Chapter 298

Chapter 298
## Chapter 298

Romania (2)

Rumble—! Thud—!

A mature gentleman possessing mousy brown hair scurried back and forth, preparing a project.

Clamor reverberated throughout the untidy workspace, packed with assorted rubbish and unidentifiable artifacts.

“Ah! The show is starting!”

Yet his activity ceased abruptly.

The mature gentleman, Doctor, caught sight of a projection cast upon one of the walls—a digital display showcasing a dense woodland—and discarded the items resting in his grip, scurrying toward the screen.

“Heh heh heh! This is a must-watch. While it cannot compare to witnessing it live, gathering empirical data remains vital! How thrilling!”

He slumped down onto the couch positioned before the projection, rubbing his palms together in anticipation, his gaze twinkling.

A wild smirk stretched across his features, his excitement completely unmistakable.

“I devised multiple backup strategies, just to be safe! It is slightly disappointing that the climax arrived so swiftly, yet it brings a certain comfort…”

The very moment the arrival of the long-sought prey was registered,

He had triggered his elaborate ambushes, successfully trapping his target.

To speak accurately, it was a snare engineered for absolute victory.

Phantom was bound to arrive in Bucharest eventually.

Ultimately, he understood exactly what the target sought. The conclusion was set in stone.

The simplest path would have involved waiting for the intruder to stroll into the urban center… but observing his past patterns, relying on that would have been far too naive.

“Ha! Yet the exertion wasn’t squandered! It succeeded!”

Consequently, he had spun a massive web, encompassing the entirety of the neighboring region.

To guarantee the target could not slip away, regardless of his chosen escape route.

Naturally, there were certain deficits incurred, both material assets and intangible resources… but such losses were minor when weighed against the grand scale of this enterprise.

“Now, shall we appreciate the spectacle? And assess the state of the specimen!”

He had anticipated this precise hour for a vast duration. The trial was primed to commence the instant the target arrived.

His agitation had made it impossible to remain still, but there was nothing left for his hands to do now.

“Show me, Phantom! Demonstrate your boundless capacity! The vital instrument for reaching supreme transformation! The concealed reality of this cosmos!”

Munch, munch—

Doctor stuffed a mouthful of popped corn into his maw, then lifted a cup of sparkling cola.

He was a highly calculated strategist, having organized an array of refreshments for his observation pleasure.

Popped corn, tortilla chips, melted cheese, cola… and a container of mint chocolate ice cream, preserved flawlessly by his customized magical artifact, ‘The Never-Melting Ice Cream Container’, were neatly arrayed on the desktop before him.

“Oh? Is it commencing? Is it commencing? Let us begin—!”

Consequently, with the inclusion of a solitary, unbothered viewer,

The conflict unfolding within the woodland was rapidly intensifying.

—

Heinz, who remained locked in a mute standoff with the Duke, tilted his skull slightly.

‘As expected.’

The reputation of the Duke as the ‘Strongest in Europe’ was entirely justified. The pressure radiating from his form was incredibly dense, vastly exceeding anything Heinz had ever crossed paths with prior.

Even Heinz, who had achieved a state of transcendence through unorthodox channels, could not repress a tremor of apprehension.

‘Well, I am not unique in holding extraordinary traits. He must have likewise attained his present status through some… peculiar process.’

Furthermore, unlike his own fresh ascension, the Duke was a battle-hardened veteran.

Yet that failed to imply he would suffer defeat.

He would ultimately claim triumph, regardless of how grueling the clash became.

…Though it appeared the Duke harbored an identical perspective.

‘The issue lies in the fact that… the circumstances are unfair.’

Heinz monitored the perimeter, his perceptions sharpened, a grimace forming on his face.

This was… far too much.

The boundary encircling the area was a sophisticated, multi-layered grid, its specific operations challenging to decipher initially.

Additionally, bizarre magical apparatuses, vibrating with immense power, were positioned deliberately across the terrain.

‘And those individuals as well.’

Supreme-tier awakened combatants, likely affiliates of Heaven’s Turn Society’s European branch.

Merely three were visible openly, yet he sensed additional presence.

They served as the vanguard assets, deployed specifically to test his capabilities first.

‘There is also the marksman and the multi-eyed beast. Analyzing the currents of arcane energy, a minimum of one additional sorcerer is present… And someone lurks close by. A shadow stalker?’

Moreover, the vampires flanking the Duke were far from common thralls.

Roughly a score of them stood ready, each projecting the pressure of a True Blood.

The majority appeared to have secured their current status through artificial shortcuts, much like the Tyrant of France… but keeping in mind that Hybrid, which had integrated the bulk of Auterica’s vampires, commanded merely fifteen True Bloods, this remained a terrifying legion.

‘I must account for the reality that vampires formerly existed as a persecuted demographic, akin to Lycanthropes, concealed in the darkness.’

Heinz’s reflections grew disorganized.

He retained the option to withdraw instantly using ‘Dismissal’, given his status as an avatar.

However…

“You appear conflicted. Your internal monologue is practically audible from this distance.”

At that juncture, the Duke, who had been quietly evaluating his opponent, uttered a remark, a trace of derision in his tone.

He appeared perturbed that Heinz proved less manageable than initially anticipated.

“Allow me to simplify your thoughts.”

The instant his sentence concluded,

Whish— Crash—!

A violent detonation tore through the space separating them.

The Duke, brandishing a crimson lance measuring beyond three meters, aggressively drove his offensive forward, while Heinz steadily gave ground, parrying every strike.

The atmosphere crackled and warped under the force of successive impacts, shockwaves rippling through the clearing.

‘He possesses immense strength.’

Heinz’s brow furrowed as he concentrated on defense and retaliation, his reflexes pushed to the absolute limit.

His retreat was not a consequence of choice.

He was forced to monitor the surrounding hazards, unlike his challenger, who could dedicate his full focus to pure offense.

‘His strikes possess incredible weight. Unreasonably so.’

It was not merely an issue of baseline rank.

Just as a warrior typically avoided exhausting their full vigor on solitary swings, martial engagement possessed a specific cadence and economy, a strategic distribution of muscle.

Yet the Duke disregarded such principles, unleashing a torrent of lethal strikes as though they were basic testing jabs.

‘And his stamina shows no sign of waning… Could this be a trait mimicking Isea’s?’

It brought to mind Isea, who could deploy grand-tier sorcery without care due to her nearly limitless reservoir of arcane energy.

A relentless storm of pressure, driven by boundless reserves, to a degree that bordered on reckless waste.

‘Let us discover his limits.’

Heinz readied a decisive counter, biding his time for a lapse in coverage.

Just as the Duke’s brows shifted, as though registering a sudden threat—.

Boom—!

…Heinz was sent skidding backwards from a brutal collision, a thunderous resonance piercing the air.

His boots tore through the soil, carving two deep pathways in the earth, before he managed to anchor his weight.

Yet the Duke, maintaining his posture, halted his advance. He merely focused his gaze down upon his own frame.

A massive cavity, its boundaries jagged, pierced through his flank, exposing his internal anatomy.

“…You do not merely possess velocity. You bypass the sequence entirely. I nearly lost my primary organ.”

Despite the gravity of his statement, his expression stayed completely unbothered.

As if to validate his calm demeanour, the cavity in his flank commenced sealing, the tissue weaving itself together until the skin was entirely unblemished once more.

Regenerating from a wound delivered by Heinz, a fellow transcendent entity, undoubtedly drained an enormous quantity of vitality… yet he displayed no anxiety over the cost.

“Hmph, Phantom, was it not? From which outer realm do you hail?… Regardless, it is of no consequence. We possess ample duration.”

He recovered his composure instantly and, embedding his crimson lance into the dirt, conversed nonchalantly.

As though to demonstrate that a blow of that magnitude was trivial to endure.

“Hmph.”

Heinz’s gaze sharpened.

Contradicting what the Duke intended to project, Heinz had extracted a definitive assessment from that brief clash.

‘I am beginning to decipher his nature.’

The Duke stood unquestionably as the most potent adversary he had crossed paths with on this planet, putting aside the Leader of Heaven’s Turn Society.

He might even manage to provide a respectable challenge for Hans.

However—.

‘Excellent. This path should be manageable.’

Heinz ran his tongue over his lips, his inner craving intensifying.

During the initial phases of his “Hybrid Evolution”, after consuming the militant factions of the Blood Alliance, he had unlocked a passive trait.

The capacity to partially neutralize the aggressive techniques of rival vampires while projecting an inherent dominance over them as a natural apex force.

It had proven to be an exceptionally advantageous asset, granting him supremacy in his subsequent conflicts.

‘And the current scenario is identical.’

Though their tiers might correspond, Heinz functioned as the natural counter to the Duke.

It was a matter of fundamental Karma.

He existed as the ultimate bane of all vampiric life.

Heinz the Second was a defined ‘kin-slayer’, multiplying his strength by consuming his own lineage.

Yet circumstances rarely unfolded flawlessly.

“Your Grace, do you require our assistance?”

“…We harbor no doubt regarding your triumph, yet we cannot simply linger as passive observers.”

“Ha ha! Let us conclude this affair swiftly and commence the questioning! Doctor is likely growing restless!”

As the Duke, who held the vanguard position, sustained an injury, the surrounding spectators who had kept their distance began to advance.

They too commanded exceptional strength, and they evidently deemed it appropriate to join the fray.

“…Tsk, very well. It is an unavoidable necessity if we intend to secure his living form.”

The Duke, having detected an unsettling anomaly during their brief exchange, conceded with reluctance.

Now, Heinz faced the prospect of combating the entire gathering.

‘A pity. Had I been granted a brief window, a solitary lapse… I could have shattered him.’

Heinz scanned the closing forces, sensing the converging signatures, a predatory gleint burning in his eyes.

Should he execute a withdrawal?

Abandon the banquet that lingered within his reach?

‘…Absolutely not.’

The prize was far too enticing.

He lacked any guarantee of when such a gathering would manifest again, and his advancement demanded greater power.

‘If a window does not exist, I shall forge one.’

If his current capacity fell short, he would simply claim more.

He possessed the methodology to achieve it.

He rapidly assessed his internal assets amidst the incoming assault.

‘Hans and Heinrich are unavailable.’

He preferred to avoid deploying the avatars currently recognized for their actions in Korea.

Since he had also established his presence in Korea, he could not gamble on exposing their alignment so transparently.

‘That leaves… ’

Harley, the Ultimate Evolved Lifeform, and Harris, the High Elf spirit archer.

Which asset would yield superior results…?

Zap—!

His contemplation shattered.

A high-velocity projectile pierced the atmosphere.

Wink, wink— Wink, wink—

Myriads of ocular spheres, manifesting from the ether, glared down at his position, blinking maliciously.

Whirrrr—!

Torrents of luminescent energy, resembling a tropical downpour, descended from above, relentlessly striking his position.

Swish—

A shadow stalker materialized from the darkness, initiating a covert strike, while a cascade of blades, bludgeons, and gauntlets converged on his position.

An unfamiliar restriction bound his torso and legs, rendering his movements heavy and uncoordinated.

“This is… tedious. I am fully capable of resolving this personally, but Doctor requested his survival. Let us finalize this immediately.”

With the Duke and his vampiric circle committing to the offensive…

‘This approach is unsustainable.’

Heinz, exerting immense effort to maintain his footing within the chaotic crossfire, reached a final conclusion.

And…

At that precise instant.

The atmospheric currents shifted.

“Hmm?”

“Hold on, what is the meaning of this?”

Every individual present was a master-tier practitioner, their perceptions incredibly acute. They immediately registered the minute transition.

The spatial fabric quivered.

The environmental energy fluctuated.

The momentum reversed.

“Infiltrators!”

“By what means did they breach the perimeter boundary…!”

———!

Before their astonished cries could finish, dozens of luminescent tracks, silent and rapid, sliced through the air.

Yet their trajectory avoided the epicenter of the engagement.

They raced toward the periphery of the woodland, distant from the primary skirmish.

Boom—!

A muffled detonation echoed from afar.

Immediately following, the long-range projectiles ceased.

The myriads of ocular spheres dissolved into nothingness.

And the arcane formation hovering in the clouds dissolved.

“Who presumes to…!”

“Maintain composure! Identify their coordinates first!”

“I shall handle Phantom! Dracul, disperse your forces and investigate!”

Heaven’s Turn Society, momentarily unsettled, rapidly reestablished order and initiated a counter strategy.

However.

That did not signify the conclusion of the anomalies.

Thud—!

A darkened silhouette abruptly tumbled from the canopy.

Its right upper limb and right lower limb were entirely severed.

The shadow stalker, clad in midnight garments, writhed without a sound upon the earth, then turned rigid.

Following that.

Boom—!

As the form dissolved into a cloud of vapor, a colossal figure descended heavily upon the remains, clamping something securely within both palms.

“Ghahaha!”

Crunch!

Accompanied by a primitive roar, the titan pulverized the skulls of the twin vampires he held captive.

Their bone structures imploded like overripe produce, fluid and brain matter spraying across the immediate terrain.

“…What in the world… Who is that creature?”

“There existed an additional combatant?!”

The focus of every warrior locked onto the arrival, his immense aura commanding absolute concentration.

A monumental warrior, surpassing two meters in elevation, his gargantuan frame adorned with complex markings, his muscular structure bulging with unnatural vitality.

He represented the absolute definition of brutality, as though the very essence of devastation had adopted a physical shape.

‘We might as well conduct this thoroughly.’

Amidst the unfolding disorientation,

Heinz, finally obtaining a brief respite to collect his focus, ran his tongue across his lips, a predatory hunger flashing within his eyes.

He retained two paths.

‘I shall manifest both.’