The next chapter. This version is now complete. Again, my grammar is not the best and I do not own anything.
Chapter 2: Ambitions
Lieutenant Colonel Guren Ichinose walked through the ruined streets of Shinjuku lazily. He really didn't want to be here, but a summons from one of heads of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army wasn't something any soldier could ignore without suffering the consequences. He knew that part better than anyone.
Arriving at the Shinjuku base, Guren continued through the gateway to the main courtyard of the compound. The place was more of a base to house their vampire prisoners and to conduct their experiments on them. It was an evil, yet necessary act in Guren's eyes. Besides the bloodsuckers deserved it.
In the center of the courtyard were some of those vampires, greatly weakened by the sun and not being able to drink blood since their capture. They looked like the animals they were, collared and chained to an overly large scythe that was anchored to the ground, walking around mindlessly from thirst.
Despite their weakened state, their senses were still sharp. As he walked closer to them, all the vampires looked up. The sound of his blood rushing through his veins and the smell it gave off, just a drop of it could restore their strength, if they didn't they would probably go man.
"Blood…" one of them whispered, Guren stopped walking. "I smell your blood…let me drink your blood!" With that, the vampire ran towards him, raising his hand to strike at Guren. Guren didn't move.
The chain connected to the vampires' collar jerked, forcing the vampire to halt. His outstretched arm was just inches from Guren's throat. After a moment of struggle against his bonds, the vampire simply gave up and collapsed on his knees. It was pitiful.
"You have some sick hobbies," he said turning around to look up at person sitting on top of the entrance he'd just walked through, "Kureto Hiragi."
Kureto get sat there, smiling to himself. "You took your time," he commented.
"Is this a cursed gear experiment?" Guren asked.
"Yes," Kureto jumped from his seat and landed on the ground, then walked over to Guren, "I'm trying to find an efficient way to turn vampires into demons so we can utilize their powers and turn them into cursed gears." He signed, "Unfortunately, we aren't making much progress. Low-level bloodsuckers such as these are worthless. Dispose of them, will you."
"I didn't come here to kill vamps," Guren's voice sounded irritated, but his facial expression was neutral. "Just get to it."
"Did you really come here alone?"
"Those were the orders I received." Guren said as he rolled his eyes.
"And you weren't afraid I was going to kill you?" Kureto asked him smirking.
"Now, what reason would you have for that?" Guren countered innocently.
The smirk on the Lieutenant General's face didn't waver. "For being an idiot," he commented.
Guren just laughed. "If that was the only reason you would have killed me a long time ago. Besides, you can't kill me as long as you find me useful." Kureto didn't reply; instead, he snapped his fingers. The two guards that were watching the courtyard fired their rifles at the vampires behind Guren. It was like shooting fish in a barrel, all of them went down with one shot and faded into dust.
"You have a point," Kureto finally said, "But that does make me wonder just how useful you really are, and more importantly, what you've been working on."
Guren cocked his eyebrow.
"Yuuichiro Hyakuya. Yoichi Saotome. Shiho Kimizuki." As the Lieutenant General said these names, Guren did his best not to react, so Kureto continued.
"Where did these boys come from? How did you manage to find not one, but three Black Demon Series users?"
"I got lucky," Guren snapped. "It was pure chance…"
"I don't believe you for a second. All black demon prospects have been subjected to human experimentation, even then the success rate in extremely low."
Guren didn't respond. "Don't get me wrong," Kureto reassured him, "I'm happy to have move black demons in our ranks. Maybe I should have you oversee all of our cursed gear trials."
"That sounds like a complete waste of my talent and time," Guren scoffed. "Is this why you brought me here? Because if it is I'm leaving." He started to head towards the exit, but Kureto words stopped him.
"One more question," he said. "What's your reasoning from assembling these Black Demon users? Are you planning a coup d'état?" Guren actually smiled at the question, and he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"If my goal was to kill you I would strike you down right here," he stated confidently.
"You wouldn't land a single blow," Kureto stated with a laugh.
"Wanna bet?" Guren's grip on the sword's hilt tightened, but the action didn't faze Kureto. Instead he remained calmed and relaxed.
Instead, he commented on Guren's actions. "This brings back memories," he said, remembering when Guren would foolishly challenge him when they were in high school. "I didn't mean to get you so riled, overall you're doing a good job. Guren rolled his eyes again at the general's praise.
"But," Kureto continued, "I still know your weaknesses. The things that you never set aside to lead others, your emotions. Things like love, friendship, honor, they're what make you stronger and what hold you back." A storm cloud rolled over the compound, and a light rain started to fall on the two humans. Guren continued to avert his gaze from Kureto, who wasn't sure if he had Guren's full attention. "And that's exactly why I trust you Guren, because you'll never become a threat, will you? I don't think someone who cares about his comrades is capable of betrayal."
Guren frowned, and he looked at Kureto with his features hardened, "So this is when you play the hostage card again? How is it you have this time? What exactly do you want from me, Kureto?"
"Don't be so upset, I don't have any of your aides today," Kureto replied calmly, "I've been preoccupied with other things." He walked a little, his eyes suddenly distance. Then he looked up to stare at nothing, the rain patting his body. "Tell me Guren, what do you think the future holds for all of us? What is the point of living in a world like this one only to fight off extinction?"
Guren just looked at him with disbelief, "Did you call me hear just so you could complain?"
Kureto shook his head, "No. I'm just curious about how much faith you have in humanity. This world is almost completely devoid of hope, yet you still want to build your military power. I want to know your intensions."
"We need power because the world is this way," Guren answered simply.
"Maybe, but we're as good as dead if we don't have a clear vision for the future. Everything we do must be for the greater good, don't you think?"
"The greater good, so we're talking about good and evil, really?" Guren mocked.
His superior ignored him, he finally spoke after a moment. "I'm going to rebuild the world Guren."
The vampires have completely destroyed our communications network, we haven't been able to contact anyone outside of Japan. But I know there must be other human organizations out there."
"I'm sure," Guren said, "so your goal is to reestablish international communications?"
This time Kureto smiled, "No. My first step is to eradicate all of the vampires here in Japan. After that, I will systematically crush all the remaining human organizations, and unite the world under the Japanese Imperial Demon Army," he raised his arms to emphasize his point.
Guren looked at him with disbelief, "I didn't take you for a dreamer."
"But it sounds like fun, right?" Kureto grinned childishly at Guren, "For my first move I'm going to thin their ranks and exterminate all the vampire nobles."
"You seem sure of yourself.'
"I am. There are currently twenty-five nobles in Japan, and I know where each one is at this very moment."
"If you're wrong then the army's finished," Guren pointed out. Kureto just continued to smile.
"Then my only option is to win, right?"
"What if the intel you have is wrong?"
Kureto's smile faded, "I've considered that, but I don't have time to investigate further. Because in one month's time, the vampires are going to launch a full scale attack on Tokyo." Guren's eyes widened at the news but Kureto didn't stop, "If we continue as we are now, humanity is finished, but if we're proactive and make a pre-emptive attack…"
"…then we gain the upper hand." Guren finished. "Do you have a plan?"
"Yes," Kureto said. "Besides, vampire strategies are so simple, they're always underestimating humanity. What's more, the vampire enclaves don't get along with each other, so they don't share information. Only the nobles have the ability to keep them under control, so naturally by eliminating them, their society will fall apart."
"You shouldn't get too cocky," Guren warned him.
"Or what? You think the info is a trap?"
"Yeah."
"That's why I'm giving you these orders. I want you to take your team and a hundred Moon Company soldiers to Nagoya. There you'll find a base that houses ten noble. Kill them and secure the base."
"If we do that the vampires will know what you're up to."
"So let them. All you have to do is get their attention. After that, I'll take over for the main battle."
"In other words, we're expendable," he had figured as much. Kureto spoke of freeing humanity, but in the end he didn't really care about individual humans.
"This is a very important mission," Kureto said, "one that I can only trust to you."
"Really? Because it sounds to me like you don't want to tell me your whole plan, and even after you said you trusted me."
Kureto said nothing. Instead, he placed his hand inside his jacket and pulled out a letter containing instructions and walked it over to Guren. "Your directive, it's not a request, it's an order." Guren reached out to take the letter, but not before he hesitated. Once he took it Kureto turned and processed towards the exit.
"Just you wait, I'll show you a world where the vampires serve us." He promised. He then disappeared down the dark tunnel without looking back at Guren.
Alone, Guren looked at the letter in his hand as an overwhelming aura filled the air, and a menacing presence appeared behind him. This presence, the ghost of Mahiru Hiragi, hovered next to Guren, whispering words of seduction and promise.
"Don't be fooled, my love," the words sent chills down Guren's spin. "Remember, all you have to do is follow my orders; for I am the only one who can grant your wish."
His demon was trying to control him, but he could let her, not now. "Shut up," he muttered and pushed Mahiru back into his sword before he too made his way towards the exit.
All was quiet. No one had noticed the stray cat in the corner yard with a red jewel on its forehead. No one knew that it had been watching, listening, and relaying everything that had been said.
"Geez," Kiara signed to herself, "to talk about saving humanity when the reality is you just want to rule over them yourself; Kureto Hiragi's arrogance rivals that of most of the vampires in this world." Staring out the window in her office of her mansion, the fifth progenitor wasn't looking at the vampire city itself. Instead, she found herself looking at an empty courtyard in Shinjuku, spying on two prominent officers in the Demon Army through the eyes of Garnet the cat.
Kiara stretched her arms, having had them rested on the windowsill with her hands supporting her head as she listened and watched the exchange between the two humans. "Thank you for showing me this, Garnet. The next time your in the city I'll reward you handsomely." With that, her psychic link with the feline ended; she blinked and her sight was once again on the underground city.
Promptly, she then closed the windows before going over to collapse in the soft leather chair next to her desk. "He does have a good point though," she commented. "Since vampires see humans as nothing more then livestock they tend to underestimate humans and what they're capable of." She chuckled, "Most vampires, anyway."
To underestimate any opponent-no matter what species they were-would inevitably lead to destruction of the vampires, at least that was what Kiara thought. So she took it upon herself to gather information on the Demon Army, be it base camp locations, ambush strategies, or information on the infamous Moon Demon Company. Many of the noble vampires didn't understand why she was so interested in the human's, especially since she had never actually fought them. But every once in a while Krul would heed her warnings if she thought they were planning something that would put the vampires at a disadvantage.
With that in mind, Kiara realized that she would have to talk to Krul about the army's assault on Tokyo. They would probably have to move up the date so the humans wouldn't have much time to prepare as they thought.
"He overestimates us," she continued, "not all vampires think and feel the same way about humans, and to think so...well, he is only human."
Her thoughts suddenly drifted to Guren Ichinose. "And to say that the lieutenant colonel will never be a true leader because he cares about the comrades..." Personally, Kiara felt that Guren was a much more capable leader then Kureto. The way he treated the soldiers under his command was admirable and humane, many in this world believed kindness was a person's greatest weakness-like Kureto-. However, while Guren and she believed it to be a great strength, which showed in the Company's work.
Then there was the Moon Demon Company itself, their ideas and morals, not to mention they were a force to be reckoned with. After watching there actions for the better part of four years, Kiara had nothing but the utmost respect the Company and its soldiers. But only them.
There was the problem. With the Demon Army sending them to Nagoya, where almost half of the Japanese nobles were, was bad for both sides. She did not wish for the death of anyone in the Company, but she would have to tell Krul to warn the vampires in Nagoya. The problem was that a number of them served under other progenitors that were in different countries, so they really had no reason to listen to her. That would mean a good number of them would most likely die, but not before they would wipe out at least three-fourths of the human soldiers.
She groaned. If they were regular Demon Army soldiers then this wouldn't be an issue, for she saw them as nothing more than humans who gave up their own individual thoughts to becomes mindless puppets to the Hiragi family, but the Moon Demon Company was different. But they were also formidable opponents and many of their soldiers were Cursed Gear users, which met that they had to be taken out not matter what. Unless she intervened somehow.
Without warning something clicked inside her head. A Cheshire cat grin grew on face as ideas filled her mind. She then took out her tablet from one of her desk drawers and tapped a few buttons. Within seconds, the screen changed and brought here face to face with one of her own subordinates.
"Eve I need you to do me a favor."
Eve, a vampire with yellow twin-tails, nodded. "What do you need?" Straightforward and obedient as ever.
"I need you to hack into the Demon Army's personnel files and download the files of every active member in the Moon Demon Company." After the world ended, cyber security wasn't something anyone really worried about, humans didn't think vampires knew how to use technology and vampires really weren't interested in human personnel files, so Eve manages to break in to their system and leave a backdoor open with no one knowing. The classified project files were still hard to crack, though.
"Are we looking at anyone specific?"
Kiara thought for a moment, "bookmark everyone that has a Cursed Gear or is a Black Demon user. Send the information to everyone in the group. We'll have a debriefing about this tomorrow."
Eve blinked in surprise. "Does that mean we're going out into the field? Outside of the city?"
Kiara nodded.
"I'll have all the information sent to the others within the hour."
"Thank you."
The screen went blank and Kiara looked at the clock. Her meeting with Krul was in thirty minutes, so she got up and left her study to head towards Krul's palace.
As she walk through her mansion she couldn't help but smile. Things are about to get interesting.
And the second half is done. What do you think of Kiara? I look forward to your reviews.
