Chapter 55:
– Valerie –
Night had descended. I stood just outside the manor, fiddling nervously with the pockets of my red leather jacket.
"I feel like this might be a really bad idea," I muttered to no one in particular, though I knew full well everyone could hear me. "But... I kind of want to see what happens."
Alucard, my vampire father, was cackling in delight. In his gloved hand, he held a shiny, pulsing green orb—the Boosted Gear. And right now, it was glowing like it had just found its forever home in the hands of the most unhinged bastard it could possibly choose.
From within the orb, Ddraig's voice erupted, full of manic glee. "Valerie! Maybe you're not so bad after all! You're about to give me the best host in history—Dracula himself! We're gonna fuck up so much shit together! HAHAHAHAAA, Albion is so screwed!"
"Dracula?" Alucard grinned, the corners of his mouth curling wide with madness. "No, no, my dear dragon... it's just Alucard. But yes—this is the greatest!"
"Fuck yeah, it is!" Ddraig bellowed. The two of them—vampire and ancient dragon—were already vibing like war buddies reunited.
I wondered if they ever met when Ddraig was still alive?
I rubbed at my temple, watching them like one might watch a slow-motion train crash. Gabriel had asked me—kindly—not to give the Boosted Gear to Alucard. She'd asked me back in Kuoh, with those sweet blue eyes and that breathy voice that made me want to do anything she asked.
But after the long, soul-searching talk with my newly adopted vampire mom, Selene, these past few hours I'd made up my mind.
No more letting people boss me around!
Except Integra...
Because she was still terrifying, despite being just a regular human woman. And she also paid for all our shit.
"You made the right call," Selene said, placing a calm, steadying hand on my shoulder. "It'll be safer with him. Most gods already piss themselves when they hear his name. Only the truly crazy ones will try to attack him over it, which is what he wants I'm pretty sure..."
"...Yeah, it was either give it to him or one of my girlfriends, and frankly? I don't want the dragon perving on me while I'm hooking up with them."
Ddraig let out an exaggerated, mock-offended gasp from inside the orb. "I would never! Well, okay, maybe. Depends on the girlfriend. If you ever hooked up with a female dragon I'd probably watch... Unless it's Tiamat..." His voice shivered for some reason at her name.
I wondered what was up with that? Scorned lover perhaps?
Also I was a bit annoyed that he'd admit to perving on me given the chance!
Before I could even smack the damn orb out of my father's hand, Bellatrix strutted over, hips swaying with every unapologetic step. "Oh, please," she drawled, lips curling into a smug, wicked grin. "I have no problem with the dragon watching while my master Alucard pounds me into the sheets. In fact, I love it when people watch."
Selene and I both coughed loudly at the same time.
Bellatrix just grinned wider, clearly satisfied with our discomfort.
Yep. Alucard's slave-witch-maid, and Serena's sister-wife was... a lot. If you weren't used to her particular brand of crazy. Or really, I'm pretty sure both she and Selene were crazy considering how obviously in love they were with Alucard. I just liked to pretend Selene was the more normal of the two. Even though she was hundreds of years old and dressed in tight leather all the time.
I very deliberately shifted my thoughts elsewhere. I did not want to imagine whatever unholy rituals went on in their bedroom with the three of them…
Alucard's jaw unhinged with a wet, audible crack, revealing a row of impossibly sharp fangs. He grinned wide—manic and amused—as he lifted the glowing green orb above his head.
I just knew this was going to be ridiculous.
Ddraig, who'd been howling with laughter a second ago, suddenly fell silent. "Hey, hey, wait! You don't have to gobble me up, Alucard!" Ddraig's voice called out, panicked now. "You can just shove me into your chest. I'll merge with your soul, all nice and smooth..."
Alucard chuckled low in his throat. "No," he replied with perverse joy, "it's more fun this way."
And then, with no hesitation at all, he shoved the Boosted Gear directly into his mouth.
The orb bulged through his throat for a moment, glowing beneath the skin, before he tilted his head back and took a long, slow...
Gulp!
It vanished into his bottomless supernatural stomach.
I winced. "That was... kind of gross," I muttered. "And somehow, completely on-brand for Alucard."
Gasper, my sweet, awkward little brother, stepped forward, beaming with excitement. "Congratulations, Dad! You've got a Sacred Gear now!" Alucard wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his glove, looking extremely pleased with himself. Gasper glanced at me next with excitement. "Now every member of our family has a Sacred Gear!"
I tilted my head, thinking about it. He was right.
Me, with the Sephiroth Graal. Gasper with the Forbidden Balor view. And now Alucard, with the infamous Boosted Gear living inside his gut.
That made us... one terrifyingly overpowered family. And then we were all Nosferatu on top of that...
And if Selene—and ugh, even Bellatrix, I guess—did end up actually marrying my father, we'd need to find them Gears, too. At least now that I knew I could extract Sacred Gears by drinking the blood of gear holders, it was a doable task.
Just had to find the evil ones. Because yeah, I'm a monster—but I'm not that kind of monster. I wouldn't go after innocent gear holders. Not on purpose, anyway. That perverted boy Issei Hyoudou was not my fault!
I looked back at Alucard just in time to see his left hand shift and twist. The flesh morphed, bones cracking as it reshaped itself into a massive crimson gauntlet. Bright green gems lit up along its surface—the unmistakable manifestation of the Boosted Gear.
Ddraig groaned. "Oh my God. That was disgusting," the dragon complained. "Do you even know what it's like inside your stomach?!"
Alucard only laughed, clearly enjoying every second. "Yeah," he said. "I ate a bunch of gang members earlier. Half of them were more drugs than blood..." Then he casually lifted his sunglasses and shot me a wink. "Don't tell Integra."
I rolled my eyes. "You know she's going to find out, right?"
He shrugged, utterly unbothered.
– Gasper –
Gasper was happy. Really, genuinely, maybe even stupidly happy.
It was a feeling he wasn't used to, not for this long and not so completely. Happiness for him had usually come in small doses: a quiet moment, a pat on the head, a book he wasn't interrupted reading. But this? This was something else.
He thought he had found a family when Rias Gremory resurrected him, gave him a place, and told him he mattered. For a time, it had felt like he belonged. Maybe, if things had gone differently, it could've turned into something more. And maybe it still might in the future if he actually married her or something---
But now?
Now he had a real family!
He had a father—Alucard—who was a terrifying legend, a world-ending monster, and somehow still a chill gamer dad who trash-talked noobs online and gave surprisingly good hugs. Alucard didn't care what Gasper wore, didn't raise an eyebrow at the lace, skirts, or ribbons. He just ruffled Gasper's hair and called Gasper his son.
That was all Gasper ever really wanted—to be accepted.
And Valerie—his beautiful, fearsome, protective big sister—was finally back in his life. For years, he'd mourned her in secret, convinced their twisted family, the Tepes clan, had killed her like so many other half-bloods.
But she'd survived. She'd grown into something glorious!
And she'd come for him. She never forgot him either!
And now they had a new ife together again, although he knew nothing about this new life with the Hellsing Organization was going to be easy. Gasper knew that. He wasn't stupid. They hunted monsters—real monsters—not the kind from cartoons. Vampires. Werewolves. Devils.
Scary things... Which he supposed was an odd thing to think because he was one of those things too.
But he was stronger now. He wasn't hiding in a dark room anymore, terrified of himself. He had control over his Sacred Gear at last. He could stop time—not by accident, but when he wanted to.
And the London weather? Honestly, it was already way better too. Always cloudy, rarely sunny. The sky matched his comfort zone. Unlike Japan's blazing, soul-scorching sun that seemed hell-bent on cooking him alive. He might be a dhampir, immune to most of the sun's worst effects, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Valerie hated it too. He'd even heard her muttering earlier about wanting to take her girlfriends to the beach once the weather warmed up, something about a bikini day with lots of drinks called sex on the beach...
Gasper blushed hard just thinking about it. Which—of course—led his brain to a treacherous place. Would I look okay in a bikini? he thought before rapidly shaking his head like a dog flinging off water. Nope. Nope, nope, no thank you. 'I'm not ready to wear something like that in front of other people...' he blushed to himself.
His frantic thoughts were cut short when he noticed Alucard grinning at him. And at Valerie.
Alucard's grin widened, flashing far too many teeth. "Now that I've got some new upgrades, I think it's time for a test."
Valerie narrowed her eyes. "What kind of test?"
Alucard lifted his left hand. The Boosted Gear gleamed on his arm. "The fun kind," he said simply. "Let's have an epic fight."
Gasper froze. "EEEEEeeeeeeehhhh?"
"BOOST!" the Sacred Gear roared.
The air thickened instantly. The casual aura his father always gave off turned suffocating, like standing next to a black hole. Gasper's heart stuttered in his chest. That was one boost. One. How much stronger could Alucard get now? He started trembling before he realized it. His legs felt like overcooked noodles.
Then Valerie stepped forward and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. He looked up. She was smirking. "Don't worry, Gasper," she said, eyes blazing. "We've got this. Let's kick this old man's teeth in."
Gasper swallowed, nodded. One breath. Another. Okay. "O-Okay, Valerie," he stammered, straightening his back. "W-We've got this..."
– Valerie –
"WE DO NOT HAVE THIS!" I screamed in sheer panic, sprinting across the back lawn of Hellsing Manor, dodging what could only be described as reality-breaking gunfire. Bullets slammed into the earth, sending huge chunks of stone and dirt into the air like miniature explosions. The whole damn yard looked like a battlefield by now.
Alucard—our insane, gun-happy father—was cackling with unholy glee as he fired round after round. Somehow, and I had no idea how, he'd figured out how to channel the Boosted Gear's power into his bullets, which meant every shot was now a goddamn cannon blast. The lawn didn't stand a chance.
Gasper wasn't doing much better. My adorable, terrified little brother was sprinting in zigzags, screaming at the top of his lungs. He was trying to use his Balance Breaker to freeze Alucard in place, but it was no use. His time-stop abilities had zero effect. Not even a pause.
That wasn't Gasper's fault, though. I mean, sure, he lacked real battle experience, and yeah, that made him kind of useless in this exact moment—but I wasn't going to tell him that. Mostly because I was too busy screaming myself.
I'd already tried splashing holy water from the Blessed Grail right into Alucard's smug face. Normally, that would've vaporized any other vampire within seconds. But Alucard? He just chuckled and muttered, "That tickles."
The only thing keeping me sane was knowing for certain he was intentionally missing. His aim was perfect—too perfect. He could've vaporized both of us by now, but he didn't. That much was clear when one bullet slammed into the ground directly in front of me, sending me flying ass-over-tits.
"EEP!"
I hit the ground with a hard thud, landing flat on my back, long blonde hair flopping messily over my face. A puff of dirt filled my nose as I let out an annoyed huff and blew strands of hair away. I stared up into the cloudy moonlight with a deep sigh, the chaos quieting just enough to signal the end of Alucard's fun.
Footsteps crunched toward me. Then came the low, amused voice. "You did well, daughter," Alucard said as he leaned over me, red eyes glowing under his yellow-tinted sunglasses.
"It sure didn't feel like it," I muttered, dragging myself up to sit with a groan. The only idea I had in my head was I could have tried throwing Fiendfire at Alucard or something. But I also might have lost control of it and burned down half of Hellsing's recently repaired mansion, which would have been a big waste, and I would have gotten absolutely beaten up by Integra if I had tried that…
Oh hey, I'm pretty sure she was watching now from the window and already fuming at the damage we—and by we I mean Alucard—did to the yard. I quickly looked away, pretending I didn't see her. Alucard would have to try and calm her down later. He was actually pretty good at that.
My clothes were ruined, my back ached, and my favorite red jacket was yet again shredded. I seriously needed to enchant my wardrobe with something more durable. No matter what protection spells my sexy older maid Narcissa put on these things, combat always turned them into ruined rags.
"That's actually better than I would've done," Selene called from the sidelines. Her voice held genuine pride, which made me blink in surprise.
"Really?"
She nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. "And Bellatrix would've died instantly…"
"I would not!" Bellatrix snapped, pouting as she slapped Selene's arm. "I would've gotten at least a couple spells off before being absolutely obliterated. And then—" Her eyes glazed slightly, voice dipping into something breathy and dark, "—he would tear off my clothes and take me in front of everyone."
Beside me, Gasper let out a squeak of embarrassment for that comment.
I quickly averted my gaze and stood up, dusting myself off before glancing back at Alucard. "Alright then, Dad. What could I have done better? How do I close the gap and reach true high-tier, ultimate-class monster girl level?"
He smiled that lazy, bloodthirsty smile. "You're already more powerful than you think, Valerie. What you need now is a repertoire. More abilities. More tools in your arsenal. You'll get what you need on your trip to Hell. To heal that buff devil's sleeping mother."
"You mean Sairaorg?" I wasn't surprised Alucard didn't bother remembering the guy's name. I crossed my arms beneath my chest. "And what exactly do you mean by 'I'll get more power there'?" How would I get more power in the Underworld?
His answer was obvious in hindsight. "Drink devil blood."
I frowned. "I've already drunk devil blood. From plenty of stray devils. I even drained that one member of the Phenex Clan." Neither gave me a huge power up really.
His grin widened. "If you want to evolve," he said, voice dipping into something low and ominous, "you need blood from a real devil. A direct descendant of one of the original Pillars. Not some diluted reincarnated garbage."
I blinked. Then sighed. Because of course that was what he meant. And of course, somehow, that actually made sense. "...You're going to get me killed one day, old man."
Alucard just chuckled. "It's a good thing the members of our family are hard to kill then..."
…I slipped back into the manor through the rear hall, brushing dirt and stray twigs off my jacket. The mercenaries were still stationed throughout the place like statues with guns, but more than a few of them turned to stare as I passed. Not that I blamed them. My clothes were torn, my thighs were smudged with soot, and I probably looked like I'd just walked out of a warzone.
Or maybe it was just because I was hot as fuck?
I ignored their not-so-subtle stares and followed my nose, tuning out everything except the scents I knew best.
I tracked them all to one room.
My girlfriends.
Seras Victoria sat on the edge of a velvet armchair, looking disheveled and absolutely divine. She smelled of gunpowder and dried blood—her clothes still dusted with ash and vampire gore from whatever mission Integra had just pulled her from. She hadn't even showered yet. She was the first to notice me walk in, her blue eyes lifting, gaze locking onto mine.
Her cheeks were pink, her breathing shallow and fast, and the scent of arousal hit me like a velvet punch to the senses. My own body responded instinctively. Seras and I were both vampires. Violence, blood, adrenaline—it did things to us.
"Val," she murmured, licking her lips slowly. "You're a mess."
"You should see the lawn," I quipped back, stepping closer with a teasing smile. "Alucard turned it into a crater field."
She grinned, fangs peeking slightly. "Wish I'd seen that. But..." Her voice dropped a pitch. "You look hot like that. Burned and battle-bruised."
I smirked, my eyes flicking down her still-armored figure. "Right back at you. You smell like war and blood and..."
Seras flushed darker, but didn't look away. "Like you wanna bite me?" she said, voice light but breathy.
"Always," I replied without missing a beat.
Then there was Narcissa.
Immaculate. Untouchable. Dressed in silky robes like she hadn't been outside a moment today, despite having spent the entire day shopping in London with her sister. Her long platinum hair framed her sharp, regal features as she slowly sipped from a glass of something expensive. Her eyes met mine—and her expression told me exactly what she wanted. It was the look of a woman who wanted to tie me to a bedpost and spend hours breaking me down, one wicked, torturous kiss at a time.
"You look like hell, darling," she drawled, swirling her drink lazily. "And somehow, that only makes me want to drag you to my room and make you scream until the sun rises."
I loved my life.
…And then, there was Rose.
My sweet Rose Potter. The youngest of the three, and the one who still blushed like mad when I so much as grazed her thigh. She sat curled up on the loveseat with a book in her lap, green eyes wide as I entered, her cheeks already starting to color just from the way I walked into the room.
Rose's green eyes blinked up at me as I strutted across the room with purpose, hips swaying just a little more than necessary. I took her soft hand in mine and pulled her gently to her feet. She let her book fall shut without protest, already looking flustered.
"I'm going to Hell tomorrow with my mother, Selene," I said bluntly, but with my voice low and thick with intent. "So I figured we could have some... special time together. Just the two of us."
Her blush ignited instantly, spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. She knew exactly what I meant. That was sex, if it wasn't already obvious.
And oh, I couldn't wait. Rose was still a virgin, something she didn't talk about much but wore in every bashful look and shiver when my hand wandered too far. I'd been patient—respectful even—but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it. About her. About tasting every inch of her while she whimpered my name.
Behind us, Seras and Narcissa both turned with matching looks of envy—Seras with a slightly sulky pout, and Narcissa with that signature smirk that promised she'd be collecting her turn soon enough. The downside of having multiple lovers? Jealousy. The upside? Options. I'd love to have a proper threesome—or foursome—if we could ever get the damn scheduling right.
But tonight? Tonight belonged to Rose.
Her cheeks were turning red like her namesake, her breath catching as she let me lead her away.
"Have fun, Valerie," Seras called after me with a teasing lilt.
"Break her in nice and slow," Narcissa added, raising her glass.
I just threw them a wink over my shoulder as I guided Rose out of the sitting room. "She'll be walking funny tomorrow. That's a promise."
"Valerie!" Rose whined my name in embarrassment as I dragged her back to my room, past more very confused guards and a few more flustered ones who could obviously tell what was going on judging by Rose's adorable expression.
– Zeus –
Zeus lounged on his throne, fingers drumming lazily against the gold armrest as lightning flickered and popped in the sky above the open-air chamber of Olympus. The air smelled like ozone and ego—his favorite combination. He had summoned his brother nearly ten minutes ago, and even the patience of a god had limits.
Finally, a gust of wind and a swirl of seawater spiraled onto the marble floor. Poseidon appeared, still dripping with brine, his trident in hand and his expression screaming annoyance.
"What do you want, Zeus?" Poseidon grumbled, not bothering with a bow or even basic decorum. His voice was as salty as the sea he ruled.
Zeus's eyes narrowed, golden irises flashing like distant thunderheads. The king of gods sat up straighter, his posture instantly rigid with irritation.
"Watch your tone, brother," Zeus warned, his voice low and crackling. "Or have you forgotten your place in my court?"
Poseidon rolled his eyes, water sloshing from the folds of his robes onto the gleaming floor. "I haven't forgotten anything. You just like the sound of your own threats."
Zeus gritted his teeth. Insolent bastard. He made a mental note to punish him later. Maybe arrange a few unfortunate "accidents" for some of Poseidon's demi-god brats. But for now, he had use for them.
"The Boosted Gear has awakened," Zeus said at last.
Poseidon blinked. "Again?"
"Yes," Zeus growled, his knuckles whitening. "That vile artifact. The Red Dragon Emperor's power... I felt it. Like a damned thorn under my skin. And worse—it came from England. So close to our seat of power in Olympus!"
Poseidon snorted. "Of course it did. Bloody English. So what? Let me guess—you want to send our children sniffing around as expendable scouts and sacrificial soldiers?"
"Precisely... YOUR children precisely." Zeus said, a smug grin curving his lips. "It is their honor—their purpose—to die for their gods. What else gives a pathetic mortal life meaning?"
Poseidon's jaw went tight. He didn't reply, but Zeus could feel the rage simmering beneath the surface.
Good. Let him stew. As long as he obeyed and sacrificed his own children for the glory of the gods-the glory of Zeus-then all was fine! Hopefully they'd be able to kill a fledgling Red Dragon Emperor before the new host got too powerful and became a threat to the glory of the Gods.
Even almost 100 years later… Zeus still shivered at the memory of that monstrosity.
XXX