༺ Stealing From Others Is Always Fun! ༻
━Kyahhh…!!!
━Kyaaahhh…!!!
On 61st Street, many women had lost their sanity and transformed into monsters.
Naru held her breath and hid inside a building.
Only after the lesser vampires passed by the desk where Naru was hiding, could she finally breathe again.
“Hmm… Hide and seek…”
Naru was confident in her ability to hide.
Suppressing her presence and concealing herself.
That was the first of the three basics of a good thief that her dad had told her about.
“And the second… finding valuable treasures…!”
The building where Naru hid was a place that only high-ranking officials could enter even in the 「Night Garden」.
An underground area where the sun never reached.
It could be considered the nest of the vampires.
Naru cautiously descended further into the underground.
She thought it was best to be in a place where even the moonlight wouldn’t reach.
The underground was so dark that she couldn’t see an inch ahead, like the deep water of a reservoir. Fortunately, Naru had inherited her father’s eyes, which allowed her to see well even at night.
Squelch—
Squelch—
In front of Naru’s eyes, a grotesque being revealed itself from the darkness.
Everything about it was pale white.
If you put a white shroud on a bony skeleton, it would look exactly like this.
Its hair was sparsely scattered, and its eyes were stuck together like they had been burnt by fire.
‘A vampire…!’
Naru trembled with fear.
She never expected that there would be a vampire in this underground.
Compared to the other female vampires who still possessed some semblance of beauty, the vampire located in this underground had a horrific appearance befitting that of a monster.
One might even call her a wicked grandmother.
“I can smell it… There was a thief daring to invade Lady Shehrazade’s bedroom. Do they think they can escape from the fangs of this Morziana?”
Swoosh—
The vampire who revealed herself as Morziana extended her sharp nails.
“It is I, who has served Lady Shehrazade for a hundred years.”
Drrrk—
The sound of sharp nails scratching against the wall was quite terrifying.
Naru, who was slightly frightened, soon noticed something peculiar.
‘She’s facing the opposite direction of where Naru is, right? It’s like she can’t see.’
Swoosh—
Naru took out the throwing dagger from her bosom.
The Rai-Setsu throwing dagger.
It was a gift from her father, Judas.
She hurled it towards the distant darkness.
Swoosh— Crash—!
The sound of the throwing sword flying through the air and shattering glass could be heard.
Did it hit some kind of jar?
“That way!”
Morziana disappeared, taking strange steps toward the far darkness.
Now, the only thing left in the room was Naru.
No, to be precise, it was Naru and the treasures.
“There are so many treasures!”
Naru rejoiced as she looked at the boxes in front of her.
Sturdy boxes.
Naru opened one of them, revealing a pile of gold coins that sparkled and gleamed so much even in the deep darkness of the room.
‘Would this be enough to even buy an elephant? Dad would love it!’
Naru imagined herself stealing a large sum of money and receiving praise from her dad.
Since her dad was poor, Naru had to work hard to earn money and provide a better life for him.
‘But there’s so much! How am I going to steal it all?’
Naru’s pockets were small.
In contrast, the treasures she wanted to steal were abundant.
“What should I do…”
If she didn’t move quickly, the vampire Morziana might return in this direction.
In fact, she could already hear Morziana’s footsteps getting closer again.
“Where? Where are you? You damn thief! You rat! I know you’re here! Salome! You’ve always had your eye on Lady Shehrazade’s treasures! Come out!”
Scratch— Scratch—
The sound of nails scratching against the wall was loud.
‘Salome? That’s the same name as Teacher Salome.’
Naru’s head tilted at the familiar name.
But right now, the most important thing was to steal the treasures and avoid getting found by this guard.
‘There are so many treasures to steal, and Naru’s pockets are small. And time is running out. In that case, the action Naru should take here is… to aim for the most valuable one…!’
Steal the most precious treasure.
That’s what Naru concluded.
And it wasn’t hard to figure out which one it was.
Amidst piles of gold coins and gold bars.
Naru passed by jewel boxes filled with various gems and accessories and stood in front of a locked box.
That box was just the right size for Naru’s body to fit in.
The unusual thing was that out of all the treasure boxes in this warehouse, it was the only one locked with a “lock.”
The fact that it was locked was evidence that something valuable was inside.
Click— Clunk—
The lock looked incredibly sturdy.
It couldn’t even be cut using Naru’s Butterfly dagger.
If Dad was here he would say it was an SSR grade lock.
Why would someone put such a sturdy lock on it?
It actually piqued Naru’s interest.
“There must be an incredible treasure inside!”
Swoosh—
Naru grabbed the butterfly-shaped ribbon hairpin that she was attached to her hair.
It looked like a pretty butterfly ribbon, but it was actually a lockpick, an important tool for thieves.
Click- clack- click- Clack- Click- Clack-
Naru inserted the ribbon lockpick into the lock hole and moved it around.
She could feel each pin of the lock being picked successfully.
Clunk—!!!
“…!”
“Hehehe, I found you. You little rat! There you are!”
Guarddook—
The sound of a vampire’s sharp fangs piercing through the air and plunging into darkness could be heard.
Soon, there was a clinking sound as metal clashed with metal, ringing in Naru’s ears.
“You little rat! You’ve finally shown yourself! I won’t let you steal our master’s treasure!”
“A dead body making so much noise is rather bothersome.”
Pababababat-
The sound of many sharp blades getting stuck on the wall and the ground resounded.
“Gyaaah, a, a shuriken? Salome…!”
* * *
Salome watched as 61st Street burned and crumbled into ruins.
She had come to find Tywin, but if 61st Street was being destroyed like this, then things had changed.
“A wizard and a demon hunter, huh? It won’t be easy for that old witch, Shehrazade, this time. What should I do here…?”
Princess Salome of the back alley and the Night Fang Shehrazade had an alliance.
They were both hiding in an organization called Tenebris.
“If I fight with Shehrazade, there might be a chance of victory. But I don’t want to. For some reason, I have a bad feeling about it.”
Shehrazade would probably die today.
Or meet a fate equivalent to death.
“I never considered her a comrade to begin with. Well then, shouldn’t I take this opportunity to steal that old witch’s treasures?”
The vampire Shehrazade was at least two centuries old.
An old monster who had walked the path of forbidden and illicit affairs through countless wars.
She had accumulated numerous spoils throughout her life, and Salome heard that the value of her collection was comparable to that of a small castle.
But that was just a story about treasures.
‘Shehrazade is a woman who has delved even deeper into the realm of the forbidden. I’m sure she has artifacts in her possession. Demiurges’ artifacts, to be precise. Especially things like Nocturne’s vessel.’
Artifacts.
They were relics imbued with the power of the Demiurges, also known as the Outer Gods.
They were legendary items, and if it was Shehrazade, she must have had at least one of them.
‘If I can get my hands on that, I can gain power too. The power to seek revenge on Judas…!’
With that thought in mind, Salome sneaked into the warehouse of Shehrazade.
Inside the warehouse she arrived at, there was an old vampire guard patrolling in the dark.
Among Shehrazade’s servants, the old vampire seemed to be the strongest and most cunning.
“Do you think you can hide from this Morziana? This Morziana is of the Gold level subjugation…! I will show you despair befitting the Lemuria Kingdom’s Nightmare Devil…!”
Creak— Creak—
Even in the dark, the skinny old woman could be seen twisting her joints and bones.
Perhaps she was trying to transform, but Salome didn’t miss a beat and threw two shurikens at the old monster’s body.
Swoosh, thud, thunk-.
The shurikens flew through the darkness, piercing the vampire’s left shoulder and right thigh.
“Ugh! H-how did you know the location of my two hearts!? You sneaky bastard, waiting for when I began transforming…!”
“Pathetic. I don’t have time to deal with someone like you.”
Old monster Morziana dissipated into ashes.
Then, Salome who had been coldly observing the scene, calmly but loudly said.
“Are you finally coming out? I know you’ve been hiding. Your skills seem quite impressive, but you’re not very good at hiding, are you?”
Salome had been aware since earlier that someone was watching her from the darkness.
Someone stronger than old monster Morziana.
Even as a Gold-level vampire hunter, Salome couldn’t help but feel tense this time.
Thud— Thud—
Soon, the sound of footsteps could be heard from the darkness.
As the footsteps were getting closer, images of a finely honed physique, a straight posture, and skin as hard as iron began to form in Salome’s mind.
“I wasn’t exactly trying to hide. Just as you can’t hide the rising sun of the world. Truth is not something that can be concealed, even if you try to.”
The first thing that she noticed was beast-like golden eyes.
Soon, the surroundings began to glow with a golden light, revealing a bald head.
“A monk?”
“I am Enkidus, a monk of the Ascending Sun Sect.”
Salome wrinkled her brow at the sight of the monk illuminating the darkness.
She had seen a similar man somewhere before.
“Unknown woman, you seem to possess remarkable skills. However, if we were to face each other here, both of us would suffer great losses. Will you not make a deal?”
“A deal?”
“This monk is looking for a man called ‘Mara.’ And it seems you might have information about him. If you provide me with the information, I will spare your life.”
“You idiot, is that what you call a deal? You weren’t in a position to negotiate with me in the first place. I already know. The monks of the Ascending Sun Sect are severely weakened during the ‘night.'”
“Would you like to test that?”
Enkidus placed his clenched left fist on his waist.
He extended his palm forward with his right hand.
Seeing this, Salome became even tenser.
She had heard rumors about a martial artist named Enkidus, who was said to be the strongest in the Demon Castle Subjugation Party, surpassing even the participating warrior, mage, and thief.
‘Of course, I also heard that his strength has a constraint─ only during daylight. If the rumors are true, this bald guy won’t be able to exert his full power in this darkness.’
The darkness was on Salome’s side.
It was indeed a favorable situation for her.
However, Salome couldn’t move easily.
Enkidus and Salome.
The two of them stood frozen in a statue-like confrontation, gazing at each other.
The tension and anticipation they created filled the air, causing it to vibrate.
━Rustle— Rustle—
━Snap— Snap—
━Shh, we need to be quiet…!
Salome heard the sound of something small moving from a box beside her.
It was a pitch-black box.
The size felt just right for a young child to crouch and enter.
In front of the box, there was a sturdy-looking lock on the floor that even Salome evaluated to be difficult to unlock.
“……”
“……”
Kooooong—!
Soon, a large tremor shook the building.
Dust began falling with a thud-.
Enkidus spoke as he began being covered in it.
“It seems like the rooftop has been cleared. People will soon come here as well. Will you be okay?”
“Tsk—.”
Salome put her hand into her bosom and took out a round bead.
A special smoke bomb that erases karma.
She threw it with all her might on the floor, and as a result, the dimly lit room was filled with thick smoke and became even darker than before.
Ssssss—
When the smoke cleared, Enkidus could sense that many treasures had disappeared.
“What a mysterious skill. Is there only one box left?”
The box in front of Enkidus was very black.
When he opened it, something sprang out, spreading its hands wide.
“Uncle Baldy! You found Naru!”
“Naru, huh? And next to her…”
“It’s an animal! It was inside this box! Probably a cat or something!”
“A cat…?”
Enkidus narrowed his eyes.
Naru introduced it as a cat, but in Enkidus’ eyes, it definitely didn’t look like a cat.
It was just a ball of black fur.
No mouth, no legs, just two round eyes attached to the ball of fur.
━Miyao.
“……”
It was a beast that gave off a very ominous feeling.
No, can it even be called a beast?
“Just a moment to check…”
Enkidus extended his palm, which had become as hard as a steel plate, to the ball of fur.
Then the ball of fur disappeared into Naru’s shadow.
And then.
━Kieeeek…!
Something wriggling on the floor rushed towards Naru.
It looked like a big head, but it was a terrifying beast with cylindrical teeth.
“Is this the true form of the vampire Morziana?”
Just as Enkidus was about to strike the head with his fist.
Pabat—
A small ball of fur jumped out of Naru’s shadow and attacked the head.
━Miyao.
━Kkieeeek…!
The black ball of fur engulfed the head.
The head’s grotesque existence came to an end.
“Oh, the ball of fur protected Naru? Naru, what did you name this creature?”
“Don’t know…!”
“Molu1She says (몰루/Moloo), basically saying I don’t know., huh? A strange creature indeed.”
Wanna read ahead? Buy coins You can unlock chapters with coins or rather “genesis orbs”
Wanna unlock all premium chapters? Check the Membership Chapters will seamlessly unlock no need to bother buying coins anymore.
You can also support us by becoming an exclusive member here
You can rate this series here
You can check our dɨşçöŕd for illustrations here
62
