Vampire Hunter D 16: Tyrant's Stars

by Hideyuki Kikuchi

  To escape the tree falling toward his head, D kicked off the ground in a leap. Still hearing its rumbling thud as he touched back down,

  D was engulfed by black shadows closing on the ground. This time there were three of them. If D hadn’t slipped between the tree trunks with a kind of agility unthinkable even for a Noble, he would’ve been smashed flat.

  The trees’ accuracy in falling toward D was caused by something other than the force of the explosions: they had been commanded to aim at him.

  Still slipping between the trees, D heard a faint song.

  “She said her name was Callas, didn’t she?” his left hand murmured with interest. “At this rate, those kids will be in danger, too.”

  To be honest, Matthew was bewildered to find himself in the forest that had suddenly sprung up around the highway. He’d parted ways with D half out of spite. But after entering the wasteland where he intended to camp, the world had undergone a transformation in less than thirty minutes.

  “What’s going on, Matt?” Sue asked after leaving the wagon, unable to conceal her fear at the change in their environment.

  Both of them were down on the ground now. Matthew was just lighting the chemical fuel.

  “I don’t know. That jerk D’s probably pulling something.”

  “Don’t blame this on him!” Sue shouted, making Matthew stare at her. “I can’t believe you got rid of D while I was asleep. What on earth were you thinking?”

  “Don’t get all hot under the collar. I told you not to worry. I’ll keep you safe for sure.”

  “And how are you supposed to do that all alone, Matt? That great big count and Ms. Miranda were both taken out! The people after us are that tough; what good will you be against them? You’ve gotta wake up and face the facts!”

  Matthew found Sue’s shouts to be terrifyingly logical. There was no point in arguing it. At a time like this, his only resort was to adopt an illogical approach.

  “Is that any way to talk to me, you little idiot? In all these years, have I ever once failed to keep you safe? That time in town when ten punks were giving you trouble, or when the two-headed dog attacked the farm, I always protected you. Show a little gratitude! Have some faith in me!”

  “This time it’s different, Matt!” Sue exclaimed, her body shaking. “The person after us is a Greater Noble who’s come back after five thousand years. Face the facts. For starters, Matt, for someone who talks as big as you do, you couldn’t even save Mom, could you?”

  “Shut up!”

  Sue saw her brother’s hand swing suddenly. There was a dull impact on her left cheek that left her senses reeling. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground. Her back felt cold.

  Matthew’s face was right in front of her. His expression made him look like a completely different person. It chilled her all over. “Matthew—get off of me! You’re so heavy.”

  Though she sensed something bad was about to happen, she tried to hide it behind a smile. She moved her hand to try and push him away, but he pinned her wrists against the ground.

  “I’m gonna protect you,” he said. The voice that came out of her brother’s mouth was the same as always.

  “Okay. I get it already! You can get off me now. You weigh a ton, you know. A ton!”

  Suddenly her lips were sealed. Her whole body trembled. More than from fear, she shook with horror. She couldn’t believe what was happening.

  “Matthew ..

  Struggling wildly, she shouted at him to stop. Her left hand came free—but as soon as she lifted it, her left breast was squeezed. “Stop it!” she screamed. “Have you lost your mind?”

  With her free hand she grabbed Matthew’s hair and jerked it to one side. At the same time, she twisted her body. Stunned, Matthew toppled over.

  Getting up, Sue ran to the road. Someone might pass by. Most importantly, that was the road D was taking.

  “Sue, wait! Sue!” a voice that resembled that of her older brother called out. But it wasn’t her brother. It was another being entirely.

  Between the trees she could see the marble road. Wiping her sweat off, Sue put her strength into her legs.

  Suddenly, an upside-down female face appeared before her.

  Her scream caught in her throat. She was positive the woman had appeared from her own forehead.

  Executing an easy flip, the woman who landed in front of Sue didn’t have a face the girl recognized.

  “Who ... who are you?” the girl asked, tongue tied. Although she didn’t know the woman’s name, she knew what she was.

  “I am Lucienne,” the lovely woman with one eye said. The white dress she wore displayed every line of her body. It was soaked with water. No, actually it was—

  “Your sweat!” Lucienne said, spreading her arms. “Water is my world, my path, my gateway. As long as there’s water around, you can never escape me.”

  Smirking and laughing disturbingly, she said, “Welcome to my world!”

  Her pale hand reached out and grabbed Sue’s right wrist. It felt just like water.

  The girl tried to jump away, but her legs wouldn’t move.

  “Oh, doesn’t that feel good?” Lucienne said, and as she spoke she dissolved.

  She transformed into a mass of water in human form. Starting with Sue’s wrist, the mass enveloped her entire body. Though Sue struggled desperately to break through the liquid membrane, her fingers merely sank into it, vainly clawing at the fluid. She gasped for breath. And inhaled. Water flowed in through her mouth and nostrils. She coughed. And as she did so, more water entered. Sue was fated to drown right there, on the ground. Suddenly, there was darkness before her eyes.

  Help me! She intended to say the words aloud, but she couldn’t speak. Save me, Mom . . . D . . .

  Unexpectedly, the water in her stomach and lungs reversed direction. As she heard the feverish hiss of steam, Sue fell backward. But powerful arms caught her.

  “Matt?” she cried out before coughing. Water vapor stroked Sue’s face.

  In his right hand, Matthew gripped a burning log from their campfire. The instant he’d seen that watery membrane engulfing Sue, he’d figured out exactly what was happening and shoved the fire into the liquid—into Lucienne’s body!

  The water pulled away from Sue and spread over the ground, swiftly taking on the form of Lucienne. Steam rose from her back.

  “I wanted to take care of you separately,” Lucienne said, letting her expression fade before her lips twisted into a fresh smirk. “But

  I shall kill the two of you together now. A crude flame like that won’t work against me again.”

  “Shut up, you freak!” Matthew yelled, taking a step forward and thrusting his torch out before him.

  Lucienne’s right hand seized the blazing tip. There was a fierce explosion of steam, and the fire was extinguished.

  Lucienne raised her right hand. It didn’t have any fingers— undoubtedly they’d been reduced to the water vapor that drifted around. Lucienne then waved the same hand. Once again she had her fingers.

  Matthew stood in front of Sue, shielding her. Sweat ran down his face.

  “Such a lovely face,” the water witch said, breaking into a grin.

  CHAPTER 6

  I

  D had ducked down on the other side of the enormous tree.

  A pale figure wafted into view—the fiendish diva Callas. On hearing the song, even the stands of trees in this forest had turned into D’s enemies.

  “Have you heard my song, O beauteous one?” Callas called out to him. Even as she did so, the song flowed from her mouth. “Now that things have gone this far, it’s a matter of friends and foes. On the course we’re following, there’s but one choice to be made: kill or be killed. Please hear me out. I shall give you an easy death.”

  “I’ll help you,” said another figure, who appeared from behind a stand of trees to take his place beside Callas. It was Courbet.

  “Don’t listen only to Callas’s song,” he continued, “b
ut hear my words, too. You’re to carve out your own heart right here and now. If you do that, our god will be most pleased. Aaaah .. .”

  The missionary groaned and staggered at the end of this demand, due to the dagger that had been planted in his back. Its hilt was set with crimson jewels.

  “What are you doing . . . Callas?”

  “You have some nerve, trying to interfere with me,” the singer said coolly. “My song was going to gently rap on the door to the hereafter, but then you told him to do something as revolting as

  tearing out his own heart. I’ll thank you to drop dead now.”

  And as she said this, the woman walked over to the reeling Courbet, pulled the dagger out of his back, and then drove it straight through his heart.

  Ignoring Courbet as he fell limply to the ground, Callas laid one hand against her chest and took a deep breath. A wooden needle had just pierced the base of her throat. Staggering without making a sound, the diva saw the figure in black rising effortlessly from the tangle of fallen trees. She tried to shout something, but no voice came out.

  “I can hear neither your song nor the missionary’s words,” said D.

  “Why . . . why do this to me? I said ... I would give you ... an easy death . . .”

  Reeling all the while, Callas watched in amazement as D drew closer without making a sound. A part of her was delighted.

  A second later, D leaped to the right.

  Flames were welling up in the forest. Napalm flames mowed through the stand of trees with their initial blast, then set to burning everything down to the core.

  Even when Lucienne reached for him, Matthew didn’t move. Her hand touched his face.

  “You’re wet,” the water witch said. “I’ll start with you.”

  But she made a sound like vomiting and doubled over. As her spine curved like a shrimp’s, something resembling a log went through her stomach, piercing her through her back. It was a tremendously long and thick steel spear.

  Clutching the spear with both hands, Lucienne raised her head. The expression that formed on her face said she saw something she shouldn’t have seen.

  “You . .. turned to dust...”

  “For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” a voice called out beyond the shaft of the spear.

  Matthew and Sue turned at the same time and shouted.

  Illuminated by the flames to the sides of the highway was an enormous figure standing ten feet tall.

  “Count Braujou!”

  The giant who stood there was indeed Count Braujou. But how could he suddenly appear here when he’d been reduced to dust after his defeat by Curio in their battle at Marthias?

  “Surprised?” the giant asked with a mocking grin. He seemed so amused he could barely stand it. “You’re talking to a man who defeated Valcua. Did you think I’d die so easily from the spell of one of his worthless little underlings? So long as my dust and blood remain, I can be revived time and again. The dust returned to my car on its own, where it soaked in my stored blood. Do you understand now? Then you can die with an untroubled mind.”

  He pushed the spear. It penetrated Lucienne’s body without meeting any resistance, but the water witch’s hands clawed at the air as she bent backward.

  “Going to turn into water to make your escape? You can’t. You can’t fight the energy my spear contains. This spear was meant to slay Valcua, and it’s invested with the power of the Sacred Ancestor.”

  Lucienne’s body fell apart. The stain that spread across the black soil was quickly absorbed. The count tossed a flaming lump on top of it. The flames spread out more than six feet in diameter, illuminating the trio. Sue thought she could hear horrific screams beneath the blazing flames, and she covered her ears.

  “She’s dead, isn’t she?” Sue inquired.

  “I don’t know. That’ll depend on the chemical fuel you provided,” the count said, referring to the fiery lump he’d thrown.

  “You’ve been with us all along, haven’t you?” said Matthew.

  “Yes.”

  When he smiled, it made a deep impression on Sue. Humans had made a Noble smile. And then something dawned on her.

  “The reason Mr. D left was because he knew you were with us, wasn’t it?”

  Once again the enormous face broke into a grin, but the giant didn’t reply.

  Taking her brother’s hand, Sue said, “Matt, let’s go to the fortress.”

  Though she still harbored ill will toward her brother, she didn’t show it. But she was planning to avoid being left alone with him tonight.

  “Well, let’s go to the fortress. Your beloved D should be waiting there on pins and needles,” the count said, laying a gigantic hand on the girl’s shoulder. It was incredibly soft and his touch was quite gentle, but Sue was in no position to notice.

  “Wh-wh-what do you mean by that?” the girl sputtered.

  “Dear me, you’re turning red. Looks like I’m right on the mark. You must forgive me, but after spending three days with a girl your age, I can tell in a flash whether she likes a man or not.”

  “That’s just... It’s not like I...”

  As Sue flushed crimson to her very ears, the count gazed at her with a mysterious look in his eyes. It was the way a father might look at his daughter.

  “Ah, it’s a wondrous thing. When it comes to love and infatuation, there’s no difference between Nobles and humans, is there?”

  Sue looked up at the count, her curiosity piqued by the way his tone rose at the end of that remark. Sue had a delicate temperament. She recalled how the song she’d sung without thinking had prompted the count to ask her to sing again.

  “Do you have women like that?”

  Sue wasn’t asking about the count personally, but rather about the Nobility as a whole. However, a stunned sort of thoughtfulness spread across the count’s face, and with a slight shrug he put the long spear over his shoulder and turned around.

  “Shall we return to the wagon and get going? Since the road’s here, the fortress should be back as well.”

  Plowing through the night air, the wagon and car raced along. Up in the driver’s seat, the count lashed away with the whip, while the siblings sat inside the covered wagon.

  To avoid looking at Matthew, Sue was gazing out a window at the expanse of marble road and the flames that illuminated it, sighing with heartfelt emotion.

  For his part, Matthew said nothing to his sister and just lay on his bed. The count’s reappearance and the sight of him in battle had left the boy dumbfounded. The black beast that had longed for his sister had vanished. But the count had said something awful. Sue knew it, too. That’s why they couldn’t talk about it. Even a third party like the count could see that his sister was in love with D. And Sue’s reaction at the time had made her true feelings clear. Though it frightened him, Matthew had to acknowledge that the black beast that had vanished from his heart might rear its head again. And soon.

  The shaking of the wagon began to slow.

  Above the covered portion, the count’s voice resounded as he said, “We’ve arrived. Come out.”

  Soon the wagon halted, and when the pair looked out over the driver’s seat, they saw an enormous, towering structure surrounded by countless lights. Although it looked to be made of stone, its surface had the sheen of steel, and numerous corridors connected massive edifices that appeared to be one hundred fifty or two hundred feet high. Also visible were shrinelike buildings surrounded by columns, lights burning brightly in their windows. All these structures were enclosed by the ramparts that towered before the trio. Over one hundred feet high, the ramparts had a colossal gate carved into them, and between it and the group lay a wide moat that appeared to be quite deep. Its black waters reflected the lamplight.

  It was so strangely beautiful it took Sue’s breath away, but then she saw something that left her even more in need of breath.

  By the edge of the moat in the spot where one would cross over to the gates, a young man astride a bl
ack horse was gazing at her. His features were so handsome as to leave a person dazed instead of merely trembling, and though he wasn’t smiling in the least, Sue could feel something hot welling up in her heart and tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Taking the reins in hand, the count guided the two vehicles over to D.

  “I see we’ve kept you waiting,” he said to the Hunter in black.

  “Send out the bridge,” D said. Though he’d been involved in deadly combat, he showed no hint of fatigue.

  “There was quite a lot of noise, wasn’t there?” the count said as he turned toward the gates.

  “It came from the sky. Probably a dirigible.”

  “Hmm—we’ll discuss that later. Open the gates!” the count said, raising his massive right arm.

  The gates slowly opened to either side, and a long, black bridge stretched from the opening.

  “You go first—no one would have a problem with that. Not even Miranda.”

  D advanced on his black steed onto the bridge. He didn’t seem conscious of what the count had said. It was simply easiest to have whoever was closest go first—that’s all there was to it. He didn’t look back again as he rode across the long bridge, and watching him from behind, Sue thought he presented a terribly heartbreaking sight.

  II

  Thirty minutes had passed since the girl had settled in a luxurious room. Though they referred to this as a fortress, it was more like an extravagant palace, and she had to wonder how lavish the Noble palaces in the Capital could be. Sue tried to picture it, but she didn’t have much luck.

  Being separated from Matthew had allayed one of her fears, but only for the time being. Trying not to think about what they’d do next, Sue gazed out through the window. Her heart leaped in her chest. Just below, the Hunter stood at the edge of a pathway, his black garb swaying in the wind. Lights danced in the sconces on the wall to one side of him. Though there was apparently considerable wind, the tiny flames swayed but didn’t go out, saving the figure in black from the darkness only to allow it to swallow him again.