Chapter 870: So it's war.
The conclusion the group reached was that they couldn't.
I mean, they could do it, but they shouldn't. The reason? Victor was simply too strong and unknown. In any Era, information was an extremely important tool.
And the fact that NONE of the Gods present here knew that Victor was creating a futuristic society within Hell was reason enough to deter any actions from them.
Imagination was a very powerful tool, and Victor knew that. Because of this, he used this information very effectively. When he said he would punish the Demons who disobeyed him, he never 'explicitly' stated what the punishment would be. And these words were even more terrifying for the Demons because they vividly remembered the 'artwork' straight from Lovecraft's books that Lily had created.
No one wanted to become one of those.
The same strategy applied here. He showed them his Cities in Hell to demonstrate that Demons were not just irrational monsters. He also did it to make the Leaders understand that they really did not know the full 'capacity' of Victor's force.
They were underestimating him, and they would pay the price for that.
During the five minutes Victor waited, he waited anxiously for ANYONE to say something. He had thought of various counter-responses, subtle threats, and displays of power, but unfortunately, they didn't say anything. It seemed that the Gods were not as foolish as he believed and were finally using their brains.
'It seems that when arrogance is put aside, they begin to be the wise Beings they are,' Victor sneered in disdain.
"Seeing as you have nothing more useful to say, let's move on because I have something to say."
These words caught the attention of everyone present.
"A few days ago, I received some rather interesting information," Victor's tone of voice became increasingly dangerous, and everyone, including those who were watching, felt a chill down their spine.
...
"It's starting..." Violet smiled broadly.
"This won't be pretty; Victor is furious," Aphrodite commented.
"Is it okay for him to do this while everyone is watching?" Sasha asked with concern. "Won't all the efforts he made to mitigate his infamy go to waste?"
"It's okay... In the end, all that matters is strength. If he doesn't demonstrate strength now, these Beings will think they can do whatever they want with us... As long as he doesn't show his Cosmic Horror face, he'll be fine," Ruby replied.
"Girls, the preparations are ready," Vine said.
Jeanne smiled. "Very well, let's begin."
"Finally! I was starting to get bored!" Morgana smiled widely.
"Lily, Vine, Vepar, come with me. We're going to Hell," Helena ordered, and a portal straight to Hell appeared.
"Yes!"
"Gaia, you know what to do," Jeanne said.
"Ugh... Fine, but I want to be pampered afterward."
"I might as well tell Victor that you didn't do anything," Jeanne narrowed her eyes.
Gaia shuddered at the thought of the punishment she would suffer for being lazy. "Ugh! I'll do it! For the love of Chaos, I'll do it, okay!? Don't say anything to him!"
She felt like she was being exploited 24/7. She didn't just have to take care of the planet (which she enjoyed), but she also had to keep her son in check, manage The Tower of Nightmares, and ensure the planet's animal life was repopulated—a job she also enjoyed.
'Wait, I'm basically living the life of my dreams, aren't I? I don't need to worry about that Zeus crap because he's dead, and all I have to do is take care of the planet and send my son to destroy a few things.' She realized her situation wasn't as bad as she thought.
"Lilith, you're coming too," Jeanne said.
"Eh...? Why?"
"Victor ordered it, and when The King orders, the subordinate obeys," Jeanne stated the obvious.
"Ugh." She had no argument against that.
"Take care, Rose," Eleonor said.
"Fufufu, don't worry, Eleonor," Rose smiled gently. "If few things could affect me before, as a Dragon, even fewer can stand up to my fencing now."
"Still, be careful. You're fighting Elder Gods."
"Yes, I'll be careful," Rose nodded.
Jeanne looked at Nyx and Zaladrac. "Take care of them."
"Leave it to me," Nyx said while Zaladrac simply nodded.
"Girls, stay safe," Jeanne said.
"Don't worry; this place is the safest in the world," Violet said, smiling. "I should be the one saying that. Be careful, and always prioritize your safety. Darling will be very annoyed if anything happens to you."
"..."
A silence fell around them, and all the warrior women who were leaving looked at Violet with strange expressions.
"What?"
"... Nothing," they said.
Now, they were sure something was definitely wrong with Violet, but they didn't dislike this new side of her.
...
"Scathach."
Scathach nodded, pulled a folded bag from her pocket, and reached into it, pulling out several posters and handing them to Victor.
Ra, Seth, and Anubis broke into a cold sweat when they saw those posters.
"Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if it were just my head you were after... But..." Veins appeared all over Victor's face as his eyes began to glow more intensely, his Miasma-made hair floated even more violently, and the Miasma grew denser. Wings appeared behind him unconsciously, illuminated with a blood-red Power, his teeth sharpened, his eyes narrowed, and scales began to appear on his face.
"You've crossed the line."
Victor tossed the posters that showed images of Victor, Agnes, Violet, Ruby, Siena, Lacus, Pepper, Scathach, Sasha, Natashia, Eleonor, and Haruna.
...
Wanted: Victor Alucard.
Reward: ANYTHING YOU DESIRE.
...
Wanted: Scathach Scarlett.
Reward: ANYTHING YOU DESIRE.
...
Wanted: Agnes Snow.
Reward: Any artifact of your choice.
...
Only Victor and Scathach's rewards had the appearance of a free wish, while Agnes, Natashia, and Haruna's reward was an artifact of their choice.
But this was where Victor's irritation exploded.
...
Wanted: Violet Snow.
Description: The Heir of The Snow Clan, Noble Vampires of Nightingale. Must be captured alive and in good condition for reproduction.
Reward: 5 tons of precious metals.
...
Pepper, Lacus, Siena, and Eleonor's rewards shared this characteristic with Violet's reward: the girls must be captured in good condition for reproduction.
The Owner of Limbo took the wanted poster and shook his head internally. 'They were too hasty and ended up angering a Dragon. I wonder what Victor will do now.'
Victor's eyes went straight to the Egyptian Pantheon.
"You pieces of shit. You really think too highly of yourselves, don't you?"
"... What are you talking about, Demon King?" Anubis tried to play innocent. "I assure you, our Pantheon..."
Victor slammed his hand on the table, causing the entire island to tremble, and the supposedly indestructible table cracked.
This sight made the Gods break out in a cold sweat, especially Shiva, who could do something similar but needed to use his Destructive Power; he couldn't do it with pure strength.
A collective thought passed through everyone's minds: just how physically strong was he?
Victor raised his hand, and Scathach handed him an Orb. Just like her disciple, she was emitting an aura similar to his but much weaker yet different in nature. While Victor's aura was oppressive, Scathach's was sharp and promised to cut through everything and everyone.
Victor placed the Orb on the table and activated it. Images appeared on the table.
Secret conversations within the Egyptian Pantheon. Seth making secret deals with Ra. Ra himself making contact with white Alien Beings that Vlad and Eleonor knew very well.
"Are you sure this would work?" Ra asked.
"Yes, according to our intelligence, The Progenitor's current strength is not as great as before. He won't stand a chance against an entire Pantheon."
"Hmm..." Ra made a thoughtful sound. "Just to be safe, we should give top priority to this matter and involve our allied Factions."
The white creature, clearly one of the servants of the Elder Gods, spoke: "I will inform everyone."
"Good."
When the video ended, Victor asked, "Anything to add?"
"... This is clearly a fabricated image. There's no way you could infiltrate an entire Pantheon full of Gods and spy on us, Progenitor," Ra responded confidently with narrowed eyes.
"How I love the Gods and their arrogance." Despite his words that seemed to praise the Gods, his tone of voice remained the same—heavy, oppressive, and sarcastic.
"You think so highly of yourselves, always riding high and telling everyone that you're the best. All Pantheons are like this. You sing praises about yourselves, saying..."
"It's impossible for anyone to spy on us; after all, we are Gods."
"It's impossible for a weak Mortal to kill us; after all, we are Gods."
"What can this Mortal do against us? He's just a Mortal."
Victor's disdain was dripping from every fiber of his Being.
"Disgusting."
"You're more disgusting than the shit Demons crap out. At least that shit can serve as fertilizer; you're not even good for that."
Several Gods present, as well as those watching, felt anger growing with Victor's words. Ironically, they didn't dare to speak due to Victor's next words.
"Acting so high and mighty with a sloppy society where you're not even The Supreme Ruler." He spoke disdainfully while looking at Odin.
"Acting so high and mighty when most of your Gods are Third-Rate, with the majority being non-combatants." He spoke to Ra.
"Thanks to this arrogance, it was oh so easy for my subordinate, whom you Primordial Gods know well, to enter your Pantheons and spy on you."
... NYX!
It took a few seconds to understand, but soon, all the present Gods understood where he got this intelligence. If it was Nyx, known as The Mother of Darkness, it made sense that they couldn't sense her, but... How did she bypass the defenses? After all, even though she was a Primordial God, she could still be detected by other Primordial Gods.
"I can see your thoughts from here. You are truly predictable."
"Think, guys. Think."
"What happens when a Human trains every day without interruption?"
"... They get better," Susanoo answered.
"Correct."
It wasn't so difficult to enhance Nyx's Power of Darkness. All Victor had to do was incorporate her into his own Pantheon. Once she submitted to Victor's command, he could provide her with Negative Energy to boost her own Powers.
Nyx didn't improve in the exact sense of the word; Victor merely boosted her to be more efficient. Now, if you didn't have extremely heightened senses like Victor's or a Rune of Detection of an extremely High-Level, no one could stop Nyx from spying on Pantheons in the most literal sense of the word. She was utterly non-existent if she so desired, but they didn't need to know that.
And, of course, the Gods didn't know this little fact; they thought that, just as it happened with Kali, Nyx had elevated her Divinity to an even Higher Level than the Primordial Goddess she was born as. If that happened, no Pantheon was safe.
"I understand your dissatisfaction, Progenitor of Blood Dragons," The Owner of Limbo nodded. "So what do you wish to do?"
"It's simple. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Blood for blood. They threatened my Family, and those close to me know that I take care of mine, from The Generals of my army to even the lowest of servants."
"So, I want something simple... Submission."
"... Huh?" Seth exclaimed in confusion.
"Kneel, ask for forgiveness, and accept me as the new God King of The Egyptian Pantheon."
Victor's words not only left Tasha wide-eyed but also shocked all The Supernatural Beings present and watching. So arrogant! So domineering! A 'Mortal' asking an entire PANTHEON of Gods to submit without a fight.
And the response of that Pantheon?
"Of course not!"
"So war it is," Victor added with a simple tone.
"... War...?" For a few seconds, The Egyptian Gods were puzzled by these simple words.
"As of today, I, Victor Alucard, declare war on The Egyptian Pantheon, The Elder Gods of Nightingale, and the organization called New Dawn."
Vlad's eyes gleamed with excitement when he heard what Victor said.
Victor looked at the cameras. "Yes, Niklaus Horseman and The Former General of The Inquisition, James, I never lost sight of you, you rats."
...
New Dawn Headquarters.
Upon hearing what Victor said, Niklaus wasted no time and promptly got up, heading for the exit.
"Niklaus!? What are you doing!?" James shouted.
"A strategic retreat." In a few words, he was running.
"Where are you going!? You can't escape that monster!"
"I will go to the farthest reaches of another Universe if necessary. As long as I'm alive, my plans to kill my brother will always exist, so I cannot die," Niklaus said while clutching his chest.
On his way to his quarters, he spotted his daughter, Jessica Horseman.
"Father..." The girl looked completely worn out, as if she hadn't left her room in a long time.
"My Daughter..."
"Father, I'm sorry, but I don't want to run, not to that place..." Jessica shivered when she thought of the place her father was going with her brothers.
"I know." Niklaus nodded, pulling something from his pocket and handing it to his daughter. "Use this to return to Nightingale, and once you're back, find the Snow Clan."
"... Huh? Why? Why should I go to that Clan?" Jessica didn't expect this development.
"Your mother is Alienova Constantine of Snow, the bastard daughter of Alienova Snow, who was the sister of Agnes's mother, making you a Direct Descendant of the Snow Clan's Main Line."
"... What...?"
"Unlike my children, you were naturally born with two of the most powerful Lineages ever to exist among Noble Vampires. While they were products created with my brother's blood."
"Even though that Dragon is annoying, it's a fact that he protects his Family, and the Snow Clan is your family. You'll be safe there." It was ironic. Victor always stood in his way, but if you asked him whom he could trust with his daughter, he would undoubtedly say Victor.
He'd rather send his daughter to The Snow Clan than anywhere else.
Niklaus placed his hand in his pocket and retrieved a collar. He then placed the collar around Jessica's neck.
"This collar belonged to your mother, a Snow Clan Relic. It was made with The Heart of The Dragon Fafnir, a Relic that only members of the Main House can use. By wearing this, you will automatically be protected by The Snow Clan."
While Fafnir's Sword contained The Dragon's Soul, the collar held its Heart. In terms of Power, the weapon was definitely superior, but the collar couldn't be ignored. If both Relics were used together, it was said that the user could wield fire as if they were Fafnir himself.
Originally, Niklaus had planned to use his daughter's blood to gain control of The Snow Clan once he had complete possession of The Fulger Clan, but unfortunately, Victor happened, and those plans had to be thrown out the window.
"Who would have thought this would come in handy now," Niklaus thought.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The entire New Dawn base began to tremble.
"Kyaaaa! What's happening!?"
"An attack... Victor, you bastard. From the beginning, you were seeking war," Niklaus immediately realized that the last statement was not a declaration of war but the beginning of everything.
Feeling several Beings approaching him, Niklaus looked at his daughter. "Take care of yourself."
"F-Father... Cough-!?" Niklaus delivered a powerful punch to Jessica's face.
The punch was so strong that Jessica immediately became unconscious.
At that moment, to preserve the life of its host, the collar on Jessica's neck began to glow. Fire began to cover Jessica's body, and her Lineage was unlocked. Her hair started turning platinum white, flames enveloped her body, and soon, she disappeared from where she stood.
"It seems to work... Good."
ROOOOOOAR!
Demons' roars were heard, and screams of Beings being killed began to echo throughout the area.
Niklaus's body began to glow slightly, and he transformed into his Vampire Count Form. Flexing his legs, he shot toward his personal office.
He ignored everything and everyone, even his own subordinates and the Demons. He couldn't waste time; he knew Victor too well. When the man attacked, he wasted no time and went straight for the Leaders.
So, the most rational action was not to fight but to run... Run as fast as possible.
Arriving at his office, he quickly retrieved an item resembling a black egg filled with black tentacle-like dimples.
The moment he reached his room and took the egg, he felt several Beings near him.
"The Blank Clan… Oda, huh." As these words were spoken, several daggers of darkness pierced his body, and in the next moment, he found himself surrounded by several members of the Blank Clan.
Each attack was fatal, but... The man didn't die. Even though his heart and brain had been destroyed, he had clearly taken countermeasures for his weakness.
Niklaus growled, and power exploded from him: "Don't think I've been sitting around all this time, ALUCARD!"
The explosion of Power sent all the assassins flying away. Taking advantage of this moment, he quickly destroyed the egg.
"Wait-." A man from the Blank Clan tried to reach him, but Oda quickly held that man back.
"Don't come any closer, something is wrong."
Oda's instincts proved correct because, in the next moment, a portal entirely made of darkness with shades of red appeared behind Niklaus, and several tentacles of dark energy grabbed Niklaus' body and pulled him into the portal.
Even if he tried to stop it, Oda couldn't. The reason for this was that the entire space seemed to be completely distorted under the influence of the Entity on the other side of the portal.
"Tell Vlad Dracul Tepes, I, Radu Tepes, will return to get my revenge, and when I return, he will not be able to protect himself behind the back of his beloved Progenitor forever..."
As those words were spoken, the tentacles pulled Niklaus into the portal.
A silence fell in place, and the assassins didn't know what to do, so they looked at their Leader.
"...Oda-sama?"
"Continue the mission, take the second priority target."
"Yes."
