Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End). I write this for your enjoyment only. This story is an alternate version of the Nagoya arc with differences from the original; please refer to the footnotes at the end. Once again, I would like to thank my beta reader, ResidentialPsycho, for her help in making this fic possible. Enjoy and please review!
Chapter 11: From the Shadows of the Demon Army
Japanese Imperial Demon Army Headquarters, Shinjuku Branch
Guren Ichinose sighed quietly and placed his hands behind his back as he casually walked up the stairway that led to the rooftop of the first office building at the Shinjuku Branch of JIDA Headquarters. He had originally intended to summon Yuichiro to the training yard to test her sword-fighting skills that morning until he received a summons of his own by none other than the lieutenant general himself.
Though Guren normally preferred no interaction with any of his superior officers outside of their boring-ass meetings, he knew that a direct summon from Kureto Hiragi was not something he could ignore.
Let's get this over with… Guren thought wryly as he finally reached the top of the stairs and passed through the doorway to the rooftop where Kureto wished to meet.
When he finally reached his destination, the lieutenant colonel immediately noticed three common vampires clad in white prison uniforms chained to a pole right in the center of the rooftop. As soon as the starved vampires saw Guren, their crimson eyes glittered dangerously and they dashed towards him while screaming for his blood.
Without even bothering to draw his sword, Guren stepped back slightly, putting just enough distance between himself and the vampires so that they could not reach him and found themselves being jerked back roughly by their chains. The creatures looked so pitiful that Guren briefly pondered if he should just put them out of their misery when he heard the sounds of clapping coming from above him.
Looking up, Guren saw the person who had ordered a meeting with him here and narrowed his eyes slightly, making no attempt to hide his disgust at his superior's idea of entertainment.
"Very good, Guren. It's just like you to avoid exerting energy needlessly, a very useful skill for staying alive on the battlefield," the lieutenant general praised.
Unimpressed, Guren gave the other man a slightly dirty look.
"You've got some pretty sick hobbies, Kureto…" he sneered.
Instead of being offended by Guren's snarky (and daring) remark, Kureto merely gave him a smirk of amusement.
"You mean this?" he asked almost innocently. "Why, I'm only trying to see if I can force these vampires to become demons so we can create cursed gear more efficiently. Especially since that knowledge became lost with the passing of my little sister."
Guren raised a brow. "Oh really? Any luck making that happen?"
Kureto shook his head. "Unfortunately, common vampires don't turn easily. Those that do are far too weak to make effective weapons so they're utterly and completely useless for anything other than brief entertainment," he answered before finally drawing his own sword and releasing a wave of gold lightning towards the creatures in question.
Guren did not even flinch when the lightning flew past him and burned the pitiful vampires to ashes before Kureto finally jumped down from the structure he was standing on overlooking the rooftop.
"What do you really want?" Guren demanded. "You didn't call me here just to tell me that."
"You're right, Guren, I didn't," the other man admitted coolly as he casually sheathed his sword before asking: "Did you come alone?"
"Of course, I did. That's what you told me to do, right?"
"True. But weren't you the least bit worried that it was a trap and that I might've had you killed?"
Now it was Guren's turn to smirk.
"And why would you do that?"
"Because you're an insubordinate pain-in-the-ass, just like that smart-mouthed ward of yours. But since you did raise her, I suppose it should come as no surprise."
"Even so, I know you won't kill me as long as I'm worth more to you alive than dead," Guren shot back.
"Correct. That's why I called you here: I've got a few questions for you to see if that is still the case."
"Ask away. I got nothing to hide."
"Good. This should make things easier then. Those kids in the Shinoa and Satoshi squads who are all skilled black demon weapon users, where did you come by them in such a short period of time? Who are they and where did they come from?"
Guren shrugged his shoulders, deliberatly feigning ignorance.
"Beats me," he answered innocently. "I supposed I just got lucky."
Kureto's eyes glittered almost dangerously before calling Guren out on his less-than honest answer.
"Impossible," he countered. "You and I both know that every black demon weapon user was a human experiment at one point. And after what we witnessed in Shinjuku, I have no doubt Yuichiro Hyakuya was as well."
"Is that what's bothering you, Kureto? I thought you'd be happy to have a few more skilled black demon weapon users on our side."
"Indeed I am. In today's world, humanity must continually strive for greater power if we are to survive and I think it would be in both of our best interests if you were to share the fruits of your experiments, especially with Yuichiro Hyakuya."
Guren shook his head and made a swiping gesture with his hand.
"Sorry, but no. My girl is off limits, even to you, Kureto." *1*
The lieutenant general could not help but smile in amusement at his subordinate's refusal.
"And why is that?" he challenged. "I asked Miss Hyakuya herself when I 'interviewed' her a while back but since she could not answer, why don't you enlighten me in her place: what is she to you?"
For a moment, Guren hesitated as if he wasn't sure how to answer before saying:
"She's like the rest of those kids in the Shinoa and Satoshi squads."
"Is that so? If that's all the girl was to you, you wouldn't have raised her yourself from childhood and taken such great pains to keep her a secret from me all these years."
"Just what are you implying, my lord?" Guren sneered.
"I imply nothing," Kureto answered simply. "However, Seishiro suggested something that had me wondering…"
"Wondering what?"
"That she may be… more than just a child under your care, so to speak."
"Yuichiro is nothing of the sort," Guren replied coldly, trying not to let his discomfort show at the other man's rather intrusive inquiry.
But Kureto Hiragi was not a man who was easily fooled. He knew his subordinate long enough to read him better than most people and decided to press the issue a little further.
"Very well, Guren. If she's not your…special companion, then what is she to you? You don't strike me as the fatherly type."
"I had my reasons for taking Yuichiro in. None of which concerns you, Kureto," Guren answered irritably.
"There's no need to be defensive, Guren; I really don't care about your personal relationship with the girl. What I want to know is: what're your plans for her? Are you intent on using Yuichiro to stage a coup d'état?"
Guren could not help grinning at his superior's assumption.
"Is that what you think, Kureto? If I had really wanted to, I could just kill you where you stand and save myself the trouble of such a thing."
Unfazed by the threat, the other man called Guren out on his bluff.
"We both know you can't, Guren."
"Wanna bet?" he challenged.
"Heh, this brings back memories of high school; remember how we used to cross blades then? Unfortunately, times have changed and I do not have time for such petty squabbles and neither do you. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually grateful for all you've done. If it wasn't for you and Mahiru completing the cursed gear, humanity would not have survived the fall."
"Get to the point."
"My point is that you haven't changed. No matter what happens, you can't betray your friends and allies. And as long as that is so, I know I can trust you because you will never be a threat to me."
Though he knew his superior was absolutely right, Guren kept his cool and remained emotionless as he asked:
"So is that why you called me here? To gloat?"
"Not at all; such a thing would be childish and trivial. There are more important things that require my attention. And yours."
"Such as?"
Turning from him briefly, the other man made a gesture with his arm.
"Look around you, Guren, what do you see?"
"What? Isn't it obvious? I see a world that has been brought to ruin, a world where humans basically live at the mercy of the vampires as well as Horsemen of John. At least those not lucky enough to live within the walls."
"Understandable. What I want to know is: where do we go from here? What's your vision of the future?"
"Since when were you ever interested in my opinion, Kureto?"
"Think about it, Guren. Even if we could obtain all the power we need or want, what would be the point of it all if we had no end goal in mind?"
Understanding finally dawned on Guren.
"I suppose you're right, Kureto. What is the Demon Army's goal in all this? Or more accurately, what's your goal?"
Kureto smiled before turning his back to Guren and folding his hands behind himself.
"Simple. I'm going to rebuild the world. The vampires may have destroyed our every method of communicating with the outside world, but I'm certain there must be other human organizations that survived the apocalypse as well."
"So what you want is to re-establish communication with the outside world, is that it?"
"Not quite," the other man answered before turning to face him again. "My goal is to eradicate all the vampires before moving on to find those other human organizations and make them submit to us, uniting the entire world under the banner of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army."
Laughing was not something that came easy to Guren Ichinose, but even he had to release a brief guffaw at Kureto's absurd plan.
"Are you serious?" he asked after he managed to calm himself. "That might sound cute coming from a naive kid but don't you think you're a bit old for such a grandiose dream? Especially since you have no idea how powerful these other surviving human organizations can be, if they exist?"
Unoffended by his subordinate's blatant display of disrespect, Kureto merely shrugged his shoulders.
"It's actually more attainable than you think, Guren. What I want to know is: are you with me? Even if our reasons are different, we should have no problems working together if our goals are the same. Or at least somewhat similar."
"I'm already following you, aren't I?"
"Can I trust you on that?"
"If you didn't, you would've already killed me by now."
"True, just checking. Anyway, let's get down to business, shall we?"
"Be my guest…"
Kureto gave Guren a brief smile before continuing.
"The vampires will be attacking again soon. That's why we have to make a preemptive strike before they do."
"And I take it you have a plan in the works?"
"Of course. The vamps' strategies are quite simple, really. They believe themselves superior and always underestimate humanity."
Guren crossed his arms and shot Kureto a blank stare.
"Tell me something I don't know."
"They also lack unity which means they don't share information or get along. The nobility is the only thing holding vampire society together. So if we eliminate the nobles, the rest of them should fall apart and be ripe for the taking."
The lieutenant colonel scoffed at his superior's overly simple strategy.
"You make it sound so easy…"
"It actually is that easy. As of now, there are twenty-five vampire nobles in Japan and we've managed to locate every one of them."
"And how did you do that?" Guren demanded.
"Simple. We've trained several children as spies and sent them into Sanguinem. The vampires think of humans as brainless livestock, so they don't bother to remember their names or faces. The kids can get away with practically anything."
Guren grimaced at the thought of his superior using young children as pawns and putting them at risk.
"Now who's underestimating who?" he pointed out. "The vamps didn't survive all these centuries and millennia by being sloppy and stupid."
Now it was Kureto's turn to laugh.
"Concerned? Trying to warn me that this could be a trap?"
"It may very well be."
"I'm actually quite aware of that, Guren. That's why I'm giving you these orders. You've spent a great deal of time polishing your squads so you must be itching to test them out, right? Well, now's your chance to see just what they're capable of. Even if it is a trap, they should be able to pull through. If you've train them well enough, that is."
"So you're basically sending us on a suicide mission, is that right?"
Kureto shook his head. "Not at all. This is a very vital mission that could determine the future of humanity, one that I can only entrust to someone capable. Instead of waiting for the vamps to attack, we'll bring the war right to their doorstep."
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Because we already know their plans: the vamps are going to bring their whole army down on Tokyo in one week's time. If we let them make the first move, our army will be wiped out. Despite our advances in technology, the difference between their power and ours is still great. If the nobles attack all at once, we don't stand a chance. That's why I'm telling you to take your squad along with those newbies from the Shinoa and Satoshi squads and our finest soldiers from the vampire extermination ranks to Nagoya."
"Why Nagoya?"
"Because there are currently ten nobles building a base there; lure them off one by one and destroy them before taking it over."
Guren became skeptical at Kureto's suggestion.
"Are you serious? If we did that, the other vampires will notice for sure."
"That's the idea. Your job will be to distract them. Meanwhile, the rest of us will prepare for the real battle."
Appalled, Guren found his face curling slightly in disgust that Kureto had practically told him to use the three squads under his command as well as the additional soldiers that would be accompanying them as possible cannon fodder.
"The real battle?" he challenged. "You have no intention of telling me what your real plans are? And I thought you said you trusted me."
Kureto dismissed his subordinate's accusation with a wave of his hand.
"Don't sulk, Guren. It's not like I don't trust you, quite the opposite. After all, sending someone with a headfull of top secret plans to the front line would be unwise, wouldn't it? Just follow my orders and trust me for a change and I promise you a world where the vampires will serve as our livestock."
Guren said nothing but silently nodded, even if he didn't quite approve of Kureto's plan.
After all, it wasn't his place to question the orders and decisions of his superiors.
As soon as he was certain that he had secured Guren's cooperation, Kureto smiled triumphantly, his expression almost child-like.
"Remember, Guren. In one week, take all three of your squads and our finest soldiers to Nagoya, carry out your mission, and leave the rest to us. That will be all," the lieutenant general said before he finally turned and left the other man alone with his thoughts. *2*
As he slowly went over the details of Kureto's mission in his mind, Guren palmed the hilt of his sword, pushing the blade slightly from its sheath out of habit with his thumb, when he suddenly felt a soft breeze on his cheek as well as someone gently embracing him from behind.
"Don't listen to him, my love. It's my orders you should be following. Remember, I'm the only one who can make your wish come true…" a female voice whispered.
Guren gritted his teeth but refused to turn around and look his demon contractor in the face.
"You forget your place, demon…" he warned softly.
"Hahaha… but you know I'm right," she teased.
"Don't push it…"
"Tsk, fine. You're such a killjoy, Guren," the demon pouted but obeyed and ceased her teasing before losing her human form and vanishing into her master's sword.
As soon as he was sure the creature was back where she belonged, Guren finally allowed the blade to slide back into its sheath before looking up at the sky where it began to rain.
SSSSSS
Kyoto, outside of Sanguinem
"Do you think he's coming?" Lacus asked his raven-haired companion as he casually straightened the collar of his uniform. Both he and Rene had arrived at the surface after departing the vampire city ten minutes earlier.
But unlike the other vampire soldiers, they stayed behind to wait for Mikaela. Who appeared to be running late.
"I don't see any reason why he wouldn't; Lord Ferid said this will be a pivotal battle in our war against the humans," Rene answered dryly.
"Precisely," his companion replied. "And considering that it's going to be our most dangerous mission yet, I'd imagine the queen would want to keep little Mika safe at home by her side."
"You speak of the prince as if he were a child, Lacus…" *3*
"Compared to us, he is."
"True, but he's still capable and old enough to fight."
Before Lacus could reply, both he and Rene heard footsteps and turned to see the young man in question emerging from the shadows.
Not caring if Mika heard, Lacus gave a polite, even if faked, smile.
"So you are coming after all, Mika…" he said humorously as if he didn't expect the younger vampire to show up.
The blond gave him a blank stare.
"That's what my orders were," he answered flatly.
Lacus smiled coldly. "Just don't slow us down, Mika."
Mikaela was about to make a snarky retort when Rene finally cut in, knowing they could not afford to waste time.
"Knock it off, you two," he said sharply before turning to the blond and asking: "You're aware of our mission?"
Mika nodded. For once, he was relieved and grateful for Rene's intervention because he was not in the mood to argue with Lacus. Not when he was finally given the chance to find Yuichiro for good.
"Yes. I was told that we are to follow the army up to Nagoya to confront and eliminate the human resistance in the northeast by the queen herself."
"Yes, that's right. I trust you won't have a problem moving in that new uniform?"
The blond shook his head. Like his companions, Mika was clad in the new uniform of the vampire army, a more simplified version of their previous one consisting of a long, high-collared white shirt with multiple black straps and matching white pants.
Much to his relief, the cape was shorter, making it less of a hindrance, and the boots were more comfortable and flexible. All and all, the new vampire army uniform allowed greater mobility and freedom of movement. Both of which he will need to take Yuichiro away from the upcoming chaos once he found her.
"None whatsoever," Mike answered simply. "In fact, I prefer it to the old one."
"Good to hear. Shall we get going then?"
"Of course."
And that afternoon, the order to take Nagoya for the vampires was finally given.
Footnotes:
1. In canon, Kureto lumps male!Yuu in with Yoichi and Kimizuki when asking Guren how he came by them. But since my AU includes Satoshi Hiwatari and his squad who are also black demon weapon users, I had Kureto bring up fem!Yuu specifically to make her stand out a bit more in regards to her powers and relationship to Guren.
2. In the manga, Kureto tells Guren to go to Nagoya one month from the time of their meeting. The anime does not really clarify the time frame but for my AU, I shortened it to one week because I thought a month was too long.
3. In canon, the vampires in Sanguinem know that Mika is Krul's favorite, not that he was turned and adopted by her. In my AU, they know and acknowledge both so in a sense, Mika would be their prince.
