[The End of Osamu Ashikaga]: Night of the Red Shade

A mere hour after his arrest, Johan was brought to the Scarlet Senate assembly hall in handcuffs by the SSK. He stood before an audience of dozens of handcuffed United Pacifist Party members, all of them just as wide-eyed and terrified as he was.

Nearly fifty SSK troops armed with rifles stood along the rear of the hall, blocking the doors and exits. Three more masked agents operated the cameras and began recording the footage they would send out to the people of Minavere.

On the same, raised podium where he had denounced Osamu and his destruction of humanity, Johan took a deep breath and prepared to admit his crimes to his people. The spotlights shined on him, making him the only figure of light in a darkened assembly hall.

“To the people of Minavere…” Johan began, “There is something of great importance I must confess to you all. The governed deserve to know the truth. I am not who I’ve said I am, and neither was Sorin. After I’ve explained the full story to you, I shall ask that the United Pacifist Party disbands.”

As Johan recorded his message for the people of Minavere to hear, Osamu and the Yakutsk Lords arrived at the Scarlet Senate building, marching through the halls and barging through the doors to Sorin’s office. Osamu sat in Sorin’s chair with his feet on his desk, drinking a glass of single malt whiskey as Hima stood off to his side, looking out the window. The lords all walked in with smiles on their faces, amused by his Osamu’s bout of immaturity.

“Well look at you!” Borya laughed. “You sure you want to be a king and not a senator?”

Ivan and Katya followed right behind Borya. Ivan’s walking cane tapped around the floor as he navigated his surroundings without any proper eyesight. Katya stood next to him, guiding him away from desk corners, walls, and whatever else he might not have detected.

“I take it our king is sitting upon a senator’s chair?” Ivan asked.

“Sorin Dragavei’s chair, to be exact.” Katya added.

“As we speak, the SSK is recording his confession.” Osamu said. “It’s only a small victory, though. We have a much bigger problem heading our way.”

“Russia.” Anatoli said, leaning against the wall to the left of Osamu. “We were briefed on the way here.”

Carmilla sat on the corner of Sorin’s desk with her legs crossed. “Most of the Eastern Military District is comprised of vampires. Combine the troops we have stationed here with the rest of the district under our control, and I’d say we have around fifty-five thousand troops. Most of that is mechanized infantry, but we also have artillery batteries, rocket brigades, and anti-aircraft units.”

“Part of our militarization plan was to reposition those brigades closer to Yakutsk itself.” Borya said. “Looks like it’s time to get them moving. Ulrich, Borislav, and I can put them in defensive positions around the city.”

“We won’t know if it will just be Russia, though.” Ulrich said, fiddling with the golden signet ring on his middle finger. “We have Canada and the United States to the north of us”

“We’ve got the northern coast covered.” Carmilla said. “We have radar stations, anti-air defenses, and a few naval bases. We can detect and intercept any advance from Canada and the U.S..”

“Good.” Osamu said, nodding his head. “What’s the strength of Russia’s exorcist program?”

“They have about the same sized force that we have.” Annabel said. “Russia has about two million people enlisted in their reserves. A fraction of that force will be able to reach Minavere in the coming days. The rest will take more time to get here. If I had to guess, we’re looking at a prolonged siege of Minavere.”

“The world underestimated the threat at Fukuoka.” Anastasia said. “Now they know how dangerous you are. They’ll throw everything they have at us.”

The office door flung open and everyone turned their heads to see who had entered. Akatsuki and Omagatoki closed the door behind them, their raven hair tied into neat buns.

“Well then, we better be ready to fight back.” Omagatoki said.

Osamu smiled as he took his feet off the desk and leaned forward in his seat. “Good to see you two made it here. Thank you for helping me with Sorin.”

“No problem, Osamu.” Akatsuki said. “Now, as I understand it, Minavere will be on the defensive soon, right? Sis and I can help. We’ll cover the city with a Category One barrier, the same kind used during the Inari Standoff. It can protect the city from artillery and rocket barrages.”

“You can cast a Cat-One barrier across the entire city? Just the two of you?” Taeko asked. “Even the exorcists needed a full squad just to wall off the airport.”

“We’re the Shoku Twins, Taeko.” Omagatoki scoffed. “There’s a reason Izanami had to restrict our powers with seals. Protecting the city won’t be an issue.”

“How much time do you need to put it up?” Ivan asked.

“We can have this city all domed up within the hour.” Akatsuki answered.

Hima let out an impressed whistle. “Well I’ll be damned.”

“We need that barrier up right away.” Osamu said. “Borislav, Ulrich, Katya, get those brigades in position. Form a perimeter outside the city and have the Minavere National Guard fortify the outskirts on all sides. Once the enemy is here, show them no mercy. It’s either us or them.”

“It’s all come down to this.” Hima said, facing the lords with a determined fire in her eyes. “The centuries of war, subjugation, and torture we endured, the hiding, fearing for our lives as we lived in the shadow of humanity, it all comes to an end. My father is watching each and every one of us. He wants to see what’s become of his people. Let’s not disappoint him. This city will be where we take back our destiny. Fight together!”

The lords responded in a unified roar. “Die together!”

Ready for a fight, the lords dispersed and went to go carry out their duties. Osamu stood from his seat as they flooded out of Johan’s office. Hima turned her head, her eyes drawn to his trembling hands. Osamu flinched in surprise as Hima’s fingers gently brushed against his own, slowly interlocking with them.

“I don’t know if we’re going to survive this.” Osamu said.

“In order to achieve great things, two thing are needed;” Hima began, “a plan, and not quite enough time. We’ve got both. The world’s armies are in a hopeless position. They want to stop us, but they also have to defend their countries from the onslaught. If they split their forces, they’re sure to lose both battles. Russia has the best chances if it it can put us in a pincer. Russia attacks from the south and America from the north.”

“Right. The Shoku Twins’s barrier will be instrumental in this battle. It’d be a miracle if we could block airstrikes and artillery barrages, or even nuclear strikes.” Osamu said.

“I’ll help them reinforce the barrier. We’ll make it stronger than anything the exorcists have ever put up.”

“Thank you, Hima.”

“Of course. No one knows how this battle will turn out, but wouldn’t it be brilliantly poetic if my race broke the armies of the world in the very place we chose to live in exile? I can’t think of a more beautiful start to the new, vampiric age. You’re good at seeing the beauty beyond the carnage, aren’t you, Osamu? Then take a look past the blood and fire to come. You’ll see the dawn of a new era.”

Her mind set on fighting for the future of her people, Hima sauntered out of the office. While Minavere prepared to defend itself against two of the world’s superpowers, Osamu took a stroll to the assembly hall as Johan was still giving his confession speech. He had learned enough from Johan’s memories to know not to underestimate him.

He quietly opened the double doored entrance of the assembly hall, his eyes immediately drawn to Johan as he stood beneath the singular spotlight at the podium.

“The Axis powers wanted to create a perfect, Sommerist leader and I was the end result.” Johan said to the camera. “I posed as Sorin’s son and instructed him on how to work his way into Yakut politics. He lied his way to the top of the Scarlet Senate. He betrayed the trust of our people and stayed in regular contact with Russian intelligence officials, all under my tutelage. For that, I hereby request that the United Pacifist Party disbands immediately.”

Johan’s words echoed through all of Yakutsk, bringing the rioting and infighting amongst the populace to a pause as it was broadcast onto every television and loudspeaker in the city. The revelations he shared about his past and identity was enough to put it all to a stop for just a moment.

For those who sided with Osamu and supported the genocide of mankind, Johan’s confession was pure vindication. For those who supported Sorin, it was a kick in the gut to learn their leader was a fraud. All of Minavere listened to Johan’s every word, watching the pained expressions roll across his face as he spoke.

“The actions of my co-conspirators, senators Balakin and Yana, may have doomed us all. Russia’s military will come after us. The whole world might try to burn this place down. All I wanted was for our burdens to end, to erase the pain of being born in this hateful world. I wanted to die on my own terms rather than be brutalized by mankind for the sins of my father. The Sommerist project was nothing but a failure in the end. Forgive me, everyone. Please forgive me…”

The broadcast cut to black for several seconds, plunging all of Minavere into shocked silence. In its place, the Minavere National Guard issued a relocation advisory, urging all citizens to leave the outskirts of the city. Fights between Sommerists and nationalists stopped and turned into a shared panic. Crowds dispersed and ran for their homes to grab their families and valuables.

The Minavere National Guard opened up their blockades and funneled the terrified citizens towards schools, hospitals, grocery stores, and hotels, using the buildings as emergency shelters. Men, women, and children flooded into those facilities, tightly packed like sardines in a can.

While the citizens flooded out, the Minavere National Guard came flowing into the outskirts. The streets were lined with sandbag barricades and machine gun nests while sniper teams made their way up the stairs in apartment buildings to reach the rooftops. Troops parked ammo trucks on the streets and gave out boxes full of bullets, magazines, rockets, and grenades to the teams.

Every single soldier hustled to fortify Yakutsk, forming a circular, defensive perimeter around the entire city. As the Minavere National Guard got into position, the sky above Minavere began to shift colors. The aurora borealis turned blood red, casting a dark, crimson shade over Yakutsk. The red lights shifted and expanded, stretching into a protective dome that slowly enveloped the entire city.

It was the work of the Shoku Twins and Hima, who sat on the rooftop of the royal hotel. Omagatoki had her eyes shut tight and her hands formed into the Zai kuji-in sign while Akatsuki sat with her hands posed in the Sha sign.

Hima stood behind them with a red, flame-like aura emanating from her body. The aura spread from her body and enveloped the Shoku Twins in it as well, supplementing their already immense power.

“Will this be enough?” Hima asked.

“Yeah, it’s plenty.” Omagatoki said. “With this, we can make the strongest barrier the world has ever seen.”

His nation prepared to stand against the world, Osamu watched as the SSK helped Johan off the podium and shut off their cameras. He leaned in close to one of the agents standing at the entrance with him and whispered into his ear.

“Keep all the senators locked in here. If they try anything, kill them.”

The masked agent nodded his head in compliance. Osamu turned and walked out the door, leaving the Scarlet Senate under the armed guard of the SSK. He marched through the halls of the senate building, shafts of red light piercing through the windows.

It was odd. Despite having Johan and the United Pacifist Party under his thumb, Osamu couldn’t help but feel it wasn’t a victory. It only reminded him of Johan’s time in Kengir, when he got himself locked in solitary confinement on purpose. But even if Johan did have his own plans, he couldn’t possibly have anticipated being put under control by Osamu’s bloodcraft. At least, Osamu didn’t think it was possible.

What’s more, there was no guarantee that Johan’s confession would break people faith in Sommerist ideals. A peaceful end to vampiric existence was no longer possible. Minavere had two choices left to them; either commit suicide or fight to protect the last patch of land they had on the planet. Fight for survival or remove themselves from the earth with their own hands.