"Ever since the solar eclipse of twenty thirty-five, my life has never been the same."
"It was then that I realized that I, Soma Cruz, am the rebirth of Dracula..."
"It was in his castle that I learned the truth..."
"That I possess the power to seize the souls of my enemies."
"That evil... that dark power almost engulfed me, but my friends pulled me from the brink."
"About a year has passed since then, and I thought my troubles were over..."
Japan was peaceful as Soma and Mina bantered for a bit with walking the streets as she laughed to something Soma had said. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, and that's when Hammer decided to-"
"Wait..." Soma paused as Mina Hakuba spoke, they pausing as she looked up at her childhood friend and 'love interest'. "Soma, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, of course, Mina." Soma raised a brow in asking as he continued. "What's wrong?"
"It's been a year since it all happened, hasn't it?" Soma nodded with a hum as the events of Dracula's castle was not something to forget, but at the same time, the band that was lead by Alexander Helmsmith had gone to ground and no one knew where they were, a good teacher to Soma in handling the powers, though that was hardly anything he could do now, could he?
"Yeah, just about."
"And what was it called?" Mina continued as she lightly rolled her wrist. "You know, the ability to use the power of monsters?" Soma thought about it before he answered.
"You mean the power of Dominance? I lost it when we escaped Dracula's Castle, remember?" Mina nodded as she spoke.
"I know, but..." She gripped her hands together as she continued to speak about something that was lingering in her mind recently. "It's just that I get this terrible feeling inside..." Soma rested a hand on her shoulder as she looked back up and spoke.
"It's probably nothing..." That didn't ease her look as Soma continued. "Look, don't worry, okay? This past year, I haven't been able to use any of the powers I gained. And-" He stopped and turned as someone appeared before them, a pale woman in a religious type of dress as she spoke as Mina hid behind Soma a bit.
"You... You're Soma Cruz, aren't you?" Soma paused as he spoke back in asking.
"Uh... Yeah... And you are?"
"You may call me Celia." She then pointed at him as she continued. "But not for long... Come forth, my servants!" A Skeleton appeared to her summons and Mina yelped with getting closer to Soma as he exclaimed.
"What?! Mina, get back!" She hurried away uneasily as the Skeleton was eyeing Soma as he tried to move into stance to fight back. "Damn it! Of all the worst-"
"Soma! You back off, too!" He glanced to Genya Arikado arriving with a small force on hand as Mina exclaimed to him getting between her and Soma.
"Mr. Arikado!"
"Genya arikado, the guardian?1" Celia huffed as she lashed out her arms. "You shall not interfere!" A blast sent the members back a bit as Genya exclaimed to the flickering change in color.
"A barrier!" He quickly pulled free a small knife and shouted. "Quick, Soma! Use this!" He hurled it and Soma leapt with catching it as he moved to attack, the Skeleton swinging its bone at him before it was brought down, Soma shortly staggering when the soul entered him, granting him the 'Bone Throw' before another monster appeared and he blocked the lance thrust form the Armor Knight before it barraged it with bones, getting its soul of wielding a spear in spinning it before the final foe was summoned, a Golem and Soma used both in tandem to bring down the massive titan before getting its soul which strengthened him as the trio confronted Celia as she spoke with the defeat of her minions.
"Soma Cruz, I shall see your demise. That is certain. Using whatever means..." She laughed in warping away as Soma exclaimed.
"Wait!"
"Save your energy." Arikado spoke in joining Soma with Mina. "You won't catch her now."
"Damn it!"
"Soma, are you all right?" Soma paused before he spoke again, fists gripped tight.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He hissed as he spoke. "But that power... It returned!" He turned to address Arikado about it. "Arikado, what's going on?"
"The power didn't 'return'. It was always with you." Genya answered as he explained it out. "You just never had a need for it since you fled the castle. And that set free all the souls that you had gained dominance over."
"You mean, I couldn't use the power because I was never in danger?" Soma hummed at the thought as that would explain it out, he never really needed the power in the first place to keep going, that was nice to know, but now for the topic as the agents got back up from the short burst. "Anyway, who was that woman? She seemed to know you."
"Celia Fortner. She's a priestess of a new and rapidly growing cult. We suspected she was up to something, so we've been keeping tabs on her." Mina asked about it after that.
"But why would someone like that come after Soma?"
"They want to resurrect the lord of darkness. Like some sought to do with Dracula."
"I guess they don't like the fact that I didn't become the 'lord of darkness'." Soma added with air quotes before Genya continued.
"Not only that, they intend to create a new lord by eliminating you." Mina gasped as she exclaimed.
"E-Eliminating?" Genya spoke otherwise as he wanted Some to do nothing and stay put.
"But Soma, you don't need to get any more involved with this. Let us deal with it." He headed off with the agents as Soma spoke, fists clenched again at the fact before him, they were attacked in broad daylight and Mina was in danger... he couldn't let it drop.
"That woman... She said she would 'see my demise'." He turned as Mina spoke.
"Soma..." Soma took it upon himself to find out where the cult was gathering and put a stop to them, but he didn't have the foggiest clue as to where they would be, so he used Hammer, a former American soldier to put his ear to the ground and find out where to go, the lead given to him going up into the northern lands, between Russia and Norway...
Soma trekked for a few days into the location and found that the cult With Light had actually made a similar style of castle to match Dracula's as he spoke to arriving to it. "So, the cult's base is here. Hammer's info wasn't so iffy after all." A bellowing laugh echoed as a voice spoke up from behind Soma.
"Gahaha! You doubted my word?!" Soma turned to be greeted by the dark-skinned soldier as he stammered.
"H-Hammer? What are you doing here?" Hammer came closer as he pointed out what had been asked.
"What, are ya dense? Who told ya 'bout this place? Wait, it was me."
"Well, yeah, but..."
"Hey, you got your mind on doin' somethin' wicked, huh? I want in, buddy." His cheeks went a bit pink as he then asked a bit more. "And, hey, what happened to that pretty little lady? You remember, right?"
"You mean Yoko? She's not coming. In fact, I haven't told a soul." Hammer groaned with falling disappointed as he grumbled.
"Huh? She ain't comin'? Well, why not?!" Hammer shook it off as he continued with straightening up and looking at Soma in the cold. "Aw, man... Well, since I'm here, I'd better make the best of it. I guess I'm back in business, and you're my customer!" Soma tried to get Hammer to do the wise thing and get out of there.
"Hammer, look, I'm saying this for your own good. You really should leave." But Hammer was a firm believer of protecting those who need help.
"Can't do that, I'm afraid. I know when someone's in trouble and I'm not just gonna leave ya here." Soma yielded as he nodded.
"Okay... I appreciate it."
"I'll scope out the area and find a spot to set up shop. See ya around!" He headed on before going to disappointed again as he groaned. "Man, why wouldn't he just tell her about this...?" Soma sweat dropped as he shook it off and spoke.
"Well, at least Hammer is the only one who knows, I can't really imagine who else knows to hit this place as well." He drew his knife and headed into the Lost Village, taking out more Skeletons and a few Bats as well as a Peeping Eye before he found and equipped a short sword before pressing on, fighting Zombies, Wargs, and Axe Armors before he arrived to the drawbridge and finding two more people to his surprise. "Huh? Those two..." They turned with one surprised and the other wearing a neutral face as the first spoke, her name Yoko Belnades and her partner was Julius Belmont, with Soma coming over.
"Oh! Soma!" Julius was silent as Soma greeted the both of them.
"Yoko. Julius. What are you two doing here?"
"Funny you should ask that. We got wind of this cult from a tip by Arikado." Soma nodded as Yoko continued. "I'm investigating with Mr. Belmont. I'm sure you remember him, the Hunter." Julius spoke as he argued against Soma being there.
"Soma, please understand. If the darkness draws you in... I have no choice but to destroy you."
"Yes, I know..."
"Then, there is no reason for you to be here." Yoko nodded as she also tried to get Soma to turn back.
"That's right. You're only putting yourself in danger." Soma shook his head as he spoke up.
"That Celia woman... Not only was she after me, she tried to harm Mina, too. I'm not gonna stop until I find her."
"You're determined, I see." Julius nodded as he continued. "Then, I have nothing more to say." He turned to leave as Yoko spoke up.
"Wait. Wait, Julius. How can you just say that?"
"I'll be going now."
"Wait a second. I'm coming, too."
"No, Yoko, you stay. We'll need a contact here, just in case."
"Hey, wait! You can't just...!" But Julius leapt over to the drawbridge and slipped down and headed into the castle as Yoko groaned with a angry huff. "Men! They're so selfish!" She turned to speak to Soma as well. "I bet you have no intention of going home, either." He didn't stammer as he bowed his head to her.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that until my task is done, I need to find Celia." Yoko hummed before she answered again.
"Fine, then. Here, take this." She walked over and handed a diagram to Soma as he questioned her about it.
"And this is?"
"A Magic Seal." Soma blinked in confusion as he spoke.
"Magic Seal?"
"The cult leader appears to create gates that draw the power of darkness. Monsters exposed to that power are said to be invincible." Soma hummed before he asked.
"So how am I supposed to destroy them?"
"That's where this Magic Seal comes in. Want to practice using it?" Soma nodded and they went through it, a symbol of some sort of fish-like creature appearing after he cast two lines in the V shape before Yoko spoke again in reminder. "Good, that's it. Just don't forget how you did that. Oh, one more thing. You can practice drawing a Magic Seal anytime. If you're not sure how to do it, you should definitely practice."
"Got it."
"A Magic Seal activates on its own when it's needed. Give it a try and see." She breathed before she spoke again with going. "Okay, now... Let's go, Soma." The silver-haired young man blinked before he asked.
"Huh? Go where?"
"It's a dead end here. Only Julius could get in from somewhere like this. We should go back and find a different way in."
"All right. If we have to..."
"There's no shelter from the rain and wind here, either. Will you escort me?" Soma stammered to Yoko's request as he agreed.
"Uh... Sure, of course."
"Thanks. Let's go." They headed back through and headed downwards before they encountered a strange green door, bound in some form of tendrils before Yoko spoke up. "This door... It looks like you'll need a Magic Seal right away." Soma took the lead in touching the door, the Magic Seal activating and the tendrils fading away as Yoko continued. "Most likely, you'll need a Magic Seal to finish off the monster in here. Just be calm and focus. I'll be waiting here."
"No problem." Soma headed in and arrived to a bridge when the air hummed with power and a flying suit of armor appeared before conjuring twin blades and Soma moved through the motions of dodging the blades and striking the armor before it was injured and he felt the power start to surge out and he knew what to do, using the Magic Seal he got to seal the monster and it screamed a hollow tone before it was absorbed into the Seal and its essence dropped with its soul of 'Flying Armor' entering Soma, allowing him to slow his descend as Yoko entered the room in exclaim.
"You did it!"
"Using Magic Seals is a piece of cake." Soma answered with a swish before Yoko cut in.
"Don't be too sure. That Magic Seal won't be useful forever."
"What do you mean?" He asked in confusion as Yoko continued to explain it.
"They will probably prepare new and more complex patterns for Magic Seals."
"Hmm..." That would make sense, this would be a simple Seal to use, for the more powerful entities, they needed stronger and more complex Seals to keep them contained and invulnerable to dying without them.
"But not to worry. They'll have the Magic Seal patterns hidden somewhere. If they don't, the gates to the dark side will be useless."
"I get it." Yoko walked ahead of him before she turned back to him as she spoke.
"I won't keep holding you up as my escort anymore. I can manage now." Soma answered back.
"You sure?" She nodded as he returned the gesture in speaking. "In that case, I'll be going now."
"Oh, there is one more thing though. Julius may have some new information, so come see me if you're close by. And Soma, please don't do anything reckless." That was a promise... slightly being broken, but Soma agreed.
"Count on it. You take care, too, Yoko." She headed out as he grabbed the essence and followed, using his new soul to get across before entering a plaza of the town, it was quiet with a few monsters wandering before he checked everything out, discovering that Yoko had set up shop as someone who could imbedded souls into weapons to make them new ones and make them more or less powerful as well as freeing the souls for whatever the case may be.
She didn't have some doubts about Hammer being there too as the Soldier had set up a shop on the other side of the plaza, but was heedless to the fact that now she was here that he would not budge an inch, making it the central hub for items, weapons, and improvements, but before Soma could actually head further into the castle, he found that someone else had come along, but he was different than before as the ring of metal sound from something bashing it hard.
Soma, Hammer, and Yoko quickly entered the plaza to see what was going on when they found... it, a golden-skinned monster smashing the Armor Knights like cans and its host holding one down before he crushed it with his own foot, combat boots reinforced with tempered steel, jeans of both a fine quality and tempered leather for protection, a shirt under a trench coat of a similar feel and make as Soma's, and radiant blue eyes aglow under blue locks before he turned and spoke with a smile. "Soma Cruz, Yoko Belnades, and Hammer Thump, it's good to see you guys again." Soma was on guard as he didn't recognize who this guy was before Yoko gasped before exclaiming.
"Alexander!?"
"The one and the same." Soma loosened up in disbelief, Alex had gone missing a year ago, what was he doing here as the young man, no older than him, but a master of the souls he carried, spoke. "When words spread that the cult With Light were gathering strength I had my doubt, but then I hear that Soma was attacked by the leader of the cult, so I came here to teach her a lesson in humility." He cracked his neck as the creature returned to his shadow and he continued. "So here we are, the rest of the members are lingering in one o the upper rooms, but the basic gist is that Shanoa and Mist will be joining me in helping Soma, the rest of them will be keeping this place locked down from the cult." Yoko nodded with Hammer as Soma breathed easy with the idea.
"I am sure that Al-Genya Arikado would be grateful to see you as well when this is all over."
"Let's hope so, I didn't exactly linger around to greet him in a moment of surprise." And so Alexander Helmsmith and his group rejoined in purging the darkness from the world, joining Soma in his journey to bring the cult to an end for threatening his... friend and him...
