Chapter 658: No King Rules Forever... But there are always exceptions.
Pillar City of the 39th Rank, Malphas, a city composed of over 500,000 Demons.
A Lesser Demon stormed through the majestic door of Malphas's Palace and knelt on the ground.
"My Lord! He's arrived!"
"Alucard is here, bringing with him a horde of over a hundred Legions of Demons!"
"…I know. I can feel him even though he's so far away; he's not trying to hide."
"What should we do...?" The Lesser Demon asked the Pillar Demon, who was 7 meters tall and had long Demonic wings, a tail, and horns.
"What a silly question." The Pillar opened their eyes, and arrogance and wisdom were seen in their expression.
"We will fight."
... Maybe, he was not so wise...
"Generals!"
"Yes, My Lord, we are ready."
"How are the preparations going?"
"Perfect, even though Alucard has so many Demons, we've fought worse battles in the past-."
"Demons."
An overwhelming pressure fell throughout the city, and everyone felt Alucard's presence.
Unconsciously, everyone turned toward his direction and saw Alucard standing on top of a mountain of Ice. Next to him was a Female Demon with blue skin, prominent horns, and a long sharp tail; she was 180CM tall, with a slim body that was not too big or too small and perfectly proportioned.
Her eyes glowed an Icy Blue, giving off an ominous feeling because of her black sclera.
"... The rumor is true... Vepar has allied with the invader..." One of the two Generals commented in shock.
"You have five seconds. Those who wish to surrender, leave the city and join my army."
The moment his voice carried across the territory, in the next second, thousands of Demons were seen flying into the sky toward Alucard.
"Five." The countdown began, spurring the Demons to use all their strength to escape the territory.
Some were jumping over the houses, while others ran in the streets.
Some were kidnapping female Demons and running around with them on their backs.
In less than three seconds, all that was left were just Malphas' Legions of Demons.
"....." Malphas and his Generals looked at the spectacle with eyes wide in shock.
"Zero."
Victor's eyes began to flash with Lightning.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE.
The noise of Lightning was heard throughout the territory.
"Vepar, hold Junketsu. Don't touch the hilt, or bad things will happen to you."
"Y-Yes, My Lord." Vepar stuttered a bit as she took Junketsu from Victor.
Victor looked up at the sky, and with an impulse, he vanished and appeared above the city.
A literal storm of golden Lightning began to form in the sky.
"H-Hold on!"
"Hold the fuck on!"
"I need to get out of here too!" The two Generals spoke at the same time.
"I don't want to die with that fool!" The Generals used all their strength and flew toward the sky to get out of the territory as soon as possible.
"..." Malphas just stared at this sight in shock. Were these his most trusted Generals?
Victor's appearance slowly began to change. Lightning covered his armor, his ears became sharper, his eyes glowed a more prominent red, and two gigantic bat wings erupted from his back in the sky, looking like an Angel had come to Hell for judgment.
"!!!" Malphas finally awoke from his stupor:
"Wait! Alucard, Wait!"
That Power was dangerous! Even he wouldn't make it out alive in the face of that Power.
"It is too late." Victor's voice echoed throughout the city.
"I am a man of my word; I only speak once. If I told you to leave, you were to leave the moment I ordered it. You made your choice."
"Live with the consequences of your choice." His sadistic smile was visible for all to see; he was evidently enjoying this.
Victor pointed his finger at Malphas and said, "Kirin."
In the next moment, some of the clouds charged with golden Lightning began to glow, and soon a bestial roar reverberated across the land.
ROOOOOAR!
A Demonic looking beast burst from the clouds and headed toward the ground. The beast didn't look like any known animal but rather an amalgamation of several of them, and the image was simply... Demonic.
"FUCK THIS!" Miasma began to gather in Malphas' body, and the Pillar Demon began to 'grow' in size.
Soon a 20-meter-tall Demon formed of pure Miasma appeared, and this Demon punched the face of the beast that Victor summoned, making the beast vanish into streaks of electricity.
"Do not underestimate me, Alucard! Even before you were born, I was already fighting. You are nothing!" He roared with rage.
"Good, very good…." Victor clapped his hands, "Now." Victor's smile became even more Demonic.
"What are you going to do about these?" He remarked while looking at the clouds.
"... Huh?"
ROOOOOOOAR!
Roars of various beasts sounded out, creating a symphony of madness that struck fear in all Demons, even those following Victor.
Malphas looked up to the clouds and saw several giant red eyes.
"…Fuck… is this really allowed? Why is someone of your caliber attacking a lowly Demon like me!?"
Victor didn't answer, saying, "Become dog food, Malphas." And when he finished talking…
Several beasts similar to the previous one emerged from the clouds, racing toward the city at a startling speed.
"Damn you, Alucard!"
BOOOOOOOOM!
...
The 42nd Rank Pillar, Vepar.
That was what she was called for most of her existence.
The reason for this? It was very difficult to rise in the Demon Ranks, and this event only happened once every few hundred years.
Vepar, as the 42nd Rank Demon, understood very well that breaking into the Top 20 Pillars was such a distant and impossible dream. After all, the Top 20 Demons had been around much longer than her; they were the True Ancient Demons.
But... All that is in the past now, a story she would remember in the future.
Vepar glanced at the man with long black hair and violet eyes. He was wearing full armor, and a weapon resembling a Katana with a very long blade was in his hands.
Victor Alucard.
The Second Progenitor of Vampires, a famous rising star in the Supernatural World, a monster that shattered all common sense, an absolute genius who rose very quickly through the hierarchy of the Supernatural World.
Unlike her peers of the same Rank who only cared about Demons and Hell's affairs, she kept her eyes peeled on the outside world. Even if the news was several days or weeks late, she still kept alert. After all, she'd only managed to survive this long thanks to that caution.
The first time she'd heard about this man, she didn't pay it much attention. After all, the world was full of 'geniuses', but... She learned more about his 'accomplishments' with each bit of news regarding him.
She realized how abnormal he was.
Because of this, the moment she learned that he was in Hell and that he wanted to 'conquer' Hell, she quickly surrendered.
And she did this for two reasons.
The first reason was that she'd seen his one-sided battle with 45th Rank Demon Pillar, Vine, and how this man wiped out her Demon hordes so easily.
Even if she were stronger than Vine and had more Demons under her command, the difference between the 45th and 42nd Rank was almost irrelevant for someone like him.
The second reason...-
'Fuck, he's so hot.'
Vepar shook her head and put those thoughts out of her mind.
The second reason was demonstrated in the previous fight. He was strong, stupidly strong, and as someone who has had opportunities to see the Top 10 Demonic Pillars in action, she could deduce that only the Top 5 could 'fight' Alucard.
And beyond the Pillar Ranks, maybe just the Seven Deadly Sins and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Each of these Beings was a force to be reckoned with in Hell.
But...
'I don't see him losing.' Vepar thought.
No matter the situation or circumstance, she couldn't see Victor losing.
Vepar decided to bet, and she bet on Victor, a risky bet because he was going against all of Hell.
If she won the bet, it would change her life forever and leave her as someone high profile in a new society. If she got it wrong… Well, she would disappear.
Again, the image of the previous fight popped into her head and of the 'huge crater' that was a city.
'Yes, I made the correct decision.' She nodded in satisfaction.
She had never seen someone capable of using so much Energy and moving forward as if nothing had happened.
Not to mention there was another secret reason why she was following Victor.
Her lust for Power...
She'd seen how Vine had changed and how the woman had gotten stronger.
'I want that. I want to become stronger...' She would do everything to become someone trusted by Victor. After all, you couldn't command hundreds of thousands of Demons with just one General.
As he walked before his Demons, Victor flashed a slight smile that no one saw.
[Looks like everything is going according to your plan, Darling.]
[Oh? Roxanne, did you digest all the 'food'?]
[Umu! I did! This place is much more alive now thanks to the nutrients, and consequently, the Souls in your collection already number in the millions.]
[Meh, it's not like I can do much now other than see their memories.]
[Don't judge Souls so much, they will be instrumental in the future, and even now, these Souls are nurturing your existence. They are definitely not useless, and... Walking through Hell as if it were your backyard because of the memories obtained from these Demons is useful, isn't it?] Alter spoke.
[Well, I'm not complaining, just a little frustrated that the Technique didn't work.]
[Give it time, you will soon be able to complete the Technique.]
[Soon? What you are talking about is hundreds of years, isn't it?]
[Indeed.]
Victor rolled his eyes.
[Fufufu, that time might be closer than before, after all, we're in Hell, aren't we?] Alter Victor smiled.
A smile Victor shared.
[That's why we're going to the deepest levels of Hell. The further we go down-] Alter spoke.
[The more significant the Time Difference.] Victor completed.
That was one of the reasons Victor was on a 'walk'. He was enjoying the moment and letting time pass.
The longer he stayed here, the older he got, and the more his Racial boundaries were loosened.
During this whole 'walk' through Hell, he occupied his time with fighting, talking to the Demons, and feeling the feelings of the Demons towards him.
All this was in an effort to not think about his Wives; after all, from the perspective of Victor, more than 1 month had passed.
[If only Kaguya and the girls were here...]
Roxanne spent most of her time working on Victor's body and herself due to the exorbitant amount of nutrients, and she rarely spoke now since her work was very delicate and needed all her attention.
Alter was a boring guy to talk to, and there were times when he didn't want to talk to men, even if that man was himself.
Yes, he was missing the girls.
[Do not falter.] Alter spoke in a serious tone.
[Do not look back.]
[Keep walking.]
[You chose our path. You must not regret it. This is not our way. We need to get stronger, and the opportunity has presented itself; seize this opportunity.]
[Grab it with both hands and keep walking. We have no time for regrets, as the path to becoming stronger is full of difficulties and sacrifices.]
[And your sacrifice is the least of all other Beings.]
[You know it's not a 'simple sacrifice'.]
[I know. For someone with your personality, being far from your love and obsession is like taking part of your heart away.]
[...But it is at these times that your resolve is tested.]
[Do you want to get stronger or not?]
[What a silly question... Of course, I do.]
His hold on Junketsu's grip tightened, and Victor's eyes became more focused.
[Good. You got your eyes back. Now, look, another target has appeared.]
Victor smiled widely when he saw the city in the distance.
"Vepar."
"Y-Yes?" The woman was taken aback by Victor's sudden voice.
"I have a task for you." Victor glanced at Vepar.
The woman swallowed hard when she saw Victor's face and expression.
"Conquer that city. I don't care about the means. I don't care if the Pillar Demon dies."
"Take as many volunteers as you like, and complete the task."
"If you are successful,"
"You will become mine and be reborn just like Vine."
"If you fail…." His smile grew, "Well, failure isn't an option, is it?"
Vepar opened her eyes wide.
'An opportunity has presented itself!' She didn't mind the 'you will be mine' part at all – In fact, that part was the most attractive to her.
BUT! That was not the point. The point was that she would get Power!
"As you wish, My Lord." She touched her hand to her chest and bowed slightly, unable to hide her excited smile.
"You have three days." Victor walked toward a hill, and a Throne of Ice began to be created there. The moment he touched the Throne, he turned and looked at the thousands of Demons.
"You heard me, my Legions of Demons." His voice echoed throughout the gathering.
"I will not force you to fight for me, but I will not have incompetent and useless people in my army. Each one will have a role."
"If you are confident in your strength, you will be a soldier."
"If you don't have the strength, you will go to logistics."
Some Demons sighed in relief when they heard that. Most of them were Lesser Demons who didn't have much strength, although even some of the Demons who were already a little strong were happy about it. They didn't wish to enter as soldiers because they didn't have that much strength. A prominent 'trait' of Demons was that they developed over time, gaining their attributes as they aged, something like a Succubus with the Power of 'Dreams', a basic ability of the Succubus Race.
"In an army, these two pillars are essential, and neither can function without the other."
"I don't value Lineage. I don't care if you are the Son of some Demon Pillar. I value merit and strength."
"…Now, choose."
"Who will invade this city along with Vepar?"
"..." Silence fell over the surroundings for a few seconds until several clearly High-Level Demons stepped forward.
Soon, over 20,000 Demons raised their hands.
"Looks like you have your army, Vepar." Victor displayed a small smile and then sat down on the Ice Throne.
Vepar looked in shock at this sight; the reason for this? It was pretty simple.
'I thought it would be much less... After all, this is an army of several Demons from different cities, but...' She looked at Victor.
'He has great charisma, a natural Leader...'
Vepar was more confident now of her great future. The man in front of her was exceptional!
.....
