Chapter 140

It was an incredibly unpleasant and uncomfortable sensation when Sae-Jin’s body went through ‘changes’ during the instant transmission . After experiencing the unpleasantness of his entire body breaking down to molecular level, and then getting rebuilt in a flash, Sae-Jin staggered as he opened his eyes .

He found himself trapped inside this oppressively dark space, and right away, spotted Bathory keeled over on the ground not too far, busy vomiting out mouthful of blood .

The first thing he thought of was “Is this another chance?”

Unfortunately though – the Mana cannon was a one-hit-kill attack that sucked up every drop of Mana from inside his body as well as from the outside . Regrettably, he didn’t have much Mana left within him .

*SFX for vomit . Yuck . *

Bathory made uncool noises as she continued to vomit out blood . However, Sae-Jin already understood that her actions were actually a part of the recovery process, where she expelled dead blood out of her body to replace it with fresh one instead . It was one of the bits of knowledge he gained after ingesting the scale of the adult Leviathan .

However, he had no idea why the knowledge about Vampires were recorded within the scale, though .

Whatever the case may have been, he couldn’t help but worry about the near future when her pain would be replaced by her fury .

Since he heard that Bathory liked torturing people, there were more reasons now to spin his brain faster than ever before .

It was then, he recalled a certain Skill called the ‘Dark Energy Link’ . This Skill received a few additional upgrades when he ‘evolved’, so its usefulness had increased by a great deal .

And among these new additions, the bits of text gleaming quite nicely within Sae-Jin’s recollection were as thus:

[Dark Energy Link]

– Not only emotions such as ‘Fear’ and ‘Terror’, but even physical sensations such as ‘Pain’ and ‘Pleasure’ can be used to form the Link .

– However, when the Link is formed with sensation as the medium, while the experienced sensation will be shared, no other functions will manifest .

Obviously, a Link of submission formed with fear and terror would not work against a bigshot like Bathory . On the flip side, though – the Link formed with ‘sensation’ could be a possibility . Plus, she was currently experiencing acute pain right now .

However, no matter how strong the Leviathan Form was compared to his other Forms, the Dark Energy Link was a Skill he needed to use in the Lycanthrope Form to bring about the best results . But, for now, he maintained the Leviathan Form and sneaked in closer to Bathory’s position .

“You shouldn’t waste your time, darling . You can’t hurt me . We are not in the ocean anymo… Bleurgh . ”

While listening to her chilly declaration and the follow-up noise of retching, Sae-Jin cautiously activated the Eyes of the Wolf . He could sort of see a ‘shadow’ of pain hovering near her back . But he found out that, as a Leviathan, he couldn’t pull that energy towards him and form a link .

He closed his eyes . He told himself that he only needed to succeed once .

Now normally, those who enjoyed being cruel towards others would not be able to adjust to being treated cruelly in return – most of the time .

The body of the Leviathan began to shrink before anyone could notice it .

The head of the dragon changed to a shape of a person’s, while the shrinking body morphed into one with four limbs . Shoulders broad enough to seemingly carry five grown men’s heads without a problem, and slick, tightly packed muscles rippling in his arms . And, the wild, macho silvery fur that warmly covered that rock-hard body…

He changed into the Lycanthrope .

Now that he looked through this beast’s eyes, the dark energy hovering on top of the woman was far more distinct and clearer .

The only strand of energy he could touch right now was ‘pain’ . So, Sae-Jin extended his finger and beckoned the link for ‘pain’ to come closer . That energy strand tightly wound around his finger . Sae-Jin cautiously studied this, before…

Kwack!!

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He grabbed the energy and shoved it down his throat .

Immediately, Bathory’s eyes shifted towards his direction, and at the same time, several alert windows popped up into his view .

[The Dark Energy Link has been established against an overwhelmingly powerful existence!] [Condition complete: Swallow the Heavens (1/2)] [All Stats for the Lycanthrope Form will increase by a large margin!] [The Lycanthrope Form’s unique Skill, ‘Senses of a Wolf’ has been acquired!] [When the last condition is met, the Lycanthrope Form will evolve into the final stage . ]

His muscles and bones issued cracking noises as the body of the Lycanthrope began rapidly increasing in its size . Bathory completely turned around after sensing the disturbing presence, and when she saw him, she completely lost her sh*t .

“&^%#!!! What the hell!! Who the f*ck are you, you disgusting scum?!”

She violently swung her arms around . Sae-Jin belatedly raised his arms to block her, but the power behind her wild swings totally transcended his imagination . Bones in his arms shattered into smithereens, and the shock wave slammed into his innards, blowing up several internal organs .

It was such a nonsensically powerful attack, had he been a normal person, he would have died instantly .

Fortunately enough, that pain was shared with her, too . And no, it wasn’t some sympathetic sharing of pain – instead, she would feel the full brunt of the physical pain Sae-Jin experienced in that moment .

That was why it should be considered normal to see her screaming her lungs out in a high pitched tone .

“Kkyaaaaaaahck!!!!”

Bathory screamed and collapsed on the ground . From now on, it was a battle of recuperative powers and endurance between the two . Who could recover faster, and who could endure more pain?

Sae-Jin was feeling confident of his odds . After all, the Lycanthropes of the legends were often called the ‘race of immortal youth’ thanks to the vitality and regenerative powers that far outstripped other races . And on top of this, he had over 100 healing and recovery potions ‘Spiritualised’ and stored within his body right at this moment, as well .

Some people might call all the preparations he did simply excessive, but the very notion of that being ‘bad’ was utter garbage . The more, the better . Anytime .

[Kobhack!!]

Completely recovering in the blink of an eye, Bathory spat out a word that kind of sounded like a curse word while reaching out towards Sae-Jin’s direction .

And so, the chain of one-sided beating and mutual sharing of resulting pain, began in earnest .

***

The secret conference room was shrouded in a heavy atmosphere . Everyone present carried somber expressions and spoke not a word . Without a doubt, their plan failed . Of course, it was still somewhat more palatable result than being wiped out .

But, no one dared to raise this point . The importance of the person kidnapped was just too high for that .

*SFX for the second hand of the clock ticking away*

The heavy silence, where only the ticking of the second hand could be heard, finally got broken by the alarm tone coming off from someone’s mobile phone .

Kim Sun-Ho hesitatingly pulled out his phone, and after checking out the message on the screen, let out a long sigh .

“…Well, it’s from Miss Yu Sae-Jung . What should I do?”

At the same time, several sighs also leaked out .

And as everyone here were wondering how to reply to Yu Sae-Jung, Yu Baek-Song stepped up with a serious face .

“We keep everything as a secret from Yu Sae-Jung . ” (Yu Baek-Song)

“… . . After hiding the truth, and then what?” (Hazeline)

Hazeline asked, her voice trembling heavily . She cried her eyes out so much, they were all puffed up beyond recognition .

“As long as Kim Sae-Jin remains as a Leviathan, he won’t die . All we have to do is rescue him . ” (Yu Baek-Song)

“With us alone?” (Hazeline)

“With other people, too . ” (Yu Baek-Song)

“No, wait . You, listen here…” (Hazeline)

Hazeline wanted to say something to counter her, but in the end, she became overcome with emotions and buried her face on the table once more . The sound of her soft sobbing seemed to blanket the silent conference room .

“… . Stop crying, you idiot . The news of the Azure Dragon being kidnapped will be enough . Koreans love the Azure Dragon, after all . When we break the news that the Vampires have kidnapped the Azure Dragon, they will help us . Yup, I’m sure of it . ”

Said Yu Baek-Song, as she gently stroked Hazeline’s head . It was a somewhat funny scene where a shorty that looked like a middle schooler was busy consoling a full-grown adult, but not one person here laughed at that .

“What do you think, Lillia? About my plan?” (Yu Baek-Song)

– “If all the Highest Tier Knights in the country volunteer to help, then we might have a chance, but under the current circumstance, the odds of it happening are quite slim . ”

Boss Monsters were still raising a ruckus all over the world even now . The frequency of their appearances had increased by so much, one popped up almost every other week . Thanks to this, there were more than a few frontlines set up to confront the Monsters .

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However, to snatch away the services of Highest Tier Knights under this kind of situation? It would be akin to setting the storehouse on fire just to catch a lice .

– “And also, seeing that Bathory hadn’t returned to the hotel, it is likely that she has settled down elsewhere . ”

“……”

Another heavy silence descended on the room . They tried their best to come up with something, but couldn’t think of anything useful .

The only thing still flowing freely within this silence was the ceaseless sobbing coming from Hazeline .

***

Inside the jet-black interior .

It was impossible to tell whether this was inside some kind of a closed-off space, or the luxury hotel Bathory was staying . But it really didn’t matter either way . Because of all the blood coating pretty much everywhere, this whole place looked too gruesome to look, anyway .

[Gaom croshack!!]

Sae-Jin heard a queer speech coming from somewhere . When he turned to look, he spotted Bathory lying on the floor, just like him, busy glaring at him with bloodshot eyes . So, so much crazy killing intent contained within her glare .

“Speak in Korean . I can’t understand you . ” (Sae-Jin)

He leisurely laughed and replied to her . The coincidental level up meant that, the only way to break the now-more powerful Dark Energy Link was for the owner – him – to personally severe the connection . No matter how many times she hit him, nothing would change .

“My Yong-Yong… You dirty, scummy canine b*stard, you dare to trick me?” (Bathory)

“And just what did I trick you with?” (Sae-Jin)

Bathory grit her teeth in anger . But she didn’t do anything else besides . She was probably exhausted as well .

“…Well, it doesn’t matter . In any case, as soon as I fully recover, you’re a dead meat . ” (Bathory)

Bathory spoke with a manufactured smile on her face .

“Fuht . You think I’ll let you?” (Sae-Jin)

Sae-Jin sneered and slashed at her face with his claws .

Thanks to his lucky level up, his claws were much stronger now . Their hardness could exceed that of the earth’s greatest metal, mithril . So, at a bare minimum, they should be able to inflict some sort of damage to the clearly-weakened Bathory .

*SFX for wounds inflicted . I think . *

Four claw lines slashed out at an oblique angle .

“Kkhyack!!”

She screamed out at this unexpected attack and rolled around the floor in pain . However, he didn’t feel a thing . Well, the thing was, this Dark Energy Link came with a certain convenient feature that benefited the owner, somewhat .

In a way, it was like, ‘what’s yours is yours, and what’s mine is mine’, that kinda thing .

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That’s why, he needed to continuously torment her . To make sure that she would never recover her vitality, and that she wouldn’t be able to endure any longer and let him go .

“You son of a bi*ch!!”

Bathory screamed out a couple of choice words and kicked Sae-Jin in the side . His ribs shattered from the impact, but that also meant Bathory’s were also shattered, too .

“Ah, argh, eu-ah-ahrng…” (Bathory)

“Stop doing things that will be painful for both of us . ”

Sae-Jin quickly recovered thanks to the effects of potions, and began taunting her . Her eyes snapped wide open and shouted at him .

“You shut up!!” (Bathory)

“Hmph . I should pay you back for your rude words . ”

Strictly speaking, he didn’t learn this attack to use in moments like this, but whatever – he decided to use the ‘Lightning Chain Claw’ . Immediately, purple-coloured arcs of electricity buzzed and circulated around his extended claws . Bathory saw this and her entire body trembled imperceptibly .

“You!! You better stop!! I said, stop!!! I’m warning you!! A warni… *Bzzzzzzzz*… . ”

He ignored her and slashed at her entire torso . Even though her body was shaking from the pain of the electricity, she didn’t submit to it and thrust forward her hand into Sae-Jin’s heart .

…Without the regenerative potions, he’d have probably died three times over by now .

His sight blurred and his consciousness darkened .

When he reopened his eyes after losing his consciousness for a brief second or two, he spotted Bathory next to him, weaving in and out of slumber herself .

“Ha-ah, ha-ah…” (Bathory)

He stealthily approached her and stabbed his claw into her neck .

“Eiii, you f*cking…” (Bathory)

Her eyes snapped open, and with an expression that said she had enough of this sh*t, she shoved her fingers into Sae-Jin’s eye sockets .

“Just die already, you scummy son of a bi*ch!!” (Bathory)

“You first . ” (Sae-Jin)

*

In the end, a cease-fire occurred between him and Bathory . He told her to release him, but she resolutely refused to do so . She said that, she would keep him around until she found a way to exterminate him .

And so, a curious co-habitation begun .

The place was an empty, isolated space probably maintained by Bathory herself . Trapped within, both of them didn’t eat anything nor did anything . Except, for the childish tauntings thrown at each other’s way .

“You hungry now? You moron . You see, I’m the perfect Vampire, so I only need to eat something once a year and that’s all, you know?” (Bathory)

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“I can rip off your arm and snack on that, so it’s fine . ” (Sae-Jin)

“Who says I’ll let you snack on me?!” (Bathory)

Thanks to the Dark Energy Link, Bathory couldn’t kill him . If she wounded him fatally, then that damage would transmit in full towards her as well . However, in case of something going wrong, he had to prevent her from using a magic spell that might exceed his Skill, so he needed to constantly hurt her .

“…… . . Fuu . ”

Bathory groaned out a lengthy sigh and got up . He extended his claws and slashed at her back and her waist . Deep, horrendous wounds opened up, and she fell back down on the ground once more .

“Ah-euhck!! Hey, you crazy b*stard!!” (Bathory)

“I’m telling you, it’ll be better for you to release me now . What do you think will happen when my friends show up? Will you be able to fight them off in your current condition?” (Sae-Jin)

“Shut up!!”

Instead of a proper answer, Bathory fed him a knuckle sandwich to his face .