The beast turned out to be a slippery one, even for his forces. Aureole had sent an extensive report on how the vampire avoided capture by using multiple proxies to hide her tracks, hiding her tracks all the meanwhile. The only upside of the botched operation was that he knew a lot more about who he was dealing with. The creature was careful and smart, and upon direct threat chose to run and live another day instead of violently striking back.
It was a small mercy for his forces, given how strong the vampire was compared to those below Lords in status. However, it still irritated him nonetheless that they couldn't catch the one entity Luminous' scraps had extensively warned him about.
Now the question was where the vampire would strike next knowing she had pursuers in search of prey to feast upon. It would be easy to assume that harpies would once again be the target for this beast, but that proved to be false over time.
After a few days of monitoring anyone who could fall victim to the bloodthirsty hunter, it was clear that there wouldn't be any attack, or if there was, it was extremely delayed. Hence why Momonga was so surprised when a young vampire, reminiscent of ones that were used as a distraction for the main culprit to get away, arrived right at his doorstep with a communication orb in her hands.
"Mistress wishes to talk," were the only words Demiurge could get out of the captive with all the methods the demon had at his disposal, employing most of their language-translation and mental-bending magics at their disposal. By all means, the messenger was almost an empty husk barely hanging by the thread of sentience, with less life in them than even his undead who patrolled his cities. This meant that these turned vampires, if the row of bite marks on her shoulder was any indication, were vastly different from natural-born ones, who on average had at least human-level intelligence. Its power wasn't all that high either, but it could still rampage if Tempest didn't pay attention.
With no other leads to follow, Momonga decided to talk with the vampire and see where it went.
"Am I talking with Supreme Overlord Momonga Tempest?" A smooth woman's voice greeted him through the communication device, faintly glowing red.
"Correct," Momonga affirmed. He refrained from giving any threats since it could end the conversation prematurely, instead, he concentrated on finding the vampire's location before contacting Albedo to do the same.
"Excellent. I must warn you beforehand that I made sure you won't find me so easily, as I am speaking through one of my thralls. I sent my thrall with this orb to hopefully reach a mutual agreement without resorting to violence."
"Is that so? And what do you wish to discuss?" Momonga inquired as he continued his efforts to locate her.
"First, introductions are in order. I am Toltecatl. You may consider me as the original vampire. I had no intention of getting on your hit list, and I was not aware Eurazania was allied with Tempest. If possible, I want to ensure that we are not enemies." The woman used her tone to appear more friendly and submissive, speaking in a higher pitch than she started with, Momonga could tell.
"Why would I make any deal with you over my current allies? Save for managing to escape my servants, there isn't anything remarkable enough about you to not consider you a minor annoyance that will be dealt with soon enough," Momonga bluntly stated. Whoever Toltecatl was, she held no bargaining chips at the moment, being on the run from his maids even as they spoke.
"I may not be a threat to you now, but I also have done nothing to entice your wrath either. How about you gather your allies whom I have crossed, and we strike some sort of deal? If I have nothing to lose, I will make sure to leave enough of a bloodied trail to make anyone regret not seeking peaceful options. As mighty as you are, Overlord, you cannot protect everyone from me." Toltecatl dropped the submissive tone, speaking once again with a smooth, lower voice as her thrall flared its aura, evidently as strong as some of his undead in raw power alone.
"Threatening me won't do you any favors," Momonga continued to pursue her location quickly, finding that she indeed was using at least one thrall as a proxy, much to his internal dismay.
"I am not threatening you. I am simply stating that I won't just wait for you to capture me if any sort of agreement cannot be made. As I said, the last thing I want is to be your enemy. I am even willing to relinquish my claim for Luminous' head if you wish. I consider my freedom more important than revenge against our common foe."
Momonga cut off the communication and pushed the orb further away on his office table. Leaving Toltecatl free wasn't an option he wished to entertain, but she made a good point. If she thought there was no chance for her to get away with what she had done, then she could kill his subjects out of spite in a short rampage until inevitably captured by one of his elites. But how many would she kill before containment, Momonga was unsure if the risk was worth it.
He knew that the natives of this world would advise that if the weak died, so be it. If a thousand hobgoblins died to turn one powerful vampire into a servant, it would be worth it in terms of powers gained and lost no matter how he looked at it. But he still cared for his citizens, no matter how weak they were, and decided on another course of action.
'I guess I can invite Frey and Carrion and see where it goes. Openly ignoring their wishes might end the chance of them willingly joining Tempest in the future.' The plan was to make the inclusion of two monster nations into Tempest a natural process, with two demon lords seeing this as the best option for themselves and their people.
The pair of demon lords arrived the moment they heard about the news, teleporting to his location with few entourage and preparations. Carrion was still holding what appeared to be a morning liter of coffee, and Frey had only brought along two of her daughters.
"Are there no methods to find where she is hiding?" Carrion questioned, grinding his teeth.
"Not at the moment. She knows how to cover her tracks and was adamant to make peace with me, knowing I was spearheading our pursuit." Momonga's words did nothing to calm the wronged beast king.
With such a statement, the monster had openly declared that she didn't take them seriously and only Momonga's opinion mattered to her. Worst of all, the fact that she managed to escape the Pleiades Maids, who by his estimate were close to his power level, wasn't a pleasant discovery either since that meant it was unlikely that he'd be able to sweep her if he found her either.
"And you intend to take her offer?" Frey's approach was calmer compared to the lycanthrope, but she too was vexed that the vampire only cared about Momonga's opinion, as if the harpies already belonged to the Overlord and Frey's wrath as a centuries-old demon lord of the Walpurgis council wasn't even worth considering. She had slain many a majin who had tried to slay her, she could do it again.
"Although I have no personal stake in dealing with Toltecatl, I would prefer to deal with her before this grows out of hand. Keep in mind that she intends to hide unless an agreement is made, and considering her power level is likely to cause a lot of damage if aggressively pursued. If we are going forward with this, I will ensure the safety of my people first." Momonga grabbed the communication orb without activating the device, glancing at the two for their tacit approval.
"Let's see what this creature plans to offer. I do not plan to let her escape unpunished," Frey declared.
Toltecatl seemed very eager to communicate, speaking the very instant Momonga's magicules fueled the orb.
"I will overlook how rudely you cut off the conversation as a gracious sign of my goodwill. Have you given thought to finding a peaceful solution for both of us, Supreme Overlord of Tempest?"
Momonga didn't reply, instead focusing all his mental faculties to aid Omniscience in finding the vampire. Even if she wasn't on the other side of the line, some sort of immaterial connection still needed to exist for Toltecatl to communicate through her thrall proxies, and he could reverse engineer that.
"It is not his agreement you should worry about. You won't escape me!" Frey's angry voice cut through the air like a sharp blade, aura flaring around Momonga.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? If I considered you a threat, I wouldn't have hunted in your lands due to your prowess. If anything, I did you a favor by removing some interesting elements. Arrogance and ambition are such delicious emotions when crushed," The vampire responded with an aura of smug superiority, half-cackling.
"I have heard enough. This is a waste of time. We should just try to find and make her pay," Carrion declared, clearing his intentions.
"Lord Momonga, I have yet to receive an answer from you. I see your pets are growing restless. I'm sure we can come to some mutually beneficial agreement. "
"You are openly disrespecting my allies and yet expect a deal?" Momonga spoke up, mentally telling Frey and Carrion that he'd handle it from here. The trail was hidden well, but it was still there. All he needed was a few more minutes, and he could figure out where she was located, and when he did, a proper suppression team would be sent to deal with her.
"They are taunting me while hiding behind your back. I welcome them trying to kill me. It is you who I do not wish to cross. Let me be, Overlord, and I will send you all the information I have gathered in my hunts. I know that the famed Yuuki Kagurazaka lives and he is plotting against you in the shadows. I ate some of his subordinates, stronger than many of your undead. I know things that might prove to be of use to you. I know some of the harpies I ate were plotting to overthrow Frey in response to her letting you take the outcasts. I know Carrion was building an elite unit in secret as a response to witnessing your might. I know of humans using monsters as test subjects in hopes of devising weapons to stop you. Let me be, and I will send you every piece of information that benefits you."
"I wasn't building a force to fight Momonga. Those are lies!" Carrion tried to seize the orb but was stopped by Momonga.
"I didn't say that. Maybe you should be more truthful towards your ally then. So many secrets. So many hidden plans. Each meal has revealed so much to me," Toltecatl cackled.
Momonga deactivated the orb once again, turning to face the two demon lords.
"What do you expect me to say, Momonga? My people were killed by her. If there were some inner conspiracies, it was up to me to deal with it." Frey stated coldly.
Momonga didn't reply, he didn't care much about Carrion and Frey's scheming, they were already known to him from his shadow demons and Demiurge. Demiurge, Cocytus, and Buku were already at the location he had provided. It would not take long to apprehend or eliminate the vampire.
{ Is it done? } He messaged Buku.
{ The bitch used the same trick Yuuki did. We found only one dead body. I think she expected you to catch on. There's a written note left behind. } Buku reported back.
{ What does it say? } Momonga inquired. The vampire had proven to be smart enough to not be caught which meant she should not be taken lightly
{ 'I am no fool, Supreme Overlord. I know that if you find me, I won't taste freedom again. If you want to contact me, take the orb found on this body.' Man, she's a smart one. Frey and Carrion must be pissed. } Buku commented. { Ohh, wait there is a stack of notes. Give me a minute… locations, names. Demi says this information might help dismantle whatever network Yuuki has left in human nations if it's what that vampire claims it is. }
{ They surely aren't happy. Bring that orb to me. } Momonga replied. 'She is adamant to be on my good side. If that information proves to be valuable, maybe it is best to let that Vampire be. I don't owe Frey and Carrion anything at this point.'
Buku popped up in the guest room as requested and handed over the orb to Momonga while sitting down next to her friend. Momonga didn't even have time to inquire about the findings when a message came in and opened to both him and Buku.
{ We have confirmation, Lord Momonga. I captured a woman associated with Yuuki. She attempted to use a charm skill on me upon capture. } Demiurge dutifully reported.
{ Carry on, and good job. } Momonga replied, leaving the demon to his work.
{ So Momo, what should we do with these two? I don't see why we should bend over backward to catch a vampire for them, especially if they would die fighting her. } Buku asked.
{ Maybe we can bank on them not being willing to fight Toltecatl. }
{ Good idea. Let me have this ok? }
{ Sure, you are better at diplomacy than me. } Momonga agreed, letting Buku take over the talks as she teleported to their room.
"Considering the information Toltecatl provided, we have no reason to pursue her anymore. Let's stop playing around, shall we? Even if we caught her for your vengeance, neither of you will be able to defeat her one-on-one. That woman managed to escape the entire team of the Pleiades, who were greatly boosted by Aureole, mind you." Buku stated nonchalantly with an overly polite smile.
"So, Tempest has finally shown their true stance on us? Now what? You will just march in armies and take over my lands?" Carrion asked, crossing his arms.
"You are free to join Tempest willingly if you like, but no, we are not interested in any sort of militaristic expansion into your lands. As long as you do not attempt to be hostile, we will honor the borders and formal agreements between our nations. Contrary to your belief, we are not actively trying to topple your rule."
Frey, on the other hand, remained silent, her expression completely unreadable. There was no pretense left that Tempest's leaders saw them as equals or even considered her a threat. In any other circumstance, being compared to a maid whose prime duty was to bring tea would be a reason to engage in duel or war, but Buku's words rang true; she wasn't that much of a threat to them, let alone her flying armies.
While Frey contemplated her options, Carrion stormed out of the room without as much as responding to Buku's last statement. Assured that her long-time ally was out of reach, she grabbed the bottle from the table and took a large gulp of the strong spirit, downing half its contents in an instant.
"Will you do the courtesy and spell out my fate, or should I wait for Luchia to march into my throne room and take my place?" She questioned.
"What makes you think we plan to replace you?" Buku inquired with a growing smirk on her face.
"Right… Should I bend the knee right away in public? Or do I still have time to parade around as a queen, to make arrangements?"
"Oh, don't be so bitter. We could let Fulbrosia remain independent and not meddle in your affairs at all. But tell me, do you want your people to be isolated?"
Frey lifted the bottle again, taking big gulps, ignoring any sort of etiquette as the rest of its content disappeared in seconds. The question Buku asked wasn't if she wanted to be independent or not. She asked if Frey considered herself strong, strong enough to take the lead in ruling Fulbrosia.
'Weak follows the strong. That's how it has always been and that's how it is now,' she mused to herself. She knew her place in this new world of danger and death, even if her pride from centuries of rule didn't want to admit it.
After downing the bottle, she stood up while intently staring at both of the impossibly strong monsters. 'It's now or never. I might not get another chance.'
And she did what she had not done since becoming the Harpy Queen; kneeled. The illusion of power needed to end. She knew she didn't compare to absolute monsters like Milim or Guy who had reigned at the top for thousands of years. In her pride, she had deluded herself into believing they saw her as equal when it never was the case. A small fish in a big pond, that's what she was, given a small portion of the pond's shores to play around in.
"I will serve you, Supreme Overlord. Let my people serve you," She uttered as she lowered her head, offering her subservience.
"I accept your servitude. Rise and accept your place among the ranks of Nazarick," Momonga motioned for her to stand, aura washing over her.
A new skill carved itself into her soul, Servant of Nazarick. She now was part of the greater whole. She now had masters. Five of them, unexpectedly, who reigned above all else in Tempest.
'Milim!? She is one of Tempest's Lords?' Frey audibly gasped at the realization, shuddering. The impossibly strong girl who told her everything unprompted had not told her about being one of Nazarick's leaders, she had grown up.
"It is not yet the time for your nation to officially join Nazarick, so for now you will keep playing the role of an independent queen. But know this, you are now part of the greater whole, and the loyalty you show us will be repaid in turn," were the parting words of her new master as he teleported away.
Frey sent her daughters home with orders to keep their mouths shut and walked the halls of Tempest's Royal Palace in silence. She needed to meet Albedo to receive orders before returning home, as befitting of her status.
"Mother!" The familiar voice of her middle daughter called out after her.
Frey paused. Luchia likely already knew, since there was no doubt she had become Nazarick's Servant soon after Lord Pero had taken her as a consort. Without hurry, she turned around to face her daughter, dressed in hastily thrown-on robes.
Luchia ran up to her and grabbed her in a hug, just like she used to when she was but a hatchling, still unconcerned about politics and only caring for the next meal.
"Luchia! What are you doing?!" Frey exclaimed.
"I'm happy you made the right decision, Mother!" Her daughter chirped, visibly shaking from joy.
"Yes, yes. I know how to use my head. Now behave, I have pressing matters to attend to," she sighed, not so gently peeling her daughter off herself.
The fact that she had likely done what was planned for her was not lost on Frey as she strode towards her new immediate superior's office, the office of Momonga's supposed head wife.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by Clagan, Sluethen, aidan_lo, FantasyTroll, shynavyseal, Thea, and NuggetLover.
Link my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2)