Ginji

Ginji has snapped

~ Ginji ~

A darkly varnished wooden door in the back of the living room opened into an elevator. My face gazed back at me from the mirrored walls. To the right of the door was a thin, blue, glowing panel with many numbers running down it all the way to B-64. If I had to guess that means this mansion has sixty four floors!

Takeo joins me after I step through. There are a total of four main floors, each identical to one another and only accessible through the roof hatch and then a series of elevators. Basically, the damn mansion is one big, luxurious maze. Oh how fun... Not. According to Takeo, the very first floor of the mansion is a decoy and above it are several tons of steel before actually getting into the group's quarters.

Pulling the door closed, Takeo hits the B-64 button on the lift panel. It flashes, doing a complete scan. So much security for one building, how paranoid must he be?

The lift sinks slowly, telling me we will be descending for a while. Try as I might to strike up a conversation with Takeo, he still can't be bothered talking. This guy is lazy in every aspect!

Not even a squeak is heard within the lift until it finally dings and the door opens onto the broadest room I've ever seen. The floors, walls, and ceilings are made from giant slabs of steel or some kind of grate like metal. Some are dented, while others have huge tear marks or burn holes in them. A strong stench of dried blood wafted through the stale air.

To the left and right of the doorway are open rooms, left is beds and right is a fancy dining area complete with a kitchen and a meat locker. Weapons hang all along the painted red metal walls in the diner and one really catches my attention. Never before have I seen such beauty and craftsmanship, it's as if the sword is calling to me.

"That is the Soul destroyer you're looking at, Ginji. Cost me a few million to acquire that greatsword. It is called the Soul destroyer because when enemies saw that huge blade being swung at them their souls were broken and they accepted death. Oh yeah, because Dark threw you out of the window you don't have your toys do you?"

"They're not toys!" I yell whilst Takeo laughs.

"My bad, keep it cool. If you want you can have that sword, I warn you though it's really heavy, And you have to do every single chore whilst we train here for the next five days."

"I really want to hit you, you know that, right? But since you are giving me a sword worth millions I'll try not to complain. Why are you giving it to me anyway? You barely know me and it's worth a lot."

"Money means nothing to me. Once I die my entire fortune is to be divided amongst charities, mainly animal shelters. I'm a big animal lover, but I don't think I am responsible enough to be in charge of one. I would have given you the sword either way, I don't care, but I'm happy I don't have to do much for the next five days. Cheers, Ginji." Takeo walks away, stripping off his clothes as he goes.

Mixed emotions run through me, but I can't help it that I still want to punch this lazy asshole. How he even found enough motivation to walk was utterly outstanding. He isn't a wolf, he's a damn sloth. Oh well, at least I get me a new weapon out of this. Never wielded a greatsword before.

Longer than my body, it's slim yet curvy, and has two handles in an upside down L shape pattern. One at the base of the blade and another a few hands up. The handles are black and the blade itself is a darker red than the paint behind it.

A truly stunning blade, yet Takeo was right, it's bloody heavy. If I can perhaps master wielding it with only a single arm my sword play would drastically increase. I have no idea what training I'm about to receive, but it seriously can't be harder than the regime Vetis put me through.

Just holding this sword in my right hand alone is strenuous; still I will endure and proceed. As I approach Takeo in the far distance of the room he transforms into his human wolf hybrid mode, different from his other transformation.

He stands on towering hind legs and has spiky hair trailing from his head all the way down his back and along his two tails. Deep yellow eyes stare back at me from a menacing wolf's face. The only weapons he holds are his own huge claws. Whatever kind of training he is about to put me through, it seems intriguing.

"Okay, Ginji, for the next five days we are going to try to kill each other. I am guessing by now that you are fine with that idea. We hybrids heal fast and depending on our diet even faster. In the meat locker are demon corpses, obviously reverted back to their human forms, but they were all strong. Just please try not to die, I really don't want to have to do any cooking or cleaning." Takeo stops speaking and gives a cheesy grin in wolf form. It looks... very bizarre. Without warning, he lunges at me.

I thought he was fast before, but now he's nothing more than a blur. So fast my eyes can't keep track. I have to use Time stop and just in time too.

Takeo is certainly trying to kill me; two of his claws already graze my throat. With little time I retaliate the only way I can. I smash the blade into his gut, sending him veering into the distance. But the blade doesn't so much as nick him. Just how tough is his skin? Oh well, this is my kind of fun.

Picking himself up off the metal ground, Takeo speaks between loud coughs and bout of wheezing. "What the... What was that?"

"That would be my Time stop ability; I can freeze time for several seconds. Good job I used it, you almost ripped my throat out." I smile as drool begins to form.

"Well, the plan was to rip your throat out. I am curious as to why you have the power to control time when normally vamps only have the ability to control blood. Guess I should take you a little more seriously, you must have a Mekino ability like the boss."

"Mekino what? Shit, you're going to attack during a conversation?" Even as I speak, Takeo once more vanishes from sight.

My adrenaline and bloodlust are oozing out of control. It's like I'm losing myself. This always happens when I find myself in a pinch, but this is more than a pinch. Takeo really means to kill me..

The only way I'm even able to think straight is due to the advice from Vetis. He is willing to body jack me at a moment's notice; he can see all of Takeo's movements as if he were taking a mild jog, but why can't I ... Fuck, direct hit.

Takeo slices me open effortlessly; cutting my borrowed t-shirt to ribbons just like my chest and now it's my turn to go flying. It hurts so much, and yet it feels exhilarating as well. I would go as far as to say it feels pleasurable.

My eyes quickly become clouded, as if they are covered in blood. Normally by this point Vetis gets involved and body jacks me as the thirst for blood is just too much and I lose all self-control. Except this time Vetis doesn't give a damn about Takeo because he's a wolf. It's nice to know my feelings are being taken into consideration.

Several more attacks later and I'm beginning to feel like a badly wounded piñata, barely clinging to consciousness, and yet the pain is just too satisfying. I struggle to hold my new sword as my vision goes red. Drool forms so fast my mouth can't contain it and it leaks out onto my chin. I really want to eat that wolf, but I can't spot him.

There! I see a glimmer of movement within my red vision, must have been Takeo. This time he's zoning in for the kill.

"Lose yourself, Ginji, give in to the demon. You are almost there! Lose yourself or lose your life. It's your call, buddy." Takeo continues to dart around, pulling back to give me more time.

"Do as he says Ginji; give into the bloodlust, snap. I have no idea what will happen, but even if I body jack you, you are beyond saving now, you are too torn apart." Vetis says in the most serious tone I've ever heard him speak, and not a single cuss word either.

So, they want me to snap and give in to the overwhelming call for blood. So be it. I was going to do it anyway. I can feel my consciousness slipping... Right now I just want to...