I, Anna Harriett Brown, wished that I would not have taken this mission.
Why is this my introduction, you ask?
For starters, I'm an agent. But not just any agent.
I'm a SECTA agent.
Before I explain the reason why I am complaining, I will tell you the history of the agency, as well as a little bit about myself.
First, the Supernatural Enforcement and Control Tactical Agency, or SECTA for short, is an international organization that serves as a medium between the human world and the vampire world.
Yup, you heard that right. It's vampires, with the capital V-A-M-P-I-R-E-S. So there.
Do you imagine some of the vampires that you typically seen in movies, or do you imagine them straight out of a novel? Like, scary creatures with big fangs and transform into bats?
Well, I don't think so.
Although some of my seniors saw some of them, vampires are immortal creatures with stunning features (which is unfair to us humans, dammit!) and they are immune to the very typical vampire weakness: sunlight, garlic, holy artifacts, you name it. Contrary to popular belief, they are reclusive by nature, and they have already established a good relationship with humanity while keeping their existence a secret. They are ruled by someone called the Vampire God, but in our terms, that guy is like the king of the vampires, and I heard he is kind as a saint.
Of course, some of them are not satisfied, and they rebelled against him throughout his reign. Well, most of them can be subdued within the vampire world, but when things come to shove, he sends a message to the human world for help.
And that's where we step in. We are vampire hunters of sorts, hunting down some of the bad ones, but we also do escort duty to the noble blood vampires and fight alongside them if things get out of hand. We are somehow proud that we can protect humanity this way while protecting the existence of the vampire world from the outside.
Second, as for myself, I'm just a B-rank agent. You see, my parents are both SECTA agents, and both are S ranks and legends in their rights. My dad came from a famous clan that has served the agency since its foundation, while my mom is a survivor of a rebel vampire attack. While not on rebel vampire hunter duty, they are too savvy with tech, and they established an IT company as a front.
I'm the youngest of the two siblings. While I was chosen to be the one who will take over the company someday, my big brother, who is two years older than me, wants nothing to do with this vampire hunting business and wants to live a normal life (in fact, I'll vouch for him to take over the company instead). On the other hand, I would rather be on the path of vampire hunting. I mean, it's thrilling and exciting, right?
As a B-rank agent, we usually do vampire subjugation, but most of the time we do vampire escorting. For me, the escort mission is the worst mission I have ever taken in my life.
And this is now where my current situation is. Ugh
I was called to the chief's office on one sunny morning with two other B-rank agents: Patrick Bright, a hot, long-haired brunette with a hunk body wearing all black (seriously, his clothes are tight and are showing his pecks), and Lena Smee, a light brown-haired woman who is wearing goggles resembling cat ears and who is working in the weapons department. Oh, and she's wearing white sleeveless top and brown shorts, with white socks and sneakers.
"Apologies for calling the three of you on a sudden notice." Our dear Chief, who is a man in his forties with brown hair, called us. "But we received a message from the Vampire Court to help with the assistance of escorting the young Lord Lilitus to the Gala three days from now."
"Shouldn't this mission be given to the A-rank agents and above instead?" I suggested. "I mean, don't get me wrong chief, but this is a high-ranking vampire noble we are talking about here."
Yes, that Lord Lilitus is a high-ranking vampire noble. From what I heard, this guy likes to attend galas and other social gatherings. What a socialite.
"The higher-ranking agents have had their hands full up until now." The chief explained. "You already knew what happened a few weeks ago, right?"
"The attack on the Swice Dome?" Patrick answered. "That was where the concert from last week was held, right?" The chief nodded in response.
The Swice Dome attack. What I know about this incident is that some group of vampires attacked the live audience during a live concert of a famous singer. Luckily, there are A-rank agents on standby who can defeat the vampires with minimal casualties. "But we still don't know who is behind the attack. We suspect that the infamous rebels from the vampire world are the ones responsible."
"By infamous vampire rebels, you mean, THOSE guys?!" Lena exclaimed, realized who they were. "They cause both worlds nothing but trouble, sheesh!"
It's no secret in the entire organization that the infamous rebels are the ones responsible for all the mess that is happening in both the vampire world and the human world. It was led by the king's adopted son. Hell, they framed the king's adopted nephew for instigating and leading the rebellion, while the nephew that was accused had nothing to do with them. From the information that we got from the records, the nephew was under house arrest before he was cleared five decades ago. This all started ever since the true heir to the vampire world died five hundred years ago (my guess is assassination, but I think to myself: they're almost unkillable. How on earth did he die, anyways?). The balance of peace in the vampire world became unstable after his death, and his father, the king, was struggling to maintain its stability for the longest time. When the rebellion broke out, it became too much for him, so he entrusted the safety of the human world to a group of humans that he trusted the most so that he could focus on quelling the rebellion within his realm.
"I guess they are going to blame Lord Ritzule for the recent attack again." Lena guessed. "Those idiots never learned their lesson, haven't they?"
"Lord Ritzule has proved his innocence fifty years ago, but that doesn't mean that he can be trusted again," Patrick spoke out. "He is currently mending his ties with the king."
"But that doesn't stop them from framing him for the attack they caused," I assumed. Sheesh.
"I know the three of you are uncomfortable with this mission. But like I said, all A-rank agents have their hands full, and this escort mission can be handled by the three of you." Then Chief looked at me and said, "Especially you, Anna. You need to uphold your family's legacy in this. If any of you don't have any questions, dismiss."
*
"And I don't have a say in this, sheesh!" I complained as I angrily munched my food. We were in the cafeteria eating our lunch, and since it was lunchtime, it teemed with hungry people.
"It seems like Chief used the 'family legacy' card on you." Patrick chuckles while twirling his pasta with a fork. "We all knew that you hated escort missions from the very start."
"Because that high-ranking noble vampire from last time is a snobbish brat!" The last escort mission that I took was not a good one. The brat I escorted was so demanding that I wanted to kill him if he wasn't a high-ranking vampire of importance.
"But I heard Lord Lilitus is very kind." Lena said in between chews. "Give this mission a chance. I'm sure this is your chance to get a promotion."
"Nope." Not happening. I'm not planning to rank up right now.
"Mission aside," Patrick said in a condensed tone. "I heard from one of our colleagues that ESEH is now planning to counterattack against the vampires following the attack on Swire Dome."
ESEH, or Extermination of Supernaturals and Enforcement of Humanity, is a rival agency that exterminates vampires and supernatural creatures. While we are upholding the peace between humanity and the vampire world, ESEH on the other hand, wanted the vampires gone, innocence be damned. We've been crossing paths with them multiple times, and I swear, the results with those encounters are not pretty.
"What?" Of course, I react to that. "If that S-rank agent of theirs shows his ugly face, I'll kill him for real!"
"Anna, remember one of SECTA's golden rules: Do not kill fellow humans."
"'Even if you hate them, yes, Patrick, I know," I said, waving my fork carelessly. "I just, argh!" I facepalmed. "This is the worst day ever!"
"I doubt that those ESEH guys will show up at the gala." Lena grabbed her bottle of soda and drank it up in one go. "Don't worry, Anna, dear; maybe there will be good things to come. I'm sure you will meet a cute guy during our mission.
"Duty first before that, Lena." Patrick reprimands her with his serious tone. "What if I'm telling you that you need to go back to the workshop because—" Before Patrick could finish, we heard a loud explosion outside. All the people in the cafeteria stopped what they were doing and rushed through the window to see what was happening.
And the speaker in the cafeteria suddenly blasted on. "LENA SMEE! GET OVER HERE IN THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW, OR ELSE I'LL HAVE TO DRAG YOUR SORRY BUTT TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW!"
"Yikes! The boss is furious!" Lena smacked her head and gave out a silly look with her tongue out while standing up. "Gotta go now!"
Patrick sighed in frustration as Lena sprinted out of the cafeteria.
"What on earth did she destroy now?" He groaned.
"Hope's not our weapons." I smiled.
*
If there's one thing that I like during one of my mission duties, it's stargazing at night. When I was in high school, Patrick and I used to see the stars on the school rooftop every night, when the weather was clear. During one of those times, I was on the verge of crying thanks to my psychotic ex-boyfriend, but Patrick was able to calm me down by pointing out the constellations forming in the night sky and telling me stories about the legends behind them and how they became constellations.
I'm grateful to Patrick. He and I are childhood friends, and we came from the clans that have been working for SECTA for generations. We love each other as siblings, and he's the only one who protected me from said ex-boyfriend when the latter wanted to mend our broken relationship. (He always demanded things from me, like what clothes I would wear when we had our date or where I was and he's so possessive with me to the point that talking to Patrick, who is like a brother to me, is forbidden.) Luckily, that bastard is in jail now for possessing a dangerous substance, so he will not get out of prison for a while.
My reminiscences about my past were somehow cut off when the communicator in my left ear rang. "Yes?"
"Finally!" The voice on the other line answered, his voice had a hint of urgency. This is not good. "Requesting backup! We've been under attack!"
"Where are you?" I got up from my seat and grabbed my weapon, which was a great sword, leaning against the rails.
"We're at Rice Park! Vampires suddenly attacked the citizens who were participating in the rally- AAAAHHHH!" The other line was cut off.
This is bad. There is an activity going on at Rice Park, and I heard that many important personalities are invited there.
If a vampire attacks the park, many lives are lost.
"Allen!" I contacted another person on the communicator to find out the location of the attack. "Send me the coordinates to Rice Park ASAP!" I turned off my communicator and ran as quickly as I could.
*
I arrived at the scene twenty minutes later, and everyone was panicking, running, and screaming for their lives. I stopped one civilian and calmed her down.
"What happened here?" I asked.
The woman was trembling with fear. "The monsters suddenly attacked the stage." she said, pointing in the direction behind her.
"Thank you. Make sure to get out of here now!" I said as I ran in the direction she pointed.
As I reached my destination, all the agents stationed were dead, lying in the pool of their own blood. The vampires diminished a little, but they slowly regenerated their strength as they drank the blood of my fallen comrades. Their master, a middle-aged man wearing a dandy attire, noticed me in a second. "Oh dear. It seems like another delicacy has arrived."
"Why are you attacking this place!?" I angrily demanded.
The old man—I mean, vampire—chuckles. "You see, I only feed my newly created pets because they are hungry." I looked at the vampires he mentioned.
Great, these guys look like zombies and ghouls have a child. I could see and smell their rotten flesh. "And you are next, my dear." He points towards me. "Cuties, feed this young lady, and your hunger will be satisfied."
"Over my dead body!" The vampires charged at me like a pack of hungry animals. I unsheathed my sword and proceeded to charge at them.
I start by slashing two vampires who are near me at their heads, killing them instantly, followed by thrusting my blade into the third vampire's mouth while he was about to open his mouth to gobble me up and slashing it in a horizontal motion. I was able to dodge a surprise attack from the vampire on the left while plunging another on my right, slashing them vertically upward, then taking my revenge on the one attacking me earlier by cleaving his body in half.
I turned around, and three more tried to gang up on me. I leaped backward to avoid their attacks, and I landed safely. I was breathing heavily while looking at the remaining ones. Wait a minute, did they just multiply?
"Just give up, my dear. Your efforts are futile." I swear, if mom or dad didn't teach me to respect your elders, I'm going to teach you a nasty lesson, old man! "We vampires are multiplying at a rapid pace, and soon we will rule this planet alongside our new king! Our new king will establish his kingdom, where humans must obey us!" Gramps, did you praise that scum of a rebel who didn't pay his gratitude to the one who raised him?!
"Well, tell this to your new king: we'd rather die than to follow his orders!" A deep voice suddenly called out of nowhere, and in one minute, a huge shield rammed a line of vampires and slammed them against the streetlamp so hard that they turned into mashed flesh. As I looked up, it was Patrick. "Sorry, we're late."
"Hah!" I heard a scream from the other side and turned my head to see Lena bashing the vampire's head with her mace. Sheesh, for a petite girl like her, she's strong. "Allen told us where you are, so we're here~"
"Curses!" Hoo boy, Mr. Gramps is now so angry that I could see veins popping out on his face. He's pissed now. "You are like insects swarming like a plague! Pets," he pointed at us, several others appearing behind him. "Kill them!"
"Here they come!" We are in our battle stance as we prepare to attack the vampires that are charging toward us when I notice a single pink petal swaying in front of me.
"Huh?"
Out of nowhere, a huge swarm of pink petals blocked the way between us and the horde of vampires as it was traveling from one place to another. These petals surrounded the vampires, trapping them inside. We can keep our guard up, as we thought those petals would attack us as well.
"Don't worry, these petals won't attack you." A voice suddenly called out, and a man in his early twenties appeared. He has short dark blue hair, golden eyes, and a very handsome appearance. He is wearing a white-collar button, a blue coat with a white accent on it, black pants, and black shoes. He was holding a book that was titled 'On the Latest Trend of Fashion: What to Wear for the Gala' on it.
Don't tell me this guy- "He's on our side. There is just," He continued as he closed the book that he was reading, "one rat that needs to be purged out."
Mr. Gramps saw the man and by the look on his face, he was so scared right now. "Wait a minute, you're-" but before he finished his sentence, his head was separated from his body and dropped on the cold cement floor.
That isn't fair! That's our kill!
"Just shut up." A cold, detached tone belonged to another person said to the beheaded vampire. "You're an eyesore."
The vampire began to disintegrate, and a long, raven-haired (tied in a high ponytail) man stood in front of us (but his back was turned on us). His unusual coat has some sort of cherry blossom petals pattern on it, but I noticed that he swings his sword to take the blood out before sheathing it back. Judging by the looks of his sword and how he sheathed it, he must be a samurai from a bygone era. "Die already."
He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, the vampires trapped in those petals began to hurl a bloodcurdling scream.
We didn't see what he did to those vampires, but we saw the petals disperse a minute later and no vampires were in sight.
"Thank you for saving us," I asked the blue guy as he approached the raven-haired guy. We lowered our weapons as I asked him. "Who are you anyway?"
"Oh, didn't the SECTA Chief tell you who we are?" I knew it! My hunch was right. "Sorry, I think this is the first time we have met." He bowed himself. "I'm Albert Lilitus, the vampire you are going to escort with. And this is-"
The black-haired guy turned to us. He was a handsome guy with golden eyes as well, wearing white collar shirt with a black vest, black pants that are underneath his unusual cherry blossom-patterned coat, and black shoes.
"Kouga Igarashi, Vampire General. I can't believe these are the agents that were assigned to us. What a bunch of weaklings."
What does this guy say? WEAKLINGS?! US?!