Chapter 77: The Fourth Peerage Member

—Valerie Tepes—

The fall of the Tepes Empire was not expected. Even from the Carmilla faction, there were many moments of uncertainty and worry. The Carmilla faction had never been equal, no, that wasn't correct.

A few centuries back, they had been equal, with a near about equal starting point. But while Carmilla focused on the civilians of her faction, Tepes began building a military nation. This ensured that the Tepes faction would be undefeated, at the cost of the quality of life for the civilians, as opposed to Carmilla faction's approach.

Never once had Valerie believed or expected the Tepes Empire to fall. No, she didn't expect even a fraction of the damage that they suffered.

They had revived dragons, they had many generals capable of facing countless High Class Vampires, they had the strongest Evil Dragon, they even had the leader of the Old Satan Faction.

And they even had her, someone capable of bringing the dead back to life.

Somehow, the very traps they had set, the method of isolating portions of the Carmilla side to weaken the Queen, had ended up becoming their own weakness in the end.

If she had been alongside the Evil Dragon or stood with Rizevim, maybe they would have won.

But deep down, despite the pain of losing her family, there was a sense of relief. A sense of comfort and fulfillment.

She hated herself for feeling such things. She had lost her father, her brothers, her cousins, and any and all form of family she ever had.

And despite it all, she wasn't sobbing, she wasn't weeping. All she had been doing was sitting in silence, in a dark room guarded by countless vampires of Carmilla.

'What day is it?'

She wondered, aware that it hadn't been very long, despite it feeling like an eternity. About a few hours since she had regained her consciousness, her sanity. And about a day or two, probably three, since the end of the war.

'Is it for the best?'

The Tepes vampires weren't executed. The nobles were. Maybe she would be as well.

However, at least for now, she wasn't worrying about that. She was weirdly calm and comforted.

'At least they won't have to suffer any longer.'

The Tepes vampires would not be considered property anymore. They would also have rights. From what she knew of Carmilla, she wasn't unkind to her kind. As long as the vampires followed her, she was kind and loving, unlike her father.

The man who didn't even blink at using his daughter for war. He was well aware that each time she used her Longinus, it drained her life force. It took a toll on her sanity and soul.

Yet, the damned vampire didn't care.

"Has my life truly been so meaningless?" she muttered. "Why was I even born?"

To be a tool?

To be used and then disposed of?

To be sacrificed?

It made her annoyed. It angered her. And then, she accepted it.

Her body was weak. She couldn't even move her limbs without putting far too much effort than considered necessary.

"What will happen to me?" she wondered, not really expecting much.

But that was the thing with life. It never goes as expected.

One that wishes for the good often ends up suffering the worst. And ones that are prepared for the worst might end up being blessed by luck.

In her case, it was the latter.

"Depends on what you want."

The voice wasn't hers. It wasn't her inner voice.

But it was familiar, oh so familiar.

"You have choices. Not many, still they are choices."

Her body refused to listen to her. Her limbs wouldn't even work properly. But at least her eyes did. At the very least, they moved to the side to see a person materializing before her.

A long coat, multiple linings running across it. Boots that were only affordable for the nobles. And a physique that seemed trained.

"So, what do you want?"

She had heard the voice before, first at the meeting before the war, and then during the events that led to the present.

A voice that always seemed to be right. An annoying voice.

And a face that was equally annoying.

Handsome face, but annoying.

Punchable even.

"Handsome, I know." The man chuckled. "But you don't have to stare."

She wasn't staring because of that, she was—

It didn't matter.

She told herself that it didn't matter.

"Here to make fun of me?" she asked, not bothering to push her limbs any longer. "Sick hobby, I must admit."

"I mean…" He had his hands inside the pockets of the long coat and walked with slow, comfortable steps. "It is always fun. But unfortunately, I am not here to be making fun of you today."

He stood just a few inches away from her.

"Though it is definitely something to see a proud vampire in such a state."

He was annoying, there was absolutely no denying that.

For a moment, she was thinking of being executed rather than having to suffer the humiliation before the man. No, before the devil.

Surprisingly enough, he took a step back and lowered himself into a squat.

"For today, I am here with an offer."

She let out a short snort. "Yeah, right. They all do."

She was a noble, a fallen noble but still a noble. Above all else, she was a vampire with a Longinus.

Everyone coveted her. It wasn't anything new. And more than likely, she was kept alive because of the very Longinus.

"I mean… of course they do, you are precious enough."

She glanced at him and frowned. "You mean what I have is precious enough."

To that, he merely shrugged, lips pressed downward, eyes briefly shut.

"You can say that."

She truly wondered why he was even there. It didn't make much sense. She was pretty much useless. The overexertion of her Longinus had nearly crippled her, and she was in no condition to use it again. Maybe once, but no more.

And if he wanted her Longinus, he could have very much turned her into an experiment and extracted it, just like what her brother had been planning.

Yes, she knew.

But this guy, this devil, was kind of weird.

He wasn't going with something so simple and obvious. He was goofing around, at least she thought he was.

She let out a deep sigh. "I cannot use it again, my body is dying. I cannot bring back the dead. Even if I do, I don't believe I can bring back anyone strong."

One might believe the value of every life to be equal, but it wasn't. Some individuals were more valuable than the others, and so were their souls.

Ones with stronger souls drained far more than ones with weaker souls. And currently, she was certain that she could not revive anyone strong, even if she gave her life for it.

So whatever he was looking for, it was worthless. And no magic was strong enough to heal her soul, so it was all for nothing.

Whatever he was trying was for nothing.

"Oh, I know." And yet, to her, his answer came as nothing less than shocking.

"Just…" She was genuinely curious at this point. "What are you doing, Faiser?"

She didn't bother with the title of Lord. It didn't mean anything when she was about to die.

And so, she wasn't afraid of offending him. She just wanted to know what the devil was after.

The devil dragged his hand to the back of his head and breathed out. "Well, as it turns out… Carmilla has left your fate in my hands."

That didn't really sound very appealing. Then again, her fate was death from the start. Now it was all up to how much she was to suffer before it.

"So?" she asked. "What are you going to do?"

She also ignored the fact that he called the Queen so casually, something that would get even the higher ups in trouble.

"Well…" He paused and seemed to think about it. "I found something while scouting the place a while back."

She was curious. "What?"

"Your brother's lab. It was pretty much wrecked, but a few things survived."

She wondered where he was going with it.

"One of them turns out to be a Sacred Gear extractor."

'Oh.'

Now she knew where it was going.

"The issue is that it is not perfect, and while Satan Ajuka did say that I can pretty much rip out a gear without destroying it by using it… it would most definitely kill the wielder."

She knew about that. That had always been her brother's plan, maybe even her father's.

"And given the device being imperfect, it can only be used once. Once I use it, the device is gone for good as well."

That she didn't know.

"You are conflicted," she guessed. "You think you might find a better Gear, and so you don't want to use it just yet."

As stupid of a reason as it sounded, it was true that her Longinus wasn't the strongest out there.

It may have been the best support type Longinus, but overall, there were quite a few that outranked it.

The True Longinus being one of them.

"That too."

That too.

Meaning he had another reason.

She was curious. She didn't outright say that, but she didn't hide her curiosity either.

"As you are right now," he took a pause to have a proper look at her, "you are useful to no one. And Carmilla doesn't want to deal with you. You are practically a bomb to her."

It took her a moment to understand what he meant.

Politically.

But she finally understood.

"She can have me killed, or could have taken my Longinus out."

That was a possibility, and her Longinus was valuable enough.

"Could've, should've." He agreed. "But she didn't. It may have to do with the fact that I kind of stole your brother's sacred gear extractor without telling her about its existence."

This made her eyes go wide in shock.

The devil before her was shrewd. She already knew that. But he was far too unbothered about practically scamming the Queen.

"And I can tell her about it?"

"Yes, but why would you?" He had a point. "That's signing your own death certificate. You being alive is a hassle for her, but your gear is useful to her. So, you would certainly die if I let her know of the extractor."

Why didn't he?

That was the question. And if he wants the Longinus, why didn't he use it on her? Sure, maybe a better Longinus would pop up in the future.

But was he going to let her Longinus go to waste?

In a twisted way, it offended her.

"The thing is… you are a threat to her because of your political standing. It is not your Longinus, to be honest. It is not offensive enough for her to worry, nor are you physically capable of using it to start a riot."

As much as it hurt, she was pretty pathetic.

"You have Tepes blood. Despite being a dhampir, you do have enough weight to start another revolt. Now more than ever, with no more direct Tepes successor being alive."

Once again, not incorrect. In the past, she would have absolutely no pull. But with all her brothers dead, she was the last True Tepes.

"That being said, the more your race, or in this scenario, blood, dilutes… the lesser this political threat gets."

'Is he…' she wondered. 'But why would he?'

She was getting confused.

"If you end up with another racial trait, your political value becomes nearly zero. And if you serve another, it loses all meaning."

"Why?" she asked, having guessed where this was leading to. "You turning me into a devil would extend my life, maybe even make me durable enough to use my gear a few more times. But it is not worth enough for you to be sacrificing your evil pieces. You can extract my gear and just put it in one of your servants."

Her being turned into a devil was a temporary fix. It wouldn't make her capable of spamming her Longinus, it would at max add one or two more uses.

He didn't answer that question immediately. He took a second.

"Tell me, do you want to live?"

It was a simple question that he asked. And anyone else would have answered with an immediate yes.

And here she was, confused.

"Everyone wants to live," she answered. "But why should I? My fate has always been decided for me. To live as a tool, and die."

"If you turn me into a devil, maybe I will be useful for a bit. But then I will die." She paused. "Or do you want to turn me into a devil so that you can use the extractor once I am dead? So that you can use it a few more times with another host till it is gone for good?"

That made sense to her.

Though this time, he laughed out loud.

"Quite the far thinker," he admitted. "You would be correct."

So that was it. Another few moments as a tool.

"At least for every other person."

Now this was not the response she had expected.

"Confused?"

It would be a lie if she didn't say yes. So, she nodded.

And the method he chose to answer with made her a little nervous.

He got a certain weird fluid in his hand. A white fluid, which quickly turned into a knife.

Though what she expected never happened. Instead, the man dragged the knife over his palm, ripping open his very hand.

The scene was grotesque and made her nose scrunch upwards.

"But you see, I can do this."

And what he showed her amazed her.

The wound that had formed healed immediately. The wound closed on its own.

He didn't use any magic. He didn't even exert any demonic power to close it. It happened naturally. Like nature itself was helping him heal.

"I happen to have a few tricks up my sleeve," he finally revealed. "One of which can help you stay alive. And maybe even negate the side effect of using your gear."

That wasn't possible.

She wanted to tell that out loud.

But here he was, showing her that he can heal his wounds even without magic.

Not even the legendary dragons had such an ability where they could heal without using their magic or draconic powers.

"Well, you will still suffer. I cannot help you with that if you use your Longinus. But you won't die. You won't be left unable to move like you are now."

"You want me to be your slave." She frowned. "I would have died normally, but you come with a way to make me suffer for eternity."

He sighed. "I mean, I do hope that you will help me with your Longinus in the future, when the situation arises. But I am not going to force you."

Before she could say anything, he stopped her and continued.

"Of course, it merely sounds like me lying to you right now. But that's how it is. I don't really force my members. Not every devil does that."

He didn't claim that all devils were good. He knew better than to lie that far.

"But you see, I am also trying to rebuild my pillars."

She already knew that. Back then at the meeting, they talked about Faiser's situation and how he was the sole devil of two pillars.

"I need people like you, powerful and with enough potential to hopefully revive my pillars to their former glory."

"Talk is cheap," she was blunt. "Promises are empty."

"Promises are. Contracts aren't." He said. "And lately, it seems that I have been spending each day signing a new contract."

She was confused. He was confident.

And she realized why.

He lifted his hand, and right before her eyes, a certain magical piece of paper appeared.

"Turns out, people believe contracts more than words, as they come with some sort of repercussion for breaking them." He snorted. "I had to sign one to have Bova in my peerage, so I can also sign one to have you in my peerage."

Her eyes were fixated on the paper.

"This contract is called a Soul Contract," Faiser explained. "Satan Lucifer taught me not very long ago about contracts and how each race has their own form of it. In the case of Devils, we have the Soul Contract, which damns your soul to eternal suffering if you break it. Or well, not eternal, but it depends on what we write in the punishment section."

He pointed at the tiny print with the word punishment written on it.

"Vampires have Blood Contracts, as far as I know. So, if we sign this contract, with the promise of not forcing you… that's about it. You will be a member of my peerage, you will survive this war, you won't be executed, and you can still live quite a luxurious life." He shrugged. "I don't want to brag, but I happen to be quite rich."

She was stunned, unable to think.

"Why… are you doing this?"

He laughed. "If you happen to find a person that you can take in with a Longinus like yours, potential like yours, wouldn't you do the same? Especially when the devil happens to be from pillars that had long since fallen? If anything, I am not at a stage where I can let go of talents. Even if it means signing contracts as such."

This… wasn't bad. She knew it wasn't bad.

She didn't love her life. But maybe this was a chance. She might be able to live her life, not under the rules and restrictions of others, not as a tool, but maybe as herself.

Of course, for now, it was only a pipe dream. He could very much be lying. All devils did. Maybe he had countless tricks hidden in that contract that would screw her over.

Everyone knew not to trust a devil. The devil never lies, but he only tells the half truth.

That was a known fact.

But she still dared to hope. She knew she didn't have the right, after all she had been through. Being a tool, it was hilarious that she hoped for something normal.

And the devil before her seemed to catch onto it.

"Of course, if you don't trust the contract of a devil, we can very much sign a Vampire's contract as well."

This made her hopeful. It really did.

Maybe a devil's contract would be riddled with lies and tricks. But a Vampire's? It wouldn't be.

Maybe after all the suffering, she would be able to live a normal life. Maybe she wouldn't end up dead or as a tool.

Did she really dare?

'Did I really trust a devil?'

'Do I want to be in his peerage if it means I can live my life? Even if I have to suffer a little?'

He ripped his right palm open once again and drew blood before her eyes.

"Drink it," he said. "Once you do, you will heal. You will be able to walk and live without suffering from your Longinus. Without the fear of dying."

Her eyes glistened, with hope and tears.

And then he opened his other palm, over which appeared a certain magical item. A chess piece.

A bishop.

"But if you do drink it, you will have to be my bishop."

Her eyes trembled.

"So choose."

And this time, she did choose. She made a decision by herself. For herself.

And with her sharp fangs, she bit into his palm, taking the deal with the devil.

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{A/N: Got a pat reon named RedLamp01 with 30+ chapters + Other Stories. }