Chapter 8: Gladiators
{Ward I: November 21st, 2020, 3:02am}
"Lord Weisberg!" the voice of a concerned Vampiric servant rang in the surrounding area as the Germanic Tenth Progenitor looked up from his work of writing a letter to Lest Kurl, a Vampiric Progenitor within the same political party as his own to turn his attention to the other.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked as the servant came to a standstill, bowing just a fraction as he did so.
"I have come to inform you that the group of Moon Demon Company members and the Ghouls of Anteiku have made it to the border of our Ward!" the man stood, his chair falling over.
"What did you just say?!" he questioned.
"They used the Black Seraphim Hyakuya Yuuichiro and the Kakuja Ghoul Kaneki Ken to clear the Second Ward, half the Chimera in the area are deceased, and the remaining ones fled away from them." Weisburg glared.
"So, it would seem I have underestimated our opponent. Very well, prepare the arena, we will take this to a personal level of entertainment for tonight, also, Karl?" the servant looked to him.
"Yes sir?" he questioned.
"Bring a few of my pets forth. I want our guests to enjoy themselves, and it would be a rather dull evening without some light entertainment during dinner. I wish to also, have the opportunity to gauge the true power of this… Black Seraphim that had the gall to scar Lord Euseford's face in Shinjuku… that attack was quite vicious, and if they used him to destroy the Chimera, then he is indeed powerful, and I believe a bit of exorcise before a meal is adequate." The servant swallowed nervously.
"But sir! If you drink from that boy you'll become quite ill, recall what happened to Lord Bathory when he did so in Shinjuku? He has been a trifle ill since then, and I do not think it – " the man was cut off.
"I have no desire to drink from a Naturopath, as I am well aware of what their blood is capable of… it is a wonder that the Vampires within Sanguneim were even capable of ingesting it without turning into a human… even so, you may recall that some of us within the Progenitors, were not created but born a Vampire, just as I was… six hundred years prior… now, shall we prepare?" the vampire walked away, leaving the servant to nod to him.
"Yes sir, I'll begin preparations immediately!" with that he departed and the Noble smirked.
"This is about to become very interesting," the man thought aloud.
{Within Ward I: 3:15am}
The group stood just at the door of the post office, trepidation rushing through their veins as they considered what they were about to walk into. The two survivors of the Vampire Reign found some part deep within them squirming about in anxiety, shivers wracking their frames as they considered the fact that they were about to once more, go and fight a Noble Vampire. Memories of the past flooded their minds, voices, and images resounding within them as they considered what they would be facing now that they had made it to the First Ward.
Ever since that night that the virus broke out eight years ago, both Mikaela and Yuuichiro seemed to be unable to escape Noble Vampires. First, it was Ferid Bathory, the Seventh progenitor, then it was the acts of the Third Progenitor Krul Tepes, that by some fortune on fate's side, they were able to have Akane returned to them, and then once more, the Progenitors were after them, or attacking them, causing calamity and pain wherever they seemed to go. Shinjuku was one thing, Osaka another, and the horror stories of what had managed to get out of Nagoya was nothing short of a nightmarish reminder that to some degree: they were livestock.
But the notion, instead of causing the two boys to cower alongside their family and await the end, drove them forward, granting them something akin to an unbending will to change the fate of their world and their loved ones. They weren't going to be frightened livestock, they weren't going to be complacent, used, abused, and tormented by bloodsucking monsters anymore. It wasn't because they just had the power to fight, nor merely their will to do so, it was because they had grown up in the hardships of a Vampire City, seen the and felt the pain they'd induce to the others within their dismal world, and because of that: they weren't hiding anymore.
"We're not scared children anymore… we're living in a world that is worth fighting for," Mika thought as he heard Guren clear his throat.
"Alright! This is it! The first step in a long war against these Noble leeches! Tonight, we take out the Tenth Progenitor Hans Weisburg. There are twenty of us walking into this scum's lair, and at daybreak, we will walk out of it together, and move another step forward against the Vampires who took everything from us, now, I have my orders for everyone here," Guren stated.
"Go ahead, we're all ears…" the man looked into the eyes of every person before him.
"I have paired you all together since our teams met up in Tokyo Park, and that is what we will continue to do. This person who stands beside you know, is your friend, your comrade, and more than that: they are your family. These people are your brothers and sisters, and we will do everything to protect one another, and that is your job, guard one another's backs, do not let anything take their lives, it is the job of you and your partner to carry one another in this final fight, am I clear?" he asked.
"Sir!" the group's response had him taking in a deep breath.
"That being said, I ask that everyone work as one, trust one another. If we succeed, we will have gained remarkable, and valuable allies that go beyond leaps and bounds of what we alone can do. I hope that at daybreak, I am looking into the eyes of everyone here, and if I am not, if we are to die here, at the feet of a Noble, then… ladies and gentlemen, it has been a pleasure fighting with you, and working alongside you for however long I have been able to," Guren told them, bearing the feelings within his heart, knowing that he was prepared to fight for their lives. Momentarily, burgundy eyes looked towards his two sons and he steadied himself.
"If all else fails, I'll order a recovery and dismissal of those two. if the Seraphs of the End perish tonight, everyone is doomed. My team knows to evacuate as many of them as possible and to protect Yuu and Mika at all costs… losing them means we lose everything, and that is a risk that I was not willing to take from the moment the plans for the Tokyo Raid were set into motion."
"Don't go getting sappy on us! we're all walking out of this, no doubt," the voice of his youngest assured him as he looked into determined emerald eyes and he smirked.
"I'm holding you to that, do you hear me cherry boy?" the black-haired teenager glared.
"Stupid Guren…" the group laughed a bit as Guren cleared his throat.
"You know who your partner is, pair off with them, stay close to them, but keep a tight formation as we go out there. Kaneki? I trust the other Ghouls and yourself know how to keep up with us?" he asked.
"Of course, we do, why do you even have to ask?" Kaneki smiled just a fraction, having lowered his mask to discuss things as had the other Ghouls, letting them pool around their throats for the time being.
"Alright then, everyone, stay with your partner, do not waver, and if you have Gifts or specialized abilities, do not activate them until you have to, am I clear? Yuuichiro? Mikaela?" burgundy met sapphire and emerald.
"Roger that!" Guren looked at the group one more time, staring into their eyes before nodding as Hinami and Yoichi went to stand by one another, Akane and Ayato, Kaneki and Touka, Kimizuki and Shigure, Shinya and Hide, Yuu and Shinoa, Mika, and Mito, Goshi and Mito, and finally himself and Sayuri who now stood beside him as he turned away from the others.
"Move out!" the doors of the post office opened, the group of twenty exiting it and preparing to bring the fight to the Nobles.
It was a tense, and somewhat unnerving walk as they moved closer and deeper into the area where the Noble's location had been indicated. The notion was somewhat terrifying, to realize that at any second they could be ambushed by who knew how many Vampires and any form of untold terrors that Weisburg had set up as a defense in his territory. For some of the more experienced fighters, the chances were plain as day, for those who had been fighting but had lacked several years of experience, was lacking, they sensed something deeper going on, and in that moment, all of them felt the deep seated dread that spread throughout the area as they walked on, preparing to attack, but not drawing their weapons as the sound of their footsteps rang out while they continued to tread deeper into the Tenth Progenitor's territory.
Kaneki eyed the others with them, knowing that they had a lot to learn about how the Japanese Imperial Demon Army worked, how the Moon Demon Company fully functioned, and what all of them were capable of; however, even more than anything else, he looked forward to it. Being around people again, learning more, experiencing different things and adapting to a somewhat peaceful life instead of living day to day hoping that they all survived somehow. He desired that future more than anything, the thirst for a hopeful future, a new existence in a different life: that is what he wanted for all of them.
It was a dream, a very nice one, and the white-haired Ghoul felt assured that if all went well here and now, that dream could very easily become a reality. A singular hazel eye glanced the area over, the wind whipping around them periodically as he considered the black-haired boy just ahead of him with Shinoa. Seeing his Seraphic side almost lose control while the pill's chemical mixture was active had spooked a few of them quite a bit, seeing as they had witnessed the boy's wings – as well as his brother's – but not their pure destructive power. It was terrifying, yet beautiful in some way that almost seemed strange. A creature with such awesome and terrible abilities should have scared him, but he saw beauty and prowess within the boy's abstract eyes, within the raw force of the fire he used and his movements, the way it seemed to go by in the blink of an eye, yet remain ingrained within the mind's eye forever. It was stunning, yet terrifying, inspiring, yet condemning, and so much more.
"In many beliefs, a Seraphim is a six-winged angel, who sits atop the peak of angelic power. They only have one pair of wings each, but I have the most distinct feeling that their powers aren't mature, and they have much more to do still with the abilities being a Seraphim has granted them… I suspect we'll have to wait and see…"
"What are you thinking about?" asked a voice, causing the white-haired Ghoul to look in the direction of it to see Kimizuki looking at him.
"Oh, nothing… just… in the post office, that was the first time I had seen either of the Hyakuya brothers do anything like that… I didn't realize the transformation changed so much about their appearances like it did with Yuuichiro…" the pink-haired seventeen-year-old sighed.
"It doesn't… normally. See, up until July of this year, none of us knew what either of them were, and to some degree, they didn't either. They knew that there was a slight genetic difference between them and normal human beings, but we all contributed that to them being immune to the Apocalypse Virus… but, we were wrong," Kimizuki explained, causing the other to stare at him.
"Wrong? What do you mean?" the other sighed.
"In Shinjuku, we… were overran by Vampires and… attacked, beaten down and Yuu… he lost control of himself, but he didn't even know what it was that he'd turned into… everything that had made him who he was, his personality, his appearance… even his memories… had been erased, causing us to nearly be killed by the thing hiding inside him… " Hide listened in on Kimizuki's statement as Kaneki frowned.
"And what was that thing? Exactly?" the white-haired Ghoul asked.
"The…" a sudden flash of flood lights went down upon them, causing the group to stare onward in confusion as they were nearly blinded.
A sudden clapping came to their attention as they looked ahead to see a singular man standing atop a stage, dressed in white with black accents, a red ascot, and black shoes. His hair combed back, white gloves upon his hands. His sharp, wicked red eyes gleaming in the artificial light, an appeased smirk upon his face as he continued to clap steadily while the group bunched in on one another as he laughed a fraction.
"My, what an entertaining show this has been. Watching the little lambs canter about the field of demons, slaughtering my pets here and there… even giving me some comedic moments, and building up the tension for a crescendo of splendidness at the end with such a riveting conversation about Shinjuku and the theatrical entertainment we received there," the man stated.
"I'm going to guess by your clothes that you're Hans Weisburg?" the man bowed.
"Indeed, I am… and it is such a pleasure to meet you all. Especially the lovely Ghouls of Anteiku, who have given much excitement to my life these last four years," he told them.
"I don't know if I could consider these last four years lovely or exciting… especially after all of you moved in." the Tenth Progenitor smiled.
"Not quite, you see… I did have to pull a few strings, like making sure that the CCG's little… machine that they'd actually set up around Tokyo thanks to inside information from the Japanese Imperial Demon Army that protected the city… was destroyed, the virus getting in, sending in that foolish cow of a servant that the Eyepatch Ghoul slaughtered the night the Raid on your little coffee shop began… and, naturally, tipping off the CCG," he stated. Guren heard a feral hiss come from Touka.
"You mother fucking son of a bitch! You're why all of our family died?!" the man smiled.
"Oh, I've played greater parts in it than that, my dear Touka. You see, the Vampires have been pulling strings on you humans and Ghouls for so long, that you once never even noticed us… like the fact that it was myself and a certain companion of mine named Zane Lyndow, who conspired to discuss medicine with a doctor who gave us a thrilling idea!" the group circled around one another, feeling tensions rising as the Progenitor traipsed across the stage, and down the stairs.
"What kind of idea?" asked Guren as he kept his eye upon the Vampire, the ring on his right hand feeling heavy, the black and red metal growing warm as the creature drew closer.
"To see what would happen… if you did a bit of cross-genetic transplanting…" a shiver crossed the group as the Vampire placed a finger to his mouth.
"Cross genetic… transplanting?" the Vampire nodded.
"Quite, and if I am recalling correctly, his finest creation to date, would be a half-ghoul… by the name of… oh, what was it again? Yes, Kaneki Ken, that was it!"
The silence surrounding the group could have made a drop of rain sound like a bomb. All eyes went to the white-haired Ghoul who had a look of unrelenting terror in his singular visible eye, and none of them could blame him. While the information was shocking, to those who weren't aware of how Kaneki had become a Ghoul, knowing that the Vampire Nobles had been pulling the strings on Dr. Kannou, did nothing but make the teenager feel as though someone had ripped something out of him.
"Kaneki?" Touka asked as the boy trembled, her hand touching his to ease him.
"So… you were the one who… killed Kamishiro Rize? The one who convinced that sick fucker to do this to me?" the Vampire shrugged.
"Well, it was out of a curiosity, as we weren't very aware of what Ghouls could do to us, now in these last four years, I have gathered fantastic information… on how for some reason, the saliva of a Ghoul keeps us from turning to ash, how we cannot consume your blood because it burns like acid… and how… you regenerate, I believe though, that you should be thanking us," Weisburg said, walking calmly back and forth, reminding Mika, Akane, and Yuu of Ferid Bathory when he had cornered all of them in the atrium exit of Sanguneim eight years ago.
"Thanking… you?" the man hummed.
"Look at how you are now! Stronger, faster! Better than ever before! An all-powerful Kakuja Ghoul, a former leader of an Aogiri regimen, feared and revered throughout Tokyo as the notorious and blood thirsty Eye-Patch Ghoul who had even CCG members terrorized," stated the blonde Noble.
"Do you realize… what you did to me? How much pain… and suffering… how much… pure hell I endured for the sake of your fucking curiosity?!" the boy glared at him, a sinister glint appearing in his eye.
Hans Weisburg smiled, knowing, coy, and pleased. He didn't quite care if he got the boy or any of the others riled up; however, he did want to let them know the truth, as they would deserve to know it before they were slaughtered. His gaze remained upon the white-haired boy, the blood curdling, putrid smile upon his face causing bile to rise within the throats of a few of them while a disgusted scowl came to the faces of the Moon Demon Company members, wicked glints appearing within the eyes of most of them and the Ghouls as they stared this beast down.
"Yes, I am well aware… you would be amazed at how fast news travels to the Eleventh Ward… meanwhile… I was in charge of… many other things… and, if you were wondering, all twenty of you lovely beasts have had your lives affected by the hands of myself or my colleagues for quite some time…" a growl left one of the people in the Moon Demon Company, all eyes flickering to Mika who had sharp eyes upon the man, frost-like marks appearing upon his face as he bared his teeth in a snarl at the man.
"You… all of your kind… your abominations… beasts unworthy of life and existence in this world… how dare you… stand there gloating about your actions as if there something to be proud of…" Guren tensed.
"He's trying to get us to attack… revealing that kind of thing to Kaneki and the others was supposed to usurp their leader, now he's going to go after one of us, but which one?" the man thought.
"Ahh, Shindo, I remember you… how much you've grown… and you've become such a handsome young man… you favor your father greatly, though, I never had the pleasure of meeting him nor your mother… and if you are here then… ahh! The favored little lost lamb of the sect… Amane," all eyes went to the two brothers, Mika stepping just in front of Yuu who glared at him before he turned those icy eyes onto the Vampire.
"Don't call me that! My name is not Amane! It's Hyakuya! Bastard!" the black-haired boy spat out as the Noble smirked.
"I do believe I touched a nerve. Your parents never did treat you right though, did they? Always trying to kill you off… destroy what you were, thinking you were one of the evil Seraphs, if only you had been granted the fortune of dear Shindo, then…" a feral sounding growl came from the black-haired boy, his eyes brightening as he bared his teeth in a vicious manner, revealing elongated canines as his pupils contracted into fine slits.
"Shut your mouth Weisburg! I've heard enough! Either fight us or just let us kill you, I'm getting tired of hearing you blab!" stated Guren, summoning his weapon.
"Hmm… well… I suspected a bit of idle chatter could never whet your appetite before the evening's events got under way…." The man snapped his fingers and the ground shook, startling the group as they looked around while giant walls rolled up around them, groaning and creaking as they did so.
The walls were enormous, fifty or more meters high, and slick, slightly rusted metal. The lights were positioned above them, giving the area little to no shadows, which they were thankful for; however, the fact that they were now closed off from any escape routes, told the Ghouls and Cursers present, that something terrible was about to happen. Atop the stage, the Noble stood now, as it rose higher off the ground to where none of them could get to it immediately, as he watched them, a pleased smile upon his face while he looked to them, down from his perch while the group began to form into their planned sets, preparing to fight.
"You, livestock are rather pathetic beings after all, weak and lacking all cultural interests in any form. So, tell me, Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose Guren, can you survive my gladiator ring? I want to see how you, the Ghouls, and your little one's fair against my pets that are within the arena tonight," he stated.
"Weisburg! Quit playing your games! Get down here and fight us!" the man shook his head.
"No, a mistake that Adolf Hitler made was that he tried to bite off more than he could truthfully chew. Thus, I have no desire to face all of you right now, after all: I have been steadily pushing you here all night, and I do not want the extra help I was given to be wasted by just being overran by all of you. No, I want to savor this night," he stated.
The group looked to one another, forming with all their backs to one another in small groups of four, making sure to cover one another as they stared at the scene around them of the barred gates that truly favored an iron gladiator arena as they stood there, preparing to attack. Guren cast a quick glance to everyone, his teammates knowing his orders from before they had ever entered Tokyo as Shinya nodded, understanding his gaze. They would tear down the wall, and escape if needs be, shielding Yuuichiro and Mikaela as they went, and if Guren were to fall, Shinya was to take his place.
All of them could feel it as the Noble watched them, the beast had rattled their cages, stricken them with doubt and fear, and had laid a trap for them: it would be a terrible fight, one that not all of them may walk away from. However, they had come this far, fought through four years-worth of tribulation, struggled against the Vampires, worked in secret to stop their plans, formed contracts and trained with demons, strained their bodies to the breaking point, and survived everything to get this far, and they would be damned if they gave up now. Taking in a deep breath, the earring upon the black-haired boy's ear lit up brilliant green and formed into a sword within his grasp as Fenrir followed Asuramaru's example, going to his master's hand as did the other weapons, the Ghouls unfurled their Kagune, spreading out as they all took in a few steadying breaths, knowing without question, that the time had come to do or die in this battle here, tonight, within Tokyo City, where a war was being raged that could be a turning point or a downfall for humanity and the Ghouls who had sided with them, and it all hinged upon whether or not, this group of twenty people, could face what was coming.
"Unleash the Chimera, and… remove the restraints upon the Ghouls, would you?" the sounds of chains rattling and dropping and the grinding of gears caught their attention as a horrific sound of guttural groans and growls came to their ears alongside the metallic crunching as the distinct noise of Kagune came to the attention of the Ghouls and in that instant all twenty of them knew, as they turned their eyes upon the scar-riddled hides of the Chimera, and the corpse-like appearances of the wild, vile looking Ghouls, that they were in for one of the worst fights they'd ever faced.
"Everyone… "Guren said nothing more as he drew his sword, granting the order to activate their weapons as the breath-like screams of the weapons rang in the air.
"Let the show begin…"
{…..}
Can you tell me what is real? Cause I've lost my way again…
{…..}
Author's Note: When we were planning this entire story, making sure to have it mapped out properly and everything, myself and my beta both suspected that these final three chapters in the first arc would either be incredibly long or somewhat on the shorter side to spread it out better. Seems the first chapter is somewhat on the smaller side; however, that does not mean the others will be like this. I should probably tell you that originally, I had not planned for the Ten Progenitor to have anything to do with Kaneki's past and how his life turned out because of the surgery, but when I did some plotting a bit back, my beta uncovered this little nugget of an idea, and after some debating, I decided to put it in there and see if it wrote in well, and I'm fairly pleased with it, seeing as I wanted to show that the Vampires have had their hands in a lot of these things since before the virus broke out.
Well, tell me what you guys think!
Sincerely,
ShadowDragon94.
Chapter 9: United