Hidan no Aria:Volume9 Chapter1

Status: Incomplete

2% completed (estimated)

   

1st Ammo: Spark Witch -Dracula Hilda-

"--Watson!"

Turbulent hot wind blew my hair into a mess, as I yelled over the sound of cackling electricity.

Feeling the searing light fade away, I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision.

"......."

Having been struck by the lightning orb from above, Watson was sprawled on the floor of the First Observation Deck.

I rushed over immediately, and saw that the black bulletproof jacket she was wearing was now spread open like a towel, the hood of her cloak covered her head, giving the appearance of a turtle which had retreated into its shell.

"Are you all right.. Watson!"

"... I.. I'm.. not. Ever since the encounter with that Demoness Hilda, I have always.. planned to strengthen the electrical protection of my gear... However, my apologies Tohyama.. I need.. to rest for a while..."

Talking up till this point, Watson stopped moving.

How did things come to this.

I had pursued Watson, who had taken Aria with him and fled to the Sky Tree -- finally engaging him in a life & death duel for 23 minutes.

Known as a superb first class fighter, his... no, her fighting skills were extraordinary. Even with my fighting capabilities 1.7 times stronger than that of HSS Normale while I was in HSS Berserker mode, I was subjected to a very tough battle.

And despite her strength, even Watson--

In a single strike, lost consciousness in just 5 seconds.

Unheard of and never seen before. A spherical lightning orb with a diameter of less than 2 meters... That was the appearance of the object that had hit her from above.

It wouldn't be wrong to assume that this was an attack from Hilda.

After all, the Bat-girl from Grenada had ambushed us half a month ago using high tension electricity.

Only this time the attack is much more powerful--

(If there was another shot now.....!)

This is not good.

Our movements are now thoroughly exposed to higher ground--the Second Observation Deck which has been taken over by Hilda.

As the First Observation Deck we were on was still in its construction phase, other than steel beams, there was no ceiling to act as cover.

(I need to hide Watson for now....)

Carrying the unconscious Watson, I prepared to fall back from the area for now.

However, whether due to an outage in the electricity supply or other reasons... The lift did not respond when I pressed the call button.

Left with no choice, I could only take the staircase used for construction work to make my way down. Encountering a door on the way down, I kicked it open.

Behind the door was a room full of water pipes that were stored messily.

--Even though the space is very small, but at least it should be safe.

After putting Watson down, I flipped open my phone to use it as a light source.

".......?"

There was something strange on the screen of the phone.

Black words on a white background displaying: "Error Code 961 Signal Interference".

Even pressing the call button resulted in a 'Please Hold' tone from the phone, there was no way to make any calls. Sending messages was out of the question as well.

"Hey, Watson, pull yourself together."

Ignoring the situation, and using the phone screen as a source of light, I shook Watson who was seated and leaning against the wall---and she slowly regained consciousness.

"..... Tohyama... Where.. Where is this place...?"

"Relax, we are below the First Observation Deck. Around us are concrete walls."

"Than... Thanks... Aria... Aria is on the Second Observation Deck, Hilda is there as well... Since I brought Aria here... I must bear the responsibility. So please, as someone who also cares about Aria... Please...! Help her... save Aria.....!"

"--Don't worry, my intention has always been to bring Aria back with me. The opponent has simply changed from you to Hilda, that's all."

Upon hearing my words, relief showed in Watson's eyes--

Then, using both of her trembling hands, she handed me her sword.

"This, this Holy Cross Sword, I'll pass it to you... use it well. You've seen it before, Hilda... loathes this."

Looking at Watson who was straining just to speak, I furrowed my eyebrows.

This sword... It's not the first time I've seen it right?

Even though is seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember when it made an impression on me.

"Is that so? You can't remember? When Hilda... Tohyama, remember the battle on Sotobori Dori [1]?"

"Ahhh... that time you appeared and chased Hilda away, I remember now."

"..... That's correct, however, I was actually putting on an act then--so as deceive everyone... Tohyama, just take the sword, conventional weapons have no effect on Hilda."

Of course--Hilda is the daughter of Vlad, and is a monster that possesses unlimited regenerative abilities.

Even though I am not proficient in the use of weapons able to deal with the supernatural, now isn't the time to nit-pick on such matters.

I took the silver sword, and Watson took out a concealed Saxon hunting knife, passing it to me as well.

The Holy Cross Sword was very long, and the blade will slightly show under my jacket..... better to conceal it under my clothes. With the strap as a support, the sword won't drop off.

Looking on as I accepted both items, Watson again passed me a small compressed-air type injector.

"Nebula... a stimulant to the central nervous system. Under normal conditions it can increase concentration when injected into the body, and is a much stronger steroid compared to Latzo when one is losing consciousness. There's still one dose left."

"Why don't you use it? My body is quite resistant to drugs. The paralysis drug you used on my eye previously--it wasn't very effective."

"This.. Having this readily available will just be somewhat reassuring,"

Watson shook her head, and looked up towards the ceiling.

"Hilda... is a 'Spark Witch'. She is able to manipulate electricity, because of the genes from the African Knifefish.... it's a type of electric fish. This has given her body cells the ability to store electricity--which is also the biological ability to use electricity generated by the body. What's worse, is that she also possesses a supernatural ability which can be used in combination....."

So in short it's a high level combination of a freak and an ability user?

This is just downright unfortunate.

"Her witchcraft---or ability, is being able to manipulate atoms using electricity. Simply put, to convert surrounding material into atoms, and attract or repel the atoms from there. Although this requires a vast amount of concentration, the effective radius is very small, and the rate of success is low, however... if combined with the ability to generate electricity, a positively charged lightning orb can be created..... Or she can dissolve the ground beneath her feet, and move herself around like a shadow."

Truth be told I don't know if the explanation is truly accurate...

Hilda may look as if she is able to move as a shadow, but in reality it was not an actual shadow, it's more like dissolving herself into a pool of muddy water. I expressed my own views to Watson.

"Hilda is a very intelligent woman, I believe she will not rely solely on these ability. She has the art of suggestion--an ancient form of hypnotism. This will render others to listen to your instructions, while forgetting everything else, it's pretty useful. This may be the reason why you do not remember much of the incident at Sotobori Dori."

"Vampire, super powers and hypnotism. What a triple whammy, it's a goddamn Grand Slam [2]."

Maybe it was to stop myself from feeling demoralised any further, I used a term from Mahjong which Riko had taught me over the summer, flashing a bitter smile.

Perhaps sensing my mood, Watson looked me straight in the eye.

"Tohyama, indeed, Hilda is a very strong opponent, that is why I handed Aria over to Grenada. Maybe you have already noticed--I have made contact with Hilda before all this started. The incident at Sotobori Dori was simply an act between Hilda and myself in order to gain Aria's trust. ....Even so, the Holy Cross Sword and Purified Silver Bullets I have given you will no doubt be a headache for her. This is why I handed them to you, as long as you are bent on declaring war against Grenada--"

"I already had my suspicions to what you have just told me..... But you should stop worrying, I have no intention to back down, if i did, I'll lose the right to call myself the team leader of Team Baskerville."

Looking at me jokingly make the remarks, Watson attempted to stand up. However, using all her strength, she could only lift her hips slightly.

"Tohyama... I, I want to fight too....!"

"There's no need. You can't even stand, plus cute girls shouldn't force themselves."

Hearing me say 'cute'--

Bom.

Watson fell back where she was sitting, in a state of shock.

"Ah.. you said... cute..."

She stammered while repeating what I said, staring at me as if in a trance.

Was it that much of a shock?

Ahhh.

Watson has always been living with a male identity, and probably has never been treated as a girl, so the shock must have been due to this.

Although I can understand her reaction, but--

Having came to the Sky Tree in HSS Berseker mode, I seemed to have activated my HSS normal mode while carrying Watson just now, so as of now I'm in a state where the 2 modes are interchanging.

..... Once I entered such a state, while I still be able to carry her so gently?

The system of HSS modes are really troublesome.

"--Do you know of anything else concerning Hilda?"

Not sure if it was due to Hysteria mode, my concern for Aria grew.

As it was more or less time to strike back, I stood up and carried the silver sword on my back.

"If you are going by yourself.. it will be one against two, Tohyama."

"Hilda never fully trusted me, so I have never seen the other person, but it appears there is definitely someone helping her, and that person is moving in the background tonight as well."

"So there is another enemy. This is getting somewhat out of hand."

Looking at me sigh, Watson said,

"Do your best Tohyama, there is still a chance to win this. We, of Liberty Mason have always been battling such enemies, and have defeated them before."

She was trying to encourage me with her words, really such an optimistic child.

".... Well, I'll just have to try my hand."

Thank you, Watson.

This will be enough.

While in Hysteria mode, being able to obtain support from females is a huge encouragement. The strength of the foes no longer matter. Nevertheless, even if not in Hysteria mode--any hot-blooded male will be motivated to fight.

I stealthily returned to the First Observation Deck....

The power outage on certain sections of the streets below were now brightly lit again.

I have already realised that the power outage was due to Hilda tapping into the power supply to create the large lightning orb.

This woman is really causing problems for everyone in her vicinity.

(However... she hasn't attacked me yet.)

I kept my guard on the Second Observation Deck 100 meters above, but it appears there isn't any light penetrating the cloud layer.

No, there is, but the blurred light appears to be for illumination only.

(That huge move...it should need some time for recovery. Or is she drawing me in closer to her trap?)

Regardless of the situation, I have to press forward.

Since power to the elevator has been restored, I might as well try my luck and use it to get up. But at this point....

The security camera at the entrance to the elevator made a slight noise as it adjusted its angle.

"......."

Numerous cameras have been installed in the Sky Tree, and I have been avoiding them while making my way here.... But this camera seems to be different from the others, it was a wide angle camera.

In hysteria mode, I discovered that there were hardly any dust on it.

Probably installed as recently as yesterday or today.

Hilda. Have you been planning to watch my fight with Watson from the very beginning?

--Then, I shall have to charge you a very high fee for watching.

(Every level on this tower has enemies, it's starting to feel like some old game.)

Thinking of this, I resumed taking the elevator to proceed upstairs.

Red flashing beacons installed to warn airplanes from crashing into the tower shone against the metal netting, imprinting square-shaped shadows on my face.

Looking down, the view seems to be an aerial photograph taken by a man-made satellite.

"......."

Upon reaching a '435 meters' marking on a pillar, the elevator stopped. Getting off, I continued upwards on a sloping path constructed with metal bars and plates.

Looking around, it seems that I am still inside the construction building.

Steel bars were exposed from the walls, but at least there was a safety barrier formed by a metal alloy mesh and steel wires.

A strong gust of wind blew past, and it felt like the whole tower was shaking. No, actually it was really shaking. Construction materials scattered around the place gave off creaking noises.

Squeak. Squeak squeak. Suddenly, a different type of noise made me lift my head up--

"............!"

Only to see the whole ceiling filled with bats.

Apparently this place becomes a nest for bats at night.

I'm guessing there are around 50 of them? Although each one is small in size, seeing such a large number hanging upside down together feels really disgusting.

My gaze swept over the the bats, and I prepared to proceed up the path marked with 'Up to 450 meters'--

"--Kinji!"

A Seiyuu-like voice came from above my head.

"......?!"

Looking up, in the shadows of a steel beam--

"Aria...!"

It's Aria.

Her pink twin tails drifting in the wind, she was standing on a metal plate full of small holes.

Good, nothing bad has happened to you.

"Are you feeling all right? You were drugged by Watson...."

"I'm fine. Although I slept enough while I was here.... overall Im still ok. How about you? The fact you managed to reach here... you fought?"

I quickly ran up the steps, while Aria hurriedly ran down, the sounds of our footsteps mingling together.

"I didn't know if the one coming up will be you or Watson... So to say, Watson has lost. Watson she... Umm, it can't be helped, this is because the the deal with Hilda has fallen apart. You should have heard about this already?"

Aira looked at me, seemingly knowing more about the details than I do.

".... Yeah. I understand the situation to a certain degree."

"I see."

Aria blinked her eyes, and--

Grabbed my sleeves, dragging me along with some force.

"Come, let's negotiate with Hilda."

"Negotiate? You and I, we.. killed Hilda's father. We're enemies, you think we can communicate with her through dialogue?"

"We can. Hilda is much smarter than Vlad. She is wary of you, Kinji--you did manage to defeat my great grandfather Sherlock Holmes."

"....I guess I'm being overestimated."

"Kinji, only knowing how to fight does not make a real Butei. If we can reach an agreement, even if it doesn't help Deen in any way... We may still be able to work out a truce between Hilda and Baskerville."

Saying this, Aria pulled my hand and ran up the stairs.

Her guns were still visible beneath her skirt--not only both her guns, but Aria was carrying her Kodachi on her back as well.

Didn't Hilda remove her weapons when she came here asleep?

If that is truly the case--maybe we really can negotiate with Hilda.

".....?"

Looking closely, Aria was...

Wearing earrings.

And just on one ear, a crudely-made black earring.

It seems familiar.. where have I seen it before?

Well, there's nothing much to say if this is one of Aria's interests, not that it's a good one.

But why does the shape of that thing look like a bat?

It--reminds me of Hilda's wings. This thing has such a hateful design.

Every 100 meters above sea leval, the air temperature decreases by 0.6 Degrees Celsius. In addition, it's presently night time.

While the autumn wind on the ground level might feel chilly, but 450 meters up in the sky--the Second Observation Tower was simply freezing like Winter.

The Sky Tree reaches up to here, with nothing else above besides the sky.

No stars could be seen in the sky from the end of the stairs.

In place, were thick layers of clouds, moving smoothly along with the strong winds.

Surrounding buildings could no longer be seen, giving me the sensation of being among the coulds.

"......."

Aria and I appraised the Second Observation Deck, which was much smaller than the First Observation Deck.

There were numerous equipment at the sides, with a circular cement ground in the center.

Dimly lit lights were positioned everywhere, randomly illuminating the ground.

There was... no sign of Hilda.

In contrast, there was something which appears to be an altar in the northern corner.

No.. not an altar.

It was something much larger than the usual ones.... a coffin. And a bier.

The shiny black bier was decorated with bright red roses.

The huge roses--are the new species named as 'Aria' by Vlad.

And now, it has been collected in large quantities, almost burying the coffin itself.

Surrounding the coffin, perhaps used in place of Baby's Breath, appears to be some ferns which have extended all the way to where our feet are.

"Hilda... went through the trouble to prepare all these things. I fear she means to have us sleep inside once negotiations are over."

Following Aria's line of sight, I saw 2 mahogany coffins, one large and one small, beside us--

Kinji Tohyama

Aria Holmes Kanzaki

Each name was engraved into a metal plate on a coffin.

Perhaps for the sake of transportation, electrical cables were snaking around the 2 coffins.

"...... To have been showered with her love, although I have never wanted it even once."

Feeling a nauseating chill down my back, I kicked out at one of the coffins.

Immediately, 'Sqeak!'--

Bats flew past my view, and...

"-- The bier, is one's final resting place, even if it is only a few square meters, it is a space that does not allow intrusions of any kind. This is a heartfelt and priceless gift to you from a highborn vampire such as I."

Sha sha... Sha sha sha....

From the luxurious shining black coffin in the northern corner, a weightless-looking umbrella appeared. Even though the coffin lid was still closed.

(Hilda...!)

Guru.. Gururu..

Her face hidden under the spinning umbrella, Hilda--

Appeared with both her legs standing on the sides of the coffin.

Her face showing under the slant illumination of the lights.

(Even though she's an enemy--she's really a beauty.)

I had already knew this during our first encounter, but the realisation deepened in Hysteria mode.

Her wax-like perfect white skin. Exotic yet alluring long red eyelashes. Full red lips. Golden ponytails completely curled to the end. A beautifully shaped nose...

With such a beautiful person wearing black gothic clothes, it was filled with a decadent, demonic-like charm--befitting one who is in fact, an actual demon.

Layers of wrinkled frills, purely hand-made lace, black silk ribbons. Such extravagant accessories with such simple clothes, worn by Hilda with such indifference.

"Ho ho, you seem to be entranced by me."

Noticing my line of vision, she lifted her leg upwards in a provocative manner.

Under her mini skirt filled with lace, beside the long stockings, there was a white eyeball tatoo.. It was like making eye contact with one another.

Hugging tights with spider-web designs showed off her beautiful leg curves, and on her feet were shiny black enamel high heels--

"Well, it can't be helped, because I am simply too beautiful."

The way I was looking at Hilda, instead of being entranced, I would say--it was on the verge of swallowing her.

Even though I was standing off against her in Hysteria mode, I got a better understanding of her 'style'.

"........"

It was like the female version of a Demon King.

Even the bier underneath her, gave me the impression that it was Hilda's throne.

"If I were to say humans like you are nameless weeds--then vampires are the precious roses residing in a greenhouse. The heavens have given us vastly different markings. Look as much as you like, it's really just like a dog looking at the stars, we are the superior beings that you will never be able to reach--of course, as a member of the other sex, I too, have suffered from the aches and pangs of love. While you yearn for me, you can only see from afar, so I will at least grant you the right to look at me. Look, look, don't move your gaze away..."

As she chuckled, she moved her red nail-polished finger tips to the side of her lips.

--? ....What's the matter?

Just as she said, I found myself unable to move my gaze away.

"That's right, this is it Tohyama. Just like this, like a set tombstone that is almost covered completely by algae. Yes... Just like this, listen to me, good boy, hohoho."

.....!

I've been hit...

This is---the Art of Suggestion. Watson mentioned it before, it's a form of hypnotism.