Chapter 297

Chapter 297
## Chapter 297

Romania (1)

Henri Coandă International Airport in Otopeni, a town situated on the outskirts of Bucharest, the capital city of Romania.

‘I’ve finally made it.’

Heinz the Second, maintaining his usual concealment by masking his presence through “Existence Denial,” walked out of the terminal and scanned the surrounding area.

‘Everything seems quiet for now… ’

Yet, this was absolutely not a spot where he could lower his guard.

It was arguably the most perilous zone on the entire European continent.

‘After all, this territory serves as the headquarters for Dracul, the largest underworld syndicate in Europe.’

He possessed extensive knowledge regarding Dracul, the organization that held a firm grip over Eastern Europe from their stronghold in Romania.

Their commander, titled the Duke, was a vampire who appeared to model himself after Vlad III—the historical warlord who gave rise to the Dracula legend—and rumor dictated he was the most formidable combatant in Europe…

‘Furthermore, he operates as the director for the European division of the Heaven’s Turn Society.’

Heinz’s gaze sharpened as the persistent tug of 「Bloodline Craving」 rippled through him.

Stifling the primal impulse, he prioritized his scouting mission, meticulously analyzing the environment.

‘There is no telling what traps they have laid out. Utmost vigilance is required.’

His intelligence regarding this region was sparse, given that neither Thermidor nor Gomorrah maintained any significant footprint here.

Naturally, he possessed full confidence in his capacity to navigate any sudden complications, but failing to achieve his objective and retreating empty-handed was not an option. He needed to wrap this up swiftly before moving on to confront the ultimate Master of Heaven’s Turn Society.

‘And since he is reputedly the most powerful figure in Europe, this won’t resemble my past battles. I must ensure my preparations are flawless.’

He had yet to cross swords with an adversary of such caliber since arriving on Earth.

Though he had clashed with numerous high-tier opponents while operating under the moniker of Hahoe Mask, those individuals had all remained within the boundaries of Hans’s personal capabilities.

‘Well, if one sets aside the Master, naturally.’

Even the leader of the East Asia Branch, Yulryeongja, had secured his rank primarily through political schemes rather than raw martial prowess.

He was simply incomparable to the Duke.

‘I will find out what he is truly made of soon enough.’

He could feel his pulse quicken with a mixture of thrill and eagerness, a predatory urge awakening inside him as he departed from Otopeni and made his way toward Bucharest.

Hold on—

…No, that was incorrect.

He suddenly grasped that his physical response wasn’t born from excitement.

‘The pull is intensifying.’

Heinz the Second, celebrated for his composed and analytical mind, was not someone to be swayed by mere adrenaline.

The closer his distance grew to Bucharest, the more violently the resonance of 「Bloodline Craving」 vibrated within him.

‘What exactly is causing this…?’

The sensation was entirely distinct from his experiences in France or Italy.

An entity inside that metropolis was actively summoning him, pulling him forward.

‘I must uncover the source.’

Just as he neared the urban perimeter, intending to launch a more rigorous reconnaissance effort—.

He stepped past an unseen boundary line.

In that instant, the reality became clear.

Zing—!

An acute ache pierced through his skull, accompanied by the heavy, copper aroma of blood saturating the atmosphere.

「Blood Ancestor」, which amplified his vampiric traits, 「Blood Mystery」, which controlled his hematic sorcery, and 「Insight」, which granted him the power to pierce through illusions and fabrications, all triggered at once to evaluate the phenomenon.

‘A massive blood sorcery boundary?’

Heinz, being an expert in blood magic himself, instantly decoded its properties.

The projected diameter spanned a minimum of 10 kilometers.

While rooted in blood sorcery, it bore the sophisticated hallmarks of the Heaven’s Turn Society, meaning it wasn’t a simple construction.

It was masterfully camouflaged, remaining completely undetectable until one crossed into its perimeter. Furthermore, the sheer volume of latent energy inside it was staggering—potent enough to forcibly cancel his 「Existence Denial」.

“Ha!”

Heinz let out a sharp, cynical chuckle.

He had not anticipated them going to such extreme lengths.

‘I was well aware that this was Dracul’s domain… ’

Yet, this location was also the active capital of a sovereign state.

Bucharest boasted a population numbering roughly 2 million citizens.

Even amidst the current global instability, he hadn’t imagined they would act so audaciously.

‘Regardless of its cloaking mechanisms, a boundary of these proportions shouldn’t be able to evade notice. The superhuman community within Romania can’t possibly be that short-sighted… ’

That left only a solitary conclusion.

The local syndicates, and likely the ruling administration itself, were completely subservient to Dracul.

And they had successfully kept the entire operation under wraps.

‘How could a feat like that be achieved? Romania isn’t some destitute nation.’

However, he quickly pushed the query aside.

The Heaven’s Turn Society had managed to plant deep roots even within China, a global titan.

It was hardly astonishing that Romania had succumbed to their influence, with Dracul serving as their primary enforcer.

‘…The general public would remain completely oblivious.’

Furthermore, only an individual of his exceptional caliber would be capable of sensing the boundary upon entering its domain. It would remain totally invisible to the vast majority of awakened humans. The society only required leverage over the elite ranks.

‘This promises to be far more tedious than I initially anticipated. Still, that is a secondary concern right now.’

Those complications could be dealt with later.

At this exact moment,

Swish—

His coordination had been compromised, necessitating an immediate withdrawal.

He could detect over a hundred hostile entities rapidly closing in on his coordinates.

‘Tsk, they are converging like locusts.’

Re-activating his stealth, he chose a swift retreat path, soaring toward the outer edges of the city.

Engaging them in a direct war of attrition was never his intent.

It would be a pointless squandering of stamina and time if he became entangled with minor soldiers and missed his opportunity to corner the Duke.

His priority was to gauge the defensive layout, identify the Duke’s precise position, and subsequently…

His 「Rapid Acceleration」 ability surged to life.

Zzzt—!

A linear fracture ripped through the atmosphere, originating from the spot he had occupied a microsecond prior.

There was no window for deliberate thought.

Relying purely on instinct, he manipulated causality to bypass the laws of inertia, jerking his frame backward while scowling at the destruction.

‘A long-range marksman?’

A path of total obliteration stretched across several kilometers in a perfectly straight trajectory.

The residual tear hovered in the air for a brief second before evaporating entirely, leaving no trace behind.

‘An execution of that magnitude… that is no commonplace combatant. Their responsiveness is astonishing.’

He had been visible for a mere handful of seconds.

Even so, they had managed to track his position and execute a precise sniper strike the moment he attempted to vanish and fall back.

‘They laid their trap well. I need to pull back and recalibrate… ’

As he sharpened his perceptions in anticipation of a consecutive strike, his 「Insight」 ability flared, brings to light a detail that had previously escaped his notice.

Blink—

An ocular organ the size of a coin, perfectly blended with the surrounding rock formations as though it were a natural feature, blinked in a slow rhythm.

It was fixed directly upon him.

Completely ignoring the effects of his 「Existence Denial」.

Click— Slash!

His reflexes took over instantly, his hand striking faster than conscious thought to obliterate the eyeball.

Yet, as he pivoted to flee,

Blink, blink— Blink, blink—

Scores of similar eyes began surfacing from concrete walls, boulders, tree trunks, and the literal soil beneath his feet, all focusing their sight on his position.

‘…This is revolting.’

With every collective blink, a heavy pressure seemed to anchor him down, draining the agility from his limbs.

It operated as a variation of a hexing eye, designed to strip away concealment and apply restricting curses…

However, now that he had identified the mechanism, their quantity ceased to be a decisive factor.

Swish—! Slash—! Whoosh!

darting through the space, his arms became a blur as he shattered one eyeball after another in rapid succession.

Yet their regeneration was relentless; they manifested without end.

Hundreds of pupils watched him from every conceivable angle, their numbers multiplying exponentially, their unblinking stares deeply unsettling.

Crackle—!

The moment his acceleration faltered, a second sniper round, its path warped and impossible to forecast, shot directly toward him.

No, it wasn’t a standard projectile.

It actively demolished the space it traveled through, fracturing the local dimensions and twisting the very concepts holding the environment together.

‘That poses a genuine threat.’

He had successfully avoided the opening shot purely due to surprise. He had no intention of falling prey to the identical trick a second time.

The marksman was undeniably proficient, curving the bullet’s path to account for his evasive maneuvers… but Heinz, navigating the currents of causality, dodged the danger without issue.

…Had that been the extent of their trap, escaping to formulate a new plan would have been simple.

Instead, a colossal runic array began forming across the heavens, accompanied by a violent spike in mana, while dozens of approaching entities tightened their perimeter around him.

Letting out a soft sigh, he accepted that a clean escape was no longer on the table.

“Just how long have they been engineering this ambush?”

He had anticipated a degree of resistance, given his previous disruptions of Thermidor and Gomorrah.

But this display exceeded his expectations. An entire metropolitan area sealed by a barrier, backed by a small legion of master-class fighters resting on standby.

His goal had been to probe their outer defenses… but their disproportionate response had caught him off guard.

‘This is… absolute overkill.’

His current coordinates placed him within a protected wilderness zone situated between the Otopeni airport sector and Bucharest proper.

A supplementary barrier, triggered instantaneously, had completely locked down the immediate sector.

Had he chosen any alternate route, this entire elaborate trap would have been rendered useless.

‘Are they maintaining this level of military readiness across every single entry point?’

Intuitively, he suspected that was the case, though it wasn’t his most pressing dilemma.

As he knit his brows, mapping out his next defensive strategy, the Heaven’s Turn Society chose that moment to display their vanguard.

“Heh— You have finally shown your face. The wait was growing tiresome.”

“…I was losing my patience. This region offers zero entertainment. If it weren’t for the Doctor’s explicit orders, I wouldn’t have bothered setting foot here.”

“Ahahaha! My sentiments exactly! Why should I waste effort on a basic mortal? We simply had no choice!”

The group evidently possessed a localized teleportation technique that bypassed their own barrier, as multiple figures materialized in his immediate vicinity, their arrogant voices cutting through the air.

Every single one of them emanated an intense, crushing pressure.

The entire scenario carried a heavy weight of familiarity, a distinct feeling of déjà vu.

‘This mirrors the confrontation when Hans battled the Heaven’s Turn Society back in Japan.’

The core dynamics were nearly identical, even if the geographic setting and the specific actors had changed.

Yet, he could not afford the luxury of complacency.

While the framework felt familiar, the sheer volume of power deployed here was on an entirely different level.

“…Ah, so this justifies why the Doctor was so uncompromising. Had our target truly intended to flee from the start, I might have genuinely lost track of him.”

A profound, echoing resonance filled the environment, causing the surrounding spatial matrix to turn dense and suffocating.

An absolute, domineering authority demanded compliance, forcing everyone’s attention toward a singular point of origin.

Thump, thump—

Gravely footfalls that seemed to send physical tremors through the crust of the earth.

In reality, no audible sound accompanied the steps.

Rather, each deliberate stride, saturated with an immense spiritual weight, vibrated directly inside the consciousness of those present.

“Hmm, a crossbreed, precisely as documented. Fascinating.”

An older gentleman finally strode out from the surrounding gloom.

Attired in exquisite aristocratic garments, his facial hair perfectly groomed, his condescending stare swept across his gathered subordinates before locking onto a solitary target.

The lone intruder.

Heinz forced himself to meet the gaze, his entire muscular structure locking up.

He found it impossible to break eye contact, even as the secondary vampires shifted to encircle him, their malicious internal energies flaring to life.

Part of his paralysis stemmed from the sheer, crushing majesty of his opponent…

Gulp—

…But it was equally driven by an inability to suppress his own primal programming.

Saliva pooled in his mouth, his predatory teeth throbbing with a sharp ache.

The 「Bloodline Craving」 inside his soul bellowed in fury, its demand for consumption reaching a fever pitch.

‘It’s him.’

The Duke, the sovereign of the Dracul syndicate, the hidden hand dictating the fate of Eastern Europe’s criminal network, and a high-ranking executive of the Heaven’s Turn Society.

The final component he required.