Chapter four
The Alchemist
"Lady Hellsing, i presume?"
Integras fist balled up, and she glared ahead with her eye at the middle of the round table. As her fingers uncurled, she reached for a cigar, just to bite down on it. "Yes, Bishop Maqube. Since you were expecting my call, i´m guessing you´re aware of the situation."
The response was prompt. "Of course. We´ve been waiting for it for two thousand years, after all. Since they´re still contained within England, your people must be doing a very respectable job at detaining Hells legions." Maqube seemed amused, definitely in a good mood- which irritated Integra to no end.
"I wish that was the case. Hellsing is not built around a war, we don´t have the menpower nor resources to fight one... and our speciality is vampires and werewolves. If anyone on earth could deal with Hell, it would be... Iscariot." She paused, having to force herself to admit this.
"Very flattering, Signora. I suppose we would be. So, why would you be calling me...?"
"You damn well know why i call you!" Integra finally snapped, slamming her hand down on the table. "We can´t do this on our own- And when England falls, they will attack Europe on a wide front. A front you wont be able to hold back either! So we need to stand together now, and defeat them now, before this happens!"
Maqube chuckled. "My my, always this temper. My men are about to take off as we speak. With their helicopters, reaching the shores of England will be a matter of two hours, at most... but from what i hear, the storms over the region make air travel neigh impossible, no?"
"It would take a very skilled pilot." Integra muttered. "And a convoy of helicopters like yours would end up crashing into one another. You should have them set down somewhere in the neighbouring areas, somewhere near Salisbury." She exhaled. "And i´m warning you, Maqube, i´m giving you the benefit of doubt, because you aren´t Maxwell... but if you betray us, then-"
"Then what, Integra?" Maqube cut her off. "Gods kingdom is coming, and you people will burn in hell either way for what you´ve done, turning your back to the church and domesticating vampires! ...but he works in mysterious ways. Perhaps you will be saved... if blood is spilled for all mankind, your men and mine will both be saved. At this point, this far down the Lords plan... denominations do not matter anymore. It's merely Christianity against its mortal enemy."
Integra took a deep breath, and exhaled. "Very well. You are coming as well, aren´t you? To witness it firsthand when Angels come from the heavens? I´m in the town hall of Amesbury at the moment, our forward defense post. Join me."
Out at sea, three ships had sirens ringing in a flat, monotone manner, three times in a specific combination, while hatches opened on deck. One of those had been opened before and black soot was present on it, but these new ones were still pristine, and each of them had a missile poking out of them. Once the sirens ended, twenty-seven missiles shot into the sky, one after the other from three different ships with a distinct gap inbetween- all targeting the same spot on the map.
Stonehenge was abuzz with activity by this point, lines of soldiers ranking up, no less than four iron giants and several flying beasts were in the air above them. Seeing the attack on the horizon, most of those went out towards its origin, trying to intercept what was coming but it proved fruitless. The gap left between the firing sequence ensured that one missile exploding would not damage the next one incoming, and each detonation took out multiple beasts at once. This tactic worked for a couple warheads, after that, they started getting through and rained down on the stairway site.
Each Tomahawk carried nearly a ton of explosives, and the demons felt that. Even back at the Hellsing positions, they could see soldiers flying about, thrown like ragdolls by the force of the staggered blasts, and the iron giants disintegrated into shrapnel when struck by one. Gods own thunder couldn't be as loud as the barrage was at ground zero, and a mile away, Abby tried her best to press her ear protection down...yet still, even with all this the clouds did not clear up in the constant storm and rainfall.
"Confirmed hit on target. Repeat, target hit."
It did little to help. As the dust settled and came down with the rain, the former area of Stonehenge was a large series of craters which had brought any farmland up in flames and soot, but the stairway was still there- lower down and level with the ground. It was undamaged, and no sooner no more missiles came down did the next demons walk up the stairs to replace those that were killed.
Two hours later, dusk was setting in and what little light there was for Hellsings forces to work with soon became less and less available. Water was running in-between fields and asphalt roads, the rainfall turning the area more and more into a swamp, rather than argriculture... and the tank support was still over an hour away.
"Five columns approaching, Ma´m." A private reported back to Seras, who pressed her lips together at the news.
"I see them, thanks. ...damn it. We´ll hold fire until they get closer... once the northern flank starts firing at them, we´ll join in. Rayna?" The blonde turned her head towards the tall woman. Both of them were draped under a camouflage pattern plastic sheet to keep the rain away, lying on a soft foam mattress about half an inch thick to make sure they wouldn't sink into mud either- yet they were still soaked through from top to bottom. Seras almost welcomed the advance Hells legion finally made, it meant that they would soon have to change positions...though for that she would either have to break radio silence, or make her own decisions.
She dreaded the later.
"Fuck this job." Rayna grumbled. "I´m ready when you are, Victoria. But man, i was looking forward to a spa day in the whirlpool after this. By now, i don't want to see water again for the rest of the week."
"I hear you." Seras sighed, making sure her sights were lined up with the square enemy formations in the distance, then she waited.
Much further away, Iskra and Mato had just left their car to walk down a cobblestone path, past a fancy iron fence gate- a typical upper class home in the british countryside was their destination.
They were out of the storm, and in this part of England the weather was cloudy, but even that was a nice change from the cataclysmic weather of Stonehenge. After a bit of walking, a house approached in front of them past a little private park.
A two-story house near the cliffs leading to the Atlantic ocean, built in an older style that reminded of the Victorian era. In front was a rose garden with a large pond, large enough it needed a bridge to cross and gave the whole site a bit of a castle-like feeling, though it would never be deep enough to work as a moat.
"Something tells me whoever it is we´re expected to meet, they aren't poor people." Mato snarked, rolling her eyes slightly as she walked alongside Iskra.
"It doesn't matter to me if they´re rich or poor, so long they help us." The russian replied with a grumble. "If we went all this way for nothing but a false trail, heads will roll."
"Nah. This sort of house is exactly what you´d expect when you look up a mysterious person with knowledge they shouldnt have. Jules Verne had one of those, you know." Mato snickered, approaching the doorbell... or what she thought was one, it appeared to be just a sign. "Uh?"
Frieda Simone Desdemona von Haydenreich, it said- though lacking any options to ring, she tried knocking on the door instead.
It opened on its own, and a warm scent of herbs and flowers came from inside. "Hello...?"
"Ah, no need to be shy. Come in, you two."
Looking back at Iskra, who seemed just as confused as her, Mato eventually complied after a moment's pause.
The Victorian theme continued on the inside. Crimson carpets and walnut furniture, a grandfather clock in the corner which seemed to be working... their first impression was confirming that they had to be very well off to live here. A stairway went further up to the second level, but the voice seemed to come from further inside, so carefully, Mato proceeded. She almost cursed her heels for the noise they made, almost fearing that they were walking into some sort of trap, but coming into the livingroom, her spirits lifted a bit.
The livingroom seemed to be the conclusion to all the themes they had encountered so far- a well off lady with a thing for the Victorian era. Dark oak laminate floors, rustic looking walnut furniture and mellowing wallpaper formed the base, and whichever spot was free on the walls was hung with a rifle, shotgun or sometimes several handguns, all of them antiques in pristine condition. Black leather sofas and seats adorned an ornate, decorative rug, with a mahagoni table inbetween, forming a seating area opposite of the windows, a fireplace like one would find in a castle dominated the middle of the room, the opposite side was lined with bookshelves and racks of... things. Finally, the wall with the windows in featured a desk with a chair, the former currently full of a large chemistry set, under the watchful eyes of the house owner.
"Welcome, welcome. I´m sorry i couldn´t be at the door, but i need to watch this." Frieda, as it turned out, was a woman of supple curves, hidden in a sleek three-piece suit. Despite her grey hair, her name and her aristocratic behavior, she was no older than Iskra, or at least appeared that way- an eyepatch covered her left eye, while the right was a soft green color. She smiled back at them, whilst watching very carefully as chemicals gushed and bubbled from one side of a beaker to another. "Don´t worry, its not toxic, but if my timing is not absolutely spot on, the mixture will get into the sour spectrum rather than the base. ...three... two...one... And now!"
She cut the flame of a bunsen burner that had been running, and opened a valve to another chemical rushing in, which mixed in with the first to create a dark blue. She then turned it over, pouring it into another beaker which contained a yellow powder, and a fizzing reaction happened which gave off a light blue smoke... Mato quickly covered her face, though Frieda waved off, and after a moment, poured it into a flask with a cork on. "There we go- concentrated disulphuric acid with a trace of aurum fulminate, leave that to rest for 24 hours and i have a tincture that can kill any demon that gets this into their bloodstream." She winked, smiling as she finally walked over gracefully to greet them. "Please excuse my manners, but that was very important... Now, i´m Frieda von Haydenreich, Monster hunting is my expertise, with a side note of alchemy and a dabble in the arcane arts."
Before Mato could say anything, Frieda had reached out for her hand, lifting it up and kissing the back of it. "And i must be the most fortunate woman alive, if i´m being visited by such beautiful girls."
"A...ah...i´m... i´m flattered. And i´m Mato Kuroi." Mato stammered, not quite sure what to answer to such a high-class lady, taken aback by the whole thing... though she was taken more aback as Frieda then took her glove off to brush over Iskras cheek, cupping her chin and- before Iskra could try to shove her off, kissed her cheek.
"Wha..." The russian began, irritated. "Whats with that?! I would be fine with a kiss on the hand-"
"A kind gesture is quite pointless, my dear, if you cannot feel it. This might be beyond your personal space, i apologize, but it is sincere all the same."Frieda explained, letting go of her with a light smile.
Iskra was shocked, irritated, then finally looked down to her hand... and back up to Frieda. "How... Someone told you? You knew we were coming, but they told you this much?!"
"My dear... your whole body is vibrant with life and warmth... except for your arms. You may have hands, but they are not alive." Frieda replied, putting her glove back on while she gestured for the two to follow. "Now, lets not stand and talk like we´re in a great hurry to leave again. Have a seat- Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee, perhaps something alcoholic?"
Mato followed her almost like she was on autopilot, deeply in thought... the woman might be a bit wierd, but if she could tell Iskras condition without even looking at her, and she could tell they were at the front door all the way from the livingroom, she might be the real deal. "M-Miss." She began.
"Frieda." Was the response, with a smile. "I´m only an aristocrat by title at this point."
"Fine...Frieda, we...we came here because we need your help, the demons of hell are going to overrun England if we don´t do something and..." She peeked over to the chemistry set, before sitting down on the red leather couch she was presented with. "...It looks like you already know and started preparing."
"Yes, the portal that has opened was not exactly subtle when it did- and something of that magnitude leaves little question about its origin. Although that said, it's nowhere near a solution." Frieda nodded, taking a seat opposite to the two. "You can kill as many demons as you like, there´s going to be more on the way. This is just something to be more potent against their stronger beings, once those arrive... and i fear it might not be ready by then."
"You´re talking a lot but we´ve got to start from the beginning." Iskra interjected, folding her hands over. "We´re running almost completely blind, so we need to know what you know. What we can expect, if this is going to end and how we beat them."
"Oh, i can start from the beginning, but you´re asking very difficult questions, my lovely." Frieda noted with a hint of worry. "Its not going to end and beating them may not be an option so much as surviving them long enough- but i digress, if you don't mind, i´ll bring some reference material."
She stood up, walking over to the stone chimney and tugged on a fire iron hung on it, which made the wall right next to it slide open. Beyond it was a long hallway of bookshelves, like a miniature library and it extended well into the second level.
"...Do you really need a secret room for your books?" Mato raised a brow. "I think if someone would break into your house, they´d be more interested in those-" She pointed at an antique revolver rifle on the wall, "than in a bunch of dusty books."
"You misunderstand. This wall is to protect me from the books, not vice versa. And the rifle you pointed to is a modern reproduction, worth only about five hundred pounds. My pistols, you see, they´re far more valuable." Frieda winked with a giggle, then fetched herself a ladder to climb up.
"Protect you from... whats a book going to do to you? ...Do i want to know?" Iskra raised a brow, and soon shook her head. "I probably don't."
"You ask for books about demons of hell, and yet you don't expect that sort of knowledge to be cursed or drawing you into a deal with them. You have a lot to learn if you´re going to fight the devils, my dear. Let us begin with the basics."
"Seras...!" Rayna shouted over the noise of gunfire, fetching another magazine from a crate. "They´re getting pretty close now...!"
"I NOTICED!" Seras shouted back angrily, manipulating her left arm to throw multiple hand grenades at once to suppress the attacking phalanx, but she soon had to pick up her rifle again to shoot down Mantis´s that approached from the skies. "Shit... Alex, do something... Do the first step, don't wait for me!"
"Captain Victoria, we need to start the retreat now or we wont have the time!" Lance Corporal Nelson reminded her, his assault rifle merely delivering suppressive fire half the time. "You need to give us orders!"
"Fine... FINE!" Seras briefly turned around, standing up out of her foxhole and shouted back at the men. "EVERYONE! Pack up your kit and get in the truck, one by one! Rayna and i hold positions until everybody is in! We´re moving three clicks east and take up defensive position in Amesbury!"
While she was saying that, two javelins slammed into her body, spearing her back to front, and a third one hit her head moments after she finished. One of the younger soldiers screamed, although Seras never hit the ground- merely, her body ceased to exist around the weapons, and reformed next to Rayna in a black mist. "Those things are getting annoying. How are you on ammo?"
"Two mags for the rifle. I´ve got some more for the big gun, but those are still in the truck... i´ll use those later." The tall woman grumbled, taking potshots at the line that came down the hill. "Better radio the HQ that they send us some resupply to Amesbury, or we´ll run out before long."
"...We´re still in radio silence though..." Seras pressed her lips together, picking up one of the javelins and throwing it back with all the force she could muster- but the shaft was too weak, the head broke off after piercing the second man in line.
"Since when are you going by the books? The fate of Hellsing depends on getting more ammo delivered, give her a brief shout out!" Rayna glanced at her for a moment, only to blink and dodge a spear that narrowly missed her head, ripping her cheek open- the wound healed slowly, but visibly. With a grumble, Rayna stood up, towering over Seras and providing an excellent target for the others- but the front lines had depleted their spears by now and were down to swords, charging forwards now that their enemy chose to stand. Rayna pulled out her pistol, Caerbannog- at first glance a normal pistol, it dwarfed anything in its class, a massive piece firing an incredible .66 caliber bullet with a core of depleted uranium- not to penetrate armor, but to make the already heavy bullet even heavier. It had a passing similarity to the legendary Jackal in a way- and it was not a coincidence. Much of the techniques to build that giant handgun had been used again, to build a pistol suitable enough for the powerful hybrid woman. "Make that call, Seras! I´ll handle this!"
"...Alright. Be careful." Seras nodded, as Caerbannog made its first, loud and snappy bark, accompanied by a bright blue muzzle flash. As she ducked down to engage her radio, it barked five more times, each one tearing a hole in at least two, sometimes three men at once, the core becoming a sharp shrapnel as it bore through their armor and continuing out the back of them.
"Salisbury HQ, please come in, this is Captain Victoria."
The radio in the middle of the round table came to life, and Integra exhaled a visible sigh of relief. Tensions were rising across the room, some of the men were not too happy about involving Iscariot, others were starting to feel the pressure, yet others were complaining why Hellsing couldn't handle this- although they were soon reminded that the Navy couldn't handle it, either.
"This is HQ. Whats the situation, Victoria? We´ve heard nothing from you for a while."
"Thats correct, Ma´m. The enemy was aware of our missile attack, so we guessed that they would somehow monitor our radio traffic and called for radio silence." Seras explained quickly. "Though even then, our new defensive positions are about to be overrun... we´re retreating further back, to the town of Amesbury. There should be a lot of open windows and houses we can hole up in- that to me sounds like a better idea than trying to hold them off in the open, in the freezing rain... i might be able to withstand that, but most of the team is human afterall." Seras paused, as Rayna had reloaded and began firing again. "Since the tanks arrive from the west, i figured retreating east could make them drive the enemy into our flank, where we can pick them off in the streets. Their big line formations wont help them there."
"Yes, very good, Seras. What about Captain Winters?" The million dollar question.
"I havent heard of him since the beginning of radio silence. I can see they´re still there fighting, but i might have to actually go over there and ask him whats going on at this rate." She sighed. "We´re low on ammunition, Ma´m. We need urgent resupply at Amesbury... can you organize something there? Regular ammunition should do just fine, silver doesn't seem to give us any advantage here."
A brief glance at the right man, and a nod was received. "Noted, Seras, it's on the way. Alongside some support for you- 120 men and women from Iscariot are coming your way in helicopters, they´ll arrive near Amesbury. I told them to follow the path to Stonehenge, but if you set up post in the city then that should be a good spot to assign them positions. I know your reservations against them, and i can imagine none of your men and women are enthused either, but they´re the best we´ve got."
Unbeknownst to Integra, rather than getting angry or being scared, Seras rejoiced at those news, her heart, had it been beating, skipped and she almost felt weak kneed. A certain feeling spread within her which she seldom felt in public- rather, one that she felt whenever she thought of someone, alone in her coffin. "Thats...thats great, Ma´m. I was actually worried how we would hold an entire city with what we´ve got. Of course we should be careful about their intentions, and keep our backs to the wall, but at this point i´d almost rather have them than the tanks."
"Good to hear. Now, see to it that the other two positions are aware of the plans too. The last thing we need is a disorganized retreat."
"Will do, Ma´m. Have you heard of Mato?"
Integra pressed her lips together. "No... but i hope i will soon."
"As we all know, the Lord works in mysterious ways, and the intentions of heaven are often inexplicable... but the intentions of hell are almost always aimed at destruction and mayhem. More so, though, their interests lie in gathering bodies, either dead or alive, for their armies. When they have defeated mankind, they will no doubt have enslaved most of them- or ground up their bodies into their basic biomass to create life from non-life." Frieda explained, reciting from a book. "The greatest paradox in the myth of creation is that hell seems to be able of the same things heaven is- where heaven can create life and everything surrounding it, they are also more than capable at destroying it again on a whim. Hell is more than capable at destroying life and the land that gives habitat to it, but its ability to create evermore disgusting, repulsive creations of its sick creators suggest that they could, if they wanted, create life again in their image if they so chose... and perhaps, they will, once their conquest is completed."
"Well that's nice. In our next life, we´ll be reborn to suck Satan's thorny horsecock." Mato replied in a dry manner, sipping on a glass of Coca cola while her leg, crossed over the other, was impatiently swinging back and forth. "Where do we get to the part that lets us beat Hell before that happens?"
"Patience, my dearest. Although you have quite the imagination..." Frieda flipped the page with a wink to Mato. "The gates to hell open when the seal that holds them shut break, although one seal breaking may not imply that the others break as well. However, should one hellgate be released, it cannot be closed shut again by mortal means, nor destroyed, as it does not exist on the same plane of existence as the ground surrounding it. It would be like trying to destroy a rainbow by hitting it with a sword."
"That explains why the missile attack did nothing." Iskra grumbled. "Not good."
"An open hellgate will render the seals of the others weaker, as the magic that holds them shut has to fight magic that tries to destroy the seal from both sides- it is foretold by the highest of angels that at most, they will hold for six days, as the Sabbath is the day in which their magic weakens dramatically and they will have to open a gate to keep control of the rest. At the same time, Hell will not rush things- wave attacks are their speciality, and a single open gate may only serve as a distraction, to slowly grind up and use up their enemies forces and weaken them for the full scale assault that happens once the second gate opens. If a third should ever open, the skies will darken forever, a fourth will let the oceans boil. Gate five brings about the strongest of the legions, and the sixth brings about the end of all life on earth. Once the dust settles, and the earth has returned to the barren rock it once was, He who is many will emerge from the seventh and final gate, and he will rule forever more."
Mato´s mouth was left open, while Iskras eyes narrowed to slits. "So in basic terms... if we don't do something fast, six weeks from now the world will end."
End of Chapter 4.