Vampire Hunter D Volume 13: Twin-Shadowed Knight Parts 1 and 2 Read Free Book Online Page B

probably dead now, wasn’t she? Once Mia was dead, too, who’d tell fortunes for those in the nearby village? Was old Kevin’s granddaughter going to marry the younger Sawyer brother? Or would it be the postmaster’s blockhead of a son?
    Blistering heat came to her throat—then vanished unexpectedly. More than that pain, it was the lurid and malicious aura that’d buffeted her for some time that left Mia reeling. As her consciousness was slipping away, she heard someone say, “So, I finally meet up with myself.”
    Her eyes snapped open again. The sight that greeted them was something Mia never could’ve pictured, but at the same time exactly what she expected.
    There they stood, not ten feet apart. Two Ds.
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THE DARK ABODE
CHAPTER 3
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    I
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    W ide-brimmed traveler’s hat, inky black long coat, sword across the back—and more than anything, those handsome features. No matter how she looked at them, both of them were D. However, the atmosphere that surrounded each was as different as shadow and light. Though the D with a longsword in hand had a viciousness that would crumble stone and steel, the aura drifting from the D who stood empty handed was the pure ghastliness of one prepared to battle to the death.
    The two beautiful figures suddenly blurred. Mia had shed a tear.
    Great, there really are two Ds. That other one—that bastard—wasn’t him. And she wept with joy at the thought of that.
    â€œAre you going to draw, D?” the other D asked, lowering his blade. “As I’m sure you probably know, our capabilities are perfectly matched like no two others in all the world. But I’m at a distinct advantage having drawn first.”
    One D referred to the other as D, but the other one didn’t reply. The speaker’s gorgeous form was pierced by an egregious, overwhelming killing lust.
    â€œI could kill you now,” he continued, “but that wouldn’t be much fun. It’d be a waste. For me to disappear would be a great loss to the world. Join forces with me, D.”
    â€œD is your name,” the other D said, speaking for the first time. The voice and tone were exactly the same—but somehow entirely different. “If you want to make this world your own, go ahead and do so. I only want to know where he has gone.”
    â€œSo, you came in search of some clue to that? You don’t have any interest in me at all then?” he laughed. “The other me is even scarier than I thought. I can well imagine how incredible the long years have been. However, fear not—they are at an end. I will ask you one last time: are you willing to join forces with me?”
    The world froze. Time itself stopped, and in a space where the very color seemed to drain from the planet, the youth uttered a single word in a rusty yet inhumanly beautiful voice: “No.”
    The air whistled, and one D’s sword stretched toward the chest of the other. It was so sharp and moved with such speed it would’ve seemed inescapable to anyone who saw it.
    At that instant—
    â€œWhat the hell?” one of the Ds groaned, but which one?
    As D had thrust his blade, Mia had slammed into him. Instinctively D shoved her away and swung his blade around again, but it no longer moved with the same speed it had at first. A ching! rang out with a flash of light. D staggered backward—the resistance he’d met had been totally unexpected. Even without the original force behind his blade, he couldn’t believe the other D could draw and parry his blade in a single movement.
    Still poised for action as he leapt backward, D made a swipe with his right hand. The head of the girl who’d slammed into him went flying, and then popped like a soap bubble. However, it was fair to say that his action had been a grave mistake.
    The D that he’d crossed blades with hadn’t stood around waiting. As he leapt in pursuit of the first D, the