Disclaimer: I don't own Owari no Seraph, its plot or characters, or any other mentioned books, songs, or series. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs and the plot that deviates from canon or doesn't exist in canon. This is a non-profit fan fiction just for fun.
To NguyetMieu: Lol, the thought of Vivian, Mika and Shinya as a family is hilarious and super cute. It would indeed totally fit with the hair and eye colours. I can see your family scenario happening in my mind xD.
To hifivebuddy: Vivian is 17 years old at the moment. She turned 13 two months before the apocalypse, but her friends Kaori and Akira were both 16 years old, like Shinya at that time – Vivian skipped two grades of elementary school and was a little younger when she got enrolled, so that's where the age difference comes from. I admit it can get a little confusing.
It's the year 2017 in this chapter and Shinya is currently 20 years old while Mika is turning 13 soon. When Yū joins the Moon Demon Company in December 2020 (the year should be right, but the month is my own guess because it was never said anywhere as far as I can remember, so correct me if I'm wrong), she will be 21. Shinya will be 24 at that time, having just turned that age at the end of November, and Guren will be 24 years old as well. Hope that cleared things up!
To MaelOfTheSun: I'm glad you think so! I try to keep Vivian's reactions and decisions as relatable and realistic as possible (though I might not always succeed with it).
A/N: Thank you all so much for following, favouriting and reading my story! And my special thanks and imaginary cookies to NguyetMieu, hifivebuddy and MaelOfTheSun for taking the time to write a review! I really appreciate it. Here is a longer chapter because of the longer wait. Enjoy!
Chapter 13 – Tests
At the outskirts of the Demon Army's stronghold, Shibuya, Four Years Earlier
Makoto and Shūsaku had finally managed to arrange a secret meeting with Hiiragi Shinya through contacting Ichinose Guren, the leader of the Order of the Imperial Moon and their master. The past months had exhausted both of the young childhood friends and had brought them to their mental and physical limits.
Shortly after both of their families, their parents and some older cousins had either died from the virus or while fighting against the Order of the Imperial Demons under Hiiragi rule on the day of the apocalypse, the vampires had overrun Nagoya. Everyone who was fourteen and older and hadn't mingled with demons had been affected by the virus.
The two friends had grabbed the absolute necessities and joined a group of survivors from the Order of the Imperial Moon who were aiming to reach the Kantō region, preferably Tōkyō. Just hours after the apocalypse the message that the Hiiragi Clan had pardoned the rebelling followers of the Order of the Imperial Moon because they needed every capable fighter against the advancing vampires, who were humanity's enemy, had reached them.
Makoto and Shūsaku hated the Hiiragi Clan and its order but as the most powerful magical syndicate worldwide, they were the only ones who could offer shelter for the surviving humans that managed to make it to their headquarters in Shibuya, or to Shinjuku.
On the perilous journey north the friends had been ambushed by vampires several times and lost many people on the way to them or the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. But they'd also met and rescued three other children their age, Kagiyama Tarō, Endō Yayoi and Inoue Rika on the way, whom they then befriended.
Now that they had found a home in Shibuya, the Order of the Imperial Demon's stronghold, weren't running or fighting for their lives anymore, and things were slowly beginning to normalize themselves as much as possible under the circumstances, questions came up that they hadn't had the luxury of asking before.
Such a question was burning on the two friends' minds when they met the adoptive son of the Hiiragi family, someone they'd rather not associate with because they despised the Hiiragi, but had to do so this time out of necessity.
The Hiiragi Clan has been the leading family of the Order of the Imperial Demons for more than five centuries and it was one of the most influential magical syndicates in the world. Especially now that the Hyakuya Sect, that had been its only serious competition, had been annihilated by the vampires.
Despite the Hiiragi Clan's prominence, without hearing his family name, Makoto and Shūsaku hadn't recognized Shinya on the few occasions they had met in Vivian's presence – the two had never personally seen one of the Hiiragi. They had only found out about Shinya's identity recently, after coming to Shibuya, and had been equally angered and disappointed about the deception of Vivian's supposed best friend.
However, they soon came to know through rumours that Hiiragi Shinya was on friendly terms with their master Ichinose Guren, which was how they had gotten the idea to contact Shinya without drawing the attention of the rest of the Hiiragi Clan or its order.
Shinya was the only one who might know about the fate of their mutual friend, so even if they disliked associating with a now confirmed Hiiragi, they had to do so in order to gather information about Vivian.
The first questions that left Makoto's lips once the four of them were situated in an abandoned building at the outskirts of the Shibuya safehold were, "Where is Vivian? Do you know anything about her whereabouts or condition? I haven't seen her or heard word of her since the apocalypse."
"Is she at the base in Shinjuku, Major General Shinya?" Shūsaku threw in his own question in a more polite tone.
Shinya's expression grew unusually sombre, which made the two friends fear for the worst before the usually lighthearted snow-haired teen spoke up.
"I don't know where she is. I've searched for her around the place where she had supposedly been at last but only found her cellphone." He had agreed to this meeting because Vivian's younger friends deserved some answers. Shinya knew that the two boys were dear to his friend like younger brothers and thought that they had the right to know about her status.
"Did you search her apartment?" Shūsaku asked.
"I did. There was no one there. But I'm still visiting the place every week just in case," Shinya affirmed.
"Was there any blood on the site where you found her cellphone?" the eleven-year-old Makoto inquired, worried for his older frien– no, his adversary. Blood would mean that she'd been affected by the virus.
"...It's hard to tell if there were any there before, but when I conducted a search around the place a few weeks later, I didn't see any blood stains. Ah, I should probably tell you that I received a voicemail from Vivi-chan shortly after the virus outbreak. Considering that I also didn't find her body, I like to believe that she wasn't affected by the virus."
Still, there was always a small pessimistic voice at the back of Shinya's mind that said that his friend might be dead already.
Unaware of Shinya's internal doubts, Shūsaku let out a breath of relief. The news were reassuring for Makoto as well, however, something bugged him.
"What took you so long? You were here in Tōkyō with Vivian, weren't you?" he inquired. "You should have gotten to her in no time after things had calmed down a little! Why didn't you–"
"Shinya wasn't well and in the hospital himself for a long time, like the rest of our squad. Conducting a search in a shitty state could have ended deadly for all of us," Guren crossed his arms and interrupted Makoto and his accusations even though Shinya had made no move to excuse himself.
Although Makoto could understand what the Ichinose heir was saying, he couldn't help but feel anger and resentment towards Shinya. He was the person that Makoto could vent all of his cumulated ire, frustration and the despair he felt after having lost so many people that were important to him on.
"You abandoned her then!" Makoto yelled and pointed a finger at the sixteen-year-old before he could compose himself. "You abandoned your oldest friend in order to to save yourself! If I had been here in Tōkyō, I wouldn't have left Vivian behind, no matter what!"
"You're right, I did." Shinya couldn't stop his self-depreciating smile from appearing, unfortunately, a hot-tempered Makoto didn't take this gesture well. Despite the difference in height and social standing, he stomped up to the white-haired teen and grasped his collar.
"What are you smiling at, Hiiragi?! Is this a game to you?!"
"Makoto!" Shūsaku tried to haul his friend back before he did something in his temper tantrum that would end badly for all of them – attacking a Hiiragi, even an adopted one, was a serious offence – though he could understand Makoto's feelings.
However, Shūsaku also saw the logic behind Guren's words. If his squad had gone out in a less than pristine condition, there would have been no guarantee that they would all have made it back alive at that time – it had been utter chaos. It was hard enough to survive outside the newly built walls around Shibuya without any injuries. Vampires and Horsemen lurked around every corner.
Vivian wouldn't have liked it if her friends had thrown their lives away for her sake. Shūsaku was aware of that and he was sure that Makoto knew it as well. But that didn't make it easier to accept the truth. Shūsaku was frustrated with his own inability and weakness; despite of all the training he had received until now he was still so very weak. Still just a powerless child.
"Quit the attitude, Narumi. I was the one who forced Shinya to stay in the hospital until he was better, so if you want to blame someone, blame me," Guren chimed in.
The eleven-year-old glared at his master, but he knew in his heart that the only thing at fault for this mess was the apocalypse itself.
He let go of Shinya's collar, but didn't lose his scowl. "I'm going to go out there and I will find Vivian myself!"
With that said, Makoto stormed out of the abandoned building. Shūsaku bowed in apology but quickly followed after his friend – he had a promise to keep.
Guren and Shinya were the only ones left behind. Guren observed his usually breezy friend. "You should have put the blame on me. I was the one who told you to stay in the hospital."
Shinya gave him another smile that was clearly fake, self-depreciating. Guren knew that feeling very well himself.
"Which was probably the more prudent choice, but was it also the right one? The boy had every right to criticise me, Guren. Vivi-chan was always there for me, but I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most, no matter what reasons I had for it," Shinya said.
Guren closed his eyes, feeling as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders once again. Shinya didn't talk much about Vivian in his presence, but whenever he did, there was a certain sparkle in the other teen's eyes, that Guren recognized for what it was, because he had once seen a similar gleam in the reflection of his own eyes whenever he thought of Mahiru.
This girl Guren only knew from pictures and through his friend's tales meant more to Shinya than the adopted Hiiragi would ever admit. The urge to tell Shinya everything he knew was strong, but Guren swallowed it away. He couldn't say a word about what he was aware of if he didn't want to endanger Shinya's life. Even though it pained him, Guren didn't let it show and continued to hide everything. What was one more secret?
"You tried to save the world and prevent the apocalypse for her sake as well, didn't you? Can't be helped if you get seriously injured while you're playing hero," he said instead.
The blue-eyed teen smiled remorsefully. "All of us were in over our heads. We were fools to think that we could stop Mahiru and prevent the apocalypse. I don't even remember what exactly happened."
Guren tried not to think about the ritual space where they met Mahiru and what occurred there. "We were. But what else could we do but try? Anyway, your friend is probably glad that she doesn't have to see you for a while. You're annoying."
"Heh~. How mean. Vivi-chan never said that I was annoying."
Guren snorted. "Well, if she can stand that annoying face and attitude of yours, then I'm sure she'll forgive you for showing up a little late, too. Sooner or later we'll find her. Together." Privately he thought, 'But she'll never forgive me.' Guren pushed himself away from the wall he had leaned on and left before he let anything slip, or Shinya detected a hint of guilt displayed on his face.
Shinya was Guren's friend, his family, that Guren would protect no matter what, even if it meant sacrificing the freedom and health of his friend's crush for an uncertain amount of time.
At the moment they couldn't do anything about her situation, and telling Shinya and the others about her whereabouts would just endanger all of them because Guren knew that his friends would immediately try to rescue her.
But they couldn't afford to get on the Hiiragi's bad side again, like the few days before the apocalypse where they had been hunted down for betraying them. Guren's squad had only been pardoned by the Hiiragi because they were useful. In this new world, where the vampires had finally crawled out of their underground kingdom and Horsemen of the Apocalypse were roaming the earth, being on the run from the Japanese Imperial Demon Army was even more dangerous than before.
Guren had to go about this in a clever way. Unfortunately, that meant that it would take him a while to get the girl out of the Imperial Demon Army's clutches. He would continue to ensure the safety of his chosen family, even if he would later be hated by Shinya for his deeds and deception, even if he would be hated by the whole world for it. It was another sin that he had to shoulder.
"Ahaha, are you trying to cheer me up?" Shinya's laugh sounded hollow. "Aren't you a nice friend, Guren~? But you know that I don't believe in miracles... We were unable to save Mahiru, too."
"Shut up and don't be such a pessimist. Vivian isn't Mahiru. Would your friend give up on you if your places were reversed?"
An unusually soft expression flit across Shinya's face. "No, never."
With renewed determination Shinya followed Guren out of the building, unaware what dark secrets lurked in his friend's heart.
Krul's Palace, Sanguinem, March 2017
Around sundown I awoke and was unable to sleep any longer. I couldn't sleep for more than a few hours at a time, no matter how hard I tried.
After I had stowed away the pillow and blanket – it was actually just the lining of the coffin that I had simply ripped out of the thing – I sat down at the wooden desktop and looked at the pictures and Shinya's message in my locket, wondering what my friends were doing. It had become a habit. I hoped Shinya, Mako-chan and Shū were alright wherever they were.
My thoughts were interrupted by a knock.
"Good morning, Mika," I greeted the boy with a smile when he entered my room. He was already presentable, but I still needed to change out of my nightgown.
"It's evening, Vivi-nee." His hair was in a slight disarray, which looked adorable, especially that one strand of hair which always seemed to defy gravity. I had to fight the urge to hug him again because he was so cute. Was I developing a younger brother complex? Yes, without a doubt I was. Somehow I was really prone to it.
"True." I noticed something else. "Say, Mika, why do you still wear the livestock uniform?" I asked him when I opened the curtains to let in the dim light of the city.
Not that it made a difference in my eyes – even without light I saw my surroundings as if it were midday, which made it even harder to fall asleep. The lanterns in the streets of Sanguinem changed their colour over the course of the day to emulate daylight. However, the enhanced hearing gave me the most trouble with falling asleep.
Absent-mindedly I retrieved a dress from the dresser, that loosely resembled a Roman robe and began to braid my hair.
"…" There was no answer from Mika. When I turned around to him, he avoided my questioning gaze.
"You know, I would really like to see you in nice clothes some time. I bet you would look adorable in a dress shirt~. Ah, but you don't have to change out of your uniform if you don't want to," I added quickly, not wanting to pressure him.
"I have been contemplating it for a while. Krul always tells me I should stop wearing this uniform because I'm not a human anymore. It's already been over four months…" He had been a vampire for over a month when I showed up here in Sanguinem in January.
The boy hadn't accepted what he was now yet. Not that I could talk.
Mika remained silent for a few moments and stared at the floor. "I'll wait until you're ready, Vivi-nee."
I was genuinely surprised and pleased that he'd called me 'sister' again. "Alright, I'll be quick."
After emerging from the bathroom, I put on shoes and was ready to go. Someone had deposited a wine, or rather, blood bottle and glass on a serving table outside my room in the meantime. My new, permanent food source. Just seeing the blood made me swallow on reflex. I really wanted it, but knew that I had to refrain from drinking it for at least one more day. I only had some blood yesterday, after all, and should exercise some self-restraint – two, or even three days without blood should be possible.
I stored the bottle in my small personal fridge and left together with Mika. The time at which Krul had demanded our presence was approaching.
"Ah, Vivian, Mikaela, there you are," Krul greeted us from her throne.
However, we were not the only people in the room. The vampire noble Ferid Bathory was standing right next to us and was eyeing us with gleeful interest.
Without a doubt I had to learn how to sense certain vampires better. I concentrated on his scent, so I would be able to recognize it the next time. Most of the time I tried to ignore the smells when I travelled through the corridors because they were distracting.
"Aha~. So it's true that you quit being human and became one of us, my dear Vivi-chan. How wonderful it is that your youthful beauty will be preserved forever now~," the silver-haired vampire complimented me with a grin.
The urge to cringe at his words was strong, and I didn't appreciate the reminder that I was stuck looking like a seventeen-year-old for all eternity. "...Hello, Lord Bathory," I greeted the progenitor politely, and did my best not to react to his remark. Mika frowned slightly.
"Ah, Mika-kun, you should hurry up and drink some human blood just like Vivi-chan here to stop ageing. I think you're at the best age right now~!"
Yikes. "I'll pass," Mika said coldly.
"That's too bad." Ferid turned to me again, "Actually, I was just talking with dearest Krul about you because I wanted to have a little chat with you, and found out about your upcoming skill evaluation, Vivi-chan. Naturally, I absolutely have to see it~!"
Not very eager to be in the company of Ferid, I directed my impassive gaze back at Krul and waited for her answer. I disliked that the Seventh Progenitor was here or that he might oversee my test, but I couldn't avoid him forever.
At least this time it was easier to put on my poker face in front of him. Having no heartbeat was convenient in this situation, as well as the fact that Krul was here with us and she was stronger than Ferid. I didn't have to fear for my life this time.
"You can watch, Ferid Bathory, as long as you remember that Vivian is mine," Krul declared. I didn't like to be called anyone's possession, but if I had to decide, having Krul as my 'owner' was definitely the better choice.
"I would never even think of snatching her away," Ferid answered with another grin and a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
I didn't want to know what he had in store for me. Even if it was doubtful that I could ever hold a candle to him, I had to train a lot harder so he wouldn't be able to touch a single strand of hair on Mika or me – I was probably nowhere near the level of the Seventh Progenitor, nor would I ever be as far as I knew.
Two more vampires entered the Royal Audience Chamber next. One of them was René. Of course it had to be him of all people! I remained inexpressive even though my scumbag brain sent me a flashback of the compromising… situation… René had witnessed over a month ago. Again. I thought I was over it by now, but no, every time he'd come to escort me in the past weeks, I remembered the incident with perfect clarity.
This time, however, René wasn't just wearing his own sword at his belt like usual, but also carried another sheathed sword in his left hand. The unknown vampire mustered Mika and me with a faintly curious expression on his pale face, that was framed by two strands of silver-blond hair on each side. The rest of it was neatly combed-back.
He was tall and lithe, and looked to have been in his late twenties when he became a vampire and stopped ageing. Like all of the vampires I'd seen so far he was handsome but his crimson eyes lacked any spark of life.
He seemed to be a noble, judging from his white dress shirt, green waistcoat, and white jabot that wasn't part of the city guard uniform. Was he going to be my teacher?
"Vivian, this is Eleventh Progenitor Niall O'Connor, one of the nobles of my – our – faction," Krul introduced me. I greeted him politely and he returned the greeting in a similar fashion.
"It is my pleasure to meet Queen Krul's progeny. I am honoured to be the one to assess your capabilities, Lady Vivian." Niall seemed to mean every word.
But as his words registered in my mind I turned to look at Krul in shock. I should fight an Eleventh Progenitor? Me, the newly-turned vampire?
"Queen Krul," I addressed her, "Isn't fighting Lord O'Connor far beyond my skills?"
The small vampire smiled lightly. "A vampire's strength is primarily determined by the quality of blood they have received, Vivian – they don't get stronger or weaker after that. And you have drunk my, a Third Progenitor's, blood to become a vampire, which gave you a power that should surpass Niall's. It depends on your own talents and capabilities whether you can adequately use that power to defeat him."
Okay... So that was how it worked? Still, I couldn't entirely believe that I was capable of fighting the Eleventh Progenitor or any progenitor at all. Lacus had already been impossibly fast when I was still human, and he didn't have a rank as far as I knew.
"Maybe Vivi-chan doesn't feel up to the task?" Ferid commented.
The mocking tone in his voice pissed me off. "No, I'll do it," I said before I could stop myself. Maybe I would regret this and get my ass handed to me, but my competitive streak made me want to try it before I gave up. Mika looked a little worried but didn't say anything.
"Good. Then it is time to go to the testing grounds. Follow me." Krul led us down a corridor I didn't recognize, which was no surprise as I hadn't gotten around much despite having the permission to explore the place. We left the palace and passed through an arched stone corridor that led to another building.
It didn't take me long to figure out what it was. There was a very spacious, circular area in the middle that was lined with seats. It was an arena, a colosseum. Why was something like this down here in Sanguinem? Did vampires compete against each other in public for some reason?
Krul seated herself on another throne while Ferid and Mika sat down in the seats next to her, the blond farther away from Ferid. Only now as I entered the arena I became aware of what I had chosen to wear and internally cursed my own stupidity for wearing a dress today of all days. How could my subconsciousness be so dumb?! I had to get a grip on myself.
"I want to see how you fare in fight while utilising all of your combat skills," Krul said to me.
"Will we be witnessing anything spectacular today, my queen?" Ferid asked and I dearly hoped that he wasn't referring to my wings or the strange power of opening a portal to the World of Death.
Was the silver-haired pervert suspecting something because I had almost slipped up and summoned them that one time when he'd carried me to my room? Or had he heard rumours about the state I'd been in when I entered Krul's palace? That was definitely not good. It was one more thing he could blackmail Krul and me with.
I exchanged a quick look with her in a silent conversation. "I'm not sure what you are expecting. Vivian is simply being tested on her abilities today," she answered matter-of-factly.
Ferid merely smiled at her words. "Heh~, is that so? You know, I've heard some interesting rumours going round in Sanguinem. They say that a monster with wings entered the city. I wonder what happened to it~?"
Shit. So he had indeed heard about it. I didn't react outwardly when his gaze stayed on me though I was angered to be called a monster by him of all people. Mika remained silent as well and with a poker face in place.
"I am certain Queen Krul has already taken care of it if there was such a creature here, Lord Ferid," Niall commented.
René didn't react apart from glancing at me from the corner of his eyes; he was one of the few vampires who knew that I was not just a child from Sanguinem that had caught the queen's interest like everyone has been led to believe. Krul had even fabricated a human, or rather, livestock account for me to make my fake story more believable.
"You shouldn't believe everything you hear, Ferid Bathory," Krul told him. "Now, let's end this tedious conversation and let us begin with the evaluation. René."
"..." Ferid remained silent but gave us another smile that unnerved me.
"Yes, your majesty." René, who had went down into the arena with me and Niall, gave me the sword he'd brought.
A western sword... I had never fought with a real sword before, much less a western one, and Krul was aware of it. Was this another test of hers to see how adaptable I was? I removed the feather-light sword from the sheath and gripped it like I was used to from kendō though it was a little broader than a wooden sword or katana. The blade looked to be made out of glass.
Then I took my stance and faced Niall, feeling my nerves a little because of my spectators and because I was facing a certainly very competent opponent. At the same time I was excited, almost giddy at the prospect of a good fight; I realised I had missed this. Niall had waited patiently for me before he drew his own sword. A real gentleman, huh.
At Krul's word, we jumped into action, or rather, Niall did. I wanted to stay on the defence until I had seen some of his techniques and fighting style if I could. The Eleventh Progenitor was incredibly fast, but I managed to block him just in time. I had seen his every move...
The force behind the strike was nothing I'd ever experienced before, and I had to use every muscle in my body to hold myself in place as our swords clashed. The ground beneath my feet cracked from the impact but I was completely fine, which was crazy. It seemed vampires were not only stronger but also more resilient than humans.
I was able to withstand Niall's power and narrowed my eyes as I pushed against the progenitor's sword. I was more than astounded that I could truly match him. Was this the result of drinking Krul's blood?
However, Niall didn't waste more time to attack a second and third time. With each blow he seemed to get stronger and faster, so I had to push myself to my limits, or what I had thought were my limits, to keep up with him.
But I never reached them. On the contrary – I felt as if I could go even faster, use even more power to block or attack him. Still, I struggled because I was out of practise, the sword didn't feel right in my hold, and Niall was clearly a master swordsman. I almost lost my hold on the sword a few times because of the moves he made.
The Eleventh Progenitor cut me here and there – only minor injuries – while I was still getting accustomed to his fighting style and didn't block him right, but I barely felt them before they were healed again. This was what vampire healing was like, huh? It was truly superfast.
The fight continued on and on while we whirled around each other at an impossible speed. Wind from the power behind Niall's slashes blew furiously through the arena and damaged the ground, or made small cuts in my clothes or skin, while blocking one of his attacks made the ground crumble beneath my feet or send me a few metres back.
Slowly, I began to get a feel for the other vampire's techniques and my own physical capabilities as well as the sword in my hands. While I was studying the way he wielded his sword, I was also paying attention to Niall's impeccable footwork, and I noted that he rarely attacked me with anything but a blow of his sword. He was a very fair and honourable fighter.
This seemed to be the extent of his physical power, though. I wondered whether I was able to overpower him once I went into the offence. There was only one way to find out.
While I ducked to evade one of his strikes, I struck my foot out and hooked it behind one of Niall's before I tugged with full force. He didn't fall for long before he caught himself, but for the quarter of a second he was surprised and lost his balance. That was my opening. My sword shot out and passed his defence, but merely cut his left upper arm.
It seemed to baffle the other vampire, though. However, I didn't leave him any time to recover, brought my sword down on him again, which he blocked like planned – I was very close to him now. I held onto the sword with my right, but used my left hand to push against his chest in a quick move with all the power I had.
Niall was thrown backwards and stumbled, but caught himself; still, it was too late because I was already upon him. I smirked as I attacked Niall left and right with my sword and mixed in some kicks and punches as well as moves I'd just copied from him.
He might be a master swordsman, but he was lacking in the subterfuge department, considering what I'd seen of him so far. And Shinya had taught me a lot about that.
This time I was the one who was getting faster and put more power behind each of my blows, as much as I could. Niall did his best, but soon it became clear that he was unable to keep up with me strength and speed-wise. Like Krul had said, I was truly able to overpower him.
It was quite fun to see the Eleventh Progenitor looking a little ruffled. Niall barely escaped a strike at his neck but got caught by my roundhouse kick that followed immediately afterwards. It was one of my favourite moves and sent the progenitor straight into a wall.
"Well, that certainly looked intriguing~. Your progeny seems to take after you, my dear queen, though she has a meaner streak," Ferid joked and I glared at him as soon as I realized that he might not be talking solely about my roundhouse kick – in the heat of the battle I had forgotten just what I had foolishly clothed myself in.
My dress went almost down to my shins, but just a moment ago the skirt had been lifted because of my kick. There was no telling how much the silver-haired vampire had seen. Curse my own short-sightedness for choosing to wear a dress today of all days! And curse Ferid for coming to watch my test!
"Be quiet, Ferid Bathory," Krul admonished him. I mentally applauded her before I concentrated on my opponent again – I shouldn't have let myself get distracted by Ferid. It was a foolish beginner's mistake.
Niall had crashed into the wall of the arena, several meters away, and there was an impact crater in it from the force I had kicked him with. How strong did I have to be to be able to do that? As if bending door handles out of form wasn't enough. This superhuman strength was not only impressive but also kind of scary.
Wasting no more time, I dashed up to the vampire noble just when he jumped out of the small crater. His outfit looked a little worse for wear but otherwise Niall was fine, aside from his neck that he put back in place.
A human would have definitely died on impact. The progenitor wasn't able to bring his sword up in time when I went for his wrists to slap the weapon out of his hands, momentarily forgetting that I was wielding a real sword.
Of course, the sharp blade sliced right through Niall's wrists. Black blood spurted out of the two stumps and signalled the slightly disturbing and prompt end of the fight. The sight and smell of the progenitor's blood wasn't as enticing as human blood but still managed to catch my attention for a moment.
I had just crippled someone, but I wasn't feeling as perturbed as I should be when I pointed the tip of my sword at his neck. Still, I apologized. "I'm sorry, Lord O'Connor. Are you alright?" His injuries must hurt a lot... Or did they? Thanks to the fast healing I didn't feel any of mine anymore, but I also hadn't lost a limb, or two.
He gave me an unconcerned but polite answer. "These injuries are of no importance, milady. This was a fight to gauge your strength, after all, so I'm glad that I could be of assistance. But I might need a hand to reattach my limbs."
"Of course!" I immediately lowered my sword and rammed it into the ground before I picked up Niall's hands and pressed the wrists to the stumps of his arms. It was baffling to watch how the two ends mended together instantly. A moment later the progenitor could move his hands again as if I had never cut them off in the first place.
"I believe that was enough of an evaluation," Krul commented from her throne.
The Eleventh Progenitor turned to me. "Even though your fighting style was mildly... discourteous, I am certain that with the right guidance your skills in swordplay will improve quickly, Lady Vivian."
Well, Krul had wanted me to show her all of my battle skills today. A few dirty techniques included. I didn't even use all of the moves Shinya had taught me.
"Indeed," Krul agreed. "Niall, I believe you are well-suited for the job."
The Eleventh Progenitor bowed to her. "It would be a great honour to instruct Lady Vivian, my queen."
I guessed there could be worse things than to be taught by Niall; he seemed friendly enough, even if he was a little too prim and proper for my tastes. However, I'd rather have someone like him as a teacher than the likes of Ferid, and as I'd confirmed myself, he was truly a very capable swordsman. If not for my advantage in power, Niall would have wiped the floor with me. I could surely learn a lot from him.
Krul then turned to the city guard who had remained silent like Mika. "René, you will be responsible for teaching Vivian all of the basic skills she will need when she joins my army in a few months. Make her familiar with the City Guard, our technology, and how we operate starting from tomorrow."
"Yes, your majesty," René bowed slightly and I smiled a little. All in all, I was quite satisfied with Krul's choice of my teachers. René was a calm and civil vampire... most of the time. He could also really dish out as I've experienced once or twice.
"Aww, but I would have been a great teacher, too, Krul," the Ferid protested playfully.
Krul narrowed her eyes at him. "I have told you earlier that I already have teachers for Vivian." Thank every deity there was for that.
The Seventh Progenitor sighed dramatically. "That's too bad."
It was decided that Niall would train me from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day and René would teach me from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. every night. The rest of the time I could spent however I wanted. I was still not allowed to go to the surface, though.
"That was all for today. You have my permission to enter Sanguinem now, Vivian." Krul stood up from her seat.
"Thank you!" I replied with a bright smile. At least that was possible now – I was more than ready to explore Sanguinem. There was a slight upwards curl to her lips before she turned around and left, Niall and René following her after the former had told me to meet him in the arena again tomorrow. René would wait for me in front of the City Headquarters afterwards.
Ferid and Mika joined me in the arena. Sadly, the pervert hadn't left, so we were now stuck with him though Mika and I came to the wordless agreement to leave immediately.
"It was really cute how you showed concern for the well-being of a fellow vampire even if it was completely unnecessary, my dear," Ferid said from behind us, which we ignored, but he didn't stop talking.
"It's a shame that I won't be your teacher, but maybe I could demonstrate right now how vampire healing works with larger injuries to give you a better understanding of it? It's my duty as an elder to guide you after all."
Mika and I sped up our pace, not liking where Ferid's thoughts were going.
"Hmm~, but Mika-kun already has some experience with something trivial like losing an arm or getting stabbed in the chest. How can I make this educational?" Ferid mused. "Ah! I have an idea~!"
There was a moment of intense pain in my neck area before I couldn't feel my body anymore. All sensations from my neck down had disappeared from one second to the next. However, I could feel hands around my head, and Mika was looking at me with a mildly horrified expression.
"Vivi-nee!"
Why was he suddenly so far away from me? And why was I getting so thirsty? Why couldn't I feel my body?
There was a numb pressure on my scalp as if someone was tugging my hair, and suddenly I was higher up and face to face with Ferid, who had a sinister smile on his face.
"You appear quite confused my dear, so let me clear things up for you~." He turned me back around to face Mika, who was kneeling on the ground next to... a headless body. I could see the bone and torn apart flesh and muscles, the dark blood that was dripping from the open neck.
With this gory sight right in front of me, I should definitely feel ill, but I didn't. I wasn't able to feel sick or nauseous anymore – I could only feel the terrible thirst that increased with every passing second.
The body wore a familiar dress which was torn and cut in a few places and stained with blood along the cuts, too. It was my body – I could not only see it, but was also able to sense it. And I was... I was...
"That is your body over there – I'm just holding your pretty little head," Ferid caressed my cheek with his free hand. "Isn't it amazing that a vampire can even survive something like this~?"
What the hell?! Was he being serious? He had beheaded me to show me how resilient vampires were?! I didn't want to know this at all!
"Let go of her, you bastard!" Mika growled, but Ferid merely cradled my head as if this was a game to him.
"Aww, but I enjoy having Vivi-chan close to me~. I've missed her~," Ferid stroked my hair, playing with the long braid. "Doesn't this remind you of someone else, Mika-kun?"
This perverted asshole only missed messing with Mika and me...! And he even brought up that girl with a braid I vaguely remembered from the series. One of the Hyakuya orphans, Mika's family, who had been killed by Ferid.
Hadn't she been beheaded as well? Did Ferid want Mika to relive her death through me? Anger welled up in me at the thought. Ferid was truly a sick, sadistic bastard.
"Could you please return me to... my body, Lord Bathory?" I was surprised that I could still talk, and tried to sound as impassive as possible in this absurd situation. Showing Ferid any distress or fear would only amuse him more. "I think I've learned enough for today."
He made me face him again. This evil creep! "Hmm... Is that so? I bet you must already be starving by now. Are you hungry for human blood, my dear?"
The other vampire was patiently waiting for an answer from me.
More of my blood dropped from my severed head onto the ground. "...Yes," I confessed grudgingly after a while, feeling ashamed for admitting it to him and in front of Mika.
Ferid smiled in response. "Oh no~. We can't have that, can we? We wouldn't want you to turn into a demon! Alright, this shall be enough for today. Catch, Mika-kun~!"
The Seventh Progenitor threw me carelessly through the air, making the world spin around me. If I was still human, I would definitely puke right now. Or rather, I would be dead in this condition. But as a vampire I merely felt dizzy, and the painful thirst, that grew the more blood I lost, dominated any other sensation.
Mika managed to catch me though it was a quite uncomfortable landing. Blood was pouring from my open neck and the thirst was becoming worse, but the boy didn't waste a second to reattach my head to my shoulders. It tingled a little as the flesh and bone mended itself together in a matter of seconds. It was a strange feeling.
As soon as I could feel my body again, I also felt the craving for blood even more acutely. It was painful, so very painful. My body demanded for the red liquid to make up for the loss, and I almost quivered in want for it. 'Blood. Blood! Not enough blood! I need to drink blood!' the demand repeated in my head when I sat up.
"Vivi-nee, are you alright?" Mika asked me, worry displayed on his face. His clothes and hands were stained with my dank, black blood from catching me.
"...More or less," I answered as I rubbed over my mended neck and glanced warily at the silver-haired vampire who was still watching us with that sickening smirk. Now just the leftover blood on the ground that also stained my neck and dress indicated that I had been headless seconds ago.
"See, everything is fine! I hope you enjoyed my lesson about vampire healing, my little newborn vampires~! Am I not a great help~?" Ferid chirped, sounding very satisfied with himself.
I wanted to cut him into pieces, or run, or both. Judging from Mika's glare, he wanted to do something similar to him. I didn't dare to say anything in response, because what would leave my mouth wouldn't be very nice. Angering a vampire noble who had just demonstrated how much stronger he was and how easily he could kill me started up my survival instincts.
Mika's blue gaze then met my red one. "Let's go, Vivi-nee."
I nodded in agreement and we hurried to get out of there and away from Ferid.
"How cold to just leave me standing here all alone without even thanking me~!" the silver-haired vampire yelled after us but received no answer.
"How do you feel?" Mika asked me on the way to our rooms once Ferid was out of earshot and out of our sight.
"A little shaken and rather thirsty. That was a very uncomfortable experience." To say the least.
"I bet..." Mikaela changed the topic, which I was grateful for, "But I have to say that you were really scary earlier, Vivi-nee. I hope I'll never have to fight against you."
Was that a compliment? "Thanks? If you want, I could teach you a few moves in the future."
"Hmm. I'll think about it."
Back in my room my eyes immediately went to the mini-fridge, that contained the bottle of blood. Mika made the connection as he followed my gaze.
A sad understanding shone in his sky-blue eyes. "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from Ferid."
I shook my head and tried to give him an encouraging smile. "It's fine. Protecting me is not your responsibility. I'm older than you so I should be the one to protect myself and you".
Mika still looked guilty and haunted. Ferid must have succeeded with reminding him of his family again.
"...I'll let you be." Mika was about to leave my room, but I quickly held him back by his arm and engulfed him in a hug. We both were stained with my blood anyway and needed a change of clothes, so it didn't matter if I got more of my blood on him.
"Thank you for helping me and for accompanying me to my test, Mika."
"...You're welcome." He returned the hug for a moment before he left the room in fast strides.
I should definitely check on him later. A sad sigh escaped me but I was glad that he was out of the room and couldn't see me hungrily swallowing the blood directly from the bottle in the next minute. My thirst was only satisfied after I had drunk all of the remaining blood from the one litre bottle. After having devoured it, I felt invigorated again.
Of course, no power was without a price.
A few minutes later I had cleaned myself up in the shower and had changed into a white shirt with a ruffled collar and sleeves, and a black ribbon around the collar. And pants. I was done with dresses for the moment.
After blow-drying my hair for an eternity – I should have insisted harder to cut it down to shoulder length because I was now stuck with annoyingly long hair forever – I emerged from my bathroom, only to find Ferid Bathory sitting on my sofa as if he owned it. His clothes were still stained with my blood.
"Surprise~!" he chirped and waved at me with an infuriating grin. "I've sneaked into your room~."
My mental defence went up and I tensed. I had had enough of him for a day! Why was he here again?
Unfortunately, Ferid wasn't done with me, it seemed. He had said earlier that he wanted to talk with me. The progenitor was holding up the empty blood bottle and eyed it as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
"Already empty… This bottle should have lasted a few days at least. Or was the thirst too strong to resist drinking all of the blood at once, my dear Vivian?" Ferid mused, but I remained silent and willed my body to relax despite my growing irritation. He should know best why I had been so thirsty!
His eyes fell on me and a smile slowly spread over his face, that made me even more uncomfortable. "You know, I'm slightly disappointed that you didn't consider my offer…"
"I'm no one's plaything," I stated though the other vampire had toyed with me earlier and was playing with me again right at this moment.
Ferid lifted a brow. "Oh, but you are. Krul is using you for her own plans. If you had joined my faction, I would have taken good care of you and the human friends you are searching for. We would have had so much fun together~!"
...How did he even know that?! I did my best not to show him that I was concerned or feeling intimidated by him. Krul had said that nobody aside from her or Mika knew my friends' names. I didn't even dare to think their names in Ferid's presence.
"Wouldn't you use me for unknown plots, too, Lord Bathory? What makes you think that I didn't know Krul would use me for her plans? It was pretty obvious that no vampire would have saved a dying girl out of the goodness of their heart. I made my choice knowing that I would become Krul's pawn. I may be young compared to you all, but I'm not that naïve."
Tense and wary I sat down on the sofa opposite to him, ignoring that he was patting the cushion right next to him to invite me to sit there.
"Oh my. You see getting turned into a monster that can even survive a beheading as being saved? That's precisely what I call naïve, my dear." Ferid smiled.
"Let me tell you from senpai to kōhai that some time in the future when you've experienced the maddening boredom and meaninglessness of an immortal life, and the despair of being unable to die, you will wish that you had died here as a human. You will curse yourself for choosing to become a vampire and will curse Krul who has doomed you to eternal suffering with her blood as well."
Shit, I hadn't wanted to tell him that I'd had a choice, but it had somehow slipped out. And maybe I would feel like that one day, but until then I still had a lot of reasons to live, in whatever form. Ferid was an expert about vampire life, but I knew what dying was like and wasn't opposed to postpone it a little this time.
Plus, once my human friends were dead, I could let myself get killed by a demon weapon... if the Japanese Imperial Demon Army still existed until then. Otherwise, I'd have to ask another vampire to do the deed.
My only reason not to do so was Mika – it depended on him what I would do in hopefully eighty years from now. If Mika wanted to continue living once Yū was dead, I would stay by his side like I'd promised and figure things out from there. It was still far away in the future.
"Are you speaking from personal experience, Lord Bathory? Did you curse the one who turned you into a vampire?" I inquired.
His expression told me nothing. "It is just a generalization. Have I made you interested in me, my dear?"
It would be a lie if I said no. He was an enigmatic person and I had no idea why he was doing the things he was doing. It would be useful if I gained a better understanding of him, no matter how much I despised him. That way I could predict him better.
"...A little."
"Aha~," Ferid smiled again. "It makes me happy to hear that, Vivi-chan~." Yeah, I doubted that. "How about you tell me your story and then I'll tell you mine? Mine is reeeeeally long compared to yours, after all."
So that was what he wanted? Gathering more information about me because I was an unknown factor? "I don't want to talk about my past," I declined his offer.
"Aww, that's too bad. If you ever change your mind, you can come and visit me in my mansion at any time – I love surprises." Ferid's eyes gleamed. I wanted anything but to spend more time with him. He had just decapitated me for shits and giggles an hour ago!
"By the way, my dear, I wonder what your human friends will think about you once they know that you willingly became an enemy of humanity that takes pleasure in drinking human blood?" He glanced at the empty bottle.
Ferid was really good at finding my weak points – I had to fight the flinch.
An icy smile was my response. "I know that I'll have to deal with the consequences of my decisions in the future. I can't change anything about that, and it would be wasted time if I fretted over such things all the time, don't you think, Lord Bathory?"
I had already beaten myself up enough about that in the past month, and had made up my mind to stop doing it after my talk with Mika yesterday.
"How very pragmatic of you. Did you choose to become a vampire to escape death in order to be with your friends again?" he had caught right on. Ferid was a bastard, but he was a clever bastard.
"What if I did? Is that wrong?" I crossed my arms over my chest in defiance.
Ferid smiled widely. "No. In fact, I think it's precious and so very human to desperately cling to a hope, no matter how small, and grasp greedily for any opportunity to fulfil your desires. I wonder how long you will be able to hold onto this piece of humanity, my dear ex-human. Can you already feel your emotions atrophying?"
His words were like a knife that cut into my soul. Since I had woken up as a vampire my emotions have been weaker than before – with exception of my affectionate feelings towards my human friends and Mika, as well as my fondness of Krul. They were as strong as ever. All my other emotions have begun to fade day by day, little by little.
I didn't want to tell Ferid about it, though. Silence was my answer.
The Seventh Progenitor grinned. Would he never lose that stupid grin? "Maybe I should visit you more often. I've really enjoyed our little chat today and your display earlier. Especially in that dress~."
Wah! Why was I more of a 'kick' than 'punch' person? It was very likely that Ferid had seen parts of my underwear in that fight against Niall.
"I'm never wearing a dress ever again…" I mumbled more to myself and made a disgusted face before I could stop myself.
Of course, it didn't escape the perverted vampire's notice. "Then you should be delighted to hear that the city guard uniform for females that you'll have to wear soon consists of a long black dress. I can't wait to see you in it, my dear~."
The hell I would wear that! I had done what Krul wanted and sucked blood for over a month directly from kids – although that was my fault, because of my request – but I would not wear a dress to fight in! Should I flash the enemies with my underwear, or what was Krul thinking, or whoever had designed the uniform?
Ferid apparently had his fair share of fun at my display of displeasure because there was once more a huge smile on his face.
"Aha~, how I love young vampires and their interesting reactions. Hold onto these emotions for as long as you can, young Vivian. It's a shame that I have to go so soon, but I promise we'll meet again," he said as he got up in a graceful manner.
That promise was completely unwanted and unnecessary.
"A good day, Lord Bathory," I said goodbye at the door and hoped that he would get run over by a truck though it was a futile hope considering the state of the world. Plus vampire resilience.
"Call me 'Lord Ferid', my dear. 'Lord Bathory' sounds so distant." That was exactly the reason why I had called him by his last name.
"Alright... Lord Ferid." My eye twitched. I wished I could strangle him. Apart from fear, discomfort and weariness, it seemed that the silver-haired menace was also able to bring out my more violent side.
"I'll see you soon, Vivi-chan~!" Ferid smiled cheerily and waved with one hand as he strutted away in a sassy manner. He would fit right in at a Parisian fashion show if he wasn't a sadistic vampire who took pleasure in mentally torturing people and slaughtering children.
I cooled down for a minute, still not believing that I had had a conversation with Ferid Bathory that hadn't ended in bloodshed.
Well, maybe he had already met his daily quota of mindfuckery and bloodshed earlier by beheading me.
A sigh escaped me. What is my life?
A/N: I hope you've enjoyed the chapter! I would love to get some feedback! Your reviews really motivate me to write :D
1) Concerning vampire strength: I've read in a Q&A with Kagami-sensei that a vampire's natural strength is determined by whose blood they've drunk to get turned into one, and that they don't get weaker or stronger after that, except for their own skills that they can train. Naturally, if there are two vampires of the same rank but one of them has been a vampire for a hundred years longer, the one who is older will probably be stronger (if they haven't been lazing around) because they had a hundred more years to train and have more experience. This also matches what we learned in the Vampire Mikaela Light Novels about Ferid and Crowley's strength level – I don't want to reveal everything just yet if you haven't read it yet, so I'm remaining vague for the moment xD.
2) As for the ranking... Ferid, who is a Seventh Progenitor, has been turned by a second progenitor – a difference of five ranks. Then we have Crowley, a Thirteenth Progenitor who has supposedly been turned by Ferid, and there is a difference of six ranks between them. Krul is a Third Progenitor, closer to a second progenitor, consequently there should be a difference of five or six ranks between her and Mika and Vivian.
The progenitor ranking system in OnS hasn't been properly explained until now, though Crowley dropped a few hints here and there, so I'm just going with guesses I've made from the few mentions of it in the manga and light novels. Taking Crowley and his true rank as an example, I assume that Mika and Vivian have the potential to be Eighth or Ninth Progenitors. So, they should be able to defeat an Eleventh Progenitor in a fight while a Tenth Progenitor could be more of a challenge if they are caught off-guard and are less battle proficient than their opponent. Ferid however is too strong for them.