106 – New Persona – 6

The complete form of the Vampire Hunter was indeed an ability user who had reached the realm of legend.

If he had been in a state where he could fully wield his power from when he was alive, if he had been an existence who could continuously grow like a living person,

for Gi-jun, whose species rank still remained at Rare, it might have been a much harder battle.

However, he was merely an entity awkwardly restored by the authority of an artifact, stagnant in the past.

Having learned his skills and combat patterns over the course of several hours, there was no way Gi-jun could fail to overcome him.

“I lost.”

Krat Van Helsing, who had been struck in the waist by Gi-jun’s shield and forced to his knees, collapsed onto his knees as if he had no strength left to move, admitting his defeat.

For Gi-jun as well, it felt like the first time in a long time since his fight with Biche that he had fought against a single individual using all his strength.

“Is it proven now?”

“Sufficiently. …Time has passed indeed, for such a junior to appear.”

Krat replied, caressing his chest that had a dark hole gouged out by Gi-jun’s shield.

The guy’s other clones would usually disappear immediately upon receiving such a wound, but this one was special in many ways, from possessing intellect and speaking to stubbornly holding on.

‘Is he the core of the unique territory? …If I just burn this guy now, won’t I be able to go outside?’

Gi-jun pondered for a moment, but to state the conclusion first, it was a good thing he had not.

Krat, who was smiling with the corners of his mouth curled up in satisfaction, suddenly offered his pistol to him.

“Take it. Originally, there was no way even an item would be left behind…”

“Originally? You set up ruins like this and didn’t even have a single item?”

“Yes. But thanks to you breaking the territory early, some strength remained, allowing me to anchor one of my traces in reality.”

Did this mean that if Gi-jun had faithfully watched the play as the ruins directed, he would not have been able to obtain any items?

Tilting his head as he took the pistol, only then could Gi-jun fully understand the meaning of Krat’s words.

The pistol, which had felt like a nicely made model gun until now, began to emit an unusual energy along with a more harmonious light the moment it was held in his hand.

Just as Krat, who was facing Gi-jun now, was not Krat himself no matter how high the reproduction quality was, the pistol originally was not real either.

Krat’s power that supported the unique territory, his karma, was injected to draw out the real from within the fake.

“Of course, its power will be slightly inferior to the original. But if you grow it well, it might surpass the original one day.”

“What happened to the original?”

“It was destroyed. So now, that is the original—Bastitas (vástĭtas).”

Hearing those words, Gi-jun checked the pistol’s information, and not only was it truly named Bastitas, but its rank was actually Unique Plus.

He had expected it to be an amazing item, but he had not expected it to be to this extent.

Thinking about how Gin would react upon receiving this made him feel good.

“It will collapse soon. Prepare to leave.”

“Huh?”

Probably because he had consumed his energy to materialize the pistol, the balance of the unique territory completely collapsed, the ground shaking and the black sky cracking open as light began to leak in.

Checking the medal he had tucked into his chest, a faint light was leaking from it as well.

Probably, Krat Van Helsing’s power residing in the medal was completely dissipating.

“If your willpower is strong enough to firmly protect yourself within another person’s unique territory and even seize the holy relic, you will not be easily swallowed by the darkness. …I am relieved.”

“Wait, a holy relic? Do you mean this fragment of the unique territory—”

Gi-jun lifted his head to ask about the unfamiliar word, but…

The figure of Krat, which had been before his eyes just a moment ago, had already vanished without a trace.

“No, did this bastard just play the ‘I won’t tell you’ card at the last second?”

The moment he grumbled, sensing that Krat had completely disappeared…

Suddenly, the ground he stood on dissolved, the sky collapsed, and light poured down onto Gi-jun’s head.

The ruins were collapsing!

“Ugh—huh?!”

In a strange state of floating that could be described as neither falling nor rising, Gi-jun suddenly felt a presence supporting him and shouted.

“Fortis!”

“—Piyoooo!”

Fortis deftly caught him on his back and took flight, spreading his large wings to both sides.

Not only that, but two lumps composed of bright light and flames flew over and landed on both of his shoulders.

“—Contractor!”

“—Kiiit, kiiiiit!”

“Lucy, Ur!”

Not just the griffin but even the two spirits—everyone who had disappeared at Krat’s gesture earlier had returned to his side.

Gi-jun let out a sigh of relief as if his torn-away half-body had returned, hugging and caressing them all.

“Were you inside the ruins all this time?”

“—Yes, we were trapped and couldn’t move a single inch. It was so suffocating I thought I’d go crazy! Contractor, did you smash that guy’s head properly?”

“Not his head, but I made a huge hole in his chest.”

“—Kikiit, kiiit! Kihiii!”

“Right, right. Ur, you worried a lot too. It’s okay, I thrashed him.”

While Gi-jun was boasting of his heroic deeds to the two spirits, Fortis diligently flapped his wings to approach the hole from which light poured.

But just before the beast plunged into the exit, Gi-jun suddenly realized that there was something he had not yet received back.

“Where is my mask?”

He immediately took off his helmet and touched his face, but as expected, he was still bare-faced without the mask.

Did this guy really run off with my mask in exchange for giving me the pistol?

Dumbfounded, he threw his head back to look back at the ruins filled with pitch-black darkness…

He saw something floating up from below and approaching him.

Although it looked even more ominous than before, being completely pitch-black and sparkling with a blood-red light—it was definitely his mask!

“Fortis!”

“—Pii?”

Understanding his intention, Fortis slowed down for a moment, allowing Gi-jun to safely catch it.

Immediately after, the griffin passed through the tunnel of light and exited the ruins.

If he had cleared the ruins in a standard way, he would have naturally received points along with a clear message, but perhaps because he had destroyed the ruins from their very foundation, there was nothing of the sort.

Of course, since he had obtained treasures that could not even be compared to Leta points, he did not regret it in the least…

“—Wow, if anyone looked, they wouldn’t even know there had been anything here.”

Lucy, who checked the ground while Fortis accelerated and soared into the sky, said while shaking her head in amazement.

Looking back to check, surprisingly, there was only a dense forest, and no trace of the ruins could be found.

Gi-jun muttered with a somewhat hollow feeling as he watched that.

“…Did I do something wrong? Originally, this was a place that vampire hunters visited from generation to generation, but because I meddled for no reason and took the medal, the ruins…”

“—Even if that’s the case, it’s not the Contractor’s fault. If it really bothers you, the Contractor can just wipe out all the vampires. Isn’t that right?”

Lucy always placed Gi-jun at the center of every situation to judge and act, without any hesitation.

Perhaps Lucy was the one who deserved to be called a superhuman.

No, since she was originally a legendary existence, her mental discipline must have been at a level incomparable to his.

“Yes, you’re right, Lucy.”

Nodding vigorously to follow her example, only then did Gi-jun look at the mask in his hand.

Originally, it was a mask that was metallic red overall with orange eyes drawn on it, but now, it was pitch-black with only one eye drawn in crimson, exuding a gloomy atmosphere.

And if it was a person with only one crimson eye, he also had someone in mind.

“Krat Van Helsing…”

“—Did he put the power and will that he couldn’t give to the Contractor himself into the mask instead?”

“Probably. If it’s this, I have no reason to refuse either.”

He might feel aversion if it were superimposed on himself, but if he accepted it assuming from the start that it was a different persona, he had no reluctance.

Perhaps Krat had quickly judged that through his conversation with Gi-jun and temporarily taken the mask with the intention of injecting power into it.

“—Hurry and check it, Contractor.”

“Okay. I’m thankful he put power into it, but it would be troublesome if the power of the Flame Human disappeared…”

It was not yet time to completely discard the Flame Human’s mask.

Frowning slightly, the moment he checked the mask’s information, Gi-jun felt relief and shock at the same time.

[Double Persona (Legendary—) — Sanguis]

[Switchable — Ignis]

[Durability — 3,778/4,200]

[Defense (L) — 35]

[Option 1 — Unlocks the Unique-grade Anti-Blood Power status when wearing ‘Sanguis’]

[Option 2 — All abilities increased by 25% when facing vampires]

[Option 3 — Able to suck the blood of vampires]

[Equip Limit — Possession of the ‘Vampire Hunter’ title]

[As a result of two powerful egos miraculously interlocking and achieving harmony, the rank of the artifact transcended its limits to reach the legendary grade. Currently, the ego of the legendary vampire hunter was manifested. Any vampire who faced the flashing blood-red single eye from behind the mask would experience the terror of falling from hunter to prey.]

[Double Persona (Legendary—) — Sanguis]

[Switchable — Ignis]

[Durability — 3,778/4,200]

[Defense (L) — 35]

[Option 1 — Unlocks the Unique-grade Anti-Blood Power status when wearing ‘Sanguis’]

[Option 2 — All abilities increased by 25% when facing vampires]

[Option 3 — Able to suck the blood of vampires]

[Equip Limit — Possession of the ‘Vampire Hunter’ title]

[As a result of two powerful egos miraculously interlocking and achieving harmony, the rank of the artifact transcended its limits to reach the legendary grade. Currently, the ego of the legendary vampire hunter was manifested. Any vampire who faced the flashing blood-red single eye from behind the mask would experience the terror of falling from hunter to prey.]

“Not Unique Plus, but Legendary Minus.”

“—Wow…!”

Even though it was a minus, every single option was amazing, fitting for an item that had reached the legendary grade, but more than anything else, the first option to unlock the Unique-grade Anti-Blood Power was terrifying.

Of course, it would be limited to when he wore the mask, but still, to have an entire status added!

‘If it’s this much… no.’

For a moment, he wondered if it would have been better to just follow the ruins’ directions regardless of Bastitas or whatever, but he quickly shook his head to shake off that thought.

Krat Van Helsing’s Anti-Blood Power was probably a power optimized for dealing with vampires.

Unless he intended to live as a vampire hunter for the rest of his life, Gi-jun had no reason to care about vampires once he cleared this quest.

Even to avoid being overly swayed by the karma of a vampire hunter, this was probably better.

At that moment, Lucy, who was marveling just like Gi-jun, suddenly spoke.

“—By the way, Contractor, if the grade of this has risen, could Ignis also have been strengthened?”

“…Is that so?”

Doubting whether such a greedy mindset would be rewarded, he activated the switch and returned the mask to Ignis, which returned to the same red metallic texture as before, relieving Gi-jun.

No, not only that, but the sensation felt from the mask grew even stronger, and in particular, the two pupils drawn in the eyeholes were radiating a more intense heat.

[Double Persona (Legendary—) — Ignis]

[Switchable — Sanguis]

[Durability — 3,778/4,200]

[Defense (L) — 35]

[Option 1 — Unlocks the Unique-grade Flame Control status when wearing ‘Ignis’]

[Option 2 — Fire attack power increased by 25%]

[Option 3 — Fierce Flame Eyes awakened]

[Equip Limit — Possession of the ‘One Who Lifts the Veil’ title]

[As a result of two powerful egos miraculously interlocking and achieving harmony, the rank of the artifact transcended its limits to reach the legendary grade. Currently, the ego of the Fire Spirit was manifested. The even wilder eyes of fire would burn all evil reflected in both eyes.]

[Double Persona (Legendary—) — Ignis]

[Switchable — Sanguis]

[Durability — 3,778/4,200]

[Defense (L) — 35]

[Option 1 — Unlocks the Unique-grade Flame Control status when wearing ‘Ignis’]

[Option 2 — Fire attack power increased by 25%]

[Option 3 — Fierce Flame Eyes awakened]

[Equip Limit — Possession of the ‘One Who Lifts the Veil’ title]

[As a result of two powerful egos miraculously interlocking and achieving harmony, the rank of the artifact transcended its limits to reach the legendary grade. Currently, the ego of the Fire Spirit was manifested. The even wilder eyes of fire would burn all evil reflected in both eyes.]

“No, this is for real…!”

“—Kiiiiit!”

He had only come to obtain a weapon that would help in hunting vampires, yet even his ability to manipulate fire was enhanced, causing any lingering regrets about the ruins to completely vanish.

‘Flame Control… this must be an auxiliary status for creating and manipulating flames, right? Tilla manipulated flames extremely delicately.’

Although he had never asked, Tilla, being a Flame Human, was highly likely to have this status.

Since it reached Unique-grade, the flames Gi-jun manipulated would become vastly stronger, and Ur, who was still pushed back in strength by Lucy, would also be able to stand tall.

When he put on the mask, indeed—intense heat bloomed around him all at once, and at the same time Flame Control was added to his status window, a well-founded confidence that he could manipulate all fire at will surged.

“As expected, having a status added is no simple matter.”

“—Kihit, kihiiit!”

“—Hmm… Contractor, what is that in your chest?”

While Ur raised his cry in delight, Lucy made a slightly displeased voice and tried to change the subject.

Gi-jun, who was jubilant thinking that the mask alone was already a sufficient reward, only then realized that he still had the greatest reward left.

The fragment of the unique territory, the holy relic.

[Fragment of the Unique Territory (Legendary)]

[Durability — 2,897/5,000]

[A tiny fragment of authority that allows one to fully edit a part of the Leta Continent into their own territory. By infusing strong magic power, the laws of the restricted territory could be reorganized.]

[Fragment of the Unique Territory (Legendary)]

[Durability — 2,897/5,000]

[A tiny fragment of authority that allows one to fully edit a part of the Leta Continent into their own territory. By infusing strong magic power, the laws of the restricted territory could be reorganized.]

The medal, which emitted a pure white, soft light unlike when it was inside the ruins.

It was an item possessing tremendous potential that could perhaps degrade the Vampire Hunter’s relic to ‘nothing more’.

* * *

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): A holy relic?!]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): How did you get that already! A guy who has been dropped in Leta for less than two months!]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Do you even know what kind of item that is? Everyone tries to get it even if they have to bet their entire civilization…!]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): You said you entered the ruins, they tried to pull some bullshit by overriding your personality, so you destroyed it and got it. Ah, yes.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): To be honest, that was just as I expected.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Because I thought it might be possible with your unique skill.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Then why was I surprised? That’s because I didn’t expect you to find a ruin made of a holy relic already.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Ha, that vampire? Seriously… you received a reward for acting according to your beliefs, didn’t you?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Stop, trying to act cool when I can’t even see your face is forbidden.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Still, if you have that, it will be easier to sway the situation in your favor in an emergency. From now on, keep infusing it with magic whenever you have time. The magic requirement is going to be no joke.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): What about using it as a shield material?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Honestly, that’s what everyone thinks, but if you can’t find materials worthy of a holy relic, you’d be better off not making it at all.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Yeah, like a byproduct of a Divine Beast, for example.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Or a rare mineral that will never appear in the human world again.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): At the very least, you would need the horn of a pure unicorn.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): …You have all the rest, but the unicorn’s horn isn’t pure?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): (This is a deleted message.)]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): (This is a deleted message.)]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): (This is a deleted message.)]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): Eh, was it given by some old grandpa? Here I was thinking…]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): (This is a deleted message.)]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): (This is a deleted message.)]