#284
Advance into Europe (3)
The day has dawned.
As if something had happened last night, a busy day as usual was starting in Paris, the center of France.
Citizens who work hard for school, work, and housework.
However, contrary to its everyday appearance, the other side of the city, which stayed up all night, was never peaceful.
Those who couldn’t sleep because of last night’s incident had no choice but to keep busy even at this moment.
“What is the current situation?”
“No more information is coming in since the last time we were in Nanterre about three hours ago. As a result, it is understood that a total of five Thermidor branches, including Versailles, which was first reported, have been destroyed.”
“Huh—five? “Five branches collapsed in just one night?”
The General Intelligence and Security Bureau, which oversees issues related to the Awakened in France.
The commissioner in charge of the capital Paris and nearby regions burst out laughing at his subordinate’s report.
What kind of place is Thermidor?
It is a powerful organization that practically controls Milieu, the underworld of France.
It was no exaggeration to say that, directly or indirectly, every criminal organization in this country was touched by them.
A dangerous group that has been causing headaches as even the public authorities cannot do anything about its enormous influence.
And the thing that elevated one criminal organization to that level is…
“The tyrant will not stay still.”
He was a tyran, the owner of Thermidor and the ruler of Millieu.
“If he decides to go on a rampage, it won’t end up causing much trouble. You don’t think this is a planned operation, do you? “I’m not ready yet…”
It may seem strange that a government agency, in name and in name, is worried about criminal organizations rather than responding to them, but if you think about it a little differently, it’s not that strange.
‘It’s not a living thing, but a kind of asymmetrical power.’
A very small number of absolute powerhouses with power beyond imagination that makes you wonder if they are from the same Earth.
It would have been better if he was the type that could at least confront him, but the real problem was that he was difficult to deal with head-on, such as the vampire ‘Tyrant’.
‘If the person in hiding decides to assassinate only high-ranking officials, including the head of state, the entire country could be paralyzed.’
If he avoided an open fight and continued to make secret attacks, there was a limit to how we could recruit a transcendent of equal level to respond.
In that case, even if we succeed in killing him, an unimaginable amount of damage will occur in the end.
That was the reason why the government could not tamper with Thermidor and only sanctioned cases where an implicit line was crossed.
Doesn’t everyone feel like they are precious about their own life right now?
This is probably a similar situation in most countries where villains have a large presence.
“There is no special movement seen yet. “They won’t be able to make any moves until they know the exact situation.”
“…That’s a good thing. Have you figured out his identity? “If he could do something like that on his own, he must have been an extraordinary person.”
I felt a sense of shame at being relieved by something like this since protecting the country from villains is the purpose of my existence, but it was something I couldn’t do anything about right now.
What was more important now was the identity of the person who did this.
First of all, you need to know who he is so you can decide on a policy.
“Fluent in French, taller than 180cm, with an aristocratic and intimidating air, a handsome man with black hair and red eyes wearing a white opera half-mask….”
Thanks to the diligent movement last night and securing the testimonies of survivors and witnesses, the subject’s impression and clothing were determined. I already figured it out.
Of course, it was not that easy to infer the identity of the other person with only such fragmentary information, but—.
“Thanks to the cooperation of the Directorate General of External Security (DGSE), we were able to identify the most likely candidate.”
Surprisingly, they were able to pick one almost certain target more easily than they thought.
The French intelligence agency, which was already focusing its efforts on understanding overseas trends, responded as soon as it asked for cooperation.
“Commonly known as Phantom.”
“…Phantom? Same with that mask. “Is it also the Phantom of the Opera?”
“yes. “Also, it is assumed that he is the head of a vampire clan that has already engulfed Korea’s underworld.”
“her! He’s a vampire too? “How on earth does such a big man end up here?”
Soon, several pictures began to appear through the projector in the conference room.
From poor quality images that look like they were captured from CCTV footage to pictorial-like photos that look like they were taken by a professional.
The last thing that came to mind the most was the so-called ‘Phantom’s Legendary Meme’, which became a hot topic on the Internet.
“…You definitely have a special appearance. Even though it is covered with a mask, it is visible at a glance.”
“We have already completed cross-checking with eyewitnesses. “We have not confirmed it in order to prepare for various possibilities, but we have already concluded internally that it is the same person.”
“Are you really saying that you are a Korean vampire? It’s so embarrassing that the name of a country on the other side of the world suddenly pops up. “It would be too far away to aim for overseas expansion to expand our power.”
The commissioner, who was looking at the photo, roughly stroked his chin.
To be honest, I didn’t have anything to say about the country called Korea, as I had only encountered it a few times while handling exchange-related work.
‘I thought you said that other than Emperor Noe and Hahoetal, there wasn’t anyone worth paying attention to.’
Looking at the situation, it seemed like that was now a thing of the past.
I had been somewhat neglectful of overseas news while dealing with accidents that occurred in my jurisdiction, but I felt like I needed to pay more attention to that as well in the future.
At a time when the General Security Agency was establishing a plan to promptly respond to variables with the basic policy of staying on the sidelines.
That same time.
“…A Korean vampire. “Is that the guy?”
Elsewhere in Paris, there were people who expressed strange feelings while looking at the photo of the Phantom.
It’s a sunny morning outside, but in a dark room where all the windows are covered with thick blackout curtains, only the monitor light flickers…
“You really came all the way here, just like I heard. “What kind of guts is this?”
A being whose whole body was buried in shadow and who looked completely black muttered leisurely.
However, it was just a question that was briefly expressed, and the subsequent response was completely different from the lukewarm state authorities.
‘Whatever the purpose is, we can’t just sit still like this.’
I didn’t know exactly why he came all the way here, but this was a blatant provocation from the other side.
And it was done publicly so that everyone could see.
Several branches have already been destroyed and many executives have passed away. If the enemy is attacked so one-sidedly and does not trample on the opponent, the entire prestige of Thermidor that has been built up so far will be shaken.
There was a need to quickly eliminate the culprit and solidify the position again before things became more troublesome.
‘He seems like a pretty useful guy, so it would be a good idea to capture him and take him under my command. If you do that, you will be able to easily make up for the damage you suffered this time. … It’s annoying that that Romanian guy does whatever he wants.’
He frowned slightly as he remembered the unpleasant neighbors who tried to subtly interfere with the territory he controlled.
That greedy bastard was not only encroaching on the vast majority of Eastern Europe, but was also working hard to expand his territory.
In such a situation, Thermidor had suffered damage that could not be ignored, and it was obvious what would happen on the other side when they found out about it.
‘Finish as quickly as possible and prepare your posture.’
The man buried in the shadows slowly stood up.
And he quietly whispered in a drowsy voice.
[“Find.”]
Words with a strange resonance resonate.
Wiggle—
The shadows filling the room wriggled as if responding to those words.
[“And tell me.”]
Where he is.
Wiggle, wiggle— wiggle— wiggle—!
With that soft word, the darkness that filled the entire space soon disintegrated and began to seep into shadows everywhere.
Beyond windows, entrances, hallways, etc., along the exterior walls of buildings and throughout the city.
They spread endlessly, moving through the shadows cast over the city of Paris, and eventually extended to the satellite cities, completely covering the entire area like a spider web.
Although it is a delicate task that thoroughly searches the interior, its effective radius is a whopping 20 kilometers.
It is a power-like ability that makes it almost impossible to sense its presence because it uses shadows, a natural phenomenon.
That’s it.
It was the unique skill “Lord of Shadow” possessed by the tyrant of Thermidor.
And his iconic ability is that he invested most of the karma he earned into strengthening his unique skills.
“…found.”
It didn’t disappoint him.
***
Forest park near Versailles, southwest of Paris.
King Heinz II, who was standing quietly in the deep mountains, quietly opened his mouth.
“Are you here?”
Those words, spoken without anyone around, seemed like I was just talking to myself, but—.
“Oh, I thought something was strange. “Were you waiting too?”
“Well, I guessed it would come around this time.”
“I have a better feeling than I thought.”
As if in response, a pitch-black shadow of a human figure rose from the floor without any sign and responded calmly.
Heinz, who was barely able to detect the presence thanks to the synergy between his heightened senses and “insight,” looked at him with new eyes.
‘Are you the type of person who has reached the top level by only honing his or her unique skills? There is no doubt that it is level 9, but the amount of vampire factor is ridiculously small. ‘Something like this could have happened.’
Not long after Heinz II began his activities in Seoul.
I had heard about the level system that classifies the levels of modern vampires from Gamma, a member of the hardliners of the vampire clan from another world, whom I first met on Earth.
It was originally impossible, but vampires from various dimensions gathered in one place when a singularity called Earth occurred.
They are grouped into the same category because of their critical similarity in that they require ‘blood’, but strictly speaking, there were so many differences that they could not be called the same race.
Even though they are the same ape, chimpanzees and orangutans are not the same.
‘So the method that came out was a level system that was divided into details by measuring the common characteristic vampire factor that they all share.’
In the absence of any standards, it was certainly an efficient method.
It was true that the denser the concentration of the vampire factor and the greater the amount, the greater the power a vampire could exert.
However, although it could provide an approximate level, it could not be an absolute measure of strength.
‘If you think about it, it’s natural.’
Heinz may be the type that has raised his power as a vampire to the limit by actively using predation on his own kind, but isn’t the only power they can have in the first place dependent on the vampire factor?
Every awakened person has their own unique skill, and even if they didn’t have one, they could have reached the level through other means.
A vampire with only residual blood may become a great wizard after much effort, and conversely, a sword master may become a low-level vampire for some reason.
Heinz was able to experience this again as he faced the opposing tyrant in front of him.
The amount of blood-sucking factor it possessed was barely even at the level of true blood, but its quality was as if it were a complete metamorphosis, and it was emitting a level worthy of the state.
‘Well, unless you use an unusual method like me, it would be almost impossible to achieve transcendence as a pure vampire.’
One example of this was Alpha, who went crazy after forcibly increasing the concentration of the vampire factor.
And it seemed that the shadow monster was also feeling what Heinz was feeling right now.
“What…? you? “What kind of ridiculous blood magic…”
In exactly the opposite sense.
“How is that possible? It would have taken only a few decades to purify the vampire factor to that level…!”
After exchanging a few words right after meeting each other for the first time, he quietly explored each other and eventually spoke in a shaky voice.
As expected, for an opponent of that caliber, “existence denial” at close range was not perfect.
“Is it necessary to talk a lot?”
And Heinz, who also measured timing while exploring.
Taking advantage of the panic, the guy immediately waved his hand and immediately activated the barrier that had been prepared here in advance.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch—!
The barrier of the “Mystery of Blood” was built in an instant, skipping the intermediate process, based on the cause and effect of his “Sudden Acceleration”.
Perhaps because he felt threatened, a shadow exploded from the tyrant’s body.
Like a hedgehog with thorns.
“We have a long way to go, so let’s finish it quickly.”
“Huh, I’ve learned a few tricks, but I can’t see anything.”
“Well…”
Heinz felt the thirst for “bloodline longing” burning hot, and grabbed the long bloody blade in one hand and the swirling red storm in the other.
“Is it really a remnant of talent?”
For reference, he grew up based on the work of victims who were robbed of their blood through predation of their own kind and “mixed-blood evolution.”
It was not simply the maximum amount of energy that was large.