A/N: Lemon Warning
Confordere… Secare… Hasta…
Time dragged on, and Asuka began to learn much from her new tutor.
Macir… Arcus… Ascia…
Glyph by glyph she mastered her art, all the while becoming closer to the woman she now saw as her surrogate mother.
Falcius… Culter… Scutum…
Soon, no power was beyond her reach. With Selina's help she began to master even more weapons like the bow, and more magic like ice and holy.
Lapiste… Pneuma… Ignius…
Power came to her easily; she sprouted wings, moved at blinding speed, summoned torrents of elemental power. All the while she continued to learn more and more about glyphic magic from Selina.
It was the names that were the hard part. Asuka really didn't understand why she had to know these names, only that their power was hers to command. Who really cared that her rapier-like blades were called "Confordere" or that the power to cause blasts of wind to batter and throw her targets was called "Lapiste"? Only the end result mattered to her.
"At last, my daughter, I can teach you nothing more," Selina told her on the 90th day of her training. "You have learned everything I can teach you. The rest is now up to you to complete. Your power has grown beyond any Glyph user that has preceded you; you have mastered all of them. But heed this warning… TRUE mastery can only come with experience. You would be best served testing your new found power before you begin to face the cult directly."
"I have a feeling they will come for me as soon as I return to Tokyo-2," Asuka noted. "I will have ample opportunity to test my newfound powers."
"Show no mercy," Selina replied, perhaps with a bit more venom than Asuka thought the woman capable of. "They certainly will not give any to you either."
"No quarter then," Asuka replied. "Just the way I like it." She hugged her former teacher before bidding her final farewell and proceeding alone into the cave on her way back to the base of the mountain. If she hurried she might be able to make the Hokkaido express back to port before nightfall…
IV: Return to Tokyo-2
Asuka stood at the platform of the northern-most subway station in Tokyo-2. It had taken nearly 2 days of travel to get here due to a recent storm causing havoc in northern Honshu. Mother Nature's wrath it seemed was still not fully placated. Asuka sighed in annoyance as she waited for the train to come.
She replayed Selina's words in her head warning her against using Dominus until she was ready. "Under no circumstances can you use the three Dominus Glyphs you possess until the proper moment. You'll only be able to channel their power once." It was an enormous responsibility she realized, and she knew she had to see it to its conclusion. Dracula could not be allowed to return, no matter what the cost.
Just as the train was approaching, Asuka felt a shift in the air. Magic in the space around her became excited… there was another mage nearby, perhaps several mages. Her eyes narrowed down in annoyance. She was expecting to run into the cultists here in the city, but she wasn't expecting them to track her so soon; she only just arrived in the city. There were only a few others in the station near her but she did worry about the potential for bystanders to be caught in the crossfire. This time of night on a weekend though, there shouldn't be many people riding the subway. Maybe she would get lucky and find an entire car empty.
As soon as the doors opened she walked onboard calmly, moving towards the back of the train without any hurry. She didn't even bother to look in the direction of her aggressors, simply adjusted the hood of her cloak and kept walking. She pulled it tighter around her as it was colder here than she figured it would be, or perhaps that was just the energy of the mages. Perhaps they were trying to intimidate her.
She moved from car to car, noting the number of passengers in each. She got a few weird looks from men in suits and women who were clutching their purses to their chests. The bottom half of her boots drew attention from several onlookers, appearing to be armored with dark bronze metal, otherwise she kept herself fully covered.
Finally she reached the last car, only a few people were in this one, and they all stood together off in the far corner. They seemed annoyed at her presence, and Asuka immediately decided they were probably up to something less than legal. They were about to get quite the show.
"I thought that was you," one of the men said as they walked in. He was dressed in normal street attire but had the smell of a warlock on him; old incense and blood. His buddy was also plain clothes but the way his eyes took in the room, she could tell he was also more than he seemed to be. "You may not be the one we're looking for, but Decius will be glad we found you as well... Asuka."
"That is Miss Langley to you," Asuka said with a dangerous edge in her voice. The bystanders shifted their demeanor from annoyance to nervousness.
"Ho ho, sounds like we got a fighter on our hands," the cultist commented with an amused grin on his face. "I heard you killed a few our men. You won't find us so easy to defeat."
"I rather doubt that," Asuka noted.
"And what makes you so confident, I wonder?"
"I'll tell you," Asuka replied as she faced the cultists and grabbed hold of the front of her cloak. "When I faced those intruders in my apartment I was lashing out instinctively, little more than a flail of desperation… but now…"
Asuka pulled the cloak off in one motion tossing it aside and showing her new look in all its glory. Her boots were armored up to her knees and the under layer stopped at mid-thigh leaving the rest of her legs exposed. The under cloth was Jet Black with red borders around the edges. A skirt-like cloth hung around her waist but was slitted up the front on both sides exposing her legs while covering the back and sides. Her belt was also armored in overlapping links. The black cloth of her dress only covered her front up around her neck leaving her back, shoulders and upper arms exposed. A bit of light plate protected her chest but left her stomach uncovered. Fingerless gloves ran up above her elbows but from below the elbow down, she was further protected by gauntlets with pointed fingertips resembling talons. Glyphic tattoos covered her upper arms reaching over her shoulders and stretching to her shoulder blades, where they appeared to wrap around the glyph circles there. Another massive glyphic tattoo encompassed her entire back wrapping around the sides and lower half off the main circle. Unseen by all but felt by Asuka, the symbols within the circles lit up almost sequentially as if she were powering up, and a pale red glow covered the new glyphs.
"Now, I have mastered the powers afforded me by your cult's meddling in my life," she concluded. "No Dark Lord can save you from me." She summoned forth her swords causing the tattoos over her upper arms and shoulders to move and shift into a new design. The blades were ornate this time with wicked edges and expensive looking embellishments. A gasp from the onlookers was all the response she heard from them and she knew they were trying to plaster themselves to the walls away from her.
"You talk tough," the warlock retorted, though the look on his face told her what she already knew. His confidence at her new appearance rattled him. "But let's see how you handle this!" He threw his left hand forward throwing forth a blast of raw dark energy. Asuka quickly slid to her right leaving a trail of images in her wake before her back glyph shifted and she launched forward with great speed.
The warlock managed to block the attack with a sword he summoned himself. His partner backed off a bit and began to quickly run through an incantation aloud. Trying to gain the upper hand, the warlock attempted to press his attack only to find that Asuka was stronger than he was. Pressing her advantage she launched into a flurry of strikes with her blades in reverse grips almost striking the killing blow before the warlock managed to get back away.
Asuka readied herself as she saw the Warlock had fallen back to his partner. The incantation was completed and the partner raised his hands up summoning three skeletons in light plate armor that were wielding a pair of blades just as Asuka was, in reverse grips. Asuka smiled evily as the skeletons launched forward with intent to slaughter. A scream was heard from the bystanders.
Asuka switched to wielding a pair of hammers, dodging the attacks from all three skeletons with little effort, at one point even flipping back onto her hands which briefly no longer held weapons before launching forward and smashing the first skeleton with a massive overhand attack with a huge war maul.
As it shattered, the summoner seemed to be getting a little worried. A few quick moves made a mockery of the second skeleton while the third was simply kicked out of the train to be smashed against the passing wall at nearly 100 kph.
With the window broken Asuka's hair was now whipping behind her wildly. Her weapons switched to Sickles as her back glyph shifted again. This time when she launched herself forward she did so with such speed that her attackers couldn't see what she even did, only that one moment she was ahead of them and the next she was just past them. The warlock watched in horror as his partner suddenly burst into a shower of blood and gore, his own blood pressure tore his body to pieces as the attacks by Asuka compromised the target's structural integrity.
"Now," Asuka whispered as she turned to face the other. "I'm going to ask you only once… who was it you were looking for, if I wasn't your target."
"Go to hell," the warlock yelled back. "I would rather die than betray Decius!"
"Very well then," Asuka replied calmly. As she began to bring her hands closer together. With a battle cry the warlock rushed her, but Asuka never lost her demeanor. Her hands came together forming her sickles into an ornate scythe and upper slashed as the warlock got closer causing him to freeze. Asuka shut off her glyphs and retrieved her cloak, walking towards the front of the train car as the Warlock's body fell in a torrent of blood, split open from crotch to crown. The horrified screams of the onlookers faded behind her as she left.
The walk home took nearly 30 minutes from the train station. During this time Asuka began to think to herself. She ran through what she knew and tried to make sense of what was said on the train.
"If I am not the cult's primary target right now, who is?"
The idea that someone else has been caught up in this, and is somehow just as important to their plans, if not more so, disturbed her beyond words. Asuka bore the glyphs of Dominus; Anger, Agony, and Hatred. With this trifecta of power, she could summon forth the full power of Dominus and extinguish Dracula once and for all… or somehow bring about his return if she didn't use it at the right moment.
"Dominus… the manifestation of his power…" Asuka whispered to herself as she finally approached the apartment. "What a horrible thing to be stuck with."
Asuka entered the apartment. The lights were off and there was no sign that Shinji was home. Sighing heavily, she removed her gauntlets and unclipped the clasps on the backs of her boots removing them as well but leaving the thigh high undercloth and arm warmers in place. Her hands were uncovered now making it easier for her to remove the rest of the metal from her body. She carefully removed the belt and placed it on the table then released the two sets of clasps holding her breastplate in place, placing that against the wall next to the table.
"Feel better?" came a voice from the darkness causing Asuka to jump slightly.
"You scared me," Asuka noted with annoyance as the light faded on. Shinji sat on the couch looking like he hadn't slept in a few days. "Shinji-kun? What's wrong?"
"You're using contractions again," Shinji noted as his face shifted from a straight demeanor to a thoughtful smile. "Have you managed to get any of your memories back?"
"Not many," Asuka admitted as she quietly walked closer. "I do know what EVAs are now… and I have a few scattered memories of the war."
"I see," Shinji replied. "None of the good memories I'm noting."
"It started with a memory of being mind-raped by an angel…" Shinji frowned as she mentioned this. It was obvious to her that he had hoped that memory would not come back to her. "Shinji… why did we revolt against God?"
Shinji sighed. "Not an easy question to answer. Too many bad memories connected to this." He stood up, walking towards the window. "Mankind discovered an angel frozen in the Antarctic and tried a contact experiment. It awoke something horrible. Mankind tried to harness the power of God in that instant and God decided to hit back. That's the best way I can explain it in the end without going into hours of detail."
"We fought a war because of the actions of only a few people?" Asuka questioned, sounding almost sickened by the idea. In truth she was. When she had realized she was part of a war against heaven itself, she almost threw up, and the three months since that time have not made the admission any easier on her.
"We didn't win, but we didn't lose either," Shinji noted. "It'd be impossible to explain, but in the end we reached something of a truce."
"I see." Asuka stood next to him. "But we are without God now, aren't we?"
"I think that might be why people like Decius are trying to resurrect a tyrant like Dracula. They need someone to guide them, they're too week to guide themselves. They crave the presence of a god… in any form."
Asuka sighed. "I learned so much and yet it still feel as if I know so little."
"It will come back to you," Shinji whispered. "I know it will." He put a hand on her shoulder causing her to shiver slightly. She felt his hand slide over the back of her neck to push her hair away for a moment and this touch triggered a memory she didn't want.
She saw herself being suspended on just his hands, felt her throat closing as he strangled her. In the background she could hear herself yelling at him, calling him names, telling him he was worthless. She heard the word 'baka' used repeatedly… the Japanese word for 'idiot'. No wonder he hated her… why did she do that to him?! Another scene came to her, she was lying on the ground with the hands around her throat again only this time she was in her plug suit and they were on a beach. Her back against the sand… him straddling her… his hands around her throat… her hand at his face… hands loosen… tears are shed… his head lay upon her chest as her arm gently laid over his back in a gesture meant to be comforting…
"I feel sick…"
With a gasp she pulled away causing Shinji to draw back. Her legs went weak and she fell to the floor in a kneeling position. She didn't feel herself hit the ground. Her hair splayed around falling partly in her face. Her hand slid under the wave of hair as her tears came unbidden.
"Mein Gott…" was all she could say, the words barely a whisper.
"Asuka?"
"Another flashback…" She whispered. "Horrible… I was so, evil."
"You weren't evil, Asuka."
She spun her head to face him, her hair still in her face. "I was!" she protested. "I never stopped tormenting you! Not once!"
"Asuka?" Shinji drew closer.
Asuka shivered as the full brunt of the pain of what she had done came crashing down on her. She began to cry harder, her shoulders shaking with every sound she made.
"We always hurt the ones we love," Asuka noted. "That's what they say isn't it? Why did I have to be so mean to you? I knew how you felt about me, and I brushed you off as just a child with hentai thoughts… I never once even considered that you cared about me! I was so wrapped up in the man I couldn't have…"
Shinji knelt down by her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She shook at his touch, knowing he was so desperate to help her now. She tried to think back to the docks three months ago, she kissed him properly then, not like she tried in Katsuragi's apartment. It was genuine because she loved him… and now after all this time she can admit to herself that back then, she did love him as well. Pride destroyed her chance then, but now…
Her body heated up from within. Years of trying to save herself for a man who would never have her reached its ultimate limit. She didn't know if it was love or lust anymore, but she knew she needed to feel it… feel something… and in that moment of admitting to herself that perhaps she was actually the perverted one all this time, she took the initiative knowing full well Shinji would never do so.
Shinji yelped in surprise as he suddenly lost his balance and ended up on his back on the floor. Before he could recover Asuka straddled him, with her hands on his shoulders holding him down. Before he could protest Asuka kissed him desperately, closing her eyes as she did so. Shinji fell into the kiss but nearly froze as he realized she was unbuttoning his shirt. Asuka wasn't about to let him try to escape though. Her tongue probed deeper, her passion became overwhelming. He could do nothing but respond in kind.
When she finally paused her assault, it was only to release the tie on the back of her neck, grasp her dress at the hips and pull. She heard him gasp as the dress left her body, exposing her stomach, then her ribs and finally her pert breasts to him. She threw the dress aside and then removed her arm warmers. Before he could open his mouth and question what she was doing she took his hands and guided them directly to her breasts. His hands instinctively grasped them, kneading them gently and sending pleasurable sensations though her body.
"Don't resist," she whispered to him. "We need this… I need this… I need you."
"Asuka," Shinji whispered, each syllable punctuated with emotion she never knew Shinji could express. It warmed her heart, as much as it pushed her libido further.
Love… lust… now in this room, is there a difference?
She slid down his body, undoing the zipper and button on his pants and removing them, boxers and all in one swoop. She paused only for a moment to look at her prize and tried not to think about the fact that it was bigger than she expected. Just as she removed her own panties, Shinji apparently had enough of being an object and took the initiative.
Asuka squeaked in surprise as she was suddenly grabbed by the arms, and then nearly thrown to the floor. She laughed as he attacked her neck for moment before he hit a spot near her artery and sent sparks through her body, and then she moaned instead which seemed to spur him on as he ran his tongue over that spot instinctively.
"Ja," she managed to moan out as he nipped her neck lightly with his teeth. She felt him working his way down her collar bone then to her left breast where he all but latched on and nearly bit her nipple. The feeling that shot though her body at that point caused her to gasp in a mix of pleasure and pleasurable pain. She arched her back, all but shoving her breast into his face in the process. His hands were everywhere; his mouth was centralized on that breast. She never thought he was a breast man, but it would explain his fascination with Rei now that she thought about it.
A nip just below the nipple jolted her out of the thought. She grabbed him pulling him up into a kiss. He had become as desperate as she was, and her body continued to become warmer. The kiss was full of passion, beyond anything she ever knew and the warmth of his emotions seemed to flow from him into her. It was unending, there seemed to be no limit to what he could express to her now.
When they parted again, Shinji propped himself up and placed the tip of his manhood at her entrance. She was already so turned on that she needed no prompting. Her legs wrapped around him and pulled him down impaling herself on him, realizing too late that she might have been better served waiting a moment. Her body clamped down around the intruder. She felt too tight around him, gasping in more pain than pleasure this time, but she was undeterred.
He looked like he was going to say something and Asuka shut him with another kiss, pushing her heels into his upper thighs to try to spur him forward. He complied, pulling half out before pushing back into her body again. She felt him sliding in and out, each movement putting her into even greater levels of ecstasy, and the initial pain faded quickly. She moaned again… words left her mouth when they parted lips but even she didn't know what she was saying anymore. Her world began to melt around her; Shinji was all that existed.
The ripples within her core threatened to expand beyond the boundaries of her own body. She felt herself being picked up, but the connection between them never seemed to break. She was upright again, he was below her. She gasped as she felt his mouth seal over her breast again and arched her back as instinct now drove her to continue rolling her hips. She knew she was on his lap now but nothing else was known. Only the pleasure existed.
They were moving again. How long had it been? A few minutes? An hour? She had no idea. She found herself with something more comfortable than the hard floor or nothing at all at her back and he was pounding into her again. Every thrust seemed to destroy more of her awareness. Every kiss and bite brought her feelings she never knew existed. This was more than simple love… this was transcendence.
Finally after what felt like hours floating between levels of awareness, the ripples within her body reached critical mass and her emotions exploded. Her eyes clamped shut and she screamed as her body shuddered. She barely heard Shinji grunt and felt the warmth spread though her lower tummy. Her mind failed to connect the event with what actually happened to her as such a powerful orgasm would allow nothing further.
Her breath returned as she started to come back down, and the room partly faded into view. Shinji's weight was now fully upon her, and instinctively her arms wrapped around his upper body. Exhaustion swiftly followed along with a feeling of afterglow that caused her to suddenly feel the cold of the room. Before she managed to pass from consciousness, she felt something cover her and a pair of protective arms encircle her…
Asuka didn't know how long it had been. Her eyes opened and she found herself staring at the chest of Shinji. She felt the warmth around her. She moved a little, feeling the afterglow of what they had done. She knew it had to be a few hours at least since they made love, but she could still feel that her body was sensitive, especially in certain places. Her hand was across his chest and she felt his left arm possessively circling her small frame.
She sighed in contentment, knowing full well she never felt this level of ease in her entire life. Though much of her own past was hidden from her, she was putting the pieces together; a shattered home, an insane parent, repression, forced into success, weight of the world on her shoulders, and the worst of all of it, her abuse of the only person who ever truly loved her. She decided she would never again travel that road… She would never be anyone's puppet or minion again. Her own path still lay before her with only two things standing in the way of true happiness…
Count Vlad Tepes Dracula… and the Sons of Shaft. One no longer amongst the living, and the other trying to change that at any cost.
As if sensing she was thinking about terrible things, Shinji's grip on her increased slightly, though he didn't awaken. Asuka calmed her mind down realizing that on some level he was sensing her worries. She nuzzled into him, taking in the warmth of his body and signaling to his subconscious that all was well. As she lay, she noticed the feelings of her afterglow were slowly returning to her, eliciting a soft sigh from her. She smiled lecherously. If "morning wood" was truly a thing, she would not let it go to waste.
Unsurprisingly, it took over an hour from the time they awoke until the time Shinji and Asuka finally entered the kitchen to begin breakfast. Shinji was clad only in boxers while Asuka wore a large button up shirt with only the bottom three buttons closed. She knew he was wondering if she even put her panties back on this morning and decided she would let him wonder.
Shinji began preparing one of her favorite breakfasts, eggs, sausage, and corned beef hash. Shinji was never a fan of the hash, but Asuka loved it. Asuka for her part noticed he was quiet this morning and decided she would try to get the conversation going.
"So…" Asuka said aloud folding her hands on the table in front of her. The arms on the shirt were perhaps a little long as they covered most of her hands.
"We… did it," Shinji whispered barely even audible.
"Twice in fact. Still on shock Shin-chan?" Asuka replied playfully. "Or is it still so hard for you to understand how I feel?"
Shinji sighed and turned to face her. "I knew how you really felt about me, Asuka-chan," he explained. "It's just that… after everything that happened to me, I never once even considered that I would feel something like this in my entire life."
"This?" She questioned, wanting to hear him say it.
"Loved," he asserted. "After mom died, and my father discarded me until I was needed, I went numb. I decided I didn't want to push my luck as anyone I've ever cared about has somehow hurt me… or I them. Even Misato-san was… in a way at least, using me for her own revenge." He sighed. "I don't know how much of this you even remember."
"Only a little," Asuka replied as she stood up. His eyes ever so quickly darted between her face and the hem of her shirt. It parted slightly at the bottom but still revealed nothing. Asuka ignored it as hormones. "You… me… even Wonder Girl had our share of bad stuff, though I don't remember what her problem was other than she was so robotic all the time."
"That discussion could take a day or two," Shinji replied, causing Asuka to smirk a little at his comment though she knew he wasn't trying to be funny about it.
"The point is… we got through it. We're here now… and I'm not going anywhere." She walked up to him placing her hands on his chest and laying against him. Her lips met his again and she felt the same warmth in them she felt during their lovemaking. As their tongues danced she suddenly felt pressure against her pubic mound, hitting her in just the right way.
She moaned in his mouth and looked down, seeing Shinji had become aroused again. His face turned red with embarrassment and Asuka just giggled with a light blush over her face as well.
"I guess I should have worn panties after all," she said and began to kiss him more desperately this time. Despite her overall weakness from their escapades last night and this morning, she was willing to push for round three. Shinji's libido it seemed was more than willing to comply. He did apparently have the presence of mind to shut the stove over before he all but attacked her.
Shinji spun her around holding her against the wall next to the counter as he continued to kiss her deeply. Asuka barely managed to get two of the three buttons undone before Shinji pulled the shirt from her shoulders and he latched onto her left breast. Her nipple hardened instantly and became super sensitive causing Asuka to moan appreciatively at the feelings tearing through her body for the third time in less than 12 hours.
She pulled his boxers down from his hips as she raised her right leg up. He impaled her without breaking his hold over her causing her to nearly cry out in delight feeling her body becoming one with his once again. As he thrust into her hard and broke his contact with her breast her right leg managed to get over his hip giving her the leverage she needed to keep forcing him inside of her.
"God I love this," Shinji managed between breaths. "I love you so much Asuka!"
The sound of those three little words sent her over the edge. She cried out in ecstasy as she was rocked with her third orgasm, but Shinji wasn't ready. Despite her poor abused vagina becoming so sensitive he kept hammering into her. Her body somehow clamped down on him again and she screamed as feelings felt like they bottomed out only to shoot skyward again. This happened no less than four times before Shinji finally released inside of her. Her poor abused body couldn't take too much more, as her leg dropped from his hip and she felt their mixed juices trail down her thigh. As they both came down, Asuka's legs gave out causing Shinji to hold her tightly to keep her from falling over.
"Maybe a bit too much," she whispered. She managed to get a leg under her and Shinji was able to help her back to her chair, though her thighs rubbing together set more electricity though her nethers as she felt the wetness slide against her sensitive inner thighs. A light moan escaped her as the feeling reverberated, and inwardly she hoped after having four orgasms back to back that a fifth wouldn't spontaneously happen. She closed her shirt upon sitting down but had to stifle another moan as the fabric rubbed over her almost painfully erect, and now quite sore left nipple.
"No such thing," Shinji whispered as he kissed her again. She felt her heart beat faster at the touch and knew if she didn't put a kibosh on this, they weren't getting anything accomplished today.
"Moderation might be best," Asuka whispered. Then her stomach growled and she laughed. Shinji chuckled with her.
"We definitely need to get you fed," he replied, and went back to the stove to cook.
Asuka slowly got her breath back. "Mein Gott, three times just since last night! You'd think I turned into some kind of uber slut or something…" She chuckled lightly to herself. "And yet, I can't help but feel we should have done this a while ago…"
Much to Asuka's delight they ended up having sex a fourth time, this time when Shinji was trying to take a shower. Asuka decided he wasn't doing it alone. Finally however, they both decided they needed to take a break from all of the lovemaking, especially since Asuka nearly fell in the shower she was becoming so weak.
Sitting in the living room, Asuka was wearing one of her more casual outfits, a loose fitting shirt and sweat pants, but no shoes. She was curled up on the couch with Shinji who was wearing a t-shirt and shorts.
Asuka took the time to explain what happened when she got back into town and Shinji listened to her words.
"He said I wasn't their target," she concluded. "But who where they after?"
Shinji was silent. "I don't think they would be able to invest in a new Dominus Barer. Besides I don't think they could recreate the Glyphs anyway."
"Why is that?" Asuka asked. She didn't like the answer.
"The Glyphs aren't just made from his power… they in reality are his power."
Asuka shivered. "I'm bearing the essence of what Dracula is on my body?" She shuddered hugging herself as she felt Shinji's reassuring grip on her tighten. "I feel… almost dirty thinking about that."
"I know you must," Shinji replied. "It's terrible. But that still leaves us with one problem…"
"I know, we don't know who they are really after and why."
"Whoever they are, they must be somehow connected to you," he said.
"Why would you say that?" Asuka replied looking at him curiously. She saw worry in his eyes.
"It's just a feeling…" he trailed.
Asuka wondered at who it could be. There weren't very many people she was close to. She remembered Hikari was like a sister to her. And the thought became frighteningly real in her mind. Could they be going after her friend, knowing they could potentially use her to draw Asuka out? That train would have brought the cultists she killed within walking distance of Hikari's neighborhood…
"I won't let anyone else be hurt over this. I have to take action… now."
But a thought was scratching at her mind. Shinji… the way he spoke about this… did he know more than he let on? No… he couldn't… he'd never lie to her…
"…right?"
You told me to love you and I did,
Tied my soul into a knot and got me to submit
So when I got away, I only kept my scars
The other me is gone,
Now I don't know where I belong…
"I can't let anyone else suffer because of me. If Hikari is really who they are after, I need to attack them first. Maybe if I push the right people… but what's this about a candidate for the Dark Lord? Could someone already be becoming Dracula? Am I too late?"
Next Chapter: The Goal