Chapter 819: An Ambitious Project.
With the burst of power Scathach unleashed, it was clear that this caught everyone's attention. The first to arrive at this place were Siena and Pepper, who was nearby.
The moment they arrived and saw Scathach's new appearance, they had mixed reactions.
"Whoaa, sugoi dekai..." Pepper widened her eyes when she saw her mother's appearance, especially the two mountains in front of her.
"She got bigger? Isn't this bigger than mine?" Pepper spoke.
"Of course she's bigger, Pepper. She grew taller; her body must have grown in proportion," Siena commented in shock as she looked up and down at her mother; she was completely different.
"... Now that you mention it... She turned into a giant like Victor," Pepper said.
"... I see... Is this how you see the world... No wonder you get lost sometimes... And this power." Scathach clenched her fists, a smile appeared on her face, and then she pointed her hand towards the sky.
Sounds of heartbeats were heard, and in the next moment, pure ice energy emanated from her hand towards the sky.
But as the energy appeared, it vanished as if it had never existed in the first place.
Scathach looked at Victor with narrowed eyes.
Victor heightened his presence and spoke, "Control yourself, remember what I taught you, Scathach."
These words immediately snapped Scathach out of her intoxicated state, and she woke up to reality.
"... To think I would fall so easily... Is this what you feel? This sensation of invincibility?"
"Wrong." Victor shook his head in denial. "I feel it 1000 times more than you."
"... I see... You never forgot your discipline, huh." She displayed a small sweet smile.
"Don't let power control you, you control your power," Victor declared.
"These words you spoke are always with me, and I always try to follow them when possible," he spoke seriously. "So don't forget them; you'll need those words even more now."
"Don't let your arrogance and this feeling of invincibility consume you, or you'll tread the same path many powerful beings have fallen into."
"... The master teaches the disciple, and the disciple teaches the master, huh?" Scathach smiled in a seductive and gentle manner. "Yes, I won't forget, Victor."
Victor nodded in satisfaction. "Learn to control your power. Knowing you, you can do it quickly—"
Scathach disappeared and attacked Victor's chest, a rumble echoed around, accompanied by a burst of air.
"... What are you doing?" Victor commented undisturbed.
Scathach pouted. "Just what is your body made of? I used all my strength, you know?"
Victor's eyes gleamed with amusement. "You'll need much more than that to harm me, Scathach."
"Heh~, that gets me excited." Her wings fluttered unconsciously, revealing her mood.
Victor found this surprisingly cute, he caressed Scathach's head.
As Scathach was about to complain about not treating her like a child, she heard,
"Remember, for us, the heart is the key." Victor brought his face close to Scathach's and kissed her.
Scathach opened her eyes wide and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, not just her arms, even her wings enveloped Victor's body as if she wanted to possess him.
The two pulled away, leaving a bridge of saliva.
Scathach exhaled deeply, heating the air around her, her state was obvious just by looking at her.
"This will help you speed up the process," Victor commented as he moved away.
"... Huh?" Scathach was dumbfounded; for a moment, she completely forgot who she was and what she was doing.
'What was that just now?... That was perfect! I want more!' Her eyes shimmered with desire.
"Control, Scathach." Victor warned again.
"... Haah... This is difficult." Scathach's face twisted, but visibly, she was starting to calm down.
'Hmm... That went as expected. I was thinking I might need to make her submit, but as always, she met my expectations.' Victor smiled internally.
As her senses began to settle, she finally started to access the gift from Victor.
"... What is this...?" She opened her eyes in disbelief.
"You're a dragon, Scathach. A dragon who can transform into humanoid form. Do you think humanoid dragons fight like humans?" Victor chuckled.
The gift Victor gave was a martial art entirely tailored for dragons, a martial art created by Victor.
Calling it a martial art might be an exaggeration, as it's not complete; it's just ideas and foundations ready. He would need some time to refine the martial art further, but for something made in a short time, it was very good.
'Although... Isn't that what martial arts are? Something that's always evolving?' Victor thought.
"... I can see my influence in this martial art," Scathach said.
"Yes, but I've improved some movements and made it work in the air as well. After all, with our control over creation, we can make the air as solid as the ground." Victor demonstrated as he raised his legs as if climbing stairs and began 'ascending' in the air.
Although Scathach didn't have control over creation at Victor's absurd level, she still has it on a smaller scale, so making the air solid isn't difficult.
Scathach stared at the air beneath Victor with fixed eyes.
"This is incredible...! This opens up so many possibilities! Can I modify this, Vic?" She asked.
"Of course, in fact, if you refine it, it'll be even better." Victor smiled while floating the CM off the ground. With his new weight, if he completely lets go of his control, a hole will appear in the ground, so he's floating around instead of walking.
'Sigh, I have to work on my foundation all over again.' To gain complete control of his new body, more training is needed. He just realized that if he doesn't regain immense control over it, he won't be able to engage in nighttime activities with his wives either.
They don't just need to get stronger; he needs to gain control as well.
"Mm... Hmmm!" She nodded enthusiastically multiple times.
"Darling, Darling." Violet sneaked up to Victor.
"Yes?"
"When will I be able to turn into a dragon?"
"When you become stronger."
"...." Violet pouted.
Victor chuckled and stroked her head. "Scathach made it look easy, but it's not that simple. Dragons are the pinnacle of mortal existence, so a strong soul is a necessary requirement."
"From our group, only Scathach and Jeanne can do it easily, and with my assistance, Haruna, Mizuki, Eleonor, Rose, and Morgana could as well. After all, their souls are strong."
"Ugh... How do you even make your 'soul' strong? It's not like a muscle, you know?" Violet complained.
That's true..." Victor agreed while thinking. Then he remembered a quote and spoke it out loud:
"Only when the soul is on the brink of death does it show its true potential."
"Bleach, Zangetsu," Pepper nodded. "I got the reference."
Victor gently laughed and caressed Pepper's head.
"Hehehehe~." Pepper smiled sweetly, causing Siena's eyebrows to twitch in envy and jealousy.
"These words aren't incorrect. Do you know what all of us mentioned have in common?"
"... You were always in danger and overcame that danger," Violet spoke.
"Correct," Victor nodded.
"Wait a sec, if that's the case, why aren't Natashia and I on the list?" Agnes said.
Victor looked at Agnes neutrally. "In all the occasions you fought, Agnes, you were never in much danger."
"... Well... That's true, but I was in danger, right? Even though not much, I was."
"When I talk about danger, Agnes, I mean life-and-death situations."
"Only when we've walked on the edge of death multiple times does our soul refine, and we grow stronger."
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, huh." A woman's voice sounded around, causing people to look in the direction of the voice.
Soon they saw Sasha, Ruby, Lacus, Natashia, Bruna, Eve, Kaguya, Maria, Roberta, Mizuki, and Leona.
"Exactly." Victor smiled gently, floating towards Ruby and Sasha.
"I missed you guys." He hugged the two.
Ruby and Sasha melted into Victor's arms.
"I missed you too, Darling." Both of them spoke simultaneously.
Victor pulled away from them and lightly kissed each of their lips.
"Hmm?" Victor felt someone touching him and saw Natashia, Leona, and Mizuki touching his body.
"Your skin is so silky, yet so firm," Natashia commented.
"These horns, you're like a demon now, hehehe." Leona laughed as she touched his horns.
Victor chuckled gently and kissed the three girls.
"I missed you."
Natashia smiled widely and hugged him. Mizuki, despite being a bit shy, also hugged him.
Although she was on the battlefield before, she didn't have time to converse with Victor. Many things happened all at once, so now she'll indulge herself.
'Hehehehe~, my husband is a dragon!' This statement had many hidden meanings for Natashia. [Most of them being decidedly not child-friendly.]
'Your scent has become even more delicious...' Mizuki thought.
"Fufufu, weren't you with me just a few days ago?" Leona spoke playfully.
"I still missed you." Victor spoke while patting Leona's head.
"Mm, if you missed me, then you haven't forgotten about Samar, right? You can't leave the job half-done."
"Of course not, I remember correctly."
"But before that, I will complete one of my projects... Actually, several of them." As he said that, more and more girls began to appear.
The Amazons, the Fairies, Haruna and Kuroka, the Four Generals, and Aline, the Ruler of Hell, the goddesses, and the rest of the vampires.
"Damn, that's a lot of women. I only realized that when they were all together," Pepper commented.
"Don't talk as if they're all related to him, Pepper," Siena rolled her eyes.
But Pepper didn't hear anything, her attention was on Lacus, who stealthily approached Victor.
"Ah, Lacus, you sneaky one."
"Well... A dragon? A real dragon? Wasn't he a vampire?" Demeter nudged Hestia as she spoke in shock.
"... Yes, he was," Hestia sighed. Even though she knew this beforehand, she was still shocked.
"How does someone go from being a vampire to turning into a dragon? That doesn't happen! The logistics are wrong!" Nike couldn't accept this.
She looked at Scathach, who was in her own world, and opened her eyes in shock. But her shock wasn't as great as when she saw Metis flying near Victor.
"Metis!? Is that Metis!?" Nike's words made all the goddesses look at the small dragon.
"Her appearance is different, and her race is different, but it's definitely Metis," Tetis widened her eyes.
"I thought she was dead," Demeter said.
"That feeling, Zeus, and Kronos?" Rhea narrowed her eyes at Victor.
"You'll know that eventually, but Zeus and Kronos are dead," Victor spoke naturally, looking at Rhea.
Victor's words made the goddesses who didn't know this widen their eyes.
Demeter smiled widely. "That bastard's finally dead!? HAHAHAHAHA, we need to celebrate!"
"D-Demeter." Nike pinched Demeter's mature thighs.
"What?" Demeter asked confused.
But before Nike could say anything, they heard Victor say:
"Oh yes, Persephone is alive. If you want, you can see her, Demeter."
All of Demeter's attention immediately shifted to Victor. Her eyes widened, seeing Victor's serious and neutral face, she understood that her daughter wasn't dead. She doesn't know what happened, and she doesn't care either. She's just happy that Victor didn't kill her.
After all, she knew well the kind of relationship her daughter had with Violet and Agnes. Honestly, if she received news that her daughter had died, she wouldn't have any reason to live; she would immediately commit suicide. She couldn't live in a world where her daughter wasn't alive.
Small tears appeared on Demeter's face. She took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Victor."
"I didn't do anything, you should thank Violet." After all, he did what he did so that Violet and Agnes could move forward, especially Violet, who was the most affected by the whole situation.
"Liar, everyone knows that none of this would be possible without you." Demeter huffed while rubbing her face.
Victor just gave a small smile and didn't say anything. After all, she wasn't wrong.
Victor looked at Natalia. "Natalia, my dear."
"Yes, Darling." Natalia waved her hand, and a portal appeared.
"This is a portal to the underworld that leads directly to Persephone's chambers."
Demeter didn't waste any time and quickly jumped into the portal.
Victor displayed a strange smile. He didn't hate Demeter's passion for her family; after all, he could relate to it.
"Hmm... Darling, I think I messed up something with the portal." Natalia raised her hand.
Victor looked naturally at Natalia, then at the portal, specifically beyond the portal. When he saw Persephone's condition, he just shrugged.
"I mean, they're Greeks, it's not new." Victor shrugged.
"...." Natalia didn't know how to react to that; she just nodded and closed the portal.
...
"PERSEPHONEEE-... What are you doing?"
"M-Mother?" Persephone hid in her bed, covering her body with her duvet.
Demeter's eyes turned playful when she saw the messy bed, Persephone's disheveled hair, and the obviously wet bed with suspicious liquids.
"... I heard Victor's name coming from your mouth just now."
"It's your imagination!" An embarrassed expression appeared on Persephone's face.
"Hmm~" Despite wanting to tease Persephone a lot right now, she wanted to hug her daughter even more, and that's what she did!
She jumped onto the bed and hugged her daughter.
"W-Wait, let me change-."
"Shhh..." Demeter hugged her daughter even tighter. "I missed you."
"...." Persephone's embarrassed face turned melancholic, and then she returned her mother's hug. "I missed you too, Mother."
...
Victor floated a bit above the ground for everyone to see his appearance.
"So, a lot of things have happened, and you'll soon know the details."
"But in short, I subdued Olympus, became a Dragon Progenitor, which is a mix of vampires and dragons. Yes, I'm still thinking of an official name for my race, but for now, call them vampire dragons."
"...."
"Oh, I also killed some primordial gods, Thanatos, and Erebus's son, a son he made in another pantheon, a insignificant existence."
"...."
"During this time, I also acquired Gaia." Victor snapped his fingers, and a green-haired goddess wearing a dress of plants appeared.
"Sugoi Dekai... She's definitely Mommy Tier."
"Pepper!" Ruby exclaimed.
"What? I'm just stating the obvious." Pepper rolled her eyes.
"Why does he talk as if he caught a Rare Pokémon?" Sasha said.
"Well, that's what happened, right? And he won twice, after all, Gaia has control over Typhoon." Natashia said.
"As you heard before, I also killed Kronos and Zeus, absorbing their powers in the process."
"And more things happened. For now, I have in my possession the entire dimension of Olympus. Any questions?"
Hestia raised her hand.
"Yes, Hestia?"
"Just how on earth do you go out to defend your wife and end up becoming a Dragon Progenitor, subduing Olympus, and acquiring a primordial goddess for yourself? How is that even possible!?"
"Because I'm Victor." Victor declared with an innocent smile.
"...." Somehow, those words made a lot of sense. Hestia could only sigh.
Haruna raised her hand.
"Yes, Haruna?"
"Who is this girl?" Haruna pointed at Metis, who was floating near Zaladrac.
"Metis, Athena's mother. For those who know her story, in short, her soul was split; one piece was in Zeus, another piece was in Athena. I merged the two, but due to spending many years in this state, she got quite damaged."
"As I was responsible for aiding in this process, unconsciously, my energy entered her soul, and she turned into a dragon. A dragon goddess, to be more precise."
"... Ohh..." They all spoke at the same time, looking at Metis.
The little girl just huffed and spread her wings, her dragon pride shining through despite her small size.
"And about Scathach?" This time, Sasha raised her hand.
"I'm a Progenitor, so I can easily transform other beings into members of my race, as long as the requirements are met." Victor answered.
"What are the requirements?" Natashia asked.
"A strong soul."
"...." No one knew how to react to these words; how were they supposed to judge if a soul was strong or not? They didn't have that power!
"Don't worry, when you qualify, I'll personally let you know. The only ones who meet these requirements now are Jeanne, Haruna, Mizuki, Eleonor, Rose, and Morgana."
The goddesses were included too, but Victor wouldn't say that. After all, it would open another can of worms that he wasn't interested in opening. The only people he would turn into dragons are his family.
Aphrodite looked at Victor and displayed a calculating smile. As someone connected to him, she knew exactly what he was thinking.
'Hmm, this is a good time to bring Hestia into the fold; I just need to set up a honey trap...' The goddess of love looked at Hestia. Even though she had a neutral expression, as the goddess of love, Aphrodite could clearly see Hestia's feelings for Victor.
'Fufufufu, this will be fun.'
"The rest will come naturally over time."
"So we should become stronger, huh." Ruby said.
"Yes."
"Now that you're all here, let's move on to the reason I've gathered you all."
"I'm going to create a new dimension where we will live."
"......" They definitely didn't expect those words.