Codename Vestia

Chapter 43

A dull thud echoed.

Had he been human, a blow with such force from this blunt weapon would have sent his head flying. Tora staggered but managed to plant his feet and stand firm.

“Tora!”

Jain shouted, eyes wide open. She twisted her body, but with her hands tied, there was no way to break free from Luas.

A Legion operative, wielding a baseball bat, grabbed Tora, kicked the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel, and pinned his shoulders, preventing him from rising.

Click, click…

The sound of high heels approached. Sleek black heels stopped right before his eyes.

“Shall I tell you a secret?”

Rahel leaned toward Tora.

“Three years ago… the Grand Duke was never captured.”

Tora looked up, bewildered.

The Grand Duke had undoubtedly been arrested. He had even seen footage of his trial. What was she talking about…?

As if reading his thoughts, Rahel chuckled softly. She had already given a clue once before, back when Doyeong was captured.

Phoenix.

One who would set fire to himself, burning to death directly.

“He was waiting.”

Her low voice echoed in his ears with an eerie tone.

“Waiting for the moment he could safely reveal himself.”

That person…

A chill ran down Tora’s spine.

Marti.

***

The historian was lying dead by the riverside, shot precisely in the center of the forehead. He hadn’t even had the time to close his eyes before dying.

“It seems he’s been dead for no more than thirty minutes.”

A fully armed operative inspected the body and reported. Another operative standing beside him added,

“It looks like they disposed of him to make tracking impossible. Upon investigation, he was linked to a Neo-Light affiliated scholar with ties to a vampire-worshiping cult called the Eternal Church.”

“A cult?”

Sergeant Han questioned, frowning at the unexpected mention of a cult.

“Yes. They believe that a female vampire is an apostle who received the secret of eternal life from God. That may be why they kidnapped Gamal.”

Sergeant Han furrowed his brow further and asked,

“Why wasn’t someone like that screened out from the start?”

“If someone wants to hide their beliefs, they can do so as much as they wish. Besides, being part of the Neo-Light circle doesn’t mean they lack academic achievements. The frustrating part is that ideology doesn’t necessarily reflect competence.”

That didn’t matter now. Also fully armed, Doyeong spoke.

“We must find Gamal.”

Before she fell into the Grand Duke’s hands.

Just the thought of Gamal meeting the Grand Duke sent a sensation like blood draining from his feet. His stomach churned, and a chill ran down his spine.

A bad feeling lingered. The timing was all too perfect the Grand Duke’s escape, the intrusion of a vampire-worshiping cult, and Gamal’s kidnapping…

Somehow, it felt like all of this wasn’t just a coincidence. Doyeong wanted to believe it was a mistake, but deep down, he knew that was nothing more than a naïve hope.

“Let’s go.”

Doyeong pressed his lips tightly together and turned away. A faint blue light flickered in his eyes.

***

A harsh crack echoed.

The baseball bat struck Tora’s stomach, chained to the floor with both legs and arms bound in iron restraints. The next blow landed on his face. Again. And again.

The bat was then used to force his twisted head back into place.

A human Legion operative smirked.

“Even after taking this much, your face barely changes. Being a vampire must be pretty convenient, huh?”

Despite being known as the Luas terrorist group, their small numbers meant not all members could be Luas. In fact, only about 30% of them were Luas, while the rest were humans cooperating with them. This was the very reason MCTC could form mixed teams of Luas and humans as well.

The Legion operative who had previously struck Tora was now sitting back, smoking a cigarette while watching. Meanwhile, the human operatives, circling Tora like hunters with captured prey, continued to beat him in what was nearly torture, taking turns striking him.

Jain was left a short distance away, her arms tied behind her back. Since there were plenty of guards, they hadn’t even bothered restraining a mere human woman to a fixed spot.

Though it wasn’t obvious at a glance, Tora’s t-shirt was drenched with sweat, and bluish bruises had begun to surface across his body. He had likely sustained considerable internal injuries by now. The bat itself seemed custom-made, as if reinforced with diamond dust, and with the strength of fully grown men taking turns battering him, even a vampire’s body had its limits.

The next human operative took the bat and turned to a Luas member.

“How much of this can a vampire take before dying?”

The Luas blew out a puff of smoke.

“Never beat one to death before, so I wouldn’t know.”

Then, he grinned.

“Why don’t you find out?”

The human operative, as if waiting for permission, gripped the bat firmly and prepared to swing with all his strength when

“Stop.”

The operative flinched and turned to the source of the voice Jain.

She was a hostage in a terrorist camp, and the only remotely trustworthy ally, Tora, was being beaten to the brink of collapse. Yet, Jain didn’t look frightened at all.

One of the men licked his lips. Jain, unlike most women, had a tough, resilient presence that seemed to provoke twisted desires for dominance in certain men.

“A woman can be useful, after all.”

The man started walking toward Jain. The others simply shook their heads with expressions that seemed to say, “There he goes again.”

Jain swallowed a curse as the man in front of her unbuckled his pants.

Tora, witnessing the scene, sneered.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

He was trying to draw attention back to himself, but once the man’s focus shifted elsewhere, he seemed to lose interest in Tora altogether.

“Wait your turn. I’ll deal with you next.”

The man threw himself on top of Jain. She only scowled sharply but didn’t resist. That seemed to catch the man off guard.

“Not gonna fight back?”

Even Tora had expected her to be foaming with rage, but instead, she remained strangely calm despite the slight grimace on her face.

“I doubt it would make much difference.”

The man grinned grotesquely.

“Smart girl. Good sense of reality.”

Tora scoffed.

“Really? You need to be ‘special’ even in this situation?”

But it seemed the man had decided to ignore his sarcasm. Meanwhile, the others shifted their attention back to Tora, as if preparing to finish him off instead.

Under the man’s weight, Jain looked more vulnerable than ever.

Tora gritted his teeth.

He thought she deserved this. Arrogance had led to this very situation.

“Hey.”

His voice was so chilling that even the man blinded by lust flinched. Tora raised his head slightly.

“Get off her. Before I break your spine while you’re still alive.”

His red eyes glowed with murderous intent.

The man, unsettled, glanced sideways at Luas, as if seeking permission. Clearly, he trusted Luas to back him up.

Luas, exhaling the last puff from his half-smoked cigarette, flicked it away and stood up.

“So this is the kind of confidence that comes with a fancy bloodline, huh?”

He approached slowly, his footsteps echoing, before driving his boot into Tora’s side. The sound of impact was unmistakably different from when the humans had struck him earlier. Tora’s body jerked forward, momentarily doubling over.

Even so, he lifted his head, smirking through the pain.

“What’s the matter? Got a complex about noble bloodlines?”

Luas pressed his foot against Tora’s knee, forcing him further down, and let out a derisive laugh.

“You survived all that pain just to become a vampire, and now it’s all about heritage and bloodlines. Just like how humans obsess over family status and wealth. Guess you can’t overcome that pathetic need to create a hierarchy, huh?”

“So, what? You joined a terrorist group to start a proletarian revolution?”

Luas stared at Tora for a moment, expression unreadable.

“You must hear that you’re a real pain in the ass a lot.”

Tora grinned.

“People tend to get angry when you hit their sore spots.”

Beyond Luas, Tora saw the man begin to force himself between Jain’s legs. Desperate to stop it, he opened his mouth to speak again.

And that was when he saw it clearly.

Jain, who had been grimacing in discomfort, suddenly lifted her gaze. In her eyes, unmistakably, a cold blue killing intent flared.

Had that glare been directed his way, Tora might have choked in surprise.

Suddenly, Jain wrapped both legs around the man’s waist, flipping him over while twisting her bound arms as far back as she could. In the gap created between her wrists, she caught the man’s head.

Then, using the momentum from rolling her body again, she dropped her weight to choke him.

It was a miracle his neck hadn’t snapped. But the move had been so swift that the man was left utterly defenseless.

Luas, watching the spectacle, first looked startled then burst into laughter.

“Wow!”

Despite seeing his ally being overpowered, he clapped his hands, thoroughly amused. The other human operatives exchanged uncertain glances, unsure whether they should intervene or stay back.

“Ghh… kuh…!”

Meanwhile, the man flailed, his eyes rolling back as he clawed at Jain’s arms. Yet she didn’t let up. In fact, the muscles in her arms visibly tensed as she tightened her grip even further.

Eventually, his eyes rolled completely back, his body going limp. Jain then released his head, tossing it aside like she was discarding something filthy.

“Come at me as many times as you want. It won’t make a difference anyway.”

It was a deadly mistake to underestimate someone based on prejudice. Even knowing she was special forces, he’d let his assumptions about women cloud his judgment and paid for it with his life.

Jain immediately stood up. Only then did the remaining men begin closing in cautiously, tightening their formation. Jain shifted into a defensive stance, her eyes scanning all directions.

Suddenly, her entire body jerked backward so violently it felt as if her scalp might be ripped off.

“Ugh!”

Luas had somehow appeared behind her, seizing a handful of her hair.

“Impressive. Honestly, I think you’re even better than Ituhas.”

Jain winced against the searing pain, forcing herself to glance back at him.

“Even women don’t pull hair anymore, you idiot.”

Jain rarely used harsh language, but it seemed like she was doing so on purpose this time.

Tora found it incredibly sexy.

“You both have some sharp tongues, huh.”

Luas’s eyes narrowed, the twisted smile on his face barely concealing the murderous intent beneath.

“Guess I’ll have to show you what happens when people run their mouths too much.”

Whoosh

Air whistled as his hand swung high, ready to strike. If it connected, a human’s skull would surely be shattered beyond recognition.

But then Luas felt an icy chill crawl up his spine.

He spun around abruptly.

Yet Tora was still there, chained in place. Luas frowned, bewildered. Tora hadn’t moved. There was no way he could’ve broken free no matter how strong a vampire was, those chains were unbreakable.

Clink… clink…

Suddenly, the chains binding Tora began to slide loose.

Thud!

The sound of metal crashing against the floor echoed like a steel beam hitting concrete. Luas’s eyes widened in shock.

“G-Grab h!”

But Tora was already gone.

Luas whipped his head forward. Tora stood right there, facing him.

Instinctively, Luas raised his guard just in time.

BOOM!

The collision thundered like a lightning strike.

Screeech

The sound of shoes skidding against the floor echoed as both were forced back, the friction grinding against the ground.

They finally halted, locked in a tense standoff.

Luas, maintaining a professional stance, launched a powerful hook aimed directly at Tora.