Chapter 285

Chapter 285
## Chapter 285

European Expansion (4)

A disorganized laboratory, crowded with a massive variety of miscellaneous items.

Whirr— Crackle!

The spinning of engines and the scraping of metal resonated throughout the chamber, interspersed with the sudden shattering of glassware.

It was an absolute wall of noise, a jarring contrast to the laboratory’s sophisticated technology, yet it represented just another typical afternoon in this place.

Beep—

A sharp, rhythmic tone, distinct from the surrounding racket, sliced through the commotion.

-Doctor, Doctor, can you hear me?

However, the room’s lone occupant paid no attention to the alert, and the mechanical din pressed on without slowing. Following a few additional attempts…

-Doctor?

…the surrounding racket at last began to quiet down. A full five minutes had slipped by since the initial signal. The individual on the other side of the transmission, remaining poised and unhurried, spoke once more.

“Hmm? What is the matter? I was right in the middle of an operation.”

Doctor, the solitary resident of the workshop, muttered under his breath as he strode across the messy floor.

He snatched a soiled cloth and cleansed the crimson fluid from his fingers.

Beep—

Stepping up to a workstation tucked into a corner of the space, he struck a mechanism on the tabletop, opening the connection.

“Yes, yes, Doctor here. State your business.”

-Ah, Doctor. Please forgive the untimely intrusion.

“You certainly should. Now, state your purpose. I was on the verge of an incredible breakthrough!”

He was embellishing the truth, as was his habit. He had not actually achieved any major advancement.

Yet the person calling was entirely accustomed to his dramatic behavior and simply relayed the information in a level voice.

-We have received intelligence regarding the individual you have been tracking. He has crossed into Europe.

It was precisely the update he had been anticipating.

-The Korean Phantom, Heinz, has made his way into Paris. He is currently dismantling the local factions of Thermidor in the adjacent metropolitan areas and is on the verge of a direct confrontation with the Tyrant.

“Oh?”

Doctor’s eyelids lifted high, a wild, ecstatic expression taking over his features.

He had been waiting with immense impatience, and at long last, the subject had shown himself.

What a delightful turn of events!

“Ooh ho ho~! At long last! France, is it? That is… somewhat underwhelming. But quite acceptable! Provided he is within the European continent, the trap is effectively sprung!”

Eastern Europe would have been the perfect location, but it was merely a matter of patience.

The target would inevitably find himself pulled toward Romania, guided by the prearranged attraction.

And the moment he stepped foot there, the game would be won.

“Instruct the Duke to begin preparations! And demand absolute perfection this time!”

-Understood, I shall pass along the instructions.

“Furthermore, ensure I am notified of every single update as it happens.”

-As you wish, Doctor.

The indicator on the communication mechanism faded as the link severed, and stillness returned to the chaotic workspace.

“…”

Doctor stroked his facial hair thoughtfully, his gaze wandering across the room.

He was overtaken by an intense feeling of eagerness, envisioning the priceless specimen he was about to secure. A vital component for his extensive, long-term scientific endeavor.

He gave a firm nod of agreement.

“Very well…”

Then, adopting an incredibly theatrical tone, he proclaimed:

“Pepperoni pizza it shall be.”

He had settled upon his choice for this afternoon’s meal.

After all, securing proper sustenance was of paramount importance, regardless of what else was happening in the world.

—

A bizarre, deep-red realm.

An environment defined by blood.

Crackle—

An obsidian shape, dark as the deepest void, pushed its way into the crimson territory.

It twisted and throbbed like an active organism, consuming the surrounding environment and broadening its domain.

“How… irritating.”

Slash—

Multitudes of unseen appendages extended from the blood-red domain, ripping the obsidian shape into tiny remnants.

Yet, true to form, the conflict did not conclude there.

The scattered remnants pulled back together, reshaping themselves into a massive flight of bat-like entities, their wings beat rapidly as they took to the air.

An inexhaustible army of darkness, constantly reforming and expanding its numbers.

Heinz the Second, standing against this unyielding siege, finally comprehended the reason his adversary had earned the title of the Tyrant.

‘This goes far beyond simple conjuring. He applies it to every aspect… concealment, traversal, offense, shielding… This presents a real problem.’

He remained suspended in the open air, his focus dropping to the obsidian shapes twisting along the earth beneath him.

The Tyrant’s shadows were far more than mere servants; they functioned as a highly adaptable instrument, a multi-faceted capability.

Furthermore, he possessed incredible mastery, steering them with effortless accuracy and fiercely maintaining his offensive drive.

‘I was aware that the blood factor wasn’t the sole variable… yet I still failed to give him enough credit. I must exercise greater caution.’

The engagement was stretching out far longer than he had originally calculated.

He had managed to entice the Tyrant into this localized boundary during daylight hours, a time when the dark abilities ought to be diminished, but the strategy had not yielded the definitive edge he had anticipated.

However, Heinz was far from the only combatant experiencing irritation.

…The Tyrant, having felt the immense gap in their raw capabilities during their initial exchanges of blows, felt an even deeper sense of urgency. He was actively striving to evade any direct engagement of strength.

‘This makes no sense… What region produced such a terrifying anomaly? Korea? What sort of territory is that…!’

The Tyrant, the supreme authority over the French criminal syndicates and the ruler of Thermidor, a level 9 vampire, scowled deeply.

He maintained his continuous relocation through the darkness, his physical form appearing and vanishing in rapid succession while he searched for a vulnerability.

Swish—

He detected a structural weakness within the enclosing boundary and launched himself directly toward it.

Crackle—

He collided heavily with the barrier, his dark energies merging tightly at the exact spot of contact.

Only a few brief moments more, and he would succeed in tearing his way out…

“Curse it.”

…However, he was instantly forced to fall back, melting straight back into the darkness.

He observed the compromised boundary instantly knit itself back together, while his advancing dark forces were shredded and tossed aside, prompting him to swear silently.

‘Just what are the limits of his internal reserves?’

His primary objective, the moment he recognized the pointlessness of a straightforward head-on battle, had been to flee the perimeter.

The structure appeared to be engineered entirely for confinement, possessing no inherent lethal properties… yet he could not afford to remain trapped within an adversary’s sovereign space.

Furthermore, his true expertise, his greatest asset, rested not in raw power but in elusive guerrilla maneuvers, capitalizing on the darkness. He required a far grander battlefield to employ his talents to their fullest potential.

‘Yet it surpasses mere energy reserves. He is sustaining a barrier of this magnitude while simultaneously combating my entire shadow legion, and he possesses the speed to instantly strike back and mend the boundary the exact moment I attempt an escape?’

The reality of the situation defied his belief.

Even with meticulous planning, executing such instantaneous reactions should have been impossible.

He was undeniably facing a superior foe.

Swish—

“Ugh!”

And to make matters even more dire, Heinz was pursuing him without a single moment of rest, his strikes manifesting from thin air, exploiting every brief drop in his focus.

“…His swiftness is remarkable.”

Yet Heinz was not experiencing an effortless triumph either.

He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, parrying the razor-sharp dark constructs that lunged at him from every angle, and centered his focus.

His opponent, after all, was an exalted entity who was masterfully dodging his direct strikes. Even his ability to alter causality was failing to yield significant results.

‘I cannot afford to squander any more minutes here.’

Granted, the perimeter had been established within an isolated woodland, but its proximity to Paris was uncomfortably close.

The longer this confrontation endured, the greater the likelihood of external forces arriving. Should any disruption occur, he might forfeit his solitary window to secure the Tyrant.

‘He permitted his vigilance to drop and walked straight into the snare I prepared. This remains my single opportunity.’

He refused to head back empty-handed after journeying across such a distance. He had dedicated far too much preparation and labor toward this objective.

‘…A degree of high-stakes gambling is permissible.’

An immense transformation had unfolded since his elevation to a Sacred Blood.

He had successfully claimed the primordial essences of alternative original heritages back in Auterica, including that of Obaifo.

Furthermore, while on Earth, he had integrated the vital essence of Alpha, the flawed level 9 vampire.

‘I was prevented from unleashing my absolute maximum capabilities during the events of the Revolution. My physical vessel had not yet entirely acclimated to the changes.’

Additionally, he had been entirely preoccupied with shielding Heinrich and Harley.

Consequently, this scenario offered the ideal circumstances to gather authentic, high-level engagement metrics.

A chance to observe the absolute boundaries of his capabilities, forged through highly irregular paths that defied the understanding of conventional vampires.

“Haa—”

Heinz released a slow, measured breath.

He sustained the active application of 「Existence Denial」, masking his entire presence from detection, and subsequently triggered the foundational anchor of his identity, 「Blood Ancestor」.

Thump!

His lifeforce, purified and perfected via 「Hybrid Evolution」 and 「Refined Blood Essence」, bounded violently through his circulatory system, bearing the intrinsic authority of 「Blood Mystery」.

Thump!

He applied 「Insight」 to scrutinize his internal pathways and utilized 「Rapid Acceleration」 to warp causality, forcing the metabolic shift into overdrive.

Crack— Pop—

Sizzle—!

The movement of his life force quickened exponentially, causing intense thermal energy and vapor to discharge from his skin.

His muscular structure expanded, his outer flesh darkening to a deep crimson as the massive volume of accelerated lifeforce traveled through his frame.

‘A master artisan does not find fault with his implements… yet vastly superior tools and a more favorable setting invariably yield an elevated creation.’

It was an undeniable truth of reality.

And functioning as Howard, someone intimately involved in the active labor of creation, he understood this concept through direct experience.

“Huuu…”

The physical form was the ultimate mechanism, the absolute apparatus.

‘Now, let us begin… ’

Deep within the internal architecture of Heinz the Second,

The dormant genetic traits, ordinarily locked away to prevent overwhelming damage to his physical container,

…snapped awake.

—

The violent tempest suddenly dropped into total stillness.

Yet the Tyrant, concealed completely within the folds of the darkness, did not dare make a single movement.

‘What is happening?’

The shift defied his comprehension.

This moment represented the ultimate window for a successful flight. His foe had clearly dropped his guard… yet his survival mechanisms, perfected over centuries of lethal encounters, screamed at him to remain entirely hidden.

He wavered for a split second, then chose the most logical path forward.

‘I will focus entirely on breaking away.’

He could not divine the catalyst behind this sudden quietude, but he absolutely could not let this window slide by.

He would make a break for the edge, and should the situation deteriorate, he would simply plunge right back into the cover of darkness.

Precisely as he had always done.

He surged violently toward the outer perimeter, unleashing the absolute peak of his internal power.

Crackle—

A mere handful of seconds.

He finally forced open a minute tear through the defensive wall…

And then.

An icy dread washed down his spine.

His physical form reacted entirely on impulse, moving ahead of conscious thought.

Razor-sharp spikes, constructed from the very shadows enveloping his person, blasted outward to impale the empty air. A colossal, ink-black appendage tore out from the ground, its digits stretching wildly toward the sky.

Simultaneously, every scrap of darkness within the perimeter twisted and surged directly toward his location.

The entire sequence unfolded within a mere fraction of a second, and before his mind could fully register the event, he was yanked downward into the dark abyss…

“I have finally laid hands on you, vermin.”

…And an icy, detached phrase vibrated against his eardrums.

A unyielding grip manifested from the center of the dark mass, clamping onto his throat like a captured specimen pulled from the water, lifting him forcefully into the air.

‘…Ugh, at what moment?!’

And all around his position,

The massive dark forces he had commanded fractured and scattered like descending flower petals.

A cascading downpour of absolute blackness, entirely devoid of grace.