Author's Notes: Original, this had black text to denote censoring by the Shin'i Agency. However, fanficdotnet doesn't really support that so I've provided a toned down version of it. Also, if you noticed weird error in the previous chapters, it's because ffdotnet enjoys eating my formatting alive. They should be fixed now.
This chapter is mostly for those of you that haven't read Tsukihime or know what The Dead are.
Supplemental Material - The Dead
A82
From: Agent W***
To: Agent M****
Date: 2010/01/28
Subject: Re: Dead Apostles and The Dead
Yo, how're you doing N**? S**** hasn't been driving you too mad on her little errands has she? Anyways, like you wanted, here's an intro on Dead Apostles and their "followers". I know you haven't had that much experience with these folk so I tried to keep it to the point. Just whatever you do, don't let your guard down. Some of these bloody sucking bastards have lived for over a century. You don't live that long while getting hunted by the Burial Agency by being sloppy. Trust me on this, I've seen them in action and they're no slouch. Hell, I remember one time this nice Church lady called ****d had to help me out when I was in a bind. Dunno how she did it but she could create and throw these mini swords outta thin air. Anyway, any undead or vampire that was impaled by them were immolated and burnt to a crisp. That doesn't even get into the part where she wielded this giant staking weapon one handed. Musta weighed at least a tonne. Gotta say that Church has some pretty powerful people on their side.
Anyways, I'm ramblin on. Just remember to watch yourself and good luck. Make sure S**** doesn't drive you too mad.
The Dead
The Dead are familiars bound to the will of their parent Vampire (also known as Dead Apostles). Having no true will of their own, they move under their master's will and consume the blood and flesh of the living in order to maintain their existence and syphon energy to their Master. Talk about laziness. Anyways, they're most easily identified by looking like a walking corpse. Sometimes they may have illusions around them to hide themselves during the day, although, I doubt you'll be hunting any of these guys while the sun shines. These familiars are what you might consider a classic in supernatural mythology. However, they've actually fallen out of use. You'll mostly encounter them in low numbers of less than several dozen in total. That is unless the vampire has already turned the entire city and the area is overflowing with corpses. Of course, in that case you'll probably be meeting an army of Executors and other Church agents as they proceed to clean and re-decorate the area.
Don't worry though. Vampires prefer to keep themselves hidden and having an army of corpses followin 'em around like that would defeat the purpose. A vampire that reveals itself too much often dies within a short period of time. Most of the time the instant any mention of the Dead is found the Burial Agency sends out Executors to hunt said offending vampire. After that, the jigs up and the vampire either dies or runs to another city.
If you do wind up fighting these undead you shouldn't let your guard down though. These creatures ain't mere corpses. They're kept alive by the power of their vampire and whatever unfortunate humans they get their ruddy hands on. This means they're actually several times stronger than your normal humans and almost as persistent. I've seen Dead break through steel doors as if they were made of plaster and dent a knight's shield with its fingers alone; although in retrospect they probably broke their arms and all their fingers doing that. Anyways, whatever you do, make sure you watch your surroundings and make sure you always have a way out. As long as you have an exit, you can always run away faster than they can chase.
Also, since they're essentially kept alive by "magic" that means their more durable then your regular humans. If you stab 'em a dozen times they'll still keep commin at you. Think of these guys as if they were robots. Heavy trauma to the torso or severing of limbs will net you the good results. However, the most surefire way of keeping 'em down is the destruction of their main body or head (Read: cleave and blow them apart) or the use of the Church's conceptual armaments (Read: Holy weapons).
The Dead actually have an interesting history. Many people in the Church believe...
*The remaining pages ramble off onto unrelated tangents from Agent W***'s mind*
A82
From: Agent M****
To: Agent W***
Date: 2010/01/28
Subject: Re: Re: Dead Apostles and The Dead
Thanks for the information, Wash. I do have to ask, however, is it completely necessary for you to translate your accent into print?
Regards,
M****, A****
Shin'ai Southern Region, Hyōgo Prefecture
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