Chapter 304
Chapter 304
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 304
Chapter Title: Doctor (2)
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[Whoa! Masquerade, is it? What a fantastic name! It suits you all perfectly!]
The middle-aged man, Doctor, clapped enthusiastically, genuinely delighted.
But Heinz 2nd, who had finally set foot in this place after breaking through the dungeon, ignored him and slowly scanned his surroundings.
He frowned slightly at the information revealed by his newly awakened spiritual senses.
'Pulling tricks like this.'
It might have seemed like he'd pierced through all the obstacles to reach his goal at first glance, but this place was far from ordinary.
It was nothing more than an illusion perfectly mirroring the real space, like a mirror.
Naturally, the Doctor chattering away before him was the same.
'A final desperate struggle.'
But at this point, such feeble resistance was laughable.
As a thick blood-red aura bloomed in Heinz's eyes, the overlaid space around him began tearing apart.
Krunch—
He ignored whatever the man in front of him was saying and focused solely on his task.
A miniature localized dimension artificially formed by overlapping and twisting the phase of the sub-space.
That was his rough assessment of Doctor's method.
'If Hans or Horus were here directly, they could analyze it faster and more precisely.'
The various spells woven into this space were so intricately entangled and advanced that indirect analysis through another avatar had its limits.
Senses were the absolute standard for receiving and interpreting information, after all.
'I'm not fully accustomed to these newly developed senses yet, either.'
Besides, his current level was more than enough to smash through the barrier blocking him.
He was the world's only level 10 Sacred Blood vampire, after all.
[Oh dear, this is quite troubling! Pahyahaha! This must be what they mean by a dead end!]
"...Shut up."
And Doctor, the direct party to this affair, knew that fact all too well.
The final barrier keeping that monstrous being at bay was on the verge of collapse.
[Hyahyahya—!]
Yet even as the end approached, he burst into bizarre, madness-tinged laughter as if unperturbed.
Heinz's brow furrowed slightly at the incomprehensible attitude, even for a madman.
'Desperate resignation? If not, what reason could there be for reacting like... Hm?'
At that moment.
His thoughts halted as he sensed something.
Woooong—
The surrounding energy churned violently in response to the suddenly intensifying flow of causality.
His heightened senses instantly deduced the outcome from it.
His lips twitched involuntarily.
And for good reason—this was...
"...Ha, self-destruct?"
[Oh? You catch on quick!]
An anomalous phenomenon triggered by devouring all the mysteries deployed around the mansion.
It rapidly expanded, severing the surrounding area from reality.
'A ritual offered with his own life as the price. It wasn't an original function... Did he set this up in that short time?'
Heinz clicked his tongue inwardly and looked back at Doctor.
A ritual to detach the sub-space fused with the dungeon and reset everything inside to nothingness.
In the end, the mansion grounds they stood on would vanish from the world, leaving only a massive crater.
'Of course, if it succeeds.'
A scoff escaped his lips.
'...As if it could.'
He wasn't about to sit idly by while the fool charged headlong like this right in front of him!
No matter how abnormally fast the ritual's activation was under the enemy's control, it had its limits.
Ziiing—
Heinz's thoughts accelerated rapidly.
Time seemed to crawl endlessly slow as depth layered upon depth.
The churning flow of causality around him became vividly tangible, clearer than ever.
'Now then.'
Feeling it all, he slowly extended his hand.
And gripped a strand of it, infusing it with a thread of will.
Woooong—
And...
...that was it.
The mansion interior fell silent once more, as if the earlier commotion had never happened.
The only change was Doctor, who had taken the full backlash alone—blood streaming from his seven orifices, his body crumbling to dust from the extremities inward.
"Cough! Whoa~ I never imagined it'd be blocked so easily... Kekeke, to think even this was possible... As expected, you're far more capable than I gave you credit for!"
Even then, his manic mouth didn't stop.
He cackled for a while, then nodded at his dispersing limbs as if they'd sparked a fascinating research topic.
"It's a shame I can't study it right away! This seems like it could be quite intriguing."
He smacked his lips with light complaint.
Even with his confirmed death looming, his mind dwelled on research— the epitome of a mad scientist.
But even that didn't last long.
The backlash of annihilation swiftly consumed his limbs, surging toward his torso and head.
"...Well then, until next time! I hope I get to see not just you, but all your friends too! Pyahhahaha!"
Fsssh—
With words that could be either last testament or curse, Doctor's body fully disintegrated into powder.
The somewhat anticlimactic end left a lingering unease, but there was nothing to be done about it now.
'...Capturing him alive would have been ideal, but he came intent on dying from the start. Can't be helped.'
For all his prowess, the enemy had the edge in sorcery.
Still, preventing the spatial collapse let him salvage extra intel from Doctor's lab—not a bad outcome.
'The whole place is prime material. Sweeping it clean should yield more. Plenty of useful items too... Oh? That'll help with Howard's research.'
Crossing the empty space, Heinz entered Doctor's private lab and marveled at the cluttered interior.
Bound research logs, mysterious apparatuses scattered everywhere—it looked like a junkyard at a glance.
But every item here would fetch astronomical value outside.
Artifacts touched by the world's top ability engineer, Doctor, or records of his thought processes.
"Hm? This is..."
Skimming research proposals, a familiar phrase lodged in his mind.
'...Complete Evolution Creature Project?'
A topic from an experiment he'd usefully employed long ago to create Harley.
Glancing over, it felt more advanced, thanks to the time passed.
"Still a long way off."
But Heinz callously tossed the file onto the desk.
Unlike their design-phase struggles, he'd already birthed a masterpiece beyond perfection.
No amount of theoretical updates could make it anything but ridiculous to him.
'Anyway, plenty left to do. Need to pick a successor for the Dracula remnants in Romania, and gradually bestow "Purified Blood Orbs" to keep the underlings in line...'
The casual mention of "Masquerade" was already gone from his mind, focused on tasks ahead.
Thus dawned the day the Returners Society's European branch chief "Duke" and chief technology officer "Doctor" perished.
Their control over Europe plummeted to an all-time low.
And those events rippled to other nations.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ No matter the chaos, modern society's strength remained swift information flow.
A hyper-connected network delivering real-time updates, even from the opposite side of the globe.
This rapidly spread Europe's recent events to distant East Asia—Korea included.
Despite the vast distance, the facts reached almost intact.
The news was compelling enough to captivate the masses.
A lone vampire from peripheral Korea single-handedly toppling Europe's traditional vampire clans and absorbing their forces.
People initially doubted it.
But evidence only confirmed it further.
Phantom was already a celebrity with plenty of photos for easy comparison.
In Heterosis's Seoul office.
Jin Soran quietly reviewed reports in the new building's executive room, post-Alpha raid.
"...When Lord said he'd pop over to Europe briefly, I had a hunch, but..."
The poised woman in a suit, ponytail swaying—Heterosis acting head and Blood Alliance external affairs chief—muttered dubiously at Heinz's attached photo.
Anyone would react similarly.
How long had he been abroad before subsuming nationwide dark organizations left and right?
Each far larger than Korea's territory, now sharing the same ship.
Objectively, Korea's Blood Alliance held no advantages in scale or power.
Europe wasn't vampire stronghold for nothing.
'Well, with Lord's abilities, swaying the heads makes the rest easier.'
Still, the scale was worlds apart.
She sighed, browsing Korea's heated online keywords.
📰 Breaking News Korea's Dark Hero Phantom Conquers France of 'Phantom of the Opera' and Opera's Homeland Italy in Succession! 📰 Breaking News Visiting to Bring Peace to Europe's Night Streets? Night Crime Rates Plummet in Paris Post-Phantom Visit (Statistics Included) 📰 Breaking News Even Vampire Demons' Europe No Match for Korea's Phantom! Why Top Danger-Rated Clan Lords Bowed to One Korean Vampire—International Perspective Up to here, it was fine.
National pride fodder, so domestic forums and media buzzed positively.
The problem was elsewhere.
Mostly foreign press, led by Japan and China.
📰 Breaking News Korea-Born Mega Vampire Cartel Encompassing Globe Imminent—Citizens Tremble in Fear 📰 Breaking News Reflections on Demon Vampire Dangers—Fundamental Countermeasures from Mad Blood Fiend Incident? 📰 Breaking News Black Mage Hwal-ot and Vampire Phantom—Korea Already a Criminal Republic Ruled by Demons. Their Poison Now Spreading Abroad; Korea Must Bear Full Responsibility... "The Returners Society's handiwork, no doubt..."
With Phantom openly hostile lately, non-military pressure was ramping up.
China remained their stronghold, Japan unfinished.
'They'd seize any chance to pressure Korea, with or without Returners' nudge.'
The issue: it was proving effective.
Objectively, Phantom and his vampires were lawbreakers flouting national laws.
Without image rehab, it'd hinder endlessly.
"What to do..."
Jin Soran groaned, forehead to desk, clutching her head.
To counter the deeply rooted Returners Society, unite all possible forces for joint response.
That meant friendlier public approach over hardline.
But could bloodthirsty vampires seem approachable to humans?
"Sigh, likability... Run an ad? 'Our kids don't bite.' Like some celebrities. As if that'd work..."
She paused mid-sentence.
Then stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Really impossible?
Phantom's popularity suggested not.
Vampires were generally stunning.
Perfectly suited for entertainment.
'And ties with the Korean Returnee Association are warming government relations. Play this right, and...'
Her eyes sparkled like stars, fangs peeking in a smile.
Heterosis acting head and Blood Alliance external chief Jin Soran.
Known to insiders: former idol hopeful, current internet broadcaster.