Chapter 69 - Encirclement (3)
9 min read ·
Yoannis signaled to his blood kin vampires.
"Stand back. Don't get cocky about your physical abilities and rush in."
He looked at Shin Do-ryong, who gripped a sword in each hand.
'Twin Swords... hard to handle and not very efficient, but....'
He looked at the severed heads and limbs of his subordinate blood kin, scattered across the ground.
When a superhuman who could cleave through the bones of aberrations with a single swing of a one-handed blade wielded them, it was a different story entirely.
Between that title of Director and the skill he'd just witnessed, there was no room for doubt.
Director of the Bureau for Abnormal Phenomena Countermeasures.
"So, you're the famous Shin Do-ryong."
Yoannis observed his opponent and let a smile play at the corner of his lips.
"The Yokai Slayer. Korea's Heracles."
...And then.
"Stop making up childish nicknames."
Shin Do-ryong casually released the Twin Swords from his hands and spoke in an unruffled voice.
"Thompson."
The Twin Swords falling through the air vanished, retrieved.
Shwaaak-!
The <Muyedobot'ongji> fluttered open.
A Thompson submachine gun with a black steel barrel materialized, landing firmly in its master's grip.
It flowed into a single seamless motion.
He aimed at Chairman Kim, who had seized the opening of the chaos to clutch his severed left arm and move behind Yoannis.
"...!?"
A truly nonchalant, sudden ambush.
The faces of Chairman Kim and Mia froze in shock.
And then....
Yoannis drew the greatsword slung across his back and stepped one pace forward.
The muzzle spat fire.
Tadadadadadadada-!!
The instant modern gunfire rained down, a scene unfolded that could only be called magical.
The heavy Claymore in Yoannis's hands swung in rapid succession.
Kagagagagagagagang-!!
The blade's flat face met the hail of bullets and deflected them away.
Sparks flew as bullets ricocheted in every direction.
Drrrr... Huuuu....
When the magazine emptied and the gunfire ceased.
Beneath the night sky, the agents of the Special Operations Division stared wide-eyed at the golden-haired vampire standing tall and proud.
".........!?"
In the settled silence after the barrage.
Yoannis twirled the beautifully wave-patterned blade in a full circle, flicking away the smoke of the gunfire.
Bwooong-.
His blue eyes flashed, and the corners of his mouth curled upward as if showing off a magician's trick.
"Magic, the art of deflecting bullets with a sword."
At the absurd declaration, Shin Do-ryong tossed aside the emptied Thompson and objected.
"That's not magic, that's swordsmanship."
"Any power that defies common sense is magic."
Yoannis answered lightly.
"If you have the technique, the strength, and the reflexes to deflect bullets with a sword, then that's no ordinary feat. It belongs to the realm of magic."
"So anything goes and it's all magic now?"
One of Shin Do-ryong's eyebrows shot up.
You really had to hand it to wizard bastards for their sheer shamelessness.
If something was impressive, they'd claim it was all theirs.
But setting that aside.
Shin Do-ryong's eyes narrowed as he glared at Yoannis.
The man's swordsmanship was the real deal.
He wasn't simply bulldozing through with the superhuman physical abilities of a vampire.
He was an aberrant wizard who had also honed human technique, true martial skill.
".........."
Shin Do-ryong had considered just going after Chairman Kim, his original target, but with Yoannis standing in the way like that...
...it was going to be a pain.
"Waegum."
Shin Do-ryong summoned a Japanese sword from the grimoire and gripped it.
Taking that as the signal, Yoannis fixed his full attention solely on Shin Do-ryong, never taking his eyes off him.
He spoke to Mia, the black-haired, pretty-faced vampire boy behind him, who was watching with worry in his eyes.
"M-Master-!"
"It's dangerous, so stay out of it."
A sudden thunderclap erupted.
Kwaaang-!!
Yoannis's blue eyes widened, and a laugh burst from him.
"-Ha!"
He hadn't taken his eyes off, and yet, if he was being honest, he'd lost track of the movement for an instant!
Shin Do-ryong kicked off the ground, cracking the concrete beneath his feet.
'Muyedobot'ongji Waegum, Unkwangryu.'
Closing the distance in a single bound, his blade came crashing down like a thunderbolt.
Yoannis swung the Claymore upward in a desperate counter.
Kwawaaang-!!
An explosion of sound rang out, impossible to believe it came from two blades clashing.
And the sound continued.
Kwawaaang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwawang! Kwang!
Exchanges happened in the blink of an eye.
Sword strikes unfolded between two magic swordsmen who had stepped into the realm of magic, their bodies wreathed in the arcane.
Mia, who had been staring blankly at the spectacle for a moment, snapped back to his senses.
'Master told me to stay out of it, but... that human is dangerous.'
Glaring at Shin Do-ryong, he shouted at a subordinate vampire nearby.
"Master is barely taking any damage! Just shoot him!"
"Ah... yes!"
Kagagang-!
But Shin Do-ryong, without even looking at the bullet the vampire fired, deflected it naturally with a swing of his blade.
"......?!"
Mia's eyes went wide. He understood now why Yoannis had told him to stay out of it.
...Because it was pointless!
And then.
On the Special Operations Division's side, Si-on assisted with field command in a calm voice.
"While the Director buys us time, let's tend to the wounded and regroup our formation."
Then, in the midst of it all.
Kwawang! Kwagagagaga!
Ssssk-!
Blades met and Shin Do-ryong's sword cut across Yoannis's forehead, but.
".........."
Shin Do-ryong pulled back to create distance.
He'd been feeling it was about time, but the blade's edge was completely gone.
"A difference in swords, then."
Yoannis held up his Claymore, displaying the blade's surface.
"True Damascus Steel, forged through alchemy."
The wave pattern on the steel blade rippled.
"A magical wave."
The difference in weapons didn't particularly matter to Shin Do-ryong.
The instant the <Muyedobot'ongji> fluttered at Shin Do-ryong's side to produce a new weapon.
".........."
Yoannis snapped his fingers.
Greek fire, inextinguishable green flames, bloomed like a net in front of Yoannis and surged straight toward Shin Do-ryong.
Team Leader Park and Team 3 agent Lee Hye-eun cried out in alarm.
"D-Director! Dodge that!"
"Director! You'll turn into cube steak!?"
And Shin Do-ryong casually swung the nicked and chipped blade with a swift 'sha-sha-shak!'
He cut through the oncoming net of green flames. The fire crumbled apart in midair.
As the flames cleared, the vampires could be seen fleeing with Chairman Kim in tow.
Team Leader Park rushed over to the narrow-eyed Shin Do-ryong.
"Director! Did you cut through magic?"
"It wasn't magic. It was thread."
"What?"
Shin Do-ryong indicated with his eyes the thin thread caught on the blade, still bearing embers.
"He's a high-ranking vampire, so he probably used something like telekinesis to manipulate threads coated in advance with an alchemical solution, then set them on fire to make it look like he was shooting arrows of flame."
Team Leader Park stared straight at Shin Do-ryong's face.
"Director, how did you know that?"
"Because I could see it."
Shin Do-ryong answered in his usual calm, unruffled voice, then walked over to Si-on.
His tone softened noticeably.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine."
Si-on answered as the leader of Team 3.
"We've finished first aid on the wounded, and the medical team says reinforcements are on the way."
"Good. Well done."
Shin Do-ryong looked down at his daughter, small and slender, built just like her late mother.
She had a natural talent for the Breathing Technique and fought well enough, but worry was worry all the same.
Shin Do-ryong turned his head and spoke to Team Leader Park.
"Losing Chairman Kim is unfortunate, but there's still work to be done. Once the medical team arrives, gather everyone and head back."
For now, today was rest. And it made sense, because....
'Yoannis.'
The gay Nazi Vampire, the head of the vampire Clan Madas.
There had to be a reason that heavyweight vampire had appeared in Korea.
And if there was a reason....
Shin Do-ryong opened his phone and looked at the data the analysis team had sent regarding Chairman Kim's building.
All sorts of things were written there, but to summarize it roughly:
'Fuck, an overwhelmingly powerful magical energy is being detected. We can't determine exactly what's happening, but it's likely to be observed from overseas as well.'
...Because it was more than enough to draw all manner of aberrant creatures, lured by the scent.
***
After getting cleaned up, I put on a coat that someone from Soo-ah's family had brought over and looked toward the entrance from the hotel lounge.
Just in case, I'd stayed at the hotel for quite a while, but the Special Operations Division never came storming in.
There was also the fact that Soo-ah had checked in for a longer stay when she paid, just to be safe, so we'd lingered a bit more.
And I looked over at Soo-ah, who similarly showed no sign of leaving.
".........."
Probably because she'd nearly been kidnapped.
Bodyguards sent from Soo-ah's family were sitting in the lobby area.
Soo-ah seemed to think the two bodyguards who'd died the day before had died because of her.
She looked depressed. It was obvious she didn't want to go home.
Did she think her being around was a burden to everyone?
What a useless thought.
"Um, Mister. ...Should I check in for one more day?"
I looked at her, exasperated.
"Go wash up, go home, and sleep. I'm going home too."
I let out a small sigh and stood up as well.
"...If it really bothers you, tell your dad's secretary to give the bodyguards' families a lot of money."
I looked down at Soo-ah and offered what advice I could.
"Don't be too depressed over things you can't change. Do what you can."
Soo-ah stared at me for a moment, then stood up with a grumble.
"...I was going to do that even if you didn't tell me."
She got up and took a few steps toward where the bodyguards were.
Then Soo-ah turned around, fidgeted for a moment, gripped her notebook tightly, and said.
"I can see you again after that, right?"
".........."
Since I couldn't know how things would change, I didn't bother answering.
Soo-ah scrunched up her brow, then walked back over and punched my arm with her fist.
"Why aren't you answering! Answer me!"
I blinked, caught off guard.
"What are you, a thug?"
She's hitting people just because she doesn't like the answer?
Of course, she'd pulled her punch, so it was barely more than playful.
"I was already feeling down, and then you go and make me anxious! Answer me!"
I narrowed my eyes for a moment, then relaxed them.
Looking at the notebook in Soo-ah's hand, I said.
"Focus on memorizing. If there's anything confusing, call me."
"...Got it. Then I'll see you next time."
That answer seemed to satisfy her well enough. Soo-ah turned around again and left.
I, too, finally walked out of the hotel and headed home.