Renil looked at Gasen and remarked, “Don’t you think that a family reunion is always touching, Gasen?”
“…”
“At the same time, it’s also troublesome. That’s why it’s better for us not to witness that embarrassing sight, right?” Renil grumbled.
“…”
“What? You want to see it and cry like a baby?!” Renil exclaimed.
“…”
Renil nimbly evaded Gasen’s punch and quickly ran away.
Deff could not believe his eyes. He ran and hugged the young boy, who was much smaller than him. He cried, “Diel!”
The young boy looked shocked, his eyes widening. He could not speak a word, and all he could muster was unintelligible gibberish. He had spent so long on his own that he forgot how to speak.
Deff bit his lips and said, “I’m sorry… Your brother is sorry… I’m very sorry… Really… I’m really sorry…” All he could do was repeatedly apologize like a fool, hugging the young boy even more tightly as tears streamed down his face. “Thank you for being alive… Thank you… Diel… Thank you so much…”
Diel had managed to run away just before he was sold as a slave, but the hole he had escaped through collapsed, and the place he had dug himself into was the vampire castle’s basement. Vampire ghosts had appeared whenever he tried to leave the place, and Diel had survived for so many years by eating the flesh of dead vampires and drinking any rainwater that seeped down to the basement. He would have long since died if he did not possess the werewolves’ special trait that allowed him to eat rotten, decayed meat without any repercussions.
“Woof…” Diel cried and looked at Deff. His eyes, wet with tears, spoke in the absence of words. Suddenly, he growled something unintelligible in the werewolf and human tongue. “Rinjeria. Kyeong. Kanun Rinjeria.”
Only Kang Yoon-Soo was able to understand what he was trying to say. ‘It’s alright brother. I’m fine now.”
The party left the place to give the brothers some space.
“So…” Henrick began, scratching his chin. He pointed at Yuriel, who was in a terrace giggling while drinking red wine from a bottle, and continued, “Is that really an angel?”
“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
Renil gulped and said, “She’s really pretty… I’m especially thankful that she’s not wearing any clothes. Right, Gasen?”
“…” Gasen, who was not fond of women, responded by furrowing his brows.
Shaneth’s eyes opened wide in surprise as she said, “So you really met the goddess that time.”
“I seem to experience all sorts of mysterious things while traveling with Kang Yoon-Soo,” Iris said as she stared dazedly at the angel.
Yuriel smiled once the party approached her and said, “Hey, ugly creature. I have to go soon, so hurry up and receive this.” She extended a handful of her own hair. Kang Yoon-Soo could summon her again if he burned that hair.
“How long will the next summoning last?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.
“Hmm… It was half a day this time, right? Then the next time will last for six hours,” Yuriel replied.
Kang Yoon-Soo furrowed his brows and thought, ‘That’s short…’
He had only summoned her once, but had immediately realized her value—Yuriel was very useful. She was extremely powerful in large-scale wars, and she could even heal as many of their allies as possible. In fact, even her blood had been very useful.
‘I have to be careful when summoning her next time,” Kang Yoon-Soo thought.
Henrick still seemed to have a hard time believing his eyes, as he cleared his throat and asked, “Ehem… Are you really an angel?”
“Yes! What is your name, creature?” Yuriel asked.
“Henrick Elrickerson. I am an insignificant artisan, but can I go to heaven if I gift you something I made?” Henrick asked, taking out a beautiful wooden bracelet.
Yuriel’s eyes shone as she exclaimed, “Yup! I will try talking to the goddess! I do not know if there is a heaven or not, though!”
Henrick took out another wooden bracelet and passed both of them to her before saying, “The other wooden bracelet is a gift for the goddess Sylphia. Please tell her that I thank her for creating such a wonderful continent as this.”
Shaneth was perplexed and whispered to Henrick, “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Hey! You punk! These kinds of brazen praises are more effective the higher the person’s position is!” Henrick hissed back.
“But she is a goddess… No?” Shaneth asked.
“So what if she is? Do you think there’s anything different? I can tell that it’s no different from the corrupt bureaucracy we have over here, judging by the way she treats her minion,” Henrick replied.
“The way she treats her minion…?” Shaneth repeated, tilting her head in confusion.
“You know. She just sits around while ordering those under her to do all the hard work,” Henrick replied.
“…You’ll receive divine punishment at this rate,” Shaneth said.
Yuriel put the wooden bracelet on her wrist delightedly before exclaiming, “Thank you! Crafting creature! There are no beautiful bracelets like this in the heavenly realm.”
“Is that why you’re running around naked… Kuheok!” Henrick groaned as Shaneth elbowed his midsection.
Yuriel replied in confusion, “Angels do not need to wear clothes.”
Renil vigorously nodded and said, “That’s a very good culture. I hope you can spread that culture on the continent as well.”
Iris approached Yuriel and stroked her hair, saying, “Your hair is really beautiful.”
“Thank you! Your hair is beautiful too!” Yuriel exclaimed.
Iris suddenly started tearing up as she said, “I used to be blonde like Yuriel, too…”
“Why is your hair reddish-brown now?” Yuriel asked.
“There is a reason why I have to color my hair…” Iris muttered.
Shaneth suddenly intervened and said, “But unni, your hair looks really good in that color too!”
“Yes, creature. I also see it that way. You are really beautiful now!” Yuriel exclaimed.
Iris shook her head and muttered, “No… I liked it better when I was blonde…”
The three women chattered away, and Renil asked in a whisper, “Do women usually get along that quickly?”
“You haven’t lived long enough yet, clearly. Women might seem to be close on the surface, but it’s usually the opposite deep down inside,” Henrick said.
“…” Gasen silently looked away from the three women.
Yuriel stood up as the sun set and night fell. She was in tears as she said, “It is time to go back! I’m so sad that I have to leave now…!”
As Yuriel went around and shook hands with everyone, Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said, “Take this.”
He passed her a pouch filled with wine bottles; they were the luxurious wines Vulpehin City was famous for, along with some other luxurious alcohol.
Yuriel looked confused as she asked, “But there is other alcohol aside from the wine…?”
“Take those as well,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
Henrick looked as if he had been struck by a lightning bolt as he whispered, “Hey! Have you finally gone nuts? Why are you giving her all of our booze as gifts?!”
“Kang Yoon-Soo?” Shaneth exclaimed, looking surprised as well.
Meanwhile, Kang Yoon-Soo thought to himself, ‘I’ll call her again next time anyway.’
Yuriel’s level was significantly higher than his. She was currently with him under the pretense of being his guardian angel, but she could immediately turn her back on him anytime she felt like it. It was important for him to maintain his relationship with Yuriel, and her help would make it much easier for him to progress through his journey to kill the Demon Lord.
“Hmmm… Hmmm… Hey, ugly creature,” Yuriel said.
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“What?” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
Yuriel stared at Kang Yoon-Soo for a while before saying with all seriousness, “You are really kind.”
“…”Kang Yoon-Soo only stared at the angel without giving her any response. He felt that those words did not really suit him at all.
Yuriel giggled and said, “The heavenly realms would be much more entertaining if there were angels like you guys. Hihi! I am starting to wish that I could just stay here.” A bright ray of light shot down from the night sky, and she flapped her wings and flew into the light. She turned around one last time and exclaimed, “Then, I shall get going! Goodbye, creatures!”
As she disappeared, the sky was once again engulfed in the darkness of night, and the full moon shone brightly on the horizon.
Shaneth muttered, seemingly unable to believe what had just happened, “It was really a dream-like experience. I never imagined that there would come a day when I would share a conversation with an angel.”
“Tell me about it. It feels as if I’ll be waking up in bed if I blink right now. Actually, everything that’s happened today feels like a dream…” Henrick said.
It was right as they were about to drag their tired bodies back to the vampire castle that Iris suddenly shouted, “Ah! Kang Yoon-Soo! I forgot about that!”
“What?” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“Didn’t you tell me you would let me eat the Vampire Lord’s heart?” Iris asked, her expression filled with excitement and anticipation.
Henrick raised a brow and asked, “Hmm… Then are you finally going to change from monstrous strength to something else?”
Iris had the ability to copy any monster she consumed the heart of to some extent. Her ability at that moment was monstrous strength, due to having previously consumed the mana golem’s heart. She would lose her monstrous strength ability, but also gain a new one, if she consumed the Vampire Lord’s heart.
Shaneth tilted her head and asked, “What kind of power will she receive if she eats the Vampire Lord’s heart? It must be blood-sucking, right?”
“Well… We’ll find out once she eats it, I guess?” Henrick replied with a shrug.
“Here,” Kang Yoon-Soo said as he took out the Vampire Lord’s bloody heart from his backpack. The large heart was still pulsating as if it were still alive.
Iris received the large heart with both of her hands before taking one big bite out of it. Her eyes suddenly shot open as she yelped. “Eup!”
Henrick’s expression suddenly turned serious and he asked, “What’s going on? Are you being overwhelmed by a sudden surge of mana you can’t control?”
However, Iris had a content smile as she replied, “It’s really delicious…!”
“…I have no idea what you find so delicious about that fishy organ,” Henrick said, furrowing his brows.
“The pulsating texture tastes really good,” Iris explained.
A new message popped up in front of the party.
[The doppelganger has consumed the Vampire Lord’s heart.]
[Her skill is undergoing a transformation.]
[Please choose one skill from the three.]
[Blood Drain]
[Magic Power]
[Nocturne]
+This message is only visible to those the doppelganger has opened her heart to.
Henrick furrowed his brows and asked, “What’s this? Blood Drain, Magic Power, and Nocturne…?”
“Does this mean she can absorb a boss monster’s ability?” Shaneth asked.
“What are you seeing? We don’t see anything,” Renil said as he and Gasen looked around in the air.
The message was something that only those people Iris had opened her heart to could see. She smiled and said, “You are all precious to me.”
“Unni… I’m so touched…!” Shaneth said, smiling brightly.
“Hey, can’t you have those kinds of conversations when we’re not around…?” Renil grumbled.
“…”
“Eh? Hey! What’s up?!” Renil exclaimed as Gasen suddenly dragged him away.
The party members’ looks turned serious once the Vampire Hunters left, and Shaneth was the first one to speak. “The ability she needs the most right now is Blood Drain. The blood-sucking ability of the Vampire Lord was really amazing, wasn’t it? It also suits Iris unni, who really likes to eat hearts.”
Henrick snorted derisively, retorting, “Hey, you punk! Magic Power is the best! All she has to do is to give us magic support from behind; how convenient is that? Also, we don’t have a magician among us. Magic Power is just what we need!”
Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head and said, “Nocturne.”
Iris nodded and said, “Then we will go with that one.”
Henrick looked dumbfounded as he grumbled, “You… is everyone really precious to you…? Are you sure it’s not only him who is precious to you…?”
“Listening to Kang Yoon-Soo is usually the most rewarding way forward,” Iris said. After all, she was aware of Kang Yoon-Soo’s regressions.
Shaneth tilted her head in confusion and asked, “What’s Nocturne? It’s difficult to tell what exactly that means…”
“She’ll be empowered at night,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
Vampires usually moved around at night, and they lived by the motto ‘We are weak during the day, but we grow strong once the sun sets.’ That was the essence of the Nocturne skill.
Monstrous strength was a good ability, but they now had Henrick’s new doll, Rick. Rick was a top-tier doll and possessed equally monstrous strength, and thus it would be better for Iris to possess Nocturne and assist her team in a different way.
[The doppelganger has chosen ‘Nocturne’.]
[Her stats are lacking compared to the Vampire Lord.]
[However, she will not receive any of the penalties the vampire race receives.]
[The following abilities will unlock at night.]
[She will be able to use powerful spells at night.]
[Her charm will greatly increase at night.]
[She will be able to charm even the same sex at night.]
[She may now summon a flock of bats at night.]
[She will be able to spread black wings at night.]
*This message is only visible to those the doppelganger has opened her heart to.
“I can fly!” Iris exclaimed, laughing excitedly. However, her shirt ripped apart at the same time.
Rip…!
Large bat wings protruded out of Iris’ smooth back, and she proudly put both of her hands on her waist and flapped her wings, asking, “How is it?”
Henrick opened his eyes and asked, “Is it a trend these days for women to openly flaunt their breasts like that?”
Pukeok!
Shaneth drove her elbow into Henrick’s waist.