My alter ego is becoming a big shot - Episode 284
#284
Entering Europe (3)
the day has dawned.
As if something had happened last night, a busy day as usual was starting in Paris, the center of France..
Citizens who work hard for school, work, housework, etc..
However, contrary to its everyday appearance, the other side of the city, which stayed up all night, was never peaceful..
Those who couldn't sleep because of last night's incident had no choice but to keep busy even at this moment..
“The current situation is?”
“There is no further information coming in since the last time we were in Nanterre about three hours ago. As a result, it is understood that a total of five Thermidor branches have been destroyed, including Versailles, which was first reported..”
“Huh—five? Five branches collapsed in just one night.?”
The General Intelligence and Security Bureau, which oversees issues related to the Awakened in France..
The commissioner in charge of the capital Paris and nearby areas burst out laughing at his subordinate's report..
What kind of place is Thermidor??
It is a powerful organization that practically controls Milieu, the underworld of France..
It was no exaggeration to say that, directly or indirectly, every criminal organization in this country was touched by them..
A dangerous group that has been causing trouble because of its enormous influence, and even the public authorities cannot do anything about it..
And the thing that elevated a criminal organization to that level was···.
“The tyrant won't stay still.”
He was a tyran, the master of Thermidor and the ruler of Millieu..
“If he decides to go on a rampage, it won't end up causing much trouble. You don't think this is a planned operation, do you? I'm not ready yet···.”
It may seem strange that a government agency in name and name is concerned about criminal organizations rather than responding to them, but if you think about it a little differently, it is not that strange..
‘Because that's not a living thing, it's just some kind of asymmetrical power..’
A very small number of absolute strong people with power beyond imagination to the extent that one wonders if they are from the same Earth..
It would have been better if it was a type that could at least fight head-to-head, but the real problem was that it was difficult to face from the front, such as the vampire ‘Tyrant’..
‘If the person in hiding decides to assassinate only high-ranking officials, including the head of state, the entire country could be paralyzed..’
If this guy avoided an open fight and continued to make secret attacks, there were limits to how we could recruit a transcendent of equal level to respond..
In that case, even if we succeed in defeating him, an unimaginable amount of damage will occur in the end..
That was the reason why the government could not tamper with Thermidor and only sanctioned cases where an implicit line was crossed..
Isn’t it the same for everyone who feels like their life is a waste right now??
This is probably a similar situation in most countries where villains have great influence..
“No special movements have been seen yet. They won't be able to make any moves until they know the exact situation..”
“···That's a good thing. Have you figured out his identity? If he had done something like that on his own, he must have been an extraordinary person..”
As someone whose sole purpose of existence is to protect the country from villains, I felt a sense of shame at being relieved by something like this, but it was something that could not be helped right now..
What was more important now was the identity of the person who did this..
First of all, you have to know who he is so you can decide on a policy..
“He speaks fluent French, is over 180 centimeters tall, has an aristocratic and intimidating air, and is a handsome man with black hair and red eyes wearing a white opera half-mask.···.”
Thanks to working diligently the night before and securing testimony from survivors and witnesses, we already knew the subject's impressions..
Of course, it was not that easy to infer the identity of the other person with only such fragmentary information.—.
“Thanks to the cooperation of the Directorate General of External Security (DGSE), we were able to identify the most likely candidate..”
Surprisingly, they were able to pick one almost certain target more easily than they thought..
The French intelligence agency, which was already focusing its efforts on understanding overseas trends, responded as soon as it asked for cooperation..
“Common name: Phantom.”
“···Phantom? Same with that mask. Is it also the Phantom of the Opera??”
“yes. It is also assumed that he is the head of a vampire clan that has already taken over Korea's underworld..”
“her! He's a vampire too? How can such a big man end up here??”
Soon, several pictures began to appear through the projector in the conference room..
From poor quality images that look like they were captured from CCTV footage to pictorial-like photos that look like they were taken by a professional..
The last thing that came to mind the most was the so-called ‘Phantom’s Legendary Meme’, which became a hot topic on the Internet..
“···It's definitely a special look. Even though it is covered with a mask, it is visible at a glance..”
“We have already completed cross-checking with eyewitnesses. It has not been confirmed in order to prepare for various possibilities, but it has already been determined internally that it is the same person..”
“Are you really a Korean vampire? Well, I'm embarrassed that the name of a country on the other side of the world suddenly pops up. It would be too far away to aim for overseas expansion to expand influence..”
The commissioner, who was looking at the photo, roughly stroked his chin..
To be honest, I didn't have anything to say about the country called Korea, as I had only encountered it a few times while handling exchange-related work..
‘I think it was said that other than Emperor Noe and Hahoetal, there is no one worth paying attention to..’
Looking at the situation, it seemed like that was a thing of the past now..
I've been somewhat neglectful of overseas news because I've been busy dealing with accidents that have occurred in my jurisdiction, but I think I'll have to pay more attention to that in the future as well..
When the General Security Agency was establishing a plan to promptly respond to variables with the basic policy of ignoring the situation..
the same time.
“···A Korean vampire. Is that the guy??”
There were people elsewhere in Paris who expressed strange feelings while looking at the photo of the Phantom..
It's a sunny morning outside, but inside a dark room where all the windows are covered with thick blackout curtains and only the monitor light flickers.—.
“Just as I heard, you really came this far. What kind of guts do you have??”
A being whose whole body was buried in shadow and who looked completely black muttered leisurely..
However, it was only a question raised briefly, and the subsequent response was completely different from the lukewarm state authorities..
‘Whatever the purpose, we can't just sit still like this..’
I didn't know exactly why he came all the way here, but this was a blatant provocation from the other side..
And it was done publicly so that everyone could see..
Several branches have already been destroyed and many executives have passed away. If the opponent is not trampled upon after such a one-sided attack, the entire prestige of Thermidor that has been built up so far will be shaken..
There was a need to quickly eliminate the culprit and solidify the position again before things became more troublesome..
‘He seems like a pretty useful guy, so it would be a good idea to capture him and take him under my command. If you do that, you will be able to easily make up for the damage you suffered this time. ···Because it’s annoying that that Romanian guy does whatever he wants..’
He frowned slightly, remembering the unpleasant neighbors who tried to subtly interfere with the territory he controlled..
That greedy guy was not only encroaching on the vast majority of Eastern Europe, but was also working hard to expand his territory..
In such a situation, Thermidor had suffered damage that could not be ignored, and it was obvious how they would come out on the other side when they found out about it..
‘Finish as quickly as possible and prepare your posture..’
The man buried in the shadows slowly stood up..
And he quietly whispered in a languid voice.
[“find it.”]
Words with a strange sound resonate.
wiggle—
The shadows that filled the room wriggled as if responding to those words..
[“and tell me.”]
where is he.
Wiggle wiggle— wiggle—!
With that soft word, the darkness that had filled the entire space and shimmered soon disintegrated and began to seep into shadows everywhere..
Beyond window gaps, entrances, hallways, etc., up the exterior walls of buildings and throughout the city..
They spread endlessly, moving through the shadows cast over the city of Paris, and eventually spread all the way to the satellite cities, completely covering the entire area like a spider web..
Although it is a delicate task that thoroughly searches the interior, its effective radius is a whopping 20 kilometers..
A power-like ability that makes it almost impossible to sense a presence because it uses shadows, a natural phenomenon..
That's it.
The unique skill of the tyrant of Thermidor was “Lord of Shadow.”.
And he invested most of his earned karma into strengthening his unique skills, and his iconic ability is.
“···found.”
didn't disappoint him.
***
Forest park near Versailles, southwest of Paris.
King Heinz II, who was standing quietly in the deep mountains, quietly opened his mouth..
“Did you come?.”
Those words, spoken without anyone around, seemed like I was just talking to myself.—.
“Wow, I thought something was strange. Were you waiting too??”
“Well, I guessed it would be around this time..”
“I have a better feeling than I thought.”
As if in response, a pitch-black shadow of a human figure rose from the floor without any sign and responded calmly..
Heinz, who was barely able to grasp the presence thanks to the synergy between his constantly heightened senses and “insight,” looked at him with new eyes..
‘Are you the type of person who has reached the top level by only honing his or her unique skills? There is no doubt that it is level 9, but the amount of vampire factor is ridiculously small. Something like this could have happened.’
Not long after Heinz II began his activities in Seoul..
I had heard about the level system that classifies the levels of modern vampires from Gamma, a hardliner of the clan, a vampire from another world whom I met on Earth for the first time..
Although this was originally impossible, vampires from various dimensions gathered in one place when a singularity called Earth occurred..
Although they are grouped into the same category because of their critical similarity in that they require 'blood', there were so many differences that they could hardly be called the same species, strictly speaking..
Even though they are the same ape, chimpanzees and orangutans are not the same..
‘So the method that came out was a level system that was divided into details by measuring the common characteristic that they all share, the blood-sucking factor..’
In the absence of any standards, it was certainly an efficient method..
It was true that the higher the concentration and quantity of the vampire factor, the greater the power a vampire could exert..
However, although it could provide an approximate level, it could not be an absolute measure of strength..
‘If you think about it, it's natural.’
Heinz is a type that has raised their power as a vampire to the limit by actively using the predation of their own kind, but isn't the only power they can have in the first place dependent on their vampire factor??
Every awakened person has their own unique skill, and even without that, they could have reached the level through other means..
A vampire with only residual blood may become an archmage after much effort, and conversely, a sword master may become a low-level vampire for some reason..
Heinz was able to experience this again as he faced the opponent, the tyrant, in front of him..
The amount of blood-sucking factor it possessed was barely even at the level of true blood, but its quality was as if it were a complete metamorphosis, emitting a level worthy of the state..
‘Well, unless you use unusual methods like me, it would be almost impossible to achieve transcendence as a pure vampire..’
An example of this was Alpha, who went crazy after forcibly increasing the concentration of the vampire factor..
And it seemed that the shadow monster was also feeling what Heinz was feeling right now..
“What···? you? What kind of ridiculous blood magic?···.”
in exactly the opposite sense.
“How is that possible? It would have taken only a few decades to purify the vampire factor to that level.···!”
After exchanging a few words right after meeting each other for the first time, he quietly explored each other and eventually spoke in a shaky voice..
As expected, for an opponent of that caliber, “existence denial” at close range was not perfect..
“Is there a need for a long speech??”
And in the same way, Heinz, who measured the timing while searching,.
Taking advantage of his panic, he immediately waved his hand and immediately activated the barrier that had been prepared here in advance..
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—!
The barrier of the “Mystery of Blood” was built in an instant, skipping the intermediate process according to the cause and effect of his “Sudden Acceleration”..
Perhaps because he felt threatened, a shadow exploded from the tyrant's body..
Like a hedgehog with thorns.
“There's a long way to go, so let's finish it quickly.”
“Huh, I can't see anything even though I've learned a few tricks..”
“well···.”
Heinz felt the thirst for “bloodline longing” burning hot, and grabbed the long bloody blade in one hand and the swirling red storm in the other..
“Is this really a talent??”
For reference, he grew up based on the work of victims who were robbed of their blood through predation of their own kind and “mixed-blood evolution.”.
It was not just the maximum amount of energy that was large..
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