Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

I fought my way through the blood mist trying to invade my lungs, swinging Eternity. The blue and red strike pierced through the body of the vampire lord, which had turned into a faint mist. The hole immediately regenerated. This was an exchange of blows I had lost count of. I casually wiped Eternity clean. The blade was covered in blood so red it seemed to glow.

It was blood I had drawn from him, and it was quite efficient. Normally, I would have exhausted all the blood I had extracted by now, but I was still going strong.

“How long are you going to keep running? Doesn’t the lord have any pride?”

“Don’t talk so recklessly just because you have a mouth!”

I pointed the tip of my sword at him and taunted him. Enraged, he raised a wave of blood. The massive clump of blood flew at me like a whip. I swung Eternity, slicing it apart instantly, and taunted him again.

“Am I wrong? You haven’t landed a single effective hit, yet you’re still clinging to your pride? Isn’t that embarrassing?”

At first, he had tried to confront me head-on, but after sensing the difference in power, he resorted to turning into blood mist and aiming for my blind spots. I deflected all his attacks.

It seemed like he was trying to draw me into a war of attrition. I had no way to break through his mist form for now. If I increased the power of my attacks any more, the dungeon itself might collapse.

‘He must be anxious too. He’s wondering when I’ll tire.’

The key difference between us was that he didn’t know my weakness, but I knew his. Turning his body into blood mist was a technique that rapidly consumed blood. Simply maintaining the form wasn’t the issue. Repairing the mist when it was dispersed by external attacks required a significant amount of blood.

It was only because he was a vampire lord with a large reserve of blood that he could maintain it for so long. This meant that if the battle dragged on as he wanted, I would have the upper hand.

The Demon King had told me all of this. Given my skills, I wouldn’t lose to him, but having more information was always advantageous. I wholeheartedly agreed and listened carefully.

“You rat-like bastard!”

He flung open his cloak, releasing hundreds of bat-shaped blood bombs.

Before the bats could reach me, I unleashed a burst of mana. The shockwave from the mana explosion obliterated the swarm of bats, staining the air red.

I pushed forward, careful not to inhale the scattered blood, and infused Eternity with mana again.

‘No big techniques.’

The Demon King had cast a distortion spell before leaving, so anyone who looked in would see me fighting an ordinary monster. This was why I had to use appropriately powerful techniques. If I used anything too big, it might raise suspicions and prompt an investigation. Not for my sake, but for Professor Jaina.

‘I need to protect her job.’

I planned to keep what happened here a secret. If another monster outbreak occurred here, on top of the one in the Bellium Forest, Professor Jaina could lose her head, whether metaphorically or literally.

Professor Jaina hadn’t been especially kind to me, but she hadn’t done me any wrong either. That was enough for her to deserve this consideration.

The dungeon designed for our midterm preparation was made intentionally difficult to ensure we wouldn’t clear it too easily. They were worried we might overestimate our abilities and face disastrous results. Of course, if things got dire, I’d fight with all my strength, but judging by his appearance, that wouldn’t be necessary.

“You seem very relaxed!”

Lost in my thoughts for a moment, he noticed and attacked immediately. I twisted my upper body slightly to avoid his swinging arm. His claws sliced through the air, but even claws strong enough to tear through steel are useless if they don’t hit.

Using the information I had received from the Demon King, I dodged his follow-up attack where he extended his claws, and then I struck down with Eternity. His arm was completely severed. Though it regenerated instantly, I pressed my advantage, attacking even more fiercely. He tried to counter with various techniques—setting traps with exploding blood droplets, spreading blood in thin threads to ensnare me, or attempting to bind me with blood chains.

None of these worked on me, and I could see a hint of anxiety on his face. He had boasted confidently in front of the Demon King, but he was clearly struggling against me.

‘It’s about time to reveal it.’

I recalled the arrangement the Demon King had made. He said that if I pushed the vampire lord enough, his pride would make him use the power he had received, which was exactly what we wanted. The energy in his heart was essentially a deadly poison.

The Demon King had warned the other commanders that if the vampire lord used this power, it would prove he was unworthy and the power would turn into poison, possibly leading to his death.

“You lowly human…!”

In the blink of an eye, I cut him into sixteen pieces. While he staggered, I didn’t slash him again but instead plunged Eternity into his body and murmured a command.

—I need your blood.

“Aaaargh!”

His blood began to be absorbed into Eternity. When the blade was saturated and started to overflow, he kicked me away and freed himself.

“You should have just died quietly, you annoying human.”

“Is that all you have to say after getting beaten one-sidedly? Do you have no pride or conscience? Or maybe you lack both?”

This seemed to hit a nerve, and his eyes twitched violently. Everything was in place.

“Fine. I didn’t want to use this against a mere human…!”

The vampire lord spread his arms wide and shouted theatrically.

“Behold! The true power bestowed upon me by the Demon King!”

With that useless declaration, a massive surge of dark energy erupted from his heart. A red aura, different from blood, enveloped his body. This was all according to the Demon King’s plan. To avoid suspicion and maintain her status, she had ensured that the power granted initially provided immense strength.

“Hahaha! Demon King, I will tear out this human’s throat and offer you the freshest blood!”

Drunk on the sudden influx of power, he rushed at me with a crazed expression. His speed had noticeably increased. I wiped the grin off my face and prepared to meet his assault seriously.

“What’s wrong? Is that all you’ve got? Come on, say something else!”

“Is it because you’re a demon? You put on airs of nobility, but when you get excited, you show your true nature. Turns out, that saying wasn’t wrong at all.”

His attacks grew more ferocious. Soon, I’d have to worry more about the dungeon walls than myself. If his attacks grew any stronger, the magic barrier might break. I thought about finishing him off quickly, but then I noticed the symptoms the Demon King had described. The red aura surrounding him began to warp chaotically. It wouldn’t be long now.

“If I take your head to the Demon King, she will be pleased, and I will gain more favor and become even stronger!”

“No, I think you’re going to die before that happens.”

Sensing something was wrong, he looked down at his body. His face instantly twisted in horror. The red aura that had been overflowing from him began to twist uncontrollably. The vampire lord tried to control the wild power, but it only accelerated his demise. The red aura started to consume him.

“Aaaaargh! How?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Trying to wield power beyond your capability was bound to backfire.”

“Shut u— Gah!”

He couldn’t even finish his last words before collapsing. The Demon King’s unique red aura slowly devoured his body. For a vampire lord and commander of the fourth legion, it was a pitiful end.

‘That should do it.’

I drew a magic circle to burn the body. I didn’t need the honor of having defeated a legion commander alone. Besides, Jaina would have a rough time explaining this. I looked around. The Demon King, who said she would watch the fight, was nowhere to be seen. It was odd that she hadn’t shown up yet. Maybe she had something else to handle—

‘What’s this?’

Suddenly, I felt an ominous presence from the vampire lord’s corpse. I canceled the magic circle and stepped back. The body, which was clearly dead, began to move again, and a foreign energy flared up from it. It was definitely not the Demon King’s energy.

“Hehehe… Hehehehe…”

With a chilling laugh, the vampire lord’s body stood up, sustained by a blackish-red blood. ‘I never heard about a second phase.’

As I entertained this thought, the vampire lord, now perfectly fused with the black energy, grinned with a twisted expression.

“Now it’s clear who doesn’t know their place. Behold, I have endured.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

The blood sustaining his body had turned black. It was obviously different from the power given by the Demon King. What did he mean by enduring?

“I’ll make you experience it firsthand!”

He charged at me with a speed that surpassed his previous attacks. A sinister black mist trailed behind him. I wiped the smile off my face. I couldn’t afford to be careless now.

—CLANG!

“Ugh!”

I blocked his swinging arm with Eternity, but my feet lifted off the ground. Despite absorbing most of the impact, I was sent flying. I gritted my teeth. What was this black energy that made such a difference?

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Without giving me time to regain my stance, blackened blood droplets flew towards me. I deflected the closest one with Eternity, spinning several times in mid-air. This wouldn’t do. I twisted my body and kicked off the air with my left foot. The sudden foothold propelled me down. The blood droplets whizzed past where I had been moments before.

—BOOM!!!

The droplets crashed into the dungeon wall, causing a massive explosion. I watched as the blast shook the ground, feeling a pang of regret. This third, foreign energy was clearly beyond our calculations, making the situation far worse for Jaina.

‘She might really get fired.’

If this incident leaked outside, she might actually lose her job.