Chapter 301: Vampire, Elf, and Experiment (2)

< Vampire, Elf, and Experiment (2) >

Rumble—!

A shockwave erupted, accompanied by Harley's savage laughter, as the battle raged on. His opponents roared, desperately trying to turn the tide, but the situation only worsened.

Their only hope was reinforcements, but…

Rumble—

…the continuous explosions from the forest's outskirts dashed their hopes. The aftermath of the long-range battle clearly indicated that the intruders had the upper hand. And that was all part of the plan.

'Going smoothly.'

It had to. He had summoned both Harley and Harris for this very reason.

While the enemy forces were formidable, his own were clearly superior.

'Even among those who have transcended, there are differences in level.'

And that applied to the last avatar on the scene, Heinz II, the Vampire King, craving the completion of his blood.

Clang—!

A sharp clash echoed, and the surrounding vegetation was uprooted by the resulting shockwave, a short distance from where Harley was fighting the Heavenly Wealth Society.

"Gah! You dare…!"

The Duke, having barely blocked a space-ripping attack with his long blood spear, gritted his teeth in frustration. He couldn't tolerate this situation.

But Heinz, unfazed, continued his attacks, calmly analyzing his opponent.

'Good senses. As expected, causality-based attacks don't work well against high-level opponents.'

His first attack, which pierced the Duke's side, had only succeeded due to the element of surprise. Now that the Duke was on guard, the attacks were constantly being blocked.

'Well, I didn't expect it to be that easy.'

It hadn't been long since he resumed his one-on-one fight with the Duke. Harris and Harley were doing well, so there shouldn't be any more interruptions. Of course, there was a chance of reinforcements arriving if they learned of the situation inside the barrier, but…

'This much time is enough.'

Heinz gripped the two blood greatswords that had materialized in his hands, lowered his stance, and took a step.

Swish—

His presence vanished for a moment as he accelerated, crossing the distance in a flash. He swung his greatswords from behind the Duke, but…

"Not a chance!"

A new blood spear materialized behind the Duke, blocking the attack. He immediately counterattacked with his now thicker weapon, imbued with the same terrifying power as before.

Boom—!

'As expected.'

Heinz's eyes narrowed as he felt one of his blood greatswords shatter from the impact. Even considering the lower durability of liquid weapons, it was still made with 「Refined Blood Crystal」. It was absurd for it to shatter after a single collision, while the Duke's weapon remained intact.

'An ability that manipulates blood itself.'

It seemed to be a highly enhanced Unique Skill. He didn't know yet if it was the ability to freely control blood or to manifest special powers through it, but it was a cheat-like ability for a vampire, whose power came from blood. It was probably the key to the Duke's rise to power.

Swish—

A crimson dot flew towards Heinz's face.

The tip of a blood spear, formed from blood.

It pierced through space, ignoring distance. It followed Heinz as he dodged, moving like a sentient being, its tip darting towards his head like a snake. Two, three… more and more appeared, closing in from all directions.

'This won't do.'

Realizing dodging wasn't a viable strategy, he twisted his body mid-air and brought his blood greatsword to his waist. He saw the trajectories of the spears through 「Insight」, accelerating his thoughts.

And when they all aligned…

Swoosh—

…he unleashed 「Rapid Acceleration」 and swung his sword in a wide arc.

Crack! Boom!

The sword's tip, moving at hypersonic speed, extended like a whip, clashing with the spears. Both weapons shattered from the impact.

Heinz's expression remained indifferent, as they were merely expendable tools he could recreate at any time. But the Duke's expression hardened.

"Just who are you…?"

An unknown unease.

A strange sensation the Duke had felt since the start of the fight intensified. A premonition that he couldn't win, coupled with an unusually high energy consumption and decreased effectiveness of his attacks. Even with his Unique Skill providing him with ample energy, this wasn't a good situation.

'What kind of ability is this? A Unique Skill? Or…'

It wasn't a simple debuff weakening his power. It felt like a higher-order concept at play. Even he, who had wielded this power for decades, couldn't understand it.

'Dangerous.'

This forced the Duke to make a drastic decision. He knew he was running out of time. He wasn't a fool oblivious to the dwindling numbers of his allies, picked off one by one by the intruders. His senses were sharp. What would happen to him once his allies were wiped out?

'This is my last chance.'

Whether it was escaping or regrouping with the survivors, it all depended on how quickly he could eliminate his opponent. He should have questioned whether he could even defeat him, but he deliberately pushed aside such weak thoughts. Experience had taught him that such thinking was useless for survival. Even if it was just a desperate struggle…

'I have to give up on escaping unscathed. I'll accept some losses.'

Reckless actions came with risks.

The Duke, unleashing a barrage of blood spears, finally saw an opportunity and acted without hesitation.

Goooo—

The blood flowing through his body surged, releasing an immense amount of energy.

Boom—!

"Ugh?"

Despite hastily raising his defenses, Heinz was sent flying by the sudden burst of blood magic. He regained his footing and frowned.

"…What?"

"Keh— This is exhilarating—!"

Crack— Crack!

Something twisted and transformed. The Duke's handsome, middle-aged face became pale and gaunt, while his muscles bulged, ripping his suit apart.

Woooong—

Woong— Woong—

The most significant change was the number of blood spears surrounding him. Dozens of crimson spikes, their sharp tips pointing towards the sky. The explosive energy released from his blood's unleashed potential distorted the surrounding space, and the barrier enveloping the forest began to shake.

"…This feels familiar."

Heinz narrowed his eyes, observing the clearly abnormal situation. He felt a strange sense of déjà vu from the Duke's aura. He had experienced something similar before…

"…Ah! I see. So you were involved with Alpha as well?"

He suddenly realized and nodded in understanding. The energy he sensed from the Duke was similar to what he'd felt from Alpha, the leader of the Blood Alliance hardliners who rampaged through Seoul. Back then, he hadn't been able to figure out how Alpha had achieved that state, but if the Duke was involved, it made sense…

'Wait.'

Heinz suddenly frowned, stopping his train of thought. The events of Alpha's Seoul terror attack and the information he'd gathered since then flashed through his mind like a panorama.

'I see.'

After a brief moment, he gained a certain conviction about the current situation.

'…Doctor. Doctor is here.'

He had a strong feeling that Doctor, one of the top executives of the Heavenly Wealth Society, was somewhere nearby. A powerful intuition rang alarm bells in his mind.

'Was it to capture me? This is an opportunity.'

Even after obtaining Yulryeongja's memories, Doctor's whereabouts remained unknown. He knew Doctor was based in Europe, but his ability to set up a lab anywhere made it difficult to pinpoint his location.

'…If I can capture him…'

He would know more than Yulryeongja or the Duke. About the Heavenly Wealth Society, and… about the Heavenly Wealth Society Master.

"Let's end this quickly!"

As he was lost in thought, dozens of blood spears flew towards him with a roar, their speed significantly faster than before. A torrent of energy distorted space along their trajectories.

"We're on the same page. I agree."

While the attack was overwhelming, it was merely a nuisance to Heinz.

'Once I eliminate him quickly…'

A new objective appeared just as he was about to achieve his original goal for coming to Europe. But first, he had to deal with the immediate threat.

Heinz focused, accelerating his thoughts, and observed the world through 「Insight」.

'The scale of his energy is extraordinary. Did he further amplify the power within his blood? Even so, this is… Perhaps he also gained power through kin-eating in his own world.'

It was an immense amount of energy, difficult to explain otherwise. Considering his presumed blood-related Unique Skill, it wasn't an impossible hypothesis. Overcoming the risks of consuming different types of vampires was relatively common, especially within the same lineage.

'But…'

If it was about kin-eating, he was second to none. He had inherited all the bloodlines of Auterica and continued consuming various vampiric essences on Earth.

'Hoo, it's not easy drawing this much power. But it's a good opportunity to get used to it.'

He had finished analyzing the variables related to his opponent. Now, all that was left was to settle things based on that information.

Heinz, riding the flow of causality in his accelerated perception, fueled by overflowing energy, took a step forward.

Thud—

Blood magic from the essence of purebloods embedded within him surged through his limbs. In the seemingly frozen world, his burning gaze clashed with the Duke's.

Second step.

He drew his blood greatswords and parried the approaching crimson spear blades. He repeated the process, creating and shattering his weapons multiple times. Amidst the scattering blood mist, he realized he still held the advantage in 'time.'

Third step.

It was a waste to simply ignore the thick blood mist created from parrying the spears. He used 「Blood Mystery」 to create multiple blood swords that moved automatically in the air. They clashed with the spears like fighter jets vying for air superiority, repeatedly shattering and regenerating. The exchange rate wasn't favorable, but it was enough to buy him some time.

Fourth step.

He fully entered the Duke's domain. At this point, even 「Non-Existence」 was useless. He felt the entire space, filled with fluctuating energy, turn hostile, but he had already anticipated this.

Heinz, wielding his weapons, advanced relentlessly.

Fifth step.

As he moved deeper into the Duke's domain, the 'time' advantage began to diminish. Moving forward became increasingly difficult, and the wounds on his body accumulated. They quickly regenerated, but still…

Thud—

And finally…

"Y… You…! How…!"

"I've been waiting."

Heinz, taking his final step, smiled softly at the gaunt, distorted face before him, as if meeting a long-lost half.

'Well, it's not entirely wrong.'

They were about to become one, after all.

He reached out and grabbed the Duke by the throat. The hand of Heinz II, craving the completion of his blood, finally grasped the final piece.