Romania.
- "Well, the atmosphere here is certainly something," I chuckled, standing in the throne room and looking at the current faction leader, Tepes, who sat on a high throne, while a multitude of servants and nobles were arrayed around the perimeter of the room. "You should open the curtains and air out the room. Otherwise, the smell in here is just awful."
The setting here, like everything else, literally screamed that this place was a vampire lair. In addition to the Gothic aesthetic with sharp spires, black-and-red colors, gargoyles, large chandeliers, and so on, everyone present was dressed exactly as one would imagine the most caricatured vision of vampires.
'King Tepes' himself, as everyone here called him, was dressed accordingly in a long cloak and had an appearance marked by extremely pale skin, crimson eyes, and blondish hair.
- "I didn't expect such distinguished guests to visit my castle," he said, ignoring my comment. "Romani Archaman, the reincarnation of King Solomon, under whose leadership demons, angels, and the Fallen have united. Yasaka, the nine-tailed fox, leader of Japan's yokai, whose strength and beauty are known throughout the supernatural world. And the seraph Gabriel, the most beautiful woman in Heaven, whose mercy and kindness, according to rumors, are capable of melting the heart of even the cruelest demon."
- "Greetings, King Tepes," Yasaka greeted him in a businesslike tone, while Gabriel merely gave a simple nod presumably due to the vampires' policy toward ordinary people.
- "To what do I owe such an unexpected visit?" King Tepes asked rather diplomatically.
- "Oh, nothing much. I felt like taking a walk and happened to stumble upon an unusual shed," I said innocently, which irritated the nobility and some of the servants. At the same time, to his credit, King Tepes himself behaved well and showed no negative emotions. "In any case, I have a couple of questions."
- "I'm listening."
- "Where did vampires get such a big head?" I asked. "I mean, you're literally among the weakest inhabitants of the darkness, considering the number of your natural weaknesses."
- "I have a counter-question," he said. "Why are you trying to insult us? As far as I recall, there was no animosity between us."
- "Insult?" I tilted my head to the side like a child. "I just want to understand the root of all your problems. I mean, literally no one likes you, just as you don't like anyone else."
I fell silent and pointed at Yasaka.
- "Yokai are also dependent on humans, after all; they need their faith, attention, and fear to exist. No one disputes that they used to be real villains, but what about now? They've managed to coexist with humans, who, by the way, own this world, by leveraging various works of art and mass media."
- "I'd even say that this makes us stronger," Yasaka added with a touch of pride.
- "Humans have always had a connection to Heaven, but if we're talking about demons, they've adapted too. And, yes, I'll refrain from mentioning that they're to blame for their current situation," I continued, to which Gabriel nodded. "Now let's take vampires. Your self-importance is greater than that of demons, angels, and the Fallen combined, which is undoubtedly the cause of all your problems. But here's the question: where did it come from? What makes you so cool that you can continue your current lifestyle without trying to adapt to the modern world?"
- "You're very talkative for someone who was once the wisest of all men. But I'll be generous and enlighten you on this matter," King Tepes said with a touch of condescension in his voice. "We are immortal and therefore capable of outliving anyone you can think of. This world, which, as you said, 'belongs' to humans, is nothing more than our hunting grounds, for we feed on their blood. That is how we were created. Predators destined to dominate the human race."
He paused and was clearly proud of himself.
- "We grow stronger with every passing day, with every drop of blood we drink. We are the highest form of life on Earth, for neither demons, nor yokai, nor dragons, nor anyone else can live forever as we do," he concluded, whereupon everyone present began to applaud, except us, of course."
At such a speech, I rolled my eyes like I'd never done before. Gabriel didn't know what to say or think about it, and Yasaka shook her head disapprovingly.
So, it all boiled down to banal immortality, which could be interrupted by a whole list of different methods? It wasn't even stupidity, but some completely new form of insanity.
And, as if that weren't enough, they didn't even consider any possibility of coexistence in principle, so as, well, let's say, not to be targeted by a multitude of other supernatural factions, but merely fed their egos more and more.
- "Now I understand everything," I finally said.
- "I'm glad my words have reached your ears, Romani Archaman," he commented with a smug grin.
- "Undoubtedly. I've understood perfectly well that you're all just incredibly… STUPID," I said, amplifying my voice several times on that word, causing every vampire in the room to bare their fangs and hiss at me. "I don't know if there's a therapist capable of curing this level of stupidity in an entire species, but I'd be happy to recommend one to you."
- "Watch your mouth, human," King Tepes began, apparently unable to hold back any longer. "This is my land. My kingdom. And you're nothing but prey here."
- "Oh? I'm literally trembling with fear, see? Right here," I said, pointing my finger at my legs, which, obviously, weren't trembling at all. "Actually, I'm even glad everything's been cleared up. Now I can stay out of your business with a clear conscience."
- "'Stay out of our business'?" he didn't understand, having apparently received no explanation.
- "Still, it's worth scaring you a little. After all, I have to show off in front of my future wives and save face in public, don't I?" I asked rhetorically, at which point Yasaka covered her mouth with her hand and giggled, while Gabriel blushed deeply.
In the next instant, my magical power flooded not only the entire castle, but the surrounding land as well. The immense pressure of my mana forced every vampire to literally slam into the floor and form a small crater.
Their arrogance and egos were instantly crushed, torn apart, and destroyed, while moans of pain escaped their mouths and a sense of helplessness and insignificance pierced their souls through and through.
King Tepes, of course, was no exception and was also subjected to the pressure, but he managed to somehow stay on all fours, and his malicious and vengeful gaze seemed to speak of how desperately he wanted to kill me.
On the other hand, while every vampire in this place was suffering and fighting for their lives, only the three of us stood completely unharmed. Yasaka and Gabriel simply watched, not interfering with my actions, while I looked King Tepes straight in the eye and smirked.
- "Well, who's the prey now, hmm, overgrown mosquito?" I asked, projecting my voice directly into his ears. "Though, that would be an insult to Zelretch, since I call him that too. How about I call you… 'little insignificant mosquito who's about to kick the bucket'?"
- "Isn't that a bit too long of a nickname?" asked Gabriel.
- "It reminds me of the title of an anime that Kunou sometimes watches," added Yasaka. "It was too long and gave away the whole plot right from the start."
- "I think it's terrible too," I nodded. "But the nickname seems fitting to me."
With that, I returned my mana to my body, causing the pressure to vanish instantly, but all the vampires were so exhausted that they immediately lost consciousness, including King Tepes.
- "Are we done, Romani-san?" Yasaka asked.
- "Well, I think…" I began, but couldn't finish, as I felt someone hug me from behind. In particular, two large curves pressed against my back, which felt very familiar. And so…
- "Get out of here, you shrew!" I shouted and jumped back to the far corner of the hall, which was about twenty meters away.
- "Now, now, why so harsh, Romani? I might take offense at that," The 'Shrew' laughed and looked at Yasaka and Gabriel, who instantly assumed a fighting stance.
- "Rizevim Livan Lucifer," Yasaka introduced the guest, with fox fire swirling around her. "I've heard you've changed, but this is the first time I've seen it for myself."
- "What do you want?" added Gabriel.
- "I just came to greet my beloved," Rizevim said with a satisfied smile, causing both Yasaka and Gabriel to stare at her in shock, and then at me. And the shock was so immense that their powers were unintentionally deactivated for a few seconds. "Glad to see me, Romani?"
- "Glad? Glad?! Do you even have any idea what your stunt put me through?! I feel so dirty and insulted that I want to kill you right now!" I expressed all my outrage, jabbing my finger at her.
- "Oh, I'd be delighted if you 'killed' me," she said coquettishly, causing my whole body to shudder and literally press myself against the wall. "If you want, we can do it right here."
I didn't respond to that, but simply activated the magic circle, teleporting me, Yasaka, and Gabriel to the villa. And after that, of course, my head was pressed tightly against Tia, who just hugged me tenderly and started stroking my head.
- "Romani-san… she…" Yasaka began.
- "No! I don't want to talk about it!"
- "But…" Gabriel stammered.
- "Nope. Not now…"
Definitely not now…
-0-
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