章 163: The Bath of Victors I
Catherine and Alcina were expecting many things but the word 'Witch' certainly wasn't one of them.
Yet, the two of them were both immortal vampires so… They'd be idiots to not believe her claims.
"Is this 'shadow' related to your powers as a 'witch'? Or is it some sort of artefact?" Lingqi asked suddenly and Varete shot her a glance.
This girl reminded her of someone she had been a little fond of long ago…
"You're quite a perspective girl… You could say it is both an artefact and also related to my powers as a witch… I'm able to control every shadow there is." Varete drank some tea gracefully, lamenting that this girl wasn't a 'witch'.
"My turn… Could you show me your shadow again?" Varete asked next, deciding to transform this conversation into a back-and-forth questioning.
Catherine smirked and accepted, showing her black reddish shadow beside her.
Varete stared at it for a while, but couldn't control it, "I assume that shadow has to do with your powers as a Nosferatu."
"Fufu~ This 'shadow' is not a shadow. Is our body~" Alcina completed and also sipped some of the tea, not at all worried about whether it might be poisoned.
Varete's eyebrows lifted in curiosity, that might be the reason why she can't control it. Her gaze stared straight at Alcina as if indicating her to continue.
Alcina's hand moved and transformed into a shadow that extended towards the left and then the right, taking many shapes and forms of animals, also her claws…
"The body you're seeing is my 'humanoid' form, my true form however, better not to say~" Her true form is everywhere and nowhere after all.
Varete witnessed this with splendours… What a ridiculous race theirs is, "Why are you showing me this? We haven't met too long ago."
"You tell us, why would you bring us to your personal castle? when we haven't even spent more than a night in here…"
"As I said, your husband killed my deepest enemy." The redhead answered honestly.
"Is that reason enough? I can see you're a smart woman Varete." Alcina continued pushing through.
…
"… Our objectives coincide…"
"And what objective is that?" This time Catherine asked.
"… I want to push the cultivators back into Huaxia, and let the legendary and mythical beasts run free and untethered again, only then will I be able to go back to the surface."
"As for you and your husband… I assume you want to destroy the immortals…" She finished with a single eye open, expecting a confirmation.
"You're wrong, we don't have such an objective." Alcina sighed and continued sipping her tea.
"Then? Why would you unleash that plague that's currently killing them like flies in the monster realm? Why would you do all this?"
"… Well, we came here for some holidays, we saved the Qilin because of Catherine's good nature. My husband killed that sect master to have some fun… We unleashed the 'ghouls' because the cultivators are disgusting and they deserve it and it was also fun… We don't have such a righteous reason as you might expect~" Alcina then declared with a slight smile as her words only made Varete's eyebrows lift.
Kill Xie Luoshen… for fun?
"My turn, how do you know my father and mothers are otherworlders?" Lingqi asks this time, and it indeed fetched their attention.
"Because-"
"Because there isn't anyone like us in this entire realm…" a masculine voice resounded suddenly as Varete stood up in alert.
Only then she saw the man's figure sitting calmly in between Alcina and Catherine!
!!!
'I couldn't sense him at all!?' This time the stoic witch was surprised beyond measure, however, this wasn't shown in her expression that only lifted an eyebrow at most.
This is her castle, her supreme territory, no one enters here if she doesn't permit it. And no one sneaks in without her being aware!
How did he do it!?
"There is no need to be so flustered…" Alucard said, his mood still sour as one of his arms encircled Alcina's shoulder and the other sipped some wine.
"You're back, husband." Catherine smiled joyfully upon seeing him and hurriedly kissed him.
Alcina followed with a smirk.
And then Lingqi, but the girl 'pouted' cutely when Alucard turned his head away with a chuckle and had to back off.
But she wouldn't surrender.
Varete's red eyes stared deeply at the man's pink ones.
This man's strength was so high it was unfathomable, she saw him transform into this 'humanoid' form to finish Xie Luoshen off, so, there is no doubt… He's the real creature.
Someone like him, back in her world…
...
"Could you introduce yourself? It's not very nice to sneak into someone's domains like that." Even then, she still wouldn't feel intimidated.
"My apologies then, witch. My name is Vlad Tepes, you can call me Alucard."
"That man called you Dracula…"
"That's Alucard in reverse… I see you regarded the whole fight."
She rolled her eyes and he could swear he heard a few voices curse at him.
"From as close as I was capable without threatening my own life… A pleasure to finally meet you, my name is Varete, Witch of the Endless Abyss." She stood up curtly and presented her palm with a light smile.
Alucard smirked softly and kissed the back of her palm, "Quite the overbearing title." He then sat back and so did she.
"Not as much as 'Demon King from Another World' or 'God of War' I must say… As for my answer to this young lady's question… Indeed, I have never seen any of you in this realm and also, if individuals like you existed before, Huaxia would have long since perished…"
…
They kept drinking their own teas with Alucard sipping wine for a while in silence.
"Sect Master Xie Luoshen is dead, his identity is beyond what you can imagine…"
"He has a deep connection with Meng Xiaoyao… I might even dare say they're somehow the same person" Alucard said naturally as her eyes opened widely.
"H-How do you know?"
"My skillset allows me that, and you? How do you know?"
"I don't have such a convenient skill, though I have something close… I arrived in this world a few hundred of years ago…" She started telling her tale as apparently, it involved her answer.
"After coming here from my world, I felt disoriented. Back then I had fallen into the Fenghuang region in Huaxia and didn't even know I was in a different world."
"…" They all just heard her story.
"I quickly noticed the wicked nature of this world, it turned out to be way worse and cold-blooded than the place I had originally come from… Still, my powers allowed me to acquire information for a while and remain unnoticed. I focused mainly on the Asura Demon Sect… They're by far the worst."
"We understand…" they said and her lips curl slightly for the first time.
"Do they still live?"
"The ones in the Kunlun Mountains, those in the monster realm have all perished", Alucard said and she nodded.
"During my time investigating the Asura Demon Sect. I came upon the whole knowledge of this world… I obtained the major piece of information upon 'charming' one of his puppets, they also seem to be connected to his body…"
"I don't know exactly what their connection is, but he does indeed have a connection with the Supreme Immortal Meng Xiaoyao."
"Had…"
"Yes, Had… After that I was discovered, he planned to imprison me, study my origin, and abuse me and much more. I'm strong, but Xie Luoshen's strength was beyond measure. I fought him and lost miserably…"
"However, I was saved by one person…"
"…"
"As I was being taken to his disgusting chambers, Lonely Maiden's Sect Master Shen Wanqing, intervened. She said I was a 'secret' member of her sect and her personal disciple."
"She and Xie Luoshen had some kind of agreement, and I got let off and walked to the Lonely Maiden Sect with Wanqing…"
"There, she told me about her ambition of creating a sect where women could thrive. And that she wanted my help, that my capabilities would be very helpful."
"…"
"I rejected her… I was completely aware of her doings… She would prostitute her sect members for information and resources. Slaughter men to obtain… 'that' and also use them as cauldrons and so on… Back then women had a way worse status than now. Her sect had changed that radically and now at least a small percentage of women with talent could act independently without having to fear being snatched and used as cauldrons one day or abused without any repercussions to the wrongdoer…"
"…"
"But still, even if her vision is noble, she corrupted herself along the way… Willing to use any method to complete her objective no matter how drastic or disgusting, willing to sacrifice anyone..."
"…" Alucard only stared back at her, regarding her words in his mind.
That's why I know you're all otherworlders… Because just like me, you tried to change things in this world upon arriving… Unlike you, however, I wasn't strong enough." She said with a light self-mocking.
She, a person that valued strength over everything, wasn't strong enough… She who used to mock weaklings was about to be abused for eternity after being defeated in a fair battle back then.
"Eventually, I left for the monster realm and left Wanqing… I could only promise to help her later."
"In my journey through the monster realm, due to the nature of my powers, I managed to find where the mythical beasts hide, they were scattered through the monster realm, some hibernating, some in the skies, some underground, Not seen for thousands of years, but also... Unmoving, shackled, not free... They were simply scared of the immortals, they were scared of Meng Xiaoyao. Their numbers decreased dramatically after being hunted… Sadly, I didn't find any dragons. They're totally extinct."
"I knew whatever opportunity to destroy them I had, I needed the mythical beasts to help me work it out, so I used my powers to build this facility and hide them here, where they could expand their numbers without being seen, but yet again, they're still shackled in this small underground complex. Hundreds of years have passed and their numbers have increased, but I still didn't feel confident enough to face the immortals… Until now."
"My true purpose is to go to the 'earth', the world that's beyond the barrier in Huaxia… But not only I don't have a way to go through as I can't get a 'Heavenly Entrance Tome', but I also can't leave these mythical beasts on their own after all this hurdle." She said her objectives sincerely.
"Why do you want to go to that world? That's precisely where we come from, there's truly nothing special about it... The nature energy quality is so low it's almost nonexistent, there are no powerful beasts, just wicked humans." Catherine asked, for people like them, with ambitions of becoming stronger, this was the perfect place, not the earth.
The moment they returned their strength would start to stagnate.
But at least with what they had attained here, Alcina, Lingqi and herself should be able to fend for themselves on the earth, without having to rely on their husband.
Varete just stared at them for a while, "I just want to leave this disgusting world. In the place I come from, women and children were often discriminated against for being witches… But we witches have the power to protect our own… Here, however, women are seen as mere tools, no… Less than tools and receive pressure to the point they can't stand up as they're stepped on" she said, her voice sounded impassive, but wrath lies deep within.
Upon hearing her words, Alcina instinctively hugged Lingqi who also hugged her mother back.
"So she too… Even if we aren't related… Thanks for saving her." Varete said with a small bow.
"No need~ She's our beloved daughter. A genius!", 'And soon to be sister…' she thought inwardly.
Lu Lingqi also nodded, the blessings she had gotten from them were so many, that she didn't even remember the hell she went through.
Varete only nodded once and stared at Alucard again, "Regardless of what we endeavour from now on, I only ask of you, don't kill Wanqing… Regardless of her methods, she has given women in this realm a chance to thrive."
…
Catherine, Alcina and Lingqi awaited his reaction.
Having plundered thousands of souls, they certainly knew of that woman's wrongdoings or at least a part of them. But Varete's words were undeniable.
"I will consider it… Is it possible to be assigned a bedroom?" Alucard said dismissively and stood up, intending to leave.
Deciding to let her live or not was rather complicated, especially with the memories he had of Xie Luoshen involving Shen Wanqing and… Her older sister, Shen Huangfei.
…
"Indeed, follow me, I'll show you your chambers… Tomorrow we can discuss further, you must be truly tired." The witch said and stood up, leading the way.
Eventually, after leading in silence, they reached a massive room with a bathroom inside.
"Water and electricity work properly as it is provided by my magic. You can make yourselves at home, just remember that my senses are all over the castle so… Refrain from engaging in… 'uncut' actions." She said and shot Alucard specifically a small glare as the latter only smiled wearily.
After that Varete only gave them a sidelong glance and left with a 'Good Night' as they entered the luxurious gold and red room with a massive mattress where at least eleven bodies would fit with enough space.
The Draculines didn't pay much attention to the decoration as they dragged the Vampire King to the bathroom, totally against his will.
Lingqi stared at this with a stoic gaze… Until she stepped forward, intending to go into the bathroom with them!
…
The Queen and the Countess pulled their husband recklessly and hummed in glee as their clothes disappeared, portraying their exquisite bodies for him to see.
Inside the 'bathroom' what awaited them was an actual 'pool' of lukewarm water.
There was a shower, a small bath… Whichever one preferred to take away the dirt of one's body… And maybe even more.
The castles, the decorations and the luxury made them think that Varete's background back in her world was not simple at all.
Catherine thought she might be some kind of perfect burglar… With her powers to control shadows, she managed to plunder the riches and the castles out of those kingdoms! Leading her to be exiled and sent to this world!
Alcina thought she was some kind of black widow, managing to bed kings left and right and marry them before stabbing them on their back one night, and taking their castles and riches for herself, only after she plundered everything would she go after the next target! Eventually, she got burned at a stake and somehow ended up in this world!
Lingqi who entered shortly after concluded that she somehow got her hands in the castles that belonged to her friends or enemies… As apparently, this castle seems to be influenced directly by her, it is only natural that those castles also have an 'owner'.
As for why wouldn't all Castles just belong to her? That's because they all have different designs.
Varete's castle represents herself, so who do the others represent?
Truly the only one with a fully working brain.
…
Alucard took out his clothes and sighed at Lingqi's presence in the bathroom, choosing to place a towel around his crotch, unlike his Draculines which were fully naked.
The three entered the warm water as Alcina and Catherine exhaled in relief.
Lingqi also had a towel around her torso that covered her chest and bottom however, if one looked closely, something could be seen underneath… Only if one stared too much.
The daughter decided to splash some water on herself first before entering the warm water and stared as the trio relaxed without doing anything else.
"You two fought hard today, you make me proud, especially you, Catherine," Alucard said and kissed Catherine's forehead as the latter giggled in happiness.
He had seen her fight those three puppets that were radically stronger than her, but still, she didn't give up. She used her nosferatu powers intelligently to stall them and leave.
"Of course, you too." He kissed Alcina as well… She was always the type of fighting but didn't stall the moment her mission turned from killing to saving, she rushed to save the Qilin and then fetch Catherine and Lingqi.
Their teamwork had been impressive, to say the least.
*TAP*
And then came the star of the night, his beautiful daughter.
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