Chapter 58: Devil's Whisper (8)
Azrail Astaroth Pov:
[Romania: Carmilla Faction.]
[The Karnstein Household's Castle.]
"Here you go, Elmen…"
Elmenhilde sat on the edge of her bed in front of me with her eyes closed, and I placed my index finger on her forehead.
The Astaroth Clan's Magic Circle appeared at my fingertip, returning her true memories to her.
After a few minutes, she opened her eyes as I retreated my finger.
Elmenhilde looked down at her hands and spoke in her usual, delicate voice. "Did we succeed in luring out Shadow Fiend, Master?"
Her question made me smile. "Yes."
The plan to deceive Lyra was simple, but it wasn't easy.
After realising that Lyra could deceive [Soul Corridor], I didn't move against her because I believed she was watching me.
Thanks to that, I couldn't do much besides dropping minor details for her to connect or make her believe I had no idea about her movements.
The central part of the plan was Elmenhilde's memories.
For Lyra to misunderstand my abilities, not register her flesh body as a threat, and guess my identity as a reincarnator — all these things needed Elmenhilde's memories to occur.
"If it weren't for you, subduing Lyra would have been extremely difficult..."
I wasn't lying.
Elmenhilde altered her memories with such precision and detail that a veteran like Lyra couldn't detect anything wrong with them.
While Great Sage provided her with detailed information through telepathic messages, the one who turned that into memories was Elmenhilde herself.
It was a testament to her immense talent, as even the slightest error would have ruined our plan.
I was worried whether she could do it at first, but I decided to believe in myself.
After all, I didn't invest so much time in training her for nothing.
"Thank you, Elmen. You did well…"
"Eh…"
Elmenhilde's eyes widened at those words, and she looked up at my face with her mouth agape.
"What is it?"
"N-No, it's just… Master never thanked me before, so I was surprised. Please forgive me…"
"You don't need to apologise for such things anymore, Elmen. After all…"
I placed my hand on Elmenhilde's head and leaned forward until my forehead rested against hers.
We maintained eye contact for a few seconds, and I continued with a small, relaxed smile. "You are my most precious possession…"
Possession. Most people would find it dehumanising, but to Elmenhilde, it was an integral part of her identity.
Before Elmenhilde Karnstein or a person with free will, she was Azrail Astaroth's possession — I had already engraved that deep into her psyche.
But it was an identity made out of fear.
"Master…"
Unknowingly, Elmenhilde clenched her dress.
Ba-dump!*
I used [Sound Magic] to monitor her body, noticing her heartbeat and blood pressure increase rapidly as her cheeks turned red.
'It's time to start the second part of Elmenhilde's development…'
What were the best emotions to control someone?
From what I understood, there was only one correct answer.
Fear in the short term and love in the long term.
Both emotions made people irrational, albeit for different reasons.
The process of breaking down Elmenhilde with fear and power had already finished.
Now, all that remained was for me to rebuild her into someone who would willingly devote her entire existence to me with kindness, compassion, and love.
It wasn't that I couldn't control Elmenhilde with fear, but that long-term use of fear bred resentment, stress, and defiance.
Or at least, that was the case with most people.
The chances of Elmenhilde's rebellion were non-existent, but I knew that fear would limit her emotional and mental growth.
'To grow stronger, surpass her natural limits, increase her knowledge, and exist solely for my sake — love will stimulate her growth far better than fear alone…'
While Elmenhilde was mentally and physically dependent on me, her immense fear of me suppressed most of her emotional attachment.
However, love would change that and bind her to me forever.
After all, I had no intention of leaving her behind — not in a decade, century, or a millennial.
'But there is one problem. Elmenhilde has someone else in her heart…'
Millarca Vordenburg — her best friend and current bottom line.
Elmenhilde would follow all orders I gave her without hesitation as long as it didn't involve harming Millarca.
'The real question is, can I rebuild Elmenhilde into someone who will willingly sacrifice her best friend for my sake if it came down to it?'
The answer was simple.
Of course, I could.
Although, I doubted such a situation would ever come.
"I never noticed it before, but…" My hand moved to the back of Elmenhilde's head, and my eyelids dropped halfway as I looked into her eyes. "Your eyes are beautiful, Elmen…"
I had once heard that eyes were the window to the soul.
Her deep red eyes had nothing but obedience and submission inside them, with no thoughts of rebellion or defiance.
How could I not love such beautiful eyes?
"Never noticed before… Does that mean you find my eyes beautiful because of who I am now, Master?"
"Yes." I straightened my back and retreated my hand from her head. "Is that a problem?"
To me, Elmenhilde wasn't just a person. She was my creation, my possession. The beauty I saw in her eyes reflected my own achievement, which I cherished.
Her abilities, successes, and failures were also mine.
She must know that, too.
"No…" Elmenhilde intercrossed her fingers, her head dropping forward while staring at her hands with a smile. "It makes me happy…"
Her blush deepened, and I saw hope return to her eyes — the hope I destroyed when I first met her.
'You are so happy about it despite knowing the meaning of my words? That's is why I like you, Elmen…' [1]
I smiled at her.
'And it looks like the nine months we spent together researching Hydra's immortal body weren't for nought…'
Although not much, I sowed minor seeds for Elmenhilde's development in her subconscious through small gestures and actions back then.
I gave her the idea that if she completely and utterly devoted herself to me with all her heart, I'd look at her with care and compassion.
'The thing with Lyra helped me out in this…'
Elmenhilde's help in subduing Lyra was a massive accomplishment, enough for me to start the second part of her development without it feeling abrupt to her.
"Elmen…"
"Yes?"
"From now on..." Elmenhilde stared at me, and I brought my right index finger above her mouth. "I'll let you drink four drops of my blood every three weeks…"
As I spoke, four drops of blood came out of my fingertip and fell into Elmenhilde's mouth.
Gulp!*
Instinctively, she gulped my blood down, and an uncontrollable, dense wave of Magic Power emerged from within her body.
I created a barrier around us to avoid destroying the room. "Don't stare at me like that. Control your Magic Power…"
Elmenhilde snapped out of her initial shock, hurriedly closing her eyes and focusing on controlling her rampant Magic Power.
'If she continues to improve like this, the results will be phenomenal...'
Elmenhilde's current limit was four drops of my blood. Anything more would be too much for her to consume at once.
However, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
The four drops I gave her were more beneficial than consuming a hundred humans combined.
'By the time canon starts, her Magic Power Reserves will likely be somewhere in the Satan Class…'
From Peak High Class to Satan Class in less than a decade — that was far more than just an impressive development.
If the Tepes or Carmilla Faction knew how easily my blood could empower vampires, they'd expend all their resources to capture me.
Truth be told, I'd do the same if I were in their shoes.
'No. If this ability gets out, Tepes and Carmilla Faction won't be the only ones hunting me down…'
The ability to empower others so effortlessly was dangerous.
In theory, I could take ten, a hundred, or a thousand vampires and give them raw power equivalent to Satan-Class Devils within a decade or so.
It was a threat to the world's power balance.
Not to mention, that was without considering the insane healing properties of my blood.
Whether to obtain me for themselves or eliminate me, other factions wouldn't let me be if they knew about my [Immortality].
That was what Lyra meant when she said, "If they knew about your abilities, they would hunt you down to—Blegh!"
Or at least, I believe that was what she meant.
I couldn't be sure since I punched her in the stomach before she could finish.
'Remembering that punch makes me happy…'
[Amen, Master.]
Even Great Sage agreed with me.
'But first, I need to confirm if vampires have any upper limit to how strong they can get through [Blood Consumption]. It'd be unreasonable if such an ability has no limits…'
After a few minutes of silence, Elmenhilde's rampaging Magic Power subsided.
"How do you feel?"
"My Magic Power Reserves and control over them increased…" Slowly, Elmenhilde opened her eyes and looked down at her body. "My physical body and senses improved slightly, too…"
Yeah.
For vampires, my blood wasn't a simple Magic Power boost. It also improved their physical attributes, five senses, intrinsic skills, and Magic Power Control.
[Notice. There's a high chance Elmenhilde will develop a potent healing factor with the help of Master's blood.]
'How potent are we talking about?'
[Answer. It should be potent enough to instantly regenerate from anything besides losing limbs or decapitation.]
'Heh…'
Now, I had another thing to look forward to.
"From now on, I'll train you personally as your strength increases through [Blood Consumption]…"
[Shadow Construction], [Shadow Movement], [Shadow Teleportation], [Shadow Merge], [Shadow Domain], and [Disguise] — I had a lot to teach Elmenhilde within the next few years.
"Train me?" The vampire's eyes widened slightly, and she smiled briefly before looking up at me with a determined expression. "I'll do my best, Master."
When I mentioned training her as my lab assistant after our first meeting, Elmenhilde was internally horrified to spend time with me despite not showing it on her face.
However, now, she was ecstatic to know that I'd train her personally.
The difference between her two selves was simply incomparable.
"I know, but before that…" I smiled at Elmenhilde and turned around. "Let's finish what I came here for…"
On the other side of the room, several vampires were lying unconscious on the floor with dreadful expressions.
These were members of the Karnstein Household whom Elmenhilde couldn't brainwash alone.
As for their current condition, they were under the effects of numerous drugs that numbed a person's cognitive and intellectual abilities.
Since vampires were biologically immortal, the amount I used on them was enough to kill most supernaturals around their level.
Their strength was commendable, but it didn't matter because I used [Shadow Teleportation] to sneak attack them with Arondight.
Behind the unconscious vampires were all the remaining members and servants of the Karnstein Household that Elmenhilde had brainwashed over the last year.
I walked over to the unconscious vampires, and Elmenhilde followed behind closely. "Are Krul's spies also within them?"
"Yes, Master."
"How long before someone notices their disappearance?"
"Twenty-five minutes."
I smiled at her words and got down on one knee next to an unconscious female vampire. "That's more than enough."
"Do you plan on brainwashing them, Master?"
"No, I want them to grow stronger. As Noble Vampires from the Carmilla Faction, all of them have high potential. I'll give them my blood and nurture them…"
Naturally, I would abuse my ability to empower vampires. It'd be out of character not to.
While nurturing thousands of vampires would be too much, raising a few wasn't a problem.
"But Master, if their strength grows, it'll be hard to control them…"
Elmenhilde's worry wasn't wrong. As someone grew stronger, their passive resistance to abilities like [Mind Control] also increased.
Even for individuals with similar strengths, dominating someone mentally through magic alone was extremely difficult.
However, it didn't matter — not to me, at least.
I placed my index finger on the unconscious female vampire's chest and surged my Demonic Power. "[Soul Corridor]."
A pure white thread came out of her chest and moved towards my chest, binding our souls together.
Moments later, I held my palm above her face before the Astaroth Clan's Magic Circle appeared in front of it.
"Master, this is…"
"I'm altering the memories stored inside her soul..."
Something like this was impossible with the usual [Memory Manipulation], but the improved [Soul Corridor] granted me control over the target's soul.
In a sense, I was rewriting the female vampire's consciousness, individuality, ego, and existence.
Whatever the results might be, her original self would no longer exist.
It was a fate far worse than death.
"I see…"
Although Elmenhilde managed to conceal her emotions well, there were still traces of fear in her voice.
After all, she was also a vampire — someone who had an affinity with my soul.
If I wanted to, I could form a [Soul Corridor] with her and rewrite her entire existence whenever I felt like it.
No one wanted to lose their sense of self, no matter how twisted it might be.
'But rewriting a person's soul is difficult…'
Even though I appeared relaxed, [Parallel Processing] was working overtime as my fifty-three 'thought lines' focused on altering the unconscious vampire's soul.
If it weren't for my [Regeneration] and [Immortality], my brain would have self-destructed when I pushed [Parallel Processing] beyond its current limits.
However, since I could 'adapt' to the spell's physical drawbacks, there was no problem.
Every time I received brain damage, my ability to utilise this spell increased slightly.
"But that's not all…" After the rewrite finished, I picked up the unconscious female vampire's body and brought the back of her head in front of me. "Elmen, do you know why I came here today?"
"I do not…"
"Because…" My canine teeth grew sharper and longer, resembling a vampire's fangs as I spoke, "It's a full moon today…"
With those words, I bit the unconscious female noble vampire's neck and punctured her skin with my fangs before ejecting some of my blood into her bloodstream.
[Blood Raise.]
The female vampire's injuries started to heal rapidly, and her aura surged, causing Elmenhilde's eyes to widen in shock.
"Demonic Power…!"
"Yes…"
The energy pouring out of the unconscious vampire wasn't her race's Magic Power but a devil's Demonic Power.
"T-This is…"
I smiled at Elmenhilde and continued from where she left off. "It's [Blood Raise]…"
It was one of the vampire race's intrinsic skills I obtained from Lyra, which allowed me to turn others into devils by sharing my blood with them.
As with Evil Pieces, the target still retained their race's natural abilities on top of the devil race's Demonic Power.
"But how… Even with [Blood Raise], it shouldn't be this simple to turn an Ultimate Class Vampire into a Devil…"
Elmenhilde's surprise wasn't out of my expectations.
"You are correct. Under normal circumstances, I can't turn someone with more aura than me into a devil, but…" I held the pure white thread that connected me to the unconscious noble vampire. "It doesn't matter if I can just reduce the target's strength with [Soul Corridor]…"
It was a loophole that existed solely for me.
After a few seconds, I got up from the ground and turned towards the unconscious vampire-turned-devil. "Stand up."
In response to those words, her eyes shot open, and she stood up instantly, kicking away her comrades' bodies to create some space.
The vampire I reincarnated as a devil was a beautiful young girl with long, silver hair and crimson eyes.
However, the eye-catching thing about her was her expression.
Unlike the brainwashed people standing behind her, her expression wasn't neutral. On the contrary, she maintained a formal smile, and her eyes weren't lifeless, either.
"Introduce yourself."
"I am the Karnstein Household's first elder and one of Queen Carmilla's original confidants…" The silver-haired girl lifted the sides of her dress and politely greeted us with a bow. "My name is Ambrosia Karnstein. Please feel free to order me, sire..."
"Sire. I never thought someone would call me that in this life…" With a chuckle, I turned towards Elmenhilde. "So, what do you think?"
"Ambrosia's aura is that of a devil, Master…" Elmenhilde was still processing what she had seen, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. "If she steps out like this, everyone will realise that she is no longer a vampire…"
"That's not a problem anymore…" I placed my hand on Ambrosia's shoulder. "[Disguise]."
Instantly, her Demonic Aura transformed into her original aura with no traces of Demonic Power remaining.
[Disguise] was not a Magic Spell that required Magic Power or a Magic Circle. Instead, it gave its user the ability to manipulate their soul directly.
In other words, applying the skill to others was theoretically impossible — at least for people not named Azrail Astaroth.
If I could rewrite someone's soul memories, replicating [Disguise]'s effects through [Soul Corridor] wasn't a stretch.
Well, it took me twenty-nine 'thought lines' and seven hours to figure out how to do that, but the results were worth it.
"Her Demonic Aura disappeared…" Elmenhilde's hand trembled when she saw the sudden change in Ambrosia's presence. "Amazing…"
"I'm sure there's no need for an introduction, so I'll be direct…" I glanced at Ambrosia and raised my forearm towards my dear lab assistant. "You will be Elmemhilde Karnstein's servant from now on. Follow her orders and assist her in whatever she asks you to…"
"I understand…" Ambrosia stepped forward and fell to one knee, lowering her head. "Greetings, Lady Elmenhilde…"
"…"
Elmenhilde was too dumbfounded to form a coherent reply, which was understandable.
The strongest vampire within the Karnstein Household and the greatest obstacle in obtaining absolute authority over her family was kneeling towards her in submission.
However, her most prominent emotion right now wasn't shock but fear.
"Elmen…"
"Y-Yes?"
My [Soul Corridor] with Ambrosia deactivated as I walked towards Elmenhilde, looking directly into her eyes.
"What are you scared of?"
Elmenhilde's body trembled, and she instinctively lowered her gaze. "I… I don't want to disappear, Master…"
After what I did to Ambrosia, I could do the same to Elmenhilde — erase her current self and recreate her into whatever I wanted.
"Don't be foolish, Elmen…" I gently caressed Elmemhilde's cheeks, leaning forward and resting my forehead against hers. "You are different from these disposable items…"
"Disposable items…?"
"You are my subordinate, my possession. You are not disposable…" Elmenhilde's eyes shook as my words settled in, and I spoke slowly. "I don't want to erase 'you' and create a perfect version of you. I want 'you,' Elmenhilde…"
I knew she wanted me to care for her.
No one knew her psyche better than me, and there were some things she never expected to hear from her extremely pragmatic master, even in her wildest fantasies, so when she did—
"If it isn't 'you,' it'll be pointless, so rest assured…"
Tears fell down Elmenhilde's cheeks.
"I will never erase you…"
As those words finished, I pressed my lips against hers.
The kiss wasn't intimate, but it was enough for Elmenhilde to halt her movements and close her eyes.
Her heartbeat accelerated when our lips met, only to calm down over the next minute.
After Elmenhilde calmed down, I slowly pulled back from the kiss and stared at her.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes…" Elmenhilde hurriedly wiped her tears off and rubbed her eyes. "I apologise for such an unsightly display, Master…"
However, no matter how much she wiped, tears kept falling down her eyes.
'It's done…'
With that kiss, I emotionally validated the suffering Elmenhilde had experienced ever since we met.
People often sought meaning in their suffering to make it more bearable and acceptable.
Elmenhilde would do the same. Instead of viewing her suffering as unjust or cruel, she'd see it as a necessary part of her evolution into the person I now deemed worthy of affection.
"Calm down…"
I wiped the tears off Elmenhilde's face, and I noticed something.
The hope in her eyes had increased.
"Yes. I apologise…"
"It's fine."
I gently patted her head with a smile.
After stripping her of her individuality and free will, I gave her worth and recognised her value again.
However, it was different from before.
This time, her worth existed solely because of me.
"Thank you, Master…"
Elmenhilde smiled beautifully, and my expression relaxed.
'I can't deny it anymore. Mentally breaking and rebuilding vampires might already be a fetish. Fuck you, Lyra…'
There were two main reasons I didn't manipulate Elmenhilde's memories through [Soul Corridor].
The first was that it would affect her intellectual capabilities and reduce her overall potential, which was the opposite of what I wanted.
It'd hinder her roles as both my lab assistant and subordinate.
I raised my hand towards Elmenhilde with my palm upwards. "Elmen, I want you to take over the Carmilla Faction for me. Can you do it?"
The sudden proposal surprised her, but she rested her hand above mine the next moment.
"Yes, Master. Please leave it to me."
I smiled at her words and turned towards Ambrosia's direction, who was still kneeling on the ground. "I'll rewrite each one of these things here. After that, you can use them however you see fit and develop them accordingly."
The vampire race in my hands had immense potential, so I had no intention of letting them go.
Elmenhilde tilted her head in confusion. "Develop them?"
"For example, look at Ambrosia. I didn't make her completely mindless. She's like an empty whiteboard right now. You can develop her personality however you want…"
Ambrosia could still act like her original self, so no one would be able to tell that something happened to her.
As for her original memories, I had copied them already.
"But Master, what if she regains her consciousness?"
"She won't… I rewrote her soul because I didn't trust [Blood Raise]'s absolute control. Even if the latter turns out to be ineffective, Ambrosia Karnstein no longer exists..."
"I see."
Elmenhilde looked down at Ambrosia with an expressionless face, and soon, her lips curled into a smile.
Her eyes were similar to how Pure-Blooded Vampires saw Mixed Breeds and Dhampirs — a look of pure disgust and repulse.
From what I knew, Elmenhilde had always hated Ambrosia because the latter never acknowledged her as the next Lady Karnstein.
Even when I ordered Elmenhilde to increase her influence within the Carmilla Faction, Ambrosia often hindered the process.
'Well, it doesn't matter anymore…'
After all, Ambrosia was already gone.
"Also, teach them whatever techniques and spells I teach you in the future, along with the Devil's Magic System. I want them prepared for battles…"
"Rest assured, Master…" Elmenhilde turned towards me, and her eyes softened as she smiled. "I will do whatever you want."
I didn't even need [Lie Detection] to tell the authenticity of her words.
'Man, I think I've grown quite fond of her…'
The second reason I didn't alter Elmenhilde's memories was simple.
I liked my lab assistant as she was.
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Words: 3,871
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1: I don't think anyone will notice, but this is the first time Azrail has referred to Elmenhilde as "Elmen" in his thoughts. He always called her by her name before despite using the nickname outwardly.
You have no idea how much time I spent reading about trauma bonding to write Azrail and Elmenhilde's relationship xD.
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A/N:
This chapter was meant to be half of chapter 58, but somehow, it ended up being almost 4000 words.
I uploaded it cause if I didn't, it would've been 8000 words and took a few more days, so I split them into two.
A chapter in six days RAAAAAAHHHHHH.
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It feels like I'm checking boxes with giving characters a small conclusion before the time skip lol.
Azrail, Latia, Arthur, Alice, Lyra, and now Elmenhilde.
The next chapter will be the last chapter before a small timeskip.
From then on, it'll be a short drive to canon since the base (Azrail's character, side cast roles, abilities, and future plot developments) is already established.
But there's one problem.
The Devil ain't whispering. It's Khaos Brigade all over again (cries).
I don't want to make it to (11).
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On that note, Azrail is back at abusing his abilities.
His skills are seemingly random af but somehow come together to make bonker cheats.
He got humbled twice and is grinding in all aspects possible non-stop ever since (thrice as much since he has three bodies now): personal strength, subordinates, and knowledge.
Bro is not letting any vampires go xD.
Now that I think about it, vampires got ran over by Rizevim in canon and Azrail in the fic. They can't catch a break.
I can't even imagine the atrocities he'd commit after powering up these vampires.
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Random lore I created on the fly:
Azrail took singing classes when he was a child.
He recorded and played the blackboard scratching sound on the speakers at max volume in a hall full of people and got kicked out.
He's as good at singing as he is bad at cooking.
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Throw them stones.