"Aunty. If I don't come back by tomorrow evening, please make sure Akeno apologises to Issei."
"I will. And you behave yourself in Romania."
Igor chuckled.
"I don't know what the vampires will do. But I'll try my best."
*Su!*
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|DxD|- Chapter 128- Anything
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Night Realm, Romania
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The twentieth century was perhaps the most chaotic in the past several thousand years. From 1930 to 1980, fifty years of war had decimated the supernatural world. The Scramble and the Skirmishes were widely debated as the largest inter-realm conflict in all of history.
A few factions kept to themselves during these fifty years, but few were as successful as Grigori. The Fallen Angels under Azazel's leadership largely remained uninvolved.
When the world fought the Ariyans, they conserved and consolidated. When the Skirmishes arrived, they took advantage of the chaos to advance through diplomatic and military means, becoming one of the most powerful factions in the supernatural world.
But while Grigori became powerful, their might was not all-encompassing. When the Sephiroth Graal was discovered in the Night Realm, they could taste, but not swallow.
Worlds and realms were connected by a web of interests. Grigori's rapid advancement had displeased many forces.
The vampires were a small faction. The Lightning General was more than enough to massacre all of them and take the Graal, but the following web of suspicion would wrap around Grigori. And those suspicions would give rise to pretexts and legitimate concerns that would form a coalition against them.
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|DxD|
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Valerie Tepes, forty-three years old, and the daughter of King Vladimir Tepes. Her energy reserves were mid-class, but her fighting capability was nonexistent. Her constitution was weak since childhood, likely due to the Sephiroth Graal bonded to her soul.
The Sephiroth Graal awakened in her teenage years and had been abused for over half a decade until she collapsed. It was only when Grigori intervened that she finally gained reprieve.
"What do you think, Igor?"
"She's pitiful."
Igor replied bluntly. The dossier in his hand burned to nothing under his vitality. The mountains of the Night Realm were desolate wastes where brown and grey were ever-present.
From the very moment Igor stepped into this realm, he was beset by discomfort. All the rivers traversing the valleys were blood red. The ground he stood on held a hint of maroon. What little trees remained on this mountain range were barren, with no leaves.
The souls in the bloody fog above wailed without end. He could hear them, still hear their screams of mercy and questioning.
The life of the weak was truly no different from fodder.
"To think I would actually become a vampire's healer. Interesting things do happen, old man. You just have to live long enough to see them."
Igor joked as he looked at the castles and mansions in the distance. They stood on one of the Night Realm's many mountains. These mountains once bustled with life and nature. Today, the air stank of nothing more than iron and despair.
"Are you sure about this, Igor? There is still time to reconsider."
Baraquiel asked with concern. What Igor would soon step into was a political and diplomatic quagmire with both seen and unseen risks.
"No need. I know what I'm going into, and I want to do it. Valerie is important to me as well."
Igor spoke with determination. His mind swirled with thoughts of what was soon to come.
The title of strongest Sacred Gear was disputed for millennia, but the title of most dangerous had unanimous consensus.
A human's biggest limitation was lifespan. Regardless of how strong they became, they would inevitably die within a century. The Sephiroth Graal killed that limitation completely. It could extend life and bring back youth. It could resurrect fallen heroes en masse, removing the fear of death.
Many Longinus holders were recruited, but wielders of the Sephiroth Graal were almost always executed upon discovery. Their abilities made them far too dangerous to keep alive.
Valerie Tepes was the first documented vampire-human hybrid Graal wielder. Grigori wanted nothing more than to take her away to study her as she grew, but it was impossible without incurring inter-realm wrath.
That was where he came in. Valerie was a sentient being. As long as she chose to join Grigori and had the strength to prove she did so willingly, no pretext could be formed.
"No need to wait any longer, old man. I'm ready."
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|DxD|
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A mirror could not lie. Whatever was cast on it was reflected as it was. It accepted no bribery or distinguished between beauty and the unsightly.
Valerie observed her reflection with calm. Her dress fell loosely over her body, and she lacked the charm a woman ought to have.
[This won't work.]
A few days ago, she'd received word that a specialist would come and help improve her weak constitution. That specialist was reportedly a human a decade younger than her, and Penemue had suggested she do her best to get in his good graces.
Valerie relaxed her shoulders and sat on her bed. She lay down on the assortment of noble dresses she'd tried on since the late morning.
"Igor von Dimori..."
She muttered the name. It sounded aristocratic. Her healer was most likely from a noble clan, hence her long dress. It was beautiful. Old clans prized modesty above all, but she could not match the dress with the refined aura it deserved.
This was difficult. Her life would rest in that man's hands. Grigori had a fifty-year agreement with her father that they'd heal her from the severe effects of the sacred gear. From then until now, eighteen years had passed. The voices were nearly gone, but her body still could not reliably handle the sacred gear. She was too young back then when she was pushed to the brink, and that left her with lifelong damage. Her healer could potentially fix that, and she needed him to. Her freedom hinged on it. Otherwise, she might not live to see her eightieth birthday.
She covered her eyes with her forearm. She knew nothing about this Igor, and Penemue's suggestion meant he wasn't entirely under Grigori's control. His autonomy and rarity meant many things relied on his mood. If she couldn't win him over, her father would. If that ever happened, freedom would be forever out of reach.
"Come on, Valerie..."
She whispered as she sat up. She could only rely on her body to sway him to her side. As long as he made her strong, she was willing to give up anything.
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Anything...
Chapter 128
END