Chapter Text 正文
What a lovely, lovely night it was. The moon was full and shining, he was occupied with a task, and the air was warm: this last one was a rarity in England, but something Alucard always appreciated. He was, after all, dead –scientifically speaking, anyways– and outside warmth was a pleasant novelty under any circumstances, whether it was the heat of a summer night, the touch of a lover, or the spray of blood from a victim.
多么美妙的夜晚啊。圆月当空，他正忙于某项任务，空气温暖宜人——这在英格兰实属罕见，但阿卡德向来珍视这般馈赠。毕竟从科学角度而言，他早已是亡者之躯，无论夏夜暑气、情人爱抚还是猎物喷溅的鲜血，任何形式的温暖对他都是新奇享受。
Speaking of which… 说到这个…
The bang of his Casull shattered the peace of the night, and another cultist was sent flying through the air to slump in a bloody smear against the wall.
他的 Casull 枪声撕裂了夜的宁静，又一名邪教徒被轰飞出去，在墙上留下一道血痕瘫软滑落。
Cleaning up this particular mess wasn't exactly high on his list of interests, but at the very least, it did promise to be slightly more entertaining than the usual routine of "worthless fool becomes vampire, goes on rampage, solve with silver bullets."
收拾这摊烂摊子本不在他的兴趣清单前列，但至少比日常那些"蠢货变成吸血鬼→发狂→银弹解决"的固定流程要有趣那么几分。
According to his Master, some would-be necromancers had gotten ahold of books they shouldn't by more murderous means than usual, and, of course, the implied threat to Britain meant that they must be dealt with soon –by him specifically, since human soldiers were more valued staff than he was.
据主人所述，几个自诩死灵法师的家伙用比寻常更血腥的手段搞到了禁书，而其中隐含的对大不列颠的威胁自然需要立即清除——具体执行者只能是他，毕竟人类士兵可比他这种消耗品金贵多了。
It did made sense. He could survive a great many things that the humans on the ground could not; an especial boon tonight, considering that Sir Integra was still not altogether sure what the spells in the illicit books did.
这很合理。他能承受地面上那些人类无法抵御的伤害；今夜这特质尤为可贵，毕竟因特古拉爵士至今都没完全弄明白那些禁书咒术的具体效果。
They'd been bought on the black market, and rumors painted them to be bonafide occult, necromantic in theme, and middling-range in terms of power. Nothing so infamous or powerful that it warranted more caution or research before he was sent in, since there was a limit to how far amateurs could get with all but the most deadly –and occasionally sentient– of books.
这些书是从黑市购得的，传闻称它们是货真价实的邪术典籍，以死灵为主题，威力中等。既非臭名昭著到需要额外警惕，也非强大到值得在他出动前深入调查——毕竟业余者能驾驭的极限，终究抵不过那些最致命（偶尔甚至具备意识）的魔典。
The seller's surviving companions, under duress, had admitted that the books were from a nebulous, as-yet unidentified third source. They had also nicely cleared up some small but important details: the books did not have any summoning spells, were geared exclusively towards the dead and undead, and did not have any Powers behind them worth noting.
在胁迫之下，幸存的卖家同伙承认这些书籍来自某个尚未查明的第三方。他们还贴心地澄清了几个微小却关键的细节：书中不含任何召唤咒语，完全针对死者与不死生物，背后也不存在值得注意的邪神力量。
For Alucard, this meant he was not abruptly going to have to face some incomprehensible, eldritch opponent, nor would whatever rituals these fools were enacting tear open rifts he or his Master would inevitably have to deal with later.
对阿卡多而言，这意味着他不会突然遭遇某个不可名状的恐怖对手，这群蠢货正在进行的仪式也不会撕裂出需要他或主人日后收拾的空间裂隙。
The fact they might be able to affect or control the undead was what lent a tingle of excitement to this mission. Faint, to be sure, but perhaps he would have a small moment of challenge tonight.
真正让他血液微微沸腾的，是这些书或许能影响或操控不死生物的可能性。虽然很微弱，但今晚说不定能享受片刻挑战的乐趣。
So far, it was turning out to be a deadly bore. These humans were trained, to be sure, but they were still human cultists, and a far cry from the vampires he fought, even the ridiculously pathetic ones he had been facing of late. At least most vampires could try to dodge his bullets before they were rendered a bloody smear on the wall.
到目前为止，这场战斗简直无聊透顶。这些人类确实受过训练，但终究不过是人类邪教徒，与他交战的吸血鬼相比差远了——就连最近遇到的那些可悲至极的吸血鬼都比他们强。至少大多数吸血鬼在被轰成墙上的血渣前，还能试着躲开他的子弹。
A small part of him noted the fact that Sir Integra was going to be rather displeased with the fact he'd wasted his silver bullets on human scum. But alas, who knew what powers they had used to alter themselves already? Better to be safe than sorry and all that, and blessed silver reliably killed –and kept dead– just about anything.
他心底有个微弱的声音提醒着：因特古拉爵士恐怕会对他把银弹浪费在人类渣滓上相当不满。但天晓得这些家伙用了什么邪术改造自己？宁可错杀不可放过嘛，况且受祝银弹向来能可靠地杀死——并确保永久死亡——几乎所有东西。
Alucard wasn't sure what to make of these cultists as he steadily massacred his way into the building, a backpacker hotel on the edge of town that had probably not been so empty when the cultists moved in. They were so weak, and it was either because he was facing acolytes, or the so-called necromancers were a perverse group of individuals who were only just now dipping their toes into the world of the supernatural.
阿尔卡特一边有条不紊地血洗这栋建筑，一边琢磨不透这些邪教徒的底细。这座位于城郊的背包客旅馆在被他们占据前，想必没这么空荡。他们如此孱弱，要么是因为他面对的都是喽啰，要么这群所谓的死灵法师根本是群刚把脚趾探进超自然世界的变态门外汉。
He sincerely hoped it was the first one. Honestly, fighting first-time mystical human dabblers? He wasn't sure he could sink any lower.
他衷心希望是前者。说真的，对付初涉神秘学的人类菜鸟？他觉得自己已经跌到谷底了。
There was a humming from the basement under his feet as he walked further into the building, a sort of pulsing quality to the air, and Alucard paused, then grinned.
他继续向建筑深处走去，脚下地下室传来嗡嗡声，空气中弥漫着某种脉动的质感，阿卡德停下脚步，随即露出狞笑。
Acolytes it was, then. A ritual was taking place.
原来是信徒们。正在举行某种仪式。
Unhurriedly, he stowed his gun and made his way across the wooden floor, heading for the empty space of a stairwell that he sensed ahead.
他不慌不忙地收起枪，踏着木地板向前走去，朝感知中空荡荡的楼梯井方向移动。
Only to pause as unrepentant glee coursed through him, seeing a familiar tall, ominously bulky shape straightening up from the ground, where another of the pathetic fools lay crumpled in their maroon hooded cloak.
却在感受到一股毫无悔意的欢愉涌遍全身时再次驻足——只见那个熟悉的高大身影正从地面直起身来，其脚下躺着另一个裹在暗红兜帽里的可怜虫，像破布般蜷缩在地。
"Judas Priest," he commented aloud, and watched those strong, broad shoulders stiffen before Anderson swiftly turned to face him, bayonets gleaming in his hands before the larger man so much as finished his turn.
"见鬼，"他大声评论道，看着那双强壮宽阔的肩膀突然僵住，安德森迅速转身面对他，还没等这个大个子完全转过来，手中的刺刀就已经寒光闪烁。
"Vampire," Anderson spat in return, scowling. "I don't have time for you."
"吸血鬼，"安德森咬牙切齿地回应，眉头紧锁。"我没空搭理你。"
The ritual, of course. Neither of them were idiots: ferocious fighters they may be, but magic was unpredictable and therefore deadly. The cultists may very well be summoning or invoking something that could deal with, or at least delay, them both.
当然是因为那个仪式。他们俩都不是傻子：虽然都是凶猛的战士，但魔法变幻莫测，因此致命。那些邪教徒很可能正在召唤或唤醒某种能对付——至少能拖住——他们俩的东西。
"Who's holding you here, then?" Alucard asked with a catty smile, visibly casting his eyes over the now-empty hallway, then the door to the stairs on the left-hand wall, roughly equidistant between them. "Not these, surely."
"那么是谁把你困在这里的？"阿卡德露出猫一般狡黠的笑容，目光扫过此刻空荡荡的走廊，又瞥向左侧墙壁上距离两人差不多等距的楼梯门，"总不会是这些吧。"
He idly kicked what had once been a large part of a cultist's body as the heavy, unidentifiable piece of meat shifted wetly on the floor.
他漫不经心地踢了一脚地上那团曾是邪教徒躯体的大型肉块，湿漉漉的不明肉块在地板上滑动了半寸。
Anderson snarled. Oh, surely it wasn't because he thought these pathetic fools were redeemable, was it? Then again, any reason to hate Alucard seemed to do for the priest: bodily desecration was as good an excuse as any.
安德森发出低吼。哦，他该不会真觉得这些可悲的蠢货还有救赎的余地吧？不过话说回来，这位神父总能找到憎恨阿卡多的理由：亵渎尸体和其他借口对他来说都一样好用。
"Get out of my way."
"滚开。"
Alucard had to raise an eyebrow at that. "Am I in your way, Judas Priest?" he asked, casting another obvious glance to the door on the wall between them, before grinning and dissolving. Anderson was too well-trained to step back, though he grimaced in disgust and brandished his blades as a tarry, bloodlike substance filled the hallway before him, clinging to the walls and ceiling and floor as hundreds of lidless red eyes opened in those unnatural shadows.
阿卡德闻言挑起眉毛。"我挡着你了么，犹大神父？"他故意瞥了眼两人之间的那扇门，咧嘴一笑后身形消散。训练有素的安德森虽未后退，却在黏稠如血的物质充斥走廊时嫌恶地皱眉——那些非自然的阴影攀附墙壁与天花板，数百只没有眼睑的猩红眼珠在黑暗中骤然睁开，他立刻交叉举起双刃。
"Catch me if you can," Alucard rumbled playfully, before darting off towards the stairway, sliding through the cracks in the doorframe as Anderson started and belatedly moved in this unexpected direction.
"有本事就来抓我呀，"阿卡多低沉地戏谑道，话音未落便朝楼梯方向窜去。当安德森刚反应过来朝这个意外方向追赶时，他早已化作一缕暗影从门缝间溜走了。
Quick as he was, Alucard's shadows had still barely whisked through the door before a bayonet impaled the center of said door, followed by a foot mere seconds later as the fragile wooden construct finally slammed open and hit the opposite wall, torn off one hinge.
尽管阿卡多动作迅捷，他的暗影刚掠过门框，一柄刺刀便已贯穿门板中央。紧接着军靴重重踹来，脆弱的木门轰然洞开撞上对面墙壁，一颗铰链当即崩飞。
Alucard grinned at Anderson from the bottom of the first landing, a mostly-human shape in the unlit darkness.
阿卡德从第一段楼梯平台的底部朝安德森咧嘴一笑，在无光的黑暗中保持着近乎人类的形态。
"Maybe I'll leave a piece for you if you don't take too long," he teased, and barely dodged the second bayonet that whistled through the space his head had been as he dissolved back into darkness and surged down the steps.
"要是你动作够快，说不定我还能给你留块碎片呢，"他戏谑道，第二把刺刀呼啸着穿过他头颅原先所在的位置时，他已化作黑雾退下台阶，堪堪避过这一击。
Anderson was fun. 安德森真有意思。
Alucard found himself grinning, or at least as much as he could grin in this form as scythlike jaws faded and formed in his amorphous mass. If nothing else, after clearing out this nest of scum, he would have his fun tonight, and that was all that mattered. Crossing blades –in the mostly-metaphorical sense, at least so far– with Anderson was a heady thrill he'd almost forgotten.
阿卡德发现自己又在笑了——或者说以他现在这副形态所能展现的最近似笑容的方式——镰刀状的下颌在他不定形的躯体中时隐时现。至少今晚在清理完这窝渣滓后，他能好好享受一番乐趣，这才是最重要的。与安德森兵刃相向（至少在目前阶段还只是比喻意义上的交锋）带来的那种令人眩晕的快感，他几乎都要忘记了。
When was the last time he'd faced such an opponent, who gave him this kind of unceasing challenge?
他上一次面对这样的对手是什么时候？一个能给他带来如此持续挑战的对手。
Integra, maybe. His Master was nothing if not indomitable, but physically attacking her was something of a taboo, even for him. Her grandfather may have tamed him, but Integra was the first Master Alucard became truly loyal to. Her challenges were with clipped words and icy glares, with a steely, triumphant smile only he ever saw as she wove her way with consummate grace through politics and battlefields alike, giving him a Master he was proud to follow, showing him how truly breathtaking a stubborn, indomitable human can be when she leads.
或许是因特古拉。他的主人向来不屈不挠，但即便是他，对她进行物理攻击也是某种禁忌。她的祖父或许驯服了他，但因特古拉才是阿尔卡特真正效忠的第一位主人。她的挑战总是伴随着简短的言辞和冰冷的凝视，带着钢铁般胜利的微笑——只有他见过她在政治与战场上以完美优雅的姿态周旋，赐予他一位值得骄傲追随的主人，向他展示一个固执不屈的人类在领导时能有多么令人屏息。
But hurting her –no. A physical attack would be a betrayal of the unspoken bond they share, the challenges that were with words and power rather than fists and fangs… and, it had to be said, he balked at giving her, or her family's seals, any excuse to truly punish him. He grew intimately familiar with those punishments under Abraham, and he is not eager to invoke them again.
但伤害她——不。肢体攻击将是对他们之间无言默契的背叛，那些用言语与力量而非拳脚与獠牙交锋的较量……而且必须承认，他不敢给她，或是她家族的封印任何真正惩罚他的借口。在亚伯拉罕手下，他对那些惩罚手段早已刻骨铭心，实在不愿再次领教。
But ah, Anderson… Alucard feels the glare of his hatred like the touch of the sun, hot and lingering on his skin. The strength and heat of his passion and conviction makes Alucard want to melt, makes him want to cackle and burn in a bloodied frenzy as they tear at each other until only one remains, and he would be proud, would be honored if it was Anderson who stood triumphant upon that battlefield.
然而啊，安德森……阿卡多感受着他仇恨的凝视，如同阳光灼烧皮肤般炽热而持久。他那份狂热信念的力量与热度让阿卡多渴望融化，渴望在鲜血淋漓的狂乱中尖笑燃烧，他们撕扯彼此直至仅存一人。若最终屹立战场的是安德森，他将会感到骄傲，感到无上荣光。
He is a vampire, after all. They crave warmth, they crave life, hot and pulsing in the blood. He is the No-Life King, and Anderson is nothing if not excessively lively.
他毕竟是吸血鬼。他们渴求温暖，渴求生命，在血液中炽热跳动的生命。他是无生之王，而安德森偏偏是过分鲜活的存在。
Moths to a flame. Cliche, perhaps, but apt. The heat of the inferno that was Anderson had Alucard's nerves prickling pleasantly, or at least, it would if he still had nerves to call his own. He was dead, after all, and not physically tangible at the moment.
飞蛾扑火。或许老套，却很贴切。安德森那如地狱烈焰般的热度让阿卡德的神经愉悦地刺痛着——或者说，如果他还拥有属于自己的神经的话。毕竟他已经死了，此刻也没有实体。
The sensation was still there, however –a psychosomatic reaction, perhaps?
但这种感觉依然存在——也许是某种心因性反应？
In any case, he does genuinely hope that Anderson is not too far behind him as he sinks into the lowest basement level where, of course, the remaining cultists have drawn some sort of elaborate pentacle on the ground in blood.
无论如何，当他沉入最底层地下室时，确实由衷希望安德森不会落后太多。那里，当然，残余的邪教徒们已经用鲜血在地面绘制了某种复杂的五芒星阵。
They're chanting, hoods drawn up, and the sight would be moderately impressive if Alucard had not seen similar such things countless times before. Even as a human: he had attended the Scholomance, however briefly.
他们吟诵着，兜帽低垂，这一幕本应颇具威慑力，若非阿卡德早已目睹过无数次类似的场景。即便还是人类时：他曾短暂就读于所罗门学院。
Because of that, he was also tolerably familiar with how such rituals went, and after darting his eyes over the array and listening to what was quite honestly a near-butchery of medieval Romanian, he had to exert extreme effort into not rolling every single one of his hundreds of eyes.
正因如此，他对这类仪式流程也相当熟悉。当目光扫过法阵，听着那简直是对中世纪罗马尼亚语的拙劣屠戮时，他不得不竭力克制自己不要翻动那数百只眼睛中的任何一只。
They're trying to summon Dracula.
他们正试图召唤德古拉。
Really? Really? 真的吗？真的假的？
He did have to begrudgingly give them some props for their preparation, since blood is a difficult medium to paint in, especially when multiple types are mixed as was clearly the case here, and admittedly their goal –which is stated amongst much praise and sycophantic occultism– is halfway novel.
他不得不勉强承认他们在准备工作上确实下了功夫，毕竟血液是种很难驾驭的绘画媒介——尤其是当这里明显混合了多种血型时。而且必须承认，他们那个在诸多谄媚的玄学辞藻中反复强调的目标，确实有几分新意。
Evidently these so-called necromancers were more cultist than his Master had originally suspected, or he had guessed upon seeing the robes: they apparently envisioned a "perfect world" in which all things were dead, and were trying to achieve this by invoking the most powerful of vampires, which would then prey upon all the humans of the world and either turn them or slay the ones that did not align with the cult's vision.
显然这些所谓的死灵法师比他主人最初怀疑的——或者说当他看见那些长袍时就猜到的——更像邪教徒：他们显然在构想一个"完美世界"，在那里万物皆亡。为此他们试图召唤最强大的吸血鬼，让它猎食世上所有人类，将顺从者转化为同类，屠戮那些不符合教派愿景的异端。
In their eyes, this would remove a number of problems currently facing human society, such as overpopulation, hunger, housing, and pain. Vampires could only turn so many, and they slept comfortably in tiny wooden boxes, and much of their ability to feel pain was muted, after all. Therefore, a world full of the dead was a world without pain, a world like the promised second coming in the Christian Bible.
在他们眼中，这将消除人类社会当前面临的诸多问题——人口过剩、饥荒、住房短缺以及痛苦。毕竟吸血鬼能转化的数量有限，他们安睡在狭小的木棺里，大部分痛觉都已钝化。因此，充满亡者的世界将是无痛的世界，正如基督教《圣经》所预言的应许新天新地。
Alucard could read between the lines. Whatever or whoever led this cult undoubtably had a much different vision –likely some sort of pathetic, pretentious lifelong desire to be turned into a vampire and rule the world– and the rest had been merely duped into this bizarre vision of what admittedly equated paradise. The attraction of being able to command an inconceivably powerful vampire, and therefore have the power to control the world, probably also accounted for their surprisingly large numbers.
阿卡多能读懂字里行间的暗示。无论主导这个邪教的是何物或何人，其愿景必然截然不同——很可能是某种可悲又自负的毕生执念，渴望被转化为吸血鬼并统治世界——而其余信徒不过是被这种怪异的天堂幻景所蒙骗。能够驱使一个强大到难以想象的吸血鬼，进而获得掌控世界的力量，这种诱惑或许正是他们人数异常众多的原因。
He grinned a little from his place hovering in the shadows: Anderson would appreciate the blasphemy, Alucard was sure. Well, perhaps not appreciate, but he would certainly be enthused about cutting them up, and Alucard was certainly looking forward to watching him do so.
他隐在阴影处微微咧嘴一笑：安德森会欣赏这番亵渎的，阿卡多确信。好吧，或许不是欣赏，但他绝对会热衷于将他们大卸八块，而阿卡多正迫不及待想看他大显身手。
Well, if they wanted Dracula, it'd be rude not to oblige. He was a gentleman once, amongst many other things.
既然他们想要德古拉，不满足可就太失礼了。他曾经是个绅士，当然还有其他许多身份。
The first indication the cultists had of an invader in their inner sanctum was the sound of a bullet roaring through the basement, and Alucard phased back into solid existence with an annoyed click of his tongue as the bullet stopped short of the leader's head. It would've been so amusing to see them scurrying around like rats after his head was blown off.
邪教徒们察觉到入侵者闯入圣所的第一个征兆，是子弹呼啸着穿过地下室的声响。当子弹在首领头颅前骤然停住时，阿卡德咂舌发出不耐烦的声响，身形重新凝实。若是能看到他们像无头老鼠般仓皇逃窜的模样，那该多有趣啊。
"And who might you be?" the cult leader asked with feigned confidence. There was a sword around his waist, but he did not draw it. Alucard could see the sweat on his skin from across the room, however: stopping the bullet had cost the man, though how much it had cost him would soon be put to the test.
"你又是何方神圣？"邪教头目佯装镇定地问道。他腰间佩着一柄剑，却并未出鞘。然而阿卡德能隔着整个房间看见他皮肤上渗出的汗珠——挡下那颗子弹显然让他付出了代价，至于代价究竟有多大，很快就能见分晓。
Alucard constructed and dropped about a dozen replies to that statement within a single second, some vague, some direct, but the hassle of answering was taken out of his hands entirely when a shining blade lanced through the air and transfixed the nearest cultist right through the chest.
阿卡多在一秒内构思又否决了十几种回应方式，有的含糊其辞，有的直截了当。但还没等他费神作答，一道寒光已破空而来，将最近的邪教徒当胸刺穿。
"'And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: then I will set my face against that man,'"
"『倘若这地的百姓佯装不见，任人将子女献给摩洛，不把他治死——我必向那人变脸』"
If the dark glee with which he recited the Biblical passage wasn't hint enough, the maniacal grin in the shadows and the deep Scotts accent was more than enough to identify Father Alexander Anderson as the cultist slowly toppled to the floor.
如果说他诵读圣经段落时那种阴森的愉悦还不够明显，那么阴影中那张癫狂的笑脸和浓重的苏格兰口音，就足以让人认出亚历山大·安德森神父——此刻这位狂信徒正缓缓栽倒在地。
"-'and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people,'" the priest finished as he stopped dead at the bottom of the stairs, and another bayonet flashed into his hand to replace the one he'd thrown. "It seems your habit of playing with your food has left me something after all, monster."
"‘凡偏向摩洛行淫的，我必向那人变脸，把他从民中剪除，连他的家眷也要剪除，’"牧师在楼梯底部猛然停步，诵完经文的同时，另一把刺刀已如闪电般滑入他手中，取代了先前掷出的那柄。"看来你玩弄猎物的恶习终究给我留了些机会，怪物。"
Alucard laughed in unmitigated delight, though the narrowing of the priest's eyes behind his glasses and the uneasy shifting of the cultists in his peripheral told him that it was more mad than delighted, at least to them.
阿尔卡德纵声大笑，纯粹的欢愉在猩红眼眸中流淌，然而神父镜片后眯起的双眼与邪教徒们不安的骚动都在提醒他——至少在这群旁观者眼中，这笑声里癫狂远多于愉悦。
"They are rather irritatingly adept, for scum," he chuckled afterwards, aiming and firing the Casull again without looking as, once more, the cult leader blocked the bullet mere inches from his face.
"作为渣滓来说，他们倒是烦人地熟练，"事后他轻笑着说道，再次举枪射击卡苏尔，连看都没看——而那个邪教头目又一次在子弹离脸仅几英寸时将其挡下。
Anderson ground his teeth when he saw that, knuckles creaking and cracking around the hilts of his bayonets.
安德森看到这一幕时咬紧了牙关，指节在刺刀柄上嘎吱作响。
"'And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people!'" he snarled, striding forward, and Alucard felt a little shiver go through him as his grin widened. He wondered if Anderson knew how delightfully suggestive he sounded when he was booming out the word "whore" in his deep, passionate voice, and decided not to enlighten him.
"'凡偏向交鬼的和行邪术的，随他们行邪淫的，我必向那人变脸，把他从民中剪除！'"他咆哮着大步向前，阿尔卡特感受着体内窜过的一丝战栗，嘴角咧得更开了。他想知道安德森是否意识到，当他用那低沉而狂热的声音吼出"邪淫"这个词时，听起来有多么令人愉悦地充满暗示意味，并决定不点破这一点。
It'd be so much more amusing if he found out on his own.
要是他自己发现的话，那可有意思多了。
Those words coincided with a hurtled storm of bayonets, however, and chaos exploded amongst the cult members as some of them used the same trick as their leader to equal or lesser effect, others simply dodging, and more than a few blades rebounding off the hastily summoned wards and striking other cultists.
然而话音未落，一阵刺刀风暴便呼啸而至。邪教徒中顿时炸开了锅——有人效仿首领故技重施却收效甚微，有人仓皇闪避，更有不少刀刃被匆忙召唤的护盾弹开，反倒击中了其他教徒。
Alucard waded into that chaos with a smirk, putting his Casull away again –since bullets had proved temporarily ineffective– and merely grabbing the nearest unwary cultist, dragging him up to the vampire's teeth and messily sucking him dry. It was unpleasant fare, much like the late Richard Hellsing: living blood was hot, true, but there was a difference between the warmth of a home-cooked meal and the warmth of greasy pub fare, as it were, and this was definitely the latter.
阿尔卡特挂着冷笑踏入那片混乱，将他的加斯尔枪收回——既然子弹暂时失效——只是随手抓过最近一个毫无防备的邪教徒，拖到吸血鬼的獠牙前，粗暴地吸干了鲜血。这滋味令人不快，颇似已故的理查德·海辛：活人的血确实温热，但家常饭菜的温暖与油腻酒馆食物的温热终究不同，眼下这顿无疑是后者。
He spat the withered corpse out and watched the cultists murmur in shock.
他将干枯的尸体吐了出来，冷眼看着教徒们震惊地窃窃私语。
"A vampire!" "吸血鬼！"
"It's a vampire!" "是吸血鬼！"
"He's a vampire!" "他是个吸血鬼！" %%
Anderson darted him a look, and Alucard absently licked the blood from his chin as he explained.
安德森瞥了他一眼，阿卡德漫不经心地舔去下巴上的血迹，一边解释道。
"They think paradise will be ushered in by the death of all living creatures, and to that end, hail my kind as some form of messiah, I believe."
"他们认为所有生灵的死亡将迎来天堂，为此，他们把我的同类奉为某种弥赛亚，我想。"
"Save us, lord!" one particularly stupid member cried frantically, pointing to Anderson, who was temporarily holding back to see how the situation progressed. "He'll kill us all!"
"主啊，救救我们吧！"一个特别愚蠢的成员惊恐地喊道，手指颤抖地指向暂时按兵不动、静观事态发展的安德森。"他会把我们全杀光的！"
"Oh, I doubt that," Alucard purred, hooding his eyes and taking a step forward as more than a few of the cultists looked relieved. His smirk widened into a toothy grin as he took another step. "After all, there's a reasonable chance I'll kill you all first."
"噢，我对此深表怀疑，"阿卡德眯起眼睛低语道，向前迈了一步，几名邪教徒明显松了口气。他露出獠牙森然的笑容，又逼近一步："毕竟，我很有可能会先杀光你们所有人。"
"Wh-what?" that same one quavered, and Anderson looked at him with a feral grin.
"什——什么？"那人颤声问道，安德森朝他露出一个野兽般的狞笑。
"Is that a challenge, vampire?"
“这是挑衅吗，吸血鬼？”
"Whoever kills more gets the first shot when this is all over," Alucard agreed amicably, before looking back at the trembling cultists with a grin that bared every last one of his inhumanly sharp teeth. "Unless you prefer to scurry back to the Vatican with your tail between your legs… again."
"谁杀得多，结束后谁就先来第一枪，"阿卡德和善地应允道，随后转头看向那群瑟瑟发抖的邪教徒，咧开的嘴角露出满口非人类的锋利獠牙，"除非你们更想夹着尾巴逃回梵蒂冈......就像上次那样。"
Anderson's ferocious laughter was his only answer as blades flashed in the dark, and Alucard quickly stepped back into the fight before he could lose too much ground.
安德森狂野的笑声是他唯一的回应，刀锋在黑暗中闪烁，阿卡多迅速退回战斗，以免失地过多。
It wasn't as simple as that, of course. The cultists did have magic, and once they got over their shock –after about a dozen of them had either been messily ripped apart by Anderson's bayonets or Alucard's teeth and hands– they put it to good use, casting crackling balls of energy or bolts that moved too fast for the human eye to see.
事情当然没那么简单。那些邪教徒确实会魔法，等他们从震惊中回过神来——大约有十几人已经被安德森的刺刀或阿卡德的利齿与双手撕成碎片后——他们便娴熟地施展起来，掷出噼啪作响的能量球，或是快得人眼无法捕捉的闪电箭。
That was favoring Alucard, since he also moved at that speed, and furthermore he could risk a hit or two, though both he and Anderson spent some –perhaps unnecessary– effort in twisting and dodging, and in the priest's case using a rather impressive flick or spin of his blades to catch whatever projectile was meant for him before either dropping the smoldering remnants of said blade or continuing unabated.
这显然对阿尔卡特有利，因为他同样能以那种速度移动，更何况他还能硬扛一两发子弹。不过他和安德森都耗费了些——或许不必要的——精力在闪避腾挪上。就神父而言，他会以令人惊叹的腕部抖动或旋转刀锋，精准拦截飞向自己的弹头，随后要么弃置冒烟的残刃，要么攻势不减地继续进攻。
That was always the problem with cultists, mages, and sorcerers: unless you knew exactly what they had been trained for or what kind of magic they were using, it was generally a good idea to avoid getting hit. However small the chance, there was always the chance that one's opponent had a spell you couldn't counter or survive, and prevention was the best cure. Magic, as proved by the glowing sigils on the back of Alucard's white gloves, was one of the few things even an ancient vampire had to be wary of.
这就是邪教徒、法师和术士们一贯的问题：除非你确切知道他们受过何种训练或在使用哪类魔法，否则最好避免被击中。无论概率多小，对手总可能掌握着你无法抵挡或幸存的咒语，而预防永远是最佳对策。正如阿卡德白手套上发光的符文所证明的，魔法是连古老吸血鬼也不得不警惕的少数事物之一。
Another annoyance was the storage boxes pushed to the edges of the room, many of which were soon aflame, and the corpses of those who had either lodged or worked here before the cultists came, which had been unceremoniously dumped to the side after they'd obviously been gutted and drained for the ineffective ritual.
另一个令人恼火的是堆在房间边缘的储物箱，其中许多很快就被火焰吞噬，还有那些在邪教徒到来前曾在此居住或工作之人的尸体——他们被草率地扔在一旁，显然已被开膛破肚，为那个毫无效果的仪式放干了血。
Still, barring the odd missing limb or two, Alucard was swiftly whittling down the cultists –as was Anderson, he was pleased to see, hacking and slashing with a mad grin utterly at odds with his now-blood-spattered priest attire. It wouldn't do for his rival to be taken down by such paltry opponents as these, even if they did have the unpredictable edge of magic.
尽管如此，除了偶尔缺失的一两条肢体外，阿卡德正迅速削减着邪教徒的数量——安德森也是，他满意地看到对方正疯狂劈砍着，沾满血迹的牧师服与那抹癫狂笑容形成诡异反差。若是让宿敌被这种杂鱼对手放倒可不行，即便他们确实掌握着难以预料的魔法优势。
Speaking of which, a bolt hit him directly in the chest, and Alucard grinned wider as he briefly felt all his bones compress, crackling and crunching together gruesomely as his heart was pulped under the force of his own ribcage. Shadows threaded through his torso, inky and shimmering, and he lunged for the cultist who had cast the spell, ripping the human open with a casual flick of his wrist that blurred the air and cut into the cultist's chest like a sword.
说到这个，一支弩箭径直射中他的胸膛，阿尔卡特的笑容愈发狰狞。刹那间，他感受到全身骨骼在可怖的挤压中噼啪作响，胸腔的力道将心脏碾成肉泥。暗影如墨汁般在他躯干间流动闪烁，他猛然扑向施法的邪教徒，手腕随意一抖便撕裂空气，如同利剑般切入对方胸膛，将那具人类躯体轻易撕开。
Frantically, with their dying breath, they hit him again and again with the same spell, as though a rapid barrage would do more damage, and Alucard rattled in amusement –the closest to laughter he could get with a crushed windpipe– as he stepped over the dying fool.
他们垂死挣扎着，疯狂地用同一道咒语反复击打他，仿佛密集的攻势能造成更大伤害。阿尔卡特被逗得咯咯作响——这是气管被碾碎后最接近笑声的声响——他跨过那个垂死的蠢货时，喉骨还在咔哒震动。
Boring, boring, so very boring. The cultists were just enough of a challenge to make wiping them all out immediately impossible, but it was all too pathetically easy to carve through them, even when the cultists worked together, even when they tried to hit either Alucard or Anderson with some of their most powerful spells. Anderson would dodge by a hairsbreadth, far more agile and precise than what you would expect in such a large man, and Alucard would merely take the hit and keep coming.
无聊，无聊，真是无聊透顶。那些邪教徒勉强算得上是个挑战，让人没法立刻将他们一网打尽，但即便是他们联手作战，即便是他们试图用最强大的咒语攻击阿卡多或安德森，整个过程也还是可悲地轻松。安德森总能以毫厘之差闪避，身形之敏捷精准与那魁梧体格极不相称；而阿卡多则干脆硬接攻击，继续步步逼近。
He was unfair like that.
他就是这么不讲道理。
Eventually, when the basement looked like a slaughterhouse and fire from missed spells was blooming all across the walls, climbing up to the ceiling as acrid smoke drifted everywhere, there was only one. The leader.
最终，当地下室变得如同屠宰场一般，失控咒语引发的火焰在墙壁上四处蔓延，顺着天花板攀爬，刺鼻的烟雾弥漫每个角落时，只剩下一人。那个首领。
As he sent the last of the lieutenants flying across the room to crumple in a very literal sense across the far wall, Alucard turned, and frowned in mute disappointment to see Anderson had gotten there first.
当最后一名中尉被他击飞，实实在在地撞上远处墙壁瘫软下来时，阿卡多转过身，看到安德森已经抢先一步抵达，不禁沉默地皱起眉头，流露出失望之色。
"You've ruined everything!" the cult leader screamed as the priest advanced, dark power roiling around the smaller man and the broadsword he clutched. Alucard could sense at least a few departed souls around the man himself, and definitely some sort of physical enhancement from the blade. Pitiful fool.
"你毁了一切！"邪教头目尖叫着，看着牧师步步逼近，黑暗力量在那个矮小男人和他紧握的阔剑周围翻腾。阿尔卡特能感知到至少有数个亡魂缠绕在那人身上，而那把剑显然赋予了他某种肉体强化。可悲的蠢货。
The cult leader's blade was definitely enchanted, which he proved as he used it to swing and block clumsily, barely saving himself from disembowelment and decapitation in the same moment as Father Anderson wielded his dual bayonets with brutal efficiency, sparks flying and clashing as the cult leader was steadily forced to give ground. Clearly, he was no sort of fighter, and only the sword itself kept him from dying outright.
邪教头目的剑确实附有魔法，这点在他笨拙地挥剑格挡时显露无遗——当安德森神父以残忍的效率挥舞着双刺刀时，他勉强同时避开了开膛破肚和斩首之灾，火花四溅、刀剑相击间，邪教头目被迫节节败退。显然他根本不懂战斗，全靠那把剑才没当场毙命。
It must be a very good enchanted sword, then. Alucard hadn't seen the kind of skill his nemesis demonstrated in centuries: people just didn't use swords anymore, much less hone their talent to perfection with them.
那必定是把极好的附魔宝剑。阿尔卡特已有数百年未曾见过宿敌展现这般剑技：如今世人早就不再使剑，更遑论将剑术磨炼至臻境。
A pity. Oh, he liked his guns very much, but there was something in the raw skill and talent required for bladework that made Alucard long for his old broadsword, if only for a moment. There was no skill and little effort in merely pointing the muzzle of his gun at something and pulling a trigger.
可惜啊。他固然钟爱枪械，但刀剑技艺所需的纯粹技巧与天赋，总让阿尔卡特偶尔怀念起他那柄古老的阔剑。仅仅将枪口对准目标扣动扳机，既不需要多少技术，也谈不上什么努力。
Hmm. Perhaps Walter could come up with a suitably fiendish weapon, if Alucard put the notion to him. He'd love to see what the devious old man could do with blades, if he was this good at making guns.
嗯。如果阿尔卡特向沃尔特提出这个想法，或许他能设计出一件足够邪恶的武器。他真想看看这个狡黠的老头在刀剑上的造诣——既然他制造枪械的手艺如此精湛。
Of course, with how Anderson was steadily pushing the cult leader back, the man was going to run into the burning walls at some point, and from the expression of a cornered rat on his face, he knew it.
当然，以安德森步步紧逼的态势，那个邪教头目迟早会撞上燃烧的墙壁。从他脸上困兽般的表情来看，他自己也心知肚明。
Hmm… 嗯……
Alucard grinned and pulled his Casull out of his duster again, taking aim and firing. Regrettably, the cultist wasn't quite distracted enough to have dropped his guard completely, and the bullets diverted, smashing into the man's shoulder, arm, and chest but not killing him outright as he gave a scream of pain and noxious, tainted blood sprayed the air, making Alucard's nose twitch.
阿卡德咧嘴一笑，再次从风衣中抽出他的卡苏尔手枪，瞄准并开火。遗憾的是，那个邪教徒并未完全分心到彻底放下戒备，子弹偏离了致命位置，只击中了那人的肩膀、手臂和胸膛。随着一声痛苦的尖叫，污浊的黑血喷洒在空中，刺激得阿卡德鼻翼抽动，但这一击并未直接取其性命。
"Stealing my kills now, abomination?!" Anderson snarled, not even out of breath. Alucard had to admire his stamina, since unlike himself, Anderson was still alive and had cut a goodly swath through the horde of cultists to boot. "I should've expected such cheap tricks from you!"
"现在开始抢我的人头了是吧，你这怪物？！"安德森怒吼道，气息甚至没有丝毫紊乱。阿卡德不得不佩服他的耐力——毕竟与自己不同，安德森仍是血肉之躯，却已在邪教徒群中杀出一条血路。"早该料到你会用这种下作手段！"
"Shut up!" the cult leader gasped, surprisingly still upright. His eyes held a manic, frightened gleam as he clutched his sword like it was a lifeline. It wouldn't save him, though. "Shut up! A religious freak like you would never understand the glories of the undead!"
"闭嘴！"邪教领袖喘息着喊道，令人惊讶的是他仍站立着。他的眼中闪烁着疯狂而恐惧的光芒，紧握着剑仿佛那是救命稻草。但这救不了他。"闭嘴！像你这样的宗教疯子永远不会理解不死族的荣耀！"
Anderson's snarl was a thing of beauty, deep and ferocious like some primordial beast. Alucard bared his teeth appreciatively at the sound of it, and shot again, as the cult leader deflected with a frantic swipe of his sword.
安德森的咆哮堪称绝妙，低沉凶猛如同某种远古野兽。听到这声音，阿卡德赞赏地龇牙咧嘴，再次开枪射击，而邪教领袖则慌乱地挥剑格挡。
The human was tiring, flagging, injured and losing blood quickly as these two apex predators circled him like sharks –and he knew it. His eyes had the glazed, panicked look Alucard had seen too many times to count, right before he closed in for a kill.
人类已经精疲力竭，摇摇欲坠，伤口正快速失血——而他自己也心知肚明。当这两头顶级掠食者如鲨鱼般环绕着他时，那双眼睛里闪烁着阿尔卡特见过无数次的、濒死前特有的呆滞与惊恐。
The man was doomed, he knew he was doomed, and there was no avenue of escape that he could see. He was dead, he just hadn't bothered to lay down yet.
那人知道自己死定了，他明白自己无路可逃。他已是具行尸走肉，只是还没倒下罢了。
The man screamed and charged Anderson, enchanted blade flying as it sought to find a gap in the larger man's defenses, a whirlwind of steel and sharp edges wielded, briefly, with impeccable skill.
男人嘶吼着冲向安德森，附魔刀刃如旋风般挥舞，锋利的钢刃以近乎完美的技巧短暂地寻找着这个高大男人防御的破绽。
Father Anderson didn't even take a step back. He met the charge head-on, as was his wont, and contemptuously flicked aside the cult leader's guard as a bayonet slid in towards the his hooded neck. Frantically, the man raised his other hand as a dark aura gathered around it and shot forward in a split second, hitting Anderson squarely in the chest only a moment before Anderson's blade all but decapitated the man.
安德森神父连半步都未后退。他如往常般迎面而上，轻蔑地挑开邪教首领的防御，刺刀直取对方罩袍下的咽喉。那人慌乱抬起另一只手，黑暗能量在掌心瞬间凝聚，在千钧一发之际轰向安德森胸膛——几乎就在同一刻，神父的利刃已斩落了对方的头颅。
Cult members now entirely dead, as the corpse of the leader fell to the ground, Anderson swiftly took a step back. Both he and Alucard paused for a moment, waiting to see what affect –if any– would occur from the hastily cast spell: Anderson for obvious reasons, Alucard because he didn't want to fight his nemesis if Anderson was going to be fighting him with any sort of hamper.
邪教徒此刻已全部毙命，随着首领的尸体轰然倒地，安德森迅速后退一步。他与阿尔卡特同时停顿片刻，观察着仓促施放的咒语是否会产生效果——如果有的话——安德森停手的原因显而易见，而阿尔卡特则不愿与宿敌交手，倘若对方将受到任何形式的削弱。
Nothing seemed to have happened. If there was physical damage, Anderson had healed from it without Alucard noticing, and as the priest blinked warily, he didn't seem to be mentally altered either.
一切似乎都安然无恙。即便有肉体上的损伤，安德森也在阿尔卡特未曾察觉的情况下自愈了。当神父警惕地眨眼时，他的精神状态也看不出任何异样。
"Ineffective to the last," Alucard noted after about five minutes, and Anderson snorted.
"徒劳无功到最后一刻，"阿卡德约莫五分钟后评价道，安德森则嗤之以鼻。
"I killed more of them than you did, vampire, and you know it," he said, deciding to reinterpret that sentence so he could take offense, eyes starting to gleam with predatory anticipation as he flicked out a new bayonet to replace the one currently lodged in the cult leader's throat.
"我杀的比你多，吸血鬼，你心知肚明，"他说道，决定重新解读这句话以便借题发挥，眼中开始闪烁捕食者般的期待光芒，同时甩出一柄新刺刀替换此刻正插在邪教首领喉咙里的那把。
"If that's what you'd like to believe," Alucard answered, pulling out his gun with a grin.
"若你执意这么认为，"阿卡德咧嘴一笑拔出配枪答道。
Only to raise an eyebrow as Father Anderson's green eyes darted downwards briefly. It was a very quick movement, just a swift flick down before his gaze locked on Alucard's face again, but it was definitely there. Experimentally, Alucard widened his grin, showing more teeth, and watched as Anderson's gaze moved down again for another, longer look.
安德森神父的绿眸倏然向下瞥了一眼，阿尔卡特不禁挑起眉毛。那动作极快，只是视线短暂下移便重新锁住吸血鬼的面容，但确实存在。阿尔卡特故意咧开更夸张的笑容，露出更多尖牙，果然看见神父的目光再度下移，这次停留的时间明显更久。
"My eyes are up here, Judas Priest," he said, amused.
"你的眼睛该看这儿，犹大祭司，"他饶有兴致地说道。
As expected, Anderson's eyes snapped back up again instantly, and he scowled.
果然，安德森的眼睛立刻又瞪了起来，眉头紧锁。
"And so what of it, vampire?" he asked, taking a step forward. Alucard's desire to laugh was briefly stymied when a bayonet impaled one of said eyes, with only a lightning-quick twist of his body saving the other as the blessed blade whisked past his cheek, tearing open a long gouge on his skull that burned with the delightful sharp pain of a holy object.
"那又怎样，吸血鬼？"他向前迈了一步问道。当一把刺刀扎进他其中一只眼睛时，阿尔卡德想笑的冲动被短暂遏制了——他仅以闪电般的速度扭转身体才保住了另一只眼，那把受祝圣的刀刃擦过他的脸颊，在头骨上撕开一道长长的伤口，圣物带来的尖锐痛楚如火焰般灼烧，却令他愉悦不已。
He raised his gun and fired, grinning more naturally –though still with far more teeth than a human could manage– as it hit Anderson in the collarbone, shattering it and tearing through the ligaments and muscle beneath, briefly incapacitating one arm as Anderson snarled and hurled a cluster of bayonets towards his chest with the other.
他举枪射击，笑容比先前自然了些——尽管露出的牙齿数量仍远超人类极限——子弹击中安德森的锁骨，将其击碎并撕裂下方的韧带与肌肉，短暂废掉了他一条手臂。安德森怒吼着，用另一只手朝他胸口掷来一簇刺刀。
It was annoying, but they were going to have to wrap this up quickly. The basement was now well and truly on fire, and regenerator or not, Anderson would probably be overcome by the smoke before too terribly long, since it clogged the lungs rather than injuring them outright, and Alucard didn't have the patience for him to keep collapsing and getting back up.
真烦人，但他们必须速战速决。地下室此刻已陷入熊熊火海，即便身为再生者，安德森恐怕也撑不了多久——浓烟会堵塞肺部而非直接造成伤害。阿尔卡特可没耐心看他一次次倒下又爬起来的戏码。
But Alucard didn't want to end this quite yet. Yanking the bayonet out of his eye with a sick squelsh of regrowing flesh, he kept firing, picking out vital points that would slow the priest rather than stop him, since stopping someone with the regenerative powers they both possessed wasn't exactly easy.
但阿尔卡特并不想就此结束。伴随着血肉再生时令人作呕的黏腻声响，他将刺刀从眼眶里拔出，继续开火，专挑那些能延缓神父行动的要害部位射击——毕竟要彻底阻止两个都具有再生能力的怪物，可不是件容易的事。
Still, there were ways. Shooting joints left bone shrapnel and the metal bullet itself in a moving part, which slowed the process of healing as such debris was ejected or re-aligned, not to mention physically slowing the use of whatever limb he shot. Headshots also slowed the priest considerably as his brain reconstructed itself to the point where he was capable of movement, but Alucard was having a hard time targeting that area, as Father Anderson knew his weak points very well and was excellent at guarding them.
不过，总有办法可想。射击关节会留下骨碎片和金属弹头在活动部位，这些残骸被排出或重新排列时会延缓愈合过程，更不用说物理上会阻碍被击中肢体的使用。爆头同样能大幅延缓神父的行动——直到他的大脑完成自我重构——但阿尔卡特很难瞄准这个区域，因为安德森神父非常清楚自己的弱点，并且极其擅长防护这些部位。
Anderson's strategy, of course, was to maim and cripple if he couldn't kill, and since the priest had the benefit of so much more projectiles –Alucard being limited to his bullet clips– the man was doing a fairly decent job of perforating Alucard like a sponge.
安德森的战术向来如此——若不能一击毙命，就设法致残。由于神父拥有弹药量上的绝对优势（阿尔卡特仅剩弹匣里的子弹），他确实成功把吸血鬼打成了筛子，活像块千疮百孔的海绵。
Alucard leapt backwards, his booted feet feeling his way amongst the slumped bodied expertly and without looking, and he snarled in annoyance, batting a falling piece of timber away as it clattered to the concrete ground in flames. The heat was pleasant, but the way Anderson was starting to hesitate, looking around, was not.
阿尔卡特后跃时，军靴精准踩过横陈的尸体，甚至无需低头确认落脚点。他烦躁地龇牙，挥臂击飞一根燃烧坠落的木梁，任其在混凝土地面迸溅出火星。火焰的温度令人愉悦，但安德森开始迟疑张望的姿态却让他很不痛快。
"Afraid of a little smoke, priest?" he taunted, and Anderson scowled at him from across a field of corpses and dancing flames, gripping his bayonets tighter.
"怕这点烟吗，神父？"他嘲弄道，安德森在尸横遍野的战场上隔着摇曳火苗怒视他，指节发白地攥紧了刺刀。
Alucard frowned at the familiar flutter of bible pages, many of them igniting in the air as they wrapped around the priest, but Anderson still managed to turn the trick as he vanished from the basement, leaving a somewhat disappointed vampire in his wake.
阿尔卡特皱眉看着熟悉的圣经书页翻飞，许多纸页在空中燃烧着包裹住神父，但安德森还是成功施展了诡计，从地下室消失不见，只留下一个略显失望的吸血鬼。
His disappointment vanished in turn as there was a sharp whistling sound, and one of those delightful bayonets plunged through the smoke and flames, burying less than a foot from him. Clever, clever priest… he hadn't left, merely retreated outside the building, and Alucard purred to himself in pleasure as he imagined the absolutely inhuman force it would've taken to hurl one of those blades though several stories of wood and concrete.
当尖锐的呼啸声响起时，他的失望立刻烟消云散——一柄令人愉悦的刺刀穿过浓烟与火焰，插在离他不到一英尺的地方。狡猾，真是狡猾的神父…他根本没有离开，只是退到了建筑物外。阿尔卡特愉悦地低笑着，想象着需要何等非人的力量才能将这样的刀刃投掷穿透数层木结构与混凝土。
The least he could do is oblige Father Anderson's little invitation.
他至少该给安德森神父这个面子，赴这场小小的邀约。
Melting into shadows, he quickly reformed on the lawn, watching in amusement as red flickered inside the lowest windows of the now-empty building and smoke poured out of every crack. It wouldn't be too long before the entire structure was up in flames, and he turned his back on it, searching along the last blade's trajectory for his priest.
他融入阴影，转瞬间又在草坪上重新凝聚身形，饶有兴致地望着那栋空荡建筑底层窗户里闪烁的红光，浓烟从每道缝隙中喷涌而出。整座建筑很快就会被火焰吞噬，他背过身去，沿着最后一片刀锋的轨迹寻找他的神父。
Ah, there he is. 啊，他来了。
Pain exploded in Alucard's very being as a dozen or more bayonets impacted him less than a nanosecond after noticing the paladin, slamming him up against the not-quite-burning building and pinning his bleeding body there as the blades sunk deep into the wood and brick behind him from the sheer force of their collective momentum.
在察觉到那位圣骑士的瞬间，阿尔卡德的存在本身便炸开剧痛——十余柄刺刀在不足纳秒的间隙里贯穿他的躯体，将他鲜血淋漓的身躯狠狠钉进背后尚未完全燃烧的建筑。那些利刃凭借集体冲锋的惊人动量，深深没入他身后砖木结构的墙体。
Alucard enjoyed that brief spark of vulnerability, the heightened excitement that came from knowing that Alexander Anderson was fast and cunning enough to react to his sudden appearance, and strong enough to actually pin and damage his form. There was a chance he might lose if he didn't reform quickly, and Alucard enjoyed that challenge so very, very much.
阿尔卡德享受着这转瞬即逝的脆弱感，那种因知晓亚历山大·安德森竟能如此迅捷狡诈地应对他的突袭、甚至强悍到足以钉穿并重创他形体的认知，所带来的极致兴奋。若不能快速重组身躯，他或许真会落败——而阿尔卡德实在太钟爱这种挑战了。
He ripped himself free, snapping those agonizingly holy blades when he could and merely stepping away from the ones he couldn't, letting them slide through his body and remain in the wall, bullets singing through the air to cover his momentary weakness.
他挣脱束缚，能折断的圣刃便狠狠折断，无法折断的就任其穿透身躯钉入墙壁，子弹呼啸着划过空气，为他短暂的虚弱提供掩护。
Since they were in the open air now, neither of them had to hold back, and Alucard grinned with unparalleled delight as they exchanged blows and blades, ripping up the turf around them and shattering parts of the building, sending out frequent sprays of the rich, heady blood he so loved –or his own dead, cold blood– when they connected, and explosions of brick, earth, glass, and splinters from the wall and ground when they missed.
既然此刻身处旷野，两人都无需再克制。阿尔卡特在刀光剑影的交锋中露出前所未有的狂喜笑容，每一次碰撞都撕裂着周围的草皮，摧毁建筑物的碎片，迸溅出他钟爱的浓烈鲜血——或是他自己冰冷死寂的黑血；每当攻击落空，砖块、泥土、玻璃与地面墙面爆裂的木屑便如烟花般四散飞溅。
Ah, what a night. The moon was full, battle was joined, and he had his beloved nemesis to dance with. The only thing that could possibly improve the situation would be a drink of fresh virgin's blood, and he could probably get that if he tried hard enough, Father Anderson clearly valuing his vow of chastity more than some of his more distasteful counterparts. The blood soaking Anderson from his healed wounds smelled clean and new, mouthwateringly untouched and sizzling with the passion of his soul.
啊，多么美妙的夜晚。圆月高悬，战火燃起，而他正与心爱的宿敌共舞。此刻唯一能锦上添花的，大概就是啜饮一口处子鲜血——只要他再加把劲，想必就能得偿所愿，毕竟安德鲁森神父对贞洁誓言的重视程度，显然远胜过某些令人作呕的同僚。那些从愈合伤口渗出的鲜血浸透了神父的衣袍，散发着清新纯净的气息，未经玷污的芬芳令人垂涎，更因他灵魂的炽热而滋滋作响。
Alucard licked his lips at the thought, and was startled out of the comfortable rhythm of their fight when Anderson faltered, for no reason he could see, eyes suddenly going wide. The vampire frowned and swiftly stepped back, opening some distance between them as his eyes darted around, briefly searching for some kind of outside cause and finding none.
阿卡德想到此处舔了舔嘴唇，却在安德森毫无征兆踉跄时被打断了战斗的舒适节奏——神父双眼骤然睁大，吸血鬼皱眉疾退，拉开距离的同时目光迅速扫视四周，短暂搜寻着可能的外界干扰却一无所获。
Strange. Perhaps that spell had had an effect on Anderson…?
奇怪。也许那个咒语对安德森起了作用……？
"Feeling a little different, Judas Priest?" he drawled, smirking but narrowing his eyes at the man, who seemed startled.
"感觉有点不一样了，犹大祭司？"他拖长声调说道，咧嘴笑着却眯起眼睛盯着那个显得惊慌失措的男人。
Then, however, Anderson's brows drew down, and anger overcame surprise and confusion.
然而紧接着，安德森的眉头沉了下来，愤怒压倒了惊讶与困惑。
"You did this to me-"
"是你把我变成这样——"
"I can assure you I've done nothing," Alucard said, more sharply than he intended, stiffening. A smirk teased at the corner of his mouth as he regained his aplomb. "Well, I've shot you enough, but that's certainly all, and nothing that hasn't happened before."
"我向你保证我什么都没做，"阿卡德说道，语气比他预想的更为尖锐，身体也绷紧了。当他重新恢复镇定时，嘴角浮现出一抹戏谑的笑意。"好吧，我确实朝你开了不少枪，但仅此而已，况且这也不是头一回了。"
"I- you-" Father Anderson seemed more and more nervous, which was perfectly understandable. They were both becoming steadily more certain that whatever magic the priest had been hit with had indeed affected him somehow, and of course even magic wielded by those sorts of fools could be dangerous.
"我——你——"安德森神父看起来越来越紧张，这完全情有可原。他们俩都愈发确信，神父所中的那种魔法确实对他产生了某种影响，而即便是那群蠢货施展的魔法也当然可能具有危险性。
What wasn't expected was the fact that Father Anderson was blushing.
出乎意料的是，安德森神父竟然脸红了。
Oh, it was subtle enough, but it was still undeniably there. True, the priest's skin tended to hide blushing better than someone with a lighter complexion, but, well. Alucard was a vampire. He tended to notice what blood did and especially where it went.
啊，这微妙的变化虽不易察觉，却真实存在。诚然，神父的深色肌肤确实比肤色浅的人更能掩盖脸红，但——阿尔卡特毕竟是吸血鬼。他对血液的流动格外敏感，尤其是血液涌向何处。
"My, my…" he murmured slowly. "And just what kind of effect is this magic having on you, I wonder?"
"哎呀呀……"他慢悠悠地低语道，"我很好奇，这种魔法究竟对你产生了怎样的效果？"
Anderson looked at him, looked down, opened his mouth, but didn't say anything before he closed it again, his hand diving inside his coat. Almost immediately afterward he brought out his bible, and Alucard sighed in regret as the priest disappeared, likely this time for good.
安德森注视着他，低头，张嘴，却在再次合上双唇前什么也没说，手迅速探入大衣内侧。几乎同时他掏出了圣经，当神父的身影消失时——这次大概是永别了——阿尔卡特发出一声遗憾的叹息。
How incredibly annoying. Still, he'll have something to tease the priest with later, and he supposed that that can be enough for tonight, brief as their clash had been.
真是烦人透顶。不过，他之后倒是有东西可以拿来揶揄那个神父了——虽然他们刚才的交锋短暂得很，但今晚有这点乐子也勉强够本。
What an awful night. 真是个糟糕的夜晚。
Bad enough that he'd been sent to Britain to eliminate the unholy on such an unpleasantly hot, humid night, worse that he'd had to fight such disgustingly irredeemable scum, but to put the cap on Alexander's suffering for this evening, he'd actually managed to get hit by one of the scum's magic spells.
更糟的是，他竟被派往英国在这种闷热潮湿的夜晚清除邪祟；更糟的是，他不得不与那些肮脏到无可救药的渣滓搏斗；而压垮亚历山大今晚苦难的最后一根稻草，是他居然被其中一个渣滓的魔法击中了。
Oh, he hadn't been sure what it was at first –hell, he hadn't even been sure it had worked– but he certainly knew now: the bloody heathen necromancer had cast some sort of witchcraft on him.
起初他并不确定那是什么——见鬼，他甚至不确定是否真的起了作用——但现在他非常清楚：那个该死的异教徒死灵法师对他施了某种巫术。
He couldn't stop staring at Alucard's damn teeth. Large, sharp, pointy fangs that any reasonable person would run screaming from.
他无法停止盯着阿卡德那该死的牙齿。巨大、锋利、尖锐的獠牙，任何理智的人都会尖叫着逃开。
Up until tonight, he hadn't really thought much of them except in a detached way, as part of his normal fighting pattern: don't let the vampire get close enough to bury his teeth in any separate part of you. That was just common logic, even for a regenerator like him.
直到今晚之前，他对这些事都保持着超然的态度，只将其视为常规战斗模式的一部分：绝不让吸血鬼靠近到能咬住你身体任何部位的距离。即便是对他这样的再生者而言，这也只是基本常识。
What was not common or normal at all is how he felt a tug when he looked at the vampire tonight, an inviting sort of pull different from the usual feeling he had when glimpsing Alucard, the one that made him grin madly with the urge to sharpen his bayonets on the elder vampire's bones. It was something that called to him, coaxed him, something that…
而此刻感受到的拉扯感却截然不同——当他望向那个吸血鬼时，某种诱人的牵引力取代了往日看见阿卡多时惯有的兴奋，那种通常会让他疯狂咧嘴笑着、渴望用老吸血鬼的骨头来磨利刺刀的战栗感。此刻的召唤更似温柔的蛊惑，某种令人……
Something that was centered on those damn teeth. No, those fangs. He knew what those cultists had been obsessed with, and he knew that whatever he was feeling now, it probably had more to do with the fact that Alucard was a vampire than it did anything else.
这一切都围绕着那该死的牙齿。不，是那对獠牙。他清楚那些狂热分子痴迷的是什么，也明白此刻自己感受到的异样，多半与阿尔卡特身为吸血鬼的事实脱不了干系。
Maybe it was something other than what he was thinking. Lord, he prayed it was something other than what he was thinking. Cursing him so that he would desire to be turned into the monsters he fought was a cruel revenge, and since his regeneration ability very nearly negated his ability to be turned into a vampire, that curse would quite possibly be stuck with him throughout the rest of his unnaturally long lifespan. The craving would just get stronger, and stronger, and then…
或许这并非他所想的那样。上帝啊，他祈祷事情千万别如他所料。诅咒他渴望变成自己对抗的怪物——这报复手段实在太过残忍。更何况他的再生能力几乎能免疫吸血鬼转化，那道诅咒极可能伴随他度过余下异常漫长的生命。渴望只会日益加剧，日益强烈，直到……
Alexander quickly shook his head. It wasn't like that. It couldn't be like that, he couldn't be sure, not yet. If those blasphemous heathens had such a spell in their arsenal, surely they would start with that, not end with it. Wouldn't that make achieving their goal of creating a world of undead so much easier, if they made their victims willing and pliant?
亚历山大迅速摇了摇头。不是那样的。不可能是那样，他还不能确定，至少现在不行。如果那些亵渎神明的异教徒掌握着这样的咒语，他们肯定会一开始就使用，而不是留到最后。让受害者变得顺从听话，不是更能轻易实现他们创造亡灵世界的目标吗？
The priest couldn't help but shudder as he wove the bible pages back into the once-empty book and kept moving, heading for his safe house. He hated this, firstly how catastrophic it might be if whatever had hit him was truly damaging, but secondly for how the damn vampire would make fun of him the next time they met. Oh, he could just hear it now, and it made his own teeth scrape together.
神父颤抖着将圣经书页重新装订回空无一物的书册中，继续朝安全屋前进。他厌恶这种感觉——首先担忧击中自己的东西若真造成伤害会有多灾难性，其次更恼火下次见面时那个该死的吸血鬼会如何嘲笑他。啊，此刻他仿佛已听见那刺耳的讥讽，这想象让他不自觉地磨起牙来。
Alexander was good. As sinful as pride was, he still was proud of his skill and his power, and it was a point of pride with him that he was, undeniably, the strongest and best Iscariot had to offer. He tried to temper that pride with humility, remind himself that focusing on how he was the best sword and shield for the faithful was more important than his own feelings, how he was but a speck in the eyes of God and one of many of His loyal soldiers and followers, and there was honor in that, in being one of the most well-oiled and supportive cogs in the Almighty's machine.
亚历山大是优秀的。尽管骄傲是种罪孽，他仍为自己的技艺与力量感到自豪——无可争议地，他是伊斯加略所能提供的最强战力，这本身就是他骄傲的资本。他试图用谦卑调和这份骄傲，提醒自己专注于成为信徒们最锋利的剑与最坚固的盾，远比个人感受更重要；在上帝眼中他不过沧海一粟，只是众多忠诚战士与追随者中的一员。而作为全能之主机器中最润滑、最可靠的齿轮之一，这份殊荣本身便值得敬畏。
But pride, like all sins, was persistent. Every time he crossed blades with Alucard, every time he did his damn best to beat that smirking vampire to a bloody pulp, pride thrilled and fluttered in his veins when he returned home, whether he forced the vampire to retreat or was forced into a retreat in his turn. It was wounded pride, bruised pride, true, just like tonight, but he was still proud that he had faced down this immortal, inhuman creature and so nearly beat him.
但骄傲这种原罪，如同所有罪孽般顽固不化。每次与阿卡多刀锋相向，每次拼尽全力要将那个挂着讥笑的吸血鬼揍得血肉模糊时，无论最终是逼退对方还是被迫撤退，归途中总有骄傲在血管里震颤翻涌。诚然，那是受挫的骄傲，伤痕累累的骄傲——就像今晚这般——可他依然为曾直面这个不朽的非人怪物并几乎将其击败而自豪。
His other missions were turning into boring, uneventful routine. Alexander refused to admit it and buried that feeling deep in the recesses of his mind, because he felt that it was at least slightly sinful in some way, but they were.
他的其他任务正逐渐沦为乏味平淡的日常。亚历山大拒绝承认这点，将这种感受深埋心底——因为他隐约觉得这种想法多少带着些亵渎意味——但事实就是如此。
Ghouls, pathetic. Vampires, laughable. Werewolves, a joke.
食尸鬼，可悲。吸血鬼，可笑。狼人，荒谬。
Everything fell beneath his blades like the man-killing meat cleaver he was, and Alexander found himself increasingly dissatisfied until there was the inevitable mission that sent him somewhere back to the British Isles, and Alucard.
万物在他那屠夫般的利刃下纷纷倒下，亚历山大却感到愈发空虚，直到那场命中注定的任务将他重新送回不列颠群岛——回到阿卡德身边。
And then, oh, then he had a fight on his hands, an actual duel between him and the vampire as they both struggled to cast the other down, and the fact it was a struggle had Alexander's sinful pride glowing.
接着，啊，接着他便迎来了一场真正的搏斗，一场他与吸血鬼之间的生死对决，双方都竭力想将对方击倒。而这场势均力敌的较量，让亚历山大那罪恶的自豪感熊熊燃烧起来。
Alucard, the legendary No-Life King, found him to be a struggle, and the knowledge of how close he has sometimes come to cutting the monster's unholy life short had Alexander grinning, though some small part of him felt slightly guilty at how much he seemed to enjoy he and his archenemy's fights.
不死之王阿尔卡特发现他竟成了自己的劲敌，而每当意识到自己曾几近终结这怪物亵渎生命的瞬间，亚历山大便忍不住咧嘴而笑——尽管内心深处有丝微妙的愧疚，因他竟如此享受与宿敌的每一次交锋。
But the teeth. His mind kept circling back to them, persistently, making chills crawl down his arms. How long and sharp they were, imagining how it must feel when they sank into flesh…
但那獠牙。他的思绪不断回旋于此，固执地让寒意爬上他的手臂。想象着它们刺入血肉时的感受——那么长，那么锋利……
An unnamable feeling raced through him, sharp, excited, anticipatory. Not the correct reaction upon imagining pain, least of all when it was someone biting him, and absolutely not when that someone was a vampire. And that vampire being Alucard of all people… no.
一种难以名状的情绪在他体内奔涌，尖锐、兴奋、充满期待。这绝非想象疼痛时应有的反应，尤其当施暴者是咬他的人时更不该如此，更不用说对方还是吸血鬼。而那个吸血鬼偏偏是阿卡多……不。
Alexander shuddered. The subsequent mockery alone made such an idea intolerable. Alucard was a vampire, and like all his kind, his body being dead severely cut down on how much his libido controlled him.
亚历山大打了个寒颤。光是想到随之而来的嘲弄就让他无法忍受这种念头。阿卡德是个吸血鬼，和他所有的同类一样，由于身体已经死亡，性欲对他的控制力大打折扣。
Oh, he undoubtably felt lust, just like all his hedonistic fellow vampires, but it was something Alucard could control or dismiss far easier than a living man.
毫无疑问，他同样怀有欲望，就像所有沉溺享乐的吸血鬼同族那样，但阿卡德能够比活人更轻松地掌控或摒弃这种冲动。
Hence, Alucard being Alucard –unsympathetic and an avid mocker of perceived weakness to the extreme– if he learned that Alexander had or was losing control of his own desires –sexual or otherwise– it was bound to open up some extremely unwelcome taunts.
因此，以阿卡德一贯的作风——冷酷无情且热衷于极端嘲弄他人弱点——倘若让他知晓亚历山大正在或已经丧失对自己欲望（无论是性欲还是其他）的控制，势必会招致极其难堪的奚落。
Maybe it wasn't what he thought. Maybe it was just a… just something to take care of an assailant. He had encountered such spells before, ones designed to drive an attacker to self-mutilating madness so that even if the sorcerer died, their opponent would not outlive them for long. Generally, they didn't affect him, and on the extraordinarily rare occasions that they did, he could regenerate, so once the curse was "fulfilled," it stopped affecting him anyways.
或许这不是他所想的那样。或许这只是……某种用来对付袭击者的手段。他以前也遇到过这类咒语，专门设计来让攻击者陷入自残的疯狂，即使施法者死亡，对手也活不了多久。通常这些对他无效，而在极少数起效的情况下，他也能再生复原，所以一旦诅咒"完成使命"，自然就失效了。
In any case, at least testing the waters in that direction would be a good idea. He wouldn't have to do anything drastic, of course, but if whatever curse that necromancer had hit him with was reconfiguring him somehow to inflict or seek pain, a small wound would definitely at least give Alexander an indication of that.
无论如何，至少朝那个方向试探一下总归是个好主意。当然，他不必采取什么过激手段，但如果那个死灵法师施加在他身上的诅咒正在以某种方式重塑他，使他渴望或施加痛苦，那么一个小小的伤口至少能让亚历山大对此有所察觉。
Self-harm was unhealthy though, even for him, and Alexander resolved to take some small penance for it later as he grit his teeth and summoned a bayonet. He then plunged it through the palm of his other hand, wincing at the bright, hot sting of pain, before he wrenched the blade out and let the wound heal.
自残终究有害健康，即便对他也不例外。亚历山大咬紧牙关召唤出一柄刺刀，决心稍后再为此行径做些小小的忏悔。他将利刃刺入另一只手掌心，在尖锐灼热的痛楚中瑟缩了一下，随后猛然拔出刀刃，任由伤口自行愈合。
Nothing felt different. His freshly-torn nerves tingled and buzzed a little as they reformed, like they always did, the same kind of pins-and-needles sensation he got when his legs fell asleep. More importantly, stabbing through his hand didn't give him any sense of satisfaction or pleasure (thanks be for small mercies), and less encouraging, it didn't change the way he though about Alucard –or his teeth, or them biting down on him– at all.
毫无变化。新撕裂的神经在重组时依旧带着熟悉的刺痛与嗡鸣，就像双腿发麻时那种针扎般的触感。更重要的是，刺穿手掌并未带来丝毫满足或快意（谢天谢地），更令人沮丧的是，这完全没能改变他对阿尔卡德的看法——无论是那对尖牙，还是它们刺入自己身体的想象。
Men of the cloth weren't supposed to swear, but Alexander was sorely tempted for a moment.
神职人员不该说脏话，但亚历山大此刻实在忍不住想破戒。
The swear words building up behind his tongue had only grown by the time he was sitting in a waiting room within the Vatican science building a day later, hands clenching and unclenching into tense fists on the fabric of his trousers. He didn't like being here, and everyone here knew it.
一天后，当他坐在梵蒂冈科研大楼的候诊室里时，那些在舌尖打转的脏话已经堆积如山。他的双手在裤料上反复攥紧又松开，指节因紧绷而发白。他厌恶待在这里，而这里所有人都心知肚明。
Part of that was simple rationality –he shed much of his human limitations by the treatments they gave him here, and what they gave they could also presumably take away, and no one (least of all himself) liked to feel weakened and vulnerable.
部分原因在于理性的考量——通过在这里接受的治疗，他摆脱了许多人类的局限，而既然他们能赋予这些能力，自然也可能将其剥夺。没有人（尤其是他自己）愿意感受那种虚弱与脆弱的滋味。
Another significant factor was that, as the sole successful regenerator, he was a bloody science project, and all these devout scientists (he had to keep reminding himself of that) kept staring at him like he was laid out on their tables for perusal. It was their natural curiosity and interest in scientific phenomena and not something worth losing his temper over.
另一个重要原因是，作为唯一成功的再生者，他活脱脱就是个该死的科研项目。那些虔诚的科学家们（他不得不反复提醒自己这点）总用打量解剖台上标本的眼神盯着他。这不过是他们对科学现象天生的好奇心罢了，实在不值得为此大动肝火。
Even if it does feel sometimes like they're staring at a dangerous freak specimen through a glass wall.
即便有时他们仿佛隔着一层玻璃墙，在观察某个危险的怪胎标本。
After all, when all was said done, there was a reason why he was the only regenerator. It wasn't budget, it wasn't funding, it wasn't the scientists: it was that he had been the only test subject to emerge at least reasonably sane, and his sanity, as enemies and comrades alike liked to point out, could be considered dubious at best. The bloodthirst (in a strictly metaphorical sense) and the way he enjoyed the kill, the hunt, the thrill of combat… it wasn't normal.
归根结底，当一切尘埃落定时，他是唯一的重生者自有其道理。不是因为预算，不是因为资金，也不是因为科学家们——而是因为他是唯一一个至少还算神志清醒的实验体，而他的理智，正如敌人和战友们都喜欢指出的那样，充其量也只能说是可疑。那种嗜血欲望（严格来说是比喻意义上的）以及他享受杀戮、追猎和战斗刺激的方式……实在算不上正常。
Granted, positively no one that was ordained as a member of Iscariot could broadly be considered normal, so their words didn't bother him as much as they maybe should.
诚然，被选为伊斯加略成员的人绝对称不上正常，所以他们的言语对他造成的困扰或许远不及应有的程度。
Let he who is without sins cast the first stone.
让没有罪过的人先投掷石头吧。
Still, there was accepting that he –and everyone else who donned the uniform of Section XIII– had issues, and there was sitting in a lab as passing scientists looked at him with macabre, detached, singular curiosity, like he had no mind or eyes of his own to notice their rude stares.
然而，承认自己——以及所有身穿第十三科制服的人——都有问题是一回事，坐在实验室里任由路过的科学家们用病态、冷漠且怪异的好奇目光打量他，仿佛他没有自己的思想和眼睛来察觉这些无礼的注视，则是另一回事。
And, granted, most of the time he could (and did) accept that, exhale slowly and murmur a prayer as he waited for whatever checkup or upkeep or medical appointment it was to start or be finished, but this time he was sitting and waiting to hear the results of his own mistake of getting hit by an absolutely incompetent cult leader, results that may very well alter his mind or his pattern of behavior, permanently.
诚然，大多数时候他都能（也确实）坦然接受，在等待体检、维护或医疗预约开始或结束时缓缓吐息默念祷词。但此刻他静坐等候的，却是自己因被一个彻头彻尾无能的邪教头目击中而酿成大错的检测结果——这些结果极可能永久改变他的心智或行为模式。
Wrath was as much of a sin as pride, but Alexander felt he had adequate reason to be in a temper right now.
愤怒与傲慢同为罪孽，但亚历山大此刻有充分的理由发怒。
"Father Anderson?" He jerked his head up with an affirmative grunt as the nurse came bustling through the door. "We're ready for you now."
"安德森神父？"当护士匆匆推门而入时，他猛地抬头发出肯定的咕哝声。"现在可以为您检查了。"
He followed her back into a deceptively plain medical-looking office, where an ancient computer had been booted up and text he hadn't the faintest hope of understanding danced across the screen.
他跟着她走进一间看似普通却暗藏玄机的医疗办公室，那里有台老旧的电脑正在运行，屏幕上闪烁着他完全看不懂的文字。
"So, how do I get rid of it?" he asked the man seated behind said computer, not bothering with any pleasantries. He knows why he's here and they know why he's here, and it would be foolish to waste time. He just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.
"所以，怎么才能摆脱它？"他直截了当地问坐在电脑后的男人，省去了所有寒暄。他知道自己为何而来，对方也心知肚明，浪费时间纯属愚蠢。他只希望能尽快结束这一切。
"So far as we've been able to tell," the man began, looking at the computer and clicking the mouse a few times, which apparently did something. The text rapidly scrolling across the screen didn't change, and Alexander had given up trying to interpret it, since half seemed to be coding and the rest Ancient Greek. "-it's a behavioral spell."
"就我们目前所知，"男人盯着电脑点击了几下鼠标，那些操作似乎产生了某种效果。屏幕上快速滚动的文字并未改变，亚历山大早已放弃解读——其中一半像是编程代码，另一半则是古希腊文。"——这是个行为操控咒。"
"Meaning…?" "意思是...？"
"Meaning it's intent was to get you to alter your pattern of behavior. You said in your report it was a last-ditch effort by the magician?"
"意思是它的目的是让你改变行为模式。你在报告里说这是那个魔术师的最后一搏？"
"Aye," he said tightly. "没错，"他绷着脸回答。
"Right… well, ah, there is one more thing. Was there a vampire within the area when this spell was cast?"
"好吧...呃，还有件事。这个法术施放时，现场有吸血鬼吗？"
Foreboding wrapped around his heart as a cold sweat prickled over the back of Alexander's neck.
不祥的预感缠绕在亚历山大心头，冷汗顺着他的后颈涔涔而下。
The man should know. Alexander had written the usual field report and sent it in before his flight back to Rome, the man should know. Anyone who was studying this case should've read that report, and anyone who had read it would know that Alucard had been on location during his mission.
那人本该知道的。亚历山大早已按惯例写好任务报告，在飞回罗马前就提交了，那人理应知情。任何研究此案的人都该读过那份报告，而只要读过报告就会知道——阿卡德曾在他执行任务时亲临现场。
"Hellsing's pet abomination was there," he said at length, guarded. "Alucard."
"赫尔辛家的宠物怪物也在场，"他谨慎地斟酌着词句，"阿卡多。"
Silence rang in the room.
房间里回荡着死寂。
The doctor looked away. The nurse nervously adjusted her glasses.
医生移开了视线。护士紧张地推了推眼镜。
The foreboding in Alexander's heart grew into certainty, and that certainty was that nothing good was going on. He looked at the computer for help, but it, of course, offered him nothing, and finally turned a stern glare upon the man sitting before it. Alexander was well over six feet tall and built to match: he could do looming menace very well, even when he sometimes didn't mean to.
亚历山大心中的不祥预感逐渐化为确信，而这种确信就是——绝无好事发生。他望向电脑寻求帮助，但机器当然毫无回应，最终他将严厉的目光投向坐在电脑前的男子。亚历山大身高超过六英尺，体格与之相称：即使有时并非有意，他也能将威吓的姿态演绎得淋漓尽致。
The man squirmed, and Alexander folded his arms and raised an eyebrow in the look that generally had the disobedient adolescents at his orphanage pouring out apologies and excuses in equal measure.
那人在座位上不安地扭动，亚历山大抱起双臂，挑起一边眉毛——这副神情通常能让孤儿院里不听话的青少年们既道歉又找借口，两者分量相当。
"W-we believe that this was a dark spell originating sometime in the 10th century AD in the Balkan region!" the man blurted, caving under the pressure of that look. "Used in cult activities for the worshippers of the undead upon their… less zealous members."
"我、我们认为这是公元 10 世纪左右起源于巴尔干地区的一种黑魔法！"那人在那道目光的压力下脱口而出，"被不死生物崇拜者的邪教组织用来对付他们...不那么狂热的成员。"
"Meaning?" "具体指什么？"
"I-it's a vampire-entrapment spell!" the nurse broke in excitedly, clearly caught up in the scientific fervor of the discovery and slightly forgetful that the subject was in the room. "It makes you want to-"
"这、这是吸血鬼诱捕咒！"，护士激动地插话，显然被这项科学发现的热忱冲昏了头，一时忘记研究对象就在房间里，"它会让你想要——"
"It is designed to hone in on a particular vampire, the nearest, and… force the particular subject, or victim really, to… adjust their attitude towards the undead," the man said over her, flashing Alexander an apologetic look. "It makes them want to be bitten."
"这装置专为锁定特定吸血鬼而设计，会追踪距离最近的目标，并...迫使特定对象——或者说受害者——改变对不死生物的态度，"男人在她头顶上方解释道，朝亚历山大投去一个歉意的眼神，"它会让他们渴望被咬。"
Alexander was smart enough to figure things out from there and inhaled sharply, dragging his hand down his face. Never in his entire life had he wanted to swear this badly. But the nurse seemed young enough to be an intern and he didn't want to scare her –he could do it later, at home, behind closed doors and probably into a pillow, since he would be screaming things at full-volume that his orphans certainly did not need to hear.
亚历山大足够聪明，立刻明白了状况。他倒抽一口冷气，用手重重抹了把脸。这辈子从没像现在这样想爆粗口。但护士看起来年轻得像个实习生，他不想吓到她——反正回家后有的是机会，关起门来对着枕头发泄，毕竟那些即将脱口而出的咆哮，绝对不该让孤儿院的孩子们听见。
"So you saying that that pathetic undead-lover cursed me to crave the bite of Hellsing's misbegotten pet," he growled when he had his temper more or less under control.
"所以你是说那个可悲的恋尸癖诅咒我，让我渴望被 Hellsing 那个杂种宠物咬上一口，"他勉强控制住怒气低吼道。
"Yes, sir." "是的，长官。"
"How do I fix it."
"我该怎么修好它。"
"Ah…" The man looked at the nurse. The nurse looked back blankly.
"啊……"男人看向护士。护士茫然地回望着他。
Oh no. Oh no, no, no.
糟了。糟了，糟了，糟了。
"We're trying to get on that, sir," the man said after a moment. "There's been no progress so far, but we've requisitioned materials from our Austro-Hungarian branches and hope to find something in that collection."
"我们正在全力处理此事，阁下，"那人迟疑片刻后答道。"目前尚无进展，但我们已经从奥匈帝国分部调集了档案材料，希望能在那批收藏中找到线索。"
Right. Right. This is fine, it's literally not even been a day since he was cursed. This is the Vatican, the finest institution for defeating evil and wicked magic in the entire world. They'll find the solution soon. He will be fine.
对。对。没事的，他被诅咒还不到二十四小时。这里可是梵蒂冈，全世界对抗邪恶与黑魔法的最高权威机构。他们很快就能找到破解之法。他会没事的。
"Do you need any… samples?" Alexander grudgingly held out his arm, but somewhat to his relief, the man shook his head. Collecting blood or tissue was comparatively simple for a regenerator, but all the same, he couldn't shake the instinctive revulsion towards being sliced open and/or stuck with needles.
"需要采集...样本吗？"亚历山大不情不愿地伸出手臂，但令他稍感宽慰的是，对方摇了摇头。对于再生能力者而言，采集血液或组织本非难事，但那种被刀割开或针头刺入的本能厌恶感始终挥之不去。
Now if only he could think about Alucard's fangs the same way.
要是他能以同样的心态看待阿卡德的尖牙就好了。
He shook off those thoughts with a shudder. "When should the books arrive?"
他打了个寒颤，甩开这些念头。"那些书什么时候能到？"
"Er, no more than five days," the other man said, shifting the mouse a little and trying not to meet Alexander's eyes. "You should probably not, ah, do anything that might result in a vampire encounter. I'd strongly recommend against hunting."
"呃，最多五天，"另一个男人说道，微微挪动鼠标，尽量避免与亚历山大目光相接。"你最好别，呃，做任何可能遭遇吸血鬼的事。我强烈建议不要去打猎。"
"What, is the spell going to try and find a new target?" Alexander scoffed.
"怎么，这个咒语还会自动寻找新目标不成？"亚历山大嗤之以鼻。
"It may be possible that any vampire bite would do," the nurse interrupted, looking nervous. "And we're not quite sure what the curse will do to you if you do get bitten."
"有可能任何吸血鬼的咬伤都会触发，"护士插话道，神情紧张。"而且我们不确定如果你真被咬了，诅咒会对你产生什么影响。"
He dragged in a long, heavy sigh from deep inside his chest, then let it out.
他从胸腔深处拖出一声沉重悠长的叹息，然后缓缓吐出。
"I understand." "我明白了。"