#240
Zephia Republic (3)
The first thing Heinz II did was analyze the barrier that enveloped the mansion.
His transcendent senses intertwined with his “Insight,” dissecting the structure of the barrier, and based on that, the “Blood Mystery” began to present its diagnostic results one by one.
‘So this is a complex spell structure built around Blood Magic. Quite intricately tangled up, I see.’
The “Blood Mystery,” born from the fusion of Auterica’s “Blood Magic” and various knowledge held by other dimensions’ vampires.
It had overwhelming superiority specifically regarding spells activated through ‘blood.’
Moreover, the fact that it was a complex spell wasn’t something particularly special to him.
No matter how much one tangled up various elements over a hundred days, could it possibly compete with the mystique of the dimensional level he had experienced on Earth?
‘It seems like considerable effort went into this, but…’
To him, it was meaningless.
As Heinz quietly gazed at the barrier for analysis, Hans, who had been engrossed in research within the Undying Castle, paused his work and joined him.
Consequently, skills including “Path of Magic” rapidly began to deconstruct the diagnostic contents identified by the “Blood Mystery”—
‘Applying spatial overlap and reversal, huh? I can’t deny the stability compared to others. To break this…’
It didn’t take long for him to unravel the secret of the barrier and how to dismantle it.
‘The standard approach would be to target the core deep inside, but there are indeed other methods.’
Simultaneously destroying the same point inside and outside the barrier.
Inside, communication with the outside would be blocked, and simply observing from one side wouldn’t allow for accurately pinpointing the target. Yet, such trivial problems posed no restrictions to him.
“It might consume quite a bit of energy, but… I harvested a good amount on the way, so it shouldn’t matter.”
Heinz, still composed, lightly tilted his head.
And right after that, a few veins erupted from his palm lifted to chest height.
Swoosh—
The bright red blood twisted like a dragon emerging from a depth, soon intertwining and starting to swirl.
The essence of that power, created from the pure blood of “Refined Blood Essence,” was under the control of the “Blood Mystery,” gradually compressing into a blood-red sphere the size of his fist.
It was a medium imbued with the power of Blood Magic, which he had once sent to Hesperon during his battle with the assailants.
‘Just need to make two more. The destructive power might be a bit lacking, but since this is just a signal, it should be enough.’
After completing the creation of three spheres, the serious operation commenced.
It was time to summon his only available avatar, Hugo, to hand over the spheres and send them into the barrier.
To locate the impact point connected to the inside through the avatar with shared senses.
“Hoo.”
Now fully transformed into Earth’s handyman, Hugo was steadily becoming a master of chores based on his unique skill, “Versatility.”
He collected the spheres radiating Heinz’s energy and confidently stepped into the barrier, using one of them towards a certain point inside.
Rumble—
Just as he thought.
A powerful Blood Magic activated, and for a moment, a strong vibration shook the inside of the barrier, yet it subdued and vanished in an instant.
Not even a slight indication was detected outside during that time.
“…Found it.”
However, with maximum concentration observing the flow of causality throughout the mansion, Heinz found it sufficient to pinpoint the exact focal point with just that one attempt.
Whoosh—
Slowly extending his right hand towards the target point.
A massive amount of blood surged out from his fingertips, and in an instant, an overwhelming amount of Blood Magic amalgamated with it, densely compacting.
‘No need to wait. Let’s go right away.’
The blood-red sphere the size of a basketball swelled and pulsated, seemingly ready to burst at any moment.
And with that, as the second instance of Blood Magic erupted within the barrier—
Boom— Kaboom—!
It emitted a crimson beam resembling a dragon’s breath, striking at the precise timing and exact point.
Crackoom!
Unlike the surrounding chaos caused merely by the shockwave, the mansion itself remained largely unchanged despite being directly hit.
However, Heinz could vividly feel the distortion of the barrier hit by his attack through “Insight,” along with the cracks it induced.
“Indeed, sturdy.”
The event occurred because, unlike the outer parts of the barrier that had surely been obliterated, the orbs meant to destroy its inner section lacked sufficient power.
He had never thought this would be a one-hit wonder from the start.
‘Since it’s not a direct attack, it can’t be helped. Just as I anticipated.’
Unlike the first attack that was immediately restored upon striking, serious damage had been inflicted, and for a brief moment, the restoration of the barrier wasn’t instantaneous.
This moment was precisely what he had been waiting for.
Whoosh—
From Heinz’s left hand, a light even darker than the destructive beam emitted from his right hand cleaved through the air, reaching for the same point.
And it struck precisely at the weakened area not yet recovered, infused with the power of causality.
Ka-Boom—!
At that moment, a simultaneous eruption of his own Blood Magic from inside caused the barrier to warp both inside and outside the impact point.
Unable to withstand the shock, the barrier finally collapsed.
An immense explosion, far more significant than any experienced until now, reverberated through the surroundings.
‘Just as I planned.’
Though he had expended considerable energy manipulating some causality to yield that outcome, the results now made him feel quite satisfied.
As a great hole had been opened across the mansion, starting from the main entrance where Heinz was located.
‘The author is…’
As the barrier shattered, Heinz, who sent Hugo back, spotted an old man sitting at the end of the passage with a bewildered expression, his eyes lighting up.
It was instinctual.
He felt it was the founder of the Obaifo clan, one of the first Purebloods—Obaifo himself.
Filled with satisfaction from this grand yet fiery encounter, Heinz slowly approached and opened his mouth.
“Ah, finally, we meet face to face.”
With his words, the old man’s head slowly turned toward him.
His initially flustered face had transformed into one feigning serenity, but he hadn’t fully collected himself yet, his lips twitching restlessly.
“I apologize for the violent knock. I wondered if the homeowner was deaf and simply wouldn’t come out.”
The tremors at the corners of his mouth intensified with those words.
It seemed like the provocation was well-received.
Heinz II coldly smiled while observing the Blood Magic surging and expanding around Obaifo.
As if daring him to reveal any hidden moves, he was confidently brazen.
*
The Twelve Blood Vessels of Creation.
A long time ago—when Obaifo, Youpersh, and the Purebloods first came to this land alongside Brokoslac.
At that time, only those twelve existed in the world of vampires.
As time passed, vampires began to spread more throughout the world, and the clans named after each Pureblood gradually established their systems.
Before they knew it, they had integrated into a single race existing on the continent.
‘Now, there are no memories left from that time.’
Obaifo was also one of the first Purebloods.
Estimated to be over ten thousand years old.
However, unlike dragons, who possessed immense mental strength and an intellect unbound by recollection due to their inherently long lifespans, the vampires’ mental prowess was not as formidable.
Of course, they were transcendent beings and far surpassed the level of average mortals, yet even that had limitations before the endless flow of time.
The period they maintained a complete sense of self averaged around two thousand years.
Around that time, starting to diverge little by little, those who couldn’t adapt to the passage of time began to dwindle.
Some rampaged without a care for the future and were hunted down.
Some killed young dragons in their thirst for blood and were torn to shreds by the enraged dragons.
Some were hunted down by sects after failing to properly sever their tails.
Some even chose to end their own lives in despair over eternal life.
Thus, it was not unusual that the count of the initial twelve Purebloods had dwindled since then.
‘I chose to erase all memories except for the last thousand years to protect my identity. Brokoslac resorted to periodic hibernation just like dragons to reduce activity, and Youpersh tried to overcome by splitting his powers and memories into different physical bodies.’
As a result, the information Obaifo now possessed from the previous era was not ‘directly experienced’ memories, but closer to content derived from several facts and ‘subsequently learned’ knowledge.
Replacing that which he couldn’t vividly recount with few dry lines of information added afterward, unexperienced memories.
That was how he had managed to survive until now.
However, as the once-dominant Purebloods in vampire society diminished in activity and their influence weakened, clans began to splinter and perish over time, experiencing rises and falls.
Especially, the speed of the downfall for clans that lost their Purebloods was so horrific it was hard to witness.
Having watched the rise and fall of his race from the beginning, ambitions began to sprout in Obaifo’s heart around that time.
…No, it must have been around that time.
[Truly pitiable and fragmented. Is there no way to unite those foolish children? …Ah, yes, I must step forward. I shall become a great king and lead those children.]
Since he had been erasing all memories except for the most recent thousand years, it was unclear precisely when such aspirations began sprouting, but it was undoubtedly clear it had been over a millennium.
That was because even his oldest remaining memories were wholly filled with processes toward achieving that goal.
And for an exceedingly long time.
He had solely embodied the aim of reclaiming the essences left behind by other Purebloods.
It wasn’t particularly difficult to snatch away what the minor clans were guarding or what had entered a noble’s warehouse.
The issue was things found in places where snatching was no easy task…
‘The great war with the Undead King helped a lot in that process. Thanks to it, I could even reclaim what had fallen under the hands of dragons and sects.’
At the moment when the Undead King’s movements erupted, which he had been watching for a chance, it had greatly aided his endeavors.
Moreover, with the assistance of the Oath of Reversal and the Revolutionary, he had finally gathered the essences of every Pureblood except for Brokoslac and Youpersh that he had searched long without finding!
Finally, the time had come for the dream he had envisioned for countless years.
He met Heinz II with that mindset.
He never thought for a moment he would be defeated.
He was only filled with thoughts of reclaiming the essences of Youpersh and Brokoslac residing in Talia Kingdom from this guy named Heinz.
‘Why… why…?’
Thus, the current situation must have felt even more perplexing to him.
He was caught in a situation utterly unforeseen.
Ka-Boom! Rumble—
“Cough!”
The mansion, unrecognizable and reduced to mere rubble, was left in ruins.
Just moments ago, it had been the throne where Obaifo awaited challengers with pride.
Not lying in shambles as it was now.
Crack—! Crackle—!
Sizzling sparks burst continuously.
The mental battle had already been ongoing dozens, if not hundreds of times, since a while ago.
Yet, what he hadn’t anticipated was…
‘So quick…! The speed of his thinking, along with his ability, surpasses my expectations…!’
Contrary to his initial confident stance, it turned out that his opponent’s skills dwarfed his expectations.
Moreover, for some unknown reason, the authority of being close to the ‘source’ of blood, which had been the primary reason for his confidence, held no sway over him whatsoever.
He hadn’t expected complete control given that he belonged to a different bloodline, yet he had acquired no less than ten out of the twelve bloodlines!
To be receiving not a shred of influence was simply bizarre.
‘Why? Bloodlines are essentially twelve branches diverged from a single source. It shouldn’t be possible to receive no influence like this.’
This reaction felt as if he was treated as a completely separate bloodline unrelated to the source.
Naturally, that was implausible.
‘Did he pull some tricks? Or could it be my research was incorrect? No, that can’t be. Then what’s the situation now?’
His mind began to jumble and his thoughts to shake.
Since there’s a limit to the power a single being can wield, no matter how many essences he possessed, it didn’t proportionally increase his strength.
The strength Obaifo could currently contain was probably capped at around 1.3 times max.
Considering the situation where he was constantly being pushed back, it wasn’t particularly a substantial figure.
‘…I hadn’t wanted to use this. Revolutionary, were you predicting this as well?’
Up till now, he thought he’d be okay with just the authority from being the source; he never considered other factors.
Yet, it felt as if he were being toyed with by the Revolutionary, but he had no intention to just go down without a fight.
Crackle—! Spark—!
At that moment, Heinz’s expression, which had been leisurely approaching, stiffened into rigidity.
