Dambi sat with Rills in the Adventurer’s Guild office.
Today’s visit wasn’t just to find requests, but to take on a specific commissioned one.
“A Shadow passed by a little while ago. Our Master bestowed a monster upon the Chief Administrator,” Rills whispered to Dambi.
Rills was originally a mage in another adventurer party.
However, she was now controlled by a Banshee and operating as an adventurer.
For future endeavors, she was aligning herself with Dambi, who belonged to the same dungeon.
“The monster bestowed by our Master is the Aqua Devourer. Even as a young one, it’s a vicious fish monster with a rank of 3 stars. And all we have to do is transport it to Lake Yenaria.”
“So that’s why it’s a commissioned request.”
“Precisely.”
Dambi looked at Rills.
Rills’ outfit was quite scandalous, considering she was human until recently.
Her clothes revealed more than they concealed.
However, since the Banshee began controlling Rills, her attire had become much more modest.
Once curious, Dambi had asked for the reason, and the Banshee had given a loyal answer.
– This way, wouldn’t it be easier to follow the Great One’s words without attracting attention?
Indeed.
Wearing overly scandalous attire would certainly make one stand out to others.
Rills’ current outfit was so plain it could be mistaken for just another passing adventurer.
“Lake Yenaria is located south of the Sail Kingdom, adjacent to the Free City Alliance and the Orbis Empire. Thanks to this, commerce in the surrounding cities has developed significantly,” Rills continued her explanation.
“Through this request, I’ve come to understand it clearly. To think of releasing such a vicious monster into Lake Yenaria…!”
Rills’ expression changed to one of ecstasy.
“It’s as if they’ve explained their plan to dominate the continent, starting with Lake Yenaria, to us ignorants! As expected, the Great One harbors a cruel heart and ambition that no one can match!”
Perhaps that was the look one would have when encountering the god they so admired.
Apart from Rills’ praise, Dambi scanned the walls of the Adventurer’s Guild.
It wasn’t that she was uninterested in the request or disrespecting the Great One’s will.
She had vowed to follow the Great One, who had given her a purpose in her wandering life, forever.
She intended to obey any command unconditionally.
She had resolved to set aside her personal thoughts for the Great One’s will.
After all, she only needed to follow His commands.
“Above all, the Chief Administrator, who understands the Great One’s will, is truly amazing! As a Banshee, I would never have imagined such a deep meaning…”
Rills’ praise continued.
Dambi let Rills’ words drift away and began reading the inscriptions on the wall.
[Glory awaits at the end of the adventure, but the path is filled with hardship and adversity.]
This was a common encouragement for those just becoming adventurers.
Dambi felt no particular emotion, as her purpose as an adventurer was different.
She read the next inscription.
[The darkness of the dungeon can be illuminated by light, but the darkness of the heart must be overcome by oneself.]
This inscription resonated with her more.
‘It seems humans also have darkness within their hearts.’
The sentence about overcoming the darkness of the heart by oneself was quite appealing.
However, she disagreed with the part about the darkness of the dungeon being illuminated by light.
‘True dungeons cannot be illuminated even by light.’
After the Vampire Dungeon collapsed and while living in the Great One’s dungeon, Dambi had come to a realization.
The Great One’s dungeon could never be destroyed by anyone.
His dungeon truly felt alive.
Therefore, Dambi’s favorite inscription was as follows:
[Dungeons are living, breathing entities, so be swallowed by darkness the moment you let your guard down.
Adventurers, never let your guard down for a moment.]
It felt as if it were spoken about the Master’s dungeon, which was why Dambi liked it.
As she was passing the time like this.
“Ah, Dambi, Rills!”
Katherin, an attendant at the Adventurer’s Guild, called out to them and approached.
“You seem even closer today?”
Katherin smiled warmly.
Adventurers were explorers of the unknown world. As such, there were many moments where they had to risk their lives.
In other words, as they explored together, risking their lives, affection often blossomed between comrades.
Katherin had witnessed such cases many times, so she had misunderstood Dambi and Rills.
“So, what is this commissioned request?”
Although Rills had told her about it beforehand, the Adventurer’s Guild hadn’t fully detailed it yet.
If an adventurer knew the content without being told, perhaps an annoying situation might arise.
So, Dambi asked Katherin about the details of the request.
At that, Katherin handed over a small container from behind.
“You were asked to take this to Lake Yenaria. I don’t know what it is, but I can hear water inside?”
The small container she handed over was opaque, so its contents couldn’t be confirmed.
However, a faint sound of water could be heard when it was shaken.
“Ah! And there is an Adventurer’s Guild branch near Lake Yenaria. You should go there first and have the request details confirmed.”
A adventurer’s life is built on trust.
However, there were those who did not adhere to this, so it was a form of confirmation.
Coincidentally, there was another branch of the Adventurer’s Guild in Lake Yenaria.
Lake Yenaria was bordered not only by the Sail Kingdom but also by the Free City Alliance and the Orbis Empire, so transportation and commerce in the surrounding cities were highly developed.
As such, the passage of adventurers was frequent, and cities with developed commerce always had an Adventurer’s Guild branch.
“Understood. We will do so.”
As Dambi replied, Rills, who was beside her, stepped forward.
“You haven’t told us the reward yet.”
Actually, she wasn’t interested in the reward for this request.
It was an order from above, so it didn’t matter if there was no reward.
However, to avoid any undue suspicion, Rills mentioned the reward.
After all, no adventurer would dislike a reward.
Thus, the three began to discuss the request in detail.
“By the way, Dambi, you’re truly amazing. Just like that zombie request last time, and now this commissioned one.”
She had become an adventurer not too long ago, but she had already received two commissioned requests.
Although she had refused the additional zombie request last time, the fact that she had received two commissioned requests in such a short career seemed amazing to Katherin.
“Ah! Dambi, do you have a favorite color?”
Katherin’s characteristic chattiness kicked in.
Dambi, wanting to leave quickly, answered casually.
“I like red.”
Because blood is red.
As Dambi, who had vampire blood mixed in her, liked blood the most, she gave that answer.
“Red signifies passion; indeed, you are passionate, Dambi? Let me see…”
Katherin replied while looking at a newspaper.
Small characters like ‘Today’s Fortune’ were written there.
“Here it is! ‘To you who likes red! You may encounter an unexpected meeting. But do not fear. Red is the color of luck today.’ It says this?”
Although she didn’t particularly believe in such things, Dambi politely bowed slightly, expressing her gratitude.
“Then please travel safely! See you next time!”
Katherin bid them farewell with exaggerated gestures.
***
The Adventurer’s Guild where Katherin was located was near the Silent Mountain Range.
This can be considered the northern part of the Sail Kingdom.
However, Lake Yenaria, where Dambi and Rills were heading, was in the southern part of the kingdom.
In other words, they had to travel from the north to the south.
If they were ordinary humans, it would have taken a long time, but they were not ordinary.
One was a half-vampire, and the other was a Banshee.
Like monsters, they moved towards the south at a rapid speed.
However, the distance was indeed very far.
Eventually, the sun set before they could arrive.
Of course, being monsters, they could move around even after dark. But they did not choose to do so.
More importantly, the monster in the small container also needed time to rest, and the night brought more bothersome things than the day.
Bandits and robbers were prime examples.
Although not as large as the Silent Mountain Range, the Sail Kingdom was dotted with large and small mountains.
And the place Dambi was passing through was one of these mountains.
“We’ll stay at that place.”
The place Dambi pointed to was a small inn.
It was fortunate that there was an inn in such a location.
She didn’t particularly favor sleeping rough.
“Understood, Dambi.”
Dambi and Rills headed towards the inn.
As they approached the inn, laughter could be heard from outside.
“It seems there are many customers, even for a place like this.”
“Let’s go in.”
As the two entered the building.
“……”
The boisterous atmosphere from moments ago instantly fell silent.
The atmosphere felt unusual.
The paintings hanging on the walls seemed somewhat crude, and the faces of the drinking customers were full of scars.
Most importantly, the innkeeper, who should have been at the counter, was nowhere to be seen.
“Are you adventurers?”
A man stood up from among the customers and spoke to them.
Only then did the silent atmosphere change back to a lively one.
“Hmm. Is this the owner?”
Dambi looked around, assessing the situation, and scanned the owner.
The man also had many scars of various sizes on his face and arms.
“As you can see. So, how long are you staying?”
The owner smiled and spread his arms.
His gaze then fell upon the small container Dambi was holding.
“If it’s something valuable, I’ll hold onto it for you here.”
“No, that’s fine. We’ll just have one room and dinner.”
Dambi handed the owner 2 silver.
Then she asked another question.
“Ah, do you happen to have any freshly caught, fresh meat? I’d like it prepared with that.”
Dambi went upstairs without waiting for the owner’s reply.
Rills followed Dambi, saying in a low voice.
“The atmosphere here is strange.”
“I know. I can smell blood strongly. The original owner is probably dead.”
And as they went up the stairs, the smell of blood was still strong here.
No matter how hard they tried to clean it, Dambi, with her vampire blood mixed in, couldn’t escape the scent of blood.
Not only the smell of blood but also all their actions felt awkward and strange.
“We’ll just unpack and go down again. You prepare first.”
“Understood, Dambi. I’ll prepare a delicious meal.”
Rills bowed at Dambi’s command. Then she slowly descended the stairs again.
“……”
After all, no one else was here but them.
Dambi opened any door and set down her luggage.
***
Garcia, the man who had spoken to Dambi a moment ago, wore a sinister smile.
In fact, he was not the inn’s owner at all.
“Brother, your acting is amazing!”
Garcia was a bandit.
And he was also the leader of the subordinates here.
They had entered the inn and killed the owner and the remaining adventurers.
Garcia spoke secretly.
“It’s okay to kill the men, just bring the women. And be careful with that item he’s carrying; it seems to contain something precious.”
At their leader Garcia’s words, everyone quietly drew their swords.
The opponent was only two. Even as adventurers, they would have difficulty dealing with over thirty bandits.
It felt like fortune had smiled upon them, as they had been lacking women.
As everyone drew their swords and headed for the stairs.
“Huh?”
The woman they had seen earlier appeared.
Despite them holding swords, the woman showed no sign of fear.
Caught off guard by the unexpected action, the woman suddenly began to undress.
No one could react to the woman’s sudden action. Instead, they were mesmerized by her undressing.
“What are you doing?”
However, the leader, Garcia, was different.
He remembered that women and the elderly were things to be wary of during his long years as a bandit.
But the woman, unconcerned, became naked.
Her appearance rendered them even more disoriented.
After staring blankly for a moment.
“…Huh? Where am I? I was sure I was in a goblin dungeon – Kyaaaak! What is this!”
The woman who had taken off her own clothes suddenly started screaming.
The woman looked as if she had no idea why she was here.
Everyone wore strange expressions at the woman’s sudden change in behavior.
“What the hell?”
“Is she enjoying this situation?”
Someone interpreted the woman’s actions in a different light, but that wasn’t the issue.
*Thud*
“Kyaaaak!”
Suddenly, someone screamed and collapsed.
“What? What’s happening!”
Garcia, shouting, turned around and saw one of his subordinates standing with a sword piercing his comrade’s chest.
In the sudden situation, fear and confusion mixed on Garcia’s face.
“You bastard! What are you doing!”
As Garcia was about to approach, another scream erupted.
This time, the person who had killed his comrade moments ago was seen cutting his own throat.
Even as blood gushed from his neck, his strange laughter echoed.
“Huh? Why did I… my neck…”
Moments later, the person who had stabbed himself muttered and collapsed on the floor.
They still couldn’t grasp what was happening.
The remaining bandits, filled with fear, began to suspect each other and pointed their blades.
At that moment, one person suddenly dropped his sword and began to tremble as if convulsing. He then swung his sword at the comrade beside him, and the comrade also swung his sword to defend himself.
The space that had been filled with laughter moments ago was now filled with screams and blood sprayed everywhere.
“Why are these bastards…”
Garcia stared at the scene before him in disbelief.
As if someone were controlling marionette dolls, the bandits were butchering each other.
Screams, curses, and crazed laughter mingled, creating a bloody massacre from hell.
“You must not lose your focus.”
“……!”
The woman who had been undressing moments ago had now come behind Garcia.
Only now could Garcia deduce the truth of the situation.
“Are… are you a Warlock…? P-please, just spare my life.”
He had heard of warlocks at some point.
Controlling others with magic and being so ruthless, they were certainly warlocks.
Thinking so, Garcia quickly begged for his life.
At this level, he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance.
However, Rills was relentless.
“Cough!”
Rills pierced Garcia’s neck with her sword.
Only then did everyone understand the truth of the situation.
“You… you damn bitch! How dare you deceive me so well!”
He then slowly approached Rills, still holding his sword.
Even if she was a warlock, they had the numerical advantage, so they thought they could overwhelm her.
However, they soon realized it was a wrong judgment.
Something began to wriggle at their feet as they approached Rills.
The red blood flowing among the dead comrades took the form of snakes, as if gaining life, and rose up.
“W-what is this…!”
A bandit screamed and retreated.
But the blood snake attacked his ankle, sinking its sharp fangs in.
“Kuaaak!”
With a scream, bright red blood spurted from the bite. The bleeding did not stop.
And these events occurred simultaneously.
The blood snakes rushed towards the living bandits.
“S-save me!”
“Damn it! The blood won’t stop! It won’t stop!”
Instead, the blood drained at a rapid pace.
After a short while, all the moisture was drawn from their bodies, turning them into mere husks.
That was the end of the bandits.
“As expected, Dambi, you’re amazing!”
Rills put on her clothes again and spoke to Dambi.
The ability to manipulate blood into snakes and drain all the opponent’s blood was entirely Dambi’s power.
Why had such a powerful being remained dormant in the Vampire Dungeon?
Rills, who had heard of her past while adventuring together, found it difficult to understand.
However, asking about personal matters was rude, so she didn’t voice it.
“……”
Dambi descended the stairs with a stoic expression.
She looked at the tragic scene of the floor overflowing with red blood.
But as Dambi looked at the scene, she thought of something else.
“It really was the color of luck.”
She recalled what Katherin had said while looking at the newspaper before they left the Adventurer’s Guild.
