Until the Morning Sun Rises

Isabella looked around, trying to check what had happened to her body.

“Ah, it hurts…”

She turned her head to look up at Serena. Serena had clearly identified herself as a cleric.

The characteristics of a cleric:

Devout believers in their god who restore their allies or support them in battle.

Moreover, they wield holy magic that deals fatal damage to the undead.

But then, what just happened?

She was sure she’d been looking down from above only a moment ago, but now, she found the world turned upside down.

“You—you!”

Now, the cleric who’d been looking down was pointing a finger at her.

“Magic Rose, sacrifice—when you said that, I knew something was off… You’re not human, are you!?”

Isabella slowly got up and looked at Serena.

“You’re a vampire, aren’t you?”

Even at Serena’s question, isabella had no intention of answering.

She only lowered her body to solve the question that had just come up, getting ready to pounce at Serena.

Whoosh!

Crouching tightly, isabella charged straight at Serena.

Her movement was anything but normal. Like swimming through the shadows of the drawing room.

Her figure blurred and became vivid again, as if the darkness itself was moving.

She suddenly appeared at the left corner. The moment Serena looked there, isabella popped out from behind and swung her claws.

Bang!

Even though it was a speed no ordinary person could ever catch, Serena again grabbed Isabella’s wrist and slammed her down to the floor.

“Keugh…!”

No way.

Isabella repeated to herself inwardly.

At that moment, a movement like a thunderbolt—Serena came into her view.

Crack!

Isabella barely turned her head to avoid Serena’s fist. The floor exploded with a massive hole.

A direct hit would mean death.

At that thought, isabella panicked.

“Unbelievable! You call yourself a cleric!”

That complaint reached her throat, but Serena already had her back.

“Rear naked choke!”

Serena declared. The moment she heard it, isabella’s neck was completely locked down by Serena.

“Keu, keuugh… eek!”

Even if you’re a vampire, if blood flow to the brain is blocked, you have no choice but to faint.

So Isabella hurriedly bent her body, trying to escape.

At that moment, Serena released the choke and quickly twisted Isabella’s arm.

“Hammerlock!”

“Argh!”

A stabbing pain shot up from Isabella’s shoulder.

What kind of crazy woman is this?!

Though insults bubbled up, she didn’t give up—she rolled her body to the side.

Serena easily wrapped her legs around Isabella.

“Triangle choke!”

“K-Kkeuuuuu…!”

Tears welled up in Isabella’s eyes under the pain that threatened to break her.

But only for a moment.

Isabella’s body began to melt into the shadows.

Before she knew it, she had escaped to Rozenkranz’s side.

“W-What kind of crazy woman is that!?”

“As I thought! You’re a vampire! My eyes were right!”

“Rozenkranz, this is no time to stand around. Call your guards, now!”

Thinking she would never be able to win by her own strength, isabella spoke.

Rozenkranz wiped cold sweat at Isabella’s words.

“My—my guards are down.”

“Down?”

“Y-Yes.”

By whom?

“You—you’ve been watching from there! Two barbarians threw people out the window…!”

“Hold on!”

Serena cut Rozenkranz off and headed to a corner of the drawing room.

There lay the backpack she’d brought in before entering this mansion.

“Did it get delivered well?”

Shff.

She opened the backpack, speaking. Inside, the head of a wolf appeared.

― Yes, I have delivered it to master.”

And at that moment—

Crash!

A huge figure crashed in through the window.

That skull helmet—it was a familiar face.

“You—you… why are you here…!?”

“Kahahaha!”

One of the two barbarians who’d smashed the Rose of Blood merchant guild.

The other one appeared through the broken window as well.

“I thought something was off, but I didn’t expect you’d be related to vampires.”

It was the barbarian who’d spoken with her earlier.

* * *

Rose of Blood, one of Odheim’s merchant guilds.

This guild had plenty of suspicious things about it.

First, they reported us straight away under the security laws.

And they invited Serena to the mansion.

And, Serena’s father, who had investigated the Rose of Blood merchant guild, disappeared without a trace.

“Are you the ones with the Rune of the Abyss?”

I asked the female vampire in front of me. She tried to look calm, but at the mention of the “Rune of the Abyss”, a shadow crossed her face.

“As I thought.”

I realized why the Rose of Blood merchant guild had targeted us.

Chunsik isn’t the only one who can sense the ‘Rune of the Abyss’. Some reason must have let the vampires sense our energy, and they had made the first move.

That means my purpose here is clear.

“Where is the rune?”

To find the rune.

The female vampire just smiled seductively at my question.

Though she had the figure of a beautiful woman, I could tell for sure.

Unlike a necromancer, that thing was a monster imitating a human. A completely different species from us.

“Why don’t we at least introduce ourselves?”

The female vampire flipped her hair back and spoke carefully.

“I am Isabella. As you can see, I’m a vampire.”

As if to show it off, she smiled and bared her fangs.

Pale skin, slender but prominent fangs—just like the “vampire” of legend.

“Vampire!”

Barkal gripped his Erindal tightly, glaring at Isabella with hate.

“Vampires are undead! The undead must die!”

Barkal looked like he’d leap at any moment. I stopped him with a hand.

“Vampires are dangerous.”

In Dungeon God, vampires are undead and a race separate from humans.

Unlike the others, this race cannot believe in a “god” and has special abilities.

First, bloodsucking.

True to the name ‘vampire’, they have the ability to drink many types of blood.

They can live forever that way, or enhance their physical abilities.

Next, physical abilities.

Stronger than humans—they can wield immense strength.

And knowledge of ‘dark magic’.

This is the trickiest aspect.

Because dark magic covers such a wide category, you never know what will pop out.

“Oh? It seems like this isn’t your first time facing a vampire?”

As I restrained Barkal, isabella, that’s what she called herself, smiled at me.

“Smart decision. You never know what kind of dark magic a vampire might use.”

Running her hand through her hair, isabella continued.

“The dark magic I’m most confident in is charm.”

Charm?

“A dark magic that seduces any rational mind I touch. That’s the spell I’m best at.”

She reached her hand out, as if to beckon me and Barkal closer.

If you touch that hand, you’ll be charmed. How troublesome.

In Dungeon God, the state effect ‘charm’ is always ranked in the top five most ‘annoying status ailments’.

Why?

Because once charmed, a player attacks their allies as if they were the enemy.

Imagine if Barkal turned on us. Could I stop him?

Wow.

I can’t even imagine.

“I’ll take care of this.”

Serena stepped forward confidently. Seeing her, I breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Charm’ only works on the opposite gender. It doesn’t work on the same gender, so Serena won’t be affected.

“I’m counting on you, Serena.”

“Yes!”

At my words, Serena rolled her shoulders and advanced.

She looked like a general going to war.

Who would ever think this was a “cleric”!

“… As I thought, it’s you who’ll step forward.”

Isabella grimaced, as if she bore a grudge.

“But, facing you earlier, I realized something.”

She spread her hand, showing sharp claws.

“No matter how well you fight at close range, you’re still a cleric. Even if you’re skilled, strength-wise, I have you beat.”

Isabella smiled, flashing those claws.

“So this time, I won’t get caught off guard. It’ll be pure strength—”

“Blessing of Strength.”

Ignoring Isabella’s endless chatter, Serena muttered words under her breath.

As she finished, a faint light appeared, inscribing itself onto Serena’s body.

“What?”

“Light Steps.”

“You’re using buff magic?”

“Endurance of Steel.”

As more and more buffs wound around her body, Serena’s presence became overwhelming.

“You think that’s going to change anything!?”

Isabella rushed in, slashing her claws. Serena responded by punching back.

“You’re about to try a joint technique? I won’t get caught this time!”

Isabella lashed her claws in quick succession.

Left, right.

Up, down.

Diagonally.

Isabella’s claws moved in a dance. As her claws grazed the stone floor, deep gouges opened up.

Strong enough to tear stone like paper. Even I was impressed.

If an ordinary person took such an attack, they’d be torn to shreds.

Crack-crack-crack!

But as Isabella’s claws came at Serena, they simply shattered.

With nothing but her own fists imbued with blessings.

She broke the vampire’s claws with her bare hands.

“Kyaaaaaa!”

With her claws smashed, isabella screamed. She stared at Serena in shock.

“You—you! How…!?”

“Did you think joint techniques were my specialty? I just like breaking bones!”

Serena—

That’s even more worrying.

“Haaap!”

With a shout, Serena drove her fist into Isabella’s stomach. At that, isabella’s body shot up, floating in the air with a loud whoosh.

It didn’t end there. Serena leapt up even higher than Isabella and slammed her down.

“If the distance opens up, slam them to the ground! That’s basic cleric training!”

Is it?

No. No way, not in any world.

“Rrrrrgh…!”

“So tough. Vampires really are something else!”

“Serena, vampires can’t be killed by normal means.”

At my words, Serena turned her head quickly.

“Brother Dmihtan, is there another way!?”

At her question, I recalled my experience in Dungeon God.

First, piercing their heart with a silver weapon.

Or dousing them with holy water.

Or burning them.

Lastly, exposing them to the sun.

I’ll start with the least likely and move to better options.

“For now, there’s exposing them to sunlight, but that’s—”

“The sun!? Understood!”

Understood? What?

Serena grabbed the collapsed Isabella and threw her toward the windows.

But it was night. The sun was already set.

“It’s a shame it’s night!”

Smack, smack.

She continued to pound the already pulped Isabella.

“Kuh, kuh…!”

“Thankfully! If I keep this up, even if she doesn’t die, it’ll take her time to heal!”

Whack, whack.

“That means! If I keep doing this! Until morning! We’ll be fine!”

Whack, whack, whack, whack.

In the drawing room of the Rose of Blood merchant guild, only strange sounds echoed.

I could only shake my head.

Serena.

No, Serebrina Lightbringer.

You’re the best.

***

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