They chase down Mayerling, who hides in a Shelter built by the Nobility when the constant human rebellions were starting to pick up steam and the infrastructure was breaking down, then flees to the village of the Barbarois, half-human, half-monster hybrids. One is the Marcus family, a group of ruthless hunters whose kill count is in the triple digits but whose competitors never seen to survive their hunts, and the other is D. Her father pays two vampire hunters to go after her.

A Noble, here transliterated Mayerling, and a human woman fall in love and decide to run away together.

This is the book that Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is based on, and it suffers for me because I think the anime is the superior version. Though not quite as interesting in terms of world building and lore this time around, it delivers some crazy action sequences and a touching Shakespearian ending. It adds a bit of depth and complexity to the moral decisions made by the main character and the way he goes about confronting his enemies. I liked the more humanistic emotions explored in the nobles this time around, showing us that they're not always the heartless tyrants they're often made out to be. Over-the-top violence, an insane blend of dark fantasy, dystopian science fiction and gothic horror and nonstop supernatural action. More of the same and that's not such a bad thing. The relationship between Mayerling and the elder's daughter isn't what it seems at first glance, and the rivalry between D and the Marcus clan hunting down the same target turns an already dire situation into a bloody disaster. If this were not enough, he has also regretfully hired the help of the ruthless Marcus clan who are infamous for not only killing their prey, but killing their competition and anyone that stands in their way as well. The desperate village elder turns to the mysterious Vampire Hunter D to save his missing daughter. Somewhere in a quiet village surrounded by trees, a young woman is abducted by the vampire Noble Mayerling in the middle of the night.

Vampire hunter d volume 3