Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: Vampire Rise (3)
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Right after fully assimilating all the power he'd seized from Obaifo.
"Haa—."
Heinz exhaled a breath laced with faint steam, slowly clenching and unclenching his fist over and over.
A surge of elation welled up from the razor-sharp senses honed beyond anything before and the indescribable power coursing through his entire body.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has met the conditions and grows. Special Skill 「Blood Clan (Sacred Blood)」 evolves into 「Blood Sovereign」. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Special Skill 「Blood Sovereign」 absorbs its subordinate ability 「Super Regeneration」 and is further strengthened. And it wasn't just his imagination.
As the twelve bloodlines, which had splintered off in various directions, converged back into Heinz's body, the very foundation of his existence evolved toward greater completion.
'I haven't fully transcended the wall of Sacred Blood yet.'
To reach the realm beyond the pinnacle of vampires—Sacred Blood—and attain the so-called Divine Blood, unifying just one dimensional faction wasn't enough.
He couldn't be entirely sure such a stage even existed, but now elevated to a higher level, he could instinctively sense it somehow.
The limits he could reach were far from over; there was still a higher stage waiting beyond.
'And my abilities seem at least twice as strong as before.'
As the culmination of the Blood Clan series—the basic skills of vampires—Blood Sovereign was incomparable to its predecessors in both power and efficiency.
Above all, his already formidable regenerative power had grown even stronger, to the point where as long as energy remained, he could now regenerate even from a body reduced to ashes—an immortality in all but name.
'At this level... I can say I've finally caught right up under Hans.'
As a single entity, his destructive power against living beings seemed comparable.
If the two clashed, Hans would hold an absolute advantage due to racial compatibility, and in a war of forces—where the Immortal King's true strength lay—Heinz wouldn't even be a match.
But still.
'Whatever. Getting stronger is good. That's what I wanted. More importantly, for now...'
There were still things to check and issues to handle, but his top priority was clear.
He needed to quickly stabilize the Obaifo Clan now under his control and cleanly wrap up the incident in the Zefia Republic.
'It's all mine now. I can't let it fall apart any further.'
Heinz closed his eyes tightly and spread his will across the entire city.
As the command of the undisputed lord of all vampires on the continent—the Vampire King Heinz 2nd—descended, the clamor that had been echoing wildly began to die down in an instant, as if it had never been.
A dramatic peace arrived before greater damage could occur.
And that moment also marked the collapse of the Oath of Reverse Heaven's final contingency planted in the eastern part of the Ion Continent.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In an office located in downtown Seoul.
A beautiful woman with her long hair tied in a ponytail sat at her computer, scrolling the mouse wheel while conversing via speakerphone.
"...I see. So there are no anomalies beyond the report, correct?"
-Yeah... that's right? I, I looked even harder again. After hearing from the vice president. But...
"English is fine, Mr. Andrew."
-Oh! Thank you. I'm working hard at it, but Korean is really tough. I can understand and read it decently now, but speaking and writing are still...
"You're progressing remarkably fast compared to how long you've been learning. It must be thanks to your sharp mind and the heavy investment in mental and intelligence stats. Of course, you'll need to keep studying. That's the order from our lord... er, president."
Heterosis's second-in-command, Jin Solan, carried on the conversation verbally while her eyes quickly scanned the report on her monitor.
As expected, even on a second look, there were no notable anomalies.
-Sigh, I see... Oh, by the way, I still haven't met the president even once. Must be a very busy person?
"Well, yeah. You came on the recommendation of one of the president's acquaintances, right, Mr. Andrew? Thanks to that, we're grateful to have someone as capable and diligent as you.
-Ah, uh... really? Ha, haha...
Andrew Weaver—the man forcibly brought to Korea by the Immortal King and made to join Heterosis—let out an awkward laugh at her praise over the line.
He wasn't working diligently out of choice, after all.
Of course, lately, he'd come to find a certain satisfaction in his current life.
Bound by some constraint, he had no choice but to work hard within the allotted time, and with language lessons in not just Korean but also Japanese and Chinese, he had little free time... but still.
'Compared to being worked to death by Olivia in the Immortal Fortress, this place is paradise!'
Plus, there was cola, pizza, TV to watch, and even time for games if he squeezed it in.
A world away from struggling amid madmen and undead hordes.
'Living like this isn't so bad. No maddening dark magic, and the pay is pretty good too.'
The reality that he had no time to spend money had long faded from his mind.
Thus, even in what was still essentially a black company, he was becoming a willing slave with an admirably positive mindset, content with the status quo.
"Anyway, thank you, Mr. Andrew. Please keep monitoring, and contact me anytime if you spot anything unusual."
-Got it, Vice President.
Click.
The call ended, and silence returned to the office.
Jin Solan pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before sinking into her chair with a deep sigh.
"Whew— This feels off. No major issues so far, but..."
Truth be told, her mood hadn't been bad at all until that morning.
Or more precisely, until just a few hours ago, when she'd received a warning call from Aria, the leader of the moderates—her former boss.
'Aria wouldn't say something like that for no reason.'
Once an executive in the moderates herself, Jin Solan couldn't dismiss her words lightly.
No matter what anyone said, Aria was an extraordinary figure who had single-handedly kept the powerful hardliners in check for years with her meager moderate faction.
'Probably her future precognition ability.'
Back when she served under her, Jin Solan had assumed Aria had some separate intelligence network she didn't know about. But now, in her position pulling the strings of the massive Blood Alliance, she knew better.
This particular warning wasn't from any such connections.
'For her to contact me directly means something big is coming for me or Heterosis. Or maybe somewhere in the Blood Alliance?'
That's why she'd urgently tasked Andrew with checking.
She knew his information-gathering skills well, making him the perfect fit for a quick sweep.
'I need to lay low for a while. Might even need to relocate the office, just in case. Where to...'
Having roughly sorted her thoughts, Jin Solan rose from her seat, opened the office door, and stepped out.
"No, I mean, you can't just—!"
"Come on, it'll only take a sec..."
But as she passed the soundproof barrier installed for information security, her sharp ears picked up a commotion outside the office.
And one of the voices was familiar to her.
'What's going on?'
Curious, she walked to the office entrance and opened the door. Her gaze fell on the back of the head of a familiar girl who looked about middle school age, facing off against a boy she'd never seen before.
"Nahee? What's this about?"
"Ah! Sis... I mean, Vice President!"
The girl—Lee Nahee—turned around with a bright welcome.
Once in the same crew as Jin Solan in the moderates.
Now, she was affiliated with Heterosis like Jin Solan, learning office assistant duties—a plucky young girl.
"Ah! Hello! Are you the person in charge here?"
At that moment, the boy around her age, who'd been arguing with Lee Nahee at the entrance, flashed a cheerful smile and addressed her.
"Well, I'm the highest-ranking one here, at least."
"Aha!"
Her offhand reply made the boy's face light up even more.
Lee Nahee, frowning, wedged herself between them and raised her voice again.
"Sis! Don't engage! This guy's a total stranger, and he's weird. He's been demanding to be let in like he owns the place, and..."
"You're all vampires, right?"
But she couldn't help but pause at the boy's blunt interjection.
The boy continued grinning innocently.
Jin Solan, still composed despite the situation, naturally stepped in front of the stiff-faced Lee Nahee and let out a deep sigh.
"Look, I don't know where you heard what, but this isn't a place for games, kiddo. Why don't you play pranks on your friends instead?"
Ignoring his words, she admonished him calmly like an adult.
"Ah! I get your concern, but no need to worry. I'm not here to cause trouble or anything..."
"Worry or not, how about leaving before I call the cops? You're disrupting the staff from working."
"That's not it. I'm a vampire too, you see? I heard about my kin here and got excited, so I came to visit. Let me join as a fellow!"
At that, Jin Solan narrowed her eyes at the boy.
His face still wore that same smile.
But she sensed no blood magic from him—nor any vampire scent.
'Liar.'
She'd been upper Level 6 originally, but upon joining Heterosis, she'd taken Heinz's Purified Blood Essence and reached Level 7.
True Blood by Aouterica standards, equivalent to only two others—Beta included—under the hardliners' rigid hierarchy.
How could she fail to detect his true nature?
And crucially, the boy looked about second-year middle school, the same age as Lee Nahee.
"Sigh, kid? I'm holding back a lot right now. Be good and leave while I'm asking nicely? I can be scary when I get mad, you know."
Still, she exercised maximum patience, speaking gently.
No matter how perfectly they'd disguised the company as normal, drawing police attention—the symbol of public authority—was uncomfortable.
She also didn't want the boy spouting nonsense to them.
"Ah, you don't believe me. It's true, though! Look at this? See my sharp fangs sticking out?"
"Baby teeth. Get braces at the dentist."
Jin Solan replied coolly to the boy shoving his fingers in his mouth to show his teeth.
"I hate garlic!"
"Everyone does at your age. Still, no picky eating."
"I can't enter unless the homeowner invites me!"
"Good boy. Trespassing otherwise."
The boy rattled off proofs of being a vampire, but she just crossed her arms and responded indifferently.
"I never cross flowing rivers recklessly!"
"Yeah, they're dangerous. Keep being careful."
"My body temperature's lower than others!"
"Cold constitution, huh. Dress warm."
"I'm weak to sunlight!"
"UV protection matters. But you need sun for vitamin D."
The boy, now fired up, kept going nonstop, while Jin Solan matched him without missing a beat.
Lee Nahee, who had pridefully stepped back at some point, just stood there with her mouth agape, watching the two stubborn ones duel.
"I react badly to silver!"
"Metal allergy?"
"A stake to the heart kills me!"
"Same here. Everyone does."
"......"
"......"
Finally out of material, the boy stopped and looked up at Jin Solan standing tall before him.
Then, with a light sigh, he shook his head.
"Ah, this isn't working."
"Done? Then go home now?"
Jin Solan replied curtly, sounding exhausted.
But the boy ignored it, smiling once more as he looked at her and spoke.
"Actually, that was a lie."
"Knew it."
Jin Solan shot back shortly—but
"A stake to the heart wouldn't kill me."
his words carried a different meaning.
And at that instant, his innocent smile twisted into something grotesque.
"...What are you?"
The atmosphere had shifted palpably.
As if a different person had taken over in a blink, she pulled Lee Nahee behind her and slowly backed away.
"Ah! I forgot to introduce myself! How rude!"
His voice was cheerful, but anyone could see he wasn't normal.
Beyond the deranged, exaggerated demeanor, his very appearance was starting to warp into something repulsive.
"Well, I ditched my real name ages ago. Don't feel like using it."
His right eye sprouted three pupils, the left four, each darting wildly on their own.
His layered voices echoed strangely, laced with noise.
"Just call me Alpha."
"...Alpha?"
His skin cracked open like spiderwebs.
Then a thick blood scent wafted from his body.
Intensely so—impossible to miss until now.
"Oh right! So..."
His mouth tore from ear to ear, revealing shark-like teeth.
A forked tongue slithered out from within.
"Where's this Heinz guy?"
This all unfolded while Heinz was busy resolving the Zefia Republic crisis.