#239
Republic of Zephia (2)
A difficult time for everyone due to global tribulation.
Meanwhile, the cracks that arose within the powerful Republic of Zephia were more serious than they appeared on the surface.
The Obaipo Clan is trying to control the entire country through the upper-class people it has acquired.
Various lower powers began to move to seize new power, either out of patriotism to protect the country from their clutches or as an opportunity.
Even small factions, including dark organizations, are creeping up in the midst of chaos, looking for an opportunity.
It was such a dangerous situation that if we delayed any longer, it might become irreversible.
'Of course it's best to do it this way.'
Kayla McClair, Vice President of the Republic, also had no choice but to make a decision.
This is the only way to calm the situation and take care of the country before the current conflict erupts in earnest.
'…Was it really the only way to go?'
However, it was inevitable that I would feel a sense of skepticism that seemed to be building up within that decision.
Thalia Kingdom's hybrid vampires infiltrated the Republic with her cooperation.
No matter how many excuses they made, in the end, they were unable to solve their country's problems on their own, so they brought in foreign powers, including vampires, who were no different from monsters!
It would have been better if I had asked the church for help…
'No, then the problem would have become even bigger. Besides, even if that weren't the case, they wouldn't have the resources either. It would be better to make monsters get along with each other like they are now…' After
trying so hard to come up with all sorts of excuses, she soon stopped thinking and sighed.
After all, even in his opinion, it was just a lame excuse.
However, it was certainly true that she weighed many things for the country and made this decision.
However, there was only a very small amount of personal selfishness involved in the decision-making process.
'Temi…'
Kayla chewed her lips as she remembered her only son, whom she lost twenty years ago.
What the hybrid offered her in return for cooperation was the truth about the incident related to her son and revenge.
The vampire hierarchy is a strict pyramid-like ruling system.
No lies could be revealed to the orders of subordinate superiors.
Forcibly reviving memories in the head that had become blurred over time was not that difficult if one used a bit of extreme blood magic, and the slight side effects that came from the process were not a big problem for a strong vampire.
In other words, if they got their hands on Obaipo, they would be able to hear directly from the people involved about the truth of the day and punish them without any questions.
No matter how much I thought about it, this method was the best way to find out the truth about what happened twenty years ago.
'…It would be nice if they were still alive somewhere, but even if not…'
Don't parents need to know when, where, and how their children died?
At least the location where the body was buried.
"ha-."
Kayla let out a deep sigh in frustration and slowly walked towards the window of the house.
And as I looked up at the night sky beyond, I prayed that my choice was not wrong.
The full moon scatters bright light as if it doesn't care about her complicated feelings.
The light that emanated from there only softly and gently caressed the ground as always.
Not to mention the inside of this shabby safe house where she is currently hiding.
Near the capital of the Republic, where the war for supremacy between the Hybrid and Obipo vampire societies began… and
even to the place where the High Lord, Heinz II, personally took action.
'…It's clear without a single cloud.'
It was a beautiful night, fitting for the moment when a new history was born.
***
Sigh—! Quack!
A stream of blood flew like a snake out of the darkness and turned to aim for the nape of the target's neck.
"Where!"
However, as if the opponent had predicted this in advance, he strangely twisted his body and stuck out one forearm instead, minimizing the damage and rushing straight towards the enemy.
Dark blood-red magic bloomed from the bodies of both those who attacked first and those who counterattacked.
"The pigs who have been reduced to livestock dare to ask where this is!"
"Foolish people who can't see reality properly. It's been a long time since the new blood order arrived, but you're still covering your eyes and ears! "He is the King who will lead us to prosperity!"
A fight between vampires, which is taboo in human society.
Surprisingly, this was not happening in a remote, deserted place, but in the city of Uletor, the capital of the eastern powerhouse Republic of Zephia.
And it is on such an enormous scale that it occurs not just in one or two places, but all over the city.
"emergency! emergency! "They are targeting you!"
"Stop it! "We must not allow any more intruders in!"
And of course, not all fights of that scale could be carried out secretly as originally intended.
In addition, this is the home ground of the Obaipo clan, where they have built a nest for a long time.
Preparations for an external attack had already been completed a long time ago, and they took advantage of that to sneak back and put human troops, who had become puppets, at the forefront instead.
While Hybrid formed a raiding force with elites drawn from all over the continent, Obaipo made up for this inferiority in military power by living as a parasite in the Republic of Zefia.
'Of course, that much was expected.'
Of course, all of the hybrid vampires brought here were selected with that in mind.
No matter how thorough their preparations are, it will be difficult to respond with only the troops stationed in each area.
'It won't evolve easily. And in this gap…' I
left behind the commotion felt everywhere.
Heinz II walked slowly, leisurely looking around the city that was slowly waking up from its sleep due to the unexpected chaos.
"Stop! No more forward… Wow!"
"What what? It wasn't even detected…."
Pssssssssssssssssssssss!
He deliberately hid his momentum at a normal level, and some people rushed at him like moths to fire without even knowing the subject, but he just kept moving forward without paying attention to the random people who were reduced to a handful of blood before they even got close.
A destination that was discovered thanks to the ghost intelligence unit led by the talented Olivia.
To the hideout where the enemy monster, Holy Blood Obaipo, is hiding.
"Ugh—what kind of monster is this…!"
"Stand back! We can't even get to—!"
Puhwaak! Pujijik—!
I just gave a light glance to the people gathered around me, but the path I passed was dyed red by the fountain of blood rising with every step.
Of course, that only lasts a little while.
The blood that soaked the floor crawled across the floor as if it were alive and was instantly sucked up through Heinz's feet.
The street that was once a sea of blood was completely transformed in the blink of an eye, as if it were an illusion.
It was then that a few lines of system messages appeared before his eyes as he moved his feet indifferently.
《I gained enlightenment due to the influence of the special skill "Hybrid Evolution." Acquire the skill "Harmony."》
《The special skill《Hybrid Evolution》absorbs the low-level ability『Harmony』 and becomes further strengthened.》
He looked at it with interest in his eyes at the notification of the activation of a skill he had not seen in a long time.
'「Harmony」. Outerica's vampires don't have any clear blood-related abilities, so I thought they didn't have the ability to steal them. Wasn't it like that?'
"Mixed-blood evolution" involves collecting various blood-sucking factors to constantly evolve oneself and, with a slim probability, even robbing oneself of the potential contained therein.
He had already collected as many vampire elements from each dimension as he could on Earth, and his rank had risen so much that the probability of the activation of extortion was so low with low-grade blood that he had forgotten about it for a while.
It seemed like he had somehow succeeded in overcoming that low probability and obtaining the skill.
'…No, it doesn't mean much since the skill disappeared as soon as it was created.'
And that too to the person who discovered that skill, "Hybrid Evolution."
Shouldn't this be considered self-sufficiency?
In fact, it is true that a skill that is evolved by combining several skills is much more useful than having several vague and similar skills.
Just like his other skills.
〈Individual Information〉
-Individual name: Heinz II
-Race: Vampire (Holy Blood)
-Common characteristics: 「Mind Herb」 「Persona」 「Mysterious Index」 「Supernatural Strength」 「Xenoglossy」
-Individual Characteristics: 「Blood Clan (Holy Blood Holy Blood)血)」 「Mixed Blood Evolution」 「Mystery of Blood」 「Purified Blood Essence」 「Denial of Existence」 「Sudden Acceleration」 「Super Regeneration」 「Insight」
– Special Features: He ascended to the Holy Blood, the root of vampires, and transcended the limits of his species. As the progenitor of a 'hybrid' bloodline, he exercises absolute dominance over his blood relatives. Under the influence of "Sudden Acceleration," I was able to move faster, and under the influence of "Insight," I was able to see the lines of cause and effect more clearly.
Heinz's initial skills, "Acceleration" and "Nervousness," were combined, and the skills stolen by "Sudden Acceleration," "Perception" and "Visiting," were combined to evolve into "Insight."
The performance is at a level that goes without saying.
Thanks to that, any vampire of pure blood or lower would now turn into a handful of blood just by looking at him.
I don't know, but it would be quite useful not just for opponents of lower rank, but also for opponents of the same level or higher.
Now it was time to check it out in practice.
'Hmm, is it here?'
As a warm-up, I purposely walked with my face exposed for a while.
Finally he was able to reach his intended destination.
The mansion of a senator who has been in the Zephyr Republic for quite a long time.
This is Obaipo's forward base… To put it simply, it was a place in a similar position to Duke Bright in the Kingdom of Thalia.
'It would be common sense to first take control of a part of the powerful before it engulfs the country.'
Heinz quietly closed his eyes and concentrated more on the transcendental feeling.
As expected from the enemy's stronghold, it had an unusual barrier, but with his ability, he was able to at least indirectly sense the powerful enemy inside.
'It's definitely in here.'
I felt it.
A thread of cause and effect that squirms as it clashes with the energy it has extended.
'Anyway, you don't plan on coming out either.'
I deliberately attacked the other person head-on to see their reaction, but there was no response like this.
There's no way they couldn't sense their presence, but it certainly seemed like they had prepared something else.
"Hmm. "I have the confidence to crush whatever comes out from inside."
Heinz, facing the mansion, slowly stroked his chin.
The target is the enemy's stronghold, which is clearly a trap. The enemy doesn't seem to have any intention of leaving, and the mansion is surrounded by all sorts of barriers, making it difficult to do anything from the outside.
In fact, even if you go inside, if there is a really dangerous trap, you can escape by canceling the summoning, so it doesn't really matter…
'Something feels bad.'
As I thought about that, my stomach began to twist.
When guests come to visit, isn't it the duty of a landlord to come out and greet them?
However, I was stuck in the house like this and thought, 'I can open the door and come in or not.' If you do that, how disappointed will the guests be?
This was a disrespect that, as a healthy young man from the country of decency in the East, he could never overlook.
'I can't help it. 'I have no choice but to roll up my sleeves and move forward.'
Suddenly, a famous phrase I had heard somewhere flashed through my mind.
If it doesn't work out, make it happen.
Whichever saint said it, it was a very good thing.
***
Inside the mansion.
Obaipo, who had the appearance of an old man, sat down leisurely and shook his tea cup.
"It's a little earlier than I thought… but it's not that bad… All the preparations have been completed anyway… It would only save you the hassle if you came in person…"
He is the one who will become the king of all vampires.
A would-be vassal personally asked for an audience, but I had no intention of treating him mercilessly.
Of course, he seems a bit arrogant now, so he might need some education.
Reaching this point is also one step toward that goal.
A lot of effort had been put into it, so he would probably be able to have a conversation by the time he got there.
While I was thinking that, I sensed something entering the inside of the barrier.
Although the presence that felt like he was killing his own presence was strange, the presence and magic that was felt there clearly belonged to that person named Heinz.
"I wonder what it will be like… So, show me something worthy of being called a vampire king…"
The moment he raised his glass with a faint smile on his face at the expected situation.
Rumbling—
Obaipo's hand gesture as he was holding the tea cup stopped at the slight vibration.
Then his face frowned slightly and his head tilted slightly.
'Hmm, are you going on a rampage because you can't accept the test? But since you're already in, there's no use running wild inside. If you don't take the test properly…'
Quarrung—Quarang—! Coo!
However, contrary to his cynicism, the space he was in began to shake violently with the sound of something collapsing.
"…what? 'The world behind superimposed phase inversion' is being shaken from within without even coming to this place where the nucleus is located…?"
However, this does not mean that there is an attack from outside.
This hidden world, which was reversed by overlapping phases, had strong resistance both from the inside and the outside, and even if it were destroyed by intervening in space, it was impossible to instantly restore it and completely neutralize it by overlaying it with the opposite phase.
If you really want to be specific, it's not that there is no law on destruction, but it's close to theoretical unreasonableness…
Quaaaaang——!
Before he could even finish his thoughts.
A violent explosion that seemed to shake the world shook the space.
And right after that loud binge ended.
"Okay, I finally get to see your face."
I heard an unfamiliar voice with a tone I was familiar with, but it was my first time hearing it in person.
Opaipo slowly turned his head in the direction from which the sound came.
"I apologize for knocking too aggressively. The landlord must have been deaf and didn't think to come out."
So I accidentally broke the door.
Heinz quickly apologized with an expression on his face that did not make him feel sorry at all.
Still, he had a shameless expression on his face as if he thought his gout would get better thanks to him.
In response, Obaipo twitched the corner of his mouth and tried to suppress a word that was about to come out of his mouth.
Because the king had to remain calm in any situation.
Even if that were—.
'…It's not at the level of a door…!'
From near the front door until passing the reception room where he was.
Even if there is a large hole roughly the length of one-third of the mansion.