In a laboratory strewn with all sorts of junk like a mess.
Vreeee— kakak!
Following the sound of a motor spinning furiously, the noise of something gnawing away resounded clamorously.
Loud noises of breaking and shattering followed in succession.
It was a work noise ill-suited to the exterior lined here and there with cutting-edge equipment, but here too, it was merely an everyday sight as usual.
In the midst of such an ordinary routine.
Beep—
Amidst that clamor, an alien sound unlike the usual intruded.
"Doctor, are you there?"
Whether the laboratory's worker couldn't hear it or not, the loud noise that had continued resounding only gradually began to die down after several more calls.
"Doctor?"
By then, about five minutes had already passed since the first call, but the voice continued speaking with a calm tone as if accustomed to it.
"Huh? What? I was in the middle of something going well."
At that, the laboratory worker who had been busily moving about—Doctor—grumbled as he crossed the junk-filled space.
Picking up a towel hanging haphazardly, he roughly scrubbed the red liquid stained on both hands.
Beep—
And reaching the desk sitting in one corner, he lightly tapped the magic tool on top of it to connect the communication.
"Ye-s~ ye-s~ This is the Doctor. What business do you have?"
"Ah, Doctor. I'm sorry for contacting you so suddenly."
"If you know that, it's enough. Please quickly tell me your business. I had a feeling that an idea capable of pioneering a new paradigm regarding the usage of the biological organ called the eyeball might strike me at any moment!"
He was beating around the bush, but in the end, it meant there wasn't any real progress at the moment.
But since it wasn't the first or second time he'd said such things, the caller delivered the news calmly without much reaction.
"We have obtained intelligence that the prey you instructed us to monitor has entered Europe."
The welcome news he had been eagerly awaiting.
"Korea's Phantom, Heinz has infiltrated Paris, France. He has currently annihilated the Thermidor branches in the surrounding satellite cities and is in a situation where a clash with the Tyrant is imminent."
"Hoo?"
Doctor's blank eyes curved into crescents upon hearing those words.
When he had been waiting anxiously there had been no word, yet for it to suddenly arrive at such an unexpected moment.
Wasn't this practically a surprise gift!
"Wuhohot~ Finally! You mean France? That's a bit disappointing. Well, it's still not bad! Since he's come all the way to Europe, it's practically no different from the goal being achieved!"
It would have been better if he had arrived in Eastern Europe, but that was merely a matter of time, so it didn't matter much.
Now, whether sooner or later, following the pull he had arranged in advance, he would naturally head to Eastern Europe, and among that, to Romania.
Once he got there, the situation would be settled.
"Inform the Count! Tell him to prepare without a hitch so as not to make any mistakes later!"
"Yes, then I shall deliver it to His Excellency the Count exactly as spoken."
"If any unusual matters occur related to this going forward, report them immediately."
"Understood, Doctor."
Soon, the light emanating from the softly ringing magic tool gradually subsided, and silence settled in the room where all sorts of junk rolled about.
"......"
From right after the communication ended, Doctor, who had been lightly stroking his beard, slowly looked around his workshop and fell into thought.
Thinking that a sample which would become the decisive clue to his long research was about to fall into his hands, he couldn't contain his fluttering heart filled with swelling anticipation.
Soon, he twisted one corner of his mouth up and nodded heavily.
"Yes..."
And then, as if having made a resolution, he opened his mouth with a grim tone.
"As expected, shall I go with pepperoni pizza."
Today's lunch menu.
No matter what the situation was, meals were an important matter.
***
Inside a bizarre space dyed red in every direction.
Kadeudeudeuk—
Pitch-black darkness encroached upon one corner of it.
The shadow of a ferocious monster that writhed incessantly as if alive, devouring the area.
It continued to swell in size and endlessly expand its territory—.
"How troublesome."
Swaah—
As if torn apart by hundreds of invisible hands, it was ripped to shreds by the force attacking from all directions.
But as had been the case all along until now, the situation did not end there.
The shattered shadow fragments began to clump together individually, and soon became a swarm of demons, fluttering bat wings as they flew up.
The shadow army that regenerated endlessly no matter how much it was destroyed, pressing forward.
Heinz II, who was facing it, could keenly feel why his opponent's byname was the Tyrant.
'Furthermore, it can't simply be seen as a summoning-type ability. Truly all-purpose... this is tricky.'
He, who had been floating lightly in mid-air, lowered his gaze slightly and looked at the darkness writhing here and there across the ground.
The shadow used by that Tyrant was an all-weather supernatural ability usable in every aspect—not stopping at minion creation, but also search, stealth, movement, attack, defense, and more.
Moreover, the opponent's proficiency was quite outstanding, skillfully wielding all those functions and opposing him with such tenacity.
'I realized that the Vampiric Factor wasn't the measure of strength, yet it seems I was still taking it lightly deep down. I must reflect on that.'
Because of that, the fight was dragging on longer than he had initially thought.
He had deliberately lured the enemy inside the barrier during broad daylight when its main force, the shadows, would weaken, just as per the information he'd gathered beforehand, yet even so.
But Heinz wasn't the only one feeling such sentiments.
...No, rather, the opponent who had felt the difference in strength after the few clashes in the early stages and was avoiding a head-to-head confrontation as much as possible was even more so.
'This is absurd... Where did such a monster suddenly pop out from? Korea? What kind of country is that place...!'
The one who ruled the underworld of France and the master of Thermidor—the Level 9 Vampire, Tyrant, furrowed his brow.
Unbefitting his reputation, he still hid his figure within the shadows, ceaselessly crossing through space to reposition himself.
Sssahk—
Having been watching for an opportunity like that, he once again rushed toward the barrier on one side.
Pazijik—
For about a second after colliding with the barrier.
If he invested just a few more seconds, he felt he could definitely break through and escape, but....
"Damn it."
Unable to finish the task, he was buried in the shadows again and immediately vacated the spot.
And immediately after, seeing the damaged barrier restored in an instant and the shadows in the area torn away in a flash, he forcibly swallowed a sigh.
'Just how much energy does he have?'
After beginning to avoid a frontal confrontation, the first thing he attempted was escaping the barrier surrounding the area.
Perhaps for the sake of stealth and rapid activation, the barrier had no special function other than confining the surroundings, but surely he couldn't just keep dancing to the opponent's tune on the battlefield prepared by the enemy?
Also, though he had stepped out confidently because he misjudged the opponent's strength at first, his forte, characterized by shadows, was strictly guerrilla warfare, not a frontal war.
To capitalize on that strength, a wide space rather than a restricted one was far more advantageous, but....
'No, it's not simply a matter of energy. While fighting the shadow army, he maintains a blocking barrier at a level that even I can't break through at once, and on top of that, the moment an omen of escape is detected, he counterattacks and restores the barrier simultaneously?'
Thinking about it again, it was so absurd that the corners of his eyes twitched without him realizing.
No matter how much preparation had been done beforehand, it's not like that much time had been given.
As expected, a one-on-one with that monster in his current state was absolutely impossible.
Shwikak—
"Kuk!"
On top of that, somehow knowing like a ghost and attacking whenever an opening appeared, he was at the point of bursting with frustration as all means were blocked.
"...Fast."
However, Heinz, who was overwhelmingly dominant like that, wasn't comfortable either.
Clicking his tongue, he deflected the sharp shadows extending from all directions and focused his mind again.
But since the opponent had also reached a considerable level and was trying to avoid with determination, attacks utilizing the flow of causality were not easy either.
'I can't drag this out any longer.'
No matter how carefully he had prepared the barrier in an uninhabited mountain forest, this place was not far from the capital, Paris.
As time passed, the probability of intervention from the surroundings would grow, and if that happened, he would miss the opponent he had luckily managed to trap.
If things turned out that way, probably such an opportunity would never come again.
'Now, when the careless one crawled in on his own feet, should be seen as practically the only chance.'
Having come all the way to European soil and invested this much time, he couldn't exactly come up empty-handed from the first hunt, could he?
As expected, to finish this quickly, it seemed he would also have to overexert himself a bit.
'...If it's just for a moment, it should be fine.'
Even after ascending to the Holy Blood, many things had happened to him.
In Auterika, he had obtained the essence bloods left behind by other progenitor bloodlines along with Obaipo.
On Earth, he had absorbed the blood of Alpha, who had reached Level 9 albeit imperfectly.
'In the fight with the Revolutionary that followed, I couldn't properly get my power under control, so I couldn't exert my full strength.'
Moreover, back then he had been focused on supporting Heinrich and Halle, so there had been no need.
Since it had been such a situation, obtaining actual combat data through this opportunity wasn't such a bad thing either.
To properly test his power that had reached the apex in a way other vampires couldn't even imagine.
"Haa—."
Having made up his mind like that, Heinz exhaled a deep breath.
And while maintaining 「Existence Denial」 that concealed the energy within his body, he awakened the foundation constituting the race called vampire—「Blood Progenitor」.
Thump!
Blood that had evolved to its limits through 「Mixed Blood Evolution」... blood purified to the extreme through 「Purified Blood Essence」 carried the 「Arcane of Blood」 and circulated throughout his entire body.
Thump!
He observed his body internally through 「Insight」, and using the adjustment of causality through 「Rapid Acceleration」, he hastened the change in an instant.
Ppudeuk— Ppudeudeuk—
Chiiik—!
Blood continuously accelerating and circulating throughout his body, and heat and steam erupting from the pores all over his body.
With the increase in blood flow, his muscles swelled greatly and his skin burned red.
'A master craftsman doesn't blame his tools, but...'
Isn't it common sense that one can achieve much better results with a better work environment and tools?
That was a fact he always felt viscerally as Howard, someone working on the front lines of crafting himself.
"Huuu."
And the flesh is the most perfect tool a living being can possess.
'Then...'
Thus, what had been sleeping deep within Heinz II's body.
Factors that had been sealed away normally to reduce the burden placed on the body.
Opened their eyes all at once.
***
The incessantly raging storm ceased.
But the Tyrant, who had been concealing his body and watching for an opportunity, couldn't act rashly.
'What?'
He didn't know.
Clearly, now when the enemy had suddenly stopped was the best opportunity to escape this place, yet the instinct that had protected his life for ages screamed at him to unconditionally stay hidden.
At that, his body paused momentarily, but he soon made a rational judgment.
'First, prioritize escaping.'
Whatever the reason, opportunities like this didn't come easily.
He would try for now, and if something seemed wrong, he could quickly hide then.
Just as he had done until now.
Having rushed to the barrier in an instant, he unleashed a full-powered attack toward it.
Pazijik—
Just a few seconds.
In a situation with no particular interference, the moment he finally punched a hole through the wall blocking the space—
A chill!
A shiver ran down his spine.
Immediately, he wielded power as engraved in his instincts.
Sharp thorns shot up from the darkness engulfing his entire body in an instant, piercing in all directions, and a pitch-black giant's grip rose from the floor, covering the space.
Simultaneously, all the shadows draped within the barrier writhed and stretched toward him in the blink of an eye.
And before all those phenomena took even a single breath, he who had already been deeply buried in the shadow on the ground....
"I finally caught you, you little rat."
Together with the cold voice that followed.
Ssuuk— Swaah!
His neck twisted and caught by the strong grip that had dug deep into the ground, he was dragged up to the surface like a fish skewered by a harpoon.
'...Kuk, when the hell?!'
And around him.
The shadows he had scattered just moments ago shattered into pieces and scattered like cherry blossoms.
Since they were all a gloomy black, it wasn't very picturesque, but.