Maria and Alucard were near the end of their quest. He stood poised with his sword and shield, while she held herself in a fighting stance. Shaft stood at the ancient stone altar in front of them. Once they defeated the dark priest's ghost, they would be able to enter the abyss and stop Dracula's revival.
Underneath his hood, Shaft cast a half-hidden smirk.
Maria gasped as her eyes suddenly went wide
"Maria, what's wrong?" Alucard asked in confusion.
She clutched her temples and violently shook her head. She tried to scream, but all that would come out was a strangled whimper. A dark pentagram appeared under her feet.
"Naive mortal," Shaft bellowed. "You've been cursed since you were a child. You thought the Belmont saved you all those years ago, but the seed of your doom had already taken root."
A pillar of black light erupted around Maria. The shadowy marionette that sometimes aided her physical attacks appeared behind her. Normally it would mimic her every move, but now it wanted a life of its own. Giggling deviously, it moved forward and merged itself with Maria's physical form. Maria arched her back as dark energy coursed through her body.
"Your doppelganger and your magical pets were all I needed. I hexed your weak, infantile familiars while you were my captive and I made them my own. You haven't been bound to them, you've been bound to me."
Maria fainted. When she toppled backwards, her body remained suspended in the air. Her limp form levitated higher and higher until she was halfway to the ceiling.
"Each time you used your guardians to defeat one of Dracula's minions, you were only making the spirits stronger and drawing yourself further into the curse. You didn't really think a mere peasant girl could tamper with that kind of power without any consequences, did you? I only gave you the illusion of freedom until I had a use for you. Now your body is ripe and your soul is ready to be made whole."
Shaft began to wave his arms as he chanted in a guttural tone. All of his words came from strange tongues.
Seiryuu materialized first. The flying serpent coiled around his sleeping mistress in a sensual embrace. Suzaku appeared in the air above them. He closed wings around the woman and the dragon as their spirits mated in unholy matrimony. Alucard ran toward the pillar to rescue Maria, but Byakko appeared in the way to block him.
The pillar exploded and covered everything in pitch black. When light finally returned, Maria was hovering upright. Slowly, she descended back to the floor and landed on one knee. An icy chill filled room as she rose to her feet.
Maria had changed. Her shoes had been transformed into hunting boots. One of the ribbons from her missing socks was now tied around her left thigh. Her emerald green dress was divided into two pieces with curved midriff in between. Her skirt and her shorts were both a few inches shorter. Her new bodice was laced in the front and revealed more of her bust. A green choker decorated her neck. Her gloves were now weaved in the shape of bridal gauntlets. They stretched down the back of her wrists and looped around her middle fingers, leaving her palms bare.
Her skin had become ghostly white. Dark runes with the pattern of dragon scales spiraled up her body. When she grinned, a pair of ivory tiger fangs emerged from her lips. Her eyes burned with the fire of a reborn phoenix. A round green barrier formed around her for protection.
Alucard gasped at the primal beauty. Maria had become a manifestation Nemesis, the huntress. She shared the same basic aura as the nameless female specters who haunted the castle's coliseum, but this incarnation appeared much more powerful.
Maria silently raised her arm and conjured her new preferred weapon: A phantom saber that sparkled in the chamber's dim candlelight. The pommel was sculpted in the shape of a tiger's head, the guard was painted like a tortoise's shell, and the blade was inlaid with the design of a giant roc's feather.
Shaft chuckled from his altar. Patience and careful planning had rewarded him with a lovely disciple.
"You may have the half-breed for yourself, wench." He nodded toward Maria. "I must tend to our Dark Lord." He casually turned away and disappeared into the ether.
Maria narrowed her eyes toward Alucard. He was still frozen in shock when she spoke.
"You'll be a fun hunt."
She sprung forward with the swiftness of a cat. Alucard brought himself back into the present and raised his shield to block a flurry of strikes. He locked his sword against hers at the first opening.
"Maria, get ahold of yourself!"
She answered with a sinister smile and ghoulish laughter as she twirled her blade toward his face. Alucard stepped back to dodge, then countered by swinging at full force. He sliced through emptiness as Maria faded in front of his eyes. His vampiric senses warned him when her apparition reappeared to his side.
Their swords continued to clash before Alucard started to gain the advantage. He pushed her away with several parries, cornering her until the small of her back pressed against Shaft's altar. As he held his sword to Maria's throat, he caught a clear glimpse of the tiny owl icon that decorated the front of her choker.
Maria's avian partner descended from somewhere above, slashing Alucard across the cheek. Alucard stumbled backward as talons dug into his flesh and he tried to swat the screaming white creature out of his hair. The owl turned his face into serrated beef before finally letting him be.
Alucard struggled to clean the blood and sweat out of his eyes. When he regained his sight, he saw Maria standing just in front of him and raising her arm for the killing blow. He desperately lunged forward to answer her attack.
His sword clashed into a solid stone wall. Her shadow disappeared as soon as he fell for the ploy.
"Farewell, Prince Adrian." Maria's voice whispered ominously behind his ear.
Alucard heard the saber swing through the air for a fraction of a second before it met the back of his neck. His head flew off in one clean stroke.
Maria flicked the blood off of her sword before it faded from her hand. She pressed her lips together to whistle, and the white owl descended again at her command. She formed a perch by raising her arm and bending her elbow. The bird circled her before landing on her silken gauntlet.
Maria stood with one hand on her hip and the other arm supporting the owl. She briefly glanced toward Alucard's headless body, then rewarded Osca by petting his wings. He cooed contently.