Chapter 270: Feeding my pet.
After a long weary sigh, Victor began to remember what he had just experienced. Those visions were simply too real to be a lie.
Three rulers, three different paths, three different ways of acting, three different consequences.
What he saw in that place was simply unbelievable, the sight of being outside the 'universe' was somehow… Scary…
But at the same time… Beautiful.
.
.
.
.
Stopping thinking about that unforgettable sight.
'Okay, let's stop being lazy.' Victor made a serious face and started to think more deeply about what had just happened.
'The Limbo is a being, it's something closer to a living entity that for some reason keeps beings imprisoned.' Slowly but steadily, the gears in Victor's brain began to turn.
He'd completely lost his sense of his surroundings, and all he had on his mind was figuring out what just happened, at least trying to understand something through that experience.
"Husband?" Natashia tried to call out to Victor, but her voice seemed so distant for him, like an echo from something far away. A voice that could easily be ignored if you're not paying attention.
'And just like any prison, this place should have its administrators… Or people who are looking after the prison. An example of this is the little girl guard who is inside this place.'
'Although her role in 'society' was low, she was undoubtedly subordinate to the people who controlled the prison. The proof of my thoughts is that when I spoke aloud the contents of the letter that weird being left for me, she was surprised and called me Administrator...'
'That is, she is aware of, or has seen, something similar to what just happened and linked this event to the 'Administrator' of this place.'
Faced with an irritating enemy who seemed to know his every thought, Victor had had no choice but to stop...
And learn...
What did he learn?
He learned to control himself when necessary, and he learned to ignore his surroundings and completely focus on one line of reasoning until he found what he wanted.
Now, who taught him that?
Ruby...
His beloved wife Ruby Scarlett taught him that, before being a warrior trained by Scathach, she also considered herself a scientist, so she liked to think of alternatives other than violence. After all, when faced with a power or situation beyond understanding, it was not violence that would help them to overcome this obstacle, but their ability to reason and pay attention to the smallest details.
Victor was not as proficient in this 'technique' as Ruby since, like it or not, he was the type of man who solved everything by the fist, even though in the past, when he first encountered Scathach, he said that not everything could be solved by the fist. The fist...
'I sure let myself be influenced...' Victor thought about that when he remembered the words he spoke to Scathach the first time he met her.
'Well...' Recalling the memories he had with Scathach, he thought, 'My mother-in-law is so cute that I had no choice but to be swayed.' He flashed a small smile.
There is an immutable truth in the world, and that truth is...
Social beings influence other social beings.
No matter what kind of species you are, when you are part of a 'community', and you respect the thinking of that 'community' or set of people, eventually you will be influenced by those thoughts.
Being a social person means... Changing.
Learn, and evolve.
Both for something bad and for something good.
This is the curse of people who live in 'society' and are part of a 'group'.
It's like your high school friend who was once an otaku who was always beating the glory, but when he entered college and entered a group of 'beautiful', 'sociable' people.
He stopped performing such an act.
Upon contacting this group, this friend of yours has changed.
And that, too, is part of the change.
Interactions, thoughts, groups of people, society, all of these influence how X individual sees the world.
When he spent 1 year and six months glued to Ruby, and getting into trouble with a certain goddess, who he always needed to think about what he was going to say around.
Victor changed...
He was influenced. Now in a positive way, his scope of decisions has increased because of this change...
Although that side of him was still developing because, no matter how influenced he was, Victor is still Victor.
A carnivorous monster won't stop being a carnivorous monster because it has acquired a magic word called...
Self-control.
'Code, Rule... Huh?' Victor clearly remembered this word which seemed to be extremely important.
'Is that his name? Or his rank in that prison?'
"Huh…? Am I no longer in Limbo?" Then, finally, the prisoners around Victor started to wake up since, despite not being at their best, they were still older vampires with insane stamina.
Even if they were weak and hungry, they could still assess their situation correctly.
"...." The prisoners looked at Natashia, and their eyes gleamed with desire. How long had it been since they'd seen a woman?
But despite having these thoughts in their heads, they didn't do anything or say anything. It was pretty obvious that this woman wasn't normal, despite standing there with a simple smile on her face.
"..." Natashia frowned.
Rumble, Rumble.
"Pieces of shit..." How dare those worms look at her? And especially in front of her Husband!
...Natashia was quite sensitive these days...
"Fulger..." Everyone was muttering at the same time when they saw the woman being covered by lightning.
"Guard, what did you say now?" Victor suddenly asked.
"Eh?" The guard was taken aback by Victor's sudden voice.
"You said something about an administrator. What is that?"
"... Oh, it's like the word says, I thought you were an administrator, but after thinking about it, I thought that was impossible. After all, the administrators of this place are the highest level prisoners who were captured by the Limbo."
"..." Victor opened his eyes wide when he heard what the little girl said.
'Is that man a prisoner?' Remembering the handcuffs on the man's wrist, Victor opened his eyes a little.
Honestly, he had thought those handcuffs were something like fashion or something. After all, the older you are, the more you have weird tastes in clothes.
"The command you mentioned just now is an exclusive command of the administrator who dictates the 'Rules' in this place, he is a Big Boss." She nodded, satisfied.
"... A prison that is run by the prisoners themselves."
"..." The little girl's smile grew, and somehow, that smile looked quite evil:
"Who besides the prisoners knows what kind of punishment they deserve?"
"Understanding that fact, the Limbo must have made that decision, I think… I can't be sure, considering I'm just a guard."
She started whistling around.
'Just a guard, huh?' Victor seriously doubted that statement now.
"Well, there's no use thinking about anything now." Victor wasn't getting anywhere, and he didn't have enough information to understand what had just happened.
But...
'I will heed your advice...'
The man's last words seemed to be extremely important. He had that tingling feeling in his neck that it would bite his ass in the future if he didn't pay attention.
After all, he has heard the word 'Chaos' twice in just one day. The first time was when he saw his titles... And the second time was when that man spoke to Victor.
'Chaos Witch', and: 'Child loved by the chaos.'
There was definitely something there; he could smell the stench from miles away...
Ah, that was just the prisoners who just arrived...
Speaking of prisoners...
Victor narrowed his eyes and flashed a small smile. He finally remembered what he'd come here to do.
"This shit has distracted me longer than it should... But I finally have what I need... It's time to feed my animals."
He organized his thoughts and defined a plan of action.
Feed his animals > wait for something interesting to happen to that tree > Date with Sasha > sex > sex again > then he must put out Natashia's fire, or this woman will never calm down.
What does that mean?
Sex again!
After that, he will go to Eleanor's territory to fulfill his promise.
"Umu. Sounds like a good plan to me." His smile grew abnormally
Seriously, Victor loved when things were simple.
Why does everyone like to complicate things?
The simpler things are, the more fun it is.
"!!!" Natashia's entire body shuddered as she felt Victor's gaze roaming every corner of her body.
She pretended she didn't feel anything and did her best to keep her expression 'neutral'.
"Let's get out of this place, and you come with me."
"Huh...?" The prisoners did not understand the sudden order.
But it's not like Victor wanted to explain something, he took a look around, and despite some of them being strong, most of them were as weak as a fly.
'Is this what happens when a vampire goes without food?' He felt disgusted when he saw beings that looked like a mummy but were still alive.
"Wait, are you getting us out of this place?"
"Yes, you will be my pet's food."
"..." An uncomfortable silence fell around them.
"...I don't think you should say that?"
"Why?"
"They're going to be-..." The guard was about to say something, but suddenly they heard a scream.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" Several vampires started screaming, and they were thrashing around in the cell, while some did nothing but had a hostile look while they stared at Victor.
"See?"
"Useless effort." Victor commented in the same neutral tone.
"If my Husband hadn't come here today, they would be trapped still, and without a conscience, they should feel grateful that they're useful for something bigger than just being in their cell like a vegetable." Natashia spoke in disdain. Why can't they be more grateful? Isn't her husband kind!?
You should be thanking him!
"Your useless existences will at least serve for something." The woman's smile grew just like the man's.
"...." Cold sweat started to come out of the bodies of some vampires.
But some still held out the hope of Escape, after all, they are older vampires...-
"The gate has been opened, Countess Fulger and Count Alucard." The guard suddenly spoke while flashing a professional smile.
"Oh! Thank you." Victor spoke as he looked to the side and saw the same door he had passed through.
"......."
'C-C-Counts?' All the prisoners thought at once.
They may have been unaware of the outside for a long time, but one thing they never forget.
Vampire Counts are beings that are recognized by the king himself, Vlad.
And some of those vampires present knew how demanding this man was.
Which means that...
'Two vampire counts came to get us....'
'We're fucked!'
That was the unanimous thought of all the prisoners present.
...
Vlad's Castle.
The Vampire King was sitting on his throne, he had his eyes closed, and he appeared to be resting.
As if by magic, a card appeared in front of him.
"..." Vlad opened his eyes and looked at the letter with a neutral gaze.
"The Limbo?" Finding it strange why that being would send him a letter, considering he hadn't asked anything from The Limbo yet.
He opened the letter, "Oh, it's from the administrator." Soon he started reading the content:
…
Vlad Dracula Tepes, The First Progenitor.
Through this letter, I come to inform you that by the authorization given by the Code, Rule. The First Administrator.
The being whose title represents Count Alucard is in the possession of several level 5 - 7 vampire prisoners.
Normally, this kind of information should not be given to you, but as the one who is responsible for the entire race of vampires.
I came to inform you what happened.
PS: Stop being lazy, and go visit your wife!
Sign: Code, Imperial. The Second Administrator.
…
A vein pops in Vlad's head: 'Why is everyone so interested in my love life?'
'But...'
'Prisoners Level 5 – 7, Huh?' Vlad narrowed his eyes.
'Why does that boy want so many vampires? Is he planning a rebellion?' Of course, Vlad didn't even feel threatened with such 'power', considering that, despite being adult vampires, they were still weak to Vlad.
Even if they all joined together, they would still be weak.
United ants will still end up being ants, not something you need to worry about.
This was not arrogance but an undeniable fact.
"...." Thinking a little about Victor's personality and what kind of man he was.
Vlad shook his head, denying his own thoughts; 'Impossible, if he were to make a rebellion, he would directly fight me. He is not the type of man who makes plans behind the scenes, he is not a snake, like mine son.'
... Vlad had a lot of confidence in Victor.
Trust in his way of acting, trust in his way of life.
As a student of Scathach and someone like that woman, Vlad saw Victor as a growing baby lion.
He was not a snake.
…But a King cannot live on unfounded trust… They need proof, and Vlad understood that.
He clenches his fist, and the letter that was in his hand disappeared:
"Investigate Count Alucard's movements...-" Thinking of Alexios' advice, Vlad amended his order mid-sentence, "But do it from afar, we don't want to cause unnecessary friction."
"Yes, Master."