III

III

 

Ray Blunt arrived at Brussels Central Station, Gare Central, exactly at six o'clock. The gaslights had just been lit. People on their way home began to flood in.

"What the hell is he thinking, getting a police inspector to do these menial chores?" Blunt grumbled to the middle-aged man wearing a similar uniform who was walking next to him. Blunts gaze darted around the station like a jumpy mouse. "Even if it is Count of Bruges, he should have sent someone else. This is just too much from Darsus. This just makes a mockery of my position."

"I wouldn't think too much about it. I'm sure His Excellency simply puts faith in your abilities as an inspector."

The two men approached the VIP entrance. The entrance had been installed so important visitors could be protected from the crowds, media, and potential terrorists. They showed their identity cards and went inside.

The middle-aged man, Marlet, tried to placate his superior: "I'm sure that His Excellency wanted to send a police inspector to show Count of Bruges that he was being as careful as possible. This is a good opportunity for His Eminence to get close to Count of Bruges. Right?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps he intends Bruges to inherit Count Four. In that case, meeting and greeting him might not be such a bad thing for me after all." Blunt had the grin of a rat that had glimpsed some discarded food. With renewed vigor, Blunt climbed the empty stairs. The two police officers reached the platform just as the specially commissioned train pulled into view. The platform was empty of even station staff

"Welcome to Brussels, Your Eminence Granwelle." "Thank you for coming to meet me," the young man stepping off the train replied politely. He was wearing a simple suit. His black hair was parted to the side, and he wore a pair of silver-rimmed spectacles. He looked like a capable but an inconspicuous official. If it hadn't been for the special train just for him and the ten formidable men that followed him, he could have been easily mistaken for a regular businessman on his way home.

Count of Bruges Gie de Granwelle looked up and addressed the men in front of him: "You must be Inspector Blunt. It is good to meet you. And who is this?"

"This is Chief Superintendant Marlet."

"Your Excellency. It's a pleasure. May I take your cases?" Marlet smiled and drew closer to the second member of Count Four. He reached his hand out to take the briefcase that Gie was holding, but Gie was not going to let it go.

"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern. I would like to make haste to Count of Brussels, though. Will you take me to him?"

"Of course! We have a limousine waiting outside. We will take you to the airport."

The two police officers set off with purpose. They walked down the long corridor to the ticket barrier. The young vampire turned his eyes to the sky.

"You arrived earlier than we expected. We thought that you would come sometime after sunset."

"I didn't want to make it too late. That would be an insult to Count of Brussels." Gie replied. "Is there a problem with me coming so early?"

"Problem?! Not at all! It's just that this isn't the best time. There will be lots of commuters going home after a day's work, so the streets will be busy. We just don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"Ah, that's just how I wanted it. I was hoping that the streets would be busy."

Count of Bruges was the youngest of Count Four, but he was known as a calm and modest man. But his answer to Blunt showed that this young man was still the boss of a criminal organization.

"This Vatican assassin is still in hiding in Brussels. There is a possibility that I may be attacked. I think it necessary that there be plenty of human shields if that is the case."

"Oh my, Your Excellency! You are very clever," Marlet said in an impressed but exaggerated tone. "You really do have a good eye for strategy! I heard that you were a pillar of Count Four. They weren't wrong!"

"Odd." Gie was paying no attention to the superintendant as he babbled about Gie's greatness. Instead, Gie was looking at the empty ticket gates. "Why are there no Terran here?"

"Huh?" The two police officers had been too caught up in the greatness of the person whom they had come to meet to notice what had been going on around them. Blunt and Marlet opened their eyes wide when they saw. The entrance to the station, which had been packed with commuters only a few moments ago when they'd arrived, was now deadly silent. There was a police officer and a scruffy homeless man with a cart in the distance, but apart from that, the place was empty. There were no notices at the ticket gate. It was like they were in the wrong place.

"Huh? Marlet? This is strange..."

"Let's ask someone. Hey! Officer!" As his superior checked the area, Marlet called out to a young police officer who was arguing with the dirty homeless man. The other police officer looked up, irritated at first, but when he realized that it was the inspector himself, he forgot about the homeless man and ran over.

"Superintendent Blunt! Inspector Marlet! What are you doing here?!"

"Ah just a small duty." Blunt cleared his throat. "It doesn't matter about that. What is going on? Why is there no one here?"

"Huh? You didn't hear?" The police officer was now eyeing his superior suspiciously. He continued in a whisper: "Just a few moments ago, the Allied Government received a warning from the international terrorist, Hugue de Watteau. Apparently, there is an attack planned on central station... So, all passengers and staff have been evacuated. Please come this way. It's dangerous."

"A warning from Wa-Watteau?!" Marlet's eyes were wide open. Ignoring the tension of Bruges' entourage and the police inspector, he grabbed this young police officer by his collar and screamed: "What are you saying?! Why didn't you tell me something this important?!"

"But the official said..." The duty officer grimaced as Marlet's spit covered his face like bullets. "It was urgent, and we didn't want it to get out that it was Watteau, as it would cause a massive panic at the council."

"Ugh." Marlet bit his lip. "The warning was a trap! The station is safe! Get all the passengers back in here!"

Blunt was concerned. He could feel Count of Bruges and his entourage watching the scene from behind him. The superintendent was swinging his arms wildly. He then tried to make himself look capable. "Get officers in here! Watteau may be in the vicinity. Don't leave any stone unturned!"

"Huh?" The duty officer was now confused by Marlet's seemingly contradictory exclamations. At first, the station was safe; now, Watteau might be near. The officer had no idea what was going on.

A husky voice spoke from behind the police officer: "Officer... May I go?" When had the homeless man approached them? It was the same man that the duty officer had been arguing with when Count of Bruges and his bodyguards had entered the ticket gate area. He was probably just a bum, hoarding newspapers and magazines on his large cart. He looked up at the men from under his hood. "If you're finished with me, I'd like to get on my way."

The officer swung round, enraged that his conversation had been interrupted. "Are you still here?! Get out of my face!"

"But shouldn't you inform the superior of what I told you? The suspicious man I saw? His name was Hugue de Watteau. The infamous terrorist."

"Wait there, you..."

Gie and his entourage had not ventured to say a word while the humans spoke, but now, he decided to intervene. Gie glanced over the cart that the homeless man was pushing. "Show us what is in that cart. And take off your hood. Show your face," Gie said firmly.

"Oh my, Count..." Marlet was confused at the vampire's sudden demands. He smiled kindly, though. "What would you want with this filthy homeless man?"

"You haven't noticed, Inspector?" Gie muttered, ignoring Marlet's insipid smile. Gie pushed his glasses up his nose and continued: "The cart is full of newspapers, but the dates are all different. That's odd, don't you think?"

What Gie was saying was entirely true, but there was no response from the people standing around the ticket gate. To be more precise, they couldn't respond. In a second, the homeless man moved with lightning-fast speed.

"HUH?!"

The   police   officers   heard   the   sound of metal   slicing through flesh.

"Count of Bruges?!"

A great deal of liquid hit the floor.

The sword had pierced Gie's chest.

"Argh." He was skewered. He reached his hands out to the youth who was dressed as a homeless man. He swiped with his sharp fingernails at the hood. "Wa-Watteau?!"

The last words Count of Bruges managed were the name of his attacker. The blood now leaking from his skewed heart burst from him. It gushed out like a waterfall. A wound like a stab to the heart was not instant death for a Methuselah. There was an extraordinary amount of noise as the blood gushed out of its soulless body.

"Bru-Bruges?!"

"Your Excellency?!"

"Get out the way, Terran!"

The scream and the arm that shoved Marlet and Blunt aside didn't belong to the swordsman. But the sight did make the swordsman grin. It was one of the black-suited men who had been behind Gie. "Vatican scum! I won't let you out of here alive!"

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" He kicked at the dead vampire's arm. "And this one..."

Gie covered his face with his hands. It looked a little strange, considering the situation he was in.

"I'll kill every one of you here. I won't let a single one of you go alive!" Hugue said.

"You will not disrespect me!" The manic vampire reached out his claws in an attempt to tear up the Terran before him.

But this swordsman knew no fear. His expression stayed brazen. He smirked. "You're the ones who are disrespectful. Come on, Rodenbach."

In the next moment, there was a huge white cloud of smoke. The young police officer had thrown a match on the newspaper cart, releasing an explosion. The young officer had then pushed the cart and its white smoke at the vampires.

"Crap! Gas!" one of the vampires yelled as they all desperately tried to cover their mouths. The fire had released a powerful tear gas that quickly flooded the area. The gas affected everyone's breathing and sight, so it was very effective. The chemical was very strong and would knock a normal man unconscious. The vampires screamed.

"Hmm, vampires are pathetic." Hugue grinned evilly under his gasmask. Neither Gie nor his men had put up much resistance. It was a bit of a disappointment, considering the preparation that had gone into this.

"Hugue, what are you doing?! Let's get out of here!" Rodenbach, still in his police uniform, yelled at the sneering Hugue. He pulled out his pistols and indicated that they should get a move on. "There's only twenty seconds of gas. We should get out of here before then."

"Twenty seconds, you say?" Hugue's eyes glinted at the sight of the suffering vampires. The plan had been to run when the gas was released, but considering the state that the vampires were in, Hugue didn't see any point in hurrying. "Rodenbach, change of plans. Let's kill them."

"Hugue?!" Rodenbach tried to stop his bold but foolish companion. However, his admonishment didn't reach Hugue's ears. His sword unsheathed, he headed into the smoke and raced toward the spluttering black vampire.

"St-stop it Hugue! Leave them! Let's get out of here!"

"If we kill them, we don't have to run away," the swordsman muttered as he approached the vampire in his blind spot. The vampire finally noticed the approaching danger. Hugue raised his sword, ready to make the final blow. "I'll start with you. Die, vampire!"

The flash of light formed a perfect arc. If the vampire hadn't raised his arm in surprise, his skull would have been sliced in two. Instead of sacrificing his face, he sacrificed his right arm. Blood gushed out in a huge torrent. The swordsman pulled his sword around and moved it up in the same arc as before, catching the vampire's left arm and severing it at the elbow.

"This is it for you." Hugue looked down at the armless vampire and smirked. His victim looked up and saw the fires of hell shining in the man's eyes.

Then there was a sudden change.

"What?!"

The vampire was no longer looking his death in the face. The swordsman was just readying himself to decapitate the man in front of him when he let out a squeak. He hadn't been attacked. Yes, the other vampires had managed to recover themselves in the quickly thinning smoke. The swordsman's face was screwed up at a threat other than them, though.

"Crap. Not now."

Hugue grasped at his right arm, which had started to shake violently. That wasn't all: it was as if his muscles had a life of their own and were now squirming.

"Stop this!"

"Hu-Hugue! Behind you!" Rodenbach's warning was just a moment too late. A flash of light moved across Hugue's vision. The claws of a female vampire cut through the air at a speed faster than the human eye could process. Her target was the side of Hugue's face.

"Ngh?!"

If his reaction had been just a few seconds later, his face would have been sliced straight off. Instead, he had moved his right arm up reflexively. There was now a gaping hole in his arm, revealing his impressive man-made muscles. There were a few sparks; the fingers lost their power. Hugue's long-sword dropped to the ground.

"DIE. TERRAN!"

In a crude twist of fate, the tables had turned on Hugue. He found his words being spat back at him. The scowling vampire's claws came at him from the left this time. Even if he tried to swing the scabbard that was still clutched in his left hand, it wouldn't have done any good. He was caught entirely off-guard.

Seeing that Hugue was having problems, the female vampire took a swing at him with both arms. "This is it for you."

He was going to be killed. He couldn't defend himself.

"Hugue!" A shadow pushed between the swordsman and the vampire.

"Ro-Rodenbach?!"

The two claws were struck in Rodenbach's back, severing several blood vessels. Crimson liquid oozed out of him like flowing red hair.

"Hugue! Get out of here!" The young man's face was covered in blood; more blood oozed out of him as he spoke. "Hugue. Get out of here."

There was the sound of gunshots. Two bullets hit the female vampire at close range. The two claws in Rodenbach's back disappeared in that instant, but a huge torrent of blood replaced them.

"Rodenbach."

"Don't touch me!" Rodenbach screamed when Hugue instinctively stepped forward to hold him.

Like the sun piercing through clouds, little fires were now slowly becoming visible around the tear gas. Rodenbach aimed his pistols at the shapes near the lights. His bloodied face glanced over his shoulder and looked at Hugue. A faint smile formed on his lips. "My time has come. You have to go, Hugue."

"Don't be an idiot! What are you saying?!" Hugue's right arm hung limp and powerless at his side. It looked as if it were close to dropping off. Hugue gritted his teeth in pain and screamed at his friend: "You're the one who should be running! Leave me!"

"Not much of me left to run." Blood was pouring out of his severed artery. Rodenbach was clearly in pain, but still, he smiled. He leaned against the wall and used his pistols to keep the vampires back. "I can't run anymore, and even if I did get away, there's no helping me now. I'm sorry, Hugue. You have to go alone now." "But, I..."

"You must understand, Hugue." The young man turned to look at Hugue again. Hugue was older than him, but somehow, the youth seemed to have gained years in this moment. Each thing he said cut straight through to Hugue's heart: "Darsus is still alive. If we both die here, who will defeat him? Please, Hugue. Don't let me die in vain."

Hugue couldn't say anything now. He sighed and was silent for a moment before replying, "I'll go." Hugue could barely get the words out. "I'll go. I'll defeat Darsus. I'm sorry, George."

"I'll leave it to you, then. You leave this to me," the young man said as blood continued to trickle from his mouth. Finally, he managed a light smile. The two guns were shaking in his hands. He turned back once again and left Hugue with a final thought: "See you friend. Farewell."

His parting words were almost obliterated by the sound of gunshots.