Ten minutes later, even after Bambietta had drunk so much blood that her stomach bulged, no prompt sounded.
"Did it fail?" Tatsuma sighed with a touch of regret.
He had originally thought that by combining Vampire bloodline with his own blood, he could exploit a bug in the system and directly trigger the 'fallen for you' judgment for [Harem King].
However, it seemed that the system's bugs weren't so easy to exploit.
Valerie was saved by him and naturally held a certain degree of goodwill towards him, which was why her favorability skyrocketed after drinking his blood, meeting the 'fallen for you' standard.
Bambietta, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. She had initially harbored ill intentions, and after being exposed, she was filled with even more fear. Now, her blood-drinking was purely to satisfy her inner desires, wanting to use his blood to advance further.
"Let's try another one."
Tatsuma looked down at Candice, who was sharpening his sword.
He opened his trait inventory and selected [Vampire Bloodline].
Just like Bambietta earlier, Candice briefly regained consciousness after her strength increased. However, after a slight tremor, she did nothing, pretending to know nothing as she silently helped Tatsuma adjust his weapon.
"Don't play dead. You drink my blood too." Tatsuma raised his hand, pointed to his neck, and ordered.
"Drink with love. Do you understand?"
Understand what, you ghost!
What is 'drinking with love'?
Candice was somewhat distraught internally, but she still replied with a soft 'understood'.
She had no choice, Bambietta's fate not long ago was still fresh in her mind.
Since she was already at a disadvantage, it was better to obediently follow Tatsuma's demands.
Silently chanting, "I love Tatsuma the most," and "We are the best in the world," Candice activated her vampire bloodline, revealed her fangs, and bit towards Tatsuma.
A few seconds later, Candice, like Bambietta, succumbed to Tatsuma's blood, starting to drink with single-minded focus, a red glow gradually appearing in her eyes.
Time passed, and another ten minutes went by. Candice was completely lost in her bloodlust.
"A complete failure, huh."
Tatsuma regretfully came to a conclusion.
The 'intimidation to devotion' method wasn't working well.
Blood-drinking was just a catalyst, the target must already have a certain degree of goodwill towards him.
But the problem now was, were there any vampires other than Valerie who held goodwill towards him?
Recalling Elmenhilde and others' attitudes towards him, Tatsuma showed a thoughtful expression.
If he had time later, he might be able to try it.
Making a decision in his heart, Tatsuma looked at Candice and Bambietta clinging to him. Since they weren't good at being vampires, he would try a different approach and transform them into 'blood-suckers'.
...
Soul Society, Wandenreich.
Haschwalth walked into the empty palace, making his way to Yhwach and kneeling on one knee.
"Your Majesty, I have arrived."
Yhwach opened his eyes. "Where are Candice Katnipp and Bambietta Basterbine?"
Haschwalth replied, "I sent them to infiltrate Red Dragon Emperor Tatsuma's side to gather intelligence."
"Red Dragon Emperor?"
Hearing this unexpected name, Yhwach fell silent.
Time slowly passed.
Seeing Yhwach remain silent, Haschwalth broke the silence, "Your Majesty, has something happened to Candice and Bambietta?"
"I can no longer sense their souls."
"!!!"
Haschwalth's eyes widened abruptly, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
This reply was astonishing.
As the progenitor of the Quincy, Yhwach was naturally able to sense the locations of Quincy all over the world.
And as members of the Sternritter, who possessed Schrift, Candice and Bambietta had an even deeper connection to Yhwach's soul. For these two to lose contact with Yhwach, Haschwalth could only think of one possibility.
"Are Candice and Bambietta dead?"
"No, they are not dead." Yhwach denied this conjecture.
His Schrift, in a sense, was like a high-interest loan. When a person who received a Schrift died, a portion of their soul and power would be returned to him. But after Candice and Bambietta lost contact, he received no feedback.
"The Red Dragon Emperor has problems. From now on, do not send anyone to Kuoh Town until I have fully recovered my power."
"Yes."
...
Underworld, Capital Lilith.
Grayfia, who had received an urgent message, put down her work and made her way to the highest floor room.
"Sirzechs, what do you need me for?"
"I just received a message from Rias that the vampire stronghold in Romania was attacked by an Evil Dragon."
Sirzechs, who was standing by the window, turned around and continued after a pause, "The culprits are Rizevim, and your brother, Euclid."
"Euclid? Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Grayfia's body stiffened, her eyes widened, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.
Sirzechs pulled out a photo and said, "No mistake. In fact, he's already been captured."
Grayfia: "..."
Looking at the familiar figure in the photo, Grayfia fell silent.
The facts were laid bare. No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, she had to accept reality.
Her brother, Euclid, had broken the promise she had made long ago.
"...How are the vampires?"
"Heavy casualties. The only good news is that Tatsuma intervened and helped salvage some losses."
"Tatsuma?"
"Yes, it's said that the cause of this incident was Tatsuma accepting a commission from Queen Carmilla, which then caught Rizevim's attention."
With the information provided by Rias, combined with his understanding of Rizevim, Sirzechs could generally deduce the whole story.
After a conversation, Grayfia, who understood the truth, fell silent once more.
Although Tatsuma was the cause of this incident, Euclid's involvement was also a fact.
Hundreds of years ago, the devils, having lost the original Four Great Satans, plunged into civil war.
The reformist faction and the Old Satan Faction went to war. As one of the leaders of the Old Satan Faction, Grayfia once caused a bloodbath. But later, as the fighting continued, the Old Satan Faction gradually fell into a disadvantage.
To protect her family and the Lucifuge household, Grayfia negotiated with Sirzechs and the others. On the condition that she become Sirzechs's queen and help the reformist faction win, the Lucifuge household would be spared.
The Lucifuge household was exiled to the edge of the Underworld and was not allowed to cause trouble again.
In fact, the Lucifuge household had indeed kept its promise. Even when the Khaos Brigade rose a few days ago, and the Old Satan Faction caused destruction everywhere, no members of the Lucifuge household participated.
Until today, Euclid appeared, breaking her past promise.
"Grayfia, what do you plan to do?" Sirzechs's voice sounded.
Grayfia snapped out of her memories and shook her head slightly. "I don't know. Euclid's matter has nothing to do with me, he disappeared many years ago."
Sirzechs sighed, "I know he has nothing to do with you, but this matter can't be resolved by simply saying it's unrelated."
Having been acknowledged by an otherworldly spirit, Grayfia, at full power, possessed strength comparable to a Super Devil.
In the War of Reform hundreds of years ago, Sirzechs had personally experienced that darkness from another world. Having witnessed that power, many among the devil's higher-ups held reservations about Grayfia.
The fact that she had lived peacefully all these years was partly because she had signed a contract to become his queen, and partly because the Lucifuge household had kept its promise and not caused trouble.
Now, with Euclid and Rizevim appearing simultaneously, the devil higher-ups, who feared Rizevim, would inevitably target Grayfia.
"Grayfia, the matter of Rizevim and Euclid is currently only known to me. However, this matter cannot be concealed for long. What happened in Romania will soon spread."
"Before this matter causes unrest, we must take countermeasures to minimize the impact."
Grayfia nodded in response. "I understand what you mean. I will publicly apologize, and then go into seclusion until the matter is resolved, not interacting with anyone..."
"I don't accept this plan!"
Just as Grayfia was stating her solution, a displeased voice rang out.
A faint ripple of magical power rose, and the black longsword hanging at Grayfia's waist flew into the air, transforming into a young girl in a dark dress.
Seeing this girl, Grayfia and Sirzechs both paused, and it was Grayfia who eventually recovered and asked.
"Restia? Why are you awake?"
Restia snorted coldly, "If I don't wake up, won't you just become a punching bag?"
Then she glared at Sirzechs standing nearby. "Hey! How are you a Satan?"
"Not only can you not control those old fogeys, but you can't even protect Grayfia."
"You're useless at everything you do. Tell me, what's the difference between you and trash?"
Grayfia reached out and pressed her hand on her. "Restia, don't say anymore. This matter cannot be blamed on Sirzechs, there are many problems that are..."
Restia interrupted, "I don't care about any of that!"