-Entity Name: Heinz II
-Race: Vampire (Divine Blood)
-Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」, 「Persona」, 「Clear Mirror, Still Water」, 「Monstrous Strength」, 「Xenoglossy」
-Entity Traits: 「Blood Progenitor」, 「Hybrid Evolution」, 「Mysteries of Blood」, 「Refined Blood Essence」, 「Denial of Existence」, 「Return to the Source」, 「Rapid Acceleration」, 「Insight」, 「Bewitchment」
-Special Notes: After collecting a variety of vampiric factors, he has grown closer to the source—the origin of all vampires. However, the root has not yet properly settled, leaving him in an incomplete state. All techniques that use blood receive an additional correction. He exerts a powerful influence over all vampire-kind.
Heinz II looked down at his hands and slowly clenched and unclenched his fists.
‘Incredible.’
A heavy energy boiled up from deep within his body, and through it, an immense power naturally radiated from him.
On top of that, as though something in his mind had opened up—as if eyes that had been closed all this time had only now opened—an unfamiliar sensation came flooding in.
As if an entirely different sensory organ had newly sprouted.
‘…I’m going to have a hard time getting used to this for a while, aren’t I?’
If he had to put it into words, it was not qi sense (氣感), but something beyond it—spiritual sense (靈感).
Fortunately, he had become accustomed to many senses while handling all sorts of races, from undead to dragons. If not, even moving his body properly like this would have been difficult.
‘And besides….’
Heinz slightly furrowed his brow as he gauged the burden being transmitted to 「Mind Hub」 and 「Soul Firewall」.
The cause was 「Persona」, which had swollen to a degree incomparable to when it first began, after repeated growths in rank.
‘And yet this is still incomplete?’
It seemed he would need to reinforce his mental protection with 『Other Skill Enhancement』, just in case.
It would be far better to prepare in advance than to let his guard down and have his ego contaminated.
By the time he had roughly finished checking his physical condition, he received the target’s location from Pascal, Harris’s spirit.
‘I’ll check the rest slowly later.’
Heinz immediately prepared to move.
It still seemed as though the target was continuing to watch this place, but there was no telling when he might try to leave Romania.
If not for this opportunity, there was no knowing when he would be able to face him again.
‘The distance from here is….’
He was in a nature reserve located between the capital, Bucharest, and a satellite city to its north.
It was about fifteen kilometers away from the southern part of the city, his target destination.
And to the current him, fifteen kilometers was—
‘Close.’
It was truly a trivial distance.
Ssssk—
Immediately after his figure vanished from the forest using 「Denial of Existence」.
The barrier, which had already been barely holding on, shattered and collapsed.
And only a few seconds later, Heinz was already standing in a completely different place.
At the very location the wind spirit had informed him of.
‘Let’s make sure of it.’
Fssssss—
As he lightly looked around, a whitish blood mist burst from his body and wrapped around the area in an instant.
Then 「Mysteries of Blood」 activated.
With that alone, the area around him was instantly transformed into a space isolated from the outside.
“Well then, let’s have a look at that proud face of yours.”
Since this was the place where Doctor was located, the traps set inside would surely be anything but ordinary, but Heinz naturally did not care in the slightest.
His figure vanished from the spot again, and….
Kwaaaang—!
The security barrier surrounding the mansion burst apart at once.
***
When the figure of the vampire Phantom disappeared from the hologram showing the forest, Doctor merely tilted his head for a moment.
But when the barrier was destroyed immediately afterward, one of his eyebrows shot sharply upward.
He had confidence in the barrier he had prepared personally, and he was certain there was no possibility of the one trapped inside slipping out in secret.
If he tried to force his way out, it would simply break instead.
‘Just like now.’
And if his opponent had escaped from there, it was obvious where his next destination would be.
Beeep— beeep— beeep—
The moment his thoughts reached that point, an emergency alarm began blaring loudly throughout the hideout where he was.
“Huh, now this?”
Separate from the surveillance barrier enclosing all of Bucharest, it was an alarm device he had spread around his base.
What that meant was clear.
“It means he came straight here without being caught by the barrier surrounding the city.”
Doctor’s eyebrow twitched.
It had not even been ten or so seconds since his opponent vanished from the forest.
And yet for him to have arrived here immediately… it would have been impossible unless he had known something from the very beginning.
“Hmm, hmm. Now that I think about it, there were those timely helpers as well, weren’t there? Unless they knew from the start that there was a trap, there’s no way something like that could have been possible…. This is absolutely not a matter I can let pass lightly!”
Thinking back, he had been so captivated by their peculiarities that it had not occurred to him right away, but there was no way such powerful beings had suddenly fallen out of the sky.
One of them was even a fairy from another world, no less!
‘There’s an unidentified organization behind Phantom. One with the intelligence capability to discover in advance the trap laid here, and the strength to dispatch support of that level!’
He had personally gone out of his way to pay special attention to the trap here, so it should not have been easy to uncover through something like spies.
Perhaps they had human resources in the future-sight or clairvoyance category.
In one way or another, they must have discovered his intentions and prepared in advance….
Kwaaaang—!
But Doctor’s rapidly spinning thoughts were forced to stop midway by the vibration that accompanied a sudden explosive roar.
And as the owner of this place, he immediately realized it.
An intruder had entered the hideout.
A monster that had devoured even the duke said to be the strongest in Europe and grown stronger still had arrived right on his doorstep.
To bite through no one else’s throat but his own!
“A level 10 vampire….”
Doctor shuddered at the thought that he was in the same space as that unprecedented being he had only seen through video.
But his expression was not that of someone gripped by fear.
“I’m looking forward to this! Just what will that one-of-a-kind being show me…!”
His face was flushed with excitement, like a fan meeting the superstar he adored, like someone facing the ideal partner they had dreamed of.
Even with his life hanging by a thread, he prioritized his own curiosity.
In truth, he also had something he believed in.
Kugugung— Kuuung!
Even during that time, thunderous roars and vibrations continued to be transmitted.
Considering the grounds of the building he was in were at best around the size of a somewhat large mansion, it made no sense. But in a world where all sorts of mysteries existed, it was not particularly strange.
-1st floor breached.
-2nd floor breached.
-3rd floor breached.
-4th floor in progress.
Now that his safety was guaranteed, he was able to devote himself comfortably to research, but naturally, Doctor had not been able to live like this from the beginning.
In order to survive in another world filled with every kind of danger, developing sufficient ability was essential.
The field Doctor had focused on back then was none other than “Dungeon Master.”
-4th floor breached.
-5th floor in progress.
He was even the very person who had designed the impregnable dungeon in his world of origin that had been called none other than the “Demon King’s Castle.”
According to what was later learned, even after he returned, that dungeon was never ultimately conquered. In the end, the Demon King who used it as his base conquered the continent, and that world became a closed world.
-6th floor in progress.
Of course, that was of no concern to Doctor, who had been able to receive the Demon King’s sponsorship in return and happily lay the foundation for his life as a researcher.
“…Uh, but this is a little…. Isn’t he far too fast compared to what I expected?”
However, even he could not help but gradually become flustered by the situation changing in real time.
Earth had a different environment from other worlds, and the amount of materials he could invest was woefully insufficient, so there was no choice but to limit the number of floors.
That was why the dungeon he had prepared this time went only up to the 9th floor.
Even so, he had been confident that, through the synergy created by linking various techniques, its quality would not fall too far behind….
-7th floor in progress.
How many minutes had it been since the intrusion began?
Even if he was a level 10 vampire, how could a dungeon that could comfortably stall other transcendents for hours be this easy?
“Mm, it seems this is as far as it goes! What a shame!”
With an awkward smile hanging on his lips, Doctor slowly began to back away.
He had instinctively realized that if he tried to test the waters moderately as he had first intended, his neck would be torn out before he knew it.
“Huh? Spatial severance?”
However, when he tried to escape immediately, he realized that an isolated space had already surrounded the area, and he could not help but be flustered once again.
‘How, in that brief instant?’
It made no sense.
“Space,” along with “time,” was one of the most difficult fields in magic.
It should not have been a technique that could be deployed without any particular preparation like this.
It might have been possible if the opponent were a Great Mage-type transcendent, but Phantom was not that, was he?
Not knowing of 「Mysteries of Blood」, which could quickly construct techniques as long as one had an understanding of mystery, of the time reduction using causality, or of the indirect assistance from the Immortal King Hans and the dragon Horus, who possessed all sorts of magic-type traits, he had no way of understanding the current situation.
-8th floor in progress.
Even as that happened, the reaper was tightening its grip around his windpipe, step by step.
If he were given just a little more time, he could break through the spatial severance and escape, but no matter how he calculated it, the opponent’s breakthrough speed was faster than that.
Now only a single floor remained.
If even that was breached, he would be facing that monster head-on.
The only level 10 vampire in the world, and perhaps the only one in all dimensions!
“…Huh? That might not be so bad either….”
For a moment, he was tempted, but of course, it was nonsense.
He judged the situation objectively.
If a situation came where he faced Phantom, what could he do?
“Mm, nothing at all! I’d be dead before I even realized it! Pyahahaha!”
Or perhaps he might be forcibly turned into his slave and end up changing banners, but having already learned of Heinz’s disposition through various investigations, that did not appeal to him very much.
No matter how he thought about it, Heinz did not seem likely to allow “free research.”
“Hyahyahyahyat—!”
Truly, there was nothing he could do.
***
Kwaang!
Heinz smashed through the “unbreakable wall” and broke through the maze in a straight line.
Without stopping, he dismantled every monster, golem, magic circle, chimera, and machine that sprang out from all directions, focusing only on moving quickly.
Giiiing— clank!
“Kraaaagh!”
Kwaaaang—!
After breaking through eight spaces that grew increasingly difficult the farther he went, he had now reached the ninth, yet the path still showed no sign of ending.
It was enough to make him marvel at how such a space could have been created on Earth.
‘It doesn’t even feel like the laws of Earth apply here. Separate laws are being applied, and at this point, it’s practically no different from another dimension. How is something like this possible?’
He knew the rough details about Doctor.
The source of the Beoncheonhoe’s technology, and one who had mastered most of the techniques that existed in this world.
But now that he was facing that ability in person, Doctor truly lived up to his reputation.
If it had been his former self, it would probably have taken him at least thirty minutes to get this far.
This result had been achieved because, after becoming Divine Blood, he could ignore the rule of this dungeon: the “unbreakable wall.”
‘With this level of ability, he’ll be able to break through my barrier in no time. Before he gets away, as quickly as possible…!’
Like that, he gradually adapted to his changed body and rapidly broke through the dungeon for several minutes.
Just as he felt that this space, too, would soon come to an end….
[Ahh! Can you hear me? Can you hear me, Phantom!]
That voice rang out as if echoing throughout the entire space.
[Ah, this is truly troublesome! It was completely unexpected! I never imagined those helping you would be so strong, you see. Pyahat!]
A frivolous voice without even the slightest hint of seriousness.
At that, Heinz frowned even as he moved almost as though folding space.
Did that mean he had already finished preparing to escape after all?
[Also, I’m the sort of person who just can’t stand not knowing what I’m curious about. Before I go, there’s something I absolutely have to ask you!]
Heinz did not answer.
He simply gathered as much mental power as possible and focused solely on moving forward faster.
‘Faster!’
Then, as his concentration soared and his thoughts expanded, the spiritual sense he had not properly recognized until now stirred and began to activate little by little.
In accordance with that, the range of space he perceived also began to expand gradually.
‘…What is this?’
Not only the floor he was currently moving through and the floors he had passed, but even the place where Doctor was located and the mansion grounds, the real space itself.
All of it entered his perception so clearly he felt he could grasp it.
Even a single drop of blood that had fallen at Doctor’s feet.
A sense that had just awakened and could not be used properly had bloomed at the perfect timing.
[…So, that’s why I ask—could you perhaps tell me the name? The name of that organization you belong to! As a sign of respect, you see!]
By that point, Heinz could be certain.
The man was still attempting to break through the spatial-sealing barrier, the floor Heinz was on now was the last floor of the dungeon, and even that had very little left.
In other words, that was a bluff.
[Good heavens, those guys claim to handle information, and yet none of them knew such a force existed? Aren’t they truly useless? I really ought to fix all their heads for them! With surgical operations, that is. Uhyahyat!]
The end was gradually coming into sight.
Due to Doctor’s continued tricks, a hole had opened in the barrier surrounding the mansion, but it was nowhere near large enough for him to slip through.
‘Is he trying to buy time?’
At that moment, one word he had once thought of suddenly came to mind.
Back then, he had only considered it something he might use if the opportunity arose later….
Heinz gave a faint laugh and took his final step.
Pajijik— pachang!
The sound of something shattering.
And as he stepped onto the marble floor of the mansion’s living room, he lightly tossed a single sentence to the middle-aged man standing before him.
“Masquerade.”
It was truly a light remark with no particular meaning.