



<"I--I'm fine, Lieutenant.">



<"Who were you just talking to?"> Asked another soldier.



<"No one! It was no one! I'm just tired. That's all."> Tanya replied.



The Air Mages decided to drop the subject and leave their commander alone. Tanya looked to the raining sky and scowled.



"I swear, Being X. Someday, I'll be the agent of Your judgement!"



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Lieutenant Viktoriya spoke to her. Asked another soldier. Tanya replied.The Air Mages decided to drop the subject and leave their commander alone. Tanya looked to the raining sky and scowled.











THE WAR HAS BEGUN!!!



Seras rolled to her left and crouched behind the ruined APC. She grabbed her Anti-Midians rifle and opened fire. To her surprise, a blue barrier sprang up and shielded Tanya from the bullets. The child major looked unimpressed and returned fire with her Mondragon rifle.



Seras crouched back into cover, doing her best to keep her head down. Lucky for her, the rusted tank provided adequate defense against the powerful German bullets. Being a vampire, Seras had the advantage of a strong healing factor, but that didn't mean she liked getting shot. She lifted her gun over her shoulder and blind-fired at Tanya, hoping to disrupt her fire for a bit. Like before, she could do little but wear down her enemy's shield, but Tanya knew better than to let that happen.



The Imperial Air Mage activated the crimson Elinium Crystal on her uniform and took to the skies. Ignoring the droplets of rain whipping her face, Tanya dashed forward and rained down magical shots at her target.



"Bloody Hell!" Seras shrieked as she ran to avoid the deadly blue beams. She ducked her head and scurried away as the shots pounded the street around her. Though she did her best to run, the slippery, rain-soaked streets made that difficult. Each shot from Tanya's rifle exploded like an artillery shell, causing large craters in each place they hit. Seras tried to shoot back with her semi-auto rifle, but Tanya was too small and fast a target to hit reliably.



Already this odds of this battle were in Tanya's favor. Her crystal gave her an enormous edge in both flight and speed. All she had to do was wear Seras down to exhaustion, and then finish her when she became too tired to retreat. She continued peppering the ground with artillery bullets, each shot exploding like a hand grenade. On the ground, Seras was blown forward several feet and crashed face-first on the hard pavement. If she were still an ordinary human, that would already caused her some major damage. She tried to shoot with one hand while crouching, but was so dazed that her shots missed Tanya by several feet.



"Pathetic! You're making this way too easy!" Tanya laughed as Seras' shots misssed her. The blond soldier rocketed towards the sky, around 300 feet above the city. Tanya charged her bayonet, its metal blade glowing blue with magic. Tanya dove downwards and charged at Seras, swinging her rifle like a halberd. The bayonet cut a deep gash into Seras' arm, nearly severing it. The Hellsing agent didn't even have time to scream as Tanya charged again, this time slicing her left torso. Seras cried loudly as she suffered more lacerations along her chest, face, limbs, and stomach. Each wound leaked a frightening amount of blood, which would've already killed Seras were she not a vampire. She fought the excruciating pain across her body and struggled back to her feet.



Tanya gave a smile of sadistic glee as she watched her opponent. "This Hunden can't possibly have any fight left in her. I'll give her a mercy killing." The Air Mage dashed forward and kicked Seras in the chin, sending her flying several feet back on the street. She landed face-up and too dazed to stand; she'd also dropped her rifle in the attack. Tanya stood on top of the vampire and held her rifle like a spear, ready to pierce Seras' heart! The police girl shook off her dizziness and grabbed Tanya's rifle by the bayonet before it could skewer her. Tanya's knife inched closer and closer between Seras' breasts, nearly touching the buttons on her tan uniform.



"Bollocks to this! I am not gonna die to some fucking pre-schooler who thinks she's a soldier!" The blond vampire thought while giving a look of angry determination.



She poured her strength into her arms and slowly pushed the enemy's knife away. The wounds in her legs started to heal, which gave her the strength to stand back up. Roaring with fury, the vampire pushed the rifle further and further back, as her enemy Tanya was losing all her momentum. The child soldier's joy turned to fear and confusion. "What is this? How the Hell could she have healed this soon already!?"



"You will not kill me! YOU! WILL! NOT! FUCKING! KILL ME!" Seras finally regained her ground and yanked away Tanya's rifle while she was off-balance. She then kneed the child soldier in the gut and sent her flying with an uppercut.



The Air Mage was shot up above the rooftops like a mortar shell, but quickly regained her balance with her Elinium Crystal. A gunshot crashed into Tanya's personal shield, nearly penetrating it. The Imperial soldier looked down and saw Seras taking aim with the stolen Mondragon.



"That bitch! How dare she shoot at me with my own weapon!" Feeling insulted, the Air Mage pulled out another weapon--her prized SIG MKMS submachine gun. She sprayed several bullets down, who didn't even flinch as the bullets exploded all around her. Tanya's clip quickly ran out, forcing her to search for a fresh one. But before she could reloaded, she again took gunfire--not from Seras, but from armed civilians hiding in a nearby house! The surprise attack caused the Air Mage to drop her magazine and race back down to the street to recover it. She was forced to take cover behind a set of sandbags next to a building across the street.



"Partisans!? Why now of all times!?" The Air Mage snarled as she kept her head beneath cover. She looked in frustration as her target had enough time to retrieve her lost rifle and run in the Partisan house. She even had the nerve to take Tanya's gun inside!



A few minutes passed. Tanya prepared to throw a smoke grenade to throw off the Partisans' aim.



Suddenly, a voice crackled to life on her radio. <"Major! This is Vice Commander Weiss! We're coming to provide backup! And we're bringing the battalion you ordered!">



Tanya peeked out of her cover and saw her teammates were indeed coming, along with a truck of the promised infantry. Inside the truck, she saw at least three troopers in heavy gear and gas masks, carrying what looked like flamethrowers. Seeing those gave Tanya a sinister idea.



"Flamethrowers. We'll burn her out."



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(Image captured from Call of Duty: World at War)







Seras was glad she took advantage of her lucky break.



"Thank God she didn't get my heart, or I would've been finished." The police girl thought. "Although, I'm not sure 'God's' the one I should be thanking." After all, Being X was the reason Seras was in this hellhole in the first place.



She hid behind an old couch with her two rifles, waiting for her wounds to heal. Her healing factor wasn't quite as robust as her master Alucard's, but it still knew how to put her back together.







The vampire peeked through the windows, and saw a big armored truck carrying uniformed men with guns.



"Just my luck." Seras groaned. "As if one of these bastards isn't hard enough to deal with." The good news was, the gunfire from upstairs was holding them back. If Seras was careful, she might crawl her way out of the house before the Imperials have time to notice her. Suddenly, a small object broke through the window above and landed on the floor. The object was small and metal, and oddly shaped like a potato masher. Seras knew exactly what it was.



"Shit! Stick grenade! I'm finished!" She shut her eyes and awaited the inevitable explosion........except there was no explosion.



*POOF!*

A harmless cloud of white smoke was hissing from a hole in the grenade.



"Phew! Just a smoke grenade." Seras sighed in relief. The Hellsing agent threw the non-lethal explosive through the window and carried on. Outside, the white smoke filled the area around the front of the building. The gunfire upstairs halted, the attackers blinded by the smoke. Seras looked nervous--she felt like she just made a grave mistake.







She heard Tanya's voice shouting to her comrades outside: "Der Partisanenspion flüchtet mit ihren Verbündeten in diesem Haus! Nimm deine Flammenwerfer und verbrenne sie! Verbrenne sie alle auf den verdammten Boden!"



"Whatever she's shouting, it doesn't sound good." Seras worried. She kept below the windows and continued crawling......









"CHRIST!!! A bloody FLAMETHROWER!?" The vampire shouted in horror. As much as she wanted to run, she needed to keep to the ground to avoid getting burned or inhaling smoke.



The flames scorched the wooden walls and furniture, ravaging the hallway. The vampire crawled as fast as she could, but before she knew it, another flamethrower fired through the window in front! And then another the window further down!



"Oh, gimme a fucking break!" Cried Seras. The whole house became a blazing inferno. The flames raced their ways into the living room, the kitchen, and the bedrooms. The police girl dodged the second flamethrower in the middle, and later the third one at the end. With all three deathtraps cleared, now was the time to get the hell out of the building!



Seras frantically raced up the stairs, dodging flames and falling wood along the way. She reached the second floor, which wasn't on fire yet, but covered in thick smoke. The blonde coughed painfully, and covered her mouth to avoid inhaling more smoke. Seras needed to find an exit, but she could barely see five feet through the thick smoke. On her right, panicked men in ordinary civilian clothes crashed through the door, whom Seras assumed to be the Partisans. The rebels raced down the hallway, too terrified to notice Seras. The vampire girl followed the men as the inferno burned away at the house's foundations, weakening the second floor. Flaming debris fell, crushing two of the soldiers beneath it.

.....Until a huge stream of fire blazed through the window like a dragon's breath!"CHRIST!!! A bloody FLAMETHROWER!?" The vampire shouted in horror. As much as she wanted to run, she needed to keep to the ground to avoid getting burned or inhaling smoke.The flames scorched the wooden walls and furniture, ravaging the hallway. The vampire crawled as fast as she could, but before she knew it,flamethrower fired through the window in front! And thenthe window further down!"Oh, gimme a fucking break!" Cried Seras. The whole house became a blazing inferno. The flames raced their ways into the living room, the kitchen, and the bedrooms. The police girl dodged the second flamethrower in the middle, and later the third one at the end. With all three deathtraps cleared, now was the time to get the hell out of the building!Seras frantically raced up the stairs, dodging flames and falling wood along the way. She reached the second floor, which wasn't on fire yet, but covered in thick smoke. The blonde coughed painfully, and covered her mouth to avoid inhaling more smoke. Seras needed to find an exit, but she could barely see five feet through the thick smoke. On her right, panicked men in ordinary civilian clothes crashed through the door, whom Seras assumed to be the Partisans. The rebels raced down the hallway, too terrified to notice Seras. The vampire girl followed the men as the inferno burned away at the house's foundations, weakening the second floor. Flaming debris fell, crushing two of the soldiers beneath it. The interior was completely ruined--its walls, floors, and furniture covered in dust and ash. The windows were barred in with wooden planks. No one was on the first floor. But above, Seras felt the ceiling rattling with the noise of gunfire and furious shouting. Didn't matter. She was safe as long as no one knew she existed.The vampire peeked through the windows, and saw a big armored truck carrying uniformed men with guns."Just my luck." Seras groaned. "As if one of these bastards isn't hard enough to deal with." The good news was, the gunfire from upstairs was holding them back. If Seras was careful, she might crawl her way out of the house before the Imperials have time to notice her. Suddenly, a small object broke through the window above and landed on the floor. The object was small and metal, and oddly shaped like a potato masher. Seras knew exactly what it was.She shut her eyes and awaited the inevitable explosion........except there was no explosion.A harmless cloud of white smoke was hissing from a hole in the grenade."Phew! Just a smoke grenade." Seras sighed in relief. The Hellsing agent threw the non-lethal explosive through the window and carried on. Outside, the white smoke filled the area around the front of the building. The gunfire upstairs halted, the attackers blinded by the smoke. Seras looked nervous--she felt like she just made a grave mistake.She heard Tanya's voice shouting to her comrades outside:"Whatever she's shouting, it doesn't sound good." Seras worried. She kept below the windows and continued crawling...... Seras rolled to her left and crouched behind the ruined APC. She grabbed her Anti-Midians rifle and opened fire. To her surprise, a blue barrier sprang up and shielded Tanya from the bullets. The child major looked unimpressed and returned fire with her Mondragon rifle.Seras crouched back into cover, doing her best to keep her head down. Lucky for her, the rusted tank provided adequate defense against the powerful German bullets. Being a vampire, Seras had the advantage of a strong healing factor, but that didn't mean she liked getting. She lifted her gun over her shoulder and blind-fired at Tanya, hoping to disrupt her fire for a bit. Like before, she could do little but wear down her enemy's shield, but Tanya knew better than to let that happen.The Imperial Air Mage activated the crimson Elinium Crystal on her uniform and took to the skies. Ignoring the droplets of rain whipping her face, Tanya dashed forward and rained down magical shots at her target."Bloody Hell!" Seras shrieked as she ran to avoid the deadly blue beams. She ducked her head and scurried away as the shots pounded the street around her. Though she did her best to run, the slippery, rain-soaked streets made that difficult. Each shot from Tanya's rifle exploded like an artillery shell, causing large craters in each place they hit. Seras tried to shoot back with her semi-auto rifle, but Tanya was too small and fast a target to hit reliably.Already this odds of this battle were in Tanya's favor. Her crystal gave her an enormous edge in both flight and speed. All she had to do was wear Seras down to exhaustion, and then finish her when she became too tired to retreat. She continued peppering the ground with artillery bullets, each shot exploding like a hand grenade. On the ground, Seras was blown forward several feet and crashed face-first on the hard pavement. If she were still an ordinary human, that would already caused her some major damage. She tried to shoot with one hand while crouching, but was so dazed that her shots missed Tanya by several feet."Pathetic! You're making this way too easy!" Tanya laughed as Seras' shots misssed her. The blond soldier rocketed towards the sky, around 300 feet above the city. Tanya charged her bayonet, its metal blade glowing blue with magic. Tanya dove downwards and charged at Seras, swinging her rifle like a halberd. The bayonet cut a deep gash into Seras' arm, nearly severing it. The Hellsing agent didn't even have time to scream as Tanya charged again, this time slicing her left torso. Seras cried loudly as she suffered more lacerations along her chest, face, limbs, and stomach. Each wound leaked a frightening amount of blood, which would've already killed Seras were she not a vampire. She fought the excruciating pain across her body and struggled back to her feet.Tanya gave a smile of sadistic glee as she watched her opponent.The Air Mage dashed forward and kicked Seras in the chin, sending her flying several feet back on the street. She landed face-up and too dazed to stand; she'd also dropped her rifle in the attack. Tanya stood on top of the vampire and held her rifle like a spear, ready to pierce Seras' heart! The police girl shook off her dizziness and grabbed Tanya's rifle by the bayonet before it could skewer her. Tanya's knife inched closer and closer between Seras' breasts, nearly touching the buttons on her tan uniform.The blond vampire thought while giving a look of angry determination.She poured her strength into her arms and slowly pushed the enemy's knife away. The wounds in her legs started to heal, which gave her the strength to stand back up. Roaring with fury, the vampire pushed the rifle further and further back, as her enemy Tanya was losing all her momentum. The child soldier's joy turned to fear and confusion. "What is this? How the Hell could she have healed this soon already!?""You will not kill me! YOU! WILL! NOT! FUCKING! KILL ME!" Seras finally regained her ground and yanked away Tanya's rifle while she was off-balance. She then kneed the child soldier in the gut and sent her flying with an uppercut.The Air Mage was shot up above the rooftops like a mortar shell, but quickly regained her balance with her Elinium Crystal. A gunshot crashed into Tanya's personal shield, nearly penetrating it. The Imperial soldier looked down and saw Seras taking aim with the stolen Mondragon."That bitch! How dare she shoot at me with my own weapon!" Feeling insulted, the Air Mage pulled out another weapon--her prized SIG MKMS submachine gun. She sprayed several bullets down, who didn't even flinch as the bullets exploded all around her. Tanya's clip quickly ran out, forcing her to search for a fresh one. But before she could reloaded, shetook gunfire--not from Seras, but from armed civilians hiding in a nearby house! The surprise attack caused the Air Mage to drop her magazine and race back down to the street to recover it. She was forced to take cover behind a set of sandbags next to a building across the street.The Air Mage snarled as she kept her head beneath cover. She looked in frustration as her target had enough time to retrieve her lost rifle and run in the Partisan house. She even had the nerve to take Tanya's gun inside!A few minutes passed. Tanya prepared to throw a smoke grenade to throw off the Partisans' aim.Suddenly, a voice crackled to life on her radio.

In another bizarre twist, one of the dead partisans shifted its eyes to Tanya and began speaking.Impulsively, Tanya immediately fired at the talking corpse and blew its head off."Being X! You worthless piece of shit! Did you come back to haunt me again!?"Being X spoke to her from another corpse."A 'new life!?' Don't gimme that crap!" Tanya hissed. "You brought me to this shithole of a world just to strong-arm me into worshiping You! All my life, You've done nothing but torment me, and You caused this whole war just to satisfy Your ego!"Tanya shot at the corpse, before Being X found another one to possess.The deity spoke."Screw You! I did all those thingsof You!" The blonde soldier screamed. "My powers and rank are just the means to accomplish it!""I don't care how powerful she is! This isn't the first time you sent some deranged believer out to kill me, and it never worked! I'll defeat your 'agent of wrath' just like all the rest! AND I WILL NEVER, EVER WORSHIP YOU!!!"Tanya emptied her clip into the last corpse until it became a pile of bloody, severed parts. She noticed a few seconds later that time resumed its normal course. She looked around and saw her men's faces staring at her in confusion.For the past two hours, Seras was trudging through miles of mud and blood in search of her target. Her clothes, face, and weapons were caked with multiple stains of soggy mud. Even the constant downpour of rain did little to clean it.She traveled west to Amiens for what she guessed was about 4 miles, with only her vampire stamina keeping her awake. Her only guidance was a few wooden signs vaguely pointing in the town's direction (and it didn't help that they were all in French). Would it have killed Being X to give her a map and a compass?Despite this, she somehow managed to find her way to the weeping city. But Amiens proved to be no better than the trenches--and in some cases, worse. Aside from being bogged down in rain, the streets and alleys were constantly guarded with soldiers and tanks roaming around. Other soldiers were posted on machine guns behind sandbags or onboard trucks, and some were snipers who camped in tall hotels and church towers. The town was also littered with debris from buildings and vehicles, and the streets pitted with holes caused by explosions. Getting around this town was another headache in an already unpleasant experience.Using the training that Captain Bernadotte gave her, Seras kept to the dark, avoiding any patrolling footsoldiers or snipers who could see her. She crept through shadows like a rat, crawling through large holes left in several abandoned homes and shops. It would help if she learned how to transform into a bat like her master Alucard. Even so, Seras managed not to draw any attention to herself from the numerous patrolling guards below.Seras was currently in a second-story apartment that looked like a little girl's bedroom. To her right was a set of windows, through which she saw a group of soldiers in olive raincoats on the streets. Around them were the dead bodies of armed men, presumably victims of an ambush or execution. Though the soldiers' hoods obscured their faces, Seras was close enough to the ground to make out a few of them.Out of the dozen-or-so soldiers, there were only two women. One was a somewhat-tall brunette teenager around high school age, with large ocean blue eyes. The other was a much shorter girl with blonde hair and azure eyes who looked young enough to be in Middle School. Even though she was only a child, she carried herself with the same authority and intimidation felt from any adult.Seras remembered Being X saying that her target was a blonde, blue-eyed girl. Sure, it wasn't much to go on, but how often does one see a 10-year-old in the military? Let alone as a patrolman? With nothing to lose, Seras decided to go downstairs and confirm whether or not this girl was the so-called "Devil of the Rhine."The Hellsing agent exited through the front door of the building and took cover behind a ruined armored car. From their behaviors, she could tell that none of the soldiers had noticed her--yet.She thought.The blonde soldier shouted in a commanding tone to her adult comrades:The soldiers replied while saluting."Germans. Great."Seras groaned. "Next they're gonna be doing the 'Heil Hitler' salute while singing the bloody Horst Wessel Song." She remembered her nightmarish encounters with the Millennium's army of Vampire Nazis and wondered if these Germans were anything like them. They didn't act like vampires though, since they weren't eating their victims.While she was busy looking at the soldiers, Seras didn't notice the wet, rainy air filling her nose, causing her to sneeze. "Ah--AHH--ACHOO!!!"The Germans noticed. They snapped towards Seras' cover and ordered her to come out in her language.Seras chastised herself for sneezing.Shouted the little blonde girl holding a rifle.She fired a warning shot at Seras' cover, the bullet whizzing right past her hair.She roared again."Okay! Okay! I'm coming out!" Seras cried. She didn't speak their language, but she could tell they wanted her to come out. She placed her weapons on the ground and came out with her hands raised. Smiling nervously, she tried to speak what little German she knew."Uummmm,Seras Victoria?police girl. Looken forblond girl, yah?"The soldiers looked at each other confused, while the girl, Tanya, looked unimpressed.The tall brunette, Viktoriya asked her, Tanya replied as took a long, careful look at the stranger in front.She was wearing a light tan uniform that didn't belong to any army Tanya's met before. She wore her short blonde hair in a ponytail, and her eyes were a deep ocean blue like her own. Something was definitely strange about this new soldier. Was she the "agent of judgement" that Being X told her about?"Identify yourself! State your name, rank, and unit!" Tanya commanded Seras in English.Seras thought.At least something was going her way. "My name's Seras Victoria. I don't belong to any army. I'm just looking for someone. Do you happen to know somebody called 'Devil of the Rhine?' "Suddenly, the blonde German girl's face gave a look of shock and rage. The soldiers behind her were muttering to each other. What could this stranger possibly want with Major Degurechaff? Tanya ordered her squad in her native language.Viktoriya looked at her Major in confusion. The child Major's outburst surprised everyone, even herself. Luckily, experience taught her men that it was never a good idea to get on her bad side. Shouted Matheus Weiss , the squad's 2nd-in-command. The loyal Air Mages activated their Flight Gears, powered by the glowing crystal orbs on their uniforms. They levitated quickly and shot up into the rainy sky, flying away in a forward direction.Seras thought as she witnessed the spectacular feat above her. Her attention was brought back to Tanya, who pointed her rifle at the supposed spy in fury."Good. Now it's just you and me." The Air Mage leader said with cold fury."Just who in the Hell are you? What did you just tell your men?" Seras queried."That's irrelevant! The real question is who the Hell areTanya snapped. "But I already know--you're the one Being X sent to kill me, aren't you!?"That confirmed it. If this girl claims to know who Being X is, she must be the one Seras is after! Still, she couldn't let her know that. "L-look, love, there's been a misunderstanding. I don't know who Being X--""Cut the bullshit!" Tanya hissed. "You're another one His deranged cultists out to do His bidding! Well, it won't work! That pompous bastard sent two religious lunatics to kill me before, and both of them failed! You'll be no different!"Tanya fired a shot that landed in Seras' stomach! The Brit shrieked and collapsed to her knees, clutching her bleeding wound in pain.The Major looked on pleasantly surprised. She knew she was more than capable of killing this girl, but she didn't expect it to be this easy. "Really, Being X? This patheticis the best you got!? I'd almost feel embarrassed for her if it wasn't You who sent her!" But Tanya soon found her pride was short-lived."Y'know.....I've been shot through the chest once or twice before." Seras said, her pain fading away. In what could only be described as a miracle, the vampire agent got back to her feet. Her bleeding bullet wound closed up and vanished like it was never there. "Guess what?...Tanya couldn't believe her eyes! What was this!? Any other person would be bleeding to death from a wound like that! Was this another trick by Being X!? No matter, Tanya thought. She would just have to play with her enemy for a while till she finds a way to kill her.Seras grit her fanged teeth. Clearly, this psychotic little Kraut had every intent to kill her. No amount of talking would get her out of this--this was a fight now.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------