15 Conflict

< You humans from the Holy Church never change... > the slight venom in her tone caused most of the exorcists to take a step back.

In her millennium years of existence, her distaste for the Holy Church came as no surprise to the Church and surrounding parties. Due to their conflicting ideology, Arcueid and the Holy Church avoided one another like plagues. But fate would have had it, the two parties met frequently whenever Arcueid was on the hunt.

This was inevitable due to them having the same purpose of hunting Dead Apostles. As much as they hated to interact with the other parties, Arcueid and the Holy Church collaborate many times in the past. Those collaborations, however, were a mere wake-up call for her naivete. She saw the worse of human nature. She saw the gruesome act of what a human could do to their kind and other species.

Murder, Torture, sexual violence, inhumane experimentation, genocide, enslavement, etc. The worst part? They all did this with either apathy or a blissful expression on their face.

This pushes her to limit her interaction with humans to its absolute minimum. Only interacting if absolute necessity. Even by then, she could not suppress the disgust in her heart.

< it's not up to you to decide when I would return to my slumber. >

Her words cause them to grit their teeth in frustration. If not for the big gap between the two parties, the Holy Church would attack Arcueid at this very moment.

< Then, please leave this place immediately. We would not want the citizens to know the supernatural side of things. > A man who seems to be the leader of the group calmly persuades Arcueid.

< Hmph- Do what you wanted to do, my job here is done. >

Leaving behind those words, her body disappears in a blink of an eye without leaving any traces.

< Teleportation?! > One of the younger exorcists asked in shock.

< Don't be surprised by this show of power. We don't know the full power of what True Ancestors are capable of. In any case, it's time to clean up this place. >

His eyes gazed upon his surrounding which was no different from a wasteland. He then split the exorcist into two groups.

< Alex, you will lead your members to erase any evidence in the vicinity. > He faces one of the hooded figures amongst the group as he said those words.

He then looks towards the youngest-looking member and said with a respectful tone, < Young master, I hope you will lead the rest to hunt any remaining undead in the area. Could I leave that to you? >

The young lad that has an appearance of 12-14 of age grinned with a hint of mockery in his eyes. His emerald-colored eyes radiated pressure as he maintained eye contact with their leader.

< Very well, for the sake of grandfather's health. I'll spare your disrespectful behavior. >

His arrogance caused some of the exorcists to grimace. But due to the young blonde's background, they hide their animosity and pretended nothing was out of the ordinary. While the rest have already been used to such behavior and minded their own business.

< Since the young lord has no problem, let's move out. >

It will be a waste of time to continue to talk further so the leader takes the initiative to start the operation. The members of the burial agency naturally followed and they soon split into two. The head priest went alone as he eyed one of the rooftops in the distance.

He felt that he was being watched before. He runs towards the source but finds no lingering presence of the perpetrator.

Akashi on the other hand has long since disappeared.

The night was still young but Akashi decided to end his hunt for today.

***

For the coming days, Akashi remained hidden to not attract the attention of the Holy Church. The aftermath of the event was naturally all over the news. it was impossible for the church to completely hide all the traces left behind by the battle so decided to blame it on a gas explosion. With manipulation here and there, it was child's play to do so.

Although some citizens were a bit suspicious, they had no other choice but the accept and trust their government.

< It seems they have some uses after all. >

Akashi was drinking coffee as he watches the news play on his television. A day has passed since his last hunt and he is currently relaxing in his room. Shiki and Touko's current location was unknown to the current him so he was on guard duty for the shop. He does not mind the responsibility but the boredom is becoming apparent each second past.

Gently putting the mug on the table, he slowly stood up from his chair, grabs the remote, and turns the TV off.

< Since I have nothing better to do, might as well tour around the city. >

Making up his mind, He went to the bedroom and change his clothes. He went for a casual look with a white hoodie on his top and some black pants and a pair of sneakers that he brought with him to Japan. Tying his hair into a bun, he summons a shadow clone as a replacement before going out.

He had no particular destination for today as he only wanted to kill some time. He was a bit indecisive on where to go due to how big and dense the Tokyo metropolitan area is.

The Souya town he was currently in is a peaceful but boring place to live in. No notable event is transpiring in this town other than the recent murders and "gas explosions". Even then, those are negative events that push this town to become even quieter than it was used to.

< A few days have passed since their last assault. Allen's next report should have arrived... > Akashi halted for a second. He remembered the occasional assassination attempt he always received. Their attempt usually occurs once every week to a month but he had a feeling their next attempt will be faster than usual.

*Ring!* *Ring!*

'Hmm?'

His attention shifted towards his phone before Grabbing it out of his pocket. Turning the screen on, he saw a message that instantly wipe the boredom out of his face.

He looks up towards the blue sky with a contemplated look as he grins, < Looks like lady luck is on my side for once. >

As he said so, he disappeared from his spot.

***

Tokyo International Airport or commonly known as the Haneda internal Airport is one of two International airports serving the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. It's one of the busiest airports in Asia.

Currently, amongst the crowd was a group of three foreigners that stood out like a sore thumb. Their size dwarfed many of the Japanese citizens in their surroundings.

Standing at 6.5 feet tall, the man leading the group of three has a formidable look on his face. His piercing glare was enough to frighten most people. His two companion was not as extreme as the man in the front but both men have distinguishing characteristics that made them scary on their own.

Like the historical moment of Moses splitting the red sea, the bustling crowd of people opens a pathway for the group to walk to.

< We have quite the big catch. Fifty million dollars for the head of a sissy brat? The easiest money of my life. > The bald men of the group declared as he let out a creepy laugh. His awful laugh causes the crowd to distance themselves further away from the group.

< Would you quiet down, you are causing a commotion. > A man wearing glasses said with irritation as he played with his phone.

< Hm-! Acting so civilized. > The bald man snorted, < Knowing you psychopath, you are probably thinking of new ways to torment the women you kidnapped... So what will it be this time? turning them into dolls? >

The bald man's insult had an effect as the guy with the glasses cracked the phone he was holding as he glared at his companion.

< How many times I have to tell you that I'm a high functioning-- >

< ...Sociopath, we get it. What is the difference between them anyway? >

< If the two of you have the energy to play amongst yourself. Why don't you two use that energy to find our target and be useful for once... >

The constant bickering of his two companions is starting to get on his nerves.

'Why did the higher-ups even put me in the same team as these idiots?' He cursed at his superiors in his mind.

With his successful history as a mercenary and a bounty hunter, this job should be easily accomplished by him alone. He firmly believes that these two troublemakers are burdens and will only drag him down in the long run. The higher-ups are more than aware of this and yet they sent these two idiots as backup without letting him know their purpose for doing so.

'These two should have a deeper reason for being here... Could it be?! Did they already suspect me?'

'If that were the case, then I would have no longer needed to hide. I need to report this to the young lord...'

The mere thought of him being found out by his peers put him unease. He gently stroked the heavily modified gun lurking in his coat for comfort as he keep his face unchanged.

Soon, the bustling sight of a city airport entered their sights. They call a cap and soon disappeared among the numerous vehicle that comes and goes.

***