Was there something in here with him? He paused, face expressionless, his entire body listening. No ... probably not ... definitely not. This time there was no thrill along the nape of his neck, no prescient frisson of intuition and warning to make him reach for the gun, as he sometimes did, and prowl carefully around his lair, searching for signs of unwelcome visitors.
After running through his wake-up routine, he drifted a bit, gaze spooling absently across the littered surface of the coffee table, where case files, congealed pizza, a half-empty beer bottle, and a damp TV Guide reflected a stark but grayish strobic light, their irregular cover blanketing a lower strata of older and dustier debris—skin mags, mostly, shuffled in with stacks of comics. Vamperotica. Squee. Sisters of Mercy. The latest Fortean Times, bookmarked with a section of last Sunday’s Times, folded open to the crossword, fully filled in with anal-retentive ink, annotated with a cryptic "18 m" along the margin. A Patricia Cornwell novel. The Complete Works of Gaius Petronius. An egg of Silly Putty. A water pistol realistically modeled after a police handgun. Two empty burrito wrappers. The Washington Blade, opened to the personals, dotted with red balloons and doodles of flowers. A necktie dotted with goldfish and tomato stains, still loosely noosed.
Is this me? Mulder thought.
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Re.Gray 032 - Vampire pt. 2: Exorcists v. Vampire
[ Masterlist ] [ Read on AO3 ] [ Raws ]
Summary: Baron Krory makes one hell of a first impression.
Vampire of the Lonely Castle ②: Exorcists v. Vampire
♦ 97
Johnny: Foreman Reeever?
Drink: BUBBLE
sfx: garigarigarigarigarigari [scribble scribble scribble]
32nd Night - Vampire of the Lonely Castle ②: Exorcists v. Vampire
Reever: Myeah?
Reever: What's up? Can't take my hands off this formula right now so just shoot.
sfx: garigarigarigarigari [high-speed scribbling continues]
sfx: kara kara kara [Johnny's IV pole rattles]
sfx: fura fura fura [Johnny himself totters, leaning on it]
Johnny: While I was doing some research, I found this old survey report inside a book.
Reever: Oh?
Johnny: It's unprocessed; hasn't been stamped by the Director. Can I just toss it?
sfx: fura fura fura fura [tottering continues]
sfx: garigarigarigarigari [furious scribbling continues]
Reever: No, bonehead, if it's unprocessed then process it.
Johnny: Whaaat, but it's eight years old...
Reever: Contents? Phenomena?
Johnny: Vampire legends...
sfx: fura fura [wobbling]
Komui: I'm hooome...
Komui, side: Still slaving away, everyone?
Reever: Good work, Director.
Reever: Know you just got back, but does "vampire legends" ring any bells?
sfx: garigarigarigari [still scribbling at top speed]
sfx: piko piko piko [Komui lumping through the room like a squeaky toy being stepped on]
Komui: What's this? More work? Reever, you ogre.
♦ 98
Komui, side: Hm.
Komui: Wait, vampires?
Komui: Ah, I do remember. Some fellow named Baron Krory, yes?
sfx: garigarigarigari [tiny unceasing scribbles]
Johnny: Oh, you know about it?
Johnny, side: Already processed?
Komui: That had nothing to do with Innocence.
Komui: I don't know how many of the Finders on that case fell prey to him.
Komui: Wretched job, and it all came to nothing in the end.
Division: "Fell prey to"...
Division, side: For real?
Krory, in English: HAHAHAHA
Komui: Well, it's been eight years now.
Komui: Coffee, Foreman Reever.
sfx: garigarigarigari [scribbling away]
Reever: Can't right now.
Komui, side: Whaaaat? But you know I can't work without coffee!
sfx: BAN [bang]
sfx: basasa basasa [most likely papers fluttering to the floor in disarray]
Reever, side: Ahhh!! What have you done, you curly-headed menace!!
Johnny: But why was the vampire stuff inside this book?
Johhny, side: ?
♦ 99
Johnny: An encyclopedia of ancient plants... How is that related?
♦ 100 & 101
Lavi: No way...
32nd Night - Vampire of the Lonely Castle ②: Exorcists v. Vampire
♦ 102
sfx: jururu [wet sucking, slurping sound]
sfx: jurururururu [sucking continues]
sfx: rururururu [...and continues]
sfx: gokun!! [hard swallow]
♦ 103
sfx: sah [a townsman slides a foot back, retreating]
Townsman: Uwah...
Townsman 2: Wahhhh...
Townsmen: Uwahhh!!
Townsmen: We don't wanna die!!
Townsmen: UwahhHHhhHH
Townsmen: Save us!
Georg: Don't run, fools!!
sfx: pishu [Lavi pulls out his hammer]
sfx: kah [the cross in Allen's hand glows and the hand begins to dissolve and deform]
♦ 104
sfx: hyururu [Lavi tosses the hammer high in the air, and it spins]
sfx: ohh [continues to spin as it reaches the apex of its flight and begins to fall]
sfx: shi [he catches it neatly, still small]
Allen & Lavi: Boot
sfx: vun [Innocences initializing]
Allen & Lavi: up!
sfx: BAN [an intensely badass back-to-back pose, Innocences fully initialized]
♦ 105
sfx: don [Krory lunges for them, Franz still dangling from his teeth]
Allen: What should we do?
Lavi: Heck if I know.
Lavi: Lenalee will disown us if we get bitten.
Allen: For starters,
Allen: let's cut off his food source.
sfx: gachi [firing his arm cannon]
Allen: We can't let him get any more townsmen!
sfx: do do [explosions where his light-bullets impact]
♦ 106
sfx: DOHH [Lavi destroying the ground under Krory's feet; mass property destruction, his favourite]
Krory: !!
sfx: hyuba [quick tactical retreat]
sfx: hyu [Lavi hoists his hammer skyward, flying up with it]
Lavi: Grow.
Lavi: Grow.
Lavi: Grow.
Lavi: Grow.
Lavi: Grow.
Lavi: Grow.
♦ 107
sfx: DOGON [the hammer, now the size of a bus, comes down like one]
Lavi: How's that!?
♦ 108
sfx: gigigi [the hammer teeters precariously; Krory has caught the cross-tip in his teeth and is balancing it above him like a circus performer]
Lavi: For real?
sfx: gogogo [balancing]
Lavi: Those are some terrific teeth!
sfx: guoh [Krory throws his head back, sending the hammer crashing down behind him]
♦ 109
sfx: BAN [WHAM]
Lavi: Guwah—
sfx: goh [Krory hears something]
sfx: do do [thumping, crumbling, cracking]
sfx: BOH [Allen's hand erupts from the earth, as big as we've ever seen it, clutching Krory around the middle like a rag doll]
♦ 110
Allen: Got you.
Allen: Behave yourself, now.
sfx: zuh [the blade of one fingertip approaches Krory's throat in warning]
Krory: Hmph.
Krory: GYAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Krory: AAAAHAHAHAHA
sfx: koki [Lavi sits up, dishevelled]
Lavi, side: Oof.
♦ 111
Krory: What strange young men. Come to waste my time, have you?
Krory: Are you monsters too, then? Well?
Allen: We're Exorcists.
Krory: Good evening.
Krory: I am very busy.
Krory: Release me.
♦ 112
sfx: gabuh [Krory takes a big bite out of Allen's hand]
Allen: Nguh!?
Allen: My anti-Akuma weapon, with his teeth!??
sfx: mishi mishi [teeth cutting deeper into flesh]
Allen: No way!?
sfx: jurururu [suuuuck]
Lavi: Oh shit, Allen!!
sfx: pikuh [Krory stops suddenly, making a face like he's been sucking a lemon]
Krory: Ugh—
♦ 113
Krory: UGGHHHH
Krory: So bitter!!
Krory: blaaarghh
sfx: bah [he falls from Allen's loosened grip]
Krory: W-Washbasin!!
sfx: zazaza [sprinting away into the trees]
Krory: blrrgghhh
Allen & Lavi: ......
sfx: jin jin [Allen's finger, now powered down back to normal size, throbbing]
Lavi: Guess you're getting disowned, Allen...
♦ 114
sfx: BATAN [door slams]
Krory: bleegghh
Krory: hgeeehhhgh
sfx: katsu-n katsu-n [Eliade approaches in chunky heels, each step resonating in the grand space]
sfx: kon kon [knock knock]
sfx: gachah [she opens the door and goes in without waiting for a response]
sfx: haa, haa, haa [Krory panting over a massive, ornate washbasin]
Eliade: Welcome home, Lord Arystar.
1
♦ 115
Eliade: What's happened to fluster you so?
sfx: haa haa haa [panting]
Krory: E— Eli—
Eliade: Goodness me.
Krory: Eliade... 1
Krory: I-I... I did it... again...
Krory: I b-became a... a v-v-vampire again...
♦♥♦
FOOTNOTES
"Arystar Krory" is Hoshino-sensei's take on the name of infamous English occultist Aleister Crowley, and should probably be pronounced as such. The katakana spelling is アレイスター・クロウリ areisutaa kurouri. I am begging you to read the linked wiki; Crowley was a very colourful character.
[ ♠ ]
Mircea Eliade was a writer and religious historian from the same era as Crowley. Please also read this wiki, Eliade's work was fascinating (especially the bits about theophany, encounters with or observable manifestations of God). I would really love to know if Hoshino's actually read any translations of his work; I would not be at all surprised if she has.
[ ♠ ]
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