The noisy night passed, and morning arrived in the small southern Thai city, still reeling from the sudden commotion. Just hours ago, the entire city could have been destroyed. But life went on, and the citizens went about their daily routines, as if nothing had happened.
"Hey, did you see it last night…?"
"Of course. I thought I was dreaming."
"I was so scared, thinking a war had started…"
But things weren't entirely the same. The anxious atmosphere of people whispering in groups and the fatigue on their faces from lack of sleep clearly showed how much they were affected by the previous night's events. And this reaction wasn't limited to the local residents.
Videos of the incident flooded the internet, capturing public attention. Mystical terrorist attacks weren't uncommon, but incidents of this scale and spectacle were rare. The massive explosions high in the sky and the mystical being intercepting them like a beam of light were naturally captivating.
-Even in the video, the pressure is intense. The space distorts with every explosion.
└Seriously… If those had fallen on the city… But why did this happen? What's in that backwater town?
-Is that really an angel? It's hard to see from so far away.
└There's a close-up photo. An angel with six wings, wearing armor.
-That armor looks familiar… Is that Heinrich, the Saint from another world?
└Oh, it is!
Many deduced the angel's identity as Heinrich. He hadn't intended to hide it, as he planned to use this incident. Of course, few knew the full story.
"Let me formally introduce myself. I am Frey, the leader of Burning Torch. Thank you again for Masquerade's assistance."
Except for those involved,
President Frey, who had been unconscious throughout the battle, bowed her head and expressed her gratitude to Heinrich, representing Masquerade, and Ken, who was present due to his connection with Burning Torch.
Heinrich smiled gently and accepted her gratitude.
"It was our duty. Cheonbuhoe isn't just a problem for a few, but an enemy of humanity that we must face together."
And that 'humanity' included more than just Earthlings, he added, looking at Frey with a knowing gaze.
"Are you alright? It seems your body was possessed by that Mimic for quite some time."
"Ah, I'm much better now. Thanks to you, Sir Heinrich. I was lucky. I was able to hold on thanks to my unique skill."
She smiled wryly and flexed her hands. Her gestures were surprisingly feminine, unlike someone who had been posing as a bearded man to maintain her authority as President.
"I never knew my unique skill, which I thought only changed my appearance, had such an additional effect."
"It seems you haven't invested much in your unique skill."
"…I heard you're from another world, but you're quite knowledgeable. I focused on ether training rather than my unique skill to transcend. Well, it was helpful in creating a perfect body for training and avoiding gender discrimination."
Their conversation flowed smoothly, having just achieved victory against a common enemy. The atmosphere became even more amicable as Ken, who had been glancing at Heinrich with an uncomfortable expression, and Ann, who had been looking at Frey with concern, joined the conversation. Until Ken spoke,
"It's a shame we let that Executioner get away. We should have eliminated such a dangerous enemy when we had the chance."
Frey and Ann's faces darkened at his words. It was understandable. Both Frey, who had fought him directly and been captured, and Ann, who had witnessed the battle, knew how dangerous he was. It was obvious he would target them when he returned, so they couldn't help but worry. It was practically impossible for Burning Torch to stop him alone.
"Ah, did I not mention?"
But their worries were short-lived.
"We took care of the Executioner, so you don't have to worry anymore."
Heinrich's casual remark dispelled all their concerns.
"…Really?"
"When…?"
Everyone, including Ann, who had noticed Phantom's absence, was surprised. They had hoped, but they hadn't expected it to be resolved so quickly. Frey and Ken, who had fought the Executioner, also felt the same.
'So the forces that came here weren't all of Masquerade? Just what have they been doing all this time…?'
Frey sighed, looking at Heinrich with a deep gaze. A secret organization with a Saint, an angel, from another world. She had been fighting Cheonbuhoe for years, but she had never even dreamed of such an organization's existence.
'…But they're definitely against Cheonbuhoe, so I have no choice but to trust them for now.'
She couldn't completely trust this suspicious group, but she had no other choice. She had to bet on the most likely option, for the sake of those who had followed her. She nodded slowly, meeting Ann's gaze.
Heinrich, observing their reactions, smiled confidently.
'A perfect display of power. It wouldn't make sense for them to fail after sending those three.'
It had unintentionally turned into a 'Masquerade assembly' with the arrival of his dark side avatars on Earth… but it wasn't a bad thing. The gains were substantial, both for the greater cause of defeating Cheonbuhoe, and for the secret society Masquerade's debut.
"Good. I've achieved all my objectives for the Southeast Asia dispatch."
Establishing a relationship with Burning Torch went smoothly. It was more of an alliance between two independent factions for now, but it was enough. Having suffered heavy losses, they had no choice but to rely on him for survival. As time passed, a natural hierarchy would form, and they would become a subordinate faction without him having to do anything.
'And the Cheonbuhoe Southeast Asia branch… well, it's as good as dealt with, now that we've captured their leadership.'
He could leave the task of extracting information from their souls to Hans, who was stationed there. He would also gain information about the branches where other Transcendents were located, so he had already far exceeded his initial goals.
'I'll send the avatars back to their respective dimensions one by one.'
Sitting in the massage chair, I closed my eyes and reviewed the status of the avatars on Earth. The first to return was Harris, the High Elf. Although his helmet and clothes were magic tools with air purification and other effects, they couldn't completely alleviate the discomfort he felt from being separated from nature.
'He could endure it, but… there's no need to force it.'
Harris, attuned to nature and always relaxed, was a calming presence, alleviating the stress from managing multiple avatars and even helping him sleep better. And being in an environment filled with beautiful music was beneficial in itself.
'Now then, next is—'
Hesperon, the first to be summoned to Earth, was still hard at work. Utilizing the supercomputers in the data center, the titanium suit, and 「Mechanical Eye: Calicas」, he was shaping public opinion to increase awareness of the Cheonbuhoe threat, linking it to the recent incident.
'…But this isn't easy either. There's a reason they've remained hidden for so long.'
It wasn't as effective as he had hoped, despite linking it to the trending incident. Well, this level of information warfare was basic for those aiming for world domination on modern Earth. It wouldn't be difficult with Dr., a leading expert in technology.
"I knew it when there was no information about them on the internet… they're thorough."
Perhaps they had a modified AI like him. He should enhance the security of Hesperon's data center, just in case. To avoid being traced.
'Heinrich will handle external affairs. Then the remaining ones are…'
Harley, the neutral mercenary who walked the line between light and darkness. And the undeniably dark side: Hans, Heinz II, and Hela.
In a space swirling with negative energy,
"Hmm, my work here is done."
Heinz, a member of the dark side who helped capture the Executioner, wiped his mouth and stood up.
[————!]
He left the echoing space and stepped out of the perfectly isolated pocket dimension. Unlike the other two avatars, he had limited involvement beyond matters related to blood, so his task was quickly completed.
[Keuh! As expected of a being with divinity. You lasted longer than expected. Good, very good!]
"Hmph~ I think I can extract this and use it. It's no different from vampires. There's common ground even across dimensions."
As the excited voices of his other avatars echoed behind him,
Heinz, stepping out of the artificial space, took a deep breath.
'I can't get used to that air.'
It would have been nice if he could bring others into his 「Dragon's Lair」. Unlike the other two, who were more comfortable with demonic energy, he preferred blood, so he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. But now that he had absorbed and analyzed the power within the Executioner's blood, he wouldn't have to return to that place.
'And I made some decent gains in the process.'
The Eternal Greater Demon, was it? Even though demonic blood wasn't very helpful for vampires, the karma from absorbing such a being was beneficial to his True Blood growth.
'Of course, it's nothing compared to the other two.'
Hela, extracting and absorbing the karma accumulated by the 'Demon King', and Hans, intending to turn his body and soul into an abyssal puppet. Compared to them, Heinz, who only took a bit of blood and karma, was relatively tame. Although he did drink his fill from the other captured Transcendents, stopping just short of killing them.
Having completed his task, he immediately moved to 'his territory'. To a place under his protection, in Seoul, Korea.
"Ah, welcome back, Lord!"
"Hmm."
Heinz nodded at Jin Sohan's greeting as he entered his office. This was the heart of the Blood Alliance. The building of Heterosis, where Jin Sohan, who led the organization in his stead, worked.
'There's no trace of its underground nature anymore.'
Heinz nodded, looking around. The office, occupying an entire small building, looked like any other company, except for the drawn curtains, making it dark even during the day, and the fact that most employees worked at night.
"I've been checking the reports. It seems you're still busy."
"Hmm, it's much better now. When Howard Industries launched, I thought I was going to die… It's different with a professional manager."
She sighed and shook her head, as if remembering the time made her break out in a cold sweat.
"You don't have to do everything yourself. A captain just needs to make sure the crew is working properly. There are many specialists and talented individuals in the world."
"…It's very convincing coming from you, Lord."
Jin Sohan, one of those overworked crew members, looked at Heinz dubiously. And she reaffirmed her resolve to gather competent subordinates and delegate the tedious tasks, just like him.
"There don't seem to be any major problems. Anything unusual?"
"Unusual… Ah! The project I reported last time! The preparations are finally complete."
"Project?"
What was it again? As Heinz stroked his chin, trying to remember,
Jin Sohan, smiling brightly, continued.
"The vampire image improvement project."
A memory flashed through his mind. Although it had subsided somewhat since the launch of Howard Industries, the public image of the Blood Alliance, the vampire clan that controlled Korea's, and even Europe's, underworld, wasn't good. Articles criticizing Korea, their base of operations, were common. And the plan he had entrusted to her to deal with it was…
"Entering the entertainment industry!"
A project to improve their public image through the entertainment industry.