Unknown Threat (5)
“Uhm…”
Diana’s tightly closed eyelids fluttered.
“sister! “Are you awake?”
As my distracted mind slowly came back, I heard my younger brother’s urgent voice nearby.
It seems that he was right next to her, taking care of her, waiting for her to wake up.
“···Ugh, I’m fine.”
Diana mumbled in a subdued voice and slowly raised her upper body.
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I felt a little dizzy, but other than that, I didn’t really feel any pain.
Well, it was only natural that, due to their complete lack of combat ability, they were unable to put up any resistance and were helplessly subdued.
‘It wasn’t a dream after all.’
As she carefully looked around, a familiar scene of a house came into view.
The home where their family has stayed ever since they settled in this new land.
Of course, as it was right after a big event, the atmosphere was not as peaceful as usual.
“Diana! “You’re awake!”
“I’m so glad. Rafi woke up a long time ago, but he didn’t open his eyes at all, so I guess I was worried that he was going to wake up…”
Her uncle and aunt hurriedly approached her and hugged her and comforted her.
The moment the incident occurred, my aunt, who had gone out to buy groceries at the right time, and my uncle, who was late getting off work, were able to avoid getting caught up in the commotion with good timing.
However, you can’t just be happy and say you were lucky when your children and nephews almost got scammed.
They finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Diana wake up.
Fortunately, the youngest Rafi, like Aaron, was protected by magic, so there were no special aftereffects.
Rather, he said he was just a little surprised because he had been unconscious from the beginning of the incident and had no memory of it.
“···thank god. “Raffi is still young, so that’s better…”
Diana, who had been nodding her head absentmindedly while listening to the story, suddenly stopped speaking.
As her thinking ability slowly began to return to normal, a memory suddenly passed through her mind.
“that’s right! Ha, grandma! “What about Grandma Miropa?!”
She was startled and jumped up from the bed.
Her younger brother, who was next to her, caught her as she was shaking because she suddenly stood up, but she didn’t have time to pay attention to that right now.
The last image of the old woman she saw then appeared in her mind.
‘no!’
The grandmother next door, who had been doing her best to buy time until the last moment to escape, was seen hugging Rafi and collapsing, vomiting blood.
This was the first time Diana realized that her grandmother was such a strong person.
If it weren’t for her desperate efforts, she probably wouldn’t have been able to see the faces of her family like this.
“Don’t worry too much, sister. “Because your grandmother is safe too.”
“Yes, I am still on my way to see the condition. “Because he lives alone, I brought him to the guest room for nursing care.”
“Draw, draw. Moreover, the saint of the main church personally observed the condition! “I never thought I would see the saint with my own eyes during my lifetime…”
Diana, weakened by the family’s words, sat down on the bedding again.
I let out a sigh of relief at the thought that the worst situation had been avoided.
“A saint…?”
“huh! You haven’t seen it yet, have you? I even saw him tear up the sky and come down! Wow… I’ll never forget that for the rest of my life. After all, he wasn’t a saint for no reason?”
Aaron tells the story using hand gestures and foot movements as if explaining the majestic sight he saw.
A soft smile appeared on Diana’s lips as she looked at him.
However, contrary to what her sister said, the image of Saint Heinrich clearly remained in her memory.
‘I wasn’t in my right mind at the time, so I thought it was just a possibility. As expected, what I saw back then was not an illusion.’
No matter who thought, the description of his younger brother and the person in his memory were the same person.
Heinrich, a saint of the main church, suddenly appeared in the fading consciousness right after being overpowered by the attacker, just as he was barely holding on thanks to his extraordinary mental power.
‘however···.’
Her expression changed subtly as she listened to the story.
Although I still had some memories of that time, not everything was clear because I was in a state of confusion.
The only information I can recall now are some elements that were impressive.
And the clearest one among them.
Naturally, it was an idea about the sense in which she was most confident.
I felt it in an embrace that was cool rather than warm—a familiar scent mixed with the scent of blood that I couldn’t hide.
It was a scent I hadn’t smelled in such a long time that it gave me a vague feeling, subtly different from the scent I smelled from Hubert every day.
‘Uncle Heinz…’
It was the first time since I moved here to Tarak that I encountered him again as a vampire.
However, as she was with Hubert every day, it was not difficult for her to find traces of the ‘uncle’ she knew in him.
I had thought from the beginning that the two were the same person, so it was only natural.
‘however···.’
Just one thing.
There was one thing even she couldn’t understand.
That is—.
‘He must be a saint.’
It turns out he wasn’t the only one who felt the familiar smell.
Contrary to Heinz, the main scent was warm and cozy, but there were also some familiar smells mixed in.
At the time, I was so distracted that I couldn’t think deeply, but now that I think about it, it was definitely strange.
A vampire and a saint were, in one’s opinion, an unlikely combination.
“···no way?”
An exclamation burst out of her mouth as she was so lost in thought.
Her eyes widened and she raised her head.
“sister?”
She was lost in her own world and couldn’t even hear her younger brother’s voice.
He was just immersed in thought with a serious expression on a certain assumption that suddenly came to mind.
‘If that’s the case…’
Diana clenched her two delicate fists.
***
“Thank you, saint!”
“Did you see it? “The one that covered the entire sky at that time…”
“Wow, this guy. That’s nonsense. “Is there anyone in this tarak who hasn’t seen that?”
“Oh oh! Is it them? “They only heard about it through rumors.”
“Mercenary King Harley isn’t here? It’s a shame. “I really wanted to meet the person who was the hero of Tarak.”
The terrorist incident targeting Hubert Trading Company executives ended without significant damage.
The evil beast wickedly planned a bold plan targeting the entire area near his residence in order to kidnap the second-in-command of the business, but thanks to the hero party that visited Tarak at the right time and quickly figured out what was wrong, they were able to respond in time.
‘It would be better to leave it that way.’
Even if you said things like gods and apostles and fragments imprisoned in the abyss, not many people could understand.
Above all, perhaps because of the main deity’s record-erasing method, not even a single bit of information remains, let alone anyone on earth who knows about its existence.
‘It seems there are restrictions on disseminating information about him.’
Gods can exert a stronger influence as more people recognize their existence and worship them.
Of course, the fallen god and his apostles seeking resurrection would have also used that method.
However, the fact that the situation has not changed much means that information about its existence itself is prohibited by the laws of the world.
‘The fact that he only operates a small number of apostles is probably part of that limitation. I’m probably an exception because I’m from another world.’
In that sense, the apostle who followed him was a very alien being.
You must have been born and raised in Outerica, but how did you end up there?
Of course, they will all have their own circumstances.
Yeah, for example.
Like Tamiran McClair, who is here right now.
“Quuu will will…
A suppressed moan came out from the darkness of the secret room.
The moan, which was cut off without even being able to properly scream, clearly showed how much pain he was feeling.
“Does that mean God is still God even if he is defeated? “There is a lot of resistance.”
Temiran was stiff and bound with bloody chains on the test table.
Heinz, standing in front of him like a doctor performing surgery and pressing his hand into the boy’s heart, quietly recited.
‘It’s not a very nice scene to see, but it can’t be helped.’
A child who looked like he was being experimented on, and an adult man who pierced his chest and grabbed his heart.
It was the scene of a crime so horrific that there was no excuse for it, but it wasn’t like they were specifically torturing him for interrogation.
Rather, it would be more accurate to say that it is a procedure for treatment.
‘It is natural that such a major surgery would be painful. Still, it’s better than just dying, right?’
The reason he was doing this in this secret room was all for Temiran.
Regardless of his will, he was still an apostle of God trapped in the abyss, so there were only two ways left: die or remove the apostle’s power.
However, the process of ripping off the divine power granted to an apostle… and forcibly removing traces from the spirit and body, is unlikely to be easy!
“It’s almost done, just wait a little longer. Don’t be too upset. “Because I share the same pain as you.”
“Turn it off!”
Temiran’s bloodshot eyes widen as if telling him not to lie.
But Heinz’s words were never lies.
It just looks peaceful because, as always, unnecessary sensations are being filtered out through the “Mind Hub.”
…Well, actually, it was a lie to say that it was almost done.
‘The base must be an Obypo… but it’s been modified quite a bit. It seems like there is quite a bit of influence from the abyss. ‘It’s a shame, because it would have been easier if he was a pure Obaipo blood relative.’
This is probably one of the changes that occurred after becoming an apostle.
But it wasn’t all bad news.
‘Fortunately, it is still incomplete. Even though it has been 20 years since Temiran was selected as an apostle, it is still at this level…’
As mentioned earlier, it couldn’t have been easy for a god whose name and even existence were erased by the laws of the world to create an apostle.
Up until now, he may have spent a huge amount of time calmly proceeding with his work, but as the situation began to rapidly accelerate, his limitations were slowly being revealed.
‘It’s to the point of sending even imperfect apostles into the world. It seems he was quite anxious too.’
He must have thought that if he didn’t do this, all the remaining arrangements would soon fall apart.
If you think about it, it wasn’t a hasty decision.
Looking at the progress, it seemed like Temiran would need at least 10 more years to become a complete apostle.
10 years was twice as long as the time he had been active in Outerica.
Considering what happened in that short period of time, no one could guarantee what the situation would be like 10 years from now, so I could fully understand the sense of crisis he must have felt.
“Cough! Almost done…! “How long…”
“ah.”
At that time, the sound of everyone dying was heard from below.
His entire body is already covered in blood due to the reaction of the blood flow being forcibly assimilated into his body through his heart.
Heinz also forcibly controlled his body and only looked fine on the outside, but inside he was no different from me.
‘If we delay any longer here, there will be no good results.’
All preparations have already been completed.
All that’s left to do is implement it.
“Clench your teeth. “It will hurt a little more this time.”
“What?! “It hurts even more here and now…!”
Temiran, who had not finished speaking, let out a frog-like roar, but it did not reach the ears of Heinz, who was already concentrating hard.
As a vampire of divine blood and “lord of blood,” he maximized his control over blood and increased his dominance by directly injecting “purified blood essence” containing the power of “mixed-blood evolution” into the heart.
‘In the end, it is a fight over which of the two has stronger control, whether it is an apostle or a vampire.’
If Temiran had been a full-fledged apostle like a revolutionary, usurping control would have been nearly impossible, but fortunately he was not at that level yet.
The disrespect for God that I felt several times during our previous conversation must have been an expression of that inner feeling.
Plop-plop-plop-!
The small body bound by blood chains began to tremble and forcibly evolve.
The bones and flesh were crushed together and reborn little by little as if they were made of clay.
Stronger, tougher, more durable than before… more mature.
“Off! Wow! stop! That’s it!”
Temiran, who had already grown into his mid-teens, went crazy and bright red blood sprayed out, but Heinz did not blink.
I just calmly collect the blood and use the “mystery of blood” to build a blood magic circle around me to assist the ritual.
‘found.’
So, some time passed.
Something foreign to his “insight” was detected.
An unknown divinity rooted in Temiran’s soul, felt through blood, the source of vampires.
The one imprisoned in the abyss was from a human god, but paradoxically, a pure human could not fully accept the power of the apostle.
The durability of the body that will become the vessel is also a problem, and the moment it becomes spiritually connected to the being in the abyss, it will immediately begin to deteriorate and become a mindless monster like the White Giant.
‘Now that I think about it, you said it was he who first introduced the elements of vampires and werewolves into Outerica?’
I don’t know if that was intentional, but it doesn’t really matter now.
Whatever his intentions, they were all meaningless in front of Heinz, who had begun to realize the divinity of blood.
As “denial of existence” was manifested through assimilated blood, the connection with divinity became even looser.
And at that moment, the “Return to the Source” acquired while ascending to the Divine Blood level was activated.
A power that is gradually being perfected as the ultimate and pinnacle of vampires.
As it spread through the blood through Temiran’s heart and throughout the body, it began to cause a strong reaction against the power of the apostle, a foreign substance that interfered with the existence of a complete ‘vampire’.
“Kwaaagh—!”
Temiran, now in his late teens, screamed as if his heart was going to pour out.
So Heinz was willing to help with that.
Wow!
By pulling out the whole heart where the finger was stuck.
“Keck!”
“Whew. “You’re giving me a hard time.”
He quietly looked at the heart pulsating powerfully in his hand.
There was no need to worry about Temiran, who eventually passed out.
For him, who became a full-blooded vampire by becoming subordinate to Heinz II and inheriting his bloodline, the heart was just a part that could be regenerated.
It was a small benefit that the faith that had been forcibly tied to it was reversed and became the ultimate match for its object.
‘Okay, now…’
Heart pounding— pounding—
A writhing bright red heart filled with the divinity that grants the power of an apostle and a mutated vampire factor inside.
Somehow, I felt like I made eye contact with someone far away through it.
“It’s nice to see you like this.”
Heinz burst out laughing.
This was a power that could not be taken carelessly.
A dangerous item that can turn you into a puppet like Temiran if you are not careful.
‘thank you for this food.’
Of course, that was only in general cases, and it was of no concern to Heinz II, who was already building his own divinity.
To him, this isolated divinity was nothing more or less than just an easy-to-digest and nutritious tonic.
Phew!
The heart in my hand exploded.
However, the blood did not scatter everywhere.
The blood is instantly sucked back into his fist, as if being pulled by some kind of attraction.
《Collect new blood-sucking factors. Due to the special skill “Mixed Evolution,” the individual’s divinity grows further. Acquire the skill “Subordinate Domination”.》
The corners of Heinz’s mouth drew a satisfied line.
It felt like a scream of anger was coming from somewhere, but it was probably just my mood.
There were only two people here, Temiran and Heinz, who had fainted.
