Chapter 53

Revenge is like a dish that tastes better cold.

That was the first thing he was taught as a child by the 'organization' that took him in after his family was killed at the hands of vampires and raised him to become a vampire hunter.

No ordinary human can win against a vampire.

The only ones that even a decent knight or wizard can guarantee victory for are low-level vampires and 'young bloods' who do not have a long history of bloodshed.

Once a vampire has drained enough blood to be called a full-grown adult, they become a formidable opponent for anything less than a nation-state or Templar-level power.

Their organization was an organization that trained "hunters" to hunt these monsters.

It has no other special name, just Organization.

One of the countless secret societies that populate this chaotic world, whose exact purpose or composition is unknown.

What is certain is that hunters trained by the Organization are granted superhuman strength and abilities beyond the reach of the average human.

They are forged with a single blade, tempered by an unquenchable hatred that drives them to devote their lives to vengeance.

The organization creates hunters, and the hunters, turned into human weapons, seek revenge on the monsters that took everything from them.

It never ends. As long as there are any of the enemy's species left in the land, their vengeance will not end until every last one of their kind has been exterminated.

Such were the hunters who came to Count Bathory's domain.

They may have gotten their revenge, but that doesn't quench the flames of hatred that burn within them.

As such, they become the ghosts of vengeance, looking for new wood to throw into the fire.

In that regard, 'her' existence was a perfect prey.

Countess Scarlet Bathory.

Rumor has it that she bathes in the blood of local maidens, and it's not uncommon to find mummified corpses with their blood drained from their bodies on her estate. Their intelligence has uncovered other credible evidence as well.

However, it appears that she has left the estate in recent weeks and disappeared somewhere.

Whatever she's been up to in the meantime is probably not good, as is the international news that the Black Snake has appeared at the World's Fair in the Imperial Capital of Breton, causing a catastrophe of epic proportions.

What happens in the world is not their concern.

Their business is what happens in the shadows of the world, on moonlit nights when the sun goes down.

"Judging by the detection system installed in the manor, she's probably a mage of considerable skill."

"Do you think she escaped?"

"She's too proud to do that."

Vampires are arrogant. That's why they don't lose their manners in the face of hunters who come to hunt them; in fact, they formalize the act by calling it "vampire hospitality."

It's a luxury he can only afford because they recognize themselves as absolute predators.

"I can't wait to see what kind of monster awaits us."

The man with the hunter's hat pressed deep into his beard says.

Two more men in identical hats and leather coats followed, and finally a red-faced woman.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

To face the monster that would be waiting to entertain them at the Count's castle.

It was then.

"Wait a moment!"

Behind the group as they prepared to leave for the castle, a man shouted as he urgently reined in his horse.

Not a mechanical, steam-breathing horse, but a real, living horse. And the man on the horse was a liaison for the "organization" that was supposed to be in contact with the hunters and provide them with information.

"What's going on?"

The mustachioed man who seemed to be the leader of the hunters asked. The man's name was Billy, a man who had lost his beloved daughter and wife to the monster.

"Orders have come from above."

There is only one thing these people can say is from above: the Organization.

"What orders?"

"To leave this estate immediately."

"...Why?"

Billy asked, his eyes narrowing.

"From the way you're talking, I don't think we've got the wrong house."

"I know nothing more than that. That's the order from above. Stand down."

"I must have misheard you. You want me to pretend I didn't see that monster?"

"Yes."

Billy said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. If anything, I'm getting a little tingly with curiosity."

"You're going against the Organization."

"I'm grateful to the organization."

He slung his long gun, the one he'd hunted countless monsters with, over his shoulder.

"But don't be mistaken. I'm not loyal to the Organization, I'm just with them because it's the right thing to do."

"...."

"If it doesn't work out, I guess that's the end of our time together."

With that, he turns his back.

The rest of the hunters following him remain alert in case he uses force to stop them, but otherwise make no move to capture him.

So the four men and women, including Billy the Hunter, walked on to the vampire's castle, where she is now preparing to entertain them.

*

"Welcome."

As the hunters entered the solitary citadel, a blood-red lady greeted them in the center foyer.

The manor house of the Counts of Bathory is uninhabited. There are no caretakers, no gardeners, and no knights or vassals to protect the Count as they should.

Despite its ghostly appearance, Count Bathory has long held its ground as a lordly estate, and strangely enough, the nobles of the surrounding region have never coveted it or expressed ambition for it.

It's not hard to see why.

"Countess Scarlett Bathory."

Because she was there.

And in the center foyer, a huge rectangular dining table was set, silver candlesticks lit, and plates piled high with various dishes. Each dish was delicious, a meal fit for nobility. It looked like it was cooked just in time, too, as the food was steaming.

"I'm sure we're all hungry after all that walking, so why not eat?"

Scarlett grinned.

"Coincidentally, I was just about to feed some important people."

Important people? Billy's eyebrows twitched at that. Normally, vampires were supposed to keep to themselves.

"Oh!"

As if on cue, a bubbly girl's voice rang out from the second floor of the lobby. A blonde girl in a gothic dress ran up and stopped dead in her tracks.

She glanced back and forth between the table and the group of hunters, then shook her head innocently.

"Oooh, but...which one should I eat first, there are so many delicious looking things!"

"─"

Next, a man in a raincoat, and a woman with a black bandage covering her eyes appeared but they didn't look like simple kidnapped victims.

The hunters suddenly realize that the vampire and the rest of the group are all dressed in the same black robes, like a group with a common denominator.

At the same time, they realize that each and every one of them has an aura that is instinctively ominous.

Did the Organization know this all along and warned them? What do they know?

They've long since realized that their goal isn't simply to help them get revenge, to dry up the monster's seed. Still, they didn't care.

"Who are you...?"

Billy the Hunter asked and he hooked his finger on the trigger of the long gun slung over his shoulder, ready to pull at any moment.

The rest of the hunters were no exception.

"Are you of the same kind as that monster?"

"Human."

The man in the raincoat replied, and the woman with the black bandages covering her eyes smiled wordlessly.

"Why would a human be with that monster?"

Billy asks. The answer comes not from the man, but from the vampire in front of them.

"Because he's my boss."

"...what?"

Billy the Hunter asks, dumbfounded by the absurdity of the statement.

"What, you've never seen a vampire being a human underling before?"

Of course he never saw it. It was unheard of. A vampire who thought of humans as nothing more than food or livestock, and yet, here she was, beneath him, groveling.

He knew that Scarlett, the woman in front of him, is not a normal vampire by any stretch of the imagination.

How could a vampire of her caliber be loyal to a human?

The hunter's head snapped up at the man in the raincoat.

"You came all this way to hunt her?"

The man in the raincoat asked.

"Heh, it's our job to hunt monsters."

"...I see."

The man nodded meekly, then spoke.

"To one who has come to kill one of my own, I will show no mercy."