Trinity blood: The Second Coming(Edited)
Chapter 1- Prevailing Darkness
Section 2- Grief and Rage
(In the foothills surrounding Londinium)
But the bullet never got the chance to fire. Instead, the gun exploded into splinters before Jacob's eyes. Accompanied by a sharp jab of pain, one splinter buried itself into his palm, and he dropped to the ground in pain as blood began to leak from the open wound. "Enough!" A man shouted with a voice that seemed to shake the earth beneath their feet.
Turning, Jacob saw the man. He was tall, and dressed in a heavy, grey cape, and large Pauldrons marked with the Vatican insignia. He was also pointing a smoldering pistol at the group. "This serves no purpose. Drop your weapons." He said coolly, with a threatening edge to his voice. His white hair whipped around him, mirroring the motion of the restless wind. He had the look of a broken man. Someone who had witnessed something so horrifying and dark that his soul had been turned dark as well. Something about the man scared Jacob as he lay on the ground, still. Beside the Vatican man, the young boy that Jacob had shot at appeared. He was small, with short, light hair and piercing red eyes. Eyes that shone of intelligence beyond the young man's years.
"Vampire!" Kevin shouted with a mixture of both terror and distaste. The strange Vatican man fired a warning shot over their heads in response.
"Drop your weapons," he repeated.
Jacob's father, who still had his rifle shouldered, narrowed his eyes. "You harbor a vampire, and you shoot at my son to defend that vampire? You drop your weapon, mister." Relying on his usual speed, he swung his rifle around to match the man's threat. Without hesitation, the man aimed his gun and fired. Jacob's father dropped to the ground, clenching his shoulder.
This initiated the battle. The small band charged swinging their weapons about with the intention of shooting the Vatican attacker. "Die you Vatican scum!" one man shouted. A few brave ones charged ahead of the rest, ready to swing their bats and other implement, but the stranger anticipated this.
"I will not let you harm him!" the Vatican man shouted. Charging forward, he fired as he ran, flanked by his vampire companion. All of his bullets hit true, splintering guns and people to the ground in broken piles. One of the strongest men, Davis, in the front of the group, was the first to meet the stranger in close combat. He lunged directly at him with a long wooden spear. The man skillfully dodged the point, and quickly pulled the spear, jerking Davis forward. As Davis fell, the man hit him on the side of his head with the butt of his pistol, sending him sprawling to the ground. This is no ordinary priest, Jacob thought as he watched the carnage.
The young vampire with the stranger moved with such agility, that most of the band originally lost his location, until he fell upon them from behind, knocking Kevin in the head with a large rock. Others turned on him, but their weapons couldn't touch him, and he lashed out with such ferocity, that they didn't stand a chance.
Between the two of them, the band was reduced to a pile of moaning and broken bodies in seconds. The only person who wasn't terribly injured was Jacob, who still lay on the ground, clutching his wounded hand. "Who are you?" he asked in disbelief.
My name is Abel. "It is not important who I am." His vampire companion lashed out, kicking Jacob's wounded father in the gut, earning a moan of pain. "Enough Ion!" Abel snapped. Ion stopped and nodded. "You there," Abel said, addressing Jacob. He approached, and pulled him to his feet.
"Yes?" Jacob asked shakily. Backing away a few steps from the killer-priest.
"None of these men will die from the wounds we've given them. Run to the nearest hospital, and make sure that they are all properly treated." Jacob was still frozen on the spot, scared from what he had just witnessed. Glancing around, Abel saw that it was quite possible that some of them would die. I am no longer a priest.
Abel glanced back, seeing that Jacob had not yet started off. "Run!" Abel commanded. Every second he wastes could cost a life.
"Yes sir!" Jacob replied, rising to his feet, and sprinting away as fast as he could to the edge of town.
After he had disappeared in the distance, Abel turned to Ion. "This time, no one will get in my way. We have a new mission, you and I, and that is to root out Contra Mundi. I can no longer do that as a servant of the Vatican. I can no longer play by their rules. As long as my brother lives, we must forget our compassion, for the threat he poses to humanity is greater than they could ever imagine."
"Where will we go next?" Ion questioned.
"To the New Human Empire. There is someone I must meet." We cannot afford to travel by airship. We must find another means of getting to my sister.
- - - -
(Inside the Royal Palace of Londinium)
"Queen Esther," she whispered to herself. She doubted if she could ever grow accustomed to the title, after spending so much of her life as a nun, mostly ignored or underappreciated. But now all of that had changed, every citizen she passed payed her respect, even if they did so grudgingly. She could tell that they did not trust her yet. And why should they? A Vatican agent has just been announced as their Queen.
Stroking the feather absent-mindedly, she wiped a tear preemptively from her eye. Her servant, who's name she still did not know, approached slowly. "What is it?" she asked, not wanting to wait for him to begin the elaborate process of being allowed to speak.
"Bad news, My Queen. Apparently some of the vampire separatists escaped to the surrounding hills of the city. There has been an attack, and there is one confirmed death." Esther sighed, burying her head in her hands. I don't know if I can do this job, she thought.
"Do we have any units that are capable of hunting down vampires?" she asked. She stroked the tip of the feather, and found that it was much softer than the rest. If only I could have seen Abel's soft side. The side of himself that he has never shown me before. Like the feather, most of Abel's outward act was a facade, concealing what emotions truly ran beneath. She desperately yearned to experience those emotions with Abel, but now it was too late.
"No, Your Highness, but I am sure that our conventional forces can handle them."
"Like they handled them down in the Ghetto?" Esther questioned sharply. The servant turned his face away as if struck. "I know the perfect unit to deal with this problem."
"My Queen, you can't possibly mean AX... they..."
"They what?" she cut in questioningly.
"Forgive me." The servant said, not answering her question, but bowing and walking away. But he is never far...
"Servant!" Esther called, knowing he would scurry to her at her command.
"Yes, Your Excellency." He calls me something new every time, she realized.
"Call in whoever it is who is in control of the military of this empire. I will need him to provide AX with a contact when they arrive." Esther said. Perhaps I have said too much.
- - - -
(In a guest residence at the Vatican)
Curse these Terrans, Astaroshe Asran thought to herself. She had been in Rome for three days, and only the first one had been spent negotiating with the Terran Cardinal, Caterina. Of course, the Empress had dispatched her to make diplomatic contact with the Cardinal and to assist them in any missions for which she would be well suited, but she had spent most of the time in her room.
Ever since the incident in Albion, the court's attention was focused on their handling of the affairs there, and everyone seemed to forget about her. Ion had run off to Albion as well, depriving her of her only companion. I hate that little brat. He doesn't know how much I want to go to Londinium. He doesn't know how much I want to grieve over Abel's grave, but that is not my place. I am a servant of the empire.
Despite all this, she decided to go out for one last night to Rome. Although sight-seeing was usually not her favorite activity, Rome would become a high-priority target in any war with the Vatican, and it would help the empire if she familiarized herself with the city's defenses. Not all treaties are permanent, she thought with a bemused smile.
Setting out, she traveled the city's dark streets, looking for the city's armories. They are probably near the barracks', she realized. Walking roughly, she did not allow herself to slow down, resorting to shoving a few Terrans out of her way. "Bitch," one hissed. Astaroshe smiled, showing her elongated fangs. Seeing this, the Terran ran away as quickly as he could. They are hostile only to those that are weaker than them, and they fear all the rest. Chuckling, she continued, until she came upon a small group of soldiers, who were talking loudly. She decided to listen to what they were saying.
"... just know that a soldier from the sixth core wouldn't get this kind of treatment." Another soldier nodded in agreement.
"Why is it that we have to attend this damnable funeral? It's just one god damn priest." This earned a laugh from the group. Something within Astaroshe's chest seemed to set on fire as she tried to hold back her rage, but having the soldiers insult Abel's memory was too much for her to bear.
"You insolent dog!" Astaroshe shouted, seething with rage. One soldier turned in surprise, just to see the blur of a fist approaching his face. Striking his jaw, his bone cracked, and he tumbled backwards into the wall of the barracks.
"Stupid bitch!" another soldier shouted, running at her wildly. She side-stepped his charge easily, and threw him through a store window ten yards away. She turned and smacked the gun-hand of another soldier as he was drawing his pistol, sending the back of the gun into his nose, breaking the Terran's feeble bone. She lifted her arm to strike one of the wounded men, but was interrupted by a voice.
"Duchess Astaroshe Asran. Cease immediately, you are preforming an unauthorized action. Acknowledge." The man had a strangely unhuman voice. They must have had this cyborg trailing me since I arrived, she thought. Shooting a glare his way, she dropped her hand and walked away from the moaning soldiers.
"They deserved much more than what they got," She said, still angry from what the soldier had said.
"Positive." Tres replied. "If authorized, I would have preformed similar actions." They walked for a few more minutes in complete silence, when Astaroth turned to Tres, remembering what the soldiers had said.
"When will they have Abel's funeral?" She inquired.
"It is planned to occur at precisely 1400 hours tomorrow. I have been informed that you are allowed to attend if you wish it."
I owe him at least that, she thought. "I'll be there."
- - - -
Helltanz98- Thank you for the correct name. I actually got Astaroth from the subtitled version from Japanese, and there must have been an error, because all other sites I checked seemed to agree with your spelling, so I changed it.