The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

Chapter 131: A Place Stained with Blood

Chapter 131: A Place Stained with Blood

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 131

EP.131 A Place Stained with Blood

After spending a night in the city of Lacusberry, Dambi and Lils headed to the Adventurers’ Guild at dawn to complete their remaining tasks. Following the orders of General Manager Celia, they released a monster into Lake Yenarian.

“It may look like a mere fish now, but it is a servant of the Great One. It will use this lake as its base to contribute to the Great One’s plans,” Lils explained, and Dambi nodded in agreement.

This mission was a strategic move for the future from the very beginning.

“By the way, with the success of this mission, your adventurer rank should increase, Dambi.”

Possessed by a Banshee, Lils already held a bronze adventurer badge. If Dambi were to be promoted from iron to bronze rank, it would open up a wider range of mission options. This would expand their activities as adventurers significantly.

Having completed their tasks at the lake, Dambi turned away. There was no need to linger at Lake Yenarian any longer.

“Let’s head back to the capital.”

Dambi said, glancing at Riche, who was following them. Despite her eccentricities, she was still a fellow vampire, and Dambi intended to accompany her to the capital. They had arrived with just Lils, but they were leaving with an additional companion.

====

***

====

Not long after Dambi and his group left the city, a woman arrived at the shores of Lake Yenarian.

“Finally, We’ve arrived.”

She murmured, surveying her surroundings. Her blue eyes were filled with determination. Clad in a white robe that exuded reverence, her name was Jeremiah El Esteban, daughter of the prestigious Esteban Ducal House of the Adonil Kingdom and an Inquisitor of the White Order.

Her official mission in the Sael Kingdom was to investigate a recent calamity. Although she was supposed to be in the capital for this investigation, Jeremiah had a personal agenda.

“It was definitely the work of a vampire.”

She recalled the murder scene she had witnessed the previous day. Everyone staying at the inn had been killed, and Jeremiah was certain it was the work of a vampire. Among them, the likely culprit was—

‘Baalzerith.’

Jeremiah had rushed here without rest, determined to capture the 5-star vampire, Baalzerith.

‘The power to control blood—it must be her.’

If her suspicions were correct, she had to eliminate her. That was her mission. After briefly surveying her surroundings, she approached a soldier guarding the dock.

“I have a few questions,” she said, presenting her identification—a badge indicating her affiliation with the Order.

“…!”

The soldier quickly recognized her as an Inquisitor and bowed respectfully.

“Yes, ma’am! Ask me anything, and I’ll do my best to answer!”

“Good. Have you seen anyone suspicious recently?”

“Someone suspicious?”

“Yes, not very tall. About 160 cm, maybe less. Golden hair and slightly crimson eyes,” Jeremiah described Baalzerith’s appearance.

The soldier pondered for a moment, trying to recall. The dock saw a high volume of people daily, as Lake Yenarian bordered not just the Sael Kingdom but also two other nations. Suddenly, he remembered something from the previous day.

“Ah, now that you mention it, there was a peculiar child yesterday.”

Jeremiah’s eyes sharpened.

“Peculiar? In what way?”

“Well, the appearance matches what you described. More importantly, there were issues verifying the child’s identity,” the soldier explained, omitting the part about the adventurer’s royal connections and slightly altering the story.

“…Still, since the child seemed harmless, we allowed them to disembark. That’s all I know.”

Jeremiah nodded, having heard enough.

“That will do. Thank you.”

After listening to the soldier’s account, she quickly left the area. Jeremiah felt her heart pounding. Her instincts told her that the person the soldier described might indeed be Baalzerith.

‘Something doesn’t add up,’ Jeremiah thought.

The description matched, and it made sense that the soldier would remember someone suspicious whose identity couldn’t be verified. However, there was a discrepancy when comparing this to the timeline of recent events. According to the soldier, Baalzerith arrived in the kingdom yesterday. But Jeremiah had witnessed the inn murder scene yesterday morning, and she had been certain that Baalzerith was the culprit.

This raised a new question. Could another vampire be responsible for the murders?

“Baalzerith…”

Jeremiah muttered, her voice tinged with anger.

There was only one conclusion.

“I didn’t expect her to have established a nest here.”

The inn murders were likely the work of vampires under Baalzerith’s command. This meant Baalzerith had indeed set up a base in the Sael Kingdom. Jeremiah considered this possibility seriously—no, she was almost certain of it. Baalzerith’s forces in the Kalen Empire had been nearly annihilated. She must have slipped into the kingdom to evade the Order’s eyes.

Once, Baalzerith had expanded her power by absorbing other vampire clans. However, a sudden assault by the White Order had rapidly diminished her forces. The Order had begun to view the situation optimistically, believing Baalzerith’s power to be nearly eradicated. They even started withdrawing the Holy Knights who had been dispatched to exterminate vampire dungeons.

Jeremiah had been appalled by the Order’s decision, recognizing it as a grave miscalculation.

“Baalzerith’s true power is far greater than they realize,” she murmured.

She knew the real extent of Baalzerith’s abilities. Having witnessed her true strength in the past, she understood just how dangerous she was. The Order’s attack had only succeeded because Baalzerith had been caught off guard and lacked time to prepare. Given more time, the outcome would have been entirely different.

Jeremiah had once formally proposed to the Order to seize the current advantage and exterminate Baalzerith while she was cornered. However, the Order had dismissed her suggestion, believing they had already sufficiently crippled her forces. They saw no reason to risk further losses.

Their reasoning was sound—if they hadn’t experienced Baalzerith’s true power. Knowing the truth, Jeremiah found the Order’s complacency deeply frustrating. In the end, she resolved to act alone. To prevent a greater disaster, she had to find Baalzerith.

And above all else, she sought revenge.

“This time, I will sever our cursed bond,” she muttered through gritted teeth.

Memories of her childhood surfaced but were quickly pushed aside. Now was not the time to be consumed by emotions. As Jeremiah El Esteban, she bore the responsibilities of both nobility and the Order. Her duty was to uphold justice and protect the peace of the continent. With that singular focus, she pressed forward.

Despite having just arrived in the city, she set off immediately.

====

***

====

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, painting the mountains, fields, and forests in shades of red.

“We’ll camp here for the night,” Dambi announced.

As soon as he spoke, Lils began preparing the campsite. Since none of the three were human, setting up camp was straightforward. They gathered nearby branches and lit a campfire. Lils started making a simple stew beside the fire. Although monsters didn’t need such preparations, it was a way to maintain appearances. As they continued to take on missions, they would inevitably encounter other adventurers. Acting like adventurers now was a way to prepare for those situations.

However, Riche was horrified.

“Ugh! Blood is sweetest when drunk raw!” she exclaimed.

Despite Riche’s outburst, Lils nonchalantly tossed some unidentified meat into the pot.

While monsters found raw food the most delicious, this exercise was part of their training. Thus, a bowl of the fully cooked, mysterious stew was placed in front of Riche.

“Ugh…”

Reluctantly, Riche took a spoonful of the stew.

“Blegh—”

It tasted awful, just as she had expected.

“I can’t eat this!” she exclaimed, heading towards the campfire.

Dambi and Lils continued to focus on their stew, paying no mind to Riche’s antics. She positioned herself in front of the bubbling pot. Though there wasn’t much stew left, it was enough for her purposes.

“I shall share my noble blood! It will surely make this a divine delicacy!” she proclaimed, biting the tip of her thumb.

A single drop of her crimson blood fell into the stew.

– Sizzle! –

As Baalzerith’s blood mixed with the stew, it began to roil like a living creature. The broth bubbled like molten lava, distorting beyond recognition.

“What the—!”

Dambi and Lils recoiled in shock as the stew transformed into something grotesque. Moments later, a bizarrely shaped slime emerged from the pot. The creature crawled towards its creator, recognizing her as its master.

“Uh…”

Even Riche was momentarily taken aback by the situation. It was her first time adding blood to food. However, she couldn’t afford to show weakness now.

“Behold! This is the power of my blood!” she declared.

“Grrr!”

The grotesque stew slime echoed her words. After a brief silence, Riche picked up the stew slime and returned to her seat.

“Hmph. There’s plenty of prey around here; I’ll feast on them later,” she said.

“Grrr!”

While this incident allowed them to dispose of the remaining stew, it also resulted in the birth of a strange creature. Lils, however, took note of this unique ability.

“Dambi, do vampires have such abilities?”

Lils asked, astonished at the sight of a lifeform born from a single drop of blood.

Dambi shook his head, equally perplexed.

“This is new to me as well.”

As a half-blood, Dambi had often been discriminated against by his own kind, which ironically left him with limited knowledge about vampires.

“Perhaps she has the blood of a high-ranking demon mixed in,” Lils speculated.

Though they didn’t know for sure, it seemed plausible that such a power could stem from high-ranking demonic blood.

“Maybe we should take Riche to Celia. She seems to have been abandoned by her group, but with abilities like that, she could be valuable to our master,” Lils suggested.

His reasoning was sound. Both Dambi and Lils nodded, contemplating how to present Riche to Celia.

As they pondered, they failed to notice the stealthy movements around them. The night deepened.

====

***

====

Darkness enveloped the mountain. The crackling campfire was the only thing keeping the encroaching shadows at bay.

“Boss, those guys aren’t taking any precautions,” Paul muttered, observing the sleeping adventurers.

They were bandits, preying on camping adventurers. Consisting of three members, they didn’t hesitate to kill during their heists. Former adventurers themselves, they knew the adventurer lifestyle well. Seeing the adventurers lying unguarded, they smirked.

“There are two women among them. Looks like we’ll have some fun tonight, boss,” Paul said with a lecherous grin.

Another bandit voiced his concern. “But doesn’t it seem odd? If they’re so unguarded in a place like this, they might be really strong—”

“You idiot! Have you forgotten who our boss is?” Paul snapped at him.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Our boss is from Earth and used to be a gold-ranked adventurer. Got it?”

“Enough. It’s always better to be cautious,” the boss interjected.

The man who interrupted Paul spoke up. Though it could have been irritating, Paul grinned and rubbed his hands together.

“Hehe, our leader Itsuki is always right!”

The man Paul called “leader” was Sato Itsuki, a hunter from Earth.

“Enough with the useless chatter. Keep an eye on the situation. We’ll strike soon,” Sato Itsuki ordered, closing his eyes to focus.

He was using a skill to erase his presence, a technique that had allowed him to rob countless adventurers. He would wait until the adventurers were completely off guard, then strike at the perfect moment.

‘This skill served me well back on Earth too,’ he mused.

It had been four years since Sato Itsuki had arrived from Earth. Though uncertain when he might return, he had decided to enjoy his current life. Robbing adventurers on the continent of El Dorad was far easier than on Earth.

‘Paul might be right; this could be fun,’ he thought, excited at the prospect of having two women among the adventurers. It had been a while since he had such an opportunity.

His thoughts were interrupted by Paul’s urgent voice.

“B-Boss?”

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”

“N-no, it’s not that…”

Paul’s voice was filled with urgency. Sato Itsuki opened his eyes.

“One of them is gone…!”

“What? Weren’t you keeping watch?”

“I was, but now they’re gone!”

Sato Itsuki rubbed his forehead in frustration. How could such an idiot lose sight of someone right in front of him?

“Who’s missing?” he demanded, standing up quickly to check.

Two of the adventurers were still lying with their eyes closed.

“The little one.”

The little one was missing.

“Damn it…”

The disappearance of the little one wasn’t a significant problem in itself.

She probably just went to the bushes to relieve herself, Sato Itsuki thought, preparing to use his skill again.

“Fresh prey has gathered here.”

“Grrr!”

A voice came from behind. It was the small one who had been with the adventurers earlier, accompanied by a grotesque slime. Sato Itsuki quickly drew his sword.

“Hehe, boss, should we start with her?” Paul’s eyes were filled with lust, clouding his judgment.

A sense of foreboding washed over Itsuki. Something felt terribly wrong. His mind screamed to flee, but his feet wouldn’t move. Then, the worst happened.

– Splat. –

With a mere gesture from the small one, Paul’s body exploded into a shower of blood. The subordinate behind him also burst into a fountain of blood, instantly turning into a corpse.

“…What?”

In an instant, both subordinates were dead, unable to even scream. Sato Itsuki’s eyes widened in terror, unable to look away from the blood-soaked ground. His mind went blank, and his body trembled with instinctive fear.

‘I-I have to run!’

The only thought that crossed his mind was to escape. Desperately, he tried to lift his head and plan his escape, but the sight before him left him breathless.

“……”

The spilled blood was coalescing into a mass, like a ball of yarn. The bizarre scene paralyzed his limbs, rendering him immobile.

“Well then, let’s eat!”

The girl approached, smiling innocently. His consciousness began to fade. His breath became labored, and his heart pounded as if it would burst. Was this all just a nightmare?

He wished it were, but soon, a searing pain, as if being cut by a knife, ended his thoughts. Sato Itsuki met his end.

In the silent aftermath, only the blood-stained ground remained, rippling quietly.