"My name is Amakusa Shirou Tokisada... or rather, I am called that right now. I had already forgotten how I was named in my first life. But that was to be expected after living in this world for more than countless under a new name.
I have walked this earth for many centuries. It was certainly fascinating to have such a long life and to be reincarnated here from an entirely different world devoid of the Supernatural or anything remotely connected to it.
Since I was born in Japan with extraordinary powers, I was the first of my kind, which they call the Jujutsu Sorcerers. However, we are not the only ones who were gifted with supernatural powers, as there are many such entities, including Vampires, Lycans, Psykers, Yokai, Gorgons, Witches and Wizards, Monsters, Demons, and many more that I have met in my very long life.
After mastering my power and that of the Cursed Energy, I started looking for other people who may have the potential to become Jujutsu Sorcerers, but unfortunately, there were not many of them.
Yet after many centuries, we grew in numbers, the Clans were formed, and soon enough, an entire society of the Jujutsu Sorcerers existed, though approximately 90% of them were concentrated in Japan, and some were in the surrounding Asian countries because I rarely left the country.
And here, at the dawn of the 21st Century, things were beginning to grow complicated.
The Cursed Spirits started growing rapidly due to humanity's unhinged lifestyle and the negativity generated. Vampires and Lycans started fighting more openly in Europe, and even in America, there were reports of Demon Cultists moving around, and Psyker Families were becoming overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the Demons and other monstrosities that were appearing around the world one by one.
Yeah... it seems that Doomsday is indeed coming.
Perhaps it won't be that boring at all."
***
In the dark, dimly lit room, a tanned, tanned-skinned youth with white hair like silver and dark golden eyes sat cross-legged, meditating. He wore the vestments of a priest and a golden cross around his neck. His vestment was a type of red holy shroud, and he wore a red stole over his cassock. He had an innocent, boyish face showing that he had yet to have aged past twenty years of age, yet he was already older than one and a half millennia.
"My Lord, it seems that we have a problem across our territory."
As the elderly voice sounded through the room, the young looked towards the source of the voice, which belonged to a very old-looking man. It was an elderly man with an elongated, bald head. He has huge, thick, light-colored eyebrows that curve down at the edge of his face and a light-colored goatee. He also has multiple piercings, such as a nose ring, two piercings on his lower lips, three piercings on each of his upper ears, and one on each of his large earlobes.
He sported a light-colored nagajuban over a dark-colored shirt with light-colored letters on it, a dark hakama, a light-colored tabi, and a zori. In addition, he had a wooden cane next to him that he was using to walk around with.
"What problem? Are the Cursed Spirits again creating a mess?"
The Cursed Spirits...
A race of spiritual beings invisible to humans, incarnated from the cursed energy that leaks out of humans over time due to their negative emotions. Cursed Spirits haunt and bring harm to humanity and are consequently the primary targets of Jujutsu Sorcerers and their exorcist work.
"No... this time, the Yokai notified us that some Vampires started spreading toward Japan and building their bases. Apparently, they clashed with the Tengu and were pushed back, but soon enough, they came with even higher numbers. And to be noted, most of them were feral."
As soon as the old man finished the sentence, the young man almost snapped in anger because nothing was worse than feral vampires.
"What are they doing here? And going feral at that? Isn't it already enough that the Cursed Spirits are going rampant, but now even vampires are creating havoc in Japan? Don't they remember the agreement with the Elders?"
Japan and Asia were off-limits for the Vampires and Lycans due to their never-ending war; that was the agreement that the Jujutsu Sorcerer Headquarters and the Vampire Elder reached centuries ago.
It was already enough that the humans were generating more and more negative emotions, thus giving birth to more and more Cursed Spirits, and they were becoming more powerful as well.
Having the Vampires and Lycans fighting all over the world was the last thing that anyone wanted to see.
Thus, their war was mainly limited to Europe or Central Europe; in North America, the Psyker Families had a tight grip on security, and even though the Vampires had a rather large Coven in the new world, they were not waging war there.
"According to the information that Yokai extracted from the captured ones before killing them, it was probably done behind the backs of the Elders, but we need to gather more information about Lord Amakusa. We also managed to locate one of their bases and are preparing to raid it."
The old man reported everything they gathered as the "younger" gritted his teeth angrily.
"Gakuganji-san immediately relay down orders to all Jujutsu Sorcerers that every single feral Vampire is to be immediately put down and killed. Start searching for their hideouts; I want them to be completely rooted in one week and notify our Yokai allies as well. Also, I will be leading the raid on the Vampire base personally and send summons for the Naobito; he should have far more than enough free time on his hands; he will be participating in this, too."
Gakuganji Yoshinobu was one of the Jujutsu Sorcerer Higher-Ups of the Jujutsu Headquarters and was a fairly powerful Jujutsu Sorcerer. He was also one of the oldest Jujutsu Sorcerers in the Association and was a staunch traditionalist.
"By your command, Jujutsu Marshall."
With that being said, Gakuganji Yoshinobu departed to carry out the orders. It was already enough that they had full hands at work with the Cursed Spirits, and the Vampire-Lycan war would only make the situation worse.
But most, if not all, of the Vampires that were in Japan were 4th-Class Vampires or 3rd-Class Vampires, meaning that they were not really particularly powerful and average Jujutsu Sorcerers could deal with them.
The only dangerous thing was that they were feral, which increased their combat prowess tremendously, though it came with the price of their rationality and sense of their very own self, which was somewhat problematic.
***
Somewhere in the outskirts of the Toyko Metropolitan Area, several people were gathered, all wearing various types of clothing, and some were even drinking from the gourd. However, that was almost exclusively limited to the single old man who was having fun at the moment and enjoying a beautiful night.
"Has everyone arrived?"
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada asked as he arrived at the place and looked at the Jujutsu Sorcerers that were gathering in this place. All of them were of the Headquarters Executioner Squad, meaning that they were best of the best and minimally 2nd-Class Jujutsu Sorcerers.
It was really overkill for a bunch of 4th-Class and 3rd-Class Vampires that didn't even develop more abilities beyond the basic package of superhuman physique and regeneration and super senses.
Something that the Jujutsu Sorcerres could deal easily with using their Inherent Techhniques, but if the Vampire is skilled at combat, then they could kill the Sorcerer faster than the Sorcerer could use his Techniques.
It wasn't easy to tell which of the two species was stronger and which was weaker.
"Let's start the fight! It's already pretty boring here!"
The old man, who was drinking constantly from his gourd, shouted at the rest of the Sorcerers as everyone looked at him with annoyance, yet nobody dared to say anything.
"Naobito, you will lead five Jujutsu Sorcerers, clear the western perimeter, and kill anyone who is feral. If there are ordinary humans among them... dispose of them too. I will be taking the rest of the Sorcerers and clearing the eastern perimeter, and we will meet at the center of the base. According to the info, there are around seventy vampires present."
Amakusa Shirō Tokisada commanded as every Jujutsu Sorcerer knew what to do as they divided into two teams and entered the underground bunker from World War II that was built by the Japanese Imperial Army but was abandoned after the war.
Now, it served as the headquarters for the Vampires that wanted to establish their foothold in Japan, something that wasn't allowed.
The collective might of the Jujutsu Sorceres was in no way inferior to the Vampire Covens; maybe it was even stronger because Jujutsu Sorcerers were a tightly knotted group under the leadership of Sorcerer Marshall Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, and the Special-Class Jujutsu Sorcerers were monsters in their own right.
But at the same time, that could be said about the oldest Vampire Elders of the Covens or Lycan Chieftains of the Packs. Once the Vampires and Lycans reached the 1st-Class, they started developing some particular abilities that were dependent on the individual, though there were some peculiarities to them.
Lycans were able to access their Life Force and became even more troublesome to deal with than anytime before because they could use their Life Force, or Aura, as it was called, to enhance their physical parameters.
While the Vampires were more interesting in this aspect because they, like Pskyer or Jujutsu Sorcerers, awakened some different powers.
Some obtained Psyker Powers like Telekinesis, Telepathy, or some obtained techniques that were similar to the Innate Techniques of the Jujutsu Sorcerery.
Shirou knew that it was mainly related to the fact that vampires were able to utilize the Cursed Energy once they reached the 1st-Class. In the end, it was them on whom he based the research and creation of the Jujutsu Sorcerers.
***
Dealing with the Vampires in the bunker was rather anticlimactic and dull; that was much that Shirou had to admit because they were weak. He noticed that almost all were of European descent, and they were recently turned, at least most of them were recently turned.
However, the real catch was one of the older Vampires, if it could even be called that way, as the Vampire was old, only around fifty years old, he was in charge of creating something they were calling the "Far East Coven" on the orders of some vampire name Kraven.
Apparently, he was the Regent in the Old World Coven in the place of the Vampire Elders in charge, but this was his solo action as he went behind the back of the Vampire Council and the Vampire Elders, which was most peculiar.
This wasn't something that correlated with typical vampire behavior because, normally speaking, going behind the back of a ruling Vampire Elders that were in charge of the Coven would result in very swift death.
Vampire Elders were tremendously powerful Special-Class beings that usually had millennia of experience under their belt and tons of firepower prepared to unlearn on their enemies as their fury.
These ones, though...
They planned to exploit the fact that the number of the Cursed Spirits was rising around the world and slipping into Asia during all of the chaos that was happening in the world. In fact, their leader was betting on the fact that Jujutsu Headquarters would ignore them, and they would deal with the Yokai through the sheer number if there were a need.
Instead, it was a stupid plan, in Shirou's opinion; it seemed that whoever this Kraven was, he wasn't really the most intelligent person around, which was already more than obvious right now.
"It seems that we would need to visit this Kraven to have a discussion about manners."
He muttered as he stabbed his katana through the head of one of the vampires that he was interrogating after obtaining all the information he could from the Vampire. Unfortunately, the man was just a pawn and a newly inducted Death Dealer...
However, it really made him doubt the combat capabilities of the Death Dealers nowadays, as he remembered that they were far better warriors many centuries ago. Still, at least now he new the target of his next journey, the Ördögház in Budapest, Hungary.
"Devil's House... what an ironic name."
Nobody from the feral vampires at the budding Far East Coven survived the onslaught of around fifteen Jujutsu Sorcerers, and all 85 vampires were captured or killed.
Those who were captured would mainly become test subjects for the Jujutsu Sorcerer because the physiology of both vampires and lycans was really fascinating as they were somehow innately connected to the Cursed Energy.
Even after many centuries of researching the Cursed Energy, he was still really far from a complete understanding of its power and properties.
"It seems that we are done here."
Shirou turned around as he saw a familiar visage of Zen'in Naobito, the Patriarch of the Zen'nin Clan, standing there, with some blood on his hands and drinking sake from his gourd.
"You shouldn't be drinking that much, Naobito-san; even with the Reverse Cursed Technique, your livers would be shit."
The old-looking man just laughed at that.
"You don't know how to enjoy life properly, Lord Amakusa. But it seems that the older one gets, the more boring they become."
Among the Jujutsu Sorcerers, the average age at which they died was very low. They were, in the end, just "magical humans", and they were fighting through their entire lives as only a very tiny portion of the Jujutsu Sorcerers lived to their elderly years and lived above one hundred.
The number of the Jujutsu Sorcerers that managed to prolong their lifespan or become ageless through the usage of the Cursed Energy was something that could be counted on one hand.
This feat was achieved only by a very few Jujutsu Sorcerers, and every single one of them was considered a legend in the Moonlit World.
Shirou discovered that it wasn't about power but rather about understanding the nature of the Cursed Energy and attaining some sort of balance and undergoing the "Ascension".
"Perhaps. Also, what is that boy Toji doing right now? I want to take him with me to Budapest. Someone like him is as much counter for the Vampires and Lycans as he is for the Jujutsu Sorcerers."
Shirou stated as Zen'in Toji was one of rather sore spots for the Zen'nin Naobito.
To the Zen'in Clan, as one of the Five Principal Clans of the Jujutsu Society, being born with a total lack of Cursed Energy would be considered a doom and destiny to be a total failure.
Yet, fate was also fair. It seemed that Zen'in Toji was born with tremendously powerful Heavenly Restrictions on him that elevated his physical state to the 1st-Class since he was born, and after several years of gruesome training, he reached the standards of Special-Class Vampires or Lycans...
That was a really frightening thought.
Not to mention, as he was born without any Cursed Energy, the Cursed Spirit couldn't see or sense him; he was also immune to the Vampiric sense as he was just blank to them.
Such was the way in which the Heavenly Restrictions worked. Heavenly Restrictions were often described as Binding Vows placed on a Sorcerer's body when they are born.
These Bindings usually refer to limitations on the human body, such that the person receives improved capabilities in a different capacity in exchange. For example, a Heavenly Restriction can cause a Sorcerer born with low Cursed Energy to be physically gifted. Vice versa can also occur; Jujutsu Sorcerers with high Cursed Energy can be born with exceptionally weak bodies.
"That boy is a total monster in combat, even I need to be careful during a spar, or I would lose an or two... rather ironic that the stronger Jujutsu Sorcerer of the current generation of the Zen'in Clan is no real Jujutsu Sorcerer, rather a funny irony."
But in the end, the Patriarch of the Zen'in Clan laughed it off because what mattered to him right now was that his Clan had one of the strongest members of the present generation.
One that was capable of fighting even against the Six Eyes and Limitless of the Gojo Clan or even the most powerful Inherent Technique of all times, The Last Judgement, belonging to the Amakusa Clan.
Shirou was very well aware that the people born into the Clans that he helped to create that were without the Cursed Energy or insufficient amounts of Cursed Energy would be mistreated, so he made a lot of policies to prevent that.
And it really paid off.
"Shall I send him to you? He would be glad to fight anything else aside from the Cursed Spirits and Curse Users these days."
Shirou just nodded because he planned to bring Zen'in Toji with him as a backup. While he was confident in his abilities, he would rather be safe than sorry, and he was always very cautious when dealing with the oldest of the Vampires.
They were a pretty crafty and cunning bunch.
***
Budapest Internation Airport, Hungary
Even though he was very, very old, he wasn't really used to traveling and hated it.
Shirou was traveling only when there were rumors of a powerful Special-Class Cursed Spirit being born somewhere so he could dispose of it. Otherwise, he spent most of his time either training or teaching the younger generations of the Jujutsu Sorcerers.
This time, though, he had decided to visit the Old World Coven alone because it had been a very long time since he had dealt with the vampires, and he wanted it to be a nice vacation.
Not to mention, fighting something different than Cursed Spirit was a refreshing truth to be told. Not to mention, he was still one of the strongest Jujutsu Sorceres in existence, if not the strongest, and the founder of the Jujutsu Sorcerery.
Sometimes, he reminisced about the time when he was reborn in this world and how many centuries had passed since then. He wasn't going to Europe very often; if he was traveling, then he was, more or like, visiting the United States as a representative of the Jujutsu Society's front in dealings.
He was filthy rich, but that being alive for fifteen centuries and knowing the future did to a person...
All of the Five Principal Clans were composed of the strongest factions in the Jujutsu Society, were very rich, and together, they were the shadow government in Japan and most of Asia.
"Hmm... I should wait till the evening before paying them a visit."
He muttered as he looked at the young-looking man who was standing next to him and watching something on his phone. He was a rather tall, muscular man with mid-length, straight black hair that reached his ears and green eyes. He also had a scar on the corner of his right lip; it was rather fascinating that he had only one scar, considering his combat style.
Zen'in Toji is currently the strongest member of the current generation of the Five Principal Clans and also the former strongest of the former younger generation of the Five Principal Clans.
He wore a simple outfit consisting of a long-sleeved black shirt and matching pants with sandals.
"I told you a hundred times not to play on your phone; it's disrupting the attention... god, youngsters these days..."
Shirou complained like the old man he was because he didn't really like how everyone was now glued to their phones as their lives depended on it.. and that would become even worse in the upcoming years.
Even right now, the world is a bit more advanced than it was in his past life.
"Yeah, yeah, old man... so where are we going?"
The younger man answered. Shirou frowned a bit but decided to let it pass because he would make Toji work harder later. Something was telling Shirou that this entire situation would be a mess, so if his intuition was right, he could leave most of his work to his helper.
"Right now, we wait; we will visit the Old World Coven at night. It seems that the warnings we sent them many centuries ago weren't enough... and here I thought that they would learn after the disaster with the Heian Era..."
Among the Moonlit World, various Supernatural Species often interacted with each other, but currently the situation was tense.
Mainly due to the impending war between the Vampire's Old World Coven and the Lycan Rebellion in Europe.
This wasn't something that many wanted to see, but alas, it was still an internal affair of the two species, and because there was no world government that was overseeing the Moonlit World even though Shirou was working on creating something like that for a very long time.
He saw there a need for something like a world regulatory body that would merge all of the most prominent factions across the Moonlit World into one enormous global hegemon that would maintain the world's peace in the Moonlit World and also act as the counterbalance to the regular humans.
***
Evening, near the Headquarters of Old World Coven, Ördögház
Selene was a very powerful Death Dealer and Vampiress of the Old World Coven and one of the rather few active 1st-Class Death Dealers and vampires of the Old World Coven, who was around 600 years old.
The Death Dealers are Vampire warriors who were created to combat the growing spread of the Werewolves. The first incarnation of the Death Dealers came from the army of a Hungarian warlord named Viktor after he was made a Vampire by the Progenitor of all Vampires, Marcus Corvinus.
Because of this, the Death Dealers were primarily loyal to Elder Viktor, not Marcus Corvinus. The Death Dealers fought the Vampire-Werewolf War and later the Vampire-Lycan War, and till this day, they have been the military force of the Vampire Race.
Today, she didn't have a good day altogether at all. The Lycan activity was getting higher and higher, and it seemed that a full-scale war between them was imminent, which was both thrilling and unfortunate for the vampiress.
Contrary to the America, where, due to the very strong presence of Psykers, there was a certain degree of peace and Vampires and Lycans could coexist, the situation in Europe was different.
She knew the main reason wasn't just the presence of the powerful Psykers and Jujutsu Sorcerers in the new world, but also the fact that most, if not all, vampires and Lycans of the new world were the ones that fled there from Europe to escape this constant cycle of hatred and slaughter.
She could understand it, but that didn't really mean she would accept it... Lycans killed her family, and she would not rest until she obtained her revenge on their dammed species.
Today, she returned back after a rather disastrous lycan hunt that ended in the death of several fellow Death Dealers, mainly the two elite ones, Rigel and Nathanial. Both of them were reasonably powerful 2nd-Class Vampires but were brought down by the Lycans that ambushed them in the subway.
However, what she noticed was that among several lycans that ambushed them, two were trackers that were tracking a human.
Which was most unusual, because supernatural races avoided dealings with the ordinary humans or "normies" as they were called, because it was troublesome.
Much less said that when someone needed something from a normie.
Unfortunately, Regent of the Old World Coven Kraven dismissed her intuition as nothing important and rather decided that she was to participate in a welcome party for the delegation from the New World Coven, which was something like torture for her.
Selene would prefer to be thrown to the sun, compared to this.
A bunch of pricky and arrogant aristocrats.
Not to mention that Kraven didn't really hide his desire for her to be his mate, even though, for her taste, he was too much of a coward and weakling. She knew that even though Kraven had reached the standards of the 1st-Class Vampire, he was really a warrior, even though he had slain Lycan Warlord Lucien centuries ago.
Perhaps the time in opulence and luxury had dulled him.
Though Kraven was always more bureaucrat than he was a warrior.
She looked through the windows of her luxurious-looking room, and noticed that it started raining... somewhat ironic for this night that was filled with falsehood and pretense. She wasn't keen on entertaining stuck-up vampire aristocrats and being next to Kraven, who was lusting after her to be his mate.
***
Among the heavy rain, two people arrived at the vicinity of the Ördögház; as they approached and avoided the vampire patrols with the simple spell that Shiro cast on the two of them.
"They really knew how to live... they must be loaded as hell."
Toji muttered as he looked at the opulent visage of the Ördögház which was several centuries old mansion.
Shirou didn't say anything at all as he continued to stride towards the mansion gates, as they were soon enough intercepted by several Death Dealers, albeit he could notice their reluctance in doing so.
The vampires were not stupid, and they could tell pretty accurately when someone was strong, and both Toji and Shirou radiated power like nobody else. The vampiric senses of the Death Dealers were screaming 'danger'.
"Halt, S..."
Before they could finish, Shirou made a handsight.
"Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."
Instantly dark, almost liquid-like matter drips down from the sky to form the outer barrier wall in the shape of a half-sphere. It was a Curtain, Barrier Techiqze, that was utilized by the Jujutsu Sorcerers to maintain secrecy while exorcising the Curses.
And it was enormous because it covered the entire region of the Ördögház, which was a clear sign that the Jujutsu Sorcerer was powerful, most probably because it required a huge amount of Cursed Energy to create such an enormous Curtain.
"Good evening, gentlemen. I am searching for the Vampire named Kraven for some personal business on behalf of the Jujutsu Association, so would you be so kind as to point me to him? From my understanding, he is Regent here, so that shouldn't be much of a problem."
Immediately, the two vampires tensed, as their eyes went to the set of Black Keys in the man's hands, but before they could do anything, suddenly both of them felt a dagger near their threats, as another man appeared behind them and was ready to kill before they could even notice.
This immediately caused the vampires to tremble in fear because they knew that these Sorcerers were far above their pay grade.
"He is inside."
One of the vampires stated as Shirou gave a nod to the Toji, who knocked one of them out, as they continued to the Ördögház Manor with the remaining one guard that was their guide... obviously from his free will.
"You can notify them that I wish to speak with the Regent and be quick."
The remaining Death Dealer went ahead because he realized that they were dealing with two Special-Class Jujutsu Sorcerers at the worst time possible. Right now, their Coven didn't have any Vampire Elder awake as they were sleeping.
And when he looked at the tan-skinned man, he got a really uncanny feeling that didn't sit very well with him, and the amount of Cursed Energy that was radiating from the man was something.
Overwhelming, even more than that of their Progenitors.
Meanwhile, the situation inside the Manor was probably as bad as expected because every Vampire within the Manor had noticed the establishment of the Curtain, meaning that they were dealing with the Special-Class Jujutsu Sorcerer of overwhelming power.
How were they so sure?
Well...
The Ördögház has its own defenses that were laid down by some of the Vampire Elders and more powerful vampires, so overcoming them that quickly and creating a Curtain that easily bypassed all of the defenses of the Ördögház and covered the entire region meant that the Jujutsu Sorcerer that cast it was a very powerful one.
All of the Death Dealers in the mansion immediately went to their position and the vampire aristocrats were panicking as hell because right now, their entire Coven was in the most vulnerable position due to the ongoing conflict with the Lycans in Europe.
Nobody really wanted to fight against the Jujutsu Sorcerers on the tip of fighting against the lycans, because dealing with the Sorcerers was troublesome. While not every Jujutsu Sorcerer was really powerful, almost all of them were cunning, and they were behaving like hornets.
If one is attacked, then the entire nest will come.
They functioned pretty similarly due to the rules of the Jujutsu Association.
"What the hell is happening?!"
When Selene looked over at Kraven shouting, she noticed that the man was very nervous and was sweating. She knew that any Sorcerer that came here was very powerful and experienced, and right now, their Elders were sleeping...
Due to the war, most of the Death Dealers were spread thin across various Covens in Europe, and fighting and hunting the lycans as the war was full go. The Ördögház barely had a few 1st-Class and Special 1st-Class vampires present.
However, how many of them would be useful in combat was questionable. She thought that right now, the best decision would be to wake up one of the Elders or perhaps directly the Progenitor Marcus Corvinus to be sure.
But it seemed that fate didn't really allow for that...
"There are two Special-Class Jujutsu Sorcerers walking here and demanding to talk to the Regent."
One of the guards stationed outside stated as he was drenched in water from the rain and trembling in fear. Hearing that sent tremors through all of the vampires present because Special-Class Jujutsu Sorcerers were very rare, and most often, they were people of considerable power and most unique abilities across the entire Jujutsu Society.
Kraven looked even more uncomfortably, hearing that there were two Special-Class Jujutsu Sorcerers, which was something most unusual and also a clear sign that something had happened between the Old World Coven and Jujutsu Association.
That was something that ran through the head of every single more competent Vampire in the ballroom which was filled with opulence and luxuries that were collected across the centuries that the vampires had ruled these lands.
Some of the sharper vampires had realized that if the two Special-Class Jujutsu Sorcerers were asking specifically for the Kraven, it meant that the Regent had most probably done something.
However, before the Regent could say something, the huge wooden doors blasted apart as two Death Dealers came flying through the door; both of them were from the Kraven's personal guards.
'Black Keys!'
Selene's eyes narrowed when she noticed that both of them had several Black Keys stabbed in their bodies, though in the non-vital areas, so it was not life-threatening. It seemed that the Kraven's guards attempted to stop them for whatever reason and it didn't really made them any good it seemed.
"Immediately stop them!!!"
Selene, who was closest to Kraven, noticed that the moment that his guards were thrown here, the shouted at the rest of the Death Dealers as to shock of everyone else, bolted away to the Regent's throne, and took out a small talisman, as his body immediately warped in the Cursed Energy, disappearing from the Ördögház altogether.
Just a short time after Kraven escaped, total silence took over the ballroom because nobody would have expected that someone of his stature and reputation would flee at the first opportunity that he had.
Seeing him ranging for his life and even having prepared a Cursed Tool in the form of a talisman that was for a situation like this, only showcased that he was too much of a coward.
This happened faster than anyone could predict to everoyne's dismay.
Shirou only caught that someone agitated talisman and escaped to somewhere... which was the most unfortunate station, because he didn't find Kraven, whom he really needed to find and have a talk with.
He casually strolled to the ballroom as, his eyes drafted to the empty Regent's throne as he was somewhat dissatisfied while his Cursed Energy swirled around him; already, the pressure he had released caused some of the weaker vampires to fall unconscious.
"You are not Kraven... and I sensed someone utilizing Cursed Talisman to escape my Curtain, so I can only presume that he had escaped from the Ördögház. So... care to tell me where he went or should I start killing you until you will talk."
The way Shirou was speaking made Selene unnerved because she could sense his power, and vaguely, she recognized his facial features.
In her eyes, he looked very similar to the founder of the Jujutsu Association and creator of the Jujutsu Sorcery, Shirou Amakusa Tokisada, a monster that was old, probably as much as their own Progenitors.
"He fled the moment he realized that Speical-Class Jujutsu Sorcerers were searching for him... and I can't tell you where because I don't know... nobody would really know; we didn't even know that he had prepared means to escape Curtain and Smilir Barrier Techniques with the Talisman he hid here..."
She decided to tell the truth as Shirou scrutinized her expression before he released a huge wave of killing intent that made many vampires present especially uncomfortable as it cemented the idea that the tan-skinned Jujutsu Sorcerer wearing the garbs of the catholic priest was someone who was even more powerful than their Progenitro Marcus Covrinus.
While some of the old vampires already realized the identity of the Jujutsu Sorcerer, which sent chill down through their spines.
"Dammed coward... all the time spent on the journey for naught."
Now Shirou was rather angry because he had spent all that time for nothing, and that dammed coward had fled even before he could have a talk with him... Now that he had thought it over, it seemed that releasing his Cursed Energy wasn't the best idea because he had probably frightened that coward to death.
At the same time, just the sheer fact that Kraven has fled from the Ördögház was a clear sign that he was being the formation of the Far East Coven and was indeed plotting something behind the backs of the Vampire Elders and Vampiric Council.
The encroachment on the territory of the Jujutsu Association and the Youkai Faction warranted death. Even though Jujutsu Sorcerers often acted as Exorcists, they did not kill indiscriminately, and Yokai were, in fact, their most stalwart allies at the time.
Soon enough, though, he had calmed down considerably as he looked at the woman before him and noticed that she didn't flinch a lot when he was subconsciously releasing his killing intent and Cursed Energy as he gave her a flashing smile.
"What is your name, Miss? At least I can ask, from the sole person who isn't scared to death right now..."
Shirou could see that most of the vampires here were just a bunch of aristocrats who were doing nothing for all of their lives, while the Death Dealers that were in this place were mainly on the weaker end, yet their quality wasn't that bad, in fact.
"Selene, but it's rather unpolite to ask for a Lady's name without introducing your own in the first place."
Hearing that, Shirou was rather pleasantly surprised because while it was clear that the woman's vampire instincts were screaming at her that he was dangerous, rationality prevailed, and she managed to stand in front of him and talk back to him.
That was something that made him smile.
It was... almost refreshing.
"Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, Wizard Marshall of the Jujutsu Association and Patriarch of the Amakusa Clan at your service, My Lady."
She was almost shocked at the change of his entire demeanor as he gave her a short bow and kissed the back of her hand in the traditional greeting.
Though his introduction confirmed the worst of most of the older vampires present because now it was confirmed that their so-called Regent and Hero of the first Vampire-Werewolf War had done something really bad.
Some of the older vampires, who were at least 1,000 Years old, recognized the name of the Wizard Marshall of the Jujutsu Association and the very first Jujutu Sorcerer, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.
If the Elders were present, they would remember more because it was he who fought against the King of Curses Sukuna in the world-shaking battle many centuries ago, when the King of Curses led the Cursed Spirits on the Crusade to conquer the world.
Killing many Jujutsu Sorcerers, Vampires, Lycans, Psykers, Yokai and other supernatural creatures alike.
"I seriously doubt that Kraven would ever dare to return now that he had escaped, but if you wish... the Coven would gladly provide information about the Kraven and his movements if it will quell the conflict with the Jujutsu Association."
For the Vampire Race, the Jujutsu Association was a natural organization, and due to their ongoing conflict with the Lycans in Europe, the last thing that they needed right now was another enemy at their gates.
Even dealing with the Lycans has become highly problematic because, somehow, the Lycans grew very powerful right under their noses and also increased their numbers by a very high degree.
It was almost unbelievable how they achieved that... it was like someone from the Vampire Council was helping the Lycans cover their tracks.
"Hmm... that seemed to be acceptable... I will remain in Budapest until I can find Kraven. I think that he is hiding somewhere close... so till now, have a nice evening, and it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Selene."
Shirou stated that he used some sort of Cursed Technique and disappeared from the Manor as he also dispersed the Curtain that was covering the entire area.
The rest of the evening probably went even worse than anticipated for Selene because instantly, she went from a rather ordinary Death Dealer to a celebrity among the vampire aristocrats.
Both the nobles of the Old World Coven and New World Coven were showering her with praises and everything around, which made Selene hate every second that she was in this position, as she felt that once she saw Kraven once more, she would chop his head off.
Still, the evening went as enormous shame for the Old World Coven; became Kraven, who was a renowned Death Dealer and 1st-Class Vampire that slew Lycan Warlord Lucia,n who was Chieftain of the Lycans and Special 1st-Class Lycan had to run with his tail between his legs like a textbook definition of coward as unfortunate it was for the Old World Coven.
In the end, it was an enormous embarrassment.
The Regent of the Old World Coven, which was the most powerful Vampire Coven with the highest number of Special-Class Vampire, namely the Vampire Elders, was reduced to one huge joke because their Regent fled at the first opportunity he had when he was sacred by the Cursed Energy of the opponent.
It was very shameful.
Though...
For the New World Coven that was striving to become equal to the Old World Coven, there practically wasn't anything better that could have happened. In the end, this would be a serious headache that would need to be solved by the Vampire Council in the very near future.
***
Once Shirou and Toji left the Old World Hotel, they went to the Four Seasons Hotel, where there were already two suites prepared for them. For Shirou, there was a Royal Suite, and for Toji, even despite the boy's attitude, he still had a Presidential Suite prepared for him.
Obviously, they wouldn't be sharing the same room.
"So what is going to happen now when we crashed their little gathering... for a bunch of centuries-old beings, they were pretty weak."
Shirou just shook his head hearing this because he knew that they were certainly lucky that neither of their Elders were awake. And facing their Primogenitor, Marcus Corvinus, even he would have to go all out in that fight.
"Don't be that arrogant... most of their stronger members are spread across the entire Europe and fighting against the Lycan Rebellion that is rising once again. Not to mention, the situation never went to the real conflict because if yes, then they would have awoken their Elders, and just one would be able to beat you to a pulp. They have centuries upon centuries of combat experience, physical capabilities on your own level, and abilities similar to the Innate Techniques."
Shirou chided the younger Jujutsu Sorcerer because sometimes he felt that Toji was too battle-hungry for his own good and thought that facing the Special-Class Vampires and Lycans was a child's play with his physique and Cursed Tools.
Yeah, he knew that due to his physical capabilities stemming from the Heavenly Restriction, Toji had many advantages when he was facing the Vampires and Lycans, but facing the Special-Class ones was an entirely different matter altogether.
Those were the monsters among monsters.
During his very long life, Shirou fought a few of them, and though he won all the times, mainly due to the Innate Technique, The Last Judgement that was able to destroy even the overwhelming regeneration of the Lycans or the peculiar abilities of the Vampires.
If it was just a match between the pure physical capabilities, Shirou knew that even with all the Rituals he had done to change and elevate his physique, he would still lose in a matter of seconds against some of their strongest.
Only due to the presence of the Innate Technique was he able to win all of his fights.
Innate Techniques are unique abilities congenitally engraved into the user's body, specifically in the right prefrontal cortex of the brain. Most Jujutsu Sorcerers are born with an Innate Technique that manifests around the age of five or six, which continually carves its formula into the user over time.
Innate Techniques are proprietary and comprise eighty percent of a Jujutsu Sorcerer's intrinsic skillset, making them nearly impossible to mimic, not unlike a copyrighted computer program.
Additionally, the Innate Techniques could be passed down to the Jujutsu Sorcerers in the same bloodline, which later on led to the formation of the prominent Jujutsu Sorcerer Clan, and in the end, some of the strongest Clans were created in this way across the world.
"Yeah, yeah, I know... so what are we going to do now then?"
Toji acknowledged his nagging, though Shirou really hoped that he would take something more from it.
"Search for the Kraven and wait until the Vampires awaken their Primogenitor... it has been a very long time since I talked with Marcus, and if possible, I would like to end this senseless conflict between Vampires and Lycans before it erupts in full once more."
This was one of the main goals why he had come to the Hungry personally. Yeah, if Shirou wanted just Kraven's head for his transgressions, he would have sent here someone from the Execution Squad or just a few top-class Jujutsu Sorcerers to handle the problems for him.
What he truly wanted this time was to resolve the conflict.
He had seen that in North America, Vampires, and Lycans could live as peacefully as it was possible. And he had been in touch with Elder Amelia, one of the oldest Vampire Elders and probably the third strongest Special-Class Vampire, and she too was learning to resolve the conflict finally at last.
Peace was much better for all parties involved, especially with the Cursed Spirits on hand and there was also the matter of the Demons that were constantly trying to enter the world and destroy it.
While the Jujutsu Sorcerers were dealing primarily with the Cursed Spirits, it didn't mean that they ignored the threat of the Demons when they were showing their fangs. Recently, a lot of Cults rose up like mushrooms after a heavy rain and were popping left and right, creating problems almost everywhere.
Shirou had rather a good relationship with Marcus Corvinus because it was the Primogenitor of the Vampires that helped him to complete the foundations of the Jujutsu Sorcerery and create the first generation of the Jujutsu Sorcerers.
"This unnecessary conflict is just leading to the higher possibility of normies finding out about the Moonlit World and an increase in the number of the Cursed Spirits. Neither of these things are something that we want to see or we are ready for them right now in our current state."
Shirou was long ago concerned about this fact, because the increased negativity that their civilization was producing meant that more and more Cursed Spirits were appearing in the world...
If the Moonlit World was revealed to the world, then it would cause a staggering increase in Negative Feelings, which would mean that more and more Cursed Spirits would be created around the world, and that was something that they were not prepared for.
"Go rest; we will be going out tomorrow to search for Kraven... during the day, he can't move... only the Special-Class Vampires and those of the direct Corvinus Blood could move under the sun, and Kraven is neither so that he would be hiding in some hole and that is the best time to find that rat."
The Wizard Marshall of the Jujutsu Association was pretty pissed at the vampire Regent of the Old World Coven for several reasons. The first was attempting to drag the Jujutsu Association and Yokai Clans into their conflict, and the feral vampires even killed a few innocent Yokai, which didn't really suit well with the Eastern Yokai Faction and Western Yokai Faction.
Another thing was that he fled like a coward before the situation even escalated, which clearly signaled that Kraven's character was shit and that he indeed had something shady in mind and was doing everything behind the Elder's back.
In the end, the Vampire Council that ruled the Covens was a rather loose organization that functioned more like a confederation, if anything, with each Coven being represented by one Vampire Elder at the Special-Class.
"And if you are not going to sleep, then at least go out and exorcise a few Curses."
Shirou said to Zen'in Toji, who was leaving his hotel suite, that he was looking straight out of the window and observing the night panorama of the Budeapst across the Danube River.
In Europe, there were not many Jujutsu Sorcerers. Thus, the Cursed Spirit Extermination was usually done by either other Supernatural Creatures or outsourced from the countries with a higher ratio of the Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Still, Europe had many grassroots Jujutsu Sorcerers because, contrary to Japan, where he had personally guided generations upon generations of the Jujutsu Sorcerers, which in the end led to the establishment of the Clans, Europe wasn't this lucky.
There were no prominent Jujutsu Sorcerer Clans like the ones in the Japan.
***
Undisclosed Location, Budapest
Around one hour later, Kraven finally arrived at his destination, when he realized that the Jujutsu Association had come for him. Now that he thought over it, it seemed that the expansion and creation of his own Coven in the Asia was a mistake.
While under normal circumstances, it wouldn't really be a problem, but because they were expanding too fast, most of their vampires in the future Far East Coven were actually feral, and everything went to shit when some of their feral vampires started fighting with the Yokai living in the Kyoto.
Once that happened, it didn't escape the eye of the Yokai Clans and Jujutsu Sorcerers, who started searching for the root of the problem and found his new secret budging Coven and annihilated it in one go.
What he didn't count was the very fast response from the Jujutsu Association because they sent someone to the Old World Coven to talk with the Elders too fast, and what was worse, the man they sent...
Or rather, in this case, arrived.
It was the Director of the Jujutsu Association himself.
Kraven knew that the Director of the Jujutsu Association was an old monster and one of the most powerful people in the world right now, and he was also someone who had a very good relationship with the Primogenitor Marcus and Elder Amelia.
Among the latter, there were even rumors that Elder Amelia and Amakusa Shirou Tokisada were romantically involved with each other, but nothing was confirmed. Kraven suspected that it may be true because the Association had very close ties with the New World Coven.
So, he did the only thing that he knew, which was to escape.
The place where he escaped was the headquarters of the Lycan Rebellion, which nobody would believe, even if someone showed proof.
"What the hell are you doing here, Kraven?! Your presence here could jeopardize the entire operation and attack on Lady Amelia!"
As he entered the headquarters, someone shouted at him, and when he turned around, all color from Kraven's face drained because it was the figure of a huge Lycan, bulging with muscles and radiating powerful Special-Class Aura.
"Everything is being prepared to ambush the procession of the New World Coven, and we even managed to hire a few Curse Users, and your only dammed job was to take care of things, so she is open to attacks. Now tell me, what the hell are you doing here!"
The Lycan that was angrily shouting at him was Lucian.
A leader of the Werewolf Rebellion from several centuries ago whom Kraven had supposedly killed in the past, which brought him to fame, but now...
It seemed that things happened very differently in history.
"Well... there is a little problem on my side right now..."
Kraven's shaky voice was everything that Lucian needed to know that something had gone wrong, and the place quieted down, and several of his most trusted subordinates looked at Kraven with murderous gazes.
Especially the huge black-skinned man who was standing behind Lucian, who also had an aura of Special-Class Lycan and was two heads taller than Lucian.
"What is that little problem? Don't dare to play it too out, because I will tear you apart..."
Seeing Lucian growing angry, now former Regent of the Old World Coven started shaking a bit because it was clear to him that he had messed it up a bit time and his prospects for the future weren't really looking good.
"I had to flee from the coven due to the presence of the Wizard Marshall of the Jujutsu Association being there... now, I don't think that I am Regent anymore..."
The position of the Regent was very important for each Coven, especially for the main Covens, because the Regents were essentially representatives of the will of the Vampire Elders when the Elders were in their slumber, and they were basically managing the affairs of the Coven.
For Lucien's plans to work, he needed to have Kraven in the position of the Regent.
"What the hell could have Wizard Marshall of the Jujutsu Association wanted here? Wait a moment, don't tell me that you went ahead of the plans and tried to establish the Far East Coven, and you were caught in the act, which led the Sorcerers on your track? And why the hell did you escape in the first place?! You had the entire Coven on your back, and the situation would not have resulted in death end!"
Seeing Kraven being silent made Lucian even angrier because all plans were falling apart due to the pigheadedness of his teammate.
"He was stronger than even Primogenitor Marcus! And I thought that he was there to kill me!"
Kraven tried to defend himself, but that made the situation even worse because Lucian was getting angrier with each passing moment as the black-skinned man was forced to hold Lucian back because the leader of the Lycan Rebellion would for sure pounce on him to tear him apart.
"You stupid fuck! Centuries of planning went to shit due to your dammed cowardice; if it weren't for all the things that you did in the past, I would have killed you on the spot! Dammit! If you had just remained in the place, you could have negotiated and paid some remuneration, and they would have returned back to Japan. Jujutsu Sorcerers are usually easy to get along with; they were there only for the explanation, and due to the relationship Amakusa Shirou Tokisada has with the Old World Coven, he wouldn't have killed you... but no... you fucking bastard had to escape... dammit..."
Lucian screamed at his co-conspirator for some time because this time he was really, really pissed off, and if not for Raze, who was holding him back, he would have already killed that forwardly excuse for Death Dealer.
And to think that Kraven was Regent of the Old World Coven.
"You should pack up your things and escape from Europe... ideally go to Africa or South America... those places are of no interest to any major supernatural species. Consider it done between us. Now scram, and if you dare to rat me out, don't forget that you will be dying first, either at my hand or at the hand of your own."
Lucian didn't intend to kill Kraven, no matter how much he fucked up the situation, mainly for two reasons. The first was to settle the matters between the two of them because, in the past, it was Kraven who helped him during all of this time.
The second reason was to negotiate with the Jujutsu Association. Lucian knew that Kraven was going to build the Far East Coven in Japan, but he didn't predict that the man would be so incompetent and stupid by expanding too fast and creating feral vampires.
Such a beginner mistake.
Yet what should he expect from an idiot like Kraven, who was only alive because he was too much of a coward? Sometimes, he wondered how someone like him even reached the 1st-Class Vampire Rank.
It was a mystery.
Still, he was continuously pretty angry because everything was going so well... they managed to capture Michael Corvin, who held the Corvinus Strain, which was key to elevating the genetic constraints of Lycans and enhancing their collective potential...
But the plot of eliminating the Vampire Council and wiping out their Elders when they were asleep was paramount. Even in his current state, Lucian would have preferred not to fight against the Vampire Elders at the Special-Class...
Thus, the help of the traitor Kraven was of the utmost importance, but that was now all but history.
Seeing Kraven leaving their den, he really hoped that this nightmare would end as soon as possible, but what is done is done. They couldn't undo the situation, and now, the only thing they could do was wait.
Lucian knew that they would need to change their plans accordingly because their greatest advantage was now non-existent, and the only option for fighting the Old World Coven and killing Victor was a direct confrontation.
Everything that he had been doing was just to exact revenge on Victor, who killed his beloved Sonja.
***
The Next Day, Four Seasons Hotel
It was the next day, and they were going to scour the city and search for the traces of their vampire non-friend who was escaping from them. Shirou himself wasn't a very good tracker; he never was and found the occupation rather bothersome, but what he was lacking in this aspect, Zen'in Toji, was making it up.
The younger man was an expert in this, as well as in other things like assassination, espionage, and other things that were more or committed in the dark. Thus, this task was obviously entrusted to the Toji, who was in charge of tracking the Vampire Kraven.
And while Toji was out there in the city, Shirou went on a tour through the city and enjoyed some sightseeing. Obviously, he wasn't going to spend most of his precious time on something so mundane and boring, like searching through the city for one dammed Vampire.
Because he was treating this like a vacation, so he wasn't going to work even a bit. For that reason, he had taken Toji with him so that he would work in his place and he could go on the sightseeing.
The last time he was in Budapest was around... how long, two hundred years ago?
Budapest was one of the most important cities in Europe and was once in the past one of the most prominent cities across Europe. He was going to have a nice time today and also visit some good traditional restaurants to eat some traditional Hungarian goulash...
Obviously, one that was extra spicy...
He wasn't that weak.
For the entire day, he was spending it going through the historic points across the city, and he had to admit there were certainly a lot of them. The historic center of Budapest was beautiful as he took a stroll through it, though at the same time, he was also feeling like somebody was watching him.
He recognized that feeling very well, and once he used his senses, it wasn't that hard to locate the person who was following him all the time since he had left the Four Seasons Hotel.
It was Special-Class Lycan, which was the most peculiar, but at the same time, the Lycans were generally weaker than the Vampires of the same Class. This was mainly true for the higher Classes when the Vampire obtained their Special Abilities, and the Special-Class Vampire was able to unleash some really tremendous power.
Lycans were masters of close-quarter combat and had frightening regeneration once the Vampire managed to keep the lycan far from his body. Vampires generally had higher destructive prowess and were very similar in this aspect to the Jujutsu Sorcerers, and they could effortlessly kill the Lycan, who was unable to approach him.
Shirou's Innate Technique was capable of causing almost overwhelming degrees of destruction, overcoming the frightening defenses and regeneration of the lycans.
He wasn't really afraid of fighting with the Special-Class Lycan because aside from the physical attributes and the Aura, they had to create some basic attacks and boost their physical dimensions; they were not really a threat to him.
Their powers were relatively simple and straightforward, but at the same time, this caused the others to underestimate them in the figure.
'Hmm... a pretty powerful one. It seems that the Lycan Rebellion has hidden rather deep and they even have some really powerful wolves...'
Shirou thought as he noticed a large black man who was observing him from the top of the nearby building, as he pondered over what to do with that. It was obvious that his visit to the Old World Coven at the Ördögház had reached the ears of the lycans as well.
'Should I go to catch him? It's rather clear that he wants something with me...'
In the end, he decided that he decided to ambush the Special-Class Lycan as he disappeared from the spot using the Cursed Energy to greatly enhance his legs, which elevated his speed to a frighteningly high degree.
He was so fast that the Special-Class Lycan couldn't even react as he appeared behind him and looked at the Lycan with a grin while.
At the same time, he released a Curtain that covered the entire area.
The Cursed Energy that he released immobilized the Special-Class Lycan; the lycan looked at Shirou nervously as his entire body was twitching violently.
It wasn't for nothing that the Jujutsu Sorcerers stood at the top of the world when it came to destructive prowess.