Chapter 3: Dawn of the Dead Apostles
Normally, it would take at least a minute or two for someone to realize that they have been transported to another dimension unless they are expecting it. It came subtly and silently that she would not have noticed under normal circumstances. The world was suddenly layered with a new dimension so quickly that it happened in the blink of an eye.
But of course she noticed. It is as clear as day to her when it happened. She could see it with her 'Sephiroth Eyes'. She could see a curtain of magical energy enveloping the area before she was transported. She could even see how many people are coming from behind her.
'I wonder what will happen to this dimension if I were to deploy the Millennium Castle?'
Valerie wondered. This dimension was created by one person and it came from something bright inside his soul. She could see it, a power that shines brightly inside his body even if she had not seen the person directly. Every other person that came also has this 'something' inside them which she guessed are sacred gears. That means this is likely the Longinus-class sacred gear, Dimension Lost.
Now, what would happen if she were to deploy a Reality Marble inside this space? It would be interesting to test it out. Unfortunately, while she could access most of the powers that came with the Millennium Castle as well as some new powers from having the Reality Marble remade into her image, she still cannot deploy the Millennium castle as one. She also cannot recreate it using Marble Phantasm yet as she doesn't have enough mastery of that power.
She estimates that right now, she have only around 55% of the Reality Marble ready to use. While most of it is already hers, there are some parts that still belong to the Crimson Moon and some parts still missing and needs to be recreated. Stealing a Reality Marble is dangerous and she can only manage it thanks to Sephiroth Graal.
"Dimension Lost, you are sacred gear users. What do you want with me?"
Valerie asked, more out of courtesy than genuine curiosity. This meeting will only end up in one way anyway.
Five people have approached her. One of them is the user of Dimension Lost, a bespectacled young man wearing magician robe. Judging from the amount of magical energy contained in his body, he is the strongest of them. The second strongest whose power is not that far apart is a blonde girl who is sticking close to him. The other three are of no note. Their power is far below these two so they are simply grunts.
Five people and one of them is a Longinus user. That kind of lineup should suffice even against a vampire lord. Despite what they like to think, the vampire lords are nothing too impressive in the larger supernatural world. The only kind of vampires stronger than them is the Shinso who are now extinct and the last two Shinso recorded in history are Vlad Tepes and Elizabeth Barthory. The sacred gear users must be confident in their victory should a fight broke out to not send their whole forces after her.
That's fine. It suited her well enough.
"Our leader wanted to speak with you. It would be best if you simply come quietly. That would save us both a lot of trouble. If not, well…"
The bespectacled magician did not need to continue his words. She noticed the blonde girl's hand going for her rapier. They are confident alright, not that they don't have a reason not to, but unfortunately they're trying to intimidate and threaten the wrong vampire.
"Is that so? Why does your leader want to see me anyway?"
"Nothing much. We just want to know about what happened in Romania. Vampires have become a rarity these days after what happened there. It appears someone is hunting down vampires to extinction, not that we have a problem with that but we are curious who or what is doing that."
Now that caught Valerie's attention. Vampires are declining after the genocide in Romania. That is news, one that she is interested in. Personally, she doesn't care much about what happened to the vampires, though whether that is an opinion born from her current mentality or simply because she never considered the vampires as part of her race due to what happened to her is not something she even care to find out.
What she wants to find out though is if this has anything to do with Crimson Moon or not. She knew he's out there somewhere and has been building up his power for the last three years while she was stabilizing herself. She would bet her last Grail that this is related to whatever he is doing.
The True Ancestor smirked. What to do now? Should she follow them and find out more about what she missed in the last three years and leave later or should she just ignore them, get into a fight, and beat them to a pulp? She is curious about what has been happening in the past three years and this might open a venue to gather information.
Ahh who is she kidding, she already made her choice from the moment Dimension Lost was deployed.
"I see. Well, I'm not interested so how about this? I have been out of touch with the world and I really need someone to inform me about things. How about you tell me what I want and I'll let you all leave unharmed?"
She offered with a kind smile. The five humans blinked at her counteroffer and the user of Dimension Lost sighs.
"The hard way it is."
He lament… and multiple layers of magic circles appear in front of him, launching a powerful blast of magical energy that contains light element at Valerie. The True Ancestor did not move. She simply stood there waiting. As the blast was about to hit her, she simply slap it aside like she would a normal ball.
The magician with a Longinus look surprised at how easily Valerie slapped aside his attack. That attack could kill even pureblood vampires in one hit or at least injure them heavily! Vampires, just like devils, are weak to light and holy elements. So how could Valerie brush aside that spell that contains light element?
What they didn't know is that Valerie is not the same kind of vampire as the one found in their world. She is a vampire descended from the Crimson Moon Brunestud, and not just any vampire but a True Ancestor. Attacks and elements that would have killed a pureblood vampire many times over are simply mild annoyance to her. It will take a truly powerful magician to even harm her and that is with the right spells and weaponries. For these people who had never faced a vampire descended from the Crimson Moon, only their sacred gear could pose a threat to her.
Their surprise did not end there as suddenly ten magic circles appear in front of Valerie. What shocked the sacred gear users is that the magic circle Valerie made are exactly the same as what the Longinus user had used just moments ago! What they didn't notice is that Valerie's eyes are now glowing brightly with golden light.
Valerie smiled evilly. This is one of the powers of her sub-species Longinus. The ability to copy spells she had seen. Sephiroth Eyes has the ability to perceive things usually not seen by anyone else. The eyes that sees the truth of the world, that is her eyes. With her eyes, she can instantly analyze spells down to the smallest component and copy them into her mind to be used by herself. It is a convenient ability to have and every advantage she could use against Crimson Moon is welcomed.
"What the… since when did vampires use magic?! And that is your magic, Georg!"
Valerie let her spell loose… and an explosion occurred in front of her targets, destroying only the ground or simply went over their head. Valerie frowns. She missed, big time. It looks like while she can copy spells and adapt her power to what energy is needed for the spell, she still had horrible control. The output also varied between circles and they all went all over the place. It appears she will need to train in order to use magic properly.
No matter, magic is not her first choice in combat anyway. Magic by itself will never be able to defeat Crimson Moon, which is why it is a good time to test if she could make one, a weapon that can contend against Crimson Moon's own. She only needed to remember how he created one.
"That was unexpected. It seems that this is not an ordinary vampire, if she's even a vampire at all. Jeanne, proceed with caution."
The magician, Georg, said to his female companion, Jeanne.
"I get it! Looks like we can't underestimate this one. You three, get her!"
Jeanne commanded their other three companions. All of them activate their sacred gear. One is a shadow user of some kind from how the shadow around him began to move. One is a water user as water began to gather around her, and the last is a fire user as a ball of fire formed on his hand. Elemental-based power, but from the brightness of the light she sees in their body, they are not a threat at all to her. They are likely grunts with no real use.
Valerie didn't even bother moving from her spot as she simply snapped her finger. Georg suddenly began to tense, which was noticed by Jeanne. He lifted his hand and cast a number of offensive spells at Valerie in quick succession. Fire, darkness, ice, light, demonic, earth, every elements he knew and could use are unleashed.
Jeanne who saw that Georg is getting agitated and increasing the number and variation of his spells draw her sword and charged at Valerie.
Then suddenly chains appear out of nowhere. They did not just come from the ground but also from the air and from everywhere else. The chains appear to block Georg's spells and hinder Jeanne's movement. She had to duck and leap around some chains that impedes her movement and had to turn back as the closer she got to Valerie, the more chains would appear.
Explosion occurred all around as Georg's spells was blocked by the chains. Some chains were shattered by the force of Georg's spells but with each chain destroyed, another would take its place in an instant. It's like she could summon an endless number of them, creating an impromptu fortress of chains.
As for the three sacred gear users.
"Thank you for all those fancy spells you throw around. Hmm, I might not be able to use it properly but…"
Valerie snapped her finger again and dozens of magic circles appear, aiming downward at where the three elemental sacred gears are. With a simple wave of her hand, the whole area where they are located exploded with such a force that nothing was left but a deep crater spanning several meters in diameter.
"Even if I cannot aim properly or control their power output, if I aim them downward and at full power, they will at least explode with enough force to kill."
Valerie smiled.
"This… this is…"
Georg gulped as he think about what to do next. He could continue casting spells but their opponent has the power to copy his spells. If he reveals more spells, she will copy it. That is not good. He still has more in his arsenal, a lot more, but which would work? No, the question is, can his spell reach her?
"We're at a disadvantage. This is not an ordinary enemy. We don't know anything about her, what she could do and what her limits are."
Jeanne, who decided not to attack, rejoined Georg, both of them looking warily at the blonde vampire who had not once moved from her spot since the start of their meeting. They couldn't even get close to her with the chains appearing all around, protecting her from Georg's spells and blocking the path of anyone trying to get close to her.
"We have to retreat. She's too dangerous to take on with just the two of us."
"…I guess we have no choice."
Georg activated his sacred gear. Black mist began to appear on his hand and spread out to engulf him and Jeanne. He won't risk using a teleportation circle in the off chance Valerie could copy it and use it to follow them. While he's not absolutely sure she cannot copy the power of a sacred gear, it's still less of a risk to use it than a teleportation circle.
Valerie blinked in surprise when Jeanne and Georg disappear from her sight rather suddenly and the sky began to clear. She let her chains disappear and look around. They're already retreating. The blonde vampire sighs. It looks like this is as far as they are willing to go.
"Ohh well, at least I have a consolation prize."
She smirked as something appear beside her, suspended in midair by her chain. It is one of the sacred gear user she supposedly killed earlier, a male wearing a shade. He's the one with the ability to control shadow. Though he's bloodied and unconscious, he is still alive.
Just as she released her spells, she used one of her chains to pull one of the three grunts aside. She then shot a low-powered light bullet at point-blank range to knock him unconscious and wrap him in chains, out of view just as the ground exploded. She needed someone she could interrogate so it's fortunate she had the foresight to take one aside. Plus she does have some… experiments to try.
"Now then, what should I do with you?"
Far away from Europe, far from where Valerie currently is, a young girl with very pale skin and long blonde hair in red dress is running. She ran with the speed that shouldn't be possible for a human. That is because she is not a human. Her red eyes and fanged teeth would be the only thing people need to identify her as a vampire, and not just any vampire but a pureblood vampire.
And she is injured, heavily injured and currently very afraid.
Fear, it is not an emotion a vampire should have, especially for a pureblood. But she can't help but feel fear, and it is an emotion she has been intimate with for the past three years.
Because what else can she feel when she witnessed her own race being butchered in front of her very eyes? What should she feel when she saw two extremely powerful beings slaughter her people and feast on their corpse like they were mere livestock?
She understood now how human feel when facing vampires, especially now as she is sure she is one of the last few vampires from Europe still alive today.
It was a month after that terrible massacre in Romania. Vampires all over Europe began to disappear one by one. She had tried to find out why. Towns and villages of vampires wiped out in from existence. Their residents slaughtered in a frighteningly familiar way.
Then one day, she found a lead, and the nightmare begun.
Elmenhilde Karnstein will never forget the day when she survived another massacre at the cost of her fellow vampires' life. Crimson moon hung in the sky, signaling the arrival of someone she feared the most, THAT MONSTER! But that time, he's no longer alone. He's not with the blonde girl who fought him but with others of his kind. Not as powerful as him or the blonde girl but certainly powerful enough to kill her.
She ran with all she has, across Europe, across Middle East, across Asia, and now in the far-east, the land of the Rising Sun. And that 'thing' is still chasing after her, that thing that called itself a Dead Apostle. A vampire it claims to be. Elmenhilde is more inclined to disagree.
"Ahh, there you are."
Elmenhilde gasped when she saw a man blocking her path. He has pale skin like her and glowing red eyes but his eyes is much more ominous and his grin shows cruelty. The Dead Apostle had caught up to her. It is a different one from the one who was chasing her across china but she knew this is a Dead Apostle immediately. After all, no vampires would look that cruelly at other vampires, especially at a pureblood.
Elmenhilde seethed in frustration. She had not drunk any blood for a week and she is injured after her last encounter. She is at her last leg.
"I heard from my acquaintance in Sweden that a pureblood vampire taste good. I wonder what your flesh will taste like?"
The Apostle said as he approach Elmenhilde. She mustered all her strength to control the shadow around her, ready to fight. But before she could even move one of her shadows, the Apostle had already appeared in front of her. The pureblood vampire did not even have time to react when she was struck hard by the Apostle. She's knocked into a concrete wall with enough force to even kill low-class vampires. She might be stronger than a low-class vampire but at her current condition, wounded and deprived of blood, it was enough to nearly kill her.
"Now then, let's see how you ta—"
The Apostle did not manage to finish what he wanted to say when he suddenly crumbled into nothingness. The last thing Elmenhilde saw before she lost consciousness is a blade that had went through the Apostle's chest… and a pair of glowing blue eyes.
To be honest, this did not went as I expect it to be. But when I wrote it, this just happen. Originally, I had planned for Jeanne to be captured but the chance just didn't appear. I expect that after showing a bit of her strength, Georg would be smart enough to back down without either him or Jeanne showing their Balance Breaker and though I had planned it, I thought that it would also be too soon for Valerie to form her own Knight Arm. So I only have both Valerie and the Hero Faction have a small skirmish where neither show their full power. Georg and Jeanne retreated before Valerie could figure out more of her powers to use against them. Cutting their losses, so to speak.
So I have revealed another power Valerie's sub species possess. The Sephiroth Eyes, in addition to having the ability to see 360' and through walls like Byakugan, also possess the ability to analyze and copy spells like Elemental Sight from Mahouka. While I did not explicitly say it, I did hint that the Sephiroth Eyes also possess the innate ability to filter and transform energy. There are still more powers Valerie possess. It might have lost the ability that it possess as Sephiroth Graal which is to resurrect but Sephiroth Eyes is much deadlier in terms of offense. And used by a True Ancestor, well, someone better pray.
And then we have Elmenhilde appearing. She is, by now, possibly the last pureblood vampire in existence when talking about DxD vampires. The poor thing is also traumatized beyond believe after witnessing the genocide of the entire Romanian Vampires so well, expect her to be different from canon Elmenhilde. She will be one of the main characters from now on.
Other than that, I don't need to say who saved Elmenhilde. This is a Tsukihime crossover after all and while it isn't Shiki, a user of Mystic Eyes of Death Perception is a must.
ARSLOTHES: Valerie will not be paired with Gasper. Poor boy likely wouldn't survive Valerie Brunestud. While she will very likely be paired with the OC user of Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, I'm also considering NOT pairing her with anyone at all. She is the freaking Vampire Overlord here only second to Crimson Moon.
HolyKnight5: While I like your idea and did thought about pulling it off in this chapter, I held back because Valerie is not skilled enough (well she certainly have the raw power though) to pull it off nor is it a good time to do it. She just woke up less than a few hours ago and still getting used to her new powers. Maybe later after she gained enough mastery of her powers.
Guest: It seems they got lucky.
fg7dragon: I agree. That's why I made a rewrite. Valerie went batshit insane in the last version. Too much like Rizevim indeed.
FanNasuVerse93: I'm inclined to agree.