Reborn with Steve Stand-Chapter 868: Integra

Early the next morning.

In the Hellsing family’s manor.

Fang Mo was sprawled on a sofa, casually tinkering with a newly unlocked Blood Magic module.

Facing him was a woman with a serious frown, looking very businesslike in a tailored suit. She stood straight as a rod. Despite her long, blonde hair and a pair of round gold-framed glasses, her natural commanding aura was impossible to hide. Everything about her screamed confidence and authority.

Fang Mo looked totally at ease, but the woman’s gaze on him was anything but friendly. She seemed to be eyeing him, unsure what to make of him.

“So, based on what you’re saying…”

The blonde turned to Alucard beside her. “This guy called himself the Vampire King right in front of you?”

“Yup,”

Alucard replied with an amused smirk.

“And that’s why you brought him here?”

Pulling a cigar from her breast pocket, the woman let her butler light it for her. “So, is he responsible for all those vampires running around in that village?”

“No,”

Alucard said after a short pause. “Actually… he showed up to save people, if you can believe it.”

“Hmm?”

That made her raise an eyebrow briefly. She thought for a moment, then walked over to Fang Mo. “Excuse me, how should I address you?”

“Hi there, I’m Kaneki Ken,”

Fang Mo answered, finally pausing his work on the Blood Magic module and looking up with a grin. “I’m into doing math problems. Subtraction Is my favorite.”

“?”

She blinked, then glanced at Alucard, clearly puzzled.

“Don’t look at me,”

Alucard said lightly. “I’m just being honest. The first time he introduced himself, he gave a completely different name. But you know, for us vampires, names and appearances are basically disposable.”

“All right, then… Mr. Kaneki Ken.”

She nodded, then locked eyes with Fang Mo again. “Let me introduce myself: I’m Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, Director of the Royal Protestant Knights’ Monster Division… also the head of the Hellsing family. The man next to me is my butler, Walter.”

“Oh.”

Fang Mo just gave a noncommittal response.

Truth be told, he already knew who they were. Last night, on the way here with Alucard, he’d done a crash course on everything Hellsing-related.

Long story short, in the Hellsing world, Alucard is a vampire who once invaded London and was ultimately defeated and sealed by the Hellsing family. After a series of events, Integra ended up waking Alucard, and he became her servant, working with the Hellsing family to hunt down undead threats throughout the U.K. That went on until some maniac Nazi popped up and started causing chaos. Hellsing went after him, the Vatican got involved, and it all led to a massive showdown in London.

Since this woman just introduced herself as Integra, it was obvious she ran the operation that kept undead creatures in check. Fang Mo’s sudden appearance in the U.K. would automatically land him in her crosshairs. That’s exactly why Alucard had brought him here: as far as Integra was concerned, he was suspicious—especially with all these new vampires showing up worldwide. She had to see if Fang Mo was linked to any of it.

Which was pretty much what Fang Mo had already figured. A moment later, Integra spoke up again, her tone serious: “I have a few questions for you. I hope you’ll answer them truthfully.”

“Sure.”

Fang Mo nodded. “But before we start, I’ve got a question for you first.”

“Go ahead,”

Integra said calmly, taking a puff of her cigar.

“Is it still 2035 here?”

That question seemed to come out of nowhere. “Your architecture looks kinda dated, but this is still Britain, right? What about Prince Charles?”

“…Huh?”

Integra looked completely taken aback.

“I was sleeping in my own castle, minding my own business,” Fang Mo went on, like he was telling a completely normal story. “Then a bunch of guys who said they were from the Belmont family demolition crew busted in, claiming they’d found a way to end me for good. I literally blinked, and my castle was gone. The next thing I saw was a priest getting handsy with some female cop…”

“A castle? The Belmont family?”

Integra frowned, clearly trying to figure out if Fang Mo was messing with her.

“Mr. Kaneki Ken,”

Walter, the butler, cut in at this point. “I can’t speak to all that, but right now, it’s 1999…”

Walter looked every bit the classic English butler—elderly but vigorous, wearing a monocle and keeping his hair neatly tied back. He carried himself with that suave, gentlemanly air. Of course, given this was the Hellsing family, he was anything but an ordinary butler. Nicknamed the “Angel of Death,” Walter was the star operative here before Alucard showed up, an expert with special razor-thin wires that could shred most vampires. Age was the only reason he’d taken a backseat, serving as butler instead.

“What? 1999?”

Fang Mo made a show of slapping his forehead. “So those Belmont punks actually threw me this far off course? Ugh.”

“…”

Integra just stared, then glanced at Alucard.

“Kukuku…”

Alucard chuckled. “Who knows what those fools were thinking?”

“And you…”

Seeing Alucard as clueless as she was, Integra was forced to focus on Fang Mo again. She stared him down for a moment. “You’re really not behind the vampire outbreaks across Britain?”

“Nope,”

Fang Mo said casually. “Hey, I was about to ask you guys: I always thought fish and chips was your national specialty. When did it turn into “vamps gone wild”?”

“You… Fine.”

Integra sighed deeply. “Then we’ll have to investigate you more thoroughly, Mr. Kaneki Ken. I trust you’ll cooperate?”

“Oh, sure. What kind of ‘cooperation’ are we talking about?”

Fang Mo asked, a sly smile creeping across his face.

“We have a specialized holding room for vampires. If you’d kindly lie down in the coffin—”

“Why don’t you lie in it yourself?”

Fang Mo shot back before she finished. “Today you want me in a coffin; tomorrow you’ll decide I belong in an urn. You must think I’m a pushover, huh?”

“Then how do you propose we handle this?”

Integra asked, her face darkening.

“Well, since you asked so sincerely,” Fang Mo said, propping his feet up on the coffee table, “there’s a golden opportunity here to take care of me. I suggest you don’t waste it.”

He shrugged. “Bottom line: I need to figure out how to get back to my own time. In my future, we vamps live the good life. Crosses, holy water, silver weapons—none of that bothers us. We’re not even scared of labor laws. Then I look at this dreary place and think, really?”

“But since I can’t head back yet, I’ll have to crash here for a while.”

He sighed, then waved a hand at Walter. “Hey, old-timer—go whip me up something to eat.”

“Uh?”

Walter looked totally at a loss.

And by now, Integra was beyond irritated. She drew in a deep breath, clearly trying to stay calm. “So it’s come to this, then. Negotiations are a dead end?”

“Oho…”

Alucard’s eyes lit up. “We’re gonna fight? Hehehe. This is great. My master, say the word!”

“Go, Alucard.”

Fed up, Integra waved him on. “Show him what a real Vampire King looks like. Enemy identified—take him out!”

“Heheheheh…”

Alucard chuckled darkly. He slid out his massive handgun and pointed it at Fang Mo. “Orders are orders. Let’s see what you’ve really got.”

He fired the moment he finished speaking.

“We’re fighting right here?”

Fang Mo grinned. “Okay then, let’s see how you handle some real pain.”

He pulled out a huge purple blade.

“Hah!”

No more talk. Fang Mo swung the sword, its arc compressing the air so violently it sent razor-sharp shockwaves slicing forward.

“Watch out, Miss!”

Walter hurriedly yanked Integra aside.

Alucard’s body was cleaved in two, but he acted like nothing had happened at all, regenerating at lightning speed. Both hands formed some strange gesture in front of him. “Configuration Release: three… two… one… Release.”

Suddenly, his form dissolved into a blackish-red haze. It wasn’t pure energy nor standard flesh—more like something nightmarishly stuck in between. From his chest, a blood-red eye snapped open—then a second, third, and dozens more, until his whole body was covered with these creepy crimson eyes. They pulsed like liquid, merging with the darkness at his feet and spreading out, swallowing up the entire room in seconds.

As this shadowy mass expanded, the wet squelch of twisting flesh filled the air. Demonic creatures oozed out—massive hounds seemingly made of black mist and all those eyes, long, ropey tentacles like entrails, and a swarm of chittering centipedes flooding the room.

In the midst of it all, half of Alucard’s body protruded from the ceiling, upside down, with a maniacal grin. Countless eyes swirled beneath the surface of his form, flickering in and out. It was like staring into the deepest pits of horror.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Gunshots cracked again, just as the creatures lunged. They moved so fast it felt like they were tearing through the sound barrier. The sheer force of their attack shattered all the furniture in a heartbeat.

“Tch. What’s with the over-the-top theatrics…”

Fang Mo pressed his hands together. “Shinra Tensei!”

A massive spherical force exploded out, instantly shredding the darkness around him. Part of the manor collapsed with a thunderous crash, blackish-red shadows spurting everywhere.

With that little bit of testing out of the way, both sides began to escalate. Alucard ditched the gun and went in for close combat. Hidden by swirling black mist, the two figures clashed with resounding impacts that rattled the structure down to its foundation. Shuddering shockwaves, deafening roars—no normal person could have stayed sane in that chaos. The manor itself trembled ominously as the fight dragged on.

All of ten seconds later, Fang Mo abruptly teleported a few hundred meters away from the manor. By then, Integra had already been evacuated. As luck would have it, she and Walter were just arriving in that spot when Fang Mo popped in, which gave Walter a jolt.

“Milady… stay alert!”

But Fang Mo didn’t even look at them. He took a long breath and exhaled toward the manor. “Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!”

A tidal wave of fire swept over the entire building.

“Wha—?”

Integra stood off to one side, watching flames consume her family home. Suddenly, she had the sinking feeling that this had all gone very, very wrong.