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Rosario + Vampire: Angel of Death
Chapter 24
Youkai Academy Grounds. Afternoon.
Moka had never felt so scared in her life until right now.
It had been a week since Tsukune was attacked by one of Antithesis' guys, a man named Mizuki, and things had been hectic, for the Newspaper Club and Tsukune. Despite being injured, the human made a quick recovery, and focused all of his time helping a man named Hokuto with the preparations for the Academy's School Festival, which was six days away. Along with everyone else, the vampire was growing concerned by the hour about Tsukune and the fact that Antithesis had almost killed him twice before.
As she grew worried, she went to find Tsukune and try to get him to confide in her, only to realize a dark truth about the leader of the Planning Committee, Hokuto, about how he was in fact a part of Antithesis itself, speaking to an enemy the vampire had faced before named Kiria as if he was an ally.
Seeing this, she tried to convince Tsukune and the others about what she saw, but Tsukune dismissed this, finding it hard to believe that the man he had considered a role model to be apart of the group that wanted him dead.
After he left, Moka asked Rubi to take a look into Hokuto, in hopes of finding some way to convince Tsukune that she was telling the truth. The next thing she knew, she was in the place where she and Kurumu fought off Kiria and two trolls that he brought with him, only to see her kidnapper as none other than the strange man. She tried to escape, but thanks to Kiria's blinding speed, she was unable to.
For some reason, Kiria confided in her in what she wanted to know, revealing to the vampire a plan to destroy the Great Barrier, a magical wall created by the Three Dark Lords that separated both the monster academy and the human world from each other, so that both races could fight each other and send both worlds into chaos.
But what got Moka so scared the most was what her captor said next: that Haru Uematsu, a man that she once considered a friend but now an enemy, had joined up with Antithesis in his hopes to finally kill Moka and get his revenge.
After that, Kiria fell silent, speaking very little since he mentioned the angel, leaving Moka to her thoughts.
As she sat on the ground in silence, she felt her body shake in fear. She then realized that it was the second time it happened to her; the first not long after her kidnapper went silent. Not again, she thought. Why am I feeling so uneasy?
As if he could read the vampire's mind, Kiria spoke up. "Do you want to know where Tsukune is, Moka-san?" he asked.
Moka let out a small gasp as the man leaned forwards. "It seems like you really want to know what happened to your friends after you were captured, doesn't it?" he continued. "Tell you what, if you can defeat me, I'll willingly take you to them."
The vampire stared at the man as he kept reading his book. Defeat him? she thought. But even Kurumu-chan couldn't hurt him, and she used all of her strength to fight off him and the giants. If I try to fight him without the other me's help, there's no way I can beat him, let alone even touch him…
As she kept thinking of how she could take on her kidnapper, Kiria let out a small chuckle, closing his book. "Just as I thought. You are as boring as all the other monsters in this academy. I guess it can't be helped, can it? I know," he slowly got up, "how about we make things more interesting?"
He then raised his arm, the vampire gasping as she saw a strange spider-like insect with a ball-shaped body and a giant eye crawl on his hand, quickly jumping down to the ground near where Moka was, as she got up the second the insect landed.
"Hehehehe…" Kiria said. "Isn't it cute? This is a Shikigami that I've raised since birth. It really likes people."
Moka shivered at the sight of the beast. Then, suddenly, a light shined from its eye, the insect letting out a bright flash, making the vampire shield her eyes.
"Don't panic." Kiria said, suddenly appearing behind Moka. "This is just an image. These Shikigami are just like 'peas in a pot.' Their demonic energy transmits something like electrical waves, allowing others to see what it's looking at. The receiver, another Shikigami, can display any images it gets in real time."
As he said this, the bright light coming out of the insect's eye began to create strange shadows within, all in human-like shapes.
"Ah." the man said, smiling. "Looks like it's started already."
Looking at the image, Moka was stunned to see none other than Tsukune and Hokuto fighting in a strange room that looked like a stairway to an office, the human sending dozens of attacks at the Antithesis leader, who dodged them like they were nothing.
"Ts-Tsukune?!" The vampire said.
As she kept watching, she was horrified to see Hokuto leap in the air, sending strange tendrils from his hands at the half-vampire, impaling him in various places.
Moka felt her body shake as Kiria spoke. "Wasn't that interesting? Now you know of your precious Tsukune's situation. If I didn't already know the outcome, I'd say that Tsukune doesn't have a chance in surviving if you don't try to save him." He went on as the images revealed that Tsukune, in vampire form, survived the attack and, despite bleeding so much, managed to shake off the wounds. "Let me fill you in on something: Ever since he was young, Hokuto was trained in the fight. He's completely different from all those people that you and him have defeated before. There's no way that he can win this fight by only relying on his monster strength." He then noticed Moka stop shaking, as he kept on taunting her. "What's wrong, Moka-san? The only way to save your Tsukune is for you to awaken and fight, correct? In order to do that, you must defeat me first." He paused, waiting for her response. "Don't waste precious time, dear vampire. Tsukune doesn't have long."
Suddenly, the vampire spun around, eyes filled with hate as she looked at her kidnapper with a scornful stare.
Kiria's smile got bigger. Yes, yes! he thought. Has she finally lost it? It's about time, I was getting bored with all this waiting. Now, show me your strength, without having to rely on that weakling Tsukune. Let me enjoy every moment of this!
As his mind raced in excitement, the vampire got up, and ran towards the man.
But to his surprise, instead of hitting him, Moka grabbed his arms, tears in her eyes. "No!" she said. "I want you to bring me to Tsukune! Please!"
As the man stood there, shocked, the vampire went on. "Something like this has happened before. When the Outcast Ayashi's Midou kidnapped me, Tsukune almost turned into a ghoul all to save me. The monster that he became, how my other half tried to end his life, I don't want to experience such things ever again! That's why, this time, I have to save Tsukune before something bad happens to him! Please," tears fell down her face, "bring me to him. I'll listen to whatever you have to say to me…"
Seeing the vampire's expression, Kiria sighed. "So be it." he said, making the vampire look into his eyes. "If that's the way you want it, Moka-san," he then looked up, an expression of disgust on his face, "I never realized how much of a boring woman you are."
As he said this, the vampire felt something grab her throat, as the man wrapped his hand around her neck, Moka gasping for air as he lifted her with ease.
"Moka-san," Kiria said. "Did you know that I've always wanted to know how strong you are in your sealed state? I knew how powerful you are in your true form, but to see you use that strength in your weaker form seemed entertaining. That's why I've allowed you to see these images of Tsukune and let you in on your former friend the angel's involvement with us. But instead of fighting, you cry like a child." His eyes flashed in anger. "Have you no shame?! Are you even fit to be called the strongest vampire?!"
As he said this, he turned his head towards the projection, noticing a change in the fight that was going on elsewhere. "Hmm," he said, catching the vampire's attention as she turned towards the direction he was facing, Kiria narrating what they could see. "Seems like the battle is about to end there. You see how he's getting beaten into a pulp, despite using the vampire blood in his body? That is a true example of boring. And yet, he keeps getting up after every hit, only to make himself look even worse. In the end," he turned towards the vampire, "the both of you are such disappointments. So weak… unable to do anything alone. Perhaps the world would benefit better with your deaths…"
Hearing this, Moka's tears kept falling. He's right, she thought. If this goes on, I won't be able to save Tsukune… She then looked back at the projection, seeing Tsukune continuously be beaten up by his opponent as she cried even more. If… If only I were more stronger…
As she saw Tsukune fall to the ground, bloodied and broken, she called out to him, hoping that he could hear her voice.
Then, suddenly, she saw Tsukune get up, looking at Hokuto with such contempt that even Moka could feel the tension of the fight.
"Jeez…" Kiria said. "They're going at it again?! Why can't that idiot realize that he's just a weak nobody? He doesn't stand a chance against Hokuto, even when he uses all of his vampiric powers."
As the words began to sink within, Moka then realized something. Kiria's right, she thought. Tsukune's weak, even in his monster form. At the beginning, when Tsukune and I started school, he was so fragile that he would crumble with a simple touch. But even with the danger, Tsukune would protect us every time. No matter how dangerous the enemy was, he would risk hi life to protect us… to protect me…
Suddenly, she grabbed her rosario, pulling at it with all of her strength.
Seeing this, Kiria was stunned. "What the- What the hell are you doing? Are you mad? Are you really trying to remove that rosario on your own?!"
As he said this, the vampire kept on pulling, but to no success. As Moka kept hoping for the rosario to come off, Kiria smiled. "Don't force yourself, woman. Did you know that 'seals' and 'barriers' are the same as 'passwords'? Without the correct 'key,' you won't be able to remove that seal. The only reason why Tsukune was able to remove the rosary is possibly because his nature is similar to the 'key's' properties. Nothing short of a coincidence. There's no way for you to remove it, so stop struggling!"
Despite this, Moka did not stop, as the rosary began to talk to her as well. 'What are you doing?! You know that Kiria's right. The consequences will be disastrous if you forcefully remove it! Do you have any idea what will happen to you? You'll lose yourself. The Moka that everyone knows of will cease to be, and all that will be left is me and a broken rosario!'
As her other side spoke of this, Moka interrupted her. "It's okay." she said.
Her other side was puzzled. 'What?' the rosario said.
Moka's tears kept falling. "I am similar to Tsukune. For Tsukune, I'm more that willing to lose my life. If I can protect Tsukune, then I don't care what happened to me. I'll do whatever it takes to help him!"
As she said this, the rosario shined, Moka's other side's voice breaking. 'I… I see. You truly are willing to go to that extent for Tsukune, aren't you?'
As it said this, a piece of the necklace connecting to the rosario and the collar slowly broke off, suddenly followed by a bright flash of lightning that coursed through the vampire's body, making her scream in pain as Kiria looked on in shock. "Wh- What the hell?!" he said.
Suddenly, the vampire's arm rose up, grabbing onto the man's arm, breaking it in three places.
Kiria screamed as his arm bled violently. "No- NO WAY! How could you have destroyed the seal?! It's impossible! If that's true, then that means the Moka now is…"
The vampire kept screaming as Kiria smiled, moving his broken arm to his side, his free hand forming into bony claws just like the first Antithesis member Tsukune faced not long after fighting Hyakushiki.
"Kukuku…" Kiria said. "What is this… Only doing this near the end only shows that you were always capable of this if you truly intended to." He raised his arm in the air, lunging at the vampire. "Now THIS is interesting! THIS is what I've been waiting for, Moka-san!"
But before he could land a hit, he felt a powerful blow to the side of his face, as the vampire, in full form, knocked the man back hundreds of feet from where she stood.
Ignoring her fallen enemy, she looked down at the rosary. "Okay then," she said, "I understand your feelings." She then began walking away from the small battlefield. "Leave the rest to me. I will end this. I will protect Tsukune."
As Inner Moka kept walking, she looked around, looking for the building that she saw Tsukune and Hokuto fight in.
Damn, she thought. Where is it? It can't be far from here, I know I'm on the right path. I just need to-.
Her thoughts were cut short as she sensed a powerful aura coming towards her, as sudden beams of light shaped like crescents flew right at her, only for the vampire to dodge each attack.
As she stood up, dusting her clothes off, she heard the sound of wings flapping, as she turned around to see Haru land in front of her, wings outstretched, sword drawn, this time wearing a black garb almost identical to what Feudal ninjas wore when in the midst of battle.
"At last." the angel said. "Nice of you to show up, Other Moka. I was wondering where you ran off to."
Inner Moka looked at him, brushing her hair back. "Haru." she said. "What are you doing here? I don't have time for your antics, I have somewhere to-."
Before she could finish, she was cut off as Haru pointed his blade at her, looking at the vampire with tempered rage. "The only place that you're going is Hell, vampire, where you belong." he said. "The time has come for your wretched kind to pay for its crimes. The time has come, Akashiya Moka, for you to finally die!"
Inner Moka blinked. "Wh-What?" she said. "What are you talking about? What do you mean the time has come?"
Haru scoffed. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten the past." he said. "I told you long ago that I would wait for the right time to attack and finally kill you, remember? Well, guess what? After so much time and patience, that moment is now."
Inner Moka tensed up. "No way… Not now. You can't kill me right now! The school is in danger!"
The angel did not budge. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
The vampire continued. "My other half, the other Moka, she was kidnapped by a man named Kiria from Antithesis. He showed the both of us images of a fight between Tsukune and a man named Hokuto, Antithesis' leader. If I don't hurry, Tsukune will die, and this school will be destroyed!"
Haru looked away, his blade still pointed at the vampire, as he picked apart the words of the vampire in his head.
After a few minutes, he looked up at the vampire, his eye still holding that glare of anger. "What makes you think I should believe your words?" he said.
Inner Moka gasped as the angel continued. "I know of this Kiria that you spoke of. And I know that Hokuto is the leader of the group that's been giving you and the others some trouble lately. But I also know, better than anyone, that vampires cannot save anything. All they know is destruction and death, nothing more."
The vampire clenched her fists. "If you don't let me go right now, Tsukune will die! Hokuto is beating him mercilessly, and he barely has the strength to stand let alone fight!"
"Tsukune can take care of himself." Haru retorted. "I've seen him take on a lot of monsters on his own since the hospital attacks. He's strong enough, he doesn't need any more of that damned poison you call blood."
Inner Moka gritted her teeth. "Move, angel!" she said, running towards the direction behind him. "I don't have time for this!"
But before she could clear a single foot from Haru, she saw, from the corner of her eyes, that he quickly spun around, sending his blade at the vampire, making her block the attack and retreat to where she was before.
Haru grasped the sword with both hands. "You don't get to decide when to leave!" he said. "The only way you're ever getting out of here is in a body bag. The human doesn't need you anymore, and neither does anyone in this academy."
Inner Moka stared into the angel's eye, seeing the hateful conviction within. "Haru," she said, "I know that what happened to your brother was tragic, and I am sorry, but I did not kill him myself! I am not to blame for his death!"
"Shut up!" Haru shouted. "You have no idea the pain I went through all these years. I've labored- no- TRAINED for the day that I could destroy the race responsible for so many wrongs in this world, my brother's death included. At long last, he can no longer look at me with eyes of doubt. He'll know that I have kept my promise, and that the vampires will finally fall!" He raised the masamune at the vampire, his wings folding to the side. "No more words. Now we fight, and you WILL die!"
Seeing the angel's aura grow with each passing second, Inner Moka looked into his eyes, and sighed.
Then, she slowly walked around Haru, the angel following suit, each walking in a circle, slowly taking in the strength that each fighter possessed.
"Haru," the vampire said, "Please, don't make me hurt you."
The angel's face did not change. "I'm done listening to you, beast."
Then, after walking a full circle, the angel attacked, the vampire lunging at her enemy in full force.
Haru swung his blade several times, Inner Moka dodging each one with ease as she tried to counterattack, the angel leaving no room to connect as he switched between attacking and deflecting his opponent's moves.
"I don't want to hurt you, Haru!" the vampire said. "Please stop this!"
The angel shook his head, swinging his blade at her. "You have to defeat me, vampire! It's the only way you can win!"
As he said this, Inner Moka saw each swing done by the swordsman become even fiercer, each attack almost touching her skin.
"I don't have time for this!" The vampire said, raising her leg in the air. "Get out of my way!"
She then kicked at the angel, her leg connecting to his head, sending a powerful shockwave to the side of the duo's battlefield.
As the dust cleared, she looked to see where the angel was, only to find, in shock, that he had not budged from the attack, instead only holding onto her leg with one hand, most of the leg touching the side of Haru's face.
"Is that it?" The angel said mockingly. "Is THIS the strength of the most powerful woman who downed so many of our enemies? How pathetic. And here I was, hoping for a challenge…"
As he said this, he pushed the vampire's leg away, making her lose balance, as he swung his sword at her and cut into her outstretched arm, sending her flying in pain.
As she got up, the angel assumed his battle position, a small portion of the vampire's blood on the sharp end of the masamune far from the hilt. "Now," Haru said, "show me what you're REALLY capable of!"
Inner Moka, ignoring the pain in her back, lunged at the angel, sending punches and kicks at his direction, most of it hitting his sword, the rest hitting nothing at all. Haru spun around, swinging the masamune underneath the vampire's feet, making her fall as the angel followed up with Lion Cross, sending the vampire flying from the full force of the attack.
As Inner Moka got up, she lunged at him, sending more powerful kicks at him, only managing to land a couple of hits. Brushing off an attack that could've cleared hundreds of people, Haru countered with more strikes, sending Moka in the air and bombarding her with countless Ragnarok attacks, most of the beams hitting their target.
He then took flight, spreading his wings out wide as he swung his blade at the vampire as she tried to regain balance despite not being on the ground. Through the blinding attacks by the angel, she then saw an opening from Haru, and kicked him in the sides, sending him crashing into the ground.
But before she could even land, Haru quickly got up, getting under her and performing a spin attack she had never seen before done by him. She felt every blow on her body, as she fell to the ground on her back, the angel closing in with Tiger Meteor. The vampire managed to dodge the blade just in time, but the crater that the move created sent giant shards of the earth at her, making Inner Moka cough up blood as her opponent pulled his sword out form the ground, continuing his assault against the vampire.
As she got up, the angel swung his blade some more, this time in a speed that gave Moka little time to react, as she was cut in different places on her body, collapsing from the pain.
Haru, seeing this, raised his blade for the killing blow, but Inner Moka was quicker, spinning around and knocking the angel off his feet, followed by a powerful kick to his midsection, sending him several feet away from her.
As he slowly got up, placing the tip of his sword on the ground and holding onto the blade itself, the angel readied his blade again.
"Is this all you really have?!" Haru shouted. "I felt more of a challenge from that bastard Kuyou than you, you little bitch!"
Hearing this, the vampire grew angry, rushing towards the angel and unleashing a barrage of attacks, giving him no time to retaliate. As she kept punching him everywhere with all of her might, the angel caught one of her hands in the air, only to let go as he sent the butt of his sword at the vampire's gut, sending her a few feet from him, clutching her stomach.
Haru grunted, the sting of each attack he received ringing throughout his body. "Pathetic." he said, keeping his composure. "I would've thought your kind would put up more of a fight. I guess the rumors are just false stories made up by a fearful populace…"
Inner Moka looked up at him seeing the uncontrolled rage in the angel's eye. "Haru," she said, "you still have a chance to do the right thing. Let me go, and I'll forget about this. I won't even tell anyone about what happened."
The angel pointed his blade at her, breathing heavily. "Not a chance. I've waited too long for this day. I'm not going to give it up for anyone, not even you."
The vampire felt her knees shake as she stood her ground, getting into battle formation. "Haru-san," she said once more, "don't do this."
Haru grasped his blade firmly. "It's over for you, murderer." he said.
He then lunged at Inner Moka, unleashing a series of fast slashes at her, so fast she couldn't see where the angel was, until he appeared behind her, sending several powerful and painful swings with his sword at her, making the vampire feel the full force of each blow. He did not relent for several minutes until he finally swung his sword down, hitting Moka on her head, and spinning around, the sharp blade connecting with her skin as she was sent crashing into a nearby tree, the force of the attack so powerful the tree almost disintegrated.
As the vampire sat there, slowly gushing out blood, she felt something on her chest as she opened her eyes to see Haru pointing his masamune at the vampire's heart.
The angel scoffed. "I knew it. All those times you faced enemies left and right, you went on boasting your power and strength. But in the end, you're just as weak as Tsukune was when he first came here."
Inner Moka looked at him with scornful eyes. "At least I wouldn't join up with a group like Antithesis just for the satisfaction of fighting an enemy."
Haru looked at her for a minute, saying nothing, until he spoke up. "That's none of your concern anymore. Neither is Tsukune."
The vampire stared at him, holding back all the hate she accumulated from Kiria as the angel grunted. "Those eyes," he said, "I've seen such a look before, long ago. I guess for the daughter of the Vampire King, eyes like that can be passed down."
Inner Moka let out a small gasp. Wh-What? she thought.
Haru went on. "I knew something about you was so familiar, and then I realized that you and he shared the same look. So I thought to myself, how the hell can that be possible? And then it hit me, only something like that can be passed from parent to child, or sibling to sibling." He then looked away, the blade still close to Inner Moka's heart. "I actually met him once, you know. He came to Ryu-san's funeral, giving my father, an old friend, his condolences, telling him that he had nothing to do with the bastard who killed my brother, and that he would do whatever it took to make sure the animal stayed in prison forever." He looked back at the vampire. "But I knew that wasn't the truth. I could see in his eyes that he was not sorry, that he held back a sign of joy and comfort, maybe knowing that the Angel King had lost something dear to him. I held onto that look for so long, waiting for the day I could repay him at last."
Inner Moka grew uneasy as the angel continued. "Do you know what I have in store for your father? First, I'll kill you, then make sure he is aware of your end by sending him a piece of you, like perhaps your heart. He'll send in thousands of vampires to hunt down his daughter's killer in a warped sense of justice, only to realize too late how much of an error he made in such acts. And when all the vampires are dead, and there are two left, I'll find the King, walk up to him, and chop his head off, sending a warning towards any monster that tries to cause any strife to humans or angels. Then I will find the man who murdered my brother, and let him realize how extinct his race has become. And when I kill him at last, then I will be set free, and my brother can finally rest in peace, knowing that his death had been avenged. And to think it all begins by your death." He looked into the vampire's eyes, holding back the urge to smile. "How exquisite."
He then grasped the sword with both hands, keeping the blade's end on the vampire's heart. "Goodbye, Akashiya Moka." he said. "If you were not born a vampire, and instead another monster, perhaps we could have been great friends…"
As Inner Moka closed her eyes, anticipating the fatal blow, the angel gripped the blade, and thrust forward.
To be continued…