Chapter 614: The past that defines us.
Arcane.
"Mother… Are you really going to do this? To be a man's teacher, not to mention the fact that he is a vampire?"
"Yes, he convinced me... And he has the prerequisite, which is being able to use Mana."
Emilly snorted, "Admitting defeat isn't bad, you know? You always tell me that failure is just a way of learning."
"...." Evie looked a bit shocked at her daughter until her expression slowly changed into a small smile:
"... You're right..."
But soon, her expression changed to an irritated one, "But that attitude does not apply here and now. I refuse to accept this result." She grunted.
An attitude not very worthy of a queen, a side that only Emilly knew. Her mother, the queen of witches, the leader of the nation that holds the economic power to influence various factions, was so petty that she couldn't bear to lose to someone.
Emilly rolled her eyes, "Why don't you just say you were taken aback by that man's good looks?"
"...." Evie's lips twitched a little, wasn't her daughter getting a little cocky lately?
'Shall I fetch the sandal?'
Emilly felt a shiver run down her back and looked at her mother warily.
"What?"
"Aren't you getting really cocky lately? Why are you responding to your mother this way?"
"Humpf, you talked about being careful with that man, and you got caught in his trap!"
"Ugh…Okay, I admit I underestimated him, but I didn't expect him to be so cunning and use his… attractiveness." She swallowed a little when she remembered what the man looked like.
"..." Emily's eyes just narrowed.
"Cough." Evie pretended to cough to hide her embarrassment and continued, "I didn't expect him to know how to use his charms so well."
Emily just rolled her eyes at her mother's excuse. How could a woman who had predicted thousands of business opportunities and encountered all kinds of supernatural beings not foresee the action of a simple vampire?
She just didn't want to admit that she let her feminine side be exploited by the man, and she was at his mercy.
"Anyway, what should we do now that we've got these artifacts and lessened the suspicion of the other factions?"
"..." Evie's face became neutral, and a solemnity appeared on her face.
"Do you still need to ask, my daughter?"
"We will take the first step in the dream that all witches have had since the beginning..." Evie's eyes turned colder and more serious.
It was for this moment that she did all this; it was for this moment that she deceived and murdered, and manipulated. It was all for this moment, a dream all witches had from the beginning.
"We will leap into a new world... A world free of vampires, werewolves, gods, and any kind of supernatural creature that might threaten us, a world that will ensure our race's prosperity."
"No more chasing, no more hiding in the shadows." Evie's body trembled a little, a show of weakness only Emily was allowed to see:
"No more abuse... No more female witches being used as breeding machines, no more petty gods trying to use us as playthings, no more arrogant vampires who can do whatever they want to our race." Evie's eyes began to shine with power, as she tightened her grip on her Staff, and determination gleamed in the Queen's eyes.
"Like vampires and werewolves, we'll have a whole planet to ourselves."
"...." Emily closed her eyes and nodded. Maybe she was the only girl in all of Arcane who knew all of Evie's plans.
Which was normal since Emilly was Evie's heir; she was Evie's blood. If Evie, for some reason, becomes unavailable, it is Emilly that will ensure that the witches' dream comes true.
"Do you think we have enough energy?"
"Mana isn't enough to find a habitable planet for us… But the divine energy of an entire pantheon? That is more than enough."
"... So if we had just captured the Alioth Clan in the past..."
"A power a mortal should not be able to wield... A power that borders on the realm of godhood, the Alioth Clan should have been allies of the witches."
"Unfortunately… My mother doesn't have social skills, and at that time, she just wanted to study that Clan's eyes."
"I guess everything happens for a reason then…" Emily murmured.
"Indeed."
"Should we inform my 'sisters' about the plan?"
"... Two of my daughters are aware of this, and one of my daughters' space magic is important, so they will have to participate in the plan."
"Selena and Alice, huh… Hmm, they're both completely loyal to you, but the others are just acting in their own best interest."
"Such is the nature of witches, and some of your sisters met terrible fates before I met them."
"Yeah, but that's no reason to act like a bi-..."Emily flinched when he saw her mother's eyes glittering dangerously, a look that said; 'dare to say the next words.'
"There is no reason to act this way towards our fellow witches."
"... You've been gone for a few days, and you're acting rebellious... You better watch your ass because before you know it, my hand will be there spanking you if you're a bad girl."
Emily shuddered when she saw her mother's stern look; she really was going to spank her ass again.
"And to add, not all witches had the privilege of growing up sheltered like you."
"You know the condition to awaken Mana, right?"
"A major trauma… In other words, a very bad situation." Emily cringed a bit. It's not like she was oblivious to this; she really was lucky to grow up in such a sheltered environment and to have someone like her mother to teach her everything she knew.
Things before the Arcane Realm was founded were horrible for witches.
"Correct. Most of the witches present here were broken women before, and only with the passage of time and her research did they manage to get out of that depression."
"And… Some of your sisters have suffered a worse fate than most witches."
"… Because of that, they are so distorted."
"Magic is a blessing..."Evie looked solemnly at her palace window, "But also a curse for some witches, due to such strong magic, their lifespans were prolonged, and their minds were boosted, and they never had time to recover."
"..." Emily just kept silent. She didn't know what to say about this particular matter. She just couldn't relate; after all, she had never experienced anything like some of her sisters did. [And she really didn't want to experience that]
Because of this, she is just silent, and not out of opinion, because it was a pain that she did not understand. After all, she grew up very sheltered.
"And it may not seem like it, but all my daughters are loyal to me. After all, I always choose after rigorous scrutiny."
"…Even Hecate?" Emily asked.
" Hecate is no exception, she can be very loyal to the current vampire she serves, but her loyalty is always with me, which is why I didn't strip her of her title."
"…Amazing. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to trust Hecate. She's been away for so long, after all.
"My Daughter, us witches, we're connected by something far greater than simple 'loyalty'."
Evie's eyes began to darken and become completely lifeless, the eyes of someone who had fallen into the deepest abyss and had no escape, the eyes of someone broken.
"Pain and despair."
Emily shuddered a little as she bit her lip, ran towards her mother, and hugged her as hard as she could, "Mother... You're doing it again..."
Evie's eyes began to sparkle as she felt her daughter's warmth, and she managed a gentle smile.
"The world has not been kind to witches, my daughter... therefore, we have not been kind to the world."
Evie got up and made a hand gesture, causing a screen to appear in front of her, showing a battlefield where angels and demons were fighting.
"A war without feeling..." Emilly murmured.
"Indeed, but it's better for us. We can take advantage of it and retrieve our sisters who are hiding on Earth... This world can burn, and I won't care as long as I and my race are away from this conflict."
"Although… I have a bad feeling."
"What is it, Mother?"
"... It's just a bad feeling... Every time I look at Diablo, this feeling increases, and it increased, even more the last time I saw that devil's happy face."
"A happy demon is not a good thing." Emily narrowed her eyes.
"Indeed... You are correct... A happy demon is never good news."
"You always told me not to ignore your instincts, mother."
"I know... And I won't; that's why I'm rushing the plan."
"Aren't you going to rescue our sisters on Earth?"
"Most of the witches that are out of Arcane right now are clandestine witches that came out of Arcane, only the minority are 'new' witches, and most of those new witches haven't awakened their powers... And those that have awakened, the demons killed them."
"... A complicated situation."
"Indeed. Because of that, I will rush the plan. The sooner we go to the new world, the sooner we can build our kingdom and make a portal to go back and rescue the other witches."
"Security measures will be necessary. We cannot let the gods of space and time track our planet as they did with Samar and Nightingale," Emily spoke.
"… The security measure, my daughter… It is Arcane itself."
Emilly opened her eyes wide when she realized the implications of what her mother said, "You really are a genius, mother..."
"Humpf, you need a lot to get one over on me, my child."
"... Does this mean I'll get a new father?"
"Ughmm!?" Evie gasped when she heard her daughter's words, and for a moment, the memory of a handsome vampire popped into her head, "Those words don't make sense with what I said earlier!"
"You thought of a certain ridiculously handsome vampire, right?"
"....."
Emily flinched at the gleam in her mother's eyes, "Don't look at me like that! I'm helping you, Mother!"
"Huh?"
"You know, the sooner you admit he's cute, the sooner you won't think about him. You know how charm works."
"…To think that my daughter would teach me something so basic… You're right, Daughter."
'Safe...' Emilly sighed in relief as she managed to divert her mother's attention.
"When is Alucard coming to train with us?" She asked with genuine curiosity.
"After the war, probably, I don't want to risk the presence of a foreigner until my plan is realized."
Emilly nodded; she expected those words.
"Now, follow me. We have work to do."
"Mm!" Emilly nodded as she looked at the screen that tracked her mother.
'A war of attrition, neither army is using their strongest players.' She thought but soon pushed those thoughts aside as the screen faded.
...
"Diablo... I must say, that was quite a cunning trick... Using my ex-wife against me... Although it would be a lie if I said I didn't see it coming."
"Lucifer, even though you fell from Heaven and became a heartless demon, you always had a special affection for Lilith… Even though you knew it was a trap, you would come. This is the weakness of those beings who still have a 'heart'."
"..." Lilith remained silent with a blank expression as tears fell helplessly from her cheeks, revealing her emotions. Her whole body looked battered, her armor was worn out, and blood was pouring from her body. She looked like she had just come out of a desperate battle.
The sword in her hand glistened with blood.
… Blood from the same man who was kneeling in front of her now.
'Lucifer!' She roared internally, but her body did not move.
"Well, you are not wrong." The man laughed, "Although I didn't expect this toy..." He looked at the Spear that pierced his chest.
"I always wondered where it was, I tried to find it to put in my collection, but the Spear was gone."
"A weapon used by a mediocre human, a weapon made special only by taking the life of the son who was most loved by my father… Jesus."
"The only weapon capable of killing Heavenly Father's creations."
"The Spear of Longinus…"
.....
