Chap. 13 – The heartening of a heartless monster & the secret behind Alucard's curse of Helsing
Anju opened her eyes to be greeted by the suns light beaming through the tall trees. Where was she? She sat up from the grass and looked around at the forest around her. This must be the Lost Woods… but how did she get here from Kakariko? The last thing she remembered was being pummelled over by a man with red eyes and long ebony hair. He was going to kill her, as he aimed his thunder weapon at her… then that man saved her… the man who was going to take her earlier that day. She stood up and stumbled… she must be a little dizzy from the events back in Kakariko.
"Careful…" said a voice. "You wouldn't want to fall… you're battered and bruised as it is." She turned around to see him smirking at her, his red eyes staring at her… it was if their haunting glow was shooting holes through her. "If it weren't for you, I'd be still having fun back at the village… clumsy girl."
"W-w-why did… you save me?" she then asked, mustering up the courage to question such a monster. Kafei cocked his head at her question, still smirking in amusement. Silence stood between them.
"Perhaps I saved you on just a whim," he then replied getting up. "However that doesn't sound like me. Still… I can think of a number of uses for you to entertain me before Alucard returns for a rematch." He took a grasp of her thigh making her yelp, and took a grasp of her chin. She began to sweat in horror, as the stared into his red eyes, which glowed in sick delight. "Your hair as red as blood… it is quite a turn on actually." Oh, god… he was going to rape her! Saved her life or not, she still needed to get out of there to save herself from a far more worse fate. She pulled out of his grasp and ran into to forest. "Now, that is no way to treat your saviour!" With that he went after her.
The Kakariko Guardians, along with the villagers and the refugees from the capital, began to rebuild the village. The sounds of the hammering of nails, the sawing of wood and voices of co-operating villagers filled the village, along with the smells of timber. The village would slowly, but surely return to normal, and hopefully be improved by the reconstruction. Jon continued to give directions to a handful of villagers who were setting up a house frame, while his brother Luke used his knife skills to cut wood into perfect sized pieces of lumber. Alhambra also assisted, as he sliced his cards through the timber. Hienkel assisted by hammering nails, while her partner Yumiko assisted the women, who were cooking for the hard workingmen… Rip also helped.
"Keep going…" Jon continued to instruct. "Keep going… keep going. Okay! There!" Jon then went to help rope down the frame so they could fix it into place. He actually looked human… a man wanting to help, as he did his best to tie up the frame.
"OUCH!!!" Hienkel accidentally hit her thumb, and soon began to curse in German, as she danced around trying to caress her thumb.
"Careful Hienkel!" Yumiko called out, as she and Rip carried ingredients to the large boiling cauldron.
"I wonder what the others are doing now?" Rip wondered. "The war should have begun ages ago… surely it's getting dangerous there now?"
"I'm sure they can handle it," Yumiko replied. "Plus they have Alucard. If Sir Integra releases the seals…"
"What? What would happen?" They placed the ingredients on the table, where two burley women began to chop them up and throw them into to boiling cauldron.
"Do you know who Alucard really is?" Yumiko began.
"Of course I do. Everyone knows… it is the reason why the major started this war in the first place… to destroy Alucard once and for all… to destroy Dracula."
"I see… so that's what this war is about… Do you know of his history… the man he was before he became a monster?" Rip nodded. "So you'll know that before he was beheaded at his execution, he licked up all the blood of his solders…"
"I know… I hated being told that part."
"Blood is the money of the soul. As a vampire feeds off you, you are basically being forced to sell your soul to that vampire… that's why deflowered humans become mindless ghouls for the vampire to control, or if a virgin, a fledging vampire destined to serve your master for eternity… that is if you're never offered freedom from its servitude…"
"I know that… I'm a vampire myself. So… what's your point?"
"Thousands… perhaps millions of souls are sleeping within Alucard. He is like a castle… but only with one king… a single vampire, who controls the ghosts of solder's past… the kingdom of Wallachia… his kingdom. Right now, the only thing that is keeping Alucard from freeing his own undead army, which sleeps inside him, is the seals that were placed upon him by the Helsing's over a century ago. If Integra releases his seals… not only would the monster be free…"
"But also those undead solders," Rip finished. "I was never told that… did the Major know about that?"
Anju continued to run through the woods. She trampled on the grass, as a black shadow followed after her. She looked back to see Kafei in his shadow form fly after her… and catching up with her fairly quickly. She soon stumbled onto the Forest Meadow and was greeted by a Wolfos… this just wasn't her day. The Wolfos, wanting to protect its territory, dashed towards Anju who was frozen in horror and began to slash at her. Blood trickled through the air, as she fell down to the grass, and began to caress her bleeding side. The Wolfos was about to finish her off, until Kafei soon arrived and began hacking away at the Wolfos. Anju watched as it screamed in agony, as Kafei ripped it to shreds. Soon it was nothing but a pile of ripped up flesh on the ground.
Blood stained the grass by her feet while she smelt its copper stench. Hearing Anju groan in pain, Kafei looked to see her bleeding. He knelt by her to examine it… it was deep. It looks at though she needed help again… and once again he was the only one around to offer help… that thought made him snicker lightly, but it wasn't a snicker of amusement… perhaps one of irony. She was trying to flee from him, and yet it seemed that she was always needed his help in one form or another. He ripped off his cloak and began ripping it turning in a spiralled fashion, soon turning it into a long red ribbon. He then began to wrap it around her stomach closing up the wound on the side. As she watched him bandage her up, she couldn't help but see a sense of softness within Kafei's eyes… he actually… looked human.
"Clumsy girl…" he then said, as he tied up the remains of the tattered cloak. "You certainly owe me repentance now, girl."
"My body is not yours to play with, if that is what you are thinking," Anju then replied. "But… I thank you for you help." Kafei looked up at her looking somewhat shocked. For the first time in his life someone had gave him gratitude. Anju tried to get up, however her wound made her pull back. With that Kafei helped her by cradling her within his arms. "What do you plan to do with me now?"
"…Nothing," he then replied. "You have suffered enough. You are not well enough to venture on your own. I will be your sword and shield until you are completely healed. It is out of my character for me to care for the well being of another… so be grateful."
"Thank you, or at least until you try to have me again…"
He smiled darkly. "Oh, believe me… I will." Anju just sighed. How was she going to get out of this one?
Alucard dashed above the streets of burning London. Using his vampiric speed and strength, he jumped from building to building, even flying across some as the glided through the air. It was time to have some fun and kill some Nazi scum like he did fifty years ago. Soon he arrived at the concentrated battlefield, where his master Integra waited for him on the rooftops above alongside Enrico, Seras, and Pip. They all looked up… the No-Life King had arrived. With a huge smile he landed within the centre of the battlefield. About time he arrived… now this ridiculous war could finally end.
"Master!" Alucard then called. "I Alucard, am your loyal and humble servant… give me an order… Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Helsing… order!"
"Control art restriction to level zero… release!" Integra finally said those magic words. "Let them see!"
"I am… the Bird of Hermes…" Alucard began. "I devoured… my own wings!" Soon Alucard was engulfed by his shadow. "And that is how… I was tamed!"
It had begun… with that Enrico told his men to retreat. The white clad Iscariot solders soon pulled back from the battlefield… all Iscariot solders, accept one. Father Anderson stayed behind with his blood boiling in anger. How could they allow such a monster free? Integra also ordered Zelda, Nabooru and Impa to get out as well. They did so, heading up the building where Integra occupied. The remaining Nazi solders, along with their soul surviving First Capitan Hanz began to shoot as Alucard slowly emerged from the darkness. No longer did Alucard wear his trademark red overcoat or red fedora hat, even his red cravat was gone… it has now been replaced with black armour, and a blood red cape. Alucard looked more muscular, as his long ebony waves danced within a mixture of fire and shadow, and his red eyes looked more spiteful than mad.
"Master has a beard…?" Sera then began to wonder. "A beard…?"
"Seras, whom you're looking at now is not Alucard," Integra began. "It is his human form and what he looked like over five hundred years ago… who he was before he became a vampire… the King of Wallachia… Vlad Dracul the Third… Vlad the Impaler."