Assault (2)
Heinz furrowed his brow as he looked around.
Vampires surrounded him along with a group of masked individuals of unknown origin.
He knew the level of the vampires from their Insight, but the masked group also had high levels that he couldn’t detect.
“How did they find out?”
The barrier had activated, nullifying his Concealment, but before that, how did they manage to figure out he had used Concealment and timed their barrier perfectly?
“I’ve put in quite a bit of effort to capture the Hahoe Mask.”
The man in a black suit with slicked-back hair and a sly smile was clearly a high-ranking member of an evil organization. He shrugged casually.
It seemed he had no intention of explaining anything.
“Are you the Buncheon Society?”
Heinz asked, glancing at the masked individuals he assumed were the man’s subordinates.
Only they would set a trap alongside the hardliners of the Blood Alliance.
“Hmm, but who are you? I don’t understand why a vampire is working with you. Beta One, do you have any idea what’s going on?”
The suited man asked back without answering, throwing a glance towards the Blood Alliance side.
“…We also don’t know what’s happening. From the looks of it, he seems to be at least level 7, but this is a completely unfamiliar face.”
“The energy itself feels very strange. It seems he’s recently returned from somewhere not known until now.”
The two strongest vampires responded in turn.
‘Both Betas were here.’
From reading the memories of many hardliner vampires, he had come to understand that the titles designated their ranks.
The leader of the hardliners was Alpha, and underneath were two Betas.
Gammas were at the next tier, totaling thirteen in number.
‘Now there are nine, though.’
He had already hunted three since dealing with the first Gamma, Dohansu.
He learned information about this place from the last Gamma he handled.
‘And, perhaps due to still having the power of Concealment, they didn’t notice I had devoured one of their kin.’
With the weakening Concealment due to the barrier, he couldn’t maintain stealth, let alone hide his intent.
So he was focusing his remaining strength on masking the traces of kin-devouring.
That was both his most secretive secret and a trump card that would take them by surprise.
‘Two 7-level Betas. Twelve 6-level ones. Some of those exceptional ones among the 6-level probably received the Gamma title, but I don’t know how many are here. Plus, the guards swarming outside…’
In truth, if it were just the vampires, it wouldn’t be that big of a problem.
The real issue was the masked individuals, presumed to be from the Buncheon Society.
Whatever method they used made it impossible to gauge their energy, even in this situation.
“So, when will the Hahoe Mask emerge from the shadows? It’s about time he showed himself. Or is he still looking down on us?”
Heinz’s eyebrows twitched.
He thought they hadn’t noticed up until now, since there had been no mention of it.
Hmmm… That guy is quite audacious. If that’s what he wants…
A voice resonated through the space like it was echoing from Hell.
If they already knew, there was no need to remain hidden any longer.
Sssss—
As Hans slowly emerged from the shadows…
The temperature dropped sharply, a chill enveloping the area, and the light illuminating the interior lost its power.
He wasn’t even intentionally releasing magic, but merely by his presence, he forced changes in the environment.
The vampires encircling the area shuddered, instinctively taking steps back.
“…Hmmm. This is more than I expected. Had we planned to handle this alone, we would have been in serious trouble.”
The relaxed expression on the suited man’s face cracked.
Seeing Hans in person must have shaken his confidence.
“Though it’s more than I expected, it’s not to a degree that we can’t handle.”
But soon, a sense of ease returned to his face.
It seemed he had a solid plan prepared.
“Black Magic and Necromancy. Both are extreme powers, but their weaknesses are also quite distinct.”
Snap—
The sound of his finger snapping echoed in the air.
Woosh—
The barrier surrounding them trembled.
Rattle— rattle—
And somehow, the masked individuals on the second floor had produced various items.
Some were shaking small bells likely used by shamans, others were pulling out wooden totems and driving them into the floor, some were taking out yellow talismans and sticking them all around, and yet others were brandishing various symbols from religions that didn’t exist on Earth.
The overwhelming energy swirling from all directions began to stifle Hans’ presence.
The oppressive force tightened around him, shaking his unholy energy mercilessly.
[…Looks like you’ve prepared quite a bit.]
It was clear they had done thorough research and preparations to counter him.
The vampires present were visibly uncomfortable, but compared to Hans, who was the primary target, it was negligible.
‘It’s not affecting Heinz much either. A bit suffocating, but…’
It was a massive trap laid just to hunt Hans.
In a situation where he was restrained like this, if the Buncheon Society and the vampires worked together to charge at him…
No matter how strong Hans was, he would have had to retreat.
‘Only if Hans had come alone.’
He understood their thoughts well.
Seeing Heinz at level 7, one of the Betas was likely supposed to hold him down while the rest focused on Hans.
Huff—
Heinz took a deep breath.
His heart raced, and the blood in his body began to circulate rapidly.
Blood Flow Amplification
His pale skin flushed a deep red.
His muscles expanded, and veins bulged.
“Haah~”
He exhaled a breath from his abdomen.
His senses sharpened, and he could vividly feel the emotions of those nearby.
Unfortunately for them, to them, he was just a typical Trueblood, not a level 7 according to their standards.
The amount of Blood Magic or the concentration of his vampiric traits might even be lesser than that of the Betas.
But…
Boom—!
He shot forward with explosive speed, slamming into the ground like a cannonball.
“What?!”
One 6-level vampire closest to Heinz failed to react to his movement.
Thwook—
In a moment of shock, Heinz’s hand pierced through his back.
“Gah…!”
The vampire with his heart pierced spurted blood as he trembled violently.
But his surprise didn’t end there.
‘My blood… It’s being sucked in?!’
His blood was being drawn in at an incredible speed right into his heart.
More accurately, it was through the arm of the opponent who had pierced his heart.
‘Kin devouring?! Through an arm? What kind of nonsense…?!’
As he pierced the heart, Heinz inflicted a wound on his wrist to suck the vampire’s blood in return.
Tiny blood particles from the wound mixed with the opponent’s blood, and he disregarded their control as he absorbed it back.
It was an act only possible because he had become a Trueblood and gained overwhelming blood control.
Also, by directly contacting the center of the blood flow with his hand plunged into the opponent’s heart, this was possible.
“Urgh… This bastard, kin-… Aah!”
Squeezing out his last strength to warn his comrades, the vampire screamed.
The blood he coughed up had become a beautiful red flower that flowed at his lips.
The blood-devouring Blood Blossom slowly spread across his entire body, reducing him to ashes before it finally disappeared.
‘It’s a ruse to hide my kin-devouring, but…’
While trying to conceal the sight of his blood being sucked dry and turning to ash, he covered his entire body, but it was only at the vampire’s lips that he had burned.
Thanks to the Blood Blossom, he could select what to burn according to his will.
“…”
All the vampires present froze in shock from the event that transpired in mere seconds.
The Betas who reacted late hardened their expressions, glaring at Heinz.
Even while absorbing the blood through one arm, he maintained his guard and emitted an imposing presence, leaving them too cautious to get involved.
They didn’t realize that he was the one consuming blood, so while they quickly gave up on their comrade whose heart was punctured and ignited with no chance of recovery, they watched for an opportunity.
“How…?”
Growled the Beta One, his voice laced with suspicion.
‘He didn’t react immediately!’
Though he took pride in his physical abilities, Heinz’s movements exceeded his imagination.
By the time he reacted, the heart of his subordinate had already been pierced.
Moreover, that subordinate was one of the stronger Gammas below him.
Even if it was an unexpected surprise attack, seeing such a strong member fall in mere seconds was astonishing.
He himself wouldn’t have managed that so easily.
Heinz leisurely scanned the tense vampires.
‘It would’ve been better to deal with a level 6 Gamma for sure rather than risk a surprise attack on a level 7.’
Ding! New blood factors being collected. Due to the influence of special skill “Hybrid Evolution,” the individual’s magic control ability has improved.
Thanks to that, their strength weakened, while his own increased.
And there was one more thing they didn’t expect.
Hehehehe… Impressive, is this it? A culmination of spells from various worlds?
Hans was taken aback by discovering a product of spell combination in the blood alliance’s stronghold.
It broke the results of what he thought was impossible, an idea he had never considered.
Of course, Hans had also been referring to black magic from other worlds, reflecting on it to greatly improve his own level of magic.
The connection between “Evil Wisdom” and “Forbidden Knowledge” provided excellent analytical skills and absorbability strictly for black magic.
Still, a pang of regret struck him.
Had he relied too much on those skills that granted only additional enhancements for black magic, abandoning other possible attempts?
Had he been too content with an easy path and remained stagnant at present?
Although “Evil Wisdom” offered absolute understanding of black magic, essential to that were foundational insights about magic itself.
“Forbidden Knowledge” was biased toward black magic but still held countless mysteries accrued from a single world.
Was there really no way to utilize it apart from that?
Wasn’t that an act of confining his own limits?
Sure, people might say he was being foolish for longing for more given that it hadn’t even been a year since he embarked on the path of magic.
But for ‘Hans,’ the time wasn’t a significant factor in deciding to choose a path and dedicate himself to it.
At least that’s how he truly felt.
Afterward, Hans continued to study the techniques of the Buncheon Society while assaulting the vampires.
He observed their magic systems and experimented with them, striving to utilize his skills in various ways.
‘It’s still not that significant, but there’s been some progress. And this is rather an opportunity.’
Boom—
Hans struck the ground with his staff.
The ground beneath him turned black and spread out, and undead creatures began to crawl out.
Though it couldn’t cover the whole building like usual, possibly due to the influence of the opposing spell…
[Let’s see just how hard you’ve prepared. That too will serve as a foundation for my growth!]
If he didn’t know, he could only find out through experience.
Just in time, there was a stage set up by the Buncheon Society that had expended considerable effort.
If they employed black magic, that would be optimal, but even conflictual spells wouldn’t be bad.
As much as that magic was fatal to him, he could sense and grasp it more acutely.
Hahaha! I’m getting excited! Now, entertain me further! If you have something prepared, it’s best not to hold back!
Additionally, it was also an opportunity to identify his weaknesses.
Confronting one’s weaknesses was indeed the first step to overcoming them.
Should he manage to surpass that, he would grow even stronger.
Woooom—
Before Hans made his move, the barrier he had set up previously activated over the Buncheon Society’s barrier.
In this battlefield, surrounded by two layers of barriers…
No one would easily manage to escape anymore.
[Well then, let the deathmatch begin.]
