Chapter 651: The Path of Power.
Vine looked at the blood dome curiously; she knew this kind of ability was exclusive. Blood was the Soul's currency, after all, and only Progenitors of a specific Race had this ability and the ability to devour Souls.
Vine opened her eyes wide as she realized something. Several Elemental Powers, an extremely handsome man, the Power of Blood, and the ability to devour Souls.
'Alucard...'
She couldn't be one of the Pillars that were tasked with the new 'conquest' of Diablo, the King of Demons. After all, she was a 'traitor' who was allied with Lilith, but she was definitely aware of the list of dangerous individuals that Diablo himself created. His informants in the highest hierarchy were exceptionally competent, and on that list, this man was at the top of it.
Everyone knew it; all the best-informed Demons in Hell.
'Am I going senile? Was I too blinded by my lust? The evidence was blatantly in front of me.' When Vine had first set her sights on the beautiful 'Demon', she thought about taking him for herself. She had thought he was some variant of Incubus or something since he didn't have wings, a tail, or horns that Incubuses had.
'… I was foolish…' She thought bitterly.
Well, she was a Demon, so committing sins was her essence, and she didn't want to admit that Demons were often 'lost' in their own sin.
In her case, the Sins of Lust and Pride were more predominant.
'But... If he really is Alucard, how is he here...? Did he die? And if he died, who killed him?' Vine could be described as a cunning Demon; everyone who'd reached the Ranks of 72 Pillars was.
Of course, some of these Pillar Demons excelled in the matters of Cunning, and one of those names was Baal, and a Rank 61 Demon named Zagan. That Demon was an unknown variable even to his fellow Pillars.
Vine considered herself one of the most cunning because she always knew how to take advantage of everything and everyone. However, this trait was usually overshadowed by her desires, which she had a handle on most of the time.
…But something about this man made it impossible for her to control her inner desires… He was immensely attractive to her! It was as if a very juicy piece of meat stood before her, and she couldn't control herself.
His look, his smell, his strength, everything about him drew her like a moth to the flame.
Demons weren't Beings one would associate with restraint. They are actually the opposite of that, and because of that, she couldn't resist.
Vine quickly shook her head internally and tried not to think about it right now. She kicked her horny side away and forced her rational side to act.
'... He doesn't look dead to me; he's not like those Evil Spirits about to become Demons at any moment. He's very much alive... But how is he here? And the most important question, how is he still alive?'
'Progenitor or not, he should be dead with so much Miasma around...'
"Vine..." With the same neutral expression, with the same relaxed posture, he declared:
"Serve me forever, body and Soul."
"…Eh?" Any thoughts going through Vine's head were thrown out the window. She was stunned. As a Mortal, and a Progenitor Vampire, she never would have believed he'd associate with her Race. She thought Victor just wanted information or something like that, an attitude similar to the old Progenitor.
"And in return… I will give this to you." Victor raised his hand, and a red wave of Energy formed above his palm:
"Power."
Vine's entire body shuddered visibly. She looked at the red Energy in his hand with greedy, obsessive eyes.
'... Now I understand why I wanted him so much... He has so much Energy inside him; I was drawn to it.'
The only way to grow as a Demon is through Energy Cannibalism. Of course, training was also possible, but it was easier and more beneficial just to kill a stronger Demon and absorb that Demon's Energy into herself.
This was how the Demonic Pillars were born. This was how the strong Demons, considered legends today, were born.
As the Keeper of Roxanne, a World Tree of Negativity, Victor was a full-course meal for Demons due to the ridiculous amounts of Negative Energy that his body constantly absorbed.
If it were before he came to Hell, Victor wouldn't be able to do this; he wouldn't be able to use the Pure Energy of Negativity as he'd just demonstrated. But being in his 'element' and feeding Roxanne with that Energy, such a feat was possible.
He merely needed to draw on Senjutsu Energy as he usually did, and Roxanne would focus on the Negative Aspect of her Energy and voilà.
If he had tried it alone, this would not be easy to do, but with Roxanne's help, it was a straightforward process. After all, the Energy was originally hers.
"This lowly Demon has a question."
"Speak."
"... What is your objective, Alucard?"
Victor didn't show surprise that she knew his name; in his mind, it would be strange if she didn't. Especially considering that he caused a massacre before he ended up in Hell.
"What a silly question..." A sneer appeared on Victor's face:
"What other goal but to conquer?" A predatory smile appeared on Victor's face.
"..." Vine opened her eyes wide.
"I will take this Hell for myself and become its King." He wasn't willing to let this 'comfortable' place belong to someone else. He felt terrific here; Roxanne felt amazing here! Therefore, he would conquer this place for himself and make it his home.
It was common sense.
'This is insanity! Does he even know how many Demons there are here!? The number surpasses 50 billion easily! And most of them are on Diablo's side!'
"Heh, it seems you don't believe I can do this."
Vine winced, "... I-It's not that..." She took a deep breath and explained, "This specific Hell is one of the biggest Hells alongside the Buddhist Hell. One of the reasons for that is this Hell associates with the two biggest Religions of the Mortal World, which have the largest number of believers."
"The number of Demons in this Hell is insane; it's impossible to conquer everything."
What she stated was common sense. It was madness to think that one could control such a vast Hell. No one could completely rule this Hell; not even Lucifer could. Yes, everyone respected him, along with Lilith, but some of the most influential Demons were constantly plotting against the two in the shadows.
That was the nature of Demons. They were Beings of strife. They respected the strong and only the strong, and because of this reason, no Demon King must falter, or his own 'allies' would dethrone them.
"Not even the current King, respected as a Primordial Demon born from All The Evils of Mankind, cannot rule this Hell completely-."
"Just because someone has never achieved it in the past doesn't mean someone won't do it in the future."
"....."
"Common sense and rules don't bind me," Victor spoke in disdain.
"There are no words for limitation or impossibility in my way of life."
"The only thing that stops me from doing what I want is my will."
"If I say this Hell will be conquered, Vine... It's because it will."
"...." Vine opened her eyes even wider, and that's when she understood more of the being in front of her.
He wasn't arrogant for declaring that nonsense. He was merely supremely confident in his ability.
He had confidence in achieving something that no one had ever attained. The Demons were never united under a single banner and will. It was impossible; they were too numerous.
... But maybe...
'A Being capable of making a Demon cry, a Being that broke my pride, a Being that slaughtered all my Demonic Legions and didn't even break a sweat during the feat... Just maybe... Maybe it's possible? '
Vine didn't know if it was because of her attraction to the Power, or the future possibility she thought of, she didn't know for sure, but the words that came out of her mouth were natural:
"I, Rank 45 of the 72 Demonic Pillars," She lowered her head, and her determination was heard in her following words:
"I, King Vine, swear submission and undying loyalty to Victor Alucard."
Those words put an even bigger smile on Victor's face.
"I felt your lust for Power, I felt your conviction, I felt your determination, and I will satisfy you."
Red Energy began to flow toward Vine's body, fueling the female Demon's body.
Her body was covered in that Energy, healing her, improving her, making her… superior.
'This Power is Alucard's Power…' Her eyes widened, 'It feels so good~.' Then, her eyes shone with a dreamy look.
Soon a pillar of Demonic Energy exploded in front of Victor.
...
A few minutes later, the blood dome disappeared, revealing Vine with apparent differences.
She was smaller; the previously 2.5-meter tall Demon had shrunk to 2 meters tall, and her body, her muscles, everything became more compact.
The bulky and unnecessary muscles disappeared, and her body became wholly defined. Her appearance and beauty had also improved drastically, accompanied by an increase in the area of the buttocks and breasts. The size of her horns, wings, and tail decreased, but these changes in appearance were inferior to what was inside.
Her Energy... had practically quadrupled.
And that fact drove all the Demonic Pillars watching from a distance crazy.
Both those who were at the lowest levels of Hell and those who were at the highest.
This abrupt increase in Power was ridiculous. The only thought everyone had was:
'What did he do!?'
Vine opened her eyes, "That's..." She looked down at her hands with a big smile that made Victor very pleased:
"Power." She clenched both fists tightly.
Feeling several Beings staring at her, Vine narrowed her eyes. Her eyes, with black sclera and red irises that glowed with power, looked up at the sky in irritation.
"Worms, how dare you watch my lord?" She hadn't noticed before because she was so focused on Victor, but now that she was no longer distracted, she could detect the gazes of the other Demonic Pillars.
A gigantic ax with a handle the size of a halberd made entirely of Ice landed in front of Vine. The woman looked at the ax and gripped the handle.
When Vine held the axe's handle, she realized it suited her perfectly; even the weight was ideal.
'This is no ordinary axe...' Vine could feel a ridiculous amount of Energy in the ax in her hands. She was absolutely certain that nothing below her Master's level could damage this axe.
'He did it just with his Power...Incredible...'
A shadow appeared behind Vine, showing off his blood-red eyes and twisted smile glinting with evil. He grabbed the woman's shoulders and whispered in her ear like an evil entity asking the 'innocent' woman to do things most Mortals would tremble in fear at the slightest mention.
"Remember, you serve me and me alone."
"Never bow your head to anyone but me."
"Reserve your pride for me."
"Reserve your lust for me."
"You are mine and nobody else's."
"Hmm~." Vine's body shuddered when she felt Victor's 'gentle' touches on her shoulder and cheeks.
Victor held her cheeks and turned her face towards him, "You are no longer a Demonic Pillar. Abandon that useless Title. You, from today onward, are my General, my sword. If I say to you attack, you will attack; if I say retreat, you will retreat."
Victor's 'affectionate' gestures, the sweet words, and every action were as if he was forcing a mindset shift on Vine, but that was far from the truth. He was simply making the woman in front of him completely his.
"I value obsessive loyalty but despise blind and dumb loyalty."
"You're mine, body and Soul, but that doesn't mean I want a mindless tool that can't think."
"Don't forget, Vine. True strength is not the Power I have given you, but what you devote that Power to."
'What I devote it to...' Vine thought deeply about Victor's words as she lost herself in those dark red eyes that looked like crimson black holes.
"…Now, prove to me that I wasn't wrong in choosing you; prove to me that you can be mine."
"Conquer all Demons from Rank 46 to Rank 60."
"What...?" Vine woke up from her numb state and thought she was hearing things, but the murderous gazes of the Demons spying on her assured her that she wasn't.
"Kill, steal, blackmail, bribe, I don't care how." Victor's smile just grew and grew in a twisted, evil way.
He was more demonic than the Demons themselves.
"I want everyone on their knees before me in less than six months."
"If you managed to complete that task..." Victor's demonic tone changed to a seductive manner, like an Incubus seducing an 'innocent' woman.
Vine shuddered visibly. Her breathing got heavier, her tail wagged, and her wings trembled slightly.
"I will reward you with anything you desire."
"Hmm~." With just his voice, he made the woman reach climax.
A feat that only someone who knew women very well and had the Blessing of Sexuality and Aphrodite's love could pull off.
"Can you do that~?"
Vine's eyes gleamed with lust, determination, and devotion. Her answer to that question was obvious:
"Of course."
"Good."
.....
