Chapter 401
Chapter 401
Chapter 401
Carmilla, followed by Bacchus and Nicky, knelt before Zeke.
Zeke was bewildered seeing them suddenly submit to him.
'What's this?'
Then Zeke remembered that Blood King Caligula had the power to subjugate three races.
'Vampires were one of them. Could it be that I absorbed Caligula's power and they now recognize me as their master?'
Zeke looked at Carmilla and spoke.
"Please stand. I have no intention of becoming the vampire king."
But Carmilla bowed her head even deeper and said.
"That's not possible. Your Majesty must lead us."
At those firm words, Zeke looked at Bacchus behind her and said.
"Bacchus, do you feel the same?"
Bacchus slowly raised his head and spoke.
"As a half-vampire, the binding seems weaker than for my mother. But still, I feel an overwhelming desire to pledge loyalty to you."
"So it's vampire instinct, regardless of your will."
"All vampires will likely feel the same."
Zeke then looked at Nicky.
Unlike before, Nicky kept her head deeply bowed with a tense attitude.
"...This is awkward."
Bacchus spoke to Zeke on behalf of Nicky who couldn't even raise her head.
"Nicky is a powerful vampire with pure blood. The subjugation seems to affect her more directly."
The vampire genes within Nicky appeared to be responding to Zeke's majesty as the heir to the Blood King's title.
Zeke spoke to Nicky.
"Nicky, I order you to treat me casually like before."
At Zeke's words, Nicky barely raised her head and said.
"Your Majesty, that order is too burdensome for me. Please withdraw it."
Zeke shook his head seeing Nicky refuse his order.
'This is troublesome.'
Just as Zeke was contemplating how to handle this unexpected situation.
"Your Majesty!"
Icarus, who had been bound in chains, suddenly crawled toward Zeke.
His expression looked very confused as he stared at Zeke.
"Y-Your Ma- No! Why am I?! Y-Your Majesty! S-Stop!"
Icarus was a high-ranking Nightmare summoned from the demon realm, not one from the physical world.
But since Caligula's power affected succubi from both realms, even Icarus had no choice but to submit to Zeke.
Nevertheless, Icarus, with his strong willpower as a high-ranking demon, was struggling to maintain his senses against Zeke's majesty.
Zeke watched Icarus clutching his head, then said with an incredulous expression.
"Just pick one - submit or don't."
Though casual in tone, Zeke's natural authority finally overcame Icarus's resistance.
He bowed his head and took a submissive posture before Zeke.
"This lowly servant Icarus greets his master."
Seeing even the high-ranking Nightmare Icarus submit, Zeke could truly feel the power of Caligula's ability.
'He must have wielded even greater power as Shambhala's master. Just how powerful was the God Slayer to make such a Blood King fear him?'
After contemplating the vampires and succubus who submitted to him, Zeke spoke.
"For now, we need to check Carmilla's condition. Let's leave this place."
Zeke led his unintended subordinates out of Caligula's tomb.
* * *
At the vampires' hideout near Himonas, Zeke pondered what to do with the vampires and succubus who pledged loyalty to him.
'The vampires shouldn't be a problem since we already planned to form an alliance.'
With the irresistible power of subjugation making even Vampire Queen Carmilla voluntarily pledge obedience, there was no risk of betrayal.
Moreover, vampires were natural assassins and necromancers, so they could be useful in many ways.
'That's fine, but the problem is that one...'
Zeke looked at Icarus, who was kneeling in a corner after being freed from chains.
Icarus, who originally had an androgynous beauty, had completely transformed into a feminine body after submitting to Zeke and was now emitting pheromones to seduce the opposite sex.
While Zeke's indomitable will would never fall for a demon’s seduction, a high-ranking demon's pheromones were more potent than any aphrodisiac in the physical world.
'I'm worried it might negatively affect the other knights.'
When Zeke's gaze fell on him, Icarus blushed and emitted even stronger pheromones.
Zeke frowned at Icarus.
"You're openly releasing aphrodisiac scents. Maybe I should just seal you..."
Icarus shook his head vigorously at Zeke's words.
"That's unavoidable due to succubus nature! It's not my will, Your Majesty!"
Nightmares were a race that survived by absorbing energy from others' dreams.
Since seduction was a racial trait, the instinct to seduce those stronger than themselves was unavoidable.
'Should I just seal him in the ring?.'
After serious contemplation, Zeke clicked his tongue and spoke to Icarus.
"I'll think more about what to do with you. Stay quiet and wait."
At Zeke's cold words, Icarus nodded with a pale face.
He left Icarus and entered Carmilla's room.
When Zeke entered, Carmilla tried to rise from her coffin to greet him.
"Don't. Stay lying down. That's an order."
At Zeke's command, Carmilla lay back in her coffin.
Having accepted their loyalty, Zeke suppressed his discomfort at addressing them formally and asked Bacchus who was tending to her.
"How is Carmilla's condition?"
"She's recovered significantly, but her True Blood powers haven't fully returned, leaving her unstable."
Zeke approached the coffin to examine Carmilla.
Her already pale vampire face had grown even whiter.
Zeke carefully placed his hand on her forehead.
"Ah..."
When his hand touched her forehead, Carmilla's lips trembled in surprise.
Ignoring her reaction, Zeke drew upon the Three Eyes' power to examine her condition.
TSTSTSTS!
Red energy flowed from his body into Carmilla.
With the Three Eyes' power, Zeke could clearly understand Carmilla's condition.
Having absorbed Blood King Caligula's power, authority, and knowledge, Zeke's understanding of souls had increased.
Additionally, since Caligula ruled the vampire race, his understanding of the species had greatly improved.
'The imbalance between body and mind keeps causing problems.'
Originally, she should have slept in hiding until her body matured.
But given the circumstances, forcing herself awake while breaking Caligula's seal caused the power to backfire, widening the rift further.
Zeke put Carmilla to sleep with the Three Eyes' power, then raised his head and spoke to Bacchus.
"Left like this, the disconnect between body and mind will widen the rift in Carmilla's soul."
Bacchus responded in panic.
"A-A soul rift... Isn't there a way to fix it? Please save my mother!"
Bacchus immediately knelt and bowed his head to the ground.
Zeke spoke to him.
"Stand up. Blood King Caligula was also called the White Face King as ruler of the White Face clan. With his knowledge and power, healing Carmilla should be possible."
Bacchus snapped his head up at Zeke's words.
"Th-Thank you. I'll do anything I can. Just tell me what!"
"Then wait outside. I need to perform a healing ritual."
Though Bacchus flinched at being told to leave, he closed the door and went out.
'I'll need certain things for the treatment.'
Zeke first summoned Richmond and Bane.
Soon Richmond and Bane emerged from the shadows.
"You called, Master!"
"Here at your summons, Master."
Zeke first spoke to Richmond.
"Richmond, return the Royal Vampire Garin's dagger I gave you before."
Richmond flinched at Zeke's words.
"W-Wasn't that a gift to me?"
"It was entrusted. Bring it quickly."
Richmond moved slowly while internally cursing Zeke's pettiness for taking back the dagger.
"I can hear you cursing inside."
"EEP!"
Richmond often forgot he was a summon.
Receiving the dagger from the startled Richmond, Zeke took out both Garin's dagger and the ancient blood magic book from his inventory.
'I just kept these stored not knowing their use, but now they'll be useful.'
Holding the dagger and blood magic book, he spoke to Richmond and Bane.
"I'll seal the rift in True Blood Carmilla's soul and mature her body. Guard against outside interference during the ritual."
"Understood, Master! Leave it to us!"
"TCH, understood."
Unlike the dutiful Bane, Richmond grumbled while answering, upset about losing the dagger.
Despite their different attitudes, both Richmond and Bane diligently created a barrier around Zeke to prevent outside interference.
After confirming this, Zeke approached Carmilla in her coffin. Having absorbed Caligula, he instinctively knew how to perform the ritual.
He took out Garin's dagger and pricked the sleeping Carmilla's fingertip.
When her blood drops touched the ancient blood magic book, it absorbed them and began emitting a dark red energy.
Zeke held the book and dagger in both hands and activated the Three Eyes' power.
TSTSTSTS!
Using the Three Eyes, Zeke extracted the Royal Vampire energy from both items and immediately infused it into Carmilla's body.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA!
As the Royal Vampire power seeped in, changes began. Carmilla's body started maturing.
"UGH..."
In pain from the forced growth, Carmilla stirred, trying to wake. Zeke used the Three Eyes to keep her unconscious, knowing sleep would lessen the pain of forcibly bridging the body-mind gap.
With the Royal Vampire power infused, Carmilla soon grew into an adult woman's body, forcibly accelerated to her pre-revival state.
'Good, no problems so far.'
The remaining task was sealing her soul's rifts and helping her mind adapt to the matured body.
Zeke examined Carmilla's soul with the Three Eyes, found the cracks, and reached out to them.
TSTSTSTS!
The Three Eyes' power was strong enough to seal soul rifts.
After healing her soul, Zeke carefully adjusted everything until her mind perfectly aligned with her body. This came naturally since he had absorbed Caligula's power and the Three Eyes were an extension of the Blood Eyes.
After checking her final condition, Zeke opened his eyes.
'Seems successful.'
The dagger and book crumbled to ash and vanished. Though startled, Zeke decided to investigate later and woke Carmilla.
"MMM..."
Restored to her original body, Carmilla opened her eyes, her vampire jewel-eyes gleaming.
She was shocked to see her matured body and increased power.
"H-How did my body return to normal?"
Realizing Zeke stood beside her, she immediately bowed.
"Forgive my disrespect, Your Majesty. I was startled."
"It's fine. How do you feel?"
Carmilla raised her head and channeled her power, now radiating Royal Vampire energy like Garin before.
Her eyes widened.
"Power overflows in my body. And... ancient knowledge fills my mind—forgotten blood magic and Blood Golem summoning... knowledge only Royal Vampires possessed."
Zeke realized the items' power had transferred to Carmilla rather than simply vanishing.
"You should now exceed True Blood power. Once you master blood magic, you might surpass even Royal Vampires."
Carmilla immediately knelt before Zeke.
"I thank Your Majesty for this grace."
After a pause, she continued with determination.
"I am Your Majesty's faithful servant and sharpest sword. I will joyfully execute any command. Please give me your orders."
Zeke looked at her steadily.
"Very well, I'll give you an order."
He spoke slowly.
"Laura Agamemnon. Tell me everything you know about my mother."