Even Changsu, who had been charging toward the vampire, couldn't help but stop in his tracks at the sight.
Gulp… gulp…
The only sound in the area was the noise coming from the vampire's throat.
"Phew…"
Having finished its meal, the vampire carelessly tossed aside the man it had been holding.
What I'd seen so far was already enough to shatter my sense of normalcy—but what came next was even worse.
Twitch.
The vampire's body shuddered, and the wounds Tang Ayeon had inflicted began healing at an alarming rate. The embedded hidden weapons were pushed out helplessly, replaced by fresh flesh sprouting in their place.
Having finished its meal, the vampire began searching for its next prey. A mindless monster. A beast driven purely by instinct.
And the next prey that beast locked onto was—
Someone separated from the group.
The weakest.
Someone who knew their own weakness and could do nothing but tremble helplessly.
"Ah…"
That kind of prey.
Tremble tremble tremble tremble.
My legs wouldn't move.
I needed to run.
But my legs wouldn't listen.
I… I don't want to die…
The fear of death loomed right in front of me.
Why had I come out into the Central Plains? Life in the mountains with Master, peaceful and quiet, wouldn't have been so bad.
Why had I followed them to a dangerous place like this? I could've just run my little fortune-telling shop in peace.
I didn't want to die.
I wanted to live more.
To live longer and enjoy more of the pleasures and joys of the world.
Desperately, I tried to move my hands, reaching for the item I'd stashed in my robe. The shop window. The one thing I'd gotten when I arrived in this damned world.
I'd spent every last point I had to buy this item, but—
Tremble tremble tremble tremble.
Was it because my hands were shaking too much?
The vampire, its claws already extended toward me, reached me first.
It aimed for my heart, hidden beneath my cloak, stretching out its claws.
As I closed my eyes in the face of death's terror, the image of a woman flashed before me.
…
…
"Hah… hah… Made it just in time. Are you okay?"
"Ah…?"
A woman's back appeared before my eyes.
A woman with slender arms and delicate hands, desperately gripping the vampire's wrist.
"M-Miss?"
"If you're unharmed, could you get out of there quick? I can't hold it forever…"
Tang Ayeon looked at me with a strained smile.
Tremble tremble.
Even though I could clearly see her hands shaking as she held the vampire's wrist, she forced a smile to keep me from worrying.
"I-I want to move, but…!"
But my body, still gripped by the terror of death moments ago, wouldn't obey me.
Just as I thought we'd all die if this kept up—
Thud!
"Hold on tight!"
Changsu rushed back, grabbing me.
We sped away from Tang Ayeon and the vampire.
Even though I was worried for her, the harsh reality stabbed at me like a dagger—my staying there wouldn't help a thing.
"Huff… huff… This should be safe enough."
"…"
Changsu set me down gently.
"Why aren't you moving? Did you get hurt somewhere?"
"Will… Miss be okay?"
"Hah, who's this guy worrying about right now? Are you in any position to be worrying about her?"
A civilian caught up in a fight between superhumans.
That was my situation.
One stray blade could end my life.
Damn it…
Why did I have to end up with a body like this?
What sin did I commit to wake up in this dangerous world with no strength at all?
All I've got is my looks, and even those I have to hide just to protect myself.
Because I don't have the power to defend myself.
I tried, damn it…
I'd attempted to learn martial arts with my broken dantian and nearly crossed the threshold of life and death.
I'd searched for ways to restore my dantian, even using the shop, but found nothing.
I'd tried physical training to at least toughen my body, but not a single muscle would grow.
So I learned divination instead.
To know who was dangerous, which places to avoid, and how to steer clear of them.
In the end, all I could choose was escape and evasion.
And just now, feeling the full weight of death's terror, I realized—
This world is far more dangerous than I'd ever imagined.
…
…
"Snapping out of it now?"
Amid the fear consuming my mind, I barely managed to peek out and face reality.
In the fight between Tang Ayeon and the vampire, I honestly thought her odds of winning were slim.
After drinking blood, the vampire had regenerated all its wounds, and we'd lost the people drawing its attention.
But reality defied my expectations.
"…She's holding her own?"
"People often misunderstand something. They think if you just get close to a Sichuan Tang Clan warrior, you've won."
It seemed like common sense.
Assassins who rely on poison and hidden weapons naturally weaken drastically once exposed and approached.
"If that were true, the Tang Clan wouldn't be one of the Five Great Families for nothing."
But Tang Ayeon wasn't your typical assassin.
Smack!
Her palm struck the vampire's solar plexus.
As the vampire swung its claws, a hidden weapon shot out from somewhere, slicing into its fingers.
Sometimes she dazzled with flashy moves to deceive its eyes; other times, she struck with precise, restrained attacks targeting vital points.
She couldn't fully exploit the advantage of staying hidden like before, but she still wasn't losing ground against the vampire.
"And who is that woman? The Poison Phoenix, right? She took second place in the last young prodigy tournament."
"…I didn't know she was a runner-up."
"For a fortune teller, you don't know much, huh?"
Speaking of which, second place in a tournament…
Wait.
"Don't they restrict poison and hidden weapons in tournaments?"
"Of course. It's not about killing the opponent."
So she got second place without using poison or hidden weapons?
"She's really something…"
I'd thought of her as just a rich, strong woman—turns out she's way more impressive.
…
…
As time passed, the vampire's wounds kept piling up.
Tang Ayeon looked exhausted too.
Though she was dodging everything so far, her defenses weren't strong enough to withstand claws that could slice through a sword like tofu—so it wasn't yet certain she'd win.
One hit could be fatal.
Gods of heaven and earth, if you're listening, can't you help just this once?
I prayed to the ever-silent heavens as usual.
If Tang Ayeon went down, we'd all be finished—my life was in her hands, true—but I also just didn't want her to die.
She's the one who's helped me the most since I came out into the secular world.
There's some attachment there.
She's not exactly a saint, but to me, she's a good person.
Sure, she's the reason I joined this subjugation team, but I agreed to it for fair pay—it's on me, not her.
Right now, praying was all I could do.
In this land of blood and steel, I was just a powerless fortune teller.
Even the one thing I could do—divination—I couldn't bring myself to try.
What if the heavens' record I glimpsed showed Tang Ayeon's death?
With things like this, the item I'd bought from the shop was useless too.
Even with it—
I didn't have the guts to step into that fight.
"RAAAAGH!!!!"
The vampire swung its claws at Tang Ayeon.
I prayed she'd dodge this time too, but she seemed to be at her limit.
Slash!
The sharp claws tore through her clothes, leaving a long gash on her arm.
My heart sank.
But what Tang Ayeon did next made me doubt my eyes even more.
Crunch!
She shoved her wounded arm into the vampire's mouth.
It wasn't just an attack on its mouth—she deliberately pushed the bleeding wound inside.
What the hell is she trying to…!
From what I'd seen, the vampire regenerated when it drank blood.
So why shove blood into its mouth—what was she planning?
I wanted to believe she had a trick up her sleeve, but I couldn't shake the bad feeling.
Spurt!
Blood gushed from the wound on her arm, pouring into the vampire's mouth.
I braced myself for that grotesque scene from before—
"GURK! GACK!!"
"…Huh?"
Instead of regenerating, the vampire clutched its throat and collapsed to its knees.
Like someone who'd eaten something they couldn't stomach.