Chapter 42
Quad-thud—
A terrifying kick, aimed with precision to knock away the flying crimson claws, was delivered with a menacing sweep.
Whoosh!
Unexpectedly, beautiful red petals bloomed, beguiling the gaze, and in that moment, the opponent seized the opportunity from behind, thrusting a fist.
"Ugh... What the hell is this speed...!"
Beta One, a level 7 vampire of the Blood Alliance, parried the attack, sharpening his fangs.
Drenched in blood as if dipped in crimson paint, his entire body had turned red, and he took great pride in his physical abilities.
Hailing from a dimension specialized in physical prowess rather than sorcery, he had risen to a high position there, thanks to the synergy with his unique skill, "Diamond Body Unyielding to Flames."
Since returning to Earth, he hadn't lost a close-quarters battle except against Alphas.
Though he often retreated in clashes with Guardians, those weren't one-on-one situations, and continuing the fight could unnecessarily escalate issues, so it was irrelevant.
That's why the current situation puzzled him.
Quad-thud—Bam!
With each intersection of arms and legs, the impact echoed, vibrating the air.
Close-range exchanges.
The opponent demonstrated a level of martial arts higher than anticipated, skillfully using the entire body to target vital points while evading attacks.
Still, it was a fact that he, who had spent decades in combat, had shortcomings.
Squelch!
After several feints, a punch landed solidly on the opponent's guarded face, seizing the opportunity Beta One needed to restrain him, relying on his sturdy body.
Quad-thud—Bang!
"Ugh!"
Suddenly accelerating several times faster, the opponent pushed him away, creating distance.
There was little damage, but that wasn't important now.
"Urk...!"
Whoosh—
In that moment.
Another level 6 individual became ashes, pierced through the heart, scattering as red flowers.
Ignoring the Beta God's attempts to restrain him and disregarding the countermeasures against the blood blades, he focused entirely on reducing the number of subordinates.
From his perspective, the situation was about to explode in flames.
"Ino-om—! Don't run away like a coward, stand and fight with dignity!"
He shouted in frustration, but the opponent merely chuckled lightly.
Though no words were exchanged, the intention was clear.
Do you have the right to speak about attacking someone with multiple allies?
In response to the mocking gaze, Beta One's face, already burning like lava, exploded as he struck down the undead approaching him.
"Ugh—! Beta God! What are you doing! Do whatever it takes to keep him from escaping!"
"We're doing our best here! You try tying him down even for a moment! You're the one continuously using allies as shields!"
Amidst the chaos of the lesser vampires aiding the elite vampires, their situation wasn't favorable.
The lower-level vampires, not contributing much to the fight, were dealing with the numerous undead minions, adding to the confusion on the battlefield.
Yet, the biggest issue was the extraordinary abilities of the opponent.
The vampire they faced was undoubtedly level 7, but even with their combined strength, it was challenging to restrain him.
Even they, with a speed so swift that they would miss it if not on high alert, the specialized physical abilities of Beta One, and the power to bounce back even when confronted, along with the unpredictability of his stealth.
From the moment he first infiltrated the villa, they knew he had a knack for stealth, but the way he could momentarily hide his presence and launch a surprise attack in the midst of a chaotic battle was chilling to the bone.
'Even these undead are annoying! And since when has he been using invisibility! Is it a hidden ability?'
At first, it seemed like just a momentary diversion to avoid attention, but after dealing with subordinates, he blatantly mixed in invisibility.
And most crucially, incredibly resilient.
Beta One had already managed to land a few successful attacks and inflict fatal injuries through coordination with Beta God,
but...
The opponent, as if turning back time, effortlessly recovered and continued to rampage, driving him to the brink of madness.
Moreover, he saw through traps laid by Beta God with magic, evaded them, and used blood magic whenever an opportunity presented itself.
Truly a versatile entity.
'And that guy, the more we fight, the stronger he seems to get...'
Beta One, unaware that it wasn't just a feeling.
***
Heinz took a light breath.
Although it seemed easy to plunder vampires outwardly, fighting against numerous enemies was not so simple.
With two level 7s and more than ten level 6s.
'Still, it's more manageable than I thought. Is it because of the living potions?'
Unable to escape due to the barrier, they couldn't withdraw their forces despite the increasing sacrifices.
Of course, those lacking in abilities had retreated to support from the rear, but there was no way I would let that slide.
'Even if I can win against Beta vampires in a fight, now I need to move strategically. First, reduce the enemy numbers.'
Taking advantage of the confusion caused by the undead, I stealthily ambushed, and even if it meant suffering losses by advancing recklessly, I focused on reducing their numbers, trusting in the recovery through the consumption of fellow vampires.
As a result, the number of level 6s was reduced to less than half, and the lower-level minions, excluding those with the teleporation skill, were on the verge of annihilation.
'Thanks to that, I was lucky enough to acquire "Invisibility." And the Paladin's combat techniques are proving more helpful than I thought.'
Currently diligently training in the sect, Heinrich.
His hand-to-hand combat, a part of the techniques he learned, was effectively countering vampires under Heinz's hands.
Of course, it wasn't perfect.
Unlike Heinrich's true "Paladin's Combat Techniques," which required the assistance of sacred power, it wasn't skillful and was only an imitation based on appearance.
However, it was undoubtedly practical combat technique.
The combat skills, developed and inherited through generations in the Church to face external threats, combined with Heinrich's overwhelming physical abilities, made using strength more efficient than before.
'It's ironic that Heinz, a vampire, is using the Church's Paladin combat techniques.'
If the Church were to find out about this, wouldn't they turn a blind eye?
***
Thanks to Heinz gaining the upper hand against the vampires, Hans could comfortably focus on researching the sect's magic.
[Ohoho... Is this how you link them? Suppressing dark magic is an interesting approach. The processes are varied, but you've woven them together for synergy.]
Even in the midst of intense combat, Hans analyzed the situation and casually shook his wrist.
At his gesture, a black mist started from the tip of his staff, swelling in an instant to cover the masked ones.
A curse spread across the entire battlefield in an instant.
It was dispelled again by the sect's magic users, but in that momentary gap, shadows sprouted, piercing through their bodies.
Yet, even as allies suffered, those facing Hans couldn't focus entirely on him.
[Hehehehe...]
"Argh! Just corpses!"
The black waves of undead enveloped in a sinister aura. The damages inflicted by those blocking their path escalated like a snowball, as they instantly recovered and charged forward unless completely destroyed.
"Damn it! They're like monsters! In such a suppressive environment, the mana circuit should have collapsed long ago with that consumption!"
The man in a suit no longer had any composure left on his face.
The vampire leadership that had promised cooperation was foolishly stuck to one individual, and they fell into traps, thinking they had entrapped Hahoe mask's capabilities, which were beyond imagination.
Even after being hit by the extreme energy several times, he momentarily shook but quickly recovered as if nothing had happened.
"What's going on? In a situation where the output is suppressed, allowing such attacks, and continuously using excessive mana... How can he be so unscathed? The mana should have backfired long ago."
The suppression of Abyssal Conclave's dark magic affected not only Hans but also the undead he summoned.
Summoning was necessary for Hans when there were no undead to serve as shields.
However, he couldn't just leave the valuable undead to be destroyed helplessly.
So, he excessively infused dark magic into the undead more than usual, and using excessive mana in this hostile environment was a significant burden for Hans as well.
If he were an ordinary human.
The source of his potent dark magic was a shard of the Immortal King located in his heart.
There were no mana pools or mana circuits like human mages.
He merely drew and used the dark magic from the shard.
Also, thanks to "Undying," he could quickly recover from any damage supplied by the dark magic generated from the heart.
Immediately after being hit, there was a temporary shortage of mana, causing him to shake for a moment, but it was not a significant blow to him.
'It was even more challenging to keep the equipment from being damaged.'
After the heart, protected by the formidable dark magic, priority was given to equipment protection to keep his identity hidden.
As a result, he became vulnerable to internal shocks, resulting in bones being shattered several times.
However, even though the output that could be delivered by Heinz's arrangement was reduced by about half, the dark magic provided from the shard was close to infinite.
In a prolonged battle, the situation naturally favored him.
Quaang!
Once again, the energy of extreme opposites shook the dark magic defense, causing internal shock.
He immediately reached out in the direction of the attack, retaliating with a beam of death.
[...I guess I roughly understand. Although it's still a bit lacking, considering the situation, it seems I can't receive any more help.]
When he was confident that he had gained some income, Hans stopped his attacks and slowly scanned the surroundings.
"Ugh, ugh..."
"Damn, you monster..."
Even though the battle continued, Hans was in tatters, but
Abyssal Conclave's situation was even more severe.
Over half of those who had already fallen and the rest were far from unscathed.
While Hans had made researching his main goal, it didn't mean that he had moderately engaged with the enemies.
On the contrary, he pushed harder to see how the opponents would react to extreme situations, without considering their well-being, as if it were an aggressive experiment.
[Well, I can figure out the shortcomings on my own. It might be faster this way.]
After a brief respite, as the individuals of Abyssal Conclave fell, the suppression of dark magic was lifted for Hans.
He scattered an even more strengthened dark magic than before.
[Hehehek!]
Clatter, thud!
"Damn it! Hahoe mask—!"
Abyssal Conclave, who had confidently set traps, was one by one rendered powerless and fell helpless...
The aftermath also affected the ongoing battle of the vampires on the side.
***
Whoosh—
"Ugh... you, you..."
[Collecting a new Vampire factor. Due to the special skill "Bloodline Evolution," you have gained enlightenment. The skill "Blood Magic" evolves into the special skill "Mystery of Blood."]
[The special skill "Mystery of Blood" absorbs the lower abilities "Blood Manipulation" and "Blood Circulation Amplification" and is further enhanced.]
'Oh, this is good.'
Heinz slowly pulled away from the disintegrating Beta's neck, confirming the new ability.
Eating a magic-specialized being like Beta proved to be worthwhile, making the evolved "Blood Magic" skill more convenient to use.
Unlike before when bound by certain rules, now he could engage in teleportation through blood, relying more on straightforward will and using blood as a medium.
The increased efficiency in producing the effects of "Blood Manipulation" and "Blood Circulation Amplification" was a natural result.
"Grooah! You! Feeding on your own kind! You were a ghoul! A ghoul! No wonder things felt strange—!"
For a moment, Beta One, with his lava-like red body and emitting white smoke from every pore, annihilated the undead surrounding him, showing how infuriated he was.
Deciding it would be challenging to hunt down excessively resilient Beta One first while there were constraints from the surroundings, Heinz received help from Hans to deal with Beta God.
It was not difficult to deal with the typical wizard-type Beta God while the enhanced undead bought a brief moment.
'Of course, he was different from a typical wizard as a vampire, but the difference was meaningless to me.'
Though he forced his way in to quickly deal, his entire body was torn apart by the storm of blood created, but...
It was a trivial matter for Heinz, who had devoured most of the vampires present here, as long as the accumulated energy did not run out.
"How on earth do you maintain your sanity? No, are you just beautifully insane? But since you dared to touch the taboo, it won't end well for you either!"
A typical case of arrogance.
Since there was no point in answering, I immediately used the newly acquired "Mystery of Blood."
Quahk!
Splatter, dribble—
The scattered blood in the air solidified into chain forms and charged towards Beta One, some turning into thorns and shooting out from his square.
"Groo, using such cheap tricks on me—!"
And in a moment, Heinz, who concealed his presence, approached him and thrust his claws into Beta One's neck.
Crack!
"Groo—?!"
The unexpected ambush bounced off his tough skin, but the impact was transmitted sufficiently.
And without support from the surroundings, Beta One was no more than a sturdy punching bag for Heinz.
Crack! Crack! Quaaang—!
Blood-red chains from all directions bound his limbs, and Heinz, moving at a rapid pace, struck his entire body with the fingertips filled with blood magic.
Whenever friction occurred, red petals combined, burning his skin.
Slash—!
Targeting specific areas, the area Heinz focused on.
As the continuous attacks reached their limit, Beta One's neck skin tore open, and droplets of blood spurted out.
It signified that the durability of his flesh had finally reached its limit.
It was the signal announcing Beta One's end.
'Level 7s have strong blood control, making it hard to absorb blood from other parts. I have no choice but to bite and suck.'
That's why Heinz had to feed on Beta One's neck for bloodsucking, but...
Now it was an irrelevant matter.
Since there would be no witnesses anyway.
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