Baalcherit ran and ran with all her might.
As she crossed a field shrouded in the dim light of dawn, she wished to escape from danger.
However, the road ahead was too long.
The plains, with endless golden wheat fields, stretched to the distant horizon, beyond which a small, misty mountain was dimly visible.
“Haa… ha…”
If only she could cross that mountain, she would be able to cross this Kalrn Empire and reach the Free City Alliance.
Baalcherit continued to run, gasping for breath.
The sole reason she was running desperately was to escape the Underworld Merchant Guild.
She was on the run in the dead of night because she couldn’t repay the money she had borrowed from the guild.
“How did I end up in such a state…”
Baalcherit was a vampire.
She was also a 5-star ranked being, a high-tier existence.
Originally, there were forces that followed Baalcherit, and she was treated with special consideration by the Underworld Merchant Guild.
However, her everyday life was shattered by the White Church.
“…Damn church bastards.”
For some unknown reason, the church suddenly made a move. They cunningly used surprise attacks and gradually chipped away at her forces.
To deal with the church, Baalcherit borrowed help from the Underworld Merchant Guild, but that action became her fatal mistake.
As the situation turned unfavorable, the Underworld Merchant Guild, which had treated her well until then, suddenly changed its tune.
“You truly are sneaky guys…!”
The guild took advantage of Baalcherit’s desperate situation and set an exorbitant interest rate.
They lent her money with a high interest.
Even so, she was the one who was in need.
She understood the guild’s intentions when they extended their offer, but she had no choice but to accept it.
However, by the time she borrowed the money, the situation had already soured to the worst.
The dungeons of the vampires who followed her were subjugated, and even those who survived left her side.
In the end, all that remained for Baalcherit were desolate dungeons and a pile of debt from the Underworld Merchant Guild.
As the repayment period approached, the Underworld Merchant Guild changed its tune once more.
The guild now openly demanded ownership of the dungeon management.
This meant they were eyeing her dungeons as well.
However, Baalcherit refused the guild’s offer.
The moment she handed over the management, she would no longer be the owner of the dungeon in name only, but a puppet of the guild.
Baalcherit resisted as much as possible and did not agree. But she eventually broke down under the guild’s continued threats.
Finally, she signed the contract and officially transferred the dungeon’s management rights.
Although management of the dungeon was transferred to the guild, Baalcherit refused to become a puppet.
“You want me to be a puppet? That’s ridiculous!”
Baalcherit muttered angrily as she ran.
“How dare you toy with me, who inherits the blood of a vampire royal…!”
One day, she would repay this humiliation.
She herself didn’t know when that day would come.
For now, escaping the clutches of the guild was the priority. That’s why she was now fleeing in the middle of the night, abandoning the dungeon she cherished so much.
Of course, she wasn’t running away without a plan.
‘That aura from back then… it was the same as the aura of the owner of that voice!’
When she attended a social gathering hosted by the guild.
Baalcherit had encountered a being with a peculiar aura.
Although her identity was unknown due to her entire body being covered, she exuded a similar aura to the mysterious voice that had once told her to become a slave.
“It must be them!”
At that time, Baalcherit saw a ray of hope.
And she made a decision.
Rather than living as a puppet of the guild, she would ask that person for another chance.
“If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have listened to that voice back then…”
She had refused due to her pride, but now she deeply regretted it.
She felt self-contempt at her current pathetic state, but she soon gritted her teeth and steadied her resolve.
For the sake of meeting that person again, the current hardships would be nothing.
With that firm belief, Baalcherit continued to move forward.
Her destination was the Sail Kingdom.
She had recently heard news that a disaster had appeared in the Sail Kingdom.
For some reason, Baalcherit had a strong feeling that the disaster that appeared in the kingdom was not unrelated to the owner of that voice.
She just felt it strongly.
There were two ways to travel from her current location in the Kalrn Empire to the Sail Kingdom.
If she went through the Silent Mountain Range, she could reach the Sail Kingdom directly. Another way was to enter the kingdom through the Free City Alliance.
The shortest distance was to climb the Silent Mountain Range.
However, she discarded the option of going through the mountains.
Surely, the guild’s surveillance would be spread throughout the Silent Mountain Range to capture her.
Baalcherit ultimately chose the method of going to the kingdom through the Free City Alliance.
After a while, Baalcherit, who had been moving forward, stopped in her tracks.
Then she turned her head and scanned her surroundings.
Had the guild’s trackers already caught up?
No, that wasn’t it.
It was simply.
*Grumble-*
She had stopped because she was hungry.
“Ugh, I’m starving to death…”
Baalcherit looked around for food.
But there was nothing but endless wheat fields.
In the past, even if she just stood there, her subordinates would personally bring her fresh blood.
Now, she had to handle everything by herself.
“Hmm…”
She continued to walk, enduring her hunger.
How long had it been?
She sensed a faint smell of blood from somewhere.
“It must be over there!”
Following the direction where the faint smell of blood was spreading, she found a dead animal carcass.
And she saw zombies tearing into it.
She was so hungry that even the dripping blood looked sweet.
In the past, she wouldn’t have even touched it if it wasn’t fresh, but now it was different.
However, there was an existing party here.
As a descendant of vampire royalty, she felt the need to be polite.
“Ahem.”
She cleared her throat first, drawing the zombies’ attention.
“You insignificant beings, I, who am noble, have arrived. Would you not share what you are eating with me?”
Baalcherit was pleased.
She praised herself for reacting politely even to those she saw for the first time.
However, the zombies looked at each other’s faces in confusion at the absurd situation.
“Kwoor?”
(Why is she like this?)
“Kwoooor.”
(She seems like her head is messed up.)
“Kwo, Kwo.”
(It seems better to leave.)
After exchanging brief words, the zombies left the animal carcass behind and disappeared.
“As expected, everything works out if you act politely!”
Having only seen the vampires who always followed her, everything felt new and strange when she saw such insignificant beings.
Baalcherit picked up the animal carcass and started walking again.
With the hope of meeting that person soon.
* * *
‘Strange…’
Malcolm, the representative of the Black Hand and operator of the Monster Coliseum, sat with a terrified expression.
‘It’s really strange.’
Something was strange.
‘…Why am I in the waiting room?’
This was the waiting room where participants gathered before a match.
But Malcolm was now sitting in the waiting room, choosing a sword.
‘Why… is my body moving on its own?’
Even his mouth wouldn’t open.
Malcolm’s body moved against his will. His hand moved erratically and grabbed a sword placed in the waiting room.
“……”
He could think, but his body wouldn’t obey his will.
Malcolm stood up.
Of course, his body was moving on its own, not from his will, but he couldn’t control it.
And then, someone entered the waiting room.
A white mask.
Yes, it was Necros, his business partner.
Malcolm wanted to say something to him, but his body still wouldn’t obey.
Malcolm became fearful of this unprecedented situation.
‘Right. Necros definitely brought a woman with him, didn’t he?’
Then it suddenly came to him.
After the successful conclusion of the Monster Coliseum’s opening day, Necros had brought someone who wanted to invest.
‘What was her name…?’
He couldn’t remember her name, but investment was unnecessary for Malcolm anyway.
The audience’s reaction was good, and the business would run smoothly once the news spread. Why would he need an investment?
After all, Malcolm was one of the figures who controlled the underworld.
Even without investment, he could sufficiently manage with his own financial power and connections.
And considering the intense excitement of the Monster Coliseum, he was also planning to deal with his partner Necros soon.
He had no desire to share such a lucrative business with others.
Malcolm planned to kill Necros and then capture more monsters by exploiting his manpower.
Of course, he wouldn’t be able to capture them as cleanly as Necros, but it didn’t matter.
The audience wouldn’t care if the monsters had scratches or injuries.
They just wanted to see bloody and thrilling matches.
He surely thought that way and harbored hope for the future.
But something was strange when Necros brought the investor.
– Mr. Malcolm, please tell me everything about your personal life and acquaintances.
A captivating woman in a red dress.
That was the investor’s identity.
As soon as she arrived, she blurted out such questions.
Who would willingly answer such sensitive questions?
He was about to call the guards, but.
Malcolm’s mouth moved on its own, answering the woman’s questions.
– Good. You’re doing very well? Then for the next question, can you tell me what you know about the Black Hand?
Malcolm’s mouth moved on its own again for the next question.
At that time, he thought that woman was no ordinary human.
But Malcolm could do nothing.
The woman disappeared after hearing all the answers, and Malcolm’s memory was cut off after that.
“……”
But when he came to his senses again, he found himself in the waiting room.
Of course, his body still couldn’t move.
‘It feels like my soul has been separated.’
He could only feel and watch his body act.
Malcolm’s gaze turned to Necros’s white mask.
This was also not his will.
As he stared at Necros, Necros brought his hand to his mask a moment later.
And slowly took off the mask.
‘Huh…?’
When Necros removed the mask, he was not human.
A skull appeared instead of a human face.
‘M, Monster?!’
If his body had obeyed him properly, he would have fled immediately.
But he was forced to watch Necros. Fear washed over him, but he couldn’t help but look at Necros.
He wanted to shout and ask what his true identity was.
And he wanted to question who the woman he brought was.
But his mouth wouldn’t open.
Although his body wasn’t moving, he could feel it trembling with fear.
Then, Malcolm’s body slowly started to move.
Towards the iron gate leading to the stadium.
‘Please… save me….’
Malcolm, holding his sword, took slow steps, independent of his will.
At the same time, the iron gate opened, and the roaring cheers of the audience could be heard.
– Now! Lucky Kyle has survived again! How far will this luck take him!
The announcer continued as he saw Malcolm entering the stadium.
– Today’s match is a special match! The operator of the coliseum, Mr. Malcolm, will be participating in the match himself!
At the announcer’s words, the audience booed.
The person operating the coliseum participating in the match himself?
Surely he must have pulled some strings.
The audience scorned the match, which lacked any tension.
And Malcolm walked to the center of the stadium, hearing the jeers.
Then he raised the hand holding the sword high into the sky.
At that sight, the audience’s boos intensified.
“We all know that bastard won’t die, so he’s just putting on a show!”
“Boo! Just die like a man!”
But Malcolm felt like he was dying.
‘Damn it! Please save me!’
Words wouldn’t come out.
He couldn’t run away either.
But then, an Orc appeared before his eyes.
‘Don’t come! Please!’
He begged inwardly, despairing, but the Orc slowly approached Malcolm.
He felt his blood running cold as he steadily approached death.
Then the Orc reached Malcolm’s vicinity.
“Haha…”
Malcolm let out a hollow laugh.
Only then did his body move properly.
But it was already too late.
*Thwack-*
The Orc’s axe immediately struck Malcolm’s head.
The sweet hope he had briefly dreamed of turned into despair.
– Oh! Unbelievable!
The announcer was speechless at Malcolm’s sudden death.
The announcer also thought Malcolm was putting on a show.
But it was reality, not a show.
The Orc continued to chop what was Malcolm with his axe.
Meanwhile, the audience became even more enthusiastic.
“Yeah, damn it! This is what we wanted! The best! The best!”
They thought it was a staged script, but the coliseum operator died. And in a brutal way.
From that day on, the number of spectators entering the coliseum exploded.
And there were those who watched such scenes with satisfaction, namely Celia and Necros.
They didn’t talk about Malcolm.
Was there any need to care about a human who was already dead?
The necessary information through him had already been acquired.
Malcolm had smiled, even if it was a hollow smile, before he died. That was enough.
“By the way, the coliseum’s profit is quite substantial. Please continue to manage the coliseum, Mr. Necros. Let me know if you need anything.”
*Clink!*
Celia reviewed the documents one by one while drinking tea.
“And Master is very interested in the coliseum.”
Celia smiled ominously.
At the same time, she pointed to the word “Black Hand” on the documents with her finger.
“Master will want everything of theirs, not just the coliseum. Prepare for the great one, Mr. Necros.”
The coliseum was just the beginning.
It was time to seize all that remained for Master.
