The night had thinned, but the darkness still clung to the edges of Hellsing's fortified perimeter. Carl followed Seras through the long, dim hallways of the manor, each step echoing against high stone walls lined with old portraits—generations of hunters who had faced the creatures he had just begun to understand.
Seras halted near an armory door and looked back at him. Her eyes held a mixture of curiosity and something more personal—something she herself hadn't fully defined yet.
"You're unusually composed," she said. "Most recruits tremble on their first night. You… move as if this world already belongs to you."
Carl shrugged lightly. "Maybe I'm built for this."
A faint smile tugged at Seras's lips. "Or maybe you're just reckless."
She stepped closer, close enough that Carl could catch the faint, sweet metallic scent lingering on her skin—a byproduct of her vampiric nature. Her breath brushed his neck as she reached past him to unlock the door. The gesture was innocent. The proximity was not. Her uniform brushed his chest, her fingers lingering a second too long on his.
Carl's pulse rose. Seras stepped back quickly, pretending not to notice the heat between them.
Inside the armory, rows of weapons gleamed under soft yellow lamps. But Carl's eyes were drawn to a faint glow emanating from the far end of the room—a cracked wooden box sealed by runes.
Seras followed his gaze. "We don't touch that. Alucard doesn't even let the staff go near it."
Carl didn't answer. Something in the box called to him, like a vibration in his blood. His steps guided themselves. The runes began to hum softly as he approached.
"Carl, stop."
Seras' voice carried authority, but the power pulling him forward was stronger. His palm hovered over the lid, and for a moment, everything fell silent.
Then the runes flared.
A surge of heat and darkness exploded through his veins. Carl staggered back, gasping as a shockwave of pure energy locked his muscles and ignited his senses. The room trembled—Seras grabbed him to stabilize him, pressing her body against his torso, her arms wrapping around him instinctively.
"Carl! What's happening—?"
He didn't answer. He couldn't.
His vision blurred into streaks of crimson and shadow. Power bloomed inside him like a violent storm—the same energy he'd felt the moment he arrived in this world, but now overwhelming, complete, intoxicating.
Seras held his face between her hands, her worry immediate and unfiltered. "Look at me. Focus on me."
Carl forced his gaze upward. Her eyes were bright, the blue deepening as her vampiric instincts reacted to his aura. She was breathing faster. Too close. Far too close.
He exhaled hard; the overflow of power rippled outward. The lights flickered. The floor cracked beneath his feet. Seras gasped as the force pushed her back, though she didn't let go until the last second.
When the energy finally settled, Carl stood straight, shoulders squared, eyes sharper than before. The runes on the cracked box were extinguished.
Seras stared at him, speechless. "You… just absorbed that. That thing was sealed for decades."
Carl looked down at his hands. His skin still tingled with residual energy. "I didn't try to. It just… connected with me."
Before Seras could answer, the room darkened. A cold presence filled the doorway.
Alucard appeared, his grin razor-sharp.
"So. You awakened it."
Seras immediately straightened, tension cutting through her voice. "Master—he didn't mean to—"
Alucard raised a gloved hand, silencing her. His crimson gaze locked onto Carl, dissecting him with predatory amusement.
"You are not a simple outsider," Alucard murmured. "The world chose you… or perhaps something older did."
He stepped closer, and Carl felt the oppressive weight of his aura, like the air itself thickened with centuries of power.
"Tell me," Alucard whispered, "does it feel good? That new strength? That hunger?"
Carl held his ground. "It feels like control."
Alucard's grin widened. "A dangerous answer. I like you even more."
Seras moved subtly in front of Carl, protective without admitting it. "Master, at least give him time to understand what he awakened."
"Oh, he will understand," Alucard said softly. "Because the night will not spare him." He turned, coat sweeping behind him like living shadow. "Report to Integra. Now he becomes involved in the real missions."
The door shut behind him. Seras let out a breath she had been holding.
Then she stepped closer, placing a hand on Carl's chest. "You scared me," she admitted quietly. "I thought I was going to lose you before the night even started."
Carl met her gaze. Her cheeks held a faint flush, her breath warm against him. "You won't lose me," he said, voice low. "I'm stronger than I look."
Seras didn't move away. "I can see that."
For a moment, the tension thickened—dangerous, intimate, magnetic. She finally stepped back, though reluctantly.
"Come," she said. "Integra will want answers… and so will I."
Carl followed, feeling the pulse of new power in every step. This world had tested him, tempted him, challenged him—
and now it had awakened something inside him.
Something dangerous.
Something potent.
Something that was only beginning.