The representative girl from the Vampire faction was named Elmenhilde Karnstein. Just her name exuded an air of nobility, and she truly was a noble and beautiful young lady.
However, Tenraku noticed a hint of disdain in her eyes as she glanced at him.
"Elmen San, is there something you wish to say?" Tenraku asked, meeting her gaze.
"Nothing, just before I set off, Queen Carmilla wished for me to make contact with you. The Sacred Gear Plunderer, the Lord of the Two Heavenly Dragons, and the miracle of the Phenex family... These titles of yours have already reached our Vampire world," Elmenhilde replied without flinching.
"Oh... I'm honored. And what's the verdict?" Tenraku inquired.
"To be honest, I am slightly disappointed. It seems you're not as impressive as the legends suggest," She remarked. "In the end, You are just a Devil and a human hybrid. Your achievements are undoubtedly the result of putting in considerable effort." Although the girl only spoke with an understatement, her words were unusually crazy.
Azazel slapped his forehead, and Rias and the other girls were filled with anger.
This can already be regarded as a naked provocation!
"It would be a shame to disappoint Elmen San and you are right. I have put in a lot of hard work to reach where I am now. But hearing it from Elmen San, it feels like my efforts are nothing more than a joke," Tenraku replied with a brilliant smile on his face.
"Isn't that true? Only pitiful weaklings would strive so hard because they can't survive in this cruel world without it. But for true strong ones, they effortlessly possess power, status, and influence, achieving things that the weak ones strive for throughout their lives," Elmenhilde stated mockingly as if she were a Queen looking down from a great height.
The room fell silent, and everyone in it was dumbfounded. Was this the mindset of the Vampires? Such an extreme race!
Tenraku, having lost interest in continuing the conversation, revealed a dazzling smile. The arrogance from the other party did bother him a bit, though.
"Young lady, I remember your Karnstein family is one of the two major factions among the Vampires, even considered a top-class family in the Carmilla Faction. Your Queen sent you as a representative for negotiations, is it appropriate to adopt such an arrogant attitude here?" Azazel, seemingly quite frustrated, remarked with a sigh.
"Former Governor General, I think you've misunderstood something. While we do have some intention for negotiation with you, everything is contingent upon you meeting our conditions. As for the instructions from our Queen Carmilla, she explicitly ordered me not to compromise the dignity and identity of our Vampires in front of outsiders," Elmenhilde retorted without the slightest hint of cowardice, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Azazel, seemingly speechless, sighed. Tonight's negotiation seemed to be quite interesting.
"Well then, Elmen San, please tell us the purpose of your proactive contact with us this time and the so-called conditions you mentioned," Rias spoke while suppressing her disgust.
"We require the power of Gasper Vladi." Without any hesitation, Elmenhilde stated their objective. All eyes turned to Gasper, who visibly tensed once again.
"That's a candid answer. Can you enlighten us on the reasons?" Rias, her beautiful eyes flickering, asked.
"I don't mind telling you all. In our Vampire world, a recent event has occurred that could overturn our fundamental values. Perhaps the news has already spread to you—"
"A hybrid had come to possess a Longinus and it has appeared on the Tepes' side!"
Upon hearing Elmenhilde's answer, Azazel and Rias' group expressed astonishment, while Tenraku sighed inwardly.
"Which Longinus is it?" Azazel, who was deeply concerned about Sacred Gears, immediately inquired.
Among the known thirteen Longinus, currently, five are in Tenraku's possession: the **Gauntlet of the Red Dragon Emperor - Boosted Gear**, the **Light Wings of the White Dragon Sovereign - Divine Dividing**, the **True Longinus**, the **Demonic Beast Creation - Annihilation Maker**, and the **Fog of Extinction - Dimension Lost**.
The **Battle Axe of the Lion King - Regulus Nemea** also recently emerged in the human world, now under Sairaorg's control. Besides these, the **Inugami of the Black Blade - Canis Lykaon** is with Azazel, the **Prison of Bright Heavenly Thunder - Zenith Tempest** is on the Angel faction's side, and the **Eternal Ice Princess - Absolute Demise** is with the Magic Association.
According to the latest information, the **Chief Mourner's Crucified Stand of Purple Flame - Incinerate Anthem** is within a group of magical practitioners associated with a terrorist organization.
This leaves three Longinus still unaccounted for: the **Holy Grail of the Secluded World - Sephiroth Graal**, the **Miniature Garden of the Green Tree of Innovation - Innovate Clear**, and the **Ultimate Karma - Telos Karma**.
The Longinus that appeared on the Tepes' side in the Vampire world clearly belongs to one of these three!
"It's the **Holy Grail of the Secluded World - Sephiroth Graal**. The hybrid with the Longinus is named Valerie Tepes," Elmenhilde replied with a touch of disdain.
"Valerie... Tenraku, it's Valerie!" Gasper exclaimed excitedly upon hearing Valerie's name.
All eyes turned to Gasper, and Tenraku sternly said, "Calm down, Gasper."
In fact, when the other party mentioned a hybrid with the Longinus on the Tepes' side, Tenraku had already confirmed it was Valerie. That foolish girl didn't follow his orders to conceal her abilities and was discovered by the Vampires on the Tepes' side.
"According to the information we have, Lord Tenraku was once captured as 'food' in the Tepes' territory, and he met two Vampires in the castle where those hybrids are raised. One of them is Gasper Vladi, and the other is Valerie Tepes. Am I wrong?" Elmenhilde said with a smirk, seemingly in control of everything.
Rias and Akeno, who were already aware of these details, remained composed. However, Sitri Sona, Shinra Tsubaki, and Griselda, hearing this for the first time, couldn't hide their astonishment.
The mighty Tenraku, the Lord of the Two Heavenly Dragons, was once captured as 'food' in the Vampire territory?!
"That was many years ago. It's impressive that you managed to dig up this information," Tenraku shrugged.
"That incident was quite famous back then. A human leading a group of hybrids caused a riot, escaping from Vampire territory. This unprecedented event gave the Tepes faction another reason for us, the Carmilla Faction, to mock and ridicule them," Elmenhilde explained.
"Although it might be challenging to investigate Lord Tenraku alone, considering the vast gap between then and now, Gasper's presence confirmed the authenticity of this information. Therefore, we learned about these events," Elmenhilde added playfully.
The current Lord of the Two Heavenly Dragons, who now terrifies countless individuals, was once captured as 'food' and a slave in the Vampire territory. This could become quite an amusing tale wherever it spreads.
Tenraku couldn't help but smile wryly. Well, back then, he was indeed weak and unable to resist, relying on his wit and cunning to escape.
However, those were all things of the past. Now—
Who dares to try and capture him again?
To be continued...