I felt content waiting here. Everything got silent all of a sudden. Enjoyable silent. No more people in a rush. Nothing but the deep vibrating sounds of the quaking earth. The tremble had reached us while we still floated high in the air. And now since our great airship had hit the ground, bursting up in flames, the quivering was all I felt and noticed. It brought back memories.
A sudden red glow appeared as a reflection in the glass in front of me. It looked like two red circles, very blurred. No reflection of a person, just this glow. I expected this - no I was waiting for it. His final arrival.
"Alucard, so you are finally here. We haven't seen each other in a very long time."
"55 years to be precise." he replied without letting a second slip into past.
I turned around slowly - what a pity having to stop gazing at this pretty night. But the upcoming sight was something I just had to watch.
All of my officers had passed away. Walter had died as he lived, the Fr ulein and Miss Victoria offloaded this fight onto him - as it seems.
"So the Fr ulein did run from a fight human against human. She send her loyal servant to finish me. In the end her will was not strong enough." in a sigh I spoke this while shaking my head.
In a laughing voice the vampire replied "I could not have wished for more. So I finally can crush you and your whole army at once. It will be my joy - and only mine."
I chuckled. "We really are equal. You are not one bit better than I am. Soulhunter. How many lives have you absorbed now? One Million, two Million? How many do you control like a tyrant, how many of them have been tortured to obey your will? Till they are nothing more than your limbs, your hands to make you immortal. All those breathing, sweating humans. Your hunger has no limit Alucard, has it? You initiated the consume of all their mortal remains, not caring for who they were." My eyes started to fill with enthusiastic glow. "Ja, this is something I trump you with. I am myself. In a summary history would call me a cruel monster without any doubt. But the truth is, compared to you I am an unwritten page, a blank paper. I still own the way of a human."
Oh how much I longed to say those words. How many nights I spend planning how to say them, how to put them into sentences, how to put as much joy in them as I could. It was so irresistible. I felt so wonderful in this very moment that I never wanted it to end.
Even my shortsightedness could not prevent me from seeing his eyes closing and shaping full of joy. There had to be something he prepared in the mysterious mind of his. I longed to see it.
I knew he spoke a good German so I chose my final words to be special.
"Komm und hol mich."
"Dein Wunsch ist mir Befehl."
So much of sarcasm, disobedience and ambiguousness - perfectly chosen. I simply loved his reply.
One movement of perfection was what I saw next. Playful he drew up his arm, putting up one of his weapons, aiming at me. It was the dark one, as I recall "Jackal". Whistling through my teeth I leaned my head to the right side and smiled.
"Too easy." I clicked my fingers causing a bunch of soldiers to appear. They had hidden behind the grunge in this room - as I planned and commanded. I was sure he already had noticed them. But I guessed he did not want to ruin the fun.
Without any second commandment those black dressed soldiers turned their fire on Alucard. He stood still, smiling at me, not leaving track of my eyes for one second. The second gun was pulled out. Both of his arms reached out into no particular direction. Alucard's lips opened and he laughed in delight - soon starting to talk.
"First" One shot, killing the close by soldier that was trying to stab this immortal demon with a bayonet "You, small man, highly decorated officer of the Wehrmacht, no of the SS, the death squad of your pitiful Reich, you of those who killed millions of people in war - you are comparing yourself to me. Marvelous."
"Second" The next bullet penetrated one soldiers scull through one eye, hitting another soldier behind as well. "You are giving orders, sacrificing soldiers, prisoners, civilians, deserters."
"Third" his voice changed filling up with ironical disgust while crushing another ones forehead. "Your own countrymen, political enemies, religious victims - all hungered to death, dying of illness, experiments or of too much work."
"Forth" His eyes never left mine. All aims he took were instinctive and killed three soldiers next to a canister filled with oil as it exploded. "Factory like killing - yes like industrial murder. All your orders made you a monster Major, same as me."
His voice was so clear between the loud mess of shots and explosions. It felt like he was speaking directly to my mind. So close I felt the pulsing of spoken letters in my ear.
"Fifth" A steel helmet covered the next victims head, no shield for this ammunition anyway - the silver projectile hit his heart and took him off right away. "I brought those souls into myself. I gave them a new home." he smirked again. "You madmen gave those people new homes too. You build a whole world of extermination for them. Oh yes, great plans you had."
"Sixth" A few more shots done and he came to me, each step heavy, convinced and focusing on my eyes still. "Torture, war crime, betrayal - oh Major. I had a purpose. But what is yours?" There was no anger, no disgust in his voice. It sounded like a strange form of adoration. "Ah yes, your purpose was me - you just live because of me. Just for this one day."
Within a split second he had my throat in his grasp and slammed me against the glass wall behind me. The glass cracked, but did not break. This was not what he intended anyway.
I wanted to end his monologue, but he spoke on.
"You will be buried hastily into the mass grave - which is me. Like all the others. No special treatment miserable F hrer."
"Kill me if you can" I whispered to him. Looking up smiling. I lifted up my head to laugh in my usual manic way. "My poor Alucard. Poor creature, hurt for life, haven't you been?"
His eyes filled with a cold stare. He seemed not to guess what I was up to.
"First your little brother betrays you, after you offered your body and took his place, then you have to face a whole empire all alone, while god leaves you all alone. Your river princess dies, ah and yes Mina Harker disappeared from your grasp. Van Hellsing caged you...what a disappointing poor life."
My eyes followed every expression change on his face, which darkened and got filled with hatred every second worst. I liked it. My blood burned like oil in my venes. I felt so alive.
"Integra appeared and her strength made you happy. The first real enemy of nowadays was Anderson - oh he made you so glad, didn't he? But you put too much thought into humans. I remember this precious Brazilian soldier who crawled in front of you. My screens had filled with your disappointed face all over. Did you really think humans could be so strong? Haha...Naive. I enjoyed seeing you hurt like this."
I was cutting through a lot of nerves of his right now. There was nothing I could do to resist finishing this. Every single emotion had to be tickled out of this man. I had to hit him where it hurts.
"But then Anderson decided to become a monster too. You lost your little playfellow and cried. Again a disappointment. He was not the human to kill you then. Your whole life is just a disappointment, isn't it?"
I made him speechless. Even I did not expect him to be speechless - but he was just staring at me. Just this. I had analyzed him well. My provocation worked better than expected. I got him stripped to the bone or whatever was there underneath the fabric of his clothings.
A small chuckle appeared on his face as he closed his eyes and put down his head a bit. A few seconds passed. Suddenly he rose up his head forcing his eyes wide open. He was pulling his arm back. Forming a fist with his gloved hand.
"Do you think you can kill me?" I asked forcefully again. "Me, the only person who has not disappointed you yet. The last pleasure you have in this world? In this pacifistic world there will be no one to come after me. You will have nothing left poor count. Just your orders."
His arm pulled back some more and rested in that position - filled with tension.