Chapter 238
Chapter 238
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: Zepia Republic (1)
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The elder dragon of the Gold Clan, Shurihartgen, had arrived unannounced.
He took Horus with him and left Tarak, heading elsewhere.
To the nest where he had been hiding his body all this time—a small island located in the northwest of the Ion Continent.
"I've put quite a bit of effort into preparing this place. Even the Immortal King couldn't find it without precise information."
"Ooh—!"
Though his life was nearing its end, he intended to teach to the best of his ability for the time he had left.
Even in his current state, dying in real-time as a aftermath of awakening from hibernation that forcibly extended his lifespan, he judged it better to become nourishment for the next generation than to linger meaninglessly day by day.
'He barely held on after suffering a fatal wound in the war three hundred years ago.'
It was solely out of a sense of responsibility to ensure the Gold Clan's lineage wouldn't die out.
And now, a successor named Horus had suddenly appeared before him, who had endured so arduously.
Horus glanced at the dragon guiding him to the lair, then turned his gaze away with a subtle feeling.
As merely a lucky outsider, he couldn't even begin to guess what emotions the other held toward him.
"I don't have much time left, so I'll teach you to the best of my ability during that period. This isn't the standard hatchling education method, but there's no choice now."
He spoke as if apologetic, but in truth, that was exactly what Horus wanted.
Had he been forced to waste time lounging around for years under the pretext of "dragon upbringing," that would have been far more frustrating.
"The 'Golden Treasury' will transfer to you upon my death. In fact, most useful items were deployed in the war, so not much remains as inheritance. Still, what's left should rival an ancient dragon's lair."
Of course, that harsh assessment applied only to mystical items like relics and magic tools; ordinary valuables with high liquidity were piled up like mountains.
"...Wait, you can use Dragon Tongue? As a hatchling?"
"Yep. Shall I show you?"
And so, just after their conversation related to that, right before formal education began.
Horus witnessed Shurihartgen— who had maintained a composed demeanor throughout— genuinely flustered for the first time.
"...It's real. Goodness. Even juveniles struggle to handle Dragon Tongue properly, yet a mere hatchling... Ah, Dragon God Dracalion."
If hatchlings were infants, juveniles were adolescents.
Adult dragons— the stage right before full maturity.
In simple terms, what Horus had just done was akin to a preschooler breezing through college entrance exam questions.
"I figured I'd just lay the basics of Dragon Tongue and hope you'd complete it yourself later, but this saves a tremendous amount of time."
Shurihartgen soon accepted the situation, nodding slowly with a faint smile.
Dragon Tongue was essentially a dragon's authority, so one would naturally master it with age, but the efficient ways to wield it might not have been properly passed down.
He had planned to leave arrangements via grimoires and magic tools, but Dragon Tongue magic's profundity was too great for full transmission through such means.
'I was considering asking another clan's survivor before I die, but this works out well.'
Of course, he knew no one would refuse in the current crisis threatening the entire race, but pride existed among clans.
If self-resolution was possible, he had no desire to beg other clans.
In fact, even before the Immortal King appeared a thousand years ago— and certainly before the war three hundred years ago worsened things— relations between clans were quite poor.
For him, who had lived millennia without forgetting, the current situation was most satisfying.
"Good. Excellent. Then let's begin immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
And so, on a nameless small island hidden in the northwest of the Ion Continent.
The communal training life began between the little hatchling Horus and the old dragon Shurihartgen, burning the final embers of his life.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Earth, somewhere in Suwon City, South Korea.
In a sealed space devoid of any light, a woman with long black hair cascading down sat alone with her eyes closed, quietly tilting her teacup.
A tea time enveloped in silence so profound nothing could disturb it.
But that tranquility shattered as her body suddenly stiffened—
Crash—
—the teacup slipping from her hand and breaking into pieces.
Yet despite the loud shattering and the red tea soaking the floor, she remained utterly still in her original pose, unmoving.
Knock knock knock—
"Lady Aria? Are you alright? Pardon the intrusion."
At that moment, urgent knocks sounded, and a woman cautiously opened the door and entered.
She quickly scanned the surroundings, sighing in relief only upon spotting the one still seated at the tea table, then slowly approached.
"Lady Aria? Are you alright?"
"...Ah! Sorry, I got lost in thought and my hand slipped."
"I'll clean the teacup right away. Just a moment..."
"No, I'll handle it later. Could you leave for now?"
"...Understood. Call me anytime if something comes up. I'll come running."
At that firm dismissal, the intruder offered no further protest, bowed politely, and quietly exited.
Left alone again in the room, the woman with closed eyes.
Aria, the leader of the moderate faction in the Blood Alliance— one of the top powers dominating South Korea's nightlife— wiped the bloody tears from her eyes with a handkerchief from her bosom, lost in thought.
'I thought it had quieted down. Is this still not enough?'
She had hoped things might finally settle after the hardliners were ousted and Heinz's Heterosis took their place.
Just now, her unique skill "Stage of Fate" had detected crisis once more.
The precognition-type skill "Stage of Fate" only showed fragments of flows affecting her and her surroundings, but it had always guided her to the right choices through difficulties— a lifeline ability.
Accepting vampirism, safely returning from the otherworld to become a top Blood Alliance executive, leading the moderates against hardliners, cooperating for Heinz to absorb the Alliance's forces— all thanks to it.
'Heinz...'
The man to whom she had entrusted everything, as her own power proved insufficient no matter the scheme.
With his Earth bloodline Heterosis effectively swallowing the Blood Alliance, her title as 'moderate leader' had become meaningless.
Still, thanks to Jin So-ran's consideration as Heterosis's second-in-command, she had formed a crew with her followers and enjoyed leisurely days as usual...
'I should warn So-ran first.'
Poof—
As she sighed and rose, the teacup shards and spilled tea on the floor crumbled away.
This happened on the fourth day since the Hahoe Mask terrorizing Japan had suddenly vanished.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Zepia Republic, dominating the eastern Ion Continent.
As dusk fell.
Heinz 2nd— master of both Earth's Heterosis and Ateria’s Hybrid— entered a shabby old house on the outskirts of the capital.
Yet despite striding openly through the street and entering via the front door, neither passing residents nor those inside noticed his presence.
Not until he closed the door and revealed himself.
"...You're late."
As he released Existence Denial and became visible, a cold female voice echoed softly from within the building, as if awaiting that moment.
"I arrived exactly on time. As you know, I'm quite busy."
"Ha! I imagine so. Not content with devouring one nation, you're reaching into others too— how could you not be?"
A middle-aged woman approached with sharp words and the click of heels.
Kayla MacClaire, Zepia's hypersensitive vice president, scowled up at the tall man.
"That's a misunderstanding as well. I have no interest in the Zepia Republic. All I want is to subjugate Obaypo."
Heinz sneered down at her with a haughty gaze, murmuring lowly.
Kayla boldly met his eyes for a moment but soon trembled at the corners, biting her lip and lowering her gaze.
'Truth be told, I'd love to swallow it whole if I could.'
But unlike Thalia Kingdom— small, weak, and controllable via its rulers— this was different.
Zepia Republic rivaled the adjacent Azerion Empire and operated under republicanism, rendering lukewarm tactics useless.
'Obaypo is yielding results for now, but it won't last.'
It exploited the continent's chaotic politics— a temporary issue timed perfectly.
Though meticulously planned over decades, those in the upper echelons were beginning to sense anomalies.
'Once it blows up, it'll spread uncontrollably.'
Such governance vacuums were inevitable in resolution, but manageable in normal times.
Now, however, the continent was in wartime emergency.
With the black curtain plotting world upheaval still at large.
Otherwise, revolutionaries would exploit internal strife for giant invasions and monster uprisings in the east, shaking the nation.
If Obaypo then rebelled amid the chaos...
'That's precisely their endgame.'
Not ruling an intact 'Zepia Republic,' but dominating refugees from a collapsed anarchy.
Chopping a too-large lump to swallow whole.
'...I can't let that happen.'
She had no desire for such a ragged nation.
Managing Thalia alone was hassle enough; why invite headaches?
And if she wouldn't take it, she wouldn't let others have it easily.
Especially not those revolutionaries.
"You're still alive, so no major issues, I suppose."
"...Hoo, plenty of problems. It's a miracle I'm alive now. I never imagined even Commander-in-Chief O'Connell would fall."
The transcendent warrior guarding the imperial border, Zepia's guardian deity.
She learned of that tragedy while trying to contact him, and soon after, assassination attempts targeted her directly.
"I'd be dead alone. I survived purely thanks to the guard from your... Hybrid side. I owe them thanks again."
Swish—
As her words ended, a small shadow slipped inside from outside in an instant, prostrating before Heinz.
"You've arrived, High Lord! I was late handling nearby tails!"
A white-haired, red-eyed boy.
Obor Brocoslak, the True Blood vampire assigned as Kayla's guard.
"Good. Status report?"
"All operations completed smoothly. Blood Gates deployed at key points, combatants fully equipped."
The briefing followed on the situation, enemy movements, future plans.
'...What is it?'
Amid it, Kayla frowned at a sudden unease.
...The lord-vassal exchange itself was fine.
Something else nagged subtly, but she couldn't pinpoint it.
'Just my imagination...'
Instinctively glancing around with that nagging feeling—
—her eyes met a hazy something lurking in the shadows, freezing her rigid on the spot.
Inside the rundown house she had entered to evade pursuit.
As night fell, dark corners within brimmed with silent black silhouettes.
'When?!'
Not just one or two.
Incomprehensible that she hadn't noticed until now.
And even as the lord and vassal conversed, with every glance away, the shadowy figures in the darkness multiplied one by one.
Walls, windowsills, stairs, railings... even the ceiling.
And as those shadows swelled from dozens toward a hundred.
"Good."
At the voice laced with strange power forcibly seizing attention, her gaze returned to Heinz.
"Now that preparations are complete..."
A sharp smile veiled on his usual cold face.
"To unify all vampires in this world—"
Swish—
Rustle—!
The sound of countless garments fluttering at once echoed.
Nearly a hundred shadows prostrated in unison, paying homage to their great sovereign.
"—we begin the war."
The war among vampires had begun.