Chapter 78: The Future

{Present — Carmilla Castle, Underworld}

The world is complicated. It is filled with events and days you cannot prepare for, no matter how much you plan. Things will always go against your plans one day or another.

The only thing you can do in that case is make sure that even if things go awry, you don't lose too much. And with what I had built, I had a lot to lose.

[Peerage: Ingvild Leviathan (Queen) (+), Bova Tannin (Rook) (+), Elmenhilde Karnstein (Pawn) (+), Valerie Tepes (Bishop) (+)]

[Name: Valerie Tepes]

[Race: Dhampir (Reincarnated Devil)]

[Rank: High Class]

[Abilities: Blood Magic, Agelessness, Flight, Compulsion, Vampiric Charm, Basic Teleportation]

[Items: Sephiroth Graal {High Tier Longinus} (soul bound)]

[Estimated wealth within treasury in USD: $88,301,005,000,000]

That was a lot of things I had amassed, and within a timeframe that was short even by something like dog years.

Every month had been a major event, every day had been a chore. But after all that trouble, I was finally at a place where I could at least take a seat for a moment. I couldn't afford to be lazy, but I could afford to slow down a little.

The major threats had been dealt with. The Old Satan Faction had collapsed, a major evil dragon was dead, and the remaining threats were things that could hopefully be handled without catastrophic losses.

I knew of a few. I was preparing for them. Had already prepared for many of them.

Which was why I was seated here, resting and letting the cogs move on their own.

"So, you did get Valerie to join you."

Sitting opposite me, sipping tea mostly for the show of it, was Carmilla, acting as high-born as one possibly could. I didn't really care, and I didn't even bother with the tea. Instead, sitting cross-legged, my eyes wandered toward the distant city that was being reconstructed.

"I did."

My gaze was fixed on a certain somebody. Or rather, what used to be somebody.

"As your bishop, I hear." Her eyes drifted toward the same thing I was looking at.

A corpse, headless, hung over the front gate.

King Tepes.

Or what used to be him.

"Was it necessary?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"You can be kind to the people who fought against you. You can be benevolent. But if you don't act strong and show them the consequences of what happens when they repeat their mistakes, those mistakes are certain to return."

That's why she was the Queen, and I was only a noble.

"What about now?" I asked, finally looking at the gorgeous pale-haired woman. "Or what about after? What do you want for the vampires?"

The population had fallen astronomically. The war had taken a major toll on them. Thankfully, their finances weren't completely crippled after absorbing the impressive wealth of the Tepes faction. But the population remained a problem.

Sure, wealth was impressive, but this wasn't the human world where wealth meant immediate power. This was the supernatural world. Power came from strength and politics.

And magic was the very center of it all.

Without a large population, or at least a certain number of individuals reaching Ultimate Class, you simply could not stand strong in this world.

Vampires had almost no ability to reproduce. The only way was through magic that allowed their bodies to be 'alive' at certain moments that could aid reproduction. But that was rare. Once every few decades, when the entire solar system aligned in a way that allowed them to conjure blood magic strong enough for it.

Which meant they couldn't naturally increase their population. Not in the short term.

"Once we are stable, we will expand." She smiled, placing the cup aside.

Expand.

I knew what that meant.

Vampires didn't simply increase their numbers through reproduction. That was rare, which was why noble houses were such a big deal when they were born naturally.

But there was another method.

A method one could easily think of.

The very method shown in fiction. In books and stories.

"I will allow the noble vampires to turn individuals in the future, once we can accommodate the newer population."

Devils used evil pieces to turn other races into devils. Vampires did it through blood magic.

Their bites, mixed with their blood and the killing of the 'mortal' aspect of the being, allowed individuals to be reborn as vampires. And they were always subservient to the one that turned them.

This was also controversial due to its exploitative nature. Then again, vampires hadn't done so in years, so it hadn't really been a concern.

"And the other races would agree?" I wondered. After all, no one wanted to reduce their own population without a good cause.

"They will," she said confidently. "I have my ways."

My eyes narrowed, but I didn't ask further.

"Turned vampires are linked to the ones that turned them. If the start of the chain breaks, the entire line collapses." I wondered what she thought about that issue. "The death of one noble could collapse a huge chunk of the population."

This was also why this blood magic was so complex. During the war we fought, countless blood magic rituals had been cast to transfer the 'lineage' from one noble to another, pretty much creating links to multiple nobles to prevent such an issue. But it was a dangerous and complicated process that couldn't be practiced just because someone wanted to.

"That's why I said it will take time. I have ways. The war has quite generously allowed me to lay my hands on some old tombs of magic, created directly by the ancestor." She leaned back comfortably. "We will rise again, and we will be stronger than ever."

I stayed quiet for a while, staring at the vampires enthusiastically rebuilding the city. The former Tepes vampires were making an effort to integrate, though they visibly stiffened every time their eyes drifted toward the corpse of King Tepes.

But still, the city felt… cozy.

"I have already prepared the final contracts for the Satans and the devil world in general. Yours is done as well and will be delivered to your home soon." Her voice softened. "You have done a lot for us, when you didn't have to."

Probably.

The system was a major reason for my involvement. Wanting something out of the war was another. And free will was the core culprit.

"It will take a while to restore everything, but I won't fall," she said. No, she promised. "I will make the vampire world stand as tall as the devils and the fallens. We will be a major faction."

That made me smile. She was capable. She could certainly achieve that.

"Though I haven't asked," she looked at me curiously, her bright eyes glowing, "what are you going to do next?"

I had been thinking about the same thing.

"I have heard a lot about you. Not about the war, but about you in general." She revealed, "Satan Leviathan told me quite a bit about your past. Before now. From the past… the civil war."

I didn't think Serafall would go around talking about my story. Then again, people often talked a lot when they felt comfortable. And Carmilla certainly had a calming effect on people.

"I also learned about how much you changed. How many waves you brought after waking up. You practically changed everything within months, something the devils hadn't been able to do for centuries."

She wasn't wrong. And that gave me a strange sense of pride. Some quiet feeling of accomplishment.

"I won't deny it," I said. "I have tried quite a lot, and that led to results."

I wasn't boasting. I was being truthful. Talking about achievements in front of someone who had also achieved a lot in a short period of time.

"As for the future," I knew what I was going to do. I just wasn't sure how things would progress once I started. "It is not very complex."

She leaned forward, her hands on the table, chest pushing out and eyes glued to my face.

She is beautiful. Gosh darn, she is beautiful.

"I made a promise to Satan Lucifer," I told her. "Even though I cannot say what exactly it is, it makes me go to the human world. And both the sisters of Satan Lucifer and Leviathan will be studying in the human city of Kuoh, in Japan. So I have to tail behind them. A part of it is for the promise, another is my interest in exploring a little more about the world."

The answer seemed to satisfy her.

"I always had an interest in humans. Fragile creatures full of potential, and so very uncertain. I believe even they don't know about themselves. That's how unsure that race is about everything."

That brought a chuckle out of me. I couldn't deny anything she said. Being a former human, humans were probably the most confused creatures around.

"They are also very… I don't know what to say."

"I get it." I did, I got what she meant.

"When I end up turning some into vampires, I want a fraction of that population to be from humans."

Humans had always been the core target for every race. Mostly because humans had so much potential, alongside the ability to breed like rabbits.

"Just be careful. Humans can either be saints or worse than devils." The warning came from the heart. I knew the worst of humans just as well as I knew the best.

With a smile, she nodded. "I will keep that in mind."

For a moment, we simply enjoyed the air and, weirdly enough, each other's company.

"Are you going to be studying too? Joining the school that the sisters of the Satans are joining?"

That made me laugh once again.

"As if. I am not interested in schools, I had already completed my education centuries ago." Under no circumstances was I going to school. "They want to study and learn about the culture. I want to search the unknown. The world above is full of mysteries, just as the world below is full of horrors. One major reason for me going there is also to look for people that I could hopefully put in my peerage. As you said, humans happen to be ones with infinite potential, and there happen to be other races with quite similar potential in the world above."

She kept her smile, listened intently, and nodded. "I agree. The world above has its charm. Just… be careful. That world is more influenced by gods and dragons than our world. The Underworld is the furthest from them, but the human world is plagued with the divine, the holy, and the beastly."

That was a worry.

And also one of my reasons to go there.

To prevent certain 'divine' entities from creating trouble for me later on.

"Mhm." I gave a shrug. "I know."

It's weird, but I will miss this place.

As much as the place smelled of blood and iron, of death and wine, and of uncertainty… it had its charm.

"Have dinner with me."

That caught me off guard.

"The Satans?" I had to ask. "What about them?"

Wasn't she going to have dinner with the higher-ups? It was the best social practice, after all.

She shook her head. "They are leaving soon. They have to handle matters of the Underworld… something about the elders wanting more information."

Zekram. Got it.

"So while it would be nice to have dinner with the nobles of my faction, celebrate with them for their efforts, I don't really want to deal with them at the moment." She looked at me hopefully, though not in any way that forced me to agree. "So I would appreciate a quiet dinner with someone who shares my views, at least part of them. And someone interesting enough to not make me feel lonely at dinner."

I wasn't sure what to say or think about it, but given that I would be leaving soon, I had no reason to decline.

"I don't mind."

I really didn't.

* * *

—Ingvild Leviathan—

Ingvild was conflicted. She was in a lot of trouble.

"Tch, one vampire would have been enough." Elmenhilde snickered while relaxing on the couch. "It's not like he is Noah and needs to collect two of each species."

Ingvild had believed the war had tamed Elmenhilde. Considering all the pain both parties went through, she had hoped they would be able to sympathize with each other.

"And here I thought he only picked the strong for his peerage." Valerie's remark made it certain that she wouldn't be able to relax with the two vampires around.

The wielder of the Longinus Sephiroth Graal had seemed to lose the light in her eyes the last time Ingvild saw her. And when Faiser brought the girl before them, introducing her as the new bishop, Ingvild had expected something very different.

Someone quiet. Maybe even uncomfortable.

After all, Valerie had lost her family, her bloodline, and nearly died.

To be fair, she wasn't loud.

But with Elmenhilde around, it was as if something changed inside her.

Enough to make Bova run off with his tail between his legs, not wanting to get trapped in the middle of the crossfire.

'Serafall just had to leave when I needed her…'

She had a lot to discuss with Serafall, something uncomfortable for both of them. But right now, she needed the cheery personality of the Satan to mediate between the vampires.

"A puppet shouldn't really be talking much without the owner around."

"And a twerp shouldn't be talking at all in front of adults."

'Just where is Lord Faiser when I need him…' It was going to be a long day for Ingvild.

"What did you say, dhampir?"

"Exactly what you heard, twerp!"

'This isn't going to stop anytime soon, is it?'

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

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

I just finished watching the last episode of Lanterns, and I absolutely loved it. Don't really get the hate around it. I mean sure it is not comic accurate, but it was really amazing. One of the best shows DC has released so far. Probably one of my favorites alongside The Penguin.}