{Present, Barbatos Manor}
Rizevim. That name made me spiral into thoughts.
Everything that happened so far, even me ending up here, was because of his actions.
I was grateful I got another chance, but the fact that this body was supposed to be a weapon—and that if not for the Asura Heart removing the ruins, I would've likely ended up as one of his minions—didn't sit well with me.
"I have to go," Serafall said in a much more serious voice. "And I think you'll be required to make a visit soon too. This isn't an issue us Satans can just talk out."
Another meeting, great. But she was right. A war between vampires, and that too sparked by devils meddling—even if it was by a terrorist group—was enough reason for the blame to fall on us.
"As the lord of two houses, you'll need to be present," she said, putting her phone away and preparing to teleport.
"Will this…" I was uneasy, "lead to a war?"
She knew what I meant.
"I hope not." She didn't sound very confident. "But… there's a chance we might have to fight. And we can only hope the ones we fight are the Old Satan Faction, not the vampires."
Turning another faction into a full-blown enemy wasn't smart.
"Take care," she said. "And be ready. There will be a gathering soon."
With that, her teleportation circle appeared under her feet.
"You take care too," I said. "I know I can't help much, but if I can, let me know."
She smiled before vanishing in the light, leaving me alone in the room.
I sat my ass down on the couch. This whole situation was troubling.
"And just when I thought I'd get some rest…"
"What's wrong?" It was Ingvild. "And… did Serafall leave?"
Turning toward her, I saw her holding a tray—tea and pastries.
"Unfortunately." I gave a weak smile. "She got an emergency call."
Ingvild looked intrigued. She set the tray on the table and sat down on the sofa beside me. "Is everything alright?"
How the hell do I answer that? I wasn't even sure myself.
"Apparently… the Old Satan Faction got involved with the vampires, and that led to a civil war among them."
Yeah, that was the right expression on her face.
"Huh?" She looked stunned. "Why… would they do that?"
Good question. The Old Satan Faction wanted to reclaim the glory of the original Satans. But how the hell does this benefit them?
Sure, you could say devils being blamed would cause trouble for the Satans and create diplomatic issues, but if the Old Satan Faction caused this war, then they can't exactly—
Wait.
"Ingvild, how much do you know about the vampires?"
All I knew was that Gasper was a vampire. From a powerful family at that. And now he served under Rias.
Didn't he also have a friend? A girl?
Valerie, yeah. A Longinus user. And Gasper's gear evolved into a Longinus too. Vampires were no joke—strong bloodlines with insane potential.
"What do you want to know?" she asked. "I do know a little. I've been reading history too."
Seeing me stare at her, she went on.
"I don't think you want random facts about them. What you want is the history, and the probable cause of this conflict, right?"
I gave her a nod.
"Well," she began, "the origin of the vampires is uncertain, but the common belief is that they all came from their True Ancestor—Alucard."
So, like Lucifer? Makes sense.
"Many branches formed through the True Ancestor, like the Carmilla and Tepes factions. Then there are lines like the Nosferatu, considered impure and looked down on even though they're ridiculously powerful and far more monstrous in appearance." She kept going. "Before most devils can even remember, these branches started clashing because of different beliefs and views. Especially since the Tepes believed the true heir of the True Ancestor should be male, while the Carmilla insisted it should be female."
Yeah, I remembered that much.
"Over the years, it only worsened. The two factions became more like enemies than branches of the same tree." She lowered her gaze. "I read that recently the Tepes have had the upper hand. I don't know why, but they're becoming more dominant and may even swallow up the Carmilla faction entirely."
I think I know why.
Gasper's friend, Valerie. She's from Tepes. Gasper too. A Longinus and a potential Longinus on Tepes' side, while Carmilla has nothing to match that. No wonder they're winning.
I clicked my tongue. "I should've studied more about the other factions."
If this damned body had put in some effort in the past, I'd have more answers now.
I'd have to ask the Satans about it.
"What do you think the Old Satan Faction is trying to achieve?" Ingvild asked. I didn't have the perfect answer, but I had an idea.
The Asura Heart was something Rizevim obsessed over, and me running off with it must've pissed him off to no end. Add Katerea's death to the mix, and he's probably livid, forcing his hand instead of waiting things out.
"The Old Satan Faction wants to overthrow the current government," I said. "Take down the present Satans and crown themselves instead. They're strong, sure, but they can't win a direct war against us. That's why they need outside help—military aid."
"You mean…" She frowned. "They're trying to side with one of the vampire factions, so if that side wins, they'll back the Old Satan Faction against us?"
She was quick.
"Exactly. And politically, we're screwed. Since Rizevim's still a devil—no matter his alignment—we're indirectly responsible. We'll have to answer for his actions either way." I sighed. "If his chosen side wins, he uses them to fight us. If they lose, he runs off with his devils, and the winner still demands compensation from us because devils messed with their civil war. Either way, it's a win for him."
Ingvild looked nervous. "What… can we do?"
That was the real problem.
"We either back the side opposite of Rizevim and fight with them… or find a way to stop the war from spiraling while making Rizevim the only one to blame." I shrugged. "First one isn't great, second one's anything but simple."
Most likely, we'd have to fight. I just couldn't see another way.
The only question was: which side do we fight with?
It'd be nice if I could turn all this mess into an advantage. Maybe get Valerie into my peerage—a Longinus user like her would be worth the trouble.
Unfortunately, I had to look at the bigger picture now. As the Lord of two ancient pillars, I had more responsibilities than I could count. I couldn't just act on impulse anymore.
And maybe this wasn't something I should directly involve myself in. Most likely, it was more dangerous than I could handle. Otherwise, the system would've thrown a quest my way with rewards attached.
But now? Dead silence.
As I sat there, lost in thought, I felt something.
"Is that…" Ingvild frowned, noticing a tiny magic circle appear to our far left.
From it emerged a bat—definitely a familiar—carrying a letter.
It flew straight toward me, its leathery wings flapping in my face as it held out the letter.
"For me?" I asked.
The bat nodded.
I extended my hand, and it dropped the envelope into my palm. Without wasting a second, it flapped away and teleported out.
Ingvild kept her eyes on me, waiting. I stared at the envelope for a moment, then tore off the wax seal and unfolded the letter.
One glance was enough to tell me this was more serious than I'd thought.
"What does it say?" she asked.
"Well…" I looked back at her. "There's a meeting I need to attend. Two hours from now."
"And?"
"And representatives from both Tepes and Carmilla factions will be there."
This was moving way faster than I liked. And I couldn't sit it out.
* * *
{Same Time, Unknown Location}
—Elmenhilde Karnstein—
Over the past week, there have been at least thirteen terrorist attacks. Small-scale, yes, but enough. The Carmilla faction had taken the lead in crushing the terrorists and protecting vampires from life-threatening harm.
She had personally thrown herself into saving civilians under Carmilla's protection. Even if she thought them inferior, not worth a noble's effort—she knew the truth. These weren't random assaults on civilians. They were part of a larger plan, a deliberate strategy to bleed the Carmilla faction.
The Tepes had fallen too far. She found it disgusting that they stooped so low, targeting innocents and dragging devils into their schemes.
She didn't care whether the devils approached Tepes or Tepes approached them. The fact remained: devils were now involved, and their meddling had caused bombings and terror across vampire lands.
This wasn't something that the Carmilla faction could overlook.
It didn't matter to her that devils outclassed vampires in power. It didn't matter that Tepes had a Longinus user on their side. What mattered was that the Carmilla faction was the victim here.
"Elmenhilde," an elder vampire called. "Get ready. You're to be there in an hour."
She was the Carmilla faction's representative. She wasn't going to be intimidated by Tepes or by devils.
She would put them on trial, make them answer, and demand the compensation Carmilla deserved.
No matter what.
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{A/N: Got a pat reon named RedLamp01 with 30+ chapters.
We have got our 3rd peerage member on pat reon and the 4th will be in the next chapter. This arc will end in just a few more chapters and we will close it with 4 members. Next arc will be filling the rest of the members and Kuoh plot will be beginning soon.
Also, can u guess the 2 members?}