Chapter 281

Chapter 281
## Chapter 281

Technological Revolution (3)

A expansive chamber, weighed down by a peculiarly solemn aura.

Magnificent masterpieces lined the boundaries of the room.

Monstrous beasts bowed in submission before a celestial deity staring down from the heavens.

Mortals running for survival from tempests and tsunamis, while a colossal figure smirked, standing tall over the turbulent tides.

A maiden, enveloped in radiance, cradling an ailing individual in her arms with a gentle expression.

Though the artistry and execution differed, the core concept remained identical.

Each piece illustrated the bond shared between deities and humankind.

Click—

A crisp, mechanical noise, completely unnatural within this sacred environment, rang out quietly.

“Dark mage Hahoe Mask.”

A feminine voice spoke next, muted and composed.

In a recessed spot of the workspace, past the exhibited artwork, a collection of records blinked across a computer screen.

Surveillance footage, a colossal Bone Dragon in Japan, and the fractured interior of a Shanghai building.

“Vampire Heinz.”

Another tap, and a fresh sequence of records materialized.

A sequential timeline of his movements, starting from his clash with the Blood Alliance to his vigilante operations under the moniker Phantom.

“Unidentified paladin.”

The subsequent collection of information was far more sparse.

Every piece pointed toward a single occurrence.

The supernatural restoration during the hospital terrorist attack.

“Three high-value assets surfacing from a solitary nation in under two quarters. And our division failed to monitor any of them.”

The woman’s speech, slow and detached, paired with the snapping of the mouse as the visuals on the monitor drifted by rapidly.

Korean Returnee Association President, Seoul Southern Branch Manager Yoon Ji-yoon, Supernatural Management Bureau’s secret agent…

Upon scrutinizing the roll of Korean awakened individuals, she ultimately breathed a solitary remark.

“Incompetent.”

Her expression was frigid and dismissive, stripped of any empathy.

Ultimately, regardless of how she analyzed the data, the verdict remained unchanged. They lacked capability.

‘…Yet I must at least conclude the assignment I commenced. This isn’t completely foreign to my concerns.’

A previously inspected graphic returned to the monitor.

A reconstructed rendering of the paladin’s armor, stitched together from observer testimonies.

The lady contemplated the image for a brief period, then deliberately lifted herself from her seat.

‘It is always advantageous to acquire more companions. Particularly an effective one.’

A faint grin touched the features of the gray-haired woman, Scribe.

“…For the preservation of this world.”

Concurrently,

A squad of detectives from Pantheon headquarters in the US arrived in Korea.

—

“If I… fuse this… with this…!”

Howard, returning to Auterica after ten days of education on Earth,

Straightaway hurried to his workshop.

And without delaying for a second, he initiated the task of embedding the newly gathered concepts into this world’s technology.

The foundational rules were already fixed in his mind.

He grasped the mechanism behind it.

The remaining task was simply bridging the empty transitions.

Naturally, he lacked the means to duplicate the sophisticated machinery of the “Cybernetic Eye: Calicas” at this stage.

Not even a dwarf could entirely master such intricate engineering within a matter of days.

‘The most practical approach would be utilizing it on myself… ’

Yet he could not simply extract his perfectly healthy eye.

Even if its capabilities fell short, a dwarf’s vision was vastly superior regarding craftsmanship.

For that reason, he had bestowed the cybernetic eye to Hesperon.

‘The framework is clear to me, so the remaining work is merely a countdown. Armed with practical application data, it should progress swiftly.’

Howard, bolstered by his natural aptitude, development advantages, and the enduring effects of the “Growth Elixir,” was advancing at an astonishing velocity.

He functioned nearly as an unfair entity, an absolute prodigy even by the standards of otherworlders.

And as it always happened,

A handful of remarkable souls propelled the advancement of civilization.

“…Completed.”

Following a multi-day confinement within his workshop,

He observed the minor metallic gauntlet arranged before him, a sense of fulfillment washing over his features.

The polished, silver exterior and avant-garde structure gleamed under the crackling flames.

“Phew, alright then.”

He grabbed the piece without second thoughts and secured it over his left arm.

Having constructed it to align with his own measurements, it wrapped perfectly from his fingers up to his elbow.

‘The placement is precise.’

He stepped toward the proving grounds situated in the corner of his workshop.

A variety of metallic plates, consisting of distinct compositions and dimensions, were anchored firmly.

‘Let us commence with an uncomplicated challenge.’

Steel, roughly the width of a palm…

He exhaled deeply, bracing himself for the trial, and compressed his left fingers into a fist.

Click—

Sizzle—

A scraping resonance, succeeded by a discharge of pressurized power bleeding from the outlets.

The magic stone set inside his wrist brightened, and pathways of illumination traveled across the gauntlet, following the patterns carved into its frame.

‘Time to strike!’

Howard might have functioned purely as an artisan, lacking practical battlefield experience… but functioning as an avatar, possessing the shared recollections and expertise of his alternative entities, such a trivial detail mattered little.

The compact, stout dwarf adopted an immaculate combat posture, his form shifting with unexpected grace. The momentum of his stance traveled upward through his legs, his torso, his shoulders, and ultimately gathered inside his knuckles.

“Hrrrragh!”

Whoosh—!

The instant his hand thrust forward, a blast of propulsion detonated from his elbow joint.

And immediately after.

Kaboom—!

A thunderous explosion rattled the boundaries of the workshop, a violent pressure wave tearing through the area.

“Cough! Cough!”

Howard hacked, his vision blurred by the floating debris, and grimaced slightly.

‘…That may have been slightly excessive.’

He had surrendered to the moment.

His fervor had triggered an unanticipated eruption of force.

Yet the deed was finalized.

Crash!

“What occurred?! A raid?! Howard! Are you unharmed?! Howard!”

A alarmed shout, paired with the cadence of rushing boots, and then Zaonic smashed into the chamber, a heavy hammer gripped in his palm, his vision darting across the room.

His alertness remained locked until his eyes finally discovered Howard.

“…”

“…Ah, well… Haha!”

Howard, his left arm buried deep inside the steel sheet, his form remaining immaculate, smirked awkwardly.

He attempted to dislodge his limb, but it remained jammed solid.

‘…It refuses to budge. This requires attention. I must construct a counter-thruster.’

As the workshop sentries charged inside, their boots thumping against the floorboards, Howard shifted his eyes, avoiding Zaonic’s increasingly critical gaze.

It represented a typical day within the laboratory. A minor hiccup in the advancement sequence. Nothing requiring distress.

—

While Howard pushed forward with his engineering endeavors on Earth, time slipped away rapidly within Auterica.

The Pope’s burial, a monumental occurrence that touched every soul across the mainland, had reached its end, and the unauthorized third Continental Summit that materialized afterward had likewise concluded without incident.

“It amounted to the identical tedious rhetoric.”

Heinz the Second, resting within a plush lounger, shut his eyes and exhaled heavily.

He had chosen not to be present at the gathering.

He had merely dispatched Duke Bright to act as Talia’s proxy.

After all, it would hardly be fitting for a Vampire King to show his face at a Pope’s burial rites.

‘Furthermore, my schedule was full.’

He had been balancing the affairs of both Earth and Auterica concurrently.

He had found himself unable to operate as Phantom recently on account of diverse obligations… yet…

‘Regardless, the demands remain high.’

Despite shifting the bulk of responsibilities onto his trustworthy assistants, his obligations as the commander persisted.

Having integrated the Obaifo Clan and claimed the mantle of the Vampire King, the survival of his bloodline now rested upon his shoulders. The administrative burden was staggering.

He would have lacked even a single instance of tranquility if not for 「Monarch’s Authority」, the administrative talent he claimed following his ascension as the Vampire King.

‘Yet… there is a particular matter that lingers in my mind.’

Not every path was unfolding seamlessly.

The search for the unaccounted individual, Kayla McClair’s son, was consuming far more duration than anticipated.

He had calculated that it would be a straightforward task of extracting information from the captive Obaifo Clan associates…

‘I failed to foresee that the Revolutionary possessed a connection.’

Instead, the clues pointed toward an unanticipated entity.

The fallen commander of the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance, the Revolutionary.

‘…That aggravating nuisance.’

Even with his dominance over Auterica’s data networks, uncovering an incident from over two decades prior proved difficult.

The Revolutionary had operated with such stealth that even Hans faced obstacles trying to locate him.

He had surrendered to the notion that the boy had been destroyed in a dark sacrament…

‘I shall persist with the investigation, yet… I have settled the score for her child, meaning I possess news to share with Kayla.’

The titan that laid siege to Tarak was none other than the Revolutionary himself.

He had unintentionally delivered retribution for Kayla’s child.

That fact alone should suffice to grant her peace.

“Now, what follows?”

Heinz paused mid-thought, his focus transitioning.

His primary ambitions of gathering the vampires and embedding them into mainstream society were virtually finalized.

Affairs would likely advance smoothly even absent his personal oversight.

Therefore, what target should Heinz the Second pursue next?

What should mark his upcoming milestone?

‘…The moment has arrived.’

He had fulfilled the majority of his tasks within Auterica.

Consequently, the subsequent destination was transparent.

“Earth.”

And the alignment of events was ideal.

Heaven’s Turn Society’s East Asia sector had been entirely wiped out.

They would be functioning under maximum caution, their scrutiny locked onto that specific territory.

‘Hans, a priority target, departed Korea and struck their primary stronghold in China. They will not remain passive.’

Furthermore, Hahoe Mask’s re-emergence had diverted their scrutiny away from Heinrich, another potential hazard.

He had gathered from Yulryeongja’s shattered recollections that they intended to forge an alliance with Scribe, the North America Branch Manager.

‘Had my acquisition of memories been flawless, I could have unraveled more.’

It stood as a disappointment, though it could not be helped.

He would need to remain content with the realization that Scribe held an elevated rank within Pantheon.

Stripping away the minutiae, a single truth persisted. Their focus would remain locked onto Hans and Heinrich within East Asia, leaving their remaining sectors exposed.

‘Even if it represents a minor breach, I shall exploit it.’

He intended to optimize every fragment of leverage within his grasp.

‘I must formulate measures against prospective ambushes.’

Heinz’s gaze sharpened.

This presented an opening to shatter his present constraints and ascend to an entirely altered tier of power.

Hesitation was out of the question.

Having cemented his choice, Heinz rose to his feet.

He moistened his lips, a predatory focus overtaking his eyes, and whispered quietly.

“Time to depart. For Europe.”

The territory where vampires commanded the greatest authority on Earth.

And the epicenter of the planet’s epicurean treats.