since it was the flow of conversation I intended, I was about to answer. And that was the moment.

"......?"

I sensed a presence approaching at an incredible speed from a distance.

Swish!

A blood-red sphere cut through the trees, leaving a trail.

The vampires were startled and looked at the sphere.

The sphere stopped a bit in front of where I was standing, took on a human form, and a woman appeared.

She put on the robe that was attached to the sphere and brushed her disheveled hair.

【Lv. 67】

"......Sister!"

The War Chief exclaimed in shock.

From his exclamation, I immediately knew her identity.

'The Chief?'

Aclina, the Chief of the Elrod Forest tribe.

What I just saw was her unique Blood Art, which turns her physical body into blood.

After the War Chief, now the Chief has appeared.

"Too close, Sister! This human is dangerous, so please step back!"

She looked around the ruined area and met my eyes.

"I heard that a human who saved young members of the tribe came here... Explain this situation, Calderban."

Her cold voice made the War Chief flinch.

"You didn't even report to me and brought so many warriors to attack them?"

The War Chief and other vampires couldn't say anything in response.

The Chief sighed and turned her gaze towards me. Our eyes met.

"I am the Chief, Aclina."

"......"

"I sincerely apologize for the actions of my tribe. Even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn't know what to say."

I felt relieved inside.

From her attitude, it seemed she had no intention of attacking further.

Unlike the War Chief, who was particularly hostile and wary of other races in the game, the Chief was more moderate and reasonable as the leader of a peaceful tribe.

Still, I asked because they attacked first.

"If a different ordinary human had come to this forest, they would already be dead. Would you have apologized to a cold corpse then?"

The Chief sighed again and said,

"As you know, the perception of vampires in the world is not good. This is the only place where we can live normally, so we are extremely sensitive to other races entering our territory. I hope you can understand our situation a little."

I just clicked my tongue and didn't say anything more.

Since I had come this far, I needed to bring up the purpose of my visit to the forest.

But first...

"I am one of the Seven Lords of Caldric."

I didn't originally plan to say this, as it would only increase their wariness.

But given the situation, I thought it would be better to take the risk and ensure no further conflict.

The story I was about to bring up, 'Blood Essence,' was a very sensitive issue directly related to the fate of their tribe.

The vampires, including the Chief and the War Chief, were all startled by my words.

No matter how isolated they were from the world, they couldn't be unaware of the status and power of the Lords of Caldric.

"Lor... Lord?"

The Chief's calm expression crumbled instantly.

She asked with a slightly trembling voice,

"......I thought the Seventh Lord was not a human but a werewolf."

She was referring to the former Seventh Lord.

He had died, leaving the Seventh Lord's seat vacant, and I had recently taken it, but they didn't know that yet. They were probably very isolated from the world in this forest.

"The former Seventh Lord is dead. And I have become the new Lord."

The Chief remained silent, only letting out a sigh.

Finding a Lord suddenly in the forest, she must be feeling an immense sense of crisis.

I got straight to the point.

"I have something to discuss. Would you like to hear it?"

"......Discussion?"

"I came to the forest not only to bring back the vampire sisters from earlier but also for another reason. It concerns the Blood Essence your tribe possesses."

The vampires looked at me in even greater shock than before.

They probably didn't expect to hear the word 'Blood Essence' from an outsider who suddenly appeared in the forest.

"......How do you know about the Blood Essence?"

The Chief, who had regained her composure, now glared at me with hostility.

Blood Essence.

It was the biggest headache for the Elrod Forest vampire tribe.

I remembered the background, though not all the details.

'Ancestor Gascalid.'

In the distant past, before the tribe settled in the Elrod Forest.

One of their ancestors was a very powerful vampire.

Unlike the current peaceful descendants, he was a wicked and ferocious vampire, like the Sixth Lord, the Tyrant.

"He suffered a fatal injury from an unknown archmage and eventually died from his wounds."

Death for a vampire is no different from other beings. Their bones and flesh decay, and their physical body returns to nature.

But he refused to let go of his attachment to life and tried to maintain his existence even in death.

That's how the Blood Essence was created.

'A stone containing the soul and Blood Art of Gascalid.'

I vaguely remembered an elder vampire in the game explaining how it was possible, but I couldn't recall the details. It was just a setting, so it wasn't a crucial issue.

What was important was that the descendants had inherited this evil stone, a manifestation of Gascalid.

With the prophecy that the day Gascalid resurrects is the day the tribe perishes, they have performed rituals for generations to suppress the energy of the Blood Essence.

However, the problem was the aftermath of the ritual.

The Chief's kin, who inherited Gascalid's blood, offered their blood to suppress the energy of the Blood Essence.

This ritual not only required blood but also consumed the life force and spirit of those who performed it.

In short, the Chiefs of the Elrod Forest were destined to have short lives the more they performed the ritual.

They could barely maintain the seal and couldn't move it elsewhere. Leaving it behind and abandoning the forest would be irresponsible.

Thus, the Elrod Forest tribe, unable to do anything, had been passing down the curse of the Blood Essence and the Chiefs' lives for generations.

And solving this problem with the Blood Essence was the reason I came to the Elrod Forest.

More precisely, the purpose was to gain the vampire's 'Blood Art' in the process of solving it.

"I know your ancestor, Gascalid."

Now that we were ready to have a proper conversation, it was time to lay it all out.

The Chief, who had been glaring at me, widened her eyes.

"Did you just say...?"

"The reason I know about the Blood Essence, which is like a curse from your ancestor, is because of that."

I smoothly told the story I had concocted in my head.

"The Chief at the time, Halion, sealed Gascalid's Blood Essence himself. Do you know this?"

"......"

"As the Chief, you must know this from the records of your predecessors. I had a connection with him, and he entrusted me with a task. He asked me to completely destroy the Blood Essence when the time was right, so that future descendants wouldn't suffer anymore."

"Wait."

She interrupted me, looking increasingly confused.

"So... you are a person from hundreds of years ago when our ancestors were still alive?"

"That's right."

Ashel also looked at me with a slightly surprised expression.

Of course, it was a lie, but it wasn't entirely implausible.

As the Lords of Caldric show, superhumans who transcend the limits in this world can live for hundreds of years.

I continued with a slightly solemn face.

"I have come to fulfill that request. So, please guide me to where the Blood Essence is."

It might seem out of the blue, but it's hard to disbelieve.

How else would an outsider know about the Blood Essence and their ancestors?

I waited for the Chief's response.

She, looking troubled and conflicted, bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, but there's no need for you to do that."

......Huh?

"This is our tribe's problem. We can't entrust the issue of the Blood Essence to an outsider just because of a few words. Even if everything you say is true, I'm sorry, but if you care about us, please leave."

The response was a firm rejection.

I was taken aback; I didn't expect such a decisive refusal.

"......Sister, we should at least hear him out..."

The War Chief, who had been more hostile towards me, tried to stop her, looking flustered.

"Then, goodbye."

Despite this, she turned away from me firmly after giving me another bow.

I watched her retreating back for a moment, feeling a bit hopeless, and then spoke again.

......I can't give up after coming all this way.

"If that's the case, I'll have to force my way in."

Her steps stopped at my words.

She turned to look at me with a stiff expression.

"Even though I just said it's fine?"

"Exactly. So, if you don't want more conflict, guide me to where the Blood Essence is. I don't want to see the blood of the descendants of my dead friend."