Assault (1)
The unrelenting assault continued day and night, now on its third day.
Having destroyed seven of the hardliners' strongholds, they had begun to lie low.
They too had mobilized every means at their disposal to respond, but before an overwhelming difference in martial force, it was nothing but meaningless resistance.
And no matter how hard they tried to hide or flee, they could not escape the clutches of Hanseu, who read their memories.
["Oho, truly creative. Have they fused magic with an exclusive skill? If one twists it just right, it seems like it could be applied in a different way..."]
The vampire whose head was clutched by Hanseu trembled violently.
It had hidden in a studio apartment in a remote area to avoid the assault, but unfortunately, there was a comrade who knew of its movements.
If Hainjeu had prioritized targets likely to possess new blood essence...
Hanseu mainly targeted those known to possess much information or new techniques.
["By the way, it seems they intend to respond more proactively soon."]
Hanseu muttered quietly after reading the creature's memories.
It felt slightly belated, but it was understandable.
They would have had to grasp the ongoing situation, clean up the immediate fallout, gather opinions within the Blood Alliance, and explore countermeasures for the future.
'Moreover, I sent evidence of kin-devouring found in the hardliners' strongholds to the moderate faction. It must be difficult for them to join forces.'
Having already secured the research materials last time, he sent the newly acquired items to Jinsoran, even attaching photographic documentation.
He had left them in the lobby of the villa, and it seemed they had been delivered properly.
'Still, no orders have come down immediately. The gist is to lay low for the time being while they prepare a plan.'
If that was the case.
Whatever countermeasure they were planning...
'Before then, I'll squeeze them for all they've got.'
***
Jinsoran was no fool.
The sudden incident of the Hahoe Tal's assault on the Blood Alliance hardliners, and the evidence of their wrongdoings that had been delivered to her.
It was only natural to suspect that Hainjeu was somehow involved in those incidents.
'Because the incidents occurred right after I informed him of their strongholds.'
And the day after she had been dejected by the loss of evidence against the Gamma group, items were sent to the crew's stronghold as if to show off.
At this point, she had to conclude he had no intention of hiding it at all.
In truth, she had no intention of pressing him either.
'Because my heart is the same on this matter.'
Had they not experienced the same incident and formed a bond?
The only difference was that he was strong enough to overcome crises on his own and had the drive to move immediately to resolve problems.
'Things have already soured with the hardliners beyond the point of return. If things had continued as they were, we would have been forcibly absorbed by them.'
If that had happened, the weak of the moderate faction would have become prey first.
In truth, they were nothing less than enemies aiming for each other while bearing different banners, in all but name alone.
'To think they would react that way even after evidence was presented.'
She realized that to the bone through this incident.
The protest delivered through the upper echelons had been cleanly ignored by the hardliners' leadership.
An ignorance devoid of affirmation or negation.
It was only because they were bewildered by the sudden assault that it ended at that; otherwise, might they not have already mobilized force to consume this side?
Because of that, Jinsoran could not help but fall into worry over future countermeasures.
She was one of the moderate faction's executives, leading a crew.
'I'll have to gather combatants and prepare for any eventuality.'
More than twenty years had passed since the otherworld transfer incident began.
The Blood Alliance was an organization that had endured without collapsing in the darkness for over fifteen years, but...
'A civil war... I hope the sacrifice isn't too great.'
But they couldn't just sit still and take it either.
In that sense, what happened to the hardliners this time was a great boon for them.
At the very least, they had bought time to gather forces and prepare.
'I wish the hardliners would just collapse as they are, but that's unlikely.'
They were the faction that occupied the majority of the Blood Alliance's martial power, no matter what anyone said.
It was true that they outnumbered the moderate faction several times over.
They had managed to hold out until now thanks to the presence of the neutral faction trying to maintain balance.
But if the hardliners bore their losses and came at them in earnest, both would crumble together.
For that reason, Jinsoran remained quiet, simply watching and waiting for Hainjeu to reveal himself first.
Until now, he had been helpful to their side, and even if he betrayed them midway, she had nothing much to lose.
'Though I don't know what relationship he has with that infamous black magic user.'
The Hahoe Tal, who hunts criminals with overwhelming power.
Whether he has some connection with him or if it's simply a coincidence, she did not know, but...
Won't he explain when the time comes?
'For now, let me focus on what I must do.'
What she had to do now was important as well.
"Oha~ Tra~ Hello, everyone! Thank you for coming to watch my stream again today!"
Jinsoran... no, the internet broadcaster Okideu greeted the camera shining on her with a bright smile.
A job that satisfied her hobby and earned money.
Since the moderate faction adopted integrating into the social system as their motto, no amount of money was ever enough.
They needed money even to procure blood packs.
Setting aside complicated matters for the moment, she continued her broadcast energetically.
They say a hobby becomes less enjoyable when it turns into work, but to her, who hungered for the public's attention, that was another matter entirely.
***
Dropping a hint to Jinsoran had been an intentional act.
There was nothing particular to gain by hiding it, and she had been directly victimized, making her hostile to the hardliners.
'Above all, it's something I'll have to reveal anyway to swallow the Blood Alliance.'
Having prepared the table so nicely for myself, how could I hand it over to another?
To make subordinates follow, one must first prove one's capabilities.
'And crushing the hardliners' conspiracy and punishing them will be an excellent achievement.'
Of course, he planned to reveal it openly once things were finished, but for now, dropping this level of hint was enough.
This side also needed to observe how Jinsoran would act.
Swallowing an organization was no easy task, and to do so, one had to first make one's own people.
As she was the most promising candidate for his future right hand, it was important to maintain an appropriate relationship with her from now on.
'That aside, they seem to have prepared quite thoroughly here.'
Hainjeu was currently using 「Concealment」 to hide in the darkness, eyeing a luxury villa located in the mountains.
The state of the villa's defenses was laid bare by the power of 「Insight」 dwelling in his eyes.
'The barriers are one thing, and the alert level is considerable... the level of those inside is no joke.'
Of course, it wasn't to the extent that they couldn't overcome it.
Above all, he was not alone.
["Keheheh, we just need to infiltrate stealthily and swiftly, then finish off the leadership first."]
The reason Hanseu and Hainjeu had come to this villa together.
It was due to information they had fortuitously obtained not long ago.
The content being that the hardliners' leadership was gathering for a meeting to devise countermeasures against them.
The source of the information was a fellow with considerable say, and the information itself had been encrypted extremely secretly, so they judged it highly credible.
If that were true, it was a very good opportunity.
'If only I can wipe out the leadership, things will become much easier from now on.'
Based on information gathered so far, the hardliners' leadership was something the two of them could sufficiently handle alone.
Hanseu had been strong from the start, and now Hainjeu was no less than him.
But there was always the possibility of an unexpected situation.
So he had planned to first observe the situation directly before deciding whether to attack...
'At this level, it seems like we can do it easily enough?'
It seemed he had worried too much.
Of course, to wipe them all out, advance preparation would be necessary.
Hanseu first circled widely around the villa, installing a barrier that enveloped the interior.
Hanseu having reached the pinnacle of stealth through his research on detection magic, adding Hainjeu's 「Concealment」 to his magic allowed them to construct an airtight barrier.
'At this level, we absolutely won't be discovered until it activates.'
Immediately after finishing all preparations, Hanseu, shrouded in darkness, seeped into Hainjeu's shadow.
And Hainjeu cast 「Concealment」 on himself and used Stealth to hide his form.
A blood demonic energy manipulation technique learned through 「Hybrid Evolution」, not a Skill.
But with the power of 「Concealment」 added to it, it had an effect rivaling ordinary invisibility, allowing him to approach the villa without being detected by anyone.
'Security devices are installed everywhere too. If it were before becoming True Blood, it would have been hard to neutralize them so easily.'
Infrared or whatever else, they were all detected by Hainjeu's transcendent senses.
He could feel even the faint electromagnetic waves leaking from hidden electronic equipment, let alone the surveillance ranges of security cameras, so modern science and technology could no longer stop Hainjeu.
Thus, avoiding the vampires standing guard here and there and the security devices, Hainjeu approached the villa... and looked up at the building quietly.
A large, magnificent building with a splendid exterior.
...No matter how much he looked, he couldn't see an open door.
'Ah... by this point, a door was supposed to open, and I was supposed to slip in when someone entered or left.'
That was the plan, but...
Reality was indeed different from fiction.
He circled the building for a while, but they had locked down so tightly that not a single window was open.
There was still no sign of anyone entering or leaving the villa either.
'Hoo, can't be helped.'
Hainjeu headed toward a secluded window, activating 「Concealment」 around him as strongly as possible.
'Done. In this state...'
The shadow where Hanseu was hidden squirmed.
Then one corner stretched long and seeped between the window frames.
Though alarm devices were installed on the window as well, they were meaningless against a formless shadow.
Thus, inside and outside were connected by shadow with the window between them.
Srrrk—
Hainjeu's body, standing outside, was slowly sucked down toward the ground...
...and rose quietly atop the shadow that stretched across to the other side.
'No alarm response. No cameras pointing this way either. Perfect.'
With Hanseu, who had remarkable skill in covert magical manifestation, combined with the power of 「Concealment」, they could infiltrate naturally without any leakage of black magic power.
'The place they've gathered is a room connected to the first floor lobby.'
After reconfirming the location, he moved quietly toward where the vampires' presence gathered.
He planned to move to where the leadership was for now, then activate the barrier so no one could escape, and wipe them out starting from the head.
Just as he reached the inside of the lobby...
'Hmm?'
An alien presence was detected by Hainjeu's senses.
The transcendental senses he had acquired and grown accustomed to through his extrasensory perception sounded an alarm.
And Hanseu, hidden in the shadows, detected the abnormality one step late only after receiving that information.
The response was immediate.
The moment he raised his blood demonic energy and immediately assumed a combat stance to be on guard.
Ziiing—
At the same time, an unidentified barrier activated, surrounding the lobby Hainjeu had entered.
'No, it's not just the lobby... it's a barrier built using the entire building.'
Hanseu quickly diagnosed the activated barrier.
...Yes, that Hanseu. He had failed to notice before the barrier activated.
'...I was fairly confident in Hanseu's magic level. This hurts my pride...?'
He ground his teeth internally at the rising irritation, but he seemed to have no leisure to complain.
Because simultaneously with the barrier's activation, the power of 「Concealment」 surrounding Hainjeu weakened, and his figure was finally exposed.
"Oh my~ I was trying to catch the Hahoe Tal, but a vampire appeared instead?"
At the top of the grand staircase located in the lobby.
A man's voice leaning against the railing reverberated through the space.
Clunk!
Srrrk—
At the same time, the door Hainjeu had targeted burst open and a swarm of vampires poured out, instantly surrounding the area.
Personnel Hainjeu had detected beforehand with 「Insight」.
'This... I think I've been thoroughly caught in a trap?'
Men in black masks had appeared before anyone knew it, surrounding the second floor railing and looking down at where he stood.
They were ones he had failed to detect beforehand.
"So... who are you? What is your relationship with the Hahoe Tal?"
────────────────────────────────────
────────────────────────────────────