#240 Republic of Zephia (3)
The first thing Heinz II did was analyze the barrier that covered the mansion.
「Insight」, combined with his transcendent senses, dug into the barrier’s composition, and based on that, 「Blood Mystique」 began to produce diagnostic results one by one. ‘A composite spell structure built around blood magic, is it? They’ve twisted it together quite intricately.’ 「Blood Mystique」, born from Auterica’s 「Blood Magic」 combined with various knowledge possessed by vampires from other dimensions.
Filled with all sorts of possibilities, it was an ability that held an overwhelming advantage when it came to spells activated through the medium of “blood.”
Moreover, composite spells were nothing particularly special to him either.
No matter how many things they scraped together and twisted into complexity, could they compare to the techniques he had experienced on Earth, where mysteries on a dimensional scale had been woven together? ‘It does seem like they put quite a bit of effort into it...’
But to him, it was meaningless.
Beyond Heinz, who stood quietly staring at the barrier for the sake of analysis, Hans, who had been absorbed in research at the Immortal Castle, briefly stopped what he was doing and joined in.
Accordingly, skills including 「Path of Magic」 instantly began dissecting every last detail of the diagnostic information 「Blood Mystique」 had grasped—. ‘Even overlapping phases and inversion. If nothing else, I have to acknowledge its stability. To break this...’
Before long, he was able to obtain both the true nature of the barrier and the method to destroy it. ‘The standard method would be to target the core deep inside, but it’s not as if there are no other ways at all.’
To simultaneously destroy the same point on the inside and outside, where the barrier opposed itself.
Inside, communication with the outside was blocked, of course, and merely observing from one side would not allow one to determine the exact point of impact, making it something possible only in theory.
But such trivial issues imposed no restriction on him whatsoever.
“It looks like it’ll consume a lot of energy... but I harvested quite a bit on the way here, so it shouldn’t matter.”
Heinz, still perfectly calm, lightly tilted his head.
And immediately after, several streams of blood surged up from his palm, which he had raised to chest height and turned upward.
Drip, drip—
—The crimson blood, writhing as if gushing forth, soon began to coil around itself and swirl.
The essence of power made from the pure blood of 「Refined Blood Crystal」, under the control of 「Blood Mystique」 and bearing the miracle he desired, slowly compressed into a single point, becoming a fist-sized blood-red orb.
It was a medium filled with the power of blood magic, the same kind he had once sent to Hesperon when he was fighting the assailants. ‘I’ll just need to make about two more. Its destructive power will be a bit lacking, but this is only a signal flare anyway, so this much should be enough.’
After the work of making three orbs in total was finished, the real work began.
Namely, calling Hugo, the only avatar currently free, handing him the orbs, and pushing him inside that barrier.
In order to find the point of impact connected to the inside through an avatar with whom he shared senses.
“Whew.”
Hugo, who had now completely become Earth’s odd-job man and was gradually turning into a master of housework based on his individual skill 「Versatility」.
He took the orbs that reeked of Heinz’s energy, strode proudly into the barrier, and used one of them toward a certain point inside.
Rumble—
—Just as expected.
As powerful blood magic activated, a fierce vibration seemed to shake the inside of the barrier for an instant, but it did not last even a few seconds before it was swiftly suppressed and vanished.
And even during that, not the slightest sign was detected outside.
“...Found it.”
However, for Heinz, who had been concentrating as much as possible and observing the flow of causality throughout the entire mansion, that single attempt was enough to pinpoint the exact zero point.
Wooooong—
—His right hand slowly extended forward, aiming at the target point.
A large amount of blood was drawn out from his fingertips, and the tremendous blood mana that surged forth in an instant mixed with it and began to condense at once. ‘No need to wait. I’ll go straight in.’
In front of his right hand, a blood-red sphere the size of a basketball writhed as if it would burst at any moment, flaunting its presence.
And then, using the moment the second blood magic burst forth from inside the barrier as the signal—
Kwarurung—
—Kwaaaang!
It spewed a dark-red beam reminiscent of a dragon’s breath and slammed it into the exact point at the exact timing.
Kugugung!
Unlike the surroundings, which had been ruined merely by the aftermath, the mansion itself showed no great change despite being struck directly by the attack.
But through 「Insight」, Heinz could vividly feel the distortion of the barrier that had been hit and the crack that had formed because of it.
“It really is sturdy.”
It was the result of the orb lacking the power needed to destroy the inside, unlike the outer part of the barrier that had been blown away decisively.
In any case, he had never thought he would be able to end it in one blow. ‘It can’t be helped since it isn’t a direct attack. This is within expectations.’
Unlike the first attack, which had been immediately restored the moment it struck, there was a brief instant after the barrier had sustained considerable damage and its regeneration had not yet begun.
From the very start, he had been aiming for this exact moment.
Wooooong—
—From Heinz’s left hand, which had already finished its preparations, a light even darker than the destructive beam fired from his right hand cut through the air and shot toward the same point.
And it struck the vulnerable spot that had not yet fully recovered, bearing the power of causality.
Kwaaaaaang——!
At that timing, it resonated with “his own blood mana,” which burst out from inside once again, simultaneously warping the barrier both inside and outside the point of impact.
The barrier, unable to withstand the shock, finally collapsed.
At that, an enormous explosion incomparable to anything before shook the surroundings. ‘It went as I expected.’
He had consumed excessive power by manipulating a bit of causality to derive that process, but seeing the result it produced left him quite satisfied.
As a bonus, the aftermath of the attack had pierced a huge hole straight through the mansion, starting from the front gate where Heinz stood. ‘So that man is...’
As soon as the barrier was destroyed, Heinz sent Hugo back, then found an old man sitting at the far end of that passage with a sour expression and his eyes gleamed.
He felt it instinctively.
That man was Obaipo himself, the progenitor of the Obaipo Clan and one of the first Sacred Bloods.
Pleased by this refreshingly direct and fiery meeting, Heinz slowly moved forward and opened his mouth.
“Well then, we finally meet face to face.”
At the words that followed, the other man’s head slowly turned toward him.
His face, which had looked flustered, had already returned to an expression feigning composure, but perhaps because he had not yet fully regained control of himself, the corners of his mouth kept twitching uncontrollably.
“I apologize for knocking so violently. The master of the house seemed to be hard of hearing and showed no intention of coming out, you see.”
At those words, the corner of the man’s mouth began twitching even more violently.
It seemed the provocation had worked quite well.
Heinz II smiled coldly as he looked at the blood mana blazing and swelling around Obaipo.
As if to say that if he had any hidden cards, he should bring them out at once—bold and brazen to the very end.
***
The twelve bloodlines of the beginning.
A very long time ago—
When the Sacred Bloods, including Obaipo, Yufersh, and Brokoslak, were first born on this land.
In the world, only those twelve vampires existed.
As time passed and vampires spread more and more throughout the world, and the clans named after each of the Sacred Bloods also began to establish systems of their own.
Before anyone knew it, they had become one of the races on the continent and had naturally blended into the world. ‘Though now, none of the memories from that time remain at all.’
Obaipo, too, was one of those first Sacred Bloods.
His estimated age was over ten thousand years.
However, unlike dragons, who were innately equipped with mental strength as vast as their lifespans and an intellect without forgetfulness, the mental strength of vampires was not that powerful.
Of course, they too were beings who had reached transcendence, so they were far beyond the level of ordinary mortals, but even that had its limits before the endless flow of time.
On average, the Sacred Bloods maintained their selves intact for roughly two thousand years.
Around that point, those who had begun to go astray little by little were swept away by time one by one, and their numbers began to dwindle.
One went mad and slaughtered without thinking of what would follow, only to be subjugated.
Another killed a young dragon and lusted after its blood, only to be torn apart by an enraged dragon.
Another was hunted down and killed by the Church because he failed to cut off his tail properly.
Some even took their own lives after suffering from eternal life.
So it was not particularly strange that the number of Sacred Bloods, which had originally been twelve, had now dwindled this far. ‘To protect my self, I chose to leave only a thousand years’ worth of memories and erase all the rest. Brokoslak adopted the method of reducing his activity by entering periodic hibernation like the dragons, and Yufersh tried to overcome it by splitting his power and memories and placing them into other bodies.’
Because of that, the information from previous eras that Obaipo now possessed was closer to something he had “learned afterward” based on various facts rather than memories he had “personally experienced.”
Forgetting the vivid experiences he had lived through and replacing them with a few dry lines of information added later.
That was the method that had allowed him to endure until now.
But as the activities of the Sacred Bloods, who had once ruled vampire society absolutely, decreased and their influence weakened, the clans too began to divide and perish over time, their rises and falls separating one by one.
In particular, the speed at which clans whose Sacred Blood had disappeared fell into ruin was so wretched that it was hard to bear watching.
It was then that a certain ambition began to sprout in the heart of Obaipo, who had watched the rise and fall of the race from the very beginning.
...No, perhaps it had been then.
Because he had always erased everything except the memories of the most recent thousand years, he could not be certain when he had begun to harbor such a desire, but it was clear that it had far exceeded a thousand years.
That was only natural, for even the oldest memory remaining to him was filled solely with the process of achieving that goal.
And for an extraordinarily long time.
He had moved with the sole purpose of his life being to recover the essences left behind by the other Sacred Bloods.
It was not very difficult to seize those kept by clans that had fallen into minor status, or those that had entered the storehouses of some noble.
The problem was with those that were in places difficult to plunder, no matter who he was... ‘In that process, the great war against the Immortal King was a great help. Thanks to that, I was able to recover even those that had fallen into the hands of dragons and the Church.’
The uprising of the Immortal King, which occurred just as he was vigilantly waiting for an opportunity, greatly aided his course of action.
Moreover, even the essences he had never managed to find despite long searches finally fell into his hands with the help of the Oath of Reversal and the Revolutionary, leaving out only Brokoslak and Yufersh!
At long last, the time had come for the dream he had envisioned for ages to be fulfilled.
With that feeling, he confidently welcomed Heinz II.
He did not think, not even in the slightest, that he might lose.
His mind was filled only with the thought of recovering the essence of Yufersh he sensed from that fellow Heinz, and Brokoslak’s essence that would be in the Kingdom of Talia. ‘Why... how...?’
That was why the current situation felt even more bewildering.
He was being held back by a situation he truly had never anticipated.
Kwaaaang! Rumble—
—“Kheuk!”
The mansion had already collapsed so completely that its original form was unrecognizable, leaving behind only rubble.
Until just moments ago, it had been the throne where Obaipo had waited for the challenger with confidence.
Not a sickbed on which he would lie exposed in such a miserable state as now.
Rustle—
Covered all over in stone dust, he slowly rose from the wreckage of the mansion.
Pajijit—! Pajik—!
Sparks crackled without rest.
The battle within their wills had already continued dozens, hundreds of times since earlier.
But what he had not expected was... ‘He’s fast...! Not only his abilities, but the speed of thought that supports them...!’
Unlike when he had first stepped forward with confidence, his opponent’s capabilities far exceeded his expectations.
On top of that, for some reason, the authority of one who had approached the “origin” of blood—the greatest reason he had been so confident—did not work on Heinz in the slightest.
Since Heinz was a Sacred Blood of another bloodline, Obaipo had not expected complete control from the start, but still, he himself had obtained ten of the twelve bloodlines!
No matter how he thought about it, it was strange that Heinz was not affected in the least. ‘Why? To begin with, the bloodlines are twelve branches split from a single origin. It’s impossible for him to be completely unaffected like this.’
Wasn’t this a reaction as if Heinz were an entirely separate bloodline with no relation at all to the origin?
Of course, that could not possibly be the case. ‘Did he pull some trick? Or could my research have been wrong? No, that can’t be. Then what is this situation?’
His mind grew tangled, and his thoughts began to waver.
Since there was a limit to the power a single existence could contain, no matter how many essences he possessed, it did not mean he would grow proportionally stronger.
The power Obaipo could currently contain was limited to about 1.3 times at most.
In the current situation, where he was being pushed back from start to finish, it was not a particularly meaningful figure. ‘...I had not intended to use this, of all things. Revolutionary, did you foresee even this?’
Until now, he had thought the control ability of the origin alone would be enough, so he had not considered anything else.
For some reason, he felt as though he were being played by the Revolutionary, but that did not mean he could simply continue to be beaten down like this.
Pajijijijik—! Pajik—!
And from that moment.
Heinz’s expression, as he had been leisurely approaching, stiffened hard.