MAEPG: Episode 239

Episode 239 Zepia Republic (2)

In this era of hardship for all due to the global disaster,

The cracks appearing within the powerful Zepia Republic were more serious than what was apparent on the surface.

The Obaifo Clan, attempting to control the entire country through the upper-class figures they had in their grasp.

Various factions rising up, driven by patriotism to protect the nation from their clutches, or to seize new power by exploiting this opportunity.

Even minor factions, including dark organizations, were subtly emerging, taking advantage of the chaos.

It was a dangerous situation, one that might become irreversible if they delayed any longer.

‘This is the only way.’

Vice President Kayla McClair of the Republic couldn’t help but make a decision.

That this was the only way to calm the situation and restore order before the current conflict escalated.

‘…Was there really no other way?’

But she couldn’t shake the feeling of doubt that lingered in her heart.

The Hybrid vampires of the Talia Kingdom, who had infiltrated the Republic with her cooperation.

No matter how she justified it, she had still brought in outside forces, those demonic vampires, to resolve her country’s internal problems!

If only she had asked the Church for help…

‘No, that would have only made things worse. And they’re already stretched thin. It’s better to let those monsters fight amongst themselves…’

She sighed, stopping her train of thought.

Even to her, it sounded like a flimsy excuse.

But it was true that she had made this decision for the sake of her country, after careful consideration.

However, a slight bit of personal interest had been involved in that decision-making process.

‘Temi…’

Kayla bit her lip, remembering her only son, whom she had lost over twenty years ago.

The truth about what happened to her son, and revenge… that was what Hybrid had offered her in exchange for her cooperation.

The vampire hierarchy was a strict pyramid scheme.

Subordinates couldn’t lie to their superiors.

It wasn’t difficult to forcibly extract memories, even those faded by time, with a bit of aggressive blood magic, and the minor side effects weren’t a problem for the sturdy vampires.

In other words, if they could subdue Obaifo, they could learn the truth directly from those involved and punish them.

It was the best way to uncover the truth about an incident that had happened over twenty years ago.

‘…I hope he’s still alive somewhere… but even if he’s not…’

Shouldn’t a parent at least know how and where their child died?

Even if it was just the location of their remains.

“Ha…”

Kayla sighed deeply and walked towards the window.

She looked up at the night sky, praying that she had made the right choice.

The full moon, shining brightly, seemingly unconcerned by her complicated feelings, gently illuminated the world below.

Inside the run-down safe house where she was hiding,

Near the capital of the Republic, where the war between Hybrid and Obaifo, the battle for supremacy in the vampire world, had begun…

And even the place where Heinz the Second, the High Lord, was personally involved.

‘…A clear night.’

A beautiful night, befitting the birth of a new era.

__________________

Swish—! Crack!

A streak of blood, like a snake, shot out from the darkness, aiming for the target’s neck.

“Ugh, you won’t!”

But the opponent twisted his body, using his arm to block the attack, minimizing the damage, and then charged at the attacker.

A thick, blood-red aura emanated from both the attacker and the defender.

“You lowly pigs, reduced to livestock, how dare you defile this place!”

“You fools, blinded by ignorance! A new order has already been established! He is the King who will lead us to prosperity!”

A battle between vampires, a taboo in human society.

Surprisingly, this wasn’t happening in some remote, deserted location.

It was happening in Ulethor, the capital of the Zepia Republic, a powerful nation in the east.

And it wasn’t just a single incident. It was happening all over the city.

“Emergency! Emergency! They’re targeting the council members!”

“Block them! Don’t let them inside!”

And naturally, a battle of this scale couldn’t be kept secret.

And this was Obaifo’s home ground, where they had been operating for a long time.

They had already prepared for external attacks, and they were subtly retreating, using their human puppets as shields.

Hybrid’s attack force consisted of hand-picked elites from all over the continent, while Obaifo made up for their lack of numbers by using the Republic’s forces.

‘I expected this.’

Naturally, the vampires he had brought here had also been selected with this in mind.

The standing forces in each district wouldn’t be able to handle them.

‘They won’t be able to evolve easily. And while they’re distracted…’

Heinz continued his advance, ignoring the commotion around him.

“Stop! Don’t come any… Ugh!”

“Wh-what?! I couldn’t even sense him…”

Swish— Thwack!

A few fools, mistaking his suppressed presence for weakness, tried to stop him, but they were reduced to puddles of blood before they could even get close.

He ignored them and continued towards his destination.

The hideout where Obaifo, the enemy leader, was hiding, which he had learned about thanks to Olivia’s efficient intelligence network.

“Ugh— What a monster…!”

“Get back! We can’t even approach him—!”

Whoosh! Crackle—!

He didn’t even attack them, just glanced at them, and fountains of blood erupted, staining the streets red.

But it didn’t last long.

The blood on the ground crawled towards him, as if alive, and was absorbed through his feet.

The streets, once a sea of blood, were now spotless, as if it had all been an illusion.

And as he continued his nonchalant stroll, several system messages appeared before him.

《Enlightenment gained through the influence of the special skill “Hybrid Evolution”. You have acquired the skill “Fusion”.》

《The special skill “Hybrid Evolution” has absorbed its sub-skill “Fusion” and has been enhanced.》

He examined the skill activation notification, which he hadn’t seen in a while, with a glint in his eyes.

‘“Fusion”. I thought there weren’t any bloodline abilities I could steal from the Auterican vampires. I guess I was wrong.’

“Hybrid Evolution” allowed him to constantly evolve by collecting various blood factors and even steal their hidden potential with a low probability.

He had already gathered all the blood factors he could find on Earth, and the probability of stealing abilities from those weaker than him was too low, so he had almost forgotten about it.

‘…But it’s not a big deal, since it disappeared as soon as it was created.’

It was absorbed by “Hybrid Evolution”, the skill that had created it in the first place.

It was practically self-sufficiency.

Well, a single enhanced skill was more useful than multiple similar skills.

It was the same for his other skills.

<Individual Information>

-Individual Name: Heinz the Second

-Race: Vampire (Sacred Blood)

-Common Traits: "Mind Hub", "Persona", "Clear Mind", "Super Strength", "Xenoglossy"

-Individual Traits: "Blood Clan (Sacred Blood)", "Hybrid Evolution", "Blood Mystery", "Refined Blood Essence", "Existence Denial", "Rapid Acceleration", "Super Regeneration", "Insight"

-Special Notes: Has transcended the limitations of his species by ascending to Sacred Blood. Exerts absolute control over his blood relatives as the progenitor of the ‘Hybrid’ bloodline. Can move even faster due to the influence of “Rapid Acceleration”, and can see the threads of causality more clearly thanks to “Insight”.

His initial skills, “Acceleration” and “Hypersensitivity”, had merged into “Rapid Acceleration”. And “Insight” was the result of “Discernment” and “Foresight” merging.

Their effectiveness was undeniable.

He could now reduce Pureblood vampires and below to puddles of blood just by looking at them.

It would probably be quite useful even against those of the same level or higher.

It was time to test it out in actual combat.

‘Hmm, this is it.’

He had been walking openly to warm up,

And he had finally arrived at his destination.

A mansion belonging to a senator who had been in power for a long time.

This was Obaifo’s forward operating base… similar to Duke Bright’s mansion in the Talia Kingdom.

‘It’s common sense to secure a foothold in the ruling class before taking over a country.’

Heinz closed his eyes, focusing his transcendental senses.

As expected, the enemy’s stronghold was protected by powerful barriers… but he could still sense the presence of a powerful individual inside.

‘He’s definitely here.’

He could feel it.

The threads of causality, writhing as they collided with his aura.

‘But he’s not coming out.’

He had deliberately barged in to see the enemy’s reaction, but there was no response.

He must have something prepared.

“Hmm, I’m confident I can crush anything that comes out…”

Heinz, standing before the mansion, stroked his chin, pondering his next move.

It was clearly a trap, his target wasn’t showing himself, and the mansion was protected by layers of barriers, making it difficult to attack from the outside.

He could just go in, and if there was a dangerous trap, he could always use ‘Dismiss’…

‘But something feels off.’

He couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling.

It was the homeowner’s duty to greet their guests, wasn’t it?

But he was just holed up inside, as if saying, ‘Come in if you want.’

It was incredibly rude, something he couldn’t tolerate as a well-mannered young man from the East.

‘There’s no other way. I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.’

A famous quote suddenly crossed his mind.

If there’s no way, make one.

It was a good saying, whoever said it.

__________________

Inside the mansion,

Obaifo, disguised as an old man, sat leisurely, swirling his teacup.

“A bit earlier than expected… but not bad… I’ve finished all the preparations… It saves me the trouble of going to him…”

He was the one destined to become the King of all vampires.

He wasn’t going to be rude to a potential subordinate who had come to see him.

Of course, he needed a bit of an attitude adjustment.

This was just a part of the process.

By the time he reached this far, he would probably be ready to talk.

As he thought that, he sensed something entering the barrier.

The presence was faint, as if trying to conceal itself, but the aura and magic power were definitely that of Heinz.

“I wonder what he’s like… Let’s see if he’s worthy of calling himself the King of Vampires…”

He smiled faintly, anticipating their meeting, and raised his teacup.

Rumble—

His hand froze as he felt a slight tremor.

He frowned slightly and tilted his head.

‘Hmm, is he throwing a tantrum because he failed the test? But it’s useless to rampage inside the barrier. If he can’t even pass the test…’

Rumble— Boom—! Thump!

But contrary to his expectations, the room started to shake violently as something crumbled.

“…What’s this? He’s shaking the ‘Overlapping Phase Inversion Subspace’ from the inside… without even reaching the core where I am…?”

And he wasn’t attacking from the outside either.

This subspace, with its overlapping and inverted phases, was highly resistant to both internal and external attacks. Even if he managed to break through it, the intact phase would simply be superimposed, neutralizing the attack.

There was a way to overcome it, but it was a theoretical…

Kaboom——!

His thoughts were interrupted by a deafening explosion that shook the entire mansion.

And after the noise subsided,

“So, we finally meet.”

An unfamiliar voice, with a familiar tone he had only heard about, echoed through the room.

Obaifo slowly turned his head towards the source of the voice.

“I apologize for the aggressive knock. The homeowner seemed to be hard of hearing, so I had to improvise.”

He had simply broken down the door.

Heinz spoke nonchalantly, with an unapologetic expression.

As if he was doing him a favor by improving the ventilation.

Obaifo suppressed his instinctive retort, forcing a smile.

A king had to maintain his composure in any situation.

Even if—.

‘…That’s not just the door…!’

From the entrance to the reception room where he was…

…a massive hole, large enough to fit a carriage, had been blasted through the mansion.

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