Chapter 404: The past that defines us…
A few hours later.
'How long will they be defensive...?' Victor calculated in his mind; 'Hmm, I think they should be reaching their limit in a few minutes.'
'Although, Jeanne is certainly something... She knows that she is dealing with immortal enemies, so she has changed her attitude and is trying to seal her enemies away... Although this will only work with minions.'
'Hmm, I still haven't seen their special powers. Even in this situation, they refuse to use their powers... Or could they not?' Victor remembered that the two were suffering from lack of blood.
'Heh~, even though they are suffering from bloodlust, they are holding up well...'
"...." Feeling the eyes of the Valkyries on his back, Victor began to speak:
"Valkyries, Eleanor."
"...." The women looked at Victor.
"I regard you as strong women."
"…Huh?"
"You never soften in training, always looking for ways to get stronger and help your 'leader'."
"And when you go to fight or fight each other, you always have that sparkle in your eyes and that smile of amusement on your face."
"... Where are you going with this, Count?" Rose asked directly.
"Look at those two... What do you see?"
"...." The Valkyries and Eleanor looked at the two women.
"Someone who needs help." One of the Valkyries said, and the others seemed to agree with them.
"…Someone caught in a madman's trap?" Rose spoke up.
"... They look empty..." Eleanor spoke.
"...." Victor displays a small smile and looks at Eleonor:
"Correct. Even though they are in a difficult situation, the dead glint in their eyes is still there. They are not fighting for their lives because they are attached to them."
"They're just fighting because instinctively that's what they should do, it's like an automatic sense of self-preservation."
"...." When they heard what Victor said, the women couldn't help but look back at the two women who were fighting.
And Victor's words can't help but make sense.
"Rose Adrasteia."
"..." The older woman looked at Victor.
"You and Walter are the oldest people in Clan Adrastea, so you should know who they are."
"...Now, I want you to tell me... Tell me the names of those two women."
"...." The Valkyries and even Eleanor looked at Rose.
"The blonde is Jeanne D'Arc, a former saint, the one who was once called the Maiden of Orleans."
"Wha-…"
"The black-haired one who is a demon, her name is... Anna, a former general of Lilith's demon army, the woman who is called by demons as the mother of all demons."
"And by this very woman who is considered one of the strongest beings in existence, she was given the title of The Reaper... Everyone in Hell feared just the mention of this woman's title."
"...." The feeling of shock was just what Eleanor and the Valkyries felt.
They knew that the two women were Vlad's ex-wives, but since the king is very private with his personal life, they didn't know exactly who these women were.
"And you really think these women need help!?"
"Do you really think these women need the strength of Clan Adsteia to defeat weak monsters and two Behemoths that aren't even in one of the strongest classes!?"
"..." The women didn't know what to say, the obvious answer to that question was no.
But the way they're struggling to deal with monsters doesn't make women say that answer...
Eleanor looked calmly at Victor:
'For a moment, he looked…disappointed? Why?'
"Hey, you guys! Are you going to just stare!? Help us." Morgana screamed.
"..."
gulp.
The girls swallowed hard when they saw Victor's expression now.
"This is enough." Victor took the Odachi floating beside him, and the next moment he appeared among the monsters.
The Odachi's scabbard is covered in a red aura of pure blood, and with another step, Victor disappeared.
Blade streaks were seen in the air, and in the blink of an eye, Victor appeared back where he was.
As he sheathed the Odachi, pieces of the monsters' bodies began to fall to the ground.
... And even after several seconds, they don't get up anymore.
"Just what is that, Odachi!?" Dorothy screamed.
And even Eleanor wanted to understand what that Odachi was now.
"Sigh... What was all this show about..." Morgana patted her clothes as she spoke, "If you were going to help us, you could do it from the start."
"Disappointing."
"…Eh?" She stopped when she saw Victor's gaze, and all she saw in his gaze was anger and disappointment.
"You have been reduced to mere husks of what you were in the past."
"Forget revenge."
"You won't get very far the way you are, I bet even an inexperienced adult vampire can kill you now."
"If you're going to live a life like that..." Victor's eyes suddenly went blank.
"Yes..." He smiled vacantly.
"V-Victor...?" Jeanne was frankly startled by the man's gaze.
"You better die."
[Are you sure, partner?]
[Yes.]
[And to think you'll go this far... How much do you like strong women, huh?]
[But... This is something I can respect.] The smile of the being inside Victor grew.
[If we are going to do this, we must do it in style! HAHAHAHA~]
["Restriction level.... Level 0."] The being within Victor and Victor spoke at the same time.
FUSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
A dark power rose to the skies.
ROAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!
Nearby monsters fled in fear, the air became heavier, and it was even difficult to breathe.
"W-What is this...?" Rose and the Valkyries fell to the ground, and a feeling of servitude began to rise in their chests.
And unconsciously... Wrong, they were forced to kneel.
Even Eleanor didn't escape. The woman knelt on the floor as she looked at the man in the center of the pillar with shock all over her face, she even forgot to breathe.
And this was the reaction from them, who were far from Victor.
The pillar of darkness began to slowly diminish until, at some point, it revealed a being with two long wings, whose body was completely covered with a darkness that had veins of crimson blood.
The being had no definite shape or appearance, people could only see that it existed, and it was standing in front of the two women.
"W-Would you... would you go that far!?" Jeanne practically screamed as her entire existence shook, and for the first time, her empty eyes showed emotion…fear.
The same applied to Morgana.
"No more dreams." The erratic voice, the heavy voice, a voice that could only be described as authoritative, was heard as the being started walking towards the two women.
"No more desire."
"No more expectations."
"No more @#%$." The last word made everyone present shiver, it was a word they didn't understand, but those words just being heard could make their existence tremble.
Their souls screamed in pain!
"Vic-... Vic-... Plss... Stop." Morgana pleaded as her eyes were bleeding; her mouth was too. Just being in his presence was suffocating, and she was shaking with fear like never before, her heart clenched with anguish.
"Look into my eyes." He decreed, and his order could not be ignored.
"...." The two kneeling women stared into the being's eyes.
And all that they saw was just pure crimson darkness.
"As one who walks between life and death... As one who is the beginning of his race... I sentence you to death."
The being in front of her touches their head with her hand, and she feels something being pulled from her body, something very important!
But they couldn't scream or know what this important something was, they just closed their eyes in pure despair.
And before falling completely unconscious, they heard:
"Show me your persistence."
...
"Hmm? Where am I?"
A succubus.
A low-level demon that didn't even have a name...
A worthless demon who was destined to die for their fellow men...
"Who is it!?"
"Show yourself!"
This was supposed to be my destiny...
The fate that thousands of demons suffered...
The world around her changed, and she found herself in a place where the sky was red.
"This place..."
"Correct."
"!!!?" Morgana turned around and saw a shadow that looked just like her.
"That was the place where everything changed."
The shadow turned its face to a mountain that had a huge castle on top of it.
"At the time, everyone knew that Lilith existed." The shadow continued.
"It was common sense."
"...But no one knew where she was living."
"No one could feel her presence."
"No one could tell her intentions."
"No one could know if she was hiding or just decided not to show off."
"None other than the Succubus, of course."
"Being born a Succubus really was both a blessing and a curse, we had a special connection to our mother, and that was not a good thing."
"We?" Morgan spoke.
The shadow just smiled.
Soon the world changed again, and this time a small red demon with tiny wings was at the entrance of the great castle.
A memory Morgana remembered all too well.
"A succubus, huh." A long-horned demon spoke, a demon Morgana had come to learn was Lilith's personal butler.
"I need to pass."
"You really are lucky... My master is very fond of your race. You can pass."
The mangy little demon just shook their head after looking deeply into that long-horned demon's eyes:
"...Mmm"
"We didn't know at the time."
"...." Morgana was silent as she bit her lip.
"We didn't know that walking through that gate would be the beginning of our hell, a hell far more painful than being killed by a random demon or remaining weak."
The world changes again.
And this time, the little demon was armless as they hid in a cave.
"The entrance to Lilith's castle was a trap."
"I came to learn in the future that that entrance was only to trick unsuspecting demons."
"If you want to enter Lilith's castle."
"You need permission from Lilith herself." The shadow continued.
"The moment we entered that gate, a forest appeared, and we were ambushed by several lesser demons."
"We lost our arm, and the pain consumed our body."
"But... Did we stop because of that?"
"...." Morgana shook her head in denial:
"We gritted our teeth, got up, and while we were injured, we went hunting."
"..." Morgana just watched her younger self do what the shadow said, and as she watched this scene before her eyes, it was as if she could feel all the feelings she had felt in the past.
"The world of demons is cruel. If you show weakness, you die."
"If you cry, they'll laugh at you, and you die."
"If you feel sorry for another demon, they will use it to their advantage and kill you from behind."
"Compassion, mercy, kindness… Love. None of that exists in hell."
The little demon walked to a red river and bathed, then something started to happen, the river started to heal their wounds, and soon their arm grew back.
"That river was our lifesaver."
"It doesn't matter how many times we get hurt."
"It doesn't matter how many times we fail."
"It doesn't matter how many times our limbs have been cut off."
"We'll bathe in that river, and... We'll be better again."
Morgana watched her younger self get hurt as they fought the demons that fell into Lilith's trap, over and over again.
The demons that came looking for Lilith were definitely not weak demons, they were all high level.
After all, you needed a certain amount of influence to know where Lilith resided…
And that was also a trap for Lilith herself.
That is why being a Succubus was both a curse and a blessing.
We didn't need it since we instinctively knew where our 'mother' was.
And our curse is that since we know where she was, we would go to her and end up dying a dog's death because of her cruel trap.
Morgana was literally trapped in a forest full of sharks, and she was just a little fish.
"After trying 101 times... We finally succeeded."
"Using dream magic, we managed to put a high-level Imp to rest, and we sneakily killed him with our claws."
"He didn't feel anything because, in his mind, he was still sleeping."
"...An empty victory after so much suffering." Morgan spoke.
"But it wasn't in vain... What did we do after killing the Imp?"
Morgana's smile grew a little, and her gaze gleamed slightly:
"We ate it."
"What about eating them?" The shadow's smile grew.
"We got stronger."
"And...?"
"I returned to the cave and planned to hunt down another prey, this time more efficiently, more quietly, using my birth powers to my advantage."
"...And then, I killed another demon and ate it again."
"And this was repeated..."
"Again, again, again, again, again…"
The world around them changed over and over again, like a movie playing on X16, and all it showed was a demon feeding on another demon.
Each time she fed, she grew stronger, her body grew, and she acquired a more demonic appearance, as she became more ruthless and cruel, while her illusions began to affect her targets more easily.
Agility, strength, endurance, everything was amplified.
With each death, she grew stronger.
With each kill, she got more efficient.
"And after thousands of years..."
"We had a visitor."
Like a fallen angel descending from the heavens, a beautiful woman landed softly in front of her.
Lilith, The mother of demons.
Just like her daughter, she was also a Succubus.
And without any ceremony, the goddess looked at her and smiled gently:
"Your name will be @#$%..."
She became paralyzed, and a change began to occur.
Her demonic appearance started to become more human, and all that was left of her former form were her horns, wings, and tail, which was much thinner than it was.
But had she gotten weaker?
Far from it, she got much stronger than she ever was.
"Lilith…"
"...." The woman smiles gently and says something:
"You did well."
"..." And at that moment, the Succubus felt something positive for the first time.
A feeling of accomplishment, a feeling of a job well done...
She was no longer a weak demon. Instead, she was a high level demon in Lilith's forces, and less than a few years later, this same Succubus would win the title of The Reaper in a war against the Diablos faction.
The world breaks.
Morgana was back in the dark place.
"A former general of the demon mother Lilith can't kill some weak monsters." A sneer appeared on Morgana's face.
"Disappointing... Right?"
"...." Morgana turned her head and saw her shadow again:
"Yeah." Morgana reached out to the shadow, her eyes gleaming intensely, while a small smile was pasted on her face:
"...." The shadow looked at Morgana's hand and smiled:
"You softened."
"Love does that."
"Wrong." The shadow took her hand and said:
"That man did this to us."
"Always holding us captive, not letting us have our way. His blood had imprisoned us." Slowly Morgana's shadow began to transform into a younger version of her, the same version that was in her memories when Lilith first named her.
"But the man who killed us... He's different. He wants to see us shining... He wants to see our best, all our potential..."
The shadow's tail swung back and forth:
"I want to have his child."
"...." Morgana slightly raises her eyebrow.
The shadow pulls Morgana closer to her:
"Never forget our past."
"It is what defines us for what we are today..."
"Never forget that before a general, warrior, or even a mother."
"You are a survivor."
Crack, Crack,
The world breaks.
