Chapter 477

Chapter 477

All vehicles and personnel for the dungeon expedition had been prepared in the Northern District.

Thanks to that, Zeon, Tesserina, and Grain were able to head to the dungeon in comfort.

For this operation, the Northern District dispatched a strike force led by Katlak.

Katlak was a beastkin—a werebear, no less, known to possess the greatest physical strength among their kind.

Even in human form, his body was as massive as a bear’s. Yet, despite his intimidating size, his expression was far too gentle, creating a strange contrast.

Katlak was famous for his mild temperament.

He never transformed into his werebear form just to flaunt his strength, nor did he ever act violently toward those around him.

On the contrary, he was known for his kindness toward the weak and his generosity to his comrades.

Because of that, he was deeply respected throughout the Northern District.

But when that same kind-hearted man entered a dungeon or took the field, he became someone entirely different.

Once he turned into a werebear, there was no mercy—he tore through enemies like a storm.

Warm-hearted to allies, yet merciless to foes—that was Katlak.

His strike force was a balanced mix of beastkin and elves,all heavily armed for the dungeon assault.

Katlak raised his voice.

“Everyone switched their weapons to silver, right? Don’t go crying later that your old blades didn’t kill the vampire. If you haven’t swapped them out yet, do it now.”

“We don’t need weapons, Captain!”

The beastkin protested.

Their greatest weapon was their own bodies—they didn’t rely on steel.

Katlak didn’t seem the least bit fazed.

“Then coat your claws with holy water. Every little thing helps.”

“We’ve already brought plenty.”

“If you get bitten and turn into a blood fiend, know that I’ll be the first to kill you myself.”

“That’ll never happen, Captain.”

“Wahaha!”

Laughter broke out among the troops.

Just from their tone, it was easy to tell—Katlak treated his subordinates with genuine warmth and familiarity.

Tesserina murmured softly.

“For a beastkin, he’s got a good temperament. It’s rare to see a werebear that easygoing.”

“You seem to know a lot about beastkin.”

“I know what most people know.”

“Doesn’t seem like ‘most people’ knowledge to me.”

Grain’s gaze lingered on her with quiet curiosity.

When he had first visited Zeon’s house, he’d been startled—not by Zeon, but by Tesserina.

From the moment he entered, he could feel it—a staggering amount of mana radiating from her body.

It was more than any awakened being he had ever encountered.

Even from her mana alone, he could tell—Tesserina was extraordinary.

The problem was, there was no record of her in City Hall’s information network.

If she had been active in Neo Seoul before, there would’ve been something—a trace, a registration, a note.

And if such a record existed, he would’ve known.

Leona updated him every day on the data of newly awakened individuals.

That meant Tesserina was completely new—a new awakened being, one of immense power.

So it was only natural that Grain felt wary.

He turned to Zeon.

“And where did you meet such a lovely lady?”

“Just… on the street.”

“On the street? You just ran into her?”

“Yes.”

“Hah! Lucky man. To meet a beauty like that while walking around—where was this? Tell me, I’ll go stand there all day.”

“Shinchon.”

“Hah! That’s practically your front yard! Maybe I should move there too.”

“I’ll let you know if there’s an empty house.”

“Please do.”

Grain winked playfully.

The sight of a man winking made Zeon’s skin crawl slightly, but he didn’t show it.

Just as Grain was cautious of Tesserina’s overwhelming mana, Zeon was also on guard against Grain.

‘Grain, the second member of the Numbers. Alias: The Ruler of Gravity.’

The Numbers were shrouded in secrecy.

The only reason Zeon knew Grain’s codename and ability was thanks to Old Man Klexi.

Old Man Klexi had been active since Neo Seoul’s early days and had operated Argos’ Eye for decades, collecting information that no one else possessed.

Among that information was the truth about the Numbers.

He knew not only the ones who occasionally appeared in public, like the old man or the twin sisters, but also those who worked in the shadows—like Grain.

He’d seen their power firsthand.

Old Man Klexi had especially warned Zeon about the top three members of the Numbers.

He’d said their abilities were exceptional beyond imagination.

And Zeon had never forgotten that warning.

Just then, Katlak leapt onto their vehicle—literally jumped in without stopping the car, as only a beastkin could.

He bowed respectfully.

“It’s an honor to travel with you, Lord Grain!”

“It’s been a while, Katlak!”

“You haven’t changed a bit, sir. You look just as you did before.”

“As you can see, I’ve always looked young for my age.”

“Haha!”

Katlak’s hearty laughter shook the cabin.

Judging by appearance, Katlak looked far older than Grain—but in truth, it was the other way around.

When Katlak had still been a rookie, he’d once gone on a mission with Grain.

He had been utterly overwhelmed by the man’s sheer presence back then.

Now, decades later, Katlak had become a formidable warrior himself,

but even now, to him, Grain remained an insurmountable wall.

Katlak turned to Zeon.

“Thank you for accepting such a difficult request, Lord Zeon. It’s a relief to have you here.”

“The feeling’s mutual. I’ll be counting on you as well.”

“With you joining us, I can rest easy. Hahaha!”

Katlak didn’t spare Tesserina even a glance.

Someone with an unknown background wasn’t of interest to him.

What mattered most was that Zeon and Grain—two of the strongest individuals in Neo Seoul—were with him.

With them, even a vampire’s dungeon didn’t seem insurmountable.

---

After two full days of travel, Katlak’s strike team arrived at the vampire dungeon by dusk.

“Captain Katlak!”

The awakened stationed at the entrance greeted them eagerly.

Katlak stepped out of the vehicle and approached.

“Everything all right?”

“Yes, sir! As you can see, no problems so far.”

“Good.”

He let out a sigh of relief.

There were ten awakened guarding the entrance.

If the vampire dungeon had burst open, none of them would have survived.

Katlak looked over them and spoke.

“You’ve done well. We’ll take it from here. Get some rest.”

“Woooh!”

Cheers erupted.

They had been standing guard for days under constant tension—

their exhaustion was at its limit.

Katlak pointed to several of his men.

“Let the guards rest. You take their place.”

“Yes, sir!”

“We’ll begin the full raid at dawn. The rest of you, start setting up camp.”

“Understood!”

His subordinates moved in perfect coordination.

They were veterans of the desert—used to living out here for days, even months, during dungeon expeditions.

Katlak turned to Zeon, Grain, and Tesserina.

“You three can rest here for now.”

“Nothing we can help with?”

“Just resting is helping, Lord Grain!”

“In that case, I’ll do it thoroughly.”

“Please do. Lord Zeon, you too.”

“Thank you.”

Zeon gave a polite nod.

Katlak returned to his troops, giving orders non-stop.

Watching him move tirelessly, Tesserina muttered.

“For a beastkin, he’s surprisingly diligent. Not often you see one this industrious.”

“Really?” Zeon asked.

“You know how it is—beastkin act more on instinct than reason. The only reason they’re like this is because they’ve adapted to Neo Seoul. Elsewhere, they’re hopelessly lazy.”

Beastkin had both the strengths and weaknesses of humans and beasts.

The greatest flaw among them was their strong animal nature.

Animals didn’t strive toward long-term goals like humans did.

As long as they had food to fill their stomachs, that was enough.

The rest of the time, they simply slept.

Beastkin were the same.

Outside Neo Seoul, most were idle and complacent—

only those living in Neo Seoul or El Harun had learned discipline through constant training and communal living.

Just by watching how efficiently Katlak’s troops moved, one could see the difference.

Thanks to them, Zeon, Tesserina, and Grain could sit back and rest.

After a moment, Zeon turned to Grain.

“Has a vampire dungeon ever been discovered before?”

“Never.”

“Not even once?”

“Not that I know of.”

“So this is… extremely rare.”

“Exactly. And for it to appear so close to Neo Seoul—it’s strange, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“Lately, we’ve had a lot of strange, exceptional events. That’s why the mayor’s on edge.”

“I can imagine.”

Zeon nodded quietly.

Moments like this reminded him just how many lives rested on Jin Geumho’s shoulders.

The fate of twenty million people depended on his decisions.

A single mistake could mean the annihilation of an entire city.

That was why Zeon truly respected him.

If he had been burdened with such weight, he wasn’t sure he could have endured it the same way.

Zeon’s gaze drifted toward the dungeon entrance ahead.

A stone doorway stood exposed above the sand—an unnatural sight in the desert.

Inside that entrance, hundreds, perhaps thousands of vampires were sleeping.

The thought of them all being released at once sent a chill down his spine.

Just then, one of the awakened approached, carrying three boxed meals.

“Dinner, sirs.”

“Oh! A proper meal?”

Grain’s face lit up immediately.

“Yes. Prepared before departure. It’s cold now, but still edible.”

“In the desert, that’s a feast. Thank you.”

“Please enjoy.”

The awakened distributed the meals and quickly left—

clearly uncomfortable around Zeon and Grain.

As they watched him hurry off, Tesserina rubbed her nose lightly.

“There’s a smell.”

“A smell?” Zeon asked.

“Guess humans really can’t handle it, huh?”

“You mean that guy?”

“Yeah.”

Zeon glanced toward the man who’d delivered the meals.

He was now chatting casually with the others, blending right in.

Nothing seemed unusual.

“That man—he was one of the guards, right?”

“Yeah. The one who greeted us earlier.”

“I see.”

“You noticed it too?”

“He’s not eating.”

“Right. None of the guards are.”

The awakened who had been guarding the dungeon weren’t touching the boxed meals brought by Katlak’s unit.