– Entity Name: Heinz II
– Race: Vampire (Pureblood)
– Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」、「Persona」、「Clarity of Mind」、「Great Strength」、「Genoglossy」
– Entity Traits: 「Blood Sovereignty」、「Hybrid Evolution」、「Blood Mystery」、「Refined Blood Essence」、「Existence Denial」、「Origin Regression」、「Quick Acceleration」、「Insight」、「Allure」
– Special Notes: After collecting various vampire factors, he has become closer to the origin of the vampire lineage. However, since the source is not yet properly established, he remains in an incomplete state. All techniques involving blood receive additional enhancements. He wields great influence over all vampires.
Heinz II looked down at his hands and slowly opened and closed his fists repeatedly.
‘Impressive.’
The heavy energy surging deep within him naturally radiated forth as massive power.
Moreover, something in his mind seemed to have opened up—like finally awakening after keeping his eyes closed for a long time, new sensations flowed in like a tide.
As if entirely new sensory organs had sprouted.
‘…Looks like it’ll take a while to get used to this.’
If he had to describe it, it would be inspiration beyond mere energy perception.
Fortunately, due to his experience handling various races ranging from undead to dragons, he was able to adapt; otherwise, moving his body like this would have been quite difficult.
‘And then…’
He slightly furrowed his brow as he gauged the burden transmitted to the 「Mind Hub」 and the 「Soul Firewall」.
The now greatly enlarged 「Persona」 was the cause.
‘But this too is still in an incomplete state?’
It seemed necessary to reinforce mental protection with 『Skill Enhancement』 just in case.
It was far better to prepare in advance than to be careless and risk contaminating his ego.
He received the location of his target from Pascal, the spirit of Harris, just as he finished checking his physical state.
‘Let’s check the rest later.’
Heinz quickly got ready to move.
Though it seemed like he would continue to keep watch here, he could not tell when the guy would decide to leave Romania.
If it wasn’t for this opportunity, he would have no idea when he might face him again.
‘The distance from here is…’
He was positioned in a nature reserve between the capital Bucharest and its northern satellite city.
He was about 15 kilometers away from the target city to the south.
And for him right now, 15 kilometers—
‘It’s close.’
It was truly a trivial distance.
Swish—
The moment he activated 「Existence Denial」 and vanished from the forest, the already precarious barrier shattered into pieces.
Only a few seconds later, Heinz was standing in an entirely different location.
The exact spot informed by the wind spirit.
‘Let’s make sure.’
Whoosh—
A misty blood fog emanated from Heinz as he lightly surveyed his surroundings, enveloping the area in an instant.
Following that, he activated 「Blood Mystery」.
Just like that, the area was instantly isolated from the outside.
“Let’s see that pretty face of yours for a change.”
Being in the presence of a doctor, the traps laid inside would certainly not be trivial, but of course, he didn’t care at all.
Heinz’s figure disappeared once again from that spot…
Boom—!
The security barrier surrounding the mansion shattered at once.
*
As the hologram illuminating the forest showed the vampire Phantom disappearing, the doctor simply tilted his head for a moment.
But when the barrier was destroyed, one of his eyebrows shot sharply upwards.
He had been confident in the barrier he prepared himself and was sure there was no possibility of the one trapped inside sneaking out.
If they tried to break out, they would just end up shattering it.
Just like just now.
And if the opponent escaped from there, it was obvious where their next destination would be.
Beeing— Beeing— Beeing—
The moment his thoughts reached that point, an emergency alarm began ringing loudly throughout the hideout.
“Huh, what’s this?”
Separate from the surveillance barrier encompassing all of Bucharest, the alert devices he had set around the base were signaling.
The meaning was clear.
“So you mean they made it here directly without getting caught in the barrier surrounding the city?”
The doctor’s eyebrows twitched.
The opponent had vanished from the forest less than 10 seconds ago.
For them to arrive here immediately meant… it was impossible without knowing something from the very beginning.
Hmm-hmm, speaking of which, there were some timely allies too, right? If they hadn’t known about the traps from the start, it wouldn’t have been possible… This is definitely not something to be taken lightly!
Upon reflection, though he had been momentarily dazzled by their peculiarities, it was clear that such powerful beings couldn’t just drop out of the sky.
One of them was even a fairy race from another world!
There must be an unidentified organization behind the Phantom. One that possesses the intelligence to uncover the traps laid out here in advance, along with the capability to send support at such a level!
The traps here were custom-designed by him, thus it wouldn’t have been easy for a spy to discover them.
There was even a possibility that they had someone able to foresee the future or possess clairvoyance.
No matter how it played out, they must have figured out their intentions and prepared in advance…
Boom—!
But the doctor’s train of thought was abruptly interrupted by a loud explosion and the vibrations that ensued.
And as the owner of this place, he quickly realized.
An intruder had breached the hideout.
A monster that had grown stronger after devouring a duke, renowned as the strongest in Europe, was right at his doorstep.
To chew on the leash that held him!
“A level 10 vampire…”
The thought of being in the same space as that unparalleled existence he had only seen in videos made the doctor shudder.
However, his expression wasn’t one of fear.
“I’m looking forward to this! I wonder what kind of spectacle that unique existence will show us…!”
Just like a fan facing their superstar, his face lit up with excitement as if confronting the ideal type he had dreamed of.
Even in a life-threatening situation, his curiosity took precedence.
After all, he had something to rely on.
Boom— Boom!
Meanwhile, the loud sounds and vibrations continued to resonate.
Considering the space he was in was merely a somewhat larger mansion, it didn’t make sense, but in a world full of mysteries, it wasn’t too strange.
– 1st floor breached.
– 2nd floor breached.
– 3rd floor breached.
– 4th floor in progress.
Having only engaged in research comfortably now that safety was ensured, it was of course not how he had always lived.
To survive in this dangerous other world, developing sufficient ability was essential.
The field he had focused on back then was ‘Dungeon Master’.
– 4th floor breached.
– 5th floor in progress.
He was, incidentally, the one who designed what was notoriously known as the ‘Demon King’s Castle’ in his original world.
Later, it would be revealed that even after returning, that dungeon was never conquered, ultimately leading to the Demon King who operated from there conquering the continent, sealing it away.
– 6th floor in progress.
Of course, for the doctor, having received support from the Demon King, paving the way for a pleasant researcher life, such matters were irrelevant.
“…Uh, but this is a bit… Too fast, faster than I expected!”
Yet, even he couldn’t help but feel flustered with the rapidly changing situation.
Earth had different environments and lacked resources to invest, so there were limits on the number of levels he could create.
Thus, the dungeon he had prepared this time was limited to just 9 floors.
Still, he was confident the quality wouldn’t be lacking due to the synergy of various spell combinations…
– 7th floor in progress.
How many minutes had passed since the invasion began?
No matter how powerful a level 10 vampire was, it was too easy for a dungeon that could last hours against other transcendent beings to be breached like this?
“Hmm… It seems like this is going to be it! What a shame!”
An awkward smile crept onto the doctor’s face as he took a few steps back.
He instinctively sensed that if he hesitated, he’d be caught by the neck in an instant.
“Whaat? Spatial disconnection?”
But just as he tried to escape, he realized that an isolation barrier surrounded him, causing him to panic once more.
How did that happen in such a short time?
It was absurd.
‘Space’ is one of the most complex fields in magic alongside ‘time.’
There was no way one could perform such a technique without any preparation.
Unless, of course, the opponent was a transcendent being in the realm of grand mages, but the Phantom wasn’t one, was it?
With nothing but an understanding of mystery, there was no way for him to understand the current situation given the activation of 「Blood Mystery」 and the time compression through causality, coupled with the indirect assistance from Undead King Hans and Dragon Horus.
– 8th floor in progress.
Even as this was happening, the grim reaper was tightening its grip around him.
If he had a little more time, he might be able to break the spatial disconnection and escape, but no matter how he calculated, the opponent’s breaching speed was faster than that.
Only one floor remained.
If that too was breached, he would face that monster directly.
The world’s one and only level 10 vampire, possibly unique across dimensions!
“…Uh? That might not be bad after all…”
He briefly wavered, but it was all mere nonsense.
He objectively assessed the situation.
What could he possibly do when facing the Phantom?
“Um, absolutely nothing! I’d be dead before I even recognized what happened! Pwahahaha!”
Or he might become its slave by force, switching loyalty, but knowing Heinz’s nature through various investigations, he felt that wouldn’t be a pleasant outcome.
No matter how he considered it, Heinz wouldn’t likely allow for ‘free research.’
Hahaha!
Indeed, it was an unavoidable situation.
*
Boom!
Heinz broke through the ‘impenetrable wall’ and cut straight through the maze.
Without pause, he focused only on rapidly moving forward while dismantling all the monsters, golems, magic circles, chimeras, and mechanical devices that sprung from all corners.
Clang— Clank!
“Gahhh!”
Boom—!
After breaching the 8 spaces which grew increasingly complex, he was now at the 9th, yet the path still showed no sign of ending.
It was astonishing how such spaces could be created on Earth.
It feels like the laws of Earth don’t apply here at all. It’s as if a separate set of laws is in place—at this point, it’s almost like another dimension. How is this even possible?
He vaguely understood the doctor’s background.
The source of the Buncheon Society’s technological prowess, someone well-versed in most of the magic that exists in this world.
But facing his abilities like this, he truly lived up to his reputation.
If it were the old him, it would have taken at least 30 minutes to get this far.
Having become a Pureblood enabled him to disregard the dungeon’s rule of ‘impenetrable walls,’ leading to this achievement.
With an ability like this, he should be able to break through my barrier in no time. I have to act fast before he escapes…!
Adjusting to his altered body, he continued to speed through the dungeon for several more minutes.
Just as he felt that this space might end soon…
[Ah! Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Phantom!]
A voice resonated throughout the entire area.
[Oh, this is quite troublesome! This was truly unexpected! I never thought your allies would be this strong. Pwahahaha!]
A frivolous tone devoid of seriousness.
To that, Heinz frowned slightly as he moved almost as if folding space.
So they were indeed ready to escape?
[I’m also a bit curious. Before I head out, there’s something I must ask you!]
Heinz did not respond.
He simply focused all his mental energy on moving forward as quickly as possible.
Faster!
But as his concentration peaked, an inspiration that had been sluggishly awakening began to stir and gradually activate.
With that, the scope of what he could perceive started to expand bit by bit.
[…So, may I know your name? That organization you belong to, perhaps! Just to show some respect!]
At that moment, Heinz felt certain.
The guy was still attempting to dissolve the spatial barrier, and he was on the last floor of the dungeon, with little time left.
That meant it was all just bravado.
[To think, there are people who could have such clout without anyone knowing! What a bunch of useless folks, aren’t they? They should all get a mental readjustment! Through surgery! Hehehe!]
The end was gradually coming into view.
Though Doctor’s schemes had penetrated the barrier encircling the mansion, there was no way to escape through such a small opening.
He must be trying to buy some time.
In that moment, a certain word he had remembered surfaced in his mind.
He had only thought of it lightly back then, thinking he might consider it if an opportunity arose…
Heinz smirked and took his final step.
Snap— Crunch!
The sound of something breaking echoed.
And as he stepped onto the marble floor of the mansion’s living room, he casually said a word to the middle-aged man standing before him.
“Masquerade.”
A genuinely lighthearted remark with no real significance.
