OOC: If you didn't mind, I gave Guiche the badass treatment (He was a coward in the anime). His family has roots in the military, I would assume his parent's would give him a strict, tough upbringing. And of course, this is a different reality than the original zero world.
Again, sorry for the lack of chapters. I've been very busy with school. And again, sorry for the short length, I really couldn't find a way to extend the duel any longer.
Chapter 4: All Shall Come to Fear Me
The pale gibbous moon shone brightly across the night, showering the Tristian academy with white star light. The dark surrounded the rest of the land in it's shadowed hold, crushing it beneath it's might, stealing the already meager breath it held. The shadows dominion over light extended to other words it seemed.
Evil and darkness will always prevail it seems. No matter how bright the light is, darkness will consume it eventually. And the only thing left to fight evil, is other darkness. That is the nature of man.
Gabriel and Guiche faced each other, twelve paces apart. There decided place for the duel was a large garden, overlooking the larger courtyard that lead to the mainhall of the school. Being primarily composed of black, and white Roses, the garden gave off a calming atmosphere. The beautiful flowers, made this an attractive spot for lovers to envelop under the moonlight.
Not tonight.
The atmosphere was sinister, with an unwholesome deep fog, gathering around, and choking the flowers with it's unnaturally deep mist. Wolves howled in the distance, greeting there dark monarch as the sickily moonlight danced in the carpet of miasma. The night sky was blanketed in complete darkness, with the only illumination coming from a handful of torch scones on the stone wall encircling the garden, and ray's of light coming from the moon. The shadows around the garden took blasphemous shapes, as they danced under the pale moon. All to welcome there sovereign lord.
Of course, barely anyone else in the garden noticed the increasing sinister appearance it was taking, all simple reflections of Gabriel's mastery over darkness. It mattered not in which world he prowled, Gabriel was, and would always be the Monarch of the night, and all foul creatures bowed before his dark power. He was there liege lord. There ruler. There prince.
The Prince of Shadow's glanced at the gathering crowd with what started out as indifference, which was soon becoming intense annoyance. It seemed word of there intentended duel had traveled fast around the academy. They gawked like vulture's over a dead carcass, and wouldn't stop jabbering like chickens.
"The Zero's familiar is going to be slaughtered."
"Guiche is one of the best in the class! He's mince meat!"
"Dosen't he know whom he's facing?!"
Dracul snorted
Fools.
Guiche was waving at his many admirers, and blowing kisses to the large crowd of girls assembled around the garden, who let out squeal's of pure deligh in response.. The vampire lord knew his kind, they lived, and fed off attention they received from there peers. Guiche turned to face his opponent, speaking in a rather pompous tone, "Shall we begin, my dear fellow? I want to get this over with quickly. You understand of course. I have a rather busy scheduled."
At the side, among the crowd, Gabriel spotted his "master", Louise, and the small blue-haired girl he had spoken with earlier, Tabitha. While, Louise's face filled with what appeared to be...concern and worry, Tabitha was...blushing, Seemingly, because of the close contact her and the pink haired mage were sharing right now. Remembering Tabitha's words from earlier, Gabriel smiled,
Ah, I see. That's what it is. Miss stoic has a crush.
Louise hysterically, asked Tabitha, "What in the world is he doing?! He's a familiar. Guiche is a noble. You cant beat a noble!" The blue-haired mage, her face still scarlet, told Louise in her usual monotoned voice, "Fear not, Louise. I'm sure...things will turn out well. Dracul is far more dangerous then he appears"
Dracul wordlessly nodded at Guiche, remaining were he was. He gave Guiche the first move.
And so the duel began,
Guiche raised his hands in the air, using his...flower wand, to draw a pentagram of sorts in the air. The area around it glowed, as suddenly, coming from the pentagram, dozen of razor sharp stone spears came flying forth, all aimed at the vampire. Betraying no emotion, Gabriel faced down the torrent of projectiles.
No need to waste my Void and Chaos magic stores on this filth.
Gabriel once again took the role of the century old horror that had personally slaughtered millions, razed entire cities, and had annihilated entire heavenly hosts. The all-devouring Dragon had returned. And in the name of the night, God's children would taste pure terror,
All shall come to fear me,
With a mocking smirk, Gabriel dove to the left on the last possible second, in a flash of supernatural speed, effortlessly avoiding the incoming barrage of stone projectiles. Dracul was in his full splendor and power, as he was now, and he could tear apart Michael the Arch-Angel, General of God's Grand Army, as well as Belial, The one remaining Arch-Duke of Hell with little effort. His glowing sanguine eyes, blared crimson, as he counterattacked. In a flash of blood red burning embers, Dracul crossed the distance between the two duelist using his mist form, and reformed right infront of the shocked blonde. As he reappeared, he threw a punch with his left fist, using a small fraction of the force and strength he could muster. His opponent, however, was seemingly stronger and smarter then Dracul's first impression indicated, as the boy was very quickly able to overcome his initial shock.
With almost lightning reflex's Guiche, conjured a protection ward. A white pentagram encircled by glowing purple appeared infront of Guiche, right when Gabriel's punch was inches away from Guiche. With a small backlash of energy, Dracul's hit against the ward. The spell was strong enough to protect Guiche from the brunt of the attack, but the vampire's attack shattered the protection ward, and threw Guiche backward's. The young man, rammed his feet into the ground, to avoid falling back.
Dracula, revealed his razor sharp fangs, as he sprinted towards the distorted mage nearly closing the distance between the two of them in an instant. Guiche's surprisingly excellent reflex's kicked in once again, as he summoned another spell. In a bright flash of light, Guiche drew what appeared to be a stone sword. It was a two and a half bastard sword, and was rather plain, having no decorations or anything. Gripping the blade's hilt with two hands, Guiche used the sword to block Gabriel's advance, barely having a second to spare, before the vampire lord has reached his prey. Gabriel used the jagged sleeves of his longcoat, which material was his hardened blood, to lock Guiche's bastard sword in place.
Colliding, the two of them became interlocked, Guiche, using the sword stone to hold back the Prince of Darkness. Guiche's face betrayed extreme fatigue, despite the fact they had been fighting for little over a minute. Sweat glistened on his brow. On the contrary, Gabriel's face was relaxed, and was completely unfazed. Furthermore, Guiche was using all of his might to push back the vampire, while Gabriel, was barely exerting himself, using a tiny minimum of his vast strength.
The vampire's face twisted into a psychotic grin. Fighting and killing always took Gabriel out of the pathetic, and miserable existence he now lived in, a self-made hell you could say. This desire to cause blood and mayhem, blotted out everything else in his mind, and when the bloodlust had fully settled on the vampire, nothing could take him out of it. Roaring like a beast, Gabriel filled with the pleasure of the battlefield.
As Guiche struggled in vain, Gabriel, speaking in an entertained, yet utterly morbid tone of voice told him, "Well done, boy. You've manged to hold me at bay for a short while now, and endured against the Dragon. I'm very impressed. Minus your whoring, you would make a good Brotherhood soldier" Gabriel meant what he said, he had unerestimated the boy, not that it mattered in the end. Guice's once handsome face contorted with rage, "Don't underestimate me!" Gabriel laughed darkly, "Valiant as you are, young mage. You should know you have no chance of winning today." His face edged closer to the young boy's showing off his vampiric fang's, "I have personally butchered entire armies. Slain millions of men." He raised his voice so everyone in the garden could hear him, "Ripped and teared legions of demons with my fangs. Devoured thousands of angels." Finally, inches away from Guiche's face, he screamed, "I will make you pay for your insolence. You will know fear. You will taste the bitterness of defeat and look into the eyes of the dragon, and weep as complete and utter terror fill you!" By now, Gabriel's thunderous voice echoed across the entire school, filled with utter hatred and fury, " I am that dragon. I am God's Dark Chosen One. I am the Prince of Darkness. I am the Lord of Shadows. I AM DRACUL... And you...are my prey."
Letting out an ear piercing scream that a nameless horror from the dark woods of Romania would unleash, Gabriel sent out a shockwave of black magic from his pale, clawed hands. The dark magic manifested itself as deformed vampire bat's, and were catupluted in a wide circle. This time Guiche didn't have time to summon a a protection ward, and was once again albeit with much more force than before, thrown backwards, With a sickening crunch, Guiche collided into a tree. A few other student's, whom were watching the duel, attempted to help up the young mage, but were stopped with Guiche wordlessly pushing them back. The blonde's eyes were burning with a certain fire Gabriel had seen countless times. The flame of desire. The desire to emerge victorious against impossible odd's. Time and time again, Dracul would rip that fire from there eyes, and replaced it with cold, utter recognition to the horrible fate they were about to endure.
Guiche pushed himself up. Crashing into the tree, had injured him, and the young man looked battered and bruised. Throwing off his black cape, the young student unbuttoned the buttons on the sleeve's of his white dress shirt, and once again, summoned a two and a half stone sword.
Gripping it tightly, and letting out a warcry, Guiche threw himself forward once again, roaring into the losing battle. He took the first move. Reaching Gabriel, Guiche charged forward, bringing down his bastard sword in an overhead strike. With a yawn, Gabriel let the blade hit him, disappearing in a cloud of blood red mist before the blade collided with his skin. Yelping in surprise, the stoneblade hit the ground with a thud, getting in lodged in the dirt. Reappearing right infront of the mage the instant, Guiche's defenses were dropped, Gabriel used his free hand to deliver a powerful punch to the young man's gut, throwing him backwards, and knocking the wind right out of him. Crying out in pain, the man, screamed, getting back up, "I wont let a filthy peasant like you defeat me!" Laughing, Gabriel, pointed his bony claws at the young man,
"You must hit me first, to beat me, my lord." He said mockingly, his face hardened, but the sinister smile was still on his lips, "If you want to get used to striking disrespectful servants, as well as lazy farmers, you need to have a proper aim."
Giving him the ever present smirk, Gabriel used one of his bony fingers to cut his left wrists. The blood of the Dragon floured forth in an instant, as his pale skin gave no resistance to his long, bony, finger nails. Bringing up his hand, Gabriel softy murmured a spell in Romanian. "Oh Blood evlavie, ia forma. Și aduce teama mai departe spre dușmanii Dragonului."
Typically, when not using his Chaos or Void magic, Gabriel resorted to either powerful divine rites in Latin, or conjured black sorcery from his home country of Romania. Grinning, Dracula, to the entire audiences utter shock, drew forth from the small wound, a longsword. Made from his hardened blood. The blade was adorned in blasphemous runes, and it's pommel held a blood red cross. It's edge was jagged, and twisted, appearing a dark shade of crimson. Gabriel held the sword with an off hand grip, waiting for Guiche to attack.
It seemed, Guiche and Gabriel were more similar than they realized. Guiche, too was consumed by blood lust. The people whom had come to watch Guiche discipline the Zero's new pet, were now watching in terror for Guiche's life. They knew, by now, Guiche would have used his ace in the hole, his Guardian Golem. Instead, the boy had conjured another stone bastard sword, and charged forward for the third time.
This time, the blonde mage delivered a flurry of smaller, but still moderately impactful attacks against Gabriel. The vampire lord gracefully parried each strike with his crimson longsword, slowly circling around the young mage. The vampire's sword play was regal, benefiting his status as Prince of the Night, but no less brutal. Centuries of constant battle had honed Gabriel's skill with the blade, though his time in the Brotherhood had installed a neverending preference for whips . Still, when facing single opponents, especially those who were considerable less skilled then you, the blade was always the best option. Facing down an entire battalion of heavy Brotherhood knights was the time to unleash the devastating power of the Shadow Whip.
Guiche was panting heavily, the strain of fighting the vampire starting to take it's toll, his strength, embedding away from his limbs. Gabriel, on the other hand, showed no sign of being tired. His undeath gave Gabriel an unlimited supply of Stamina, which caused the vampire to never tire.
The Vampire Prince grinned devilishly, the moonlight illuminating his terrible fangs. With a twist of his wrist, Gabriel locked the two swords together, edging closer to the mage's face. Using the edge of his sword, Gabriel drew Guiche closer to him,
"Your not bad, but you lack training!" Gabriel launched a sucker punch. putting a little more strength than before, causing the air around Gabriel's fist to ripple. Guiche's face lit up with agony, as his face looked stunned as the punch collided with his stomach. Moment's later, still frozen in place, Guiche couched a mouthful of blood up. As the mage looked at his own life fluids smothered in the grass, his face grew pale. The young noble fell to his knee's. Gabriel showed no mercy, as he delivered a kick to his face with his leather boot, throwing his entire body across the dirt. Gabriel slowly made his way to the grounded nobleman,
"Fool, no man can kill me" Gabriel grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up with ease with a single hand, "Not even the world's strongest vampire hunter could fell me, boy. What chance did you think you had?" Guiche struggled in vain, as he gasped for air. Gabriel's hold began to tighten, as the vampire prince's face took a horrifying transformation. The Dragon had returned. Gabriel's sanguine eyes burned like a blazing inferno, and the smug smile on his face, had now been replaced by a horrifying, and sadistic wolf-like grin, "The fire's of Averus itself would bow to my fury. The legion's of Satan would rather cower in fear then face me. I AM WORSE THEN THE DEVIL." Dracul moved his blade's tip inches away from Guiche's eye, and slowly, but surely pushed it foward. Guiche couldn't struggle against Gabriel's iron grip, and the sheer force of the Vampire's crushing hand prevented any scream from exiting his mouth. The other students, who looked in pure terror, couldn't find the strength to intervene, as if there bodies were petrified by some spell. The fire's of hell burned in the vampire's eyes, and had but one desire, to make the insolent youth pay for his hubris,
Yes my Prince...give in to your fury...end his miserable existence...rip and tear his flesh...consume his soul...
That raspy, and hate-filled voice inside of Gabriel echoed in his mind, as his sword was centimeters away from Guiche's eye. The vampire instantly, threw down Guiche in disgust, causing him to make a rough landing. He was certainly battered, barely conscious from the lack of air, but thankfully, quite alive. Nobody in the crowd, however, moved to help him, still frozen under the effects of pure fear.
The vampire prince gazed at his fist, which was now curled up into a ball, as well as his conjured Shadow Blade, his vision lingering for only a second, before dispelling the sword. It liquefied, and the blood reentered his body through the shallow cut.
Damnation...I nearly lost control of myself.
Closing his eyes, Gabriel summoned forth the power of the void to purge himself of all emotions. The process took only seconds, as cool tranquil emptiness filled Gabriel. That blasted voice faded out of his mind.
Without another word, Gabriel turned away from the stunned crowd, as well as the wounded Guiche, and left the garden.