(TPD) Chapter 42: Her Wish

Chapter 42: Her Wish

Not too far away from where the Stray Exorcists had gathered after their "successful mission", Acerola was sitting on the edge of a rooftop at least a few hundred feet in the air. Her eyes calmly sweeping over the commercial landscape around her, the undeniable look of stark boredom present on her stunning face.

"He's certainly taking his time to deal with a bunch of small fry," she murmured, looking down on the same people who were responsible for her current predicament for some reason. I guess I pushed my luck too far after all, there's no way a Devil of all people would come to a Vampire's aid merely because they were asked to do so.

Lamenting her own wishful thinking, Acerola stood up in preparation to leave, her blonde locks fluttering from a gust of passing wind.

"What's with the long face?" But all of a sudden, she heard the sound of light footsteps approaching her, followed by a voice she had grown familiar with only a short while ago. "I managed to get your fragments back."

She slowly turned around, her eyes widening as she stared blankly at the figure standing before her. A figure who was holding a large coffin in his hands with specialized chains inscribed with binding magic wrapped around it, in order to keep whatever was inside as safeguarded as possible.

Am I hallucinating? Acerola wondered internally, looking at Avalon as if he were some sort of apparition.

Avalon plopped the coffin onto the ground, examining the chains in close detail. "The seal is imbued with Holy Power, but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to undo. If I'm not as rusty as I think I am—that is," he chuckled. I probably should've just asked him to remove it beforehand, but I'm not exactly in mint condition at the moment so I'll let myself slide.

He searched deep with him, calling forth a dark-blue aura that enveloped his hand. An energy that was derived neither from his own Demonic Power nor Tomoe's Senjutsu—but rather that of Muramasa, the same energy it used to counter Fallen Angel's Light Magic, and Angel's Holy Power. Something he no longer needed to manifest Muramasa in order to use, but could do by simply activating the power of the blade that was already sealed inside him alongside Tomoe.

A good majority of the training he had done during the time he was studying to become Great King had been spent experimenting with his own powers, and the current spectacle he was performing was one result of said experimentation.

Snap!

The chains imbued with Holy Power came apart once Avalon injected Muramasa's power into them, a pair of arms and legs revealed to be inside the coffin once he opened its door. "I suppose this explains why you were an amputee when I found you," he chuckled.

"You're strange," Acerola said while staring at him, slowly coming closer and picking up the limbs inside the coffin. "What are you hoping to gain from this?"

"Gain?" Avalon tilted his head, "I don't think there's anything for me to gain. I guess you could say I just like to act before I think, tee-hee!"

I see, he must have some kind of mental disability. Acerola concluded, popping the limbs into her mouth one by one and effortlessly consuming them by stretching her mouth and swallowing them without damaging her esophagus or stomach lining in the slightest.

Avalon sighed, folding his arms and leaning against a nearby construction beam. "Now that you've gotten your limbs back, don't you think it's time you tell me the truth?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she insisted.

"Those fragments you just consumed barely elevated your power, you can't honestly expect me to believe such a small difference was the deciding factor in whether or not you defeated those Exorcists?" He laughed, "Earlier—you told me that there was something missing in your chest. Now I'm pretty tired, so I may be wrong but—my eyes are telling me that you are literally missing a heart."

Acerola fell silent, conflict brewing within her as he inched closer. "Don't you think it's time you told me what a Vampire such as yourself is really doing in a Japanese town of all places?"

"I think I might be able to help with that," a figure soared through the air, gracefully landing beside Avalon with cat-like elegance. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Bael."

He appeared to be a middle-aged man with spiky blonde hair, wearing a pink aloha shirt and sandals—not exactly what one would call the most fitting outfit for this time of year.

Avalon frowned, already finding the man rather troublesome. I could sense his presence through the wind currents, but I couldn't actually detect his aura. Even now as he's standing before me—I can't read a thing. His scowl deepened, Ajuka was the only other person who his eyes couldn't comprehend. I don't like this.

"I wouldn't waste the effort if I were you, I'm protected by Harmonia's blessing." the man said, reading Avalon's thoughts like an open book. "This is a neutral zone, we're all friends aren't we? There's no need for us to probe each other."

He narrowed his eyes, "Who are you?"

He bowed playfully, "Oshino Meme at your service, you may have heard me—seeing as I am the one who organized all of this."

"Lord Bael?" Acerola queried, the fact that she was unsurprised by Oshino's appearance not going unnoticed by Avalon.

"Oh? You didn't know? Your delivery boy here just happens to the Underworld's Great King, as well as Zekram Bael's husband."

Acerola deadpanned, "Why would you ever want to marry Zekram Bael? Are you insane? No, nevermind—we've already established that you are."

"Why is it only that part that everyone focuses on?" His shoulders slumped, apparently his wife's reputation extended even to the Vampire world, something he wasn't sure to be proud or ashamed of.

"Anyhow," Oshino clapped to get their attention. "I think it's time for me to return this to you, Heart-Under-Blade." He reached into his breast pocket, pulling out a bright-red organ that was pulsating fiercely—a heart.

"You gave your heart to him? Why?" Avalon was taken aback.

"That's because she came here looking for a place to die," Oshino proclaimed without a hint of restraint. "Isn't that right?" He looked at Acerola, staring at her with a very punchable grin.

"It wasn't your place to tell him that," if she were capable of cutting down Oshino, she wouldn't have hesitated to do so.

"You say that like you were planning on telling him in the first place, which we both know isn't true." He raised an accusatory eyebrow at her, "Don't forget, you're the one who came to me for help, and I'm not the type to leave a client's request unfulfilled."

"My request was for you to help me die, nothing more."

"Was it?" He scratched his temple, "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't—I can't remember. I'm an old man after all."

"You're insufferable."

"Haha! I'll take that as a compliment," he held Acerola's heart out towards her. "Well? Do you still want to die? Or have you matured enough to realize that the world isn't as bleak as you've made it out to be?"

She let out a thoughtful, looking intently at her beating heart. "That's what I intend to find out." She took it out of Oshino's hand, swallowing it just like she did her other limbs—but this time something was different.

The increase in strength couldn't even be remotely compared to when she had consumed her limbs, a dark, creepy aura that started to seep out of her every pore—potent enough to the point where it seemed to intoxicate the very air itself—the already dark night feeling as it if were starting to warp, and contort to Acerola's will.

Avalon looked down, feeling a tremor run through the structure they were standing on, the pillars supporting it below starting to jitter as they struggled to hold themself under the pressure of Acerola's reawakening.

"You might want to move," Oshino suggested.

But Avalon simply shook his head, "No need." He stomped his foot, reinforcing the entire unfinished structure with a mix of his own Demonic Power and that of Muramasa's, stabilizing the entire thing in one swift motion.

Oshino pursed his lips, slow-clapping and showing a mild amount of admiration on his face. "Not bad, you're just as impressive as Harmonia told me."

"Harmonia knows who I am?"

"Of course she does, all factors must be taken into account when undertaking the arduous task of balancing—you, your sister, Lady Leviathan, the War God, the figureheads of Grigori and Heaven. Everyone is a factor, and everyone has the ability to either contribute to maintaining or disrupting the world's balance."

"Is that what this meeting you called is about? Maintaining your balance?" For some reason, they had begun to casually converse with one another while Acerola was in the process of unleashing the deviation of her own power onto Naoetsu Town.

"Good grief, did you actually listen to anything I just said? I'm talking about the world's balance, maintaining true balance has nothing to do with the Greek Pantheon. Even if Harmonia had existed under another banner, the mission would've been the same."

Avalon scratched his scalp, finding all the God-talk awfully hard to wrap his head around. "As long as nothing happens to Lady Leviathan—do as you wish," Acerola's power-up sequence seemed to finally come to an end.

"I have one more request I'd like to make, if that's alright with you—husband of Zekram." Acerola asked.

Is that what you're going to call me? He sighed. Oh well, I'm too tired to argue about it.

"Go on."

"Will you fight me?"

"What for? You've got everything back now don't you?" Avalon's fatigue had worsened after spending time dealing with Acerola's problem instead of getting some much-needed rest, putting him in a pretty bad spot to be fighting.

Noticing that a much heavier conversation was about to take place—Oshino decided it was best to silently depart, confident that Avalon would be able to handle himself from this point onward.

"Not everything," she plunged her hand into her abdomen, tearing her own flesh apart and reaching for something inside her.

A longsword—one that rivaled Muramasa's length, and shone with spotless beauty in spite of having been stored inside Acerola's stomach. "I've lived for centuries, yet throughout all that time I've only ever had one servant. His name was Seishirou, and this sword—Heartspan, is what he left behind after his passing."

"What happened to him?"

"He killed himself," she stared at herself through the blade's reflection. "I still don't understand it to this day, most reincarnated Vampire's struggle with their own immortality. Suicide isn't actually all that uncommon for them, some last a century, others two—very few go on for three or more without something to keep them going, without something to keep them attached to living."

She exhaled, taking a moment to gander over Naoetsu's nightly expanse. "He didn't even go on for a decade, one day—he simply stepped into the sun out of nowhere. He promised to be my Knight, but ended up departing without giving me so much as a sign of his discontent. This town is where we first met, and I have watched it develop throughout the eras."

"And, you chose this place as your deathbed." Avalon continued.

"Indeed, do you find it foolish? The desire to perish?"

"Yes, I find it foolish." He admitted, causing Acerola's lower lip to quiver. "However, that desire is the result of hopelessness—and hopelessness is a feeling I am quite familiar with. So in a way, even though I find your wish foolish, I can also somewhat understand it."

He stretched his neck from side to side, before doing the same to his shoulders. "Is that why you wish to fight me? To see if I'd make a good servant?"

"I'm not sure, honestly I don't know what I hope to gain from fighting you. If you really insist on me having a reason, then let's just say I want to gauge your strength. Those Exorcists don't really prove much." Those who could ascertain Avalon's strength through a glance alone were very, very limited.

I'll have to make this quick, time isn't my ally at the moment. He let out a fatigued groan, "Alright then, let's fight."

Acerola assumed her battle stance, readying her blade as her eyes tracked Avalon's body, looking for a good spot to launch her attack at.

She's planning on attacking first? Sorry, I'm afraid I can't allow you to get any momentum over me. A thread shot out of Avalon's hand, packed to the brim with Demonic Power as it wrapped itself around Acerola's ankle, dragging her towards him and catching the Vampire completely off guard—effectively destroying her balance.

He feinted a jab before reinforcing his foot with Touki and performing a leg sweep, taking out a kunai and throwing it into her chest with all his strength.

"That won't be enough to stop me from regenerating."

"I'm aware."

Boom!

An exploding seal had been wrapped around the kunai's hilt, sending Acerola flying downwards—crashing into slabs of reinforced concrete one by one until she hit the bottom.

And he decided to go flying down with her, building up a lethal amount of momentum from the top as he descended, hitting Acerola square in the stomach with his knee once he reached her. The Vampire spitting out a chunk of blood in his face from the impact, her stomach now a gaping hole with the flooring behind her visible through it.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm pretty used to fighting against immortality." He withdrew his three-pronged kunai, reacting instantly as Acerola swung Heartspan at him—the sound of their alloy grating against one another resounding through the air like a braking train.

He raised his foot while their weapons clashed, curb-stomping her head and crushing it like a watermelon. I'm also starting to remember just how gruesome these fights usually are—I can't say I'm a fan of them.

"You're quite strong," she smiled, her head regenerating in a split-second.

"I appreciate the compliment," he replied in a flat tone of voice—his exhaustion making it exceptionally difficult to get invested in the fight like usual. Her immortality is far stronger than Ruval's, this is seriously the worst possible time for me to be fighting an opponent like her.

He tried to go for another kick, but her body suddenly turned into a hoard of bats that flocked around him, putting him in the center of an animal infested tornado as she tried to make him guess where she would appear next.

Avalon reached his hand out, shooting out a torrent of Fox Fire from his hand as if it were flamethrower, setting all of the bats alight as they squealed in the searing pain of being burned alive.

"That's cheating! I didn't know you could use fire!" Acerola whined, pouting as she returned to her normal form, the burn marks all over her skin quickly healing.

"I didn't know you could turn into a bunch of bats," he gritted his teeth, forcefully withholding the urge to yawn—an urge that didn't come out of boredom from their fight, but rather his fatigue that was worsening by the second.

Her blade started to shine red, currents of dark energy forming around Heartspan as she hurriedly lunged at him, the tip of her blade aimed directly at his chest.

He evaded with the side step, hitting Acerola in the ribcage with a thunderous palm strike which caused her to stagger forwards, nearly falling on her face from the immense loss of balance.

Maybe I should provoke her a little, it'd definitely make the fight easier.

"What's with this sorry display? You're the one who challenged me to this fight aren't you?" He shook his head, "Do better—try harder!"

"Oh I'll try harder alright," she grinned ferociously, Avalon's mockery seemingly igniting something within her.

---

I think I might have to make the TPD chapters shorter to match MoD, because if I have a audience for both TPD and MoD—then I can't just leave one waiting for days on end whereas the other gets daily updates when they're paying the same amount can I? That feels a bit scummy to me.

Let me know what you think below.