The leaders had suspected that Quinn might use their request to help out the humans he cared about so much. It made sense after hearing the speech he had made, however they hadn't quite expected him to go so public with his plans. It was putting all of them in a difficult position and on the top of their toes.
The Vampire Lord had also just outright stated that the condition for him becoming their next King was to take part in a war that wasn't theirs in the first place. The first instinct of the newly elected and young leaders was to stand up and protest, but the tenth leader had already made an example out of Nicu.
Only one was brave enough to stand up to him.
"That is ridiculous!" A young looking female vampire scoffed at his words. Quinn looked at her, noticing her blonde hair, which was unusual since most vampires had black hair, which made him suspect that it was dyed.
"You are asking all of us to fight, just because of your personal interest! Right now, you are not our King and we all are at the same rank."
The other leaders were quite nervous about how Quinn was going to react, but unlike with the first family's leader, he remained calm.
"And who are you?" Quinn firstly asked.
This caused the woman's face to turn bright red, yet it was expected for Quinn to not really know who she was. He had been recuperating and only recently woke up.
"I'm Katori Cha, new leader of the second family."
"Well then that makes it easier." Quinn replied. "I believe it was because of the interests of your family in the first place that the settlements were in danger twice. Yet, it was because of my interest that I saved you all. However, I won't deny you having a point.
"I could just say that all of you owe me a favour, although I might not be a native vampire I have learned that etiquette demands that a favour always gets repaid, and based on the reactions from the people out there, they seem to be more inclined to stick to that than all of you.
"However, I would much prefer you agreeing to this willingly than me forcing you, so let me lay out everything clearly to all of you. At the moment I hold quite the high position in the Human World, you can think of it as the equivalent of a Royal Knight, without there being a King or maybe similar to the council with only three members. If there is anything you need from them in the future or information then I can easily obtain it.
"My condition wasn't one I placed on a whim. I have long since desired to bridge the gap between vampires and humans, only the current situation allows me to do it with your consent. In my opinion the vampires have tried to live secretly ignoring the human's existence for too long, giving rise to problems within the vampires and humans.
"There will always be disputes, of course. Humans argue with each other, yet vampires do as well, but at the moment both are facing the same enemy. On our own, neither side might stand a chance, but together I believe we can defeat them. For that, I want to use the resources in this solar system.
"On my way here, I have passed multiple beast planets. The humans are currently in dire need of crystals to continue fighting. At the same time, I heard from Fex that you have been gathering dangerous subclasses. Now, I don't know if any of you were aware, but it looked like Bryce has been planning to go to some type of war for a while now.
"Instead of killing them all, I suggest we use them to help us in the fight against the Dalki. I won't even ask you to take care of them, that can be the tenth family's responsibility. However, I do want the vampire leaders and their vampires to take part in it as well. That is my wish. For this to work, I need your power, not just mine."
None of the leaders said anything, even Muka who had felt like they could help Quinn in some way thought that the tenth leader was asking for too much, but there was one thing that was true. They owed him their lives, so wouldn't it be fair for them to fight with their lives on the line?
"I think some of your conditions are fair, but you are asking for too much." Katori argued. "The crystals and maybe the subclasses we can agree on, but for us to risk our lives? We have only just recovered from an attack of our own, and what should we do if Laxmus returns while we're away?"
At this point, Quinn had a big smile on his face, because he had been waiting for this. It was time for him to use his position, everything he had gained for this point.
"You're right, but let me ask you, even if you all stay here, what exactly do you plan to do if he attacks you again? I'm telling you now, in case you can't agree to my conditions, I won't stay in the vampire settlement. Me and the tenth family, as well as any vampire who wishes to accompany us, will leave for the Human World. I may be powerful, but I'm not omnipotent. I can only do my best in trying to protect my family, and those loyal to them… as for everyone else I don't have the luxury to care about them."
This was a worry that the other leaders hadn't thought about. If Quinn was to do this, would more vampires choose to follow him rather than them. Perhaps the inner castle vampires were loyal to their families but what about the pooling vampires. They had seen the reaction outside.
"Make no mistake, I'm the one holding out my hand to you guys not the other way round, you have no one that can defeat Laxmus even if he were to return on his own. I'm offering you protection, but in exchange I expect you to fight, for your sake as well as the people I care about…
"I'm sure some of the older leaders are aware that the Dalki have been created by the vampires in the first place, and that they had attacked you alongside Arthur. There is a reason why I haven't chosen to simply leave, and it's because I really do need your help.
"Do you know why Arthur was working with the Dalki? Before his demise he confessed to me that he chose their side, because he claimed to be weaker than them. His last regret was that I proved to him that he might have been wrong and that there was no hope for the vampires or the humans. If we don't stop the Dalki now, they will come for you as well."
Although Quinn's words spoke his words with conviction, he actually wasn't so sure about the last part. With the Dragon gone, was there any reason for them to attack the vampires? The one that seemed to have wanted revenge on them more than anyone was Jim, yet according to his system he should be dead.
Nevertheless, the Dalki hadn't stopped their invasion of the human planets, and Quinn had seen how aggressive they could be. Perhaps it was just in their nature to be this way, an urge to kill anything different from them.
"Quinn, I think what you said is right, but there is one problem." Jake brought up, a little afraid that he might get hit. "The Punishers were created to be an equal force to the King. In case anything happened like it did before, we would have relied on them.
"After that, the council was supposed to have just as much power as the King. The King was the person selected by the council, yet we could still overturn his decision. We have many traditions and I was wondering about a few things.
"First, would you be willing to follow our ways? You have become so strong that no one can overthrow you, and right now you have the power of the Punisher and the Absolute Blood Control skill, meaning if you wished to rule over us with an iron fist, there would be no one to stop you. Another thing, you only spoke about your plans for the war, but what do you plan to do after that. If we help you and we win, will you still be our King?"
Surprisingly, the other leaders nodded and agreed with what Jake was asking, even the ones that wanted Quinn to join them no matter what. It was questions they wanted to ask, but thought maybe it was best to deal with after.
"What you are asking is fair and I have thought about it." Quinn answered. "First, I'm not familiar with all of your traditions, but I also don't want to come in here and change your vampire ways. I think I would need to deal with them, on a case by case basis.
"For your remark about me being too strong, that I combine two great powers, the thing is, right now, I need both of these powers to fight our enemy, especially if Laxmus was to return, so my plan for this will link into your last question.
"I need the vampire leaders' strength. The Dalki aren't large in number, just like the vampires but great in strength. After you help me achieve my goal, then I will be happy to give up the Absolute Blood Control . Perhaps we can set up a system like the Punishers of old but with the Absolute Blood Control instead of the Shadow powers.
"And lastly, I think it's important for me to keep my role as King, as long as you wish for me to do it. You all put your trust in me, and you all helped me, so I will continue to serve all of you."
The leaders smiled at Quinn's answer. They thought they were appropriate answers to everything, even better than they had hoped, Quinn seemed to be a resathetic person, one of the most reasonable they had ever met.
"We will then cast a vote, all those in favour of Quinn Talen, the tenth leader becoming the new king, please raise their hand." Muka asked.
Everyone at the table raised their hand, even Katori, but Nicu was unable to, still passed out.
"It seems like we have come to a unanimous decision. We welcome you, Your Majesty." Muka bowed down, the others following suit.
[Quest: Become the Vampire King completed]
[You will now receive your rewards.]
*****
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