Vamp!

Vamp! III - Chapter 4 D

On the mountain path.
Ferret and the others waited. The suit of armor remained silent.
"...What is the meaning of this? I will not take silence for an answer." Ferret said, cold fury running through her words. The werewolves around her exchanged glances.
Their purpose was not to kill the armored man. It was to prevent Ferret from making an attempt on the man's life. This was why they had been hoping he would quickly surrender.
"...?"
But the werewolves, their senses intently focused on the man's movements, realized something. Their noses began twitching.
"What...? Ferret. His scent--"
It had disappeared from within the suit of armor.
But before the werewolf could finish his sentence, the wind changed direction ever-so-slightly. The werewolves froze.
The scent of the armor's wearer was now coming from a point that had until just now been downwind.
"...!"
The werewolves turned to the source of the scent. Val, Ferret, and Doctor followed suit.
There they spotted a lone figure.
"...Huh...?"
'Who is that?'
This was the question on the minds of most who had glimpsed the figure. He was slender, and had a still-somewhat childlike face. He was not very tall, perhaps reaching up to the armor's chest-level at most. His mostly white Gothic outfit made him look very much like a local resident out to enjoy the festival.
But the werewolves, who were tracking him by his scent, and Doctor, who knew his face, had already realized the truth. This young man was the wearer of that seemingly indomitable suit of armor.
"Bastard... I didn't even see him slip out of his armor!"
The werewolves looked on in shock. The young man's eyes were practically burning with outrage, his gaze unquestionably directed at Doctor.
"Rudy..."
Doctor called his name with his emotions concealed, recognizing the boy from the past in the young man's features. At that point, Rudy's gaze fell to his own two hands. He lightly clenched his fists.
Less than a second later, a powerful noise echoed across the mountainside.
At the same time, the thick tree trunk that had been next to Rudy disappeared. The firm trunk had been carved out, leaving behind fist-sized gashes. Then there was a sudden cry of pain as one of the werewolves doubled over on the ground, holding his arm.
"...?! What happened?!"
The other werewolves turned to their friend. His arm was bent at an unnatural angle, and in front of him was the large chunk of wood that had left him in such a state.
"That bastard... Did he tear out and toss the tree trunk?!"
Many Eaters and werewolves possessed enough strength to break tree trunks barehanded. But to carve out a tree trunk was a different story altogether. It was a feat requiring incredible speed and power.
What bewildered the werewolves most, however, was the fact that they had been focusing on Rudy's movements from the beginning. In spite of this, none of them had been able to catch the sight of him taking action.
"Urgh! Shit... Wh-what happened to me?!" The injured werewolf cried, clutching his broken arm. The other 'monsters' gathered around him could not give an answer.
A tense silence filled the area. The lively chatter coming from the castle bounced off the foliage, creating an eerie chorus of noise.
'Yeah. Yes. I... I can do it. I still have this power.'
Looking down at his clenched fists, Rudy brought back to mind the fact of his own power. And remembering that there was one thing he needed to confirm, he turned his sights on Doctor.
"...I'm amazed. So you were holding back all this time."
Doctor had withdrawn his expression of surprise. He taunted Rudy with a malicious grin.
"Then I guess I'll have to get serious, huh." Doctor said, as though he had been hiding something up his sleeve. But the air around Rudy was different from the air around the suit of armor. He was wearing a terrifying, icy smile.
"Yeah. Let's see. I want to know just how strong you really are."
Rudy's form vanished from the mountain path.
To be precise, he had merely leapt into the air from where he stood. But his dizzying speed deceived the eyes of all who watched.
Doctor, however, kept his eyes solidly trained upon his old friend. Rudy was indeed quick, but Doctor knew he could keep up with that level of speed.
The moment this thought went through his head, Rudy was already passing by him.
"...?!"
Taken by surprise at Rudy's feint, Doctor looked up at the vampire in Rudy's sights.
By then, the scene was already unfolding before his eyes.
The alraune who had up until this point been nothing but an observer was being hoisted into the air, Rudy's grip around her creaking neck.
"Agh... Ugh..."
"Selim?!"
Doctor, the jester, and Val in his monstrous form froze. Rudy, however, did not avert his gaze from Doctor. And as though having waited for the moment Doctor finally understood what was happening before him, he stepped back with his free hand spread open. He held his flesh-and-nails hand at Selim's face as though he would a knife.
It was clear from his show of strength with the tree trunk that his hand was, in fact, more destructive than a bladed weapon.
Without hesitation, he thrust that weapon into her face. The face of a girl he had never even spoken to.
There was a sickening noise. A gush of blood disappeared into the dark of night.
But that blood did not belong to the alraune.
"Heh... Heh... Ahahahahahahahahaha!"
Just as Ferret and the others realized what was happening, Rudy's laughter assaulted their ears.
The subject of his entertainment was Doctor, who had reached out his arm into the way of Rudy's attack. In exchange for diverting the blow, he had lost his hand.
Rudy let go of Selim with a mocking chuckle and leapt back. With his face twisted into a euphoric smile, he turned towards Doctor.
"Who knew you'd be the type to protect your friends? Is it because you're both vampires? But either way, Theo, you have no idea how happy I am! Now... Now I can finally bring you despair!"
Doctor's severed right hand turned to fog and instantly returned to his body, fully intact. But that resilience mattered nothing to Rudy at this point. His entire body trembled as he spread his arms wide and looked up at the skies.
"Theo. Theo! Hah! You have no idea. You have no idea how happy I am. I'm finally going to get my revenge. I'll take away everything you hold dear. I'll crush it all and make them beg for mercy. Then the past will finally come full circle. Yeah. Yeah... I'm going to become what you were, back on that day you took everything from me!"
As Rudy laughed like a madman, something tugged at his thoughts.
'What did I just say?'
The same thought had occurred to him earlier that day, but at the time he had desperately rejected the notion. He had been ashamed of what he had done to the boy named Mihail and his vampire companion. He had wept on the seaside, disgusted at himself and horrified.
'But this time... why am I accepting the idea of becoming Theo? No, that's not the right question. Why did I reject that idea before? Why was I crying earlier?'
Then, Rudy realized the truth. He had been intoxicated.
He was drunk on his own power, finally allowed to break free of the restraints of the suit of armor. He was drunk on the joyful prospective of finally making a break from his past. And most of all, he was drunk on the objective truth of the fact that he was no longer the victim, but the devastator.
He knew he was toying with a terrible and dangerous thought. But he did not reject it.
After all, he was no longer scared of Theo.
Nothing could scare him now.
"Rudy..."
No sooner had Doctor called his name in an anguished voice than was his tiny form thrown backwards, past Selim and into a tree trunk.
"Ugh..."
Rudy had appeared before his eyes before he had even realized what was happening, thrusting a hand at Doctor's jaw and sending him flying into a tree.
'I couldn't even see him move.'
Rudy's movements when he was approaching Selim earlier had been slow enough for Doctor's eyes to follow. But this time, his mind did not even have the time to register the fact of Rudy's movement. The swipe at Selim earlier must have been a deliberately slowed show of strength on Rudy's part, intended to provoke a reaction out of Doctor.
The moment he completed this analysis, Rudy's hand sliced apart his body diagonally from the shoulder to the waist.
"...!"
Having once more regained some semblance of calm, Rudy spat with an icy look:
"You just stand there and watch."
Before he even completed his sentence, Rudy tore at Doctor's body with his bare hands. His arms flew like a pair of whips, eating away at bits of flesh from Doctor's body.
One cut after another after another after another.
It was a mechanical series of blows, driving into Doctor's body with unmatched cruelty.
Flesh was ripped from Doctor's childlike body as though he were being shot from the side. Each hit left him reeling in excruciating agony.
If Rudy were to use the silver blades equipped on the suit of armor, he could likely cause Theo even more damage. But in spite of this knowledge, he chose to feel the sensation of destroying his enemy's body with his own two hands.
The force of the blows was such that Theo was pinned to the tree trunk, unable to even fall forward.
"You just watch. I'll make you hear their screams of pain. The sound of them begging for their lives and cursing the fact that you ever existed! After all, if you never existed, none of your friends here would have had to die!"
So suddenly did the brutal scene begin that for a moment, the vampires and werewolves of Waldstein Castle could not bring themselves to move. But as they finally returned to their senses, they charged at their enemy one after another.
Rudy did not even have to turn around to sense the presence that bore down upon him from his blind spot.
'This presence... It's that girl from before. Perfect. I'll start by lopping off her head.'
The hands that had been gouging out Doctor's body stopped for an instant. Rudy's attention was being turned to Ferret, who was approaching him from behind.
In the midst of the pain that assaulted his senses, Doctor realized what Rudy was planning to do, and finally raised his voice.
"...! STOP!"
The look of anguish on Doctor's face filled Rudy with a sense of elation.
'Yeah. That's perfect. That's the face I wanted to see.'
What he had been searching for all this time was finally right before his eyes. A pitiful scream filled with fear and sorrow.
But Rudy's movement did not slow.
'After sorrow... comes despair.'
He turned around, putting himself in the perfect position to cut off the girl's head.
But as he reached out with his hand, he was struck by an overwhelming wave of agony.
'...?!'
Rudy froze as though struck by sudden paralysis. Spurred by the momentum of his attempted attack, he spun where he stood and fell to the ground.
"What...?"
Even Ferret had been taken by surprise at the turn of events. She found herself stopping where she stood and looked down at the fallen Eater.
The young man was twitching violently as though being electrocuted. His eyes rolled back as he gasped for breath with an agonized expression.
"Rudy...?" Doctor called nervously.
Rudy's only response was a furious look of loathing, communicated with difficulty through his bulging eyes.
'Shut up! Don't say my name! I don't need your pity!'
Rudy felt as though he was being torn apart from the inside. Pain ran through his body in waves both dull and sharp. But he desperately clung to consciousness, using his hatred of Theo as an anchor to the waking world.
'Shit... Damn it! Why now...?! Why so soon?!"
The vampires could do little but look around at one another in confusion. But the werewolves stepped forward, in front of Ferret, and surrounded Rudy as he lay twitching on the ground.
"Dunno 'bout all the details, but let's just chop off his head."
"Do not kill him. But it's probably a good idea to break his arms and legs, just in case."
As the werewolves began to discuss their plans for the Eater, Doctor spoke up without thinking.
"H-hey... Hold on."
"Finally talking like a kid, Doc. What, get tired of acting like an old fogey?"
Though the werewolves had only now realized the change in Doctor's attitude, they did not even wait for him to reply as they continued talking amongst themselves.
"...We get there's some bad blood between this bastard and Doctor, but he tried to kill Selim and hurt Mihail and Ferret."
"Wh-what about me?" The injured werewolf said from a slight distance, but the blue-haired werewolf ignored him and turned to Ferret.
"...What are your orders?"
"My decision remains unchanged. I will be satisfied so long as this man leaves the island and never enters my sight again."
In spite of her composure, Ferret was fighting her own anger. She had tried to suppress her bloodlust alone, but nothing she did could hold it back. But each time she came close to the breaking point, she remembered Mihail's face. His image neutralized the hostility that threatened to boil over into violence.
'...Honestly...'
Understanding that Mihail was a part of her heart even now, Ferret sighed in defeat.
"Say... Why did he fall over all of a sudden?"
"Maybe it was his lunch."
"I'm more curious about who this guy is."
"Seriously. We dodged a bullet there."
"We were lucky." "Luck is a skill, too." "Really? So this is all because we're actually seriously skilled?" "We're pretty amazing, huh?" "Heh heh heh... To grasp victory without lifting a finger... That is the way of the shin kage-ryu vampires." "The hell's that supposed to be?" "Ugh, ouch... Guys! What happened while I was out cold?"
The freeloader vampires, finally released from the tension in the air, returned to their usual chatter.
"Anyway, about that safe of yours, Doc..." One of the vampires said.
But he was cut off by a shadow passing by before his eyes.
"?"
By the time he began to wonder what it could have been, a second shadow, and a third passed before him.
"Are these... bats? Did somebody transform?"
Were they merely wild bats, the vampires wondered, but the flock steadily grew in number and began to circle around Rudy as though in an attempt to distract the werewolves.
"What is this?!"
The werewolves took a step away from the Eater, leaving a gap where they had been standing. The flock of bats converged there, creating a single figure.
"...Who are you?" Ferret asked. The figure finally took on colors and the fabric of clothing materialized as he regained his form. The man bowed courteously.
"I apologize for the sudden nature of this visit. My name is Melhilm Herzog. I am an old friend of your father's, as well as the former overseer of your birth parents."
"Pardon?"
It took Ferret some time to process the meaning of the second part of Melhilm's introduction. But as soon as the realization hit her, blood drained from her face.
"Of course, it seems that some of those gathered here have no need for introductions."
"Mr. Melhilm..."
Val's illusionary body broke out into cold sweat and turned his gaze towards his creator. The jester was wearing a clearly uncomfortable look. The freeloader vampires were huddled behind the werewolves. But without sparing them a glance, Melhilm mechanically reached over to Rudy and pulled him to his feet.
"Rudy. How many times must I remind you to never unleash your full strength when fighting alone?"
Rudy's moans of pain were silenced as Melhilm put a hand over his mouth before giving him an injection in the back of the neck.
"The pain will subside soon enough. Take deep breaths. My word... I don't recall giving you permission to remove your armor." Melhilm mumbled. But he quickly spotted Rudy's helm rolling around the mountainside.
"Ah, so it was forcibly taken off of you. Then I suppose you had no other choice."
Melhilm looked around once more, and turned his gaze to a point further up the path.
"...You are late, Sigmund."
It sounded as though he was speaking to himself. The werewolves quickly turned their attention to their surroundings, expecting Melhilm's allies to arrive. That was when they realized what was happening around them.
The lively chatter that had been echoing from the castle had been all but silenced. They could still hear music and singing from the direction of the festivities, but the presence of people had been sucked out of the ambience.
A moment later, a great wave appeared at the top of the mountain path.
The wave approached like a tsunami, bent on destruction as it slowly descended the slope.
Ferret stared into the darkness. The identity of this great mass soon dawned on her.
It was a mass of humans, thousands--perhaps tens of thousands--strong, making their way down the mountain in utter silence.
"What...?!" Ferret gasped.
"Allow me to make things clear. This is the ability of my friend Sigmund Kiparis. It is no different from the subjugation imposed by ordinary vampires. Of course, Sigmund is capable of using airborne infection to subjugate up to a hundred thousand humans at once..." Melhilm trailed off. But his brief explanation was enough for Ferret to understand in horror what exactly was happening to the people of the island.
Normally, she would have scoffed at the idea of a vampire subjugating humans through airborne infection. But the sight of the crowds in the distance were proof enough that Melhilm's claim was a genuine one.
"Sigmund is in the process of gathering eighty percent of the island's human population at this point. Those occupied in essential facilities like power plants, of course, have been left untouched to make the task of covering our tracks easier."
The image of a certain boy flashed through Ferret's thoughts.
'Then what of Mihail?'
Fraught with worry for the human boy she had left in the hospital, Ferret quickly began to lose her grip on her composure. She walked up to Melhilm, grabbed him by the collar, and asked:
"...For what goal are you doing all this?"
"'Goal'? I'm afraid you'll have to give me a clearer definition. You refer to the goal of the Organization? Or the goals held by me, the individual? Caldimir's goal, of course, is the petty act of bringing trouble upon Gerhardt."
Ferret tensed as the man continued at length with names she did not recognize. The subjugated humans were still descending the mountainside. And just as the freeloader vampires attempted to escape towards the base of the slope, they discovered yet another wave of humans approaching from below.
"This ain't good."
"I guess we could transform into bats and run. But then what?"
"Ferret and Selim can't transform, you know."
Whether or not they tried to hide their growing worry, the humans continued to draw near. They said absolutely nothing as they advanced, but their silence only deepened Ferret's fear.
They came down like sand in an hourglass, or perhaps an avalanche in slow motion. Like a languid school of sharks slowly cutting through the darkness. People, people, people. A mass of people gathered around them with no gap in sight.
The silent wave was now a mere hundred meters away. Ferret let go of Melhilm's collar and carefully picked out words of negotiation.
"What is it that you people want from us? Why would you stoop so low as to involve all these innocent humans?!"
The image of Mihail lying in his hospital bed flashed through her thoughts. It then shifted into the image of Mihail being subjugated by some unfamiliar vampire, turned into a hostage--or worse, made to swing his fists at her--the fists with which he had defended her earlier that very day. A chill ran down her spine and a scream escaped her lips.
Melhilm snorted in response, his expression ever unchanging.
"To answer your question, one of the purposes of my visit today is to reclaim something that rightfully belongs to me. The other--though it has no direct connection to you--is... Hm?"
Before Melhilm could go on, the mountainside was swept up in the very same scene as before.
A single bat passed by before Melhilm's eyes. A strange cacophony of noise descended rapidly from overhead.
A moment later, his line of sight was completely obscured by a thick shadow. The streetlights illuminated nothing in the pitch-black darkness of the mountainside, the only clarity being the powerful wingbeats filling Melhilm's ears.
The identity of the blackness was clear. It was a massive flock of bats concentrated in one area--the same tactic Melhilm favored.
'These bats... they outnumber even mine!'
Even the subjugated humans stopped where they stood.
But in the sight filled with humans and bats, Melhilm caught sight of a strange object out of the corner of his eyes.
There was a great hole in the ground, lined with the fangs of a wolf.
"What... In the world...?"
He struggled to get a closer look, but the bats were too much; the maw disappeared from view.
"Damn it!"
By the time he was finally freed from the living smokescreen, the hole in the ground had already vanished. The bats dove into the earth as though having waited for that very moment, melting into the very ground.
The darkness passed, and the path was once more illuminated by the street lamp.
"...?!"
But all Melhilm saw were the trees trembling in the wind, the waves of humans approaching him, and Rudy, who was just beginning to overcome his gasps of pain. Ferret, Valdred, the jester, the werewolves, and the other vampires had vanished without a trace, as though having melted into the flock of bats.
'What is happening here?"
"What's going on here, sir?" A woman asked from behind him, echoing his own sentiments. Melhilm did not need to turn to identify the owner of the voice. It was Theresia, who had followed after him through the throngs of people.
"You are late, Theresia." Melhilm spat.
But Theresia ignored him and went straight for Rudy, anxiously cradling her childhood friend in her arms.
"Rudy! What's happened to you?! How could you go off on your own like that...?! You know what happens when you fight at full strength without your armor!"
Perhaps her voice had snapped him back into consciousness; Rudy slowly opened his eyes, taking deep breaths.
"Theo... Where's Theo...? I don't care what happens to me. I don't care... But... but I have to make him suffer... I have to make him know despair..." He gasped.
Even under the dim lights it was clear to Theresia that Rudy was in ill health. The veins crisscrossing his body were fully visible under his skin. The whites of his eyes were clouded yellow, and there were purplish cracks all over his body--wounds that did not bleed, likely because his circulatory system had ceased to function.
It was a sight for panic, if nothing else, but Melhilm stoically observed the scene. From the way Rudy and Theresia were reacting to the former's physical state, they clearly knew what it was that led to this condition.
"Rudy... please. Please don't do anything stupid. If you died alone before me... if you died killing Theo, I... I wouldn't have any reason to live on." Theresia whispered, holding Rudy in her arms, "Please don't forget, Rudy. Ever since that day... we've been on the same boat."
"That is quite enough of losing yourself to your emotions, Theresia. Now, seek out the presence of vampires other than myself in this area." Melhilm commanded plainly.
Theresia nodded. Rudy shakily got to his feet with her support, having finally recovered from his pain.
"Sir. An immense presence had been spread over this area not very long ago, but that presence has now taken a singular form and is currently moving alongside many other vampires."
"I see. Which direction?"
When Theresia gave her answer, Melhilm's eyes grew nostalgic.
"S-sir. They're... they seem to be moving under the earth."
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