#244 Vampire Rise (4)
The situation in the Republic of Zefia was quickly brought under control.
From the start, both sides that had caused the uproar had ended up subordinated under one person, so it was only natural.
Of course, not everyone swept up in the incident was under his control, so disturbances still remained here and there. But now that the fundamental cause had disappeared, those would not last long either.
There was no longer any need to pay much attention to this place.
“A-as you commanded… the cleanup is proceeding smoothly. I will finish the work as quickly as possible and gather the clan members under our command. …High Lord.”
“Mm.”
Inside a luxuriously decorated office.
Heinz, seated in an ornate chair, looked down at the dark-blue-haired woman prostrating herself before him and nodded in satisfaction.
‘She’s become quite obedient now.’
She was “Shamila Obaipo,” the second-in-command who had effectively been running the Obaipo Clan.
Like “Mullo of Brokoslak” and “Theodore of Yufersh,” she was a true-blood vampire in charge of the clan’s practical affairs.
‘To fully absorb a force of this scale, cooperation from an insider—and a high-ranking one at that—is essential.’
After all, the Obaipo Clan was a powerful group counted among the top three vampire factions.
No matter how he had seized their command authority, handling them completely was a different matter altogether.
That was also why, as soon as the battle ended, Heinz had tracked down and captured her, the one with the strongest aura.
Of course, she had not obeyed him meekly from the beginning…
But with even the sacred blood they served already defeated and command authority handed over, what could she possibly do?
In the end, after persuasion with the slightest hint of coercion, she realized reality and had no choice but to obey.
“Then, things here are more or less finished.”
After she, who had come to give an interim report, left again to finish her work.
Heinz, having settled into the mansion owned by the Obaipo Clan, leisurely sipped wine as if flaunting that he was its new master and sank into thought.
‘If I hadn’t been here, starting from the east, a considerable portion of the continent’s underworld would have fallen straight into their hands.’
Obaipo’s goal had been to become the king who ruled all vampires.
Even turning the east into a wasteland amid the chaos had been nothing more than part of that process.
And when those who were children of darkness by birth began moving according to someone’s malice, the repercussions it would have on the continent…
If vampires, who were more numerous than the lycanthropes that had nearly sunk an entire continent, had begun causing chaos in earnest, it was impossible to even guess what might have happened.
‘…Somehow, my very existence ended up being a perfect counter to them. Come to think of it, I seem to have my hands in an absurd number of places.’
Of course, there were not a few incidents that occurred beyond his reach, from the leak of the Abyss’s madness to the monsters’ unrest and the fall of the Duchy of Rohan. But the problems he had intervened in and resolved were even more numerous.
In truth, since he was playing in a larger pond, getting entangled in major affairs was inevitable, but he could not help feeling uneasy.
‘Surely nothing else will happen just because one job is done, right?’
For example, some incident breaking out in Tarak, where Hubert’s trading company and Howard’s smithy were.
‘…Mm, I don’t have a good feeling. Just in case, I should strengthen my vigilance a bit more. It’s always when you let your guard down at times like this that problems arise.’
Since those two avatars had no noteworthy combat ability, more meticulous management was necessary to respond immediately if something happened.
For some reason, his sharpened intuition seemed to be warning him that it was not time to rest yet.
‘Still, it’s fortunate that the privilege I gained this time seems like it’ll help me grasp unexpected situations quickly. 「Authority of the Monarch」, huh…’
The privilege Heinz II had received upon becoming the Vampire King, 「Authority of the Monarch」.
Like a strategy simulation game, it was an ability in the faction-management category that allowed him to grasp the locations and general information of those belonging to him, as well as issue simple orders remotely.
As he slowly closed his eyes.
A list of the numerous forces connected to him filled his mind.
-Immortal Army
-Hybrid
-Hubert Trading Company
-Kalkos Tribal Alliance
-……
‘…There are a lot.’
The list of forces continued one after another.
When he roughly checked each entry, he could view not only various matters related to that organization but even general information on those affiliated with it.
The function even applied, albeit in a limited way, to places where he could not be called a full “monarch,” such as the Order of the Main God and the Elven Kingdom. For him, who had as many forces as he had avatars, it was an ability that would prove quite helpful.
‘Mm?’
And while he was roughly examining the ability of 「Authority of the Monarch」 with those thoughts, he felt something bothering one corner of his consciousness.
After digging into the cause, he finally found the reason…
-Blood Alliance
- Heterosis
His first force acquired on Earth, not Auterica.
And among them, there was an unusual change in the state of one member.
‘…What the hell is this now?’
└Name: Jin Soran (Acting head of Heterosis)
└Race: Vampire
└Location: South Korea, southern Seoul, Daeran-dong [View detailed coordinates]
└Status: Danger (seriously injured)
‘…I did feel like something was going to happen, but it wasn’t over here—it was on Earth?’
For a top executive of the Blood Alliance, which firmly controlled Korea’s night, and a vampire who could now be considered true-blood-class, to be in a dangerous state with serious injuries…
This was definitely no ordinary matter.
“Hmm.”
Heinz, who had been leisurely enjoying his wine, let out a low hum and set his glass down on the table.
It seemed today’s work was not yet over.
***
The conversation they had shared right before Alpha revealed his identity.
—“If the homeowner doesn’t invite me, I don’t just go inside!”
—“Good. Going in as you please would be trespassing.”
What he had said then had been true.
Immediately after the immense blood magic power spreading from him shook the surroundings.
When young Lee Nahui froze stiff under that overwhelming pressure, Jin Soran, who had returned after going through all sorts of hardships in another world, quickly took care of her and retreated.
And the moment they, tense to the limit as they backed away, crossed the office door behind them and stepped inside, what he said was—
“Oh! You went inside? …Then that’s troublesome. Hey, won’t you invite me in too?”
That innocent question.
‘Until then, I thought there might still be a chance.’
But that fleeting hope was snuffed out in an instant.
Naturally, because of what he did when she refused that request to the end.
“Mmm, then it can’t be helped!”
Immediately after that refreshingly cheerful acceptance, which did not suit his bizarre voice mixed with metallic screeches and static, ended.
Alpha, without the slightest hesitation—
Blew away the entire building containing the office.
‘So entering as he pleases is forbidden, but destroying it is fine? What kind of self-centered standard is that…!’
Wheeeoo—! Wheeeoo—!
People’s screams rang out along with the blaring sirens.
Jin Soran’s mind, which had briefly gone distant, slowly began to return.
Crackle—
Rumble!
“Khk—
Hah, hah.”
Jin Soran, who barely raised her mangled body from the debris of the collapsed building, gasped roughly for breath.
‘Ugh, how long was I out?’
Judging by the fact that the situation around her had not changed much, fortunately, it seemed to have been an extremely brief instant—at most, about a second.
Though once she actually faced the situation around her again, the feeling of relief vanished completely.
Starting with the building where Heterosis’s office had been, several buildings in the area had already collapsed, and the streets everywhere were a mess of broken roads and wrecked vehicles.
The number of casualties from fires, electrocution, falling debris, and more was beyond description.
It was a catastrophe that had occurred in barely five minutes since Alpha revealed his true form.
‘Even with all my effort, all I can do is draw his attention for a moment… Alpha shouldn’t have been at this level. What on earth happened?’
When Alpha had been in the Blood Alliance, she had heard rumors more than once that he had only just reached level 8. But the momentum he was showing now was far beyond that level.
If she had to compare it by level, she would have to say level 9.
She had thought even Heinz, the lord of Heterosis, was at most in the upper range of level 8, and now suddenly there was a level 9 she had never heard of nor seen before.
The abruptness of it made her head spin.
‘No, maybe my head is spinning because of the damage I just took.’
Even her overwhelming regenerative power as a vampire could not function properly against the enemy’s energy gnawing away at her body.
If the opponent had genuinely intended to kill her, she would have already been dead many times over.
The confidence that had swelled within her after reaching level 7 thanks to her lord shriveled like a deflated balloon in the face of an enemy she could not resist.
“Hee! So, I’m asking you, where is that guy Heinz? If you don’t tell me, I’ll kill you? Ah, right, I shouldn’t kill you. They said that woman’s the highest-ranking one, didn’t they? Huh? Then what should I do?”
At that moment, beyond the ruined chaos, a strangely distorted voice rang out frivolously.
Alpha was muttering to himself like a madman.
His words and actions, just like his twisted appearance, certainly did not seem normal at all.
‘I heard rumors that his personality was also a serious type like our lord.’
Since she had never seen him in person, she could not tell whether those rumors had been wrong, or whether that man was a fake impersonating Alpha.
Though in truth, that was not what mattered right now.
“Puhit! I don’t know. Still, I guess that means I can kill everyone except that woman, right? Heinz? Aww, but I was hungry anyway, so this works out! Yeah!”
At those chaotic yet bloodcurdling words, Jin Soran gritted her teeth.
Through his overwhelming blood control, all the blood of the victims in the vicinity had already been sucked toward him long ago.
And yet he was still spouting nonsense like that…
‘Even if my lord comes, will there be a chance of victory…? No, where is Hahoe Mask and what is he doing at a time like this? He hasn’t even been active in Japan recently! If he’s really a dark hero, isn’t now exactly the timing for him to appear?’
Jin Soran’s thoughts tangled chaotically.
Even the Guardians who had been dispatched after the sudden incident had been unable to do anything and had become his sacrifices. Right now, she could not think of any way to break through the situation, leaving her at a loss.
‘Aah, seriously! A hero is supposed to show up in situations like this! Do your job, hero!’
And preferably as quickly as possible!
Rumble—
Boom!
Was it that the heavens had heard that desperate wish of hers?
From the sky, which had turned dark at some point, heavy peals of thunder rang out continuously.
And at last, it became—
Flash—
Crack! Boom!
Carrying immense supernatural energy, several spears of lightning stabbed down into the earth.
“Ggigeggegek—!”
Precisely toward where Alpha was.
Crackle—
Zap—
Soon, amid the violently scattering sparks caused by the aftermath of the impact, that hero slowly revealed herself from the other side.
“…Haa, why did it have to be on my day off…? And even though I dropped everything and came running right away, things ended up like this in that short time…!”
However, that being was neither Hahoe Mask, whom Jin Soran had been desperately waiting for, nor Lord Heinz, whom she had rather hoped would not come, but a completely different person.
‘Ah! Come to think of it… she was here too.’
Recently, with Hahoe Mask’s meteoric rise, her presence had been somewhat overshadowed, so she had forgotten for a moment. But the other party was originally not someone to be underestimated.
Crackle! Craaackle—!
A woman in her late twenties, her entire body wrapped in golden lightning, stood there with a frown.
Perhaps because she had come in such a hurry, parts of her stylish outing clothes were torn and damaged, and her hair, which looked as though it had been carefully done up, was sticking out in all directions like a lion’s mane from the static electricity pouring out of her body.
“I guess I’ve looked pretty easy lately because I’ve been behaving myself. Don’t you think it’s crossing the line quite a bit to barge in so openly and throw a tantrum like this?”
She was a Guardian always counted among the top three whenever Korea’s strongest were named.
A hero whose achievements were known not only through various otherworld-related media but also through returnee interviews.
Yun Jiyun, the head of the Returnee Association’s southern Seoul branch, the Thunder Emperor.
“…You’re dead.”
And she was also the person responsible for this area.
***
Immediately after sensing Jin Soran’s crisis through 「Authority of the Monarch」, it was not very difficult to find out what had happened to her on Earth.
To be more precise, it was such a major incident that I naturally learned about it.
-[Terror Alert] Large-scale terror attack occurring in Daeran-dong, southern Seoul. Nearby residents, please evacuate immediately…
Starting with the text alert that reached even me, who lived on the outskirts of Seoul, various breaking news reports slowly began covering all sorts of media.
Perhaps not much time had passed since the incident occurred, as the news was only now beginning to spread. But the scale of the damage had already grown to an extent that could not be ignored.
‘This level of destructive power in just a few minutes. The opponent should be considered transcendental-class. On top of that, there’s a very high possibility they’re a vampire. Then, as expected…’
And amid that urgent situation where every minute and every second counted, I accelerated my thoughts, sorted the information in an instant, and made a rational judgment.
Ssssk—
Heinz II, the Vampire King of Auterica, quietly rose from the shadows.
In any case, Hybrid, which had absorbed the Obaipo Clan, was scheduled to enter a period of reorganization for the time being, so there would be no major problem even if he left his post for a while.
Sending an avatar that could be unsummoned at any time in preparation for any unexpected situation was also basic.
‘A transcendental-class vampire from another dimension. You’re mine!’
It was absolutely not because of any other desire.
However, what Heinz, who hurriedly arrived at the scene with that rather urgent mindset, encountered was—
“Khegek! Heinzzz!”
Crack—! Boom!
“Hey, would you look at that? You keep looking for someone else in front of a lady. Your manners are as awful as your appearance!”
A scene he had not expected at all.