#283
Advance into Europe (2)
The outskirts of Paris as the day is slowly setting.
Today, Bastian, a healthy young vampire who went out to have a fulfilling day as usual, encountered something completely unexpected.
While on his way to patrol the clan’s territory, he was suddenly attacked by a masked assailant who suddenly appeared.
He is a member of France’s largest vampire organization, ‘Thermidor’, which rules the night in Paris and other major cities!
‘You’re crazy! How dare you do something like this on this earth without any fear? ‘And at night?’
Paris, the capital of France, is a world-famous metropolis and a land of gold and silver with a lot of interest, so naturally the organization was paying a lot of attention to it.
In other regions, the level 5 vampire Bastian, who could take on the role of a mid-level executive, is directly assigned to patrol missions that only low-ranking officials can perform.
‘He was really crazy. I think I’m pretty confident in my skills, but even if I die, you’ll never be safe.’
For some reason, the body has become so stiff that you can’t even blink.
The moment he sensed his own end as the cold grip slowly tightened around his neck, he uttered a final curse that could not come out of his mouth—.
He realized that he had completely mistaken something.
‘ah?’
Something rushed like a roar from the fingertips that dug into my neck.
Before Bastian could express his surprise when he realized what it was, a huge presence shook his thoughts.
An entity that seemed to have been hidden on purpose was forced into his mind.
‘This…!’
I’m out of breath.
It is a feeling of awe that cannot be expressed in words.
High and distant.
Wide and spacious.
Big and wonderful.
Deep and eerie.
The reason his body stiffened was not because the other person had done anything special.
It was just my instinct to face such a vast difference in class that made me panic without even realizing it.
My limbs were shaking without me realizing it.
‘At least 7…? Level 8? No, it’s not at a level I can guess.’
The strongest vampire that Bastien had ever encountered, a high-ranking official of Thermidor, was level 7.
At that time, when he was inspecting with his comrades, he froze for a long time due to extreme tension, and was only able to catch his breath after the distance was a little far away…
‘Maybe it’s even more… Lord level.’
Compared to now, it was like a vacation back then.
So much so that it can’t even be compared in the first place.
But he couldn’t continue his thoughts any longer.
Tap-duk-duk!
Because the blood flowing into my body had been affecting my entire body from head to toe, my entire body had been destroyed.
‘This… I can’t believe something like this is possible…!’
It was an evolution that was like a revolution.
In that brief moment, my body immediately surpassed its limits and the clock expanded.
Bastian quietly trembled, filled with a sense of omnipotence, as if he could take on dozens of people as strong as he was a moment ago.
Of course, what he felt that way was just a side effect of excessive secretion of hormones, but he was already full of blood and didn’t care about such trivial issues.
Bastien, lying face down with the awe and sense of belonging and loyalty that filled his mind, lowered his head to the ground and shouted words of submission from his heart.
“Just give me any orders! “I, Bastien Dubosque Phantom, will do my best to help you find Christine!”
“…….”
He was already awestruck by his intimidating presence and didn’t seem to know what he was talking about.
Heinz’s anxious gaze was fixed on the back of his head.
***
‘This is how you do it.’
Heinz looked down at Bastian, a young vampire who was lying down in front of him with a disapproving gaze.
You made a mistake with your words once and then make a fuss about it again.
However, the full cooperation he showed afterwards was not bad.
He worshiped himself to a strange degree and answered Heinz’s questions with great enthusiasm and confessed everything he knew.
Like a fanatic who worships God.
It certainly wasn’t a normal reaction.
‘Is ‘delusion’ at work here as well? ‘I didn’t know this would be this effective.’
No matter how much it was subordinated to the “pure blood essence,” it did not have the power to mesmerize the target to that extent.
The difference in rank between them probably also had a significant impact.
Anyway, it was a good thing for me because it made things easier.
‘It worked out well because I was able to save time.’
The only information he had about France in Europe was what he could get from the Internet.
Cooperation from locals is essential for comfortable activities and quick processing of work.
Anyway, subordinating a level 5 level didn’t require much consumption of “Refined Blood Essence”, so it was the perfect opponent.
‘Even if you eat up an opponent like this, you may not even get a message.’
In order for Heinz II, who had already reached transcendence as a holy blood, to complete his own lineage and break the mold, he needed at least the blood of a vampire of true blood level.
Even so, it is only the minimum, and in order to escape properly, there must be a large number of Seonghyeol-level people.
‘The Holy Blood level in France right now… there is only one level 9.’
Heinz’s gaze turned in the direction led by “Bloodline Longing.”
However, as the opponent’s level was different, it was only vaguely felt, and unlike before, I could not clearly determine its location.
Immediately after arriving in Europe, he calmly judged the situation, ignoring the urge of thirst that continued to writhe.
‘It would be foolish to rush in blindly in this situation.’
This was the enemy’s stronghold and a completely foreign country.
They say that there may be some kind of trap, and if you move carelessly, the government may intervene like in Japan.
‘We might need to shake things up a bit.’
So he started work immediately with Bastian’s cooperation.
A little preliminary work to make hunting easier.
***
Murmuring—
“This smells pretty good. “It’s pretty good taste.”
“yes? “It may be hard to find, but there is nothing better than this.”
“Nadia, I have something to tell you…”
One of Thermidor’s bases, located in the city of Versailles near Paris.
“This is so shit.”
A cold voice came out like a whisper from inside the luxurious mansion where a wild party was taking place.
It was a sound so small that it was drowned out by the noise of the party, but…
“Hmm?”
“…Who are you just now?”
Those in this space were not comfortable enough to miss such disparate dissonance.
The relaxed atmosphere suddenly tightened.
They gathered momentum and quickly looked around, and soon they were able to naturally spot an uninvited guest among them.
“What are you!”
“How are you here? No, when?”
With a warning cry, the ferocious energy emanating from them began to cover the surroundings.
However, even in that situation, Heinz II, the uninvited guest wearing an opera mask, just looked around slowly with a stern expression.
A large chandelier hanging from the ceiling, tableware decorated with all kinds of precious metals, and even works of art that look unusual at first glance.
The sight of the boys and girls shivering and trapped in the gap was so gorgeous that it felt awkward.
Needless to say, the incongruity between the blood contained in the silver cups held by the participants and the blood splattered everywhere as if deliberately staged.
‘…Tsk. ‘I wish it had come sooner.’
Heinz clicked his tongue lightly and looked around again at the vampires who were partying with the fresh blood of their victims.
Before we knew it, they had surrounded the entire party and had made all possible response preparations and were preparing to attack.
“Oh no communication!”
“What? “Since when…?”
Except spreading this situation to the outside world.
Even though he could have handled it quietly in the first place, it was not a thoughtless action for him to show off like this.
“We don’t have time, so let’s get it done as quickly as possible.”
Because the situation was already over.
Just—
with the sound of a light snap of a finger.
“Mystery of Blood” has been activated.
Not only was the blood scattered everywhere like avant-garde art, but the blood in the glass all at once became a thick mist and began to surround the surroundings.
“It’s a blood magic barrier!”
“Unite! Prepare to respond immediately…!”
What followed was not a battle.
It’s just a one-sided violation.
Heinz, who was looking at the causality flowing throughout the area, feeling the resentment contained in the blood of the victims, grabbed a piece of it.
And let him decide to do so.
—So it happened.
Boom!
Kwaaaang—!
A broken chandelier falls from the ceiling, scattering fragments.
Fuhuaak—!
Clap,
the sound of something being torn apart came out one after another.
“Sigh!”
“Crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm…”
The blood of vampires flutters like rose petals in the sunset-colored fog that covers the space.
It was impossible to defend or avoid an attack that went beyond recognition.
Also, the meager regenerative power they possessed had no meaning given the remoteness that resided there.
“Ugh!”
Of course, not everyone was summed up in that one number.
The strongest in the Versailles branch of Thermidor.
Nadia, a level 7 high-ranking executive who had been calmly leading the situation from the moment Heinz appeared, immediately attempted to run away while holding on to the severed part of her left arm.
‘What the hell?! Level 9? Level 9? ‘What nonsense!’
An incomprehensible attack that even low-level opponents cannot match.
In an instant, she left behind her fallen subordinates and gritted her teeth.
‘If you go to the opera… who are you? No, where did he come from? Italy? germany? Surely it’s not Romania?’
There weren’t that many level 9 vampires in the world.
Even in Europe, where it is said to be the strongest, it could be counted on one hand.
And as far as she knew, there was no one among them who had that kind of attitude.
‘Could it have come from another continent? America? Asia? …Now that I think about it, I think I’ve heard something similar…’
But her thoughts couldn’t continue for long.
Thump, thump—
because of Heinz, who emerged through the bloody fog right in front of us.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
Nadia stopped and chewed her lips.
Normally, it would not have taken less than a second to leave the grounds of this mansion.
For some reason, she was still inside the mansion covered in red fog.
“…who are you? Where on earth and for what purpose…!”
“As expected, the other guys were very lacking.”
A calm word cut off her words as if she was forcing herself to raise her voice.
“You look quite nutritious.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his red tongue licked his lips under the mask and disappeared.
Nadia’s pupils dilated at those words and actions that implied a taboo.
“…No way you…!”
“Shhh—.”
So what can she do?
Soon, the blood-red fog became thicker and thickly enveloped the surroundings.
《Collect new blood-sucking factors. Due to the influence of the special skill “Hybrid Evolution”…”
And after the unnatural silence that seemed to have been muted passed, only one person remained in that place.
***
Of the victims brought to the mansion as part of the party, only about a dozen were still alive when Heinz arrived.
Boys and girls who are all at an age where they are either going to become adults or not.
“Ugh.”
“Ugh…”
Those who had been making noise or resisting were sacrificed, so as they had learned, they desperately covered their mouths and trembled in fear even during the commotion during the party.
As ordinary humans, they couldn’t understand the situation at all because of the blood-red fog surrounding them.
This blood dance also had the function of protecting the victims, but they were not aware of this fact.
‘please please.’
‘Mom…’
Still, I was aware of one thing for sure.
At least, it is a hundred to a thousand times better for the half-masked gentleman who showed up late to win than the monsters who tried to use them as party food.
How long has it been since I prayed over and over again in such tension?
The fog filled with the smell of blood that surrounded the surroundings soon began to gradually lighten.
The scene I finally saw was a large party hall with not a single drop of blood left, let alone a vampire.
“uh?”
“no one is here?”
In the absence of anyone but themselves, a quiet silence enveloped the son-in-law.
Several people turned their heads here and there looking for the masked gentleman who was presumed to be the winner, but he was nowhere to be found.
For some reason, the shattered chandelier that fell to the floor only caught my eye.
They hesitated for a moment, but soon began to take steps one by one, and later they ran out at the same time through the wide open front door as if they were running.
‘Hmm, the police are nearby, so this should be enough. Then, let’s move on.’
The surprise visit by the Masked Gentleman Phantom did not simply stop at the Versailles branch.
Saint-Denis and Creteil, etc.
They made a circuit of raids on branches in cities around Paris.
No matter how much it happened in the darkness of the city, something like this happened one after another in just one night, so it couldn’t have gone unnoticed forever.
Thanks to this, survivors who were able to escape continued to emerge one after another.
And those associated with the Thermidor Clan were able to read a message through the incident.
It was a blatant provocation sent to someone.
Don’t hide, come out right now.
-I am here.
A very confident provocation.