"Hello, this is a private area. Please turn back."
The guards at the Hellsing Organization had been replaced. The members who had died previously had been properly laid to rest.
The current soldiers were loaned from MI11.
Although they weren't the main combat personnel of MI11—merely a reserve unit—they were more than capable of handling security duties.
Thus, when faced with Kaecilius, the guard dutifully carried out his responsibilities and stopped him.
"I'm here to see someone. Please notify Rumlow. If he isn't around, Matthew will do."
Kaecilius had regained some semblance of a normal person; at least he no longer looked like a dazed puppet.
Kanouk's ideological correction seemed to have been a bit too forceful.
"Very well. Please wait a moment."
The guard made a call to the communications room. Kaecilius only had to wait a short while before he was ushered inside.
The guard escorted him directly to Matthew and then departed.
Kaecilius immediately briefed Matthew on the situation at the Sacred Mountain.
And mentioned that he was here to help.
As for what specific help he could offer, he didn't know. It probably just involved hacking people to pieces. What high-difficulty tasks could a bunch of Barbarians have to do?
It wasn't like they were going to conduct scientific research.
Just then, two more uninvited guests arrived at the gates of the Hellsing estate, and the conversation from earlier repeated itself.
Because the guards were new, they had no idea who Constantine was.
Constantine looked like a human, but he rarely did things a human should do.
He had pretty much done everything one could do, and everything one shouldn't do.
The guards continued to diligently perform their duties, blocking these visitors of unknown origin.
"I think you should contact your superiors. I'm not a suspicious person, and the priest beside me is Father Anderson from the Church—the kind with a professional license. Aside from not paying taxes, he has no flaws."
Constantine was worried Anderson would just pull out his bayonets and charge in. Anderson held no goodwill toward Hellsing.
Especially after seeing Alucard last time, his killing intent was becoming hard to suppress.
So, Constantine started the introductions directly.
"As expected, only an organization like Hellsing that relies on vampiric power would harbor a demon like this..."
Father Anderson began muttering under his breath. When facing individuals categorized as "enemies," he was even crazier than Constantine.
Fortunately, he ignored the part of the introduction about taxes. The Church actually did pay taxes; it was just that the Iscariot Organization (Section XIII), to which Father Anderson belonged, did not handle such things.
It wouldn't be normal for an agent of divine punishment to carry tax forms while out on a mission, especially since their identities had to be kept secret.
If they paid taxes under their personal names, there would be no identity to hide.
"Let them in."
Integra happened to walk to the other side of the gate. She was dressed in fencing attire, intending to clear her mind after practice.
Having the Blood Queen in her home brought considerable pressure, and the scenery within the Hellsing estate was quite nice.
As a twenty-three-year-old young woman, Integra needed to relax her nerves occasionally.
Training, clearing her mind, and then handling work—that was her recent rhythm of life.
It just so happened that she saw Constantine and Father Anderson as she walked by, so she ordered the guards to open the gate.
"This time is an exception..."
Anderson muttered softly, then dragged Constantine inside by the collar of his trench coat.
He had absolutely no respect for Integra.
That sentence was meant for himself. After all, the Church hadn't ordered him to fight Alucard within Hellsing, and they had specifically instructed him not to conflict with the organization.
"This is Father Anderson. He is here to see Nimue."
Being dragged by his collar, Constantine's entire body leaned forward in the direction of Father Anderson's pull.
But he didn't forget to introduce his companion to Integra.
"I know him. I hope Father Anderson can exercise some restraint. If you need to know specifics, come to my office after you've seen Nimue."
Integra nodded. She actually held a somewhat appreciative attitude toward Constantine.
Having experienced despair herself, she felt a certain fondness for "heroes" like Constantine who walked the edge of danger.
However, she had no intention of working with him. Anyone who knew a thing or two about Constantine wouldn't make that choice.
Perhaps becoming a hero was something many aspired to, but no one wanted to become a sacrifice in the face of danger.
Dead heroes couldn't enjoy praise.
"Nimue is in the innermost room on the third floor. If you need anything, ask Walter once you're inside."
Integra walked toward the side building without looking back. She needed to tidy up her appearance to avoid losing her proper decorum later.
"Integra. Don't let me find out that Hellsing has done anything it shouldn't have. The Church's forces are gathering."
Anderson didn't mind leaking a bit of Church intelligence.
Church armed forces around the world had already begun to move. He didn't intend to hide it, as it wasn't something that could be hidden anyway.
At the very least, S.H.I.E.L.D. had discovered this long ago. The movement of ordinary people couldn't escape the eyes of agents.
"Tch."
Integra made a sound of disdain and left directly.
Meanwhile, in the basement, Alucard, who was silently drinking, looked up with amusement.
Anderson's arrival couldn't escape his perception.
"Rumlow, you seem to enjoy staying here with me?"
Alucard swirled his wine glass, speaking casually to Rumlow, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him.
"I just want to get used to your aura, so I can perform normally when I need to kill you."
Rumlow held a bottle of gin and swigged from it. Hellsing had specially procured this for them.
After all, these Barbarians were basically alcoholics. It had to be said that the educational methods on the Sacred Mountain were clearly a bit skewed.
"Oh? Then I truly look forward to it. That Matthew from back then should be stronger than you, correct?"
Alucard's eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, sized up Rumlow before he placed his wine glass on the small table.
"Currently, yes. But I will be stronger than him very soon."
Rumlow took a fierce swig of alcohol and continued to size up Alucard.
He didn't mind admitting he was weaker than Matthew right now. There was nothing to hide; strength wasn't something that could be changed by boasting.
"How much do you know about Hydra?"
Rumlow ultimately couldn't hold back the question and asked directly.
After becoming an outstanding Barbarian, his patience was far worse than before.
Back when he was an agent, he would have at least made some small talk to pave the way for such a question.
"You're asking me this? You'd be better off asking Captain America, who is currently on the phone on the roof. He was the one facing the Red Skull back then."
Alucard grinned. His fondness for strong humans was indeed a bit peculiar.
The phrase "Only a human can defeat a monster" was always on his lips.
He hoped someone could be like Van Helsing of old.
Perhaps this vampire had always hoped to meet his end at the hands of a human, but he wouldn't use suicide as a method to achieve his wish.
"He might not know as much as you do. After all, you've been alive all these years."
Rumlow placed the empty bottle beside him and spoke casually.
Steve hadn't been awake for long; what he knew might not even be as much as what Rumlow knew.
"Alucard!"
Father Anderson's roar came from outside the basement door. The burly priest kicked open the door and immediately dragged Constantine down the stairs.
"I say, could you let go of my collar when going down the stairs? I don't need this kind of help. I'm perfectly healthy and don't need a walker yet."
Constantine's heels clacked loudly against the steps; just from the sound, one could tell he wasn't having a good time.
Being dragged by the back of his collar made it difficult for him to walk normally.
"Oi, reckon isn't that Constantine?"
Rumlow spoke with curiosity. That simple sentence delivered a massive psychological blow to Constantine.
Just a simple "reckon" breached his sturdy mental defenses.
"Don't ever say that word again!"
Constantine slipped out of his trench coat like a fish, rushed a few steps to Rumlow, and shouted loudly.
"What?"
Rumlow looked at Constantine with amusement, casually straightened the man's messy shirt collar, and then left the basement directly.
"Alucard, I'll come back to chat later. I have a big score to settle with Hydra."
Rumlow left without looking back.
Teasing Constantine was a sudden whim of malice.
He left Alucard to look with interest at Father Anderson, who had already rushed in front of him. The smile remained on Alucard's face.
"Anderson, do you have business with me?"
"I came to ask you about Nimue. Of course, if I could kill you before that, it would be nice."
Anderson bared his white teeth, the Bible in his hand transforming into several bayonets held between his fingers.
"That sounds wonderful, but I probably don't have time to fight you right now. You'd best complete the Church's mission first. You are a 'Father,' after all; you must obey the Church's arrangements."
Alucard's words were not without mockery. He casually took off his glasses and wiped them in his hand.
Speaking face-to-face with Anderson had caused his glasses to fog up.
The heat radiating from that life force made Alucard somewhat nostalgic, but it also annoyed him.
"Are you looking down on me?"
A cold glint flashed across Anderson's glasses. The bayonets in his right hand turned back into pages, but a solid punch landed directly on Alucard's face.
"I'm just telling you a fact."
Alucard fell back with the force of the blow, but in the next instant, only a toppled chair remained on the floor.
Alucard's fist smashed heavily onto the bridge of Anderson's nose as a return gift, instantly shattering the round-rimmed glasses.
Father Anderson was sent flying backward by the tremendous force.
Constantine gingerly walked over to Anderson, who was lying on the ground, took his trench coat from Anderson's hand, and leisurely put it back on.
"Alright, your exchange should be over now. We need to go talk to Nimue."
Constantine spoke cheekily.
Anderson stood up sideways, silently picked up the broken glasses from the ground, and placed them back on his nose.
"Next time! Or the time after that! I will kill you completely one day!"
Heat spewed from Anderson's mouth and nose, waves of light expanding and contracting around him. This time, Alucard's expression changed slightly.
"Maybe you really can do it. But you'd best not come alone."
Alucard's voice was barely audible.
He remembered the feeling of liberation when Van Helsing, along with several others at the peak of humanity, had nailed him completely into his coffin. It was a feeling he missed.
Van Helsing, the founder of the Hellsing Organization, had not lived a long life.
Although he was a human, one could faintly see that kind of light on Van Helsing back then.
It hadn't been very obvious on Van Helsing, but that sacred aura was somewhat similar to the Anderson before him now.
"Look forward to the time when we are enemies. When that time comes, your meaningless existence will end by my hand!"
Anderson gave Alucard a deep look, then walked alone toward the basement exit.
"What, you plan to chat with me too?"
Alucard's body reappeared in his original spot with a flash of blood-red light. He sat calmly in the chair, gently swirling his wine glass.
Constantine hadn't seen how Alucard had righted the chair, but he wasn't one to dwell on insignificant details.
After all, he didn't need to face this monster, Alucard. Of course, he had some small tricks to deal with threats, but that would cost a teammate as the price.
"Are you saying we can't do anything right now?"
Kaecilius slammed the table, shouting at Matthew. He hadn't come down from Mount Arreat just to live a leisurely life.
His thirst for power might currently be even stronger than Matthew's. After all, his goal was to stand before his teacher and prove that he no longer needed to plot for power.
"Not necessarily. You can go see if Blade needs your help. He came back covered in injuries last night. Fortunately, Hellsing has plenty of blood bags. Should I say, as expected of a professional vampire-raising institution?"
Matthew spoke casually, then nodded toward Seras, who was standing shyly in the corner.
Kaecilius's attention was drawn by Matthew's gesture. Only then did he notice the aura on Seras that was distinct from a human's.
"You mean that little girl is also a vampire?"
Kaecilius rubbed his chin and looked at Seras, but he couldn't see anything.
Since becoming a vampire, Seras hadn't drunk blood even once. She still retained a large portion of her human aura.
"Yes, I am also a vampire."
Hearing this, Seras smiled, revealing a glinting little fang on one side as she nodded.
"I thought vampires would be... how should I put it? More terrifying. Like those scum in New York with the hideous mouthparts."
Kaecilius felt uncomfortable. He had seen the trash that called themselves vampires, so he assumed real vampires would be the scary kind.
He thought Seras standing over there was just a Hellsing staff member; he hadn't thought of vampires at all.
Seras's aura was simply too harmless. No matter how you looked at it, she seemed like a pure, innocent young girl.
"If you want to see something terrifying, you can go check the basement."
Matthew picked up the flail at his waist and wiped it as he spoke.
The aura Alucard released when he broke his restraints was still imprinted on his mind. Although he hadn't seen Alucard's appearance at the time, he imagined it would satisfy Kaecilius's image of a vampire.
"Oh, come on. If I go to the basement, will I really not see a gentleman in a tuxedo?"
Kaecilius continued to size up Seras in the corner, speaking with skepticism.
"Then you might have met the Hellsing butler."
Matthew said without looking up.
"Gentlemen, is there anything you require of me right now?"
As Matthew's voice fell, Walter appeared directly in the small conference room. Although he held no goodwill toward the people from S.H.I.E.L.D., his etiquette remained impeccable.
Old-school Englishmen had an extraordinary obsession with demeanor.
As for why he appeared so opportunely, it was because Matthew had rung the service bell upon seeing Kaecilius.
The Hellsing structure wasn't bloated, so most of the time, Walter handled affairs personally.
"Hello, Mr. Walter. Another companion has arrived, so we'll need to trouble you to prepare a new room for accommodation."
Matthew might have been influenced by Walter's performance; he even hung the flail back on his waist before speaking slowly to Walter.
However, his attempt at a British accent was somewhat nondescript.
"Sir, as you wish. Would next door to yours be acceptable?"
Walter asked out of habit, only moving to the next step after seeing Matthew nod.
Before leaving, he gave Seras a signal with his eyes, then left the conference room to arrange the accommodation.
"So what do you plan to do now?"
Matthew picked up the coffee on the table and took a small sip.
"Plan? Right, I need to find Rumlow. Ancestor Talic has business with him."
Kaecilius watched Matthew drinking coffee methodically and felt annoyed. He pulled out a piece of black bread and gnawed on it with a crunching sound.
"Why are you still gnawing on black bread after leaving the Sacred Mountain? Are you aiming to snap two pieces of black bread with your gums in an instant for your next challenge?"
Rumlow pushed open the conference room door and walked in, looking at Kaecilius with a face full of disdain.
Matthew pushed the exquisite pastries in front of him toward Kaecilius, then picked up a newspaper to cover his face.
Although his expression was hidden, Kaecilius felt certain he was snickering.
After all, the newspaper was shaking with a rustling sound.
Standing to the side with nothing to do, Seras was pondering what it would look like to snap two pieces of black bread with one's gums. Her brain fell into a fantasy, and her expression went blank.
"Did Ancestor Talic say when he wanted me back?"
Rumlow ignored the gnashing Kaecilius, pulled out a chair, sat down, propped both feet on the table, and leaned back, rocking the chair.
"He didn't say!"
For a split second, Kaecilius wanted to say "immediately," but after Kanouk's education, his speech was faster than his thoughts.
It had become a habit. If he paused to think before answering, Kanouk would hit him with an uppercut on the grounds that "that wasn't your immediate inner thought."
He could no longer lie or remain silent.
Matthew was shaking even harder now; the newspaper hiding his face tore down the middle.
"Pfft—"
"What are you laughing at?!"
Kaecilius slammed the table hard, shouting at Seras with a twisted face.
"Nothing~"
Seras turned her head away and whispered.
The newspaper in Matthew's hands completely split into two pieces.
Rumlow clasped his hands behind his head, looking like he was daydreaming, and said:
"Then it's not urgent. I'll go back tonight. Maybe I'll even have time for a round in the Rift."
Rumlow's words interrupted Kaecilius's facial gymnastics.
"Um, how did you manage to snap black bread with your gums?"
Seras whispered the follow-up question; she was too curious.
During these days, she had often listened in on Rumlow and the others' conversations, so she knew about the black bread that could bludgeon people to death.
Matthew had even taken out a sample for her to experience its hardness once.
"I'll f*cking—!"
Just before Kaecilius's hand slammed onto the table, Rumlow blocked it with his foot.
The force behind Kaecilius's hand was enough to send the table through the floor. To avoid trouble, Rumlow chose to block it.
But the move caused the chair beneath Rumlow to collapse.
"You're paying for this chair yourself."
Rumlow moved to another spot and resumed his loitering posture.
"Pfft—"
"What are you laughing at now?!"
Kaecilius felt like he was about to unlock the Wrath of the Berserker talent. His entire face turned red, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"I'm sorry, I'm just really curious."
Seras turned to face the corner, trying hard to suppress her laughter, her shoulders shaking.
"Kaecilius, what do you think would happen if I told Ancestor Kanouk about this?"
"I'd be used to demonstrate snapping black bread with gums!"
Kaecilius failed to control his new instinct again and shouted the result he would face directly.
He used the tone of Wrath of the Berserker, too.
By the time his brain realized what he had said, Seras's laughter had spiraled completely out of control.
"I think S.H.I.E.L.D. should send all the agents needing interrogation to Ancestor Kanouk for education. Under those circumstances, no one could keep a secret. It's better than truth serum."
Rumlow glanced at Kaecilius, whose face was starting to turn purple, and made a comment.
"If they really did that, those agents would be ruined."
Matthew mentally pictured an undercover agent being interrogated.
"Where are you from? Why join us?" the crime boss asks.
"S.H.I.E.L.D., to investigate your criminal records," the interrogated agent answers without thinking.
Bang! A corpse on the ground. The boss looks like he's seen a ghost and spits thick phlegm on the body in disdain.
"Is this the level of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents? How has their agency not been wiped out yet?" The boss turns away coolly, disdainful of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Matthew shook his head to banish the image from his mind and took another sip of coffee.
"Why aren't you drinking?"
Rumlow pulled out a bottle of alcohol, but before he could uncork it, Kaecilius snatched it away.
Kaecilius then bit off the bottleneck and chugged the contents.
"Is this the bite force of someone who can snap black bread with their gums?!"
Seras had just suppressed her laughter and turned back around when she saw this scene.
"Pfft! Crack! I'll f*cking—!"
Before Kaecilius could swallow the mouthful of alcohol, he sprayed it onto the floor and crushed the bottle in his hand.
Matthew tossed the two pieces of newspaper aside, flew forward, and pinned Kaecilius to the ground. His arms wrapped around Kaecilius's neck tightly like a python.
"Matthew! If you keep strangling me! I'm going to f*cking—!"
Beside them, Rumlow rolled his eyes and stood up. He pulled a two-handed great hammer, larger than a person, from his backpack and aimed it at Kaecilius on the ground.
"Kaecilius, are you sure you want to cause a scene here?"
Rumlow adjusted the angle of the great hammer, his tone mocking.
"Rumlow, be careful not to hit me."
Matthew's arms naturally transitioned into a rear naked choke, pushing Kaecilius's head out a bit.
Of course, he didn't intend to choke Kaecilius unconscious, so he left some space in his hold.
"Whose side are you guys on?!"
Kaecilius screamed hoarsely, but in terms of pure strength, he was no match for Matthew.
He wriggled like a worm.
"We are on the side of justice."
Matthew whispered into Kaecilius's ear.
Rumlow shook his head, pulled another bottle of strong liquor from his backpack, and placed it next to Kaecilius.
"Alright, jokes over. Let's talk business. We've uncovered the background of those vampires."
Rumlow put away his weapon and sat properly at the table, assuming the pose Nick Fury often held.
It had to be said—resting both hands just in front of the chin looked quite intimidating, provided one's face wasn't too harmless-looking.
"F*ck!"
Kaecilius broke free from Matthew's control and cursed angrily.
Then he grabbed the bottle, restrained himself enough to open it like a normal person, and chugged it down.
"Where are those guys?"
Matthew slowly brushed non-existent dust from his clothes, straightening his attire as he spoke.
"Heading toward London right now. Who knows when they'll arrive."
Rumlow waved his hand. He had heard this from Steve, who was currently on the roof talking to Nick Fury.
"Don't tell me the specific target. Just tell me who to chop!"
Kaecilius slammed the empty bottle onto the table with a pa, shouting boisterously.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!