Empress Carmilla part 2

"Haha, he should be dead by now" Marius exclaimed in happiness while drinking a glass filled with blood, his eyes were glowing fiercely red as he stood up laughing,

"Son, you better not command the secret guards that man has sent us for something like this again," Marius Sr said with a solemn voice towards his son who was too carefree, although he too would like to get rid of Masaru and his group, however, he would only do it when they left the vampire empire to avoid investigations that could point towards them.

"Haha, you are simply too soft father. Killing right now will prevent the Empress and Cicily from having hope, that way we can get what we desire sooner" Marius said while licking his lips, his pupils expanding and shrinking in a swift motion, his breathing becoming slightly rougher as his mind was filled with lust. Desire to simply violate Cicily who stubbornly kept refusing him.

'Hmph, these two pawns of his majesty really is useless. Sending my men to die for nothing' One of the bodyguards that were a contact liaison between Marius Sr and the Organisation stood silent in the corner of the room, his eyes flickered with rage wanting to shred Marius apart for ordering his men without his permission and they even died!

"Number Two" The bodyguard called out towards the door, it did not take much of a heartbeat for the door to open with another humanoid monster wearing the same black attire as the former.

"Yes Captain" Number two spoke with a flat tone, his face devoid of expressions like a living doll.

"Take Number Three, Four, Eight and Nine with you. Go avenge Number Five and Six that died in that scums hand" The Captain spoke with a solemn voice, even number two could sense the raging anger lingering in the captain#s voice despite him trying to keep himself under control.

"Understood" Number two did not ask any further questions, he left the room immediately, calling the other four members who need to participate in the revenge mission.

"Let's go," Number two said to his team, not realizing that it would be the last words he ever uttered since that very moment before his death.

Just as they left the mansion, a group of shadow figures suddenly came out from various hiding spots. The group of numbers did not even have a chance to scream before they were mutilated in seconds.

"May you rot in Cocytus... For trying to disturb the rest of our God... Masaru-sama" A Feminine voice muttered with her eyes coldly glaring at the grotesque sight of dismembered corpses.

The other group of female shadows all clasp a silver necklace with a silver-white dragon jewel in their hands and closed their eyes, saying in a uniform manner.

"Amen"

>\/<

The morning sun rose up, just when everyone in Cloud Number Nine Mansion was waking up. A Whiff of a delicious fragrance travelled across the mansion, luring four girls and one middle-aged man to climb out of their beds heading straight for the kitchen despite only staying in the mansion for only one day.

By the time Ophis, Shirone, Ulrika, Yui and Azazel arrived, Masaru was placing plates on the table. Looking at the girls wearing their pyjamas sloppily without fixing it, Masaru smiled wryly knowing that they simply got out of bed without washing their hands.

"Go wash your hands first," Masaru said while gently patting Shirone's and Ophis's head, his warm smile made the girls feel warm happily nodding their heads before walking over to the sink to wash their hands.

"Where's the vodka?" Azazel muttered heading over to the bar in the lounge, he felt that drinking something would take away his hangover. But hated to use medicine to cure it, he prefers drinking alcohol to take it away instead.

"Hands washed," Ophis said while showing her pure white hands to Masaru, her eyes sparkling while looking at Masaru expectantly despite having a stoic face out of a habit.

"Good" Masaru nodded as he patted her head, this caused the other girls to also follow the steps of the dragon goddess, following the footsteps of a god truly is the way to get rewarded.

While eating together with everyone, Masaru was conversing with Drago, Byakko and Genbu.

[Boy, those dragon aura signatures are dangerous. Although it transformed the vampires into dragons without them realizing it themselves, the traits of the evil dragon which is madness and desire for destruction is currently sealed. If that is unsealed then even the most loyal vampire would turn into a mad monster that will massacre even his wife!] Drago explained

[Hnn! Hnn! Just like grandpa said, the best way to control the number of casualties would be to seal that trait, or you could simply remove it. But removing that trait would weaken them to the point of becoming regular dragons since the power of an evil dragon comes from their instincts for the destruction of others, even themselves] Byakko added,

"So if I intend to make use of them, I would have to find a method to control their urges?" Masaru asked feeling their speculations were on point with his own, he had already considered some factors since the manpower resources he will be stealing from, is from Qlippoth. And those people were a group of madmen that would do things, others would never consider.

[If you intend to use the command seal on them, I would suggest you reduce them to animals. Remove their memories so they would become blank, like newborn babies. That way you can somehow train them to respect the strong without requiring to seal their urges for destruction. Since animals follow the law of the jungle much more than sentient beings who can scheme.] Genbu suggested,

"And that way I can retain their strength, and won't hinder their growth in strength" Masaru continued with a broad smile, "Perhaps I will be able to form a dragon knight regiment within Hiei in the future"

[Fufu, this big sister don't mind you building power for others. But don't neglect training your sacred gear which is us, because it won't be long for Suzaku to enter her next stage of growth within the fire that is burning.] Genbu said with an excited tone,

[Hn! Hn! Soon our family's Balance Breakers will be complete!] Byakko purred happily,

[If only we could get more males] Drago said within his heart not daring to voice it out, otherwise, he would be despised by the little byakko and will be beaten by a turtle, Genbu. He a dragon is at the bottom of the food chain in this soul space. Is there even justice in this world!?

"Heh, I will continue training," Masaru said with a wry smile, with the conversation between him and the sacred gear spirits ended. He continued to eat.

The sound of knocking could be heard from the dining room, just as Masaru was about to stand up a feminine hand was placed on his shoulder. Glancing at the owner, he saw the smiling Ulrika standing up walking towards the hallway leading to the main entrance door.

After a short conversation, Ulrika came together with Elmenhilde who had her head down.

"Will you be our escort?" Azazel asked with an amused face, his casual attitude relaxed the atmosphere allowing Elmenhilde to look upwards.

'It appears something might have happened at the palace for her to come, could it be the Empress really does not hold much power in her own territory?' Masaru thought while looking at Elmenhilde with a smile.

"Yes, by the order of Marius Sr, the Prime Minister. I will be escorting you to the Palace" Elmenhilde said while glancing at Masaru, seeing that he was casual and not really caring did she feel awkward as she thought he was a serious person who preferred following the etiquette of a noble.

"Is this Marius Sr related to---" Yui asked out of curiosity,

"Yes, he is the grandfather of Marius who brought you into this country" Elmenhilde answered Yui before she could finish her question, "And it may become an inconvenience for you since you have offended Marius, so his grandfather might trouble you during the audience"

"I see," Masaru said with a nonchalant attitude, he took a napkin wiping the lips of the dragon goddess who was munching her breakfast with vigour. Just from the eyes of Ophis, everyone could see this little dragon goddess loved her breakfast very much or perhaps having her lips wiped clean.

"There is no need to worry, Elmenhilde" Masaru continued to speak while folding the napkin before placing it on the table, turning his gaze towards her. "I came to this country to aid Cicily and the Empress"

"Thank you" Elmenhilde thanked Masaru, bowing towards him which was a bit of surprise for everyone considering the arrogance and pride the vampires held.

"No need for thanks, but" Masaru glanced at Elmenhilde, "How come would a Prime Minister be able to cause me trouble in front of the Empress, despite being her guest"

"This---" Elmenhilde glanced to the surrounding,

Seeing this Masaru understood her fear and thus he erected a barrier, "Codex of the Worthless: Soundless membrane" Suddenly a transparent barrier surrounded everyone in the dining room, this barrier did not nullify any sound inside or outside it, but it nullified the sound that tries to go through it. Thus no sound could go in, nor out. Really a worthless power.

"I think it is by the time the Empress managed to save the children of the elite Vampires, that Marius Sr emerged" Elmenhilde began to retell the tale of how Marius rose up to his position through the mysterious deaths of many vampires, and it was due to the mysterious deaths that many feared him, including the empress.

"As expected" Azazel muttered while rubbing his forehead, after a good drink and breakfast his hangover was gone. And yet it was replaced by depressing news, the fact the Empress was suppressed by the Prime Minister.

"How about you visit their Sacred Gear research department after the audience?" Masaru suggested to Azazel,

"Yeah" Azazel nodded feeling quite eager to trade knowledge and information regarding Sacred Gears with fellow researchers of another race. "What about you?"

"I will leave the establishment of our tourist branch in this country to Ulrika," Masaru said, "Yui said she wanted to visit the Medical Researchers to exchange knowledge" He glanced at Ophis and Shirone with a smile, "And these two will be my bodyguards, for appearance sake"

"Pffftttt!" Azazel nearly choked himself hearing what Masaru said, he glanced awkwardly at him before smiling wryly "Having the strongest Dragon Goddes be your bodyguard just for appearance sake? Who are you trying to bluff?"

"hehehe" Masaru chuckled turning his gaze back towards Elmenhilde, "When is our audience scheduled?"

"In an hour," Elmenhilde said while glancing at Ophis warily, she knew neither she nor anyone in the country could face off against Ophis. Luckily for them, this dragon goddess did not care about the mundane things of the world. But it was different if Ophis were to follow Masaru's orders, and this made her reevaluate Masaru's threat level.

>\/<

"The empress really does not much power" Masaru muttered, it has been more than a hour since they arrived at the palace. Not only were they mistreated by the guards who looked at them with disdain, but even the servants and cleaners snorted at them while leaving them unattended.

"Sweetie?" Ophis asked while tilting her head, she had been sitting on Masaru's shoulders since she could not sit on his lap.

Hearing her request, Masaru smiled wryly at this adorable little dragon goddess handing over a small packet of sweets. "Eat them sparingly, until we are done with the audience. Okay?"

"Hnn! Hnn!" Ophis nodded while taking out a small red paper-wrapped sweet.

"Do you think it's best to help them resolve their internal issues first? That way they will be grateful" Yui suggested while feeling pity towards the Empress, she could vaguely sense the hardship of being a ruler over a large piece of land with incompetent or rebellious subordinates. This once again made her want to support Masaru as much as she could, for the sake of their home, the Belial Territory.

"No," Masaru said while glancing at Azazel who nodded,

"We won't get involved in anything until the last moment, only when they experience despair will they appreciate our help. If we help them now, they might be grateful now, but a few years later they will forget about it and regress back to their old ways" He said with a whispering voice.

"Her Majesty, the unequalled Empress Carmilla is awaiting your arrival" a Servant wearing a black tailcoat jacket, black buttoned-up vest over his white shirt, black pants and leather shoes. His crimson coloured eyes glared at Masaru and them before he snorted, "Making her majesty wait for so long, do you look down on her?"

"You are the one who made us---" Shirone retorted but Masaru gently patted her head, making her quiet looking at Masaru with a reluctant expression. She really wanted to bash up this vampire for trying to frame them.

Even Yui and Ulrika were ready to act, but it was stopped due to Shirone's quick reflexes who could respond almost instantly and most likely due to the fact this butler dared to look at her beloved big brother with such a gaze.

"Then show us the way," Azazel said while glancing at the butler with a carefree expression as if what was said had nothing to do with him, but the butler dared not ignore this man and thus could only lead the group towards the Audience hall.

'Hmph! It's like the Prime Minister said, foreigners are the source of our troubles... It#s best if they could simply leave and stop pestering my empress!' The butler thought as he stood before the door, giving it two knocks then silently waited till the door opened. Stepping aside, he gestured for Masaru and them to enter the audience hall.

"What's with that man who has a little girl on his shoulders?"

"Are they looking down on us?"

"What's with their outfits, aren't they suppose to follow our customs?"

Various gossiping voices could be heard from the surrounding high ranking nobles who was also attending the audience as spectators under the orders of the Prime Minister, those who were not part of the prime minister faction was not informed that Masaru and the rest of his group were not told of their customs. Thus many of them felt like they were being looked down upon, especially the diehard supporters of the Empress.

"You may kneel" Marius Sr spoke out while glancing at Masaru and the group who stopped a short distance away from the first step leading upwards towards the throne where a beautiful woman with wavy purple hair was sitting silently.

'She really had not changed one bit' Masaru thought while glancing at the Empress whom he met a few years ago in one of their Labour Hospitals, he glanced towards the right and noticed another familiar figure, however, he turned his gaze back towards The Empress while ignoring Marius Sr.

"Are you going to disrespect our Empress?" Marius Sr asked with a sneer, his eyes glaring at Masaru and Azazel who stood there with nonchalant attitudes, completely ignoring him and kept their focus on the Empress.

"Enough" The empress finally spoke, her eyes were reflecting her fluctuating emotions when she noticed the gaze Masaru gave her. The very same eyes she once faced a few years ago when she dreaded at the thought of losing all the future descendants of the vampire race, the unsung hero of the vampire who stood before her once more. Masaru Belial.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Marius Sr said while taking a step back, his face began slightly distorted out of rage towards the Empress who embarrassed him in front of the nobles and the guests.

The empress's lips formed a faint smile as she glanced at Masaru with a nostalgic gaze, "It has been a while, our hero Masaru"

Hearing the Empress's words, the nobles immediately broke out in a chatter trying to find relevant information of what the empress just said from one another and yet no one knew of the matter a few years ago. As this was a hidden agreement between Masaru and the Empress back then, for the sake of not alerting their enemies.

"I'm underserved of the title, your imperial Majesty" Masaru said while bowing slightly as a form of respect before continuing, "I believe the title of a hero, belongs to those who are willing to risk their lives for others. I only risk my life for those important to me"

"Fufu, Modest and honest," The empress said with a faint giggle escaping her lips, her entire body relaxes as she faintly read the message between Masaru's words. Her eyes turned towards the left for a moment where she saw her little sister standing beside Elmenhilde, looking at Masaru. 'You really came for her huh?' she thought.

"May I know for what reason you have come to visit our country?" The empress asked,

"I hope to receive rights to open a branch of our company in your country, your imperial majesty" Masaru said, "I also hope to share knowledge of medical techniques and medicines between my territory and your empire"

"Oh? And what useful knowledge would you have?" The empress asked,

"How to turn hybrids into purebloods," Masaru said with a sly smile

At these words, and loud uproar broke amongst the nobles. Not a single vampire could contain their shock at what Masaru just said, and if this was true. They would be able to get rid of the hybrids and only have a pureblood community, thus eliminating discrimination.

While some felt threatened at this, harbouring thoughts of killing Masaru or any method to prevent this knowledge from reaching the empire.

"Oh?" The empress's eyes brightened at Masaru's words, she knew he intentionally said those words to give her the opportunity to see who the traitors amongst her subordinates were.

"Then allow me, Empress Priscilla Carmilla, to thank you, Masaru Belial." Priscilla said with a smile, "We can discuss this matter in depth later"