Episode 203 The Second Continental Summit (4)
The northwestern region of the Ion Continent, the Tulk Kingdom.
Swoosh—
In the middle of a city, shimmering light dust flowed majestically across a wide area.
The sky glowed faintly, as if it were another world, the buildings shimmered translucently, and the streets were eerily deserted despite the city's size.
The scenery, a combination of all these elements, was breathtakingly beautiful, like a city from a fantasy.
But there was one fatal flaw in this city of light that prevented them from simply admiring its beauty…
Crash! Boom!
It was the existence of a large, white neighbor who was relentlessly destroying the city at this very moment.
[———!]
A strange sound emanated from the giant, shaking the surroundings.
Its nose and mouth, necessary for vocalization, were sewn shut, but the destructive energy contained in that suppressed sound was enough to cause serious damage.
Of course, within this space—.
"Let's finish this. Harley, if you please!"
"Hahaha! Lie down quietly!"
There was no one weak enough to be affected by it.
[———?!]
And the White Giant, whose legs were already tattered from the previous battles, couldn't withstand the leg sweep of the figure, barely reaching its knees, who charged in with all its might.
Kaboom—!
The giant crashed to the ground with a deafening roar.
The translucent buildings scattered as it fell, but no one cared.
The giant, sprawled on the ground, was soon beheaded and its skull split open.
Crunch!
And the fist-sized core that emerged from its head became Harley's snack.
"This is fascinating. It's my first time seeing this in person."
As the headless body of the White Giant slowly crumbled, starting from its extremities…
Saintess Liesta, who had arrived with the others, approached Harley and observed him with sparkling golden eyes.
"…You're actually controlling the abyss's madness. It doesn't seem like a racial trait… How is that possible?"
"Hmm, well, it just works! Hahaha!"
She stared intently at him, who just laughed without a proper answer, but there was no way she could uncover Harley's secret with just that.
"Well, as long as there are no problems, it's fine. If God allows it, there must be a reason!"
She eventually shook her head and stepped back, seemingly disappointed.
"At least it ended quickly this time. Thanks to the Saintess's barrier, we were able to minimize civilian casualties. It was quite difficult, fighting inside a city."
"Oh, Saint! You're the one who deserves the praise! Defeating such a massive giant! I just provided a little help."
"We were able to detect the giant's appearance and arrive in time thanks to the Saintess. If we had been even a little late and it had started rampaging in this city… The casualties would have been unimaginable."
As Heinrich said with a gentle smile,
They were only able to be here because of Liesta's detection ability.
It had happened right after the second day of the summit, just as the closing remarks were being made.
And luckily, the location was a city they could immediately access through the temple's gate.
'Thanks to her, the Saintess had a successful debut.'
From detecting the giant to creating an isolated space for them to fight without worrying about the surroundings, and even providing all sorts of buffs to those participating in the battle…
It was a true spectacle of high-level holy magic, befitting a Saintess.
'Of course, there was still some damage to the city.'
No matter how quickly they reacted and moved, it still took some time to gather the party and travel.
There were casualties they couldn't prevent during that time.
Of course, it was still insignificant compared to the potential damage.
"…It's a relief that the Immortal King is quiet, but… I can't shake this uneasy feeling. It feels like the calm before the storm…"
"The Immortal King sees conquering the continent as a game, doesn't he? This must be part of his amusement. He's probably telling us to struggle as much as we can."
"I hope that's all it is. But I have a feeling it's not that simple… I was planning to endure it during the summit, but I miss Tion and Mu so much today…"
Familiar names.
He had heard them before…
'Ah! Those earthworms. They're still alive?'
Well, they had received so many blessings from the Saintess, it wasn't strange that they were still alive.
Heinrich comforted the anxious Saintess and returned to the cathedral with the others.
'…Her words are making me uneasy too. I should strengthen the party.'
Of course, since the Immortal King was practically on their side, it wouldn't escalate to the level she was worried about.
But if something did happen, it would probably come from somewhere else.
For example— Heaven's Turn Society.
'I've been neglecting them for too long because they're difficult to find and there are other things to worry about. I need to eliminate them, no matter how long it takes.'
They had been searching for them, but it seemed like Heaven's Turn Society had gone into hiding after being repeatedly defeated.
They wouldn't reveal themselves unless they made a move, and the only one who was actively causing trouble was the mastermind behind the coup in the south.
'I should thoroughly investigate the south after the summit and get more information. And take care of Harley's mission at the same time.'
He would eventually reach the end if he just kept going, one step at a time.
And so, leaving behind the Saintess's anxiety and the Saint's worries, the hero party entrusted the remaining cleanup to the kingdom's forces and returned to the Roselia Cathedral.
The Continental Summit was still ongoing.
______________
As with the first summit, the meeting continued for several days.
It was only natural, considering the gravity of the issues and the number of factions involved.
And one of the topics discussed was the recruitment of new members for the expedition…
Seeing how smoothly the hero party was operating, others were starting to show interest, unlike before.
'They must think it's not that dangerous anymore. And they're probably jealous of how easily we're gaining fame.'
Anyway, he was hoping for more candidates, so it was a good thing.
The first to be considered was Lydia Granwood, the High Elf who had come with Rapori.
He already knew a lot about her through Harris, another High Elf.
She was a warrior-type High Elf, unusually aggressive for an elf, and the leader of the 'Guardians', the Elven Kingdom's elite warriors. She had come to the summit with a large number of Guardians to join the allied forces.
'An elf ranger! Now that's romantic. It's a shame Harris is still growing and can't be used yet.'
And he was also considering recruiting a True Blood vampire or higher, someone suitable for the assassin role…
"But shouldn't we do something about the Talia Kingdom?"
Before he could even finish his thought, Kayla McClair, the Vice President of the Zepia Republic, brought up the issue.
She stood up with a determined expression, her hand on the table, and slowly scanned the room, meeting the eyes of the other representatives.
"A country ruled by vampires, who live by preying on the life force of humans? That can't be considered a proper nation! Regardless of whether it's a kingdom or a republic, how can we tolerate them treating humans like livestock?!"
Kayla boldly spoke what others had been avoiding, her eyes flashing.
Even though Heinz the Second had deliberately toned down his presence since the first day, her attitude was still incredibly bold.
'Well, I understand her feelings.'
According to the background check, she had lost her young son to someone suspected to be a vampire a long time ago.
To be precise, he was still missing, but after all this time, it was practically the same as death.
'It must have been the Obaifo Clan in the east.'
But it was too much to expect her to differentiate between clans when her son was gone.
To her, all vampires were the same.
'It's surprising she held back for this long.'
Her position as a representative of a nation and the weight of her title as Vice President must have kept her in check.
But the fact that she was bringing it up now…
"Hmm, indeed. We're also quite concerned, as a neighboring country."
"It's difficult to accept after all these years. People are still wary of them. Shouldn't we impose some restrictions until they prove themselves?"
"Ahem, I agree."
The representatives of the three kingdoms bordering Talia subtly supported Kayla's argument.
'So they're taking a political approach.'
It was the most rational method.
After all, vampires had been the enemy of humanity for centuries.
And the other representatives, including Riley, didn't object, though they didn't explicitly voice their agreement.
They were probably holding back because of the Church's stance on the vampires.
"Hmm? Restrictions… you say?"
And Heinz's reaction to that was…
"Sure, I don't know what you can do, but go ahead and try."
…A blatant head-on confrontation.
He interlocked his fingers and smiled coldly, his suppressed aura slowly emanating from his body.
"······."
"···Ahem."
The representatives exchanged glances, seemingly caught off guard.
They must have expected him to be flustered.
The Church had accepted the vampires of the Talia Kingdom to avoid creating more enemies in this dire situation.
It meant that they couldn't afford to antagonize them.
Their argument was valid, but it was poorly timed and unrealistic.
And…
"Everyone, please calm down. High Lord? Would you please lower your aura?"
"…Hmm. Alright."
"We're facing a serious crisis. Creating conflict when we need to unite our forces won't help anyone."
He was practically on the Church's side, so it was only natural.
The representatives reluctantly nodded at Heinrich's calm yet firm words, backed by a faint aura.
And as the brief commotion subsided, Kayla, who had initiated it, calmly returned to her seat and observed the situation.
As if she hadn't expected anything more from the beginning.
Heinz unclasped his hands and slowly stroked his chin.
'…Kayla McClair. So she was planting seeds.'
Disasters didn't just happen overnight.
They were the result of long-standing conflicts and discontent, building up over time.
The conflict had been easily resolved for now, but it would inevitably hinder future cooperation.
It was a long-term strategy, but he didn't feel threatened.
He was actually intrigued.
'She could be useful.'
She was currently hostile towards all vampires, but that could easily change depending on how he handled her.
If he could just redirect her anger towards the Obaifo Clan…
'It would be helpful in dealing with the Obaifo Clan hiding in the Zepia Republic.'
And if he could eliminate them, he would practically control all the vampires in Auterica.
There might be a few minor clans left, but at least 90% would be under his command.
'And then, finally, Heinz the Second will become the true King of Vampires… Hmm?'
But as he was lost in his sweet dreams,
He suddenly sensed an unexpected change from Earth.
______________
As the sun began to set,
[…What is this?]
Hans, the global star who was busy wreaking havoc on the Japanese archipelago, stopped in mid-air as he entered Osaka.
'A barrier? Another world? No, this is different. It's like… being transported to another dimension…'
The spatial coordinates were distorted, making it impossible to grasp their true location, and there was no sign of a barrier he could interfere with.
It was a perfect otherworldly environment.
Hans tilted his skull.
He had been caught in a trap set by someone, without even realizing it.
It wasn't strange for a high-level unique skill, but it was still unpleasant.
"Impressive. I can see why the others were helpless."
At that moment,
A voice, undetectable until now, echoed from behind him.
"To think someone would be crazy enough to carry the 'death' of the world within them."
Hans slowly turned to face the speaker.
The being, who had been a faint presence until now, suddenly emanated a suffocating aura.
"It's fascinating that you're still conscious, even though your body is dead. You must have a very unique unique skill."
No, wait, it looked like an ordinary young man.
…Or maybe a distinguished old man.
Perhaps it was a ghost or an illusion.
"I'm very interested."
The elusive being smiled at Hans with a delighted expression.