Chapter 388: The Consequences of an Action.
[What the fuck was that?] Maria screamed in shock through the connection.
[Did she release some kind of energy from her mouth?] Maria said as she started to analyze it calmly. Even though Nero hadn't destroyed the dome, she noticed that the dome had warped in places as if a superficial part of the ice had evaporated from existence.
'For a young Vampire to be able to even damage that ice, that's quite impressive.' All Maids knew how tough their master's ice was.
He wasn't at Scathach's level yet, but he was definitely in second place along with Ruby.
"Pfft... HAHAHAHAHAHA~" Victor laughed in amusement. As expected, she really turned into something special.
He knew this power, and it was indeed similar to Anderson's power.
"When Werewolves fight, they coat themselves with a kind of energy that elevates their physique to absurd levels." Victor remembered the lessons he'd gotten from Scathach.
This was one of the reasons why Scathach had always emphasized the importance of the physique to Victor.
In gaming terms, Vampires were like wizards who wielded powerful magic.
Whereas Werewolves were fighters who had a terrifying physique.
Because of this, Scathach had a technique that used the Vampire's awakened power in their own body. Essentially, this was a low-quality technique compared to Werewolves.
After all, they could do it naturally.
And unlike ordinary Noble Vampires, they don't get hurt internally with this power like Scathach, and Natashia initially got hurt with its powers.
Scathach, when using her ice defense, essentially was freezing a part of her organs, but due to the Vampires' speed of regeneration, she could abuse it... But it still wasn't efficient.
The same applied to Natashia's case when she used lightning for a long time on her body.
This weakness was essentially eliminated when Scathach and Natashia began drinking Victor's blood.
'The blue power surrounding her body has diminished by a great deal...' But, when Victor thought that, he soon saw the power around her getting stronger.
'Heh~, looks like the Vampire's regeneration affects that too.'
"...." Victor analyzed Nero, he noticed that her mood was irritated, and she was growling slightly.
'The 1% of the wolf part that remains in Nero's body has affected her more than expected, not just her physique, but her mood and basic Vampire abilities have essentially mutated.'
Victor could easily see that in the fight Nero had a few seconds ago, there were moments when she acted out of pure animal instinct.
His senses were much sharper than a normal Noble Vampire.
'A born warrior... Scathach will love her~.' Victor chuckled lightly.
"Irritating fucker, did these Yōkai eat a megaphone?" She spat on the ground angrily, she still felt a slight pain in her ear, but after a few seconds, that pain disappeared as if it didn't exist.
"Who are you, girl!"
"Hmm?" Nero looked up a bit and saw a completely dark-skinned Yōkai. He had two wings on his back, several strange tattoos, and a long beard on his face.
"What do you want in our village!?"
"O-Ogre..." Nero didn't answer, as she was surprised by who was in front of her.
Ogres were different from the normal Yōkai she was fighting, as they were much stronger and more menacing, while their attacks could devastate and practically tear her body apart. She looked to the side and also saw other ogres approaching.
The Oni's smile grew as he noticed the fear of the girl in front of him.
"I'll have fun with you-" The ogre stopped talking as Nero's appearance began to distort, and a tall man appeared behind her.
The man had no features, he was complete darkness with red streaks as if he were blood, and the only things visible were his blood-red eyes and his big sharp smile.
"Y-You-..." He swallowed hard at this being's gaze and could clearly feel the icy blade of death on his neck when he looked at this being.
This being touched the little girl on the shoulder:
[Calm down, it's only three ogres, that shouldn't be a problem for the current you...]
[You are no longer a helpless girl who had no power in front of an Ogre.]
Soon the image of that being slowly disappeared as if it didn't exist in the first place.
"W-What happened?" He asked no one in particular.
[She is still stuck in her past state...] Bruna commented.
[You were like that too when you changed. It takes time to get used to the sudden change.] Victor spoke with a small smile as he stroked the head of Eve, who was next to him.
"...." Roxanne looked at Eve with a slightly jealous look.
By understanding this fact, Victor didn't blame Nero for freezing, after all, his old self couldn't even imagine facing an ogre.
Victor understood... But that didn't mean he approved.
'As my daughter, she must have the courage to face everyone with a smile on her face.' Of course, Victor will not forget the wisdom of choosing his enemies wisely.
The point here was...
He wanted Nero to be brave, determined and to forget her past where she would always have to be hiding.
[You are no longer the prey, my daughter...] Victor's smile widened and grew distorted:
[You are the hunter.]
"..." Nero's eyes calmed even more as her tense muscles began to relax, and slowly a smile much like Victor's began to appear on her face.
[Show them the power of Nero Alucard... Count Alucard's daughter.]
"Yes, Father."
"…Huh?" The Yōkai was confused by what the girl suddenly said.
But he didn't have to think of anything else when he felt an ominous sensation emanating from the girl's body.
There wasn't an explosion of power, there wasn't a surge of power, but... Something changed.
Nero took a step forward and suddenly appeared behind the Ogre.
"...Wha-." Before he could say anything, his body began to show cut marks, and he began to crumble into a pile of flesh.
"...." The Yōkai looked at Nero and saw that the girl's two hands had turned into a kind of wolf claws. Her entire hand changed to the claws that Werewolves used when they are fully transformed.
Nero looked at the Onis, and her smile grew even wider:
"Fuckers!" A roar-like scream resounded through the place.
And that roar shook the surrounding Yōkai's body.
She lowered her center of gravity, and by instinct or through unconscious action, she assumed the position of a beast about to pounce.
A red streak of light seemed to come out of her left eye as her hair began to float wildly, and the veins in her eyes were quite visible.
The blue power in her body slowly started to get stronger, and her legs, at some point, changed into the legs of a beast.
"You are my prey… Only Mine!"
Like a beast running for its food, she darted towards them, and bloody carnage ensued.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
"Kill this girl!"
"Kill this monster!"
'How rude to call my daughter a monster.' Victor narrowed his eyes at that Yōkai.
[Master, that's...] Roberta questioned.
'Hmm?' understanding what she was wondering about, Victor answered the unspoken question.
[Wrong, this is just the Vampire shapeshifting. I'm surprised she can use this without training.] Victor realized it wasn't the Werewolf shapeshifting that he'd witnessed during his fight with Anderson, and this shapeshifting looked essentially different from Anderson.
'Nero unconsciously used the shapeshifting of Vampires and created two werewolf-like claws on her arms and legs.'
She was essentially instinctively mimicking how a Werewolf fought with her Vampire powers.
Shapeshifting in and of itself was a very advanced technique, and the only people Victor knew who were capable of using it were Natashia, Vlad, and Scathach herself.
Vlad, being the most proficient at this, as he could literally change his appearance into a completely different person in seconds.
Victor could also use shapeshifting, but for him to use this he must use his blood power as a trigger to bring out a soul he had absorbed. It's not like he had mastered this technique like the ones mentioned above.
'With that, I can be sure that all her abilities related to the physical aspect have undergone small changes compared to a normal Noble Vampire… A Werewolf's instinct is very strong, huh?'
"...." Victor opened his eyes slightly in shock. When Nero bit the head of a Yōkai and ripped it off with her mouth, soon two bat wings appeared behind her, and she flew towards the bird Yōkai that were coming.
'...Can she change so easily?'
Nero's claws began to glow faintly, and she attacked the air.
Soon three claw-shaped streaks flew towards the Yōkai, and most of them had their bodies cut into 3 parts.
"....."
[This is weird, it's like I'm witnessing a real hybrid fighting.] Maria can't help but comment.
[This blue power, I wonder what its property is…] Bruna seemed quite curious.
And Victor nodded in agreement. Even though he knew it was just the Vampire powers acting under the influence of the 1% of Werewolf genes, with the way she fought, for people who didn't have the correct information, they would most likely believe they were encountering a true hybrid.
'She really has a lot of potential~.' Victor flashed a satisfied smile.
...
"Master, what should we do about it?" One Witch commented as she looked at the woman sitting in a very comfortable office chair.
"Hmm?" Selena looked at her subordinate, or precisely speaking her disciple, and saw her holding a report.
Her disciple handed the document to Selena.
When Selena took the document, she opened it and read...
Or specifically speaking, she let the images tell what happened.
As if it were a television or a video, the images in the document began to show a report to Selena.
"..." Selena narrowed her eyes slightly when she saw the report.
"How many Witches... How many Witches did he kill?"
"All those related to the Vampire King's Daughter Incident... All those who got too greedy about that incident... And... Half of the Japanese Supernaturals."
"Humans, Yōkai, Witches, Werewolves, Vampires, even a God."
"…Eh?" Selena quickly went back to reading the report, and when she saw the report of Scathach's fight with Inari.
She couldn't help but say:
"This is fucking genocide."
"...." The disciple didn't say anything but internally agreed with her master's thoughts.
A moment of silence fell in the room, and as Selena was viewing the report, she heard:
"What are we supposed to do? ... This attitude must not go unpunished. He killed our sisters..." She spoke in a neutral tone.
A tone that held no emotion, no sympathy.
Witches were 'considered' each other's sisters, but this was all because of the Witch Queen's Law, the law that a Witch can only be judged by the Laws of Witches.
She didn't particularly care for any Witch other than her master, and that was common sense for all Witches.
They may appear to be bonded, but at the first opportunity they get to gain the upper hand on one of their sisters, they would immediately take everything from this 'sister'.
They lived in a very competitive, greedy society.
And all this was driven by the 'curiosity' of magic. After all, if a Witch invented a new magic, she would have the full support of the government that was formed by the Queen of Witches and her daughters.
For this reason, it could be said that Selena's disciple is a winner. As a disciple of one of the Witch Queen's daughters, her future was guaranteed, and she could sit quietly in a room while researching without fear of having her research stolen by her dear 'sisters.'
"The situation isn't as simple as you think it is..." Selena sighed and leaned back in her comfortable chair.
"... What do you mean?"
"In the report, it is quite clear that Ophis was being pursued, and possibly, she may have been injured."
"If you take that into account, Count Alucard has a 'reason' for doing what he did."
"And in the Supernatural World, all you need is a good enough reason."
"..." The disciple was silent since she knew what her master was saying was true.
In the Supernatural World, you needed a reason, and a strong person behind it, for Supernatural Beings to do whatever they wanted.
But of course, if they go too far, there are organizations that were made specifically to hunt these beings.
Organizations very similar to The Inquisition but controlled by the being who owned The Limbo prison.
"And to make the whole situation worse..."
"The target this time was the daughter of the Vampire King, the youngest daughter who is practically a baby from their perspective."
"..." The disciple opened her eyes when she understood what her master was saying.
"If it was the Vampire King who handled this situation..." She spoke up.
And Selena continued, "Japan would no longer exist. As far as the Gods and their entire population... Probably the only survivors would be the Primordial Gods."
"...."
Vampires weren't one of the most powerful races for nothing. What was terrible about Vlad wasn't his Vampire army.
It was his connections...
Connections he'd made over the thousands of years of his existence.
Rumor had it that he was quite close to the owner of the prison Limbo, and there was even a permanent door to the prison in his Kingdom.
Sometimes Supernatural Beings would see Shiva and Vlad talking as if they were old friends.
Having a God of Destruction and the owner of The Limbo as an enemy was a big NO for most beings.
Though Vlad's own army wasn't weak, it, along with the three well-known houses of Vampire Counts, and the new Vampire Count, who was a monster in his own right, painted a rather disastrous picture for those going against them.
And his personal army made up of older Vampires, and more importantly.
Vlad's own strength as a Progenitor of Vampires, he was quite a troublesome enemy to have against you.
"Is that what Supernatural Beings would think?"
"Of course not, but that will be their excuse to cover up for the Vampires."
"A lesser evil to prevent an even greater evil, huh?"
"Correct..." Selena nodded as she seemed to think a little and then said:
"In some ways, it was a good thing that Count Alucard dealt with this personally."
"Indeed."
"Anyway, even if a possible apology may occur, we must show our dissatisfaction with this act."
"...What are you going to do?"
"Me?" Selena looked at her disciple in disbelief:
"I won't do anything. The ones responsible for these kinds of incidents are my mother and my younger sister... I don't want any more work on my hands~." She flashed an amused smile.
"...." The disciple felt like sighing when she saw her master's smile. She didn't know what happened, but since she returned from Nightingale, she seemed to be very happy and quite 'free'.
...
"My Queen, what should we do?" A woman with long black hair, a Witch's hat, and a black dress said. She looked like a Witch straight from a goth party.
Everything about her was black, even her staff, but there was one thing that stood out about her, her long neckline in her black dress and her ridiculously pale, almost papery skin.
She looked like a ghost.
"Our sisters' blood has been spilled. Whatever the reason, Count Alucard must answer for his crimes."
"Call him to an audience, my daughter." The Queen spoke as she looked at her third daughter, Alice Moriarty.
"Yes, my Queen."
