Alucard Castle

  A butler carried a tray of milk crepes, financiers, and tea to a small blonde girl in black and red Victorian clothes sitting on a throne, staring into space, until the butler spoke. “Rachel Alucard?” The girl turned. “Your morning milk crepes, financiers, and tea?”

  She cleared her throat. “Yes, that will do nicely. Thank you, as always, Valkenhayn.”

  Valkenhayn smiled and turned away. Rachel took one of the sweets to eat and drank her tea, but no matter what she did, her mind always flashed back to the red-handled sword planted in the ground like a gravestone. Under normal circumstances, she would ignore the object like insignificant lint on an outfit, but whenever she tried to forget, it came back to her, and when it did, a wave of emotions hit her. Sadness, anger, and most importantly, nostalgia. In fact, on rare occasions, she saw a tall, white-haired man in red, with one green and one red eye. That image, in particular, was too much for her. She threw her teacup across the room.

  *SLAM!*

  Valkenhayn turned back with a worried tone. “Rachel Alucard!”

  Rachel stood up and, without raising her voice, spoke to her butler. “I... would like to be alone.”

  She walked away. Valkenhayn looked at the mess and sighed, grabbing a broom, dustpan, mop, and bucket. His mind flashed back to when she first saw the sword as he cleaned it. “Ever since Rachel saw that sword, her actions have been erratic. I had never seen the thing before that day. Just who owns that sword, and why is it so important?”

  Two doors opened, revealing Rachel Alucard standing before a machine containing a multicolored rhombus. Once she stepped forward, a series of glyphs appeared before her. Her hand moved toward them, but then an image of a white-bearded old man appeared in her mind, prompting her to slap herself in the face.

  *SMACK!*

  “Stop it! Remember what Father said: the seal can't be broken. No matter what.” She quickly left the room as the rainbow rhombus glowed within the machine.

  Forgotten Theater

  An abandoned amphitheater deep beneath the collapsed ruins of Sector Seven. Here, time is dust, and breath is memory. A lone figure dances for no one, except the world itself. The dancer’s movements are fluid, divine. But stillness breaks his rhythm—a familiar chill crawling from the shadows.

  “You still move with grace. Even in a world that’s lost its rhythm.”

  A blonde boy steps onto the stage. His face is calm, but not empty. Behind him, a female robot glides. Watching. Protecting. A sealed container glows in the dark, faintly pulsing. The dancer recognized him.

  “You’ve changed, Carl Clover. You feel...colder. But not cruel.”

  “Because I remember. What it felt like—to be a tool. To be treated like nothing but data and function. I swore I would never do that... to anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

  The robot lowers a seal plate. Glyphs spin around Amane’s feet. They shimmer, but they don’t burn. Amane senses it immediately.

  “You don’t intend to make me a puppet.”

  “No. You still have a soul. A will. That’s exactly why I can’t let you interfere.”

  “Because I’d remind the world what it means to be human.”

  “Because you'd stop me before I could finish. I’m not sealing you because I hate you, Amane. I’m doing this because I respect you too much to destroy you.” The prism forms—gentle, cold, suspended. Amane’s body slows, his soul caught mid-motion. It isn’t pain. It’s a pause. Carl turns to the robot. “Nirvana, preserve his form. Do not extract. He doesn’t belong with the others.” As they leave, the Nox container behind them hums louder—souls writhing inside. Sinners, not dancers. “Only monsters belong in cages. I’ll make sure that’s all I use. Even if I have to become one to do it.”

  A half-reconstructed lab deep underground. Emergency monitors flicker with spatial distortions. An energy signature once identified as “Carl Clover” has resurfaced—for the first time since the world was rewritten. Kokonoe Mercury’s tail twitched with frustration as she studied the holographic logs. Bullet stands by the entrance, tension barely held in check. Litchi Faye-Ling sits at a monitor, hand clenched.

  “Confirmed. That was Carl. Amane’s signal disappeared right after.” Bullet spoke

  “He didn’t erase him. He sealed him—paused him.” Kokonoe confirmed

  “The containment pattern matches something else I’ve seen…”

  “Relius?” Litchi wispired

  “No. Carl’s method isn’t surgical or cruel. It’s calculated. He’s only using criminals and war offenders for his soul-bound Nox units. But Amane wasn’t one of those. He was… just in the way.”

  “That’s not good enough. Since when do we let people get sealed for being in the way?” Bullet asked angrily

  “I’m not defending him. I’m telling you—Carl has a code. Which is the only reason he hasn’t built an army big enough to take out the planet already.”

  “That code’s going to break the moment he decides one of us isn’t ‘human’ enough.” Litchi pointed out, making silence fill the room

  “If Carl is walking the line between martyr and monster…” Trinity Glassfield’s voice then spoke behind them, “We better pray we find Amane before he slips.”

  Kokonoe nods to Trinity. “Find Tsubaki, the kids, and gear up. If he’s targeting performers with influence, Amane won’t be the last. And if Carl’s back… we’re out of time.”

  The Mercury Church

  Two blonde nuns are in a church filled with orphans, cooking. One has red eyes and is cooking a five-star meal inside a kitchen; the other is cooking a minus-five-star meal directly outside the kitchen.

  “Lambda, why must I always have to cook outside?” complained the green-eyed nun.

  Lambda looks outside and sees... something. What that "something" was defied description. It didn't sit on the plate so much as squat malevolently, hating all and being hated by all.

  There was only one nice answer Lambda could make. “Because, Noel, you need all the space you need for your number one customer.”

  “I understand, but I don’t want just one person enjoying my food. Are you sure I can’t share it with the other—”

  [No, Noel. Never.]

  Noel was shut down, and she pouted. Lambda was right, after all. Noel was a notoriously terrible, lethal chef. Her food was practically guaranteed to taste like fecal matter at its tastiest. (Heck, the Remix Heart manga even went as far as to compare it to an Astral Finish.) Not helping matters is her hidden status as the formerly feared Imperator, Izanami, who is also the goddess of death. Hence, her food's nickname: Death Dinner. There were only three people who could stomach their meal. The first one is a godwhomo she never wants to see again as long as she lives—the god of storms, Susano'o, who made her family and world a living hell. The second one is his human vessel, called Hazama, whom she unknowingly worked with, only to quit once he started hurting her friends. In his defense, he was made as a tool—something that she could greatly sympathize with, meaning that half of his actions weren’t his own. As a result, her feelings for him were complicated, to say the least. Finally, the one who liked her cooking was an old friend of hers, a dear friend, actually. Sure, it was because of her bizarre taste buds, but it warmed her heart either way, so much so that it made her slightly blush.

  “Noel, they're here!”

  “Coming! Be sure that you serve Nu!”

  “Already on it!” The two nuns wrapped up their cooking.

  Lambda opened the door to a room containing a bedridden, bandaged woman with a red eye and white hair. She glared at her while Lambda greeted her,

  “Hey, Nu. Are you feeling okay?” The glaring continued. “I see... Well, we got a couple of guests over, and if you want, you can—”

  [No.] Nu spoke.

  “You don't want to see them?”

  [Murakumo Units are weapons. Not people. And we did so many things to complete her one true goal, only to fail and be villains in the process. The one you see here is one of them.]

  “Do you remember what that goal is, yet?”

  Nu closed her eyes and sighed. [No.]

  “I see... I'll leave this here then.”

  Lambda put the meal beside Nu and left. Nu begrudgingly ate it until all she had left was a plate that showed her reflection. The reflection distorted into a tall, white-haired man in red, with one green and one red eye. The two fell into a pit, and a pitch-black monster destroyed the world. Growling at this, she threw the plate across the room and cried.

  A human girl, a squirrel girl, an anthropomorphic cat, and a devil arrived at the church with gifts, making Noel smile as she greeted the first two guests.

  “Mai! Makoto!”

  “Noel!” The three old friends hugged in a group hug, only to break once the girls smelled a stench.

  “Noellers, is that what I think it is?” Makoto asked in horror.

  “Yep, I was cooking.” Everyone gasped and backed up, except for one person who gasped out of joy. “For Mai. Everyone else will have Lambda’s food.” Everyone sighed in relief as Noel continued. “Is Tsubaki with you?” The two girls shook their heads.

  “We haven’t been able to contact Tsubaki for a long while,” Makoto said.

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  Noel sighed. “I see... In that case, head inside where Lambda is serving. Mai, you’ll be joining me.”

  This caught Mai off guard. “J-j-joining you!?”

  “Is there a problem?”

  “No, it’s just that the way you put it...”

  Makoto cut in. “How about we put away the gifts first? You have others to greet, after all.”

  “Sure, go ahead.”

  The two girls headed into the church, leaving Noel to speak to the cat. “How are you holding up, Jubei?”

  “Quiet. That’s the best word to describe it. No cauldrons, no exploited souls, and best of all, no more him.” Noel knew exactly who Jubei meant and chose not to press on. “I do, however, wish that I could share the silence with... everyone else.” A somber air surrounded Jubei, something that Noel snapped him out of.

  “Hey, we’re like a family. Do you know that? Between me being raised by Celica, Nine being her sister, and you being Nine’s husband, I’m more or less your niece. No. Me, Lambda, and Nu are your nieces. So let’s try to honor their memory, Uncle Jubei.”

  Jubei chuckled. “Damn. What the hell am I doing? Me, one of the legendary Six Heroes, receiving a ‘get a grip’ speech from a nun? It’s still a sad day, but I’m gonna celebrate it anyway. Thanks, Noel. I’m going to see my wife, and Celica would be so proud of you right now.”

  “Well, she is my mom, and this church is her legacy.” Jubei nodded and headed into the church, leaving the devil. “Let me guess, Kokonoe couldn’t make it, so she sent you, Tager?”

  “Correct assumption, Noel. I did try to convince her, but she has a top-secret project she insists on working on.”

  Noel sighed. “She can't avoid this forever. She's family.”

  “True, but she’s been working on a secret project with the Imperator. She wants to make sure that any traces of the former NOL are eradicated.”

  “That’s... understandable. Still, after everything that we've been through, she has to start opening up again.”

  “I believe she will. This church is dedicated to her mother and aunt, after all. Is Jin Kisaragi here?”

  Noel shook her head. “He’s at the NOL.”

  “Makes sense. He's been wanting to shed that ‘Hero of Ikaruga’ title for a long time now.”

  “Yeah. I kind of knew that inviting Jin and Kokonoe would be a long shot, but I sent the invites anyway. How's Bullet, Litchi, and Trinity?”

  “They've all been valuable assets to Sector Seven. Right now, they’re helping Kokonoe with the project and working on a vessel for Sena and Luna.”

  “That’s great to hear. Though I was quite surprised that Bullet joined the Sector due to her animosity toward Kokonoe.”

  “That’s because she thought Kokonoe killed me, when in fact, that’s the opposite. Kokonoe is my savior, regardless of what anyone says, and Bullet is now a living reminder that I was once human.” Tager smiled. “I’ve lost a lot from the Ikaruga Civil War, but my life isn’t gone yet.”

  “That’s the spirit. Hopefully, Jin and Kokonoe can come next year.”

  “You actually thought less of me, huh?”

  Turning to the voice behind him, Tager saw a blond swordsman in blue with a sneer on his face.

  “Jin!” Noel quickly hugged him.

  Jin was taken aback but decided to reluctantly pat her head. “You haven’t changed at all, have you, Noel?”

  Noel shook her head. “I’m so glad you came! Mother would be so glad that we’re unit—”

  A tall, white-haired man in red, with one green and one red eye, appeared in their minds, making them groan.

  “Are you alright?” Tager asked.

  Jin brushed it off. “I’m fine.”

  “What about you?”

  Noel did not. “I’m not in danger, but for some reason, I keep having this flash in my mind lately—a person popping in and out, even.”

  Noticing his sister’s distressed state, Jin took Noel’s hand. “Come on, let’s go.”

  “Go where exactly?”

  “I think I see Mai in the distance. You two should catch up.”

  “W-Wh-What!?”

  “Don’t make me regret it.”

  Tager’s smile returned as he saw the older sibling making strides to connect with his family and wished Kokonoe would do the same.

  *Buzz, buzz*

  And speaking of that, Tager activated his receiver. “Kokonoe, this is Tager... I’m at the church right now... What?” As the call progressed, Tager’s face grew into a state of shock. “EVERYONE! THERE’S A HUGE BLAST COMING OUR—”

  *BOOM!*

  But it was too late. The blast caught up to them, and the church was destroyed. Everyone who came was now falling into blue portals as their worldview blurred.

  Sector Seven

  "Tager! TAGER!" There was no answer, much to Bullet’s horror at her former captain. When Kokonoe looked at the screens, she saw why.

  "Good... God. TRINITY, WHERE’S TSUBAKI!?"

  "Here!" Kokonoe looked at Trinity, who held a heart-shaped staff. Beside her were a boy, a girl, and Tsubaki Yayoi with a briefcase.

  "We need to evacuate Kagutsuchi, now! I’m going to contact Imperator Homura and—"

  *WHOOSH!*

  A portal opened up and tried to suck everyone in.

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The kids got sucked in.

  "LUNA, SENA!"

  Trinity dove toward them, along with Tsubaki. Kokonoe grabbed Tsubaki by the briefcase, Bullet grabbed Kokonoe, and Litchi grabbed Bullet. This formed a human chain consisting of Litchi, Bullet, Kokonoe, Tsubaki, Trinity, and the kids.

  "PULL! HARDER! HOT PANTS!"

  "CAN YOU LIKE NOT MAKE ME WANT TO LET YOU GO THEN, YOU DAMN KITTEN!?"

  "THIS IS NOT THE TIME!"

  Tsubaki looked at Kokonoe, who was losing her grip. "Oh no. The secret project!" Tsubaki then looked at Trinity and the kids.

  "I’M SCARED!"

  "LUNA DOESN’T WANNA DIE!"

  "IT’S OKAY, KIDS! JUST HANG ON!"

  Tsubaki’s mind raced. "There’s no way we’re going to pull everyone back up, and if the case falls in there, everything will be for nothing."

  Taking a breath, Tsubaki looked at Trinity with an apologetic expression. Trinity turned just in time to see the look and gasped, anticipating her action. The action in question was letting go of the briefcase. Time slowed as Kokonoe, Bullet, and Litchi were flung across the room with the briefcase, while Tsubaki shed tears of remorse for potentially dooming herself, Trinity, Luna, and Sena as they fell.

  "I’m sorry."

  The portal closed. THUD! Everyone collected their bearings from what had transpired.

  "Tsubaki..."

  "She sacrificed herself, along with Trinity and the kids, to save the project."

  A stream of frustration flowed out of Kokonoe. "No. No, No, No, No, No, NO!"

  She tried to communicate through her dashboard. "Jin Kisaragi! This is Kokonoe of Sector Seven! Come in, Jin Kisaragi!" There was no response. She tried someone else. "Come on, come on, please pick up, anyone! Imperator Homura, this is Kokonoe!" No response. "Kagura Mutsuki, this is Kokonoe!" No response. "Hibiki Kohaku!" None. "Bang Shishigami!" Still nothing. She reached down to the last person she ever wanted to contact. "I can’t believe it’s come to this... Jubei, this is Kokonoe! Come in, Jubei, please respond!" There was silence. "Jubei! JUBEI!!" With so much reluctance, she tried one last method of contact with him. "DAD!!!" There was no response. All Kokonoe could do was stare. "No... Not him, too..." Her fangs clenched as tears started to form in her eyes. "WHAT THE *SLAM*/FUCK IS GOING ON!?"

  Earlier: Alucard Castle

  As Rachel was about to return to her room, a noise rang out, particularly an explosion.

  *BOOM!*

  The ringing rattled in her head as she raced down the hall to see a human-sized wolf fighting a horde of robots. "Valkenhayn!?"

  "GET OUT OF HERE, RACHEL ALUCARD! THIS ARMY IS TOO MUCH!"

  Rachel was in shock. Her butler never yelled, let alone at her. This might be a battle he couldn’t win. She attempted to reply, "But I—"

  However, she was cut off. "CAN’T FIGHT ANYMORE, REMEMBER!? YOU MUST GO NOW!!"

  There was no way around it. Rachel was facing an enemy so powerful that they were on par with one of the legendary Six Heroes. She ran as the wolf-form Valkenhayn continued fighting the horde. But no matter how many he fought, there were always more. Worse, they knew his moves—they had been countering them until they found an opening.

  "These underhanded tactics... There’s only one man who can keep me on my toes with that kind of fighting, and he’s—"

  *MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS!*

  Multiple robots destroyed half the castle. Valkenhayn got up and was instantly restrained. Struggling against the muzzle and binds, his mind raced about the familiar attacks until he heard a voice.

  "Relius would be ecstatic to see his friend, rival, and enemy caged up like the dog you are."

  Emerging from the horde was a familiar boy with a robot. Valkenhayn recognized him instantly.

  "You!"

  *SLAM!*

  The robot knocked Valkenhayn out.

  Rachel was running, with a big black cat and a red fat bat in tow.

  "Mistress, you’re running!?" the cat asked.

  "I don’t know what’s more serious, the castle attack or your depowered sta—GAK!" Rachel grabbed the bat as she mounted herself on the cat.

  "Gii, if you’re not going to have your priorities straight, then I’m not allowing you to talk. Nago, take us to the basement, now."

  "Yes, Mistress."

  Nago carried Rachel to the basement where she had been earlier and saw the machine with the rainbow rhombus with the glyphs activated. She moved the glyphs around, and they formed a crest that could best be described as a rose with bat wings. Once it disappeared, Rachel stood a few feet away from the rhombus.

  "*Muffling!*"

  Gii was trying to speak. Rolling her eyes, she let him go. "This better be good, Gii."

  "Mistress, are you sure you wanna do this?"

  "He’s right. Clavis had that thing sealed away for a reason."

  Rachel looked at the rhombus and heard the rumbling upstairs. She sighed. "This object must never fall into the wrong hands." "Sorry, Father, but I have to do this."

  She took the rhombus and turned to leave, only to find herself standing before the boy and his robot. Gii and Nago gasped as Rachel sent a glare.

  "No way..."

  "Carl Clover."

  The boy smiled. "How reassuring. I thought you’d confuse me with my father."

  "I got confirmation on Relius’s disappearance. There’s now only one person in the world outside of the Six Heroes and my father who can get the jump on Valkenhayn."

  "Correction."

  *Snap!*

  On cue, the robot pulled a rope with enough force to drag the restrained and unconscious Valkenhayn to the ground beneath Carl’s feet. "Defeated Valkenhayn."

  Gii and Nago were now horrified as Rachel's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" she asked with a hint of anger.

  "What I want are three things, which can be best described as a short-term goal, a mid-term goal, and a long-term goal. The long-term goal is to give this world a merciful end. Relius often used people as tools, and after seeing the Boundary, along with learning the truth about the Master Unit, I can’t blame him. All of us suffered from an immature unit who wanted a knight to save her like she was a princess from a fairy tale, with no regard for the consequences. We may be free from her deluded fantasy, but we’re all still affected—and the best example is me and my mid-term goal." Carl gestured to his robot. "Nirvana. An automaton, Nox Nyctores, is powered by an innocent soul. My sister’s soul." He said this with a hint of venom. "My father turned her into a weapon, and when everything was said and done, everyone’s story was resolved—BUT MINE!" A tear rolled down his cheek. "Well, that’s going to change. I’m going to reset this world back to zero. That way, there will be no more seithr, no more Black Beasts, and no more Boundary."

  Rachel scoffed. "You plan on destroying the Boundary? Pray tell, how do you plan to achieve such a maddening, fever dream?"

  "I’ll start with my short-term goal."

  Carl pointed to the rhombus in Rachel’s hand, making her realize his plan. "Your father’s prized possession. A crystal containing the ultimate observational power—the Keystone."

  Rachel now clutched the Keystone tighter. "This Keystone was made by my father to perform cross-dimensional observation and the creation of new possibilities. It was made to free me from being an Observer, not a weapon."

  "Then why did he hide it? Why didn’t he ever use it?"

  "Because he was afraid of it falling into the wrong hands. The Master Unit’s intended sword was the best example of this notion, along with your father."

  Carl clenched his fist. "Do not call that bastard my father. He used souls as weapons and tools!"

  "And I suppose you’re not doing the same thing? The fact that you took down Valkenhayn means you’ve been making Nox Nyctoreses—the same weapons that use souls as fuel."

  Carl looked away in shame. "I know... but I have nothing left now. Except for the stone. With it, I can observe the possibilities of Ada being human—and bring her back here. I can restore everyone, even! Everyone who died, everyone who suffered. All of those bad possibilities will be rendered asunder. And all you have to do is give it to me."

  Rachel was conflicted. On one hand, this meant solving the mystery of the lost sword she kept seeing in her mind. But on the other hand, it meant breaking her father’s last will to her. "I can’t do that. Even if there is less than a 1% chance, I won’t risk breaking my father’s last promise to me. I’m sorry for your loss, Carl Clover."

  Gii and Nago could only stare. "Mistress Rachel is APOLOGIZING!?" "She’s taking the Keystone’s safety more seriously than we thought."

  Carl was taken aback. He was expecting resistance, not an apology. Even so, this was not the outcome he wanted, so all he had to say was:

  "I’m sorry, too, Rachel Alucard. You are trying to fulfill your father’s last wish—and I didn’t even realize." Rachel kept her guard up and glanced at Gii and Nago. Her eyes shifted above them, then back to them, much to their confusion. "How similar we are in that regard. GET HER!"

  Rachel threw the Keystone into the air, making Gii and Nago realize her true plan. Time slowed as they ran to try and catch it, but Carl’s Noxes were gaining. Gii was able to avoid them due to his size, but Nago wasn’t so lucky and was restrained. As the stone now fell toward the ground, Gii attempted to catch it with his feet, but a Nox bot grabbed him by the wing while another bot flew toward the stone. Gii looked back and saw Rachel and Nago being restrained by the bots. Acknowledging that it was up to him, he did the only thing he could—much to Carl’s dismay—use his wing to change the trajectory of the stone and have it smash against a wall, causing a rainbow explosion.

  "NO!"/*SMASH!*

  *BOOM!*

  Darkness surrounded the area. Valkenhayn woke up with his restraints and muzzle destroyed and saw the aftermath of the explosion. The Noxes bots were destroyed, the castle was in ruins, there were rainbow-colored cracks in the air, and Rachel, Gii, Nago, Carl, Nirvana, and the Keystone were nowhere to be seen. All he could do was fall to his knees and howl in despair.

  "No... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"