Chapter 223: A Secret Only Mine.
POV Victor.
As I looked at the ceiling of the ice castle I created, some random thoughts came to my mind.
When was the first time I met Ruby...?
When was it?
Yes...
When was it?
If I remember correctly.
The first time I met Ruby was when she was cornered by the hunters. I remember in the past, I learned about Ruby from Kaguya.
At that time, I had no idea who Ruby was, but I had this 'feeling' of closeness with her; I think it was because of the wedding ritual?
... Wrong... The first time maybe it was because of the ritual, but over time, it developed into something more.
Although I didn't spend as much time with her as I did with Scathach, with whom I spent 6 months training alongside, I was able to understand Ruby a little more.
Could I understand her, and in understanding her, I could love her?
Loving her, protecting her from all harm, as if it were a wedding vow...
Yes... How is a marriage vow unbreakable? Something like a vow of eternal love?
But...
Why?
'Why what?'
Why do I have this possessive desire to never let go of her?
'Strange, why is it like that...'
Indeed.
Victor's eyes slowly started to lose life, and more thoughts started to pop into his mind.
I don't know everything about Ruby, and the same goes for Violet and Sasha.
Violet had apparently known me in the past, but I haven't had the opportunity to find out about it.
Ruby had been kidnapped in the past, and because of that kidnapping, Scathach had destroyed a country.
Sasha had a rough childhood, but Julia was there for her, and I don't fully know her past.
Even though we're married, I don't know them completely, and it annoys me...
'Why?'
I need to know everything I need to know so that in the future, I can protect them.
'Protect them from whom?'
From me?
'From us?'
From all...
'apologies made by a fool.'
Perhaps...
'In the end, you are like Violet.'
Violet... My dear Violet, a very passionate woman who is willing to burn the world for me.
A good woman indeed...
I'm like that...?
Thinking about the feeling of destroying everything when someone ambushed Sasha, I couldn't help but agree with myself.
Yes, I am like that.
'Of course.'
You don't need to talk to me.
'I'm here for this.'
Nosy.
'HAHAHAHA~'
Tsk...
Slowly my eyes started to close, and I soon found myself in a world completely made of blood.
I looked at the distorted creature in front of me that had no shape, the only notable features being its blood-red eyes and sharp teeth.
"I saw what you did to that hunter." I spoke in a neutral tone as my smile widened in the same way the creature's did.
"He deserved it, he did something unforgivable..." He pointed his shapeless finger at me and said:
"He touched a dragon's hoard, and everyone knows what happens when an intruder touches a dragon's hoard." His smile grew even wider, and we spoke at the same time:
""They Burn.""
Our smiles increased, and as if synchronized:
"HAHAHAHAHAHA~!" We started laughing, and our laughter seemed to echo throughout the room.
Suddenly, I stopped laughing and said:
"How rude of you to call me Dragon, I'm a vampire, you know?"
He stopped laughing too and looked at me, "Alucard... it's the written form of Dracula in reverse, and do you know what Dracula means?"
"Of course, it means dragon..."
"Oh..." I finally understood what he was getting at.
"See? It is not incorrect to say that you are a dragon, considering you are an 'Alucard'." He laughed a little.
"Indeed." I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement with this being's words.
I looked at him intently and started to think.
It all started when I was training. When I first released my blood vampire Count form, I heard the sounds of chains breaking.
I didn't find it weird on that day. I thought it was something normal, and I had a significant increase in power that day.
And as time went by, while I was training with Scathach, my master said that because I had too much power, it was getting in the way of my progress, and because of that, she gave me a gift that was these gloves that I am wearing now.
But... From that day on, I became aware of this creature living inside me.
At first, it didn't respond, but... When I released the blood count form again in the fight against Natasha and when I started to absorb blood from other beings, I heard it again, the noise of chains breaking as if a beast was being released from its cage.
He calls himself 'Us'.
He is me, and I am him. Half of myself was in front of me, a half that didn't join the 'me' because my body and soul couldn't take it.
.
.
.
Now that I think about it, isn't he a lot like that figure in the painting?
And he's also very similar to Vlad, the first encounter I had with him, he was in a similar shape to that.
Although, I could observe that the characteristics of this being in front of me were very different from Vlad's.
Is he more like me...?
What a strange feeling...
"If it continues like this, it won't take long for us to come together, I think about 300 years?"
'Hmm?' I look at the creature.
'To unite, huh?' I thought neutrally, he's been saying this since I first met him, and then I replied:
"Is that a short time?" My eyes twitched a little.
"Of course. We are immortal, for us, that is like 3 years."
"'Immortal, until a hunter drives a stake up your ass while screaming for god." I rolled my eyes.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA~, indeed, indeed!" He seemed to find this quite funny.
"If there is one creature that is immortal, I'm pretty sure that creature isn't a vampire." I spoke as I created a throne of blood and sat down in a relaxed way as I rested my head on my arm.
I looked at the view of the world around me, and I couldn't help but think that this view was very similar to the way I viewed the world when using my eye powers.
I looked up to the sky, and I saw the magic symbol that matched the gloves I was wearing.
"…Hahahaha~, that I can agree with you." He disappeared and then reappeared beside me.
He looked at the symbol in the sky alongside me, and a silence fell on the place, and soon he said:
"Everyone in this world has secrets." He started to speak.
"Your wives, your mother, your father, your mothers-in-law, and even you."
"...That's obvious, what's the point of telling me that?"
"..." His smile grew, and he pointed at me, "We are your secret."
"..." I couldn't deny that fact. After all, it's something I haven't told anyone.
"We are your secret, we are your motivation, we are your destiny, and at the same time… We are you." For a few seconds, his image resembled mine, but then it faded and became something distorted like before.
He snapped his finger, and images of the battles I've fought began to appear in the sky.
"Tell me, do you know the difference between you and these worms?" He spoke while looking at the hybrids.
"...Am I a noble vampire?" I said something random.
"Tsk, Tsk. Wrong." He snapped his finger again, and an image of the girls teaching me about vampires appeared.
"Do you remember? When a vampire bites a human and does the ritual, they turn into slave vampires."
"Slave vampires cannot make noble vampires."
"Vampire slaves do not inherit the powers of three houses of vampire Counts."
"But with us, it was different."
"The blood of the Night King runs through our veins."
"RH Null Blood." I said, because of this blood, my life has completely changed.
His smile grew a little, and he said, "...Our race is connected by blood."
"And the creatures of the night are connected to the Night King..."
He started floating towards the magic circle in the sky:
"And we are the beginning and the end of everything…" He looked at the magic circle for a few seconds and then looked at me, "I think you already know the answer yourself, right? After all, you yourself said the answer a few days ago." Who knows?" I flashed a small smile as I closed my eyes.
"HAHAHAHAHA~, you're learning! This is a good thing!"
"Anyway, I have to go. If you want to traumatize some motherfuckers who dare tamper with your treasures, just have them pay me a visit." He flashed a big smile that showed off all of his sharp teeth.
"How scary~." I played around a bit.
"Not as much as you. I remember the face your enemies make when facing Count Alucard."
My smile grows, "I learned from the best."
"Indeed, we learned from the best..."
With the same smile on my face, I got up from the throne of blood, turned around, and started walking. Then, as I walked away, I said:
"See you later."
...
"Hmm?" Victor opened his eyes, and he was on a block of ice that looked like a bed.
"You woke up, Darling." Ruby spoke with a gentle smile as she was sitting next to Victor's bed and seemed to be watching him silently.
"I slept?"
"Yes, you looked very tired."
"Oh..." For a few seconds, he looked very stunned, while he seemed to be thinking about a few things:
'Did I sleep without realizing it?' He felt weird. No matter how much he used his powers, he never got tired to the point of sleep, he just needed a few minutes of rest and some blood, and he would be 100% again.
'Oh...Blood, huh?' Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten in two days.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked in the same gentle tone.
"Yes, I'm just tired." He flashed a small smile and then sat up on the ice bed.
"Ugh, a bed of ice isn't very nice..."
"Indeed. I still prefer my mattresses." Ruby laughed. Even though she didn't suffer from the cold, she still preferred the 'comfort' of modern life.
"Oh, you didn't like my present?" Victor spoke in a somewhat sad tone of voice.
"…Eh?"
"I see, if I had known that, I would have taken you somewhere else." Victor looked at the ceiling and seemed to be thinking about a few things:
"Oh well, I'll just destroy all of this, and we'll go somewhere else!"
"W-wait!" Ruby held Victor's hand very tightly.
"Hmm?" He flashed a small innocent smile.
"I love this place! Do not destroy it!" How could she not like it? This was Victor's gift to her.
EXCLUSIVELY for her.
She loved her gift!
And she was no fool, she saw that Victor put all his heart into it, after all, this castle had everything she liked...
A big lab, a big empty room full of bookshelves that was made to accommodate several teddy bears.
Including an entire area dedicated only to anime, manga, and everything related to it...
And he did it all with ancient architecture as if it were an ice queen's castle.
She loved it!
But the question that was on her mind was: how was she going to use this location? After all, she was at the North Pole! The signal here sucked, there was no internet, and computers wouldn't work here because of the cold.
'Oh... I can use magic.' She should just hire a witch, and voilà! All her problems would be solved.
Coincidentally, she had a witch at her disposal 24 hours a day.
As she thought about it with her head, she said:
"Please don't destroy this place..."
"Why?" Victor's smile grew a little.
She knew she was being teased when she saw his face, and it made her even more ashamed, but even so, she said:
"...Because I love it."
"...What?" Victor put his hand to his ear as if he had not been listening properly.
"Repeat that again, please."
"Ugh..." Ruby made a hard face, that bastard...
"I see, I will destroy it!"
"Wait!" She gripped Victor's arm tighter than before.
"Hmm?"
"...D-Don't destroy...-" Her face turned pure red, she didn't want to say it, but she took a deep breath and said, "DON'T DESTROY THIS PLACE, I LOVE YOUR GIFT!"
"OHHH, I see, I see." He nodded several times while making a satisfied smile, "So you do love it so much."
"Y-Yeah..." She turned her face away. She didn't want to look at him right now! That bastard!
"I'm glad you love it."
"..." Ruby didn't look at Victor and seemed to find the bedroom window quite interesting.
She felt an arm wrap around her body, and, suddenly, she was pulled towards Victor.
"E-Eh?" She was a little surprised when she saw that her head was on Victor's chest.
Seeing that, Ruby's face turned red, and her body started shaking a little.
"Hey? Aren't you bold? I remember you woke up naked with me the day we met."
"What are you talking about... I don't remember that..." She said in a sulky tone.
"Hahaha, don't worry... We have five more days to remind you."
"...What are you planning to do to me...?" She asked in a tone of fear, but one that contained a little bit of expectation.
Victor lifted Ruby's chin and spoke with a gentle smile and empty, lifeless eyes:
"Many things... Many, many things~." He caressed Ruby's cheek, which trembled a little at his touch, and slowly their faces drew closer.
"Darling~..."
And as if they were under two very powerful attractive forces, the two lips connected.
Chapter 224: So It Begins.
Nightingale.
Before everyone knew it, three days had passed, and the long-awaited event had arrived.
Annasthashia Fulger, the former countess of Clan Fulger, will fight the current count who took her title six months ago, Niklaus Horseman.
The Nightingale vampires were excited. After all, they rarely had the opportunity to see two vampires at the count level fight.
They felt like the MMA audience that would watch the rematch of the former champion who was defeated by the rookie; in this case, the former champion was the leader of Clan Fulger.
And that wasn't the only reason they were excited.
The bets the two Clans were making were too big as well.
It goes without saying that the title of count carries significant weight in the vampire world, but...
Clan Fulger's divine artifact is of equal or if not greater weight to the title of count, and Annasthashia Fulger was staking this divine artifact.
A divine weapon that is said to be wielded by gods only, she was staking such a rare treasure for the title of Vampire Count! The woman was determined!
Needless to say, all the vampires were focused on the game that would take place today!
And as always, when an event of this size happens, merchants sell big!
Most noble vampires are beings that have a lot of money saved up, and because of that, they don't mind spending it if it's for their 'fun'.
And one of those traders who were taking advantage of the situation was...
Victoria Rider, or more precisely Victoria Fulger, Annasthashia Fulger's sister and Sasha Fulger's aunt.
"...KeKeKeKe, business is going well." Victoria laughed eerily as she watched her bank account number grow on her phone.
Even though the number is already in the trillions, it was always nice to see the number growing! Simply, she was addicted to it!
And what was she selling?
Simple, she was selling everything!
She was blatantly using the image of Niklaus and her sister to make products like t-shirts, mugs, even similar outfits that the two counts wear.
Anything that made money she was making to sell!
"...I still think this is not a good idea." Hecate spoke with a sigh as she looked at people shopping for clothes similar to what Natashia wore.
"It's okay, it's okay~. They are public figures, what we are doing is not illegal." Though if it was illegal, she wouldn't mind either.
"What I mean is..." Hecate looked at Victoria and said, "What if Count Niklaus gets angry?"
"I don't mind~. I doubt he'll have the balls to do anything to me." Now that Victoria was officially a member of the Fulger Clan again, there were a limited number of people who could harm her, considering she is the 'beloved' sister of Annasthashia Fulger.
Money can buy security, but that means nothing in front of the sight of a super powerful vampire like a vampire count.
At least that was in the past, but now? She's an official member of Clan Fulger, that alone is a big enough protection.
'It's a pity I couldn't become a count… But…' She wouldn't admit it, but she felt a little relieved that she didn't own the title of vampire count.
After all, that title gives you great status in the supernatural world, but it puts a huge target on your back, and if you're not strong enough...
Well... Let's just say things weren't going to go very well.
Although... 'I feel frustrated...' She really wanted the title for herself, as expected of a greedy woman...
"Mother." Suddenly someone opens the door, and a tall man with long blond hair enters.
"Oh, Tatsuya. What happened?"
"I have information for you."
"Oh? Tell me." A few days ago, Victoria asked Tatsuya to investigate the whereabouts of the new Count of Vampires since Tatsuya's power was very convenient for this sort of thing.
"I searched all over town, and I didn't find my 'friend'." Tatsuya spoke in a neutral tone.
"Hmm… What is he doing? From his personality, I thought he would not miss this event."
"...If you're curious about the new count...why don't you just ask your sister?" Hecate spoke those words carefully.
"..." Tatsuya's eyes twitched a little.
Tatsuya won't deny it, he was also curious to see his friend and wanted to know how much stronger this man had become. In the time that has passed, he has trained like a madman in the lightning arts of the Fulger Clan, and he has managed to improve....But without a visible goal, he feels a bit stagnant.
Soon Tatsuya's eyes return to normal, and he continues to watch his mother.
"..." Victoria looked at Hecate and said, "I tried... But every time I speak that man's name, I seem to click my sister's weird button, and she keeps talking in code." She spoke in a tired tone.
"Why are you curious about my 'friend'?" Tatsuya asked in a curious tone.
"Oh, it's no big deal, I just wanted to know what he's up to now..." She definitely didn't want to know about his current appearance to make products to sell.
She's definitely not that brazen.
"...Sigh..." Hecate sighed visibly since she could more or less imagine what was going through Victoria's head, considering she's known the woman for a long time.
"I've already told you this is a bad idea. Your sister and Count Niklaus might not do anything about it, but if that man finds out what you're planning, he's definitely not going to like it." Hecate has warned several times, but the woman always pretends to be deaf.
"...Hmm, I really don't think he'll mind that much, he doesn't seem like a man who cares about little things like that."
"Well..." Hecate wanted to know where she got so much confidence to talk about that man like that.
'Instinct maybe?' After all, as a businesswoman, Victoria has always had a keen eye for a person's personality.
"Anyway, where is my sister?"
"That woman, she's in the new count's personal cabin."
"...Did you see her in that place?" She asked since her sister should be getting ready for the fight by now.
"I didn't have to look, she said she would go there herself, and when I passed by that place, I saw several royal guards."
"...Royal guards only move when the King's family is present..." Hecate placed her hand on her chin, she seemed to be thinking something profound, and then she spoke:
"Probably one of the king's daughters?"
"... Why do you think that?" Victoria asked curiously.
"That man lives surrounded by women. If I didn't know him personally, I could swear they are all his women." Hecate spoke in a flat tone.
"..." Victoria was speechless:
"It's the king's daughters, you know? Even he wouldn't have that courage..." She was going to go on saying that Victor wouldn't have the courage to do that, but when she remembered what her sister said about that man attacking the king in his own castle, she said:
"Nevermind."
"..." An awkward silence fell in the place, and soon Victoria spoke:
"Anyway, let's make money. A lot of important people will be in this place today, it's a good opportunity to make connections and make money." She flashed a smile that showed all her sharp teeth.
"Yes." Tatsuya and Hecate spoke at the same time.
Victoria looked at Tatsuya and said:
"Although I have told you before to do what you want, I want you to watch how I do things, you are still a baby, but in time you will inherit my business. So you need to learn properly."
"... Okay." Tatsuya didn't know how to feel about being treated like a baby by his mother. He knows that at only 100 years old and is still considered a baby in the vampire world, but...
'...That man? What is he?' He can't help but think about it.
...
"Master, I came to visit you..." Eleanor froze at the sight in front of her.
"Holy Fuck...the number has increased..." She had seen the royal guards standing at the door, but she thought it would just be Elizabeth and Ophis, but even the king's eldest daughter is in this place...
"Right? I had the same reaction as you." Elizabeth couldn't help but speak, even though she was talking about Natashia, who wasn't here.
"..." Looking at the tall woman who had just entered the room, Scathach spoke, "Have you come, Eleanor?"
"Yes."
"Sup, Bitch from the West, I see you've gotten stronger huh?" Violet raised her hand in a small gesture.
Eleanor's eyes twitched a little, "...you're still the same Violet..."
"Of course." Violet laughed.
"..." Scathach's eyes twitched a little.
"Are you managing to take care of everything?"
"Yes, I am." She spoke with unshakable confidence.
"...Looks like you've been through a lot, huh..." Scathach spoke with a neutral look.
"Well... I realized I shouldn't depend on you forever, master."
I see, that's a good mentality..." Scathach then turned around and looked back at the arena.
Lilith, who was holding Ophis in her lap, looked at Eleanor:
"Welcome, Eleanor. Do you want to sit down?" She pointed to a spot next to her that was empty.
"Hmm..." Eleanor looked at the women around her, and she really wanted to deny it since she felt that if she stayed here, chaos would ensue, but as she was also interested in this chaos, she spoke.
"Sure."
As she sat beside Lilith, Eleanor asked, "Where is Sasha, Ruby, Pepper, Siena, Lacus, and the new count...?" She spoke the last part with quite unabashed interest, she may live in an isolated area, but that doesn't mean she doesn't know the important news.
'Who would have thought that he would become a vampire count...' Eleanor had her eyes glowing blood red a little as her curiosity was flickering.
"Siena, Pepper, and Lacus left a few minutes ago just before Lilith arrived. They went to have fun at the festival before the game started." Basically, they went to spend money.
"..." Hearing what Violet said, Luna can't help but think she wanted to go too, she wanted to have fun, but it's too bad she's at work now.
"Sasha is with her mom helping her, and Ruby is on a date with Darling." Violet answered everything in a neutral voice.
"..." Lilith's ears twitched a little when she heard about Victor.
But her expression hasn't changed as she continues to look at the woman with a neutral face while stroking Ophis's head.
"...Father, late..." Ophis pouted since she wanted to see Victor!
"Oh, I see..." Eleanor seemed to be thinking about several things.
Violet looks at Eleonor and asks, "How long are you going to be here, bitch from the west?"
"…Until the game is over, then I will go back to my territory."
"I see... That's good." Violet had a small, satisfied smile.
"...?" Eleanor didn't understand Violet's smile, but when she remembered Agnes' personality, she thought:
'Ah... Possessive as usual, huh.' She laughed a little, as she didn't find it a bother. After all, all female vampires were like that, although... The Snow Clan's possessiveness was much greater than usual.
Suddenly, a black creature with a distorted image appeared in the sky of the arena, and the moment it appeared, everyone felt immense pressure fall on their shoulders.
"Oh? He's here, unexpected... I thought he wouldn't be interested in such things..." Scathach flashed a small smile.
"!!?" Everyone looks at the sky, and when they see the creature, they said:
"The King..."
Gulp.
They can't help but swallow dryly.
How many centuries has it been since they saw the appearance of their king?
Seeing the fear and admiration of his people, Vlad looked at one spot and slowly floated in that direction.
As he floated in the air, his appearance began to change, and soon a man with long black hair who was wearing black medieval armor with red accents appeared.
As the man stood on the platform, a vampire appeared and spoke:
"My king, you come... I don't have a proper seat worthy of you."
"It's all right." Vlad raises his hand, and a type of black blood begins to form in front of him, and soon a black throne with gold accents appears.
"!!!" Everyone was shocked by this demonstration since they didn't even understand what they just saw!
The man sits on the throne and assumes a relaxed position as he rests his head on his hand and speaks only to his children:
'Daughters, and Sons.'
'Come.'
"Yes, Father." All the children in their respective places spoke.
Except for one, of course...
"Ophis..." Elizabeth didn't know what to do.
"But..." Ophis pouted. She didn't want to go.
"Father will be angry." Lilith spoke.
"...Evil Father..." She couldn't help but curse under her breath.
Soon the girl gets up and goes with her sisters.
"Hahaha~, that old man's reputation is being tarnished in this kid's head." Scathach shamelessly laughed at that fact.
Vlad looked at the vampires who were staring at him and spoke in a neutral tone:
"My citizens." His voice seemed to echo throughout the arena.
"!!!" All the bodies of all the vampires present seemed to tremble at the man's voice:
"You haven't seen my face in a few years, right?"
Unconsciously, all the vampires nodded.
"I see..." Vlad's eyes began to glow blood red, and he spoke, "Just like a few centuries ago, I hope you can ignore my presence and enjoy the game. Today's protagonists are Annasthashia Fulger and Niklaus Horseman. Today, I'm just here as a spectator, just like you."
He flashed a small neutral smile, "… Shall we enjoy the show together?"
"..." All the vampires opened their mouths in shock, and suddenly, as if they were synchronized, they spoke:
"YEAHH!"
"You haven't lost your tact with words, Master."
Vlad turned his gaze and saw what Alexios looked like.
"Did you do what I asked?"
"Of course."
"...Good." He flashed a small smile.
"What are we supposed to do, master?" Alexios asked.
"Let's just enjoy the show." When Vlad finished talking, someone appeared beside him.
"Prince Theo." Alexios made a gesture of respect.
"Alexios." He waved at the man and made a respectful gesture to Vlad:
"My king." Then he looks at the arena with a neutral gaze.
And as if it was timed, all of Vlad's children began to appear one after the other.
...