Marie Von Windsor had been a busy woman since the return of the Great Avarice.
She had been buying up land in other kingdoms and hiring brokers for investments and adventurers to protect immense amounts of gold that was being moved.
The Head of her family had expressed interest in coming to the Saras kingdom to meet the majority shareholder but she had failed to get a meeting with Lord Valerian at the time.
No one knew where he was.
*****
Rumours of how he had disappeared using ancient space magic, [Slipstream], a power that turned the physical body into a mist.
Not only that but everyone in his group including his guards were able to use this magic without a magic diagram.
High Magi could use this spell but only with a magic diagram, only the magi of old knew how to use powerful spells without drawing the spell and channeling massive amounts of mana into it.
Seeing all those people use it so easily had the whole capital talking. The Mage Association and the Mage Guild were constantly sending people to monitor when the mysterious figure would return since his carriage was still at the inn.
Sure enough, one day, the area around the inn felt numerous waves of massive mana.
Eighteen plumes of smoke came down from the sky.
The purple plume landed first and Valerian materialised followed by two red plumes which turned into two people who could only be siblings, twins, one wearing maid uniform while the other wore a butler's suit and lastly the fifteen Praetorian Guards.
They did not pause for a moment. Valerian went into the inn first followed by the maids and two guards while the others seemed to disappear but were surely somewhere nearby.
The spies and representatives sent by different influential people and organisations in the city were paralysed by the sight.
The representatives immediately began to move, chasing after the man known only as Lord Jata.
*****
"Apollo, how many is that now?" Valerian asked as he sat in his suite with a glass in his hand. Calmly swirling the red liquid inside.
A handsome man who looked twenty-eight but was much older, walked away from the door with a box in his hand.
His hair was black and tied in a short ponytail. His skin was dark and he looked a little muscular with a short beard and dark eyes.
He was the male version of the girl standing beside the Lord Valerian.
"That makes thirty-two now, my Lord." He replied.
Valerian sighed and gestured for the girl to bring the box.
Artemis walked toward her brother, her uniform unable to hide the fact that she was female. Her long hair reached her shoulder blades but was kept neat and glossy.
She took the box from her twin brother and brought it to Valerian and opened it.
"More jewels. How unoriginal." Valerian waved his hand and Artemis took the box to the other gifts Valerian had received.
"They wish to form a connection with our Lord. How irritating can the mortals be? I cannot fathom how an ant can attempt to touch the sun." Artemis said.
"They are children, Artemis, be patient. They do not understand." Apollo sounded sympathetic, "However their ignorance will be forgiven when they reach out and get burned to the point where not ever their ashes will be left."
Hearing this, Valerian could only laugh and sigh.
'All of you are children in my eyes.' He thought to himself. 'Now, I can only hope to make you young ones, all, understand and shift your genocidal natures into ones of indifference to the so-called ants.'
Valerian and the twins looked at the door, having heard someone stop right outside the room. Vampire senses were truly amazing.
The knock came. The twins looked at their Lord.
"Answer it. We will leave this country soon anyway." Apollo bowed and Artemis retook her position beside her Lord.
A position she would not have the honour of taking if Lady Uriel or Lady Lilith were near.
She felt truly happy.
*****
"Greetings, Lady Von Windsor." Valerian greeted in a semi-casual manner, "Pardon my breach of etiquette but I have been feeling quite tired lately as my duties seem to be piling up."
"It is quite alright, Lord Jata. It is my own fault for showing up unannounced but I was unsure of how long you would be available. There are matters that need to be discussed." Marie stated.
She had left her attendants downstairs and entered the inn alone.
Many nobles and merchants had tried to talk to her but she ignored them and made her way to the suite she had arranged for Valerian and his escort.
"Rex Capital business or something else?" Val asked, his interest a little piqued.
"This has more to do with my family." Marie spoke.
"I see, well then, speak freely, the rooms have been warded. No undesirables will hear or see us."
The golden eyed boy gestured for her to take a seat. Apollo acted and pulled out a chair for Lady Marie and she sat right across from Valerian.
"Artemis, bring us some refreshments, something from the Sanctorium's vintage collection."
The servant bowed to her Lord and then to the lady and moved into a different room.
"Lord Valerian, I assume you are aware of my...nature, am I to assume you are the same?" Marie posed a question that could be considered vague but Valerian knew exactly what she was asking.
"I am quite aware that you and your family are Noble vampires, yes, and I am a vampire as well."
Marie could not help but sigh in relief. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again they were blood red.
Valerian smiled and showed his real eyes as well but his were golden with specks of red and purple.
Marie gasped and almost jumped out of her chair.
"What kind of eyes are those?!" She immediately spoke.
"I am a vampire, Marie but I am also the First of our kind. I am the Original Demon of the vampire tribe and the true Demon lord of the Demon race."
Valerian spoke as if he were explaining something that should not have to be explained.
"That's...that's impossible. Vampires aren't completely demons, we do not come from Hell and the founder of our race died before the first civilisation of Atalan! Who are you?!"
"I promise you, Lady Marie, I am Valerian Erebus Jata the First. If you wish me to prove it then so be it, we are business partners after all. We should trust each other." Valerian smiled.
His human disguise faded away like smoke in the wind. He was glorious.
His white-silver haird danced as mana flowed through it. His nails turned black while the tips turned red.
His jewellery began to glow while his clothes moved wildly as if having a mind of their own.
A black swirl formed around Valerian and then it turned purple and settled.
Valerian now stood, fangs out, dressed in purple robes like an ancient Greek god with a bright smile on his face. The sky outside darkened.
"I really do not care about vampire society anymore. This world is rubbish but if I must show you that all roads lead to me then so be it, I have no intention of hiding it!"
When Valerian finished speaking he activated the skill [Chain of Command] all vampires who could be called vampires felt their hearts constrict, and some could sense the direction this attack was coming from.
Vampires far and wide turned their gaze toward the Saras Kingdom.
The second part of the skill then kicked in and all the vampires felt like the weight they had been carrying was lifted from their shoulders.
Vampires who had been using Blood Magic felt the effects multiply significantly.
The third phase actived, vampires could feel the presence of other vampires all over the world, they looked like dim red dots while there where bigger, brighter stars, but one was truly greater than the rest.
This one was so fantastically huge, that it looked like if it blew up, all the other stars would be erased as well.
The skill [Chain of Command] ended.
Valerian looked at Marie, he smiled.
"Do you believe me now?"