A/N: Lemon Warning

A storm was rapidly approaching, and Shinji watched as it did. Mana was still sleeping the next room. Though his hip ached a little, it was healing quicker than even he had anticipated.

"All this power… and yet…"

He thought on his accomplishments, and his failures. There were still so many pieces left. He knew the Angels weren't done with humanity yet, and the war against the cults might still go on for years. Where will it finally end? When will he be able to relax again. He didn't have the answers, only more questions he could not reconcile.

As another rumble of thunder drifted over the countryside, he turned towards an empty space in the room where a dark mass was appearing. The figure of Death faded into existence, along with his Librarian Kodama who had a stack of books and a pad of paper with her.

"Glad you could make it," Shinji noted.

"I almost didn't," Kodama replied, as Death faded away again. "But I have the information you requested… You were right… we now know for certain who the five heads of the dragon actually are."

"Finally."

Kodama sat down at the table and opened the first book, removing a piece of paper. "The Son's of Shaft were of course the first ones that you had discovered, aiming to forward the return of Dracula though forcing the Candidates to face each other, eliminating the weak and leaving only the strongest to become Dracula. While Rastur is a member, he is not the leader. Shaft himself leads his sons."

"Unsurprising. I wonder how he's managed to stay alive all this time."

"Magic, likely. The Order of Infernus was next. They're of course trying to speed the fall of civilization by sparking unrest and anarchy, weakening society so that it will be more receptive to vampiric rule. While I still haven't fully confirmed this, everything points to Rastur being the leader of this cult.

"The third is the Circle of the Moon, dedicated to finding the Nine Brides of Dracula so that he can father a new ruling class of vampires to aid him in dominating the world. Countess Carmilla Elizabeth Bathory leads that particular brothel.

"The Sisters of Sin are a cult we've had little to no contact with but form an important part of the plan to destroy society none-the-less. The ongoing reports of high-level assassinations and such are proof enough of this. They are a cult of Succubi, Incubi and their lower evolved variations, infiltrating government and sowing chaos by eliminating key figures. All evidence points to a Succubus named Malcanthet as the one who leads them."

"Sounds charming," Shinji noted sardonically.

"Very… she's literally to die for."

Shinji smirked at that bit of dark humor. "That leaves The Brotherhood of Blood as the fifth I assume?"

"You are correct," Kodama confirmed. "They are a society of Vampires and their loyal cattle who are even now gathering relics of power and recruiting stronger individuals within the vampire community. They hope to have the framework of a working society in place by the time Dracula is resurrected. They are led by the man who in many ways is seen by the other cults as the true leader of them all; Count Olrox."

"Olrox… I thought Alucard killed him long ago."

"He didn't," Kodama corrected. "Olrox isn't just a Vampire… he's also a Lich."

Shinji looked shocked at that revelation. "So it doesn't matter how many times he is killed, he'll keep coming back in one form or another… how did he manage to become two powerful forms of undead at the same time?"

"That I don't know." Kodama looked towards the bedroom. "Mana's likely to awaken soon. Are you going to tell her about this?"

"Not yet," Shinji replied. "Burdening her with this knowledge won't help. Plus, we know that there are elements within the church that are working with the cults. Until or if I can convince Mana to leave them and join us, we need to keep her in the dark for now."

"Pragmatic… if deceptive."

Shinji frowned. "It's not a lie if I don't mention it."

"It is actually, it's called lying by omission. And last I checked you don't like to have secrets kept from you. Why do it to her too?"

Shinji sighed. "Almost sounds like you hate this more than me."

"The first step to becoming a better ruler is not being a hypocrite." Shinij shot her an aggressive look causing Kodama to flinch. "I'm sorry… I get this is different."

"You overstep yourself… but you're not wrong. I hate this just as much as you do, but for safety's safe, she needs to be in the dark…" He sighed heavily as he felt Mana stir in the next room, threatening to awaken. "… for now."

V: Bloody Tears

Mana opened her eyes, noting the ambient light was lower than she would have expected. Glancing at the nearby clock, she saw it was around one in the afternoon. She sat up, noting she was still clothed and also noted Shinji was no longer in bed, his covers pulled aside. Part of her was disappointed nothing happened between them, but she knew this wasn't the time; school felt so long ago with everything that had happened since.

A minute later, she entered the main room to find Shinji looking out the window. The ambient light was near non-existent as the rumble of thunder rolled over the house. A storm was brewing, and it would be here very soon. Hearing a page turn, she looked to her right and noted a girl sitting at a table with numerous books, most closed in a pile but one was opened, and she busied herself jotting information down on a pad of paper next to her with only a single lit candle to illuminate her work. She noted the girl looked a lot like Hikari but was obviously a little older, her hair in a single low tail, and her outfit made her look like an old-time teacher.

"How's the wound?" Mana finally asked.

"Healed… mostly," Shinji replied. "Sleep ok?"

"Yeah. So who's the librarian?" Mana asked the question almost jokingly.

"My librarian," Shinji answered with a touch of amusement, though Mana detected an undercurrent of anger.

Without looking up from her work, or even stopping her writing, the girl at the table spoke. "I'm Kodama. I work mostly as a researcher and procurer of information."

"She's modest," Shinji noted. "She's nearly doubled the size of my library since she started working for me."

"Kodama…" Mana mused. "Ah… I remember now, Hikari mentioned she had an older sister by that name. I'm-"

"Mana Kirishima Belmont," Kodama finished for her. "Forgive my intrusive speech, but I've been doing a lot of research lately on your family and its connections to the church. I'm not the kind of person who likes to know that information is actively being kept from me, but the fact that only that archive you found had any clues at all about the true relationship between Vlad Dracul and the Church is beyond vexing. I'm actually rather impressed at how well they managed to keep this information hidden."

"No one wants to be excommunicated," Mana noted. "And you don't need to apologize, I'm used to dealing with sages."

Shinji snorted as Kodama sighed. "I'm flattered you think I'm a sage but I don't feel I'm at nearly that level yet."

"Kodama," Shinji questioned, "how many books do I have on Romanian Royalty pertaining to the time of Dracula's first appearance until pre-industrial Europe."

"Five," she answered immediately. "Three of which are in original Romanian. And that doesn't prove anything, Shinji."

"It proves you know way more about my library than I do. If that doesn't qualify you as at least an apprentice sage, I don't know what does."

Mana was beyond impressed. "You know Romanian?" she asked.

Shinji chuckled again. "Tell her how many languages you know."

Again, Kodama sighed. "Every language used on the continents of North America, South America, Asia, and Europe, along with three African languages, and one dialect of bushman from Australia. This includes written and spoken forms where applicable."

Now Mana was shocked. "Impossible!"

"I never used to be able to do that," Kodama explained. "After I agreed to become Shinji's Librarian and assist with research, I noted that I started to gain supernatural senses. I started to study inscription magic, and shortly after that noted I had begun to assimilate languages rapidly. I learned 12 in one day, and my desire and thirst for more only grew as I researched. I can only assume that my agreeing to become one of Shinji's allies somehow granted me power, like some kind of informal demonic pact. I help him, and in return, I gained the tools to do so much more efficiently."

"Now I just have to get her to call me 'Master'," Shinji joked.

Kodama smirked as she opened another book. "Not going to happen."

Mana chuckled. "So, what's our next move."

"I've been researching the Crucible and its uses, as well as where it's been," Kodama explained. I can say with almost one hundred percent certainty that our enemy is in possession of it."

"I have to warn the church," Mana noted.

"They might not be receptive to you," Shinji cautioned. "They might know about us at this point."

Mana, made an unhappy sound, though she didn't mean to. "Is there even an us?"

"We're working together, aren't we?" Shinji questioned.

"I don't think that's what she meant, Shinji," Kodama noted.

Shinji thought for a moment. "Oh… Well… I don't force these sorts of things…"

"I never stopped caring about you," Mana replied immediately.

"You tried to kill me."

"And you think I wanted to?!" Mana looked away, silently chastising herself for raising her voice. "Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? Everything in my being wants you dead because of what you're becoming… except my soul… I love you, Shinji. I have loved you since the day we met." She bit back tears though a few managed to escape anyway. "Fuck… I hate this burden I hold… I wish I'd never been approached by the church to take over the task my grandfather left me."

"Mana I…"

Mana wiped her tears, stepping back from him as he approached her. "I have to reconcile this… We can't deal with it right now. No matter what my feelings in the matter are, the fact remains that the church has to know what's happening."

Shinji stopped and lowered his hands. "I understand. This is hard for me too, you know." He looked out the window again, noting it still hasn't started raining yet. "We'll talk again when you get back."

Mana nodded, and walked out of the safehouse. She noted her bike was moved here, but didn't bother to question how. Looking back at the house one last time, she sighed heavily then made her way back to the Church of the Holy Trinity.

It was late in the afternoon when Mana finally arrived at the Church, but the storm wasn't here. The sky was overcast none-the-less. Outside, Father Matsudo was waiting for her. With him a group of seven church defenders in full regalia waited. Mana mused the looked more like the Emperor's Bodyguards from Star Wars; long red garments, red and black helms reminiscent of the crusaders of old, but beneath the regalia was enchanted chainmail. It was odd to see them protecting a mere priest which led Mana to believe something was amiss.

"Father Matsudo," Mana greeted.

The priest looked at her gravely from his higher position on the stairs. Mana watched as the guards moved to surround her.

"What have you done?" the priest asked sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"You need to come inside… there are important people waiting for you… and they're not pleased."

Mana's heart began to beat harder, realizing what was happening here.

"They know…"

She was ushered inside, her relics and whip stripped from her, and was brought before a tribunal within the great hall of the Church of the Holy Trinity. The only person she recognized and indeed could see the face of was Archbishop Claudius.

She stood before them, the men set in a half circle before her… six black robed judicators wearing faceless masks, with Claudius in the center. The guard behind her forced her to kneel.

"Where is Yoko?" Claudius demanded without ceremony.

Mana said nothing at first, trying to process what was happening to her. She started feeling weaker for some reason and she couldn't figure out why.

"I don't know," she replied. "I haven't seen her since I consulted her in the library."

"She and Genya Arikado are missing," Claudius noted. "We know what Yoko told you… and we know you acted on the information."

"I was getting to the bottom of-"

"You exceeded your orders!" he cut. "She warned you that she wasn't supposed to tell you about the archive at Matsumoto, and you went there anyway!"

"The crucible had to be found!" Mana snapped back, earning a sharp strike to her back with the flat side of a great sword from one of the seven guards. She dropped to her hands, but refused to go further, biting back the pain which was far greater than it should have been. "What are they doing to me?"

"And in doing so, you have become privy to information you were never meant to have. And we know you've been working with Ikari."

"He wants the cults stopped as much as we do. It's an alliance of convenience... nothing more."

"Lies! I know you have feelings for him… but he is DRACULA! You stupid girl… I knew we never should have trusted you with this… you were far too close to the problem, but Father Matsudo insisted it would be okay. I never should have listened."

Mana had finally had enough, she knew her strength was gone somehow, but she wasn't going to take this lying down anyway. Even if all she could do was broadcast her defiance, they needed to know.

"This whole mess is your fault anyway," she accused as she forced herself back to an upright position. "Dracula would never have gone to war with humanity if your descendants hadn't outright murdered his wife."

"Hold your tongue!" She was struck again, this time hitting the floor hard. "Your part in this was preordained long before your bloodline even meant a damn thing! Dracula was the prefect candidate to keep the religion alive. Mankind needs guidance… you've seen it yourself."

"So… this was planned hundreds of years before the death of Lisa Tepes?" Mana concluded. "Shady all the way down."

"It seems the Belmont Bloodline's usefulness has run its course... it should have died with Julius… but thankfully, that is something that can be rectified." He stood taller somehow as he was about to make his final declaration against her. "Mana Kirishima Belmont… I hereby declare you Excommunicado-Terminus. May your soul rot in hell for all eternity for your transgressions against the church."

Mana heard the other six guards draw their blades and knew she was done for. They took her powers somehow, and she was disarmed and defenseless. Worse yet, she was hell bound and out of the grace of God. But fate… or perhaps the darkness itself had other plans for her.

All seven of the guards were suddenly yanked back from her. Mana turned to see they were entrapped in black chains that seemed to drain the light from around them. They struggled but were pinned nearly to the floor by the supernatural metal and shadow that crawled over them like black smoky tendrils.

"What?!" the archbishop yelled as he and the other judicators stepped back. "What devilry is this!"

The double doors to the room flew opened, and a cold wind seemed to blow through, chilling the occupants, though Mana herself never felt it. A single set of footsteps coming from a pair of boots echoed across the room as a hooded female figure in black entered the hall. Her robes split in two places so that her legs were able to move freely, revealing her boots to be thigh high, and leaving a full 15cm of exposed thigh visible to the onlookers. It was the only exposed skin to hint at the nature of who was beneath the robes. The face was only a black façade, who's true nature could not be divined. A silvery scythe floated just to her left, following her pace precisely.

"I will never understand how mortals can be so callous with life," the female figure spoke. Her voice was pleasant and echoed over the chamber as if from a far greater one. It's tone somehow filled with supernatural power, terrifying and beautiful at the same time. "And you would think that an institution designed to bring hope, and the promise of salvation in the next life would be less… cruel… and manipulative. I suppose no matter how benevolent a religion can be, power still corrupts."

"Wha… what are you?!" the archbishop demanded.

"I am she who bring true salvation to the mortal realm. I guide the soul to the next life… help them to move on, regardless of their faith or lack thereof. I am a companion to all who seek release, and an ally of the Dark Lord. I… am… Death." She stopped behind Mana, the guards behind her struggling against the chains that held them but unable to budge even in the slightest. "And lucky for you… I am no murderer. I'm sure just about anyone else would want you and your allies dead for what you have done… for all that you have done. However, I am not vengeful or odious… I am merciful, and I am here to collect the Master's friend from your not-so-tender grasp."

"God have mercy," the archbishop whispered. The chill in the room deepened, creeping over all within except Mana.

"For centuries, you have used the Belmont bloodline to fuel superstition and fear for the purposes of gathering sheep for your flock, and keep them within your grasp. Far too long… That you would abandon Mana now speaks volumes of your character. You think of us as monsters when we are all that stands between the true darkness and the light. Perhaps it is the church itself who's usefulness has run its course."

Mana stood up, somehow released from whatever power bound her to the ground and stood next to Death, feeling the irony of actually seeking protection from her. The archbishop crossed himself and stepped back further.

"I wish I was the monster you think me, Archbishop… If anyone deserves to spend eternity in hell, it is you. But I will settle with denying your desire to harm Mana." Death turned to the girl standing next to her. "Come, I will take you to Shinji. Unlike this institution of false promises and self-delusion, he never abandons the people he loves."

"I don't need convincing." Mana noted as she stood close to Death. A shroud of darkness covered over them both, and only after it faded, revealing both were gone, did the chains binding the guards shatter into dust. The archbishop fell to his knees, his heart pounding in his chest as his guards rushed to his side to aid him.

"Ikari…" he whispered. "You truly have become the Dark Lord."

Mana found herself back at the safehouse. She turned towards death in time to see her pull her hood down, revealing a pale face with short cut black hair and subdued hazel eyes. Before she could react, Shinji was holding her as the girl stepped back.

"Are you alright?" Shinji asked.

Mana just relaxed in his grasp and sighed, holding back more tears.

"I've been excommunicated," she replied.

Shinji was silent for a moment. "Well fuck them then." Without letting go of Mana, he looked towards the incarnation of Death. "Maya… thank you."

She nodded before fading away into shadow.

"That was Maya? The tech you told me about?"

"Yeah," Shinji affirmed. "She became the incarnation of Death after killing the old Death… long story."

"That seems to be a running theme with your entire Harem," Mana noted. Shinji finally released her. Mana wiped her tears away and sighed heavily. "They took my powers away from me somehow as well… I'm back to being boring old Mana again…"

"You are a lot of things, Mana… but you are not boring."

Mana stepped forward and leaned on him again. "Being the chosen warrior of the church made me special again… like I was during the T-RIDEN-T project. Now that my part in all this is done, I… really don't know what to do."

"I imagine you don't want to kill me anymore, otherwise you wouldn't be so clingy."

Mana just noticed that was true. She felt Shinji's hand running down her back to the small of it as his mouth came close to her ear.

"I can make you feel special again," he whispered almost seductively.

It took Mana all of three seconds to make her decision. As Shinji pulled his head back, she pushed forward, kissing him deeply. It felt to her like she was back in school again… only this time, he was taller than her, and far more experienced. Before she knew what happened she was back first on a bed, still deeply kissing the boy she loved. They separated just long enough to start stripping, but got barely passed being bare from the waist up before they were at it again. Their tongues probing each other's mouths deeply, as Mana's modest chest pressed against Shinji's. Her pants were gone before she was pushed back to lying on the bed again, moaning in his mouth as his hand was already inside her panties, his fingers gliding over her slit with practiced ease.

Mana had wondered what it would have been like if she had managed to get Shinji in bed when they were still in school. Would he have been a natural, or would he fumble in amateurish inexperience. Would he have been too shy to do anything without proper guidance? She felt his fingers push into her body slowly as they ran the length of her slit, her legs parting obediently as she moaned in his mouth. Did it matter what could have been anymore? She had him now… he was taking her now… the past no longer existed in every conceivable definition. But part of her never left that school. Even after the project had failed, and she was forced to leave, part of her stayed with the boy she had fallen for despite never having him in bed.

She broke her kiss for a moment to laugh in a combination of amusement and arosal as Shinji finally got impatient and simply ripped her panties off of her. The aggression was quite the turn on for her. As a strong young woman herself, she appreciated a strong man… and Shinji had become quite powerful, like she always knew he could be. His father tried to destroy his ego, but Mana saw that the Commander truly failed in that regard.

Her legs wrapped around him, pulling him into her. Mana was no virgin, but Shinji was bigger than she was expecting. Ironic since his guardian told her she had seen what he had on offer once, and was not impressed. The comment was wrong on so many levels, but she had the impression the woman was not normal by any stretch. Knowing she has had him multiple times since that conversation made Mana wonder what Misato's opinion on that was now. Nearly screaming in pleasure, she arched back, forcing Shinji into almost a kneeling position as he rammed himself into her repeatedly. Lust and love were felt in equal measure as she realized just how much she needed this now.

Her arms arched over her head as she stared into his eyes. Emotions overflowed as she saw unconditional love in his cobalt orbs. Between moans she mouthed the words, "I love you" to him, prompting him to lean back forward and kiss her deeply again. Her arms nearly locking behind him as she kept him there while he transitioned from rough sex worthy of the most violent sectors of the adult entertainment industry, to pure lovemaking. They rolled, Mana pushing herself up a little as they parted but never taking her eyes off of him. She rolled her hips slowly eliciting amazing feelings in herself, and appreciative growls from her vampiric lover. For the briefest of moments, Mana realized how hot his body was despite him being a vampire.

"Drink from me," she almost demanded. He pushed himself towards sitting, Mana shifting her legs to wrap around his waist again so she could continue to be fucked while sitting on his lap. She felt him gently nibble at her neck for a few moments before he sank his teeth into her. A cry of mixed pain and pleasure erupted from Mana as her entire body tightened and she came for the first time in that moment. Shinji was about to back off, but felt Mana's hand push his head back in place, and so he drank… slowly.

Mana's deviant trait awakened at that moment causing her to start experiencing a chain of smaller orgasms as her blood flowed. Her legs tightened and she stopped grinding as the walls of her inner self clamped and released multiple times. Shinji spilled into her as he fed, and she felt the warmth spread though that aching hole in her body. When he finally stopped pumping his seed into her, he resumed thrusting.

As Mana pulled back again, Shinji licked the holes in her neck, closing them, and retuned to kissing her. Despite tasting her own blood, Mana continued to deepen the kiss. Mixed fluids left her, dripping down Shinji's sac and pooling to the bed between them, but they refused to release each other. Neither wanted anything more than this singular moment together.

Finally after losing count of how many times she came, her body began to collapse. Shinji gently rolled with her, shifting to cuddling her, and pulling the covers over them. They only stopped kissing for the briefest of moments before resuming. They didn't need to speak, just share in each other's souls and bask in the light of their love.

It would be many hours before they could do anything else…

I'm not pretending,

Now we're descending,

Falling further and further away,

Getting closer everyday

I'm getting closer everyday…

To the end…

To the end, the end, the end, I'm getting,

Closer everyday

"I waited so long for this moment… and now that I have felt his love, I can't think about feeling any other way… But there is still a battle to be fought. We would make one last attempt to get the Crucible, facing multiple foes in the process… And Shinji had a gift for me that was more than just his love…"

Next Chapter: Heart of Fire