For a castle built by the hands of cultists, it mimicked a similar likeliness to Dracula's famed castle and it was a little matter of things that they started to head in, but it was also where they found themselves in some trouble as a voice called out as they were barely denting the interior. "Soma!"

The party turned to find Genya Arikado strode toward them before stopping and inquiring. "I told you not to get involved, didn't I?" He did pause to find that Alex, Shanoa, and Mist gazing back at him, but he composed himself to their gaze as Soma stammered in surprise.

"Arikado! What are you doing here? I thought that you were protecting Mina..." The man held up a hand as he explained.

"Mina is fine. My colleagues are providing protection." He then pointed at Soma with a offhand gesture as a matter of fact. "Besides, keeping you under observation gets priority." Soma groaned as he exclaimed.

"You're still treating me as if I were the dark lord. Haven't you seen enough?"

"I need you to understand. You are considered to be extremely dangerous..." Soma huffed before Arikado spoke again with rubbing his neck. "But since you're here..." He trailed off to Alex's raised brow. "And that I would be a fool in trying to deter your mentor and a... 'friend' of mine, I suppose I can't stop any of you." He composed himself as he spoke. "While under my supervision, I'm prepared to overlook use of excessive force. Besides, we can't just allow this cult to carry on this way."

"Th-Thanks. I appreciate it." Genya Arikado nodded as he soon reached for something in his vest.

"Also, Mina entrusted me with this." He pulled out a letter and a talisman bound around it as he extended it to Soma. "It's for you."

"What? A letter? And a talisman?" He took it in hand and took off the Talisman, feeling... a bit more clearer than before as he opened the letter and turned to read it privately as the handwriting was for Mina's.

'Dear Soma, If you're reading this, you've probably gone after that cult.' He read on, despite the fact the Mina knew what he intended to do from the beginning. 'I had a feeling you would when you disappeared after that incident. I know that you worry about me, Soma. But I worry just as much about you, too.' Soma lightly snorted at the next sentence as it was kinda of true in the end. 'I won't ask you to come back right away because you're way too stubborn. But please promise me that whatever happens, you'll come back unharmed. Oh, and don't forget about the talisman! I'm sure it'll come in handy. I'll be praying for you. Always, Mina.'

"Mina..."

"Soma." The young man jumped to Genya's voice as he turned to him as the agent inquired for details. "Brief me on the situation. What have you discovered?" He turned an eye to Alex as if it would help. "And tell me why Alexander Helmsmith has also decided to join this mission."

"Uh... Sure." Genya listened as the small band explained what they were aware of, Soma gave a description of the candidates and what Celia was talking about in a plan, but he didn't know what it was or why Dmitrii had just perished in the first place when Soma defeated him, not killed. Then it was Alex's side of the tale.

He explained that, for the past few months, he had been tracking the With Light Cult with his allies, keeping an eye on them for anything out of place, other than building a castle to mimic Dracula's and conjuring monsters and crafting seals to render the monsters immune to standard blows, except nothing was able to resist the likes of the Vampire Killer's unique power and those who had the ample seal on hand to bind the resurrection and permanently kill the monsters attached.

Those plans shifted when the Fallen Armory learned that Celia had attacked Soma in broad daylight and had retreated to the castle, they giving pursuit and joining up with Soma to help guide him and fight the cult as the rest of the party were located in the village to keep the monsters and demons out of a safe haven and give the cult trouble as Genya Arikado spoke with processing all of it. "Understood. But the fact that Celia mentioned a 'plan' doesn't sound good."

"The only thing I can do right now is keep climbing towards the top floor." Soma answered as Genya agreed.

"Fine, you do that. In the meantime, I'll try to track down Dario's whereabouts." He headed out as they started to investigate the guest house for more answers and slaying more demons in their path. The Demon Guest House had that without doubt, but the more tricky foes were the Killer Dolls and Liliths, still didn't stop them, but they were a bit more troublesome if left to their own devices against them.

The puzzle room was a real brain teaser in trying to find their way through, but it was still interesting as they continued from a more ballroom texture to a more childish type of toys and games. They soon found the third Magic Seal which was of a serpent before continuing on to the room where the boss resided and found it to be... terrifying, dolls strung about the ground and bloody iron maidens littering the surroundings before a amalgamation of patchwork flesh and something else dropped into the room, the Puppet Master before it attacked them, unleashing a torrent of dolls at them before conjuring a puppet in one of the four hands, Soma wasn't sure what was the purpose of it, but he followed Alex's lead in attacking the puppets and destroying them before they could do something and they wasted the creature, destroying it for good and getting its soul before Soma asked as the Maidens crumbled to pieces. "So, what was the point of the puppets, it didn't seem that dangerous."

"My pupil, you forget, we deal with monsters with supernatural abilities." Alex pointed out before he decided to showcase it. "Watch carefully." With that, he summoned a puppet about his size and tossed it, Soma watching before he felt the shift and both switched places with each other, the puppet toppling over while Alex landed from getting switched in the air. "Now, imagine the damage that the Puppet Master could have done to us if it managed to switch us, all it had to do was snap to activate it." Soma grimaced, no wonder the Maidens were bloody, anyone coming in would be switched out and given a severe case of holes.

He cast a glance to the parts and knew that some were not of an earthen compound, but a flesh one. "Point taken, my bad..."

"It is okay..." Alex answered with walking over with Shanoa and Mist nodding as well as Alex breathed and spoke again. "We have other placed to be, so let's move." They nodded as Alex looked up for a moment. "I felt a second one... a reflection of a jester... maybe it is for later and we have need of that one soon." They headed on back and made their way to the Dark Chapel and through it.

With the Puppet Master soul, they were able to get outside to the cold torrent and down before they arrived to the base of an area known as the Condemned Tower as they continued through, but finding Julius Belmont was something as Soma asked. "Julius. What are you doing?"

"Huh?" He looked over his shoulder to find the party as he spoke. "Oh, it's you." He breathed as he glanced back to the dark aura that covered a way down. "This door is sealed by a powerful barrier. Something's behind it, too."

"Do you sense something bad?"

"Yes." He groaned as he rested a hand on his stomach to the idea. "I can feel it in my gut, and it doesn't feel good." He then turned to the party as he spoke. "Unfortunately, it's impossible to check what's behind the door."

"Why is that?"

"The barrier's too strong. I may be able to crack it, but just a bit." Alex hummed as he felt such power and, while it was minor in comparing it to Dracula, it would take time to open it, time that they had to use instead to find out Celia's plan. "It'd be better to contact Yoko and await help." Alex thought that would be a problem as Yoko would need an escort to get this far into the castle and there are a few blind spots where monsters could take advantage in killing as Julius asked Soma what his plan was. "What about you?"

"Well..." Soma went through the process of explaining the same things he told Genya and Julius nodded as he spoke.

"The dark lord's candidates. It sounds as if that should be my next target. I will see about joining Arikado." With that, Julius headed out to join the hunt while the party headed onward up the tower, facing Disc Armors and Fleaman, with those Draghignazzo were a pain on the lower levels, coming face to face with Skeleton Apes, Giant Axe Armors, and Werewolves on the upper levels before they reached the top and faced something that once was a gentle giant, maybe a sort of dinosaur, but what once was was no more as the creature must have been warped beyond saving by magic and driven mad from its imprisonment inside the tower, the beast of Gergoth didn't make it easy on them in the first place as the beast made to chomp on them, exhale poisonous and stoning fumes from its rotting chest, and its gray flesh slid away from it's tender pink flesh to unleash a torrent of energy in a beam.

But soon enough damage was done as it roared at them before jumping and Alex shouting. "Brace!" It jumped a few tiems before, but this time it slammed enough force to shattered the flooring and both the party and creature fell downward to the bottom of the tower, the members striking to get some more damage in before backing off in the air as Alex caught Mist while Gergoth plowed its head into the stone before ripping it free, its ankle braces finally giving out as they shattered, allowing the beast to become much faster in its attacks, but it soon fell and Alex bound it to the Seal of the Serpent, it roaring in a fountain of blood before toppling ot the ground as Alex spoke. "I will treat you better, Gergoth, don't you worry about it." The monster made an uncertain sound as it turned blackened and fragmented into the seal, they getting the soul to fire a powerful beam before they made their way back up with some creative skills.

There they found a key and, considering what they passed on their way, there was one place to go now, the seal opening to the inserted key and they headed into the next area.