Chapter 737: I'm not like him; I'm worse.
A few minutes ago, before the proclamation of the King of The Werewolves and Adam running towards Victor.
Leonidas Uruky was an old man, over 1000 years old. He had been through a lot in his life. The proof of this were the scars on his body that, even with the superior body of a Werewolf, had not yet been healed.
Measuring over 190CM with a big muscular body, no one would look at him and see an 'old man'. On the contrary, he still looked like he was in the prime of his life. That was the Patriarch's privilege. After all, everyone in his family were his 'Betas'. Even if they were born Alphas, they were still his Betas, and these numbers gave him strength.
Born into the Uruky family, a long family of Alpha Werewolves, Leonidas, through his own efforts, managed to raise the wealth and reputation of the Uruky Clan to rival the great Lykos Clan directly, a Clan of monsters that, in every generation, produced splendid Generals for the King of Werewolves.
The Bloodline of the Lykos Clan was so strong that at some point in the past, even he wished to be one of the 'boy toys' of the Matriarch of Clan Lykos.
Leonidas swore that her Lineage had to be special in some way. After all, there was no way a woman over 1000 years old could seem even more lively than him. She was not even a Vampire. How was that possible?
Perhaps, that was one of life's mysteries, one he would never discover the truth behind.
Fortunately, he never stooped so low as to fall to a 'Boy toy' level. He had his pride, and he wasn't going to walk into a harem where he was just another one of that woman's countless men. He deserved so much more than that.
And just as he believed, he rose to greatness and built a Clan that rivaled Clan Lykos.
Despite being the Patriarch of one of Samar's most renowned Alpha Clans, Leonidas was retired and enjoying the fruits of his past efforts.
Currently, his family was large and powerful. Few could threaten them. Seeing this situation of stability, he left the leadership to the new generation of Werewolves and focused on training his descendants.
Altogether, he was living a good life.
"I'm telling you, Icarus! I'm sure she was!"
"And I keep claiming that you've lost your mind!"
'Hmm?' Hearing his grandsons' discussion, the Patriarch erased his presence and approached the door. Soon, he saw the sight of his two grandsons arguing.
"I haven't lost my mind!"
"Of course, you've gone mad, Zaion! There's no way someone from the Alioth Clan could be in Samar! The Vampire King directly protects them!"
"Everyone knows that wherever an Alioth is, the Vampire King will be close by!"
Leonidas narrowed his eyes when he heard the conversation of his grandchildren. It was worth mentioning that he began to feel a very bad feeling. As an Ancient Werewolf, he'd long learned to listen to his instincts. This act had saved him many times in the past.
"Tsk, I don't care anymore. I'll capture that woman and deliver her to the First Prince. Not even the Second Prince will stop me." When Zaion went to walk towards the door, he felt someone holding his shoulder.
"...Wait a minute." Icarus had a very serious face.
"What do you mean, The Second Prince? Was the member of the Alioth Clan accompanied by The Second Prince!?"
"Y-Yeah?" The pressure emanating from Icarus' body was so intense that Zaion responded with a bit of fear.
"Zaion Uruky! Tell me exactly what you saw when you saw the Alioth Clan woman!" Icarus demanded, "Don't leave any details out."
Zaion nodded his head and began to explain the group he saw. The tall, handsome man who was very weak, The Second Prince, his subordinates, and a member of Clan Lykos.
Each time Zaion told details of what he saw, Icarus' expression grew even darker. And he wasn't the only one, Leonidas, who was listening to everything, had the same expression.
No matter how the two men saw it, this was clearly the group of the Vampire King, Vlad Dracul Tepes.
"You fool! Do you want to provoke a war!?" Icarus snapped angrily.
"Huh?"
"Think of what I SAID! Wherever an Alioth is, the Vampire King will be close by! And everyone of High Rank knows that The King of Vampires is a Noble Vampire very experienced in shapeshifting! He can assume any appearance he wants!" Icarus growled.
"That man you called tall and weak is clearly The King of Vampires!"
"..." Zaion broke out in a cold sweat. "What should we do...?"
"I will take this matter to the Patriarch. The Vampire King is clearly a diplomat. He won't cause any trouble with us; after all, a war could break out if he attacked the Werewolves in such a delicate situation like this."
"You don't have to tell me anything." Leonidas' heavy voice resounded around, and the Patriarch entered the room.
"I heard everything."
"P-Patriarch!"
Leonidas looked at Zaion:
"You are a fool. It seems I expected too much from my Eldest Son's Bloodline. I had hoped his descendants would have at least some form of intelligence in it. You are a brute just like your late father."
"..." Zaion bit his lip in frustration, but he didn't say anything in retaliation.
"What shall we do, Patriarch?" Icarus asked.
"Zaion's attitude is big enough to become a diplomatic incident."
"But I did not do anything! I just looked at her!"
"I'm glad you didn't do anything." Leonidas narrowed his eyes.
Zaion shuddered and lowered his head in submission as he looked into the Patriarch's bright blue eyes.
"What if The Vampire King asks for Zaion's head to erase any 'incident' against him?" Icarus asked.
"If the King asks for Zaion's head, then so be it." Leonidas declared.
Zaion opened his eyes wide. "But I am your descendant! I am not-." Before he could continue, the pressure in the room suddenly increased.
"This is precisely because you are my descendant. I protected you too much when you did stupid things."
Zaion practically withered in front of the Patriarch. All the arrogance shown by him previously wholly disappeared.
"But unfortunately, this time, maybe you went too far."
Rumble!
Suddenly a crack of Lightning boomed out.
"I agree." And a heavy voice was heard around.
"!!!!"
Zaion, Leonidas, and Icarus quickly backed away and looked back toward the door. There, they saw a tall man with glowing violet eyes, his long black hair flowing as if it were made of black smoke; his skin was terribly pale.
"You're not Vlad..." Leonidas' features grew wilder.
"Indeed... I'm much worse than him."
Pure darkness spread across the room's walls and floor, and in the next moment, hundreds of red eyes opened.
As if the guest had arranged it with the Werewolf King himself, everyone heard the King's booming voice.
"The King of Hell, Victor Alucard, is in town. He is a guest of Second Prince Anderson; no one must antagonize him!"
Victor's face became utterly distorted, and a big toothy smile appeared on his face.
When they heard their King's voice, the three men's expressions immediately became even worse, especially Zaion, who was the cause of the incident.
Footsteps sounded out beyond the door, and the other members of the Uruky Clan were soon heard.
"Zaion, Leonidas, did you hear that!?"
"Huh? Why can't I open the door?"
"Hey, what are you doing!? Open the door."
Victor snapped his finger, and suddenly all the voices disappeared entirely.
The expressions of the two Younger Wolves filled with terror as they thought that everyone outside had died with that simple snap of a finger.
On the other hand, the Patriarch was more rational. Even though he was facing an irrational existence, he still didn't lose his cool, and that was all thanks to his experience.
Also, he didn't feel his Power waning or the loss of his connections with his Betas, meaning the Clan members were still alive.
"...What do you wish, King of Hell?"
"Straight to the point, huh... I like the way you think, Leonidas." Victor started walking around the room, looking around.
'He has no openings... Just what sort of monster is this?'
Leonidas studied Victor. He knew the man in front of him very well. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the most famous Supernatural Being in the entire world right now, all because of his feat of defeating Diablo, his predecessor.
That wasn't the only reason, of course. The recent religion that worshiped the Being in front of him as a God was also becoming quite influential on Earth and the Supernatural World at large.
"You know exactly what situation you are in. You clearly understand the reason for my visit here." Victor fiddled with various objects on the table, then looked at the bookshelf, chose a book titled 'Alpha Werewolves', and opened the book.
"Just say what you wish, King of Hell."
Suddenly the book snapped shut, causing a noise that made the two Wolves behind Leonidas shudder. They were utterly terrified.
Victor looked at Leonidas, revealing that half of his face was made of a morbid crimson-hued darkness that sent chills down even Leonidas' spine.
"Watch your tone, Werewolf."
The Patriarch swallowed, and his features grew even wilder.
"One wrong word, one wrong move, and your whole family will die."
"Y-Y-You can not do that." Icarus spoke shakily: "T-That would cause an international incident."
Leonidas wanted to curse his grandson so badly right now. Despite how smart he was, he didn't know when to shut the hell up.
"So innocent, Little Wolf." Victor turned to face the shelf, where he then put the book back.
"To the most Powerful Individuals, international incidents mean nothing. Take my predecessor as an example. He did so many things, and yet no law of any country or group of
individuals stopped him."
"In our world, Power means everything. And currently, I am stronger than you and all of Samar combined."
"Even if I kill your entire family, the King of Werewolves will just have to silently accept it without doing anything because that's the way things are; that's the reality of the world." Because of that, Victor trained and always sought to get stronger. He didn't want to be on the 'loser' side. He learned that lesson very well in the time he was Human.
The weak have no choice but to ask the strong for mercy.
Leonidas didn't say anything to contradict Victor's words because he knew he was correct. Who was Victor? He was the current King of Hell who killed his predecessor, the man with hundreds of hordes of billions of Demons at his command. Not only was his army powerful, but so was he.
If he wanted to devastate Samar, he could just open the Gates of Hell, and another Earth-like event would occur.
"... But I won't do that."
"...Huh?"
"I value good warriors, someone who has the balls to look me in the eyes and be determined enough to fight, even if the chances of victory are low." Victor pointed at Leonidas.
"You, Leonidas Uruky. You have earned my mercy and respect for your unwavering stance."
"..." Leonidas didn't know what to say when the 'enemy' suddenly praised him.
"Originally, I only planned to annihilate this worm and everyone related to him." Victor spoke with disgust: "No one looks at my Wife with such obvious desire and lives to tell the tale."
"What...?" Leonidas and Icarus expressed their confusion.
"Oh? Did you not know?" Surprise was seen on Victor's face:
"You, Leonidas Uruky. You have earned my mercy and respect for your unwavering stance."
"..." Leonidas didn't know what to say when the 'enemy' suddenly praised him.
"Originally, I only planned to annihilate this worm and
everyone related to him." Victor spoke with disgust: "No one looks at my Wife with such obvious desire and lives to tell the tale."
"What...?" Leonidas and Icarus expressed their confusion.
"Oh? Did not you know?" Surprise was seen on Victor's face: "If you don't know, let me explain."
"Did you know that, as the Demon King, I have a very powerful empathic ability? You could say that this is a special Trait of mine. I only need one look to understand a Being completely."
"As an example, you, Leonidas. Even before me, your feelings do not waver. If necessary, you will fight with me until the end to protect your entire family, even at the cost of sacrificing yourself to cause some harm to me. This is the determination I feel from you."
"You are a splendid warrior." Victor nodded in satisfaction.
It was because of this stance that Roxanne claimed Victor had the Divinity of 'Martial Honor' to the members of his religion. He was a warrior in both body and Soul.
"..." Leonidas gulped at this monster who could easily understand him.
"Now that you know that, let's get to the main point." Victor turned his gaze to Zaion.
"When that worm looked down at my Wife from the top of that building, his desires and intentions were clear as day to me."
"He wanted her for himself. He wanted to deflower her and use her talents for his purposes. Someone from Clan Alioth must be quite useful for whatever his plan is."
Leonidas and Icarus looked at Zaion, and seeing the man looking away from them, the words Victor spoke were confirmed. The two men knew Zaion enough to know when he wanted to hide something.
"Do you understand now, Leonidas?"
"...Yes..." Leonidas spoke resolutely. As someone who was possessive of his women, he could understand Victor's feelings very well.
"Good." Victor smiled satisfactorily: "Now that you understand my reasoning, I will present a business offer."
"Give me that worm, and I'll let your family live. Simple, right?"
"..." Leonidas was silent for a few seconds. His expression was heavy, he tried to think of any other scenario he could offer Victor, but nothing came to mind.
Leonidas closed his eyes, then he opened his eyes and looked toward Zaion.
Victor's smile grew and split across his face when he heard Leonidas' words.
"This time, my grandson... You really went too far."
"Patriarch...?"
Leonidas' wild expression started to get more Human, and he picked up Icarus and dragged him away. "W-Wait, Patriarch! Do not leave me!"
"I want a contract, Demon King."
"Do you think you're in a position to demand something?" Victor looked in amusement at Leonidas.
"The Demon King is correct. I am not, but as the Patriarch, I must ensure my family's safety... Even if I am shamed in the process."
Victor stared into Leonidas' determined eyes. Although the Werewolf Patriarch was feeling inner shame and frustration, he ignored those feelings and focused on protecting his family. This was indeed a man that Victor could respect:
"Nice answer."
He snapped his finger, and a piece of red paper with black writing appeared before Leonidas.
"A Demonic Contract. I will not attack the Uruky Clan until someone from your Clan attacks my Family."
"How will I know who your family members are? I don't want to break the Contract accidentally."
"You'll know. That's how the Contract works."
Leonidas nodded. He took the Contract and read it. Then, seeing that the clauses were correct and without holes, he bit his finger and signed the Contract in his blood.
The Contract glowed briefly, then disappeared in Leonidas' direction.
'I wonder if he noticed... This is a Contract made to stop the 'Demon' Victor Alucard from acting. And well, I'm not a Demon; I'm a Vampire.' Victor thought to himself as he looked at Leonidas.
You need to understand the context before signing a contract, kids, or you will be misled.
Ultimately, the Contract took effect, but only Leonidas was bound by it. Although, even if the Contract hadn't bound Victor, he would keep his word as he always did. He just didn't want to be bound by anything.
"If the Contract is broken, I will know, Leonidas."
"I know."
Leonidas dragged his grandson, Icarus, toward the door while ignoring the creepy red eyes across the room staring at him, waiting for him to do some unkind action.
Leonidas clearly felt that if he turned around now and attacked Victor, he would die, and he wouldn't even understand how.
Soon, the darkness, with shades of crimson red and blood-red eyes, moved out of the way, and the door appeared. He walked toward the exit and touched the door handle. But before leaving, he said:
"...Zaion...I really shouldn't have left your education to your father..."
"... Huh?"
"Come to think of it; I never told you how he died, right?"
"..."
"Your father died at the hands of a husband of a woman he desired in the past. The woman was a beautiful Werewolf who was to marry into a low-class Clan. Your father thought he could make that woman his. After all, he was someone from an Alpha Werewolf Clan. But his reality was shattered when he realized the woman's husband was a Beta of an Alpha Werewolf from the Werewolf King's pack..."
"The Alpha helped his Beta, and you know the rest of the story... Your father died like a useless bitch who never achieved anything."
"...Ironically, you will meet the same end as him." Leonidas opened the door, then left the room.
"W-Wait, Patriarch!" In the end, Leonidas didn't wait and just left the room.
"..." Zaion couldn't believe he was actually abandoned.
"Well... That was interesting. He's quite good with words, isn't he?"
Zaion turned his face angrily toward the man who caused him to be abandoned, but all of his anger vanished into the wind when he saw the 'thing' in front of him.
All appearances of the man had disappeared, and in the end, all that was left was the silhouette of a man with several red eyes scattered across his body and a giant smile full of sharp teeth that split his face.
"M-Monster!"
"It was you who lured this monster to your doorstep." Victor grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.
"I-...I-..."
"If you had just acted like a civilized person and had no plans for my Wife, I wouldn't have cared about your existence. You only have yourself to blame, Young Wolf." With a wave of his hand, the Wolf's four limbs were severed, and they fell to the ground.
"AHHHHHH!"
Even though he had lost his limbs, his blood didn't fall to the ground. It was obvious that Victor was controlling the blood in his body.
"I learned a lot from my General, you know? She is a woman capable of bringing the horrors of Lovecraft into reality. She was a very... Enthusiastic teacher."
"I will apply this knowledge on you. Do not worry; you'll wish you were dead when I'm done, though I won't let that happen. After all, those who target my Wives must be prepared to receive the worst tortures."
[Kaguya, stop watching. Things are going to get ugly.]
[Yes, Master.]
"Let's have fun, Little Wolf."