Absolute Dweller-Chapter 89

The City Draped in Darkness

A black crow, its massive wings spanning as wide as an adult man's height, soared across the night sky of a city stripped of its lights. It perched momentarily on the rooftop of a building before vanishing into the gloom.

Squeak—

On that same rooftop, a mouse, small and unassuming, raised its head and scanned its surroundings. Soon, it found a narrow crevice and, without hesitation, slipped inside.

Moments later:

Hisssss—

Purple toxic gas began spreading through the building via the ventilation ducts. Like blood coursing through veins, it crept outward, spilling steadily into the building's interior.

Inside the Building

The vampires, oblivious to the encroaching danger, went about their routine.

"Are the preparations complete?"

"...Thirty low-ranked vampires are on standby," came the reply.

"Good. Deploy them in two hours."

The building, positioned snugly near the southern district of the Taehwa River, was bustling with dozens of vampires. Their main task? Regularly dispatching small groups of vampires at consistent intervals.

"Uh, Team Leader?"

"Hm?"

"How much longer do we have to keep doing this? Why are we persisting with such a wasteful war of attrition?"

The mid-ranked vampire addressed as Team Leader drew deeply on his cigarette, the glow of its tip faintly illuminating the dim room.

The subordinate, a lower-ranked vampire, voiced his frustration with a pained expression.

"Honestly, if we all band together, wiping out the humans across the river would be nothing! Guns or not, there's no reason to hold back like this—"

The passionate tirade was cut short as cigarette smoke was blown directly into his face.

Cough, cough!

The mid-ranked vampire, who had been silently watching him, finally spoke.

"I understand your frustration."

Lifting a blood pack from a corner of the room, he added, "It's suffocating, isn't it? Getting by on this miserable excuse for sustenance, especially when there are fresh humans in abundance across the river."

"...Yes, that's exactly it," the subordinate agreed, his tone heavy with longing.

"I can’t even remember the last time I tasted living human blood," the Team Leader continued. He truly empathized, having once felt the same frustration before learning the truth about the city.

After a moment’s pause, he decided to soothe his subordinate's unrest.

"Those humans across the river," he began, "are sacrifices for an important ritual."

"...What?"

The subordinate's puzzled expression prompted further explanation.

"Wait and see. On the night of the full moon, the Festival of Blood will commence."

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

"...Are you saying—?"

"Yes. Wait for the right time."

"Understood!"

Judging by his expression, the subordinate interpreted this as a declaration of an impending all-out assault on the full moon. However, the reality was far more grim—what awaited was not a battle but a massacre.

"When that time comes..."

As the Team Leader indulged in his fantasies of the blood-soaked festival, a hissing noise pulled him from his thoughts.

Hisssss—

Purple gas began billowing from the ventilation ducts, filling the room.

The faint glow of the cigarette illuminated the mist, alerting the vampire to the growing danger.

"What is this?"

Sensing the threat, the mid-ranked vampire instinctively held his breath.

And then:

Thud!

The sound of his subordinate collapsing to the floor broke the silence.

"!!"

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the mid-ranked vampire dashed toward the window and leapt out.

Crash!

The shattering glass cut into his flesh, leaving deep gashes that dripped with blood. Yet he paid no mind to the pain.

"What the hell is going on?"

He stared at the building he had just escaped from, watching as purple gas seeped ominously through the broken windows.

And then he noticed something even more shocking: the same gas was pouring out of multiple buildings nearby.

"Not just one or two...!"

From the six or seven structures visible from his vantage point, tendrils of purple smoke drifted ominously into the night.

"What is happening...?"

His thoughts were interrupted by a piercing scream.

"Aaaagh!"

A vampire stumbled out of an alley, only to be pursued by the clinking sound of armored boots.

Clang, clang—!

A silver-clad knight closed the distance.

"Please, spare me!" the vampire begged.

But the halberd showed no mercy, impaling the creature through its heart.

Thunk!

The vampire let out a final gasp before collapsing. His body began disintegrating into ash.

"What a cruel nightmare," the mid-ranked vampire muttered, almost laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Vampires being hunted like prey—it was a sight so surreal it felt like a twisted dream.

"Was I too eager for the Festival of Blood?"

Perhaps his subconscious had turned the massacre into this vivid nightmare, flipping the roles of predator and prey.

And then:

Thwack!

A glowing arrow pierced through his chest.

A moment later, flames erupted from his back, searing his flesh with excruciating pain.

"This... isn't a dream?"

The realization struck just as his heart shattered.

Thud.

The cold concrete against his cheek was the last sensation the mid-ranked vampire felt as his life slipped away.

For a creature that had devoured dozens of humans, it was a pitiful end.

A Coordinated Assault

The plan was clear from the start: assassination with Moon Byeong-ho's stealth, terror with Seo Ye-jin’s mice and Yoo Hye-rin’s poison gas, and guerilla tactics using Ha Dong-geon’s and Lee Jun-hyuk’s parties.

If they were going to be discovered eventually, they might as well make an explosive debut.

[You have slain a Low-Ranked Vampire (Lv. 22).]

[You have slain a Low-Ranked Vampire (Lv. 26).]

[You have slain a Mid-Ranked Vampire (Lv. 31).]

The notifications continued to ring as vampires turned into experience points and monetary rewards.

'The higher-ups will receive reports soon enough.'

Once they grasped the situation, the leader and the high-ranked vampires would make their move. But there was no need to worry—they had already prepared for that.

After two days of reconnaissance, they had mapped the entire vampire population in Ulsan.

'Eleven high-ranked vampires in total.'

Currently, the leader and all eleven high-ranked vampires were under constant surveillance.

"Yoo Han-gil, any updates?"

The man, seated cross-legged with his eyes closed in deep concentration, shook his head.

"None. They haven’t received word yet."

Yoo Han-gil, a natural awakener who had recently joined them, possessed the power of clairvoyance. Since forming a contract and pledging fealty, his abilities had become even more refined.

Thanks to Yoo Han-gil’s abilities, the exact locations of all high-ranked vampires across Ulsan were being tracked in real time.

“Inform me immediately if anything unusual happens,” I instructed.

“Yes, understood,” Han-gil replied, maintaining his concentration.

Leaving the monitoring of high-ranked vampires to him, I turned to Yoo Hye-rin.

“Have you rested enough?”

“Yes!”

“Then, please proceed.”

“...Yes!”

Despite the sweat pouring down her face, Yoo Hye-rin continued producing toxic gas. The gas was immediately absorbed into my storage and subsequently transferred into buildings where Seo Ye-jin’s mice were scouting.

“Urgh.”

Overworked to her limits, Hye-rin collapsed, her head drooping lifelessly. She had passed out standing, completely drained of her mental strength.

Using my Invisible Hand, I gently moved her onto a sofa.

“Well done,” I said, acknowledging her effort.

Now that Hye-rin was down and further gas attacks were no longer an option, it was time to focus on directly supporting the retainers engaged in combat against the vampires.

“Ye-jin, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Seo Ye-jin, aside from reconnaissance with her mice, had another critical role—loading ammunition into the warehouse.

To avoid disrupting Han-gil’s focus with gunfire in the building, I teleported us both to the rooftop.

‘Store interface, open. Purchase firearms.’

Whirrr—

An M16 rifle and live rounds materialized in midair. Ye-jin caught them with practiced ease, loaded the magazine, and prepared the gun for firing.

Click.

Shouldering the rifle like a seasoned soldier, she aimed it skyward.

“Ready?”

“Shoot.”

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The muzzle spat fire as 30 rounds were stored directly into my warehouse.

As soon as the barrel overheated, she set the gun down and purchased another. With swift precision, Ye-jin reloaded the new weapon.

“Here goes again.”

“Go for it.”

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

After repeating this process several times, we had stored hundreds of freshly fired rounds in the warehouse.

Those bullets were soon put to use.

Thwack!

[You have slain a Low-Ranked Vampire (Lv. 26).]

[Experience points acquired.]

[82,937,011 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s account.]

The bullets Ye-jin fired were being used in real-time to assist the retainers in battle. Thanks to her involvement, all additional benefits were applied to the hunt.

From my vantage point, I scanned the battlefield with the Absolute Dweller’s Eye, eliminating vampires lurking in the retainers’ blind spots.

Then, a warning sounded from the Eye monitoring Yoo Han-gil.

“Jae-hyun, one of the high-ranked vampires is moving,” he reported.

I turned to Ye-jin, who was still firing relentlessly.

“Ye-jin, stop.”

“Are we done?”

“One of the high-ranked ones is on the move.”

We quickly stored the rifles and ammunition from the rooftop back into the warehouse and teleported to the room where Han-gil was stationed.

“Han-gil, what’s the situation?” I asked.

“It’s Vampire 11,” he replied.

For efficiency, we had numbered the high-ranked vampires from 1 to 12. The leader was Number 1, with lower numbers indicating higher strength. Vampire 11 was one of our targeted enemies.

“So, as you predicted, 11 was the first to act?”

“They couldn’t help it. Gunfire right next to their location would force a response,” I replied.

The operation zone had been deliberately set near Vampire 11’s base to provoke this very reaction. Among the high-ranked vampires, Number 11 was relatively weaker, making it a prime target.

To ensure a swift and decisive victory, we had prepared our ace card.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Eye.’

Temporarily ceasing support for the retainers, I focused the Eye entirely on Vampire 11’s location.

The vision revealed a thick, oppressive darkness cloaking the area.

“What the hell is going on?”

“It’s a large-scale assault. Humans have invaded,” came a voice, growing angrier and louder.

“Humans? Impossible—”

The closer the voice drew, the more it confirmed their heightened state of agitation.

From my experiences with high-ranked vampires, I had learned a few crucial lessons.

First, never give them time.

When we encountered Go In-seok, his body had turned red-hot, drastically increasing his combat capabilities. This meant they could enter a heightened battle state if allowed.

‘Don’t give them time to unleash their full abilities.’

And second:

‘Only two abilities pose a serious threat to them.’

One was Kim Ga-yeong’s Light Arrow. Her piercing skill imbued with light energy consistently dealt devastating damage to vampires.

The other:

‘Ha Dong-geon’s Black Aura.’

Just then, Vampire 11 emerged from the building.

From the shadows of the outer wall, where he had been waiting, Ha Dong-geon descended from above.

Boom!

Landing squarely on the vampire’s back, Dong-geon plunged his spear, enveloped in Black Aura, straight into its heart.

Thud!

[You have slain a High-Ranked Vampire (Lv. 41).]

[You have gained a large amount of experience points.]

[2,831,489,221 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s account.]