Episode 117 Harbinger (2)
"I apologize. Freesia is away at the moment. If she were here, you could have come straight in without any trouble."
"Hmm? Don't worry about it. It's nothing."
Mulo guided Briki to a sofa on one side of his office and leisurely started to brew her favorite black tea.
Of course, that attitude was just a facade, and his mind was more complicated than ever.
'There were at least 20 years left until her scheduled visit, but she came so suddenly.'
And on top of that, Heinz was also away, so he didn't know how to handle the situation.
Fighting wasn't even an option.
He couldn't possibly face her alone, even inside his barrier, which was practically his home turf.
'Actually, I don't even want to fight.'
He was currently subordinate to Heinz, but she was the being he had served for a long time.
Even though the time he had actually met her wasn't that long, the fact that she was the progenitor of his bloodline didn't change.
Whether she knew about Mulo's confused state of mind or not, she was leisurely looking around at the blood magic barrier that covered the surroundings.
And when he placed the carefully brewed black tea in front of Briki,
Slurp—
She took the cup as if she had been waiting and sipped it, staring intently at Mulo.
"As expected, you're the same."
He could immediately tell what she meant.
Naturally, she was talking about the altered… no, the evolved blood.
It wasn't difficult for 'Brokoslack', the progenitor of the bloodline, to grasp the nature of blood.
"I don't understand. It's definitely my blood, but how can it change this much? I thought bloodlines were pure in themselves..."
That was the common sense that had been passed down for hundreds, thousands of years.
And now, evidence to the contrary had been presented.
"Lord Brokoslack, well..."
"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Briki? I don't like that name."
"Ah, yes. Lady Briki."
"Yes, that's much cuter. I think I chose the wrong name from the beginning. I should have chosen a more adorable name."
Mulo smiled awkwardly at Briki's rambling, as if she was talking to herself.
He almost had an adorable surname.
He liked his current surname much better.
"So, where is he?"
She casually asked Mulo, after grumbling to herself.
It was her usual rambling way of speaking, but Mulo, who was already used to it, could immediately tell what she was talking about.
"He's away at the moment."
"Hmm—"
At his answer, Briki just nodded lightly and took another sip of black tea.
'I'm curious, what kind of child could have done this?'
She thought her curiosity would be satisfied if she met Mulo, the Clan Lord, but he was also just a subordinate to someone else.
'He even took away my control as a Sacred Blood. I never thought this was possible.'
She wasn't the type to cling to power, so she didn't feel offended that her authority had been usurped.
Rather, her curiosity about the mastermind behind this only intensified.
'Strengthening the bloodline through evolution, inheriting superior blood. This could be a great help in laying the foundation for vampires to enter the light.'
That was the reason she had endured for so long, trying to leave a successor.
And now, while she was asleep, that possibility had come a step closer.
"It's nice to drink the black tea you brewed after such a long time, Mulo."
"Thank you, Lady Briki."
"Oh, I don't have a place to stay. Can I stay here for a while?"
"...Of course. I'll prepare a comfortable room for you."
Mulo sighed inwardly and racked his brains.
Fortunately, it seemed like she wouldn't act hostile, judging by her attitude, but he didn't know what would happen when Heinz returned.
He hadn't received any instructions regarding her, and there was no way for him to contact Heinz first…
'I don't know. But the matter is too big for me to decide on my own.'
In the end, he had no choice but to wait until Heinz returned.
And so, the former owner of the house, which had been taken away, leisurely settled in.
____________________
The Iron Fortress, located at the northernmost point of the Tulk Kingdom, was still struggling with the monsters that were relentlessly attacking.
It had been a long time since they had mobilized all the forces they could from Aonia County, and reinforcements were arriving from other nearby territories.
If this place fell, the entire northern part of the kingdom would be devastated, so they had no choice.
Troops dispatched from each territory, mercenaries seeking a large reward, priests from the Main God Church, and mages from the Magic Tower, all gathered to support them.
"Oh my… Is that even possible?"
"…It seems possible."
But the one who was captivating the attention of those gathered here wasn't a mage unleashing flashy magic or a priest manifesting God's mercy.
"I heard he was famous in Tarak, but I didn't know he was that strong."
"…Our captain was planning to crush him one of these days. It's a good thing he hasn't attacked yet. He wouldn't have survived."
It was a single warrior fighting in the midst of the monsters.
But calling him just a warrior was an understatement, considering his extraordinary appearance as he traversed the battlefield…
He had a larger physique and muscles than an Orc, his upper body was bare, he was wearing a monster head instead of a helmet,
All sorts of tattoos on his body were faintly glowing, and red and green lights were emanating from his eyes.
"Kkahahahat—!"
Above all, his appearance, covered in blood and laughing maniacally while slaughtering the monsters swarming from all directions, seemed even more consumed by madness than the monsters themselves.
"When he jumped down from the wall and charged at them head-on, I thought he was suicidal…"
He didn't care how many enemies charged at him or what kind of giant monster blocked his path.
He just used his entire body to crush them.
The large axe in his hand looked like a mere decoration.
Boom—!
"Kuwooooh!"
"Kkiiiik—!"
He was so strong that just by charging into them, the monsters were thrown back like rag dolls hit by a carriage.
When he kicked those who were annoyingly clinging to him, they flew through the air like kicked balls and crashed into others, sending them tumbling down.
He tore through tough hides with his bare hands, and his fists effortlessly crushed their skulls.
"I don't know who the real monster is…"
"…Right. Is that really a human fighting style?"
Harley, whom those defending from atop the wall couldn't help but glance at, was diligently scanning the battlefield even in the midst of the fight.
Of course, he didn't jump into this place just for attention.
'Found it! This time, it's a Mutant Minotaur.'
A bull-headed monster with black, shiny metallic hide and two pairs of sharp horns.
Its two eyes were blazing with a ferocious red light, as if showing off that it had absorbed a considerable amount of madness.
Harley, who spotted it, immediately dashed towards it.
Crack! Boom! Crack—!
"Kkiiiik!"
"Keheuk!"
Countless traffic accidents occurred in the process, but he didn't care and just hit-and-run, increasing his speed.
"Hahaha! Come here, you bastard!"
The higher the monster's position in the food chain of the Northern Mountains, the greater the amount of madness it had accumulated.
And when it finally crossed a certain threshold, its overactivated life force underwent mutation…
And that's how madness-consumed mutant monsters were born.
'In other words, those guys are all nutritious food full of madness! And they each have unique evolved genetic traits.'
Of course, he had the dragon's genes, which were developed in all aspects, but specialized genes also had their uses.
That was the reason why Harley was personally roaming the battlefield, hunting them down.
"Kuwooooh—!"
When he finally reached the Minotaur after pushing, shoving, and kicking the monsters out of his way,
The monster was also looking at him with burning eyes.
It seemed wary of Harley's imposing figure, but it didn't show any signs of backing down, as it had been the apex predator in the mountains.
"Grrr..."
Boom—!
It just charged at him, thrusting its four horns forward.
The Minotaur, over four meters tall, approached in an instant, its speed belying its size.
Of course, he could easily dodge it with his reaction speed, but…
"Alright! Let's go!"
Harley, a manly man, didn't dodge!
Crack— Boom!
His thigh muscles bulged in an instant, and he pushed his body forward, stomping on the ground with even greater force.
The distance between them closed rapidly as they charged towards each other.
"Haa—"
Right before the collision, Harley took a deep breath and clenched his right hand.
His right fist, pulled back slightly like a loaded arrow.
And from his super-densely compressed muscles…
Creak— Creak!
A metallic sound that shouldn't come from a living being's body echoed.
It was a metallic clang that sounded more like it came from large construction equipment at a construction site, and…
His arm was covered in dark red scales at the same time.
Immediately after,
"Kkahahahat—!"
"Kuwooooh—!"
Boom——!
The Minotaur's thick skull and Harley's right fist collided head-on.
Wooong—!
The monsters surrounding them staggered from the shockwave that erupted in an instant.
And Harley's figure, pushed back from the point of impact, leaving a deep mark on the ground, appeared in the thick dust cloud.
Along with the Minotaur, which had stopped in front of him, its head lowered.
And the monster…
Thud!
Collapsed face-first on the ground, motionless.
"Whew— I was pushed back further than I thought."
No matter how heavy he was, he couldn't overcome the mass difference with a four-meter-tall monster.
He had to be pushed back when something heavy approached him at high speed.
Of course, the monster was instantly killed with its head crushed.
Harley lightly dusted off his right arm, covered in dark red scales, and then plunged it into the monster's chest.
Its tough hide protected its body, but it couldn't block the energy, including "Bio-Aura" and madness.
He pulled out the Minotaur's magic stone and devoured it, as if performing a victory ritual.
'This is definitely more effective.'
"Madness Control" seized the energy that entered his body and instantly brought it under control.
It was incomparably more efficient than slowly absorbing the surrounding madness.
And the newly acquired genes were also quite useful.
Some of the lower body muscles, specialized for sprinting, could be immediately applied.
"Ahahat! Let's keep going!"
He sent the four mutant Minotaur horns he had extracted to Hubert through "Avatar Cloud" and once again dashed across the battlefield.
He couldn't leisurely farm in this situation, but he was collecting good core materials whenever he could.
'Howard can make equipment with these later.'
The merchant Hubert, who was in charge of warehouse management, was momentarily tied up because of that, but it didn't matter because he didn't have any urgent tasks other than setting up the workshop.
And as Harley continued to hunt down dangerous high-ranking monsters, those defending the fortress were able to fight more comfortably.
And unlike other strong individuals, he was fighting nonstop as if he had infinite stamina.
Naturally, his influence couldn't help but grow.
As if to prove that, when the battle subsided and Harley returned to the fortress…
The gazes of those inside, filled with admiration, fear, and awe, were directed at him.
No one dared to approach him because of his menacing eyes, still affected by the aftereffects of madness after just finishing a battle.
And even if it wasn't for that, no one would easily approach him, covered in blood and emitting steam.
"Oh! Harley! You did it again! Good work!"
Of course, his companions, who were already used to such an appearance, were different.
The Dwarf, who had become close to him while escaping the Northern Mountains together, approached him, waving his hand.
The request had ended after contacting the Aonia County officials stationed at the Iron Fortress.
Harley naturally participated in blocking the monsters, and he heard that Zaonic went to repair weapons…
"Ah, I have something to tell you! They said they wanted me to relay the message because I'm acquainted with you."
He scratched the back of his head and casually brought up the message, saying that someone wanted to meet Harley.
"He said you should rest now since you just finished a battle, and come visit him when you're free."
Of course, it couldn't be just anyone who would personally send him on an errand.
It was Tarmin Aonia, the lord of this Aonia County, who had first requested Zaonic's rescue.