Chapter 5: The Golden Princess

Alucard wondered how it had ended up like this, he had stated before that violence would only be used when necessary, so the current situation he blamed it on the humans and their stupidity. He and Shalltear stood in another camp, with a fire lightning up the area under the night sky, the group this time was made up by five humans. This time they managed to actually find a martial arts user, the leader of the group, which made him Shalltears opponent while Alucard took care of the rest. Since he had to deal with four people, the Supreme Being was only able to see the first exchange of blows between the Guardian and the human, missing the following second do to the other small fry.

Having taken care of the others, he saw the rest of the confrontation, he wasn't sure if Shalltear noticed it even if the man was now visibly desperate, there was a noticeable change in strength and speed. However even this was not enough before the female vampire and soon he was on his knees breathing heavily from exhaustion, apparently he had burnt himself out.

"Did you notice any change in him?" Alucard asked, placing a hand on Shalltear's shoulder so she would stop

"I did not, Master." she replied, her eyes still fixed on the man

"I see your senses are still deafened to such things. Between the first blow and now, both his strength and speed increased, even if momentarily." Alucard pointed out, walking up to the man

"What martial arts did you use?"

"[Ability Boost]…and…[Flow Acceleration]…" the man panted

"You know more techniques?" the human simply shook his head in reply

"I see. Let's take him to Neuronist, he's weak but should give us some much-needed information." Alucard announced

Having taken the man to the Frozen Prison, they returned to the camp, Alucard ordered Shalltear to loot everything she found of worth, while he looked through the men's bags to see if some information could be found there. Searching through the leader's things he found a parchment, opening it Alucard found himself unable to read it, placing it aside he found two other interesting things these were images so he could understand them. One was a rudimentary map, that showed a path from E-Rantel to a certain location marked with an X and the other were the pictures of a young girl and a young-looking man, with something written under each image.

"[Eyes of Knowledge]." it was a simple spell that allowed the user to read any type of language

First thing he read were the annotations under the pictures, the girl was Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself and the man was Climb. Alucard then went back to the map, it was simple yet had some very specific things drawn on it, looking around he was almost convinced that the X was their current location.

"Shalltear, for how long do you think he ran, before we arrived here?"

"Around 4 hours." Alucard nodded in agreement

He went on to the first parchment, it was a message directed to a man named Klaus, who the vampire assumed to be the leader of this group, skimming though the paper's contents he let out a low hiss.

"Shalltear, come here." he growled

"Right away, Alucard-sama." once she was to his side he began to speak

"You'll have to listen to this as well." Alucard paused for a brief moment

"Klaus, I've found another job for you, this one will be riskier than the others as the target is the Golden Princess. The rules are the same, it will be you and two other teams, like before we made sure no one knowns each other. When it comes to her bodyguard, Climb, you and another team will have to job of handling him, while the others will take care of the rest of her guards..." he didn't read the rest

"Are these them?" Shalltear asked, picking up the paper with the pictures

"Yes." Alucard replied

How lucky could they be? Not only did they find a martial arts user, but also found a princess and her bodyguard. If the name Golden Princess, meant she was actually related to royalty her bodyguard possibly could be a martial arts user. Going after a possible member of royalty was a bold move, a move that for some reason Alucard was unsure this Klaus and the other teams were able to actually accomplish. These teams two could also be interesting, if they were being chosen to go up against such powerful people, they must also be pretty formidable in their own right. Also, there could be some profit to be made, if he managed to get on a princess's right side even if it would come about from such a violent situation.

"Shalltear, get rid of these bodies, now!" he ordered, she bowed and obeyed immediately

While Shalltear worked on getting rid of the bodies, he began to gather the men's belongings using the materials that would normally be used for five tents to build one massive tent and place all the belongings inside on a pile so if anyone would enter they couldn't tell that it belonged to more than 2 people. He also released all the horses, making sure they would quickly abandon the area, since he was thinking of presenting himself and Shalltear as vampires, horses were not necessary. Even if it was a problem them knowing of their existence, it was easily fixed by the fact Alucard did not plan to let them leave this place alive.

"We're going to stay here a take part in this plan. For now, till instructed otherwise you will call me Klaus." Alucard announced, one Shalltear returned

"Yes, A…Klaus-sama." Shalltear replied, with a bow

"Drop the honorific and the bows. We have to truly act as equals for this one…Since we are male and female…" Alucard drifted into thought

"We should act like lovers?" Shalltear immediately voiced

"Perhaps…Do you happen to have any other clothes with you?" Shalltear blushed slightly, before replying

"I did not."

"Then perhaps lovers will work. That would explain your current clothing, the reason I brought you with me can also be easily explained. We just need a name for you…Liria, what about that?" Alucard looked back at Shalltear, like he had just given the best idea ever

"It sounds…lovely, A-Klaus." Shalltear's face immediately went red

"I cannot say such a thing, it's too rude!"

"For the moment, it will have to do. Come on let's go inside, let the fire burn itself out."

Alucard entered the large tent, Shalltear remained outside, he sat down looking at the entrance and could see her take timid steps towards the tent. Alucard raised an eyebrow at her, did something happen for her to be acting this way, was she possibly flustered by him saying that they would be acting as lovers. The Guardian finally entered the tent and was still with her head flush red and seemed restless while looking down at the sitting Alucard.

"Since we will be posing as lovers…Will I have my first time here?" he had to admit she was persistent

"Why, did you bring up this again?"

"I-If we are to act as lovers, shouldn't we show a certain intimacy before the others? So, they won't suspect of anything?" she did raise a point, yet an exaggerated one

"True, Liria. However, that does not involve what you brought up about your first time. But before anyone arrives, I apologize for any offence I may cause you during the remainder of this mission." Alucard replied, readying himself for another session of meditation

"But there is no need for an apology. You have only to say and my body is yours!"

"Silence, use the remaining time to calm your mind. Acting isn't as easy as one might think."

The sunlight was still dim when Alucard heard the sound of several horses approaching, his eyes opened lazily as he had spent every second till now meditating, his eyes went to were Shalltear was before he closed them, she was gone. Looking through the opening in front of him, he could see her outside most likely she got bored of waiting, finally the sound of the horses stopped.

"I wasn't expecting a castle!" a man laughed, clearly referring to the size of the tent

"What a beauty." said another, referring to Shalltear

Alucard blinked several times, getting into character, finally he lifted himself up and marched out of the tent to meet those he would be working with. There were nine horsemen standing before him, however these could be divided into two distinct groups. One of them, which was composed by five people, had outfits that varied from individual to individual and their leader seemed to be a woman. The others were black cloaks, rode on black horses and wore masks shaped like bird beaks with only their eyes exposed, they were very similar to what in world Alucard called plague doctors. Taking a deep breath his first move was a bold one, he walked up to Shalltear wrapped one arm around her and leaned down on neck.

"Liria, be a dear and let me handle this."

Shalltear's face turned bright red, the feeling of his strangely hot breath bearing down on her was too much for her to keep her composure, there was a feeling surging from her lower abdomen.

"I-I'll leave it to you then." she mumbled, going back to the tent

"I take it you the other team hired to deal with Climb?" the woman asked

"I am, the name's Klaus." from under his hood Alucard could see her expression change

"It's surprising to see that we will be working with vampires." one of the masked men said, the woman simply nodded

"It's surprising that they thought I would need a team for this job." Alucard hissed back, sarcastically

"Vampires do tend to lack a certain, delicate touch."

"Then you haven't meet the right vampire, miss…" Alucard paused to hear her name

"Gaia."

"And you men?"

"You don't need to know their names, if you have any questions direct them to me." Alucard nodded with a smile

"And the four gentlemen?"

"We are the Franklin Brothers. I am Lottus, like her you don't need to know the names of the others."

"Then I am Klaus and she was my concubine, Liria."

"Then perhaps we could meet her, to show how connected we all are as a team?" suggested one of the men to Gaia's right

"I tend to be possessive of my toys, so I will have to decline."

"Do you have a plan, Gaia?" Lottus asked, changing the subject

"Our information indicates the target is travelling by carriage, two other carriages filled with soldiers are placed behind and in front of hers. With the map, we have been given my team can easily place traps to dispatch of those two. The rest will be up to you and the vampire."

"I think I can take him." Alucard interjected

"We are glad you are feeling optimistic. But we also have a part to play in this, however if you think you can take him on in close quarters combat do so. Just make sure you move him to an open area so we can do our job, and make your life easier." Lottus said

"And what will you do to him?"

"You will see when the time comes."

"If you two are finished, my team will prepare the traps. We have a few hours till she passes through here." Gaia roared, silencing both men

"Good luck. I'll be waiting in my tent." Alucard waved them a farewell and vanished into the tent

Inside Shalltear was sitting inside in one of the corners, Alucard sat in the same place he had spent the night, once more he closed his eyes and relaxed his mind. It didn't take long for him to feel someone close to him, he opened his eyes and looked to his left there was Shalltear, sitting next to him but at a distance that if one entered would question how close they actually were.

"As a concubine, I should stay close to you. And make sure I am at hand, if you are in need of me."

"I fear, you may take my actions too seriously. Remember we are acting." Alucard replied

"Never. I know very well this situation is simply for the greater good of Nazarik."

Alucard who had his legs crossed, extend his right, he extended his left arm towards Shalltear wrapped it around her, pulling the female vampire towards him so she would now be sitting in front of him.

"If that is the case, let's see what we have. To begin with, from what you've heard, what do you think of these people?" Alucard asked, given his size he was looking down on her

"I think they should properly punished for the way they speak to you, Klaus."

Alucard rolled his eyes, she had yet to properly get into character, but if she could keep these little outbursts to just when they were alone it wouldn't be a problem. The fact that she continued to call him Klaus, made him proud of her, since having her call him by another name without honorifics was his main cause for concern. Which meant that what he was doing now with her, that was completely justified because of the role they are playing before the others, was completely justified and in no way morally questionable.

"Ignoring that. What do you think?"

"The brothers are playing on using you as bait to lure out Climb."

"That's true. What do you think they plan to do to him?"

"I don't know…" she replied

Her weak answer was met with Alucard tightening his hold on her, however it wasn't as simple as just pulling her towards him, he was pushing his fingers in the stop right under her ribs, which made it slightly uncomfortable.

"Try to rephrase that."

"We do not have enough information to properly access the situation." she said, her breath becoming heavy

"I agree with you, Liria good work. What about the rest?" the pressure being applied by his fingers dropped, Shalltear couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed

"They don't seem to be anything special, since they are only going to make traps." his grip on her tightened again

"Is that so? But Gaia said we just had a few hours to prepare, how will they make traps in such a short period of time?"

"Magic! Or they are simple, easy to make, traps." Shalltear gasped, the pressure on her body reduced

"You did very good Liria. I think you have already picked a few things up during our short time together."

"Thank you, Klaus."

Alucard looked down at her, something felt wrong, she felt weak even if he was no longer holding her so tightly she definitely felt weaker, her legs too were completely limp and something smelled strange around her, it was a new fragrance that he had yet to smell on her.

"Did something happen?" his voice was starting to show a little hint of concern

"My apologies, I seem to have gotten a little too excited and made a…mess."

The Supreme Being, did his best not to over react because at the moment he was unsure of what to do or how to react, he could swear that he had done nothing to get this type of reaction from it. Once more he questioned what had Peroroncino programmed into her, or more precisely what hadn't he programmed into her, to make Shalltear like this.

"Its best I leave so you can recompose yourself."

Seeing it to be fit to leave her alone to clean up her "mess" in private, Alucard fully released his grip on Shalltear, proceeded to get up and walk out of the tent, at the entrance he stopped seemed to sigh and looked back. As he did so, Shalltear felt a small hint of hope that he wouldn't walk away, but his glance lasted less than a second and just like that he was gone, she smiled weakly, to contain the thunderous roar of join being held within her.

The plan was simple, first one has to take into account the landscape, the road the target will be using is narrow, so the carriages are forced to move in a straight line one in front of the other. Second Alucard and the other's position relative to the road, they were on a cliff that dropped 30 feet down into the road and the road had 16 feet ledge before dropping 32 feet. It wasn't the safest of roads, but it was stable and rarely used explaining why their target was using it.

The traps set out by Gaia's team were simple, for the first carriage they had used magic to dig out the ground on the road and then covered the plan was for when it passed over the covered hole the carriage would drop inside. Once inside the hole the people inside would be finished off with arrows, for the third carriage a log had been placed on top of the hill to be released and take it out. Alucard didn't complain, they were simple traps, yet seemed to be enough for what they wanted, since his target was Climb and the Princess what happened to the others wasn't his problem. Shalltear was not to accompany him, since she had been presented as his concubine there was no reason for her to be involved.

Alucard, Gaia and Lottus looked over the road, the other brothers were standing behind them, while the rest of Gaia's team was in position to release the log once the target was in position. Alucard was the first to sense the carriages, his keen ears detecting them before anyone else could, of course he informed the rest and told them to get ready. Soon the carriages were passing by them, the first one went over the covered hole a small creak could be heard before they sunk into the hole without any resistance. The impact was violent and certainly must have at least stunned the soldiers inside the carriage, it also injured the horses pulling it. Then the log was released, it had a much bigger impact on the third carriage hitting it full force after rolling down the hill, not only did the log hit the carriage but also send it down the edge of the road.

"Klaus, go on ahead!" Lottus ordered

The vampire gave him a low hiss before jumping down on to the roof of the remaining carriage, the impact was enough to cut clean through the carriage, luckily for the two individuals inside they jumped out towards the edge before Alucard landed. Emerging from the debris, Alucard emerged before the targets, much to his surprise a blade was already between him and Renner. Climb had already acted and readied himself for combat, while Renner cowered behind her bodyguard, Alucard smile under his hood the boy certainly looked determined.

"Boy, I ask you to stop moving towards the edge. I need the girl alive." Alucard said, placing his right hand on the hilt of his katana

Climb did not reply, he had no way to do so, it was true after all he only had so many steps he could take back before being cornered. In front of him stood one large man equipped with a katana and it seemed like he had jumped from the top of the cliff without using anything to stop his fall, a dangerous foe but he was still some distance away. Looking to his right, there was the other carriage inside a pit, to the left the way was clear it meant he would have more room to fight and not risk falling off a cliff.

"Must I bypass you, to get to her?" his enemy asked, the sarcasm in his voice made Climb's rage grow

"I'm going to start moving slowly to the left, please remain behind me." Climb said, in a low tone so only Renner would hear

"Such a good dog, protecting his master."

Alucard tightened his hold on his katana, opened his leg's slightly, lowered his body and looked up, before charging. Climb couldn't say he thought about what he was going, he wrapped his left arm around the princess and threw himself to the left, just as their attacker made a downwards slash in his direction. Ignoring the massive dust cloud lifted by the impact of the blade on the ground, Climb started to run towards the open area, apologizing profusely in his mind for forcing his master to be involved in such situation.

Having gotten some distance between himself and the attacker, Climb was still trying to think of what he could do, the man, if it was a man, that was now his opponent transmitted an unnerving presence. It made him shiver with fear and uncertainty, but he couldn't let those fears overwhelm him, he had to protect his master at all costs even if it meant losing his life. From the cloud of lifted dust, the hooded figure broke through and started to advance his katana once more sheathed with the right hand resting on the hilt.

"Before we go any further. Are you planning to fight me? I mean, I understand you having to protect her, but you won't be able to get rid of me while you shield her."

Climb swallowed dry, he was correct as much as it pained him in this situation Renner was only making things harder for him, he couldn't properly try to fight this individual while protecting her.

"And I also won't be able to enjoy myself, if she is in the way."

"Then allow us to help you."

The young soldier quickly looked behind him in the direction of the voice, standing just a few feet from Renner and himself, were four masked figures.

"We've dealt with the rest." spoke a woman

Looking back at his opponent, Climb now saw five people with bows standing near the carriages, how was this possible, how could he possibly miss so many threats in one place. What should he do first, try to find a way around this, turn around and attack the masked men, maybe not they could be magic casters or be masked for some other reason.

"You are all very helpful I truly appreciate it. However, I will have this finished shortly." Alucard said

He a similar stance as before, but this time his head hung low, seeing this Climb placed his uneasy sword in the way of the incoming attack, trying to block it was the best thing he could do. What happened next he couldn't follow with his eyes, from his point of view the man had not moved, but there was a dust cloud around him signaling movement, his head nearly went blank trying to understand what had happened. Then it happened, the five figures standing near the carriages collapsed on the ground, their heads no longer attached to their bodies.

"What have you done!?" roared Lottus

Alucard did not reply, he jumped clean over Climb and Renner, landing in front of Lottus he brought his hand up to the man's chin sending him flying, the other three brother's jumped back ready to retaliate. The vampire, jumped at the brother that had jumped in the direction of the edge, grabbing him by the mask he threw him at one of the other brothers, for the remaining he easily closed the distance between them taking him out with an uppercut. In the end, he had used just the necessary strength to knock them out, there was something in them that made Alucard think they could have useful information.

For Climb it was as if time had stopped, because in one instant the hooded figure was in front of him, the other he was standing behind them with the other four collapsed on the ground. The young soldier, looked at the figure certainly this could not be a human, if his mind wasn't exaggerating things he was superior to even Gazef Strolonoff. Seeing him kill those, who seemed to be working with him, made Climb worry, this man was as ruthless as they come, killing his comrades to get all the glory for himself.

"My apologies." Alucard said, Climb did not understand what was happening

"It was not my intention to hurt or scare, the both of you. I just had to let them go this far so I was certain of their plan."

"This was all an act!?" Climb asked, not measuring his tone of voice, letting his fear and desperation show

"Yes. Like I said, I acted as one of them till I was sure of their plan, I can't simply go around killing people who I believe to be criminals. It costed a few lives, but the one that mattered is safe." Alucard's head turned in the direction of Renner

"Then you mean us not harm?" Renner spoke for the first time, her voice was shaky

"I do not."

"You have my gratitude stranger." the princess said

"There is no need for formalities. I'm knew around here, so I really don't know who you are." Alucard let out an awkward laugh

"I am Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself. Third Princess of Re-Estize Kingdom and the youngest daughter of King Ramposa III." the girl announced

"It's an honor. I'm Alucard." the vampire said, taking a small bow

"And he's my personal bodyguard, Climb."

Alucard looked at the boy, he seemed to have the look of a warrior, but something was missing something that from his point of view, was a deadly flaw. This soldier, was still lacking that was evident, he had done nothing in the way to fight off his attackers, could it have been because his initial opponent was Alucard? If that was the case it was possible that he could have taken care of the others by himself, since outside of the unknown powers of the Franklin brothers the others were rather weak. The Supreme Being pondered on what could have happened if he wasn't present, things might have been messy to say the least.

"Climb, you must be one of the kingdoms great warriors to be accompanying the princess. I wish we would have had the opportunity to cross blades."

"I…I'm not…" he mumbled

"Is that so? Then for you to be guarding her…" Renner interrupted Alucard

"Climb is fine! He will be able to protect me at any time."

"Is that so…You must know Gazef, correct?" Alucard asked

"We do." Renner replied

"Please, if possible, send him my regards."

There was a reason Alucard changed the subject so quickly, he couldn't call it fear but a sense of uneasiness, some people said that the eyes were the windows to the soul, he did not believe in such things but what he saw in her made him think otherwise. He had seen eyes like hers before, he had met and talked with people like what her before, he had worked with and for them even. Dangerous did not begin to describe what they were, the lack of morality made one a formidable foe, even now that he was much stronger than his human body his instincts told him to not take her lightly.

"Once more, I apologize for the situation. Climb, you should be able to make it to your destination if you take one of the remaining horses. For me I have to take my leave." with another small bow he turned around and began to walk away

"Wouldn't you want to join us? After protecting one of the King's children, you can receive a large reward." Renner pointed out

"I don't do this for the rewards, or the credit, but I appreciate the sentiment. I'm sure that I will end up meeting you again, so perhaps then we can talk about it, but now I really need to get these four out of here."

While he talked, he was picking up the Franklin brothers, placing two over each shoulder like they were simple bags of potatoes. Then giving the duo one final nod, he jumped back to the cliff he had initially emerged from, making his way back to camp Shalltear.

"You may address me like usual now. And I appreciate your patience, next target will be yours, now open a Gate."

The Brothers would be taken to be questioned in the Frozen Prison, after leaving them there Alucard and Shalltear went back to the camp, having completed their task here and still having half of the day left, finding another target was possible.

"Shall we get going?" Alucard asked

"Yes, Alucard-sama. I am very eager to see what we will find next."