Chapter 110
The infectious disease strains were seeds that did exactly what their names said—they spread infectious diseases. The leather pouch Kang Yoon-Soo was holding was filled with all sorts of viruses; it contained seven strains of diseases, and each of the disease strains had a different property.
[Winter Disease]
The infected will feel as cold as if it were winter.
Severity: 2
Infectivity: 2
Lethality: 3
[Mana Deficiency]
The infected will lose their mana.
Severity: 6
Infectivity: 1
Lethality: 0
[Numbing Disease]
The infected will lose their vitality and their body will turn numb.
Severity: 3
Infectivity: 2
Lethality: 2
[Hemorrhage]
The infected will have severe internal bleeding.
Severity: 2
Infectivity: 1
Lethality: 4
[Skin Disease]
The infected will develop serious sores.
Severity: 3
Infectivity: 3
Lethality: 1
[Pneumonia]
The infected will suddenly develop breathing complications.
Severity: 3
Infectivity: 1
Lethality: 3
[Sudden Death Disease]
The infected will slowly develop purple spots on their body before they suddenly die.
Severity: 4
Infectivity: 6
Lethality: 7
On the continent, the Severity stat referred to the rate at which the virus spread in the infected body; the Infectivity stat referred to how easy the disease was to spread to other hosts; and the Lethality stat referred to the danger the disease posed and its ability to kill the infected. Those stats were usually written in percentages, but they had been simplified into numbers for easier understanding.
‘These disease strains are dangerous materials,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.
The disease strains could cause a pandemic if they were planted in the ground or implanted into a host, and the odds of them spreading depended on the cleanliness of the surroundings or the resistance of the lifeforms around the area the first patient was in. However, that was not the only use for the,.
‘A new disease can be created if the strains that mix well are mixed together,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought to himself.
The disease strains were the seeds of each disease, and a completely different disease could be born depending on the way they were mixed. Of course, there were also cases in which the final disease would lose its strength if the strains did not complement each other well.
‘The mixture is the most crucial part.’
Kang Yoon-Soo collected a vampire’s blood in a water canteen. Then, he stretched his hands as he prepared to start working.
‘The life I lived as a Grand Alchemist who could create any potion on the continent…’
He opened the leather pouch that contained the disease strains, then took them out.
The Vampire Hunters watched Kang Yoon-Soo in amazement, and Renil could not hide his curiosity, asking, “That guy, what’s he doing?”
“It’s better not to disturb him, Renil,” Deff warned the young man.
Kang Yoon-Soo placed the Sudden Death Disease strain into the blood first; it was the strongest strain among the ones he currently had. The purple dust mixed with the vampire’s blood and dissolved into it.
‘I should be careful not to spread the virus by mistake.’
It was crucial for him not to be infected by the diseases by mistake while he was mixing them together, as all hell would break loose if he infected himself by mistake. The virus could also be transmitted if some dust got into it or if another person touched it.
‘The next will be the Hemorrhage strain,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought, taking out a slightly pinkish dust and mixing it into the blood. The blood became a slightly lighter color and started to thicken a little bit.
Kang Yoon-Soo mixed the mixture carefully and thought, ‘I’ve mixed the two strains, and the transmission method has changed… The symptoms of the Sudden Death Disease have weakened.’
However, he had to create a disease that only vampires could be infected with.
‘There was a time when I made such a disease in the past.’
He had had a laboratory that was as large as a village in the life he had lived as a Grand Alchemist, and he had carried out all sorts of tests and created all sorts of medicines in that place. One of the things he had created in his laboratory was something related to disease strains.
Kang Yoon-Soo took out a handful of hard teeth from his backpack.
‘The teeth of a vampire.’
Vampire teeth boasted hardness that was on par with tempered steel, but they would no doubt disintegrate if he attempted to crush them with the Sword of Revelation.
Kang Yoon-Soo turned around and said, “Iris, Rick, break these down for me.”
“Alright,” Iris replied.
“Okay,” Rick replied.
The two girls crushed the vampire’s teeth with their monstrous strength. Renil was greatly surprised by the sight, muttering, “What kind of women are that strong…?”
“Tell me about it,” Henrick replied as he controlled the mana threads with his hand.
The vampire teeth had turned into dust; Kang Yoon-Soo took only the fine dust from them, slowly pouring a specific amount into the blood before shaking the mix.
‘Now all it needs to do is dry up…’
The mixture in the water canteen had turned dark red.
[You have created a new strain of disease.]
[Nothing about the disease’s traits or characteristics has been revealed.]
[It is a disease without a cure developed for it.]
[It might create thousands and thousands of victims if it is released onto the continent.]
[Please name the new disease.]
“Vampire Disease,” Kang Yoon-Soo muttered.
[Vampire Disease]
It is a disease that can only infect the vampire race.
Severity: ?
Infectivity: ?
Lethality: ?
The stats of the Vampire Disease had not been revealed, but its real power was soon to be unleashed in Sanguineum.
Kang Yoon-Soo showed the group the water canteen containing the mixture and said, “This is a disease strain that can only infect vampires.”
“Hmm…” Deff adjusted his eyeglasses and carefully inspected the mixture. He shook the water canteen a few times before nodding in satisfaction, then said, “I also have some knowledge about diseases and medicines, and I’m certain that this disease strain is something that hasn’t been discovered before. I’ll trust you on this one.”
He then dipped his finger into the water canteen and tasted the mixture. Renil and Gasen freaked out when they saw him do so and exclaimed, “Deff, are you crazy?! Why the hell would you eat that when you don’t even know what it is?!”
“You said it was a disease that only vampires could be infected with, right?” Deff remarked with a smile. He then returned the water canteen to Kang Yoon-Soo after confirming that nothing strange had happened to his body.
Henrick nodded and said, “You’re a man who knows what true trust is.”
“Oh, I don’t deserve such praise,” Deff said humbly.
Deff collected the capes and some jewels from the vampires’ corpses; those were usually the rewards the Vampire Hunters reaped from hunting down vampires. Of course, material gain was not the reason why they hunted vampires; rather, it was out of pure hatred for vampires.
“Doesn’t it get tiring hiding your identity and just hunting vampires everyday?” Shaneth asked.
“Revenge makes you forget everything,” Deff responded. His words alone sent chills down Shaneth’s spine, but the fact that he had spoken them with a smile while laughing made them all the more sinister.
However, Kang Yoon-Soo felt a sense of kinship with the priest, his thoughts echoing, ‘Revenge makes you forget everything…’ How good would it be if the same could be true for him?
Deff wiped the blood off his hair as he said, “Actually, we were testing you guys tonight, as we can’t afford to bring a bunch of greenhorns into the vampires’ city.”
“So what was the result?” Iris nervously asked.
Deff smiled brightly and said, “You passed! The fact that you can face high-ranked vampires without any trouble means you won’t be holding us back. We’ll depart for Sanguineum tomorrow.”
“That’s… a real shame…” Iris said as tears welled up in her eyes.
“So we really are going…” Shaneth said, letting out a sigh.
Henrick decided to accept the harsh reality and remarked, “Yeah, what can we do if we have to go anyway? Let’s think of it as going on a trip to somewhere we’d probably never have the chance to visit—whether we live or die over there.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Rick said.
“The only thing you have to look forward to is the box, so get back in, you punk,” Henrick said, stuffing her back into his summoning box.
“But how are we going to Sanguineum? I’ve never heard of a city occupied only by vampires in my life,” Shaneth asked.
“Of course you haven’t, since Sanguineum isn’t a place that exists on this continent,” Deff replied.
“What?” Shaneth blurted out.
Deff smiled gently and said, “You’ll naturally find out tomorrow.”
The Vampire Hunters had to take care of the vampires’ corpses, so they left first before the party. The other three looked at Kang Yoon-Soo as soon as the Vampire Hunters left.
“Kang Yoon-Soo, you know where Sanguineum is at, right?” Shaneth asked.
“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“Where is the vampires’ city?” Iris asked.
“Inside a painting,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“…?”
Kang Yoon-Soo's response only made them more curious.
However, Kang Yoon-Soo felt tired, and he felt as if the amount of fatigue he accumulated after a hunt had begun increasing more and more as of late. He said, “Let’s call it a day and return to the inn.”
***
The party gathered in front of the Great Cathedral of Vulpehin the next morning. There, Deff was carrying a large backpack, and the priest gently smiled as he greeted them. “Hello! Are you all ready to go to Sanguineum?”
“I heard it was in a painting; is that true?” Shaneth asked.
“Oh, how did you find out about that?” Deff responded in surprise before laughing heartily.
Henrick was perplexed, asking, “What do you mean by that? Are you saying the vampires’ city is really inside a painting?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Oh, and also…” Deff trailed off as he took the garlic necklace and cross Iris had been carrying. He then continued, “These will only attract the vampires, so it’s best that you leave them behind.”
“But the vampires will drink my blood if I do not have those,” Iris complained, tears welling up in her eyes.
Deff scratched the back of his head as he said, “Well… It is true that vampires love beautiful women like you…”
“That is horrible,” Iris said as her whole body trembled in fear.
It was then that Kang Yoon-Soo grabbed her shoulder and said, “Let’s talk.”
“What is it about?” Iris asked.
“Just the two of you? What are you going to talk about?” Shaneth snapped, glaring at them.
Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head and replied, “It’s nothing important.” He dragged Iris over to a place where the others would neither be able to see nor hear them. The reason for that was simple.
‘I have to strengthen her resolve,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought. He had concluded that Iris, who was scared out of her wits by vampires, was otherwise not going to be of any help as she would not be able to use her full power against them in Sanguineum.
As such, he told her, “I’ll let you eat the heart of the Vampire Lord when we go to Sanguineum.”
The color returned to Iris’ face, and she felt her heart beating quickly before she replied, “…Are you serious?”
“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“Do you think the Vampire Lord’s heart will taste good?” Iris asked.
“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“How does Kang Yoon-Soo know about that?” Iris asked.
“I ate it in a previous life,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“What class did you have that let you eat the Vampire Lord’s heart?” Iris asked.
“I killed you and ate your heart, and your abilities were transferred to me,” Kang Yoon-Soo explained.
“…” Iris’ face turned pale white.
Kang Yoon-Soo nonchalantly added, “I won’t kill you in this life.”
“…That is not the problem here, is it?” Iris replied while glaring at Kang Yoon-Soo tearfully. She then added, “You are a disappointment.”
It was only then that Kang Yoon-Soo realized his mistake. Why had he told her about that previous life? It was true that he had killed Iris in his previous life, but…
‘It was because I didn’t think she was important at the time.’
In fact, he had had no plans to accept Iris as a party member in this life, and it had only been the White Shadow that was inside her that he was interested in. However, there was no reason for him to have told her about the past and make a mess of things.
‘Many times, I became enemies with Iris in the past.’
In truth, she was still a doppelganger—a monster. Kang Yoon-Soo had been starving at the time, and he had killed her and eaten her heart, absorbing her Predation ability. He had killed her numerous times in the past, unlike Shaneth and Henrick.
“I do not care which life it was. You are you, and I do not know about other people, but the things you did to me still remain in you,” Iris said, seeing through Kang Yoon-Soo’s thoughts instantly. She hugged his arm and said, “Apologize to me.”
“…Sorry,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
“Say it a little more meaningfully,” Iris said.
“I’m sorry,” Kang Yoon-Soo apologized in a low voice. He added, “It’s my last life, so I wasn’t thinking straight.”
He knew he was making a sorry excuse, and knowing that felt distinctly unpleasant to him. Why had he said something like that subconsciously? Maybe it was because…
“…It’s because you’re the only one who knows about my regression,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
It was then that Iris suddenly hugged him while calling out his name. “Kang Yoon-Soo.”
He could hear her heart beating through her chest. It was the very heart he had chewed on and eaten in his previous life. He suddenly felt nauseated, as if he wanted to vomit.
‘No,’ Kang Yoon-Soo told himself, clenching his fists tightly.
‘Please don’t make me remember my past lives.’
Iris whispered in his ear, “Please don’t struggle alone.”
‘No, there’s no choice. I’m the only one who knows about them. The evil things I did in my previous lives.’
Kang Yoon-Soo barely managed to win against his thoughts, then pushed Iris away before repeating, “I’m sorry.”
“Kang Yoon-Soo,” Iris said once again, calling out his name. She grabbed his hand and pulled him close to her, and her soft lips touched his cheek. She said with a smile, “I will always be on your side.”
Kang Yoon-Soo rubbed his forehead a few times before saying, “Thanks.”
The sound of the others’ footsteps approaching them filled the air. Kang Yoon-Soo looked at Iris before suddenly saying, “I don’t like you that way.”
“Omo! The kiss just now was just to cheer you up. Did you mistake it for an ulterior motive?” Iris replied with a bright smile on her face.
Strangely enough, Kang Yoon-Soo felt that his heart was lighter than ever.
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