HELLSING: WITCH HUNTER 1616
Sapphirewyren
Ch. 18: The Fourth Sword: Charybdis
Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing
A thousand years ago four abysmal demons terrorized the world and no one was able to defeat them; until the king England sent out four families and their armies, the Whitehalls, the Hellsings, the Victoria and the McClarens. The tale tells of three swords and three Hunter families, but it is incomplete. The four families thought the most advantageous way to defeat these demons were if each family took one demon. Each family fought their assigned demon courageously, well actually only three fought with courage. The heads of the Hellsing, Victorias, and McClarens led the way to the battlefield knowing full well that this could be their last day. So they fought with everything they had and after a hard long battle and sacrifices, they were able to the defeat the demons and seal them in three swords. However the head of the Whitehall family preferred to save his own skin and sent his army to fight under the leadership under another man. The fourth demon, the scourge of the ocean Charybdis decimated the Whitehall army. Seeing this the three other families, though exhausted from their own battle assisted the Whitehalls and was able to seal the demoness into the sword, but because the families had tired themselves out, the seal was not as strong the others.
Out of respect of the humans' great will, strength and courage, the demons Alucard, Bahamut and Byakko allowed themselves to become slaves to their wielders. As each head of the family stepped forward to claim their blades, the fourth would not allow the Whitehall head to wield her, "WHY SHOULD I BE A SLAVE TO A COWARD!?" Partially destroying the seal, Charybdis killed the Whitehall head and his remaining army, leaving only his youngest son alive. She then hurled the sword into the ocean and disappeared in the depths of the waves. When the families returned home, the king was informed about what happened, but he felt sorry for the lone Whitehall and so he was lavished with favor and power, but not the Hunter title. This was what he and his descendants would crave for generations, but without a demon imbued sword, the Whitehalls would have to be satisfied with what they had. A thousand years later the Whitehalls or at least one of them craved the swords; that it led him to commit atrocities against the Hunter families and be executed. As the years went on the people never knew that the Whitehalls had been in the battle with the demons or that there was a fourth sword, only the Hunters knew, but they never expected to see it again.
Early morning in 1617 a report came that a man found a rusted sword on the beach, upon picking it up, he dropped dead, his life sucked out of him. The people on the beach suffered the same fate; as their life essence strengthened the demon within the sword and she was able to break free from the weakened seal and began her rampage.
Walter was getting worried, a hunt never took this long before and if it did, Integra would at least sent word to him and Schrodinger. She knew how much they worried about her dangerous duty. But today that was not the case and on top of that a torrential thunderstorm had started. The butler couldn't help but pace, he tried to keep a cheerful attitude for Schrodinger, but as lunch came and gone, still no Hunters. Evening also came and went and the rainstorm only seemed to get worse with loud booms of thunder, a black sky and bright flashes of lightning. Schrodinger tried to keep himself busy with caring for the horses and playing card games with Hans, until the thunderstorm came. He ran inside the Manor and jumped into his mom's bed, but without her there, it just made it worse. The other staff tried to come up with reasons why the Hunters would still be out in such weather, but none of it helped, especially when ten at night came.
As Schrodinger laid huddled in Integra's bed trying his best not to hear the deafening thunder, he heard what sounded like screaming. At first the cat-boy ignore it, the sound became more insistent and panicked. It sounded like it was coming from the front gate. Schrodinger ran out of the house, nearly knocking over Philip, on his way out. He sprinted out to the gate where he saw Baskerville screaming bloody murder. The stallion's saddle was empty and his reins dangled loosely. The guards rushed to open the gate and the horse ran towards the manor where he continued screaming and rearing up. Schrodinger dashed towards the horse and tried to get a hold of the reins. Baskerville just ran about in circles, screaming and whinnying. Philip came out to see what the ruckus was about and seeing the empty saddle, knew something had happened to Integra. He ran back into the manor and to tell Walter what happened.
"Hans get a carriage! Philip, get the doctor here immediately, tell him it's urgent!"
"What about me?" asked Schrodinger.
"See if you can get that horse to stop screaming and lead us to where Sir Integra is!"
That was easier said than done, but Schrodinger was able to calm Baskerville down enough and the stallion led them to the beach where all the three Huntresses lay unconscious on the muddy ground. Hans and several guards lifted the women into the carriages and they rushed back to the Manor, where they were stripped of their wet clothes, cleaned and dressed in clean clothes by the maids. Afterwards the doctor proceeded to check each woman, while Schrodinger and Walter fretted and worried. Soon the doctor spoke with Walter; "Besides for several bruises and cuts, there is nothing physically wrong with any of them."
"What? How can that be?"
"There is no head trauma to explain their unconsciousness. Whatever they were fighting must have something to with it. Though there is one thing that concerns me. It's about Sir Hellsing's right eye, it is best if I show you." The butler followed the doctor in the Huntress' room, he peeled back Integra's right eye lid. Instead of a sapphire orb, the eye was reptilian; the eyeball yellow, the iris light green and a black slit of a pupil.
"What the bloody hell is that?" gasped Walter.
"I have no clue, she might be possessed or…"
"Not a word to anyone, do you understand? We can't have foolish notions and rumors going about" said Walter sternly. The doctor nodded, having been in the Hellsings employ for many years, he knew how to keep his mouth shut. After the doctor had gone, Walter went the office, where the three swords lay on Integra's desk. For once none of the demons had given any trouble when someone else picked them up. The three disembodied spirits came out of their respective swords when Walter demanded; "What happened out there?" The demons glanced among themselves uneasily before Alucard answered; "We encountered the fourth abysmal demon, Charybdis."
"What?! I thought that sword was lost at sea."
"It washed up on shore today and she was able to break the seal."
"Ok, but how did they end up like this? Will they wake up? Are they alive? And what happened to Sir Integra's eye?"
Alucard looked really uncomfortable before whispering: "She used a forbidden seal."
"SHE WHAT?!"
The demon nodded; "Charybdis proved too strong and indignant to seal in another sword, so Sir Integra used the forbidden Thirteen Layer Seal to seal parts of Charybdis within the three Huntresses."
Walter could only stare in shock as he processed the information. The last time someone had used that forbidden seal, they were blown to tiny bits. The butler had heard Arthur tell his daughter that this was a forbidden seal, among others and therefore never spoke of it again, furthermore teach her. Where did she learn it? Did she know any other forbidden seals? How could she do something so stupid? Did she tell Sam and Seras that it was forbidden or just used them as tools? Walter wished Integra was awake so he could slap her and then hug her and then give her a good shake. He couldn't believe that she would do something so reckless. Now it was up to the Huntresses themselves to come through. The next morning Walter sent word to the king and he practically came running.
To see his Hunters incapacitated in the way they were, stunned Albrecht. They looked like the dead with a pale pallor and drawn faces. The king visited everyday in hopes of seeing them awake. Walter noticed that he spent the most time with Integra and though he knew it wasn't his place, he had to tell the king that he had other things to do. As he left, Albrecht asked; "You'll let me know when she wakes up, right?"
"Of course, Your Majesty" replied Walter not missing that the monarch said 'she' and not 'they'. After three days, Sam was the first to awaken and as she got out of bed, she stubbed her toe on the wall, more like she kicked a huge hole in it. "Holy shit! Oops."
"Please be a bit more careful, I'm sure that Sir Integra does not want to pay for any expenses you incur" sighed Philip. Just as he finished talking to Sam, a hand came through the wall.
"Sorry! I was trying to squash a fly!" said an embarrassed Seras.
"This is the only time I know of people coming out of comas destroying property" said Philip.
As the two women headed to the kitchen, Seras asked; "Is Sir Integra awake yet?" Philip shook his head; "Not yet, the seal took a toll on her the most, since she initiated it."
"Oh."
After lunch Seras went into Integra's room. She was startled to see King Albrecht there, holding Integra's hand. "Your Majesty? I didn't know…"
"I'm sorry Hunter Seras, I was just…"
"It's alright Your Majesty; I'm worried about her too."
"What is this Thirteen Layer seal thing about? I keep hearing Walter fussing about it, but I can't get him to explain."
"It's a forbidden seal used to trap demons in living beings; in this case, us."
"You mean the fourth abysmal demon is inside you? Right now?"
"Ummm…yes, well part of her is…"
The monarch was silent, which made Seras feel uncomfortable; "We are not going to be fired are we?"
"Of course not, why would I do that?"
"Well we could probably be considered demons….couldn't we?"
"I don't think you're a demon. Who would protect the country from witches? Besides part of demon is inside but it is not you."
"But I punched a hole through a concrete wall!"
"So you've become stronger."
"That's the demon's power."
"That power is now yours. You can choose to use those new abilities to protect this country. It can also give you a better advantage against the witches."
"Well when you put it like that, I guess it's not that bad."
"May I suggest you and Sam practice how to control these new abilities, I'd hate to get a report that some poor innocent person was hurt."
"Yes, of course Your Majesty."
Walter entered the room and said; "I'm here to remind you, Sire that you have a meeting."
The king gave a most unroyal-like pout; "Aww crap, I forgot about that. I could cancel it…"
"Your Majesty, you cannot spend all your time here. It will look at though you are neglecting your duties. If there is a change, I will let you know, now no more visits!"
The king sighed; "Fine." He looked at the unconscious Hunter before he left.
"I think he has a crush on mom" piped Schrodinger. This earned him a smack on the back of his head from Walter; "You will NEVER repeat that, do you understand?"
"It's not my fault it's true."
Walter sighed, he did not need these kinds of rumors to start spreading about, but he couldn't help but notice that maybe what the cat-boy was saying true. However what good king wouldn't be worried about their subjects? Albrecht was that kind of man, he had a large heart and was friendly….and married. Schrodinger sat in the chair that the king had occupied and said: "I hope she wakes up soon, another thunderstorm is coming soon."
Integra had though she had been in some strange places in her life, but this vast, misty black was the strangest by far. The darkness was never ending and she then heard a voice; "You think you can keep me in here with your weak seals?"
Integra came face to face with a large bluish-purple sea serpent. Despite the lack of light, she scales still shone and one her chest was a large red circle with twelve more circles in it that continuously rotated.
"It'll have to do for now."
"Like everyone before you, you will fail."
"If you haven't noticed, you overgrown eel, my name is NOT Whitehall."
"Hm, so which one are you? Victoria? McClaren?"
"Don't me laugh; I'm neither of those families."
The demon leaned closer and grinned; "Hellsing. The family of magic users. But this won't keep me." Charybdis tried to clawing at the seal, only to receive a rather nasty burn.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't underestimate me"; smirked Integra.
"If I can't leave, then neither will you!" The sea serpent at swiped Integra, just for her claws to phase right through her.
"You have been split into three, so you won't be leaving anytime soon. If you are a good girl, I might let you out to play."
"I think you and I will get along, Hellsing."
"As long as you know who is in charge."
"Of course…master."
Walter looked down at his unconscious boss; he hoped that this was not a permanent thing. Schrodinger was already beside himself with worry and the king was not too happy. There had been two witch attacks and Sam and Seras had to dispose of them without Integra. Sam was actually glad to show that she did not need the Hellsing heiress, she already felt that the king spent too much time with her. Seras, on the other hand hated that Integra was out of commission and Father Anderson came to the Manor to pray over the woman. After the priest left Walter could only shake his head while asking; "Why on earth did you have to do something so reckless?"
"It seemed like a good idea at the time" came the soft reply.
"Sir?"
"I said it seemed like a good idea at the time."
"You're awake."
"I can see that."
Walter then hugged Integra, something that he rarely did; "I thought I had lost you. I thought that you wear dead." The butler left Integra to her devices, while he went to have something for her to eat prepared and to share the good news with the of the household. Meanwhile in the dining room, Seras, Sam, Hans and Schrodinger were eating lunch.
"Since Sir Integra is out like a lamp, who's in charge, not that she was in charge of us, but this nice house can't go on without an owner, so I vote me."
Hans growled in disagreement.
"You can't be in charge, don't people have to respect you?" asked the cat-boy.
"Just for that you can sleep outside the gate, brat."
"No one is sleeping outside and Sam, you're not in charge" sighed Seras.
"You're getting more and more like Integra" said Sam.
"That's Sir Hellsing to you, you ungrateful slag. As to who is in charge if I am ever incapacitated, is still me, not some common women off the streets! Nothing changes."
Schrodinger ran to his mother and gave her hug; "Mom! You're awake! I missed you. Baskerville was so sad, he kept kicking his stall."
Walter, however fussed that Integra should be resting to regain her strength, but she just ignored him reminding the butler that she had been 'resting' for the last week and she was tired of it. Soon everyone found themselves in the living room, where Walter said sternly; "Sir Integra, you are aware you used a forbidden seal and it can't be undone?"
"Yes, I am."
"These two have barely managed to keep their new abilities in check."
"Well they are going to have to work on that, won't they?"
"This is serious."
"Ya know we have a demon inside of us, right?" asked Sam.
"Way to contribute, Sam. I told you that during the battle."
"You forgot the part where she is in my mind!"
"I agree with Sam, sometimes I hear her trying to tempt me to break the seal" said Seras softly.
"You couldn't, even if you wanted to."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that you don't know how and if you try to break the seal, you will die" was the deadpan response. Sam and Seras looked stunned, but the assassin exclaimed; "You never told us that part!"
"I shouldn't have to, why would you want to set Charybdis free anyway?"
Because she promised to get rid of you.
Integra clutched her right eye; what the hell was that?" Seras looked at the heiress with concern; "Are you alright, Sir?"
"I heard that, Sam" growled Integra. But the assassin looked confused; "What did I say?"
Seeing the look on Sam's face, Integra realized what was happening. Since the water demon Charybdis was sealed within three different people, her abilities were also split and depending on their will, so were their control the portion of the powerful water demon. One of the abilities that Charybdis had was the power of mind reading, which had made her very difficult to defeat in battle; now that power resided in Integra. Of course this made everyone in the room pretty uncomfortable, for fear that now their very thoughts would not be secret.
"Well since Sir Integra can see our thoughts, I might as well have some fun" smirked Sam.
"That's my cue to leave and rectify this problem"; said Integra, but as she left the room everyone could hear her exclaim; "Oh come on Sam! That's just nasty!"
Walter asked; "What was it you thought of?"
"Oh, just me and her doing it,….doggy style."
"You're mean" giggled Seras.
Seeing the filth that many people had on their minds, Integra decided to seal up Charybdis' powers, she didn't need the powers anyway, to Integra her sword and her own abilities were enough. The powers of the water demon, which also included telekinesis and the ability to create illusions, would be used only as a last resort. So the new black leather eye patch Integra sported sealed those powers until they were needed. She hoped that Sam and Seras would do the same thing, but had high doubts about that. Sam wasn't happy because she had so many images that she wanted to show Integra; "Oh well I guess I'm just going to have to just draw them."
When Albrecht found out that Integra had been awake for several days, he was not happy that Walter did not tell him right away. And Walter, who forgot all about the king was surprised when the monarch showed up.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see Hunter Integra. You said I'd be the first to know when she recovered!"
"Sorry, must have slipped my mind."
"Well where is she?"
"Does the queen know you are here?"
The look the king gave Walter made the butler regret asking and he led Albrecht to Integra's office. When they arrived, the king picked Integra right up out of her chair and gave her a big hug.
"Your Majesty, this is highly inappropriate!"
"I'm just glad that you're okay. I was so worried."
"That's great, now put me down. Why does everyone feel the need to hug me?"
Walter left the office to bring some refreshments and after that, he left them alone. They spent more than three hours talking; Walter realized that when Sam came into the dining room asking about the kings guards that stood outside the manor. Walter looked at his bronze pocket watch and gasped; "Three hours!?"
"I bet they are doing it in her office."
"Samielle, you are talking about the King!"
"I know, about now, Integra's face is in pure ecstasy while the King plows her like cornfield."
Walter stared at the copper haired woman in open mouthed shock. That couldn't be true…could it? Integra wouldn't do anything like that, there could be serious repercussions. As if she could read his thoughts, Sam purred; "It's only human nature. How long do you think she's going to remain a virgin?"
Walter dashed towards the office with Sam close behind. He threw open the door and three pairs of eyes looked at the new entrants, two surprised, one mildly annoyed. Wait….three pairs of eyes?
"So which one of you is going to tell me what the hell is going on?" demanded Integra.
Sam and Walter looked at each other and pointed to each other, Integra meanwhile sighed; "Let me guess, due to the time that passed, Sam put some filthy notion in your head that His Majesty and I were up here fucking like cats in heat?" Albrecht looked shocked, while Schrodinger started laughing. Turning to the king, Integra said; "This is the kind of stupidity I have to deal with on a daily basis." Walter mumbled his apologies and left shamefaced, while Sam had a smug smirk on her face; "If you're thinking about doing it, I don't mind watching."
"Come here Sam."
"Oooh, we're making this a three way?"
The slap that followed echoed around the office, astounding both cat-boy and the monarch who did not see that coming. Integra grabbed Sam's chin and pulled her close; "If you can't show more respect for your king, I will throw you out of here. You are not to say such disgusting and slanderous things about His Majesty because I consider that to be treason. Do I make myself clear?"
"Ya know I was hoping we were going to kiss."
"Too bad, I make it a habit never to put dirty things in my mouth. Now get out."
Sam left rubbing her cheek, but also with a huge grin on her face. Integra shook her head; "Ugh, how I loathe that woman."
"Now, now Sir Integra, she seems nice to me. It's been a year and you still haven't give her a chance."
"I'm sure she doesn't give a damn whether I like her or not."
"You'll be surprised. Well I better get going. It's good to see you in good health, Sir Integra."
After the King left, Integra pondered over what he had said and scoffed; "Sam's a disappointment to every Hunter that existed."
Chapter End
Author Note's: So there's the fourth sword, Charybdis, a water demon. In Greek mythology; Homer's Iliad, Odysseus faces Charybdis, who as a monstrous whirlpool (in some pics there's teeth). I think it is also in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. We'll see more of the sea serpent demon and her abilities that each Hunter has in future chapters. Okay back to hunting and killing witches. See ya in the next chapter.