Everything was going so nicely. We had eradicated the entirety of the Tepes Faction along with all of their vassals/ allies, we managed to rescue and secure the Dhampir girl with Sephiroth Graal and we also saved a group of innocent civilians. We didn't have any casualties and now all we had to do was take the vampire civilians to the Carmilla Faction, which were just girls and women, take the human servants and slaves back to HQ for rehabilitation and then go back to our normal lives.
Or so I thought.
"Carmilla, to what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked the silver haired vampire in front of me, her crimson eyes just staring at me as the short vampire sitting besides her glared at me.
"That's Lady Carmilla to you, human." I just raised an eyebrow as I stared at Carmilla, not even turning to stare at the short vampire and Carmilla just sighed.
"Elmenhilde, quiet please." Elmenhilde just nodded meekly as she turned back to face me, my amused smile probably irritating her as Valerie just glanced between us from where she was sat quietly besides me.
"Now, like I asked, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I'm here for her." She said as she pointed at Valerie, who just stared at her before going back to reading the comic book that Nikola gave her, making me chuckle.
"No." Was all I answered as I stood up, Valerie standing up with me in sync as they both looked shocked at my answer.
"What do you mean no?! She's a vampire of the noble line of Tepes! As the last surviving member of the Tepes coven, she has the duty to continue her clan!" Carmilla shouted and I chuckled.
"Valerie, do you want to go with her or stay here with us?"
"Stay here with you. They want to use me to create an army." She answered instantly and I raised an eyebrow, now glancing at the slightly nervous duo. Elmenhilde didn't look up from where she was looking at the ground and when I glanced at Carmilla, she was composed, but I could still see the shock and slight horror in her eyes.
"We saved Valerie from her torturous family, so I know she wouldn't lie to us and she can speak to the dead, so I know that there are some dead men that do tell tales. I'm not going to ask what army you're trying to build up as long as it doesn't involve any human inside and outside of Romania. If it does…" I trailed off as my eyes glowed a bright green, the visage of a screeching kraken appearing behind me as it glared at the now sweating vampires.
"I-It was an army to invade the Tepes Faction and take over." Carmilla answered instantly, drawing a shocked look from Elmenhilde as I nodded. I was bit surprised at how quickly she answered. Usually, she's way too arrogant to even glance at or even listen to anyone that was not a vampire.
Then again, if I had to face a man that took down two dragons on par with the Five Dragon Kings all on his own, I'd reveal everything too.
"Well, then. There's no need for that army anymore and there's no need for Valerie to go with you guys. If you still have that samearmy after today, the Organization is going to have to have the same meeting with the Carmilla Faction that we had with the Tepes Faction. I'm sure you don't want to have that meeting, right?" I asked with a smile and I smiled brightly as I patted them on the shoulders, with both of them shaking their heads rapidly.
"Good! Now, why don't you two take the vampire civilians, go back to your Faction group, tell them that the war is over and that the Carmilla Faction and its allies are now the only vampire covens in Romania?" They both just nodded as they quickly stood up and walked out of the room, leaving me and Valerie alone.
"To be truthful, I didn't expect them to just leave like that. I expected a bit more resistance from Carmilla." I said after a long pause of silence in the room and Valerie just stared at me before she spoke.
"You killed two dragons on par with the Five Dragon Kings. On your own. Carmilla would rather have peace than give you the perfect opportunity to take out her faction." That surprised me as she wasn't usually one to give long sentences.
"Well then. Enough politics talk. Are you ready to finally leave for HQ?" I asked and she nodded. Division 4 had already taken the humans back to HQ. Division 2, 6 and 7 were in charge of keeping the vampire civilians safe and in order, and since Carmilla was going to take them away, I knew that they were going to be alright. That just left Valerie and now, a green magic crest appeared under us as Valerie grabbed my hand before we teleported away.
In HQ:
"Ah, Captain, you're finally here?" I heard Cao Cao's voice speaking as we arrived and I chuckled as I nodded, Valerie looking around at everything curiously before her face lit up slightly as she caught sight of Siegfried. She quickly walked towards him before wrapping her arms around one of his, laying her head on his shoulder with a slight smile. Siegfried looked slightly shocked at her actions as Cao Cao and I just gave each other amused smirks.
"Well, we know who's going to be her guardian while she's staying here. You're in charge, Sieg." I said with a smile as Cao Cao and I walked towards the meeting room, Cao Cao's cackling echoing throughout the main lobby as he followed me. Sieg just looked confused and a bit fearful as Valerie just stared up at him with a dazed smile.
"You're one manipulative man, Captain." Cao Cao said after he got his laughing under control and I just smirked as I shrugged, opening the door to the meeting room. Gilgamesh, Isaac Tesla and Georgios were already seated, with each of their lieutenants standing behind them slightly to their right. I smiled as I sat down on my seat opposite Gilgamesh, Cao Cao dismissing True Longinus as he stood behind me slightly to my right.
It took a few minutes for everyone to gather, especially the division captains, who had to wait for Camilla to take away the vampire civilians, and a tired-looking Siegfried, who had a curious Valerie walking with glanced around the room with the same dazed smile, though the smile did turn a bit geniune as she waved at me, to which I just smiled and waved back. As soon as she caught sight of Gilgamesh, she froze entirely, paling slightly as Gil stared deeply at her with a bit of his aura radiating off of him before he turned to look at me.
"I assume she's the dhampir?" He asked and I nodded.
"Yep. One dhampir hostage/ victim/ VIP, rescued and ready to start her new life." He just nodded before his gaze turned to Siegfried, who instinctively froze slightly under his gaze.
"Siegfried, since the girl likes to be around you, you'll be temporarily relieved of your duties as a Lieutenant to help her settle into HQ's living quarters. Funds are of no concern, as you will be given a card to help buy all of her needs. Find her a room close to yours. If all have been taken, let me know and I'll find you a fitting bed to put in your room. Or if you want, I could remove your previous bed and put a larger bed for the two of you to use together." He blushed slightly at everyone's amused gaze and the puppy dog eyes Valerie aimed at him made him sigh lowly.
"We'll take the large bed." The happy smile on Valerie's face grew as I just smirked, Gil's amusement visible in his eyes as he nodded.
"Very well. Lieutenants, leave the room. You are dismissed." The lieutenants nodded before they walked out of the room, but all of us knew they were waiting just outside of it, trying to listen in.
"Isaac." Gil said and Isaac didn't need any further instruction as he nodded, waving his hand as a large runic pattern covered the entirety of the room before it flashed and disappeared. The one-way sound-proofing and visual disturbance runes seemed to work by the soft whines we heard from outside of the door before feet shuffled away and I chuckled.
"Now that we've gotten rid of the extra party, report."
"The First Division under Captain Theseus eliminated the Tepes Coven and its Lord along with the Lord's advising council. Longinus eliminated all lower-ranked vampires and White Knight rescued and extracted the VIP. During the battle, Lord Tepes tried to use some sort of power-enhancer to try and boost his power, but I confiscated it and handed it over to Division 5 for further study." I reported and he nodded before turning to Hassan.
"The Second Division under Captain Hassan eliminated the Vladi Coven and its retainers. Upon study of the bodies after, it was found that Lord Vladi was not among them, but the First Division informed us that he eliminated one who matches his appearance." Gil glanced at me and I nodded slightly, making him hum as he nodded at Hassan before turning to Isaac.
"The Third Division under Captain Isaac eliminated the Nosferatu Coven and its Lord along with its retainers. The vast knowledge that the coven has obtained over the years as the bookkeepers and librarians of the Tepes Coven has been copied with the original documents destroyed. The Third Division shall be busy later copying and adding the documents to the archives of the Huntsmen Organization." Gil just nodded before he turned to Georgios.
"The Fourth Division under Captain George eliminated the Dracul coven and its Lord. All human servants were rescued and treated for the mind-manipulation they were placed under. However, the psychological damage to most of them were a lot and further treatment and therapy is needed before they can be placed back into modern society." Gil was frowning slightly, which didn't surprise me.
Despite how most legends make him out to be an arrogant bastard that just sees everyone that is lower than him as mongrels, he is actually a nice, mellow dude that hates having human life wasted needlessly. He feels that every human life, short and frail as it is, should be treasured and protected at all times. With a sigh, he nodded at Georgios before turning to Tesla, who surprisingly didn't have a smile on his face as he frowned slightly, catching everyone's attention.
If Tesla, a man known for his happy and smiling personality, was frowning at something…yeah, be prepared for the apocalypse.
"The Fifth Division under Captain Tesla eliminated the Manthar Coven and its Lord along with his council. Further study with the sample that Division 1 handed us revealed a few disturbing facts that will be shared after the report." Tesla reported stiffly and Gilgamesh frowned slightly, turning to stare at Holmes.
"The Sixth Division under Captain Holmes eliminated the Cullen Coven along with its Lord and retainers. New torture methods have also been invented there and each one has an 80% success rate of working, with a 15% of failure and a 5% of mutilation/ death." Gil just looked exasperated at his words as he nodded before turning to Samson.
"The Seventh Division decimated the Sluda Coven and erased all signs of it from the world. End report." Almost everyone in the room, save for Gil and I, face-palmed at his bluntness as Gil and I just chuckled.
"Thank you, Samson. Now then, I assume you took care of the flying lizard problem?" He asked as he turned to me, to which I just nodded.
"If by 'take care' you mean almost destroy the entirety of Romania, then yeah, he took care of it." Were Tesla's muttered words and I just gave a sheepish chuckle as Gil sighed.
"Limit?" Was all he asked and I nodded, making him nod before he turned to Tesla.
"Now Tesla, you said that the power booster had some…disturbing facts that you needed to share?" Tesla nodded before he pulled out the vial from a pocket dimension. To everyone's surprise, Gil's eyes instantly went wide as he caught sight of the vial, a multitude of golden runic circles appearing around him as he stared at it.
"I see you already know what it is, Commander?" Tesla muttered and Gil just let out a shaky sigh as he nodded.
"Yeah, that's a power-enhancing snake. Only one entity in this world can give those out to anyone who asks for it. A primordial force that can bring cataclysmic devastation to the world as we know it if it decides to." The dots connected in my head and I paled slightly. I had thought that my guess would've been wrong and it was just a random Shadow Snake, but I suppose I'm not that lucky
"Well, shit." I cussed, making him nod as the others finally figured out.
"…There's no way IT'S trying to destroy the world…right?" Samson asked with a nervous smile and Gil shook his head.
"No, it considers the world to be weak. However, it can be easily manipulated by those who do want to do so."
"So, let me get this right. That…snake in the vial belongs to one of the residents of the Dimensional Gap and it's currently in the Human Realm, helping a mysterious group who either wants to destroy the world or conquer it. Did I get that right?" Holmes asked and I sighed as Gil nodded, making him lean back against his chair as he let out a deep sigh.
"…Well, looks like my vacation isn't about to be so relaxing anymore." I muttered, making them all chuckle as I shook my head with a smile.
"Since the world is not being destroyed right now, we can assume that this mysterious group doesn't have the means yet to actually carry out that plan. Nikola, Isaac, work together to figure out a time frame of how long we have. Hassan, Holmes, you two are on information gathering. Find out what this group is, who are its leaders, what are their numbers. I want everything. Samson, Georgios, check what our resources are. How many medics do we have, how many warriors, mages, etc. I want reports of all of that within a month's time."
"And what am I doing?" I asked eagerly and he just smirked.
"You're on a long-term mission that needs all of your attention and no! I'm not cancelling it nor am I pulling you out temporarily to try and help us. Your mission is to relax and that's it." I just grumbled as I gave a reluctant nod, making him chuckle as he nodded.
"Good. Remember, you all have a month's time to get me that information." With his final words said, a golden circle appeared under him before he disappeared.
"The Commander has a point. Just take it easy and leave it to us. We were already captains by the time you joined us. Time to show you how versatile we truly are." Georgios said with a reassuring smile and I sighed before I smirked and nodded, with him chuckling as they walked up.
'…Maybe another movie night with the girls will help me forget that today even happened.' I thought with a slight smile as I stood up, a green magic crest appearing under me before I disappeared.
A/N: And we're back! Yeah, those tests were much tougher than I expected, but here's to hoping the week of studying was good enough.
Also, I noticed that I wrote Sixth Division/ Division 6(The Torture Division) in previous chapter to research the sample when it should have Fifth Division/ Division 5(The Research & Development Division). I'll have to rectify those mistakes.
Anyways, tell me what you thought of this short arc with your reviews and I'll see you all in the next arc.
Until then… Ba-Bye~!