#245
Vampire Rise (5)
A mysterious being who had suddenly appeared in Korea—the Hahoe Mask.
He began indiscriminately judging criminals by his own standards alone, and his brutal methods rendered distinguished service in stabilizing public order, which had been in chaos.
No matter that it was tyranny that ignored both law and order and placed brute force above all else, no one could deny the visible results he had produced.
As a result, the public sent fervent support toward his actions, while looking down on those who had been responsible for domestic security until then.
Saying that these massive organizations were inferior to a single man.
Kwaaang—!
‘There are plenty of excuses, but in the end, that’s how it turned out... So I suppose there’s no helping it if they say that.’
Yun Ji-yun, who had been exchanging blows with Alpha, smiled bitterly.
But contrary to the public’s perception, the Ability Management Bureau and the Korean Returnee Association were far from incompetent organizations.
They had merely seemed somewhat inefficient because of all sorts of unavoidable restrictions. How could those who had maintained society until now while being responsible for a nation’s public security possibly be incompetent?
‘This place was definitely one of Heterosis’s main bases, wasn’t it?’
For example, she had already grasped plenty about Heterosis, the mainstream faction of the Blood Alliance, which practically ruled Seoul’s streets at night.
Since they took a moderate stance and provided considerable help in maintaining public order, for the time being they had maintained an implicit cooperative relationship and simply kept watch. Naturally, however, it was also a region the Association was monitoring closely.
Yet a powerful energy reaction had suddenly been observed from a place like that.
And it was an enormous level of hostile blood mana at that.
‘I came as fast as I could... but the damage is too great.’
Biting her lip again, she furrowed her brow.
The headquarters detected an anomaly, the news was relayed to her while she was on leave, and she then ran here in person—all of that had taken barely five minutes.
Yet even though she had moved that urgently, the number of casualties had already reached the hundreds.
If not for a vampire who appeared to belong to Heterosis drawing the thing’s attention until the very end, the damage here would have increased even further.
‘A Level 9-class Frenzied Bloodfiend appearing at Heterosis’s base. Come to think of it, they said Alpha, who had been the leader before the hard-liners collapsed, had disappeared.’
Pajijijik—!
Even as all sorts of thoughts cluttered her mind—
The energy rotating fiercely inside Yun Ji-yun’s body, the chakra of lightning, continued to whirl as it resonated with the world.
Kururung—
Using it as a medium, her will began to impose itself upon phenomena—
Kwaaang—!
And soon, once again, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky to the ground.
Precisely onto Alpha’s head.
“Kuaaak! I’ll kill you, kill you, kill you! You too! Heinz too! Aaah—all humans!”
“Ah, you’re disgustingly tough! Why don’t you just hurry up and die already!”
However, he was no ordinary monster either.
In a fleeting instant where a single second was divided into dozens of parts—
Alpha, roasted golden once more by lightning packed full of chakra, tore through the air and rushed in front of her.
“Kihahak!”
His outer hide had already been reduced to tatters by repeated lightning strikes, but his nauseatingly tremendous vitality was rapidly restoring his body even in that moment.
As though he truly were immortal.
‘Of course, there’s no way that’s actually true.’
Even if he really were immortal, what she had to do would not change.
‘Frenzied Bloodfiends are dead or alive. It would be easiest to blow him away whole with maximum firepower... but there’s no helping it. It’s not as if that’s the only method.’
The location was unfortunately bad, making it difficult to use her full power.
If she recklessly unleashed maximum firepower in a city like this, the entire area would be blown away together with the barrier the Guardian side had spread around them while she fought.
If things went wrong, the damage she caused might end up exceeding the damage caused by that Frenzied Bloodfiend.
Pajik—!
Electricity within her body whirled violently, and her thoughts accelerated beyond their limits.
In an eternal time where breath stopped, bodily metabolism stopped, and even the flow of bioelectricity ceased—
Only the chakra dwelling inside her body spun on without end.
At last, from the center of the chakra rotating like a wheel, an inner microcosm opened.
And she, Yun Ji-yun—
—became lightning.
***
“Move, move, move! Getting the citizens to a safe area comes first!”
“We’re short on healers? Contact every cleric in the vicinity in the name of the government! If that still isn’t enough, grab them by the trouser legs or threaten them—do whatever it takes to bring them here!”
“Kh, we need more support on the barrier! We’re at our limit just blocking the aftermath now! If it takes a direct hit, it’ll burst in one blow!”
The outskirts of the battlefield where Yun Ji-yun was holding Alpha back.
Amid the chaotic scene, Guardians from the Returnee Association and agents from the Ability Management Bureau, urgently dispatched to the site, were moving busily.
In truth, it was only recently, thanks to the Hahoe Mask, that they had enjoyed a relatively peaceful period. This kind of situation itself was something they were very familiar with.
It was uncommon for a single villain, not even a group, to cause damage on this scale, but what they had to do did not change much.
After all, the problematic villain would be dealt with by the branch chief, who had personally stepped forward.
And while everyone was busy like that—
A single figure leisurely passed through the scene beyond everyone’s perception and approached the barrier.
‘For them to respond this well when barely any time has passed since things broke out. Impressive. ...Though it also means this kind of thing has happened that often.’
Heinz, who had concealed his presence using “Existence Denial,” nodded heavily.
As far as he knew, news related to terrorism had been breaking out practically every other day, so it was not particularly strange.
‘And once this news spreads, the villains who had been quiet will start acting up one by one again.’
Originally, when things were quiet and nothing happened, everyone watched one another. But from the moment someone acted out first, it was human psychology to follow suit and make a mess.
He had beaten down every one that popped out until now and made them behave, but to set things right again, he would probably have to suffer a fair bit for a while.
‘Tsk, there’s no helping it. First, Jin So-ran seems to have gotten out safely, so I can go see her later. For now, I suppose I need to deal with the one inside there first.’
At this close a distance, he could tell where his dependents were even without using “Monarch’s Authority.”
Including her, several surviving vampires of Heterosis were huddled together a short distance away.
‘This presence... as expected, he must be Sacred Blood-class. And yet Jin So-ran is still alive, which means he never intended to kill her from the start.’
He could feel the intense auras of two beings colliding beyond the barrier.
At her level, there was no way she could have escaped an opponent like that on her own, so it seemed she had taken the chance to get away while the Association’s powerhouse intervened, during the time the other side had deliberately refrained from killing her.
‘She was quite lucky. Now then, I can find out about him directly from this point on.’
Having reached the barrier, Heinz briefly examined it with “Insight.”
Then, using “Existence Denial,” he lightly ignored it and entered inside.
And immediately afterward, what he saw was—
“Kkigeggek! Heinzzz!”
Kwarurung—! Kwaang!
“Honestly, have you been looking for someone else this whole time while there’s a lady right in front of you? Your manners are as rotten as your looks!”
Pajijijik—!
A half-charred monster desperately calling out in search of him.
And a certain being made of light... no, electricity, who was holding the creature in place and repeatedly striking it with lightning, roasting it.
‘...My name? I see. Then that thing must be Alpha.’
Based on that small clue, Heinz instantly arrived at a conclusion about the other party’s identity and observed the situation with interest.
Even while looking utterly cornered, Alpha continued to regenerate and rampage, destroying his surroundings. But in his current state, with his reason lost and only instinct remaining, he was literally no match for an opponent who moved like lightning.
‘A lightning spirit... is what it looks similar to. But rather than natural force, it’s power closer to a more fundamental concept. A chakra user, then.’
Chakra—the supernatural ability to complete an inner microcosm and interfere with specific concepts and phenomena.
He had seen no small number of its users on Earth until now, but this was the first time he had seen someone who had reached the level of replacing their entire body with the single concept of “lightning.”
‘...Strong. And it doesn’t seem like that’s her full power, either.’
Since it was an unfamiliar system he knew only through knowledge, it was difficult to accurately gauge her level. Even so, he could clearly tell that she stood in a rather high position even among transcendents.
“Aaaaaaah—! I, I have to kill Heinz! If you get in my way, I’ll kill you too!”
“Yes, yes. I understand, so why don’t you die first!”
Alpha screamed violently as another bolt of lightning struck him and his entire body turned to charcoal.
As expected, no matter how one looked at it, that thing was not in its right mind.
A Frenzied Bloodfiend... In other words, even taking into account the fact that his mind had been polluted by devouring his own kind, his obsession with Heinz felt strangely unnatural.
As if someone had forcibly engraved it inside his head.
‘Well, there’s no point in trying to reason out the thought process of a madman. More importantly, if I leave him like this, that fellow will die soon.’
For now he was enduring with his superior regenerative ability, but even that seemed to be gradually reaching its limit, as it was slowing down.
Then should he be satisfied that the cause of this incident was being smoothly eliminated and obediently withdraw?
‘...As if I could!’
The damage their side had suffered from this incident was not small.
The destruction of Heterosis property, including the office, was only a minor part of it.
More than half of the vampires who had been in the office had died after being swept up in Alpha’s rampage, and Jin So-ran, who had been handling Heinz’s duties in his stead, had also suffered injuries that would require her to recuperate for a while.
In a situation like this, how could he simply stay in the back and do nothing?
‘So our side clearly has the right to take rightful revenge as well.’
Yes, so this was—
Absolutely not a kill steal.
Shunk—
“Keheuk! You bastard...? Heinz—!”
It was merely a very small procedure for settling debts and grudges.
***
Somewhere in China.
The person seated in a wheelchair let out a deep sigh, then, with a somewhat unpleasant feeling, attempted to contact his unwelcome superior.
—Hello? Is this Yullyeongja~?
“Yes, Doctor. I contacted you to inform you that delivery of the goods to the place you desired has been completed.”
—Ooh-hohot! Is that so? Excellent, excellent!
A frivolous voice, making a fuss as always.
But Yullyeongja showed no particular reaction and calmly laid out only what needed to be said.
A brief summary of the events that had taken place so far.
“Korea’s Thunder Emperor, Yun Ji-yun, is said to have joined the scene far earlier than expected. We deliberately targeted a moment when she was away, but it seems it was not meaningful enough to matter.”
—Hmm, that’s a bit of a shame! Even if it was a disposable piece, I’d hoped it would make things a little flashier!
The sound of someone lightly clicking their tongue came from beyond the communication.
After that, with a few more matters, the interim report was completed without any major issues.
—You’ve worked hard, Yullyeongja! He was a friend who wasn’t in his right mind, so he must have been difficult to handle!
“It was not to that extent. I am also accustomed to such things.”
Yullyeongja’s words contained the meaning, “No matter how difficult and hard to handle he was, he wasn’t as bad as you,” but naturally, he could not say that outright.
—I hope the gift filled with my feelings was safely delivered to that friend Heinz! Of course, I’ve prepared a second-best plan in case it wasn’t properly conveyed, but easy and fast is still preferable! Uhahahahat!
“Hmm, is that man so important? Of course, I have heard that he remained intact even after devouring his own kind, but I do not know just how impressive that is. Was there truly a need to expend even a Level 9 vampire that took so much effort to create?”
To Yullyeongja, the East Asia branch chief of the Beoncheon Society, Alpha had also been part of their excellent fighting force, so he could not help but feel dissatisfied with this meaningless operation.
Even without that, they had suffered a considerable loss of forces while fighting the Hahoe Mask, and now this waste on top of it.
—Yullyeongja, it is only natural to sow seeds if one wishes to harvest! It is only natural to fatten livestock before slaughter! In that sense, investing a defective product like Alpha was a very efficient decision! He was only Level 9 in name; his intelligence had regressed, making him no different from a beast.
“Ahem. It bothers me that we can hardly determine that man’s movements.”
—That is exactly why this operation is necessary! We will gently scatter bait and make him come to the place we want. And if only we can use that body, then at last we will be able to complete the “Perfect Evolution Lifeform Project”! Uhahahahat!
From beyond the communication, the Doctor’s laughter burst out more refreshingly than ever before.
How could it not?
It was one of the large-scale projects for which he had drawn up the initial draft and commissioned researchers around the world, along with small amounts of dragon blood, to conduct research.
Although the laboratory in Korea had been smashed midway through, that research had been steadily progressing.
And now, with the existence of the mutant vampire named Heinz discovered this time, its completion had finally come within sight.
—Uhihyahahaha!
Thus the Doctor continued to burst into satisfied laughter over his great research before ending the communication.
Unaware that the thing which was practically his long-cherished wish had already been leaked to another, and that a long time had passed since it had been created by that person’s hands.