Chapter 806: Welcome to the Family.
Several hours later, Victor was still in his Dragonoid Form. He stood floating inches above the ground. Even though it seemed like he was doing nothing and letting his Wives touch his body, that was far from the truth.
He was trying to get accustomed to his new body. Everything about him had changed in an abrupt manner. He would have to train from the Basics all over again.
Now that he thought about it, this situation was quite similar to Diablo's time, with the only difference being that Victor was already used to fighting in his relatively similar Humanoid Form. Because of that, despite the abrupt change, his overall combat prowess hadn't decreased much. He just hadn't fully 'Mastered' his body like before, something he intended to rectify quickly in the future.
"Jeanne, you know what to do. Kill all those who don't cooperate, and to those who submit, use them as punching bags."
"Isn't it dangerous to leave them like that? They might use their Divinities, you know?" Jeanne spoke.
"I agree with Jeanne," Eleonor added. "They're quiet now because you're here, but you won't always be present, will you? Countermeasures are necessary."
"Hmm." Victor began to ponder what to do.
"We need to restrain them in some way." Agnes chimed in. "Maybe something Divine like Aphrodite's Chains?"
"Chains, huh."
As they conversed, Natashia, Aphrodite, Scathach, Morgana, and the Maids were all near Victor, looking at his body with thirsty and curious eyes.
"Those scales are beautiful..." Scathach murmured. "I wonder if I can collect them to make a new weapon."
"Scathach, you idiot! You can't harm my Husband!" Natashia exclaimed, scandalized.
Meya Neyku gazed romantically at this sight while biting her lips. She really wanted to join the women and try touching the man's body, but she knew she couldn't do that; it would be extremely rude.
"Humph, even if I tried, I probably wouldn't be able to harm that body of his." Scathach huffed.
"Tsk, boring women," Haruna complained when she was nudged by the girls, claiming that she had enjoyed her time for too long.
"Darling has become even stronger... He really broke all the rules again." Maria mumbled.
"He's using hacks, he hacked the System, the admins are his friends and sponsors at this point," Eve spoke frustratedly, a different expression from her usual self.
The Maids looked at Eve, and the next moment, Eve's face returned to its stoic state.
"I apologize for my behavior," Eve said.
"Stop being so uptight, Eve. Let Alter out a bit," Bruna said.
"NO, she can't control her mouth. Alter might blurt out something embarrassing," Eve denied. She didn't want to embarrass herself because of Alter. She knew her sisters wouldn't leave her alone if they found something embarrassing about her. They could be quite annoying at times, especially Roberta, Maria, and Bruna.
"Hmm... His body didn't just get stronger, his entire existence changed. He's literally a Dragon now with the characteristics of a Vampire Progenitor... Incredible..." Aphrodite spoke with a hungry look as she touched his body. After seeing how Victor handled Gaia, she became curious about his body, hence why she was touching him all over.
"You guys are right..." Victor responded to everyone after thinking. He ignored the women treating him like an animal in a zoo; after all, they were his Wives. He looked at Mount Olympus, specifically at a man sitting in his forge, gazing at the fire's embers.
A God who refused to partake in the war, The God of The Forge, a God who hadn't had much luck despite being a God.
Victor snapped his fingers, and a Magic Circle appeared under the man. In the next moment, the man appeared in front of Victor.
The sudden appearance of the man caught the girls' attention, but when they saw who it was, they lost interest; Victor was more important.
"... Huh?"
"Hephaestus, right?"
"Y-Yes?" Hephaestus nearly wet himself when he looked at the man before him.
"I have a job for you. Create restraints that can prevent Gods from using their Divinities. Can you do it?"
"... I mean, I can, but I don't have the materials."
Victor raised an eyebrow when he saw how easy it was to make him agree. He snapped his fingers again and earthquakes began occurring around them. In the next moment, a pillar of Divine Metals emerged from the ground.
With his Earth Manipulation abilities and advanced senses, finding Divine Metals was quite easy for him.
Eleonor looked at this display, her eyes shining more intensely. She was already almost losing control due to Victor's new appearance. Being in his presence was intoxicating, especially for her, who had Draconic characteristics within her.
The Hierarchy of Dragons and Vampires was absolute, and Victor, who was at the top of both categories, was highly desired by females of both Races.
'I need to have his child now!' Eleonor thought, clearly not in her best state of mind. Her changing body was proof of that, slowly shifting to her Draconic characteristics.
Slap.
"Ugh! My head! What are you doing, Rose!?"
"Control yourself, Eleonor. Your transformation is showing." Rose spoke sternly.
"Huh?" She looked at herself and saw the changes.
"Oh..." She was a bit embarrassed for losing control so easily.
"Is this enough?" Victor spoke.
"... Yes! It's more than enough, actually."
"Hmm." Victor nodded. He looked at The God of The Forge, who had stars in his eyes as he gazed at the materials, and asked, "Interesting. Aren't you going to ask for anything in return?"
"No need. I was observing the war; I saw everything from the beginning," he sighed.
"And you accept my orders this easily? So willingly?"
"Yes."
"Even if I destroy Olympus?"
"Well, I don't like Olympus much, specifically the Beings within it. The Dimension of Olympus is innocent, and its resources can still be exploited," he shrugged.
"Hmm~" Victor's eyes sparkled with amusement at the God's casual attitude.
Aphrodite looked neutrally at The God of The Forge and then ignored him while touching Victor's wings.
"Tell me, God of The Forge. What is your desire? What do you want?"
The God of The Forge looked at The Gods of Olympus kneeling on the ground, and a sadistic smile appeared on his face.
"My desire has already been fulfilled; my useless father is dead, and my arrogant brothers and uncles are in the same state I've always been."
"... I see, it seems you harbor a lot of hatred for these Gods."
"Try spending thousands of years being exploited, Your Majesty. It's not a good feeling."
"Indeed, I agree with you," Victor concurred.
'Your Majesty, huh...' Victor observed with amusement.
"If you're going to work for me, and even submitted to me so easily, I shouldn't be stingy."
Victor retracted his wings and began walking forward.
"Ahhh!" The girls reacted as they lost the pleasant sensation they were experiencing.
They bit their lips in frustration and looked at Victor, who walked closer to The God of The Forge.
"You're all so thirsty," Aphrodite shook her head. She looked at Rose and Scathach.
"Even Scathach and Rose, who are usually in more control of themselves, are like this."
"Well, it's natural, right? He's our Husband, and he's even more delicious now," Jeanne spoke with desire in her words, though not as intense as the other girls.
"You seem composed, Jeanne."
"Mm, most of my existence isn't Vampyric; it's mostly spiritual, so I can control myself better... But his scent..." She lightly clenched her legs.
Her actions were quite contradictory.
"It's quite addictive..."
"I take back what I said, you're very thirsty," Aphrodite rolled her eyes.
"It's because he's become an existence very similar to me now," Jeanne sighed as she tried to control herself.
"As a Dragon, especially a Progenitor of Dragons, is a being loved by Nature, which draws me in even more than before. It's as if I'm looking at someone of the same species as me." Of course, even though she felt this way, she wouldn't be subdued by these feelings.
She was allowing herself to be carried away by these feelings, after all, the man in front of her was her Husband. The same applied to women who had more self-control, like Scathach and Rose.
The feeling emanating from Victor's body wasn't brainwashing; it was more like an attraction pheromone, something quite common in nature.
Victor controlled the Divine Metal spire and created a rather rudimentary furnace. Several Magic Circles appeared on the furnace, and then he spoke in The Language of The Dragons.
"Restraint. Recreation. Project."
The rudimentary furnace began to change and turn into a forge worthy of a Divine Blacksmith. He did all of this with just his words.
Victor smiled inwardly. 'Runes, The Lineage of Existence.' This experiment only proved that Runes were merely a way to write a prompt into reality, a way to distort reality to one's liking.
Only now did Victor truly 'understand' what Runes meant. He had heard these words before, but hearing and understanding were two different things.
'No wonder it's so difficult to Master this Art,' he thought. A newfound respect grew in Victor's heart toward Scathach, who had Mastered this Art without a natural advantage like his.
Victor blew towards the furnace. Even though it was a simple breath, it illuminated the entire area with shades of violet and crimson.
The light began to dim, and soon, everyone saw a furnace sustained by The Fire of a Dragon... And not just any Dragon, but a Dragon Progenitor.
"... Your Majesty, this is..."
"Your new tool."
The God of The Forge opened his eyes wide. "Your Majesty, do you realize how rare your Fire is-?" He couldn't finish his sentence because Victor interrupted, saying,
"Yes, I know."
"Any future equipment you create with this Fire may only be done with my permission first and delivered only to those I allow." Victor was well aware of the dangers of weapons created with his Fire. As such, he would have total control over it. He would place Runes that prevented these weapons from being stolen and used against his Family.
"But until then, you may experiment as much as you wish."
"... This... This..." Hephaestus was at a loss for words. The reason for this was that, even as a God, he had never had the opportunity to work with The Fire of a Dragon. This was the rarest Fire that existed, especially the Fire of an Entity that was above all Dragons.
Victor touched Hephaestus's shoulder. "Serve me well, Hephaestus, and all I will require of you is that you give your best as a blacksmith and craftsman..." He released the God's shoulder and walked towards his Wives. "Apart from that, you are free to do as you wish."
"Free..." Hephaestus never expected he would hear these words from someone as 'tyrannical' as this man.
Honestly, Hephaestus thought he would be used as a slave to make weapons. He never expected that his rejection and unwillingness to fight would be rewarded like this.
"Your Majesty, are you sure—"
"Don't make me repeat myself, God of The Forge." Victor's eyes shone faintly.
Hephaestus shivered. As he was about to apologize; he heard Victor say,
"Unlike your man-child of a father playing at being King, I keep my word."
"But since you're not accustomed to dealing with someone competent, I'll say it again to see if my words penetrate that thick skull of yours."
"I want your creativity to run wild, I want your full effort as an artisan and a smith. I want you to help me turn my future projects into reality."
"Other than that, you're free to do as you please. I won't interfere unless I see you doing something against me or my Family."
Victor's words might have been a bit arrogant, perhaps even exaggerated, but at the same time, they were sensible and not contradictory, and because of that, Hephaestus fully absorbed his words.
'Ah... This is a True King...' He was so accustomed to incompetence that his brain couldn't process a different kind of 'King' than Zeus.
Hephaestus fell to his knees.
"I, Hephaestus, The God of The Forge, dedicate my Art, my Craft, to His Majesty, Victor Alucard. May this Vow be recognized by Existence until The End of Time."
Everyone widened their eyes when they saw an Oath of Eternal Servitude forming before them—a Vow that would last until Victor's Soul vanished from Existence.
A Vow that would still be in effect even if Victor died and reincarnated.
Now, even if Hephaestus wanted to go against Victor, he couldn't because his Vow prevented him from doing so.
The eyes of Scathach, Aphrodite, Morgana, Jeanne, Natashia, Agnes, and practically all of Victor's Wives shimmered with approval and admiration.
Even Vlad and Alexios were no different.
'Damn... If only he were my son.' Vlad thought with internal depression, not even realizing that he was thinking the same way he did when he first met Victor.
Victor walked up to Hephaestus and extended his hand:
"Welcome to the Family, Hephaestus."
Hephaestus looked at Victor's Draconic hand with more surprise in his eyes; he didn't expect to hear those words from him. Slowly, a smile appeared on Hephaestus's face, and he raised his hand, gripping Victor's.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."