Chapter 16 - An invitation


Hellsing HQ


“What’s going on?” Rena saw that Akane was putting up an uneasy expression.

“Take a look at this.” Akane passed the letter she was holding to Rena.



Dear President of Hellsing Organization,


Yes... We do know about the Hellsing Orgnization. How this...Team Rena was able to defeat Doom and Leviathan despite using their ultimate skills. How do we demons know about this, you ask? That’s the sole reason why I’m writing this letter to you. It’s regarding my personal assistant and informant, Lovetan. I was the one who ordered her to spy on your Team Rena. You see, it’s been a few days since she had come home. I’m beginning to miss her a lot. She was supposed to return with a katana that belonged to me. I am well aware that the Hellsing organization had confined her together with the katana that she was holding onto.


So, I hereby invite you, the president of the Hellsing organization for a face to face confrontation. At 12pm tomorrow, you will be in the forest south of town with my assistant and my katana that you stole from me. Make sure you come alone. Follow my orders, and I will let your organization go free. If you do not comply with my instructions, however... Trust me, i will reclaim my assistant and my katana by pure brute force. Then i will personally destroy you and your organization. An advice for you, president. You shouldn’t mess around with a demon general.



“Lovetan is the assistant of a demon general?!!” Rena frowned.

“She seemed so much less powerful compared to the other assistant of generals we fought.” Gakuran stated.

“Well, the letter started off well... But it ended up as a threat.” Yuki said.

“It’s from a demon. What do you expect?” Jurina replied.

“It’s not just any demon. It’s one of the demon generals.” Mayu added.

“Well, at least the demon general was nice enough to wite a letter to inform me about this matter.” Akane said.

“Right... It didn’t even introduced its own name.” Nishishi stated.

“That’s not the point here, Nishishi.” Mayu said.

“So what’s your plan, Akane?” Rena asked.

“I’m fine with returning Lovetan back, but it’s still too risky to return the Yamata no Orochi.” Nishishi intercepted.

“We will not be returning Lovetan either.” Sasshi voiced out.

“Why not?” Nishishi replied.

“If you’re not returning the Yamata no Orochi, i will not allow you to return Lovetan either..” Sasshi stated.

“What are you talking about?”

“If Lovetan doesn’t return with with the Yamata no Orochi, she’ll be killed by her master. I’m not going to let that happen. Either we return both the Yamata no Orochi and Lovetan, or we do not return any at all.” Sasshi said.

“This isn’t the time to play along with your love games, Sasshi. We can’t just make this decision. It’s not as easy as what you think.” Jurina raised her voice.

“It is easy, actually. If you insist on returning only Lovetan, you will have to get past me.” Sasshi challenged.

“Stop fighting. The thing is, the demon general wants both the Yamata no Orochi and Lovetan back. I don’t think it will tolerate with us giving back only one of them or not giving any of them back at all.” Akane said.

“No. I don’t care about that Lovetan, but we’re not going to return the Yamata no Orochi. It’s too dangerous!” Nishishi retorted.

“If we do not comply with the instructions, we will be in danger as well. We’re not dealing with a normal demon or an assistant of the general we recently fought. We’re dealing directly with the demon general itself. Which, I presume is much more powerful compared to the assistants.” Mayu added.

“So, either way, we will risk our own lives, so why not we just keep the Yamata no Orochi? Who knows? If the demon general comes, we might still stand a chance against it.”

“So, you’re actually planing to fight the demon general? I don’t think it’s a good idea, though. Well, it did say that if we follow the instructions, it will let us go free.” Mayu said.

“You would actually believe that bull? We’re dealing with a demon, damnit! Right after following the orders, the demon general will still kill us all!” Nishishi screamed.

“Nishishi... You’re taking this too sensitively. Let’s talk about this nicely.”

“No. As long as you guys have plans on giving away the Yamata no Orochi, I will not agree with it, and i will not allow it to happen.” Nishishi replied loudly.

“I agree with Nishishi actually... Who knows what might happen if we just gave the most dangerous weapon away just like that. What more to a demon general.”

“But Lovetan was the one who found it in the first place. So, in other words, it belongs to her. Why don’t we let her decide what to do with it.” Sasshi exclaimed.

“You want us to ask opinions from a demon? That’s like the last thing anybody will do.” Jurina retorted.

“Then tell us, what other options do we have?” Chokoku sounded after a long moment of silence.

“Well.....” Jurina rolled her eyeballs upwards, trying to figure out an answer.

“So, we’ll go with Sasshi’s option by majority then. We’ll let Lovetan decide what to do with the Yamata no Orochi.” Akane decided.

Team Rena, Akane and Nishishi confronted Lovetan once again.

“So, Lovetan. Mind telling us where you found this katana from?” Rena asked.

“I’m not going to tell you anything!” Lovetan screamed.

“Lovetan... We just want to know a little more about this blade. That’a all...” Sasshi said softly.

“...” Lovetan remained silent.

“Please?” Sasshi’s lovely voice melted through Lovetan’s heart.

“Where did you find it?” Rena asked again.

“Deep within the Krubera Cave.” Lovetan finally answered.

“Kru-what?” Jurina frowned.

“The Krubera Cave. The deepest cave in the world.” Akane and Mayu simultaneously said.

“I heard of it. It is said to have no end to the cave.” Yuki continued.

“There is actually an end to the cave.” Lovetan answered.

“There is?” Mayu and Akane’s eyes widen in shock.

“That was where the Yamata no Orochi was hidden years ago. The late demon king knew that no humans will be able to explore the cave to its deepest, so he hid it there. Out of everyone’s reach.” Lovetan explained.

“Not out of your reach, though.” Jurina looked at Lovetan suspiciously.

“That’s because i was born with a gift. I was special even among the strongest of demons. I’m able to track anyone or anything which is not human or has a demonic aura. The Yamata no Orochi blade’s demonic energy was suppressed completely. So, basically i was the only one in the world who could still track for it. I spent one whole month exploring the Krubera Cave before i finally reached the end of the cave. That was where i found the Yamata no Orochi. On my way returning home, i was ordered by my master to spy on Team Rena who had been gaining a lot of attention from the demons. That was when i was caught by Sasshi.” Lovetan explained.

“Well, that explains how you got the blade. So, what do you plan to do with it?” Akane asked.

“Eh?” Lovetan looked confused.

“We’re giving you a chance to decide something for us. Do you want us to return the Yamata no Orochi to your master or not?” Akane asked.

“W-Why are you asking me to decide something like this?” Lovetan was surprised.

“If we do not return you and the blade to your master, we’ll be killed. If we return you and the blade back, we might still be killed. What more, we will be the ones who recreated the demon king. Just assume that we do not know how to decide for this.” Akane explained.

Lovetan stuttered. “I... I...”



The next day, in the forest


“You actually came...” A voice echoed from behind a tree.

“Yes i did.” Akane was strapping the long box on her back.

A shadow came out from behind the tree. It appeared to be a young lady.

“You’re the demon general? You don’t seem like a demon at all.” Akane questioned.

“Are you questioning me?” She seemed a little angered by it.

“I have to make sure i’m not giving this to the wrong person.” Akane explained.

Without hesitation, she pierced her hand into the tree trunk beside her and lifted the tree up. From what it looks like, the tree was at least a hundred years old and yet she was able to lift it up from its strong roots with only little effort. She then slammed the tree back down. “Believe me now?” She asked.

“May i have a name?”

“Aren’t you asking for too much?”

“Aren’t you being a little too secretive?” Akane asked.

Her hand curled up into a fist for a moment. Then, she released her grip and answered. “My name is Umeda. Now pass me the katana.”

Akane unstrapped the long box from her back and tossed it towards Umeda’s direction. She then opened the box to discover a katana laying in it. A flawless blade with a purple handle. It definitely matches the description of the Yamata no Orochi.

“Good...” She closed the box back before continuing. “So, where’s my assistant?”

“She’s on her way here.” Akane said.

“Well, there’s no need for her to come home anymore.” Within a second, Akane was blasted into a tree and pinned up by the neck.

“Gah!” Akane was in pain. “Y-You betrayed our trust... You said you will let us go free!”

“You believed that?” I was just joking actually.”

“What about your assistant?”

“Now that I got my hands on the Yamata no Orochi, I don’t need her ‘gift’ anymore. I merely used her to get this blade.”

“Y-You’re a cheat...”

“I’ll take that as a compliment...” Umeda laughed before continuing. “From what i know, you’re the President of Hellsing, right? It seems you’re not that bright after all... You're dumber than i expected.”

Akane started snickering. “You’re right... I’m not that bright... I’m dumb. But this makes you even dumber than i am.”

Umeda slammed Akane onto the wall even harder. “What are you saying!?”

“The ‘so called’ Yamata no Orochi you’re holding onto is a fake one... Looks flawless, am i right? I spent the whole night duplicating the blade.”

“WHAT!?”

“Never underestimate the intellect of the ex-captain of the battle strategy and tactics department. I did this to test your actions after getting the blade. Writing a letter does not make you the slight bit nicer. It seems that you failed the test badly.”

Umeda raised her claws ready to strike onto Akane before Akane spoke out once again. “Kill me, and you will never find the real Yamata no Orochi ever! Not even your precious assistant whom you used will help you anymore!”



Chapter 16 - An invitation
END


Next Chapter : Chapter 17 - Ambush