Chapter 26
Meanwhile.
The heart of the Human Farm, the Control Room.
The very place that directed every tragedy committed in this underground facility.
Inside that dim space, a single Vampire stood.
"Mhm~ mm, hm-mm~"
A cheerful hum.
His hips swayed back and forth to the tune he mumbled.
The male Vampire was completely intoxicated with himself.
Clatter, clatter-.
Was he in the middle of working on something?
Both of his hands were moving busily.
He repeatedly grabbed and released various tools.
Whenever his hands got dirty, he washed them with clean water.
"Good, good... I've got a good feeling about today."
A pleased expression.
This ordinary scene was almost tranquil.
While the man was enjoying his hobby like that....
Slam-!
"Director!"
Another Vampire burst into the room.
The man, who had been absorbed in his work, furrowed his brows.
He seemed annoyed that his concentration was broken.
"I'm sure... I said no one should enter while I'm working."
"S-sorry, sir! But this is an urgent situation...!"
"Do you want to die?"
"N-no, sir! I have committed a grave sin!"
"Sigh... What is it? What's the problem this time? Did someone cause an accident?"
The man decided to exercise some patience and let it go.
Called the Director, he fiddled with his tools.
Just that alone made the Vampire in front of him break out in a cold sweat.
"Th-that is... we are under attack! Enemies have raided the farm!"
"What? Did information leak? How did they discover this place?"
"I don't know. More importantly, we've already lost nearly twenty people to th-them...!"
"Lost? Vampires who drank their fill of Human blood? Did an entire Knight Order show up?"
"N-no, sir! That's not it...."
"Then what? What's the size of the enemy force?"
"The enemy force is two! We estimate it's one Human and one Vampire...."
Splash-!
Before he could even finish speaking, the Vampire's head burst like a Balloon.
It was the Director's Blood Manipulation.
He had manipulated the blood flow to cause an explosion from the inside.
Caught in the aftermath, brain matter scattered in all directions.
"...."
Thud-.
The headless torso then sprawled onto the floor.
The Director's gaze as he looked down at him was cold.
It was a look reserved for incomprehensible garbage.
"Only two? And twenty of you died to a Human?"
Tsk-.
The Director clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Retards. You gorge yourselves on blood and can't even handle a single unexpected situation."
Worthless fools who couldn't earn their keep.
The Director let out an annoyed sigh.
It was half annoyance at his incompetent subordinates, and half annoyance at the Intruders.
Since he had been interrupted right at the peak of his enjoyment.
"None of this is to my liking."
He set down his work tools.
The Director stood up.
"Why do I always have to clean up their shit? Fucking bastards."
Twitch-.
As he kicked the chair, something on the table moved.
Weakly, gruesomely, as if a broken life was struggling to stir.
A bright red lump of meat rested there.
"I was just getting to the good part."
An artwork.
It was the artistic activity that the Director enjoyed.
It was a Human, but it was ruined to the point its form was hard to recognize.
Flayed skin, extracted organs, and an exposed heart....
Perhaps the most horrifying part was that it was still alive in such a state.
An elegant hobby.
"Shall I finish the rest when I get back?"
The lump on the table.
In front of it, identical lumps were displayed in abundance.
The Director looked lovingly at the Art Gallery he had decorated.
Then, he turned around and stepped out of the Control Room.
"Hmm... by the way, those Intruders must be quite strong. I should have listened to more of the explanation."
The Director pulled a heavy Liquor Bottle from his inner pocket.
The original contents had been emptied, and the bottle was now filled only with Human blood.
He popped the cap and drained it in one gulp.
Glug, glug-.
Strong Blood flowed down his esophagus and supplied his entire body.
His taste buds tingled sharply, and a dizzying wave of pleasure hit him.
At the same time, it felt as if every single cell in his body was coming alive.
The source of his power boiled.
"Khh... it doesn't matter anyway."
Because right now, he wouldn't lose to anyone.
The Director was no ordinary Vampire.
He had faint traces of Pureblood running through his veins.
A collateral line of Royalty had existed among his distant ancestors.
He was twice as strong as other Vampires, and he had even consumed Human blood.
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to catch them and turn them into an artwork."
As the Director, he couldn't imagine himself losing.
The Director continued walking while humming the same tune.
"Hm, hm-mm~"
However, he had no idea.
That he would never be able to touch his work tools again.
***
Having left the Control Room, the Director walked down the long corridor.
Before long, his footsteps came to a halt.
As if he had discovered something.
"...Oho."
On the opposite side.
The very person he was eagerly looking for was standing there.
"I didn't expect you to come to me first."
"...."
A Human.
It was a boy wearing a bizarre Mask.
The Director's eyes gleamed with interest.
"How strange."
Unlike what he had heard about it being dangerous, he couldn't feel anything from the boy.
Magic Power, Sorcery, Demonic Energy... he couldn't sense even a hint of them.
He even had a physique completely devoid of muscle.
He gave off a scrawny impression.
The Clown was the first to open his mouth.
"Nice to meet you."
"Seeing as you're greeting me... I don't think I've got the wrong person."
"I'm probably the one. That is, if you were looking for the Intruder."
"I thought so~? Your aura is so faint that I got confused."
"I hear that often."
A weakling.
If there was anything that bothered him, it was the weapon in his hand.
A silver Dagger flashing with who knows how much infused Holy Power.
It seemed he had sliced up all his subordinates with that.
"Good grief... these pathetic bastards lost to something like that?"
His brow furrowed in irritation.
No matter how he looked at it, he just seemed like a greenhorn relying on his weapon.
"Hmm."
He looked around.
An acrid burning smell wafted through the corridor.
Several butchered Vampires were sprawled across the floor.
Limbs severed, eyes burned out, barely holding onto their lives.
They looked like they would have been better off dead.
"Haha... you've got quite the fiery taste, don't you?"
The Director spoke playfully.
His red eyes were sizing up his opponent.
'Well... the weapon looks a bit strong, but I doubt he caused this mess alone.'
Come to think of it, he was told there were two Intruders in total.
The other one was a Vampire, wasn't it.
Then is that one the main threat?
It seemed this guy was a Lackey, and that Vampire was the brains.
'If I beat this one to a pulp first, the other guy will show up on his own.'
Until then, should I take my time torturing him?
Since he was also guilty of interrupting his free time, he had no intention of killing him nicely.
The Director approached with a leisurely stride.
"I'll play with you for a bit, kid."
"That sounds good. I actually had a lot I wanted to talk about with you."
"Oho."
"You said you were the Director. The Administrator overseeing this Farm."
"Oops, did those guys spill all of that too?"
"They kindly explained everything."
"Honestly... useless bastards."
The Director let out a short laugh.
Slowly clenching his fists, he threw a question at the Clown.
"I'm curious about something too... where did your Colleague go?"
"I asked them to take care of another place. I decided to face you alone."
"Kid. It's good to be full of spirit, but too much of it becomes poison."
"It's not exactly a matter of spirit."
"Then what?"
"I just didn't want them to see. It's going to be quite a gruesome sight. My Master always acts tough, but is actually quite fragile. So, I only want to show them good things, I suppose...."
"Pfft... gruesome? A gruesome sight? Just what exactly are you planning to do?"
The Director sneered.
"You've completely lost your mind, haven't you? Spouting utter nonsense like this."
"Hehe, perhaps I have."
The Clown responded calmly.
The Director stealthily put strength into his planted foot.
He was just about ready to beat the boy down and rip out his innards.
"Kid, this isn't a place for you to swagger around. Especially when you're just relying on one good weapon."
"Oh my, was I found out? I did mix in a bit of bluffing...."
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll turn you into one of my artworks too."
Boom-!
A step that lightly kicked off the ground.
Perhaps due to the excessive impact, the floor caved in.
At the same time, the Director's contracted body shot forward like an Arrow.
Swoosh-!
A figure appeared in an instant, tearing through the air.
The Director was already right under the boy's nose.
"Die!!"
He thrust his fist forward just like that.
Whether he couldn't even react, the Clown just stood still.
Soon the fist would connect, and the boy's face would be smashed to pieces.
That was when the Director was certain of his victory.
Click-.
A small noise was heard.
"...?"
The Director's fist missed by a wide margin.
No, even saying it missed would be an understatement.
Because its trajectory was twisted as if pushed away by something.
Whoosh-!
The fist only cleaved through the empty air.
The air burst, leaving only the sound of it tearing.
'What the...?'
The Director panicked for a moment.
On the other hand, the Clown simply stood silently in place.
All he did was lightly swing his hand to the side.
However, there was no strength behind it.
It was a limp movement, as if swaying a feather.
"Hah."
The Director let out a hollow laugh.
He thought he had made a mistake.
He concluded that his fist hadn't been deflected, but had simply missed.
It was only natural, as it was impossible for an attack to be blocked by such a movement.
"Maybe it's because I'm old... my body isn't following my mind. Making such a ridiculous mistake."
"Was it really a mistake, I wonder."
"Would you kindly shut up? Because luck like this won't happen twice."
A fist clenched once again.
There was no holding back this time.
Whipping up a bloodstorm around his fist, he launched an all-out strike.
He swung it toward the Clown just like that, but....
Click-
"What...?"
It was the same this time as well.
An attack that slid past the boy.
The fist failed to leave any impact whatsoever.
The smiling face of the Director stiffened slightly.
"It seems luck has followed me twice."
"...."
The Clown casually tossed out a remark.
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