"So? Did I win the game?"
Altrouge didn't answer that question but instead kept staring at the sharp bottle.
That feeling just now…. A threat of death?
Impossible!
As a being who is both a Dead Apostle and a True Ancestor, Altrouge Brunestud's concept of death is lacking.
Especially now that it's nighttime.
A True Ancestor's body can just reverse themselves back, repairing whatever damage she takes and as a Dead Apostle, although there are downsides when regenerating doesn't mean it's weak either.
So why did she feel the threat of death? As a being who lives for thousands of years. There's no way she'll mistake something as important as danger.
She looked up and saw Diego's red eyes glowing with a rainbow tint, in contrast to his green eyes earlier. Their eyes met and the glare exuded sent chills down her spine.
I see… those eyes… A Mystic Eyes that can perceive death!
In the Celtic Legends, it was said that the Evil God Balor has powerful mystic eyes that can impose death simply just by looking at the target, but it has not been possessed by anyone other than him, at least that's what they said.
Altrouge however, has her own knowledge and insight related to this. The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are acquired through a near-death experience, gained by being immersed in "death."
However, simply going through a near-death experience is not enough for their acquisition, as a certain someone fails to acquire them even after numerous deaths and reincarnations. Their frequency is so rare that they are thought of as nothing more than a myth even by beings like True Ancestors.
Unless you're someone like her who has even lived longer than Arcueid Brunestud
Mystic Eyes of Death Perception is something that can be classified as both Mystic Eyes and an ESP ability, thus in terms of in depth knowledge, it isn't as profound compared to the other mystic eyes that can be studied through magecraft.
Everything in this world has a lifespan, something that cannot be changed unless prevented or lacks the concept of death like True Ancestors.
If you cut someone's neck, they'll bleed out and die, that's one of the most common scenarios to take someone's life but the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception? It's different, it can kill anything regardless, though she wasn't aware of how it works.
These Mystic Eyes are so mysterious that as such, they are compared to True Magic, and something that can lead one to the Root, a miracle.
She had heard of it, studied it and even saw some vague records but this is her first time actually experiencing it.
'So he really did experience 'death'.' Altrouge's eyes shone in crimson light, intently observing everything about him.
After she was done, Altrouge's eyes landed on the sharp bottle pointing at her and the red liquid that's dripping from his palm, realizing this was the blood used to blind her before giggling, then bursting out laughing.
Diego frowned seeing this and was about to ask before she beat him up to it.
"You really lost your memories…" Altrouge tried to compose herself but failed, still giggling while talking.
"I believe that's what I said."
Altrouge retracted her bloodlust before tossing him his bag, making catch it instinctively.
"This is?" When he was about to ask, he found that the girl was now gone in front of him.
"You win this time." Diego turned his head and saw her a few meters away, looking good as if there was no battle that happened.
Diego put down the battle and his eyes returned back to their previous color but then, he 'saw' something and out of reflex, put his hand on his chest before a sharp blow hit him, knocking him to the ground.
When he was about to stand, a foot implanted itself in his stomach, preventing him from getting up and when he looked to see who did it, he saw Altrouge looking down at him with a playful expression.
''... What was that?" Diego asked with a groan. As Altrouge was speaking earlier, he was using Epitaph to see incoming sneak attacks and he was right.
The problem is, he didn't know how it happened. It's like an invisible force hit him that even when he tried to block it, he was still hit directly in the chest.
In analogy, it's like when Doppio tried to block Risotto's 'attack' so that the scissors wouldn't enter his throat… and failed.
"Trade secret." Altrouge touched her lips.
"What now?" Diego pursed his lips. Not bothered by her barefoot stepping on him.
"You lost your memories so I will remind you who I am." Her face suddenly turned serious, caughting him off guard.
"I'm your girlfriend…" She suddenly looked at him with teary eyes, her voice croaking, "B-But then, you cheated on me with a blonde brat!"
"…"
Diego's brain buzzed after hearing that. Girlfriend? Doesn't she look like a kid? And brat? So I cheated with someone younger than her—-? No! How is that even possible?!
"What?" Was all he could say.
Seeing his look as if he was doubting life, Altrouge stopped acting and laughed, "Y-You really believed that?"
"Hell no!" Diego righteously refused.
She just snickered, "It's okay, it's a secret between us.Besides, doesn't this feel good? Getting stepped on by a beautiful girl!" She stomped lightly a few times to make a point.
Instead of refuting, Diego held his hands in his chest, covering it, "I'm not interested in kids and aren't you the one pretending to be my girlfriend? Even if it's just a joke, there must be some truth in it. Maybe you're a pervert and just wanted to take advantage of my amnesia." He accused her.
Kid? I can transform into an adult if I want!
Altrouge gritted her teeth in anger and annoyance. She was well aware of her fourteen year old appearance but that doesn't mean she can't change it.
And who is he calling a pervert?!
"In your dreams." She snorted coldy. This guy despite losing his memories did not lose his unique talent of making her angry.
I guess it runs in the family, even his bitch of a cousin was as good when it comes to running her mouth against Dead Apostles.
Diego saw her cold look and was debating when to use King Crimson but surprisingly, she pulled her foot and started walking away.
That's it? He was surprised but immediately stood up.
"Don't get the wrong idea, just because you lost your memories doesn't mean we are now best buddies." Altrouge turned her head back, glaring at him coldly.
"But there's no point in killing you now." She waved her hand. Someone who didn't even know what he did, there's no point of doing revenge.
Altrouge looked at her arm, narrowing her eyes as she did before snorting. 'Loss of memories? It doesn't matter, he will eventually get them. After all…'
Altrouge's eyes flashed with murderous intent as she remembered their fight earlier, 'The mind may forget but his body and instinct won't.'
Looking at him again, she said faintly, ''Try your best to survive from now on, " Then she grinned, "Or maybe shout, "Altrouge-sama, please save me!" when you're gonna die. Who knows? Maybe I'll come to your rescue." With a final chuckle, she walked away and vanished under the night sky.
Even after she vanished, Diego remained tense for a few seconds, his fingers twitching near his pocket.
Was she really gone? Or was she just toying with him again?
After making sure she left, Diego sighed and rubbed his chest, surprised that it didn't hurt that much.
"But my valuables huh?" Diego grabbed the bag and weighed it. At least he got something important.
Wait…
"My beers!" Diego saw the plastic bag which now has the remaining beers shattered, spilling in the ground.
The only thing left was the pack of cigarettes but still
"I only managed to drink one…" In fact, Diego already predicted that his items might be destroyed in the fight so he drank one while Altrouge was looking.
Still, it was pretty disappointing seeing this.
If Altrouge knew that Diego was more worried about his beer than her, she would definitely be furious.
—
"He lost his memories? I wonder what those magus will think once they find out." Altrouge smiled as she imagined the amount of chaos it will bring once that happens.
As for why she's sure? It's actually very simple.
If it was really Diego back then, he wouldn't even talk nonsense now and just try to stab her. Especially now that he has the perfect tool for killing, his Mystic Eyes.
In short, there won't be any nonsense and one of them would have been dead after this encounter.
She's currently at the top of one of the buildings, savoring the fresh air whilst looking down on the streets.
Her coming to Fuyuki was unplanned but she was met with something interesting. From the looks of it, going to Fuyuki to recuperate and avoid her sister's faction wasn't a bad choice.
"Mystic Eyes of Death Perception…" She muttered. Truly fascinating, it was even more absurd than what she heard.
As a True Ancestor, she lacks the concept of death, especially at night and even better when its full moon
Still, it did not reduce the feeling of death when looking at those eyes.
"And his Origin has partially awakened too." That accident was both a blessing and a curse, although he lost his memories, Diego also gained mysterious abilities, including that weird trick of distorting her cognition?
Or was it? Altrouge frowned when she thought of an unknown possibility, she dislikes this feeling of ignorance.
"But I guess that'll only make our next meetings more exciting." She grinned as she looked at the direction of the Ryuudou Temple. The temple can ward off other beings but it can't do anything for someone as powerful as her.
And she thought the most interesting thing in this city was the Holy Grail War ritual.
"He's gotten good, even made me use my Marble Phantasm." Altrouge chuckled when she remembered his confused look.
Normally, she can't use it when she's in this form but with other circumstances, such as night time, she can partially deploy it, even if it was not the Brunestud Castle.
"Now let's think about another nuisance." She thought of a certain blonde and vanished once again.
—-
"Damn, I'm home." After entering his room, Diego immediately laid down with a groan.
At 177 cm with sharp features and a devil-may-care vibe, Diego always got mistaken for an adult. Which was hilarious—he was still just sixteen.
Looking at his bandaged hand, he groaned some more. Luckily, there was alcohol used for sanitizer to prevent infection.
It's pretty unwise to cut your hand for the blood to be used as a diversion but it worked.
Almost after a week of waking up, he met the little girl version of Sabertooth trying to kill him, who's also a pervert too.
He thought it was just a joke fate playing with him but after that encounter, he now believes that supernaturals exist.
At least he believes that whatever that girl is, was real.
As for ghosts? It needs further confirmation, after all, just because you're in Tokyo Ghoul doesn't mean you'll encounter Anabelle from The Conjuring.
Still…
"What is she?" She looks like some werewolf with those claws but judging from her eyes, she's probably a vampire, though he wasn't sure since she didn't come and suck his blood.
Or maybe she is but she has some form of self control so she didn't do it? He's not sure, but one thing is certain.
That girl has some form of prejudice against him.
She definitely knows him judging by her reaction but what did he do for her to attack him like that?
And does this mean the original Diego Seijuro was some supernatural dude before he took over? If that's the case, how was he hit by a truck?
Scratch that, his body can dodge by instinct and the original Diego got hit by a truck?! Was the truck moving at the speed of light or something?
Speaking of instinct…
Diego touched his forehead, remembering the feeling of his eyes cracking but this time, it didn't hurt and it was giving the feeling of being eager to 'cut'.
Compared to back then where his instincts took control of his body, when he fought Altrouge, it was surprisingly in sync with him, as if agreeing to fighting her.
No, it was common sense to fight her.
If he's just some fake exorcist, his reflexes wouldn't be that fast and his blows wouldn't be that powerful. In fact, when he kicked her, it was like hitting a steel plate but surprisingly, it did not hurt or even flinch. His body moved before he even thought. He could feel it—that instinct wasn't new.
It wasn't something he just gained after amnesia… It had always been there.
So why did it feel so natural?
He thought it was just some adrenaline but even now after going home, aside from exhaustion, his body did not hurt that much, if there's something he felt, it was when she hit him with an attack he cannot see.
Even then, it was more or less okay after, it's like his body was used to this kind of encounter.
"So aside from King Crimson and eye powers, do I have super strength too? And what about that bottle?"
After the battle, Diego realized the way he used the bottle, it was able to handle attacks something as sharp and deadly as Altrouge's claws yet it did not budge, it was… natural, like the bottle was a part of him, not a weapon to be wielded.
He checked it after and it was normal, at least when he smashed it in the ground, it shattered so it was definitely a normal bottle.
"I have superpowers?" He wasn't slow, if he has a background as an exorcist and knew supernatural like Altrouge, it would make sense if he has powers and that's why he managed to do exorcism.
It's still pretty questionable since he hasn't seen ghosts yet despite running around but after experiencing what happened tonight, he wouldn't be that surprised anymore if that's the case.
"Superpowers huh?" Diego muttered before summoning King Crimson, "Hey, since you're my Stand, do you know if there are ghosts in this world?"
His question just made King Crimson look at him in confusion.
Diego narrowed his eyes as he remembered something. Stands are basically your soul so in simple terms, King Crimson is his soul….
Not gonna lie, it was pretty stupid for him to ask that question, King Crimson probably arrived at the same time as him so it's normal for him to not give any confirmation.
"Still, there are some ways where I can find the supernatural, right?" Diego scratched his head before remembering the bag he just got.
Hurriedly standing up, he grabbed the bag and opened it, revealing important items such as two phones? keys, wallet, magazine..? And what the hell is this hilt like thing?
Diego ignored the weird stuff first and opened one of the flip flop phones, and saw the display screen, it was plain, nothing really notable on it.
"Here goes nothing." He went to the Inbox but to his surprise, it was empty. He found it suspicious and assumed that Altrouge probably deleted his history to mess with him but when he checked the calls, he was even more surprised.
There are seven logs in his calls and six of them have missed calls.
The names are strange too.
Bitch, Gremlin, Red, and Witch.
The non strange names are Mom, Dad and someone named Sion.
All of them have miss calls with the exception of Witch and the one with the most miss calls is Bitch.
Diego ignored the others for a while and focused on his 'parents' names, wondering if he should make a call or not.
The miss calls with his parents are surprisingly, not that much, only two with his Dad and five with his Mom.
Compared to Gremlin and Bitch whose miss calls went in double digits, especially Bitch who has the highest number of missed calls.
"Who should I call first?" Diego was quite hesitant, he really didn't know who these people were so he couldn't construct a conversation that would fit the original Diego.
What's he gonna say? He was hit by a truck and lost his memories, sorry for making you worry?
Aside from that it sounds absurd, he himself doesn't know if these people in the call logs are aware of the supernatural. What if he said something he shouldn't have said? Like Peter Parker saying to Aunt May he's Spider-Man? It sounds silly but with his lack of knowledge about his situation and relationship with these people, he really can't reveal much.
Add to the fact that he doesn't know if they are on good terms or something. What if he calls someone who is at odds with him? Would he be reported as a brain damaged person after he asks about the supernatural?
What if one of them wasn't a friend? If he called the wrong person and said the wrong thing, it could make things worse.
Better to wait and gather more information first.
"Ugh…" He put the phone back in his bag before laying down on the mattress again, exhausted.
"I'll just leave tomorrow's problem to tomorrow's me." Diego slowly closed his eyes, his eyes flashing red before falling asleep.
—-
"You still haven't contacted him?" A man with long hair asked as he was taking a puff of the cigarette.
"... He's not answering." A girl with blonde hair and pale white skin answered, obviously in a bad mood.
"Maybe you're using the phone the wrong way?" The man with long hair tried to joke. Magus aren't really good with technologies due to their disdain for it and sticking to traditions, it has gone to the point that even if they tried, they will somehow mess up.
Even if they are a genius.
The joke obviously didn't make her laugh but it did make her reply with a smile, "Oh, brother~. Do I look like an imbecile to you?"
"Jeez, calm down," Waver Velvet, the Lord El-Melloi II of the Clocktower raised his hand in surrender, he really didn't want to mess with his adopted sister, ''Maybe he's just busy. You know, he likes hunting Dead Apostles to the point of disregarding his studies. He's like the Vice-Director in this regard, skipping her duties."
Reines El-Melloi Archisorte looked at him with horrified eyes, pointing behind him. "The Vice-Director is behind you!"
Waver almost fell on his chair hearing that and hurriedly looked everywhere. Seeing that there was no one other than them, he sighed in relief before looking at her helplessly.
"Can you not do that?! It almost gave me a heart attack."
"Who told you to talk behind your superiors?" Reines shrugged.
Waver groaned before putting out the cigarette that fell in his mouth, "I'm being serious, what if he's busy because he was too immersed in hunting? It wouldn't be strange considering it's their family tradition…"
Reines looked at him and replied, "I would agree with you but…"
"But..?"
"But Diego isn't like that." Reines looked out the window, "If I call him, although it would take some time, he will definitely answer." And probably mock her but she didn't say the last part.
"You really have a close relationship huh…." Waver muttered. Until now, he was surprised how his sister managed to get Diego of all people.
Even if it was a family agreement, Diego's reputation was notorious, even Waver who was a Monarch was terrified of him and he's sure 90% of the people in the Clocktower are too.
Especially a year ago, when a siege happened against the Black Princess of Dead Apostles, his reputation became even more resounding.
"It's not that hard to talk to him." Reines smirked. Actually it was hard but Waver doesn't need to know that.
No matter how bold and daring she is, Reines never forgot to treat Diego with the highest caution, even if they have a formal relationship due to family traditions.
She simply couldn't get inside his head to know what he's thinking and frankly, judging by his… habits, she doesn't want to know.
Ignorance is a bliss, let the Vice-Director deal with him.
She's not the type of girl to worry about someone she knows can do better than her, that'll just be a waste of time and it's him of all people she should not be worried about.
So that begs the question, why was Diego not answering his phone?