Chapter 557: ALUCARD!
After those events that made Victor decide to create a Faction, we go back to the present.
The Vatican.
A tall man was wearing full-body black armor with only his head visible with long black hair that went down to his back; this was very different armor than what he wore when he went on the expedition.
An armor made specifically for him, a gift from Eleonor Adrastea, she couldn't join him yet, but she still feared for his safety.
And the result of that concern was this armor.
A full-body black armor that wasn't bulky but more 'tight', an armor that was aimed at protection and the use of Victor's abilities.
Gauntlets that contained three sharp thorns, claws on the fingertips, and shoulder pad that, just like the gauntlet, was covered in thorns and pointed. Behind Victor was a long dark cape that reached the ground, and just like Ruby, Violet, and Sasha, this cape had the function of 'storing' Victor's power so that its use would be faster and smoother.
Ignoring the fact that the entire material of the cape was made of titan skin. A monster that was found over 30,000 KM away from the territory of the Adrastea Clan, the skin of this titan was completely toxic and prickly. Few beings would survive if they touched the cape...
The breastplate of the armor was completely black with several 'dark red' designs that looked more like runes.
Those runes were written by the runemaster Scathach Scarlett.
The purpose of the runes was simple: protection, concealment, and intimidation.
The protection rune was passive, but the concealment and intimidation runes were active. If the user so desired, he could completely hide himself from enemies and, like a chameleon, he would be one with nature.
And intimidation amplifies the natural 'pressure' that Victor had.
There were other minor runes that were written on Victor's gauntlets and boots, but they were just for extra support, like 'self-regeneration' and 'speed'.
Self -regeneration was obvious, if the armor was damaged, it would use the surrounding 'materials', and through rune conversion, the armor would be restored.
Honestly, Victor was amazed when he heard the armor's effects, and he couldn't help but look at Scathach as if she had overdone it.
And what Scathach said when he saw her gaze made him feel sweet inside.
"Nothing is overkill when it comes to protection." He couldn't help but agree with her.
"And my armor has similar runes, along with Ruby's Spear, and mine... If you're going to the mythological war, you need to be prepared, and a lot of protection sometimes isn't enough."
"I will write runes on Ruby, Violet, and Sasha's armor. Since the Maids will go with you as well, I will write on the armor you prepared for them as well."
"But they won't be as exaggerated as yours. I put more effort in your armor because I know you, Victor." She looked at him with accusing eyes.
"...." Victor just couldn't help but smile wryly. He knew what she was saying since he tended to overreact under certain circumstances.
"I, the heiresses, and the other countesses will spread across the globe and help the 'VIPS' when we finish recovering everyone and placing them in the new city. After that, we will go after the demonic dukes."
"We'll meet as soon as we're done… Victor, stick to the damn plan." Scathach's eyes were stern.
Victor didn't say anything or accept anything, just smiling and turning away.
"Haah..." Scathach just sighed and displayed a small smile. Victor didn't need to say anything since she completely understood him. Asking Victor to stick to the plan was the same as asking a berserker warrior not to fight in a rage.
I mean, it's impossible.
But even though he didn't say anything, Scathach trusted Victor completely. She knew he wasn't stupid and wouldn't go straight to where the enemy's main forces were, right?
RIGHT!?
If only she knew where he was now... She would sternly reconsider her own thoughts.
Victor's violet eyes glistened softly, and his expression was serious. While he was walking calmly on crimson red earth, it was as if he was in hell itself, and in this man's hand was a weapon, specifically a Katana... Or something similar to that.
The weapon was simple and very odd by human standards.
The handle of the weapon was like a Katana, but the blade was as big as an odachi, but the blade was not as thick as a normal Odachi.
It was as if someone had taken a regular Katana and ridiculously enlarged the blade. That was how weird the man's weapon was.
Junketsu, the blade of the progenitor. That was the name of the weapon, a weapon that was made by an Onmyoujutsu mage, a sword made with 'anti-monster' metals, a metal that was blessed with hunter magic, a metal that was made with properties to hunt beings of the night.
But upon coming into contact with the man's blood, this weapon changed and acquired more destructive properties. Now, this weapon wasn't just anti-monster.
But it was also a weapon capable of killing all beings as long as the owner covered the blade with its power, a sword that seemed to have a mind of its own.
No normal being would be able to wield this weapon. After all, it was too irregular, and the weapon would also consume everyone who touched it arrogantly, but for this man in armor? This weapon was quite efficient, and in fact, he felt like it was an extension of his hand. He felt quite comfortable with it.
This was one of the reasons that led him to practice human styles of martial arts that use katana and odachi as their primary weapon, so he practiced both because his weapon seemed to be a fusion of the two.
Walking for a few more minutes, the heavily armored man climbed onto a cliff overlooking the entire battlefield.
When Victor looked out over the battlefield, he saw:
Hordes of demons all over the place, the whole city seemed to be flooded in a tsunami, while the roars of the demons could be heard, as well as the screams of the humans and the screams of the lesser angels who fought with the demons.
The hunters of The Inquisition were fighting as much as possible along with the angels, but nothing seemed to overcome the endless horde of demons.
Oddly enough, the angels seemed to be outnumbered by the endless horde of demons.
Angels and humans fighting demons, that was the image of the apocalypse itself.
[...Master, I keep repeating this, but this is madness.] Kaguya couldn't help but speak.
[Craziness? This is insanity! You're going to walk into this chaos, right? RIGHT? Master, please rethink!] Bruna couldn't help but scream in concern.
[...] Roberta, Roxanne, and Eve didn't say anything. They knew their master well enough to know that when he decided something, he would do it no matter how ridiculous that decision was.
And Bruna and Kaguya knew that, but even so, they warned him several times.
But no matter how many times they warned them, Victor still looked at this chaos with a pure desire to intrude.
[... Are you really going to do this? Why don't you just go look for demon dukes and capture them to get information about that woman's daughter?] A man's gruff voice was heard.
The maids looked at the gorilla that was in Victor's shadow.
Yes, that was the initial plan. Victor, Jeanne, and Morgana would split up and look for information related to Lilith Tepes, Megana's daughter.
The plan was to take place in ABSOLUTE secrecy.
ABSOLUTE! Scathach repeated it several times to Victor.
That was why she put a concealment rune on Victor's armor...
But as she expected, Victor didn't go along with the plan.
… Well, he wouldn't be Victor if he went along with the plan.
For the first time, Victor answered the question:
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
[....] The beings within Victor's shadow fell silent and heard Victor's voice echoing through the world of darkness.
"The angels, and the inquisition are not holy, General James cannot do his experiments with the hybrids without the pope's approval, and the pope cannot approve something like this without the approval of his god who gives his power."
"Vampires aren't saints either, and it's undeniable that there are vampires who like to cause chaos and need to be hunted down, and it's also undeniable that there are vampires who practice slavery these days. Every faction has its rotten points."
"Vampires and hunters are sworn enemies, and that is undeniable… But."
"Wrong or right become meaningless in a war. All that matters is the winner."
??
"He who overcomes will be justice and righteousness. He who loses will be evil and wrong."
"That is the unchanging reality."
"..." Everyone didn't know what to say when they heard Victor's words.
They knew it was correct, but they still helped the hunters? It leaves a bad taste in their mouth.
"In Diablo's grand scheme, it's obvious he's going to win this war. He's been planning this for I don't know how long."
"If I want to turn the tables and reset the 'game', I must think like him. He has put aside his thinking as a demon and is acting pragmatically, and logically."
[...A demon letting go of his instincts...?] That was the most absurd thing Mizuki had heard in a long time.
Asking a demon not to act like a demon is the same as asking an angel not to be racist towards the beings of the night.
"Diablo's every move points to that, and even when I saw him at the meeting, he was pretty self-contained, looks can be deceiving, and titles can be deceiving, and Diablo fooled everyone."
"...." For a moment, everyone had forgotten Victor's frightening ability to analyze an opponent.
"Therefore, I must attack at the main point."
[But… Why didn't you tell Scathach or Ruby that?] Kaguya asked.
Currently, the one who was in 'command' of everything was Scathach since, as the most experienced woman in war, she was leading everything.
"I said that."
"... When? I didn't hear Master saying anything."
"Into bed."
"..." The maids and Mizuki's faces turned slightly red when they heard Victor.
Indecent! Discussing war plans while fucking!? Huh!? What kind of practice is this!?
They were speechless.
Victor continued, "The angels and The Inquisition cannot fall, they are the 'protectors' of humans after all, and the opposing force of demons, one side cannot be completely eradicated." Victor spoke the word protector in disdain.
[... Do you want to restore balance, Victor?]
The melodious voice of a mature woman was heard, and the maids looked at one specific woman, a human named Mizuki, who was also a little embarrassed but managed to control herself faster.
Victor didn't answer Mizuki, and instead, he said:
"Demons were once angels. I saw that phrase once in a book."
??
"The meaning of this phrase is obvious; angels and demons are two sides of the same coin."
"No matter if Diablo has the evil gods of the seven hells with him, no matter what plans he has, one thing is undeniable."
"While angels exist, so does the 'heavenly father'."
"He cannot act unrestrained."
A dark aura started to come out of Victor's body as a red magic circle appeared on the gauntlet for a few seconds.
<Level 01>
"The Inquisition and the angels cannot lose here."
"Like their natural enemies, they must live and fight the demons, and they must act like the good tool they are and facilitate my plan."
"..." Everyone inside Kaguya's darkness felt a shiver run down their spine, even the gorilla.
He was using the angels and the inquisition as tools!!
Now, they understood Victor's intentions! He just wanted a scapegoat for Diablo to focus his attention on.
And nothing better than the angels and the inquisition, right? After all, in your book of cursed enemies, demons are at the top of them, and just below are vampires.
'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.'
When that phrase resounded in everyone's heads within Kaguya's shadow, they understood why he came here.
Yes, they understood his motivations and his intentions.
... But it's still crazy! It's insanity to meddle in a war like this!
That's what they thought, but the demonstration of what happened next silenced them, and they once again understood how irregular this man was.
Red runes glowed on Victor's breastplate.
FUSHHHHHH.
And soon, a pressure as if the world was crashing down on everyone was felt.
The world seemed to be shaking, while reality seemed to tremble, the skies seemed to become darker shades, and everyone held their breath, no matter if they were angels, seraphim, demons, or demon dukes.
Even the horsemen of the Apocalypse, Death, and War, who were lying in wait, had to stop and look in Victor's direction.
And at the top of a cliff, they saw the image of a man with long, messy black hair looking at them with blood-red eyes.
The look he had on his face declared to everyone that they were inferior to man, and the arrogance emanating from just his presence was indescribable.
Absolute shock fell between the three races. Everyone couldn't help but recognize that beautiful face, a face that was seen by every important being who saw the broadcast. Everyone knew his deeds since they were very recent, everyone knew his name, and everyone had a controversial opinion of this man.
He was blacklisted by several races, but he was also looked up to and loved by several beings of those same races... [Most of them being women.]
A man, a vampire, a monster, a savior, an arrogant being.
Everyone had an adjective for this man, but these days he was better known as.
The second progenitor of vampires:
"A-ALUCARD!"
........
