Chapter 793: When two progenitors work together.
"Volk Fenrir, where in your recent actions were you 'light'?" Vlad questioned Volk.
Volk looked into the red eyes of the First Progenitor of Vampires through the monitor. "I neutralized Tasha's influence and regained control of my people, something I should have done from the beginning."
Vlad simply looked at Volk without reacting to the man's words.
"The fact that you don't see what you did wrong surprises me greatly."
Volk narrowed his eyes. "Don't act as if I were a child, Vlad. I know what I'm doing."
"If you knew, we wouldn't be having this conversation now," Vlad replied.
"Did you call me just to point out my possible mistakes? If so, you can leave. I have many things to do."
Vlad's eyes narrowed dangerously, his blood-red eyes gleaming in crimson. "Volk, think about whom you're talking to right now."
"Do you want to start a war?"
Volk fell silent, his bored expression immediately turning serious upon hearing Vlad's words.
The gleam in Vlad's eyes diminished slightly as he noticed Volk returning to normal, and he continued, "You asked for my help, and it was you who couldn't handle the Second Progenitor, leading to such a drastic decision. All these situations are the consequences of your own direct or indirect actions."
"If you're so senile that you can't recognize this fact, then our conversation is over, and I'll let you deal with the consequences alone... I wonder how you'll handle that troublesome man." When Vlad gestured to get up from his chair-
Volk quickly spoke, "Wait, you're right."
Vlad remained silent, looking at Volk as if waiting for something.
"... I'm sorry..." The grimace Volk made seemed as if he had eaten the sourest lemon ever discovered by mankind.
Vlad smiled internally upon hearing Volk's words, but his face remained unchanged.
"See? It's not hard to be civilized. Now, let's continue."
Volk tried to control his expression, but it proved to be a challenging task.
"Firstly, I'll point out your mistakes."
"Your attitude was very hostile. Are you forgetting who your damn wife is?... I mean, ex-wife." Vlad corrected himself from his clearly 'unintentional' slip.
Volk's eyes glinted a bit in cerulean blue; he realized that Vlad's slip was indeed intentional, but he didn't comment on it. "Because I know who she is, I made a quick decision."
"Idiot, you think you know her, but you don't fully understand her."
"... What do you mean?"
"Tasha has been called The Monarch of Beasts by The Egyptian Gods, Volk. You don't earn a Title like that from the Egyptian Gods without doing something significant."
"The proof of my words was how she quickly reacted to your 'attack.'"
"..."
"She was prepared; Tasha has been betrayed once, and those who go through that experience become very paranoid about everything and everyone, and that's the case with Tasha too... But you must already know that, right?"
"Yes, I confronted her directly." Volk nodded.
"That was your second mistake."
"... Huh?"
"If you were going to do something so significant, you shouldn't have gone to confront her. You should have let her come to you, and in the meantime, your subordinates could have further diminished Tasha's influence."
Volk opened his eyes widely upon hearing what Vlad said.
'That's why the planning part was left to Tasha, Volk. You're a good warrior and a decent King, but... Being decent in this world is not enough.' Vlad thought to himself.
"Not only did you confront Tasha, but you also gave her the opportunity to nurture flames of revenge... Now, you're in a very delicate situation."
"... What do you mean?"
"I bet my entire fortune hidden under my mattress that The Demon King has already contacted Tasha."
Volk didn't know how to react to these words, either because The King of All Vampires had a fortune under his mattress or because of what this same King was telling him.
"That's impossible. I was watching over the entire capital, He..." As he was about to finish speaking, Volk saw Vlad being covered by a dark power, and in the next moment, a completely unknown man was standing in front of him.
"Form, size, and identity mean nothing to me, Volk. I can be whoever I want, whenever I want. All Noble Vampires have this ability if trained to the fullest, and I'm sure Victor Alucard has reached the same level as me; he's a damn monster."
"Even if he has that ability, he's a damn narcissist. He won't change his appearance much; he still prefers to be himself," Volk claimed.
'...Unexpected. To think that he would hit upon one of Victor's characteristics... Although this thought is a bit wrong too. If necessary, Victor will change to a completely different appearance just to fulfill his objective. But that's not the case now.' Vlad thought.
"You're right, but you also forgot something... He has a Maid from The Blank Clan with him."
"Not to mention that he has proven many times that he can even elude Tasha's Elites, Werewolves who were created to be Perfect Assassins through training that you yourself must know how difficult it is to complete. Those men and women are the Elites of the Elites, and yet, they couldn't find Victor."
Volk frowned as the image of Victor and Tasha meeting appeared in his head, and for some reason, he could vividly imagine that scene. This mental image made him grind his teeth in anger.
Seeing that Volk accepted his reasoning, Vlad said, "Continuing."
"If Victor met with Tasha, he must have done something, probably used his Playboy Charm or something to comfort the wounded woman."
"Tasha is not that weak, Vlad." Volk retorted.
"You don't understand." Vlad shook his head as he leaned back in the chair.
"... Huh?"
"When I say he was 'comforting' her, I mean that in a way of a cunning Demon. He was likely stoking her desire for revenge."
Volk opened his eyes widely.
"Don't forget, Volk. He is The Demon King. Despite being a Vampire Progenitor, he spent roughly 700 years in Hell, ruling over all of Hell with his tyranny. He's more Demon than Vampire now. There's a reason the Beings of Hell gave him the Title of Demon King of Tyranny." Vlad left these words open and waited for Volk's reaction.
The principle of manipulating a desperate person was to let their own imagination play tricks on them. Vlad didn't know if Victor did what he said or not, and he didn't care. All he wanted was a reaction from Volk.
"... Fuck, what should I do?" Just imagining a furious Tasha being supported by The Demon King coming after his ass made his spine shiver.
"This is exactly what you said would happen, Vlad."
Vlad smiled internally; this was the reaction he wanted. "Yes. It happened as I predicted. All because you couldn't follow the damn plan."
Vlad shook his head slightly in disappointment.
"Asking for Fenrir's help is out of the question; The END's Wolf has become a great friend of Victor. The same will happen with The World Tree. It values Victor more than me... Perhaps, my acquaintances from the Pantheons? No, they would only take advantage of the situation." Volk started to murmur, then he began to pace back and forth.
Vlad let Volk rack his brain for several minutes, waiting patiently.
30 minutes later, Volk seemed to have exhausted his ideas, and he looked at Vlad clearly with a look that was asking for help.
Vlad chuckled internally when he saw Volk's expression. 'This man is so used to depending on someone for complex matters that he doesn't even realize the kind of hole he's digging for himself.'
"... What do you suggest, Vlad?"
"Honestly, this situation is too messed up to do anything about it." Vlad was honest... Well, not entirely.
"To solve your problem, you would have to mysteriously make Victor disappear... No, ignore what I said. That action would only send all the Demons of Hell, and his crazy Wives, into extreme fury."
Even though he was called The Demon King of Tyranny, Victor was quite beloved in Hell. The reason for this was that, in a short time, he managed to do what no one else could and make Hell prosper. It wasn't a lie when he said that if Victor disappeared, all of Hell would burn with flames of vengeance.
"Vlad, stop monologuing."
'If I don't monologue, I can't make you more desperate.' Vlad thought. For the Vampire King, the more desperate Volk became, the more control he'd gain over the Wolf.
'I really have to hand it to Victor; he's very good at these games.' Vlad just realized that if he and Victor worked together, they could do anything...
'What am I thinking? I won't work with that bastard; this is the last time.' Vlad huffed internally, but even he knew he wasn't being serious. If necessary, and depending on the situation, he would work with the Second Progenitor, as he was doing now.
"Vlad? Why are you silent?"
"... I'm thinking of how to get you out of the hole you dug for yourself."
"Oh..." Volk nodded.
"... I really hope whatever you ask of me in the future won't be absurd," Volk commented after a few seconds of silence.
"Oh? You understood that?"
"Of course, it's not like you to help someone for free, Vlad."
"Hmm, good to know you understand me," Vlad replied naturally.
"So, have you thought of something?"
"Yes, I have two suggestions. It's up to you to decide which is the better course."
"Tell me."
"You need allies, so I suggest you seek someone to help you, even if you lose something in the process."
"... Who?"
"The Celtic Gods."
"Never." He refused definitively.
"The Witches?"
"Those women are in isolation doing god knows what."
"... Hmm, me?"
Volk narrowed his eyes. "Explain your reasoning."
"Well, first of all, I am the one helping you."
Volk couldn't deny that.
"Secondly, I can probably convince Victor to stop what he's doing."
"... How?"
"My biological daughter sees him as a father."
"And thanks to her, we are in a status quo where we don't harm each other, but we don't help each other either."
"Therefore, if I get involved, I can make Victor put this matter aside, and you'll have to deal with Tasha exclusively without the interference of The Demon King."
Volk seemed to think for a few minutes before he spoke, "... Tell me about the second suggestion."
"This suggestion is more radical and more effective, but I don't recommend doing it."
"Just tell me."
"Use your youngest son, Thomas Fenrir, as a scapegoat. Kidnap him and threaten to kill him if Tasha doesn't show up. When Tasha appears, tell her to kill herself, and you won't touch her son."
"... Huh?" Volk's face narrowed.
"As she is very attached to her son, she will easily take that action."
"... I will never do that, Vlad." Volk would never stoop so low as to threaten his own flesh and blood, who did nothing wrong.
If Thomas were a traitor, he wouldn't hesitate, but the boy is innocent.
"As I said, it's a more cruel option; I wouldn't even do it." Vlad nodded, understanding Volk's words. "As a King, we must consider all available options and make the best decision for the people, regardless of our feelings."
Because of this mentality, Vlad was described as the 'perfect' King. He is a perfect King for his people but not for his family, an attitude that Victor could never achieve.
"So, which will you choose? Option 1 or option 2?"
"You don't even need to ask; I'll choose the first one."
Vlad laughed internally when he saw that he had achieved his goal with just his words. He got up from his chair and said:
"Very well, send one of your wolves to fetch me in Nightingale. I'll ask Alexios to open the Space around us."
"Okay."
...
With Vlad.
"So, when will you talk to me?"
Vlad looked at Victor, who was sitting in the corner of the room with crossed legs and a relaxed posture. He seemed very bored with everything.
"Soon, probably in two to five days, depending on Volk's reaction. But as he's desperate, probably in two days." Vlad replied.
"Mm." Victor nodded. "I'll spend time with my Mother and Wives in the meantime." He got up from the couch and walked towards the exit.
"Oh? Aren't you going to talk to Tasha?"
"Nah, she doesn't need any more motivation. All she needs now is..." Victor smiled twistedly. "Revenge."
"When that happens, she will naturally unleash her full potential."
"... And what do you expect that revenge to be?" Vlad asked.
"I don't know. But I hope to be surprised." Victor opened the door and left.
"Hmm~."
A portal appeared next to Vlad, and Alexios came out of it.
"I feel a little sorry for Volk and the Werewolves," Alexios began. "Having the attention of two scary Progenitors after your people isn't a very good feeling."
"The weak are destined to be exploited and follow the rule of the strong... Fortunately, the Werewolves won't suffer that fate. After all, we don't want to harm the Wolves. We only want to make them stronger to be allies in the future."
"... We?" Alexios raised an eyebrow.
"This problem became ours when I decided to get involved with the Werewolves."
"I see... It seems like you're fully committed to this situation."
"It's an opportunity, after all."
"The more allies we have, the better it will be when dealing with the Elder Gods." Vlad spoke, then he got up from the chair and said, "Take me to Nightingale; I must wait for Volk."
"Yes, My King."