Academy’s Genius Swordsman

< 71. Blood Hook (3) >

#71

Ophelia put her hand on Ronan’s cheek. Eventually, mana gathered into her palm and radiated a cool light.

“Bye····?!”

Sita’s eyes widened. Ophelia lifted her hand. Ronan frowned as he touched his face. The curve felt under the palm was different from usual.

“Damn, you feel weird. Is that right?”

“Yeah, it’s perfect. It’s magic that even uses catalysts. If you leave the site, I will walk you back.”

“Piyao….”

Seeing Sita’s disgusting appearance, it seemed like it was eaten properly. Ronan and Sita left Phileon before dawn. I had to move quickly to get there on time.

****

It was a night when the crescent moon smiled.

A mist was rising over the swamp covered with fallen leaves. White, withered trees were beckoning under the moonlight.

The traversable land, which made up about thirty percent of the swamp, was covered with short, yellowish grass. The meeting place for trading the essence of fresh blood was bulging in the middle.

It was an ancient tomb that has now been forgotten in people’s memories. Two men of strong physique stood blocking the stone door that served as the entrance.

The man with the mustache said, scratching his head.

“Who said he was coming today? It’s very late.”

“You idiot, have you forgot? It’s a Jarrodine Stonesong.”

“Oh, I remember. Did I say wizard?”

“I am no ordinary wizard. In the past, he was a tycoon who even competed with the former swordsman.”

The curly haired man sighed. It was a shame to work with such a poor bastard.

Why did the owners give such a miscellaneous boat the honor of becoming a family member? He opened his mouth with his eyes fixed on the front.

“The owners are looking forward to this deal, so be alert. Do you have good scrolls?”

“Okay, how many times are you asking me? Don’t worry too much. No matter how much he is a flying and creeping wizard, he is still a human…”

“Shh! Here he comes.”

Curly hair stretched out a finger and pointed forward. A light flickered in the distance and was getting closer.

Before long, a man with a torch came out of the darkness. He was wearing a long robe that covered him from head to toe, so he couldn’t see his face. The gatekeepers with their swords approached him.

“Jarodine Stonesong…are you right?”

“okay.”

The mustache frowned. It was a terrible voice reminiscent of a strangled crow. The curly-haired man who pulled out a portrait of Jarudine said with a stern tone.

“Please take off your hood as we need to verify your identity.”

“I do.”

The unidentified man meekly turned the hood over. A skinny, skinny face was revealed.

Blue eyes that are too deeply embedded, thick and clear eyebrows that retain a little bit of the beauty of the past. The curly hair that contrasted the portrait with his face quickly put the knife in.

“Has confirmed. Top Mage Jarrodin Stonesong.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Come in. Valuable people are waiting for you.”

Curly hair led him to the tomb. The mustache, which scanned Jarudine’s path, said sarcastically.

“It was too dry. I thought it was a monster.”

“Shut up. Do not be rude to guests.”

“It doesn’t matter, just open the door.”

“Ah, yes!”

The gatekeepers opened the stone door. A cool breeze blew in from the other side of the exposed passage. Jarrodin’s brow narrowed at the smell of blood stinging his nose. Curly hair pointed to the inside of the tomb and said.

“Just keep walking along the main road. It’s complicated inside, so be careful.”

“Looks like it’s bigger than I thought… I’m just saying it’s because my eyes are a little dark at night, can you please guide me?”

“That is . . . we also have work to do. sorry.”

The curly hair bowed her head politely. One of the two would be able to help, but it seemed like he had a separate mission besides guarding the entrance. Jarudine asked, rubbing his chin.

“Then there is nothing you can do. It seems that there are no other guards outside except you?”

“yes? Uh… yes, but.”

“Okay. I’ll give you a present.”

Jarrodin, who was rummaging through his star pocket, pulled out a scroll. It was a very small scroll the size of a finger at best.

Jarrodin activated the scroll without the gatekeeper questioning it. Shoo! A translucent cube surrounded the three of them. The noise from outside disappeared in an instant.

“This is… Silent…”

It was the car the curly hair was trying to say. Something gleamed inside Jarudine’s robe.

His world tilted with the sensation of the wind scratching the nape of his neck. tuk. The curly-haired gatekeeper’s head fell to the floor. The eyes of the mustache that had been yawning grew as if they were about to pop out.

“Ugh! Whoa, what is this…!”

“I die right away. Were you human?”

I thought he was a vampire at the end, but it seemed like he was just a member of the family. Jarrodin ran straight ahead and waved his arm. spatula. At the same time as the black blade drew an arc, a red line appeared on the neck of the mustache.

“Gagging…!”

“You must have drank a little more blood.”

He instinctively noticed that his head had fallen off his body. The regenerative power obtained by selling a soul to a vampire was preventing instant death. Mustache pressed his right hand to the top of his head and pulled out the scroll he had kept in his pocket with his left hand.

“Wow!”

“Hey fuck, that’s a surprise.”

The mustache screamed and tried to unseal the scroll. Jarudine calmly fired a slash. Scratch! His arms soared into the air at the same time as the previously cut head. Seeing the corpse crumble, Jarrodin sighed in relief.

‘You did a good job of casting silence.’

From the very beginning, things almost went wrong. The one he used was the miniature Silent Scroll he had previously gifted to Schlieffen.

Then I saw a scroll wallowing in a pool of blood. The mustache was desperately trying to break the seal. Jordin, to be more precise, Ronan, who was polymorphed into Jordin, tilted his head.

‘What is this?’

I couldn’t figure out how to use it. It was the moment Ronan picked up the scroll. The dangling string was broken and the magic engraved on the scroll was activated. Shuah! A barrier of mana, which suddenly rose, blocked the stone gate. Ronan chuckled.

“…it saved me a lot of trouble.”

It seems that he was planning to block the entrance so that Jarrodin couldn’t escape. Because it was something he had prepared against Jarrodin, it certainly looked solid. So much that they can’t even get through.

Ronan looked through the sleeves of his curly hair just in case. As it turned out, the same scroll was hidden. Ronan with the scroll said while lifting up his robe.

“Sita. Put it away.”

“Byeah.”

Sita poked her face out of her robe. It was one of the reasons he was wearing a robe that didn’t fit.

Sita spread her wings after checking the bloodstains everywhere. The blood remaining in the body of the corpse, as well as the blood stains the size of a grain of sand on his robes, floated up and absorbed into Sita’s body.

In a matter of seconds, the scene was cleared. Ronan smiled satisfactorily when he saw the bodies dried up like mummies.

“Well done. This will not be enough.”

It was a measure to avoid attracting the attention of vampires by any chance. There was already a strong smell of blood coming from the inside, so I didn’t think it would be noticed, but there was nothing wrong with being careful. After completing her work, Sita hid inside the robe again. Ronan moved along the aisle.

‘He’s in good shape.’

The passage led to the basement. Sophisticated masonry stood out. Since it was a swampy area, there was no sign of water leakage, although the area was filled with water and mud. Suddenly, Ronan noticed that the architectural style applied to this tomb was similar to that of the temple of Sarante.

‘Maybe it’s a coincidence.’

The inside was quite complicated. It was a tomb with a structure as if the building had been buried in the ground.

Ronan walked only along the large passage, as the curly-haired gatekeeper said. The deeper I went, the stronger the smell of blood. Before long, the field of vision widened and a space reminiscent of a banquet hall spread out in front of us.

“come. really came That Jarrodin Stonesong.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve done business with humans.”

“It’s too dry. Not even three cups of blood will come out.”

In the middle of the banquet hall, there was a long stone table that looked 10m tall. Twenty young men and women sat around a table. All of them had beautiful looks.

‘You’ve come a lot.’

It wasn’t that hard to find out that they were all vampires. Forty red eyes were staring at Ronan. Ronan narrowed his brow at the licking sticky gaze.

“Uhhh.”

“Stay still. You have a guest.”

On the table lay three men and women bound. There were two women and one man, all of them bleeding profusely from the nape of their neck and wrists.

Ronan thought it was a good thing they had sacks on their heads. It might have been difficult to maintain the reason if you saw the face begging for help. At that time, the vampire who was sitting in the front row got up.

“It is an honor to meet you. Jarudine Stonesong. This is Zwei von Arnstafel, the leader of the Blood Hook.”

Zwei was a young blonde with blonde hair. Indeed, it was a loud name like the leader of the mosquito club. He said, pointing to the people at the table.

“It took longer than expected, so I had dinner first. Would you like to be together now?”

The soft voice that seemed to have applied butter was impressive. Ronan didn’t respond. He looked at the faces of the vampires and clicked his tongue in displeasure.

“It’s just a deal, you brought too much.”

“Please excuse me. A lot of people want to see you.”

“Is this enough to say that everyone has gathered?”

“That’s right. It’s actually a power source.”

“What is the essence of fresh blood?”

“Of course I brought it. As soon as we close the transaction, we will extract it and process it.”

“good night. What do you want?”

“Become into our household.”

For a moment there was silence. It was as Ophelia had expected. Ronan replied sarcastically.

“…you’re talking nonsense.”

“I’m not saying it’s going to happen right away. I’ll give you ten years probation. All you have to do is sign a blood pact and come see us when the time is right.”

“Are you telling me to become a slave to your vampires?”

“I know that you have come to us because you are so desperate. Isn’t it that mortals seek the essence of fresh blood… nine times out of ten to save someone dear to you?”

Ronan’s face hardened for a moment. Zwei, who didn’t miss it, caught it and put on an abominable smile.

“hahaha, I guess I’m right.”

“Shut up.”

“Well… if this deal is canceled, the essence of fresh blood will be hard to find anywhere. We were able to find it after searching for a long time.”

Zwei answered politely. Judging from the conversation I had with Ophelia, it was highly likely that those words were true. Ronan licked his lips.

“What if I say no?”

“It’s unfortunate. You probably won’t die safely.”

“What?”

right! Suddenly, Zwei snapped his fingers. At the same time, the twenty vampires got up all at once. They approached without a sound and surrounded Ronan as if surrounded.

“What is this doing?”

“Don’t be silly. You will feel your mana being disturbed. There are treasures scattered throughout that even a wizard of your level cannot ignore.”

I hadn’t noticed at all. As I listened for sure, I could feel a mysterious aura emanating from every corner of the banquet hall. Zwei smiled, showing his fangs.

“Even if you use magic to escape, you will do irreparable damage. Your circle may collapse and you will never be able to use magic again.”

“Did you prepare in advance?”

“It is your misfortune that you have been blinded by desperation. Jarudine Stonesong, you’d be better off accepting the offer as a mage respecting you.”

I felt my life churn. The vampires were flashing their eyes with the momentum to rush at any moment. I knew I would have done a great job, but I didn’t know that I had prepared this well. Ronan, who was drooling, shook his head.

“…to accept the offer.”

“It’s an excellent choice. Then we will proceed with the blood pact.”

Zwei pulled out a piece of red paper from his inner pocket. It was a parchment made of goat skin, used in most magical oaths. Ronan sighed and was about to squeeze blood from his little finger.

“Wait a minute…before that, I’ll have to look at the essence of fresh blood. Who is the bowl?”

“You’ll find out when you sign the oath anyway.”

“vampire. Keep in mind that this is also yielding.”

Ronan stared at Zwei without saying a word. The young general of Blood Hook knew it wasn’t bluff. Zwei let out a light sigh and touched her chest with her right hand.

“Fu… I see. Let me show you something special.”

As he raised his palm, a crimson mass of mana came out precariously. It was an appearance that matched what Ophelia had said. Ronan nodded.

“Looks like you are a bowl. Are you setting an example as a leader?”

“That’s right.”

“Well then. It took a long time.”

“yes?

Ronan suddenly picked up the robe and pulled the hilt. A sword strike that flew at an unrecognizable speed was drawn over Zwei’s limbs. Scratch! Four limbs fell off his body almost simultaneously.

“uh···?”

“If it was the real Jordin, I might have been beaten.”

Zwei’s eyes widened. It was a moment when the vampires around him were about to shout. Ronan immediately rotated widely and swung his sword. Whoa! Five heads soared into the air.

“Goo!”

“Ts, Zwei!”

A belated scream erupted along with a fountain of blood. Ronan stepped on the headless body and jumped up. The vampires who turned around quickly swung their nails and knives, but Ronan had already escaped the siege. He sighed as he watched the vampire bodies move as if they were alive even with their heads cut off.

“Anyway, you fucking mosquito bastards…”

Ronan’s movements were not the wizard’s. In his hand was a black translucent sword. The vampires shouted in shock at the sudden catastrophe.

“Kah, Kal…?!”

“Damn, you said you were a wizard. What happened!”

“leader! Calm down, Commander!”

“You bastards, you’re blind to preconceived notions, so unfortunate things like this happen.”

At that moment, Ronan, who blocked the entrance to the banquet hall, threw off his robe. Sita, who had been hanging on his back all the time, spread its wings and flew up.

“Byeah!”

“Didn’t you think that Jarrodin could wield a sword so well?”

“Hey, that’s…!”

The vampires’ faces turned pale when they saw Ronan’s waist. Dozens of silver poles hung along his belt. Ronan opened his mouth as he opened the scroll he had taken from the doorkeeper’s corpse.

“Well…don’t think that anyone will survive.”

The scroll unfolded. A mana barrier rose and blocked the entrance to the banquet hall. Ronan grabbed the hilt and ran towards the vampires.