Chapter 642: The one from which nothing can be hidden, Nyx.
"The Amazons are in danger, the Asuras are attacking them, and they have summoned the Ancient Pact," Hera announced.
'Oh?' Nyx took an interest in the conversation and decided to listen.
"... Huh? Aren't the Asuras the Demons of Hindu Hell? What are they doing there?" Artemis, the Goddess of The Moon and the Hunt, spoke.
"Probably due to the war that loathsome creature created in the Human World. They must be allies," Hera said.
"That statement makes absolutely no sense. Assuming they are allies, like you said, what does Diablo have against us? Everyone knows that the Amazons are allies of Mount Olympus, and we haven't done anything to them." Athena said.
"Not to mention that we also have nothing against the Hindu Pantheon, specifically its Hell."
"It doesn't matter now," Hera spoke in disdain.
A vein bulged on Athena's head.
'Their relationship is as beautiful as ever.' Nyx thought in disdain.
"What matters is that the Amazons are in danger, and they are our people. Therefore, we must help them and call them to war afterward." Hera declared.
'Talk about backward priorities, but her thinking is correct.' Nyx chuckled.
"… Will you summon Mortal women in a fight of Gods?" Artemis spoke with her eyes narrowed, not liking this information one bit. After all, what Hera said was the same as throwing the Amazons to their death, something that Artemis did not approve of being one of the Goddesses who blessed the Amazons.
"I don't agree with that either. Mortals shouldn't get involved in this fight." Athena said.
"The realm between Mortals and the Divine can be lessened with Divine Artifacts created by Hephaestus and the Blessings of the Main Gods of Olympus. We are short of numbers, and we need to fix that," Hera said.
"Tsk, you know, giving a Mortal a Divine Artifact is dangerous. They can't handle the Artifact's recoil. They will die pointlessly! Only Demigods can use these Artifacts with minimal proficiency, and even they suffer if used for too long." Artemis pointed.
"..." Hera made a disgusted face. The topic of Demigods was sensitive to the Queen Goddess, all because of her husband and his eternal quest to fill any hole.
"Regardless of what we do next with the Amazons, it doesn't matter now. They summoned the Ancient Pact, and we must help," Hera stated.
"Even if we want to help, we can't leave here," Athena commented in a dry tone showing her disapproval. "Your genius husband closed Mount Olympus."
"Not to mention that we are in the middle of a civil war, and a monster is coming to devour us, a monster that was created thanks to Zeus's greed and paranoia."
"… Hmm…? Oya? Was this whole situation not caused by Zeus?" Artemis commented.
"Now that you mention it... That's true." Athena spoke in a false realization.
"The King's action does not need the Queen's support. I have nothing to do with the problem." Hera spoke.
"....." Artemis and Athena just rolled their eyes when they saw how shameless the Queen of Olympus was.
'...This place is a snake pit.' Nyx thought in amusement, enjoying the show, as plans started to form in her head.
'The Amazons are in danger, and they have summoned the Ancient Pact, which means that Aphrodite, Hestia, and Demeter felt that call too. And, knowing the gentle Goddess Hestia, she's definitely going to try to save the Amazons, and possibly Aphrodite will also go to try to recruit the Amazons to her Faction...' A small smile appeared on Nyx's face.
'It might work with this method, and maybe I can even influence Persephone as well.' Then, with a snap of her fingers, the entire place where the Goddesses were was hidden and sheltered.
The three Goddesses immediately readied themselves; Athena drew a sword and shield, and Artemis pulled the bow from her back, and they stood with their backs to each other as she looked around cautiously.
"... That Power," Artemis spoke with a severe face. A stunning ivory bow shone with a white glow in her hands, much like the moon's light on a dark night.
"Nyx..." Athena spoke as she raised her sword and shield that had the image of a Gorgon's head, specifically Medusa's.
Hera stood between the two women, not knowing what to do; she was a non-combatant.
"Fufufu~, I overheard an interesting conversation." A shadow rose from the ground and revealed Nyx in all her eternal glory.
The girls immediately tensed up when they saw the Embodiment of The Night before them.
"No need to be so tense, girls... I came here to offer you a deal."
"...What business does a Primordial Goddess have with us?" Athena asked cautiously. She knew she couldn't quickly deny Nyx, and risk the Primordial Goddess's wrath, therefore, talking was necessary, and luckily, she was an expert in that matter.
"Saving a Race from extinction, and the possibility of finding the 'traitors'."
"..." The Goddesses narrowed their eyes.
"What do you think?" Do you want to talk now?" Nyx's smile grew.
"Didn't you hear the news? Zeus closed Mount Olympus so that no one could leave or enter. Not even a Primordial God can circumvent that decree."
"A problem that can be easily fixed. After all, Zeus won't deny a personal request from me."
"…Will my foolish, stubborn husband listen to you easily? Hah! Tell another joke! This one is not funny." Hera snorted.
"My dear Hera, I am called the Mother of Concealment for a reason~. No secret can be hidden from me, not even Zeus'." Nyx looked at the three women with playful eyes, eyes that said. 'I know your deepest secrets.'
"..." The three Goddesses shuddered visibly when they remembered that fact.
The one in front of them was a Primordial Goddess who could possibly know the dirtiest secrets of the three women present.
"And now, are you interested in this deal?"
The three Goddesses looked at each other for a few seconds and nodded as a tacit agreement was made between them.
"... Speak." Athena took the lead again.
'Easy~' Nyx laughed internally:
"Sure~."
...
"Father!" Ophis and Nero jumped toward Victor.
"Hey, Girls, I came to visit you." Victor opened a broad smile as he hugged the two girls.
"Mm! Are you going to stay long?" Nero asked as she shook her head from side to side as if trying to absorb as much of Victor's scent as possible.
"Unfortunately, I have things to do."
"... Oh."
"...." Victor felt a slight pain in his heart when he saw the sad face of Nero and Ophis.
"But! If you want, you can follow me to my next destination since it's not that important, really." He quickly added; he was a doting father, after all.
Nero and Ophis opened their eyes wide.
"Yay! I will go with you, Father!" Ophis spoke a complete sentence, very different from usual, as she hugged his neck like a koala.
"Mm, I'll come too," Nero added as she hugged his belly,
Victor smiled even more gently, causing an image that critically hurt the women and even some of the men present.
'Perhaps, I should give Ophis a present as well, but… I didn't want to give her a weapon like Nero; she's too young… Something for her to defend herself with if necessary?' Victor wanted to wait until Ophis was at least 14 years old to give her some kind of weapon.
'Hmm, something made to protect from most blows... I'll ask for Scathach's help with that. She's very good at Runes.'
"Weak," Tatsuya spoke while huffing in an attempt to control his feelings.
'I'm normal, I'm normal, think of Hecate naked in bed…' Tatsuya's face slightly reddened at his own thoughts.
"Humpf, you will understand when you have a child."
"Probably not. I will teach him to be a proper warrior." Tatsuya snapped.
"I don't think that's a good idea... Forcing someone down a path they haven't chosen is a bad choice, speaking from experience." Adam, the Son of Jeanne and Vlad, spoke.
As one of Vlad's sons, he'd been under a lot of pressure to live up to his father's expectations, and that was a burden he didn't wish upon anyone.
"… Mm, I will take those words into consideration when I have a child," Tatsuya said.
As he patted his daughters on the head, Victor glanced at the strange group.
Adam Tepes, Jeanne's son.
Tatsuya, a son of Victoria Fulger, his Wife's sister.
Yuki Snow, someone who was being trained to be Hilda Snow's right-hand woman.
Lilith and Elizabeth Tepes, Daughters of Morgana and Vlad.
Ophis Tepes and Nero Alucard, his two daughters.
Not counting the Maids that were scattered around.
Victor looked at Kaguya and Eve.
Seeing their Master's gaze, Kaguya took the lead and spoke:
"Initially, we were only teaching Ophis, Nero, Tatsuya, and Yuki, as discussed before, but these extras decided to come and learn as well."
"Oyy!" Those who were not in the mentioned group spoke at the same time.
"Since we had no reason to refuse, we accepted," Eve added.
"Mm." Victor nodded as he looked at Lilith, Elizabeth, and Adam:
"Is there a reason you decided to come?"
"Bored." Lilith and Elizabeth responded.
'Lie… At least Lilith's answer was.' Victor looked at the woman with a neutral gaze.
'Apprehension, desire, despair, and lust? Hmm, familiar feelings. She fell under the suspension bridge effect, huh.' Victor analyzed.
"I thought learning how to control a Clan would be a good idea. I might need it in the future." Adam answered.
"Oh? Are you planning to make a Clan?"
"Mm." Adam nodded.
"Interesting… What is your Power?"
"..." Adam looked at Victor with a strange look.
"What?"
"I'm surprised you don't know that when you're so close... to my mother." It was noteworthy that Adam felt complicated about this particular involvement, but he tried not to think about it too much. He knew how his father neglected his mother, something that did not seem to happen here. After all, he'd never seen his mother so happy in his whole life.
"Well, I never had an interest in you guys." Victor was honest. Of Vlad's group of children, he only had a fondness for Ophis and a little for Elizabeth, but the rest were only minimally known.
Victor's statement didn't affect the siblings much, except for Lilith, who shivered a little and lowered her head, her body language indicating disappointment.
Something Victor clearly saw, but he didn't care. He had rather lenient thoughts toward Vlad's older children.
Even though they were Elder Vampires coming from a Progenitor's direct Bloodline, they were all too weak.
'I wonder where Vlad went wrong in raising them...' Victor vaguely thought. Of all of Vlad's current children, only the youngest ones had the potential to get stronger.
Elizabeth, Ophis, and Adam being obvious examples.
Adam was only 500 years old and had recently gone through his strength boost; he still had time to train and get stronger with the proper guidance. Ophis and Elizabeth hadn't even gone through that yet and were like blank slates that could still be shaped.
In comparison, Lilith was 1500 years old. She had been through three strength boosts of the Vampire Race, and even then, she was far too weak by Victor's standards.
Yes, compared to Humans, she was powerful. Being an Elder Vampire, she had a natural advantage over them, and coming from Vlad's direct Lineage, she also gained some benefits, not to mention that she was the daughter of Morgana, a Demonic General...
But even with all these advantages, she couldn't even kill a High-Level Demon, possibly not even a Demon Duke of the lowest ranks.
Something that Sasha and Violet achieved. Even Ruby could do the same feat if given a chance and not facing a Demonic Duke who merely wanted to talk and waste time like last time.
Despite this being Victor's assessment, he didn't judge the woman very much. He knew that everyone had the potential to improve, but to say that he was not disappointed would be a lie.
'Being weak is not shameful... Remaining weak even knowing your shortcomings is shameful.' Victor thought.
"Haah." Adam sighed and said, "Well, a genius like you wouldn't be interested in ordinary people like us."
Victor and his Maids present narrowed their eyes at Adam's statement, and even Tatsuya narrowed his eyes at it.
.....
