Vampire Hunter D - A Message from Cecile

 

D.

Please forgive me in addressing you this way in part for not ever meeting you before.

I am Cecile. I work as a sound engineer at a theater in "Wells", the Capital of the Mars System. I'm nineteen years old and female. I won't disclose my measurements.

My feelings are quite complicated right now. I feel so scared like my heart has stopped, yet I feel so calm. It's thanks to you, D.

Right now I'm in the mixer room, recording this message for you onto a disk.

I hope that the door will hold until then... No, I'm certain of it. But I'm scared, very scared. I know of what lies beyond that awaits me.

I'm not sure as to how this disk will reach you, but I'm unable to see very far.

What I have seen, D... There was a giant, black shadow beside you as you continued to sleep. It was this shadow that told me your name, of what you went by.

D...what a beautiful name. I thought as such upon seeing your face.

I've seen it so many times since I was a child. Things other than just you. I knew from the start that these were things not of the present. They were all dreams. These were visions of the future that were transmitted to my brain across more than 10,000 years in time and 78 million kilometers in space. What else could it have been but a dream? If it's a mere dream, eventually I'll wake up from it so I simply let it go.

D. For the first time ever, I prayed that I would not wake up.

Don't let that me taken away from you.

Perhaps it was God's Blessing that you've continued to sleep before. That shadow. That eerie shadow, disappeared without me realizing, and then you woke up. It was like you were attempting to pull back the departing shadow.

It took you no less than five seconds to notice the disk that was being burned.

Perhaps that shadow knew the secret of how an ordinary disk that hadn't undergone any special processing could have survived for 10,000 years.

You put it onto a machine. A computer, perhaps, which was placed onto a harness to find out what it said.

Quietly and silently, the guys at the door. A knock, then a bang and a slam. I'm surprised their bones aren't smashed up. Maybe they just so happen to stick together very quickly. They say vampires are immortal.

The outbreak of nuclear war was what sent us to the subspace link from Earth, and we were prepared for it. 

Even at full capacity in the system, the Mars System's life-support line can only guarantee the survival of 30,000 people for a year. Inevitably, we'd have no choice but to rely on the Interstellar Spaceship with the Galaxy Drive the Flight Center has been working on.

Many of those who left their families behind on Earth to work alone returned back. One of them was Franz Weaver. Inside the Mixing Room of the Theater, the first-class technician who was on his bed usually holding onto me was looking and said my name when we parted.

"Cecile."

This time, he only parted with a single word.

Cecile, Cecile

He called me once more. He had returned from our homeworld of death.

Cecile, Cecile

Had you asked me to go with you, I would have gladly crossed over space to a burnt-up, radioactive planet. I was born in "Wells" where I grew up in an artificial womb and artificial insemination, thus I knew not of the faces of my mother and father. Though I would always be scolded whenever I didn't do a good job, he was the man who had raised me to become a full-fledged recording engineer. I wanted to die with you.

I knew I could not do it. I knew he would not want me to come with him.

D......

Sometimes, I can see the future. They would be scenes that transcend space and time, appearing in my mind regardless of my will. For instance, I was fifteen when I saw myself passing the exam to become a recording engineer and I was nine when I saw my parting from Franz. The future seems to not appear according to our time.

Even after Franz and the others left, life in the Mars System had to continue.

The survival rate had gone up to two years due to the population being cut in half, but it was clear that eventually we'll run into a dead end. The System's top priority is perfecting the Galaxy Drive. I myself was also "educated" as an engineer through cohesive memory, and was put to work towards developing a new commutation system.

One year passed, then another six months went by. Finally, the dawn of the Galaxy Drive's perfection came into sight.

"Rejoice, for we shall reach the edge of the universe."

Declared our leader, Musica. The Galaxy Drive uses the very energy of the galaxy itself, with even just ten percent of it allowing us to fly indefinitely and ensuring that the life support will also work continuously. Above all, warp travel, which was until now just a mere dream due to energy concerns can finally be realized. This way, we would supposedly become the first pioneers to leave the solar system, exhausting all possibilities to venture into outer space.

That was it. ...At least, that would be possible if I wasn't able to see it.

Another thing was they would return.

It was a year and eight months after the nuclear war on Earth when the Galaxy Drive Engine was nearly complete.

Going out into outer space... All of us burning with the pathos and fighting spirit of Pioneers. Then, from the other side, they came. The ruined past had carried a malicious shadow.

Following the nuclear war, communication on Earth was sporadically maintained. But within six months, it was cut off.

"The world is destroyed."

We had no other choice than to accept our leader's declaration.

And then. One day, nearly two years ago, we landed on Mars Point...

Despite there being a lack of communication,

"We've landed before we knew about it."

We should have known something was up in the controller's testimony.

The shutters had opened and the ten people who descended had pale, bloodless skin yet showed no signs of radiation damage.

I should have been suspicious of the food they had on the Instellar line they were on had showed no signs of decreasing.

I couldn't have seen it.

They had entered the dorms, scattered throughout the system on the same day and first attacked the energy section first where they seized control of the system's power supply.

They would persist even after being shot between the eyebrows or in the heart by the attendant's laser gun.

All of the people who had their blood drained from their body would come back the same day as those same night demons.

They were wise. They chose to invade the system slowly rather than in one giant leap.

Every night, little by little, people would join them. Here, it was always "night".

There was something called "daytime" back on Earth. If my normally healthy neighbor started to live away from the sunlight and go out every night without eating, I would have eventually found out. But under artificial light, there was just no way to figure it out.

By the time everything became clear, it was too late.

I must tell you how it went.

I was with Franz in our room. In bed, to be exact. Perhaps it was the joy of finding him among the ten returning people that made my mental faculties go haywire.

I took a whole week off to spend it on making love with Franz.

His body was very cold and no matter how much I tried, it never warmed up.

When I asked him why,

"It's because of radiation."

He replied with his gaze fixed on the void. Rather than being suspicious of the radiation test results, I was fascinated by the darkness in Franz's eyes. What had this man seen in his hometown?

"What of your wife and daughter?"

This was a question in response to his bed manners, to which he had only given me token affections.

"Dead."

I was speechless and immediately blamed myself for asking such a horrible question. But Franz replied,

"But I'm alive."

He gave me the right answer. Had he realized it at the time, the Mars System wouldn't have been so bad of a testing site for them. This exchange took place on the same day Franz returned to Mars.

A brave girl who realizes the dangerous truth and saves her friend. It was a dramatic situation, but one that didn't permit any drama.

On the seventh "night", I left Franz in bed and went into the kitchen to make some synthetic coffee. As I put my hand on the doorknob, I saw it.

Everything that had happened in the week since they arrived.

I turned towards the bed.

Franz was sitting up looking at me.

I recognized the desire in his eyes for the first time, they which were staring into the void and filled with that void themselves.

"I wanted to embrace you."

He said. It reminded me of a voice being squeezed out on a winter night.

"Ever since this happened on earth, I knew not of why I hadn't drank your blood. It may be due to some lingering attachments I have for humans. But here on Mars, it is filled with our allies. You should join us."

I stared at his face. His face, D.

"What are you planning to do with Mars?"

"It's just as we planned. We'll use it as a proceeding base for outer space. However, it won't be you weak humans who will reach the other star systems but us."

"..."

"Think about it. Do you think you'll be able to survive in a hibernation pod in a sextillion light-years journey? Or a generational change? What if hundreds of millions of generations were to pass, and the ship still doesn't reach our desired planet? You see, only immortal life has the right to travel the universe. Join us, Cecile."

Franz was staring at me.

A pair of fangs grew from his lips that were almost blue along with his bloodshot eyes wanting to devour me. However...

"Goodbye."

I was surprised by how gentle he said it. Perhaps it was due to his eyes remaining the same as they were before.

"Your wish will come true."

I said, wiping away the heat from my cheek.

"I can see it. However, the vampires can't conquer the universe. As is your other plan failing. Though it will be a long, long time. The universe doesn't belong to anyone, Franz."

I waited until he got off the bed.

"Know this, Franz. Whatever fate you and I have, it will be in the name of D."

Before he could run, I ran into the kitchen, locked the door, and escaped through the window.

I knew exactly what I had to do.

But I was still scared. I know I can get there by passing through the interior of the inspection duct and eventually reach the mixing room, but even though I know I can get there, I had to go through a transparent corridor before I can reach the hatch of the duct. Even so, I decided on what to do.

I know I'll be passing through a lot of my comrades here. They would greet me with calm faces, then they would wait after a while when seeing me off even after I pass them to slowly follow after me. They didn't even bother to hide their fangs from their pale skin and indistinguishable lips. I pretended to not notice them and just walk through the corridor leisurely as usual. It's what I had to do. Every step I took, the footsteps behind me grew louder. The others who passed by also joined in. They all followed along without panic or impatience.

I knew I could escape. But knowing this made me feel even less at ease. I figured I'd be alright if I was safe. I thought to myself, "Look, I can get to the Mixing Room by turning to the next corner" so I desperately fought off the temptation upon seeing a passageway close to my destination. Yet for some reason, I didn't choose that and instead went for a different, more longer roundabout path. I knew it, but I couldn't help wanting to turn to the closer one.

They were slowly closing on me. Right there. Turn now!

...Upon passing by, my body was covered in sweat. I finally understood why. Soon, I had reached the elevator. By then, nearly a hundred were already behind me. They followed me with each step, uttering not a single word.

I stood before the elevator and pressed a button for a certain floor. I had to wait with a calm face. My body movements had to be natural just as I've seen it. My actions were a replay of what I had seen from back then. In other words, my original actions were those determined by the actions I've seen in the past.

The door opens. Suddenly they attacked, and I jumped in the neck of time as the door closes up. I was fine. But I was so scared that my blood froze up. A uniformed right hand had squeezed through the gap just as it closed so I had to kick it out. It felt like I was touching hundreds of stakes when I made contact with the pale hand. I lost consciousness when the door closed and the elevator began to move. I finally understood why.

D. Even if I told you to hurry up, it'd be useless. You'll be coming a long way from the future. More than ten thousand years in the future. Having obtained the communication disk I made, you should have noticed the by-product of outer space travel.

In other words, just as Franz said, even immortal life could not confront the enemy that was eternity. And so, they created a new vampire on Earth and had added them to the ten to challenge it.

A vampire that by ingesting only a small quantity of blood would it be able to have the mental and physical strength to go on forever.

They must not be able to escape. We can't leave this universe to these bloodthirsty demons, even the ones who are nothing more than trash to be permitted in flourishing and conquering the universe.

I will leave that to you. For that to happen, we will have to seal this demon on this planet for ten thousand years until you arrive. That will be my task.

As soon as I got out of the elevator, I made my way over to the bioengineering research building where he was being checked at.

I saw them rushing in from the other side of the corridor. They who were my comrades until yesterday. It's enough. Soon I'll be joining them, I thought to myself. I desperately fought against that temptation as I ran through a passageway that had been abandoned for more than twenty years and one that everyone had forgotten about. After passing them by, I entered the duct.

I found lying in a room in the bioengineering building, where I sneaked down out of the duct and carried him on his mobile bed to the shuttle landing site on the ground. The polar ice cap was the destination. Five years ago, a spaceship-like object of an extraterrestrial lifeform was discovered eight thousand meters below the surface. Since then, several vertical holes have been punched through permafrost.

He was dropped into the deepest of the tunnels from a transport shuttle, then atomic bombs retrieved from a nearby explosives storage facility were set around the shaft. With the flip of a switch, the eight thousand-meter shaft was filled with water sealing him away. He would emerge back ten thousand years later; exactly a month before you would arrive, D. 

You would leave earth on an Ion rocket available from the spaceport of the vampires, referred to as the Nobility, and visit the Mars System.

The development program for outer space was abandoned, yet many vampires remained. The rocket landed without communication, where it was greeted upon by laser and particle cannons. Yet none of them weren't even fired. Donned in a dark coat, you appeared before the shocked vampires. A mysterious pendent on your chest emits a blue light. 

That battle had shifted to one of spiritual energy and blades.

Your sword had groaned in pain from the onslaught of psychic energy that could lift up a super-sized rocket without lifting a finger.

This energy was developed from the spaceship of the extraterrestrial lifeform that was just discovered. You ran towards it only to be pushed back, your sword halted, and finally you were slammed against the walls and ceiling.

"I will erase you."

As soon as the Energy Man stated this, your whole body became transparent like glass. I was close to closing my eyes.

At that moment, something happened. It was something only you knew, or perhaps maybe it was something even you didn't know.

The energy wind was blocked. It was an otherworldly power that annihilated all that it touched.

The invisible wall which protected you rapidly expands, pushing against the Energy Man. His body was torn apart, turning into a red mist that disappeared instantly.

The walls have collapsed and the ceiling was blown away. Your Guardian Angel's protection ceased after destroying an entire building.

"What was that just now?"

I heard a hoarse voice coming from your left, but I knew not of where it came from.

You were standing in the wilderness.

The Martian wind bellowed through the void. Dust blew. The sun was setting in the horizon, and above you stood the deep blue sky with stars spreading out.

You were alone.

For the first time in my life, I have come to understood the meaning of those words.

To compensate for that, you were beautiful. The tail of your coat fluttering in the wind, the scarf concealing your mouth, the long sword on your back, and your beautiful face. At first sight, I fell in love with you and had regained my composure of the sight around you.

It may have been an illusion that you were standing there for a long time.

Before I realized it, the city hall's building, the central nerve center of the system stood before you.

The wind and dust blowing from there made you stoop slightly, but you continued on without ceasing.

Then, you suddenly stopped.

As if carried by the wind, he appeared fifty meters before you.

It was the new vampire that I buried eight-thousand meters underground. He reflected in your eyes, bearing the same color as you.

When the both of you kicked off the ground, the two of you had a blade in hand.

The blades left a trail of light, coming in like a comet until you passed each other.

He was the first to stumble. Fresh blood spurted out from his neck with great force with his head falling forward.

Simultaneously, you fell to one knee with your sword planted to the ground. The blood dripping from your chest was proof of a deep wound.

...I had thought you had won.

But the next moment, my joy froze up.

Behind you, the man stood up. His severed head was held up in one hand.

He placed his head over the cut, waited a few seconds then shook his head. Seeing that you hadn't moved, he nodded and started to walk towards you.

You hadn't moved. 

A merciless sword strikes from behind you right at your head!

You and the white light spun away from under his body.

You had certainly cut into both of his knees and, as you turned around, pierced into his chest.

Despite this, he swung his sword down slashing into your shoulder.

You lean forward. He let's go and stomps his feet. Not an ounce of blood was spilled. His severed legs have instantly healed, and even his heart was beating again. Is this what a new vampire was?

Twisting your body, you took up a stance to confront the blade the man swung down with a grin.

How would you be able to kill such an enemy? My throat was going dry, and my breathing had ceased.

The enemy charges. It was a defenseless charge that seemed to make any attack ineffective.

He must have not seen it.

The red light that shone from your eyes, D.

The red spot that you had licked off from before must have been his blood.

A straight slash splits him from the head down to the base of his neck. What kind of power could have changed you like this? His body, which had fallen into a cloud of blood, quickly turns to dust and is blown away by the winds of Mars.

D... There's only one thing that can be said right now.

Find the theater and come into the mixing room.

There, you will see a woman hiding her fangs with a handkerchief. It was I, who had been waiting for you for ten thousand years.

Cecile, Cecile

Franz was calling. No, it was you.

I don't compare to you, but Franz resembles you. 

That was why I was attracted to him. The moment I saw you and the black shadow with my own eyes was when I was three years old. My beautiful dream was interrupted when you took notice of the disk the shadow had placed there. That was until I had gotten off of Franz's bed and headed over to the kitchen.

I had left the disk I had finally created on the table.

I do not know as to how it will reach you from that shadowy hand. I will never know.

There is only one thing I know. Just like the dream I had before the kitchen, after ten thousand years, I wanted you to pierce my heart.

D. Your face looks a little sad... That was the only thing that had saved me from the long years ahead.

Fin