The Red Hand

Chapter 153- The Lord of Vampires.

After leaving the police station, Akagi headed onto the roof of a nearby building and called Hishya. She figured the dragon would want to know what just happened, and knew that no one had clued her in as of yet.

*RING* *RING*

"What's up? Its not often you call me out of the blue." Akagi could hear her cooking in the background.

"Yeah well, you might want to call Kana." Akagi sighed.

"Why, what happened?" Hishya asked what was going on, and was informed of the day's events.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!?" Hishya screamed.

"I wish I was." Akagi shook her head. "Go and check on her and make sure she's fine. Right now, she's putting up a strong front for Mika. But she's going to need a shoulder to cry on when the time comes, and well, that's your job." Akagi laughed.

{Let her girlfriend handle that need.} (Akagi)

"I'll call her and check in, and I'll probably head over in a bit. But who could have turned that kid into a thrall? Mixu isn't stupid enough to do that kind of thing." Hishya said.

{At least, I hope so. Otherwise Akagi and I are going to enjoy taking that vampire apart piece by piece!} (Hishya)

"Well, unless this world had vampires in it, which I doubt, that doesn't leave us with many culprits." Akagi said. "None of the other players have an ability like this, and if it wasn't our resident vampy, that only leaves a very disturbing set of possibilities."

"..." Hishya went silent as she thought for a moment. "In-game, there were NPC vampires, but they were few and far between." One of the few players could fight was actually another World Boss.

"Yes." Akagi nodded. "Not to mention, they were all servants of Silfana, and as far as I'm aware, no one else managed to bring people from FWO into this world besides me. Ema is the only former NPC not working for me, and she was brought over because of my exploit.”

{And she's just a human, not a vampire.} (Akagi)

"Is it possible one of them crossed over?" Hishya asked. "I know you said things were wiped clean, but is that 100% confirmed?"

{Did we miss something?} (Hishya)

"Unless Mizumi is lying to me, which I don't think is true, yes." Akagi replied. "FWO and everything within should have been wiped as soon as we departed."

"Great, so we don't even have a clue as to what's going on." Hishya sighed. "Well, there isn't much we can do about it at the moment, so let me call Kana. Keep me posted, and if you figure anything out, let me know. When we find whoever did this I want to tear them to pieces." She disconnected.

"Yeah, Hishya, me too. Me too." Akagi chuckled. "But before I get too distracted, I'd better call Yumi. She's probably worried, since I kinda just zoomed off.”

*RING* *RING*

Akagi called Yumi and explained the situation, naturally the priestess was none to pleased with this turn of events, and was angry that someone forced Kana to take a life.

"That's terrible." Yumi's anger came through the phone.

"Yeah, it's fucked." Akagi sighed. "Hey, do me a favor and cancel everything for this weekend. Tell Rosewood something came up, and that I'll try to be back for Monday." Akagi said.

"Should I return to Japan?" Yumi asked.

"No, you go back to sleep." Akagi replied. "I'll let you know if I need you, alright?"

"Ok, but please be careful." Yumi said.

"Always am. I'll pop back over and see you once things calm down a bit, bye." Akagi disconnected.

{I just can't have five minutes of uninterrupted peace with Yumi, can I? First the Council tries to kill me, then this happens. Is it too much to ask for me and Yumi to be just be allowed to snuggle in peace?} (Akagi)

"Now then I suppose I should get to vampire hunting." Akagi stretched. "Not only did they attack my sister, but they interrupted my sleep and my snuggle time with Yumi. There will be hell to pay for that." She hopped between roofs to rendezvous with Chloe, who'd arrived in Kyoto with her team. The cat'd been in the middle of intel gathering when she'd gotten the call to abort and redirect her forces.

Standing on the roof of one of the largest buildings in Kyoto, Chloe, and four ninjas arrived.

"Myaster, we have arrived as requested, nya." Chloe and the four ninjas got on one knee. "We are ready to begin the hunt at your word, nya" The other ninja nodded in agreement.

"I see you've brought Sakura with you." Akagi looked at the pink-haired girl. She didn't normally accompany Chloe on such outings so it was a bit unusual to see her.

{Also, I see your pet snake is riding on your head... I'm just going to ignore that.} (Akagi)

"She wished to atone for her earlier failure and insisted myaster." Chloe and the ninja stood up.

"Very well." Akagi nodded. "I presume you've sent out other teams?"

"Yes, I have three teams searching the city as we speak, nya." Chloe replied.

"Good, take these four and assist the others in searching the city. I want Kyoto searched from top to bottom. We're likely dealing with some kind of vampire, so be careful. If you find them, do not engage. If you find anything you are to first report to me, understood?" Akagi gave her orders.

"Yes!" (Chloe and the ninjas)

"Good luck and happy hunting." Akagi waved them off, and the ninja jumped away to begin their search.

{I've gotten no reports of vampire activity or any unusual events within Kyoto before today.} Akagi thought to herself as she looked down at the city. {If they arrived at the same time FWO ended, why wait until now to make themselves known? And how did they stay hidden from my network? I keep Kyoto under close watch, and something like this shouldn't have gone under the radar.}

"Perhaps-" Akagi was interrupted by a phone call.

*RING**RING*

"Hello, vampy." Akagi answered and spoke to Mixu. "You almost here?"

"Yes, though there's a small addendum." Mixu spoke.

"Oh?" Akagi was interested.

"Can you meet me at the Coroner's office? We've got some things to discuss regarding this case, and our attached investigator will be meeting us there. Apparently, another case from Tuesday has some similarities to this incident." Mixu said.

"Fine." Akagi turned and walked to the other side of the building. "I'll meet you there, I needed to go there anyway for a separate matter." She disconnected and started hopping from building to building. It didn't take long to reach the Coroner's office, as it was close by, so Akagi waited outside until Mixu arrived. Once she did, the two went inside, where Investigator Nakagumo was waiting.

"Well, it's been a while since I've seen you, Chief." Akagi smiled as she greeted the man.

"It's not Chief anymore. Now I'm just an investigator who handles things related to the supernatural and returnees." Nakagumo sighed. "I've already had the Coroner lay out the two bodies in the back. We can discuss things further there." He turned, motioning them to follow, and they went into the rear of the building where two metal tables had sheets covering them, underneath which were two bodies. An older man was also present, Nakagumo introduced him as the Coroner and he was going to assist if possible.

"These are the two ladies I was referring to, Niji." Nakagumo introduced Akagi and Mixu.

"Yes, I see." He was clearly uncomfortable around them, but put on a brave face.

"So these are the bodies?" Akagi pulled off the sheets. "That's Hito alright, but this one... I don't recognize him."

"Juju Sakai, 37 years old. He was brought in on Tuesday." Niji explained. "His body was found in an alleyway, cause of death, completely drained of blood leading to cardiac arrest." He pointed to the man's neck. "As you can see, we have a bite pattern here. Two small punctures, we believe that this was how his blood was extracted."

"Just to get out ahead of this, they already measured my bite, and it doesn't match up. So it wasn't me." Mixu wanted to get that out.

"This young man, Hito, also has a bite mark, and it has the same spacing between the punctures, so it was likely the same person or tool that caused this." Niji said.

{So we probably do have a serial vampire on the loose, but this older man doesn't seem to have changed.} (Akagi)

"This other man, Juju. He wasn't turned into a thrall, and as far as I can tell, he's still human." Akagi said as she analyzed one of his arms. "He was fed upon, then cast aside once drained, a typical facet of vampire predation. There are no residual changes or alterations that suggest mutation into a thrall or vampire."

{Which means this was never anything more than food for our would-be hunter.} (Akagi)

"Yes, we saw no signs of life or any movement from his corpse. Nor have we had any reported attacks in the nearby area." Nakagumo said.

"Akagi." Mixu said as she walked over to Hito's body. "This kid is definitely a vampire thrall. Lord knows that I've seen enough of them in my time to confirm that's what he is..." She continued. "But, he is not a normal thrall."

"What do you mean?" Akagi asked for clarification.

"When a vampire gives their blood to a non-vampire. One of two things can happen. Either they become a vampire themselves, or they turn into a thrall." Mixu mulled for a moment. "But this kid, he's a third option."

"A third?" Akagi asked. "What do you mean?"

{I don't know much about vampires, so lets she what vampy has to say.} (Akagi)

"Look at his claws and the length of his canines." Mixu let her fangs come out. "They're almost as long as mine." She put them away. "Normal thralls are little more than a zombie essentially. They do have fangs and claws, but they are small and generally unsuited for serious use. But this kid, it's almost as if he's some kind of in-between of a vampire and a thrall. And that..."

{That's not a good sign...} (Mixu)

"Ok, so does that tell us who did this? You know more about vampires than me." Akagi wanted her to continue.

"Yes, but that answer leads to other problems." Mixu sighed. "Only a Royal Vampire can do something like this. They are the highest level of their kind, and their blood can have different effects on non-vampires."

“A Royal Vampire? I think I've heard that term before...” Akagi went through her memories to find the information. “That term is from FWO, and was an race exclusive to...” Her eyes went wide as she figured it out.

"Silfana." Mixu's naming of the Lord of Vampires caused the temperature of the room to drop. "She was the leader of all Vampires and was how I became one myself, via her quest-line, and she was the only Royal Vampire in existence."

"Yes, I tried to blend that power with my Shadow form, but she told me that wasn't possible." Akagi thought back to that conversation. "And you're sure there were no others like her?" She asked.

"Not unless they were very well hidden, but since they are termed Royal, I'd think the Vampire Queen was the only one in existence. She was said to be the ruler of their kind in the games lore, so I'd guess she was the only one the Devs implemented, at least in the Alpha." Mixu said.

"But if that's true and Silfana is the only Royal Vampire, that brings up its own problem." Akagi continued for her. "If Silfana did this, the question is how? Hishya took her down once she'd recovered post-Hassan, and the Assault Team regrouped. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten out of the game."

"I'd also like to know that. But regardless, if she somehow got into our world, that's going to be an issue." Mixu had a worried look on her face. "She's a fully-fledged World Boss, and defeating her wasn't easy the first time. She's way more powerful than a player, and it took an entire raiding team to beat her."

{I could handle her, but I doubt anyone else, bar Hishya, can 1v1 her.} Akagi thought to herself.

"I've got my people searching Kyoto. If she's here, I'll find her." Akagi said. "I'd like to speak with her if she really has arrived in our world. Her presence on Earth raises a mountain of questions that I want answered."

{And I want her. A World Boss, especially Silfana, would make an excellent addition to my forces. Though she will still be punished for what her little thrall did.} Akagi kept that to herself for now.

"I'll radio this into HQ and request some backup. Superbia, Shimari, and Minazawa are free, and I'd feel better with more of us here." Mixu said, pulling up something on her AR.

"I've pulled Hishya into this too. She's coming to visit Kana, so I imagine she'd be interested in hunting down Silfana if she's really here." Akagi said.

"That would be helpful." Mixu said as she walked to the other side of the room and began talking to Aoi.

"Nakagumo." Akagi turned to the man.

"Yes." He replied.

"Do me a favor and get your people looking for more incidents like this man. If Silfana really is behind this, you'll probably find more bodies as she feeds. Also, be on the lookout for further thrall attacks. Check back over the records from the past few days and see if any other bodies were found that have similar patterns. It's possible law enforcement overlooked them and didn't report a connection." Akagi explained.

"Sounds good. I'll put in a call to HQ." He took out his phone and started dialing.

{Now, where are you, Silfana? And why have you come to my world?} (Akagi)

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Silfana POV>

*SQUISH**SUCK*

"Ah yes, such a wonderful taste." The Vampire Lord sat on a couch in a darkened home as she sucked the blood from a young woman. Her stark white hair contrasted with the dark red blood on her face. "I wonder where that slave of mine went. He disappeared earlier today and hasn't returned. I hope he's bringing me back something delicious. Otherwise, I'll have to discipline him for going AWOL." She laughed as she threw the drained woman onto the floor. "I have no idea where I am, but there is such an abundant human population. If I don't control myself, I might just go on a feeding frenzy! There are just so many fresh cattle for me to drink! It's as if I've died and gone to paradise."