Episode 198 White Giant (5)
The Talia Kingdom, now under the rule of the Vampire Clan Alliance 'Hybrid'.
All the blood donation centers that had been established were now operating normally, and the people's confusion was gradually subsiding.
There were even those who praised them, saying that life had become better than before, so it could be said that everything was going smoothly.
"…These are the incidents and accidents that occurred in the country this week."
But that didn't mean all the problems within the kingdom had been solved.
There were still incidents of reactionary citizens inciting unrest, attempted terrorist attacks on social infrastructure and blood donation centers, and even plots of rebellion.
They were being caught and dealt with as soon as they were detected by the spiderweb-like information network, but their methods were becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it a nuisance.
'And I already have a lot to do.'
Heinz the Second frowned and tilted his head as he listened to the report in the king's office.
"Hmm, as expected, the ones behind it are the three neighboring kingdoms?"
"That's correct. But we weren't able to obtain any solid evidence because they're destroying all traces. I apologize, High Lord."
Mulo Brokoslack, who was in charge of all domestic and foreign information, bowed deeply at his casual question.
Heinz nodded briefly and skimmed through the report, which listed the details.
'It's decreased a lot compared to the beginning. Well, they must have realized it's hopeless after being caught so many times.'
After all, Hybrid's control over the Talia Kingdom was beyond imagination.
It was only natural, as vampires, who possessed abilities superior to humans and couldn't be betrayed or bribed, were stationed all over the country, absolutely loyal to their lord.
Attempts to use ordinary citizens to cause unrest had also subsided because they were being crushed before they could even do anything, and now there was no one left to sympathize with them.
'The chaos is just lasting a bit longer because of the other countries' intervention, but it won't last long.'
He could understand their position.
No matter how much the Main God Church and the Saint accepted them, it was natural for them to be uneasy about vampires, whom they had considered enemies for their entire lives, taking over a neighboring country.
And Hybrid was still gathering more blood relatives from all over the continent and increasing their numbers.
They probably wanted to buy time to prepare countermeasures by interfering.
'Come to think of it, they're not wrong to be worried, since we're gradually taking over their underworld too.'
Heinz scoffed coldly and put down the report he was holding.
He had to stay quiet for now because of public opinion, but he wasn't planning to just take it forever.
'I should start by gradually expanding our influence in secret.'
He might as well do it properly if he was going to do it.
After all, covert operations in the shadows were the vampires' specialty.
"Anyway."
He paused and picked up another document next to the report he had put down, then spoke again.
"This information… is it new?"
"Yes, it is. Actually, it's the main point of this report. I urgently gathered and organized the latest data after realizing the gravity of the situation."
Mulo answered confidently and started his briefing.
"They say giant white humanoids are appearing all over the continent. Their size easily surpasses most city walls, and their strength and regenerative ability are also…"
It was all information Heinz already knew.
But the following information included something he hadn't been aware of—.
"Three individuals have been observed so far. Two have been eliminated. One was immediately dealt with by the expedition led by Saint Heinrich in the Lesque Kingdom…"
There was more than just one giant that had appeared in this world.
"The other one was rampaging in the western border region of the Azeria Empire before being killed by the legion commander and other high-ranking officials. The military unit suffered heavy casualties in the sudden chaos, to the point where the entire legion that was blocking the monsters in the west was shaken."
He knew how difficult it was to deal with that monster, having faced it himself.
But to think they had already hunted down another one elsewhere, their strength was also formidable.
'As expected of the Empire. They suffered heavy losses, but they managed to take it down.'
But there was one noticeable difference from the giant Heinrich had encountered.
"…You're saying it corroded the surroundings just by breathing?"
"Yes, that's correct. They say it exhaled poisonous gas while breathing through its one open nostril. It was difficult to even approach it because of that."
And the survivors of the unit that first encountered it testified that it didn't have that ability at first.
Then there was only one conclusion.
'…As I feared, it became stronger by accumulating evil karma.'
He had felt that the White Giant's abilities were lacking compared to its presence.
Of course, it was overwhelming in itself, but its abilities were too focused on survivability.
'Yes, that black seal was definitely suspicious. So did it deliberately seal its abilities to escape the abyss and then unseal them one by one by accumulating evil karma on the surface?'
He was able to quickly grasp the situation by combining the newly obtained information with the information from Hans's "Immortal Heart" and "Forbidden Knowledge".
Of course, it was still a shame that he didn't know the White Giant's true identity, but he could find out later.
"And the one they couldn't eliminate…"
Mulo continued, even while Heinz was lost in thought.
"It appeared in the Rohan Duchy's territory, inflicted heavy casualties on the defense force, and then escaped after fighting Cardinal Pirei and the Main God Church's elites."
And they said that the Church group had to let the giant go because it used the monsters that had emerged from the mountains to threaten the defense force's survivors.
'…It's true that monsters and the giant are both hosts of madness. And it even has the intelligence to use them.'
Heinz closed his eyes tightly and fell into thought at the troublesome situation.
There were already three giants that appeared, and one of them even escaped.
Wouldn't that escaped one become a huge obstacle later?
And there was no guarantee that the giants would stop appearing.
And if they escaped like this…
"They say the giant that escaped hid somewhere in the Northern Mountains, but they couldn't find out its whereabouts because of the location."
Heinz opened his eyes and looked at him as he heard Mulo's next words.
'Hmm? The Northern Mountains in the Rohan Duchy area…'
But at that moment,
Boom—!
Someone barged into the office, flinging the door open.
"Heinz! I'm back."
It was Briki, Hybrid's other Sacred Blood.
"Oh my, Mulo is here too? Lord… no, High Lord? I'm back. Uhuhu—"
Briki, who only now acted politely, as if she hadn't known who was inside.
She could have easily grasped who was inside beforehand with her abilities, but he was used to it, as he had seen her act like that countless times.
'And she's a senior who's lived for a long, long time. And an excellent source of labor.'
And Mulo was once her direct subordinate, so he could understand.
"…High Lord? I'm feeling uneasy again. This happened last time too, why is it…?"
"You must be lacking blood. I'll tell them beforehand, so choose a few from the detention center. Anyway, what's the matter?"
Briki, sharp as always, frowned and looked at him, but Heinz calmly changed the subject.
And she couldn't help but grumble and then obediently open her mouth—.
She reported that the task of formally inviting the vampire clans in the Azeria Empire was finally complete.
Of course, it was impossible to find all those who were hiding, but they couldn't have missed many, as those with any size would inevitably be revealed.
"There probably aren't any clans left in the north because it's a mess, and the south, where those barbarian humans are, is too difficult for us to live in… So all that's left is the Zepia Republic in the east."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Anyway, he had now grasped the general situation.
From the internal situation of the Talia Kingdom to the existence of the White Giants, which could be considered a variable, and the Obaifo Clan in the east, the last obstacle to uniting the vampires.
'It seems like we need to come out into the open to actively intervene in this situation.'
And the second Continental Summit was approaching.
Naturally, the Talia Kingdom had also received a formal invitation.
"Briki, Mulo."
"Hmm~?"
"Yes, High Lord."
He had originally planned to send Duke Bright as a representative like before, but he realized that this summit was the first international event since Hybrid's 'New Talia Kingdom' was established.
Wouldn't it be embarrassing to send a representative even in this situation?
"I will personally attend this Continental Summit. You two should prepare as well."
"…Yes! We'll prepare without any problems, High Lord."
"Uh, you're saying even I have to go? Shouldn't at least one of us stay behind to protect the base?"
Briki grumbled, perhaps because it was a nuisance, as she had just returned from a mission.
But Heinz couldn't help but nod, realizing that she was right.
"…Alright, Briki. You stay here."
"Uhuhu— Yes, leave this place to me, High Lord!"
Seeing her happy that she could finally rest, he felt like he had to give her a lot of work before he left.
'It's about time to properly make Heinz's name known. And to warn and show off to Obaifo.'
And so, an unexpected figure would be personally participating in the second Continental Summit.
The ruler of the New Talia Kingdom,
The High Lord of the Auterica Vampire Clan Alliance,
The great Sacred Blood vampire,
Heinz Hybrid the Second.
____________________
Deep in the Northern Mountains.
A sinister mountain, shrouded in a gloomy aura year-round because of the tall and rugged mountains surrounding it.
Rumble—! Boom!
A rough explosion and…
[———!]
A heavy sound, as if a whale was roaring, echoed from there.
But the violent noise didn't last long.
It was because…
[His Majesty commanded that all monsters approaching the vicinity be eliminated and turned into undead.]
Death Knight Lord Karam,
[How dare you—! Try to defile the King's sanctuary with those filthy feet—! I'll carve fear into your soul—!]
Dread Phantom Pagos,
[…This meat, tastes bad…]
And Ghoul Lord Fiona…
Along with Arch-Lich Kellypa, a battle-type dark mage, unlike Dwell, who was weak in combat, and Drexler, a Doom Knight clad in armor, over three meters tall…
New executive-level undead were gathered here in large numbers.
[———!]
So the White Giant, who had confidently entered the Immortal Fortress's territory, couldn't even put up much of a fight and was instantly dismembered, its head being dragged along.
Of course, the corrosive gas emanating from its nose was nothing more than perfume to those present.
[Good work… This is a new type of monster…]
[It wasn't much work, Olivia. But this guy's madness… it doesn't seem like an ordinary monster, so I brought it here. How should we handle it?]
[Hmm… I'm not sure if it can be turned into an undead since it's not a normal living being… We should call Dwell and ask…]
As Karam and Olivia were talking,
Snap— Thud!
They turned their heads to the side at a small snapping sound.
The source of the sound was the mouth of the White Giant, which only had its head left.
The black wires that had been sewing its mouth shut were slowly decaying and disappearing, and its mouth was opening slightly.
[Hmm? Does it still have something up its sleeve? How annoying.]
Shing—
Karam stepped forward and drew his large two-handed sword, emitting dark magic power that resembled black flames.
It was the same for the other executives who were watching the giant's massive head.
But the giant, whose mouth was finally unsealed, didn't launch any special attack.
It just uttered a few words.
[The destination of all life—. The fate and endpoint of life—.]
The executives of the immortal army subtly exchanged glances at the giant's unexpected words.
[…This is?]
[It's… speaking…?]
But no matter how they reacted, the giant's head just continued to mutter to itself.
[The oldest impurity— and proof of eternal loss— stagnated at the deepest bottom of the abyss—.]
The giant's head mumbled incomprehensible words.
[Death—.]
[Are you… asking us to kill you…? We can do that whenever you want…]
Olivia impatiently cut it off, annoyed by its rambling.
And as if to prove that she wasn't joking, a chilling ghostly energy, along with high-density dark magic power, started to gather in her neck.
[Immortal King— Bring me to the Immortal King—.]
The white head finally got to the point.
[Hmm, I see.]
It was a sudden request, but the executives were also those who had served the previous Immortal King, so they could roughly grasp the situation.
It seemed like this monster with 'madness' was somehow connected to the abyss, like the Immortal King's 'death'.
Karam, understanding the situation, casually nodded as he slung his sword over his shoulder.
[Hmm. I understand your request.]
[Then— the Immortal King—]
[But you see,]
A flash of black light.
Whoosh— Whoosh—!
The giant two-handed sword left a deep scar on the giant's face.
[Ugh—?]
[How dare you order our master around? You're very arrogant.]
[This… seems like a good sample… His Majesty will be pleased… I'll call Dwell…]
And they had also learned that their current Immortal King, Hans, wasn't fond of 'madness'.
After all, their job was to massacre the monsters consumed by madness in the vicinity.
[Don't worry. We won't let you die until you've told us everything. Until His Majesty returns.]
And so, the loyal subordinates diligently collected the giant's head and remains,
And a unique test subject was added to the undead research lab in the Immortal Fortress.
Without Hans even knowing.