Chapter 1046: The Story of a Child Who Fought Against Monsters
Japan, somewhere in the mountains near Kyoto.
Upon arriving at his next destination, Victor looked around curiously, wondering why his Wife, Mizuki, had called him there.
"You've arrived."
Victor turned toward the voice and saw his Wife leaning against a tree. He couldn't help but notice that she lacked the characteristics of her Dragon Form. Her eyes had returned to black, her horns had disappeared, and her long hair, which usually hung loose, was now tied up in a rather modest style. She was also wearing a kimono.
Looking at her now, she appeared to be a completely 'ordinary' Japanese woman... An exceptionally beautiful Japanese woman but 'ordinary' nonetheless. No matter how much she tried to hide her true nature with her shapeshifting abilities, as a Goddess and a superior Being, she looked beautiful in anything.
Unless she bent Reality to make herself appear extremely ordinary, she wouldn't be able to do so with just the shapeshifting ability that her Species inherited from their fusion with Vampires.
As he looked at his Wife, Victor raised an eyebrow and then walked toward her. As he walked, his appearance also began to change. His horns disappeared, his violet eyes lost their Draconic characteristics but retained their color, and his usual black and white suit transformed into a black kimono. He also deliberately reduced his height from two meters to a respectable 180 cm, aligning almost perfectly with Mizuki's height.
She still appeared tall for the average person in this country, but not ridiculously tall like a giant.
Mizuki displayed a beautiful smile when she saw her Husband's actions. She loved this considerate side of him. He clearly didn't know why he was here but felt it was important, so he gave her his full attention.
"Of course, you asked me to come. I took a bit longer due to important commitments, but here I am."
"Indeed... Here you are," she nodded.
"If I had known it was something important, I would have canceled all my commitments."
Mizuki laughed gently. "I didn't want that, and you, as the Emperor, need to demonstrate commitment."
Victor chuckled in amusement. "As the Emperor, I do what I want, and people have to put up with me." He gently embraced her.
"That's true..." Mizuki rested her face on his chest, feeling very protected by his simple hug. "But it still wouldn't be advisable, considering our new 'Sister' would miss her trial."
"Speaking of her, what do you think of her?"
Mizuki snorted, "As if you don't know." She knew very well that Victor was aware of EVERYTHING that happened on his planet; he was practically omniscient in his domain.
She stepped back from his embrace and looked into his violet eyes. "But I'll be polite and entertain you. Ariel is a good addition to our Family."
"God knows we need more sensible women as Sisters. Hestia, Jeanne, Anna, and I simply aren't enough."
Considering the 'unique' personalities of her Sisters, it was a huge headache to keep their eccentricities away from the Daughters... An annoying headache but not terrible. She knew she wouldn't trade what she had for anything in this world. After many years alone with only her Master for company, she had a Family again.
"Oh, my dear. He definitely doesn't know." Victor laughed.
Mizuki rolled her eyes. "It's just a figure of speech." It was difficult to say expressions like, 'Oh, my god, why did you do that?' without wincing. After all, they themselves were Goddesses, and as Dragon Goddesses, they knew very well that words had Power.
With just the simple mention of his name, along with intent behind it, a very powerful God might find you. That's what happened with Azathoth, for example. Just saying her name would attract the attention of Victor's super-powerful Wife, and few could survive the attention of such a powerful Eldritch God like her.
Although there were exceptions, for example, if a Being did not know that the God existed or had no intention of talking about him when they spoke his name, the God's attention would not be attracted.
A Mortal could say Azathoth calmly, and nothing would happen, but if the Mortal believed in the existence of Azathoth and spoke her name with her in mind, they could gain her attention.
Prayers and recognition had Power, words had Power, and existence as a whole had Power. If a God was not careful about what they say, bad things could happen.
After all, unlike a Mortal, they had a role to play in existence in keeping their Concept running. Although many of these little rules didn't apply to Victor's group now, simply because Victor's existence was like a shield for all the other Beings' bullshit.
It's not like his Wives were weak; after all, they were all the best at what they did and dedicated themselves to, but Victor's existence was just extremely bright, and everyone, whether they wanted to or not, focused attention on him.
In a way, this was beneficial since, with everyone focusing attention on the Emperor, others could carry out missions more smoothly.
"Follow me?" She extended her hand.
"Always." Victor held her hand.
Mizuki smiled gently, then turned around and began walking beside Victor, with her always one step ahead to guide Victor correctly.
The two entered the forest deeply, but unlike any Mortal who would have difficulty walking in the middle of nature, especially with clothes like kimonos, their walk was quite peaceful as Nature itself opened the way for them.
The trees moved, the plants bent out of the way, and the stones arranged themselves evenly to ensure a smooth passage. As a God of Nature and a Dragon, an existence that is loved by Nature, the planet itself embraced them with love and affection.
Of course, Yggdrasil's support also ensured a smoother transition. After all, Victor helped the planet by removing all the trash that both Mortals and immortals made.
Mizuki just rolled her eyes when she saw what Victor was doing, and as she looked at him from the corner of her eyes, she saw him smiling wryly.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm not doing anything, they just love me too much."
Mizuki snorted but didn't say anything, as she just kept walking.
After a few seconds of silence, just walking and enjoying each other's company, Mizuki began to speak. "Another reason I didn't pay as much attention to this meeting is because… It doesn't really matter."
"The current me is no longer the child I was in 1899."
A spirit that usually slept woke up and left Mizuki's body. "This place..."
"Are you sure about this, Mizuki?"
"Yes." Mizuki nodded with certainty.
"...Very Well, I will respect your decision." The spirit was silent then.
During the conversation, Victor was silent, and at the moment, he made a point of not using any of his Powers and just respected what his Wife wanted to tell him.
He'd been through things like this in the past, a time when his Wives wanted to reveal something that happened in the past that impacted them deeply.
"A long time ago, there was a little girl... A little girl with a happy family. Even though we were in difficult times, we still had each other... We were happy, and that was what mattered most."
"Every day, we woke up and prayed to the Gods for a prosperous and rewarding day. Every day, we would go to the fields to work. The child had nothing, but their family was old enough to live off the land."
"But the innocent child had no idea how big the world was. They had no idea how many monsters there were in this world."
"One day... One of these monsters appeared in her house. The blood-sucking 'Oni' became interested in the little girl's mother. The child had to watch their father being killed and their mother being raped by the Oni."
Victor narrowed his eyes dangerously when he heard what she said, but he didn't say anything as he just gently squeezed Mizuki's hand.
"After finishing what he was doing with the little girl's mother, the 'Oni' turned to the child."
"With a face full of blood and a satisfied expression, he said: 'I don't like my fruit too young. I will take you with me. The child was then taken to an old mansion where the 'Oni' lived, who she learned was a Vampire Slave serving a Vampire Noble."
"That day, she also learned that she was not the only victim. There were other children there, male and female children. The 'Family' of monsters, made up of two men and two women, the oldest man being the Noble Vampire, practiced this act commonly. He hunted humans for sport and raised them like cattle until they were between 13 and 15 years old to eat them."
Arriving in an area with an excessive number of trees, Mizuki took a talisman from her pocket and threw it into the air. The talisman stuck in the air, and the next moment, a barrier broke in front of them, revealing an old mansion falling apart.
Mizuki stepped forward and entered the mansion, as memories that once tormented her flashed through her mind: the feeling of weakness, the feeling of hatred, the anger that consumed her, the revenge that became her life's goal, ...the betrayal she suffered.
"The child was caught when she was 6 years old and had to live as a slave from then on."
"In this place, she found others like her, victims of weakness, prey to be fed upon... In this place, she also found a friend."
"Koyuki. It was his name. An androgynous boy who, even though he was masculine, had the most beautiful appearance of all. Silky black hair, unnatural golden eyes, and a comforting presence that helped everyone through this hell."
"... He was also the most 'adored' of these monsters. Despite being a slave, he had better clothes and ate better than us... He was also the one who suffered the most."
Victor could understand. Being so beautiful and weak was a recipe for disaster; the story of Adonis taught him that.
"As the years passed, the child learned to serve, she learned to survive, she learned to do duties so as not to have to suffer pain, she remained low and quiet... As the years passed, she had to watch in horror as every acquaintance and friend she had was made into a snack for these monsters when they turned 13."
"Due to being the favorite, even though Koyuki was 17, he was never killed, he became the oldest of us, and... A friend of the child. Of the other friends she met, he was the only one who remained over the years."
"3 years passed, and at the age of 9, the child was faced with a problem… A problem that she had no control over."
"She was growing too fast... At 9 years old, she was already the tallest among her peers and the one who was developing the most. A consequence of the special affinity she had, but she didn't know it back then."
"Even though she ate little, she was always healthy, and even though she worked a lot, she was never too exhausted. This abnormality was beginning to be noticed by the monster family, and the elders were eager to take advantage of it."
'The Gods, huh... As an onmyo Magus, she was naturally favored, and even though she had stopped praying, the Gods still watched her, and supported her.' Victor thought.
"The child knew…" Mizuki began walking through the halls of the mansion in pieces. "She knew that if she didn't run away, she would suffer the same fate as the older children."
Opening a crumbling part, Victor saw a tiny room with two bunk beds. The smell of blood was still felt even after so long. This sight made him narrow his eyes, and his eyes glowed slightly. With his special eyes, he looked at the Akashic Records, and he saw the 'story' of what happened here. As if he was watching a movie, everything that happened in that room appeared in his vision.
Not knowing what Victor was doing, Mizuki continued the child's story.
.....