Chapter 509
Chapter 509
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 509
Chapter Title: Howard's Revenge (1)
As the sun slowly rose, the surroundings gradually brightened.
A refreshing morning announcing the start of a new day.
It might have been a special moment for some, but to the office workers who had pulled another all-nighter, it was just another tedious part of their endless routine.
"It looks even more like a total wreck in the daylight."
Among those office workers was one man from the Ability Management Bureau's Crime Investigation Division—Team Leader Park Hancheol. He clicked his tongue as he surveyed the ruins that had become a mountain of collapsed construction materials.
To think this spot had a nearly thirty-story high-rise just yesterday.
And that was after some cleanup; the aftermath of such a massive building crumbling would have been beyond description otherwise.
'Last night was something else entirely.'
Right after the incident.
The scene had been chaos incarnate, swarming with police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, blaring sirens from all directions, the screams of the injured, people desperately trying to flee, crowds gathering to gawk, and others struggling to control the area—it was pandemonium.
'At least the cleanup was faster than ever this time.'
If not, the area would still be a hotbed of confusion.
Park Hancheol lit the cigarette dangling from his lips and let out a deep sigh.
"Team Leader, what about those people over there...?"
"Forget it. Leave them be."
He waved off his subordinate, who had approached cautiously with a quiet question, and glanced sideways.
Even after the initial cleanup, it wasn't just Ability Management Bureau agents still on site. Police controlling the perimeter, Guardians, and personnel dispatched from various agencies were holding the fort.
But one group stood out particularly...
"Don't provoke them. They're probably seeing red right now. After pouring so much into that facility, only for it to get wiped out in an instant."
A group of striking men and women with cold, hardened expressions combed through the site meticulously. Pale skin, sharp features—they were vampires from the Blood Alliance.
'The quick recovery despite the scale was largely thanks to them jumping in directly. There were plenty of vampires working on-site to begin with.'
When it came to delicate tasks like rescuing victims buried in debris, a single Awakened with abilities was worth more than heavy machinery hampered by restrictions.
That was why disaster relief was a core duty for Guardians and government-affiliated ability users. Here, though, everything had been handled swiftly before they could even mobilize fully, minimizing casualties.
'Vampires have life detection as a baseline, superhuman physical prowess goes without saying, and each has unique abilities to boot...'
Plus, night had fallen, their prime time.
A silver lining in this sudden crisis.
But that didn't mean all problems were solved.
'They still haven't pinned down the culprit.'
The heavy atmosphere among them stemmed from that.
Park Hancheol, who had been eyeing them sidelong, exhaled smoke and shook his head.
"Something big's gonna blow up soon."
The headquarters of Howard Industries—a magical tool powerhouse with global influence—had been attacked by unidentified assailants.
The Blood Alliance—Heterosis—and the Phantom behind them wouldn't let corporate terrorism like this slide.
'Hope it doesn't escalate into a full-blown disaster.'
Beyond the deep sigh of an overworked civil servant whose nights had become routine overtime.
A typhoon began to brew slowly over South Korea, which had been relatively quiet lately.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Heterosis's office.
"I'm sorry."
Jin Solan, who had wielded near-absolute power as the organization's number two, bowed her head deeply.
"I have no excuse, even with ten mouths. I should have been more vigilant before this happened..."
She squeezed her eyes shut, as if utterly ashamed, trailing off.
Naturally, only one person in the world could make her shrink like this.
"We'll sort out blame later. How's the hunt for the perpetrator going?"
Heinz, receiving the report, flipped through the status update on his tablet page by page, speaking calmly.
Of course, this was his main body via Entity Projection, not an avatar. The real Heinz 2nd was tied up in Nocternia and couldn't break free easily.
"...I'm ashamed. We mobilized the full might of the Blood Alliance, but we failed to catch their trail."
"Nothing from Intelligence?"
"There's a report from Intelligence Chief Andrew Weaver. Reviewing past traces, they detected signs of the intruder searching for something inside the building. Unfortunately, the surveillance equipment was destroyed, so everything after is unknown."
"Hmm, I see."
"They're pulling all-nighters with the full department even now... but no new updates since."
Heinz set the tablet on the table, interlocking his fingers and humming thoughtfully.
Jin Solan, even more deflated, fidgeted anxiously, stealing glances—but he had never intended to pressure her.
'I had a hunch it might come to this. And it has.'
He had half-expected the pursuit to fail.
He had rushed to the scene right after hearing the news, just like everyone else.
Naturally, he hadn't expected his subordinates to succeed where he hadn't.
'Even so, traces this clean? Definitely not ordinary.'
Recalling last night, he frowned.
To pull this off required at least a Transcendent-level foe.
Though, dismantling the ironclad security across the entire collapsed headquarters made it par for the course.
'Not on the level of my estate, but the defenses there were far from ordinary.'
Howard Industries ran an exclusive business everyone coveted.
Even backed by Phantom's prestige, greedy challengers were inevitable, demanding top-tier precautions worldwide.
Several small-time Villains had tried raiding it and gotten crushed.
'For it to be breached means it was never a foe we could stop at that level.'
Even if Jin Solan had been more cautious, nothing would have changed.
Why they targeted it was unclear, but...
"Reverse Heaven Society."
He knew instinctively.
This was their doing.
And they had ample motive.
Anyone could see Howard Industries, founded via the Blood Alliance, was deeply tied to Masquerade.
'Plus, they were searching for something inside. Not just terrorism—another goal.'
The site mostly held mass-produced magical tools ready for distribution.
Howard's rare custom pieces were stored separately for on-demand use, so nothing critically vital was there.
'Something valuable enough for a Reverse Heaven Transcendent. The most important asset at Howard Industries...'
Thoughts raced by.
Ultra-rare top-grade tools supplied in tiny quantities?
Precious, but not quite.
There had to be something they deemed crucial.
"Ah."
Suddenly, a clue surfaced.
Simple, really.
'Howard.'
Earth's sole producer of otherworld magical tools—Howard Industries.
Its most vital element? The enigmatic creator "Howard" shrouded in mystery.
'Publicly, he's said to work in a workshop inside headquarters. In reality, he's holed up in the Dragon Lair for efficient time use.'
His unique crafting prowess was beyond even Reverse Heaven's imitation.
Doctor's skills were impressive, but the gap in specialties was clear.
Plenty of allure for their greed.
'So that's it.'
A faint twitch curled Heinz's lips as he grasped their aim.
The casualties and damage weren't light.
On-site vampires responded fast, keeping deaths low relative to scale—but limits existed.
'You think I'll just take this lying down?'
They dared invade his territory and destroy his assets.
If the culprit escaped, lure them back.
Dangle tasty bait, and they'd bite.
Then...
"Time to escalate the board."
"Pardon?"
Heinz shot to his feet, dropping the unexpected line.
Jin Solan blinked in confusion, but he merely wore a cold smile.
'Yeah, I've prepped plenty. Time to release some.'
Countless dimensions traversed, otherworld artifacts acquired.
Unique materials exclusive to realms, civilization fruits evolved uniquely—brimming with potential, trapped only by incompatibility laws.
'But in Howard's hands? Different story.'
Dwarf avatar Howard.
Holder of skills like Technological Revolution and Golden Hand, immersed solely in crafting within the Dragon Lair's hundredfold time dilation.
He absorbed, refined otherworld potentials, weaving advantages together through relentless self-honing.
Even diligently downing Elixirs of Growth each time.
'They won't ignore this.'
With confident sneer.
A chilling aura rose from his blood-red eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A deserted forest.
"Mission failed."
A woman's soft voice leaked from a shadow blending with elongated tree shade.
-Huh? Why? The explosion succeeded, didn't it...? Did you fail to secure the creator!?
"Affirmative. I scoured the building multiple times, but no sign of the target—not even a hair. I lingered too long; the veil weakened, so I blew it and bailed."
-The defenses were that tight? Enough for you to say so?
The woman's flat report drew a flippant man's sigh from the communication orb.
Undisturbed by the reaction, the shadow-dweller continued impassively.
"I erased traces perfectly post-explosion... but prior movements might linger. A skilled observer could spot them."
-With that level of setup? Even stranger. It had to be there. Those recently supplied items first appeared from that location!
"Whatever. I followed orders. No creator."
-Grr, did Oracle deceive me...? No, impossible. Then someone capable of fooling even her gaze was deployed...
Doctor muttered to himself beyond the orb, frustrated by the setback.
He had high hopes for this op.
'All that effort to nail the target, and this?!'
Howard Industries.
He had eyed it for years.
They achieved what even he, self-proclaimed world's top genius, couldn't—and turned it into a global business. Naturally intriguing.
He acquired and dissected circulated tools, but no breakthroughs.
Even his Eye of Truth deemed them unremarkable compared to others.
A knowledge fiend like him couldn't accept that.
-Argh! If only I could uncover that power's secret! Perfect my Mech Demon and body—nay, beyond that! If I got my hands on him!
The orb blared his outburst.
Truth just out of reach drives scholars mad.
Even begging Oracle to pinpoint the origin fueled his rage.
-Sigh, regrettable, but no choice. We'll retreat until a surer method.
"Then I'm out."
-Great work! I'll reward you soon!
But that resolve didn't last.
An irresistibly tempting bait began wagging its tail right under his nose.