Chapter 826: The True God.
While Victor and his faction were reorganizing.
The world was in chaos. Literally speaking.
The news that the Greek pantheon had been conquered by the now Progenitor of blood dragons, Victor Alucard. Sent shockwaves throughout the entire community of supernatural beings.
The news was like a literal bomb that exploded in everyone's face, some clever individuals tried to suppress the news to control everyone's reaction and gain advantages, but... It was literally impossible. After all, all the God Kings felt the Greek pantheon 'disappear'.
As pantheon leaders, they have an exact understanding of how the system works, and because of that, when they saw that the pantheon whose name was 'Greek' was now just a number.
The conclusion was obvious.
Combining this fact with the news that spread in the next moment, with the fact that the 'hells' literally underwent a drastic change, decreasing from 7 to 3 major hells... Yes, it was literally impossible to suppress the news.
Victor Alucard did something grand again, this time something that caught everyone's attention without exception.
He not only evolved into something ridiculous but also fought against three primordial gods at the same time, there's even a short video of him battling Erebus, the son of Erebus, and Tartarus.
Of course, the 'ease' with which the information spread made some clever people narrow their eyes in suspicion. Wasn't it too easy? How could someone receive information so quickly?
Thoughts like these filled the heads of these individuals, but... They didn't have time to think, because while they were wasting time thinking, trying to discern this situation, or even looking for who was spreading the information.
Victor Alucard's influence was growing.
Demons, Angels, Youkais, Werewolves, Vampires, and even hidden dragons were looking for him.
The shift in power was literally shattered by the sudden rise of the new high-
level 'player,' once again, Victor Alucard exceeded the expectations of the 'wisest' beings.
One of these beings is Odin himself, who predicted that in the future, Victor Alucard would be something like the new Vlad, but... He was completely wrong, he had never felt so foolish before.
To be honest, it was difficult to even predict Victor's actions, let alone what he would become in the future.
How does someone go from being a Progenitor of vampires to a Progenitor of dragons? What's with this sudden promotion? It doesn't make sense!
Regardless of the world's reaction, it was a fact that a new high-level player had entered the international scene, and this time, everyone is watching him.
Being a Progenitor of vampires is cool and all... But that doesn't catch the attention of the gods, after all, what is a Progenitor to a god like Odin, Ra, or Indra?
But, this scenario changes completely when that individual is a Progenitor of dragons.
The young gods may not know, but the old gods know very well how terrifying the progenitor of dragons can be.
Despite being mortal, this creature has divine powers, it can control creation. A feat only gods of creation are capable of.
Not to mention that as a Progenitor, he can create other beings of the same kind, and all these beings will be under his command.
If one dragon was already problematic and required one or two high-level gods... Imagine multiple dragons being commanded like an army?
The pantheons trembled in fear when this thought crossed their minds.
"Contact the Dwarves, from today onward, focus weapon production on anti-
dragon attribute weapons!" Odin's voice reverberated through Valhalla.
As one of the factions that had the famous 'dwarves,' it was easy for them to meet their needs with this turn of events.
The same couldn't be said for the other factions that lacked legendary blacksmiths.
"... We can profit from this...!" Amaterasu's eyes were the symbol of money.
As one of the factions that had one of the best blacksmiths around, it wouldn't be difficult for them to make anti-dragon type weapons. Of course, they wouldn't have the same quality as the dwarves' weapons, made by Hephaestus, but it would be good enough to fill the pantheon's pockets with wealth.
"...." Susanoo looked at his sister with neutral eyes, and the next moment, he looked at his phone.
He never thought he would thank Aphrodite for inviting him to this chat group, he had direct contact with Victor Alucard!
"Sister, control your greed!" Susanoo quickly spoke as he saw Amaterasu leaving.
"Do you want to turn this place into a nest of dragons!?"
"...." Amaterasu stopped walking, and the symbol of money left her eyes.
"... Ugh, for a moment, I almost let myself be carried away by my greed." She grumbled.
Susanoo rolled his eyes. "Control yourself and think about the initial plan, this is the best opportunity for an alliance!"
"That's true... But what can we offer for an alliance other than myself?"
Susanoo's face twitched a bit. "Can you please stop talking as if you're a bargaining chip?"
"Nonsense, I am a God Queen, I must put my people's survival at stake."
"...." Was it his impression, or did his sister seem VERY eager to submit to Victor?
While Susanoo thought about this, a raven entered Amaterasu's palace, and soon this raven transformed into a humanoid being.
"Amaterasu-Sama, a letter sent directly by the representative of the supernatural beings has just arrived!"
"... They reacted very quickly." Amaterasu whispered.
"This reeks of conspiracy..." Susanoo said.
Amaterasu spoke. "Fufufu, it's always a conspiracy when it involves the gods, my dear brother."
"One week, huh. The meeting will happen sooner than expected." Susanoo said.
"Let's prepare ourselves, we must be presentable to our 'colleague' gods." She spoke disdainfully.
...
Three days later.
The news of the fall of Olympus was also received by the mortal organizations that had the most influence in the supernatural world.
Mainly the two organizations that had the most popular religions in the current world, the angels who commanded The Inquisition.
It's the religion of the blood god that's commanded by the Supreme Priestess, Valeria Alekerth.
Although the latter received direct orders from one of her god's generals, so it can be said that she was more in the know about the subject than the other factions, she had privileged information.
In Valeria's private chambers, two women were talking.
"I understand... He created a paradise, huh."
Aline nodded: "Yes, but only those directly chosen by him can enter this paradise. Currently, only you as his disciple have the privilege to go to that place."
"..." Valeria's eyes gleamed a bit, and she felt quite satisfied and happy, her dedication was being valued, how could she not be happy?
Although her expression didn't change much and remained cold.
Aline doesn't care about the woman's reaction, she came here just to deliver a message, she raised her hand, and soon a black staff with golden details, and various runes written on it appeared in her hand, but what caught the most attention on the staff was the violet gem floating on top of it.
"... Take it."
"What is this?"
"With the acquisition of the pagan gods' pantheon, one of the current domains that my King acquired was death itself." Aline spoke seriously. "With this staff, you can wield a fraction of that power."
"The moment you touch it, you'll become a medium and can directly speak with the dead and interact with them. If you wish, you can also 'deliver' death to any being connected with the blood god's religion."
"The person who dies will go directly into the hands of my King."
"...." Valeria's eyes widened.
"This... This..." Her hands trembled, she completely lost her composure, a very rare sight.
Aline had hardly ever seen this woman lose composure, but it was understandable, after all, she was facing an artifact of great power, an artifact that would be coveted even among the gods; after all, it was made directly in collaboration with Thanatos, Victor, and Hephaestus.
The moment Valeria touched the staff, her eyes glowed with neon violet, and she could 'see' much better. One of the attributes of the artifact was to give the bearer a spiritual vision that had the effect of making the bearer see the world as it was. The effect wasn't as ridiculous as divine vision or even the dragons' vision, but it could make a mortal see the 'soul,' something exclusive to certain beings.
An intoxicating sensation of power overcame the woman.
"Control yourself, don't lose yourself in the power."
"... Y-Yes..." Valeria stuttered, but with a deep breath, energy started flowing back into the staff, and her eyes began returning to normal.
"The power of the staff isn't limited to just that, it can also summon the dead to fight for you. Look at this gem, there are several souls within this gem. If you desire, the souls contained within this gem can be summoned as minions that you can use as your own senses."
"The gem itself also absorbs the souls of those you kill."
"The staff will also be used as a medium for you to summon demons from hell more easily. Of course, this staff cannot be lost."
Aline took the staff from Valeria's hand, but the next moment, the staff disappeared and returned to Valeria's hand.
"Understand that the enchantment isn't invincible; some powerful beings can prevent the runes from working, so be careful."
'Although I doubt there's anyone who can counter the runes of a Progenitor dragon, it doesn't hurt to warn; after all, caution is necessary.' Aline thought.
"... Yes." That's all Valeria could say in the face of the onslaught of information she was receiving.
Her brain was working as hard as possible to absorb everything, but it was all just too shocking.
When she balanced everything, she was basically immortal now. She could control the dead, speak with the dead, summon demons from hell, her body was stronger than an ordinary human's, and many more things she probably didn't even know.
"I will go now. Soon, you will be invited to go to the 'paradise'." Aline said as she turned around.
Suddenly, a thought crossed Valeria's mind. "Wait."
"Hmm?"
"You said he controls death... My God, huh..." She bit her lip, she felt very presumptuous to ask this question, after all, she had already received so much from him, but now that she thought about it, she couldn't stop thinking about it.
"He controls death... So is it possible for him to revive someone... To permanently bring them back and not something like 'summoning' the dead?" She asked.
Aline looked at Valeria for a long minute. A long minute that left Valeria very nervous; she was already thinking she had overstepped her authority by asking this question. Before she could apologize or say anything else, she heard.
"Yes, it's possible."
"....." Valeria's eyes widened.
"T-Then, my daughter...?"
"Yes, he can bring her back."
Valeria's lifeless eyes shone with the light of life, and hope filled her being.
"So..."
"But are you worthy?" Aline suddenly spoke.
"... Eh?"
"Bringing someone back to life completely is a task that few gods can accomplish. I can count on one hand how many gods can do that." Aline raised a finger.
"Only one person."
"Only my King can do it."
"No one else in the entire supernatural world can do it without side effects."
This wasn't a lie. Due to being a dragon dealing with existence, a Progenitor vampire dealing with souls and having hundreds of souls within him, and having a connection to the system as a God King and Demon King, only Victor had the necessary requirements to 'negotiate' with the judges of the abyss.
Negotiation wouldn't be necessary if the person had died recently, but for Valeria's daughter who died a long time ago, her soul had already been recycled and moved on to another place, so she was already under the jurisdiction of the abyss judges.
And if there's one being that can reverse the irreversible process of soul recycling, it's the Abyss Judges themselves. Such a thing wouldn't be possible if it were a very strong supernatural being.
But as the soul belongs to a normal and ordinary human, there shouldn't be too many problems.
One soul for another soul, an equivalent exchange; Victor would just have to give up some of the useless souls he has within him.
If Diablo can negotiate with them, why can't Victor?
Unlike a certain universe of caped heroes, death here is truly permanent, and few beings could 'cheat death' like Metis, whose soul was divided, and only survived because she was a goddess.
Not to mention that few beings could directly negotiate with the Abyss Judges, who rule over the control of all souls, in exchange for a perfect resurrection.
No matter what method is used, bringing someone back who has already died will undoubtedly have side effects; after all, the 'soul' of the person who has been dead for a long time has already been passed on by the system.
As Ruler, Aline understood very well the requirements for bringing a soul back, so she spoke these words to Valeria.
"Knowing this, do you think you're worthy?"
"... I..." Valeria bit her lip, she didn't think she was; it was already too presumptuous of her to ask for this after receiving so much.
Aline smiled slightly. "You don't need to depreciate yourself so much. You're my King's disciple, you have a pact with him, just for that, your position is different from this common rabble."
"Privileges can be granted to you."
Valeria's eyes shone even brighter with excitement.
"... But... You have to deserve it."
Valeria's face fell into despair again.
Aline was playing with the woman's emotions, sending her from heaven to hell with just words.
'Fufufu, it's really fun to play with human hearts.' Aline was a demon sometimes too, despite mostly being a scientist.
"Did you forget my King's teachings?" She spoke very seriously now; after all, their current society was based on those teachings.
"... If you deserve it... Prove it to me... Work for it until you deserve it... There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world." She muttered.
Everything that's given easily is also easily devalued; beings in general only care about what they've sweated and suffered to obtain.
A poor man who's never had a car in his life would be 1000x more satisfied with the car he bought after saving money for years than a second-generation wealthy person who can have any car in the world.
Effort, struggle, conquest, all of this makes beings value what they achieve.
As someone who lived as a human and dreamed of having full health, Victor understood this very well, and he never forgot it, even after undergoing various evolutions.
And it was this personality, along with Scathach's influences, that led him to create a society like the current hell; the teachings of the blood god's religion are similar to the rules in hell.
"... What should I..." Valerie's face becomes cold and determined. "What should I do?"
"That's for you to figure out, after all, you're the supreme priestess..." Valeria smiled as she opened a portal.
"Just know that... He's always watching you."
A silence fell over the place as Aline left, and in this silence, only the cold face of a woman is seen.
Valeria tightened her grip on the staff. "... Very well... For my daughter... For my god... I will start conquering the shadow world. Everything will bear the influence of my god."
Her lifeless eyes now shone with life and determination. A determination that burned like violet flames in her eyes.
She struck the staff on the ground, and violet flames erupted from the ground. Soon, two humanoid beings made of pure flame emerged from the ground, beings made only of souls, existing in this plane thanks to the dragon's flames.
Although the flame was mostly used for destruction, that wasn't its initial meaning.
The flame also symbolizes rebirth and life.
The Progenitor dragon's flames, the most powerful flames in existence, have enough power to summon souls as minions.
"Order..."
Valeria smiled widely; the violet flame eyes of the creature perfectly reflected her current eyes, a subtle change she hadn't even noticed and probably wouldn't care about.
"Let's start the cleansing. First, cleanse the influence of these false gods." She looked at the world map hanging on the wall, and her eyes glowed with even more intense flames as she looked north.
She never dared to enter another god's territory; after all, they were just growing. But inhibitions were no longer necessary. With this power and her influence, she could do it.
She could expel these false gods.
"Only he is the true one; pagan gods who just want to take advantage of mortals aren't needed." Valeria knew very well about the other 'organizations' that started to appear after the gods descended, especially Valhalla, which doesn't give any benefits to mortals, only using them with the promise of entering Valhalla and becoming an immortal warrior.
What they don't know is that these immortal warriors are just Odin's puppets; they won't even have their free will. Isn't that the same as dying?
By doing this, she'll probably anger another 'god,' but... Valeria doesn't care.
The reason?
Her god is the strongest.