Chapter 751: Equivalent Exchange
"A man who would do whatever is necessary to protect his family... I can relate to that.” Tasha, who was watching the entire meeting through cameras hidden in her husband's clothing, spoke.
As the woman responsible for the ‘dark’ side of running their nation, she could understand Victor's actions very well, but... That didn't mean she wasn't surprised by the way Victor acted.
Even the Ancient Demon Kings wouldn't be so arrogant as to ignore the entire Werewolf Faction. The reason for that was... While the Werewolves may not be as numerous as the Demons, they weren't weak. They had Fenrir’s support, after all, a Legendary Wolf that, if confronted, could lead an entire Race to its END!
The Noble Vampires had Vlad, a Progenitor with many connections with important Beings.
And Samar had Fenrir, The Beast of Ragnarok, who had always been the shield that kept powerful intruders away from Samar.
Victor knew this, he knew about Fenrir, yet he acted like the Werewolves were beneath him.
“Why? Does he not see us as opponents? Tasha narrowed her eyes. She didn't know how to categorize Victor's actions.
Was it arrogance? Or was it calculated? She couldn't say. One thing was for sure; Victor didn't seem like a man who would act on impulse. He planned his every move.
'At worst, he just doesn’t care and thinks we're not even worthy of being his opponents.' Tasha thought.
“Little Wolf.” A shadow appeared behind Tasha,
“Have you uncovered any of Alucard's ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’?"
“Unfortunately, I couldn't find any other intruders’
Tasha narrowed her eyes. It was obvious that Victor brought more people with him, He made that quite clear when he talked to Maya.
What Tasha had been wanting to do was find these intruders and find out how far they'd crept in.
...Even you couldn't feel anything?”
"Yes. Whomever the Demon King of Tyranny's subordinates are, they are extremely competent." The shadow declared: "I can't find even a trace of these Beings’ existence. It's like they don't even exist."
"..." Tasha felt a headache coming on and frustration rising inside her. She was tired of hearing that report. At first, she thought it was her subordinates’ incompetence that they couldn't find the intruders, and because of that, she asked for 'his' help, a man she owed a lot, someone who always supported her in her most difficult moment, someone who taught her everything she knew.
‘A Master Spy, Assassin, and Murder, her teacher, Hassan-i-Sabbah.
A Human who trained a God in the Arts of Espionage and Assassination... Even though Tasha was no longer a ‘God’ in her own right, she still had access to her ‘Concepts'. Therefore, she could still be considered a Goddess. She just wasn't part of a Pantheon, so she was a ‘Fallen’ God.
“I see... I apologize for bringing you out of your seclusion, Master."
"... Everything is fine. After all, that's what we promised. In exchange for you giving me a place to spend my long life in peace, I would help you defend your nation.”
"And in this specific case..." The shadow looked at the screen, where it showed a terrifying Being.
“It is a very reasonable request. You are not prepared to deal with someone like him"
"Wha-... For a moment, Tasha couldn't believe what she had just heard. Even though she knew that The Demon King was a frightening monster, she still found her Master's assessment to be quite wrong.
"... You've got that silly look on your face again, Little Wolf."
"...I'm sorry, Master... It's just... I can't believe he’s someone we can't handle." They couldn't be as numerous as Demons, but like all Factions, they had their hidden weapons, her Master being one of those hidden weapons.
“Don't get hung up on what you see. Always look for 'Truth'. That's what I taught you"
“And I never forgot that lesson... Which is why I am trying to understand the Demon King's actions."
“And that’s where you're hindering yourself."
"...Huh?"
“From the beginning, that man has always been truthful. There are no deceptions in his words"
"....." Tasha opened her eyes wide.
“He's confident, charismatic, overbearing, and arrogant... Yet, it is an arrogance that doesn’t blind him but rather helps him prevent intelligent Beings like you from figuring out what he's thinking”
".. but..that means-..." Tasha couldn't finish her words because the conclusion she reached about Victor's actions was something she found extremely insulting.
‘From the beginning, he never put us in his eyes... He was curious about our culture, but that was just it. From the beginning, he never respected anyone here... Maybe just Leonidas or Maya, but the rest of us, we are nothing but
insects in front of him.'
There's something worse than hate, and that is indifference. Tasha gritted her teeth, her face completely distorted with rage, a rare display of intense emotion that even Tasha's family didn't often see.
“To think that I would be completely ignored... To think that someone of his level wouldn't even look upon me as worthy! Tasha was a woman who was extremely proud of her capabilities. She couldn't stand the fact that the man who treated her husband like someone insignificant looked upon her in the same light.
"Sometimes the truth is right before you, but you can't see it because you're looking for something that isn’t there." The man’s voice began to weaken.
“Keep that in mind when dealing with The Demon King, Little Wolf.”
"Yes, Master... I will..." Tasha replied as she looked into Victor's face.
...
“I have a request for you, Demon King."
"...I need you to look into a patient we think has been affected by a Demonic Curse"
“Interesting...” Victor's eyes sparkled with visible amusement, and a smile appeared on his face.
“That was your way of saying that Fenrir is currently debilitated, practically in a near-death state, correct?”
“..." Volk’s eyes grew wilder. It was the look of a man who wouldn't allow any insult to his friend. Volk couldn't care less about the Clans of Alphas, but it was a completely different matter with The Beast of Ragnarok.
“How do you know that, Alucard?"
“It's funny to think that you believed I didn't." Victor's look of amusement only grew clearer. It was as if he was seeing something hilarious.
And that look completely pissed off Volk.
"You shouldn't know that, Alucard. That is highly classified information."
"Monarchs have an obligation to know what is happening in their neighboring countries. In my case, I keep an eye on everything and everyone. I have to be informed so an event like the one my predecessor caused doesn't take me by surprise again.”
Victor learned from his mistakes, and the sudden war against Diablo taught him that he must always keep an eye on what Supernatural Beings were doing.
After all, he knew very well that there would always be Beings like Diablo who wanted to rise above everyone else, very arrogant Beings who thought about ruling everything.
“And thanks to my current status, I can know many things.” Victor removed his right hand from his chin and placed it on the table: “Things that no one should know.”
He touched the table with the palm of his hand, and in the next moment, Red Energy seeped from his hand and went to the center of the table. The Energy rose like a small pillar of light, and soon four screens appeared around it, displaying the same image of a Direwolf lying down, looking weak.
“The group of Werewolves watched in disbelief at what they were seeing.
Maya herself being one of them. ‘Why did that bastard never say that Fenrir's condition was so bad?'
Maya could understand the need for secrecy, but letting it get to this state went too far.
“...What a sad sight... And to think that The Beast of Ragnarok would be so weakened like this.”
"Don't call him a beast!" Volk growled.
Victor narrowed his eyes at Volk, “Control your tone, Volk Fenrir”
“Don't make me lose the slightest bit of respect I have for you as a Monarch of another nation." Ever since Victor arrived in this country, Volk acted like a decent Monarch. He was a good King
Consequently, Volk gained some of Victor's respect. Few could be good Kings and good fathers... But that respect could be easily lost.
As they say, respect could be earned, but once it was lost, it was hard to get back. In Victor's case, the difficulty of regaining that respect was even greater.
Even though his wild instincts warned him of danger, Volk completely ignored it and focused his gaze on Victor... And the longer he looked, the more his instincts screamed to run.
It was the same feeling he had when Fenrir was angry about something. Not even Volk could stop Fenrir when he was angry.
The overwhelming feeling of encountering a superior existence that defied common sense; that was what he felt from this man.
‘He's on a completely different level... Just what was Vlad thinking about letting this man get stronger?'
"...I'm sorry for my reactions... Fenrir is family. We don't really like hearing him being called the Beast." Volk judged that being more honest and humble was the right decision in dealing with Victor.
And that, indeed, was the correct answer.
Victor followed the dogma, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That is, treat him kindly, and he would return that kindness, treat him with hostility and that hostility would be returned 100 times over.
This was a form of basic so socialization that all those with power in their hand 'jointly’ forgot.
The surrounding Alpha Werewolves, including Tasha, who was watching everything remotely, looked upon this conclusion with shocked eyes. They never thought they would see the day when Volk apologized.
After all, he never did it, not even to Tasha, who was his wife.
Seeing their King being so ‘submissive’ to Victor filled the faces of the Alpha Werewolves in the meeting with respect.
The fear they felt was still present, but the ‘respect’ was more evident now.
Maya looked quite intensely and wildly at Victor. Even if begrudgingly, Maya had a great deal of respect for Volk despite him having made some decisions that she didn't approve of in the past.
It was a fact that Volk was a great King who deserved the respect everyone had for him.
Seeing someone she ‘resolutely’ respected making a gesture like that just doused gasoline on the flames of desires she had for Victor.
The instinctual desire she was feeling practically tripled now.
'Tsk, no wonder my granddaughter couldn't hold on.' She groaned internally.
She tried to think of the various husbands she had that could be used to erase this desire in her body, but nothing worked. She just felt a sense of disappointment that her husbands weren't as ‘exceptional’ as the man in front of her.
She knew it was horrible to think like that, but she didn't have a choice here. It was instinctive thinking. Maya's nature was more bound to her wild side than her rational side.
And when her wild side screamed like a madwoman with an addiction she couldn't shake, it was hard to suppress those thoughts and feelings.
Not to mention that Maya was not a person who naturally contained her personal desires.
“That's understandable." Victor gestured with his right hand, and soon the images disappeared, and the Energy returned to his hand, Soon after, he returned to his prior position with his head resting on his right hand.
“I would have done worse if someone had ‘insulted’ someone in my Family"
All those present who had seen that side of Victor could already imagine what kind of ‘bad' things he would do to those poor individuals who insulted his Family.
"I'm glad you didn't misunderstand." Volk spoke words that not even he could believe he was saying.
"Back to business"
"...Is it possible?" He asked uncertainly but with hope in his heart.
“Of course, just as you suspect, his illness has to do with my predecessor, who used this Kingdom's ‘traitors’ for his own gain.”
"You want my help in healing Fenrir, right?"
Volk, Leonidas, Maya, and Anthony opened their eyes wide when they heard what he said.
'Traitors? In the Royal Castle? Just who would be foolish enough to...' Maya's thoughts stopped suddenly as the image of the First Prince appeared in her head.
Coincidentally, Volk had the same thought, but he didn't delve into it. After all, he had investigated his son a few days ago and found nothing too ‘suspicious’. It was just the usual, him meeting with his supporters to try to become the King by defeating Volk.
These dethronement plots were not ‘forbidden’. Volk himself encouraged his sons to do this. This was because if his sons were strong and smart enough to remove Volk from the Throne, they should be able to be a competent King.
It was a simple thought, but one that had always worked in Samar, Volk himself having gained the Throne after defeating the previous Alpha.
Competition was not avoided but encouraged... As long as the competition didn’t harm their own country, of course.
“Traitors... What are you talking about? I don't remember having any traitors in my Castle.”
"Oh? I thought you knew that your Eldest Son was meeting with an organization called ‘New Dawn’, and was planning to overthrow you and use the Werewolves for his and the organization's benefit." Victor spoke with a confused face as if this was ordinary information.
“....." A hush fell around.
...
Hearing what Victor said, Tasha's eyes turned quite cruel now.
"Go get my Eldest Son. If he resists, break his legs, and bring him to me."
"Yes!"
*...I knew he was plotting my dethronement, but this organization is something new... New Dawn? What is that?"
“Those are serious accusations, Demon King... This is my son we are talking about.”
"And?"
“What do you mean by 'And’?
“Just because he's your son, do you think he won't try to kill you?”
“Him being your son does not change anything. For ordinary Werewolves, you are the Alpha, and everyone respects you. But to the Alphas, you are just a target to defeat to achieve ‘glory’."
"A nation of warriors, that's how Werewolf Society works, right?"
They could not say anything to the contrary. After all, he was correct.
“And I'm not claiming anything. I'm just stating facts. Whether you believe me or not, that's your problem, not mine."
*.. I will investigate." Volk spoke as he called out to several subordinates.
"Okay." Victor spoke nonchalantly, and it was with this casual discussion that Victor 'casually' stopped New Dawn's plans in Samar.
‘Before I leave, I must know all the information in that man's brain‘ Victor would not leave without information.
Volk had already received Tasha's unspoken message. His wife had already moved.
Finished giving false orders to his subordinates, he looked back at Victor.
"Done? Good. Now, let's talk about what you can give me in exchange for me helping Fenrir.”
“You desire something?”
“Equivalent exchange, a principle of alchemy. And also the principle of any business. I give you something, and you give me something in return"
"You want me to give you something in order for you to facilitate Fenrir’s recovery?"
“Such a big gesture... It needs an equal reward, right?" Victor's smile grew devilishly.
Everyone thought that now he really looked like the Devil, even if he was a Vampire.
"What do you want, Demon King?" Volk asked, prepared to offer anything. He could give anything to heal Fenrir, but he did not expect this man’s outrageous request.
“It's no big deal. I just desire Tasha Fenrir"
"...Huh?™