Leon stepped into the magic circle. Suddenly, the castle room disappeared from his view and he entered what seemed to be an ancient church. This church seemed... eery... and... ungodly. What kind of cult would build a temple of this magnitude... and for what purposes?

Nevertheless, it was in ruins. And evil creatures inhabited it.

"I sense a great evil in this place. But no matter what, I'm not going to stop until I rescue Sara."

Leon did not stop to think what kind of evil things Walter would do to his beloved Sara. He just hoped she would be kept safe until he found her. Leon took out his whip and prepared to bash whatever stood in front of him. He was a great warrior, indeed.

As soon as he opened the huge door, animated skeletons armed with bones began to charge at him. Still not accustomed to the whip that Rinaldo have given him, he was hit many times. But he managed to survive the attack and "kill" the monsters.

"So this is what awaits me further in the castle. Fine." Leon took out a potion that he bought from Rinaldo, and his wounds quickly healed.

He opened the door, and he was briefly distracted by the beauty of the stained walls. The moonlight shone through them, revealing elaborate stoneworks and carved walls. And yet, they weren't meant for the enjoyment of humans and the worship of God - but as an evil game involving human sacrifices for the undead.

Leon had felt betrayed by the Catholic Church - he had been stripped from his status because he went to battle monsters. But nonetheless, he appreciated what the Church had done for him. No matter how much corruption was there, it had no match for the aura of death that emanated from this accursed temple.

And yet, the temple, and all the castle, was incredibly beautiful and attractive. Leon could swear that he heard beautiful music and angelic choirs playing in the depths of this castle. "It seems", he thought, "as if the castle itself is trying to compete against the Lord in majesty, tempting me into worshipping it. Nay... it's not the castle, but its maker.

This magic... is this the power of a vampire?"

Leon began to feel a rage towards everything in this castle. So much effort could be done to assist the poor and protect the innocent. Instead it was used on promoting evil. He began to bash every piece of furniture that stood on his way, and he found that by doing so, he gained more strength every time. He wondered if it was just fighting evil, or did the strange alchemy in the whip have anything to do with it?

But soon, he would find that the castle was more than just a large set of halls and rooms filled with the undead. Terrible booby traps also awaited him.

"What in the name of God is this!?"

Leon had found his first booby trap. A mechanical floor, driven by some unknown device, was filled with holes. And from holes, behold! metal spikes appeared - spikes that came from below the floor. They would impale any person trying to step on them. But they were appearing in sequence, as if they had been challenging Leon into outrunning them.

"Come on, try us! Do you think you're brave enough to rescue your beloved? Come on, you coward... you're not worthy for what awaits before you! Why don't you just give up and let Sara become a vampire? She's probably given herself to him already."

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Leon realized that the longer he stayed in this castle, the easier it would be for him to become consumed by its evil... distrusting Sara, falling in despair, hating everyone and everything. Indeed, this castle HAD to be destroyed. But how?

"There's only one way", he thought. "Defeat the power that made it appear. Walter, I'm coming for you!"

With a quick prayer, he jumped and raced against the deadly metal spikes, barely arriving to the other side of the room.

To be continued...