Chapter 694 - 694: [694] : Incorrigible Vampire Seductress

"The... the Sephiroth Graal?"

The name hit Azazel like a physical blow. His expression shifted immediately.

Griselda's did too.

Bokue, on the other hand, barely reacted. To him, one Longinus was more or less the same as another.

The principle hadn't changed. Sacred Gears were accessories, not life support. They enhanced existing strength. They couldn't compensate for strength you never had.

It was like playing an MMO: didn't matter how busted your class was if your gear had zero upgrades, zero enchantments, and zero stat optimization. You'd still do zero damage in a raid. The True Longinus, supposedly the strongest of all thirteen Longinus, had been as threatening as a pool noodle in Cao Cao's hands. The man couldn't even scratch Bokue's skin with it. Like that scene in the DC films where Steppenwolf hacked at Superman with an axe and accomplished absolutely nothing.

That same spear was currently propped in the corner of his apartment bedroom, collecting dust as a cosplay prop. Somehow it still hadn't migrated to a new wielder despite the previous one being very much dead.

"The 'Grail' part, though—sounds like another Biblical God artifact?"

Bokue asked casually.

"That's putting it mildly."

Azazel shook his head, stroking his chin with visible gravity.

"It's one of the Five Holy Relics, right up there with the True Cross, the Holy Shroud, the Holy Nails, and the Holy Spear. The cup used at the Last Supper, said to have held Christ's blood. There are countless legends surrounding it, but the Sacred Gear version isn't just any grail. It's a Longinus-class weapon capable of fundamentally disrupting the laws of life itself..."

??

Two question marks materialized above Bokue's head.

"Disrupting the laws of life" was a bold claim to make in a room full of devils and Fallen Angels. Regular humans lived, what, eighty years? Devils could hit ten thousand and still look twenty-five. Throw in Phoenix blood, and you had functionally infinite regeneration as long as your will to fight held. What even counted as "normal" for these people?

"So what does it actually do?"

Bokue pressed, genuinely confused.

Elmenhilde answered from across the room.

"It grants vampires absolute immortality."

That's it?

Bokue thought.

Immortal bodies weren't exactly rare in his experience. He could manage that himself.

"With one caveat: only when the Sephiroth Graal is fully awakened."

Elmenhilde added the qualifier.

"Our intelligence suggests the Tepes Faction hasn't achieved full activation yet. At present, the most they've gained is a body that's... somewhat harder to destroy."

Even less impressive.

But then Elmenhilde's eyes darkened, her voice dropping with undisguised loathing.

"If nothing changes, however, they will reach full activation. They'll become beings with no weaknesses whatsoever, abandoning every shred of vampire pride in the process."

"If it were only that, we could endure it. But they've already launched attacks against us. There have been casualties. Given the totality of their actions, we have no intention of showing mercy. As fellow vampires, we intend to purge them."

Then go do it.

Bokue very nearly said it out loud.

He hadn't forgotten why Elmenhilde was here in the first place. The Carmilla Faction's sudden interest in peace wasn't born from enlightenment. It was born from the Tepes Faction pulling a cheat code that shattered the inter-faction balance, while the Church's ongoing vampire hunts squeezed them from the other side. Cornered and crumbling, they'd come crawling.

And now, having barely finished begging for mercy, they were already pivoting to: "By the way, could you also help us attack our rivals? Yes, the same rivals we're losing to. Yes, using the forces of the people we were enemies with until five minutes ago."

It was like a country on the losing end of a war suddenly saying: "Okay, okay, I surrender. You're stronger. But before I sign the treaty, could you please rebuild my economy, restore my military, and then I'll formally capitulate."

Keep talking like that and see how fast I end this war for you.

"I won't pretend this isn't humiliating, but the Carmilla Faction currently stands no chance against the Tepes Faction. We need external assistance."

At least Elmenhilde was honest about it.

"There's also one more piece of information I need to share with everyone... no, specifically with you—Gasper Vladi."

"M-me?"

The vampire girl inside the box flinched.

"The Tepes Faction recently experienced an armed coup. The former Tepes leader's status is unknown. And the person now leading the faction is... your childhood friend, Valerie Tepes."

"Wh—?!"

Gasper went rigid.

"I'll admit, we were equally shocked by the news."

Elmenhilde spread her hands in an elegant shrug.

"Hard to imagine, isn't it? A faction that split off specifically over patriarchal principles has now installed a female hybrid as their leader. I can't begin to guess what the Tepes Faction is really planning."

She didn't embellish. Didn't spin conspiracy theories. She simply laid out the facts and let them land.

For Gasper, it was more than enough.

CRASH—

The cardboard box burst open. The golden-haired vampire girl who'd been hiding since the moment she arrived erupted from inside it, sitting bolt upright, bangs disheveled from the violent motion, but her delicate features set with a determination no one in this room had ever seen from her.

"I— I'm going! No... I have to go! Valerie isn't that kind of person! There's no way she'd willingly lead the Tepes Faction! I don't know what's happened to her, but I'm going to save her! The same way... the same way she saved me when she helped me escape that castle!!!"

"I see."

As if she'd anticipated this exact outcome, Elmenhilde smiled softly and rose from the sofa.

"I imagine you all have quite a bit to discuss regarding the details. I won't intrude on that. Just let me know what you decide, whatever the answer."

She crossed the room to Bokue. Leaned down. From inside her dress, beneath the neckline of her bodice, she produced a small slip of paper that still carried a faint, cold fragrance. She placed it in his hand.

"My contact information. And—"

Elmenhilde's lips parted. She leaned closer, her breath a whisper of ice against his ear.

"If you'd prefer to claim me as your slave, you need only say the word. I'd be more than happy to offer myself~"

On the side Rias couldn't see, her lips brushed the curve of his ear. Light as a dragonfly skimming water. Gone before it could leave a mark.

Then she straightened up and walked out.

Absolutely incorrigible...

Bokue thought.

Not five minutes ago, she'd been called out for "hunting humans is just our nature," and here she was making another pass. What was that saying? The most dangerous predators disguise themselves as prey?

Something like that.

"So... what do we do now?"

❁❁❁❁

While Bokue and the others were still deliberating in the old schoolhouse, across the island, inside the Special Security Force headquarters.

The director's office.

Bright light spilled from the ceiling fixture. The aroma of premium black tea hung in the air. A black-haired girl in a gothic dress sat behind the desk, working through paperwork.

Click.

The office door opened and closed. A blue-haired girl in a maid uniform entered carrying a stack of reports, which she set beside her mistress.

"Report. Updated island situation briefing."

"Mm. Leave it there."

Natsuki Minamiya acknowledged with a wave, taking the papers with one hand while the other held her teacup. She scanned the top sheet with the casual efficiency of routine triage.

Most days, nothing noteworthy.

Today was not most days.

Her eyes went wide. Tea sprayed from her mouth.

"What is this?! What do you mean 'a large group of rogue mages has stowed away on a cargo ship and infiltrated the island'?! Over a hundred of them?!"

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