The count remained in front of West for a good while inspecting her facial factions and beauty even as she blushed but stared at him defiantly with a 'pout' as if she felt someone was calling her 'stupid'.
And indeed…
"Anyway, now that the fiasco is over… What is the next step, Varete?"
Seeing that West didn't intend to fight, he moved away from West and sat on 'nothing' as the castle was almost destroyed at this point and there was only debris that slowly regenerated as they spoke.
"The next step is that you tell me all of your secrets~"
West spoke instead and also sat on 'nothing' copying him shamelessly.
East also did so, staring at him with an arm supporting her head. Alucard smirked and didn't say anything, indicating he doesn't intend to reveal anything. It was not a secret but he also doesn't have an obligation to explain.
Varete sighed and approached as her shadows calmed down.
"The next step is to wait until I can summon North and South back… Since I need to spend a considerable amount of mana to do so. Please, refrain from destroying their bodies the next time."
She said with a glint and also sat on 'nothing' very close to West, having them form a circle.
"Thanks for the beating you bestowed upon their beautiful faces though~ You served great justice with that~" East added shamelessly earning rolled eyes from everyone except West, who nodded sagely instead.
"And then…?" Alucard continued.
"…" She bit her lips and looked sideways.
"And then we propose you form a contract with us~" East finished seeing as Varete was incapable of continuing, her eyes scrutinised Alucard's expression.
…
"Can't say it's unexpected… So, what's in for me in this 'contract' and what's in for you?"
He crossed his legs and said lightly, some wine appeared out of nowhere in a cup and he drank it.
East smirked and presented her slender hand… surprisingly, Varete also did so, and West. Three cups appeared and flew towards them as the witches took them with curled lips. They sipped and marvelled at the taste but Varete couldn't help but add, "It's not the same one from before."
"I told you, that wine is precious, I can't just serve it for anything…"
"Do you come from the future, Alucard?" She had 'seen' from inside Varete, the name of the bottle. Though she had no way of knowing what calendar it was based on, she could tell that there was a fairly advanced piece of engineering behind the creation of that mere bottle of wine.
West wasn't different, she was more aware of it than East. "You could say so. Also, you haven't answered my question. What do I gain?" He asked again.
The women frowned slightly, thinking... usually anything would be more than delighted to just form a contract with a single one of them, let alone all of them! and yet this man here was still asking what was in there for him. If not for the situation they were in, they'd have cursed out loudly.
"Before we talk about benefits and demands, could you wait for the other two to appear? Each one of us has different conditions. But we'd like you to hear our circumstances first"
East spoke she is the only one with enough wits to face him straight.
Varete seemed reluctant as if she wasn't fully convinced.
As for West, she just eyed Varete, "It's the only opportunity we have…"
"I know…"
The count smirked and his telekinesis rotated and moved the surprised East's body towards his lap, then hugged her slim waist as she placed an arm around his shoulders. "Showing favouritism so quickly?~ Your wives are in the next castle down the road you know~"
She giggled but didn't reject their distance. "They're in the next castle, not in the next room~" Aside from hugging her waist softly, he didn't do anything else.
"I like straightforward women as well. How about you tell me your conditions? I might think about it."
"Well, as long as you can heal my body, and give me a life full of funny occurrences, I might be willing to form a contract with you~ I'm not very greedy unlike those two you just killed so, it's a No-Brainer."
The girl giggled as her legs moved back and forth.
"Oh? And what do I gain in return?~" He asked, amused at her behaviour. "In return, you get a beautiful teenage girl that will give you great counsel, a Demigod warrior that will devastate your foes, and a gorgeous woman you can take on dates and boast of her beauty, not a bad deal right?~"
Her smile widened as if she was sure he would accept this deal. "Sounds like a good deal, unfortunately, I'm quite famous for getting scammed and don't trust people easily… what's your body illness?"
*RUMBLE*
As his words fell, two figures started to materialise slowly as North and South descended upon this world again.
North's gaze stared at him with clear apprehension, still feeling the phantom pain of those shadow spears skewering her all over.
South's gaze contained slight fear overshadowed by overwhelming battle intent as if she couldn't wait to take him on again.
"Why?" North asked first, "Why would you end our lives so violently? We don't have any enmity".
Alucard smirked and hugged East a little tighter, "I like scheming women… But I don't like women that plan to use me as their pawn. And what I don't like… I don't kill. I don't leave corpses… I swallow them~"
…
His words left all of them breathless. Her body once again started to move on its own and she found herself seated on his other thigh, completely powerless. "So, learn from East here and don't become someone I don't like… North"
"…"
The black-haired woman could only look aside as her golden eyes thought deeply.
"Now, everyone is here so… How about you tell me what's this about, Varete."
He addressed Varete directly as she's the one that 'summoned' these women here. ... Varete finally faced him but it was West who spoke first.
"To put it simply, we arrived at this world together with Varete, a part of our consciousness lies within her, but our real bodies are somewhere else… Sleeping.
We have sustained a heavy curse that's killing our bodies."
She said as her gaze stared at the ground as if remembering the incidents that led to this conclusion.
"We have spent hundreds of years looking for a way to heal in this world but haven't managed to resolve it.
As you know this world uses a source called 'Nature Energy' but that is not what we use ourselves.
The source of our power is called 'Mana'" East continued, her petite hand playing with his hair.
"Our issue is soul related, that's why we placed extra focus on the Asura Demon Sect, as they are seen to be the ones with the highest knowledge of souls", North spoke afterwards.
"But those bastards don't have any means to heal souls, only destroy them."
South finished but her gaze seemed more like a woman about to cause trouble than a reasoning girl.
She seemed to be hungry to fight him, only the fear of the last outcome stopping her.
"And therefore, we decided to head to the 'Earth' as that's our only alternative… But our conversation earlier killed that alternative according to you.
That world has no magic and nature energy is even more shallow."
East said again touching on the point of the situation.
"…"
"We witnessed your powers and think you might have a way to help us. And unlike the immortals, you seem reasonable enough to talk to. So, the four of us are willing to make a contract with you as long as you're capable of helping us in this situation."
West concluded and they all stared at him, awaiting his answer.
He lied back on 'nothing' and sipped his wine, thinking even as East and North stared at him deeply.
"… I have a way to help you, but… I'm reluctant to use it on you…"
He said again, Alucard doesn't have any means for healing anyone completely be it soul or body, aside from transforming them into Nosferatus… but just the idea of someone like North becoming a Nosferatu, aside from the thrill it produced in him to find out, there were also a lot of risks involved.
He stared at her and she sensed his thoughts.
"A-And what method is that, please tell us!"
West stood up and yelled, could it be that there was finally a solution?
"That is, for me to transform you into Nosferatus, and you all become my Draculines… But, I already have two here…"
And he was thinking about transforming Yulan and Sanniang… That's four. Numbers are not a problem. But immortality is a factor to consider when it comes to controlling them… He's like their master after all. "I-Is that even possible!? Become like you?!"
This time it was South that shouted, how could she not be interested in his strength? Even if their powers weren't fully recovered, and what he experienced just now was but a wisp of their true selves.
They could tell, that there would not be a difference regardless… He'd still be able to easily kill them! West frowned slightly, not knowing the repercussions of this move.
"I accept it."
North was the first to answer as Alucard snickered and East stared at her with a frown.
'Of course, you will…'
"I accept too!"
South followed, not to anyone's surprise.
"You accept, but I don't… I'm not fond of troublemakers among my people. And from the five of you, you two are the loudest in the class~"
He then said nonchalantly, but North turned around and her perfect hand touched his chest, her golden eyes staring straight at him.
"If you accept and heal my body… And a few more things, in our contract, I don't mind being yours… I'll make sure your enemies won't even approach you, they will die pitifully before you even know they existed."
Her voice sounded resolute and the others couldn't help but shot her a glare. Alucard stared at her and smirked, truly smart.
'You're strong enough to defeat your enemies, so I'll make sure they don't even bother you, you won't even need to fight!' That's her offer.
"And what exactly encompasses a few more things' tell me?"
He asked, knowing quite well what she was about to ask.
"That you help me destroy all humans, only that~", she said proudly, as if she just asked him to go to the park with her.
"North!"
West was the first to shout in outrage upon hearing North's demands.
"What? A human placed us in these circumstances, and you still want to protect them?! Don't be stupid, West!"
North scowled back and West stared at her in complication before looking away.
East only stared at her and said nothing, preferring to see what Alucard had to say about this demand.
South also remained silent and Varete just witnessed everything, her body was the only one healthy, so she didn't feel compelled to perform a contract.
…
"I'll have to consider it… What about you, East?"
He asked East next but a scowl resonated that made him roll his eyes and turn towards her.
"Hey, don't ignore me!"
South shouted, naturally gaining everyone's attention.
"…"
"Won't you ask me what my condition is!?"
She said with indignation as if wondering why he was paying attention to East and North more than her.
"… What is it?"
He knew if he didn't ask, this would go on eternally.
"Simple… I want you to fight me every day! One day, I'll beat you!" She said with her fist emitting pressure her expression that of a battle maniac.