Octavia's definitely trying to sacrifice herself so that vinyl has no reason to submit to voron. With one chapter left im excited to see how this resolves.
Vampires while filled with impressive power have always made me think of parasites, like bedbugs, ticks, mosquitos, lampreys. They're just filthy blood suckers who go around spreading their filthy disease. Voron is just a coward and a pathetic old man. Vallum is a spoiled, homicidal petulant child. At least Vinyl was able to see the wrongs committed and changed.
Octaviaâs breathing hitched in tiny wet spurts. âY-youâre b-both evil.â
I think that's a rather kind thing to say given all they've done... don't you think Octi? Evil cannot even begin to come close to describing these two!
Voron laughed. The sound reverberated through Vinylâs head like somepony was banging a metal drum inside her skull.
I already know what that sounds like. Thanks, Guti Serenade.
âSilly filly.â She didnât need to see Vellum to know she was rolling her eyes. âEvilâs just a label. Donât you know that labels are soooooo out of fashion these days? I mean, you wouldnât like it if I called you, say, weak.â
Octavia cried out in tandem when the sound of a slap.
âOr pathetic.â
Another cry.
âOr a fucking sneak-thief who stole my big sister and poisoned her fucking mind!â Vellum shrieked, all trace of humor suddenly gone from her voice. âItâs your fault she left us! If she had never met you, none of this would have happened! Weâd have stayed a family!â
Correction: A sneak thief who came and gave Vinyl the happiness she needed and the drive she needed to be free of her so called, 'life'! You're are right about one thing Vellum... if Octavia hadn't met her, none of what Vinyl did to get away from you would've happened at all!
The sounds of violence were more than Vinyl could take, but her traitorous body refused to respond to her commands. Any movement was completely beyond her as she struggled to even breathe.
Reprieve came from an unexpected source.
âVELLUM!â Voron thundered. âDesist!â
Vellum let out her own cry of pain. Something struck the wall and then the floor in short order, and the air was filled with a lattice of pained whimpers from the two downed mares.
Whoa, was not expecting that!
âI did not give you permission to harm her!â
âB-but Daddy ââ
âYour antics cease to be amusing when they flout my authority! She is our bargaining chip. Or did you forget that?â
For a heated moment there.... yeah.
She squealed again. For some reason, Vinyl took no satisfaction in the sound of their fatherâs hoof striking her. âIâm sorry!â
âPetty vengeance will not put our family back together again.â
Voron grunted. âVanelda, why have you stopped?â
Why do you think dumbass.
âSweet Celestia. Is she breathing?â Panic laced Octaviaâs voice. âPlease no. Celestia, please, no, no, no ââ
âDo not utter that nagâs name in my presence!â Voron snapped. âCelestiaâs days are numbered. You would do better to start swearing by my name than by hers since my family shall soon be the ruling house in this land.â
âWh-what?â
âThe age of Celestia is over. Not even the return of her sister or the ascendance of her students can stop the rise of the House of Verchovski. She may have clawed some family out of the dirt, but my children are far more numerous. And alicorns,â he added, clearly savouring every word, âbleed just the same as everypony else. All it would take is one opportunity ⌠one bite ⌠and anypony is my prey, royal blood or not.â He chuckled. âI am eager to see if royalty tastes any sweeter than the blood of peasants or nobility.â
Great Celestia....
âY⌠youâre mad,â Octavia whispered. âTotally insane. You canât possibly think you could take on the princesses.â
Maybe not one-on-one but....
âCelestiaâs rule rendered my people a frugal life fighting over scraps in the mountains while ponies roamed freely and without predators under her protection in this lush land. He interrupted the natural order of things by protecting you weak creatures. Why should ponies be the only species to escape the natural cycle? Why should vampires be so thoroughly banished that every mare, stallion and foal thinks them nothing but mere legend? Well I say no more!â Voron snarled. âWith my children, I shall wrest this land from Celestia and her filthy alicorns! Then the age of the vampires can begin when they are gone!â
âThis is why you want Vinyl back so badly?â Octaviaâs voice was so hoarse that Vinyl could barely hear it over the pounding in her ears. âYouâve done all this because you want to pit her against the princesses?â
Apparently yes.
âMy children are mine to do with what I will,â Voron announced.
No parent worth their salt would think something along the lines of that.
âYou canât make her take on four bloody alicorns alone!â
âShe will not be alone. Far from it.â
âYeah,â Vellum piped up.
âYou?â Octavia was clearly incredulous. âHer? You think sheâll be enough to turn the odds in your favour? At least with Vinyl, I could understand your thinking, but sending a little pegasus against four alicorns? Thatâs ludicrous. Especially one so tiny and weak looking. And you, youâre just an earth pony!â
With how many decades he spent courting mares... I'm sure he has quite the... army by now.
Vellum hissed.
âWell you are weak. You were barely able to hold me down when he was ⌠was drinking from me before.â Octaviaâs voice wavered as she spoke, but a strange kind of firmness coated her tone like a coating of liquid steel.
So... she was awake. Sorry Vinyl, it looks like your hopes of Octavia not being awake during that did not come to fruition, like you hoped in chapter... 4? She was in pain... and humiliated.
Tavi, what are you doing? Vinyl thought desperately. Shut up already! Donât say anymore!
Please, Octavia, don't say anymore!
âAnd Iâm just a plain old earth pony â and not one with muscles who works the land either. I donât even have magic, and you think youâll stand any kind of chance against Celestia and Luna? Not to mention Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight. Princess Cadence has the might of the whole Crystal Empire behind her and Twilight Sparkle is pretty much the most powerful pony who ever lived. Theyâll shrug you off like an ugly coat.â
Well, when she brings that up....
Tavi, youâre not this stupid!
Octavia....
Vellumâs growl was a feral noise straight out of a nightmare.
If Guiti did that growl in the audio, he nailed it!
âIf your fatherâs plans hinge on you, then he may as well run back to the mountains now with his tail between his legs because the age of vampires will never happen if youâre the best they have to offer.â
The growl rose to a screech of pure rage. âYou -â The vowels devolved into nothing more than a shriek and a mad flutter of wings.
âVellum, stop!â Voron roared.
Too late.
There was a wet ripping sound and the slosh of liquid. Octavia let out a screaming gurgle Vinyl recognized from all the years she went hunting with Vellum.
NO!!!
Her mind thinned to a silent scream that went on and on and on, wrapping around every thought and squeezing them into the same shape.
Tavi, NO!
NOOOOOO!!!
âAnd what, pray tell, brings you to my shop, traveller?â
Vanelda threw down the bag of coins, spilling its contents across the counter. The shopkeeperâs eyes went wide at the sight of gold. Judging by the amount of stock crammed into this place, he didnât make many sales, and certainly it had been a long time since he had seen money like this.
âThe Grimoire of Assidua Shadowhoof,â she hissed.
The cursed book!
The hoof that had been teasing a coin from the bag froze in mid-motion. âI think you are mistaken. That book does not exist, traveller.â
âIt does and I know you have it.â It had taken months to ascertain that the Grimoire of the dark mage was more than mere myth, and extreme pains to locate a genuine copy of her book, but Vanelda knew this was the place and that he was lying to her. All manner of items that âdid not existâ littered its shelves. A book written by Starswirlâs the Beardedâs disgraced student was not the most unusual thing within these walls.
âAssidua Shadowhoof is nothing more than a fairytale to scare naughty foals into eating their alfalfa,â the shopkeeper said. âThere is no historical evidence that-â
âLook, how about we stop this before we even start it? I know she existed. Iâve spent a long time verifying that fact. I know her book is real and that it is proof beyond doubt that there are such things as curses, and I also know thatâs why no copies were ever made and its very existence was hushed up by the Equestrian government so long ago than not even they remember why anymore. So how about we cut the crap and you just fork over what I want for the price Iâm willing to pay for it. Then I wonât have to either bring the Royal Guard down on this place like a ton of bricks or torch it to the ground myself.â
Dude, you better do as she says. If you knew what she was now....
It had taken nearly as long to steal that money as it had taken for her to traverse Equestria by her fatherâs side and formulate this plan. It was a ridiculously risky plan, but it was the best she could do and had taken months upon months of careful preparation to even get this far. She knew this was her first, last and only chance at saving herself from her fatherâs designs for her and finally, finally getting the normal life she desired more than anything else in this whole damn world.
The shopkeeper stared at her. She resisted the urge to retreat further into her hooded cape. She could not be denied this chance, damn it!
âWait here,â he muttered eventually.
Good choice.
Her ears flicked forward, listening for any hint of betrayal. Yet he returned a few moments later bearing a small, unassuming book bound in black. There was nothing written across its front or spine. Had it not been for its obvious age, it might have been mistaken for anyponyâs address book.
âThank you,â Vanelda snapped, scooping it up and taking her leave.
âIt wonât work, yâknow,â he called after her. âIâve tried every single thing written in there and none of them work.â
âWeâll see. Maybe you just didnât want them to work enough.â
âWell you arrogant littleââ
!!!
The door shut on what he was about to say.
However, Vanelda would have been lying to herself if she said his warning did not cross her mind as she stood in the forest clearing and chanted the incantation until her throat was raw. She ended her last repetition by punching the ground hard enough to leave a dent and shedding angry tears.
âWhy wonât you work?â she demanded of the book. âWhy!?â She threw it across the clearing, falling to her knees and biting back a scream. âWhy am I never allowed to be happy?â
You were never given the chance... until you met Octavia.
The image of a smiling grey mare fizzled through her mind. Clenching her jaw, she got up and fetched back the book, then picked up a stick and painstakingly drew the arcane symbols on the ground one more time, copying the illustration in the book exactly. When it was complete, she stood in the centre and sucked in a breath, pulling up every torturous memory of her father she could bear to remember â and many she couldnât. These were the reasons she was doing this. She crystalised that thougth and balanced it in her mind like a knife edge ready to cut the ties that bound her to him once and for all.
Do it Vinyl... DO IT!!!
âPlease let this work. Please, please, please let this work. I deserve to be happy. I do!â She closed her eyes and repeated the words she had been saying all evening, pouring every ounce of resolve into each syllable.
Octavia â
FOR OCTAVIA!!!
Pain ripped through her. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Her insides were on fire. Her brain was made of molten lead. Every single hair on her body sent up a cacophony of pain so visceral that she vomited back the meagre contents of her stomach and lay on the ground trying to retch up food that wasnât there. She raked at herself with her hooves, instinctively trying to open herself up to let the hurt out. Blood splattered the ground. A pushing, shoving, compressing feeling swept through her, and in its wake she felt empty, as if some integral part of her was suddenly gone.
No, not gone; merely buried so deep inside her that she couldnât sense it anymore.
It wasnât enough, but though she tried to say the words again, the connection would not break. It only stifled, leaving her mind curiously ⌠empty.
She could not feel her fatherâs presence anymore.
YES!!! IT WORKED!!!
Utterly spent, she flopped to the ground, unable to even open her eyes. Streaked in sweat, dirt and her own vomit, her triumphant smile remained fixed on her lips. It was still there when she awoke, unaware until that moment that she had passed out.
A timber wolf blow hot breath into her face.
Spoke too soon....
It must have been attracted by the noise. She bared her fangs at it, letting it know it was facing another apex predator. Yet the sting of elongating teeth did not come. Her eyes did not prickle into full red. She hissed, but it was the weak hiss of a newborn kitten, and the light from the timber wolfâs glowing green eyes hurt to look at, but the rest of it was bathed in gloom she could not see through. She was practically blind in the nightâs darkness.
She wanted to laugh. She wanted to whoop and yell with delight. Yet she could do nothing but hang limply as the gigantic timber wolf picked her up and carried her away. Its sharp wooden teeth cut into her sides, eliciting a groan of pain.
The irony of her situation was too cruel. Here she had finally done the impossible and her reward was to be a meal for some creature made of twigs and leaves?
Yeah... the irony is way too strong here.
The sound of rushing water signalled that the wolf was trotting along the riverbank. Well, at least it was taking her further away from Canterlot. She hoped her father never found her body. She would die a mortal pony, or as close as she could to being one. If nothing else, she had reclaimed that part of herself at last.
Better late than never.
Suddenly the timber wolf stopped. A growled reverberated up its throat and through her. A similar growl echoed from ahead of them and a set of glowing green eyes stepped out of the underbrush. The two timber wolves circled each other, clearly vying for the prey the first had caught. Vanelda jerked and swung as the second wolf snapped, trying to grab her out of the first oneâs jaws. The first wolf snarled, lifting its head to keep her for itself. Her hind legs flopped about uselessly, but her forelegs were locked around the book held to her chest as if her muscles were made of stone. The second wolf raised itself onto its forelegs, the better to snatch her away, but left its belly exposed. The wold holding her lashed out with its claws, sending a spray of wood exploding away from them. The second wold howled and staggered back, forelegs smacking the first wolf in the face by accident more than design.
Yowch!
And then Vanelda was in the air. She flew to a zenith and then began her descent. She fully expected to die splattered against the ground, and so was doubly surprised when she was instead enveloped in water. Her head broke the surface with a gasp and she struggled weakly to stay afloat and hold the precious book out of the water as she was carried away by the current.
No! I wonât die like this! she thought grimly. I refuse to die like this! not now! Not after everything Iâve been through to get this far!
No way! Not like that!
Her horn burned like there were red hot needles being pushed through her forehead and into her brain, but she forced her way through the pain barrier and buoyed herself upwards enough that she wouldnât drown. She didnât have enough strength to get herself to shore, but she could at least keep herself from drowning or crashing against rocks that would shatter her suddenly fragile body to pieces.
By the time she washed up on shore she was more miles away than she could count. Her magic fizzled and died, leaving her coughing and panting in a mudbank amidst the debris that had collected there.
She didnât know how long she lay there. It may have been minutes. It may have been hours. The world became nothing more than a freezing, hazy collection of half-numb sensations and things that might have been dreams or could have been reality.
She's fading in and out!
â⌠sweet CelestiaâŚâ
â⌠ambulanceâŚâ
â⌠worry sweetheart, the paramedics are on their âŚâ
â⌠just found her laying thereâŚâ
â⌠no identificationâŚâ
â⌠Jane Doe âŚâ
Nevermind, she's saved!
She awoke to a sterile room and the sense that she should have been smelling disinfectant even more strongly than she could. Noises clattered but they were distant and indistinct in a way sound never had been for her before. She blinked up at the ceiling, trying to gather herself together piece by fragmented piece.
âAh, youâre awake,â said a cheerful voice.
âHmm?â With effort, she turned her head. A yellow pony in a nurseâs cap leaned over her, beaming like she had pulled Vanelda back from the edge of oblivion personally. âBwuh?â
âItâs okay, chickadee, just relax. Youâre in the hospital.â
Probably for the very first time as a patient.
âHospâtal?â The word had a blurry quality thanks to her excessively dry mouth. She coughed. Her whole body hurt with every movement.
âHold steady there,â the nurse soothed. âYouâve been through a lot.â
âMâbookâŚâ
âYour book? Itâs in your personal effects locker. We practically had to crowbar that smelly old thing from you when you cvame in. it must be mighty important.â
You have no idea.
Vanelda fell back against the pillow, gasping slightly for air. ââTis. Vey imporânt.â She swallowed. âWaâer?â
âWater? Here you go, now sip it slowly through the straw.â
She drank gratefully and greedily until the nurse pulled the glass away.
âNow, chickadee, Iâm going to need you to answer me some questions, okay? Do you think youâre up to that?â
âMrrf.â
âNothing too taxing. First off, I need to know your name, chickadee.â
Oh... the name.
She froze. âI ⌠I âŚâ Struck by sudden inspiration, she finished: âI donât remember.â
The nurse frowned. âOh dear. Do you remember what you were doing in the water three nights ago?â
Had it really been three nights already? Daddy would be livid. She froze again as the thought struck her that she didnât have to call him that anymore. She could call him by his actual name. She didnât have to acknowledge his hold over her any longer.
Voron would be livid.
Yeah, Voron, and not Daddy.
The thought was new and thrilling.
Voron did not know where she was.
Without the connection to her mind, Voron could not find her.
Voron would think she was dead after the connection broke, since the only reason his blood link with his children ever broke was when they died.
Free at last!!!
âIs that a smile I see? Do you remember your name, chickadee?â
She forced the smile away. âNo. I just ⌠Iâm happy Iâm alive.â
The nurse beamed. âYou should be, you had a real lucky escape, doncha know. Uh, I donât suppose you can remember the name of somepony we could call to, ah, come fill out some forms with your personal details, do you?â
One name appeared in her mind. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to say it.
âOctavia Philharmonica.â
I'm sure that'll be the best trip to the hospital she will ever have! OCTASCRATCH FOREVER!!!
If I could have one guest chapter, I'd either shelter Vinyl and Octavia in a Night Trap style rigged mansion, have my character dance as Voron's forces tried and failed to assault him for the code to the vampire-proof vault, and have them all their vampire-ness drained into rounded red rocks...
...or burst into Vinyl's house with either:
-Alucard's Casull (bullets are made of an alloy containing the Manchester Silver Cross) and Jackal (6 13mm explosive armor-piercing "Macedonian silver casing with blessed mercury tip" NNA-9 Marvel cartridges per mag) or -a pair of pistols loaded with T.R.A.X. (Trace, Research, Analyze, eXterminate) silver specials (all sorts of nasty business)
...and shoot Voron and Vellum clean in the head/heart.
Clarification: Sliver Specials are silver hollow-point rounds that contain:
Holy water Wood splints Salt Pyrotechnic agents [Classified item]
tl;dr: "They will get you dead, even if ya already been that way." -Officer Graves
P.S: If you don't think either gun can cut the mustard, I could always send in Falak wielding the Harkonnen.
There's such a good contrast of loss and freedom in this chapter. Honestly, the present-past storytelling you opted for here is delicious. It really weaves the urban fantasy vibe the present has with the grim fairytale past that Vinyl has going on.
âOr a fucking sneak-thief who stole my big sister and poisoned her fucking mind!â Vellum shrieked, all trace of humour suddenly gone from her voice. âItâs your fault she left us! If she had never met you, none of this would have happened! Weâd have stayed a family!â
Or maybe she left due to an toxic family?
âCelestiaâs rule rendered my people a frugal life fighting over scraps in the mountains while ponies roamed freely and without predators under her protection in this lush land. He interrupted the natural order of things by protecting you weak creatures. Why should ponies be the only species to escape the natural cycle? Why should vampires be so thoroughly banished that every mare, stallion and foal thinks them nothing but mere legend? Well I say no more!â Voron snarled. âWith my children, I shall wrest this land from Celestia and her filthy alicorns! Then the age of the vampires can begin when they are gone!â
That actually reminds me of the plan of the vampire Harkon from the Skyrim DLC Dawnguard. With the same flaws. Even if he beats Celestia and takes over the country, the ponies will probably panic at first, but then work together to drive him out again. It doesn't even matter if he can fight against a dozen ponies at the same time, if he is facing hundreds. And for each pony he managed to beat there will be immediately serveral other ponies to continue the fight. Not even he can fight forever. And once he is beaten the enraged ponies will roam the entire country, searching and eventually finding all other vamponies. Remember, the vamponies greatest asset at this time is the fact no one knows they exist. And once this advantage is gone, combined with the impression all vamponies are evil...
Weird turn for Voron. :/ I already hate him to death because he's a manipulative, abusive tyrant. Being a megalomaniac really adds nothing but comic bookish melodrama to him, for all that his motivations fit. But really, the fact that he's treated Vinyl (and Vellum!) so terribly throughout her life, the fact of what he's done here, in her home, is so much greater a crime than any delusions of world conquest. The scope of this story is personal, not grandiose.
Also, lucky thing ancient, forgotten grimoires are not easy to identify for what they are. :V
How many chapters are there in this story
10462184
Eleven plus an epilogue.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy to see a new chapter and to hear a new recording !
Ooo. THAT thing from the beginning did NOT sound good đ°.
Sweet Celestia am I glad this story is still alive. A good vampony story is hard to come by now.
please tell me you haven't killed octavia, i mean i know it's grimdarck but still
Octavia meant to get herself killed there, didn't she, to remove herself as the bargain chip.... That is, just wow
So, is this a once a year October update thing?
10462594
It's the end of a three year set of uploads. The finale will come out on October 31st.
Yay! I didn't expect this story when I saw there was a new chapter in my tracking list, though always happy to read another chapter!
I feel like Vinylâs vampire side is going to boot into overdrive from rage... bloodlust may be dangerous, but a bloodrage is worse.
I love this story so much
Octavia's definitely trying to sacrifice herself so that vinyl has no reason to submit to voron. With one chapter left im excited to see how this resolves.
Vampires while filled with impressive power have always made me think of parasites, like bedbugs, ticks, mosquitos, lampreys. They're just filthy blood suckers who go around spreading their filthy disease. Voron is just a coward and a pathetic old man. Vallum is a spoiled, homicidal petulant child. At least Vinyl was able to see the wrongs committed and changed.
I think that's a rather kind thing to say given all they've done... don't you think Octi? Evil cannot even begin to come close to describing these two!
I already know what that sounds like. Thanks, Guti Serenade.
Correction: A sneak thief who came and gave Vinyl the happiness she needed and the drive she needed to be free of her so called, 'life'! You're are right about one thing Vellum... if Octavia hadn't met her, none of what Vinyl did to get away from you would've happened at all!
Whoa, was not expecting that!
For a heated moment there.... yeah.
Why do you think dumbass.
Great Celestia....
Maybe not one-on-one but....
Apparently yes.
No parent worth their salt would think something along the lines of that.
With how many decades he spent courting mares... I'm sure he has quite the... army by now.
So... she was awake. Sorry Vinyl, it looks like your hopes of Octavia not being awake during that did not come to fruition, like you hoped in chapter... 4? She was in pain... and humiliated.
Please, Octavia, don't say anymore!
Well, when she brings that up....
Octavia....
If Guiti did that growl in the audio, he nailed it!
NO!!!
NOOOOOO!!!
The cursed book!
Dude, you better do as she says. If you knew what she was now....
Good choice.
!!!
You were never given the chance... until you met Octavia.
Do it Vinyl... DO IT!!!
FOR OCTAVIA!!!
YES!!! IT WORKED!!!
Spoke too soon....
Yeah... the irony is way too strong here.
Better late than never.
Yowch!
No way! Not like that!
She's fading in and out!
Nevermind, she's saved!
Probably for the very first time as a patient.
You have no idea.
Oh... the name.
Yeah, Voron, and not Daddy.
Free at last!!!
I'm sure that'll be the best trip to the hospital she will ever have! OCTASCRATCH FOREVER!!!
10464134
Preach it.
If I could have one guest chapter, I'd either shelter Vinyl and Octavia in a Night Trap style rigged mansion, have my character dance as Voron's forces tried and failed to assault him for the code to the vampire-proof vault, and have them all their vampire-ness drained into rounded red rocks...
...or burst into Vinyl's house with either:
-Alucard's Casull (bullets are made of an alloy containing the Manchester Silver Cross) and Jackal (6 13mm explosive armor-piercing "Macedonian silver casing with blessed mercury tip" NNA-9 Marvel cartridges per mag)
or
-a pair of pistols loaded with T.R.A.X. (Trace, Research, Analyze, eXterminate) silver specials (all sorts of nasty business)
...and shoot Voron and Vellum clean in the head/heart.
Clarification: Sliver Specials are silver hollow-point rounds that contain:
Holy water
Wood splints
Salt
Pyrotechnic agents
[Classified item]
tl;dr: "They will get you dead, even if ya already been that way." -Officer Graves
P.S: If you don't think either gun can cut the mustard, I could always send in Falak wielding the Harkonnen.
P.P.S: Is it obvious I'm ing furious at Voron?
A very dark story, but for some reason I can't wait for the final chapter.
There's such a good contrast of loss and freedom in this chapter. Honestly, the present-past storytelling you opted for here is delicious. It really weaves the urban fantasy vibe the present has with the grim fairytale past that Vinyl has going on.
Or maybe she left due to an toxic family?
That actually reminds me of the plan of the vampire Harkon from the Skyrim DLC Dawnguard.
With the same flaws.
Even if he beats Celestia and takes over the country, the ponies will probably panic at first, but then work together to drive him out again.
It doesn't even matter if he can fight against a dozen ponies at the same time, if he is facing hundreds. And for each pony he managed to beat there will be immediately serveral other ponies to continue the fight.
Not even he can fight forever.
And once he is beaten the enraged ponies will roam the entire country, searching and eventually finding all other vamponies. Remember, the vamponies greatest asset at this time is the fact no one knows they exist. And once this advantage is gone, combined with the impression all vamponies are evil...
You tried to cross the border, right?
Good chapter!
I enjoyed reading it.
Weird turn for Voron. :/ I already hate him to death because he's a manipulative, abusive tyrant. Being a megalomaniac really adds nothing but comic bookish melodrama to him, for all that his motivations fit. But really, the fact that he's treated Vinyl (and Vellum!) so terribly throughout her life, the fact of what he's done here, in her home, is so much greater a crime than any delusions of world conquest. The scope of this story is personal, not grandiose.
Also, lucky thing ancient, forgotten grimoires are not easy to identify for what they are. :V