For a couple of nutjobs ready to burn down an entire town filled with people, the Executors refused the cliche option that'd lead to us fighting each other, then possibly getting jumped by the so-called Dead Apostle they were hunting.
After a pregnant pause, Vespaio held up a hand, the other behind his back. The Executor then shook his head. "My wishes aside, we simply do not possess the manpower to risk needless conflict. Not when a heathen far greater than yourself might choose to strike us at any moment of weakness."
Huh.
I waved my hand and the Red faded away.
"I really should be used to everyone being reasonable but dammit, why does the world insist on ruining my fantasies?" I scratched the back of my head with a sigh before pointing a hand at some distant hill. "But, well, don't let no one say I'm not fair. I'll flush your monster out. There, I'll bring it there."
With another wave of my hand, I left. Luviagelita followed wordlessly. The Executors tried to protest but their words fell on deaf ears. My own thoughts held greater precedence.
"Johan, you take position in a tow-..."
Dead Apostles were creatures shrouded in mystery from an entirely different time. Consequently, they wielded immense supernatural power beyond their superhuman physical prowess. As a man driven by curiosity and a thirst for exploring such mystery, I could not possibly let the chance go... but there was an issue.
The Rail Zeppelin was set to leave at night. I was confident I'd be able to find whatever was hiding in this weird town quickly enough to get there in time... but...
Clicking my tongue, I stared at the moon peeking from behind wispy clouds.
This was definitely his plan all along. Grr... The Professor was going to find all his save progress in those beloved videogames of his inexplicably 'gone' one of these days.
"I guess phones exist for a reason."
"How exactly do we plan to flush one out?" Luviagelita tilted her head, arms crossed. "I could try dousing but I'd have no idea what to even look for. This shall be my first encounter."
I answered without turning her way, busy fiddling with my phone. "I'm gonna hijack this cage we're in, and look for someone the brainwashing isn't affecting."
"Hal. Dead Apostles are entirely separate from the human race. A spell designed to affect humans wouldn't even register one of them. Do you see the issue?"
That was interesting. They were vampires. Former humans. Yet, bore no connection at all to our species? At that point, they were closer to aliens than the vampires of yore.
I put my phone to my ear.
"Guess we'll ask one of our resident nerds for help."
"H...Henry." The Professor's hesitant voice came through. He knew. He knew I knew. "It was for your own safety-"
I shamelessly interrupted him, "We'll go over that later. How am I supposed to find a Dead Apostle?"
The phone went silent. A few heavy coughs later, the Professor spoke again, "A what? How is there a Dead Apostle in Whitby? I'm familiar with the connection to Dracula but that's precisely why they would stay away."
"Wait, Whitby-...what? Professor, this place isn't a city. Didn't you send me to a village in the middle of nowhere?"
Another awkward silence.
"Whitby, North Yorkshire. That's where I told you to go. Where did you go?"
I looked at Luvia for answers. She shrugged, just as confused as I was.
"A town in North Yorkshire."
"...Did you just ignore the exact location and keep wandering till you found something interesting?"
"Listen here, you third rate magus. You said North Yorkshire! And nothing else!"
I could practically see the Professor groaning and rubbing his temple with a duster in hand trained on my forehead. "I said WHITBY! That town should have had enough mystery to keep you distrac-... Er, I mean-"
"I'm going to burn your damn house down, you hear me?" I threatened over the phone. "Spit it out, how do I flush one out?"
"Henry, listen to me. I don't know where you went but if there's a Dead Apostle out there-"
For once in my life, my ears caught something before my eyes did. A gargling sound from an alley next to us... like some dying animal was sloshing around in a sort of final defiance. I narrowed my eyes, and put my arm in front of a curious Luviagelita as I pulled my phone away.
I blinked.
Something shot out of the darkness. A young man. A familiar one. It was the young Executor with the sniper rifle. Only, he'd clearly seen better days... mostly because I was pretty sure he wasn't even capable of breathing anymore.
Half his throat had been roughly torn away, warm blood sprayed from his neck. He landed at my feet, impotently gripping at his bleeding neck as his body shook. Despite being enemies, I'd probably have helped him if I had the facilities for it.
The healing spell I knew worked by accelerating the body's natural healing. This was not the sort of injury anyone could heal from. I was pretty sure his attacker wasn't going to allow it either.
Calmly, I eyed the darkness that had chewed up and spit him out.
"I find it terribly fucking funny when an inferior creature says it'll 'flush' me out. Presumptuous, I'm sure you'd agree. It's like a bloody cow declaring it's gonna milk the farmer instead."
A man's voice melded with something else, the growl of an animal. Deeply annoyed too.
"I'm pretty sure that exists." I answered with an easy smile. "But I feel you might not like what the cows look like."
Beside me, Luviagelita took the situation a tad more seriously. Her Magic Crest had flared to life long before the now-dead Executor ever even met the ground, and she was already holding tiny, precious stones between her fingers.
"Reveal yourself, fiend."
"I also find it presumptuous that you cattle split into groups like you stand any chance that way. That little shit there thought his little friends were going to reach him before me. In the end, couldn't even shoot that little flare of his."
I was yet to lower my aviators, so there was a decent chance the vampire was formless. That assumption went down the drain when the distinct thud of a pair of heavy boots reached my ears, followed by the man of the hour.
The first thing I noticed was that he was tall, a good head taller than I was, and extremely handsome, high cheek bones, a thin moustache, a shaved jawline that could cut diamonds. His dark hair was done in a simple but well-done ponytail, leaving a few stray bangs to frame his pale face. Well, I suppose that was to be expected. Being extremely attractive was a part of the whole vampire shtick.
To add to that image, he even wore a dark leather trenchcoat left unbuttoned to reveal a brown full suit underneath. The guy was even wearing a vest of all things, complete with a gold pocket watch.
Despite all that however, he felt... off. Foul. Unnatural.
His very being reeked and raised blaring alarms within my mind.
He was too handsome. Too perfect. It felt like something was wearing human skin.
I powered through and pointed a finger at him, "Your way of talking doesn't match that aesthetic at all."
The vampire indignantly threw up a hand.
"Shut the fuck up. I have lived a thousand years, watched dynasties rise and fall, committed slaughter beyond your comprehension. I wake up to be faced with rude children who think they can quell me! Why should I have to adhere to what a short-lived pest finds refined or pleasing?" He raised his hands dramatically, but kept ranting with not a concern for what we were doing... no, he just didn't care. "I find this cage you've erected to be a grave insult. Very bloody rude. But, alas, you have made a fence for the cattle. I'll relish this dish."
Silence descended upon the dark night once more. He looked at us through shimmering blood-red eyes, a grin splitting his face to reveal sharp bloodied fangs.
For all his yap... you know, I was well-aware that Touko had fought the one of the strongest Dead Apostles. That willful Grand had absolutely WRECKED her opponent. This guy was just a thousand years old by his own, unbelievably, arrogant admission.
Yet, I was a bit hesitant about removing my Mystic Eye Killers. Exposure to intricately-woven mana hurt. If a Dead Apostle's being was anything like that Daemon I fought some time ago, there was a decent chance it would cause a sensory overload.
It was a risk I needed to take yes, but the situation needed to be a bit more ideal first.
I wasn't about incapacitate myself and put Luvia in danger no matter how much the girl enjoyed a good fight...
"You're a thousand years old?"
"What? Having second thoughts, brat?"
"...Nah, I'm just amazed that I've seen seven year olds with better manners."
"I thought age was supposed to come with wisdom." Luviagelita smirked, "But I realise that you fought tooth and nail against that particular stereotype. Almost admirable."
He grit his teeth.
I snapped my fingers.
A bolt of flame smouldered through the air. But, he made no effort to move. He even grinned. Then, he managed to truly surprise me. Instead of getting rocked with several times the force of an artillery round, he simply held up his palm.
My spell did explode, undeniably, but the impact was far smaller. No, it was more contained. He crushed the explosion within his hand. Raising his foot, he stomped it on the ground with a massive grin.
The paved street cracked, then erupted in an explosion much like mine. Luvia and I easily avoided the chunks of rock shot by it as well as the explosion by simply jumping back to the rooftop of the small house behind us.
"That was my spell."
Luvia raised a brow, "I don't think reflection is even poss-"
"Wrong."
He covered the distance instantly, fist reeled back. Again, I easily avoided the blow and kicked him in the face... only my hit felt powerless the second it made contact with his body. The vampire scoffed before kicking back at my forearm. I hastily pulled back my hand. His fist struck the rooftop, and it also exploded.
Normal. Supernatural strength was par for the course.
Only, the damage he caused was the exact amount I would have if I kicked the rooftop.
"Away with you, fiend! For your Queen!"
Luviagelita's trademark Gandr shots came bursting from behind me. This time, the vampire dodged the explosive beams by stepping aside, leaving them to carve through a nearby house..
Was it out of convenience? Or was there a trick to him 'reflecting' damage?
Well...
I reached for my aviators as he stepped towards me.
"You're doing a better job than that idiotic waste of space before. But then again, the Church was always a circus filled with power-hungry clowns even in my day. They shout and scream so fucking much, and the self-righteous bullshit, don't even get me started-"
"You really like yapping, don't you?"
With another snap of my fingers, a bolt of thunder snapped through the air between us with a loud boom and lit up the dark night. Again, the Dead Apostle easily crushed the impact in his palm.
I didn't need my eyes to know that he wasn't nullifying mana. My spells had no mana to begin with once cast. Unlike most magi, mana was not the fuel that sustained the effect, it was simply what caused it. It was a measure that eliminated the possibility of someone dismantling my spells mid-way like I did. It made them less controllable, but the trade-off was worth it.
Luviagelita pulled her hand back and threw a gleaming ruby at the Dead Apostle. He grabbed it easily and when it exploded, he crushed the flames between his hands with that same ease.
Luviagelita narrowed her eyes, "What in the-... That is, hm... I suppose there is some basis to that bloated sense of self threatening to make you break into tears over childish insults."
"You don't fucking understand what I'm doing at all, do you?"
He grinned wider as I eyed the mindless people shuffling about all around us. With them here, I couldn't unleash my stronger spells without massive casualties. There was also a decent chance he'd turn on them at any moment.
Fortunately, that was an easily fixed issue.
He clearly believed I was weaker than him. That I was food he was playing with. That was good. It meant he'd show me a lot. I wanted whatever mystery he was using to nullify my attacks... and everything else he had.
His arrogance was also why it was easy to inadvertently fight in a way to position directly in front of the hill I promised Vespaio I'd lead him to without him even noticing.
"Be honored, fossil. Let me show you something you've never seen before."
"Hm? I doubt that... but alright. I'll rip your fucking throat out if it's disappointing though." He tilted his head, a curious shimmer in his eyes as I raised a finger.
Like a typical immortal, he was jaded, whimsical, and made the stupid mistake of thinking his age meant he knew best, underestimating those 'lower' than him like many of his kind tended to.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."
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