Ending 2: Vow

Suzume had hoped that this moment wouldn't come to pass.

It could have happened in so many other ways. Soma could have been killed before she got here. Marcus could have located Soma and saved him while she fought off the vampire hordes. If Death had realized the importance of her assistance, he could have even decided to show mercy at the critical time.

No such luck. The situation had worked out exactly as Death had anticipated when he had formed the pact with her in the first place. Sometimes she wondered if he had a foresight for these things. It could be argued, she decided.

The cardinal had been defeated, and it still hadn't been enough to prevent this outcome. Soma was still manacled to the wall, and Death was still moving in for the kill.

Marcus continued to protest as he attempted to stand up. "Suzume! I mean it! We have to stop him! If we don't, Dracula..."

And if I do, she thought, Death...

She lowered her staff. "Do it", she said quietly.

Soma stared at her with an inquisitive look in his eyes. Death noticed this and elaborated. "She formed a pact with me. I aided her in battling the vampires. She is now required to let me kill you."

Soma nodded slowly. "I see."

"It was the only way", Suzume added.

"You're making a terrible mistake!" Marcus was frantic. "If you don't stop him..."

Suzume stared straight ahead at Death. She didn't like how everything had turned out. But she had agreed to the pact, and she was not going to let it go uncompleted. Not after she had come this far.

Death raised his scythe over his head and floated toward Soma. He stared at the man for several seconds, and then spoke again in an annoyed voice. "I cannot do it. Someone is resisting."

Suzume became aware of the movement behind her. Turning quickly, she found that the cardinal was not only conscious, but had raised a hand toward Death's position. He must still retain his control, Suzume thought.

This would not do. She quickly ran to where she had dropped her own scythe, picked it up, and tested its weight in her hands. Then, without much warning, she dashed back toward where she had been standing before, building up momentum in a horizontal swing around her body, and planted the blade firmly into the cardinal's body.

Marcus gasped. "Suzume!"

As she watched the cardinal's body fall to the ground, completely void of life now, she stepped away slightly. "I had to do it", she said quickly. "He was interfering with Death's duty again. If he cannot learn his lesson..."

"He was corrupted by Dracula!" Marcus sounded upset. "We should have purified him!"

"I must thank you again, Suzume." Death said as he looked over his shoulder to face her. "You have performed your duties exceptionally well." He looked at Soma again. "I will... never..."

He never finished his sentence. Soma was glaring at him now, his chains rattling slightly. "The cardinal gave his life to protect me. As long as I own the same power of dominance that he wielded in my name, I will not allow you to strike me down."

Death tried to bring the scythe down. He couldn't force his body to do it. As his body language grew less powerful, he lowered the farming implement to his side. "No", he whispered. "I was... so close..."

Suzume thought about the situation. Death was finding himself unable to kill his target. As long as Soma resisted, Dracula would never be reborn. And she had done nothing to break the pact. Perhaps this would be the proper time to back down and admit defeat.

Many words, spoken to her long ago, reentered her mind.

Under this pact, we agree to work together to achieve our common goal of eliminating the master of this castle, as well as any other vampires who serve him or share his power.

This pact shall remain in effect until the time that the vampiric threat is over and Soma is deceased.

Upon discovering the entity known as Soma Cruz, I shall be allowed to exercise my right to end his existence.

The cardinal was the master of the castle, and Soma effectively shared his power. Death had a right to end his existence, and he was not being allowed to use it. And the pact would not effectively be over until...

Her instincts shouted at her, ordering her to get such thoughts out of her head. Her logic told her that she had yet to disobey any demand that was specifically asked of her. And yet something continued to gnaw at her mind, saying that she had to act now...

She acted on impulse, dashing forward with her scythe in her hand. "If he is unable to kill Soma, then I have no choice but to do so myself!"

Death turned his head to look at her. Soma stared at her with a worrisome look. Marcus started to tremble slightly, his face aghast in shock.

"...what the hell?" Marcus got to his feet. "Suzume, have you gone insane?"

"No", she responded simply. "I agreed to a pact. No matter how the terms were phrased, the intent was perfectly clear. Death is going to claim Soma. And I am obligated to help him."

"But... you don't have to! You never agreed to kill him yourself!"

"If I don't kill him, the pact will be unfulfilled. I don't like it, either, but I must do this."

"That's bull..."

Suzume pointed her staff at him, cutting him off. "I am also obligated to help him kill the vampires. You gave me this staff. It occurs to me that you are still vulnerable to its power. If you try to stand in my way, I will use it."

His expression became bitter. "Is this how you repay me for everything I've done for you?"

"This isn't about you. I owe my success to Death as well. It's time for me to repay him."

Soma, who had remained silent during these lines, finally spoke. "I won't allow this!" With a sudden motion, the chains that held him against the wall broke.

Death's body visibly shuddered at this. Suzume picked up on what had happened quickly. Upon the death of the cardinal, Soma must have regained the power that he had shared earlier. And if the cardinal had become as strong as Dracula, Soma would be an even tougher match.

"I don't know what logic you used when you made this deal", Soma continued, "but I'm not going down without a fight!"

She raised her scythe. "Then I'll give you one!"

"Stop!" Marcus was distraught. "You're being irrational!"

"No", Death said as he moved away from the two. "She is not. She knows how to keep a vow."


A number of years later...

While the small building was sufficiently off the main thoroughfare of town to go largely unnoticed by the population, it was hard to call it hidden. The window display was stocked with various enchanted artifacts alongside some perfectly mundane items that could have been bought at a Halloween shop. A sign reading "OPEN" had been placed on the opposite side of the glass. And the sign on the door clearly read "Professional Witch" in large letters.

A lady who appeared to be in her mid-40s approached the front door cautiously. Moving her package from one arm to the other, she slowly turned the handle and was granted entrance to the shop.

The interior was not very well lit, except for sporadically-placed candles. A number of bookshelves rested against the back wall, but the lady was unable to tell if they were spellbooks or other reading material. The smell of chemicals filled the air, but most of them were decidedly not magical.

Eventually the owner, a young woman who appeared to be just out of her teens, appeared from between some of the shelves. "May I help..."

There was an awkward silence for a second, and then it passed. "May I help you?"

The older lady gestured in the direction of the door. "The sign says you're a witch. Would you happen to know anything about healing?"

The witch kept a suspicious eye on her. "What did you have in mind?"

The lady rolled up one of her sleeves to reveal that her arm had a particularly nasty-looking scar on it. "I have yet to meet a doctor that can seem to cure this injury. I thought that perhaps your magic..."

"Okay, cut the crap", the witch said. "You're a magician, too. You have the aura of a church-trained priestess. As someone of that position, you must be able to tell that I have a similar one. And, if you know about my aura, you know that I can detect yours. So stop beating around the bush. Why are you really here?"

The lady nodded, but did not lose her composure. "I have a package addressed to Suzume Belnades. I tried to track her..."

The witch glared at her. "We do not use that name in this establishment. If you must speak of her, refer to her as the fallen Belnades."

The lady was taken aback. "Fallen?"

"That's an unusual scar you have there. If it was my guess, I'd say it was caused by dark magic. Quite possibly by the dark lord Dracula himself." The witch shook her head in anger. "As a member of the church, you must know this. He would have never returned if not for the fallen Belnades."


Soma fell to his hands and knees.

Suzume stood over him, still holding her scythe. She had found it far more comfortable to wield than she had expected. Even though it was weighted heavily on one side, it had been designed for smooth swinging, and Suzume took to it quickly. Not even Soma's repertoire of soul-related attacks and defenses could stand up to her offense.

It was possible that Death's words from earlier were true, and he was holding back because he considered her to be a friend. She frowned at the idea. His life was very much on the line. He shouldn't do that.

And then something completely unexpected happened.

The aura around Soma, already becoming erratic during the battle, suddenly exploded chaotically. As she watched silently, he returned to a standing position, and then it appeared to her that he was continuing to rise even when he had reached a vertical position. His clothing ripped, replaced by oversized muscles. His hands and feet suddenly grew large claws, each looking dangerous enough to slice through a person in one swipe. His head readjusted, growing a mouthful of sharp teeth and an extended jaw to hold them. Horns and wings sprouted, completing the transformation.

He now towered over her, a twenty-foot personification of pure demonic evil. Suzume had read of creatures similar to this, often from Belmonts who were describing the form taken by Dracula once the fight started to draw to a close.

Before she could come to her senses, the demon spread its wings and took to the air. It headed directly for the skylight that formed the center of the ceiling, and seconds later the structure had shattered into pieces, raining debris upon her.

She could have sworn that she heard his voice as he disappeared beyond the ceiling. Something about "stay away from me"...


The witch applied the curative spell to the lady's injury, and the wound began to close almost immediately.

"You have an incredible talent", the lady said as the feeling of warmth faded into a memory. "You should advertise yourself as a healer instead of a witch."

The witch shook her head. "Healing is a maligned profession in this day and age. People believe you can save their lives, and then they blame you when they learn that you can't stop them from dying entirely." She looked at the lady again. "Minor injuries like yours, that's different. It's the least I could do, considering you wasted your time coming here."

The lady looked at her oddly. "I'd hardly call it a waste."

"The fallen Belnades fell in more ways than one. She died."


"Suzume!" Death's voice was insistent. "Do not allow him to escape!"

"Stop!" Marcus disagreed immediately. "It's over. He's gone. Let him go. There's nothing more you can do."

Suzume continued to stare up at the skylight, and then turned her attention to Death. "He's right. I can't follow him." She walked up to him and held out the scythe for him to reclaim. "I have no more use for this." She closed her eyes. "I hope I haven't failed to uphold my side of the bargain."

Death stared at her for a moment, and then looked up briefly to look at the broken skylight. "We are not yet out of options. You have Gaibon."

She had forgotten about him, she realized. Her attention turned to his position, and she discovered that he had taken refuge near the western tower with Slogra when she had told them to flee.

She immediately ordered Gaibon to head to her location. Having a second thought immediately afterward, she told him to bring Slogra as well. Then she returned her attention to the room around her. "They will arrive shortly."

Death nodded. "Very good."

"Stop this!" Marcus was an emotional wreck at this time. "Don't... you can't... you... stop now! You're killing everyone!"

Just before she could respond to his criticism, Gaibon arrived. As he dropped Slogra to the ground, she prepared the next orders. He would carry her and they would track Soma's new form. They needed to figure out the easiest way for her to swing the scythe without potentially striking her escort...

"If you don't stop this, Suzume, I will!"

Her train of thought derailed from giving orders, she turned to face her mentor, only to stare in shock as the knife that he had thrown plunged into her chest.

Her face frozen in surprise, she stared him in the eyes, and then looked down at the hilt. It was of the same design as the knives the cardinal had carried. He must have taken it from his...

Her vision began to blur...

Those knives had been poisoned, she recalled...

Death gave a shout of surprise...

Everything faded...


The old lady shook her head. "I don't believe you."

"It is no lie", the witch insisted. "Her mentor fatally stabbed her, and Death claimed her soul."

"But that's not the end of the story, is it?" The lady gave the witch an accusing glare. "If it was, Suzume, you wouldn't be telling it to me today."

The witch's expression soured slightly.


Death gave the priest a severe look. "I never suspected that you would willfully kill your own student." He shook his head. "Is this what the church teaches humanity?"

"You must be very proud of yourself", Marcus responded bitterly. "You corrupted the woman who could've been the greatest hero of this decade."

"A hero can live up to her end of a bargain, no matter how much she resents her actions. You would do well to remember this." Death turned to face the two demons, who continued to stand over the fallen body of their recently appointed mistress. With a quick gesture, the small orb that was Suzume's soul rose from her body and floated over to his bony hand. He held it up in front of his skull for a few seconds and addressed it silently.

And Suzume was once again conscious, aware of the form that held her and capable of understanding his words, even though they could not be heard by mortal ears. The wound was fatal. Your soul is mine.

Her form flickered briefly in sadness and regret. He noticed this, and pondered briefly, and then continued. You have assisted me greatly in the past twenty-four hours, and I must acknowledge the fact that my actions directly led to your demise. In light of this, I have decided that I will permit you to readopt your mortal form for any brief tasks that will aid you in bringing closure to your life.

Her soul responded. We had a pact. You were supposed to protect me, and I was supposed to help you kill Soma. Please, I don't want to break my word. Heaven only smiles on those who are honest.

I cannot come to the conclusion that you have not upheld...

Please. I beg you. Give me another chance. Let me finish him.

Even given the unspoken nature of the conversation between the reaper and his harvest, the former was speechless. Even in death, she still wished to fulfill her duty. A duty that had not been explicitly stated, and that she had intentionally avoided assuming when they composed the terms of their pact. One that would gain her nothing at this point, except possibly the enmity of humanity. Purely for the sake of being true to her word.

He had always fulfilled his pacts with the same mentality, but that was because he was genuinely incapable of acting otherwise. This ethic was being expressed by a mortal...

His gaze moved from the soul to her former body, and the blade that she still held tightly in her hand.

I will give you your chance. He turned his attention to her soul again. Soma has traveled far from here. It will be difficult for you to face him alone.

It doesn't matter. Gaibon can carry me.

No. He placed the soul into the form beneath him. I will.


"How dare you..."

"I haven't forgotten you, Suzume." The lady's expression was unflinching. "I know your face, and I recognize your aura."

The witch who had once called herself by the name of the fallen Belnades looked at the lady impassively. Who was she? And how had she tracked her to this location, so long after the fact?

"In your time in the church", she finally responded, "have you ever destroyed a zombie?"

"Yes", the lady replied almost immediately.

"Have you ever felt the pangs of guilt, knowing that you killed a human being? One who merely sought to walk the earth again, years after his demise?"

"No." The lady looked at her oddly. "Your description is inaccurate. Zombies are..."

"I know." The witch's eyes lit up. "Zombies are not the living. They do not exist to resume their old lives. They were brought back by dark magic for the sole purpose of serving those who revived them. They are undead monstrosities. They are not people.

"I returned under identical circumstances. I am not a person, either. The fallen Belnades is no more."


Soma had just decided to set course for the Asian continent when Death appeared in front of him.

If not for the altitude of the confrontation, it would have been very dramatic for anyone who happened to be watching. A twenty-foot demon, his eyes gleaming with intelligence, widening said eyes considerably at the giant cloaked skeleton that would have matched his height if he had possessed legs, facing him down from meters away with a large scythe in his bony hands, set against the light of the newly rising sun. Unfortunately, the scene looked like little more than two blurs from the ground.

Soma's eyes narrowed, and Death knew what the bearer of Dracula's power was doing immediately. Leave me alone, he was commanded. And Death, despite his intent, had no choice but to obey. He floated slowly to the side, releasing his scythe in the process. Satisfied, Soma resumed his forward progress toward the country where he had spent much of his life growing up.

Moments later, Suzume sliced him.

Suzume was understandably disoriented by the events, but she was trying her best to cope with them. She and Death had agreed that his moratorium on pretense did not apply to actions against his enemies, and this allowed Death to plan a rather deceptive assault. While he had the right to strike Soma, Soma could prevent him from making the effort, so it had been decided that Suzume would be doing the battling.

That was when she had discovered that she was no longer holding onto Death's scythe. He had taken the opportunity to relocate her to a more strategic location.

He had planted her soul in his weapon.

She was Death's scythe, and he was holding her.

In the heat of battle, she was trying to figure out just what this meant for her. She levitated through the air effortlessly, adjusting her pitch and yaw to pursue the fleeing demon quickly and then making more dramatic rotations to drive her blade into his body. She hadn't had much time to practice, but she was not making a bad first effort.

At least until Soma seized her by the handle. She struggled, but she could not break his grip. He attempted to break her in two, but the scythe was as immortal as its owner and would not be broken. He tried to claim her soul, but the blade held all souls tightly until they were released by its rightful wielder. With few remaining options, he lifted her and used his heightened strength to throw her far into the distance. By the time she adjusted her trajectory and reduced her rotation, he had already disappeared from view, and she would not be able to match his air speed quickly enough to catch up.

Seconds later, Death appeared before her and grasped her by the shaft. Almost instantly, the two were floating in front of Soma again. This time, before Soma could repeat his command, Death lifted Suzume with one hand and threw her at the demon.

She caught him in the shoulder. Her blade, she realized, had been sharpened to near perfection, or perhaps perfection itself, and the fact that his shoulder was over three feet thick did not slow her rotation. Thinking fast, she pitched in such a manner that the next slice would travel through his body as well. As did the next one. She matched his speed, resulting in a constant spin that continued to slice through him as he attempted to dodge. The pain eventually grew too much for Soma to bear, and his wings stopped flapping, and he started to lose consciousness and altitude.

Seconds later, Death was there, catching the falling demon in one hand and Suzume in the other. He glanced at Soma briefly, then gave him a light toss back into the air and grasped Suzume with his other hand as well.

She understood quickly why he didn't leave this task solely to her. As his bony hands clenched her tightly, she could feel the supernatural power they held. In a few seconds of time, that power came to flow through her, filling her from shaft to edge. He truly was Death, she thought. And while she had tried to ignore such thoughts ever since she first met him, it had somehow become literally true since then. She was a tool of Death.

She wasn't complaining. In fact, she enjoyed every moment of it. The two were finally working together. Death wasn't merely supporting her; he was involved in her every action. His supernatural abilities kept her safe and allowed her to accomplish her task, and her efforts allowed him to act without fear of his limitations. Her blade shone, and she knew that she wanted to make him proud. One hand slid down her body to readjust his grip, and she knew that he understood her desire.

And then he swung.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as her blade passed through Soma's body. The flesh and blood of the demon rubbed against her sides, yet refused to leave a stain upon her perfect form. Bone and organs parted easily for her, granting her access to the depths where his soul resided.

Suzume became suddenly aware of another feeling within her. Hunger. She had not eaten in almost twenty-four hours, and yet this desire for nourishment stemmed from more than just that. She turned to face the soul and, with a great deal of satisfaction, started to devour it.

She was aware that the process was largely metaphorical, but she savored it on a physical level. Soma's soul, with the raw power of Dracula contained inside and the additional flavor of the power of dominance, slowly slid into her blade. She gulped it down slowly, relishing every portion of it. While she was unable to harness this power herself, it continued to fill her.

Then she was aware of the other souls. Thousands upon thousands of them, of every type and shape. The cardinal had indeed been busy that day. Innocent human victims, local wildlife, the demons that had once been fighting against her and her compatriots... and some of her compatriots themselves, clergymen who had been lost in battle... even Samuel, her attendant, about whom she had almost completely forgotten after Death had made his presence known.

She opened herself wider and allowed the other souls to flood in as well. She was in no position to sort or judge them; she merely collected them. The torrent of less powerful souls helped wash down the immense bulk of Soma's power, and soon they were all within her, filling her to the brim.

And her blade finished its trajectory, and early daylight shone upon her again, and time resumed.

As the remains of Soma's body turned into ash and drifted lightly toward the ground, Death lifted Suzume to an upright position and lightly stroked the side of her blade with a pair of bony fingers. Well done, he silently told her. To her senses, it felt just as if he was stroking her belly gently, immediately after she had finished eating a heavy meal. Despite the cold truth of his skeletal form, she found it to be a warm feeling.

Without another word, he grasped her pole with both hands again, holding it sideways, and somehow started to draw her into himself. Suzume shuddered at this new sensation. A wish she never knew she possessed had just come true. She was a part of Death. Death was a part of her.

And at that moment, she knew that she wanted to stay with him for the remainder of time.


The witch did not say any of these things to the lady. She would not truly understand them, and she had sworn to not reveal them anyway.

"You are not a zombie", the lady slowly responded. "You remember your life. You know what you did with it. You are exactly who you were when you were born."

"No." The witch was steadfast. "I am not the fallen Belnades. She was a priestess. I no longer do that. She helped people defend against the undead. I brought the undead to their doorstep."

She took a deep breath. "And if I was truly her, I would be fifty years old by now."

Indeed, the lady noticed, Suzume had aged less than a week since she had last seen her.


Suzume awoke to find that she was human again.

As she sat up, she noticed that she was on the staircase leading from the top of the tower. Death floated to the side, watching her.

She opened her mouth to question him, but he spoke first. "You would not have enjoyed it for long. Hundreds of thousands of lives die every day, and that is solely the human count."

Her next query went uninterrupted. "Why am I still here?"

"You have not yet concluded your mortal business."

"What? I fulfilled the pact! Isn't that what matters?"

The form of his skull naturally resembled a smile, but she imagined it to be genuine. "It is true. The villagers are safe from the vampires. My duty is no longer at risk. Soma is deceased, and I can once again focus my attention on the revival of Dracula."

He really knew how to ruin a feeling of accomplishment, she thought.

"Regardless of your opinion of my goals", he continued, "it remains true that you have done me, and indeed the world as a whole, a great service. I do not soon forget things like this." A brief pause as his voice turned more serious. "The pact is complete. Your soul is rightfully mine, and I must now request that you return my minions to me."

She slowly nodded. "They're yours."

"They remain in the tower." He paused in quiet contemplation. "They will miss you. Go to them."

She raised an eyebrow at him. After receiving no visual feedback, she shrugged and headed down the stairs into the tower.

At the bottom of the stairs, Slogra was standing at attention, while Gaibon attempted to remain in the same stance. She descended to their level as they watched, and then smiled at them. "This is it, I guess. You have to return to Death, and... so do I, I guess." Her eyes watered. "Thanks for everything."

Neither said anything. It would be strange if they did, she considered. Slogra hesitantly stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. He stared her in the eyes in a sympathetic manner, and then he vanished. Gaibon was next, and he opted to spread his wings and return her hug from earlier. It was there for a second, and then he was gone as well.

Now alone in the tower, Suzume smiled sadly. She knew that this was going to happen, and she had appreciated the moment as much as possible, and now it was over. With a feeling of foreboding and reluctance, she reascended the steps and left the tower again.

Marcus was sitting on the stairs, waiting for her.

She stared at him in surprise. She had almost forgotten about him. The last time she had seen him, he had been forcibly restrained by Slogra and Gaibon as Death had spoken with her soul. In light of the recent deaths, it was apparent that he was no longer a vampire. Honestly, she was more surprised that he was still alive, after everything he had tried to do to Death.

And to her.

"Death left you a message", he said calmly. "Once the pact had been fulfilled, he was no longer obligated to remain completely honest with you."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"He has departed. Without you."

Her eyes widened. He had never actually said that he was taking her with him, had he? He had only said that her soul belonged to him. And now he was gone, as were his minions.

She gasped as she began to understand all the ramifications of what had happened. He was going to revive Dracula. He had promised. She had gone out of her way to fulfill her pact and allow him to do this. And now he had abandoned her, forcing her to stay among the humans that she had just betrayed. They would not be happy with her, and she would have to face them alone.

Even now, she was speaking with a man who had once been her closest ally, and even he had killed her in an effort to stop her...

She sat on the stairs bitterly. "You must hate me."

His gaze did not change. "I wish I could. It's easy to hate what you did, but..."

"I hate what I did, too!" She fought to hold back tears. "You were right! I never should've listened to him! I've doomed us all!"

"You said you'd do what you had to do."

"I shouldn't have had to do that. I ruined everything from the start. This could've all been avoided if I had just been stronger. Or smarter. Or less stubborn." She winced. "Or if I'd never been born."

Marcus shook his head. "I don't have the right to pass judgment on you." He stood up. "Let's go. We need to inform the church. We need to prepare for Dracula's return."

"No." She closed her eyes, and he could tell that she had started to cry silently. "You tell them. I'm not going back." She buried her face in her hands. "I've done enough damage."


"It was almost two decades ago when Dracula struck", the witch said balefully. "It was a small town, close to a thousand people. I was a wandering healer at the time, trying to do everything I could to redeem myself and rebuild my life. I had been passing through, and one of the restaurants allowed me to use their kitchen overnight to create some kind of... I can't even remember what I was making.

"In the middle of the night, the demons struck. The buildings were set ablaze. Blood was spilt through the town. I heard nothing but screams for a long time. And then the restaurant caught fire.

"The next thing I saw was some kind of demonic minotaur. Not even the regular kind. I think his axe blade was taller than me. He saw me, a number of demons followed him, and they surrounded me.

"And then he knelt down before me. So did the others. They stayed like that for a few seconds, and then they stood up and left.

"I was the only survivor of that attack. Everyone in that town died because of me. The demons only spared my life because I was one of them." She shook her head. "And I still am."

The lady looked at her sympathetically. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't bother." The witch stood up. "I stopped crying about that day fifteen years ago. I just got fed up with it. I hate being miserable." She walked over to some of the shelves. "It's better to just admit that I'm a monster and wait for judgment."

"Suzume..."

"It makes no sense, you know? Back in the days of the great Sypha, everyone thought she was some kind of demon. They'd have burned her at the stake and ended the bloodline if she hadn't fled. Now here I am today, the real thing, and everyone acts like I'm just another public servant."

"Stop that." The lady's voice grew stern. "You are not a demon. You are a Belnades."

"Fallen, if anything."

She held up the box. "Regardless of what you think you are, this package is still addressed to you."

The witch shrugged and took it from her. "What is it?"

The lady smiled. "Judgment."

The metaphor wasn't too far off, as Suzume discovered when she opened the box. Inside was a fairly large tome, although one that would fit easily on her bookshelves. The cover read Dracula and the Belmonts: A Timeline.

She scowled. "This isn't exactly something I'm interested in reading."

The lady did not lose her smile. "It's been updated to include Dracula's latest return. And the events leading up to it."

Suzume paled. "Just how much did you know before you came here?"

"Not nearly enough. I think Father Williams abridged your story."

"Wait. Marcus wrote something?"

The lady shrugged. "He was our best source for the parts of the story that concerned you. In fact, he's the one who wanted you to receive this."

Without a word, Suzume paged directly to the last few chapters and read the part that pertained to her.

Suzume Belnades (2036 - ?) - The elder of the two daughters of Yoko Belnades. Known practitioner of holy magic and healing; also trained in staff battling. In 2056, discovered a plot led by a corrupt religious official to kidnap Soma Cruz and use his power to create a clan of invincible vampires with intent to overrun the world. Defeated the official in combat; to properly prevent all consequences of his handiwork, was forced to kill Soma Cruz as well. Fearing that her actions would result in Dracula's rebirth, fled the church, never to return. Current whereabouts unknown.

Suzume blinked. "He left out a lot of stuff."

"History tends to be forgiving to heroes."

Suzume dropped the book on the table immediately. "I'm no hero."

"Marcus disagrees. Certainly, stopping that official counts."

"But innocent people died as a result of my..."

The lady put her hand up to Suzume's mouth. "Before you say anything more, he wants you to read the pages that he flagged."

Indeed, there were a few pages marked with small tabs. With a resigned sigh, Suzume flipped backward to the one closest to the end of the book. "Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin. What about them?"

"It's a bit of a complicated story, from what I remember. A vampire managed to claim Dracula's power and sought the death of humanity. Jonathan and Charlotte fought and defeated him after saving some of the people that he had vampirized. Unfortunately, their actions allowed Dracula to return, so they had to defeat him as well."

Suzume raised an eyebrow. "They did, huh?" She continued to flip backward, as the lady briefly summarized each story.

A werewolf who defeated his bitter rival to save his sister, only to lose his transformation ability and inadvertently cause the rebirth of Dracula. A friend of the Belmonts sought to destroy Dracula for good by destroying his physical remains, only to find that he had resurrected him in the process. A devil forgemaster avenged the death of his girlfriend by defeating another forgemaster and servant of Dracula, only for Dracula to be reborn from his enemy's body.

The eldest known vampire-hunting Belmont had actually created Dracula as a result of a lengthy scheme, but in the process stopped a vampire from victimizing the nearby population and avenged his wife's death.

"You are not the only one. Many have indirectly caused Dracula's rebirth while making a noble effort to save mankind", the lady said.

In the face of all this evidence, Suzume had to resign herself to one conclusion. "The others still tried to stop it from happening. I couldn't. I was cursed. If I had tried, Death had the option to stop me." She frowned. "I still failed."

"Maybe you did", the lady said. "That's why I succeeded for you."

Suzume looked at her again. She had come in with a dark injury, and it appeared to be the work of Dracula, but she hadn't actually considered that it might have been earned in direct combat. This woman truly could have been formidable twenty years ago...

Suzume remembered something. In a hesitant voice, she spoke. "...there was only one other priestess in training at the time."

The lady smiled sadly. "Mother is starting to feel ill. You should visit her. She wouldn't turn you away."

Suzume mentally cursed herself. She had been gone too long. She wasn't even able to tell that her debate opponent had been her own sister...

"...I can't", she protested. "No matter how much of a hero you think I am, I can't return. I betrayed the church. I have no right to enter its walls again."

"Don't think like that. Mother still loves you for who you are. Marcus has forgiven you. I just listened to your story, and I forgive you. And I know that God has forgiven you as well."

"Dracula is the greatest abomination to ever befall God", Suzume grumbled. "I wish I could believe I could be forgiven so easily."

"I know He has." The lady smiled and nodded knowingly. "If He hadn't, you wouldn't have been able to heal me." She turned and headed for the door. "My business here is concluded. If you change your mind, you know where your home is."

As the door closed behind her sister, Suzume considered her words. At this point, she wasn't sure what she believed anymore.

She was cursed. She knew this. The evidence followed her constantly. She felt odd premonitions of tragedy regularly. She had not had a sound night's sleep in thirty years. Stray undead creatures seemed to be attracted to her, much to the annoyance of everyone else. And her body completely refused to age.

And yet no one could bring themselves to believe that she was tainted by evil. Apparently to them, "witch" meant that she was a local authority on the occult, or that she could provide magical assistance for the right price, or even that the children found her "cool". No one ever seemed to care that her presence could doom them all.

As she thought about this, a small draft blew through the room. It wasn't particularly chilly, but it was enough to turn a few pages of the still-open book. Curious, she looked at the book again. Before her lay the end of the tale of Leon Belmont, a tale that had been summarized earlier.

Leon stared at the floating form of the grim reaper as he began to dissipate. "I see. Give him this message. You have become a cursed being and I will never forgive you. This whip and my kinsmen will destroy you someday. From this day on, the Belmont Clan will hunt the night."

She sighed. That passage had done nothing to help her feel better. How was a cursed being supposed to achieve forgiveness in such a world? Or was this just the opinion of the world over a thousand years ago?

The draft blew again, and the left-hand page lifted slightly. She placed her hand upon it to steady the page, and then noticed the passage written there. She opted to read the dialogue that had been spoken mere seconds earlier:

Death stared at the Belmont in disbelief. "To think that I would be..."

Leon interrupted him. "I have the power to destroy all related to the vampires. Though you have divine powers, you are no exception."

Her sister had noticed that she had retained her healing ability. Such talents were considered common among the Belnades family, of course, and she kept them even after this whole...

Realization struck her hard.

She had spent her life practicing divine talents to fulfill the role of the Belnades, a role for which she had been born. After accomplishing a number of tasks of this nature, she eventually came across a situation that she could not tolerate, yet was not equipped to solve. Rather than merely give up and leave, she sought help, and eventually found it in the form of a being who offered her a pact. She accepted it, even though she realized that it would require her to perform some actions that she wouldn't dare do otherwise. She spent the remainder of the time following his instructions, and her bitterness toward the situation eventually blossomed to a level of understanding, and by the end of her journey, she was starting to consider him a true friend and ally, and possibly vice versa, despite his detached nature and lack of true compassion toward her. In the end, her actions had caused the deaths of many people that she never wanted to hurt, and she worried that she would be considered evil, even though her main crime was refusing to abandon her pact...

It was an impressive coincidence, if it was one. With a few words changed, her life story practically became that of Death himself.

There was at least one significant difference, she considered. Death abandoned her. He refused to let her stay with him. He would not...

...would not force her to become his servant, like Dracula had done to him. Instead, he allowed her to continue her old life...

...a life where she did not suffer from aging, did not need to devote time to sleeping, had no reason to fear the undead, and often received what felt like messages from beyond...

...she watched everyone grow up and die around her, was no longer capable of dreaming, put nearby villagers at risk of attacks from the undead and was tormented by warnings of dire fate...

"Dammit, Death!" she yelled at the ceiling. "Is this supposed to be a curse or a blessing?"

Aware that she had done this, she sat down and tried to relax. Yes, Death could probably hear her. He observed all mortals, after all. Especially now, after his body had been destroyed by the actions of vampire hunters. But he would not respond. It was not part of his duty. He merely reaped the souls of the dead and watched over everyone.

He was probably watching over her, too.

She smiled at this. The church had often said the same thing about God. That was probably also true. But God's help had always been indirect. It meant much more to her when she could say that she was being watched over by a divine being and force of nature that had once allied with her, and aided her in battle, and saved her life, and personally thanked her.

It was an appealing theory, and she wondered if she should give it a chance. She could continue to live her life, whatever form it had taken. Make the most of it. Maybe even visit her mother, just to prove that she had not forgotten her. If things didn't turn out well, she could always leave again. If the church decided to burn her... well, she had been welcoming that fate for entirely too long. Perhaps it was the time to be optimistic again.

Her life wasn't necessarily a curse or a blessing. It was just... changed. Almost like what her life would have been like if she had lived more like Death. If that even made sense.

She would give this some hard thought later. Right now, it was time to prepare. There would be another customer at the door in three minutes.

Her new book remained on the table, open to the pages concerning Leon and Death. She had not yet noticed the folded piece of paper placed inside the pocket of the front cover. If she was lucky, she would find it later.

Inscribed was a quote written in Marcus's handwriting. If all of humanity displayed such devotion and selflessness when fulfilling their promises, perhaps Dracula would have no place in this world.

It was attributed to a man named Gregor.

An End