I'm sorry once again for the delays in updates. I have a lot going on that I haven't had time to write. I promise that I will definitely have this fanfic done by the end of the year.

Note: I noticed when rereading this chapter that there was a continuity error in one of the sections. I fixed that, but if you didn't notice any errors then the chapter looks the same.

Part 14

I was prepared for a long fall down the deep pit. But Soma wouldn't allow this. We fell for several seconds before an orb of light engulfed us. We came to an abrupt stop in midair, but very quickly began descending again. However, now we were floating very gently down the pit.

"I can't take us back up," said Soma grimly. "My magic's nearly gone. We have no choice but to go down."

"Will Hammer-san be all right?" I asked, looking up at the mouth of the hole. I expected either him or Nancy to stare down at us, but it didn't happen. Instead I saw a flash of light and heard a loud explosion.

"He'll be all right," said Soma, though his tone was slightly uncertain. "And we'll be all right too, Mina."

"I don't doubt you, Soma." I looked back down the hole we were falling into. The Darkness greeted us, along with a strange smell. Wet air, and…something dirty.

The narrow hole opened suddenly to a vast cavern, dimly lit by waning torches. I felt almost claustrophobic in this place and held onto Soma a little tighter. Three feet from the ground the orb surrounding us suddenly faded and we hit the ground hard. But we were all right, certainly better than we would've been had we fallen at the same rate we initially fell.

"My magic's used up," said Soma, brushing himself off and helping me up. "It should be replenished in no time, but for the time being I'll have to rely on physical fighting."

I nodded, leaning on him for comfort. I couldn't help it; this area was too dark and unnatural. I had no idea how far we were underground, but I couldn't smell fresh air and I couldn't see any sunlight. Not that I could anyways above ground, but somehow knowing we were up there gave me some solace. Down here…I felt trapped, like I was buried alive.

"So we should we do?" I asked. "Should we wait around here until your magic replenishes and jump back up that hole? Or should we explore in here?" Please jump back up, please jump back up!

"I'd feel more comfortable jumping—" Soma began.

The earth began to rumble, shaking the whole are violently. "A-Another e-earthquake?!?!" I shrieked. I covered my head with my hands. "Oh God Soma, it's going to cave in!!!"

Soma grabbed me and pulled me close to him. "No, it won't Mina!!!! We'll be all right!!!!"

Before I could muster a reply, the shaking stopped. I stood there frozen, holding my breath and waiting for the walls to cave in. When they remained firmly in place, I sighed heavily with relief. "We're safe…"

"Almost," said Soma. He was looking up. "Look, Mina."

I looked up, dreading what I wished wouldn't be so. The hole was gone, sealed up by the ceiling as though it'd never been there. My shoulders drooped in disappointment. "So we have to walk around here now?"

"Yes." Soma pulled out the map Chessa gave him and squinted at it. "Damn. She only mapped out the first floor. But this is beneath the highest floor of the Outer Wall…" he traced his finger down the map, his brow furrowed. "What was beneath the Outer Wall?"

Something growled in the darkness and I jumped slightly. "L-Let's go, Soma. The monsters have noticed us."

"Yeah." He took hold of my hand and looked up and down the passageway. The darkness stretched out on both sides of us. He squinted at the map again before recognition lit up in his face. "Left." We turned in that direction.

"Do you know what this place is?" I asked.

"I believe so. But if I'm right, then we're down further than I thought."

I stepped on something sticking out of the ground and fell into Soma. I twisted my head around and looked down to see a blackish-white cylinder sticking out. It sort of looked like…

"Bone!!!" I cried, clinging to Soma. It was then I noticed a human skull embedded in the walls and I hid my face into the back of his shoulder. "Oh God, they're everywhere!!!"

"Then I am right," said Soma, his voice calm as though these body parts didn't affect him.

"Where is this?!" I demanded.

"The Catacombs."

---

Catacombs. An underground cemetery consisting of passages or tunnels with rooms and recesses used as burial chambers leading off them, as per dictionary definition. It was sort of ironic that Castlevania, which had settled in Tokyo, had the Catacombs when overpopulation in the city forced us to bury the dead above ground.

Still, this place unnerved me. The air was still musty and wet, and I tried to ignore thoughts that said this was the smell of death. I sure didn't know what death itself smelled like, but the castle overall didn't give off a rancid odor. That was a bit of a relief.

Corridors were so dark and smoky. The walls were reminiscent of a dark green cave, with wet and rotted wood boards to support the walls and ceiling. The ground was wet too, and water leaked from the ceiling and walls. If I wasn't stepping in shallow puddles I was sliding all over bones. They were scattered everywhere. In some rooms I couldn't even see the floor because of all the bones.

But, I didn't complain. Not anymore I didn't. Soma seemed as comfortable with this area as I was and I didn't want to distress him anymore. At least his magic was replenishing quickly, but he still kept combat physical, swinging a sword or throwing items at the monsters. The most it seemed we had to worry about were goblins swinging torches and a pair of skeletons carrying a gigantic demonic skeleton head on a stick. It brought back unpleasant flashbacks of the large skull we faced earlier, but Soma took care of them easily. Once he destroyed the demonic skull the two skeletons high-tailed it and ran, flailing bony arms into the air.

I looked at the ground uneasily, at all the bones. Were skeleton monsters going to spring up from this?

"Mina," said Soma suddenly.

I snapped my head up. "What?"

"You stopped walking." He grabbed my hand. "Don't worry, Mina. I'll get us out of here."

"I know you will, Soma." I managed a small smile. "We'll all get out of this."

Neither of us was sure of these words, but it felt good to hear. We continued onward, and I tried to ignore the bones on the ground and the fact we were underground.

I don't know how long or far we walked. After a while though I could no longer ignore the bones on the ground. The further we were the thicker the piles became. Soon we were trudging through bone as though we were breaking through water. Soma held onto my hand tighter, pulling me along as best as he could. No more monsters charged at us, but it only filled me with fear.

We walked through an archway in the wall, opening up to an impossibly large room. Torches burned brightly in here, illuminating thousands upon thousands of bones, all different shapes and sizes. Bile rose in my throat and I felt nauseas. "Soma…?"

"Stay behind me, Mina." Was all he said. There was a loud groaning sound behind us and I turned my head. The archway was now closed off by a black and heavy-looking door.

"Death."

We both jumped at this unfamiliar voice and Soma pulled out his sword, shoving me further behind him. "Who's there?!" Soma shouted.

"One hundred and fifty-thousand people die every single day," the voice continued from the shadows. "Mayflies are born and die all within a day, and yet there is a frozen bacterium in existence that has lived for 250 million years. And where do humans fit into this equation, hmm?"

Footsteps approached us. Soma pointed his sword in that direction. "I will attack if you don't step back!!!!"

Someone came into the light. This person was covered up, wearing a stark-white coat with a hood pulled closely around the face. Over the face was a hideous skull-mask. Yet I could tell this person was a man. "You honor me with your presence, Master. To be born of human flesh and arise from the ashes of grief and wastefulness into purity and immortality. That is the human dream, to live forever. Because humans are vanity personified; they cannot stand to sight of wrinkles or blemishes or any meager mark that would make them imperfect to the eyes of others." He chuckled slightly. "It's actually quite funny, isn't it?"

"But you're human," Soma pointed out harshly. "You might be able to do some magic, but you're mortal."

"I know," said the man. "But is it so wrong to be so disgusted with my own species? Look as you are now, Master. You despise the vampires and all of which you have created."

"I am human and my name is Soma Cruz. That will never change no matter how hard any of you try."

The man laughed again. "Well, Nancy and Sixx-Bit didn't get very far with speaking with you. Maybe you need a greater incentive?"

He suddenly spread his arms wide and began chanting. It was a language I didn't recognize. After a few seconds of chanting his voice suddenly became guttural and his hands started to glow with a bright yellow hue.

And…all around us the bones began shaking.

"Wait, is he…?" I floundered on the name. "Onor? The necromancer?!"

Soma took a quick looked around us. "Uh oh."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hakuba Mina," said Onor, pausing in his chant even as his hands continued to glow. "Although, everything will just turn out the same in the end for you."

There were sudden bursts from the pile of bones, as though a geyser had erupted. A horrible rattling sound filled my ears and I couldn't help but cover them and duck my head as the bones flew through the air.

I grabbed Soma's sleeve. "Soma—"

A loud shriek cut me off. From where the eruptions happened, whole skeletons stood straight up. There had to be at least ten or twelve of them. They snapped their jaws at us and raised their arms in front of them as though they were zombies.

"Is this suppose to scare me?!?!" snapped Soma, readying his sword. "I've destroyed tons of these things!!!!"

"I bet you have," said Onor. Suddenly the glow around his hands turned from yellow to dark red. "But…these ones aren't anything like you've seen!!!!!"

Light burst from his hands and shot out, engulfing each of the skeletons and filling the entire room with a horrible blinding light. I hid my face in the back of Soma's jacket and Soma shielded his eyes with his free arm. It was several long moments before the light finally dimmed and faded, leaving the room illuminated only by the torches.

Soma suddenly slammed into me, knocking me backwards off my feet. "LOOK OUT!!!!!!!"

As we hit the ground together, the spot we were standing on suddenly exploded with bright, sizzling light, sending pieces of bone flying everywhere.

"It's been a long time, Mathias."

Both Soma and I stiffened at these words, and a chill passed over me at this very familiar voice. Oh no…please, no!!!!!

I looked up at our attacker and cried out in shock. "Leon!!!!"

"LEON?!?!" Soma shouted at the exact same time as me. I snapped my head around to look at him.

"So…you still use Elisabetha as your buffer." It was Leon Belmont, although this Leon looked nothing like what I was use to seeing. His skin was a pasty gray and sunken in, and his long red and white coat hung in tatters on his unusually thin shoulders. "You kill the woman I love most and yet you are here?! With your PRECIOUS BRIDE at your side?!?!"

"Sara…" the words leaked out of me and tears stung my eyes. I knew she had died terribly—Julius had told me of such—but to hear the grief in Leon's voice over her death was heartbreaking.

Soma, too, seemed uneasy by Leon. "L-Look. I-I didn't—"

"Don't hog him to yourself, Leon!!!!"

A flash of light struck Soma's shoulder and he screamed in pain, hunching forward.

"SOMA!!!!!" I crawled over to his side, holding him to me. "Soma…Soma, hang in there!!!!" blood had seeped through his clothes and onto his white coat, billowing across his shoulder very quickly. This time I couldn't stop my tears as I turned my head to the man who attacked. "Why did you do that?!?! He didn't do anything to you!!!!"

"What do YOU know, girl?!?!" the snarl came from an unfamiliar man. He looked just as gray and his clothes just as dirty and tattered, long blonde hair hanging all around his face. "Do you have ANY idea what this monster has done to my life?! Terrorizing my family and my people over a fifteen year span?! Turning my own son Soleiyu against me and using him to resurrect himself?!?! How can you call all of THAT nothing?!?!"

"Christopher Belmont…" Soma grunted, hissing with pain. I pulled off one of my sweaters and tied it around his shoulder.

"Soma…" I held him close to me and gave Christopher a look. It was then I could see more of them. More people straggling in the shadows, heading right towards us. "Soma—"

"Dracula!!!!!" there was another dreaded flash of light, hitting the wall next to Soma's head. I cried out and shoved his upper body down over my lap. "For the hell you've made my life, I shall have vengeance!!!!"

"S-S-Simon…" Soma began to wheeze slightly with pain and I went through his pockets desperately, trying to find a potion I could give him. I briefly glanced up to see a man with blood red hair running towards us before I quickly ducked my head and body over Soma.

"Get out of my way, girl!!!!" Simon Belmont yelled at me. "You don't know what kind of monster this THING is!!!! He cursed me to die a slow, agonizing death and I went through HELL to reassemble him to break my curse!!!! And I DID!!!!!"

Another burst of light hit the ground in front of us. I looked up to see a man with long silver hair and I ducked my head again. "Dracula!!! You will pay for what you did to the people I love!!!!"

Soma sputtered against my leg, and I heard something that sounded like 'joust' or 'joost' come from him. My hands found a small vial in his pocket and opened it. "Drink this, Soma." I shoved it into his mouth.

"MATHIAS!!!!" more flashes of light exploded all around us as more people converge around us, each of them yelling. All of them were screaming a grave sin Dracula had committed against them and cursed me for shielding him.

"You killed my father!!!" another man yelled. He seemed to have a heavier build than the others, but his looked just as decrepit. "You killed him and subjected myself and even my own son to the worst terrors of the world!!!"

"I could've lived with it," another roared, swinging a massive spear. "I could've been able to handle the fact that I had to DIE so you could live. But Gwendolyn…and my daughters!!!! They just had to be your PAWNS too, didn't they?!?!"

"My family…" this man was wrapped in bandages, all of which were a filthy brown color. "You killed my entire family. And then you cursed me to become a monster, killing innocent people and locked inside a Clock Tower!!!! Was it worth it, huh?!?! To take away my life and to later fall at my hand?!?!"

I couldn't deny the charges they leveled against us—I truly believed Dracula did all of these things—but it wasn't Soma who did them. Not my Soma.

"Mina." Soma sat up slightly, his breathing a little more even. His shoulder was still covered with blood, but it looked like the bleeding stopped. "I can handle this. I don't know why they're here, but—"

He shoved me away as another burst of light tried to strike us. "Stand up NOW, Dracula!!! You're mine!!!!"

The air brushed by my head. I looked up in time to see a long coil fly away from us and retract back towards Leon. It was a whip, maybe the Vampire Killer. I looked at all the other people screaming and attacking us. Most of them carried the Vampire Killer as well.

"Soma?" I said quietly, looking at all of them.

Soma looked at all of them carefully. His expression suddenly relaxed and then hardened. "Onor, what are you playing at?!?! I know these aren't the true heroes!!!!"

"Do you now?" Onor asked from the darkness. "Just a couple of minutes ago you were arguing with them as though they were real."

"They're not real!!!! You properly just revived a few corpses and put on the illusion that they were—"

Simon swung his whip at Soma's head again. "How DARE you think you have the right to a peaceful life after the HELL you brought upon the world?!?! Were any of OUR lives easy because of you?!?! How many people did you kill, Dracula?! How many people have died because of your selfishness?!"

"And Elisabetha…" Leon hissed at me. "How fares you about all of this? Mathias turned away from the light and created chaos upon the entire world because you died!!! Damning the world and God all for you…it must make you proud to be such an inspiration, doesn't it?!?!"

"Just STOP IT!!!!!" I yelled, covering my ears. "You're not real and you're NOT Leon!!!!!"

There was another sudden 'whoosh' in the air. I flinched again, but this time the flash of light didn't strike near us. It struck Leon directly and he exploded. Thankfully his blood and flesh didn't fly all over the place; instead it was the skeletal bones.

"Fools…" Someone fell from the ceiling and landed on the floor gracefully. "Wolves in sheep's clothing…as the true wielder of the Vampire Killer, I will personally disperse of all of you!!!!"

"Julius-san?!?!" I cried, recognizing the voice and the face that came into the light. I shook Soma slightly. "Soma, Julius-san is here!!!!"

"Soma!!!!" yelled Julius, swinging his whip at Christopher. "Don't fall down in the face of illusions!!! Take care of your matters!!!!"

Onor watched all of this in a long moment of silence. If he was upset at his corpses being destroyed, it was hard to tell. "Well, I made some progress. I was hoping to do this without a lot of mess, but…"

Soma stood up, his movements slightly sluggish as he raised his sword. "Onor!!! I will make you pay!!!!!"

"Why are you denying the inevitable?" Onor asked suddenly, his tone impatient behind his mask. "Why do you persist in keeping up the façade of a normal life? And destroying evil…you created this evil, Master!!!! Look at what your massive power can do!!!! And me…" he raised a hand to himself. "I was nothing more than a weak and naïve medium before I stumbled upon your secrets, your power!!!! Now look at me!!!! I'm a masterful necromancer!!!! I have created an army of the undead, all for you!!!! And what are you doing?!?! You're killing them all!!!! I may cast the magic, but it was originally YOUR magic!!!!!"

"…Fine," Soma rasped. "It's my magic. And because it's my magic, I will do everything in my power to destroy it!!!!!"

Soma lunged at Onor, swinging his sword. Onor formed dark red light orbs in his hands and threw them at Soma. Soma swung his sword at the orbs, hitting most of them before they could hit him. One unfortunately struck him on his left side and he screamed in pain. He hunched over slightly, his whole side a horrible charcoal color.

"You leave me no choice," said Onor. "I wanted to avoid doing this, but you just won't make this easier on yourself." He formed another dark red orb in his hand, though this one was much bigger. "I'll just have to kill her!!!!"

He threw it at me. I screamed and dove for cover and I heard Julius curse violently, shoving the bandaged corpse into the path of the orb. It connected and the corpse exploded, raining bones down upon me, even as Onor formed another ball of light.

Soma yelled and lunged forward again despite his injury, taking Onor completely off-guard. He swung his sword straight upward and Onor's body jerked back. A horrible red line opened straight up the length of Onor's body and he screamed in pain as blood spurted and shot out of his body and up into the air. He flew backwards and landed in a heap upon a pile of bones.

The remaining corpses around us suddenly exploded with light and fell apart, joining the other bones on the floor. Julius snorted with disgust and wound up his whip. "All bark and no bite. When he studied the dark arts, he should've developed more skills outside of necromancy. He would've become a formable creature of darkness."

Soma let out a noise, and it sounded so sad. He fell hard to his knees, dropping the sword at his side. I stumbled over to him. "Soma!!!! Are you all right?!?!"

Soma's breathing was heavy and uneven. I thought we'd healed his shoulder injury, but it seemed he was still feeling some effects. "…Are you okay?" he asked me quietly.

"Yes, of course," I said, glancing at Onor's body warily. "Thank you, Soma."

Soma groaned quietly, leaning against me.

Julius walked over and gave us a sideways glance. "Looks like the two of you are having a hell of a time."

"I-Is everyone else all right?" I asked.

Julius nodded curtly, though his expression softened. "We'll meet up with them later. For right now…" He looked at Onor. Maybe out of curiosity he leaned down and grabbed Onor's mask, lifting it from his face. I vaguely remembered from the profile sheets that Onor wore his skull mask, even with his identity photo. It was kind of creepy to me, and I hadn't known at the time whether or not he was a girl. Julius got a look at Onor's face…and reeled back slightly, horror and disbelief evident in his usually calm face. "Damn…damn it all!!!!"

I didn't want to know why Julius was so upset, but I couldn't help but lean over and look anyways. A horrible sick feeling formed in my stomach. Onor's face was frozen forever twisted in pain, but it was a youthful face. A very youthful face, far too youthful for his line of work. He couldn't have been older than sixteen.

A child…I closed my eyes and turned my head away. A CHILD turned to evil and tried to kill us!!!! And instead, he died by Soma's hand!!!

Soma must have seen Onor's face, too. When I opened my eyes Soma's face had turned green. I thought he might be sick, but instead his eyes rolled into the back of his head and collapsed against me. I caught him, but even as I did I felt my own head reeling. I thought I could put up with this place for Soma's sake, and it was my own fault I was here. But all of this…this evil was becoming too much for me. And Onor…how did a teenage boy fall into such a horrible crowd?

"H-Hey!!!!" yelled Julius suddenly, rushing over to us. But he couldn't stop the darkness from overtaking me.

---

He was crying again. I took him into my arms, holding him close to me and singing to him. But Adrian wouldn't stop crying.

"Are you hungry?" I asked him gently, though I felt so uneasy at this thought. "Hold on, darling, I shall feed you."

I looked about myself to make sure we were alone. Vlad gave us such lavish living quarters and his minions never dared to approach us, but I could feel eyes upon me at all times. I could live with such conditions, but it still made me uneasy at times. Wrapping a blanket around the both of us I carefully unbuttoned the front of my dress, cradling Adrian close to me so that I might breastfeed him. Vlad didn't favor the idea of fetching a wet nurse for me; although he made it clear he would do so if I needed one. But I felt comfortable enough feeding our son myself.

Only…Adrian would not accept what I offered him. I tried to direct him to my breast so that he might feed, but he turned his head away, wailing louder and louder even as his belly began to rumble with hunger.

A cold feeling overtook me. He was hungry, yes, but not for food. Most of the time he took the milk I offered him, but there were occurrences…he wanted blood. He needed blood. It didn't happen often, but once he got these cravings nothing else would sustain him. This was surely one of these times.

I sat there still for a moment, trying not to panic or be gravened. This was the fate I chose for my child. I was a human, but the husband I chose was not. Vlad needed blood at all times, unlike Adrian, and I had the chance one time to walk away from him. I didn't, and now I had a child who could have normal food but also needed blood. I refused to regret the decision to be with Vlad. I loved him and he loved me, and every day I was with him I could feel that horrible darkness shrink away slightly. It was very slightly, but it was happening. And he was changing, too; I knew he was accepting little human victims lately, because he knew it distressed me that he kill one of my kind to feed. After we married he would only kill the vilest and most depraved humans, even as their blood gave him lesser strength than a pure soul did. Now…now I knew he would travel to dense forests to feasts upon the animals there, instead of killing some criminal who probably deserved God's divine punishment anyways.

But Adrian…I only regretted my son shared in that curse.

I reset my top and shifted Adrian so that he lay in my lap. I reached for the nearby table, finding my sewing needle. My fingers had calloused over the years but I hoped I could still do something. I jabbed my index finger as hard as I could, and it took two tries to draw blood. It stung horribly but I ignored it for the time being and I directed my bleeding finger towards Adrian's eager mouth.

A hand caught my wrist and pulled my hand away. "No, Lisa."

I looked up to see Vlad standing over us. His expression was gentle but his eyes relayed his disapproval of my actions. "I have told you I don't want you to feed him this way. I don't want our son dependent upon your blood, Lisa." His tone was harsh, reprimanding, but he lifted my finger to his mouth, gently licking the blood away, not to feed but as healing gesture.

"F-Forgive me," I stammered, looking down at Adrian. "I should've waited for you. B-But he won't take my milk, and—"

"Never worry." He set my hand down and took Adrian from my lap. "I shall feed him."

"But won't he become dependent upon your blood, Vlad?" I asked fearfully.

"He is dhampir, Lisa, and my son. He can walk into the light and into the darkness. But, if there is a time he can take no other blood than my own, I will gladly give it to him."

"Is it possible to keep him from drinking blood?" I asked. "Maybe replace it with something similar so he won't notice the difference?"

"Mayhap he will grow out of drinking blood. He could grow out of eating human food. It could go either way, Lisa." Vlad bit into his finger and offered it to our son. He looked at me carefully. "No matter what he is destined to do, he will always be our son. We must and cherish him."

"Absolutely," I said, standing up and walking over to them. My finger was no longer sore and it was no longer bleeding. "Adrian is my son, our son. There is nothing I love more in this world than the both of you."

Vlad looked at me again. A small smile formed on his lips. "And I feel the same."

---

"Mina?"

I was slow to opening my eyes. Julius was leaning over me, his expression plain but his eyes full of worry. "Are you all right now?"

"I…don't know." I slowly sat up, feeling a little dizzy. Then I saw Soma still sprawled on the ground next to me and the dizziness cleared. "Soma—"

"I gave him a few more potions and healing spells," Julius assured me. "He needs a couple more minutes of rest."

"All right…" I relaxed a little, but not by much. "He's exhausting himself with all this work…"

"Deep down he feels responsible for the havoc Dracula caused over the past millennia," said Julius. "And so he's been working tirelessly with Arikado to keep the world safe." He shook his head slightly. "Not to offend you, but it was a mistake that you came here, Mina. Castlevania's inhabitants have never been accommodating of people but this time around it's as though they've been whipped into a frenzy."

"It's because Dracula's wife has returned," I said gloomily.

Julius blinked. "What?"

I gave him a look. "I already know everything, Julius-san, despite everyone's best efforts."

Julius rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I wasn't intentionally hiding from you, Mina—"

"Then what were your intentions?" we both jumped as Soma suddenly woke up, quickly sitting up and glaring at Julius. "What's going on? Who's Mathias Cronqvist?!"

Julius stared at him for a long moment. "So, you know about him too?!"

"Yes, I do!!!! Nobody told me a damn thing about any Mathias!!! Who is he and why do I have his memories?!?! Is he Dracula, too?!?!"

Julius was silent for another long moment. "Yes. Mathias was who Dracula was when he lived as a human."

"Who was Lisa?!" I cut in. "And what's the relationship between her and Elisabetha?!?!"

"Lisa?" Soma asked me.

Julius didn't look too pleased he was the one being saddled with these questions. "It—"

He was cut off by a loud growl reverberating from down the hall we came from. "That doesn't sound like Legion, but we should get moving just in case?"

"Legion?" I asked warily. I vaguely remembered a description Soma gave of it. It was like a stringy nucleus that fired lasers, but was shielded by a mass of humanoid bodies. It never sounded pleasant and I certainly didn't want to see it.

Soma seemed to feel the same way and quickly stood up. "Let's go." He helped me up and we headed towards the door on the opposite side of the room.

We passed Onor's dead body and I couldn't help but stop and look at him. It really was such a shame. If somebody had guided him more properly, he could've made a powerful ally.

"Mina." Soma leaned his head close to mine and I jumped slightly. "I'm sorry I killed him. I-I didn't realize he was a kid, and…I know you don't like me killing humans—"

"He tried to kill me," I interrupted, my tone quiet. "They all want to kill me, but he had the clear upper hand. If you hadn't done it, then…" I would've died. It was a grim trade-off and it disheartened me that somebody died because of me, but I tried to feel very little grief. Teenager or not, Onor made his choice. He chose to go to evil and he chose to try and kill me. There was nothing I could do about it.

---

I was pleased to see the caverns begin to lighten slightly. Julius traveled alongside us, aiding Soma with fighting off the monsters. He had answers, many answers to my questions that he wasn't giving us, but I couldn't deny the help he gave us. I don't want to think of what would happen if he hadn't shown up when he did.

Soma and Julius found a variety of items along the way, many of them little trinkets that acted as talismans. In one room Soma plucked a silver ring with a black stone in its center from a box. He looked it over and spoke with Julius briefly. Then he handed it to me. "Wear this, Mina."

I took the ring and slid it onto my middle finger. "What does this do?"

"Resists dark. It'll protect you from dark spells and hopefully most of the monsters around here."

I smiled slightly. "Thank you, Soma. I know this'll do better for you, but you still gave it to me."

Soma smiled back. "It's no problem."

I could feel the ground begin to rise the further we walked, and the area became lighter and lighter. I was very elated to see a well-kept door in the midst of such a dark and desolate area. "There it is! We're out of here!"

"It might not take us back upstairs," Julius warned me. "The Catacombs is generally the most deeply submerged area of Castlevania. Anything could be awaiting us."

"But it'll be further up, right?" I asked, even as I cringed at the thought of being stuck underground much longer.

"I hope so."

We went through the door and saw the familiar hall with the long row of torches. I looked at each of the walls, trying to see if any paintings were hung around here. I didn't see any, though.

Julius reached the opposite door first and waited for us to approach. We stood around the door, eager and yet ready for whatever may lie on the other side.

Julius jerked the door open. Bright lights greeted us and I buried my face back into Soma's coat to shield my eyes.

"Coast is clear," Soma announced. We edged our way through the door, looking out for any signs of enemies before we close the door behind us. A spiraling staircase taking us up was in front of us. The walls and floor were a stainless bronze and tapestries hung from the walls. A dark red carpet stretched out in front of us, towards the stairs and upwards.

"Where is this?" asked Julius.

A head popped into view on the landing directly above us. "Welcome back to the Gala!!!!"

"C-Chessa-san!!!" I cried, running to get a better look at her. "Are you all right?!?! Did Nancy discover you?!?!"

"Not yet," she answered, folding her arms over the rail. "But my time is almost up. Since you killed Onor, it narrowed the field down for them. But you guys are doing good so far, so I'm not scared of being discovered by this point." She leaned back and suddenly swung her legs over the rail. She jumped off the landing and we had to jump out of the way as she landed gracefully on her feet in front of us.

"You know there's a flight of stairs right there?" asked Julius, pointing to them.

Chessa shrugged. "This saved me a few seconds."

"Wait a second," said Soma. "You said…this is the Gala? We're back at the Gala?!"

"That's wonderful!!!" I cried, clapping my hands. "No more weird underground passages!!!!"

Soma slapped a hand over his face and groaned. "We covered good ground before Nancy dropped us down that hole…now we have to go back up!!!!"

Julius chuckled, rubbing at his chin. "This maze-mess only adds to the charm of Castlevania." He looked at his watch and glanced at us. "I think I'll go on my own way for a little while; I want to check with Arikado about something. Do you think you guys can meet us at the Library at six?"

"Six?" Soma and I echoed.

"It's quarter after two in the morning," Julius supplied. "You both have been running around in here for almost three days."

"THREE DAYS?!?!" we shouted together.

"Wow, you guys are in synch!!!" laughed Chessa.

"Yeah, three days," laughed Julius. "So, can you make it?"

Soma shook his head in disbelief. "I don't see why not, unless we run into any problems. We might get lost trying to find it."

"Oh, don't worry about that!!" said Chessa. She held out her hand. "Let me see the map!!!"

Soma took it out of his pocket and handed it to her. She pulled out a pen and began drawing lines on it. Thankfully it didn't take too long and she handed the map back to Soma. "Just get back up to the higher portion of the Outer Wall, go through the Chapel, and you should find it just fine."

"Chapel?" I asked. It was unexpected; I didn't expect the question to pop out of me.

"Sounds good," said Julius. He looked at us and gave Soma a slight salute with his hand. "See you at six." He turned and took off running up the stairs. Even for his age he could run very fast. We heard one of the doors slam open and shut above us.

"Six am?" said Soma. "I should—" he looked at his watch and cursed. "My watch is broken!!!"

"Take mine," said Chessa, pulling hers off and handing it to him. It was very obviously a girl's watch, but he pulled his broken one off, tossed it aside, and pulled hers on.

"Thanks," he said.

"Pomp and Circumstance" cut through the air suddenly. I couldn't help but jump. "That's Nancy, isn't it?"

Chessa laughed slightly and pulled out her cell phone. "You guys better get going. I'll help you more later." She answered her phone and began speaking in a foreign language as she opened the door leading to the Catacombs and closing it shut quickly behind her.

We stared at the closed door in silence. "Why would she have that tone for such a horrible person?" I asked.

Soma shrugged. "Maybe it was Nancy who gave her the phone?" he waved to me. "Let's go. Looks like we have a long way to go."

"We did anyways," I teased, but I followed him to the stairwell.