Epilogue

About to enter the Pope's residence, M'quve stopped in the doorway and bowed.

"I humbly apologize for making you wait, Your Holiness," he said softly, "I was waiting on Heinkel for the latest report…"

"Oh, it's quite all right," the Pope responded, standing by the window with his back turned to M'quve, "I was just enjoying the view, as usual. Vatican is so beautiful in the evening, isn't it? So, no word from Mooshadow still?"

"Nothing, Your Holiness."

"And Hellsing?"

"Well, as you know, we have been having problems obtaining inside information on Hellsing for years… Their butler alone is worth a team of counter-intelligence experts. Fortunately, the same doesn't apply to the members of the Round Table. According to our informant, a conference was held yesterday morning in the Hellsing headquarters. Integra Hellsing was among the participants. Actually, it appears that an interesting development may be on its way… but we need to get more information before we can draw conclusions…"

"I see… Well, you know what that means with regards to Mooshadow, right?"

"Of course," M'quve smirked, "I knew that that was going to be a no-loss affair. Integra Hellsing or Moonshadow, the disappearance of either of the two would have made our lives easier… So, I went for it…"

"Once again, I must commend your cleverness, M'quve."

"It is an honor to be praised by You, Your Holiness."

"And what of that man? Apparently, he met his monster. And not only that… Something far grander happened there… I saw the news. Do we know what took place there?"

"Not at the moment, Your Holiness. We only had a portion of Markus Alhambra's plan in our hands. I have a feeling that the remaining details of his plan could help us unravel that mystery. We are currently working on finding out more information. So far we only know that Miami-city has been humbled. Never before such gory occurrence has been witnessed. The city and state authorities are all over the case, and it looks at this point that even their Federal Government is expected to get involved…"

"Such piteous sight, isn't it?" the Pope replied somewhat sarcastically, "Fussing ardently yet uselessly, like a termite colony disturbed by a behemoth. Will they ever find out what happened? And if they do, what will they be able to do? Pointless. The majority must be kept ignorant, because that is the key to stability and obedience. Now then what of the churches?"

"Our bishops say that reports are pouring from all over the country about drastic increase in church attendees, Your Holiness."

"Naturally. Where else but in the house of God must a fearful human with no answers seek comfort? Still, I find it rather shameful, M'Quve. Do you think that God is happy right now?"

"Your Holiness?"

"Do you think that God is happy?" the Pope repeated somewhat sternly, "Do you think that He is pleased with what this world has turned into? The world where humans need a terrifying act of a ruthless monster to occur in order for them to decide to come together? The world where only a catastrophe can remind people that they are powerless without God? Honestly, I sometimes think that the Second Flood is pending… We have a great deal to think about, M'Quve… Perhaps, we can even use this ado stirred up by the spawn of Darkness for our own advantage and betterment. Pass on the orders to our American bishops to seize the opportunity and make sure that those who have finally turned to God in desperation do not turn away when the turmoil passes. God does not want part-time followers, I think that you know that…"

"Of course, Your Holiness," M'quve bowed his head in acknowledgment, "I will relay Your orders right away. What shall we do with regards to Helling and Alucard?"

"Why should we do anything at this point? If they wanted to openly claim our involvement in their recent trouble – they would have already done so. Instead, they decided to chew and swallow it, which I find to be a rational move on their part. Furthermore, monsters that Hellsing possesses are far too powerful for us to deal with at the moment. Besides, the existence of like monsters will always serve as a reminder that God's side is better. It is our duty to make them perish, but we must delay for the time being. Right now, Hellsing is a beehive without honey, and it will only be clever of us to avoid vexing them. Still, make sure to keep up with their current developments… When God decides to use us as tool of His Divine Punishment, we must be ready…"

"Understood, Your Holiness."

Following the route through the forested terrain behind the Hellsing manor, Alucard and Integra were taking a stroll under the rising Moon.

"While it was rather unusual of you to suggest an evening walk, I found it quite convenient, Alucard," Integra said, looking ahead, "There are a few things that I wanted to talk to you about."

"I figured that much, Master," Alucard replied calmly.

"You probably understand how many reasons for a headache I have right now. First things first… What on Earth happened in Miami? I know that you and Seras not only killed that man but also fixed your centuries-old mistake, the Bloody Countess, who also came there for payback. I don't really care why you haven't shared that part you plan with me, because I myself had allowed you to improvise. All I want to know is why the authorities reported this morning that they found his house completely covered blood on the inside, and the basement was knee-deep in blood, and it was leaking outside, drenching the surrounding area. According to the estimate, however rough it may have been, there was enough blood to account for at least two thousand humans."

"Two thousand one hundred and seventeen, to be exact," Alucard grinned, "But they weren't humans. They were Elizabeth's familiars. You are well aware that familiars constitute the majority of a vampire's powers. They exist withing the vampire as essence when their blood is absorbed by a vampire. The most effective and quick way to kill an ancient vampire like Elizabeth is to destroy that vampire's familiars all at once. Naturally, such task is probably unattainable, but not for me… I have discovered a very interesting use of my new abilities. If I want to be in someone's inner world – then I can be. Not only that, but it so happens that I can take Seras along. So, Seras and I simply went into Elizabeth's inner world. There, we eliminated all of her familiars within minutes. To be fair, however, it was Seras who owned the stage. Her machineguns tore everything in sight to shreds and bloody pulp while I was basically enjoying the show. Once Elizabeth's familiars were destroyed, their essence was freed and had to find the way out of her body… You understand the implication, I presume, don't you, Master?"

"Yes, I do," Integra replied sternly and winced, "And I probably shouldn't have asked. Still, I don't think that it was good decision to take Seras with you inside someone else's world…"

"I can assure you that she had a time of her life, Master," Alucard smirked.

"Oh, I don't doubt that," Integra sighed, shaking her head, "But that's not what I meant. I think that it was very irresponsible of you to drag Seras into something that you yourself didn't have full control of… she was completely dependent on you in that situation, I hope you understand that."

"Nothing would happen to her while I was around. Besides, since when do you expect a monster like me to be responsible, Master?"

"Good point," Integra smiled sarcastically, "But that doesn't save me from headache anyway. I just hope that I will not want to shoot myself in the head when I finally get to hear the media's explanation for all those things… not just the house full of blood in Miami, but the strange blue flames above Richmond Park that illuminated the night sky and took shapes of unspeakable beasts. Do you realize how many people that live close enough to the park saw that? The two most prominent 'versions' purported by the media at this point are massive shot-circuiting of the electric lines and enormous explosion of gas pipelines, both of which are completely mindless, and it only takes half a brain to understand that. Hellsing's task, of course, is to perpetuate the state of blissful ignorance for the unthinking majority, but I sometimes wonder how low can certain people go. Even the police officers from that precinct. They supposedly were the closest to the scene… except for us, of course… Certainly, they didn't know the magnitude of what was happening, but they damn well knew what was going on. Do you think at least one of them talked about it? It irritates me, Alucard. Things have changed so much. And so has Hellsing's role. The mouse in the room has turned into an elephant, and yet we still have to keep covering it with a blanket and support those whose role it is to prevent people from understanding that that elephant exists. I'm conflicted, Alucard. Neither of the options that I have seems plausible. Can I retire? I don't think so. One doesn't simply retire from a job like that. It's not even a job. It's my family's legacy… I've been in my position since I was twelve… the leader of Hellsing organization is who I am… it is my life and I cannot simply give it up. I don't know if I will be able to go through with living normal life. Besides, if I do retire, do you know what will happen to you and Seras? I can tell you what will happen. You will be given an ultimatum – join the successor of Hellsing and remain monster hunters or refuse and become monsters that are hunted. And I know that neither of you will join. And I also understand, of course, that for them to make you their enemies would be the same as committing suicide, but it would completely destroy me to see you and Seras becoming Britain's enemies. I cannot let that happen, Alucard. Of course, I could order both of you to become part-time assets of the Government so that hundreds of innocent people don't get themselves killed while trying to take you down, but I don't want to do that. That would be grossly unfair. You and Seras deserve more and better for your service to our country. And then there is Bennett… he is truly a member of our family… Actually, come to think of it, my retirement wouldn't really affect him, I suppose… I think that he would just choose to remain by my side anyway… but then we have all of our other staff… Naturally, I would try to do everything in my power to ensure that they had been transitioned into another agencies before I retired, but I would not be able to guarantee anything. Overall, my decision to retire would force so many unfavorable circumstances onto everyone under my command that I don't even want to think about it. On the other hand, can I go on like that? Not really… I cannot cast away twenty or thirty years of my life and be perfectly suited for my role again. I'm not in shape to fulfill it anymore… On that night there were two attempts upon my life, and I didn't avert either of them. Bennett physically protected me from the first one and was clever enough to ensure that the second one foiled… I barely did anything for myself…"

"Considering the circumstances, I can only say that you are overly exaggerating your irrelevance, Master, " Alucard said coldly, "I'm absolutely sure that Bennett would contend the same…"

"Bennett would contend anything to make me feel better," Integra smiled.

"He has no reason to lie to you, and not do I, Master."

"That's not the point, Alucard. It's obvious that I'm becoming more and more dependent upon him, you and Seras. As a leader, I ought to be worried about that. And it will only get worse. It won't be long before I become a burden…"

"I would never consider you that, Master. Nor would Benner or Seras."

"You know that I appreciate these words, Alucard. But they are only words. The thing that truly matters in this case is facts. And the facts are that I can no longer perform my duties like I was able to. And I cannot discharge myself of them, either. There is no lesser evil in a situation like that."

"From a standpoint of a human, yes. But I thought that you have made the decision, Master."

"Which brings us to that," Integra sighed, "Yes, I thought that I had made that decision, but I haven't been able to bring myself to accept it yet. Becoming a vampire… being granted the ability to live for as long as you want, until you decide that the time has come… turning into something… something…"

"Something that you have hunted for years?" Alucard smirked, "Something that invoked utter pity and disgust in you at the same time? Something that you believed was lower than your human worth? Well, you have always been right about all of those things. Still, it all depends on how you look at it and if you consider it to be a fair trade."

"Do you consider it a fair trade, Alucard?"

"You know that there is no definite reply to that, Master. It always depends on the circumstances. What I can tell you with certainty, however, is that being a monster in the body does not make you a monster in the heart. Unless you want that to happen, that is."

"That's quite a thing for you to say, Alucard. Honestly, I had never thought that I would hear it from you one day."

"Even monsters like me can change…"

"Do you know that I posed a question during the Round Table Conference about me becoming a freak? Can you imagine that the majority of the members seemed to be rather in favor?"

"Better that than getting you replaced, that's what they think," Alucard said dryly, "That sounds cynically prudent on their part. They would rather have you as a vampire than deal with those who would come after you once you were off the stage. And yet, it does play into our hands, doesn't it, Master?"

"Yes, I suppose. It was more or less a confirmation that they would not really care who I was as long as the business continued as usual. I don't know whether to be disgusted or satisfied with such an outcome."

"Perhaps, a little bit of both…"

"Still, making a choice between humanness and monstrosity is not something that I think that I will ever be able to do," Integra said sternly, looking that the Moon, "I'm sure that many people would embrace the possibility… but for me… the more I think about it – the more I believe that the only way that I will ever be able to make a choice like that would be if I were forced into it. What's more, I understand now that I want to be forced into it… and yet I'm afraid at the same time…"

"Excellent," Alucard uttered softly, with a mischievous grin on his face, "I was waiting for that, Master…"

"What?"

Before Integra could realize what was going on, she felt the barrel of Alucard's silver pistol pressing against her stomach. The shot knocked her backwards, and she fell on the ground. Spitting out blood and agonizing in pain, she was looking at Alucard's silhouette standing before her as it was gradually blurring in her eyes.

"Aluc-card…"

"I'm such a monster, aren't I?" she heard his unexpectedly tender voice in her mind, "I shot my Master, who is also a lady and one of the two dearest persons to me. Still, there was no better way to make you understand. A true vampire is only born when a human chooses to turn to Darkness in the face of imminent death. Those who embrace Darkness for the sole purpose of eliminating their human fears or breaking their limits become its prisoners, and I would definitely not let you join their ranks. But you said that you wanted to be forced into making the decision between death and afterlife… well, you didn't say it that way, but that was what you meant, am I right? Even if I'm not, there is no going back… With a wound like that, you just have a few minutes left. You can die like a human or continue like a monster with a human heart. The choice is all yours, Master. What do you want to do?"