Cassandra looked at the destruction their soldiers were wrecking on the villages below and felt a strong revulsion at what they were doing. "Hilde! This is wrong, you must tell them to stop!"
Hilde looked at the same scene and also felt disgusted with what they were doing, but they had promised Wallachia their assistance. As the sovereign, she could not go back on her words. "I'm sorry Cassandra. But we have no choice, if I had known that this was going to happen I would've never agreed to this." She shook her angrily at her mistake. A general of Wallachia had traveled to Wolfkrone bringing news that a terrible infestation of monsters was destroying their people and their country. He had said that these monsters drank the blood of innocent humans and infected them and that more than a quarter of Wallachia's populace had fallen to this terrible affliction and the rest watched with fear as the numbers increased. The king had tried to destroy them but the battle went terribly and many of his soldiers were capture and killed. The only hope they had left was to turn to Wolfkrone for aid since their soldiers were experienced with fighting such evil creatures.
Holding on to her honor as a sovereign and a fellow human being, she had agreed to save them from such a fate so she marshaled her troops and headed to Wallachia. She also heard rumors that soul edge might've played a role in this strange disease so she hastened her army to move even faster. She ran into Siegfried who rejected her help to look for Soul Edge together and soon after, she ran into Cassandra who was following Siegfried. After Cassandra had confirm the truth about the evil infected villages and her battle with their leader, Hilde was convinced that they were soon going to fight these demonic beings and she steeled her soldiers for the battle ahead. But now that she had seen the true reality of the situation, she was immediately filled with regret. These people were in the same situation as her father, they were merely victims of a strange sickness. "I'm sorry."
Cassandra could see that her friend didn't want to fight either, but she was right when she said that they had no choice. She put her hand on Hilde's shoulder comfortingly and said, "We've made our choices. We can't turn back now. If we let these people live, more people will be hurt; I understand that but it's still tough. I never imagined that I'll have to make a decision like this..."
"You're right… As a leader, I've learned that sometimes you must make sacrifices for the majority. The burdens I've carried…this is merely another one I must take one. But you don't have to. You can leave. Same thing goes for you Dampierre," said Hilde quietly.
Shaking her head, Cassandra smiled. "We're not leaving you Hilde, we'll face this together. Are we a team or what?"
"I'm certainly risking a lot for this princess, you'll owe me a very fat paycheck after this," joked Dampierre, fiddling with his moustache.
Her companion's words comforted her greatly and Hilde smiled at them. "Thank you. Let's meet up with Wallachia's generals and discuss our next moves then." As they headed for the camps, under the dark night sky,she thought to herself, "Please let this war end quickly; I don't want any more casualties than necessary."
Amy held her small hand up to Talim's forehead and shook her head. This wasn't good, her fever hasn't broken in yet. In fact, it was steadily getting worse. Her father sat beside her and flipped through the pages of a dense medical book looking for an answer to Talim's sickness. The priestess labored breathing filled the room and her mattress was soaked in sweat. Two of their servants stood behind them attentively, waiting for orders to fetch anything that their master needed. "Father, her temperature is rising at a dangerous rate," Amy reported with a troubled expression on her beautiful pale face. "At this rate..."
Hearing this, Raphael flipped through the book even faster. Damn it, there's got to be a solution in there. When he reached the end of the book, he droped it and picked up another one from the pile on Talim's bedside table. Minutes passed by interminably when all of a sudden, Raphael suddenly swore and threw the book across the room. Their servants gasped in fright and rush over to pick up the medical tome. Amy held her father's hand and said gently, "Father, you need to keep calm, this isn't like you."
She was right, he needed to keep his cool. But seeing Talim in such a condition and being unable to do anything made him feel utterly useless. If Amy was in Talim's situation, he would've gone mad with fear by now. Taking the damp cloth from the water basin on the bedside table, Amy placed it on Talim's forehead. Watching this, Raphael smiled. Amy was finally beginning to open her heart; the very thought seemed impossible in the past but it was actually happening right in front of his eyes. And it was all thanks to her...
He looked at Talim briefly with a strange emotion in his heart . He can't let Talim die... no, he won't let her die. In no way, could he lose her. Wracking his head, he tried to clear his mind and search for any possibilities that could explain this strange sickness. After awhile it finally hit him. "You! Fetch me a knife! Go!" commanded Raphael. One of the servants quickly rushed out of the room. "You! Open all the windows!" And the other servant hastened to obey his orders as well.
Looking at her father, Amy asked, "What have you thought of father?"
"You'll see very soon Amy. But whether this is a good thing or not is still a puzzle," said Raphael, looking at the windows that were now open.
Returning with the knife, the servant gave it to Raphael and meekly backed away. Taking one of Talim's feverish hands, he deftly made a small incision on one of her fingers. Lifting it over his mouth, he let three drops of blood cascade into his mouth. Swallowing, he waited for any signs of pain that was supposed to come but as he expected, he felt nothing. Her blood... Raphael bared his fangs as he said, "This is very bad." Motioning for the servants to bandage the wound, he got off the bed he was sitting on and walked over to the window. He stood there for a few moments and growled, "It's just as I thought. She's been poisoned from the evil energy that coursing through the air."
Walking over to her father side, she gave him a questioning look for a better explanation. Raphael nodded and began explaining. "As our minions are killed, the energy in their bodies is released into the air. Talim is a priestess of the wind, so she must've been sensitive and vulnerable to such a huge amount of malevolent energy. It must be strong enough to hurt her like this. Even as we speak, the energy festers inside of her..."
"What should we do father?"
"Under these conditions, we'll need to find a way to purify her, or else she may become malfested."
Amy spoke up. "But is that such a bad thing? If she becomes like us, she'll always be with us."
Raphael eyes were downcast. "However… I suspect there's a higher chance of her dying then becoming malfested. Her soul and blood is much too pure, to become tainted with Soul Edge's energy. I don't know how it works..."Raphael said frustratingly. "I believe that it might be because she's a wind priestess, that her body and blood is so pure. Perhaps this is something that is passed down in her family line since she came from the village of the wind?" His hands curled into fists. "Would the wind rather kill her, the only wind priestess left? Rather than let her become malfested?"
Amy was about to say something but someone knocked on the door. "Master, may I come in?"
"Come in. This had better be important," Raphael said as he gave orders for the windows to be close again.
One of his soldiers enters and bowing low, he gave Raphael a brief report on the battles below. "At first, we suffered terrible damage my lord. But as more and more of our people fell, the remainder grew stronger and now we're able to fight back. As well, our enemies seem to have purified themselves near the beginning, which explains why they were winning. But as time went on, their blessings seems to have weakened, my lord."
Stroking his chin, Raphael's bright red eyes widen as he realized what was happening. As more and more of his people fell, more evil energy was accumulated in the air and it must've boosted up the survivors's powers. That would explain why he wasn't thirsty for blood since his last drink of it was at least three days ago. In addition, the energy must've been weakening their enemies' amours and weapons that were blessed. That's it! If they have a method to purify themselves, then he could now find a way to cure Talim! A mad and dangerous plan blossomed in his mind but he knew that was as cunning as it was mad. "Amy, be a good girl and stay here. I'll be back soon."
Amy held on to her father's hand; with a familiar pain in her heart she asked solemnly, "Where are you going?"
Bending down to look his daughter in the eye, he said, "I'm going to protect you and Talim. Wait here for my return, my beloved Amy." Hugging her, he knew that she hated whenever he left her. He hated to leave her as well but some things must be done, for her sake. Releasing her, he swiftly exited the room. The last thing he saw as the doors close was Talim's feverish face. "I won't let anything happen to you… my dearest Talim," he whispered resolutely.
Assessing the situation before him, Dampierre grimace at the sudden change of tide in battle. The houses around him were consumed by the hungry flames and the smoke was making it difficult to breathe. A blood soaked man charged at him, brandishing a large cleaver. Stepping to the left at the last second, he took out his hidden dagger and stabbed the man through the heart. Looking around he saw Hilde and Cassandra in the thick of battle near the town square and he rushed over to aid them. "Ladies! Le Bello is here, no need to fear now!"
Inflicting a deadly stroke on her opponent, Cassandra rolled her eyes but she said in a joking tone of voice, "Glad to see you're being useful for once."
As Dampierre and Cassandra started arguing with each other, Hilde chuckled at her two friends, but she told them to focus on the battle as not to risk any unnecessary injuries. They did not realize that they were being watched by Raphael, who was standing on top of one of the buildings. Analyzing the battle, he quickly figured out who was their leader, the princess of Wolfkrone was. The light from the fires roaring around him reflected in his eyes and a rush of hot air brushed past him as he watched them underneath a dark sky. "I will burn all of you... to ashes." A snarl of pure hate appeared on his handsome face and he launched himself into the air. A red mist engulfed him and he vanished without a trace.
Swinging her lance to one side, Hilde knocked another opponent out of the way and rescued her soldier who was nearly impaled. Helping her wounded comrade up, she was about to rejoin the fighting when suddenly, a sharp rapier was thrust under her chin and someone held her tightly against their body. The fighting immediately stopped as their opposing leaders had finally encountered each other. Hilde struggled against the tight hold and her helmet fell off. "Who are you? Have you no honor for sneaking up on me like that!"
Raphael merely snickered. "How foolish of you, to anger me. I am the lord of these people, Raphael Sorel." His minions quickly crossed over to his side protectively and Raphael's red eyes flashed dangerously at the opposing side. "How dare you invade my land... you will all pay dearly for this."
"Stand down! Do you know who I am" retorted Hilde, struggling against his grip.
Raphael flashed her a fake smile and it showed a hint of his gleaming fangs. "Oh, I'm forgetting my manners. Welcome, Hildegard von Krone, princess of Wolfkrone. Now let me grant you death..." Raising his Flambert little higher, Raphael drew a small trickle of blood from Hilde's neck.
Her soldiers gasped and stepped forward but Dampierre quickly shoved them back. "Don't move! He'll kill her if we make any reckless moves."
"Let her go you coward!" shouted Cassandra angrily. She gripped her sword tightly and said, "Come over here and fight me! There's no pride in hiding behind a helpless hostage, you poor excuse for a man!"
Recognizing her, Raphael's eyes narrowed and he hissed, "You again! You're really starting to annoy me foolish girl."
Taking a few tentative steps towards the mad lord, Dampierre smiled; this was where his silver tongue would be useful. "Please, there's no need for a great man such as yourself to do this. Can't we talk this over as the refine and intelligent nobleman we are?"
Putting a thoughtful expression on his face, Raphael pretended to consider the idea. "You do have a point. Unfortunately, I don't think you've realize that you're in no position to bargain with me." Grasping Hilde's head, he pulled it back to expose more of her neck. "Your princess has a very delicate neck, it is so easy to break that if my fingers were to slip…"
"Just tell us what you want already?" cried Cassandra when he drew another thin line on her friend's neck. "If only she had killed him in their last battle, this wouldn't be happening," Cassandra thought regretfully. After all, that man was responsible for infecting all these people and therefore, he was the true cause of this tragic war.
Raphael said impatiently, "The first thing I want is for you to shut up. Your voice is starting to give me a headache." Turning to Dampierre, he said, "Tell me, what type of methods did you used to purify yourselves? Don't you dare lie to me or else you can start digging your lovely princess a deep grave." And he yanked on Hilde's hair a little harder. Maintaining her pride as a warrior, Hilde did not cry out even though it felt like her neck was going to break.
"We used holy water, blessed and purified from Wolfkrone's holiest priests," shouted Gerhilde.
"Gerhilde! No!"
As Hilde's most loyal soldier, she bowed low and said to her princess, "Your majesty, please forgive me. But in this dire situation, I have no choice."
Before Hilde could say anything, Raphael yanked on her hair once more before asking quietly, "So... do you have any of it left?"
Dampierre looked at Cassandra for a moment and they both nodded. They were saving the last bottle for an emergency, and this definitely classifies as one. Taking the small vial containing the pure water from inside his sleeves, he held it out to Raphael. "Will you let Hilde go if we hand this over?"
Raphael tilted his head and shrugged. "That depends, I might if I'm in a good mood."
The con man frowned at the situation they were in. But it looked like they were going to have to take their chances with this one... With a sigh, Dampierre rolled the bottle towards Raphael. Slowly, the small vial stopped at the vampire's feet and Raphael motioned for one of his men to pick it up and put it in his hand. Dampierre watched impatiently but he forced his voice to remain pleasant. "Will you return Hilde back to us now?"
Raphael laughed wickedly. "Do you honestly think I'll do such a thing? If I give her back, you idiots will burn down my castle and drive a sword through my heart. So listen well fools..." His eyes shone a bright red as he bared his fangs at them. From behind, his cape whipped back and forth from the hot air as he said in a low voice, "Take one more step into my domain and you will all burn... I will not hesitate to slaughter every last one of you and have my people drain you dry. Heed my words or else you'll be taking a step closer to retrieving your precious princess's corpse." He grinned down at Hilde. "For now, I think she'll make a fine pet for Amy. Farewell..." Utilizing his teleportation powers, he vanished along with Hilde.
"You coward!" shouted Dampierre and Cassandra. They rushed over but nothing remained except for Hilde's fallen helmet.
I am the lord of the night. All that intrudes on my domain... shall pay the price for their insolence. Before my feet, grovel and beg for mercy. And all I'll grant you is a swift end to your meaningless existence.
