Chapter 242

Chapter 242
## Chapter 242

Vampire Rise (2)

It was a realm far too turbulent and shattered to belong to the consciousness of a single person.

‘What exactly is this…?’

In one sector, a crimson downpour fell unceasingly; in another, a vortex of gore spun violently, while immediately adjacent to it, an arid wasteland expanded into infinity.

It was a universe of fractured memories, crudely bound together and completely scrambled.

—How dare you consume your own brothers…? Power… my grand design…

—I refuse to perish… For how much longer… must I remain concealed…

—The investigation… my research cannot stop… Heaven’s Turn Society… ultimate dominance!

Debris of unrecognizable thoughts drifted across the expanse, whipping around like a tempest and causing his consciousness to reel—.

[Ugh, what kind of madness is this…?!]

Merely standing within this antagonistic space was rapidly disintegrating his spirit, which had been tempered over ten thousand years, and his identity, forged by a millennium of experiences.

[…Are these the residual consciousnesses of the brethren he devoured? Precisely how many did he massacre…! No, more critically, how can he maintain his sanity when his own psyche is this polluted…?]

He quickly deployed his immense reserves of karma, accumulated over countless ages, wrapping it around himself like protective plating as he hissed under his breath.

He had assumed the corrosive nature of the blood was the result of a hidden ancestry… but he had never anticipated a inner world so utterly corrupted.

Heinz had behaved with absolute composure externally.

[Oh, the primordial vampire? You manage to endure remarkably well within this domain.]

Just as he was straining to comprehend the reality of his situation,

A recognizable tone cut through the howling gale of chaos.

It belonged to Heinz, the sovereign of this lunatic realm, the very quarry he sought.

[Regrettably, it is quite untidy. Your arrival was unannounced, leaving me no opportunity to organize the place. Guests are a rarity here. Though, truthfully, it became such a disaster that I simply abandoned any upkeep.]

A derisive voice, dripping with cruel amusement.

Obaifo scowled, sweeping his gaze across the surroundings.

Yet Heinz remained invisible within this distorted, mismatched landscape.

‘He refuses to reveal his form… Is this a calculated ambush…?’

Naturally, a Sacred Blood of his caliber, the commander of an elite group, could not truly possess such a broken psychological state.

He undoubtedly maintained a fortified sanctuary somewhere, a hidden vault housing his genuine consciousness.

‘Even so, this architecture is rather remarkable… ’

He gradually gathered his aura, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

‘He believes this deception will guarantee his safety… ’

An internal domain was a territory dictated strictly by intent and intellect, completely divorced from physical constraints.

Roaming around without direction would merely play straight into the adversary’s hands.

[You miscalculate my capabilities, Heinz…!]

He was no common entity to be toyed with.

Obaifo unified his focus, tapping into the cryptic energies slumbering deep within his soul, and took a massive stride forward.

Impelled by a singular concentration to confront Heinz, the architect of this realm.

Whish—

The enveloping vista transformed in a flash, precisely mirroring the effect of high-tier spatial movement.

‘Good, let us conclude this swiftly… ’

He raised his eyes in triumph, fully believing his maneuver had succeeded…

Only to freeze at the sight before him.

[…What…? What is the meaning of that…?]

An astronomical barrier, soaring upward as though designed to cleave the universe in two.

The untouchable bastion, the “Soul Firewall”, forged from the corruption left behind by the Undying Emperor Hans.

‘Curse it, is that where he has entrenched himself…?’

Yet another barrier blocking his path.

He felt the air leave his lungs, completely paralyzed by the titanic dimensions and the crushing weight radiating from the structure.

Furthermore, the rot attempting to consume his identity showed no signs of stopping, meaning complacency was not an option.

[To bridge that distance in a heartbeat… To manipulate your essence so deftly within a foreign consciousness… Splendid. However, that technique just now… could it be…]

Heinz’s words reverberated once more, but Obaifo shut out the noise, channeling every ounce of his power into a headlong assault toward the threshold.

He forced the dark energy granted to him by the Revolutionary to its absolute peak.

[…The dark arts of the pit? No, the signature is distinct. This is far too significant to disregard. Pray tell, how did you acquire such a legacy?]

Yet the entryway stood completely unmoved, defying every shockwave he hurled against its surface.

Heinz likewise seemed utterly certain of the barrier’s integrity, his focus drifting elsewhere.

This condescending treatment incited a fierce rage in Obaifo, who had been treated as an afterthought from the very beginning.

[Ugh, your incessant babbling is insufferable…! If your curiosity is so grand, come out and investigate yourself?! You achieve nothing by lurking in the shadows like a frightened dog!]

Exasperated by the impenetrable fortification and driven mad by his own helplessness, he roared out his frustration.

The counteraction he provoked, however, took him entirely by surprise.

[…Your argument has merit. It appears a more profound interaction is warranted.]

[What…?]

The moment the words were uttered,

The barrier, which had remained totally inert until that second, began to vibrate before parting down the center, almost as if rolling out a welcome.

It was an effortless concession, rendering all his preceding exertions utterly farcical.

[I shall grant you entry. Step inside.]

Following this, a loaded taunt hung in the air.

[Provided you do not fear the weight of your own choices.]

It was a prideful challenge, throwing wide the very line of defense that kept him secure, but Obaifo did not waver and strode through with absolute certainty.

This confrontation had been his objective from the start, and no alternative paths remained open to him.

‘You arrogant simpleton… You are the one who shall weep…!’

Most of all, he harbored no doubts regarding his ultimate triumph.

‘He remains ignorant of the fact that I can command the powers of the harvested bloodlines within the psychological plane.’

The core essences of the Sacred Bloods he had artificially bound within his own anatomy.

Should he trigger them simultaneously, pairing them with the blessing bestowed by the Revolutionary…

‘My total output will multiply tenfold, even if only for a brief window.’

Regardless of how much control Heinz maintained over this mental theater, such a vast disparity in raw power could not be bridged by environment alone.

Even if the boy could somehow withstand a fourfold or fivefold surge, the final outcome remained set.

The battle would conclude before the boy could process his own defeat.

Nourishing his treacherous scheme, Obaifo marched proudly past the threshold of the parted wall—

[You have finally arrived.]

At last, he confronted the manifestation of Heinz, a deep red humanoid silhouette stationed at the core of the psychological citadel.

Yet, what failed to enter his calculations…

[…What… is the meaning of this…?]

…was that Heinz did not occupy the chamber alone.

[Khehehe— Fascinating. You carry some highly unusual modifications on your person.]

A pitch-black abomination, a living synthesis of all things profane, glared at him with piercing, hollow eyes that appeared to dissect his very being.

[That particular frequency. I find myself highly intrigued. It bears the distinct signature of the Revolutionary’s interference.]

A flawless white cleric, draped in a blinding radiance of holy benediction, broadcasting a celestial light as though favored by the heavens themselves.

[Tsk, a phantom hunger assails me, despite lacking physical organs. What transpires if I consume his essence? Will it appease this emptiness?]

[Ah… I can unmistakably detect an exotic frequency vibrating within him…]

The assembly did not end there. A lunatic manifesting as crimson waves of unhinged fire, a verdant entity radiating an atmospheric, sluggish warmth…

Nearly a dozen distinct entities hemmed in Obaifo the moment he set foot within the stronghold.

‘Whence did these reinforcements arrive…? No, stay. Are every single one of them sovereigns of this internal space?’

Having endured through the centuries and perfected his mastery over both sorcery and psychological combat, he perceived instantly that this dynamic was completely unnatural.

And it spelled disaster for him.

‘A fractured psyche…? Incorrect, a mere splintered persona cannot command this degree of authority! Their alignments and power grades are fundamentally incompatible! A master of the dark arts potent enough to rival an Undying Emperor, a holy paradigm, a High Elf… and… Surely it cannot be, is that a dragon…?’

Positioned among them was a shimmering golden entity whose outline diverged drastically from the humanoids, a majestic presence.

An apex predator of legend, a species he had not encountered in nearly three centuries.

‘The most plausible deduction is that he has trapped the spirits of summoned champions within his own vessel through an advanced form of soul binding… ’

A singular reality crystallized.

He was trapped in a fatal snare.

His hidden trump card? The power engineered by his benefactor? Everything was rendered utterly useless.

‘…Curse it all.’

An icy sensation crept down his spine.

It was purely a psychological phantom, given that a spiritual avatar within the mind could not experience neurological feedback.

[Khehehe— My investigations continue to yield magnificent results. To think a brand-new pathway to the pit would present itself in this place! Come to think of it, he maintained ties to the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance, correct? This provides an exceptional subject for study.]

A freezing pronouncement that caused his psychological blood to run cold.

He wheeled around by sheer reflex, but the portal he had traversed was already tightly sealed, leaving no trace that an opening had ever existed.

[Have no anxiety, your sole duty is to participate. I have prepared a magnificent treatment for you! The discomfort will be minimal. Or, to phrase it more accurately…]

A shadow-draped entity, balancing a spherical relic, stepped toward him, flanked by the remaining aggressive phantoms.

And then—.

[…The sensation of pain will elude you entirely. Hahahahahaha!]

That particular moment…

…marked the absolute conclusion.

—

“Hmm.”

Heinz the Second slowly parted his eyelids, fixing his gaze upon the ancient stalker of the night, Obaifo, who stood paralyzed before him.

Though an epoch seemed to have transpired within the theater of the mind, a mere handful of seconds had ticked away in the physical world.

He deliberately lifted an arm, detaching Obaifo’s fingers which remained frozen against his own brow.

The old vampire’s arm dropped uselessly, mimicking the movement of a discarded marionette.

‘I never harbored any intention of permitting his survival, regardless of any oaths of fealty.’

Obaifo was an inveterate conspirator who had spent generations weaving webs alongside the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance.

His temperament stood at polar opposites with Briki’s straightforward nature, and his proficiency in sorcery ensured he would remain a perpetual threat even under a collar of servitude.

“The defeated forfeits all possessions to the victor, by your own logic.”

Thud—

Heinz’s palm, devoid of any reluctance, drove straight through the ribcage of Obaifo, whose physical form was now reduced to an unmoving vessel.

The heart, continuing its rhythmic thumping despite the disintegration of the surrounding tissues, was locked within Heinz’s fist.

“An acceptable tribute. I accept this offering with pleasure.”

With that cold declaration, Heinz applied pressure and shattered the organ.

Simultaneously, the vital fluid of Obaifo, along with the nine separate streams of Sacred Blood essence that had been surgically grafted into his system, rushed into Heinz’s outstretched arm.

‘Hmm, an exceptional reservoir of raw vitality.’

With the vast majority of the nocturnal population across the territory now answering to his call, acquiring additional lines of Sacred Blood offered little functional benefit beyond expanding his total reserves of power.

As he had previously concluded, they merely represented one branch among many, and more critically, he commanded “Hybrid Evolution”, an infinitely superior mechanism.

‘That is secondary.’

While beneficial… an entirely separate development demanded his attention.

The fundamental shift that materialized the moment he integrated Obaifo’s core essence.

He registered an intense spike in his internal temperature, vapor rising in sheets from his pores, and his lips curved upward as his eyes locked onto the glowing script that materialized in his field of vision.

《Feat accomplished! You have ascended as the ‘King of Vampires’, the singular monarch who has bound the fractured bloodlines into one.》

《Total sovereignty over the absolute majority of the vampire population within Auterica has been established. You are bestowed the unique trait “Monarch’s Authority” as your recompense.》

《You have executed an action that profoundly alters the global equilibrium. Karma values experience a substantial surge.》

Heinz the Second, who had commenced his journey as a mortal, transformed into a mere Fledgling, and climbed to the apex of the Sacred Blood…

…had ultimately ascended as the undisputed sovereign of his kind.