An awkward atmosphere filled the reception room of the Hubert Association.
“······.”
“So, is this person the one?”
Recently, there was a commotion in Tarak.
Not long after, everyone involved in the incident had gathered in this place.
Including Heinrich, the brave party that played a significant role in resolving the issue, Heinz II, who provided crucial help at the decisive moment, Diana, who was a representative of the victim and also related to the Hubert Association, and…
The perpetrator of the incident, Temiran McClair.
“Um, I apologize. Back then, I…”
His cautious apology followed, breaking the awkward silence.
It hadn’t been long since they had fought upon first meeting, and now they found themselves in such a peaceful gathering.
Besides, wasn’t the victim staring at him with wide eyes?
Even the most shameless person would feel embarrassed in such a situation.
“I’m fine. I’ve heard the circumstances, roughly.”
Diana responded maturely to his apology.
It wasn’t exactly because she was magnanimous and forgave him.
She had simply decided to follow Heinz’s intention after hearing the series of events.
‘Since I was inadvertently manipulated and now I’m stuck as a subordinate who can’t refuse Uncle’s orders…’
When you think about it, they were in the same boat now, so keeping hostilities would just tire everyone out.
With her accepting the apology as the representative of the victim, the atmosphere became a bit softer.
Of course, when it comes to who suffered the most, it could easily be said that it was the old woman mage who was injured, but she had delegated everything to Diana and was holed up to recuperate, so there wasn’t really any problem.
“You’ve changed so much that I can barely recognize you. It’s amazing how that vampire has grown so quickly in just a few days. It’s quite a sight.”
“···The energy they possess has also drastically changed. If Heinrich didn’t assure me you were the same person, I would have thought you were someone else.”
With the saint present assuring that it was no longer dangerous, High Elf Lydia and sorceress Isea observed the boy in front of them with curious expressions.
His appearance, which was initially that of a young teen, had rapidly transformed into that of a late teen—almost appearing like someone in their twenties at this point.
They could sense not just the change in appearance but also that the very source of his power and essence had been overturned, making their curiosity only grow.
“But still, he really is the Undead King. I thought things had been relatively quiet lately, but I had no idea he was orchestrating such events behind the scenes.”
“It seems like war is approaching. The Hubert Association is the undisputed top merchant in the continent. If they can shake that up, they’d gain benefits in various ways.”
And naturally, the conversation transitioned to the true mastermind behind this incident, the Undead King.
That vile Undead King had threatened the economic power of the continent before the onset of full-scale war.
He even seemed to be manipulating vampires, with whom he had promised to cooperate in secret, to sow discord.
How could this not be considered a threat?!
“······.”
As the group—including the saint—shared serious expressions and scrunched their brows, Temiran, sitting across from them, casually rolled his eyes to observe Heinz, who was sitting with crossed legs.
[“Look ahead.”]
He switched his gaze forward as if it were nothing, synchronized with the voice of his new master resonating in his head.
Before coming here, he had been ordered as such.
“Yes, and that’s not all. One of the tasks I received included information regarding the Demon Realm…”
All the evil in the world belongs to the Undead King!
After all, he couldn’t carelessly reveal details about the Abyss God, and if it was someone from this world, they wouldn’t understand it anyway.
So it was actually more convenient to attribute all the incidents to the Undead King, just like with the Oath of Reversal and the revolutionaries.
‘The karma gained this way isn’t too shabby, after all.’
Thanks to the added effect of “Subjugation,” his control had strengthened, and Temiran was performing his role more flawlessly than he expected.
This skill now allowed him to grasp and communicate the real-time situations of those under his command, making it quite a handy ability he had unexpectedly acquired.
“If it’s the Demon Realm, then certainly…”
“We need to be prepared for the demon followers as well…”
As serious dialogue began to unfold slowly, Diana, who had been sitting quietly, subtly shifted her gaze, glancing between Heinrich and Heinz, who were in the same space.
Both men still exuded a somewhat similar vibe.
‘No doubt about it.’
She recalled the day she had brought up that matter to Heinz not long ago.
*
“···I’m sorry. Could you say that again?”
It wasn’t like Heinz to show such awkwardness; usually composed and calm.
Seeing his response clearly revealed his shock, and Diana nodded slowly, fully understanding, before speaking again.
“I get that feeling too. But you know well what my abilities are, right?”
Her transcendent sense of smell allowed her to surpass not only animals or monsters but also discern intangible concepts like “danger” and even the scent of souls.
Diana, having lived her whole life with such abilities, stated with calmness yet undeniable certainty.
“You and Saint Heinrich, you both seem to be long-lost brothers.”
“······.”
“Perhaps you could even be twins. The vibes are different, but both of you are handsome. Upon closer inspection, your features look somewhat alike.”
“······.”
“I’ve heard that Saint Heinrich was also a vagabond from the Talia Kingdom before donating his entire fortune to the Holy Church and becoming a paladin. And Talia Kingdom is where we first met, isn’t it?”
A logically sound assertion based on evidence.
Diana sympathetically looked at Heinz, who was at a loss for words upon encountering this unexpected truth.
The head of a great merchant association and the king of vampires.
And the first sword acting on behalf of God, a saint of the Holy Church.
Who would have dared to imagine that these two were brothers?
Even she never would have guessed without her special abilities.
‘Being the head of an association shouldn’t be a problem at all. But the issue is that Uncle’s true identity is that of a vampire. Even though both sides seem to have a relatively good relationship now…’
Believing that would last forever was far too optimistic.
After all, the long-standing perception would not change quickly, and the nature of both groups was too extreme to expect merely assimilation.
The opposition was currently silent due to the looming threat of the Undead King, but surely once that was over, issues would begin to arise.
‘Oh! Now that I think of it, the one who most actively promoted the acceptance of vampires was the saint. This bond really relies on the trust placed in him, practically built on nothing else.’
The saint might have sensed something, as he could grasp the will of God.
Perhaps that was why he sent those friendly signals toward the vampire side.
“···Uncle, are you okay?”
Diana carefully called out to Heinz, who was still silent.
Even if they did find the lost family, as representatives of their respective groups, they couldn’t act on personal matters.
Even minor conflicts rising from below would become insurmountable barriers for them.
What else could it be but the play of fate?
“···Umm.”
Just then, Heinz, who had been looking at Diana with heavy eyes, let out a low grunt.
With a face filled with contemplation and anguish.
Of course, his thoughts were completely different from what she had anticipated.
‘What on earth is this girl talking about?’
It was undoubtedly impressive that Diana maintained her composure and distinguished the scents of the two avatars during such chaotic behavior.
Given that she could now wield holiness and control the waves of existence, the spiritual security of the avatars that enveloped her was far beyond imagination.
However, that she had discerned such a scent of his—
‘She must have grown. And on a different level than before. ···It seems contact with the apostle Temiran has had some influence.’
Still, seeing Diana speak like this suggested that the security wasn’t completely useless.
Perhaps she caught a whiff of something, but due to the lack of precision in her measurements, a miscalculation had occurred.
“···Is that so? Thanks for letting me know.”
“Not at all, it’s nothing compared to what you’ve done for me, Uncle.”
“Still, it’s better to keep it under wraps for now. It could cause some bad influence between us unnecessarily.”
“Yes···. If you perform some great feats, people will surely recognize you! In fact, recently in the west, the vampire’s image has definitely changed…”
Heavily nodding, Heinz responded to her reassuring words.
No matter how much Diana was essentially his own person, it was still best to keep the number of those who knew the secret low.
There was no intention of stepping out to clear misunderstandings.
‘By the way, this seems to be quite a nice setup. I wonder if I can make use of it somewhere.’
Thus, Heinz fell into thought for a while.
The nature of those musings was a million light-years away from what Diana was contemplating, though.
*
“Is it really okay as it is? I understand the urgency of fighting the Undead King, but…”
Immediately after the meeting involving the concerned parties ended.
Temiran found himself alone with Heinz and cautiously posed a question.
He had been exhibiting this anxious demeanor for a while now.
“What’s got you so worried? Are you the one who set this up, only to worry about it now?”
“Well, that’s just…”
Temiran’s awkward expression indicated he was struggling to finish his sentence.
His feelings were understandable.
Knowing the tricks he’d pulled on the other side, it was natural for him to worry even more after switching sides.
“But the situation in the Demon Realm is no joke! That Abyss creature didn’t just let me out for nothing. The current state of the Demon Realm is akin to its last stand!”
The operations currently in progress in the Demon Realm were the result of several thousand years of meticulous planning.
Though Temiran hadn’t been active as an apostle for long enough to know everything, as the one who triggered these arrangements, he had a general grasp of it.
“It’s fine. Preparations to counteract that have already been established.”
“···What? Preparations? I don’t know how you got the information about the Demon Realm, but it’s already completely out of my hands. There’s nothing we can do from this side without going there ourselves.”
He had come to seek out Diana who possessed the fragment of God for more precise dealings, but even in her absence, it appeared that things were moving along smoothly.
“The gates are fully open, and the armies of the Abyss have begun to corrode the Demon Realm. Their leader has long since been lost to them. The demon tribe, whose faith is at rock bottom and who instinctually submits to the stronger, will soon comply under a new Demon King!”
If that were to happen, the future consequences would be painfully obvious.
Of course, such a scenario would never occur.
“The information is slow. Then again, I suppose that’s only natural since a communion before coming to Tarak must have been the last one.”
“······?”
Heinz said nothing further to the puzzled Temiran.
After all, telling him would be pointless.
“Enough of that. You should prepare to head to the Zephia Republic.”
“Ah!”
“I was already losing face due to the delay in fulfilling the contract, so I’m glad things have turned out well.”
The promise made with the Vice President of the Republic, Kayla McClair, was to track down the whereabouts of her missing son.
If he was dead, she wanted to know where and how he had died, or at least find his body or grave.
‘But to find her son alive like this is more than enough to be considered a complete success.’
This delays in fulfilling the contract were no longer an issue.
Furthermore, the fact that her son was now a vampire completely subservient to him could also be seen as a bonus.
Kayla McClair, who had been in a cooperative relationship, was now a loyal follower of Heinz.
“Can I really go?”
“Yeah.”
“···It’s been twenty years. Do you think you might have forgotten me?”
“Don’t worry.”
“Oh! In that case, I’m starting to think my younger self might have been better! Can I go back to that point now?”
“······.”
“Probably not. Just a random thought. Should I bring a gift or something? It would feel rude for a mature son to suddenly visit his mother…”
Having been kidnapped as a child and forced to move like a puppet after coming to the world, Temiran hadn’t even gotten close to his mother.
Heinz let out a deep sigh and tossed one incredibly expensive-looking magical necklace at the confused boy.
“···Take that and scram.”
Whether it was an appropriate gift, he had no clue.
He would likely never know.
After briefly staring at him, Heinz turned away.
He still had a lot of work left to do.
*
On the battlefield spread beneath the violet sky.
Usually a space filled with all manner of monsters engaged in a struggle for life and death, it now was enveloped in a subtle silence that rendered the term battlefield almost meaningless.
“Phew! Phew!”
[Growl!]
“Hmmmm—.”
But although everyone present remained silent, it was by no means a chilling stillness.
Not a standard combat madness, but instead, the multitude of eyes burning passionately like the fervor of zealots.
All of them were directed toward a singular presence standing amidst the battlefield.
Merely existing in that spot was enough to bring everyone to their knees—a great sovereign born to reign from the start.
With just a word, crowds could voluntarily offer their hearts as tributes, a fatal charisma.
A beauty so magnificent and noble, it forbids even the slightest irreverent thought.
The Demon King was there.
[The cleanup of the battlefield has been completed, Lady Hela. You may command us to proceed to the next battlefield at any time!]
At that moment, a large Balrog approached her, bowing down on the ground to declare.
Though he too was a high-ranking demon with a viscount title, there was no sign of hesitation in his stance.
What filled the air instead was only clear respect and worship.
“Hmmm— Siana, where to next?”
“To the central gate of the Dark Nest, the domain of Otolel.”
“Really? That was quicker than expected.”
It was only natural that it would be fast.
The forces of Helheim, led by Hela, weren’t occupying land through typical warfare.
An army usually loses combat strength the longer a fight goes on.
Casualties run rampant with every battle, leaving behind immense fatigue upon those who remain.
Though they were innately resilient to some degree, even demons couldn’t entirely escape such effects.
“So everyone is sufficiently rested? We’ll move immediately?”
Her forces were the exception.
With a proud smile and overwhelming magical power radiating in all directions.
[We shall obey your commands!]
“Hela! Hela! Hela!”
[Wooooo—!]
“Victory for Helheim! Glory to the great Demon King!”
The army under her influence erupted into madness.
Not only the soldiers who had been with her until now but also those who had just moments ago stood in her way.
The demon legion grew in number the more it fought, its spirit undiminished.
The forces of Helheim rushed to reclaim all the territory that the Abnormal had lost and stormed into the heart of the Dark Nest.
