Alex continued working in Integra's company until the first rays of sunlight began to creep into the room.
While sorting through documents, Alex slightly narrowed his eyes — a direct beam of sunlight had struck him right in the face. Shielding his eyes with one hand, he glanced at the time and realized he wasn't going to get any sleep at all. He knew for certain: the moment the "Wild Geese" mercenary unit arrived, events would start unfolding at such a frantic pace that he would have to juggle an enormous amount of tasks simultaneously.
Checking the date, Alex understood he now had only a couple of days left before the mercenaries showed up — and he still hadn't managed to prepare anything meaningful, simply because he had decided to put his own plans on hold and spend time getting to know the three women better: Integra, Alucard, and Seras. In the end, that choice had shrunk his timeline down to just a handful of days.
Having finished sorting the final batch of documents, Alex set the folder aside, stretched lightly, and stood up. Integra lifted her gaze to him, then glanced at the watch on her wrist — fully aware that dawn had already broken.
She took the folder Alex had been working on, quickly skimmed through the pages, and gave a small nod — silently granting him permission to go and rest. Alex merely waved his hand in casual farewell and left Integra's office — because he already knew perfectly well that for the next couple of days sleep would be a luxury he couldn't afford.
He wanted to prepare everything for the war that was about to descend on London. Sure, Alex enjoyed watching that kind of spectacle — but he wasn't so selfish that he would sacrifice millions of lives just to witness it.
Walking through the corridors of the Hellsing manor, Alex ran into Walter — who was already awake at this hour. After exchanging brief greetings, Alex continued on his way.
Stepping outside the manor, he immediately summoned Fenrir, started the engine, and headed back toward London to begin putting his plan into motion. Integra, who had just left her office to take a short breather before diving back into paperwork, heard the roar of the motorcycle and walked over to the window — just in time to see Alex speeding away on the bike.
Watching him disappear down the road, Integra couldn't help but ask herself: why had he left again when just a few hours earlier he had been complaining about wanting to sleep? Narrowing her eyes slightly, she decided she would interrogate Alex properly when he returned — but for now she needed to recover some strength before the next mountain of documents.
Casting one last glance at the receding silhouette of Alex on his motorcycle, Integra headed toward her bedroom.
By that point Alex had already left Hellsing territory and was tearing down the road toward London at full throttle. He knew, of course, that Integra had gone to rest — which gave him roughly four to five hours to accomplish what he needed and get back before she woke up.
Despite all his earlier grumbling, Alex actually found it interesting to experience this kind of work dynamic with a woman like Integra. He had always enjoyed trying new things — including being bossed around by someone like her.
All the way to London his mind wandered over various thoughts crowding his head — including the realization that he really needed to have a serious conversation with Alucard in order to better understand this female vampire who had suddenly become so fixated on him.
Back in London once again, Alex couldn't help reflecting on just how massive the city truly was. Slowing down a little as he entered the urban area, he steered toward Big Ben — one of the tallest and most recognizable landmarks.
Reaching Big Ben, Alex turned into a narrow side alley, stored Fenrir back in his inventory, and used a quick spell to change into ordinary civilian clothes — blending in with the crowd and avoiding unnecessary attention. Emerging from the alley, he melted into the flow of pedestrians and calmly made his way toward the famous clock tower.
His goal was to reach one of the highest points in the city so he could survey the area and start implementing his plan. Following the stream of tourists, Alex accidentally slipped into an organized tour group whose guide was enthusiastically explaining the history of Big Ben.
Dressed in casual clothes, a black cap pulled low, and half his face hidden behind a mask, he drew almost no attention. Alex even found it amusing that no one questioned why an extra person had suddenly joined their group.
Once near Big Ben, Alex tilted his head back slightly to take in the top of the iconic clock tower.
"Looks pretty decent up close," he muttered, hands in his pockets, gazing upward.
Because he had blended into the tour group, he didn't even need to use any special abilities to get inside Big Ben. Trailing at the very back of the group, Alex quietly peeled away and slipped through a different door — then began climbing the stairs all the way to the very top.
As he ascended, Alex whistled a light tune, a cigarette balanced between his fingers. Reaching the uppermost level, he calmly passed through the closed doors and stepped out onto the exterior. Casting a simple "don't notice me" spell on himself, he leaped onto the spire of Big Ben and began surveying the sprawling city below.
Standing atop the spire, Alex narrowed his eyes and pondered where exactly to begin executing his plan. He understood perfectly: to pull off what he had in mind, he would need to proceed with extreme caution.
In order to prevent the deaths of London's residents, Alex intended to turn the entire city — at least temporarily — into a kind of Limbo-like pocket dimension that would swallow the whole metropolis the moment Millennium invaded. Carrying out such a plan was extraordinarily difficult: he had to create a perfect buffer zone capable of absorbing millions of people without anyone noticing.
What Alex needed was an ideal sub-space — an exact replica of London — so he could relocate nearly ten million people into it while leaving the physical city intact and undisturbed. Thanks to the clones he had sent on reconnaissance yesterday, he now possessed a detailed map not only of the Men of Letters headquarters which resembled an aristocratic academy hidden in the heart of London, but also the precise locations of every so-called supernatural alarm system — which he planned to repurpose for his own ends.
"Ugh… so much damn work," Alex muttered, counting on his fingers. "Create an astral duplicate of London. Relocate almost ten million people without them noticing a thing. Do it so perfectly that no being in this universe detects what I'm doing. Swap out the real people with illusions to avoid suspicion during the war. And first — quietly remove the book nerds from the board before everything hits the fan. Yeah… hello, massive headache."
He considered his priorities for a moment, then decided to start with the supernatural alarm systems — reworking them to serve his needs — while leaving the Men of Letters themselves to be dealt with by his own people later.
Standing on the Big Ben spire, Alex turned his gaze toward the Men of Letters headquarters. Through the memories of the clone who had infiltrated the place, he knew the Order had become far more cautious and secretive after what he had done to their hidden safehouses.
His clone had overheard the elders arguing about why their members had vanished without a trace from those bunkers, why all the valuable books and artifacts had been stolen. From those memories Alex couldn't help but smirk — the elders were debating whether Millennium had struck, or whether Hellsing had launched a covert attack.
In the end they concluded that Integra must have discovered their treachery and sent Alucard for revenge. Having reached that decision, they chose to lie low until their anti-Alucard weapon was fully ready and they could be absolutely certain of killing her.
Reviewing those memories, Alex merely shook his head at how utterly idiotic the British branch of the Men of Letters had turned out to be.
"Alright, enough thinking. Time to execute yet another insane plan of mine," he said, clapping his hands once and leaping down from the spire.
Landing lightly on the upper balcony of Big Ben, Alex clapped again — and a group of his clones materialized around him, each dressed in different casual outfits. Once again he noted how every clone reflected a different facet of his own personality — which was why they behaved so erratically.
Looking at their faces — some wearing blatant boredom as though they were sick of working, others grinning like the whole situation was pure entertainment, and a few looking openly irritated by everything around them — Alex gave them a dry stare and waved his hand, signaling them to get moving.
The clones merely nodded slightly — and since they were fragments of Alex himself, instead of walking down the stairs they simply jumped off the balcony and scattered across the streets of London like ordinary people which, of course, they were not.
All Alex could hope was that his clones wouldn't cause yet another unnecessary mess in the middle of everything. Sighing, he left Big Ben, slipped into the nearest alley, and vanished — reappearing on the outskirts of the city.
While his clones went about their tasks, Alex focused on marking the outer boundaries of London so there would be no glitches when the time came to enact his insane plan. When he placed the final marker on a stone at the very edge of the city, he checked the time and realized Integra had likely already woken up from her short rest.
Stretching lightly, Alex disappeared again and reappeared not far from the Hellsing manor. To avoid drawing attention, he summoned Fenrir once more and rode back. Entering the manor, he headed straight for the dining room — intent on grabbing some coffee.
As he stepped inside, he saw Integra already eating breakfast. She lifted her gaze slightly when he entered. Alex gave a small nod and sat down across from her. The moment he took his seat, Walter appeared with a steaming cup of coffee.
"Why did you go back to London again?" Integra asked, continuing to eat.
"Had a couple of important things to take care of," Alex replied, taking a sip of coffee and leaning back in his chair.
Integra raised her eyes to him and stared intently — clearly waiting for him to elaborate. But Alex merely shrugged — making it clear he wasn't planning to explain anything just yet.
Seeing that he had no intention of volunteering more information, Integra frowned and fixed him with a stern look — silently demanding he tell her everything. She could not tolerate anything that lay outside her control, and she intended to know exactly what Alex was planning.
Alex understood perfectly well that Integra would keep staring at him like that — her usual way of extracting answers. Over the past few days spent in her company, he had come to understand her even better — not just as a fictional character he once knew, but now as a living, breathing person.
To avoid further questions, he decided to tell her at least part of the truth: that he intended to intercept and take control of the supernatural alarm system, redirecting it into Hellsing's hands. Hearing that, Integra nodded — though she could sense he was still holding back a great deal.
And Alex had absolutely no intention of revealing his truly insane plans to her.
Finishing his coffee, he followed Integra back to her office to continue working.
This time Alex resolved to finish his share as quickly as possible — because tonight he still had plans: another walk through London with Seras, and afterward he intended to finally pay Alucard a visit — mentally preparing himself for the possibility that the insane female vampire might attack him again.
By the time night had fully fallen, Alex completed his work and was ready to leave Integra's office. This time she didn't impose any time limit for his return — she had noticed that he had not only finished everything she assigned him, but had also taken care of a significant portion of her own workload.
Integra merely watched him leave, then returned to the small amount of work she still had left.
Once again encountering Seras in the manor corridor, they set off for another walk in London — though this time it wasn't just a casual stroll through an evening park.
Alex had genuinely enjoyed the park walk with Seras — especially how much she seemed to like his stupid, dark-humored jokes. This time they stayed out a little longer, talking and getting to know each other even better.
After the walk, Alex and Seras returned to the Hellsing manor. Seras was very happy with the evening and grateful that being around Alex let her feel like an ordinary girl again.
Back at the manor, Alex gathered his thoughts and headed toward the basement — mentally bracing himself for the possibility that he might once again have to fight Alucard — even if he still didn't fully understand why it kept happening.
The one thing Alex knew for sure was that the Goddess of Luck was once again throwing obstacles in his path.
Descending into the basement, he saw Alucard again — lounging on her throne, legs crossed, fingers interlaced, head slightly bowed in boredom.
When he entered, Alucard lifted her gaze to him, and a smile spread across her face — delighted that he had finally come to visit her. Her eyes flashed faintly, and her hair began to stir gently.
"I was starting to think you'd never come see me," she said in a lightly amused tone, baring her sharp fangs as she looked at him.
"Well, in the current situation it's either I come to you, or you show up again the moment I try to sleep. And I really don't like being woken up. Only family members get that privilege," Alex replied, stepping closer.
"Oh? So you came to me after all," Alucard said lightly, clearly entertained by his words.
Alex looked at the smiling Alucard and merely shook his head. Summoning a throne for himself, he sat down beside her and simply closed his eyes, leaning back.
The moment he relaxed — even for a second — he felt cold fingers brush against his lips. Opening his eyes, he saw Alucard standing in front of him, tracing his lips with her fingertips.
Looking into her eyes, Alex realized once again why women like her became so obsessed with him. He knew there were only two ways to deal with such women: run far enough that they could never reach him, or respond to their madness with even greater madness of his own.
Women like Alucard could wait an eternity to obtain what they desired — but sometimes their obsession overpowered patience, and they simply took it. To prevent that from happening, Alex understood he needed to seize control of the situation before her madness took over completely.
Alucard gently ran her finger along his lips, lightly licking her own, never breaking eye contact as she watched his reaction.
"You know I could take you right now — without asking permission? But where would the fun be in that?" she murmured, trailing her cold fingers down his cheek and along his neck.
Alex felt her icy touch glide over his throat, tracing his collarbone. He saw the obsession burning in her eyes — the exact same kind of obsession he had once seen in Freya when she first set her sights on him.
And Alex knew that Freya's love had been far more consuming than Alucard's — simply because Freya was the goddess of love, and her love was an impossibly heavy burden. But once Alex had given her his own love in return, she had finally begun to calm.
He hadn't wanted to rush things — but as always, some matters lay beyond his control.
Alex caught Alucard's wrist — which only made her smile widen as she leaned even closer.
He knew exactly where this could lead — so he discreetly disabled Navi the fairy-drone to ensure no one saw what was about to happen and blocked his spiritual link — just to be safe.
"You do realize two can play this game, right?" Alex asked — and the light vanished from his eyes.
"Then show me how you play," Alucard whispered, so close now that she could see something dark and mesmerizing flickering in his gaze.
"I don't just want your body. I want everything — your soul, your heart, all of you. And if you become mine — you will be mine forever, only mine. No matter where you run, you will always belong to me. For all eternity," Alex said, slowly running his palm along her cheek.
Alucard stared into his empty, lightless eyes — eyes filled with a single, all-consuming obsession directed solely at her. Alex gently pulled her closer.
Alucard didn't resist — quite the opposite: her eyes widened with delight, her smile stretched even wider. In an instant she was straddling his lap, legs wrapped tightly around his waist — making it very clear that he wasn't escaping her anytime soon.
She pressed him back against the throne with all her strength — her long hair falling like a curtain to shield them from any prying eyes. Leaning in toward his lips, instead of the kiss she craved, she felt Alex's hot breath against her face.
Smiling even wider, even more madly, Alucard leaned to his ear — exhaling cold, misty air against his neck.
"Show me how insane you can be, my chosen one. Show me your mad love. Prove that you are worthy of me," she rasped, voice low and husky in his ear.
"Love has always been madness. And if you're not going to run — then you will be only mine," Alex said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Prove you can hold me," Alucard whispered, licking along his neck.
Alex felt her soft thighs tighten around his waist, her fingers digging into his shoulders with tremendous force, her cold tongue gliding along his throat and collarbone — and the firm press of her breasts against his chest.
He understood there was only one way out of this situation — because if he tried to flee now, he would have to run to another universe entirely. Alucard's eyes were blazing with even greater obsession — as though she was already on the verge of tearing his clothes off.
Alex snapped his fingers, raising a sound-suppressing barrier — and in the same instant kissed Alucard on the lips.
He realized that if this continued, it would be a betrayal of Integra — from both his side and Alucard's.
He thought perhaps stopping at the kiss would be enough — but Alucard clearly had other ideas. She had no intention of stopping now that someone like Alex was right in front of her. Having tasted his kiss, his intoxicating scent so close — she wasn't letting go.
But Alex had forgotten one crucial detail — the bond between Alucard and Integra was no ordinary magical contract; it was absolute submission. Integra could feel everything Alucard felt — and right now, everything happening to Alucard was also happening to her.
At that very moment, Integra — sitting in her office — felt it all, every single emotion Alucard was experiencing.
"My mistress always knows where I am… and with whom. Want her to see this?" Alucard whispered into Alex's ear.
Hearing those words, Alex instantly remembered what she meant. In that instant he realized he had screwed up — and badly.
Of course he was possessive — but Alucard's words snapped him back to reality.
Just before she could kiss him again, both of them heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching — growing louder and closer with every second.
A faint smile curved Alucard's lips as she remained firmly seated on Alex's lap, legs still locked around his waist.
Hearing those heavy steps, Alex knew it was Integra — and she was furious. He understood there were only two possible outcomes: she would throw him out, ruining all his plans and forcing him to handle everything alone; or she would berate him for hours and bury him under so much work that he wouldn't be able to manage it by himself.
He could already feel the storm of emotions raging inside Integra — especially rage and irritation.
"See you soon, my chosen one. Right now my mistress is very angry about your little games," Alucard chuckled softly, kissing him one last time before melting into the shadows.
Alex watched her vanish — leaving him alone to deal with the consequences as an enraged Integra drew nearer. A powerful headache began to bloom behind his eyes at the thought of what was coming.
Just as he sighed in resignation — realizing even someone like him still had to play by the rules — a ridiculous idea popped into his head for how to calm Integra down. He wasn't sure it would work in this situation.
But it was the only path he saw to avoid a truly disastrous outcome.
The heavy footsteps grew closer — and in the next instant Integra appeared in the basement chamber. Her eyes blazed with fury and irritation.
Entering the place where Alucard usually resided, she saw only Alex — staring straight at her. When she appeared, he noticed the saber in her hand — a clear sign that if he chose his words poorly, she would try to kill him.
Integra stepped right up to him and pressed the blade to his throat — looking directly into his eyes.
"Where is she?" she demanded in a cold, strict tone, the edge of her saber resting against his skin.
"Gone. Again," Alex answered, making no attempt to move the cold steel away from his neck.
"What were you doing here? And don't you dare lie to me! I'm not asking what happened between you. I already know," Integra said sharply, letting the blade press just a fraction harder.
"We were kissing," Alex replied, keeping his expression perfectly calm.
Hearing his honest answer, Integra narrowed her eyes — staring straight into his — as waves of anger and irritation crashed over her and then receded again. She saw no fear in his gaze — only honesty and the quiet acknowledgment that he knew exactly what he had done.
Gritting her teeth, Integra tightened her grip on the saber hilt — fighting the urge to simply sever his head. All because she felt her control slipping.
If Alex and Alucard were consumed by insane obsession toward those they desired — then Integra carried the same kind of obsession, but turned inward as absolute control.
Everything that belonged to her must belong to her alone and obey only her.
During the time Alex had spent in Hellsing — especially after he declared that from now on he would obey only her — Integra had already begun to consider him hers.
And when he proved his usefulness, when he showed that even while following her orders he still stood on equal footing with her — her controlling nature could not tolerate the idea that something belonging to her would act without her permission.
The reason for Integra's behavior toward Alex was tied to Freya's blessing — which had affected her only lightly, yet enough to awaken this intense need to control him.
Right now a single thought echoed in Integra's mind: bind Alex the same way she had bound Alucard — so he wouldn't dare act without her explicit permission. Her eyes seemed ready to devour him whole — torn between the urge to eliminate anything she couldn't control, and the desire to possess him completely, to make him obey only her.
And she would find a way to control him — to make Alex hers alone.
Integra didn't understand where these feelings toward a man she had known for less than a week were coming from — but she wanted to control him, to make him belong only to her.
Alex calmly met her blue gaze — and clearly saw the possessive, controlling hunger burning inside her. Realizing this, he almost sighed — because he already knew what he had to do to calm her.
"Do you have anything else to say?" Integra asked, still holding the saber steady.
"Let's make a contract," Alex said calmly, rising from his throne and looking straight into her eyes.
Hearing those words, Integra's eyes widened for a split second as she processed what kind of contract he meant in this moment.
And with every passing instant, her desire to control Alex grew stronger.
Looking into Integra's obsessive, controlling gaze, Alex was glad he had preemptively disabled the fairy-drone that always hovered around him — ensuring no one could see what was happening in the basement right now.
Feeling the cold edge of the saber still pressed to his throat, Alex waited for Integra to speak.
"Go on," she said, slowly lowering the blade and regaining control over her emotions.
"We'll make an equal contract. You to me — I to you. Completely fair, no loopholes — equal rights over each other," Alex said in a calm voice.
"No!" Integra snapped, grabbing him by the collar and pulling his face close to hers. "You are in my house. In my organization. And if you want to stay here… if you want to be part of this… part of my life… then you will be mine. Completely. Without remainder. Only mine!"
"I'm afraid the price of my service is very high, Integra. In my current situation I can only offer an equal contract. Even so — I will be yours. I will do what you ask," Alex replied evenly, feeling Integra's breath against his face.
"Why? Explain. Right now!" she demanded, gripping his collar even tighter.
"There are things that are rather difficult to explain. I have my own duty — my own destiny — that I must fulfill. And I am not a servant, Integra. Only one stands above me, and only my family stands beside me. Everyone else is beneath me. My burden is heavier than yours. The weight I carry on my shoulders could break anyone — drive them into madness and despair. Nothing will stop me from fulfilling my purpose. Now choose, Integra. Will you drive me away — or not? But know this: even if you do, I will still do what I must. I will still protect you from everything that's coming — even if you end up hating me. Or you can accept me and keep trying to control me — knowing that I do it of my own free will," Alex said, looking straight into her eyes.
Integra stared back — and felt the iron cage she had built around her heart to suppress her emotions begin to crack, just a little. In Alex's eyes she saw that his duty and responsibilities were far heavier than anything she carried.
She thought about his words: drive him away — and lose even the partial control she currently held with his consent; or keep him and form a contract — but know that he followed her wishes only because he chose to.
Integra had only two options: complete loss of control, or the illusion of control. She refused both. She wanted total control over Alex — all of him — and she refused to lose that grip.
"We will make a contract…" she said coldly, her voice laced with controlling obsession. "Starting tomorrow… you report to me every single step. Every one. Even if you go down to the basement to her. If she calls for you — you refuse until I allow it. If she touches you… you tell me. Everything. If you leave the manor — I will know. If you spend time with Seras — you tell me. Even if you sleep with Seras — I will know. Remember: while you are under my roof, you belong only to me and no one else. You are mine alone. You will stay by my side until I release you."
Looking into Integra's eyes — filled with control and possession — Alex could guess that this behavior stemmed from the fact that this was an entirely different timeline. His presence over the past few days had affected her so strongly that she had become this way.
What Alex knew for certain was that Integra could never truly be changed — not unless centuries passed.
He had a specific type of contract in mind — the same kind he had formed with the eleven Valkyries.
"Looks like instead of the basement I'll be locked in the manor," he muttered under his breath.
"Do you understand me?" Integra asked, staring at him.
"And since we're on equal terms — the same applies to you. Because it will be an equal contract," Alex replied, meeting her gaze.
"Fine. I agree," Integra said, nodding once.
"Then I need to explain exactly what kind of contract we're making. It's called Völundr. We will be bound on a completely different level — far deeper than the contract between you and Alucard. You will feel not only my emotions, but hear my thoughts as well. Does that suit you? And this bond will be eternal," Alex said softly, looking into her eyes.
Integra looked back — and quickly made the decision that would ultimately change her life forever. Right now, all she wanted was to control Alex completely.
Seeing her nod, Alex knew Brunhilde and Göndul would definitely want to strangle him — especially Göndul, while Brunhilde would scold him for yet another reckless decision.
But he had already spoken the words and could not take them back. All that remained was to see it through to the end.
With Integra's consent, Alex formed the Völundr.
Taking both of Integra's hands in his own, he gently squeezed them and leaned forward. He touched his forehead to hers — exactly as he remembered doing when he formed Völundr with the other Valkyries. Even though the process was slightly different this time, he followed the necessary steps.
But during the formation of the Völundr with Integra, Alex forgot one crucial factor: her contract with Alucard — in which part of Integra's soul belonged to Alucard, and part of Alucard's soul belonged to Integra. So in binding himself to Integra, he had also — unintentionally — bound himself to Alucard, who had been watching everything from the shadows the entire time.
At the same moment, the Valkyries also felt Alex link himself to both Integra and Alucard. Somewhere far away, Brunhilde let out an exhausted groan at yet another foolish action from her husband, who never thought things through in moments like these.
To be continued...
(I think there's a brief explanation here as to why Integra is like this. It's quite simple: firstly, it's due to Alucard's influence, thanks to their counterattack. Despite being an iron lady, Integra is still human, albeit a strong-willed one. And Alex's appearance further intensified this effect, causing Integra's emotions to flare up. And one thing leads to another, and we get this result. Basically, it's all clear.)
Early access to chapters on my patreon: p*treon.com/GreedHunter