As her face got closer, Diego's heart also sped up. Strangely enough, it wasn't at the sight of her face that's coming close to his but an impulse on how to decapitate her head.
He was even thinking of replying "since you want it to know so much, let me just demonstrate it for you" but he held himself back.
As he was holding himself back, Diego found his hand being grabbed by her, before hearing her muttering, "I remember…. It was this hand that killed me but how? It looks so normal." She takes a closer look and even puts her nose to sniff it.
"Alright! Let's calm down for a moment." Diego took his hand away before taking a deep breath, "I don't know."
"What?"
"I said I don't know how I killed you." Diego tried saying it as seriously as he could.
"But you know you killed me, right?"
"....Yes?" Diego replied with an unsure tone.
"Why do you sound so unsure?" Arcueid scratched her head lightly but even if he said it's not him, she would never believe him. She felt his hands passing through his body at that time, even if it was too late.
"Because I don't know how I killed you…" Diego replied helplessly. He can feel a murderous impulse but he really doesn't know he did it.
"Really?" She eyed him up and down. Diego couldn't stand her questioning until he remembered something.
"I came… from a coma recently. After I woke up, I started seeing these weird red lines from time to time, causing me headaches and nausea. When I do see them, I have this urge to tear it apart and I think…. That's how I killed you." He said slowly. It sounds far-fetched, even by his own terms.
"You think?" Arcueid looked at him, flabbergasted by his explanation, then her eyes lit up, "Wait, you say you can see lines?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever tried touching it?"
"Yes"
"What happened?"
"I remember chirping a rail in the bed but that's it…" Diego remembered the first time he saw those red lines and tried interacting with it when he just woke up.
"I see, so that's the case." Arcueid muttered as she thought of something.
"Do you know anything about it?" These eyes are unfamiliar to him and can prove to be a headache most of the time.
"In the Celtic Legends, the Evil God Balor has Mystic Eyes that can impose death just by looking at a target," Arcueid sat down and started explaining what she knows, "Everything in this world has a lifespan, whether its people or objects, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are a set of eyes that can see the lifespan of those things and having the power to interact with it." She looked at him but this time, there was a solemn glint in her eyes.
"Just like how Balor's eyes can kill someone just by looking at them, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception also have the ability to grant death to anything.
"It was said that it can even kill gods."
Diego was startled at that explanation, he has some knowledge over mythologies but there's probably differences in his world and this. He does not remember Balor having such eyes in his world.
"... Is that really the case?" He asked, not really sure about her explanation.
"I can't say for sure, those Mystic Eyes are said to be a myth. At least there was no known user aside from the Celtic God Balor." She sighed.
"Kill gods? From a god too?" Diego muttered. He didn't know how to feel, King Crimson is already a god-like power but this? It was already stacking a broken ability from another.
Too bad he can't use it at will, a lot of problems will be solved if he could.
As he was deep in thought, the blonde vampire approached him and touched his hand.
"What are you doing?!" Diego wanted to pull his hand away out of surprise but the girl held his hand tightly this time.
"Still, even if you have that kind of power, you shouldn't be able to kill me so easily, especially with just these hands." Arcueid rubbed his hands like a certain serial killer and tried sniffing it again.
"Can you stop doing that? Are you a dog or what?" Diego's eyes twitched as he looked at this girl who's figure was overlapping with a golden retriever.
Strangely enough, she wasn't offended and still continued to sniff before she went to his arm then to his neck where she took a long sniff.
The sudden blow of air made Diego shudder, making him hold her shoulders and push her away, "Do you really not know what personal space is?"
"You really are a magus. A high ranking too judging by your smell." Arcueid didn't answer his question and started saying terms he does not understand.
"Can you please speak human?" He asked her, annoyed by her odd movements.
"Magus always has more.. Fragrant smell compared to humans, the magic circuits and their magical energy are a delicacy that increases the flavor of their blood, making Dead Apostles and True Ancestors target them for food." Arcueid looked at his neck and gulped slightly, "I have never smelled blood like yours, it makes me want to take a bite…" She backed off slightly while covering her mouth.
"Hey, are you okay?" This action made Diego surprised but he still came to check on her.
"I'm fine. Just…. Don't come closer, I need to calm down." She shook her head with difficulty, before glancing at him. Her eyes were now golden and her pupils turned into red slits.
Diego was startled by that hungry look so he backed away until she took a couple of breaths to calm herself down.
"A high ranking magus in this city. Are you really not an executor?" She calmed herself and asked the question that's been bugging her.
"Let me clear things up. I woke up from a comatose state a week ago and lost my memories so I really couldn't answer those questions. Executor, Magus, Mystic Eyes, Vampires, or whatever related to the supernatural, I'm just as clueless as a normal person." Diego spread his hands helplessly before sitting down.
"You were really in a coma?" Arcueid was startled by that. She did hear him saying it but she thought it was just some excuse he made.
"Didn't I already say that last night?"
"If you came from a coma. Then that explains why you have those Mystic Eyes." Acueid's words made Diego paused.
"In order to get the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. One must experience "death" first, even then, it's not guaranteed. At least I know someone who, despite dying many times, did not get it." She sighed and looked at him deeply.
"What a monster. You said you have no memories about everything and that includes being a magus yet you killed me at night barehanded. Calling you a monster is an understatement, perhaps a monster among monsters might be the correct term."
"Can you stop calling me that?" Diego said to her angrily, "If someone was a monster, it should be you. You didn't die when you got killed. That's not following common sense at all."
"But it's true. I can understand it if it was in the day when you killed me, I can understand it if you're a magus, I can understand it if you used a weapon, I can even understand it if you were an actual exorcist but you're not one of those. It's like a talent, as if, " Arcueid looked at him and said, "You were born to kill."
"If you can kill me, a monster like you said. Doesn't that mean you're a bigger monster?"
Diego's anger subsided and his head became messy. A magus, was he really one? He has those weird weapons but he doesn't know this magical energy stuff she's talking about, at least he's not feeling it.
Was King Crimson part of this magical system? He didn't feel any magical energy consumption or some stamina bullshit. Using that Stand is like breathing to him.
"But you're really interesting, Diego Seijuro." Arcueid came close to his face, "I hope we get along from now on."
"Y-Yeah…" Diego was taken aback but still agreed.
"That's it. I'm going to rest for now." She stood up and stretched her arms, "Just guard me there and don't leave, if you do, I'll find you till the ends of the earth." After leaving some scary words, Arcueid came back to her room.
"This girl really has some weird humor." Diego shook his head.
Only if he knew.
"Mystic Eyes of Death Perception… I need to know the supernatural." Diego muttered as he stared at his eyes in the mirror. His identity, his powers, his background, all of it.
He must know all of it.
Sighing, Diego sat down on the couch and closed his eyes to rest. There's still some time before the job, he's going to sleep first.
—-
"No, no, no, no!" A man was roaring while kicking a cabinet in anger.
His name was Hayama, an office worker who was being oppressed in his work place starting a few months ago after failing a project. It came to the point that he was almost fired had he not begged for another chance.
Although he did manage to save his career, he was also bullied by his co workers and was outcast from gatherings. It was so hateful that he started drinking just to remove it from his mind.
After he got drunk, he met an old man. He has a weird face and way of walking. He offered him something that can change his life, something that will make those people regret looking down on him. It was a very tempting offer but at that time, he was so drunk that he wanted to beat the old man himself.
He quickly came to regret it as he was almost eaten by bugs and quickly begged for his life to be spared which the old man graciously did.
Humiliated and afraid, Hayama took the offer which turned him into something called a Dead Apostle. A species similar to vampires.
Contrary to his expectations, he did not feel disgust or repulse but instead, it was ecstasy. Hayama wasn't a really strong person physically, he spends too much time on work so after creating a small crack on the wall with his fist, he quickly understood the strength he received.
Unfortunately, the old man left and did not say anything further. This confused him but he was so excited about his newfound power that he did not pay attention too much about it until later, he started feeling hungry.
At first, he tried to relieve his hunger by eating normal food but he quickly found it disgusting and vomited all of it until his stomach was empty. He tried enduring the hunger but he didn't last long, and the hunger consumed him.
At first, he went to some cemeteries to eat dug corpses to eat them and then eventually, he started preying on normal living people.
Just a few days ago, he was also the one who ate the human that was found in the news. He wasn't really bothered by it and sometimes sneered about the police's incompetence, this was the difference between a human and a superior being.
This power has been his pride, even his coworkers started fearing him since he can easily overpower them physically.
This should have been the case until yesterday.
As a newly transformed Dead Apostle, Hayama has no knowledge of his abilities and the old man who gave it to him did not explain anything so he needs to figure out everything by himself.
How to drink blood, how to eat flesh, how to turn people similar to zombies that he can command, all of it are learned by him.
Especially the power to turn people into mindless puppets, the sense of power was exhilarating. He had turned a lot of people to the dead for various purposes but just yesterday, he suddenly found his connection with them gone.
They died! Not the literal way since they are dead but something made them unable to fight again as corpses.
The temporary thrill of power made Hayama forget that there was someone who was also dealing with beings like them.
He was a normal human before so he has heard the incidents of murders and deaths, whether it's caused by a fellow Dead Apostle or something else and every time, someone will deal with them.
As a newbie, Hayama has no idea of what will come to him, making him fearful but the strength he had also made him confident in facing whoever will come to him.
'I should be stronger right?' He thought to himself. He had never heard of other Dead Apostles from the previous case controlling corpses nor did he see it from the news. Even if they hide the supernatural part, there should be some parts that's hard to hide but he doesn't remember anything, it was always the eat people or kill them kind of thing.
"If they're gone, I should just create new ones." Hayama muttered to himself, his red eyes looking at the destroyed cabinet in front of him.
He can't fail. He hasn't avenged himself, he didn't get to kill his coworkers who insulted him nor his boss who humiliated him.
He absolutely cannot fail!
---
A/N: Guess who the old man is.
PS: It's not who you think