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She doesn't respond immediately. She just keeps looking at the city a bit longer, and then lets air out through her nose.
"Straight to the point, huh?"
"I don't have patience for beating around the bush today."
"Mm. It'd be a problem if you did."
She separates from the railing and turns to lean her back against it, facing the building, at the same time, she crosses her arms.
"What else do you want to know?"
"What you're hiding. Besides that."
"Heh. That's a bigger question."
"I want to know."
She looks at me and I see her eyes are serious.
"I'm going to tell you what you need to know for now. Not everything. Some things still aren't yours to know."
"Why?"
"Because they're not, got a problem with that?"
I don't like that answer, but I understand it. If Kiriko tells me I'm not ready for something, she's probably right. This woman has lived for many centuries.
I also want to ask her how she met mom considering her age, since they supposedly met when they were young.
Mrs. Yuriko is human, so the only answer is that Kiriko disguised herself as a child and entered school. What I'm curious about is her reason behind that.
Does this have anything to do with Rei?
Speaking of Rei, is she Kiriko's daughter? According to some fantasy novels I've read, vampires can't have children.
"Fine. Start with the Progenitor."
She nods.
"A Progenitor is, in simple terms, a vampire of origin. The most ancient, and the first of a certain lineage. Not the first vampire of all existence, that's something else, but the first of their kind."
"There are kinds?"
"Of course. I'm the seventh. There are six above me, and all those six were transformed by the First Progenitor, except for me."
"Six. Huh..."
"Mm. They're stronger than me. 'Stronger' is relative. I haven't fed properly for a long time, so I'm not in my best state. If I fed as I should, I'd probably be on par with some of them."
"And why don't you feed properly?"
She doesn't respond to that. Instead, I see her eyes become distant for a second.
I see. That's one of the things she's not going to tell me today. That's fine. I'm not going to press her.
"You said six above. Where are they?"
I change the subject with those words.
"Scattered. Most don't leave their territories because there's a kind of non-interference law."
"I see."
She looks at me.
"A question for you. Why do you think most ghouls are concentrated in Tokyo?"
"Huh?"
Mm. That's a strange question, but I think about it.
It's true that in Tokyo there's an unusual concentration of ghouls. The CCG has most of its resources here because this is where the problems are. In other parts of Japan there are some too, but not in the quantity there are here. And in other parts of the world, ghoul populations are much lower.
I always knew that, but never stopped to think why.
"...Because there are stronger predators than them in other places?"
Kiriko smiles a bit.
"Kind of."
"Kind of?"
"Ghouls are predators in the food chain, but they can also be prey. And there are zones in this world where, if a ghoul sticks its nose in, it doesn't pull it out again."
"Like where?"
"Kyoto. Or rather, beneath Kyoto."
I frown a bit.
"Down there are vampires. An entire city of them."
"..."
That's new information for me.
An entire city of vampires beneath Kyoto. How is it that nobody knows that? Well, I guess that's the point. Nobody knows because they make sure nobody knows.
Non-interference law, huh.
"Are those vampires the same as the ones in Europe?"
Kiriko raises an eyebrow.
"From Europe? Well, I understand your point, so I'd say they're different."
I urge her to continue, but she stays quiet for a moment. Then she asks me a question I didn't expect.
"Do you know the creation myth?"
"The creation myth? Which one? The Christian one? The Shinto one?"
"Neither of those."
"Then no."
"I figured. It's information only certain factions handle. You don't find it in history books, and much less on the internet."
"Is that so? Seems problematic."
"Want to hear it?"
"Yes."
Kiriko turns toward the railing again and looks at the city. After a few seconds, she starts speaking. Her voice is calmer now.
"It's said that before anything that could be called a world existed, there was a being. It has no name because no name could hold it. Some call it the First one, others the Origin, the Vatican calls it God, others simply 'Him.' That being awoke and realized it was alone. And since it was alone, it broke itself into pieces to fill the void."
She pauses, takes a cigarette from her jacket pocket, lights it, and continues.
Hm? A vampire can smoke?
"Its body became many things. Each part took a different form, and from each one arose a type of existence."
"..."
"From its brain, humans were born."
"Ugh. That's disgusting."
"The reason humans can think, doubt, lie, create art and build civilizations, all of that comes from there. But also the reason they go mad, become obsessed and destroy each other. The brain has everything."
She takes a drag from the cigarette.
"From its blood, two branches of vampires were born. One branch is what we call Midians today. I think you referred to them as the ones from Europe."
So the vampires from Hellsing.
"And the other branch?"
"The other branch gave origin to another type of vampire. Those are the ones who live beneath Kyoto or other vampire places in other countries. They're called Sanguinem to differentiate them from the Midians."
"Sanguinem..."
I murmur the word.
That word... I know it. It sounds like...
Ah.
Sanguinem, bracelets that protect vampires from sunlight, a vampire city beneath Kyoto...
Ah, shit.
I keep my face neutral while paying attention to Kiriko, who keeps talking.
"From its cells, RC Cells were born. That is, what makes ghouls function. They're not a complete race by themselves, but the cells found in ghouls and humans."
So that's the kind of background RC Cells have. Though it's just a myth, it's pretty structured.
"Its spirit fragmented, and from them angels were born."
I open my eyes wide.
"They exist?"
"I haven't seen one, but yes, they exist."
Having said that, Kiriko continues filling my mind with the creation myth.
"From its stomach and intestines, ghouls were born as creatures. That's the part where digestion happens, and that's why ghouls can only eat meat, and only human meat or from other ghouls."
It's no coincidence that it seems their stomachs have no bottom, they always seem hungry, and never fill up completely.
Though for some reason, my blood is capable of filling two cute ghouls in a few minutes.
"..."
"There are more parts and more races, but not all are relevant, like animals or insects. What's important is that you understand the system. According to that creation myth, everything that exists in this world comes from a piece of that being."
I take a drag from the cigarette that at some point I took from between her fingers without saying anything. I don't remember when it happened, I think I was too focused while she was talking.
Well, this is a lot to process.
But actually what worries me most is the Sanguinem thing. Because if those are what I think they are...
"Kiriko. Those Sanguinem vampires. Do they have a hierarchy?"
"Yes. The highest ones are called Progenitors. As you might've guessed, I'm a Sanguinem."
"And the city beneath Kyoto..."
Kiriko turns her head toward me while her eyes narrow slightly.
"The city beneath Kyoto is the third vampire capital, and it's the only capital that took the name of its race. Sanguinem. And the name of the queen of that capital is Krul Tepes."
Ah. Fuck.
So it's Owari nl Seraph.
I keep my face the same, but inside I'm making a quick mental list. If it's Owari no Seraph, that means the Horsemen of the Apocalypse exist, Catastrophe, the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, the experiments on children, and the whole mess with Mikaela and Yuichiro. And if Krul Tepes is beneath Kyoto, it means Ferid Bathory probably is too, and that's a migraine.
Besides, if all that exists, then the "zombie apocalypse" I've been worrying about for years isn't necessarily the apocalypse that will happen. Because the one from Owari no Seraph also starts with a worldwide event where all humans above a certain age die.
Great.
Goodbye, MILFs.
No, I must stop that apocalypse at all costs.
"What's with that face?"
Kiriko is looking at me.
"I'm thinking of a way to save you."
"Hah? You, brat? Save me from what?"
Well, she's also a vampire, so it probably won't affect her. But it will affect mom, and Miss Marikawa. Who knows if by then, Saya and the others will also grow up and the effect will reach them too.
"You're thinking too much. Process quickly, because there's more."
"No, wait, wait."
I raise a hand and stop my portable wiki, who wants to keep spitting out information.
"Let me digest this first."
She smiles a bit and leaves me alone for a while.
I rest my elbows on the railing and look at the city while the cigarette smoke rises slowly.
City of vampires beneath Kyoto, Krul Tepes. Sanguinem, creation myth, races that come from pieces of God.
All this time I thought I had a more or less clear map of what this world is like. Tokyo Ghoul, Hellsing, Parasyte, High School of the Dead, and with the addition of Meiko, also Prison School. Those were the pieces I knew. And now it turns out there's another complete piece.
A city beneath Kyoto.
Where monsters rest.
I have to think carefully about when to get involved in that.
For now, what I know is enough.
"Kiriko."
"Mm?"
"Have you dealt with those vampires? The Sanguinem."
She takes a while to respond, and has a somewhat distorted expression.
"Of course."
"And?"
"Nothing good comes from messing with them. But also nothing we need to fix today."
She takes out another cigarette, but before lighting it, she throws it over the edge. She seems annoyed, probably because she has her own history with the Sanguinem.
"For today that's enough, Arata. I told you I was going to tell you what you needed to know for now. This was it. The rest will come when it's your turn."
"I understand."
"What are you going to do with this?"
I think about it for a while, but actually, there's not much to think about in this case.
"Nothing."
"Hoh? Why?"
"For now, I mean. I'm not going to mess with them if they don't mess with me. I already have my problems with the CCG, Aogiri, and now with Iscariot."
Kiriko laughs softly.
"Heh, at least you won't die prematurely."
This woman.
After a while of staying silent, Kiriko separates from the railing.
"I'm leaving."
She walks toward the other side of the rooftop. Before leaving, she turns her head.
"Arata."
"..."
"Don't tell the girls yet. The creation myth or the city beneath Kyoto. Not Touka, not Rize. It's information they don't need to carry since they're still very young."
"Alright."
Having said that, Kiriko's body melts into the building's shadow and disappears in a blur.
Meanwhile, I stay on the rooftop a few more minutes.
I take the cigarette out of my mouth and throw it away. I thought it was cool, but it tastes really bad so I toss it.
Krul Tepes...
Umu.
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