Chapter 304: Doctor (2)

< Doctor (2) >

[Woohoo! Masquerade? What a wonderful name! It suits you perfectly!]

Doctor, the middle-aged man, clapped enthusiastically, a genuine smile on his face. But Heinz II, having finally reached this place after overcoming the dungeon, didn't respond, instead slowly surveying his surroundings. His newly awakened spiritual senses picked up something that made him frown.

'Playing tricks.'

While it seemed like he had finally reached his destination, this place wasn't what it appeared to be. It was an illusion, a mere reflection of the real space, like a mirror.

And so was Doctor, chattering away in front of him.

'A last resort?'

But such resistance was laughable at this point. A dark crimson aura enveloped Heinz's eyes, and the illusory space around him began to tear.

Crackle—

He ignored Doctor's ramblings and continued his work. A miniature, localized dimension, formed by artificially overlapping and distorting the phase of a subspace. That was his assessment of Doctor's technique.

'Hans or Horus could have grasped it more quickly and accurately.'

The various spells woven into this space were too complex and high-level for indirect analysis through other avatars. Senses were the absolute standard for perceiving and interpreting information.

'And I'm not fully accustomed to my newly developed senses yet.'

But that was enough to shatter the illusion in front of him. He was the only Level 10 True Blood vampire in this world, after all.

[Oh dear, this is troublesome! Pahahaha! This is what they call a checkmate!]

"…So noisy."

And Doctor, the one directly involved, knew this very well. His last barrier, protecting him from the monstrous being, was about to crumble.

[Hehehe—!]

But despite facing his imminent demise, he laughed, a strange madness mixed in. Heinz frowned at his incomprehensible behavior.

'Has he given up? There's no other reason for such a reaction… Hmm?'

Suddenly…

…something caught his attention, and his thoughts paused.

Woooong—

The surrounding energy fluctuated wildly as the flow of causality intensified. His heightened senses instantly deduced the outcome.

The corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily. Because this was…

"…Ha, self-destruction?"

[Oh? You're very perceptive!]

An anomaly unfolded, engulfing all the mysteries within the mansion. It rapidly expanded, separating the surrounding area from reality.

'A spell that uses one's life force. It wasn't part of the original design… Did he construct this in such a short time?'

Heinz, inwardly impressed, looked at Doctor again. A ritual to separate the subspace combined with the dungeon and return everything within to nothingness. If successful, the entire mansion, along with them, would be erased from existence, leaving only a giant crater.

'If successful, that is.'

A chuckle escaped his lips.

'…There's no way it will succeed.'

He wasn't hiding or scheming. He was facing him head-on. There was no way he would stand still! Even if the ritual's activation was abnormally fast, there was a limit.

Ziiiing—

Heinz's thoughts accelerated. Time slowed to a crawl as he delved deeper. The flow of causality around him became clearer than ever.

'Now then.'

He reached out…

…and grasped a strand of it with his will.

Woooong—

And…

…that was it.

The mansion, which had been shaking violently, became quiet again. The only change was Doctor, bleeding from his seven orifices, his body crumbling to dust from the extremities, as if he had absorbed the entire backlash alone.

"Cough! My, my~ I never thought it would be stopped so easily…? Heh heh, to think even this is possible… It seems you're much more capable than I thought!"

But even then, his rambling didn't stop. He chuckled, then examined his disintegrating limbs with interest, as if he had encountered a fascinating research subject.

"It's a shame I can't study this right away! This could be a very interesting topic."

He grumbled lightly. Even facing his imminent death, his thoughts were on research. A true mad scientist.

But his antics didn't last long. The backlash of the failed ritual quickly spread from his limbs to his torso and head.

"…Then I'll see you next time! I hope to see you and your friends then! Pahahaha!"

Crackle—

With those parting words, a curse or a farewell, Doctor's body completely disintegrated into dust.

He felt a slight sense of dissatisfaction with the somewhat anticlimactic ending, but there was nothing he could do about it.

'…It would have been best to capture him alive, but it couldn't be helped since he was determined to die.'

When it came to magic, Doctor had the upper hand. But at least he was able to prevent the spatial collapse and obtain various information from Doctor's lab.

'This entire place is a treasure trove. I should be able to find something useful if I search thoroughly. There are many interesting items… Oh? This will be helpful for Howard's research.'

Heinz, entering Doctor's lab, looked around the cluttered room in admiration. Research logs bound in folders and unidentified devices were scattered everywhere, making it look like a junkyard. But these were valuable items, each worth a fortune outside. They were either devices created by Doctor, the world's greatest anomalous engineer, or his handwritten notes containing his thought processes.

"Hmm? This is…"

As he was casually browsing through the research proposals…

…a familiar phrase caught his eye.

'…Perfect Evolved Lifeform Project?'

It was the same research topic he had used to create Harley. The content seemed more advanced than what he had seen before, thanks to the passage of time.

"Amateur."

But Heinz casually tossed the document onto the desk. Unlike the author, still struggling with the design phase, he had already created the ultimate masterpiece, surpassing perfection. Even if the theory had been updated, it was still laughable to him.

'I still have a lot to do. I need to choose someone to lead the remaining Dracula members, and I need to bestow 「Refined Blood Crystal」 to keep them in line…'

He quickly moved on to his next task. The word 'Masquerade,' which he had uttered casually, was already forgotten.

On the day 'Duke,' the head of the Heavenly Wealth Society's European branch, and 'Doctor,' the head of the technology division, died…

…their control over Europe weakened significantly.

And these events had a ripple effect on other countries.

Despite the chaos in the world, rapid information dissemination remained a strength of modern society. A high-speed network that could transmit information in real time, even from the opposite side of the globe. And this played a significant role in quickly spreading news of the recent events in Europe to East Asia, specifically South Korea.

Information about the events, despite occurring a great distance away, was transmitted with almost no loss. It was possible because the news itself was incredibly sensational.

A vampire from Korea, a relatively insignificant country, had single-handedly toppled established vampire clans in Europe and absorbed their power!

Naturally, people initially didn't believe it. But the more they examined the evidence, the clearer the truth became. Phantom was already a well-known figure with numerous photos and videos, making comparison and analysis easy.

Heterosis headquarters in Seoul.

Jin Soran, dressed in a neat suit with her long hair tied in a ponytail, looked at Heinz's photo in the attached documents with a perplexed expression.

"…I had a feeling when Lord said he was going to Europe…"

Anyone would be perplexed. He had only been abroad for a short time, and he had already brought several large-scale dark organizations under his control. And now they were suddenly in the same boat as these organizations, each controlling territories far larger than Korea.

Frankly, the Korean Blood Alliance couldn't compare in terms of scale or power. Europe wasn't known as a land of powerful vampires for nothing.

'Well, with Lord's abilities, if he can sway the leader, the rest is relatively easy…'

Still, the difference in scale was undeniable. She sighed, looking at the keywords trending on Korean online communities.

So far, so good.

It was a source of national pride, so the domestic media and online communities were generally supportive. The problem was…

…the foreign media, mainly from Japan and China.

"The Heavenly Wealth Society must be behind this…"

As Phantom openly antagonized the Heavenly Wealth Society, pressure began to mount outside of direct conflict. China was still their territory, and they hadn't completely purged them from Japan yet.

'They won't miss this opportunity to pressure the Korean government, even without the Heavenly Wealth Society's instigation.'

And their methods were surprisingly effective. Objectively, Phantom and his vampires were criminals who didn't abide by the law.

They had to improve their image, or it would become a major obstacle.

"What should we do?"

Jin Soran clutched her head, resting her forehead on the desk, groaning.

To fight against the deeply rooted Heavenly Wealth Society, they needed to gather all their strength and cooperate. That meant they needed to adopt a more public-friendly approach rather than a hardline stance…

But could vampires, who needed human blood, ever appear friendly to humans?

"Sigh, a friendly image… Should we run ads? 'We don't bite children.' Or something. It's not like he's a celebrity…"

She paused mid-sentence. She thoughtfully stroked her chin, lost in thought. Was it really impossible? Considering Phantom's current popularity, it didn't seem entirely impossible. And vampires were generally attractive. Perfect for the entertainment industry.

'And we're currently in positive talks with the government through the Korean Returnee Association. If we play our cards right…'

Her eyes twinkled as she smiled, revealing sharp fangs.

Jin Soran, acting head of Heterosis and the Blood Alliance's public relations manager.

A little-known fact: she was a former aspiring idol and a current internet streamer.