"We have confirmation that whoever this 'Pendergraft' person is, whether they are or are related to the original former Dame Julia Pendergraft, she is related to the situation with the diabolical objects." announced Elizebeth, speaking to the room. Standing in the corner toward the back was her cousin, listening in with folded arms as he stared out over the heads of soldiers. "Not only that, she has sent people to break into the Phantomhive Estate with the intention of stealing a particularly dangerous object."

Slowly, she paced back and spoke with an authoritative voice, commanding the room around her. There was a team of HELLSING agents before her, focusing carefully on what she had to say. After summarising the situation, she would pass things over to their commanding officer in order to brief them on their plan of attack.

"She knew about the location of this object. That means that there is an information leak. We don't know where from. We don't know how. We don't know why." she continued. "That is the reason why I need you to do your best to bring the target back alive, if possible, so that we may interrogate her for what she knows. Is the objective clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" a chorus of voices boomed in unison as reply. From there, the woman passed things along to their commanding officer, who took the floor to explain the plan. Meanwhile, with her work done, Elizabeth made her way to the door and left them, followed shortly after by her cousin.

"How qualified is this team for this operation?" he questioned, jogging lightly to catch up with Elizabeth before slowing back down to match her pace. "We're not sending in any amateurs, are we?"

"Relax. This is an elite team that's no stranger to missions of this sort. Most of them are experienced former special ops soldiers and shouldn't have a problem if they encounter any human threat or most supernatural ones."

"I noticed that Oliver was there. Aren't you worried?" the man questioned. "I am. Luka's friend, Nigel is also there, so I'm worried about that, too."

"You're very prone to worry these days, aren't you?" the woman asked in turn.

"There are reasons to worry, Lizzie. Bad things happen all the time."

"That's precisely why I need to have faith in my troops." Elizabeth stated. Her chin was still held high in the air as she said this, and her face became rather serious. "There are hundreds of soldiers and staff members on this base, Ciel. If I allowed myself to worry about every single one at all times, especially given the type of danger there is just by being here and working here? I would have worried myself to death by now. All I can do is train them the best that I can, give them the best equipment I can, and the best information that I can, and hope for the best."

Ciel opened his mouth to speak, but held his tongue. He wanted to ask if this is what parenthood is like, but knew that her children were sort of a sore spot for her. It's best not to agitate that wound, especially while she's working.

"I see..."

"Still worried about your own?"

"About my troops and my family, yes." the blunette replied. "Jim accuses me of worrying, too, but I prefer to think of it as 'sensible.'"

"Given your experience, it probably is. That said, you can't worry all of the time. It will destroy you."

"That's fine for you to say. It wasn't your house that was a target for burglary and it is not your house that houses The Book of A-"

"Don't say that out loud!" Elizabeth scolded, lowering her volume somewhat as she turned around. "The reason why it was allowed for you to keep those objects is due to the concept of 'hiding something in plain sight.' Don't ruin it by speaking so lightly."

"Alright." Ciel nodded. "But if not even most HELLSING agents know, then who did? Who knows, Elizabeth? Where is our leak?"

While he asked this, Elizabeth stared somewhere behind him, burying herself in thought. "I know someone who did." She said. Then, her eyes moved back to Ciel. "Johnathan Beattie."

"Damn..." the bluenette replied. "You're right… He was part of Mary's crew during the Krampus incident… Does he know about any of the others?"

"Not that I'm aware of. But if he's out there and is apart of this, it's worth being concerned over. He knows this base, even though he doesn't know about every security measure… We need to reinforce everything. You should probably do the same."

"I will. I'm heading home right after this."

"Good. We need to make sure that book is safe."

It was, for the time being. They had increased the security one would have to bypass in order to get to it. There were barriers upon barriers, boobytraps upon boobytraps, and at the end of it all was a barrier that was tuned so that only known members of the Phantomhive family could pass through it. Failing to miss even one of these precautions when entering and exiting would result in serious bodily harm or death, depending on which trap one landed on and how.

Upon returning home, he would have to reexamine the security measures that were above ground. The door in the memorabilia room that led to the trap-filled dungeon would need to be reinforced and so would the door that led to the memorabilia room. Ciel wasn't sure how to make the windows stronger, except perhaps adding bars to them. While that was practical, they needed to maintain the appearance that all is well and all was serene. Perhaps they could electrify the fence or rig up some remote-detonated landmines for the front yard. Perhaps not the latter… One thing they could do was somewhat easy to apply if Ciel could convince his husband of it. That, however, would be the biggest challenge in all of this.

"I've told you before, I don't want Luka or Revy becoming soldiers." Alois stated rather firmly.

"To be fair, Revy is an adult who can do what he wants." the bluenette protested. "In the event of an attack getting past out security measures, they need to be able to defend themselves. I'm not saying they're going to be sent off to hunt wayward supernaturals. I'm saying that if our house is attacked, Luka and Revy should have the means to protect it, but more importantly than that, to protect themselves. That's all I'm saying."

"Yes, but you know how young men can be. Once they get their hands on a weapon, they suddenly think that they're stud-muffin supreme and that they can take on the world. I don't want to encourage that behaviour."

"So what happens? They just hide and hope nobody finds them?"

"That's how most people do it, Ciel."

"We're not 'most people', Jim." the Watchdog replied, circling around the couch to meet Alois' gaze when he tried to avert it. "And the people who tend to attack our house are not 'most people' either. Revy already has the training from boot camp and Luka already uses guns when he goes hunting with Sebastian. They have the skills already."

"Either way, I don't like it." growled the menace.

"I know you don't like it. I don't like it, either. Luka should remain a child for as long as he possibly can and I don't want either of them to ever be put in harms way." Crouching down to his husband's level, Ciel tried to look the other man in the face as he said this. "You and I know that's not how life works sometimes, however. If something happens… I want them to be a little bit stronger than I was."

Sighing through his nose, Alois looked out, staring into space as the considered this. Ciel spoke sense on the matter, making it hard for him to think of an argument against it. The mansion has been attacked before and it has been attacked while Luka and Revy were inside. Alois remembered the both of them being shaken up as Sebastian had to focus his energy on saving them instead of the diabolical objects inside. They made it out alright that time and they were able to rebuild, but what if? They were older now, so what if they were able to protect themselves? Perhaps that wouldn't be so bad.

In addition, neither of them were as pure and adverse to violence as he hoped. He wanted Luka to be "ordinary" so badly, that sometimes, he fails to remember that Luka, too, grew up in the same conditions that Alois did when he was younger. In addition, it was Luka who destroyed the village. Maybe he wasn't worried about corrupting him. In a way, Alois was worried about bringing that part of Luka back out again.

Revy, on the other hand, had other things inside of him that no one in the house knew of or understood. Not even Revy himself. There was no way of telling what kind of past he had, but they did know that he was trained at a HELLSING Youth Boot Camp, so he knew how to shoot and how to dispatch supernaturals. Supposedly, he even did pretty good during the "Pen Test" and only had some trouble starting when it came to shooting ghouls. How that translated to conscious people, however, was unknown.

Alois' concerns were warranted and grounded in reality. It was undeniable. Yet, he didn't want them to lack agency when it came to defending themselves. He didn't know if providing them with a gun would help, but it might.

"Fine..." he conceded. "But I want them to not be using it or playing with it willy-nilly. For practise only- maybe hunting, in Luka's case, but never without supervision unless it is an emergency. Kids shouldn't have free reign to play with guns."

"They'll be fine." Ciel replied. "They're responsible. They're tough."

"I know. I'm just worried. They're my family, you know. Luka and I go back way further than I do with you, even. I don't want anything to happen to either of them."

"Luka is the same age we were when we started going on missions together. If he can't handle it, then in theory, neither should we have."

"You say that, but something tells me that when we start having kids, you'll start thinking very differently on what age is appropriate for what."

Blinking, Ciel raised his brows for a moment before saying: "Alright. You have a serious point, there."

"So you do understand where I'm coming from." Alois pointed out, looking up at his husband with a small smile. "Don't forget: I took care of him for a few years when we were little. I feel very protective of him." Suddenly, his smile faded and he looked down. "You know what happened to him before..."

"He died..."

"Yeah… He died." the blonde stated. "Listen, I kicked myself about that for a long time. I know now that it wasn't my fault, but for a while, I did. I don't want bad things to happen to him. I know that they might and I know I should consider the possibility even if it's painful. It's just that I'm a person and people are irrational about things sometimes. How would you feel if your brother died and you might be able to stop it but couldn't?"

"I don't know." Ciel answered. "I'm an only child. I did, however, blame myself when my parents were killed. I was ten at the time as well, but I think I would still blame myself if it happened now. I would also be devastated if anything happened to Luka or Revy and you know it."

"I know. I'm just… The annoying adult who has to ruin the youth's fun." the menace declared. "Maybe this is what marks the 'olds' from the 'youths?' Jesus Christ… I'm adulting..."

"Being a responsible adult is a burden, but there's things that you can do now that you couldn't before."

Looking up, Alois pondered this with a shrug. "I mean… The only thing I can think of is get married. I pretty much did everything else as a teenager."

"Like… Use a gun?"

"Shut up, cyclops. I'll kick your ass."

"Probably, but you love me, so I won't die."

Blinking, the menace looked over at his husband in surprise. "You just readily accepted that?"

"I've sparred with you before. You're terrifying."

"Am I really?"

"Jim, you've dislocated your own shoulder to get out of holds before and once in the very same match, punched me in the testicles."

"Oh yeah… We stopped the match after that. I'm sorry about that. I got caught up in the moment."

"You tend to do that quite a bit." Ciel pointed out.

"Is that why we haven't sparred all that much lately?" Alois inquired and without hesitation, he immediately received his answer.

"Yes." the bluenette very bluntly stated.

"I really didn't mean to punch you in the balls… I forgot you're sensitive from getting shot in the-"

"You know exactly what you did." interrupted the Watchdog, placing his hands on his hips.

Silently, his spouse's eyes slowly moved from his own to below the belt and he abruptly raised a fist. Instinctively, Ciel flinched and took a step back, moving his hands to block him. With a snicker, Alois looked up at his beau again and lowered his fist before flexing it open and closed in the bluenette's direction.

"Want me to kiss it and make it better?" the menace asked, only to have the other shake his head at him.

"Given the current train of conversation, I don't think I want to..."

"Oh, c'mon! I was kidding!" Alois protested, his hand now laying limp in his lap. "I really like your family jewels and sword!"

"Leave me alone!"

Things were silly in the Phantomhive household, given recent events. They were all on edge and eager to diffuse the tension, but there are some things that should not be done in a time of crisis. They would discuss increasing security and possibly refreshing the two younger members of the household in how to use a firearm with Sebastian. Things were less silly elsewhere, however.

As the sun set, a HELLSING team moved in position, approaching the location that Pendergraft was last seen in from more than one side in case the target attempted to flee. Not long after they moved into position, they quickly piled out of their vehicles and bolted toward the large house, guns drawn and with a battering ram aimed at the door.

"Get it open!" the team leader roared, and the group complied. Grunting, Nigel Irons heaved with his team while Oliver Midford secured the perimeter.

"Why aren't you doing this?!" Nigel demanded his friend, only to get a rather simple reply.

"Because last time, you complained that my sword was poking your leg." Oliver answered. Sure enough, there was a sword at his hip, as with other members of his family, in addition to the firearm in his hands.

"Stop chatting!" the team leader bellowed at the two of them. With their new focus, the door opened with a few more hits.

All the while, the team around the back of the house broke open windows and climbed through them with ropes. They made it into the house's upper floor before the other team made it downstairs. The downstairs attack was meant to act as a distraction so that it wouldn't be noticed when the others made it in. For the most part, it seemed to work, but the soldiers did note that it was very quiet upstairs.

It was deafeningly quiet, despite there being cars in the driveway. There should be people there. They knew there should be people there. The house couldn't be empty.

"Fan out into groups." the leader of the rear team said. She gestured where she wanted her troops to got. "You four go that way. We'll go this way. Stay on your toes."

The hallway was long and dim with only small lights along the walls to illuminate it in a dull glow. There were doors on both sides, forcing the group to get into a defensive position where they were protected on all sides. One by one, they opened doors and secured each room on the way to the end.

"Clear." one of the troops said, exiting one of the rooms and closing the door behind him. "We're not finding anything."

"That doesn't mean that there's nothing there." the leader said, scanning the area. Then, as she looked down the end of the hall to see how many more doors they needed to clear, she noticed that the door at the end was opened just a crack. "Wait a minute… That door wasn't open before."

"What do we do, ma'am?"

"Approach in defensive formation, open the door, and secure that room." she ordered, keeping her volume low. "Move in."

Cautiously, the group approached the door. Step by step, they slowly closed the gap, walking so that the floorboards beneath them would not creak. When they finally got there, the soldier in front put out a hand to push it open and the moment it moved, shots were fired.

The bullets went straight into the bodies of the HELLSING soldiers.

Some were wearing bulletproof vests, but at that range, some of them didn't hold up, allowing the projectiles to pass through them. Then there was the fact that their arms and legs were exposed. Their heads were too. Military grade helmets aren't made for protecting the wearers from guns. They only hold up to debris and make the soldiers feel safer when wearing them. Two of the four were dead before they hit the ground while the other two fell from their wounds, groaning in pain as they writhed on the ground. One of these two was the team leader, who was able to lift her head just enough to see inside.

There were four more people with guns of their own standing on the opposite side of the bullet-ridden door as it loosely hung on its frame. They started to move. One kicked the remains of the door out of the way in order to get outside.

"Shoot them again in the head to be sure." said a voice from inside the room as it grew closer. It was a woman with a non-English accent. In her haze, the team leader couldn't tell if it was Scottish or Irish, but it didn't matter for long. As the woman approached the doorway, the HELLSING operative could see that it wasn't the target, but she stood with blood on her hands.

She was a dull blonde with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and bangs simultaneously hanging in her face. She wore a cape the hung down to her knees and there was a sword on her hip. It wasn't flimsy like Oliver's, used for fencing, it was substantial and meant to bust open someone's head. Pulling out a white cloth, she placed an object inside of it and wrapped it carefully, staining it red.

"The target is dead and we have our proof." the strange woman stated. "HELLSING will start running once you start double-checking. The irregular gunfire will draw their attention, so we need to make our escape before then."

"Yes, ma'am." her compatriots said before moving on the agents. They aimed their guns at the dead soldiers toward the front, but then turned their sights on those who remained when they were certain the first were gone.

"No!" shouted the other soldier left behind. Rolling onto his stomach, he tried his best to crawl along the floor down the hallway. All the while, he tried his best to shout as he panted. His voice was so strained, that he couldn't get the volume he needed. "Help! Help! Rear team! Enemy troops! The mission is-"

BANG! He was quiet. Now all that was left of the small squad of four was the leader.

She knew what was about to happen. She knew that there was no way out of this. There was nothing she could do. There was no way to escape. Her fate was sealed. Even still, as those under her command laid motionless and she herself was unable to get up, she grabbed the walkie-talkie on her shoulder and pushed the button.

"Armed hostiles upstairs." she said in a very urgent tone, her eyes never leaving the barrel of the gun as it turned toward her. She didn't have time to give any further information, so she had no option to allow the others to call through on their devices after her to find out what happened. She knew what was going to happen, so she smiled at them as though she had the last laugh, all the way up until a hole was punched in the center of her forehead.

"We have to go." the cloaked woman who was the apparent leader of this enemy squad. Quickly, she shoved the others in front of her. "Now!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the group said, leading the way out. Immediately, however, they were met with the other squad of HELLSING agents that were still upstairs.

They came at the end of the hallway and immediately opened fire, ducking at the sides of the entrance so that they weren't completely exposed. The woman in the cape immediately ducked into one of the rooms while her own people did the same, poking their heads out and firing just like the HELLSINGs did.

"Fuck's sake!" the woman exclaimed, wrinkling her nose and furrowing her brow. She took the bundled piece of cloth in her hands and put it away in one of the pouches on her belt before scanning the room for anything that might help her predicament. Then, she spotted the window and walked toward it. Looking out and looking down, she saw no one, but found her plan.

Walking back over to the doorway, she whistled to get everyone's attention. Two of her troops were in the room directly across from hers, so she used sign language to get her instructions to them. "Jump out the windows." she said. "Meet us at the car." After receiving a nod, she saw one of her group on the other side retreat into the room while the other provided cover fire. She didn't wait for the sound of shattering glass to do the same, herself.

Quickly, she ran back to the window and unlocked it. It wouldn't open at first as it was stuck on something, but that didn't stop her. Simply breaking the frame of it, she forced it open. "Come on!" she shouted to the others before leaping to the ground floor.

Landing on her feet, she bent her knees upon impact and braced herself by pushing against the ground with her hands. From there, she ran around to the front of the house, only to find the other two that she was separated from dead on the ground with a pool of blood underneath them and two HELLSING agents standing between her and her escape vehicle.

"There's more of them!" Nigel shouted before raising his weapon. He and Oliver were the only ones outside, having chosen to stay in case anyone tried to flee. Their hunch paid off, as they took out two of them, but the remaining three were going to prove a bit more difficult, since they now lacked the element of surprise. Still, they aimed their guns and began to shoot, expecting the small group to perish under a hail of bullets.

One was hit, however, prompting the other two to retreat around the corner of the house, dragging along their comrade. "Give me your gun. You check on her." the woman wearing the cape said, taking the gun from her teammate. She would peak it around the corner and fire off a few shots to keep the HELLSING soldiers from advancing before looking over at the others.

"Three bullet holes. Two to the abdomen. The other in the chest." the underling said.

"In the heart?" the leader questioned.

"No. Lung."

"She'll live, then." the woman wearing the cape said before firing off a few more shots. "If we can get her to the car before they get us, that is."

After hearing the status update, the woman was able to focus better and improved her aim. Putting her sights on Nigel, to pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger twice, missing him the first shot and hitting him with the second, causing him to fall to the ground clutching his stomach.

"Fuck!" he shouted, clenching his eyes shut as his face contorted in pain. Something had just been run through his body and the sensation manifested accordingly, causing tears to well up in his eyes and his ability to focus on the task at hand to deteriorate. He couldn't even will his undamaged legs to lift him. "Urgh… It hurts way worse than it looks in the movies..."

"Shit." Oliver tsked, maintaining fire. In keeping a steady stream of bullets, however, he inevitably ran out, prompting him to toss his weapon to the side and crouch down to pick up Nigel's, as it was being unused, but the moment that he took his eyes off of the target, he heard rapid footsteps charging toward him. Instinctively, his hand fell to his sword. In a flash, he saw widened, wild eyes and a blade coming down on top of his head.

So instead, he let go of the handle of his weapon and leapt out of the way, jumping over Nigel before grabbing him and pulling him to the side as well. His timing was phenomenal, as the heavy weapon that instead cut open the earth was heavy enough that he would have never been able to successfully block it.

Turning to her comrades, the woman in the cape yelled "Go!" prompting the one who was still able to run do so while carrying the other fireman style. Pulling her sword out of the ground, the leader turned her attention to Oliver again, only to see that he was now at his feet with his weapon drawn. Raising her own weapon, she pointed it at him.

"You plan to kill me with that tiny thing?" she asked, but just as Oliver opened his mouth to answer, she moved, slashing at him again with inhuman speed and force.

The Midford was barely able to dodge her, but it was all he could do. He didn't have time to bend down and pick up Nigel's gun and he didn't have time to line up his own strike. Thus, the best thing he could think of to do was dodge until the others in the house realised where they went and came to his aid. All the while, his mind raced.

This woman wasn't human. He could tell. She was faster than Geraldine and maybe even Integra. Perhaps her speed matched Elizabeth's, even, but maybe she was slowed down by that sword. From the way it fell into the dirt, it was a dual-handed weapon, yet she was swinging it like it was light as a feather. Then there was the simple fact that she closed the gap between them in the short moment that he turned to get a new weapon. This was insane. It was only because he had trained with supernaturals, thank God, that he was able to keep up!

He tried to counter, really, he did. Oliver desperately wanted to be able to fight back, but each time, he hesitated and was forced back. This wasn't like a fencing match where one could only lunge and a small tap would earn one victory. This was a full-on assault. He was being attacked from multiple sides at once by a single attacker and her powerful slashes meant that a much larger area was affected by each attack. At the same time, however, it left her open.

Biding his time, Oliver waited until after dodging a particularly large slash, he spotted an opening. Her entire side was exposed, leaving all of her vitals open for attack! He didn't think. He only stabbed, nailing her side.

"Urgh!" she grunted as a blood trickled down his weapon, followed by the tale-tell sizzling of a supernatural's flesh and blood coming into contact with a blessed blade. She was not deterred however, and stepped off of his sword. He smiled for a moment until he noticed his own stance. It was a fencer's lunge and he quickly needed to move back. He did, but the woman's sword came down hard on his own, snapping it clean in half like a twig.

"Wha-?!" Oliver's eyes widened in shock before having the wind knocked out of him by the woman's free hand. The blow to the stomach forced him into a fit of coughing as he took a few steps back, rapidly swinging the half of a sword that remained in his grip in hopes of keeping her at bay. That, however, was when she took it from him.

In one swift motion, she cut through his bone and bicep, removing Oliver's right arm from his body. There was a moment where he didn't know what happened and swung what was left. The shock protected him from the agony that would come later. Still, the weight distribution of his body threw off his balance and he lost his footing, forcing him to fall to the ground.

Yet, despite him not being able to fight back, he was not killed. Once he was no longer a threat, the woman stopped fighting him and sheathed her sword. "Sorry for that." she said. He didn't think she was being polite in the slightest and somehow, it made him angry that she said that. Fury bubbled up inside the Midford man more than it would have if she had said nothing to him at all. It felt like mockery, but his fury did not end there.

Why did the other operatives have to burst through the doors right then, guns blazing? Why could they not have been just a few seconds faster? If they hadn't come until after she had already fled, Oliver might be less angry, but as he rolled himself onto his left side, with a load groan, he cursed them for their timing. At least he would have the consultation prize of her death as he watched the puddle beneath him grow wider. Then, of all of the things, he heard a few of his own gasp and looked up to find the source of the surprise. Then, he too, took on the same astonishment that they did at the sight of the she-wolf.

It was not a full moon. The sun hadn't even completely set by then, yet there she was, fully transformed with her arms blocking her head and chest as they protected her from being shot anywhere that would actually kill her. A blonde werewolf wearing a cape without a full moon. Oliver would have never thought he would see such a thing. She was not nearly old enough to be able to transform freely, if her hair colour was genuine, but given the fact that the fur covering the rest of her body was the same hue, it was true. She growled at them, clearly hurt and angry that she would have to continue to fight.

Then, the car that her compatriots had fled to sped by. Turning her head, the woman trotted a few steps before jumping the moment it passed her and landing on its roof and holding on tightly. Some of the HELLSING agents continued to shoot after it, only managing to hit her back while some started for their own vehicles to pursue her.

"Stop! There's wounded! Get them, first!" bellowed the remaining team lead. "Get them in the trucks! We'll administer first aid on the way back to headquarters!"

"Yes, sir!" the troops replied, moving toward Nigel and Oliver. Nigel was picked up first and hauled into the first truck. His skin was pale and he seemed to be losing consciousness. It wasn't surprising from the amount of blood he lost, but Oliver wasn't faring to well, himself, as he was rapidly approaching the same state. If they didn't help him quickly, he was going to bleed to death.

He couldn't remember how or when he got into the truck, but knew that someone was touching his face. "Hold on, Midford. Stay with me." a voice said to him, but he was struggling to stay awake.

"My sword." he began. "Where's my sword?"

"It's broken." the voice replied. "We'll get you a new one. You can still fence."

"My arm feels heavy."

"I know, Midford. Just hang on."

Then, another voice came to Oliver's attention. This one sounded like it was mixed with static. He didn't think that the person actually talking was still there.

"We found the target. Pendergraft is deceased." the voice called over the radio in the truck. "She's been stabbed in the chest and her ear is missing. I'm reporting it to headquarters."

"Roger that." yet another voice called, this one sounded close by. "We're en route to headquarters and will be there soon. We've got the sirens on."

So that was the ringing in Oliver's ears. He couldn't tell. It seemed like a few agents stayed behind to assess what happened and clear the rest of the property. Also, someone had to wait until another person came to haul off the bodies. They needed to examine the bodies of the two hostiles as well as the target but also, someone needed to return the bodies of the fallen HELLSING operatives to their families.

They did not pursue the she-wolf, having prioritised the lives of the agents instead. That suited the woman in the cape just fine as she morphed back into her "human" self and slipped into the open window of the passenger seat. Her face twisted with displeasure as she landed with a grunt. She tried to slow down her rapid breathing enough that she could speak.

"We aren't being pursued, it seems, but stay careful." she said.

"Are you alright, Claire?" questioned the driver. "God, you look terrible..."

"Aye, I'll be fine." the woman in the cape said this while examining her arms. They were riddled with bullets, as were her legs and abdomen. Yet, she didn't seem at all concerned, despite being in pain. "I'll be sore for a while. I've never had this many bullets in me before… Fuck… They're HELLSING bullets, too..."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'll probably pass out in a bit." Claire stated. "Just get us home. It'll all be taken care of."

"Do you still have it?"

"Sure do." The woman paused, blinking a few times before shaking her head. She reached for the pouch on her belt and opened it up, pulling out the now red cloth inside. "Pendergraft should have known better. Her place had already been decided."

Sitting it in her lap, she unfolded the cloth. Inside of it sat a lone human ear. Still attached to it was a pearl earring, the same one that matched Pendergraft's prized necklace. With a light chuckle, Claire wrapped it back up and returned it to its place.

"More of these idiots will think they're bigger than they are, sooner or later. It'll be us who has to deal with it, then." she said. "Hopefully, I'll be rested by then and can go with you. If not, we'll figure out some kind of arrangement."

"As a warrior, I hope you'll be fighting." the driver said.

"As do I..."


A/N: This is such a terrible thing to write after the previous chapter. Welcome to HELLSING, lads

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!