Fortunately, Ryu Cheong, who had extensive knowledge thanks to frequent trading, was able to come up with a bold idea.
WHAM!
After a turn in mid-air, he transformed into a giant elephant, his body hundreds of times larger than the scorpion he was confronting. Regis' face immediately stiffened, intimidated by that giant body.
She just opened her lips, intending to chant the Spirit Word once more. But Ryu Cheong, who quickly realized that intention, raised his long trunk and let out a loud roar.
COMPENSATION—
The roar shook the entire space, like a resounding trumpet, blowing away all surrounding sounds. Of course, even Regis's Speech Spirit was crushed in that shock.
“Damn it!”
Regis rolled on the ground, dodging the giant trunk that whipped down like a whip. The red silk covering her eyes had slipped from her head, but this was not the time to worry about that. She forced herself to stand up, preparing for the next attack. However, his knees suddenly buckled, his vision spinning.
‘Blood… blood is not enough.’
The limit has been reached. On the way here, she expended too much energy.
Vlad's power, by its very nature, is maintained by blood. Of course, the longer they absorb high-quality blood, the more powerful their abilities become. Among them, Masaka's blood was the most powerful, but ironically, the natural enemy's blood burned Vlad's veins. Therefore, the most premium blood that Vlad can absorb is none other than the Receiver's blood.
‘I almost have it in my hands…’
Regis glanced at the door behind him, his eyes filled with indignation. She wanted to scream with regret, but clearly her life was still the most precious thing of all.
For a minority like her, the most important survival ability is knowing when to attack and when to retreat. And now, she is forced to choose the second way.
‘The only way is to find another opportunity.’
Ryu Cheong noticed the change in those eyes. Regis was filled with killing intent just a second ago - now he glanced around, then suddenly stepped back. Just a small movement like that was enough for him to clearly understand what she was about to do.
“Dare to run away right in front of me!”
Ryu Cheong's eyes shone brightly. He is not an aggressive person, but once he starts a fight, he will fight to the end.
In particular, Vlad is Masaka's mortal enemy. He had no intention of letting her, who dared to sneak into the business he managed, leave alive.
The elephant he transformed into lifted its heavy front legs and roared. Then he used his huge body to rush in and crush Regis. If he were hit by this body, even Vlad would break like an egg thrown against a rock.
Fortunately, Vlad's abilities, while each weaker than Masaka's, have a wide range of applications. Sensing danger, Regis quickly transformed his body into a red mist.
Thanks to that, she barely avoided the attack of the oncoming elephant, then jumped over the wall to escape. Seeing her disappear into the night sky, Ryu Cheong gritted his teeth.
“Run away!”
Ryu Cheong's abilities are useful in combat, but are even better in pursuit. He intended to turn around and transform into a nimble eagle to chase Regis.
— Until the after effects of the injury he had forgotten about came back.
“Ugh…!”
Ryu Cheong returned to his human body, hugged his shoulders and leaned against the wall. Even though good ointment was applied and no burns were left, the contracted muscles and dislocated bones from the burn still hurt like being stabbed by a knife.
‘Varkan Ha Mash.’
Ryu Cheong's eyes were sharp as he remembered the person who caused his injury. However, even if he gritted his teeth at this moment, he couldn't take revenge right away, so he reluctantly turned his back.
“…?”
Right at that moment. An extremely sweet scent wafted in, a scent that he couldn't recognize because it was obscured by Vlad's fishy scent.
The scent is like ripe peaches and sweet and sour apricot jam. A gentle scent, the only comfort for Masaka's heart that was frantically pounding with murderous intent and pain.
The sense of smell was faster than reason and recognized the enemy. Ryu Cheong's profile, sharp as if painted with a brush, slowly turned around.
Heading towards the back door of the restaurant, where the large tray of unknown identity was placed.
Intuition is an extremely abstract and unclear thing. But sometimes, it is more accurate than reason.
The pillow was flat and comfortable behind my head, the soft feel of the silk against my skin, and above all, the oriental scent of a mix of fresh wood and sandalwood wafted to the tip of my nose.
All of this made Irel sense, even before opening his eyes, that something was wrong.
Slowly lifting his eyelids, the scene of an unfamiliar room appeared. Dark green silk curtains embroidered with golden dragons hung on the walls, colorful cushions and a small wooden table spread on the floor, rose branches decorated everywhere, and a guitar.
hold
long placed in the corner of the room.
It was an interior reminiscent of the Eastern Continent restaurant where she had dined before falling asleep. Remembering what happened there, Irel's eyelashes trembled.
‘That waitress.’
The strange woman had red eyes like Kitan. After drinking the glass of wine she pressed, her consciousness became hazy.
‘She spiked her alcohol with drugs.’
It's gone. Irel could guess right away.
At that time, Varkan's subordinates, including Chellos and Yan Luis, were guarding outside, but they clearly failed. If they succeed, the place she wakes up will be the Vaslow Moore Mansion.
“Welcome, Receiver.”
A sweet voice rang out next to her, who was dazed. Hearing a familiar voice, she raised her head and saw a handsome Oriental man with long, braided brown hair smiling.
“Ryu Cheong?”
Irel frowned and called his name when she recognized that face. Ryu Cheong seemed surprised, his smile faded and his dignified eyes slightly raised.
“You already know my identity?”
“That… well.”
That's right, he used the fake name 'Liu Cheong' and pretended to be a servant. Irel scratched her cheek when she remembered Ryu Cheong's fake identity.
"Because your hands and face are too delicate to be a servant. Furthermore, for a rare talent like Masaka to only be a servant, it's absurd from the start."
Can't say
‘I saw it in the system message.’
, Irel had to make up a reasonable explanation. Ryu Cheong looked at her with eyes so surprised that she felt the need to justify something.
"…Indeed."
Fortunately, that quickly made up excuse seems to have been accepted.
“You are that man's Receiver.”
…Though the part he accepted seemed a bit odd. Irel felt a little uncomfortable because every little thing was linked and accepted through Varkan, so she changed the subject.
“How long have I been sleeping?”
She sat up on the low Oriental-style bed and checked her body's condition. Her body was dressed in clean white silk underwear, but she felt helpless and hungry.
‘Must have been sleeping for at least three days.’
“Two and a half days.”
Ryu Cheong smiled kindly and corrected. Irel sighed, raised her hand to her forehead and asked:
"I have a headache. What happened? That red-eyed woman... is it the one you sent?"
It was natural for Irel to be suspicious. Ryu Cheong had a precedent for kidnapping her, and this time, the location was an Eastern Continent-style restaurant.
"No way."
Ryu Cheong quickly denied it before she became more suspicious.
“That red-eyed woman is a monster called the ‘Blood Demon.’ Masaka’s mortal enemy, the same type as Kitans.”
“Blood Demon, what?”
“Here they call it ‘Vlad’.”
Vlad? It is a word that is in the memory of Lee Raeyeon (Irel's real name).
‘It is the last object that can be unlocked after conquering all the characters.’
A black shadow is at the bottom of the list of conquered objects. The vague description hinting at its identity consisted of just one word: ‘Vlad’.
‘Somehow this seems like a clue that cannot be ignored.’
Irel narrowed his eyes. Even though the quest didn't mention it, the existence of this 'Vlad' made her feel strangely uncomfortable. Feeling the need to learn more, Irel inquired:
“Do you know much about this ‘Vlad’?”
“Of course I do.”
For some reason, this race of blood demons once reached the Eastern Continent and spread evil energy. So, there was no way Ryu Cheong didn't know. He was as excellent a teacher as he looked, so Irel quickly understood.
‘Basically, it's an upgraded version of Kitans.’
But she didn't understand why that entity wanted to kidnap her, and what its purpose was. And why did her family shake hands with her?
‘Do they want to take me away from Varkan?’
Family love is sometimes poison. Irel sighed deeply at her parents' will to never give up.
Anyway, once she knew she was kidnapped, she had to return. Varkan's face was definitely so angry and cold that he didn't need to look to see it. Irel glanced at the pure white sliding window in the distance and began to prepare.
“Where is this?”
“Socheon.”
“Socheon?”
When Irel asked again about the unfamiliar place, the smile on Ryu Cheong's lips became even stronger. It was as if he saw through her intentions.
“That's my hometown.”