Alex woke up the next morning and wearily opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling of the room that had been allocated to him in the manor. With a sleepy gaze, Alex slowly scanned the entire room to make sure that Zhang Ya and Alucard had not, after all, decided to start a fight yesterday while he was sleeping.
Yawning lightly, Alex sat down on the edge of the bed and tiredly rubbed his face with both hands. Even while sitting on the edge of the bed, Alex still could not arrive at any final answer to the question: why, even though he doesn't need sleep at all, does he feel so utterly terrible every time he wakes up.
Stopping himself from asking those eternal questions, Alex quickly washed his face, changed into casual everyday clothes and went to have breakfast. Upon reaching the dining room, Alex saw Integra, who was currently eating her breakfast. Alex approached the table and sat down directly opposite Integra, giving a small nod of his head while trying hard not to fall asleep again right there.
Having seen Alex first thing in the morning, Integra raised an evaluating, appraising look toward him. After all, because of what she had learned yesterday from Seras, she now understood that Alex not only knew far more than he ever said out loud, but that even the King of Hell — deposed though he might be — was afraid of him as well. And this fact only further fueled Integra's burning interest in unraveling all of Alex's secrets.
Alex himself did not react in any way to Integra's intense studying gaze — right now all he wanted was to eat his breakfast and drink some coffee. And just when Alex was already thinking about asking Walter to bring him breakfast, Walter himself appeared without any request from Alex and brought him his breakfast.
"As soon as you finish eating breakfast — go straight to my office. You still have a great deal of work that needs to be completed," Integra said, taking a small sip of her tea.
"Alright…" Alex replied in a very sleepy, drawn-out voice.
Integra slightly raised her eyes, mentally noting to herself that immediately after waking up, Alex's behavior differed very strongly from his usual demeanor — the one she had already managed to observe during all the days he had spent in Hellsing.
Alex himself was occupied solely with the task of finally waking up completely. Taking a sip of coffee, Alex met Integra's gaze and suddenly thought that if, by some miracle, his relationship with Integra ever shifted to a truly romantic level — he was absolutely certain he would end up acquiring yet another strict wife.
Alex had absolutely no objections to Integra's character — on the contrary, he greatly valued such purposeful, determined women, because every girl in his own family pursued the things they loved while constantly learning something new. Even the usually very lazy Loki behaved responsibly — albeit only very rarely.
Sinking deeper into his own thoughts, Alex continued looking straight at Integra — who was also looking directly back at him. Integra herself was trying to understand what exactly was happening inside Alex's head at that precise moment. Because his gaze seemed extremely strange and unusual to her.
And before Alex even had time to finish his breakfast and stretch his body to relax a little, Integra immediately led him to her office — so they could continue the work that still remained unfinished.
Integra herself slept only four or five hours per day and always devoted herself completely and without reserve to her work — because that was her duty. While sitting in Integra's office and sorting through documents, Alex clearly understood that this activity would continue straight until evening.
During the process of sorting documents, Alex talked with Integra — mostly about work-related topics, but sometimes their conversations touched on ordinary everyday subjects. Despite the fact that Integra had known Alex for only a few days, this did not prevent her from discussing casual everyday topics with him whenever it did not interfere with work.
What was especially pleasant for Integra to hear from Alex was that he too valued his own work very highly and considered work to be his personal duty. And Integra truly appreciated those words of his at their full worth.
During this conversation Integra realized that this was her chance to learn much more about Alex, so she began asking him various questions while he was busy working. And knowing exactly how to ask questions correctly, Integra decided to inquire about the things she had read in Alex's personal dossier — the one she had received from the Bureau of Control.
Alex saw no reason whatsoever to refuse Integra and began telling her about the kind of work he had been doing. Listening to Alex's account of how he carried out his assignments, Integra could not help but admire the way he performed his duties using such highly unorthodox and unconventional methods — while always remaining on the very front line.
When dinnertime arrived, Walter rolled a cart loaded with food into Integra's office — which meant they could finally take a break from work. Having brought dinner into the office, Walter could not fail to notice the strange, unusual atmosphere that reigned between Integra and Alex inside the room.
It even seemed to Walter for a moment that he had already witnessed something very similar in the past, back when both Integra's father and mother were still alive. The two of them had also sat together in the same office and worked side by side so that Hellsing could continue to exist.
Walter knew perfectly well what had happened to Integra in the past when she was still a child. Walter still clearly remembered how Integra's mother had contracted a severe illness and soon after passed away. After that, Arthur Hellsing himself caught the same disease — precisely because he had taken care of his seriously ill wife.
Before his inevitable death, Arthur had paid enormous attention to preparing Integra for her future role as head of the Hellsing Organization. He taught her almost everything he knew before he died. Fearing the possible schemes and malicious intentions of his younger brother, Arthur officially named Integra head of the organization, imploring his brother to take care of his daughter.
But just as Arthur had suspected, his brother harbored truly evil motives — and decided to overthrow Integra. At that time Walter had not been present at Hellsing — he had been sent away on a mission and therefore could not come to Integra's aid.
However, Arthur had managed to tell Integra about the weapon that was stored in the basement of the Hellsing manor. While fleeing from her uncle, who wanted to seize power over Hellsing, Integra succeeded in reaching the basement — and that was where her fateful meeting with Alucard took place.
A little more than ten years had passed since that moment. But Walter still remembered what Integra had been like as a child, and what she had ultimately become — transforming into a calm, steadfast, and highly determined woman who would not flinch even if Hell itself froze right before her eyes or if the entire world came to an end.
Integra had become that kind of woman with an exceptionally strong mentality, ready to take up arms and go straight to the front line — to deliver merciless judgments and to be the one who decides who should be killed; in essence, acting as judge, jury, and executioner all at once.
Walter could not even recall seeing Integra smile so frequently as she had done in recent times. Walter had observed that Integra never showed any particular emotions — neither to joyful nor to bad news — always remaining restrained and composed — until Alex appeared and, simply through his presence, began noticeably influencing Integra.
Walter even wanted to see how far the interaction between Alex and Integra could possibly go and what it would ultimately lead to.
Meanwhile Alex and Integra continued their conversation throughout dinner. After finishing dinner, they once again returned to the work that still needed to be completed. When it finally began to grow dark outside, Alex set the documents aside and decided to switch to his other task — namely, to prepare for what was destined to happen in London in the near future.
Alex knew exactly how the original timeline was supposed to unfold — thanks to his own memories — but since he was now situated in an alternate timeline where many different timelines intersected, Alex understood perfectly well that absolutely anything could influence the final outcome.
However, thanks to the fact that the duties of Death had been quite literally forced upon him, no one could prevent Alex from seeing what might occur in the future. And after confirming that the remnants of Millennium would still invade London regardless, Alex wanted to prevent the deaths of millions of people.
Stretching slightly, Alex rose from the sofa on which he had been sitting while performing his work.
"Where are you headed? Your portion of the work hasn't been finished yet," Integra said, lifting her gaze toward Alex.
"I've already completed my part of the work — and also a significant part of yours, Integra. And now I'm going for a walk around London — maybe I'll drop by a pub again. I don't know yet; I'll decide what to do when I get there," Alex said, pointing at the tall stack of documents lying on the table.
"If you want to drink — you can drink right here in my office. And at the same time continue working," Integra said in a calm tone, folding her hands beneath her chin and looking straight at Alex.
"I would agree to that. But as I already told you — I need to prepare everything properly. The word 'walk' is just words. In reality I'm simply going on reconnaissance. I don't want to receive a blow to the back when no one expects it," Alex said, placing both hands behind his head.
"You should have started with that. Then hurry up and come back soon. There is still a great deal of work that needs to be done," Integra said, giving a slight nod.
"When I return — we can have a drink. And while I'm in London — is there anything you would like me to pick up for you?" Alex said, offering a small smile.
"Go to this address and collect the whiskey I usually drink. Then go to this other address — and pick up my cigars," Integra said, writing two addresses on a small scrap of paper and extending it toward Alex.
"So now I'm also a courier?" Alex asked, taking the scrap of paper from Integra's hand.
"You offered it yourself. I didn't force you. Now move faster — I'm giving you exactly two hours," Integra said, waving her hand to shoo Alex away.
"From your manor to London takes half an hour by car — and the same amount of time to come back," Alex said, grimacing slightly.
"I don't care. How exactly you plan to manage everything is not my concern. And now you have one hour and fifty-nine minutes left," Integra said, glancing at the wristwatch on her own wrist.
Alex looked at Integra — who was staring back at him and tapping her finger against the watch on her wrist, indicating that his time was still running. Alex could only sigh, fully realizing once again how extremely difficult it was to deal with Integra.
Alex admitted to himself that Integra was probably the most complicated and difficult woman he had ever had to deal with. Alex did not doubt his love for his wives and his family for even a single second — yet he still thought that dealing with Integra was exceptionally hard.
Alex was certain that if he were to tell Integra about his true identity right at this moment — she would most likely only raise an eyebrow slightly in mild surprise and then continue ordering him around anyway.
"Oh, Father, what did I do to deserve all of this," Alex said as he left Integra's office.
"I heard you," Integra called out after him.
Alex merely rolled his eyes, closed the doors of Integra's office behind him, and walked down the corridor toward the exit. Once Alex had left, Integra felt — even if only for a brief instant — that together with Alex a strange, unusual feeling of comfort and coziness had departed, a feeling she had experienced simply from his presence.
But Integra thought about it only for a moment before returning to her work. What Integra definitely did not know was that this entire effect was due to the fact that Alex had been personally blessed by Hestia herself, and his mere presence granted people around him a profound sense of warmth and comfort.
While leaving the manor, Alex encountered Seras — who was simply wandering aimlessly through the empty estate, wondering what she could possibly occupy herself with. Without realizing it, Seras had stopped right near the very spot where Alex had once pinned her against the wall.
Seras froze in place, looked at the wall — and her face instantly flushed bright red. And even with her exceptional vampire hearing she had not noticed Alex approaching her from behind.
Alex placed his hand on Seras's shoulder — and she jumped up like a frightened cat, nearly hitting her head against the corridor ceiling. Seeing what had happened to Seras, Alex tilted his head slightly to one side.
Realizing that it was Alex, Seras became even more embarrassed.
"What are you doing here?" Seras asked, trying to behave normally and not reveal the intense embarrassment she was feeling.
"I want to go for a ride to London and take a walk. Would you like to come with me?" Alex said, looking at Seras's reddened face.
"I don't know… Probably… I guess I can…" Seras said, lowering her head downward.
When Alex suggested going to London, Seras immediately remembered his earlier words about how she ought to invite him on a date — and how she herself had spoken about it. Thinking that this might actually turn into a date, Seras blushed even more intensely.
But she tried very hard not to show it — which she did rather poorly, because as a vampire she had extremely pale skin, which made the blush on her face stand out very clearly. Alex tried to maintain a calm expression on his face while observing the rapid changes in Seras's facial expressions — so as not to burst out laughing.
Alex saw how many different expressions passed across Seras's face in such a short instant — that it was difficult for him to hold back his laughter. Alex had no idea that right now a genuine storm of emotions and uncontrollable thoughts was raging inside Seras's head.
"Then let's go — for an evening walk through London," Alex said, placing both hands on Seras's shoulders and beginning to gently push her toward the exit.
"Don't push me — I can walk by myself," Seras said, but she didn't even try to resist Alex's actions.
While Alex kept his hands on Seras's shoulders and pushed her forward — an irrepressible smile that she could not hide spread across Seras's own face. When they stepped outside the manor, Alex felt someone watching him and turned his head toward the roof of the building.
Alex saw Alucard — who was sitting on the very edge of the manor roof, one leg bent beneath her and her cheek resting on her fist. Even at that moment Alex thought that despite the fact that Alucard, being a woman, still wore a version of her usual masculine clothing — it did not prevent her from being considered a very attractive woman.
Alex even believed that Alucard chose this style of clothing partly because of Integra — who also preferred a more masculine style of dress over traditionally feminine clothing. Alucard was looking down at Alex — and on her face was a small, slightly bored smile, as though something that belonged to her had suddenly decided to leave.
Alex smiled faintly and waved his hand at Alucard — then pulled Fenrir out from his inventory. Seras noticed what Alex was doing and also looked toward the roof — but saw no one there and tilted her head in embarrassment.
When Alex sat on the motorcycle and started the engine — Seras immediately climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. While riding out of the manor grounds, Alex began thinking about how he was going to manage to do everything in time.
He needed not only to scout the main headquarters of the Men of Letters, but also to take a proper walk with Seras to enjoy nighttime London, and also to stop by the addresses Integra had given him — and all of this had to be accomplished within the allotted time.
Alex knew that if he was even one single moment late — he would lose the points he had earned with Integra. And Alex was exactly the kind of person who hated losing — from the very beginning of his path he had never once lost, and the current situation would be no exception.
And Alex had an excellent method for managing to do everything at once — the very method he always resorted to whenever multiple tasks needed to be performed simultaneously. Already while approaching London, Alex created several of his clones and sent them off to handle the errands — while he himself would enjoy the walk with Seras.
After riding a short distance through nighttime London, Alex parked the motorcycle not far from the London Eye.
"Well then — shall we walk a little? After all, this is my first time in London and there's still a lot I haven't seen," Alex said, getting off the motorcycle.
"That's the London Eye. I was here once when I was still a child," Seras said with a smile, looking at the illuminated London Eye.
"Then the tour is on you," Alex said, lighting a cigarette.
"Rely on me. I know almost everything around here. Almost," Seras said in a slightly embarrassed tone.
Alex smiled and began walking together with Seras. Seras herself had absolutely nothing against such a walk — in fact she very much wanted something like this, because it still helped her feel like a human being rather than just a vampire.
And while being in Alex's company, Seras felt that she was still a person. Strolling along the embankment of the River Thames, Alex and Seras talked about various things — mostly silly everyday nonsense that kept making Seras laugh.
At one point Alex stopped to buy two cups of coffee — and handed one to Seras. In response Seras looked at Alex with an expression that clearly said: "Are you serious right now?" Alex rolled his eyes, reached into Seras's pocket, pulled out the little box of blood candies — and dropped one into the coffee.
"Now try it. It's really delicious," Alex said, giving a small smile.
Seras narrowed her eyes at Alex — then at the coffee, which she knew perfectly well she should not be able to drink. But deciding to trust Alex, Seras took a small sip — just in case the nausea returned.
But instead of nausea she tasted coffee with caramel. Thinking it might have been her imagination, Seras took another sip — and became absolutely convinced that she really tasted caramel coffee and felt no nausea whatsoever from normal food.
Seras could not understand how a single blood candy could allow her to drink coffee.
"Well? I told you so," Alex said with a smile, watching Seras's reaction.
"How? How did one single blood candy let me drink coffee normally?" Seras asked in genuine surprise, looking first at her coffee and then at Alex.
"I already told you — this is special artificial blood. That's the entire reason. Though truthfully it only works well with coffee — not with tea. With tea, let's just say the taste turns out far from pleasant," Alex said, stroking his chin.
Seras perfectly understood what Alex meant by those words. After all, she knew very well that giving artificial blood a pleasant taste was something truly extraordinary. But the mere fact that she could now at least drink coffee already greatly improved her mood.
Taking yet another sip of the caramel-flavored coffee, Seras narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and continued walking along the embankment with Alex. As they continued strolling, Alex occasionally told jokes to Seras — which made Seras smile and respond with jokes of her own.
Moving a little farther to a quieter spot with fewer people, Alex and Seras leaned against the railing, looking out at the Thames illuminated by the embankment lamps.
"Seras, want to hear another joke?" Alex asked, turning his head toward Seras, who was leaning on the railing and gazing at the river.
"Go ahead. What other stupid joke have you decided to tell me today?" Seras said, looking at Alex with a light smirk on her face.
"What do you do when you see a nuclear explosion?" Alex asked, looking at Seras with a grin.
"What? Hide? Accept your fate?" Seras asked in confusion, tilting her head to one side.
"Hold your rifle out at arm's length — so the molten metal doesn't drip onto your combat boots," Alex said, chuckling lightly.
"That… That was a very strange joke," Seras honestly admitted, staring at Alex.
"It's just army humor," Alex said in a carefree tone.
"Did you serve in the army? I mean — before you became an agent?" Seras asked, leaning her back against the railing.
"No. I simply work with guys who did serve in the army. A friend told me that joke. Let's just say he has quite a specific and rather dark sense of humor," Alex said, shrugging lightly.
"How specific?" Seras asked, narrowing her eyes slightly with a smile.
"Well, for example… Why don't blind guys skydive?... Scares the shit out o' their dogs," Alex said, smiling faintly.
"Pff… Hahaha. Okay, I admit — that really is specific humor. I wonder what he's like — your friend," Seras laughed a little and nearly dropped her coffee while laughing.
"You'll see him soon. I invited him to join Hellsing as a new operative," Alex said, lighting another cigarette.
Seras raised an eyebrow in surprise and decided to ask for more details. Alex told Seras that Integra had decided to hire new members for Hellsing — and that he had suggested some candidates of his own.
After walking a little farther along the embankment, Alex and Seras returned to the motorcycle — in order to head back to Hellsing. Alex checked the time — and he was exactly on schedule to return in time.
At that moment Seras was very pleased with this simple walk — it had helped her cope with the chaos that had been swirling in her head. And despite the awkward situation that had occurred earlier between her and Alex in the corridor — Seras could not deny that she genuinely enjoyed being in Alex's company: someone she could talk to about absolutely anything, someone who was not afraid of her — even though she was a vampire.
After all, she still remembered the looks that the other Hellsing members gave her. And what Seras valued most in Alex was that he saw a girl in her — and above all else he saw a human being in her.
The ride back to the manor passed in silence — Seras simply wrapped her arms around Alex's waist, enjoying the ride itself and the pleasant aftertaste that this walk had left behind.
Upon returning to the manor, Alex and Seras got off the motorcycle — and Alex immediately stored the motorcycle away. Once again seeing how Alex summoned and hid his motorcycle, Seras could not help thinking how incredibly convenient it was.
And during the walk Seras had learned that Alex kept his belongings inside his own shadow. Entering the manor, Seras looked at Alex in such a way that it seemed she wanted to say something to him right then.
Alex noticed Seras's gaze and smiled lightly.
"Tomorrow we can go for another walk. It was interesting," Alex said with a smile, playfully flicking Seras on the forehead.
"Okay. Tomorrow I'll show you another place I liked visiting," Seras said, her face lighting up with a bright smile.
"Of course. Good night, Seras Victoria," Alex said, waving his hand.
Watching Alex's back as he walked away, Seras smiled and set off with light steps back toward the basement. Alex went up to the necessary floor of the manor and headed toward Integra's office.
Before entering, Alex took out the whiskey and thin cigars from his inventory — the ones his clones had purchased while he was walking with Seras. Holding two boxes in his hands, Alex pushed open the doors of Integra's office and entered without any unnecessary ceremony.
Hearing the sound of the opening doors, Integra raised her gaze and saw Alex — then looked at the watch on her wrist. Integra saw that Alex had returned precisely within the time limit she had set for him.
"You were almost late. Well done," Integra said in a calm tone.
"Punctuality is not about clocks — it is about respect," Alex said in an equally calm tone, placing the box containing the whiskey and cigars on Integra's desk.
"At least there are still some men left who understand the value of good manners," Integra said, lighting a thin cigar and praising Alex in her usual manner.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Alex said, sitting down on the chair opposite Integra.
Integra merely exhaled a stream of white smoke in Alex's direction and tapped her finger against the empty glass standing beside her. Alex smiled, opened the bottle of whiskey and filled Integra's glass — then poured one for himself.
Integra set her paperwork aside, brought the glass to her lips — and immediately drained it in one go. Alex took a sip and could not help appreciating the taste of the whiskey that Integra drank. After finishing his glass, Alex refilled both glasses — his own and Integra's.
Alex and Integra continued drinking in silence — until Integra tossed a folder of documents in front of Alex that he still needed to sort through. Alex looked tiredly at Integra — whose entire demeanor made it clear that he had rested enough and could resume working.
Alex sighed wearily, drained his glass of whiskey, lit a cigarette and once again set to work. Alex was certain that Brunhilde was definitely watching him right now — and as confirmation he heard Brunhilde's voice inside his head thanks to their spiritual connection.
Hearing Brunhilde's voice in his head, he was convinced that if he ever returned to Orario — the girls would most likely immediately dump all their work onto him and then go off to relax themselves.
Integra raised her gaze for only a brief moment, looking at Alex — who sat before her sorting and organizing documents while muttering quietly to himself — then returned to her own work.
"How did your reconnaissance go?" Integra asked, lowering her gaze back to the documents and pushing the ones she had already reviewed to the side.
"Fine. I inspected the so-called supernatural alarm system of that order of book nerds. Then walked around a bit near their headquarters. And other small things like that. I'll continue tomorrow," Alex said, taking the next folder of documents.
"And why exactly were you examining their alarm system?" Integra asked without lifting her head.
"You already know what I intend to do with their Order — because they possess something that is better off destroyed rather than used," Alex said, cracking his neck slightly and raising his gaze toward Integra.
"Yes, I know. You intend to kill them all. And I am pretending that I have no knowledge of what you plan to do. Perhaps in the past I would have said that they are important to Britain. But if what you told me is true, then it is better to kill them all immediately. I don't know whether what you said about this power of Darkness is actually true. But I have no intention of waiting to find out for myself. If killing them will protect Britain — then that is the lesser evil," Integra said, lifting her gaze toward Alex.
"Unfortunately, it is true. And only one thing can destroy those fragments. And that thing does not exist in Britain," Alex said, pouring whiskey into the glasses.
"And what is this thing that can destroy ancient evil?" Integra asked, taking a sip of whiskey.
"The First Blade," Alex said calmly, lighting a cigarette.
"The First Blade… Are you talking about the blade of Cain — the progenitor of murder? The weapon of the man who committed the very first and most terrible sin — fratricide?" Integra asked, genuinely surprised by what she had just heard from Alex.
"The very same. Right now that blade is in the hands of my friend. Let's just say — he and that blade are connected. And in quite a strange way," Alex said, giving a small nod.
"How are they connected?" Integra asked, frowning.
"It's a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it right now?" Alex asked, glancing at the time — when it was already almost midnight.
"Quite an interesting conversation you're having here. Mind if I join?" a light female voice suddenly sounded from the darkness.
Alex and Integra turned their heads toward the wall — and Alucard stepped straight through the wall. A light smile played on her face as she entered the office. Alucard immediately looked at Alex — and as always, an unchanging wide smile appeared on her face when she looked at him.
Integra, however, noticed that particular gaze with which Alucard regarded Alex. And Integra still wondered — why was Alucard so fixated on Alex, and what exactly had she seen in him to awaken such strong interest.
Seeing Alucard appear, Alex smiled faintly in response.
"Do stories like this actually interest you, Alucard?" Integra asked, looking calmly at Alucard, who sat down on the sofa and threw her legs up onto the table.
"Not particularly. But I am interested in hearing the story about the First Blade — and how it ended up in the hands of an ordinary man. And that is far more interesting — especially when the one telling it personally knows that man," Alucard said, narrowing her eyes slightly at Alex.
"I wouldn't call this story interesting. It's more of a tragic fate," Alex said, shaking his head slightly.
"Fate? What does fate have to do with it?" Integra asked, while Alucard frowned upon hearing the word fate.
"Dean… He is a direct descendant of Cain, and he resembles him very strongly. Both are elder brothers, both struggled with the darkness inside themselves, both killed many people, both protected their younger brother. But at one point Cain made his choice — while Dean was unable to do so," Alex said, lighting a cigarette.
"What do you mean by that? What does it mean — Cain made a choice, but your friend did not?" Integra asked, feeling that she was missing something important.
"Cain did not kill Abel out of envy. Cain killed Abel when Lucifer began corrupting Abel's soul. And so that Abel would go to Heaven — Cain killed his own brother to prevent him from being eternally damned in Hell. And one could say — Cain voluntarily placed a collar around his own neck, handed the chain to Lucifer, and became the first Knight of Hell," Alex said, flicking the ash into the ashtray.
"How do you know all this?" Integra asked, bringing the thin cigar to her lips.
"Cain told me himself," Alex said, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in.
"So Cain survived until these times. I see — even at such a moment he turned a blind eye to it. God does not help those who kneel before him. God does not save those who pray for mercy," Alucard said, removing her red glasses.
"Some of it is lies, some of it is truth. Not everyone is given to know it — and not everyone is given to understand it. Sometimes behind embellished truth hides an even more hideous lie," Alex said, looking at Alucard.
Alucard responded to Alex's words with a light smile and once again put her glasses back on — to hide her eyes. Integra, meanwhile, frowned — until she finally sighed.
Integra looked at Alex and asked him to tell the entire story — so that she could understand what was what. Alex gave a small nod and began recounting everything he remembered — omitting the less important details.
Alex also had to explain about the Mark of Cain and what purpose it served. Upon hearing that the Mark of Cain served as a seal that held back the Darkness — Integra merely gave Alex an empty stare because he associated with the Winchester brothers, who had released such an entity into the world.
Of course, Alex did not mention that Amara was God's sister — because he was certain: Integra would definitely begin doubting her faith. Alex knew that although Integra believed in God — that belief was mostly tied to her duty toward Hellsing and the British Crown.
He even felt a momentary desire to see how Integra would react if she learned that the so-called God was merely an impostor pretending to be God. Alex knew that Integra and Alucard would react very differently to that truth — especially to the truth that he himself was the son of the true Creator.
When Alex finished recounting what had actually happened with Cain and how the First Blade ended up in Dean's hands — Integra merely nodded and returned to her work — as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
The fact that she had heard a truthful story did not change the fact that she had a duty she must fulfill — and she would fulfill it. Even after hearing something like this — Integra would never stop defending Britain and killing monsters — in order to carry out her duty as the head of Hellsing.
Alucard, having heard such a story, could not resist making several sharp, mocking comments about what kind of fate had truly befallen Cain. Alex looked at Alucard and perfectly understood why this female vampire felt such disdain toward God and why she had turned away from Him.
When Alex finished the story and was ready to return to work — Alucard approached him, ran a finger along his cheek and then left again. Alex watched the departing Alucard's back — as she passed straight through the wall and disappeared from sight.
After Alucard left, Alex and Integra returned to sorting documents — and in this manner another full hour passed, along with an entire bottle of whiskey. Looking at how much alcohol Integra usually drank — Alex was convinced she could easily compete with some of the girls from his family who also liked to drink on relaxed evenings at home.
"And when exactly can I go to sleep?" Alex asked, handing documents over to Integra.
"It's only two o'clock in the morning. You'll still have time to get some rest. And don't forget — before you can go to sleep, you must finish your portion of the work," Integra said without lifting her gaze toward Alex.
"I've already been dealing with these documents all day long. They never seem to end," Alex said, massaging the bridge of his nose.
"Stop acting like a child and keep working. Once you finish — you can go to sleep," Integra said, raising her gaze toward Alex for a brief moment.
"For the love of all the saints — we live in the modern world. Is it really so difficult to write a program and create a digital archive of documents — so that everything can be stored on Hellsing's private server? Hellsing has more than enough money to implement something like that," Alex began to complain, no longer wanting to look at any more documents.
"I have no intention of trusting strangers who might reach out toward Hellsing's secrets," Integra said, offering her argument against Alex's complaints.
"Ugh, how can anyone live like this. During my very first week in the Bunker I digitized the entire library, the entire archive, everything," Alex muttered under his breath.
"Have you finished whining?" Integra asked, setting her pen aside, propping her chin up with her hands and looking straight at Alex.
"I think so, yes," Alex said, giving a small smile.
"You are in an organization that has survived two world wars, several internal coup attempts within the country, and a full-scale invasion by an army of artificial vampires. And all this time we survived precisely because we did not trust modern solutions and convenient programs. Are you seriously suggesting that I put Britain's security at risk just so you can work more comfortably until two in the morning?" Integra said, looking at Alex with a cold gaze.
"I understand that perfectly well, Integra. I'm simply voicing my thoughts. But I won't try to convince you otherwise. This is your organization — and you yourself know best how to manage it," Alex said, looking directly into Integra's eyes.
"Then fewer words and fewer complaints. One more word of complaint — and I will order Walter to bring you an inkwell and a quill. You can write everything by hand until morning. So keep going," Integra said, continuing to look coldly into Alex's eyes.
"No need to wake Walter. Let him rest. I'll go brew myself some coffee. I'm tired of drinking whiskey. Coffee and a cigarette — that's what really wakes me up," Alex said, stretching slightly.
"Then hurry up," Integra said, watching Alex as he left.
Leaving Integra's office, Alex merely waved his hand — indicating that he would return soon. When Alex had gone — a faint smirk appeared on Integra's face — and she returned to working with the documents.
Alex returned ten minutes later with coffee — and sat down opposite Integra again, continuing to work on the documents, but this time deciding to listen to music — to at least distract himself a little. And seeing that Integra had no objection to this — Alex smiled and kept working.
The only thing that truly irritated Alex about this document work — was that he had to do it the human way. Otherwise he could have sorted through all the documents using his clones in just a couple of hours — and spent the remaining time simply resting.
Integra raised her gaze for only a short moment, looking at Alex — who was now listening to music — and immediately returned to her own work. The main thing for her was that he performed his duties properly.
And the very fact that he could say "no" to her, defend his own point of view — and still look her straight in the eyes when anyone else in his place would have already looked away — only made Integra value Alex even more.
To be continued...
(I basically sacrificed sleep to write this chapter. In fact, I just started getting insomnia, so I just sat down to write. I decided not to jump straight into the Hellsing plot, but just another day of Alex's life in Hellsing, including his interactions with women. And now I can go to bed with peace of mind.)
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