Chapter 364: It is always women.
"It turns out that we don't need to use these ghouls..." Maria said as she looked at the hundreds of Ghouls walking around. Despite retaining their original appearances of the previous individuals, Maria knew they would start to rot with the time. After all, they were already dead.
They were basically zombies with a little more strength and a pretty outrageous infection ability.
"You can't tell yet." Maria heard Alexios' voice.
"There are still enemies hiding, like that unknown nine-tailed fox."
"...I don't see how that unknown nine-tailed fox could be a threat to my Master." Maria spoke to the man in a neutral tone. To be honest, Maria was quite suspicious of Alexios, after all, she knew this man wasn't exactly her Master's ally. They were only working together for now because this whole incident involved Vlad's daughter, whom this man served.
"Don't underestimate nine-tailed foxes too much, they are closer to being Divine Beings than you think."
"... So what?"
"...?"
"Be it Divine Beings, Demons, Vampires, Werewolves, or Yōkai ... My Master will be stronger than all of them together." Maria smiled fanatically.
"..." Alexios looked with slight shock at Maria, wondering where this fanaticism and unshakable confidence came from.
But... That wasn't a bad thing, it just proved that the man had good subordinates at his back. He could even tell that the woman was suspicious of him. It was small, but it was still there.
"I see...well you're not wrong." Alexios chuckled as he looked at the battlefield.
"..." Maria narrowed her eyes, but soon ignored the man and went back to looking at the Ghouls as she practiced her control over them.
Seeing Maria's attitude, he thought that this attitude was the right one, after all, he wasn't exactly Alucard's ally.
If Alucard were a normal Noble Vampire, they would be allies.
But that man was a Progenitor, Alexios knew full well that he was only in Nightingale now because of the connections he'd made with the place.
And those connections were Vlad's Counts... Though that may not be the case for long…
Because the changes that man was making with the four Vampire Counts were subtle but permanent.
He would not doubt that in the future the four Vampire Counts would decide to support Victor unconditionally.
'Perhaps... creating another country in the same world as Nightingale will not be impossible... A land in which two Progenitors have a country of their own... That would be interesting to see...' Alexios thought it would be a good change for his master. After all, with competition, maybe he will open his eyes more?
'Competition is important, because without it, beings stagnate and never progress.' He had a rather chaotic worldview... But it wasn't wrong.
Having no competition, Vlad remained in power.
Having no one stronger than him, Vlad remained stagnant.
'Fortunately, from what I've seen, Jeanne and Anna are just after Alucard's blood, they must be dying of thirst right now.' Alexios judged the women didn't have the thoughts to make Alucard fight Vlad.
And even if they did, Alexios very much doubted Alucard would accept.
Alucard can be many things, a monster, a being who liked to cause chaos, a madman.
But above all that, he was a family man, and a pretty harmless being if not provoked.
He was like a herbivorous Dragon who just liked to sleep, and go out to fight a few times if not provoked. If someone doesn't threaten his 'treasures',
He won't do anything.
But... That same herbivorous Dragon changes its attitude completely into a chaos dragon when those treasures are harmed, or threatened.
An example of this was what happened to Ophis.
'...The way he killed those beings...' Alexios thought that no matter the race or the place, he would repeat this same carnage.
It turned out that the Yōkai were the ones who harmed the girls, but what if they were a realm of Gods? If it was an entire country?
If it was... Nightingale?
Alexios was sure that regardless of whether he had connections there or not, Alucard and his entire 'family' would bare their fangs to this place.
'The man didn't ask... They volunteered.' That's where the fear of Alexios welled up.
He understood clearly from the conversations that Alucard was going to attack alone, but the girls voluntarily decided to help. He didn't force them to help or anything.
He didn't need to…
Even someone like Scathach Scarlett left her comfortable home, and went to 'help' her disciple.
An attitude that she probably wouldn't repeat if it were any disciple other than Victor.
Alexios had a slight suspicion that if Natashia heard about this incident, she would halt the reformation of her territory that was taking place right now, and would come to this place at lightning speed.
'He's dangerous...' Alexios judged that.
And it wasn't because of his strength that was increasing as time goes on. Alexios knew that, as a Progenitor, Victor was destined to be something of a 'King'. After all, that is the destiny of all Progenitors; they are the ones who lead their race.
He was dangerous because of his allies that he seemed to gain naturally.
Allies whose desire to aid him increase as time goes on.
Alucard doesn't need to order his allies to do anything, they will act themselves if the man was in trouble, an attitude very few of Vlad's subordinates had...
The number was so small that he could count it on one hand.
And that number was just composed by Alexios.
'...Vlad... My King, you really made the wrong decision.' Alexios couldn't help but think when he saw Scathach throw her spear at the giant fox.
If Vlad hadn't antagonized Alucard, if Vlad hadn't had the attitude of an Old King, and was more understanding, he would have had a great ally. After all, Alucard seemed to be very fond of Ophis.
He liked her enough to cause chaos in an entire country.
'A father doesn't need a reason to protect his children...' Alexios couldn't help but relate to those words.
'...He really has great charisma.' His power focused on the vision of Victor who was holding a nine-tailed fox in his hands.
'Wait... Isn't that one?' Alexios focused his gaze on the nine-tailed fox, he hadn't noticed her until now because he'd just started to observe the battlefield.
He only started to observe the battlefield when Scathach ran from that place to where Victor was.
And Scathach had an aura that drew a lot of attention, he didn't even notice the woman Victor was holding.
Speaking of the woman, he noted that she had long black hair, nine black tails, and wore a modern Yukata. It was quite short, making the Yukata seem like it was made to be used in battle, and this Yukata couldn't completely hide her voluptuous body.
Soon he remembered a woman in the past. The woman was very strange, she spoke few words, and always had a neutral expression on her face, but the people around her couldn't help but follow her naturally, it was as if, despite being expressionless, despite speaking few words,
Her charisma and strength made up for it all.
Otsuki Hana, Ophis' mother.
(Flashback)
"Alexios… Vlad?"
"...Lady Hana, he is in his usual place."
"…Mmm." The woman nodded and turned around as her nine tails made moves as if they were dancing around her.
The woman walked as if remembering something, and spoke as she turned around:
"Thanks..."
"... It's my pleasure to serve." Aleixos couldn't help but show a small smile when he heard the woman's voice.
"Mm." She was truly a woman of few words.
The woman started walking through the halls again, and suddenly his memories shattered like glass.
Soon he remembered a bad memory… It was a rainy day in Japan, and Vlad was looking at Hana with a grim expression.
All this was just a ceremony, his wife would like to be buried in her homeland, but... The sad reality was that there was no body to be buried.
Because of one mistake, and the arrogance in his strength, it cost the life of the most important woman in Vlad's life.
"…Alexios."
"Yes, master."
"I will have my revenge, we will no longer make these damn allies ours, we will slaughter them all."
"... As you wish, my King." He could only say that, because at the time he had the same feeling as his master.
Vlad turned and looked at Alexios, his face had long since disappeared, and all that was left was just a deep darkness whose only eyes and mouth were seen:
"The blood of the Elder Gods shall paint that planet crimson red... Our goal is no longer conquest, but destruction." Vlad walked up to Alexios and lightly touched his shoulder.
"Are you with me, old friend?"
"Always."
...
From that day forward, Vlad changed completely, and all his plans he made were around destroying those responsible. He was looking for strength, and for a means to kill the immortals.
A means of permanently killing whatever caused his wife's death.
Looking at the woman in Victor's arms, Alexios couldn't help but feel emotional... But he knew a sad reality, Hana wouldn't come back to life.
That is, that woman was someone else, someone from Hana's Clan most likely.
He focused his attention on the woman, and heard Alucard's voice.
"Haruna, do you intend to go now?"
"Mm." The woman slightly nodded her head, she slowly started to get out of Victor's arms and stood 'standing' in the air.
"My subordinates… Genji… Rearrange."
'...Even the way she talks is similar...' Alexios couldn't help but think.
"I see..." Victor touched his chin as if he was thinking about something.
"Take it." He approached Haruna and handed over a cell phone.
"...?" She made a confused face.
"This is a device that can contact me wherever I am…even in another world."
"...why?"
"Let's say I just want to become close to you, maybe we can fight each other in the future?" Victor's smile grew.
"..." Haruna's smile grew similarly to his, she seemed to like this idea.
She put the phone in her pocket, she decided to accept his offer.
"Mother... You will go?"
"...M-Mother?" She stuttered a little and looked confused at the little girl.
Haruna looked deeply with her black eyes at Ophis, she seemed to be thinking about something, and then she said: "Yes... But I will come back, later..." She seemed interested in Ophis.
"Mm..." Ophis nodded with a slightly sad face, but she had matured a lot during her time with Victor. She wouldn't throw a tantrum over something small like that, her dad would always be around her...
Yeah, of course, it will be different if it's with Victor, she's daddy's little princess after all.
"I will wait."
"..." Haruna nodded, and soon her body tensed when she felt someone touching her head.
"Don't think too much, she's still a child, and..." Victor stopped talking when he realized that he unconsciously started stroking Haruna's head, he couldn't resist those ears, and silky hair.
"...Sorry." He backed off, he felt it was inappropriate.
"...Fine." She spoke in a low voice when she saw that Victor backed away.
"Hmm, in this case..." Without further ado, he went back to stroking her head, he was very brazen.
Seeing the nine tails swaying, Victor felt like he wanted to stroke the tails, but felt it would be going too far, so he kept quiet...
"Back to the subject." He stopped stroking Haruna's head when he felt satisfied:
"Ophis is still a child, she will love your visit, but prioritize your affairs first."
"…Mmm."
"... I'm not a child." She pouted.
"...Correct, you are my little princess." Victor laughed.
"..." Ophis displayed a small smile, she didn't refute his words.
"You too Nero, although you're more of a tomboy." He laughed at the end.
"...Shut up." Nero ignored the sweet feeling in her heart, and hid her face behind Victor's back.
"Call me if something happens... Even though I know you won't." Victor spoke.
"... How?"
"We're a lot alike, so I can say that. In my case, I prefer to solve everything myself. If it weren't for the attitude of my Wives, I would have come to this place alone."
"... Wives..."
"She is one?" She looked over at Scathach who was quietly flying towards them, she had a big satisfied smile on her face.
"... In the future." Victor's smile grew a little, and his eyes turned dark.
"...." Haruna looked into Victor's eyes, and a small, imperceptible smile appeared on her neutral face.
"Future..." She repeated the words as she looked at Ophis, a little girl who made her feel like she was looking at someone in the family, and Victor who made her feel comfortable.
Her body began to be covered in black energy.
Victor looked at the woman.
"See you in the future, Alucard." She turned around, and soon disappeared from the place, the last thought that crossed her mind was that she had to review her family's record: 'These old men are hiding something from me. It's time for them to disappear.' His eyes gleamed with a cruel light.
She wouldn't condone insubordination. When she gives an order, all her subordinates must obey, and the same goes for her 'family'. She was the commander, and she wouldn't keep silent if someone was hiding something from her.
"... This woman... Isn't she able to talk when she wants to?" Victor laughed in amusement, he could clearly see that for a few seconds Haruna's eyes shone with a cruelty worthy of someone who had the title of Commander.
'She really only talks normal when it comes to fighting...' He couldn't help but think about it.
...
'Even her power is similar to that of Ophis, and Hana...' Alexios thought for a while and couldn't help but think of something when he saw Scathach approaching Victor and talking to him:
Seeing the smile on Victor's face, a smile that a disciple shouldn't give his master, he couldn't help but think:
'It's always the women, huh?' He laughed when he thought of a woman with blond hair, a woman who was Natalia's mother.
He looked at Jeanne and Anna who remained silent throughout the conversation just watching everything like a hawk.
'Does it seem that they still haven't judged him worthy?... Hard to say, these women are even more complicated than the Countesses.'
He looked at Ibaraki and Shuten who had a shocked expression while looking at Haruna, whose expression didn't change when she left.
They looked paralyzed.
'Well, these Oni are going to have a long headache now that they're on Alucard's radar, there's no way that man is going to let Ibaraki go without fighting him.'
With each time Alexios spent with Victor, he learned more about the man's personality, and he couldn't help but think that the air around the man was quite refreshing, much lighter than the 'weight' Vlad had.
'This is a good place for Natalia... She is safe here.' Alexios thought, and then turned around:
"Let everyone know, I'm heading back to Nightingale."
"... Okay." Maria spoke disinterestedly.
Alexios opened a portal, and when he passed through the door, Maria quickly stopped doing what she was doing, and ran towards Ruby and Sasha who were the people closest to her.
