#281
A large indoor space filled with an oddly heavy atmosphere.
Grand paintings hung on the vast walls.
Creatures bowing in worship on the floor, while a being looked down upon them from above.
People fleeing from storms and tsunamis, a giant laughing uproariously atop a massive wave, and a woman embracing the sick with a warm smile enveloped in light…
Though the techniques and styles varied, the theme conveyed by these paintings was consistently the same.
They expressed the relationship between gods and humans.
Click—
Amidst such a hallowed space, an incongruous mouse click sounded softly.
“Black Mage Hahoe Mask.”
A low female voice followed suit.
In an office reached by passing the displayed paintings, various data and images popped up on the computer monitor.
Starting with CCTV captures, there were images of a gigantic Bone Dragon taken in Japan, and finally, chaotic scenes from a Shanghai building.
“Vampire Heinz.”
Another mouse click echoed, and the screen displayed another’s whereabouts in detail.
It neatly summarized everything from friction with the Blood Alliance to law enforcement activities under the name Phantom.
“Unknown Knight.”
The next set of data was not nearly as plentiful compared to the previous ones.
All contained information about just one incident.
Miraculous events during a massive hospital terror were the sole focus.
“In less than half a year, three newly emerged special targets from one country. Moreover, we failed to track their whereabouts entirely…”
Together with the clicking mouse, the female voice droned on as the documents on the monitor flashed by quickly.
President of the Korean Returnees Association, Yoon Ji-yoon of the Southern Seoul Branch, secret agents from the Bureau of Special Abilities…
After reviewing the list of identified border targets of Korean nationality, she finally muttered.
“It’s deserved if they die.”
Her tone was cold, devoid of any sympathy.
Indeed, no matter how many times she checked, the conclusion was always incompetence, nothing more.
‘…But still, I should finish what I intended to do. We’re not completely unrelated after all.’
A document she had previously skimmed reappeared on the monitor.
The armor montage drawn by a witness, corroborated by several other witnesses.
As she gazed at it for a moment, she smoothly rose from her seat.
‘Having comrades with the same ideals is a good thing. Especially if they’re capable.’
A strange smile crept across the lips of the gray-haired woman, Secretary.
“…For the salvation of this world.”
At the same time, an investigative team dispatched from Pantheon Headquarters in America arrived in Korea.
*
“Let’s see… if I do it like this…!”
Howard, who had returned from a nearly 10-day study trip to Earth, immediately locked himself in his workshop.
He set to work on integrating the new knowledge gained from the “Technological Revolution” into this world.
He had already grasped all the principles for the necessary technologies.
He fully understood how the results were achieved.
What he needed was only the intermediary processes to reach that conclusion.
Of course, he couldn’t recreate a technology like “Machina: Callicas” just yet.
It was reasonable because no matter how skilled a Dwarf he was, he couldn’t fully comprehend such advanced tech in just a few days.
‘Actually, the most efficient method would be to use it directly…’
However, he couldn’t pull his decent eyes out just to save a little time, could he?
Though his objective specs might be lower, in terms of making things, a Dwarf’s eyes were far superior.
In fact, that was why he had handed the ocular prosthetics directly to Hesperon.
‘Since I’ve roughly grasped the concept, the rest will be solved with time. If I get practical data added, it shouldn’t take long either.’
With innate talent, various growth enhancements, plus the rare effect of “Growth Booster,” Howard was someone who always rode the waves of growth.
From the standpoint of an ordinary human, he could barely be considered a genius—it was pure absurdity.
And as always, pushing the transformation of the world was always the task of an extremely small number of geniuses.
“…It’s done.”
After being holed up and devoted to work for several days, he found himself enamored by a small metallic gauntlet placed before him.
Its sleek silver surface and smooth, futuristic curves shimmered in the furnace’s light, giving off a peculiar vibe.
“Heh, then let’s go.”
After staring at it for a moment, Howard slipped it onto his left hand without hesitation.
Since he had made it the perfect size to fit his arm from the start, the gauntlet snugly grasped from fingertips to elbow.
‘The fit isn’t bad.’
With that, Howard moved to the experimental area in the corner of the workshop.
There, various metal plates of different materials were firmly fixed in place, prepared for performance testing.
‘Let’s keep it light for the first go.’
The material was steel, about a foot thick…
Having prepared for the test, he took a deep breath and clenched his left hand.
Creeeak
Czhhh—
With the sound of metal grinding, compressed energy was expelled through the nozzle.
Simultaneously, the magic stone attached to the inner wrist lit up, casting a beam of light that enveloped the gauntlet like the circuit of a control panel.
“I’m going in!”
Though Howard was a pure craftsman who had never fought, such minor details were no problem for the avatar sharing everyone’s experiences.
The small but stout physique of the Dwarf executed a perfect stance, and the impact was transmitted through the elastic rotation of his hips and shoulders to his fist.
“Urahtcha!”
Woosh—!
The moment his fist shot forward, energy burst forth from his elbow like a rocket—
Right after.
BOOM—!
A deafening roar filled the workshop, and a fierce whirlwind swept through the workspace.
Cough! Cough!
Howard, coughing due to the swirling dust, frowned slightly.
‘Whoa, this seems a bit excessive…?’
Needless to say.
All hyped up and excited, he finally realized the situation and made an awkward face.
Of course, it was already too late.
BANG!
“What’s going on? Is it an attack? Howard! Are you okay? Howard!”
A loud voice burst through the workshop door, and Zhao Nick stormed in wielding a large hammer, glaring around.
His wariness continued until he locked eyes with Howard, embedded in the thick steel plate.
“…Uh?”
“…Um, well, this is quite something. Heheh!”
Howard forced a smile, striking a perfect punching stance as if he were in a textbook, while trying to free his left arm wedged inside the steel plate.
‘…It’s stuck. If it’s like this in actual combat, we’re gonna have a big problem. I’ll need reverse propulsion too.’
Amid the hurried footsteps of the security guards pouring into the workshop, Howard subtly averted Zhao Nick’s gaze, who was slowly frowning in disbelief.
It was merely an entirely normal and smooth development scene.
*
As Howard’s study on Earth and technology development continued, time in Auterica also flowed swiftly.
A colossal event that would inevitably impact everyone across the continent—the Pope’s funeral—wrapped up successfully, followed by a smooth unofficial third continental summit.
“It was the usual mundane discussions anyway.”
Heinz II, sinking into a plush chair with his eyes closed, contemplated.
Of course, he hadn’t attended.
He simply dispatched Duke Bright as a representative of the Talia Kingdom.
Despite having recently cultivated a harmonious relationship, wouldn’t it seem strange for him, the Vampire King, to show up personally at the Pope’s funeral?
‘And I was indeed busy back and forth not long ago.’
Not so long ago, he had been juggling attention between both Auterica and Earth.
At this point, due to various reasons, Heinz couldn’t afford to go to Earth, naturally putting a halt to Phantom activities…
‘No, if I’m being honest, I’m not entirely free right now either.’
Even if he delegated most of the workload to his competent crew, the captain couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
Ever since he took on the role of Vampire King, even with absorbance of Obaifo, the fate of not just nations but entire races had rested on his shoulders, and there was an endless workload that needed direct verification.
Without the management perks of “Lord’s Authority,” gained as he achieved his Vampire King status, he would likely have been too busy to even entertain other thoughts.
Thanks to that privilege, most tasks were proceeding smoothly.
‘However, one thing bothers me…’
Of course, not everything went according to his intentions.
The search for missing persons taking longer than expected, especially concerning Vice President Kayla McClair’s son, was particularly troublesome.
What he thought would be resolved quickly by thoroughly investigating the vampires under Obaifo turned out to be much more delayed than anticipated.
There were indeed valid reasons for this.
‘Could it be that the revolutionary bastard intervened directly?’
After a persistent pursuit, he discovered the result.
The leader of the Oath of Reversal, now deceased, had been at the end of that trail.
‘…What an unhelpful fellow.’
Naturally, even for someone like him who manipulated the continent’s intelligence networks, he couldn’t keep the pursuit going under these circumstances.
He was someone whose whereabouts even Hans had had trouble tracking, and following movements from over 20 years ago was absurd.
Though it left an unpleasant feeling, he had no choice but to speculate that the individual had been sacrificed as some ritual offering.
‘I’ll keep tracking, but since I personally took revenge, there’s some consolation I can offer Kayla.’
The giant that attacked Tarak in Tulke Kingdom was none other than the revolutionary himself.
He had unintentionally ended up taking revenge on his behalf.
That should be enough to save some face.
“Now, what’s next…”
After muttering, Heinz sealed his lips tight.
He could now confidently claim that his initial goals of unification among the vampires and bringing them into the daylight had been accomplished.
Unless something extraordinary occurred, things would probably continue to roll on smoothly.
So then, what should Heinz II aim for next?
What should he set his sights on?
‘…Has the time finally come?’
Much of what he needed to do in Auterica was nearing completion.
Then the next step was rather obvious!
“Earth.”
Thinking it over, it was indeed the perfect timing.
Buncheon Society had lost a branch that oversaw all of East Asia.
Those overly sensitive individuals would be on high alert right about now.
‘The target Hans had now stepped outside Korea into China, which is practically his home turf. They won’t just sit back and relax either.’
Unintentionally, prior to Hahoe Mask’s reappearance, the Knight Heinrich, who had been a hot topic, was also among their concerns.
Hadn’t he identified signs through Yul Ryeong-ja’s fragments of memories that he was attempting to collaborate with the Secretary from North America?
‘If the memory hasn’t been severely impaired, I could have known more precisely.’
It was regrettable but unavoidable.
For now, he would have to be satisfied with realizing that the secretary held a significant position within Pantheon.
Regardless, one thing was certain: if their focus shifted towards Hans and Heinrich in East Asia, other areas would inevitably grow a bit weaker than usual.
Considering their vast scale, it was unclear how effective that would be, but taking any opportunities that arose would surely benefit them.
‘That way, no matter what traps are laid, I can break through unquestionably.’
The chilling glint in Heinz’s eyes signified a chance to break through his limitations and grow further.
But it couldn’t be denied that he couldn’t just keep running away every time it got a little dangerous!
Organizing his thoughts, Heinz quietly stood up from his seat.
He licked his lips and whispered softly, as if declaring it to himself.
“Well then, shall we go? To Europe.”
The place where the vampire’s power was most formidable on Earth.
The epicenter of global cuisine.
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