A/N: Hello, my lovely readers. I hope all of you are safe and well. Thank you so much for the favs/follows/reviews!
Here is the next chapter, please enjoy!
Warning: Typical Hellsing gore, descriptions of body mutilation and gore, foul language
Despite the numerous advancements in modern medicine, lab work and analysis in 1950 was still riddled with road blocks and misconceptions that—unfortunately- wouldn't be remedied until the coming decades.
However Dr. Trevilian and Aceline did their best with the tools at their disposal and were able to determine one fact: Arthur had severe heart damage.
"How the hell is this possible?" Dr. Trevilian studied the ECG graphs for the third time in the past five minutes. "I gave Sir Hellsing a check-up four months ago, and he was just fine. Yet, these readings correlate to someone who has lived with damage for three years! How is that possible?!"
"By drinking excessively…..especially if that drink is laced with something toxic." Aceline pipetted 250ml of the scotch into a large assay well, her eyes focused as the liquid slid down the glass tube. "As to what that substance is, I aim to find out."
"Poisoning, that is your theory? That carries a serious accusation with it." Dr. Trevilian observed her work with a wary eye. "Performing an immunoassay will take days, Ms. Smith, especially since we don't know what we are looking for exactly. Are you sure you know what you are doing?"
"To be honest, I don't know. But….I have to try." Aceline then grabbed a notepad and began to scribble down her experiment protocol. "I vowed to have results when she returned, so I have to find something—anything."
Throughout the halls of the stone castle, hundreds of monsters roamed freely, all of them massive, grotesque versions of toys.
Toy soldiers with skinned faces.
Jack-in-the-boxes with mutilated human heads.
Disemboweled music box ballerinas that danced with their innards like ribbons
Stuffed animals stitched together with real animal remains
Mangled baby dolls with stapled eyelids and missing limbs
Hobby horses mounted on human spines with spider legs jutting from their eyes
If Olivia were younger, she would've been petrified. Hell, if she wasn't currently racing against the hourglass, Olivia would've still been nauseous at the gruesome sights.
Yet, at this moment, all she could feel was rage and utter confusion.
What exactly was this creature?
Why was it so obsessed with her?
Why did it attack the Yadavs?
And why were its mannerisms and methods like a child?
So many questions, but no time to ponder them.
Dashing through the hallways, Olivia sliced through the monsters without a moment's hesitation. Her white button up was soaked in red and her hair was saturated with sweat, yet she pressed forward.
The size, dexterity, or amount of weapons did not matter—every enemy that dared to cross her path was decimated until they were nothing but blood splatters and chunks of visceral mass. Her years of combat and swordsmanship lessons had served her well. The monsters didn't even have time to blink before her sword silenced them.
There lied the problem though.
"Hey, you little shit!" Olivia deflected a ballerina's parry, flipping it onto its back and digging her heel into its chest. "What is your game?!"
"What….do…..you…..mean?" The creature's voiced drifted from above, amusement evident in its tone. "And…..don't…..use…..vulgar….language."
"If your 'obstacles' are going to die so easily, why bother putting them here in the first place?!" A Jack-in-the-box monster leapt out from behind a pillar, its fangs aiming for Olivia's throat, only for her to grab it by its spring neck and fling it out the window. "If I am going to play your fucking game, there cannot be any tricks!"
"STOP BEING A POTTY MOUTH!" The castle shook violently, a piece of rubble falling and smashing the ballerina's head. "…..Whoopsie…but….that was your fault…..Livvy…so….watch….your….mouth….hee…..hee…hehehehehehehe!"
"What is so funny?!"
"You know what I like to call these monsters…ehehehehe…..minutes."
"What?" Olivia narrowed her eyes at the ceiling. "What does that mean?"
"Minutes….ehehehehe…minutes~minutes~Livvy has been killing minutes~."
Olivia opened her mouth to retort when her eyes caught sight of the massacre she'd left in her wake, and her mouth dried up as she recalled what the creature had said before.
"For every minute that passes, blood will fill the hourglass"
Suddenly an image of Pushpa standing in waist deep blood flashed before her eyes, the poor girl wailing Olivia's name at the top of her lungs.
"Oh God…" Olivia beheld her blood soaked hands, her breathing growing ragged with every echoing cry of her name. "Pushpa…..Oh God….Oh God…!"
"Ehehehe….now that you know the secret…the game will get harder…..just as you wanted…..and…..with every 'minute' that passes…..the amount of blood…..will be doubled." A pair of porcelain lips brushed against her cheek before doing the same to her left ear. "Good luck…Livvy."
Then, from down the corridor, came a haunting chorus and the rhythmic clatter of steel against cobblestone.
"Olivia~Olivia~Her Majesty Olivia~" The monsters chanted in unison, their glass eyes shining in the darkness as they drew closer.
And what could Olivia do?
She couldn't fight them, not if it risked Pushpa's safety.
But, if she wanted to find Manali, then she would have to fight.
No matter the course of action, someone would suffer and Olivia couldn't do a damn thing about it.
At least, that is probably how the creature viewed the situation.
"You underestimate how stubborn I am. Throw all the 'challenges' you want at my way, I'm still leaving here with the Yadavs and your heart as my trophy." The monsters circled around her as their song grew more frenzied, and Olivia steadied herself before getting into a defensive position. "Advisor Yadav, Pushpa, please hold on. I'm coming for you."
"My God, I'm sorry for all my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intended to—!" Pushpa's prayer faltered as another gallon of blood rained upon her, her screams ricocheting off the glass barrier. "GOD, I DON'T WANT TO DIE! PLEASE SAVE ME! SAVE MY MUMMY AND ME! I BEG YOU PLEASE!" Snot and tears flooded her mouth, causing her to choke on her words. Collapsing to her knees, Pushpa stared at where Olivia disappeared and feebly pressed her hand against the glass as a new set of tears distorted her vision, "Ms. Song…come back for me….don't leave me….please don't leave me alone…..I'm afraid of the dark…."
The moment Olivia entered the Yadav residence, the briars wilted back into the ground and her ever faithful soldiers scrambled towards the entrance, only for the door to vanish from sight and the briars to reemerge at full force.
"Shit!" First Lieutenant McDonough hacked at his briars with a bowie knife, maroon sap coating his upper limbs with every swipe. "We have to find a way in!"
"But!" Private Maxwell whimpered against the briars gradually constricting his throat. "Lieutenant General Song said to wait here!"
"We can't abandon her!" With one final swipe, the briars were severed—only for ten more to take its place. "Fuck!" His arms were now drenched with his own blood yet he continued to fight. "Whatever the fuck is inside there wanted to get her alone! We have to help her and—!"
"If you lot had just followed her in the first place, you wouldn't be in this situation." A familiar voice piped up and the soldiers barely had time to react before the briars were sliced to pieces, splattering the sap over every person and surface. "Cowards, all of you."
"Mr. Dornez!" All of Walter's troops immediately stood at attention while their commander lingered at the gates, wires swirling around him with his convertible hastily parked on the sidewalk. Walter leered down at the soldiers sprawled across the lawn before directing his sights towards the house. Ignoring the frantic explanations and 'excuses' bombarding him, Walter crept towards the house—only for the grass to ensnare his shoes in a death grip.
"Not even me, huh?" He muttered under his breath, a faint tremor in his fingers as he addressed the soldiers. "What were Olivia's orders before she entered the residence?"
"To stay here," McDonough spoke up, squinting as the sap threatened to leak into his eyes. "Stay here and wait for her return."
"….Did she now." Walter peered over his shoulder with a half-lidded gaze. "And, did she have a message for me?"
"No, sir. But…..she did place your squad under her care and declared that all orders would come from her and her alone—no exceptions."
Walter cracked a smirk at that before retracting his wires and taking out a cigarette.
"Well, then, who am I to disobey a superior officer's orders," He lit the cigarette and took a long drag before exhaling. "We will do as Lieutenant General Song orders and wait here." His eyes scanned the house, lingering on the space where the front door once stood before taking another drag. "We wait…..we wait."
Despite her earlier bravado, Olivia struggled to combat the monsters with the knowledge that every drop of their blood was another nail in Pushpa's coffin.
That resulted in her simply attempting to disarm them and dodging their attack as she flew down the corridors.
Unfortunately, the creature made true on its vow and the monsters were no longer mindless puppets that practically flew onto her blade but formidable foes that intended to filet her from head to toe.
"FUCK!" Olivia crumbled to the ground as a stuffed bear's machete sliced at her leg and within seconds the other monsters swarmed upon her. Axes, swords, fangs—every possible combination of weapon—fell upon Olivia, and she gritted her teeth as she tried to deflect the barrage of strikes with her sword. Yet the monsters' steel still reached her, and her body was soon covered in gashes.
"Having fun….you potty mouth?" The creature's voice drifted from above again and—perhaps it was the blood leaking into her eyes—but Olivia swore the little cretin was swinging from the rafters. "Do you…..give up? Just look…you are bleeding so much…and your arm…..it will give out soon…..if one of the monsters doesn't chop-chop it off first….ehehehe…you gave it your best shot…..so…there is no shame…in giving up, Livvy." It giggled, the sound of its joints cracking resonating throughout the corridor. "So…what do you say?"
"Go fuck yourself." Olivia snarled, using all her strength to push the monsters' weapons back and rolling onto her feet before tearing down the hallway.
As expected, the creature threw a fit at her 'potty mouth' and the castle rumbled around her, parts of the floor caving in under the falling cobblestone. Olivia could hear the sound of flesh squishing behind her, and she bit her lip to keep from cursing again.
'You fucking idiot! Pushpa, forgive m—!' A piece of cobblestone smashed against her temple and Olivia blacked out as she crashed to the floor, only to immediately regain consciousness at the debris burrowing into her wounds.
"Hhnnghh…" Olivia whimpered, reaching up to touch the gash on her head and immediately recoiling as her fingers grazed the torn skin. As the injury was on her right side, her right eye was now out of commission from the amount of blood leaking into it and her body felt like it was drenched in corrosive acid.
However, despite all of this, Olivia proceeded to crawl across the floor, even as she repeadtly slipped on her own blood.
'Hold on, Advisor Yadav, I am going to save you and your daughter.' Olivia grunted as her face collided with the floor once more, but she forced herself back up and left a growing trail of blood in her wake. 'Even if I end up losing limbs, I'm getting the two of you out of here. So, please, I ask for a little more time. Please…..hold on.'
"You weren't kidding, Livvy…you really are…..so stubborn." A pair of porcelain fingers jabbed into a gash on her lower back, twisting and turning as she screamed her throat raw. "I wonder…if I had the monsters sever your spine…..would you still be so tenacious?" Another pair of fingers dug into a gash on her thigh, ripping the skin open with every thrust. "You would still fight on….wouldn't you….yes…because you are Livvy…that is why….I am so happy to play with you….yes….you…..are….so much fun."
Olivia bit her tongue as her face slammed against the floor again, the blood rippling under her weight. She was losing consciousness but if she gave in and closed her eyes, the Yadavs would be confined to this hell forever, the mystery of Arthur's condition and the thing from the palace gardens would remain unsolved, and Alucard…Alucard would be left alone.
She couldn't let that happen.
Mustering all her strength, Olivia reached out and latched onto a protruding stone, using that as an anchor as she dragged herself across the floor.
Unfortunately, the creature decided it wasn't done tormenting her and proceeding to jab its thumb into the gash on her temple.
The pain was indescribable, and Olivia's wails only served to goad it further.
Then, it suddenly retracted its thumb and disappeared entirely, leaving Olivia to clutch the side of her face in silent agony. If she somehow was able to see out of both eyes after all of this, it would be a fucking miracle.
"The hour is almost up. Your move…Livvy." The creature snickered from above. "Will you forfeit…or will you continue to play?"
Coherent thought was currently lost on Olivia; all she could do was feel.
Feel the fractured shards of her skull grid together
Feel the blood pulsing from her gashes
Feel the warmth rapidly leaving her body
If she was able to think clearly, her first thought would mostly like be, "How the fuck am I still alive?", and her second would be "I thought demons smelt of sulfur, not lemons."
Wait….lemons…..?...Lemons….Lemons!
Olivia's eye shot open, and she frantically searched for the source of the smell before realizing it was coming from a small hole in the floor about three feet away from her.
Manali's perfume was lemon scented—Olivia knew where she was now. But the question was how to reach her.
The answer came to her almost instantly, and Olivia willed her body to not fail her yet as she opened her mouth and whispered a hoarse, "Kiss my ass."
"…..What?" The walls shook, sending dust and debris into the air. "What…..did…you…..say?"
"I said," Olivia lifted her ring hand up and flipped the bird at the ceiling, "Kiss my ass."
There was a moment of silence, then—as expected—the castle began to shake violently and chunks of cobblestone rained from the ceiling again. Olivia had her eye on one in particular and readied herself when she finally saw it plummet.
'Hold on, Advisor Yadav,' The chunk slammed to floor, causing the already fragile stone to crack and crumble under its weight. And, as planned, the hole grew in diameter and Olivia didn't hesitate to heave herself over the edge and plunged towards the levels below. 'I'm coming.'
The wind sliced into her gashes as she hurtled down what appeared to be a tower, yet all she could focus on was the scent of lemon. Then, like a light at the end of a tunnel, Olivia finally saw it.
Near the bottom of the tower was a massive web crafted from marionette strings. And, imprisoned in a cocoon at the center, was Manali.
Olivia crash landed on the web, the strings slicing into her skin upon impact, yet she still clinged to the threads to keep from bouncing off. Once she was stabilized, Olivia frantically crawled towards the cocoon and tore at the skin until Manali's unconscious face was exposed. Pressing her ear to her lips, Olivia felt the faint puff of her breathing, and it was like a balloon had popped.
"You're alive…..Advisor Yadav…Manali, you're alive," Olivia caressed Manali's cheek with trembling hands, a smile donning her face as her tears burned her skin. "I found you….I win."
Walter was finishing off his 8th cigarette when he felt a shift in the air. It was the dead of night and the assigned soldiers had done their duty to keep onlookers away, yet it was like time had stopped entirely.
"Mr. Dornez?" Maxwell piped up, noticing the unnerved expression on the normally arrogant man's face. "Is something—?"
"EVERYONE, GET BACK!"
No sooner did the command leave Walter's mouth that the ground began to quake and crack open, streams of gooey viscera gushing from the newly formed crevices.
Without a moment's hesitation, Walter lassoed all the soldiers up and leapt onto the street just as the sludge consumed the entire residence.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"OH GOD!"
"MR. DORNEZ, WHAT—HOLY SHIT—WHAT IS THE HELL IS THAT?!"
Walter ignored the soldiers' petrified bellows pecking at his skin and instead crept back towards the gate where the goo had coagulated into a sac-like form and was pulsating like a heartbeat.
"The hell?" Walter ran a finger down the sac, grimacing as it twitching beneath his skin. "Olivia, how are you going to get out of this?"
"YOU CHEATED!" The creature landed on the web, causing violent ripples that nearly sent Olivia and Manali flying off. "YOU…CHEATED…" Its body was riddled with gashes, oozing both blood and pus, and its right eye hung by a thread. "CHEATER…CHEATER…CHEATERCHEATERCHEATERCHEATERCHEATER!"
"I didn't cheat! I found Manali, fair and square! Now," With a grunt, Olivia hoisted herself onto her feet with Manali nestled in her arms, "Return us to Pushpa, as promised."
"As…..promised?…He…He…Hehehehehe."
"And what's so funny?"
"I…..never…promised…..anything…the rules were…..find the funny lady…..save the little girl…..and escape…all within…one…hour." The creature swung its eyeball like a pendulum, making a 'tick-tick' motion with its hand. "You have….one minute left…and since you cheated…I'm going to end the game now…..and declare you the loser." The creature's jaw, still dangling with a measly wire, finally snapped off completely and it—along with the rest of its body—dissolved to dust. "Too bad….Livvy."
Olivia didn't even have time to comprehend the creature's actions before the sound of string snapping reached her ears and web beneath them gave out completely, sending them spiraling into the darkness.
Yet, something had changed.
The tower walls morphed from stone to mucous coated epithelium tissue, and the symphonies of a heartbeat and lungs contracting echoed around them.
The creature was the house, and it intended to devour her and the Yadavs whole. The creature's game and use of the Yadavs was only bait to get her inside—to lure her into its belly where there was no hope or glimmer of escape. Whether Olivia won the game or not, her 'prize' was the same. And, as if to confirm her realization, the creature's rapturous laughter joined the symphony.
"We….are….going to be…together…forever…Livvy."
At the creature's taunt, something in Olivia snapped.
"I'm not dying here, you demonic son of a bitch!"
Securing Manali over her shoulder, Olivia swung her sword out and impaled the blade through the tissue wall, slicing open a 10 meter long gash, before crawling inside and tearing through the tissue layers like a ravenous lion upon its prey.
And….all the while…..the creature just cackled with glee.
The blood now reached Pushpa's chin, yet she forced herself to honor her promise to Olivia and waited. After exhausting all the prayers she knew, Pushpa moved onto bargaining. Vows of being more extroverted, to be a better daughter, and even to follow her mother's footsteps poured from her lips as her puffy eyes miraculously produced more tears.
Pushpa wanted this nightmare to end, wishing she could hide away in her mother's arms. As long as her mother was at her side, Pushpa knew she was protected—guarded from the evils of the world.
But her mother was the one who needed protecting this time and Pushpa had to be strong for both of them to survive.
So Pushpa clasped her hands together and prayed again, swallowing her wails and whimpers as gallons of blood rained upon her and she was submerged completely.
'God….The Almighty…..whoever is up there… save my mom and me. I beg you, save us…..'
Thump Thump
What? What was that noise?
Thump Thump
Something…..something was pounding on the glass
Thump Thump Thump
Nausea bubbled up Pushpa's throat at the possibility of it being that creature, and she prayed more fervently as the pounding grew louder.
Then, there was a distant crash and Pushpa's eyes shot open as she was sucked forward into a whirlpool.
'Oh God! Save me! Save me! MS. SONG, SAVE ME!'
Suddenly she could breathe again and tumbled onto solid ground, coughing up blood from her lungs and desperately wiping at her face.
"Pushpa…." A familiar voice graced her ears, and Pushpa opened her eyes to find Olivia standing above her with her mother slung over her shoulder. From head to toe, Olivia was coated in blood and her clothes were in tatters, yet she held out her hand and whispered, "I'm sorry to keep you waiting.
This wasn't the graceful, elegant Oliva Emese Song Pushpa had come to know.
This…..This was Lieutenant General Song, First Class Soldier.
A killer.
A murderer.
A monster who hunted other monsters.
Yet, despite the crimson drenching her body, Olivia's eye…..it was still green—it was still a human's eye.
"Don't be afraid." Olivia uttered, her eye crinkling at the edges. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"…..I'm not afraid." Pushpa replied, the words easily flowing from her lips. "And…And I know you won't."
With that, she grabbed Olivia's hand and allowed her to pull her up.
"Is….Is my mum….?"
"She is alright, and you will be too." Olivia then turned away and pulled her sword from its scabbard as the fleshy caverns around them began to deteriorate. "Stay by my side and hold on tight."
Without hesitation, Pushpa clung to the back of her shirt as hundreds of the toy box monsters sprouted from the walls and charged towards them.
"LIVVY! LIVVY!" The creature's distorted voice reverberated around them in pure euphoric hysteria. "WE HAVE REACHED SUDDEN DEATH OF THE GAME, LIVVY! SHOW ME WHAT YOU ARE MADE OF!"
"Pushpa, close your eyes and do not let go of me." Pushpa muffled a gasp as the sword morphed into a gun—a semi-automatic magnum pistol, to be precise. "I'll protect you, no matter what."
"…..I trust you." Pushpa nodded against her back, and that was all Olivia needed to hear before placing the pistol's slide chamber between her teeth and locking it back.
"Thank you."
Then, all Pushpa could hear were gunshots, flesh ripping, and that creature's grating laughter. And, every time she stumbled or lagged behind, Olivia's hand would guide her back to her side without fail.
"Stay by my side," Pushpa heard over the gunshots, and she slowly opened her eyes to peer up at Olivia as she gunned down enemy after enemy without blinking, their bodies falling around them like rain. "Stay hidden behind me. I won't let anyone kill you. No one will touch you; no one will come near you. As long as I'm alive," Pushpa's breath hitched as Olivia made eye contact with her, her green eye like a searchlight that pierced to her core, "You will live. That is my promise to you."
And all Pushpa could do—all her body allowed her to do—was nod and she buried her face against Olivia's back once more as monsters perished at their feet.
'Ms. Song….no,' Pushpa's fingers curled around her shirt in a death grip. 'Olivia…..Olivia is protecting me…she wants me to live…she cares about me…'
As the final monster fell, the pistol reverted back to Sic Parvis Magna and Olivia found they had reached where the front door once was.
"Oli—Ms. Song," Pushpa gulped, pressing her entire body against her back. "What do we do now?"
Olivia made sure Manali was secure on her shoulder before peering down at Pushpa with a warm, yet stern expression.
"Keep your eyes closed, and don't open them until you feel the breeze on your skin."
Like before, Pushpa obeyed without question and once Olivia was certain Pushpa had a firm grip on her, she lifted Sic Parvis Magna up high and proceeded to dig their way out. With every swipe, blood flooded out, adding layer after layer of crimson to her already stained skin.
"Ehe….he…..he," The creature's voice echoed again, noticeably weaker now. "Ten seconds on the clock…..maybe you will get out here, Livvy….but…just remember one thing….no matter what happens…..the winner of this game….will always be me."
The clock reached zero, and their surroundings instantly collapsed on top of them—just as Olivia sliced through the final layer and flung her hand out into the open air, where a waiting hand yanked her and the Yadavs out of harm's way.
And, as the visceral sac melted away, one final farewell remained on the breeze before being carried away.
"Thank you for playing with me one last time, Livvy."
A frantic chorus of "Lieutenant General Song!" echoed down the streets as her soldiers swarmed around where she and the Yadavs lay on the gravel.
"Oh God, look at her! Is….Is she—?!"
"She is alive." Walter confirmed, sliding his hand out from Olivia's as he beheld her macabre state. "Send for all medical staff under Hellsing's control, and get the field medics over here. We need to—." He was silenced as a pair of nails dug into his pant leg, and he gazed down to find Olivia sneering up at him with her remaining eye. She was dyed completely red from head to toe and, at this moment, even her eye was pure red.
"Where the hell were you….?" She croaked out, baring her blood stained teeth. "What have you done, Walter?"
Walter was saved from answering as Olivia's form went limp and her panicked soldiers—as well as a hysterical Pushpa—crowded around her.
"WHERE IS THE FUCKING AMBULANCE?!"
"OH FUCK, WHAT THE FUCKING HELL HAPPENED TO HER?!"
"I CAN'T FEEL A PULSE! AND—SHIT! HER SKIN IS ICE COLD!"
"OLIVIA!" Pushpa flailed against a soldier's grip as he dragged her out of the way so the field medics could reach Olivia and Manali. "OPEN YOUR EYES! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"
And, amidst all this pandemonium, Walter simply watched from afar with Olivia's bloody handprint branded on his pant leg, staining the linen forevermore.
'What have I done, you ask?' Walter closed his eyes as he lit another cigarette, feeling a long forgotten part of himself burn way in the embers. 'Isn't it obvious, Olivia? I've betrayed the only person who ever loved me.'
A/N: "I love Olivia" I say as I put her through absolute Hell.
There were some minor spoilers littered in this chapter, and I hope if you ever come back to read this, you'll catch them and go "Yooooooo!" And, Olivia, she deserves a fucking vacation and a compensation check every day for the rest of her life.
And, did you recognize the type of gun Olivia used at the end and how she used it? *winks with both eyes*
Anways, thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review! I love them and you all so much!
Please have a safe holiday, and take the necessary precautions/measures to ensure you and your families safety. Please wear your mask, and wash your hands. And, most of all, be kind to each other!
I love you, guys! Thank you again and see you in the next chapter! :D