〈 Unknown Threat (2) 〉
Tarak is a big city bustling with people coming and going every day.
Three men and women strolled leisurely along the well-maintained main street in the center.
“…It is exactly as I heard through rumors. “I heard that vampires are on the rise in the West, and I can definitely feel that when I come here.”
High elf Lydia muttered as she looked at the alley next to the main street.
There, several mercenaries who had been wreaking havoc against street vendors had been forcibly brought in and were receiving harsh training.
After that, I will probably be able to be released only after paying a fine for tuition and donating blood.
Lydia looked away from the alley and lifted the butter-roasted corn in her hand to her mouth.
She must have liked that quite a bit, as her green hair, linked to the wind spirit, swayed gently as if dancing under the hood.
“It will have a big impact because it is adjacent to the kingdom of Thalia, where vampires are in power. It is said that they received a lot of help from the kingdom union level. “Also, Tarak, where the headquarters of the Hubert Company is located, is also the city with the most active interaction with vampires.”
As if receiving her words, Ise-ah, who was scanning the surroundings with magical blue eyes, answered quietly.
Holding assorted skewers and a bottle of drink in each hand.
Sip,
sip, sip –
two women moving their eyes in all directions while also moving their mouths diligently.
While continuing to research the city, they were enjoying the special food culture unique to the city.
“…Sea, is that black drink that delicious? “I don’t think it suits me.”
“It’s the best. So much so that I regret why I didn’t stay longer the last time I came. Ah, did you say that this started to spread recently…?”
In response to Lydia’s question, Isea looked down at the drink in one hand with a serious expression.
This was a special menu item that began to be sold at ‘Dancing with Oak’, a famous Tarak restaurant directly managed by Hubert Company – Cola.
‘I heard that Hubert Trading Co. handles products from Earth… but I never thought they could do it like this. ‘What kind of unique skill do you have that makes such large-scale distribution possible?’
She clicked her tongue as she thought about the unidentified awakened person who was probably affiliated with the company.
Of course, these products have not yet become completely popular.
Because the supply is limited, there is a limit to the quantity per person can purchase, and the price is so expensive that it makes your mouth drop.
All I said was that the price of one small bottle of soda was equivalent to a full course meal at a high-end restaurant.
However, such money issues were nothing to Isea Pristine, the great archmage of the Order, the count of the Azerion Empire, and the closest confidant of Princess Riley.
No, considering that you can taste Earth’s culture in this far away world, it could actually be said to be an incredibly cheap price.
‘Ha—I think I’ll buy it. ‘How long has it been since you last had this Coke?’
Lee Se-ah sighed with a relaxed expression and ate her food without realizing it.
The time she spent at Outerica had already been nine years.
Next year will be 10 years since it landed on this earth.
In that situation, when the essence of Earth’s civilization called Cola was transfused into my blood vessels, I began to feel exhilarated, as if my rusty hair had been oiled.
‘I want to buy a lot in advance and stock up, but it’s a shame that there is a limit to the amount I can purchase per day. ‘I wish I could meet the supplier in person sometime.’
If he had this kind of ability, he would be quite high-ranking even at the Hubert Company, the continent’s top business.
His identity will also be completely hidden, so of course it will not be easy to meet him.
Perhaps the store owner, Hubert himself, was an awakened person from Earth.
‘Well, there will be a chance sooner or later.’
It would have been unknown if she had revealed her identity and requested a meeting, but since she was secretly investigating the city as a member of a hero’s party, she could not have a private meeting with the local official.
However, as she was sipping her cola little by little with a regretful heart, a fact suddenly flashed through her mind.
“…Heinrich. Come to think of it, didn’t you say that the Hubert Company also has a close relationship with the Main Church?”
Heinrich, who was leisurely following her a few steps behind, shrugged his shoulders at her question.
He was dressed from head to toe in the ubiquitous full body armor to hide his shining appearance.
“That’s right. We are helping each other in various ways. Above all, it is also the place where Harley was the co-CEO.”
“…That guy was more capable than I thought. “How many gamtu are there?”
He is a member of a deadly force to protect the world, and at the same time, he is the King of the Calcos Tribal Alliance, the king of mercenaries in the mercenary industry, and the co-representative of the Hubert Company, the top company on the continent.
Isea and even Lydia were impressed by the unexpected side of this person who was thought to be a glutton who always laughs.
“Anyway, we can’t make exceptions for anyone now. “Because no one knows what’s inside a person.”
I trust Harley, but I still can’t completely trust the group called Hubert Corporation.
And wasn’t the fact that he was the co-CEO a long time ago?
While he was called up to the death squad and traveled around the world, he couldn’t be sure that his former partner wouldn’t have changed his mind.
“For now, wouldn’t it be most reasonable to be suspicious of those vampires? In fact, until just a few years ago, the perception of them was that they were no different from monsters, right?”
“Well, I did. Until the Vampire King named Heinz appeared, their urge to suck blood was something they could not control. “Lycanthropes, who were treated similarly to vampires, recently attacked our Elven Kingdom and were wiped out.”
After moving to a nearby alley, the mid-term meeting naturally began.
A secret barrier had suddenly formed around them, completely blocking not only internal sounds but also presence.
“ah! Of course, I know that Heinrich was active in accepting them, but… no matter how much the King of Vampires united them all, established discipline, and brought them to the sunny side, there is no perfect control in the world. It could be a vampire who has not yet been reformed and has been living in hiding…”
“I am also a little suspicious of Hubert Company. As I walked around this city, I could feel that their influence was truly beyond my imagination. “If a big problem arises, isn’t there a high probability that it will be caused by them?”
And the most mentioned things at that meeting were Vampire and Hubert Company.
Of course, since it was a mid-term meeting not long after the investigation began, it was more of a brainstorming session and did not have much meaning, but Heinrich couldn’t help but feel a little bitter about it.
He was the saint of the main church, Heinrich, and at the same time he was the vampire king Heinz II, and he was also the lord of the Great Church, Hubert.
‘Well, I was just going to pretend I was on vacation anyway, so should I just roughly adjust the music? Later, I just need to bring a few cursed items from the Demon Mountain to an appropriate location.’
A few days since I arrived in Tarak.
Heinrich ate delicious food every day and, filled with motivation, the two women split up and each investigated the city.
Of course, since this work started with a saint, they were not the only ones mobilized for the mission.
At that time, the heresy interrogators of the main church who had secretly entered through the Temple of Tarak also began to move in the dark.
However, because there were too many vampires, their investigation had no choice but to be slow.
Now, unlike in the past, it is not possible to blindly subdue them, so confusion continues to arise during the investigation process.
Since it was an ‘unknown threat’ where we didn’t know exactly what we were looking for in the first place, it was inevitable.
Because the Heretic Questioners were people who lived their whole lives thinking that vampires were their enemies.
‘…Shall we do this soon? Seeing everyone struggling in vain makes me feel sorry.’
It was evening, not long before I decided to join my group.
Heinrich found a reasonably quiet place and was alone in his thoughts.
It would have to be a very dangerous item for a saint to sense it, but wouldn’t it be a bit of a waste to use something with such good performance in something like this?
‘Okay, we’re going to seal and erase it right away anyway, but it doesn’t have to be permanent. If you put enough Hela’s magic into the right quality and make it last for a few days…’
But then.
-Saint! Found it!
Lydia’s voice flowed into his ears along with the calm wind.
-It was a vampire after all! Here at Hubert Company…!
The voice continued urgently.
But it was cut off before I could even finish the sentence.
‘A vampire? Also Hubert Company?’
Heinrich frowned.
The same was true for Heinz II and Hubert in other places.
“Mullo Brokoslag. Immediately determine the situation of the Tarak dispatchers and report it.”
“The Chamber of Commerce security team must be on special security alert and gather at the main building! “Contact each branch in Tarak and check for any abnormalities!”
But the embarrassment was short-lived.
The two avatars immediately started moving.
Also, they weren’t the only ones who took action.
Paaaaat—
「Great Blessing: Wings of Radiance」.
With a brilliant radiance, a pair of large wings of light unfolded from the back of the plain full-body armor.
Flap— whoo!
With a single flap of his wings, Heinrich’s body soared high into the sky.
A bright glow appeared in his golden eyes as he ascended to the high skies of the city and looked down.
‘Where are you?’
This is not the Hubert Trading Company headquarters building.
Because I was aware of the situation in real time through Hubert, who was there right now.
As if looking through a microscope, all the elements of the city were analyzed at a glance and organized in my mind according to the conditions.
‘The beast is a vampire. The location is related to the Hubert Company.’
My head became confused.
I never imagined that real vampires would be the problem.
And that too in this Tarak that he thought he was holding tightly to!
What kind of bastard is this?
‘Think about it later. Solving the problem comes first.’
As the accident accelerated, time slowly slowed down, but it was necessary to save this fleeting moment as much as possible.
Lydia Granwood is the second strongest person in the Elven Kingdom after Harris.
He was a talent expected to reach the top in the near future.
Naturally, it was never good news that such a person’s attempted contact was forcibly cut off.
‘Just a little more…’
But fortunately.
He had one ability that he could use in times like this.
“Monarch’s Authority,” a privilege that allows you to check not only the forces under your command but also the status of its members.
Of course, Lydia Granwood was not a subordinate to both High Elf Harris and Saint Heinrich, but a colleague, so she could not directly determine their location, but there were many people under her command in this Tarak.
〈Outerica〉 -Hubert
Company – Tarak Headquarters
And after quickly examining the status of other avatars in accelerated time—.
‘found!’
I was finally able to find it.
└Status: Danger (serious injury)
└Status: Confusion and fear
└Status: Fainted
└……
Just look at the status message of those in crisis.
Additionally, the location information they all shared was significant.
└Location: Tarak, County of Aonia, Kingdom of Tulk ??? ?? [View detailed coordinates]
Coordinates are displayed as question marks and do not appear properly.
This was a phenomenon that only occurred when located inside a world where location information overlapped.
‘This is 100%!’
The wings of brilliance spread out on Heinrich’s back glowed again.
Immediately after that, his body fell somewhere like a meteor cutting through the darkness.
Although the exact location was not indicated, he already knew clearly where he was going.
That’s right—.
└Name: Miropa (target of sponsorship from Hubert Corporation)
└Name: Aaron (target of sponsorship from Hubert Corporation)
└Name: Rafi (target of sponsorship from Hubert Corporation)
└……
Most of the names of those involved in this matter are Because I was very used to it.
One of them in particular was someone I saw every day.
└Name: Diana (Secretary of Hubert Company)
In some ways, this girl can be said to have been born with the most unfortunate fate in Outerica.
A human being who, after growing tired of the constant misfortune, is finally able to look to tomorrow with hope.
Heinrich, with a stern expression, crashed into one of the employee quarters of Hubert Corporation.
Before I knew it, I raised a lightsaber like a huge pillar of light from the holy sword I had drawn and used “Space Slash” to cut down everything that stood in my way.
Sigh—
from the sky to a point on the earth.
Everything in the diagonal line where the meteor fell was cut off.
Not only the air, but also sound and light… everything,
even the shallow barriers that divided space and defined one’s own world.
Kwaaaaang—!
The small world collapsed.
At the same time, the everyday scenery that seemed ordinary from the outside changed completely in an instant.
An old woman covered in tattoos who vomited blood and collapsed, a small girl who fainted in her arms, a boy who was crying while embracing them, and citizens trembling in a huddle behind them.
“Saint!”
Lydia, who was standing in front and confronting someone, shouted to welcome him.
I guess I didn’t know it would come so quickly.
Heinrich got down on the ground and slowly got up.
At the same time, the wings of brilliance spread wide as if to encompass the world.
The blazing aura spread in all directions and embraced the wounded.
‘That author is…’
The knight of light who descended on the ground looked at the culprit of this situation with stern eyes.
A young boy standing in front of a girl who had fallen on the floor and glaring at her with a frown as if something had gone wrong.
That face, which appeared to be someone in his early teens, was something Heinrich had seen once before.
Not through reality, but through a montage drawn a long time ago.
“I finally found it. Temiran McClair.”
“Tch! “There are all kinds of bullshit cases like this? Things went wrong and now a saint appears?”
Temiran McClair, a boy vampire who grumbles and spits out harsh words that don’t match his appearance.
He is the only son of Kayla McClair, Vice President of the Republic of Zefia, who disappeared twenty years ago.
He was the second apostle prepared by the god imprisoned in the abyss.