Ending 3: Trust
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...
"I'm sorry, Marcus", she said, lowering her staff to her side. "I won't."
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, trying to silently convince herself that she was doing the right thing. She didn't abandon Soma and Marcus. She agreed with their opinion. Dracula should not return. But she had made a promise, and it would not do for her to risk Death's wrath.
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."
She blinked. Several times. Was this some kind of miracle? Was the pact really a test, with this outcome as her reward for refusing to break it? She smiled. She would never throw away hope so easily again...
"Suzume." Death was addressing her. "The cardinal is resisting. You have not finished him. Do so."
She turned to face the cardinal. Indeed, there was visible evidence that he was recovering, even after she had destroyed his bizarre form. He was still able to exert some control over Death, it seemed. If she followed his instructions, there would be nothing keeping him from killing Soma.
But she had formed a pact. She promised to...
She turned to face her mentor. "Marcus, can you help me?"
With a quizzical expression on his face, he moved toward her. "With what?"
"I think I can purify the cardinal. I need you to purify Soma at the same time."
Marcus smiled. "Right!"
Death didn't smile. "What are you doing?" he asked angrily.
She shrugged in his direction. "Ending the vampiric threat. Just like I promised."
He shook his head. "You swore that we would eliminate the master of this castle."
"He looks like he might die soon. Either way, if he leaves the castle behind, won't that be enough?"
"What about Soma? You must..."
"I am not standing in your way. I promised I wouldn't. If you are going to kill him, do so." She paused, switching to a suspicious tone. "Or is the problem that you can't claim his soul if we purify him?"
He fumed. "You are testing my patience."
"Look!" She advanced on him. "I told you when we made the pact! I'm not going to kill him! When I agreed to not interfere, it was under the assumption that you had the right to kill him yourself! If you don't, then I'm sorry, but he has no reason to die!"
"My duty is to..."
"If you aren't allowed to kill him", she interrupted, "then that's not much of a duty, is it?" She shook her head. "I'm not your pawn. I don't give a damn what Dracula wants. He's not here, and I kinda hope he never comes back. Our pact has nothing to do with him. Marcus and I will stop the vampires, and the pact will be completed." She smiled at him. "I thought you'd be happy that I followed your orders and never strayed from the terms."
Death did not deign to respond to this. Behind her, Marcus spoke. "I'm ready."
"Okay", she said. "I'll start with the cardinal, and..."
"There is... no need."
As she watched, the cardinal struggled to his feet. "...thank you... Lady Belnades... thanks for standing up... for me... after everything I've done." He finally regained his balance. "I don't deserve it."
She grinned. "You know the church better than anyone. We teach forgiveness. Besides, Dracula's power..."
"I know... I claimed it selfishly... I wanted to avoid death." He glared at the reaper briefly, and then looked at her again. "I handled things poorly. So many died because of me." He sighed. "I know what I did wrong. I want to fix that."
Marcus looked at him. "It's good to hear that from you."
He stumbled toward Soma's position. "Soma... you shared your power with me. This power has been... a burden on you, I know... and knowing what I did with it... I was wrong." With a great deal of effort, he lifted his hand to Soma's shoulder. "Before I die... I want you to know... we should never have split your power..."
In a quick motion, the cardinal grasped Soma tightly and pushed him harder against the wall. "I should have claimed it all."
Suzume's face paled. Marcus's reaction was largely the same. Simultaneously, they dashed for the cardinal's position, Suzume pausing briefly to pick up Death's scythe along the way.
And then they were stopped, as Death grabbed the mentor and the student, one in each arm. He turned to look at the cardinal, who smiled at him.
"What are you doing?" Suzume hissed angrily.
Marcus looked up at his face, and then at Suzume. "He's being commanded. Great."
"There is only one explanation for my failure!" the cardinal ranted at Soma. "I don't possess the full power of Dracula at all! You kept some of it for yourself, you whelp!"
"Splitting the power was your idea..." Soma responded weakly.
"It doesn't matter! All that matters is that I rectify this!" Using his free hand, he began drawing some kind of energy from Soma's body. Suzume and Marcus tried to struggle, but they were held tight.
A minute later, Soma was unconscious, and the cardinal looked even more powerful than he had previously. Suzume could practically see the dark aura around him. He was starting to have all the makings of Dracula...
His voice was more bewildered and maniacal than sinister. "This is Dracula's true power? I can't believe how strong it is! If he had merely used his full potential in the past, no one would have sealed him away at all! Nothing could possibly resist this!"
He raised his arms, and before Suzume's eyes, everything in the room shifted. The colors in the room started to blur and bleed together. Death dropped his two captives and walked nonchalantly toward the cardinal. Marcus turned to Suzume and started making an arcane gesture in her direction.
"This... this is nothing less than the true power of dominance! It is mine! Everything is mine!"
Without any further buildup, the very color drained from the room and flowed into the cardinal's body. Marcus attempted to speak, but it was only a scream. His body collapsed to the floor as a white orb left his body and started to head toward the cardinal. Death continued to stand calmly as his own spirit left its temporary incarnation and headed in the same direction.
Suzume's soul was starting to fall victim to the same fate. She tried to resist, but the cardinal's power continued to pull at her soul. The slow separation caused her great pain, and she closed her eyes and screamed as her body collapsed to the floor...
"After speaking such words to me, you may not truly deserve my assistance."
Suzume opened her eyes slowly. She was in the same room as before, and it was still colorless. She lifted her head to find that Marcus was unconscious on the floor, Death was still facing the cardinal, and the cardinal was still casting his dark magic. All around the room, she could see other small orbs floating in midair. They must also be souls, she thought.
Grumbling to herself, she started to lift herself to her feet.
"I would not do that. It will be more convenient if you remain still."
That was Death's voice, she realized. But he had not moved. Where was he? She had seen his soul abandon his body, which meant that he was...
Come to think of it, nothing had moved since she had woken up. She remembered what that meant.
"I suspect that I should have never promised to abandon pretense. If I had not, perhaps you would have developed a healthy sense of skepticism by now."
"So what, did you stop time just to taunt me?" she growled.
"I thought that his dishonesty was obvious. He captured Soma long before he ever possessed the power of Dracula. If you had not been so hasty to believe him, this could have been avoided."
She hesitated. "What happened, anyway?"
"He is using the power of dominance in its most concentrated form. In short, he is claiming the souls of everything, living or dead, in a spherical radius. As he continues to gain power from these souls, the radius will expand. Even considering that the rate of growth of its radius will slow as the volume increases at a constant, it will not be long before he is the only living creature remaining on the planet."
She remained quiet for several moments. "I guess it's obvious that you don't like this."
"It is too late for me to oppose him. You should have stopped him before he..."
"Okay!" she shouted. "I get it! I'm too damn gullible! I admit it! There's a reason why I kept getting captured by vampires! If we're doomed, just drop the subject and let me die already!"
"I will not."
She shuddered at his delivery. "Excuse me?"
"My soul will be claimed shortly. I estimate that it will occur less than two seconds after the flow of time resumes. I believe that this is sufficient reason to not allow time to resume until I am convinced that you are capable of solving this crisis."
"Me?" she asked incredulously. "What the hell can I do?"
"We have already discussed this. Do not give up so easily. No one in your bloodline ever..."
"You know, I think they might have considered it if they saw Dracula instantly claim every soul in existence!"
"Listen to me." Death's voice was once again trying to be patient. "There are a few facts that the cardinal does not know. First, there is a very good reason why Dracula has never..."
He stopped. After a few seconds of silence, Suzume grew impatient. "Why he's never what?"
"This is becoming needlessly difficult", he answered simply. "I must ask. I have placed a large amount of trust and many of my resources in the knowledge that you can succeed. I notice that Marcus has done the same thing. Even as his soul was claimed, he was making a deliberate effort to aid you." His voice grew tense. "Is there a reason why you are the only one here to possess no faith in your own talents?"
She paused to think about this. Death had to have a point. He wouldn't have brought it up if he didn't. Unfortunately, she had a very strong counterpoint.
"I did. When I came to this castle, I was ready to take on the world. I knew what I had to do, and I was sure that I was going to do it." Her voice quickly dropped in tone. "Five minutes later, I was dead."
He spoke immediately. "You were not adequately prepared."
"I know! You told me that! You helped me, and I accepted your advice! And I improved! I saw that I improved! And then I died again anyway!"
"They were trapping you..."
"That's not the point!" she shouted. "Look at what I've done since then! Yes, I know I've become stronger! Yes, I know those vampires are all dead, and I can take them down myself! But that has nothing to do with me!
"I have no innate specialty in magic. Anything I can cast, I learned from Marcus. This staff has been great for killing vampires, but he brought it, not me. My staff techniques? Everything I taught myself, I had to unlearn. Anything I know now, I got from Slogra. Any kind of strategy I used to reach the cardinal, you came up with it. I don't know the layout of this part of the castle. Gaibon did, and he carried me directly. I wouldn't even have my own soul at this point if not for you!
"I am nothing more than the sum of everyone else's help. I can't think of anything I've done right that I chose to do myself. Especially not my idea of trying to save the cardinal." She was dejected now. "If I believed that I could succeed, it was because everyone else was succeeding along with me. And now they have all failed..."
Death remained unconvinced. "Do you know why I have continued to help you?"
"Bringing me was Marcus's idea. You told me that."
"I was past the point of believing anything that he said on its own merits." He paused briefly. "If his student had been anything but a Belnades..."
"Again with the stupid Belnades!" she snapped. "It's just a family name and a talent for magic!"
"That is not true. You are..."
After waiting another few seconds, Suzume started getting fed up with his tendency to cut himself off. "Look, if you have something you want to tell me..."
No. Do not do that.
Suzume stopped immediately. Seconds later, she realized that he had sounded different from usual. Even past his usual supernatural voice. Almost as if...
I must insist. If you order me to...
...he wasn't talking to her, was he? Someone was giving him orders, and she didn't know who. The cardinal? Someone else? Whoever it was, he was against the idea.
"Excuse me? What is going on?"
There was no reply.
"Hello?"
Still nothing. Suzume began to worry.
"Um... I'm sorry? I should have more faith in myself? I shouldn't be so easily tricked? Is that what you want me to say?"
There was still no response.
"You know, if you're not going to talk to me, you could start time again or something. I don't exactly want to be stuck here... all alone... forever..."
Death finally spoke again. "I want to help you. You should be aware of that."
She breathed suddenly at his voice. "I'm not refusing your help. Really. But I don't know what I can..."
"I want to help you. Yet I am required to help you, and I am forbidden from helping you, at the same time." His voice had become surprisingly weak and frightened. His last words were a whisper. "I must give up."
"Excuse me?" Suzume protested. "You're the one trying to tell me to never give up! This isn't exactly helping!"
"A mortal who gives up will not act. I cannot act."
"Really? Who says? What's the problem?
He was not responding again. Suzume started to get fed up with the situation. Without a second thought, she stood up. "I'm not going to lie around and let you suffer. If you want my help so much, then let me help you!"
Death remained silent.
Shaking her head, she made her way through the motionless monochrome vista of the cardinal's rampage until she was standing next to the floating body of her ally. She considered tapping on it a few times. "I thought you trusted me. You could continue to do so, you know." Pausing as she remembered the events that had been going on in the room, she walked past the body and tried to address the soul that had traveled from its body instead. "Or is there a pact that says that I can't help you?"
Nothing.
"Look! I'll even make it easy for you! I vow that if you tell me what's going on and allow me to help you, I will never again repeat anything I have learned to any living being in existence! Isn't that what you wanted last time?"
Even with this proclamation, she could not get a reply out of him.
"Fine! Ignore me! Is there anyone else who..."
This is not the first time that you have made such a vow.
She looked up. "Who said that?"
He took a very significant risk. He did not even request any conditions.
The voice sounded like it was coming from Death... but the intonation was different. Suzume opted to respond. "That's right."
It is bizarre that he would place such faith in a mortal. Not even the bearer of the crimson stone came by this knowledge. Mortal, are you aware of the severity of his actions?
She thought for a moment. How could she be? She didn't even know who she was talking to. Unless...
She swallowed hard. "I knew it was confidential. I didn't think it would get me into any trouble if I didn't repeat it."
Do you truly feel that you, as a being of limited existence, have any right to possess this knowledge?
She decided to be completely honest. "I suppose I shouldn't. But I know what he told me last time, and I see the effects of what is currently happening. I'd say that he thinks someone needs to know this stuff, and he chose me. And I swear to God that I will not betray his trust."
There was a lengthy pause. You have put your undying faith in "God". She could almost hear the quotation marks. Would you put your undying faith in "Death"?
This might be a test, Suzume thought. An honest answer could fail it. So could a lie. In the end, when talking to people like this, she decided, stick to the truth and be polite about it.
"I wouldn't", she admitted. "He formed a pact with Dracula. That alone makes me wary of him, let alone everything else." She took a deep breath. "But that comes from a pact with my enemy. He also has a pact with me. When he speaks to me, I believe him. When he desires to help me, I know that he won't betray me. He is known for bringing death, yet when he offers me life, I gladly accept it." She looked at his motionless body again. "I have seen what he can do. When he puts his trust in me, it is among the greatest gifts I could ever receive. And I refuse to turn away his trust so easily."
The voice did not pause after the end of her speech. There will be a condition. If you speak anything of this to a living being, you will be subject to a penalty of greater magnitude than your mortal existence. Do you accept this?
"I must." She gestured behind her. "The alternative is no mortal existence at all."
You will be held to this, she heard, and then she heard more. Much more. Practically a cavalcade of information, and it quickly became too much for her to handle. She tried her hardest to ignore it, but...
She is merely a mortal. She should be limited to what is relevant to her, and it should be presented in an accessible manner.
That was Death, she realized with a gasp of relief. "Are you feeling better?"
Not yet. A brief pause. I am concerned that your actions may not have been fully warranted.
"I know, but you weren't letting me help on my own. And I promised."
Even if you do not speak of this, you may be tempted to act upon it.
She frowned. "You don't trust me?"
I do not know if I will continue to trust you once the pact is fulfilled.
And now, before her eyes, she could see the translucent afterimage of a short list of blocks of text, each containing a number of words in English and lengthy series of letters and long numbers of at least twenty digits that made very little sense to her.
Death handled it immediately. Replace the M value ending in 308 with "Suzume Belnades", 712 with "Cardinal", 112 with "Gaibon", and 113 with "Slogra". The O value should be replaced with "the crimson stone".
Suzume blinked. "What is this, a computer program?"
I felt that it would be a suitable metaphor.
"I have rarely used a computer", she said, shrugging. "So the large numbers are..."
They are a quick way to identify individuals. Consider how many souls fall under my jurisdiction.
"We're not that far past nine billion..."
I am not limited to human souls or the souls of living creatures.
The list returned, and Suzume found herself able to understand it this time.
(O) Claim the souls of:
(abridged)
- Soma Cruz (bypassed via subsequent event)
- Cardinal
(abridged)
(P) Obey all commands given by the bearer of the crimson stone
+ Actively pursue and ensure the well-being of the bearer of the crimson stone
(P) Aid Suzume Belnades (bypass level 0) in eliminating Cardinal and all vampires that share his power
- Command Gaibon and Slogra to uphold above (bypassed via subsequent event)
+ Protect Suzume Belnades from harm
- Command Gaibon and Slogra to uphold above (bypassed via subsequent event)
+ Refrain from dishonesty
/ When pact is fulfilled, ownership of Suzume Belnades transfers to soulbearer
(I) Transfer self to possession of Cardinal
(O) Instruct Suzume Belnades about power of dominance
(O) Pending
(O) Pending
"This is..." Suzume sputtered. "...this is... your entire list of pacts?"
No. There remain millions of soul demands, most of which are about to be bypassed, as well as pacts with many mortals that are irrelevant to our mission and therefore do not need to come to your attention.
"I think I see why you were hesitant."
Anyone with access to this list is likely to be able to predict my every action. Mortals should not know such things.
"Okay. So what's the problem? Why do I need to see this?"
Look at the list. Carefully. Can you ponder any possible sequence of events of finite probability such that every single term on the list is fulfilled?
"I don't know." She studied the list for a moment. "When it says 'pursue and ensure the well-being', does that mean you break the pact if he dies?"
No. It breaks the pact if I am directly responsible for his death, or fail to act to his benefit where an opportunity exists.
"And that would be referring to Dracula?"
It also refers to the cardinal. He shares the power of Dracula.
She turned her head to look at the stationary figure of the cardinal as he beckoned the souls to join him. "Are you sure?"
Uncertainty is insufficient reason to risk breaking a pact.
"What if I point out that he does not have the crimson stone?"
A short pause. He still has...
"It doesn't matter, does it? You swore to obey the guy with the crimson stone. The cardinal does not actually have the crimson stone. So you don't have to obey him. Period. Whether he resembles Dracula or not. Does that make it simpler for you?"
This time, there was a much longer pause. I may have grown too accustomed to obeying Dracula. I should not have needed someone to point that out to me. His voice brightened. That will aid greatly. It will not, however, free me from owing him my soul.
She winced. "Yeah, you have to give him your soul and you have to take his soul. That doesn't quite work, does it? You can't combine souls or anything?"
Not in a manner that would satisfy the pacts.
"By the way, what are the 'pendings'?"
I expect that there will be more instructions on the way once this set has been figured out. I sincerely hope that they will not confuse the issues further.
She raised an eyebrow. "Who's giving the orders, then?"
That is not for you to know, even now.
"I talked to someone earlier. He acted like he was your superior."
I admit to having superiors.
"Really? More than one?"
When I inform you that you are not to know, I expect you to abandon the subject.
She sighed at this. "Uh... back on track, then. Um... maybe there's a roundabout way of handling this?"
Elaborate.
"Well, remember when you didn't kill Marcus, assuming that you would handle him later? And then I suggested that curing him of vampirism also counted? You could fulfill the term without killing him on sight that way, as long as it gets done somehow?"
I will want some kind of assurance that the term can be completed. If I have a chance to take action and do not, and then I never fulfill the term, that would be a direct failure on my part. One item on the list blinked on cue. I also remind you that I cannot be dishonest.
Inspiration struck Suzume. "Can you make more terms if asked?"
It may only make the web more convoluted.
"Trust me on this. It might just work."
I will not agree to a term until it is justified.
Suzume took a deep breath. This might take some convincing. "Do you believe that I will be capable of striking the cardinal in battle?"
Death's voice was surprised. Less than ten minutes ago, you were thinking about giving up.
"Things change, especially once terms get added. Like the one about the power of dominance? You were about to explain what that means, right?"
It will wait until after we finish the immediate task. Do you believe that you can succeed?
"If you give me this term, definitely. Um... that is, if you even can. You mentioned two seconds."
Correct. I cannot physically change anything while time is stopped, and he will claim my soul two seconds after time resumes. Another term flickered. That term will remain in effect.
She pondered the best way to ask the question. "How long did it take you to give me Gaibon and Slogra?"
That term was handled via direct will. I do not believe that it requires any amount of time.
"And you've gotten more terms since everything froze, so we can definitely try to add it now. Okay, I'll just ask. Is it possible for you to grant me the right to use your scythe?"
You already carry it.
"I mean, uh, for claiming souls? For myself?"
Death went silent. She briefly wondered what his reaction would have looked like if he was in his body, and then remembered that he didn't possess facial expressions at that time, either. Explain yourself.
"I was thinking... you could give your soul to the cardinal, and that will be fulfilled. And then I could use the scythe in some way that would allow me to claim your soul, and then you wouldn't have any more terms that required you to help the cardinal or anything, so we could finish him off and take his soul. Will that work?"
Death's voice was hesitant. It is rare that I say this. You scare me.
"It's not like you never allowed Dracula to take your soul..." she grumbled to herself.
This may qualify as dishonest.
"No! It won't! Because you will give him your soul with full intent of doing so! You don't have to betray him or anything! Just finish your pact with intent to obey him, and I'll live with it, because you've made it clear enough that the fact that you obey your orders to the letter is the main reason why you're even allowed to run around with your abilities in the first place! It's not your fault if I manage to steal your soul from him, right?"
You intend to defeat him without my help. After your rant earlier...
"No. Not without your help. You are going to make a pact with me that allows me to use your scythe to claim souls, and you are going to finally explain this whole power of dominance thing to me, and you're going to do this before time resumes, right? So you obey my pact, then obey his, then obey mine later, and Dracula's orders don't actually apply here at the moment, and everything works out okay."
There was a lengthy pause. Long enough for Suzume to consider that she might be pushing the limits of his trust a little too hard. She wouldn't necessarily agree to this if he was asking her, would she?
...under the terms of this pact, the entity known as Suzume Belnades will be granted the right to wield the physical manifestation of the scythe of Death as a weapon, with the added benefit of being able to claim souls with its use. In the event that the soul of Death is claimed using this scythe, it will return to his rightful possession and his soul will be freed. This pact will be in effect until Death claims otherwise, and at that point, all souls in the custody of Suzume that have been claimed using the scythe will become the property of Death. A brief pause. With the possible exception of Suzume herself, in the odd case that she is somehow claimed by the scythe.
"...that sounds about right."
I hope that this does not backfire, Death said.
There was a quiet pause for a few moments. The list vanished from view, and then Death spoke again, this time without nearly as much supernatural inflection. "I thank you for your assistance. I do not believe that I have made a mistake in trusting you."
Suzume nodded. "While we're on that subject, can you please explain why my being a Belnades is so important?"
"You were a vampire for a brief amount of time, correct?"
"Yeah", she said. "I barely got out of that one untouched. I kinda had to bluff my way out."
"You are aware that the cardinal possessed mastery of the vampires that he could exercise at his whim, and even Marcus was controlled at various times?"
She nodded. "There was a voice telling me to obey the cardinal. Not very convincing, though. I don't know why they bothered."
"Every other vampire in that room was a slave to that voice", Death stated calmly. "You say that you merely shrugged it off as an annoyance."
She stared at his motionless body, then corrected herself and stared at his soul. "Are you kidding me? You mean people were actually controlled by that?"
"You have a natural resistance to the power of dominance, and it seems that you honestly did not know about it. This is often the case when the talent is present from birth, rather than learned." He paused for emphasis. "In summary, the cardinal cannot sway you. He could not control your actions then, and he cannot claim your soul now, as long as you resist it. And you can do this because you are a Belnades."
"...they never said... how could I have possibly known?" Suzume asked hesitantly.
"If I had to propose a theory", Death said in an uncertain voice, "I would suggest that no one in your church expected Dracula to return again." A brief pause. "Soma must be proud to have so much faith placed in him."
Before Suzume could respond, he changed the subject. "We should prepare for the plan. Be careful with my scythe. You know what it is capable of doing." A quick pause as he noticed something important. "You are not in position. Prepare to follow my instructions. I will not be able to move you this time, so pay close attention." A sigh. "I had hoped that you would not stand up."
The preparations took a good eight minutes. As Suzume's position finally met Death's standards, he spoke one last time. "There are four things that I would like you to know before we resume."
"Oh?" Suzume responded.
"First, I heard what you said earlier, and I want to assure you that I have a great deal of faith in you and your ability to succeed. Do not give up; you will not succeed if you do. Second, claiming souls from someone with the power of dominance is considerably harder than you think. It is useless to strike if you cannot see the souls."
"It would've been nice to know that earlier", she grumbled.
"Third, I have received the pending orders. They do not affect the plan significantly, but I want you to know that they will come into effect if the plan works, and that you will be pleasantly surprised." He considered his instructions briefly to himself. It was what he would have called a "bypass level 2" if she had seen it earlier. Those orders were not common, but he had to agree that this was sufficient cause...
"Uh, fourth?"
"Your eyes were closed, and you were screaming."
Understanding quickly, she shut her eyes and let loose to her lungs' capacity. Eventually she gasped for air and opened her eyes.
The room was the same as before, except that there were no souls visible now. She noticed that the room still appeared to be monochrome. The bodies of Death and Marcus lay unconscious on the floor, and Soma hung limply from his chains behind the cardinal.
"I see", her aforementioned enemy noted. "That would explain Dracula's failure. The clans that were chosen to stop him must be immune to his power. I underestimated you."
She had underestimated herself as well, she thought. "So it seems."
"It doesn't matter. You have not yet reached the level of the legendary heroes. Compared to Dracula, you are nothing. You cannot hope to stop me."
"Everyone else thinks I can."
The cardinal smiled maliciously. "Everyone else? Everyone else is a part of me now. Your friends, your enemies, your holy mentor, your supernatural ally, that Dracula wannabe..."
"Give them back!" Suzume shouted.
"If you won't join them, I'll let them destroy you!"
Death had been correct, as she quickly found out. The scythe wasn't proving effective at claiming his soul, let alone any of the souls that he had stolen. They really were a part of him, she decided. He was certainly acting like it, pressuring her with a wide variety of skills that she had seen various demons use earlier that day.
And holy magic. And a few sickles.
Mentally cursing the cardinal, she put the scythe away and pulled out her staff. If Death had to be convinced that this man wasn't Dracula, then there was no reason why the staff wouldn't be effective. Even if things weren't going to plan, she would not let up. No one would forgive her if she did.
"I refuse to lose!" the cardinal yelled as he sent a series of electric charges at her. "Not this time! The power of dominance belongs to no one but me! I have the right!"
Suzume leapt out of the way quickly. As she regained her footing, she noticed something unusual. The staff had left a trail of magic behind her as she moved. As she watched, some of the charges aimed at her former location collided with the trail and dissipated. This was new. She'd never gotten the staff to do that before. She'd have to ask Marcus about it later if she survived.
...Marcus. He had been casting something, hadn't he? Death made sure that she knew that, which was odd, because he had not been giving much credit to her mentor at all...
The fight. Right. Thinking fast, she spun the staff in front of her and watched as the resulting afterglow stopped the fireballs that had been flying at her. "Your right is nothing more than greed for power", she retorted. "It isn't often that the church and Dracula agree."
To punctuate this, she swung her staff at the next set of fireballs. As the staff destroyed them on contact, she noticed that it was charging holy power in its tip. With no other immediate options coming to mind, she attempted to focus a blast of holy power through her weapon.
The results were remarkable. A massive beam of light shot forth from the staff and struck the cardinal directly in the right arm. He screamed in agony as the spell he had been charging in his other hand fizzled to nothingness. Once the beam was ended, she could see that she had burned away a large portion of his arm's flesh, revealing bone underneath.
He stared at her in shock. "How the hell did you..."
Good question, she thought. Also, why the hell couldn't she have done that before? Exactly how much energy had Marcus put into this thing? Was he holding back earlier, or was this the power of the Belnades clan, or had he sacrificed himself?
At this point, she decided, it didn't yet matter. She was in a battle, and she was quickly taking control of it. Despite his attempts to attack her, nothing the cardinal could do would compare to the severe injury the staff was causing him. Less than two minutes later, it looked as though his body was coming apart, promising an end to the catastrophe that surrounded them... or perhaps granting access to his soul.
"What have you done?" he screamed. "I can't control..."
He was silenced forever as the souls poured out of his body. But, she noticed, they weren't the souls she had seen earlier. These had adopted their physical forms. A multitude of humans and animals and plants and demons, all bound together in a single body, spread forth from the cardinal's remains. Grotesque, she thought. If Death was believed, there would have to be millions of them.
She realized this just in time to notice that they had filled the entire room and were starting to crush her against the wall. She screamed in pain and attempted to strike them away, but they were not responding to the staff at all. Finally the amorphous combination grew too dense for the structure, and the tower's walls gave way, and Suzume found herself falling to the ramparts below. Again.
...but this time, she suddenly determined, the cardinal had claimed everyone's souls, and she had ensured that Death was one of them, which meant that there was no one to catch her...
When Suzume regained consciousness, she immediately wished she hadn't. Her entire body was screaming out in pain. The fall must have been more than a hundred feet.
Above her, it appeared as though the entire central structure of the tower had been replaced by that... thing. If she had to describe it, she would liken it to the "legion" that many Belmonts had spoken of battling. Except, rather than consisting of human bodies, it consisted of... everything living, and many things that had already died.
And each would correspond to a soul, she realized. It was time for her to use her scythe. All she had to do was cut this thing apart and claim the souls and the battle would be over. Naturally, the sooner she found Death among that mess, the better.
She started to turn to reach for her scythe... and discovered that she couldn't. She couldn't turn. She couldn't lift her arms. She couldn't even move her head. In horror, she surmised that the fall had paralyzed her body.
Was she dead? No, she concluded. Dead things wouldn't be in this much pain.
This was quickly followed by a second conclusion. She was in this much pain and couldn't move. Death was a captive of the abomination above her. She probably should be dead.
And third, while she was drawing quick conclusions, there was no one around to help her. By definition. Every soul in the area had been claimed, except for hers, and she was incapable of action. She couldn't move, she couldn't fight, and she couldn't even cast a spell without moving her body. The battle was over, and she had lost, and she had no more tricks up her sleeves. She stared at the sky in defeat, lacking the ability to do anything else.
Minutes passed. The blobby thing continued to expand. She would probably be engulfed in it in about an hour or two at this rate. And that's when she saw it.
There was a faint amount of motion in the air, flying toward the creature. She couldn't make out its form at this distance, but it appeared to be something with flapping wings, with a body dangling below it, with a long thin shadow extruding from it.
It couldn't be. How could Gaibon and Slogra possibly have...?
They, being bound to me, can somehow be subjected to the same limitations as myself...
In summary, the cardinal cannot sway you. He could not control your actions then, and he cannot claim your soul now...
This is why I am binding them to you...
She immediately tried to see if she could turn her attention to them, and found that she could. A glimmer of hope remained. She instructed Gaibon to head to her position immediately. It took him just long enough to quickly scan the landscape to locate her, and then the distant shadow slowly grew to become the familiar red gargoyle and dinosaur knight. Gaibon released Slogra gently on the ramparts near her, and then came to his own landing. Slogra looked at Suzume, and then immediately turned toward Gaibon as if to confer with him.
Okay. She had two remaining allies. Now what? She thought about the bizarre creature again. Certainly, someone would have to be able to fly to reach it. Gaibon would help there. She would not be any use in this situation if she couldn't move, so he had no reason to carry her unless she sought to flee the premises. Slogra... he was trained in weaponry. She wondered if he would also have permission to wield the scythe to claim souls, either because he was bound to someone who formed that pact, or because he was one of Death's subordinates...
Before she could finish her thoughts, Gaibon lifted her body off the ground. She was in no position to resist, nor did she have much of a reason to do so. As she stared ahead, she noticed that Slogra had grabbed her by the wrist. In confusion, she watched as he started moving it around in various directions, almost as if he was trying to get her to conduct an orchestra.
If she could roll her eyes, she would. What was he trying to...?
...a clockwise circle, counterclockwise from his perspective, adding a five-pointed star in the middle, and then moving her hand through the middle of it.
She knew that motion. Marcus had taught it to her. He had almost lost his life as a result, as passing on his knowledge meant that he was no longer the sole healer available...
She had cast it after a battle in which she had been severely injured, and Death had noticed this. That was when he explained exactly why he had kept Marcus alive that long...
And Slogra had been there at the time, and he had seen her cast it, and seen its results. Somehow, despite only seeing it once, he had memorized the motion...
She turned her attention to him and instructed him to press her hand against her chest and keep it there during his next time through the motion. As he started again, she focused her magical energy, drawn from her soul as opposed to her body, into the hand that was making the motions despite not being under her control. And once her hand had traveled through the pattern, she released the energy.
The warmth flowed through her, and she felt her bones become unshattered, and the pain that covered her entire body became less severe, finally disappearing entirely. By the time the spell was complete, she realized that she had been completely healed and could physically move her body again.
Marcus had cast the spell in tandem with her before, because his power wasn't enough to save her. They had never considered that perhaps her power alone was enough...
As Gaibon set her down gently, the implications of what had just happened struck her. Death and Marcus were not present or capable of helping her. Yet they had helped her, just now, by lending her some of their strongest skills back before she had even confronted the cardinal for the first time. And because they had done so, she was now able to fight again, and the world would not have to give up hope.
They had trusted her from the beginning. Both of them. At the same time. Despite the fact that their goals were directly opposed. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if one of them had convinced her to abandon the other...
"Okay", she said, speaking for the first time in a while. "I know what we have to do. We need to find Death's soul and free it. Gaibon, I need you to carry me. Slogra, you stay here as backup. If this doesn't work, I'll want you to take over for me."
She looked at her scythe briefly, and then turned toward Gaibon, who had already bent down for her to climb on his back. Probably the best way, she thought. She didn't want to hit him accidentally.
There was a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Slogra holding a small object in her direction. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, she took it from him. Upon close inspection, it appeared to be a blood-covered coin bearing the likeness of a skull on it. She knew that coin. It was very probable that they were standing near where Gaibon had last fallen.
Smiling, she pocketed it quickly and looked at Slogra again. "Thank you for everything." He nodded in a dutiful manner.
Half a minute later, she was on Gaibon's back, and he was heading upward toward their destiny.
Gaibon circled the beast lazily while Suzume kept her eyes focused.
Marcus's staff, she realized, was not very useful against souls. Not even at this level of power. This truly was the time to use the scythe. Unfortunately, that would require them to get closer.
Gaibon understood this order and closed in.
Chaos broke loose a short time later. The thing was feeling threatened. Much like the cardinal before it, it harnessed its souls to fend off the invaders. Suzume wound up using the staff after all, trying to shield herself and Gaibon from attack. Meanwhile, she held the scythe tightly in the other hand, just in case.
Huh, she thought. Staff in one hand, scythe in the other. She was actually doing it. Granted, the cardinal was right when he said that it wouldn't work well for her in battle.
This dangerous strategy paid off better than she had imagined. She noticed as soon as a sickle came flying in their direction. Gaibon dodged it easily, but her order followed immediately afterward: follow it to its source.
The approach was heavily guarded. Various arrows flew at them, as did fireballs and minor spells. Gaibon was skilled at quick aerial maneuvers and wasn't being harmed much, but...
There. The hooded skull, a small distance below their position, straight ahead. Gaibon prepared to dive... and suddenly pulled upward.
"What are you doing?" Suzume asked as she tried to see their previous destination. Then she saw it. A small plant, resting a few feet above Death's position. She had read about them in books. Mandragora. Very deadly if approached, due to its screams.
"...I see it now", she confirmed. "How can we get close enough to strike Death..."
And suddenly she wasn't sitting on anything anymore. She quickly reached an apex, and then started falling near the side of the chimeric monstrosity. Below her, Gaibon had gone into a dive directly at the plant.
And then he reached it and forced its body into his jaws. She knew the scream would come soon, and she knew that he was...
...no, don't, she thought. Even worse, she continued to think, she was quickly approaching his position, and Death was just below him, and his body was partly in the way...
This was too important. There would be time to curse his sacrificial tendencies later. She drew the scythe as she fell and drove it into the flesh of the amalgam with an overhead swing.
The scythe began to warm in her hands, and she could tell that it was doing its task, claiming the souls of whatever it sliced through. A number of innocent people, a skeleton, what appeared to be a wildcat of some kind, the mandragora, Gaibon... she cursed silently to herself... and then Death below him, and more people, a nest of giant insects, a bird...
She wasn't falling anymore. Well done, she heard, and she remembered the coin, and remembered that Death had phrased the pact to release him once he had been claimed. I will now fulfill my promise to assist you. Locate the head near the top of the demon.
This was not as difficult as she had thought. She was lifted upward to the top of her adversary, and carried around its body until she saw what she thought he was talking about. Given everything that she had witnessed, she didn't even bother to ask how she was being carried.
Aim for it and swing, he said. And she did.
And as she swung, the scythe's blade changed. The sharp thin metal elongated to a ridiculous length and followed the swing's trajectory like a tetherball, wrapping its blade around the demon as it followed its circumference. Finally, it looked as though the blade had passed the bottom of the creature.
She twisted the blade, and it tightened around the creature. What could have been at least a mile of sheer blade closed around it, slicing into every individual soul and claiming it as the blade molded itself into a cylinder at the center of where the tower once stood. And then the cylinder shortened and reshaped itself into a regular scythe blade again.
Excellent work.
Suzume stared at the weapon, amazed at what it had done. It had stopped the raging monstrosity in one easy hit, and effectively claimed at least millions of souls in under a minute. "What was that?" she asked.
The scythe is a metaphor, Death's voice reminded her. There is little practical reason to claim souls one at a time.
"Yeah, but... I did that?"
My pending order is to aid you in any way possible, within the scope of my abilities, in the claiming of the soul of the cardinal and any souls that he had claimed, at a bypass level of 2.
"By..."
Do not repeat my orders out loud. You swore. A short pause. The term is not literally accurate, but it is helpful for your understanding. I was authorized to use the full extent of my abilities, whether or not they were otherwise permitted, as long as I continued to fulfill all of my relevant pacts.
There was some consideration of a higher level approach, in which I ignore all pacts completely and merely execute the order. There was some hesitation in his voice. I will not go into detail, but it would have resulted in the temporary annihilation of all life on the planet until the souls were properly gathered. Fortunately, it was not necessary.
"...you can do that?"
Yes. But I am not permitted to do so unless ordered. A brief pause. It is not wise to contradict divine will beyond a certain extent. It results in direct intervention. Dracula has always understood this.
Suzume tried her hardest to grasp what he was saying. "So basically, I won this battle because God, or a god, said so."
That is a valid interpretation.
"Well, it could have been explained to me a little sooner! Like, before I almost got myself killed! And Gaibon actually did!"
Your success was ordered via proxy. My presence was necessary. It would not have been helpful if I informed you that I would be able to make you win the battle instantly, except for the fact that I had to first surrender my soul to the person that I was ordered to kill, so you would not be able to win after all, unless you did what you had already promised to do.
She frowned. "That sounds kinda convoluted to me."
It has always worked in this manner.
"Really? Since when?"
If it had not, the Belmont and Belnades clans would most likely not exist today.
"...um... I've never heard of that one before."
No one would have told you the details. After all, and his voice almost had a smirk behind it, it seems that such information is not to be known by any mortal, except for the one who is directly involved in the events.
Suzume sighed. She should have expected that revelation. "So I'm not the first to do this."
If nothing else, you are the first mortal that I have been sent to aid. It is rare that I am present and able to act on the non-demonic side of such a conflict. A pause, and a slightly friendly tone. And rarer still that a mortal trusts me to do so.
Marcus Williams awoke suddenly to find himself in a field, just outside the outskirts of the castle that he had been exploring for so long. Soma was near him, and he was unconscious. A few feet away, Suzume was conversing with the grim reaper, while Gaibon and Slogra stood nearby.
He had lost track of events. He had been a vampire, and he had seen his student defeat the cardinal who had crossed him earlier, then had watched as she refused to protect Soma, yet refused to kill him, either. The cardinal had then recovered and attacked everyone, and started claiming souls. With little option, he had sent as much of his magical power to his staff as possible, hoping that what Yoko had told him was correct and Suzume wouldn't be affected, and he had blacked out, and now he was here.
He could tell that his injuries had been healed recently. The faint feeling of warmth was there. He also felt none of the faint hints of bloodlust that he had been trying to ignore for hours prior.
His awakening was not in time to hear the discussion of the second pending order that Death had received, which was to return all souls stolen by the cardinal to their rightful owners, such that all of them were still considered to be alive. This included Marcus and Soma, who probably would have died after the tower broke apart. This also included Death and Gaibon, even though being considered dead was hardly a limitation for them.
He did, however, catch the tail end of Death's explanation that this would not be extended to those who died prior to the cardinal's rampage. The victims of the village would remain dead. So would the clergymen, including Samuel.
"Death is a part of life", he said. "You must accept it." After a brief pause, he added to his statement. "This does not mean that I do not sympathize with your loss."
"What's going on?" Marcus asked as he got to his feet.
"It's over", Suzume told him. "The cardinal is dead, the vampires are gone, Soma is safe, and everything is back to normal."
Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. "You did it? That's great!" He stepped forward to hug her. "Thank you so much for your help! I knew I could count on you!"
She accepted his hug warmly. "I couldn't have done it without you." She hesitated slightly. "Or Death. Either of you. If not for you two, I would have never stood a chance."
He smiled. "That's what I'm here for."
"My mission is now complete", Death announced. "Suzume Belnades, you have done me a great service. I hereby release you from your pact, grant you full custody of your soul, and permit you to live the rest of your life."
She smiled in his direction. "Thank you."
Marcus hesitated. "What about Soma? I thought you wanted to kill him."
"I no longer have any need or desire to do so", Death calmly stated. "He no longer possesses the power of dominance."
Marcus stared at the reaper in shock. He knew what this meant. "Damn! Then Dracula..."
"He will return. I will see to it myself."
Suzume sighed. "So nothing's changed after all."
"I cannot abandon my other pacts. You know this."
Suzume took a deep breath. "You know, aside from a few mishaps, that last pact wasn't such a bad idea. I know it's kinda soon and all, but maybe you'd like to form another one?"
Death's skull did not betray any emotions. "What terms do you have in mind?"
She kept a cheerful smile on her face. "The main one I'm thinking of is the one where you don't revive Dracula."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. Death's voice grew dark. "Do not waste my time, mortal. You know full well that I..."
Without a word, Suzume drew her staff, pointed it at Death, and fired a blast from it.
The effect was dramatic. The blast caught Death off guard, and he was propelled backward a few feet to land flat on his back. Marcus remembered making an effort to increase her staff's power, but this was far more than he had expected. All he could manage was a small "wow".
Death disappeared briefly, and then appeared directly in front of her. "It seems that I allowed you to gain considerably more power than I should have permitted. I did not anticipate betrayal."
"It's not betrayal", Suzume pointed out. "We finished our pact." To make her message clear, she fired another blast at him. He was ready for this one, but even then it managed to knock him down, and his scythe fell to the ground a distance from him. "I can destroy you whenever I want. You know I can. Agree to my pact."
"You are correct. The pact is complete." He pointed. "Gaibon. Slogra. Kill her."
This earned him another blast, and to Marcus's eyes, he was actually starting to look pretty pathetic. Suzume walked toward him slowly. "They still belong to me. We never discussed their return." She pointed at him. "Pact. Now."
"Your pact is unacceptable", Death said defiantly. "I am sworn to aid his return."
"No. You are not." Suzume paused, unsure of herself. Marcus couldn't tell why. Eventually she proceeded slowly. "Tell me about your relation to the crimson stone."
"I do not have to answer your questions", Death said, and then failed to dodge the next blast.
"I've heard of it", Marcus interjected. "Partially. It's an ancient alchemical artifact. Apparently Death is sworn to aid the bearer. Guess who has it."
"Good", Suzume said with a smile. "Since someone else said it, and I didn't, I think I can proceed." She took a deep breath. "I don't think dead people can hold onto stones. He's not the bearer right now, is he?"
"This is stupid", Death said. "When he returns, he will still be in possession of it. I know this from..."
"And until he does", Suzume interrupted angrily, "he doesn't bear it. So it's not a contradiction. You don't have to serve him when he isn't alive."
"Your plan will not work. He will return, whether or not I have anything to do with it. Alchemy guarantees it. You cannot change fate. And when he returns, I will be aiding him."
"I know this", she sighed. "I'm willing to take whatever I can get. Just... swear that you will not aid in his return."
"I will not agree..." he started, and he was blasted yet again. Marcus started to wonder why the reaper couldn't just teleport away and save himself a lot of trouble.
"The alternative is not having a body until he returns."
Death's voice was bewildered. "You..."
Suzume smiled again. "I didn't want you to kill Soma, either, but I didn't stand in your way. Finish the pact."
"It seems that I may not have any choice", Death grumbled. "I demand counterconditions. You must refrain from making any more attacks against me, and you must return Gaibon and Slogra to my possession."
She shrugged. "Okay, but only on the condition that Gaibon and Slogra will refrain from violence against me. I cannot promise that I will never attack them, though." She thought for a moment. "And I would prefer that I not die until it is my natural time. Don't try to speed it up or anything."
Death slowly nodded. "...I suppose I must accept this."
"Very good. Now we shake."
Keeping her staff in one hand pointed at him as a safeguard, she approached the place where he was still lying flat on his back and held out her hand. He reached out his own hand to take hers, and they shook. Then she used the same hand to pull him up, even though his floating nature meant that he had no particular need for it.
Gaibon and Slogra walked over to Death's position, and he slowly picked up his scythe. "I will not forget this farce, Belnades."
Suzume grinned. "I wouldn't want you to. I only expect you to honor it."
Without another word, Death and his minions vanished.
There was a lengthy period of silence before Marcus opted to break it. "That was kinda risky."
Suzume nodded, breathing heavily a few times. "I know. I couldn't have done that if someone hadn't convinced me that I could."
He grinned. "Heh. You're welcome."
Behind them, Soma finally started to stir. Marcus turned to talk to him. He had a lot of things to explain.
Suzume looked at where Death was, and considered her actions. She thought it was pretty clever, all things considered.
She had once believed that she was Death's pawn in his master plan to revive Dracula. In the end, she had decided that, regardless of his intent, she was more than that. Indeed, given the situation, everyone was. Slogra and Gaibon were his knights. Marcus was a bishop, albeit one that he was willing to sacrifice to cause the opponent to make a mistake. And it had become abundantly clear that, by the end of the mission, she had been promoted to queen.
Death, playing a game of chess, with her soul on the line. She groaned. That was such a tired cliché.
And then suddenly, in the face of a greater threat, he had gone so far as to teach her the rules of the game. So she was surprised to discover that it had less to do with capturing pieces, and more to do with changing the way the game worked, until it was possible to put the opponent in checkmate without ever risking a pawn. And she had taken to this surprisingly well, she had to admit.
Her opponent didn't have to be her enemy, either.
Her side got a lot out of this pact. Less Dracula was always good for humanity. She hoped that Death would realize exactly what she had given to him as well. Certainly, he had stuck around long enough to allow her to reach that point.
Of course, she pondered, that may have been only one move of a larger game.
"Suzume", Marcus interrupted, "I just thought of something."
"What's that?" she asked.
"You've read about the time that Dracula was sealed back in 1999, right? What do you suppose will happen if we try it again when he returns?"
"What happened last time?" she asked.
Soma sighed. "I was born. And then they came after me, seeking my power."
Marcus nodded. "Yeah, but I'm thinking, most of them needed to use demons to try and get your power, right? Well, what if there weren't any demons to help them? Maybe Dracula could be stopped from returning entirely!"
Suzume blinked. "How could anyone arrange that?"
"Well, if we're working from the theory that most of the demons belong to Death, and if you just told Death not to interfere..."
A way to stop Dracula entirely? The church would love that, she had to admit. At least, it depended highly on whether or not that theory was true.
She'd heard it before. In fact, she recalled, he was the one who taught it to her. She wondered...
"Maybe. But if I may ask, um, exactly where did you hear that theory, anyway?"
Marcus looked away briefly. "Uh... I'm not allowed to say. At all." He gave her a careful look. "As far as you know, it's just a theory, understood?"
In a dark alley somewhere in North America, a mugging had just ended badly.
The man looked around nervously. He hadn't intended on killing anyone. He loaded the gun, yes, but he intended to use it as a warning shot to prove that he could back up his threat. But the other guy had resisted, and one thing led to another, and... well...
"Struck down before his rightful time. How unfortunate."
The man's face went pale instantly. He especially hadn't counted on a witness. He slowly turned to see who was behind him.
Behind him, the recently deceased body of the victim remained on the ground. Above him, what appeared to be a floating skeleton holding a scythe in one hand, and a ball of light in the other. And it was staring directly at him.
"You have engaged in a particularly reprehensible form of robbery, Mr. Shane. A murderer steals life. He cannot return it. He cannot keep it. He cannot use it. Life has been taken away from the world as a whole, and you have nothing to show for it."
"What the hell are you?"
The skeleton gazed at the ball of light. "Mortals fear death. Like most fears, it is meaningless. Death is natural, and it is inevitable, but it is not a predator. Death follows life, and those who have spent their lives well have been known to welcome it warmly." He appeared to pocket the ball. "When you steal life, death has no choice but to be sudden. To end happiness. The people notice, and they begin to fear death, and the cycle begins anew." He floated directly up to the man. "I do not like to be feared, Mr. Shane."
The man started to panic. He pulled out the gun again and tried to fire at the advancing figure. It failed to accomplish anything.
"You continue to fear me. You are a victim of your own crime." He suddenly stopped. "There remains hope for you. Admit your error. Accept your punishment, and serve it. And then live the remainder of your life, a life that no one has chosen to steal at this time. Take solace in the knowledge that the amount of life that is stolen is less than it was before." He held out a large bony hand. "The law awaits your confession. Come with me. I shall escort you myself."
The man continued to stare at the figure of the reaper before him, and then came to a quick decision.
He turned and ran.
"I offered you a chance", the voice continued to say. "Accept your punishment."
The man was more concerned about the witness behind him. So he wasn't paying attention when a thin bony entity holding a spear emerged from the shadows in front of him. Without a second's hesitation, the beast plunged the weapon through the human's chest. He fell to the ground, leaving a pool of blood where he landed, and then he was still.
Death approached him and claimed his soul as well. It was sad, he reflected, how many of these mortals were unwilling to listen to reason. Still, some had accepted his offer, he noted. He wondered if he could arrange for a more benevolent afterlife for them, just to sweeten the deal.
He considered his surroundings. He was on the surface of the earth, he had a physical body, he had his minions, and aside from his usual reaping, he had no orders. He could act as he pleased, within his usual constraints, and his minions had been perfectly willing to aid him.
Much of humanity would disapprove of this. Perhaps they would come to appreciate it in time. After all, he meant what he had said. Death was not inherently the enemy of humanity, unless Dracula willed it so. And he wasn't here.
He had wished for this once, and whether she had intended it or not, the Belnades had given it to him. And, considering that Dracula would return one day, he would make as much of the current situation as he could.
He glanced out of the alley. There was what appeared to be a drinking establishment across the street. There would be a few deaths there shortly, but for the moment, it was quiet.
He adopted the form of an average male adult human. He would visit the location early for once, and as he waited for his presence to become necessary, he would figure out exactly why the other humans seemed to congregate to such places. It was a rare event when he had the opportunity to enjoy any kind of nourishment, and he didn't want to pass up the opportunity.
He glanced behind himself at Gaibon and Slogra, and gave them orders to remain hidden unless he had need of them. And perhaps, he told them, he would bring back something for them afterward.
An End