Chapter 624: A little girl who has two monsters for fathers.
Chapter 624: A little girl who has two monsters for fathers.
Nightingale, a few hours later.
"…Aphrodite…" Sasha looked with lifeless eyes at Aphrodite.
Aphrodite, who was giving instructions to the Goddesses, looked at Sasha, who was beside her:
"Hmm?"
"Are you going to make the same mistake as Violet?"
"Eh...?"
"Where is your inner Yandere? And what happened to being the 'only' Goddess my Husband will ever be with? How do you think that will happen with so many Goddesses 'thots' scattered around here?"
"... Oh." Was Aphrodite's only response when she realized that Sasha was correct.
Sasha's eyes flashed blood-red, "... Don't tell me you forgot?"
"Hmm, eh... yes..."
"Ugh." Sasha put her hand to her brow as if she had a nasty headache.
"B-But to be fair, I was more worried about surviving an Apocalyptic Beast and gaining as many benefits as possible!"
"It's not my fault!"
"I won't deal with this shit. You control these Goddesses, or the women's group will never get along. You know how Violet, Scathach, and my mother are towards other women who just want to use Victor."
"Hmm, don't worry! Because I share the same opinion of the three! No whore will approach him!" She spoke with conviction in her eyes.
"... Haha, I hope you are correct." Sasha sighed and looked at Natalia:
"How did you manage to enter a Divine Pantheon? The Gods would not allow such a thing to happen."
"That is correct, but Aphrodite invited me to her Temple, and only she has jurisdiction in her Temple. After all, she is a Titan of the same generation as Kronos."
"Oh, that explains why the rescue was successful." Sasha nodded.
"Hmm…" Natalia just nodded as she held her arms a little.
Sasha narrowed her eyes at this; only now did she realize Natalia's state, "What happened, Natalia? Are you okay...?" She walked to her side.
"I'm fine... It's just..." Natalia swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
"Even though Typhon was far away, just his aura caused primordial fear in the Gods. A 'Mortal' can't handle it very well." Aphrodite explained in a gentle tone.
Again Sasha's eyes sparked, and she looked at Aphrodite, "You have to be careful with Natalia!" She hugged Natalia like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
"Eh?"
"You have no idea how much Victor values her. If even a hair of hers is harmed... Gods have mercy on that Soul because he won't."
"Ugh, I know about that! Why do you think I only called her at the end? I would not put her in unnecessary danger." Aphrodite pouted.
"Not enough! You have to be more careful! You know how Greeks are! These women are very uninhibited! They will attack Natalia!"
"That will not happen!"
"..." Natalia's face started turning utterly red as she listened to the two women's discussion. She was embarrassed both by Sasha's statement about Victor caring about her and the discussion of Greek Goddesses being 'uninhibited'.
"Hmm, can you guys not treat us like we're sexual predators or something?"
"...." Sasha stopped arguing with Aphrodite and looked at the speaker, and soon she saw a Goddess with golden hair, golden eyes, and a plump body.
"And you are not?"
"I mean... Yes, most are... But that doesn't mean that all are! Don't discriminate against an entire Race because of a few people."
"... A few people...?" Sasha looked at the woman with an amused expression.
The woman flinched a bit and said, "Okay, most of them are like that, but that doesn't mean they're going to attack the woman! Aphrodite has made it quite clear that all the 'Mortal women' here belong to her Husband. I must say he has an extensive Harem..." She spoke as she looked at the white-haired women helping the group settle down.
"Just here, there are about 50 women..."
A vein bulged in Sasha's head, "Aphrodite!"
"Ahh, give me a break. I didn't have time to explain things! I just said that to make sure they didn't do anything!" Aphrodite snapped.
"Fix this ASAP! I don't want to give those Snow Clan women the wrong idea!"
"This misunderstanding cannot grow!"
"Aren't you overreacting a little? It's not a big deal."
Sasha glared at Aphrodite, "Tell me, Aphrodite, are you an idiot?"
"How rude! I'm not stupid!"
"Then how can you forget how 'Divinely Handsome' your Husband is? It only takes one misunderstanding for those scavengers to run after him! And Violet and Agnes won't like it!"
A horrified expression appeared on Aphrodite's face, "You're right. I'll fix this!"
Aphrodite ran toward the group.
'Oh...? Is her Husband so special for her to act like that?' Demeter was curious.
"Where is Aphrodite's Husband? Isn't it rude to ignore your new 'Allies'?" Demeter asked.
Sasha and Natalia looked at the woman suspiciously, but since the question was legitimate, she wasn't rude enough to ignore it.
"He is meeting the King of this place. Bringing multiple Goddesses from another Pantheon has many political complications that could lead to war."
"… Hmm, I don't think the Greeks have time to worry about that right now," Demeter spoke.
"I know, but that doesn't mean there won't be in the future."
Demeter just nodded, understanding Sasha's thoughts.
"Anyway, who are you? Why are you here?" Demeter asked.
"Isn't it rude not to introduce yourself first?"
"True... My name is Demeter; I am the Goddess of Agriculture." She was going to mention the other Titles she gained from being one of the 12 Gods, but she decided it wasn't worth it. She wasn't associated with the Greeks anymore after all.
Internally a little surprised that Aphrodite managed to recruit a Goddess like her, Sasha spoke with a neutral expression that hid her inner thoughts:
"Sasha Fulger, Heiress to Clan Fulger and Wife of the same man as Aphrodite."
"... Oh? Are you one of this mysterious man's Wives!? Tell me about him!"
Sasha flashed a gentle smile; Demeter was excited to think she would learn a bit about Aphrodite's Husband.
'She said it was someone like Adonis, but simultaneously, complicated. Wait, if he's so important that he can talk to the King of Vampires, maybe he went to the meeting of Supernatural Beings? Gaah! I should have watched it! But I was lazy that day...'
"How about no?" Sasha answered.
"Eh…? Why not!?"
Sasha huffed, "You'll find out about him eventually. No need to rush." She turned and spoke to Natalia:
"Come on; I have to do this damn job."
"What job?"
"Accounting for all the things Aphrodite stole. Because of my power, my mom and I can finish this job quickly, but my mom is at the meeting that's going on right now."
...
In the Palace of The King of Vampires.
Victor, Scathach, Natashia, Agnes, Jeanne, and Morgana were looking at the man sitting on the throne with a visible look of irritation.
"Alucard, are you looking for a war with me?" Vlad's eyes glowed blood-red, and the pressure in the room increased several times.
Alexios almost facepalmed when he heard his King's question.
Victor looked at Vlad neutrally; he was in full armor from head to toe, only his helm was unseen, and his long, messy black hair fell behind him.
"War...?" Victor turned his head to the side, and slowly a crooked smile appeared on his face:
"Why not? Let's go to war." When those words came out, Victor no longer held back his 'presence'.
His hair started to float around like it was defying gravity, his body started to become pure darkness, and the only things visible on his face were his blood-red eyes and the sick smile on his face.
Soon, 'red eyes' began to open all over his body, and those eyes stared at Vlad.
Vlad opened his eyes a little when he noticed the man's growth in front of him.
'… He can already handle a pressure that even my son, who was 3000 years old, couldn't…' Vlad felt an itch in his heart; his blood sensed the 'challenge' of another 'equal'.
Vlad's eyes narrowed, and the pressure built even more; he wasn't holding anything back.
Natashia, Agnes, and Morgana opened their eyes a little. They had forgotten how 'terrifying' the King of Vampires was.
But... The three looked at Victor and saw something they would never forget.
[Roxanne.]
[Yes, Yes! Leave it to me! Full power!] Victor's inner world began to shake visibly, and all the red trees in the forest started to glow blood red.
His heart began to pound visibly, and Victor pushed his body beyond its limits.
[I will help! Show him the power, King! You mustn't lower your head!] Alter Victor laughed like crazy as darkness began to cover his entire being.
[W-Wait, dumb Alter! Do not do this!]
The Energy output suddenly went into the stratosphere in percentage, and that Energy was causing damage to Victor's body.
[Alter! You fool! Wait, Victor; I will help recover from the damage!]
The damage Roxanne's Energy was doing to Victor began to heal simultaneously as it harmed him.
Destruction and regeneration were happening at high speed in Victor's body, the pain was absurd, but he pretended that nothing had happened.
His smile completely distorted, covering his entire 'face', and something happened...
'Negativity' spread everywhere.
Feelings of hate, fear, anger, depression, hostility, despair, failure, and jealousy were felt by all present.
It was obvious that this was not a normal circumstance. The Being in front of them evoked these feelings just by his presence.
[Darling! Focus on just one feeling, or you'll hit your allies too!]
Victor narrowed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling of 'fear'.
He thought back to the encounter he had with The Limbo Guy. He thought of the 'fear' it was to be confronted with unlimited power, a fear he hid due to his excitement.
Evoking that feeling, Victor's dark aura grew even more potent, making his hair fly upwards.
The whole Castle started to shake, and everything around him began to be destroyed just by his presence, not just the Castle; the entire city began to shake as if an earthquake was happening.
Everyone could feel an unknown fear filling their entire existence. It was as if they were looking into the abyss, and within that abyss existed an 'unknown entity' that evoked all the 'fear' an existence could feel.
Everyone who felt it froze and just stared at the King's Castle in disbelief, with cold sweat pouring down their faces.
They couldn't move.
Both Progenitors looked at each other. Neither of them wanted to look away, it was a matter of pride, and their blood would not allow them to look away.
Victor's allies were already in complete preparation for combat. They were just waiting, waiting for the moment when someone would attack.
When things were about to escalate further, a trembling voice silenced everything.
"F-Father...?"
Suddenly all the hostility in the air, negative feelings, and pressure from the two beings immediately ceased. The two looked towards the entrance of the Royal Chamber and saw Ophis together with Lilith.
Morgana looked at her daughter and nodded.
Her daughter, who had a scared face, just nodded her head to her mother. This was a plan that Morgana made, and even though she loved the idea of beating Vlad, the Vampire Nobles could not go to war with each other.
And only one person could stop the two Progenitors' conflict; only one person could be the Status Quo of the two.
This 'person' was very special to both of them, specifically their 'child'.
Ophis, the only one who could stand between the two Progenitors.
Both Progenitors looked at Ophis, and when they saw her fearful face, their hearts took a hit much harder than the worst enemies could ever give them.
Victor smiled gently, "Hey, Daughter, what are you doing here? Weren't you at the Snow Clan?"
"…Father, are you going to fight Father?"
The question was confusing, but Victor could understand what she meant; everyone in the room could.
"Nah, we're just talking, right?" Victor looked at Vlad.
"… That's right, it's just a friendly conversation," Vlad spoke with a slight smile on his face.
"...Liars..." Ophis spoke with tears in her eyes, and then she turned and ran with her sister chasing after her.
"Ophis, don't run! Ophis!"
One word... Just a single word made two Progenitors stagger a bit. They became dizzy and received critical damage that no one else could inflict on their hearts.
Jeanne, Natashia, and Agnes approached Morgana and spoke at the same time:
"Good work."
"Mm." Morgana just nodded.
Scathach did nothing; she was silently in a combat state from the beginning, and whether the fight started or not didn't matter. She would not let her guard down in front of Vlad.
The existence of the 50 Goddesses who arrived in Nightingale could not be hidden. It was clear that the Vampire Counts chose a side, Alucard's side.
If before there was a 'false' certainty, now it was 'correct' to state that they were on opposite sides.
The Countesses were allies of Alucard.
Officially speaking, Nightingale was split in two now, and those two sides' Leaders were the Progenitors.
And that was what Victor agreed to. Despite taking massive damage from Ophis's words, he wasn't going to let his guard down in front of Vlad. He understood all too well what kind of shit had been summoned when Aphrodite had brought up the Goddesses.
But that's okay... Victor wouldn't back down. Victor wouldn't give the 'Goddesses' to Vlad; they were too valuable for that.
From the moment he learned what Aphrodite did, he came here with the mindset of conflict and not bowing his head to the 'King'.
That's why everyone was fully equipped.
Alexios raised his hand, and that gesture was enough for the 'shadows' that guarded Vlad to wake up from the feeling of fear and protect the two princesses.
Soon the shadows disappeared to do their job, but they didn't leave before looking at Victor with new respect in their eyes.
Vlad looked at Victor with complicated eyes. 'This man, in less than a few years, can already handle all my pressure in his Base Form; this is ridiculous. What is this increase in power-...' He opened his eyes wide.
'The World Tree... Fuck, is the boost that big? I should have taken that power sooner!' Vlad cursed the fact that the World Tree rejected him earlier.
'The Negativity from before... It's proof enough that they merged. His body is being nourished by an Energy that nourishes a damn planet... The Negativity also explains what kind of World Tree he merged with.'
'And that damn Negativity explains why she didn't accept me before... The World Tree saw my feelings; she saw that I wanted to use her. As a being who feels all the Negativity, of course, she would see that.' He cursed several times internally, but his expression didn't change externally.
Victor lifted an arm up, and something broke through the Castle wall and landed in his hand.
Junketsu, The Blade of a Progenitor... had a very different appearance than before. Its scabbard was entirely made of the dark branches of a Tree, and an 'ominous' feeling was felt from the sheath of the Odachi. The ornamentations on the Odachi completely disappeared, and the blade was entirely smooth.
The blade handle was black with 'live' branches moving; it was evident that something had happened to his weapon.
The moment Victor held the weapon's sheath, the black branches began to move and join with his 'hand'.
Victor smiled in amusement as he sensed Junketsu's 'intent'; the weapon had gained a bit of consciousness.
"... In all my existence, I have never seen someone who grows in power as fast as you, Alucard."
"What can I say? I have a lot of motivation to get stronger." Victor spoke as he looked at Scathach.
The redhead just flashed a small smile.
"And luck… A lot of luck."
'Well, the Goddess of Luck is at my house now.' Victor thought of amusement.
Vlad's posture became more relaxed, and he leaned back on his Throne.
"Explain. Why did the Olympian Goddesses invade my territory?"
.....