Here's the bonus chapter I owed you for the 150 power stones
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Seventh Progenitor?
I've known Kiriko for a while. I know she's a vampire, I know she's absurdly strong, I know she's lived for a long time, but I've never heard that title before.
And that bothers me, because I thought I already knew quite a bit about vampires.
In the Hellsing world, which is the universe where most of the vampire information I know comes from, that classification system doesn't exist. There are strong vampires, weak vampires, and then there's Alucard who's basically a monster among monsters.
There are no numbered "Progenitors" from one to whatever.
Mm...
That means there's another mixed world I'm not aware of.
It's not the first time this has happened to me. This world I live in is a mess of different universes that merged into one. Parasyte, Tokyo Ghoul, Hellsing, High School of the Dead. All of that exists at the same time. And there's at least one more I don't know about.
I glance at Kiriko sideways and laugh.
How many things are you hiding from me, Kiriko?
Though I want to talk to her to satisfy my curiosity, I know it's not the right time because the Iscariot man is present with a distorted smile on his face while his gray eyes remain fixed on Kiriko.
"The Seventh Progenitor beneath Tokyo. Is the Lord's hand not great? Does his will not reach all corners of the earth?"
The guy extends his arms to both sides.
"When they sent me here, I thought... ah, this is just a minor mission to clean up some ghoul group. But isn't this a blessing?"
He swings his Odachi and scratches the ground with its blade.
"You who escaped from where you belong, and joined our enemy, Hellsing. Uhuhu! Magnificent! It's an honor! A true honor! Purifying a Progenitor. God has truly blessed me today!"
"Are you done yet?"
Kiriko speaks in a completely flat tone.
The man sighs while shaking his head.
"You're too cold, dear. Ah! That reminds me, vampires don't have emotions, do they? Only the desire to drink blood."
Kiriko turns around and walks toward where Touka and Rize are.
Huh?
The fanatic also seems confused for a second, because Kiriko turned her back on him and walked away.
"What are you doing?"
I ask her while she stops beside the girls.
Kiriko looks at me with a serious expression.
"Arata. This is the first time you've encountered one of them, right?"
"Yeah."
"Those from Iscariot are specialists in hunting and eliminating beings of darkness, whether vampires, ghouls, pagans, and everything that doesn't fit their beliefs. They're trained for that. To kill things like us."
"And that's why you're withdrawing?"
"You're wrong. I'm leaving this to you."
"Umu?"
"Fight him."
I look at her expressionlessly.
"Eventually you're going to encounter more of them. It's better you learn now how they fight and what kind of energy they use. If I fight in your place, you won't learn anything."
Makes sense.
"Besides..."
A smile appears on her face.
"I want to see how you manage."
Likewise, a smile appears on my face.
"Wait!"
Touka interrupts.
"Why just Arata?! I can fight too!"
I can perceive how she feels and notice she's overwhelmed by emotions like frustration, anger and, at the same time, fear. Knowing she's afraid because of me warms my heart.
Beside her Rize is showing a smile that contains her irritation. She wants to fight, there's that kind of emotion in her. At the same time, she's jealous. Jealous that I can fight and she can't?
"Fufu~ I want to participate too. Wouldn't it be faster if the three of us attacked him?"
I look at both of them before turning my head toward the Iscariot man, who watches us while waiting patiently.
I look back at Rize's hand that's still red. In all this time, it still hasn't healed.
If his weapon has the same energy as that barrier, then...
"No."
Touka and Rize stop and look at me hearing my tone of voice.
"This isn't a game. Did you see your hand, Rize?"
Rize lowers her gaze to her burned palm, and that makes her smile slowly fade.
"His energy can neutralize regeneration. If an attack like that hits you in a vital spot you won't be able to heal. You'd die."
"But..."
"Same goes for you, Touka. If that energy touches either of you... Forget it. I don't want to find out using you two."
I don't want them both to get hurt. In fact, I won't allow it.
Touka clenches her fists and teeth at the same time. Despite wanting to protest and say something like "don't underestimate me" or "I can take care of myself," she also seems to realize I won't step aside this time.
"Stay back, both of you."
"...Idiot."
Touka murmurs that while looking away. Heh. Did you mean, be careful?
Rize stares at me while I see a dangerous gleam cross her pupils. It seems to say, "if you die, I'll kill you." Which doesn't make sense, but coming from her, I get it.
"Finish him quick, okay~?"
"Uh-huh."
I turn toward the Iscariot man.
And as I do, the Arata who makes jokes and laughs with his friends stays behind. What looks at the man with the Odachi is another Arata.
I smile. It's a distorted smile, a smile full of teeth.
Because I can sense danger coming from the energy surrounding that guy's Odachi. It's warm, or rather, there's a lot of heat, like when you're sitting too close to a bonfire. That's what I feel from afar, so what will happen if I get closer?
And this kind of danger excites me.
"Are you done saying goodbye to your friends? Don't worry, because they'll follow you soon."
The man tilts his head to one side.
I ignore his provocation.
"What's your name?"
"My name?"
The man seems surprised by the question. Then his smile widens and he strikes the ground with the tip of the Odachi, producing a metallic sound that echoes.
"Johannes. Remember it well, because it's the name that will purify you, monster."
"Mm. Johannes. Got it."
While I nod, Johannes moves.
My eyes follow him. I see his body glide across the tunnel floor and the Odachi draws an arc that cuts the air with a whistle.
The blade leaves a brilliant trail that remains in the air for a second before fading.
'Pretty.'
I extend the fingers of my left hand, making elongated blades emerge from them. Raising my hand, I block the Odachi with my transformed fingers.
The metal clashes against my claws and...
—Slash!
The Odachi cuts through my claws. For the first time, my blade fingers have been cut, sending them flying through the air.
'Burns.'
The energy surrounding the blade enters through the cuts and spreads through my fingers at the same time I can feel my flesh burning from the inside.
I jump back while examining my hand. The skin on my fingers is red and inflamed. My regeneration activates, but...
'Very slow.'
Normally, cuts like these would close in less than a second. But three seconds have passed and they're barely starting to close.
"Oh..."
So this is what it feels like.
Sacred energy.
It's the same energy surrounding us, blocking the area, and it's the same thing interfering with regeneration.
This is what it feels like to fight a real monster hunter.
Johannes recovers his position and looks at me with a crazy smile.
"Do you feel it? That's the Lord's light penetrating your corrupt flesh. My blows are the prayer that brings you one step closer to your purification."
The man doesn't have sacred energy in his body, rather, his Odachi does. As he said, the sacred energy seems to be made with the intention of eliminating us, because apart from physically damaging, it also directly damages the soul.
That means if I receive a blow strong enough to a vital point, I won't be able to heal in time.
It's dangerous.
"Nice."
My smile widens.