We walked toward the guardian and he looked over at us. He smiled at Lilith and Alice then noticed me with them. They waved at the guardian and he waved back.
The guardian was a man with white hair, blood red eyes, and wore a black cross earring on his left ear. He had a strong aura around him, it was powerful yet comforting.
"I see you have a new playmate. A human I suppose?" The guardian asked.
"Astaroth, you know we aren't gonna bring a human here~ This is Ryan. We sired him, but he has freewill unlike the other guy." Lilith said and smiled.
"Ryan." Astaroth said and sniffed me. "He smells like blood...I can sense Ruinous energy from him. You said you sired him huh? That means one of you are a Ghoul."
"That would be me." Lilith said. "But we both sired him."
"Both of you? No wonder his energy is so strong...Ryan how do you like being one of us so far?" Astaroth asked.
"I hate it." I said.
Alice nervously laughed and held my arm. "Ahh Ryan!~ Such a jokester!~"
"I'm dead fucking serious. This has to be the worst experience I've ever had in my entire life and it's something I can't turn back. If I knew it would be this bad, I wouldn't have agreed to this." I said.
"I can understand your plight, however the effects you feel will not last forever. You need need to learn self control. Once we get out lessons going, you'll start to feel better. To start we need to find out your ability." Astaroth said.
"My ability? How will you find that out?" I asked.
"Through training. You see my ability is Holy Energy. Entities like us are naturally weaker in the presence of Holy Energy, but with my ability I'm immune to that and can even manipulate said energies. Lilith is similar in this instance." Astaroth said.
"Mhm!~ I have Light Manipulation as my ability!~" Lilith said and smiled.
"What about you Alice?" I asked and looked at her.
"I am the opposite of Lilith having Darkness Manipulation. Together we are able to fuse into one being and control Light and Darkness. And we actually help each other a lot even when separated." Alice said and held her arms.
"Right. On top of being vampires we all have our own abilities. Now we need to find out what you have." Astaroth said and walked by me. "Follow me."
I followed Astaroth and noticed we were walking to the battle zone of the building. Astaroth stopped walking and turned to look at me. I watched him and crossed my arms. The other vampires watched and looked at us. Alice and Lilith joined the crowd and watched as well.
"What were you before becoming a vampire, Ryan?" Astaroth asked.
"I was a Detective...and a Supernatural Hunter, but I didn't become a Vampire. I am a Ghoul." I said and looked at Astaroth. I heard the gossips of the Vampires.
"He didn't harm Lilith or Alice..?" A vampire said.
"Maybe humans aren't so bad.." Another said.
"A Supernatural Hunter...you showed Alice and Lilith mercy." Astaroth said.
"He helped us the first day we met and even allowed us to turn him into one of us despite the beginning of his new life not being so great." Alice said.
"But we will stay by him all the way! We want him as the head of our Bloodline!" Lilith said and smiled.
Astaroth nodded and smiled. "Right, but first we need to make sure he's ready. Will you show us your power, Ryan?"
"I uh...can't make it happen at will." I said.
"Sure you can. All you need to do is allow that monster inside to roam free. Don't be afraid of becoming Feral. It's why we are training. You can do it, Ryan." Astaroth said.
I grunted softly and closed my eyes. I began trying to awaken my inner power.
_____
I noticed myself appear in a dark domain and ahead of me was a gate keeping my inner monster inside. A light shined and revealed a man sitting on a throne on the other side of the gate.
"Between Two Sides...Between Two Fates. Between Two Choices." The other me said.
The other me had black hair as opposed to my brown hair and his eyes were silver like mine would become when I release the beast from his cage. His tentacles formed behind him and formed together to create a tail.
"Hametsu. That is the name of our power, Human." The other me said and stood up. He walked over to the gate as I did. "It evolves into Mokushiro at full power."
"How would you know when you were just created yesterday?" I asked.
"Wrong. I have always been here. Every human has a monster within them...There are many Monsters out there in this world. Vampires and Ghouls are monsters yes, but the worst kind of Monsters look just like...you." The other me said.
I stared at him and watched him turn around. "What do you mean..?"
"You know what I mean. Humans...are just as much of a Monster as we are. You are a special case as you don't seem to act like a Monster until you release me. So tell me, why do you keep me locked inside? You are no longer human." The other me said.
"I am Human." I said and placed my hand on the gate.
The other me smirked and looked back. "You're Human? No you only wish you were still human. Face reality, Ryan."
I watched him turn around and his scleras became black then he took the seal off the gate. I stepped back and noticed the gate slowly disappearing.
"You only live the illusion that you are human when you're not accessing my power. You play the illusion of a human, but the truth is you're no longer human. You're a Vampiric Ghoul now." The other me said and held his hand out toward me.
I looked at his hand then back at him.
"And yet, I sympathize with you. You can still play human and go unnoticed unlike the others. If you wish to be a Human, you must betray Lilith and Alice and walk away from me. If you wish to go with them...take my hand and become what you are meant to become now." The other me said.
I looked back and noticed the door opening then revealed a bright light. I looked back at the other me and remembered what Alice and Lilith said about the Supernatural Hunters, but Altro and Ivory were important to me as well.
"Can I save...other humans?" I asked.
"This is your story, but you must make an important decision. After this choice, anything you wish to do...will be in your hands." The other me said.
I took one last moment to think about it. 'If I walk away, I won't be able to be with Alice nor Lilith again. If I stay, the Commander will certainly kill me...but maybe I can save Altro and Ivory...I can't hurt them...'
After thinking about it for a while, I took the hand of my other side and he chuckled.
"A wise choice.." He said and his body shined and became energy particles. The energy went into my body. "From this point on...whatever decisions you make will be on you..."
_____
I opened my eyes and they shined silver. My tentacles formed on my lower back and my ruinous energy surrounded my body. I grunted as I tried to maintain control.
"This destructive energy...those eyes...No doubt about it. Your ability is called Hametsu also known as Ruinous Energy. Your power revolves around Destruction, but you also hold Ruinous Energy. That Monster inside seeks destruction. Your power is dangerous, but with proper training, you'll be able to master it in no time." Astaroth said and smiled.
I nodded and noticed Astaroth toss me an tiny orb shaped consumable. I looked at it and noticed it was blood red. "What is this?"
"Blood Candy. As we are, we all need flesh and blood to sustain ourselves whether it be flesh and blood from humans or our own kind. The Alucard Bloodline isn't the only family to exist, but it's amongst the most powerful as we are also battling against our rival Bloodline, the Dracula Bloodline." Astaroth explained.
I nodded and ate the Blood Candy. I began to calm down and exhaled. "Alright."
"Let's get to training." Astaroth said.
_____
Altro drove down the street and followed the GPS. "The Alucard Division...Alucard. Isn't that the name of a famous vampire?"
"Lysander Alucard. Yeah, the man who sired half the population of America to combat Supernatural Hunters. His wife Narcisa Alucard helped in that task. Commander told me that Alice and Lilith are the children of Lysander and Narcisa. They are in need of a new leader as their old leader is dying so they are probably using Ryan for that." Ivory said.
"We can't allow that to happen. I want to talk to Ryan again though...I want to try and talk some sense into him and tell him the way things have to be. Humans and Monsters can not coexist..." Altro said and sighed.
"We both do...but we can't. Ryan's long gone...All there's left of him is a Ghoul and a distant memory of what he used to be. The moment he met Alice and Lilith...his neighbors...the moment we caught that man and discovered he had broken ribs...the moment he took them in, was the moment we lost him..." Ivory said and ashed her cigarette out the window.
Altro stopped his car and sighed softly. "I know, but it wouldn't hurt to try..."
They both got out of the car and walked toward the entrance where there were two Vampire Guards blocking the entrance of the Alucard District.
The Vampires noticed Altro and Ivory.
"Alpha. Combat mode." Ivory said and her second drone transformed into a katana and she grabbed it.
"Halt! State your business!" The first Vampire said and stopped the two.
Altro swung his coat backwards then his eyes shined. He used a burst of speed to appear in front of the first Vampire and sliced her head off. The second vampire was surprised then rushed to attack Altro, but Ivory kicked him back then her katana became surrounded by Holy Energy and she decapitated his head off.
The warning sirens went off as the two guards were killed.
Astaroth and I stopped training as we heard the sirens. Lilith and Alice looked around, hearing the sirens as well. Coco and Scout howled and barked aggressively.
{Warning! Supernatural Hunters have entered Alucard District! Please take caution and retreat to a safe area!}
The Vampires scattered into swarms of bats then retreated to safe areas. I walked to a window and looked out then noticed Altro and Ivory walking into the main area of the city.
"Altro...Ivory..." I said and placed my hands on the window.
"They are Supernatural Hunters! We need to eliminate them!" Lilith said and noticed me hold my arm out.
"No let me talk to them first..." I said. "Maybe I can...change their minds.."
"Ryan, you—" Alice started but Astaroth stopped her.
I walked outside and made my way toward them. "Altro! Ivory!"
They stopped and looked at me. Their eyes widened as they noticed my appearance.
"R-Ryan..?" Ivory asked in disbelief.
My tentacles disappeared and I looked at the two, giving them a sad smile. I walked toward them and noticed them step back. "What's wrong?"
"Commander...was right. You...you are a monster now.." Ivory said with tears in her eyes.
"Please don't do this to me...I have thought about you two constantly, please...I don't want to lose you two. Altro, middle school man...I am still the same me, Monster or Not.." I said softly.
Altro closed his eyes and lowered his head.
"Ivory, I helped you build Beta and Alpha...I took you on dates, please don't do this...Just turn back and we all can work something out. We don't need to be enemies." I said and took a step closer.
Lilith and Alice watched, worriedly. They didn't want to see me getting hurt again...especially not by two people I still cared about.
"I promise you two I can explain everything. I'm still in shock about Officer Jenkins as well, I wish I hadn't, you know that. You both know I wouldn't dare attack someone like that..." I said.
Ivory lowered her head and tears rolled down her cheek. "Beta...Slayer Mode.."
"Ivory!" I said in shock.
"I'm sorry..." Ivory said and took a deep breath. She aimed her rifle at me. "I am just following orders..."
"Altro sto—" I started and noticed he had pointed his weapon at me as well.
"I love you like a brother, Ryan...You know that. I love you bro, but...in this world...Monsters and Humans can not coexist..." Altro said.
I closed my eyes and lowered my head.
"I tried to tell you...Humans are monsters..." My other side said to me.
I opened my eyes and they shined silver. My wings emerged from my back and I looked up.
"Now you're stuck between two more choices...Kill Altro and Ivory...or spare them..." My other side said and chuckled. "I say kill them. Look how easily they raised their weapons against you. They made up their minds to end your life. If you show mercy...it will cost you.."
"So this is how it's going to go...You two would rather kill me than to hear my side of the story?" I asked.
"Your side doesn't matter when the answer is in front of us... I'm sorry Ryan...a mission is a mission." Ivory said and fired a beam of light at me.
The beam was deflected and both Altro and Ivory looked surprised. Astaroth stood in front of me and his eyes shined. Lilith and Alice hurried to my aid then held my arms.
"And you call us the monsters..? Tch...a friend was just trying to talk and you try to kill him? Pathetic." Astaroth said.
Altro got prepared for battle. "Commencing battle..."
Ivory got ready as well. "Commander Wayne and Commander Trixie should be here soon. Once they get here, you're all finished."
"Some friends right? You'd think they would be more considerate. This is reality now, Ryan." My other side said and chuckled then disappeared.
"Let's get started.." I said and my eyes shined.
[Case: To Be Continued.]