Chap. 24 – Wrath of the Fierce Deity
The English knight and the princess of Hyrule strolled cautiously into what would be easily described as 'Ground-Zero'. The smoking rubble and the hallow noise of the breeze made the atmosphere feel eerie, as they walked through the dust that flew with the wind. Another pound from underground made them jump… then another and another. Link was surfacing slowly. The blackened skies began to make their presence known was they began to crackle and boom with thunder. The others watched from the safe distance, as the 'daddy's-little-solder-girls' continued to venture into the ruins of the unknown, waiting to the attacked any moment. Alucard was the most tense of them all, which was rather out of character for him. Why did he feel so on-edge like this. Link was nothing but a dog… he surely cannot kill the master of monsters, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Helsing… could he? Integra looked unafraid as she continued to venture.
Link then emerged from the ground before the two women. Zelda jumped in fright while Integra remained cool, calm, and collected at her side. Link continued to emerge himself out from the dirt… it was though he was a zombie coming back from the dead. He stared at the women with hate… pure utter hate. He then smirked, his eyes still looking as ferocious was they were, and took out the Fierce Deity Mask. What was this? Integra and Zelda weren't sure what he was doing… what was with that mask… a mask that looked very dark and intimidating. The Hellsing and the Iscariot agents weren't sure to make of it either and neither did Anju… what was a harmless mask going to so for him? Kafei however, knew exactly what he was doing, as his red eyes looked on with a mixture of fear and awe. He would go as far as to unleash the Termina God of War upon them… that was suicide! The others stared at him… what had the big bad Kafei in a panic?
"Kafei, what's wrong?" Anju then asked.
"The mask Link is holding, possess terrible power. Within the mask's carving lies a dark and evil soul… a god of Termina."
"The mask is possessed?" Alhambra wondered. "Just how dark and evil are we talking about here?"
"To put it simply, Alucard and I don't even compare to the power this mask possesses. The Fierce Deity mask… the face of the Termina God of War. Link has used this mask once before while venturing in Termina, and was almost at the mercy of the evil will inside. Now he will risk his very soul once again, so he can fulfil his desires. What a foolish child!"
"Integra!" Alucard then called. "Get out now!" However, she could not hear… it was too late.
Link placed the mask on his face and began to feel the sudden deluge of power from mask, which began to fill every vein within his body. He screamed in agony as the mask began to fuse with his face. Lighting began to rain down as Link began to radiate strong electrical energy. Then, with one dramatic scream in unison to a crashing lighting bolt, everything went a blinding white. They all had to shield their eyes, as their site could not handle the bright rays. The light soon died down. When Integra and Zelda uncovered their eyes, they stood before a monster… a monster with Link's body.
His face was smeared with blue and red war paint… or was the red war paint really blood? His once golden blonde hair was now tarnished with a blank white. The black armour and tunic he wore before was now replaced with more menacing looking black armour covering a pale blue tunic. His gauntlets were now black and, and his eyes of white void pierced fear into Zelda heart, and intimidation within Integra. This was an altered form of the Termina God of War… this is what that evil monster looked like while possessing Link's body.
"The mask…" Zelda gasped. "The mask did something to him. Link… what have you done to yourself?" Fierce Deity Link replied by pushing Zelda back to the group with a mighty shove. She fell before their feet with a gasp of pain. That was one mighty shove! What in the hell had Link become?
"He's a monster…" Yumie said. "A true… horrible monster."
"Vampires are not so bad to me than they once were," Hienkel joked. Integra held her sword and her revolver to her face, as her icy glare showed no fear towards this new monster. She was ready for him, and not a single word needed to he exchanged for Link to understand that.
Link raised his sword… a large heavy sword that screamed terror and fear. Integra kept her ground, as Link charged for her. Before she knew it, her blade was fighting off his. He was so fast… and that strength… at this rate, he would surely chop off her head no matter how hard she fought! Just seconds into the battle and she was beginning to sweat, and no official blows have been delivered yet. She held out her gun and began to shoot. Link jumped back and dodged every bullet… at least that got the monster off her tail. She continued shooting, as he continued to dodge. She had no idea what to do, but follow her instincts.
She finally hit him with the last bullet in the revolver magazine. Well that was lucky! She reloaded as he took his time to notice the blood oozing from his arm, and the bullet still lodged within his large muscles. He pulled the bullet out from his arm… so this was the thing they were shooting out from their thunder weapons all along… how pathetically small, yet very affective. He threw the bullet aside and raised his sword. It began to glow a light blue. He must be summoning a magic attack. Integra watched cautiously studying Link and his moves… knowledge is power when fighting within a war. He then cast a disk of blue light at her. As beautiful as it looked, it looked razor sharp and very fatal. She dodged out of the way just in time before it could sever her in half.
A large explosion caught her attention. She looked back to see that disk had cut a fallen stone pillar in half. She watched in awe as the severed top half crashed to the floor. A spell… did that? She looked back to see Fierce Deity Link standing above her with a smirk on his lips. He knew that he had her on the ropes. She began to fire her gun chasing him away from her, as he jumped back dodging bullet after bullet. How the hell was she going to get out of this one? Still she remained courageous and hopeful for victory. She believed in her own power to fight, her wits to keep her alive, and believed in her courage to face this powerful demon… a monster from the deepest pit of hell.
The others watched in awe at Integra's resilience, but also feared for her life. She dared to take him on in blade-to-blade combat, had the audacity to kick and punch him here and there – even though it was ineffective against his new and improved muscles – and even cursed him to go to hell. Yes, she was indeed brave and an extraordinary knight. In every fibre of his undead being, Alucard wanted to step in to relieve some of the tension off her, but he knew that she'd hate him for that. She demanded that she do this alone, and defying that would be to defy her… she was just too arrogant for her own good!
"Kafei…" Alucard then began. "Just how much do you know about this Termina God of War?"
"Enough to know that what your woman is doing out there, is what most people would call suicide," Kafei replied. "Right now, Link is a god, a god that has more blood on his hands than you and I combined. He not only terrorized Termina, but my kingdom as well… he almost destroyed an entire nation. How the people were able to seal such a demon inside such a small demeaning mask is beyond my knowledge. Your knight has no idea of the kind of creature she is fighting right now… even it is taking the form of Link. He is a demon… no… the devil himself." That did not help Alucard's tension any!
Link was amazed that Integra had survived for as long as she had. For such a weak mortal being she had displayed an inhuman amount of resolve. It was like a higher force was watching her, protecting her… either that or putting her through some kind of test? Even with his improved agility and his immense amount of strength, she was still standing courageous before him. In some small way she reminded him of himself, and how he was all those years ago. He needed to get rid of this bitch now! He charged directly for her, allowing the bullets to puncture him, as he held his sword before her. She continued to shoot… that idiot… allowing her bullets to him… just who does think he is?! No matter what he had become he was still a mortal being… bullets should be more than enough to take him out! Still he came at her, and in the end his endurance paid off… as he lodged his blade into her chest.
"INTEGRA!!!"
She remained their in a frozen state, her eyes wide open… stunned at Link's actions and of the immense amount of pain the felt. She was still, unmoving, as she hanged from Link's sword. He smirked and pulled his sword out of her. His blade was soaked with rich Helsing blood. She fell to the ground like limp and lifeless a rag doll, still unmoving. Alucard ran up to her and fell to his knees. She wasn't breathing, and she had lost a large amount of blood. She was dead… and it was too late to save her. Tears of blood fell from his eyes as he held the dead Integra within his arms. The others watched on, their hearts moved by Alucard's expressions of humanity.
"INTEGRA!!!"
Seras, no longer able to hold back her tears began to cry on Walter's shoulder. She tried to remain strong, all the while with all his might he tried to hold back his tears. His little princess was gone… Seras' close female friend was gone. The Valentine brothers, Rip and Alhambra even shed tears showing the humanity that still dwelled within them. They may not have been employees of Hellsing for long, but Integra was a damn fine leader… they followed her like a queen. Even the priestess and the nun showed empathy, as did Kafei… she was one hard bitch, but he understood why Alucard cared or her so compassionately. Anju even shed tears, as did Zelda… she became like an older sister to the both of them… a sister who showed them what it meant to be strong, courageous and wise… of what it was to be a true hero.
A laugh of evil amusement echoed throughout the ruins. Link continued to laugh as the others mourned over Integra's death. She was the fool who stood up against him, and so she was punished for her arrogance. As his laughs screamed through Alucard's ears like a drill, his tears began to dry, and his eyes were soon filled with hate. Kill… kill… KILL! Alucard then consumed himself within his shadows. Everyone watched as his bloodhound familiars danced around the ruins, as if they were taunting Link to attack, their screeching howls sending chills down Link's spine. What kind black magic was this? Link watched as Alucard reappeared from his own darkness his eyes glowing red with vengeance, and now wearing the outfit of bondage, which once tied his body of the curse of the Helsing's. Link noticed that red horrible eyes were staring all around him, even seeing the one below Alucard's chest.
"And thus another demon has entered the battlefield," Anderson said. "The devil… Dracula!"
With a hiss, Alucard charged for Link, who readied his sword for his arrival. When he was in range he severed the No-Life King in two. He watched as Alucard regenerated himself and immediately went in to attack once more. He expected no less from Alucard, since he had seen his regenerating ability once before… only this time the odds were in his favour; Alucard would surely fall to his deity power. All three bloodhounds then went in for an attack. Link hacked one, while he had to endure the agony of the other two mauling his arms off. He soon destroyed them, only to have them reappear by Alucard. What kind of creature was this Alucard? Alucard then began to shoot the son of a bitch who killed Integra, who just battered the silver bullets away. Alucard wasn't thinking clearly… he was attacking within a blind rage right now. All he wanted was revenge for Integra… the only women who truly loved him within his long and tiering existence. He didn't care if he disappeared at this rate… there was nothing for him on this plain anymore. All he cared about now was revenge for Integra.
A pair of long shadow-like spears then skewered Link's arms. The sudden attack halted the battle. The Fierce Deity Link just yanked the shadow spears away ignoring the agonizing pain and looked to see Kafei. Kafei's newly released shadows began to seep with Alucard's darkness, and his red eyes burned with just as much anger as Alucard's. Both monsters have now stepped up to fight the fierce deity, both with the goal to kill him… and both to claim revenge. Both of the ancient kings have now stepped up in hopes to finally silence the dark ancient power within Link.
"I cannot let you have all the fun, now can I," Kafei said to Alucard with a fang-filled smirk. "This is not just your battle, as this is also mine. This bastard destroyed my kingdom… burned it into nothing but ashes! He is the reason why I fell so long ago. I also want vengeance!" Link just laughed… to him this was a joke! They have no chance of defeating him, for they were just two broken monsters… facing up against a god of all gods.
"Come at me!" Link teased. "Try to destroy me! You will just end up like that bitch I killed earlier. You two are nothing… two pawns up against a true monster!"
"That is where you're wrong, you dog!" Alucard replied with a scowl. "Only true humans can kill monsters like us. Under that all the power you're still nothing but a cowardly dog. For a monster to be killed by a dog just proves of the trash that monster truly is. You cannot, and I will not have you… defeat me!"
"Let's have some fun, my friend!" Kafei said to Alucard. "For your woman… we will soak within his blood to our knees!"