Chapter 285
Chapter 285
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 285
Chapter Title: European Advance (4)
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In a laboratory cluttered with all sorts of junk strewn about like a disaster zone.
Whirrr—crunch!
The furious roar of a motor was followed by the grating sound of something being gnawed away, echoing noisily through the room.
Then came a relentless barrage of crashing and shattering sounds.
It was a jarring noise that didn't quite match the rows of cutting-edge equipment scattered everywhere, but in this place, it was just another part of the everyday routine.
Such was the mundane flow of work here.
Until—
Beep—
Amid the racket, an unfamiliar electronic tone cut through.
"Doctor, are you there?"
But the lab's worker seemed oblivious, as the clamor continued unabated until several more calls had gone out before finally starting to die down.
"Doctor?"
By then, over five minutes had passed since the first call, yet the voice remained calmly composed, as if accustomed to such delays.
"Huh? What is it? I was right in the middle of something good."
The lab worker—Doctor—grumbled as he crossed the junk-filled space, snatching up a towel hanging from somewhere to roughly wipe the red liquid staining his hands.
Beep—
He approached a desk in one corner and lightly tapped the magic tool atop it to connect the call.
"Yes~ Yes~ Doctor speaking. What's the matter?"
"Ah, Doctor. Sorry to contact you so suddenly."
"If you know that, then get to the point quick. I had this feeling like a groundbreaking idea for a new paradigm in ocular organ applications was about to hit me!"
He was circling around it, but it basically meant nothing had progressed yet.
Still, since this wasn't the first time he'd said such things, the caller delivered the news without missing a beat.
"We've received intel on that prey you specifically asked us to keep tabs on. It's entered Europe."
The very news he'd been eagerly awaiting.
"Phantom from Korea, Heinz, has slipped into Paris, France. He's currently wiping out the Termidor branches in the surrounding satellite cities, and a clash with the Tyrant is imminent."
"Oh?"
Doctor's sullen eyes curved into crescents at the words.
No word when he'd been anxiously waiting, and now it drops out of nowhere like this.
Talk about a surprise gift!
"Heh heh~ Finally! France, huh? A bit disappointing, but not bad at all! He's in Europe now, so mission accomplished, more or less!"
Eastern Europe would've been ideal, but it was only a matter of time anyway—no big deal.
Sooner or later, he'd follow the bait laid out in advance straight to Eastern Europe—Romania, specifically.
Once he got there, it was game over.
"Relay this to the Duke! Tell him to prepare meticulously—no slip-ups later!"
"Understood. I'll pass it on to His Excellency the Duke as is."
"And report back immediately if anything unusual pops up related to this."
"Got it, Doctor."
The faint glow from the magic tool gradually faded, leaving the junk-strewn room in silence.
"......"
Doctor stroked his goatee lightly in the aftermath, slowly surveying his workshop as he sank into thought.
With the key sample—one that could unlock his long research—almost in hand, a swelling excitement was impossible to contain.
Soon, he twisted one corner of his mouth upward and nodded heavily.
"Yeah..."
Then, with a resolute tone as if steeling himself, he declared,
"Pepperoni pizza it is."
For today's lunch.
No matter the situation, meals were an important matter.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In a bizarre space dyed blood-red all around.
Crunch—
Jet-black darkness began encroaching on one section.
A ferocious monster's shadow writhing ceaselessly like a living thing, devouring the area.
It kept swelling in size, endlessly expanding its territory—
"What a nuisance."
Slash—
Suddenly, it was torn apart as if by hundreds of invisible hands, shredded to ribbons from all sides.
But as always before, that wasn't the end of it.
The fragmented shadow shards began clumping together on their own, soon forming a horde of demons that took wing on bat-like flaps.
No matter how many times it was destroyed, the shadow legion regenerated endlessly and surged forward.
Facing it, Heinz 2nd could vividly feel why his foe was called the Tyrant.
'And it's not just summoning. It's truly all-purpose... Tricky.'
Levitating lightly in the air, he glanced down at the writhing darkness dotting the ground.
The Tyrant's shadows weren't limited to minions—they were an all-terrain ability usable for scouting, stealth, movement, offense, defense, everything.
And with impressive proficiency to boot, the enemy wielded every function with expert skill, stubbornly pressing the attack.
'I realized vampire factors aren't the sole measure of strength, but I still underestimated him deep down. Need to reflect on that.'
Which was why the fight was dragging on longer than expected.
Even though he'd lured the main force into the barrier during broad daylight when shadows weakened, per prior intel.
But Heinz wasn't the only one having such thoughts.
...No, if anything, it was more so for his opponent, who'd sensed the power gap after initial clashes and started avoiding direct confrontations.
'Unbelievable... Where did this monster come from? Korea? What kind of country is that?!'
The one ruling France's underworld, master of Termidor—Level 9 vampire, the Tyrant—scowled.
His form still hidden in shadows, ceaselessly shifting positions through space.
Whoosh—
Seizing an opening, he charged at one face of the barrier again.
Crackle—
About a second of collision with the barrier.
A few more seconds, and he'd definitely break through...
"Damn it."
He couldn't finish the job, diving back into the shadows and fleeing the spot.
Right after, the damaged barrier repaired in an instant, and the shadows in the area tore apart—he swallowed a forced sigh at the sight.
'How much energy does he have?'
His first move after dodging direct fights was to escape the enclosing barrier.
It had no special functions beyond containment—likely for stealth and quick deployment—but he couldn't just play on the enemy's home turf as planned.
Sure, he'd overestimated his power at first and charged in cockily, but his shadow specialty was guerrilla warfare, not frontal assaults.
To leverage that, wide-open spaces beat confined ones...
'No, it's not just energy. Maintaining a barrier I can't punch through even while fighting the shadow horde, and instantly counterattacking plus repairing the moment escape signs appear?'
Even rethinking it, it was absurd—his eye twitched involuntarily.
No matter the prep time, it couldn't have been that long.
A one-on-one in his current state against that monster was impossible.
Shwick—
"Kuh!"
And somehow, the foe pinpointed his position at every gap like a ghost, landing attacks—every avenue blocked, he was about to burst with frustration.
"...Fast."
But even Heinz, holding the clear advantage, wasn't comfortable.
Clicking his tongue, he brushed aside the sharp shadows lancing from all directions and refocused.
Yet with the enemy at such a level, determined to evade, attacks via fate-threads proved futile.
'Can't drag this out any longer.'
No matter how carefully he'd set the barrier in this uninhabited forest, it wasn't far from Paris.
The longer it went, the higher the chance of outside interference—and losing this luckily trapped foe would ruin everything.
If it came to that, such a chance might never come again.
'He's walked right into the trap while off-guard—this is pretty much the one shot.'
After coming all the way to Europe and investing this much time, he couldn't strike out on the first hunt.
To end it swiftly, he'd need to push a bit himself.
'...For a short burst, it should be fine.'
Even after reaching Sacred Blood, much had happened.
In Outerica, alongside Overpo, he'd claimed the pure bloods from other progenitors.
On Earth, he'd absorbed incomplete but Level 9 Alpha's blood.
'The later fight with the revolutionary—I couldn't harness full power since I hadn't settled it yet.'
Plus, he'd focused on aiding Heinrich and Harii then—no need to go all out.
So gathering real combat data now wasn't bad.
To properly test the peak power he'd reached in ways other vampires couldn't dream of.
"Haa—."
Resolved, Heinz exhaled deeply.
Maintaining Existence Denial to mask his presence, he awakened the foundation of vampirism—the Blood Sovereign.
Thump!
Blood evolved to its limit via Mixed-Blood Evolution..., purified to extremes by Pure Blood Refinement, swirled through his body bearing the Mystery of Blood.
Thump!
Using Insight to observe his internals, he hastened changes in an instant via Hyperacceleration on fate-threads.
Crack—crunch!
Sizzle—!
Blood accelerating ceaselessly through his body, heat and steam pouring from every pore.
Muscles swelled with increased blood flow, skin flushing red-hot.
'A craftsman doesn't blame his tools...'
But common sense said better tools and environment yielded better results, right?
As Howard, still hands-on in creation, he felt it daily.
"Fuuu."
And the body was the most perfect tool a living being could have.
'Then...'
Deep within Heinz 2nd's body, the factors usually sealed to ease the burden.
Awakened all at once.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The relentless storm suddenly ceased.
But the Tyrant, lurking in hiding for an opening, couldn't act rashly.
'What is it?'
Indiscernible.
This was prime time to bolt with the enemy halted, yet instincts honed over ages screamed to stay put.
He hesitated briefly, then decided rationally.
'Escape first.'
Whatever the reason, chances like this were rare.
Try it, and if wrong, hide fast—like always.
Charging the barrier in a flash, he unleashed full-force attack.
Crackle—
Just a few seconds.
Unhindered, he finally punched a hole through the obstructing wall—
Chill!
Cold sweat raced down his spine.
Instinct kicked in—he channeled power.
Sharp spikes erupted from enveloping darkness, piercing everywhere; a massive black giant's hand surged from the floor, blanketing the space.
All shadows in the barrier writhed, extending here in a blink.
And in that breath before it all unfolded, he'd sunk deep into the floor's shadow...
"Got you at last, you rat."
With a chilling voice.
Stab—slash!
A powerful grip plunged deep from below, seizing his throat and yanking him skyward like a speared fish.
'...Kuh, when?!'
And around him.
The shadows he'd scattered moments ago shattered, scattering like black cherry blossoms.
Lacking the color's charm, they held no poetry.