Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 261

Dungeon Journal-Episode 262

# 262

Dungeon Journal

“No, I cannot accept it.”

Contrary to her words, Angela’s eyes burned with fervor as she gazed at the heart of the Red Castle.

However, she hesitated to take the source from her master, refusing several times.

“Only those who inherit the True Blood can inherit the source of blood. And sadly, I am human.”

“I would rather share the True Blood with you, Master.”

An unexpected suggestion, but one that was unwelcome. Regardless of whether it was even possible, her words were not appreciated.

“Are you suggesting I become a vampire?”

As if struck at her core, Angela fell silent, a stark contrast to her previous boisterous self.

Kim Jin-woo clicked his tongue.

He had once suspected her of being a Watcher, but her loyalty, even to the point of offering the High Lord’s power to her master, was undeniable.

However, this sly vampire hadn’t abandoned her dark desires, seemingly intent on turning her master into one of her kind.

At this point, he was just grateful she wasn’t taking advantage of his carelessness to sink her teeth into his neck.

“I have no intention of becoming a vampire.”

It was an unacceptable proposal.

“No, you are the one who will obtain the source.”

Angela’s face fell at his firm tone, which brooked no argument.

At this point, her obsession seemed so great that she could even endure forgoing the High Lord’s power.

“Take the source.”

He took her hand and led her to the pulsating heart.

“And fight for me.”

Finally, Angela sighed and stepped forward.

“Master, do you know something?”

Complex emotions flickered across her eyes.

“This source is incredibly alluring. I’m dying to devour it right now.”

Her eyes, fixed on the throbbing source as if her words were not mere jest, were filled with longing. But she made no move to take it.

“But you know.”

Kim Jin-woo waited for her to continue.

“You, Master, are several times more alluring than this incredibly attractive source.”

He wondered what she was talking about, but it seemed she hadn’t given up yet.

“Give it up. I absolutely do not want to become a vampire.”

Time was of the essence. He had to return to the battlefield quickly, or all the progress he had made would be lost.

“I’d be upset if the contract were to be broken.”

Although the Blood Contract had remained intact even during the process of obtaining True Blood, he couldn’t guarantee its continued validity after she obtained the High Lord’s power.

Strangely, even in this glorious moment, she seemed more concerned about that seemingly insignificant shackle.

“Oh, geez, really. It’s all because of you, Master.”

A complaint inappropriate for the situation; Kim Jin-woo didn’t press her. He had glimpsed a deep sense of resignation in her voice.

“I think I’ve been completely tamed by you, Master.”

She suddenly snapped.

“I don’t know. Even if the contract is broken, you can’t abandon me.”

With those words, she finally relented and strode towards the source.

“Because if you do, I’m really going to bite you.”

Before the vampire’s insincere words could even finish, his vision flashed, and a message window appeared.

[A new High Lord has been born in the Underworld.]

***

“Ah……”

Dominique, having heard the whole story from the inner layers, let out an ambiguous sound that was neither an exclamation nor a groan.

“Master, do you think all of this is just a coincidence?”

Dominique asked an unexpected question. But Kim Jin-woo wasn’t surprised. He had been harboring the same question.

Why did the fragments of the High Lords gather around him so particularly? The counts of the deep layers, who had been searching with bloodshot eyes for power, had put in so much effort but only managed to obtain the Mock Labyrinth.

In contrast to them, what about him? He had found as many as five fragments of the past.

The One-Eyed, the Fairy, the True Blood, the Radiance. He hadn’t reached any of them through his own efforts. All of them had either been present from the beginning, or someone had forcibly connected him.

It was only natural for anyone with sense to notice the coincidence. Besides, the Avatar of True Blood had also mentioned a prophecy.

‘The bottomless pit that devours everything and is never satisfied lurks within you.’

‘Ah, now I remember why I had to endure the pain of my soul scattering for such a terribly long time.’

‘The prophecy exchanged for one eye, the promise made with light, the thread of fate woven from the hair of a hundred thousand fairies. All point to one thing.’

‘I, too, willingly volunteer to be a testament to that promise.’

‘I will testify with the reddest blood.’

‘The prophecy will be fulfilled.’

Although the words were incomprehensible, one thing was certain.

His growth was by no means natural. Otherwise, there was no way that almost all the fragments, except for the three High Lords who had awakened earlier, would have gathered around him.

Kim Jin-woo felt his heart grow cold. The elation he had felt after absorbing the power of the two dukes, the relief that had filled a corner of his heart with Naga’s return, froze over.

“Could it be that at least three, or even four, High Lords are trying to achieve something through you, Master? Or perhaps all of them are.”

The problem was what that something was. He pondered her chilling words. But his contemplation didn’t last long.

“In the end, are all the newly born High Lords just puppets?”

He didn’t like the fact that someone was grabbing him by the scruff of the neck again and trying to change his fate as they pleased. Nevertheless, he smiled.

Even if there was an invisible hand behind his growth, the power within him was his own.

“First, I need to meet that nosy person downstairs.”

Ironically, even though he had realized the conspiracy lurking beneath the surface, the task at hand remained unchanged.

***

Walking along the corpse for a long time, they eventually reached an area thick with fog. It was obvious who the owner of the fog, deeply infused with the aura of death, was.

“Is this the power she newly obtained?”

Kim Jin-woo exclaimed softly. Dominique, standing beside him, had a similar expression.

“It’s outrageous.”

The aura of death, far more concentrated than that of Valishus, who was known as the King of the Dead, surged within the fog.

“Hmm?”

The fog, which looked like congealed blood, suddenly split to the left and right. And the sight revealed beyond was more gruesome than anything they had seen so far.

Corpses, corpses, corpses.

Corpses filled the area. The path opened by the fog was almost useless due to the sheer number of corpses filling the passage. But there was no one here to mourn the dead.

“She’s doing something cute.”

Kim Jin-woo smiled. It seemed the audacious vampire had prepared an invitation.

“Hmm.”

A repulsive aura that would make any living person faint just by looking at it. But he stepped forward without hesitation.

Finding Angela was not difficult. The fog cleared as if guiding him wherever he went, so he simply had to follow the path.

“It seems this is our spot.”

The path, which had been unobstructed all the way, was blocked by a red fog. Kim Jin-woo could vaguely sense that Angela didn’t want him to interfere in this battle.

And he decided to respect her wishes and not step forward. He also had something he wanted to confirm.

The fact that all the High Lords had shunned the Lord of True Blood was certainly not just because of the elusive Red Castle. He wanted to see the true power of the Lord of True Blood.

At that moment, the energy beyond the fog began to fluctuate.

The aura of death intensified. And as if resisting it, a violent wildness surged. But the wildness was soon swallowed by the aura of death and quickly let out a mournful scream.

Kim Jin-woo could intuitively feel that the outcome had been decided.

“It’s over.”

The fog cleared. The red fog that had been obscuring his vision dissipated and finally disappeared as if it had never existed in the first place.

Beyond that, Angela was smiling brightly.

***

Kim Jin-woo looked bewildered at the still wriggling lump of flesh, despite its miserable state.

“Is this a gift?”

Indeed, what Angela had presented as a gift was a grotesque body with severed limbs.

“Yes, it may look like this, but it’s a duke.”

Angela shamelessly leaned against him, as if asking for a head pat.

“Ugh.”

Kim Jin-woo was speechless with bewilderment.

It was astonishing. She, who had been nothing more than a Mock Vampire, had turned a duke of the deep layers into a state of neither life nor death. She had utterly defeated and captured a duke who had entered the battlefield fully prepared.

Moreover, there was no sign of battle fatigue on Angela’s smiling face. Rather, her flushed face was more radiant than ever.

“What I took was vitality. I left the power that Master needs intact.”

She urged him flippantly, as if she were a sales representative promoting a new product at a tasting corner.

If only it hadn’t been in the state of the Evil Dragon [referring to his previous transformation].

The grotesque appearance made him not even want to get close. But since it was a gift, he couldn’t simply refuse.

Whatever the state, a duke was a duke.

In the end, he absorbed all the power of the struggling duke. Although he didn’t take the heart and devour the existence itself as he had when he transformed into the Evil Dragon, it was enough to absorb the power of the Eastern Duke who had recklessly interfered in the war.

“Huh?”

Angela, who had been leisurely letting her master eat, looked at Dominique and was newly surprised.

“What’s the matter, Naga girl? Shouldn’t you be sleeping in your egg by now?”

Her tone was as if she were saying, “What were you doing while I was suffering in the battlefield with Master?” which made Dominique look resentful.

“Anyway, congratulations on waking up. But unlike what I expected, you don’t seem to have changed much.”

Dominique didn’t answer this time either. Her frivolous attitude was the same as before, but with the addition of the High Lord’s unique presence, it seemed difficult to treat her as casually as before.

Kim Jin-woo’s heart grew complicated as he watched the scene. Clearly, Angela’s growth was a welcome thing. But seeing Dominique’s subtly subdued appearance made him feel strange.

Just as he was about to step in to mediate, feeling that he couldn’t watch any longer, Dominique opened her mouth.

“You’ve changed a lot in the short time I haven’t seen you.”

“As you can see, I ate something good for my body.”

Angela had a smug and arrogant face, but it didn’t take long for that expression to crumple.

“That’s not what I meant. Your contract with Master has been terminated, right?”

It was her Achilles’ heel. As feared, Angela had inherited the Red Castle and its power, and the Blood Contract she had tried so hard to protect had been severed. She couldn’t have been feeling good.

She was speechless and huffed with a reddened face.

“How did you……”

“Who knows how I found out.”

The ability of devotion and service had increased, leading to the exchange of thoughts; now the situation was reversed.

“The contract is also invalid, and now we are complete strangers.”

But Angela didn’t give in either. She quickly composed herself and put on a seductive expression.

“Well, we’re a little more special to be called strangers. While you were sleeping, we developed a deeper and more mature relationship.”

Dominique mulled over Angela’s words with a strangely confident tone and widened her eyes.

“M, Master?”

Her suddenly flushed complexion seemed to recall something very embarrassing from the past. Unlike her sharp attitude of engaging in a battle of nerves just a moment ago, she was flustered with a shocked face.

It seemed that her ability to connect with her master had revisited an embarrassing day in the past.