Romania.
I took a sip of the local coffee, which was pretty ordinary, and looked over at the staff and the released prisoners, who were quietly eating at the next table. They had bowed their heads over their plates, hiding their faces, but it was obvious that none of them believed their nightmare was over, even if only for a little while.
The Assassins were watching everything from outside the now-closed establishment to make sure no outsiders wandered in by accident. Meanwhile, the rest of us…
- "All right," I began, drawing everyone's attention. "Now we need to decide what to do next."
- "Don't you have a plan?" Mo-chan asked in surprise. "Didn't you say you had something planned?"
- "I do have a plan, but the question is how quickly we can put it into action," I shrugged.
- "Then we could focus on rescuing people," Lancelot suggested. "There are places like this all over the country, as Miss Andone said, and I can't even imagine how many more people are suffering under the vampires' oppression."
- "That would be… difficult," Yasaka said, patting Kuno on the head. "Romania is vampire territory, and if we do what you suggested, we'd essentially be starting a war."
- "And that will provoke the other mythologies, who will decide that the Biblical faction has begun an expansion," added Runeas. "But that's not the point, is it?"
- "True, the consequences are important," nodded da Vinci-chan. "But I'm in favor of us intervening."
- "We have to save these people, Romani-san," said Gabriel, pouring coffee into Gabi's mug. "They're suffering and need our help."
- "Vampires have always been a threat to humans, and we need to take advantage of this opportunity," added Griselda.
- "She's right," Artoria agreed. "This has to stop."
- "Arrr!" Heracles growled, agreeing with her.
- "What difference does it make?" Sarra asked indifferently. "It doesn't concern us."
- "It does, if the Master decides so," Enkidu said.
- "I don't really care about the fate of either humans or vampires," Morgan said calmly. "But if a war breaks out, we'll come out on top either way. The final decision is yours, husband."
- "What will you decide, mongrel?" Gil asked me with interest in his voice.
I took another sip and analyzed the situation based on the opinions of those around me.
So, only Merlin, Fou, Medusa, and Archer remained silent. The latter obviously supported Artoria's point of view, while the rest, in essence, didn't care.
The Assassins were the exception, for whom following orders was the only thing that mattered—just like Enkidu.
- "Miss Andone," I began, at which point she immediately straightened her back as if she were in an exam. "You said you belong to Carmilla's faction, correct?"
- "Yes."
- "And, unfortunately, you can't tell us anything?"
- "Only what I've already told you," She shook her head and clenched her fists in cold fury. "We're dhampirs, the lowest rung, destined only to serve these creatures. I'm sorry."
Essentially, everything she had told me, I already knew. Namely, the vampires were divided into two factions: the Tepes faction, the ruling house, whose representatives were the direct heirs of Dracula, and the Carmilla faction, which considered women the dominant part of their society and sought to overthrow the opposing ruling house.
There wasn't much difference between them, since both considered humans to be nothing more than servants and food and treated them accordingly. For example, all the dhampirs present here were the offspring of some pure-blooded vampire and a human slave who had simply been unlucky enough to fall into their hands.
- "All right, I've decided," I began. "We'll act as Executors of the Holy Church."
- "Executors?" Gabriel asked, confused. "Who are they?"
- "The Church's executioners, in short, Lady Gabriel," Archer answered for me. "In our world, they were the bloodiest branch of the Holy Church under the Pope's command, dedicated to the extermination of demons, spirits, vampires, heretics, and similar creatures."
- "Essentially, exorcists," Griselda summarized.
- "Not exactly," said Archer. "The Executors' mission is not salvation, but destruction. And, during a mission, they have complete autonomy to achieve their goal. That is, not even a cardinal or other high-ranking officials of the Church have the right to interfere with their work."
- "So, we're exterminating vampires, Mr. Archaman?" Griselda asked.
- "Yes, but only those who died here," I replied. "For now, we won't touch anyone higher up. Let them think this is an internal feud, where, of course, there will be no witnesses."
I paused, looking around at those present.
- "Split into pairs and search for places like this one. Destroy the vampires, and take the dhampirs and humans to…" I paused and looked at Gabriel. "Are there Heaven bases in Romania?"
- "Yes, and they can take in anyone who needs it," she nodded firmly. "I'll ask my brother to give me the locations of all our bases in the country to make things easier for us."
- "Excellent. Then send the surviving humans and dhampirs there," I continued. "And one more thing. Only the Servants will be taking action."
- "Why?!" Runeas protested. "I want to get out and about a bit too!"
- "But that's our work, Mr. Archaman," Griselda added. "You can't do that."
- "I can. You'll be involved in the operation too, but a little later," I smiled. "Get to work."
After a while, Gabriel received a reply from Michael, and the humans and dhampirs here were sent to one of Heaven's bases relatively nearby. At the same time, the Servants split up and began carrying out the plan.
Archer left with Artoria, Medusa with Hercules, Gil with Enkidu, Mo-chan with Morgan, Lancelot with Merlin, while Grandpa and the Hundred Faces went off separately, since they certainly didn't need a partner. The rest returned to the bus, and da Vinci-chan took the wheel.
- "Do you have a special assignment for me, Master?" she asked, starting the bus. "My genius tells me you have plans for me."
- "You're right," I nodded. "The villa is already equipped with a lab and everything you might need."
- "Wonderful!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "What do I need to do?"
- "By the end of the arc, the vampires will be almost completely destroyed, and not by our hands," I said. "I want you to create a way to temporarily disable vampire weaknesses."
- "Is that all? I've done something like this a long time ago, so it'll be ready very quickly," she replied.
- "What are you planning?" Griselda asked. "Why do something like that?"
- "You see, I plan to integrate the vampire faction into ours," I said, receiving surprised or shocked looks in return. "When it's all over, very few of them will remain, so they'll be extremely compliant and happy to receive protection. Especially if we offer something very attractive."
- "So you've decided to expand after all?" Runeas smirked.
- "Well, technically, they're already part of the Biblical faction, since their origins trace back to us," I shrugged. "Besides, it'll shake up the other factions a bit."
- "But why?" Yasaka asked. "We're already under close scrutiny because of the recent events with Olympus, the unification of the Biblical Faction, and… our wedding."
- "Sooner or later, they would have tried to do something anyway. So it's better if it's on our terms, isn't it?"
Besides, after I learned the details of my stay in this world, I had no desire to put undue strain on the Servants or myself. And I definitely don't want the local forces to be left out of saving their own world. Yeah, yeah.
-0-
Rias was in the Carmilla faction's residence, looking at Elmenhilde Karnstein, the vampire she had come here for. And with every second she spent here, Rias felt her indignation and rage at the current situation growing.
She sensed that Yuto, standing behind her, was feeling the same way, but Gasper, sitting next to her, was seriously considering the vampire's proposal, since it was precisely because of him that she had come here.
He wanted to save his friend, Valerie Tepes, who possessed one of the Longinus, thanks to which the Tepes faction had strengthened its soldiers, ridding them of their vampire weaknesses, and attacked the Carmilla faction. And while Rias was here, Azazel was supposed to investigate this matter in more detail. However…
- "I came here to learn more about the situation, not to bargain with Gasper's life," she declared.
- "And yet you are here," Elmenhilde said haughtily. "The use of the Holy Grail, as our spies report, is causing Valerie Tepes harm on a mental level. And, as I've heard, she now resembles a doll more than a descendant of the Tepes house."
Rias clenched her fists, for she understood why she had used that exact phrasing. Sirzechs had spoken of how important it was to choose one's words carefully to achieve the desired result, and this vampire certainly knew how to do so, judging by the look on Gasper's face.
- "Rias-sama… We have to save her!" he said. "She… she was my only friend, and…"
- "I understand, Gasper," Rias said in a soothing tone. "But if we want to save her, we need to prepare."
- "Everything is already ready," Elmenhilde interjected. "You, Gasper Vlady, just need to use your Balance Breaker and get rid of the enemies."
- "I'd ask you to be quiet, Lady Karnstein," Rias said sharply, to which she simply waved her hand dismissively. "We can save Valerie without your faction's help if you force us to do so."
- "Only we know where she's being held, and without our help, you might not make it in time," she declared arrogantly, at which point Rias wanted to fire a couple of spears at her from the Power of Destruction. "Make your choice, Lady Rias."
Rias knew how important Valerie was to Gasper. She also knew how important Longinus was, who had fallen into the hands of the Tepes faction. And…
Her thoughts were interrupted by a maid who burst into the room with a look of horror on her face.
- "My lady, we're under attack!" she exclaimed. "You must flee!"
- "That's all we needed! First, unknown attacks on our hunting posts, and now this!" the vampire exclaimed, glaring at the maid. "Where are they now?"
- "They…"
The maid didn't get to finish her sentence, for she was suddenly knocked down and bound by magic, after which a multitude of vampires entered the room, weapons in hand.
Yuto immediately summoned swords into his hands; scarlet spears formed around Rias, aimed at the intruders, while Gasper began to tremble. The vampire, however, stood arrogantly, gazing at her enemies, clearly regarding this as an insult to her personal honor.
- "Surrender if you don't want to die," said one of the vampires.
- "What should we do, President?" asked Yuto.
- "Run," Rias replied without a moment's hesitation, for Romani's lessons were firmly etched in her memory. "We won't be able to handle all of them."
With that, Rias quickly moved toward the female vampire and, grabbing both her and Gasper, leaped out the window, spreading her wings, while Yuto followed her at the same pace.
- "How dare you treat me this way?!" Elmenhilde exclaimed.
- "I'm saving your life, and I think you'll survive," Rias brushed her off and looked at Yuto. "We need to contact Azazel-sensei. Tell him what happened here."
- "Yes, President," Yuto nodded, dodging another attack. Meanwhile, Rias was racking her brain trying to make sense of the situation. If there was one thing she hadn't expected, it was that her visit here would take such a sudden turn…
-0-
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