Chapter 200: Chapter 190 – Culmination

It took most of the day, but the event was a huge success.

Or rather, the hardest part of it was keeping the order and making sure nobody got hurt.

After the preliminary exhibition of the new Celestials, we had demonstration matches done all across the country so more people could watch in person rather than solely through the broadcast from the main event hall.

Once we showed off these new Celestials in a variety of match ups, sales of the new products were started.

And, while I did have some mild expectations of it considering the stories and video clips I've heard and seen back on Earth, the wild rush to purchase the first run of the new mage Celestials was far beyond my expectations.

In the end, we had to have strict rules to line up in an orderly fashion, with any that broke those rules being barred from any purchases that day. I felt a little bad for the first few that ended up getting the ban, but I knew that being lenient there would send the opposite message, and in fact people did learn their lesson after seeing some of the more aggressive people being escorted off premise.

Production for the second batch had long since already started, as we had learned from the initial release of Goddess' Realm, though the sight of so many sad faces when the sale of the last available Celestial was announced made me wonder if we should've just delayed the announcement and sale until we could amass an even larger stockpile.

Frankly speaking, I didn't understand the degree of demand for this game.

Though I was aware enough that I would've been amongst the first in line if such a game would've been released on Earth, in the end this was supposed to be a game for a niche minority. As popular as video games were, they were still in the minority when compared to more traditional media.

(...maybe that's where my thinking's been going wrong?)

Goddess' Realm was amazing, but on Earth it would've been competing against many other forms of entertainment that had been well ingrained into people's lives. Over here though, people typically spent almost all their time with making a living and raising their families.

Entertainment for adults was usually defined as evenings getting drunk with friends, and for kids it was playing wherever they could find space.

The closest thing to formalized entertainment was likely things on the level of telling stories around a campfire.

It wasn't terrible, but it was hardly exciting.

But really, it was amazing how so much of how people acted was similar to on Earth in weird places. Perhaps a lot of these sorts of things were more deeply ingrained in our genes than we thought? It was hard to know, and it wasn't like I was some sort of sociologist or something. I wasn't going to obsess over something which I considered to be little more than a curiosity.

Now, after all the events and sales were finished, and repeated reassurement that more Celestials were already in production, I was enjoying the sight of my daughters playing more games against teams who have just bought their own new Celestials.

Of course, after what happened during the exhibition match, I made sure to tell Letty to tone down the support a bit. As much as I enjoyed seeing Alicia and Fate smile after a win, I didn't want them to constantly win against players stronger than they are thanks to Letty's incredible support. They needed to taste defeat just as much as victory. They were already pushing things with how they were often playing at an equal level with those several years older than they were.

Their stats and levels certainly contributed to this outcome, but the amount of time they spent playing Goddess' Realm and their accumulated experience certainly showed.

Frankly, I was starting to think they spent way too much time playing this game and they needed to diversity their experiences more.

On the other hand, they were pure blooded vampires, which fact afforded them nearly inexhaustible bodies that lacked the need to sleep, so that alone meant that they gained nearly twice the quality time to spend learning.

And of course, I had no idea how to properly handle all that extra time they were afforded. I had no parents in this world, nor any traditionally born vampire. To the best of our knowledge, Alicia and Fate are the first vampires in this world to have ever been raised from childbirth.

No amount of advice from Philia, Elli, or anyone else familiar with childcare could serve as solid answers, as they all dealt with the raising of more traditional children. In the end, I could only do my best and hope that their education and play time are properly balanced and they don't end up with some sort of skewed development.

Though, skewed or not, what mattered most was that they grew happy, and what I really desired most was that they would be given ample opportunities to put on such pure smiles as they were while I watched their match.

Definitely not the sort of smile Letty had on though. That dark smile that completely foretold the prank she had in mind.

"Ah..."

And just as I noticed that smile, I saw how the mage type Celestial she was controlling was being attacked by an opposing melee type. Her Celestial continued to back up as it parried or evaded the melee type's attacks, until a swift swipe of her staff caused the opponent's doll to trip.

The melee type got smacked twice, three times by Letty's staff right where the armour was weakest. The health gauge on the Celestial dropped dramatically before Letty opened her distance and regrouped with Alicia's Celestial, quickly turning her one-on-one into a one-sided smack down.

It only took a handful of seconds more before Fate beat the enemy mage Celestial on her own and the last remaining opposing Celestial was taken down.

As the two teams got up and shook hands, I could hear how Letty talked about how she got lucky.

(Bullshit.)

It looked like I was going to have to give her a bit of a talk later on.

 

After everything was finished, we all started to make our way back home. Alicia and Fate held my hands, Letty clung to my waist, and Claret followed from behind. It was a bit crowded, but this was pretty much standard formation for our family at this point when I was together with all three of my daughters.

"Scarlet~! Scarlet~!"

As the sun was making its retreat after its daily assault had waned, a little voice came from above, together with the sound of a high pitched whine.

Orphne zoomed past, riding her magical turbine, before spinning and returned, slowing to a stop. The little fairy had really grown quite impressive when it came to handling that turbine engine of hers, though it made sense considering how much she loved to ride it. And this upgraded version, with a sound dampening enchantment, meant that it wasn't bothering everyone while the little fairy zoomed through the skies at full speed.

However, this didn't seem to be some sort of normal house call or something. Orphne was panting heavily, apparently having pushed herself to come back as quickly as she could from her monthly trade with Edgeworth Village.

"A...an attack! An attack is...coming!"

My eyes narrowed as I took in those words from the gasping fairy.

"...Tell me more."

 

"I still can't believe we're doing this."

"Well, we are."

"..."

"I mean, seriously, we're attacking that damn vampire again?"

"Of course! And those damn traitorous fairies too!"

"..."

"And...they even want me to use this thing?"

"How else are we going to beat a vampire?!"

"..."

"Hey, weren't you supposed to have your 'elven pride' or something?"

"My 'elven pride' is half the reason I'm even here doing this!"

"..."

"Hey, you're not going to say anything, even now?"

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"...What's even the point of all this?"

"What?! Where's your fire? Don't you want to avenge your boyfriend?!"

"Haaa...we weren't even dating." Lacking of any spirit, Hylas answered with a sigh, her staff dragging behind her as her legs moved practically out of habit.

"That guy. You know, I really thought you two were an item. Guess I didn't realize just how much Meleager's head was fully of glory." Ancaeus rubbed the back of his helm as he threw a worried look at his human companion.

"Erk. But, but, don't you want to avenge him or something?!" Idmon threw her arms out, one hand outstretched to her longtime companion, the other towards their destination.

"Over what? It's our fault he died. We should've never taken that last job. It stank, just like how this job stinks." But if the woman noticed the encouragement, she made no show of it.

"She's right you know. This thing stinks more than my socks after we passed through the deserts of Tartarus." The dwarf rubbed his nose in that now nostalgic memory.

In his other hand, he was carrying the holy sword Harpe. However, unlike how his dear friend did, Ancaeus kept the blade within a protective sword carrier and held it by its carrying strap. As if it was some foul cursed thing, he kept it a certain distance away from his body at all times. Rather, the dwarf held strong suspicions that despite the church's claims, it really was a cursed weapon. The look his two surviving companions gave it did naught but confirm in his mind that they were all in agreement to this sentiment.

But despite that, the three of them knew, without it, they stood little to no chance of accomplishing their goals.

"But...but...I..."

Hylas and Ancaeus gave a sad look to their elven companion as she scratched at her head. Both their eyes were drawn by yet more golden locks flittering away from their friend's top. At first, they thought they were only imagining it, but now, the once luscious and silky hair had become so dull and ragged. There were even spots where once lush golden fields fell way and her pale scalp could be seen.

"Even still! No matter what, we need to save the spirits! Those stupid, traitorous fairies stole all the spirits and took them to a vampire! A vampire!" Idmon's eyes were bloodshot as she yelled at her companions. Though they didn't even flinch at the act, having grown quite used to this sort of behaviour from their comrade.

"Yea, but, maybe...they figured something out? Like a way to coexist?" But even as the dwarf expelled those words, they rang hollow even to his own ears, the encouraging smile he gave, so forced that his beard twitched from the strain.

"What? With a vampire?! With those evil beings?!" The elf practically screeched out, grabbing the shorter man by the shoulders. Idmon's hands grew white from how tightly she gripped the man's pauldrons.

But as quickly as she turned to the dwarf, she released her grip. Instead, she held her head as her whole body shook.

"A...a vampire...those accursed bloodsuckers that gorge themselves even on children?! Then eat spirits whole for dessert?! Those damn fairies, all they did was deliver a living feast to that monstrosity!"

"Look, isn't that why we're marching back there now? With this...army that your people put together?" As loath as he was to use the term, Ancaeus hated to use any other term that could better describe this mass of bodies that they were following.

Countless heavy feet stomped the ground, their sheer numbers and weight crushing everything smaller than a tree into compacted earth. Just the act of marching devastated the land they traversed. And that wasn't even including any consideration when it came to feeding them.

Behind this army, dozen of elves followed with grim expressions, holding up canes lit up with mana. And behind these were wagons originally loaded to their limits with supplies, though due to the long march, their loads were greatly diminished.

Even then, none of the supplies went to the army marching ahead.

That was, because the army was not comprised of those from the light races. Nor even those from the dark races.

The so-called army, was comprised entirely of monsters, each and every one of them wearing a collar, quietly and obediently following the orders of their elven handlers. Every single one of them emaciated due to the lack of supplies afforded to them for this long march.

Instead, when their handlers decided that their charges had grown too weak from a lack of fodder, a small percent of their force would be consumed by the rest so their march can continue. But despite how many times this process has been done, the number of monsters verged on the countless.

A legion of orcs, hornbulls, dagger porcupines, obsidian bears, chaos monkeys, and many other dangerous monsters.

A disposable army, held together through the use of what was normally considered a rare and illegal magic.

"What's the point? Vampires just grow stronger by drinking the blood of their victims." Hylas let out another sigh.

But Idmon shook her head as she straitened her back.

"No. Only if they get a chance to drink. No matter how weak these monsters are compared to her, they'll keep her busy and exhaust her. And even after she kills them all, it'll take her time to restore her strength drinking blood from such weak monsters. She'll be vulnerable."

Though most of these monsters were considered decently strong by the average adventurer, to those who stood as the shining beacon of hope, even these monsters were nothing but small fry, normally not even good for buying time.

But as the elf reiterated the strategy that was explained to them before they started their march, the other two were convinced well enough that this strategy at least stood a chance. Their target, unless if she was willing to abandon everything she had gained, would be forced to fight. Forced to waste her energies for almost no gain.

While the handlers were their army's weak point, in reality, even if they were all slaughtered immediately, that would only cause the monsters being controlled to rampage, doing little to nothing to help bring her victory.

"Haa, and then that's when this damn thing gets a turn huh?" Ancaeus lifted up the sword case.

"Keep that thing away from me!" Hylas shivered as she took a few steps away, glaring at the leather covering. Even sealed withing such a thing, she could feel how the blade endlessly sucked in the ambient mana, leaving nothing but a space void of one of the fundamental energies of the world.

"Ah, my bad." The dwarf lowered the package. The fact that Idmon had also backed away didn't escape his eyes, but he chose to ignore that fact. He was well aware that the more attuned one was to mana, the more terrifying the weapon he carried was.

It was precisely for that reason what it was considered the bane of vampires. The holy weapon that could slay even the greatest of the evil vampires with a single touch.

Though, from their first-hand experience, the three understood that the stories attached to this weapon were vastly conflated, they were also able to confirm the fact that it really was, in fact, the bane of vampires.

So, despite his personal feelings regarding the matter, Ancaeus accepted the role of wielding the weapon his dear friend died carrying.

It wasn't like he could entrust such a duty to his other companions anyways. Neither of them had ever swung a sword in their lives, let alone knew how to use one against such a daunting foe.

Nor were there others that even came close to the strength of the three. Anyone who could had either died during the last great war, or had long since retired.

Images of that war, more than a decade before, flashed through the dwarf's mind.

All the blood and flames that engulfed so much of the continent. Like each time the great war flares up, the overly long front lines grew twisted and convoluted. Not to mention all the infiltrations that both sides committed to, wreaking havoc on the rear lines all the way to the cities that only had the minimum of forces left to guard them.

While his own homelands almost never got attacked due to being in the frigid north and buried within the nearly impenetrable mountain passes, Ancaeus still felt for those who's homes were always vulnerable to such attacks. Despite the vast distances the infiltrating forces had to contend with, such attacks were far too frequent during the hottest times of the war.

"But do you think this'll be enough? We're not just dealing with a vampire." Ancaeus voiced out the last of his worries. Nay, not the last, but the last he was willing to air out. For his greatest worry, the one for his remaining comrades, he feared putting it to words would only make things worse.

"It'll have to be. We don't have the resources to make any more slave collars or control wands. But at least, we know that those dragonkin we fought weren't nearly as strong as that vampire. As long as we focus on the vampire, they shouldn't matter."

"I see." The dwarf nodded to his elven companion, convinced of her words.

He didn't understand what sort of sacrifices the elves to the south had made to make this operation happen, but he did know that this enslavement magic wasn't nearly unheard of due to it being extremely illegal, but due to its costs and limitations. To override one's will required not only an extremely powerful magic, but a careful application of said magic, or else rather than crushing the target's will, the spell would crush the target's mind, rendering the slave useless.

"Regardless of the costs, all we have to do is make sure that the vampire is slain."

"Yea, I got it."

Ancaeus tightened his grip on Harpe's carrying strap.

(Just one last job. One more, and peace'll finally last for our lifetimes.)

The dwarf reminded himself of those honeyed words, well aware that he made a similar thought as his party approached the demon lord's castle a decade before.

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