CHAPTER 16: CAVERNS
Alucard panted behind the door of the colloseum. He could feel an energy unlike anything he'd ever felt being deployed, growing by the hundredfold with each passing second, menacing to engulf the entire castle if it kept rising... It suddenly stopped growing and went down drastically. Alucard opened the door, but found the other side filled with a very thick wall of rubble, stopping from even thinking of getting through. He started to think.
Alucard: Hmmm... There has to be some other way to proceed... Hmmm... After the colloseum should be the church normally and the church used to be connected to the caves, so maybe... He headed back down to the blood marble gallery and started to search for an access corridor to the caves. After almost an hour of exploration, the demon familiar found a small switch in the wall of the Ragnarok hangar. On the other side was the door to the caves. He arrived in a very smelly cave with a giant river made purely of mud with large stalactites serving as platforms. Most of them had lost their top for quite some time now... He started the crossing, soon discovering that the bats didn't like his presence, swooping down to attack him. He slashed most of them off, but eventually, one got to him, covering his face, making him fall off his unstable perch into the river of mud. Desperate to see before he fully sunk into the muddy stream, he unsheathed his Marsil Activating it's special effect, unleashing flames all around him, frying the bat instantly and didn't bother to add the swing that's supposed to follow. He felt something dragging him down into the river then. He stared down and saw a hand made of mud holding his leg, pulling him down. He swung, cutting the hand off. He looked around and saw dozens of human-like golems made of mud emerging form the surface of the river, all intending on taking him down with them. They slowly crept torwards him. Alucard had his Marsil fry them all with it's special, but no matter how many he killed, they always reemerged, seemingly unharmed. Alucard turned into a bat and flew over the seemingly endless army and the eternal struggle not to be dragged down. He reverted on the first safe spot of land there was. From there, he made three jumps and had left the room. The newt was simple. On the bottom was Alucard and an Axe armor, on top were bone throwing skeletons and a spear guard. Alucard moved in closer to attack the axe armor while avoiding various bones and spear stabs coming from above. Once he got a bit closer, the Axe armor charged him and slashed him with it's axe, causing damage and making him reel back to the beginning of the room. He crossed the annoying room again and got charged again. This time he turned to mist and reverted as soon as the armor was done passing him and slashed it in the back, destroying it. With that threat dealt with, he climbed the stairs and dealt with the two skeletons and the spear guard with one special effect of his Marsil. The next room was quite similar to the first, but had a suspended floor instead of friggin stalagmites and here the mud was green... the same green as someone's puke... He climbed up to the floor and started to cross the room, noting large parts seemed unstable... also, those annoying bats were still around. He threaded carefully on the unstable floor while burning bats to cinders. The first half went well and he went up to the second half. Seeing the stairs leading up made him have a brief moment of distraction and allowed a bat to strike him... again. He fell on the floor, making it flip, tossing him down to the green mud below. Not wanting to get close to it, he turned to a bat and looked down at the millions of hands below, all awaiting his fall... it's almost like if the mudmen and the bats were working together. He stayed under the floor and continued his progress. Now the bats didn't bother him anymore, he was one of them. He swooped up and reverted on the stairs, climbing to the next room. In it was a giant golden skeleton known as a Paralanthropus. It swung a huge bone at him. Alucard raised his flaming sword and blocked the strike. The skeleton continued to push down with it's bony arm, forcing Alucard to use both of his to keep his sword from going down, but still, the skeleton's power was slowly driving his sword down. Alucard's face slowly covered itself in sweat. Much to both's surprise, the bone was cut in two because of the skeleton's constant pressuring on the blazing sword. It stamped it's foot angry and Alucard chopped it's head off. The demon familiar returned to his side.
Alucard: And where were you gone?
Demon: Helping of course... Alucard saw what it meant. In front of him was the remains of a White dragon, a magically animated serpent dragon tied to a wall to serve as it's guardian. It's skull had been pierced and it's spine was in pieces, it had obviously tasted the dreaded Holy Light spear, the demon's ultimate move. In the next room was a low ceiling over another river of mud. On top of it all were more bats and mudmen and spikes all over the ceiling. The crossing was hard, but not impossible. After a very slow progress among the mud, the two reached the boss' room. Inside was a specter of a deceased magician floating near the stalactite filled ceiling. Alucard slashed time after time. Each time, the ghost took the hit, flew to the other end of the cave and tried to do something and got hit again, repeating the chain until it dissolved to dust. Alucard headed to the exit, but got hit in the back by a strange glowing sphere. The specter had reformed and started to assault him again. Alucard leapt to slash the ghost, but found that he now moved only at half speed, so his Marsil wasn't so useful anymore. He threw his Runesword, it's speed not hindered one bit by the spell on Alucard, slicing the ghost into dust with one hit. As it turned to ashes again, Alucard was free from the spell. To make sure it wouldn't reform again, placed a stick of TNT in it's dust, blowing the dust to nothing. He stepped into the present and found himself less in a cave than before. He was on a floor made of stone slabs before a descending staircase. He went down and immediately felt danger. He dodged to his side just before a spear would have stabbed him. He turned to face a spear guard. It raised it's spear for a full power swipe, but Alucard threw his runesword, cutting it in half.
Alucard: Last time I passed here, I chose to take the path to my left... I believe I'll try going down this time. He descended a few more staircases to a small opening in the floor. Alucard leapt in. The ceiling was out of view in mere seconds, letting him freefall between four walls, not seeing either top or bottom.
Alucard: Hmm... At the speed I'm going, if there's a bottom to this, I'll surely make a nice pancake... Speaking of which, I think I see the floor down there... WHAT? Alucard's feet had almost hit the floor when he finally reacted and turned to mist, going clear through the floor.
Alucard: What? I just crossed the floor? I've never been here before... He reverted on the side of the small cave. He crept down carefully until he was down on solid ground again in front of a large cave. He entered it into a small cave leading into a hall. As he got close to the hall, a part of the ceiling crumbled, blocking it and letting a huge worm as large as him burst from above the doorway. It roared and charged him, tackling Alucard back in the last room, crashing hard in the wall. He got back up right before it's head erupted from the door and charged again. Alucard unsheathed his Marsil and activated it's special attack, lighting the air with intense flames as the sword's blade cut the air, leaving nothing but a burning trail of flames in it's wake. The worm caught ablaze, squirming and moaning in pain as it recessed back from where it came from. Alucard sighed in relief and heard strange noises coming from below his feet. He looked down and noticed the floor below him was caught ablaze as well. He leaned down to check how stone could catch on fire and saw the floor break, making him fall face first down another small fall... but face first onto a stone cylinder tied to the floor.
Alucard: Ow... After recovering from his painful fall, he went into the new room he'd unearthed. Inside was a small dock and a sign. On the sign was written the following: "Insert the sign and help will come"
Alucard: The sign? What sign? He looked around and saw a statue sized imprint of a mermaid in the wall. Alucard started looking in his cape, taking out various junk until he got out a rusted, dented, half destroyed seemingly golden statue of a mermaid.
Alucard: Now how did it get this damaged... Little flashbacks start popping in his head. The first consists of him getting on the passer's boat and the statue falling into the lake there. Right before they left, the statue came flying out of the water, hitting him in the back of the head, an angry fishman emerging from the lake.
Fishman: Hey! There are people living in this pond, it's not your garbage can, you moron!
Alucard: Sorry, it just fell out of my cape.
Fishman: Fine, just don't do it again... He felt another rapid jolt of pain.
Fishman 2: Hey! Some people are trying to sleep down here! What's the idea with throwing stuff on peaceful sleepers?
Alucard: Sorry, it just fell off... Another painful contact with the thrown statue.
Fishman 3: What's the bright idea, throwing this ugly piece of crap at people?
Alucard: Sorry, it just... He gets it in the back of the head again... about a dozen more times until it finally lands in the boat.
Passer: Are you done already? Next scene cuts to Alucard climbing a large wall of stone near a waterfall. He finally reached the top.
Alucard: Yes! He hears clanking. He looks down and sees something golden falling fast, hitting multiple rocks on it's way down until it crashed loudly below.
Alucard: No... Next flashback to his first encounter with a Hammer, a large green living armor wielding an oversized very heavy hammer. He dodged the blow by sliding back, but unfortunately, it fell out of his cape, getting the full force of the blow to crush it on the floor. Next was the Guardian's multi thrust and finally came the time he forgot it in a puddle near his cave while waiting for Richter earlier...
Alucard: Yeah... I guess that explains it's state... He put it in the hole and heard rowing. From the cave's misty depths came the passer that had been deeper in the caves before.
Passer: Well, looks like you need my help again...
Alucard: It seems so...
Passer: Well, it's fine by me... as long as you don't play with the fishmen again like last time...
Alucard: Don't remind me, my head hurts just thinking about it... Alucard got in the strange man's boat and let him take him into the depths of the cave. At the other end was a small cave containing a stone slab. On it was a snorkel with a weird top. Behind it, carved in the wall was the following "To whomever reaches this cavern, upon thee is given the holy symbol, allowing one to move more freely around watery areas."
Alucard: Hey, this might actually help me... He went back out and had the passer take him back to the cave's entrance. He climbed back up and went back to the debris room. He placed a stick of TNT beside the debris, lit the fuse and ran for cover. He heard the explosion and found the large boulders having been turned to countless little smoking pieces of rock on the floor. In the next room were stone pillars leading up and a few centimeters of water on the floor. He jumped to the first pillar, making the ceiling from where he came from crumble again.
Alucard: Oh great! Can't that door stay open for a minute? He noticed the water below his pillar had begun to rise.
Alucard: Oh great... Wait! I'll try that holy symbol I got earlier! He put on the snorkel and let the water rise. It rapidly covered him from head to toe. Just as fast, it covered the top of his snorkel, letting water flow down the pipe and straight in his lungs, almost burning them off. (For the less initiated, water is quite harmful to vampires, not only holy water) he rapidly jumped from pillar to pillar until he burst out of his watery prison, gasping for air. He stayed at the edge of the watery pool to recover his strength. When he was healthy enough, he ventured deeper in and found a large monster there. The top part was the upper body of a beautiful woman, next were three lion heads one beside another and then were countless worms like the one from before forming her legs. She pointed her arm forward and the worms charged him. He used his Marsil's special to fry them and scorch the lion's fur quite a bit. The upper part threw a disk made of water at him. He dodged it and cut her in half with one rapid swing of his runesword. The sword returned to his hand and he cleaned it in the small watery puddle at his feet, letting the monster's debris catch ablaze on their own, leaving only ashes of her left. Alucard went in the next room and saw his door to the future, but as he got close, the floor crumbled and made him fall back in the room he'd fought Scylla's worm in earlier... the one with the blocked exit. Sighing his poor luck, he placed a stick of TNT beside the debris, waited fro it to explode. When it did, a flood of water entered the room, soaking him and inflicting heavy damage. He recrossed the pillar room and Scylla's room to rereach the room with the exit door and found it blocked by debris now. Leaping over the hole in the floor, he placed another stick of TNT beside the debris and leapt back torwards Scylla's room to wait, but the floor beside the door gave way, making him fall back down. The explosion of the debris also made more debris block his way to the pillar room. Another Stick of TNT and two rooms crossed again before he stared at his way out.
Alucard: Hey wait... I could've just turned into a bat and fly back to the top... Ah Dammit! He crossed the door, a bit frustrated at having wasted so much TNT uselessly... especially since it probably doesn't even exist yet...
Alucard panted behind the door of the colloseum. He could feel an energy unlike anything he'd ever felt being deployed, growing by the hundredfold with each passing second, menacing to engulf the entire castle if it kept rising... It suddenly stopped growing and went down drastically. Alucard opened the door, but found the other side filled with a very thick wall of rubble, stopping from even thinking of getting through. He started to think.
Alucard: Hmmm... There has to be some other way to proceed... Hmmm... After the colloseum should be the church normally and the church used to be connected to the caves, so maybe... He headed back down to the blood marble gallery and started to search for an access corridor to the caves. After almost an hour of exploration, the demon familiar found a small switch in the wall of the Ragnarok hangar. On the other side was the door to the caves. He arrived in a very smelly cave with a giant river made purely of mud with large stalactites serving as platforms. Most of them had lost their top for quite some time now... He started the crossing, soon discovering that the bats didn't like his presence, swooping down to attack him. He slashed most of them off, but eventually, one got to him, covering his face, making him fall off his unstable perch into the river of mud. Desperate to see before he fully sunk into the muddy stream, he unsheathed his Marsil Activating it's special effect, unleashing flames all around him, frying the bat instantly and didn't bother to add the swing that's supposed to follow. He felt something dragging him down into the river then. He stared down and saw a hand made of mud holding his leg, pulling him down. He swung, cutting the hand off. He looked around and saw dozens of human-like golems made of mud emerging form the surface of the river, all intending on taking him down with them. They slowly crept torwards him. Alucard had his Marsil fry them all with it's special, but no matter how many he killed, they always reemerged, seemingly unharmed. Alucard turned into a bat and flew over the seemingly endless army and the eternal struggle not to be dragged down. He reverted on the first safe spot of land there was. From there, he made three jumps and had left the room. The newt was simple. On the bottom was Alucard and an Axe armor, on top were bone throwing skeletons and a spear guard. Alucard moved in closer to attack the axe armor while avoiding various bones and spear stabs coming from above. Once he got a bit closer, the Axe armor charged him and slashed him with it's axe, causing damage and making him reel back to the beginning of the room. He crossed the annoying room again and got charged again. This time he turned to mist and reverted as soon as the armor was done passing him and slashed it in the back, destroying it. With that threat dealt with, he climbed the stairs and dealt with the two skeletons and the spear guard with one special effect of his Marsil. The next room was quite similar to the first, but had a suspended floor instead of friggin stalagmites and here the mud was green... the same green as someone's puke... He climbed up to the floor and started to cross the room, noting large parts seemed unstable... also, those annoying bats were still around. He threaded carefully on the unstable floor while burning bats to cinders. The first half went well and he went up to the second half. Seeing the stairs leading up made him have a brief moment of distraction and allowed a bat to strike him... again. He fell on the floor, making it flip, tossing him down to the green mud below. Not wanting to get close to it, he turned to a bat and looked down at the millions of hands below, all awaiting his fall... it's almost like if the mudmen and the bats were working together. He stayed under the floor and continued his progress. Now the bats didn't bother him anymore, he was one of them. He swooped up and reverted on the stairs, climbing to the next room. In it was a giant golden skeleton known as a Paralanthropus. It swung a huge bone at him. Alucard raised his flaming sword and blocked the strike. The skeleton continued to push down with it's bony arm, forcing Alucard to use both of his to keep his sword from going down, but still, the skeleton's power was slowly driving his sword down. Alucard's face slowly covered itself in sweat. Much to both's surprise, the bone was cut in two because of the skeleton's constant pressuring on the blazing sword. It stamped it's foot angry and Alucard chopped it's head off. The demon familiar returned to his side.
Alucard: And where were you gone?
Demon: Helping of course... Alucard saw what it meant. In front of him was the remains of a White dragon, a magically animated serpent dragon tied to a wall to serve as it's guardian. It's skull had been pierced and it's spine was in pieces, it had obviously tasted the dreaded Holy Light spear, the demon's ultimate move. In the next room was a low ceiling over another river of mud. On top of it all were more bats and mudmen and spikes all over the ceiling. The crossing was hard, but not impossible. After a very slow progress among the mud, the two reached the boss' room. Inside was a specter of a deceased magician floating near the stalactite filled ceiling. Alucard slashed time after time. Each time, the ghost took the hit, flew to the other end of the cave and tried to do something and got hit again, repeating the chain until it dissolved to dust. Alucard headed to the exit, but got hit in the back by a strange glowing sphere. The specter had reformed and started to assault him again. Alucard leapt to slash the ghost, but found that he now moved only at half speed, so his Marsil wasn't so useful anymore. He threw his Runesword, it's speed not hindered one bit by the spell on Alucard, slicing the ghost into dust with one hit. As it turned to ashes again, Alucard was free from the spell. To make sure it wouldn't reform again, placed a stick of TNT in it's dust, blowing the dust to nothing. He stepped into the present and found himself less in a cave than before. He was on a floor made of stone slabs before a descending staircase. He went down and immediately felt danger. He dodged to his side just before a spear would have stabbed him. He turned to face a spear guard. It raised it's spear for a full power swipe, but Alucard threw his runesword, cutting it in half.
Alucard: Last time I passed here, I chose to take the path to my left... I believe I'll try going down this time. He descended a few more staircases to a small opening in the floor. Alucard leapt in. The ceiling was out of view in mere seconds, letting him freefall between four walls, not seeing either top or bottom.
Alucard: Hmm... At the speed I'm going, if there's a bottom to this, I'll surely make a nice pancake... Speaking of which, I think I see the floor down there... WHAT? Alucard's feet had almost hit the floor when he finally reacted and turned to mist, going clear through the floor.
Alucard: What? I just crossed the floor? I've never been here before... He reverted on the side of the small cave. He crept down carefully until he was down on solid ground again in front of a large cave. He entered it into a small cave leading into a hall. As he got close to the hall, a part of the ceiling crumbled, blocking it and letting a huge worm as large as him burst from above the doorway. It roared and charged him, tackling Alucard back in the last room, crashing hard in the wall. He got back up right before it's head erupted from the door and charged again. Alucard unsheathed his Marsil and activated it's special attack, lighting the air with intense flames as the sword's blade cut the air, leaving nothing but a burning trail of flames in it's wake. The worm caught ablaze, squirming and moaning in pain as it recessed back from where it came from. Alucard sighed in relief and heard strange noises coming from below his feet. He looked down and noticed the floor below him was caught ablaze as well. He leaned down to check how stone could catch on fire and saw the floor break, making him fall face first down another small fall... but face first onto a stone cylinder tied to the floor.
Alucard: Ow... After recovering from his painful fall, he went into the new room he'd unearthed. Inside was a small dock and a sign. On the sign was written the following: "Insert the sign and help will come"
Alucard: The sign? What sign? He looked around and saw a statue sized imprint of a mermaid in the wall. Alucard started looking in his cape, taking out various junk until he got out a rusted, dented, half destroyed seemingly golden statue of a mermaid.
Alucard: Now how did it get this damaged... Little flashbacks start popping in his head. The first consists of him getting on the passer's boat and the statue falling into the lake there. Right before they left, the statue came flying out of the water, hitting him in the back of the head, an angry fishman emerging from the lake.
Fishman: Hey! There are people living in this pond, it's not your garbage can, you moron!
Alucard: Sorry, it just fell out of my cape.
Fishman: Fine, just don't do it again... He felt another rapid jolt of pain.
Fishman 2: Hey! Some people are trying to sleep down here! What's the idea with throwing stuff on peaceful sleepers?
Alucard: Sorry, it just fell off... Another painful contact with the thrown statue.
Fishman 3: What's the bright idea, throwing this ugly piece of crap at people?
Alucard: Sorry, it just... He gets it in the back of the head again... about a dozen more times until it finally lands in the boat.
Passer: Are you done already? Next scene cuts to Alucard climbing a large wall of stone near a waterfall. He finally reached the top.
Alucard: Yes! He hears clanking. He looks down and sees something golden falling fast, hitting multiple rocks on it's way down until it crashed loudly below.
Alucard: No... Next flashback to his first encounter with a Hammer, a large green living armor wielding an oversized very heavy hammer. He dodged the blow by sliding back, but unfortunately, it fell out of his cape, getting the full force of the blow to crush it on the floor. Next was the Guardian's multi thrust and finally came the time he forgot it in a puddle near his cave while waiting for Richter earlier...
Alucard: Yeah... I guess that explains it's state... He put it in the hole and heard rowing. From the cave's misty depths came the passer that had been deeper in the caves before.
Passer: Well, looks like you need my help again...
Alucard: It seems so...
Passer: Well, it's fine by me... as long as you don't play with the fishmen again like last time...
Alucard: Don't remind me, my head hurts just thinking about it... Alucard got in the strange man's boat and let him take him into the depths of the cave. At the other end was a small cave containing a stone slab. On it was a snorkel with a weird top. Behind it, carved in the wall was the following "To whomever reaches this cavern, upon thee is given the holy symbol, allowing one to move more freely around watery areas."
Alucard: Hey, this might actually help me... He went back out and had the passer take him back to the cave's entrance. He climbed back up and went back to the debris room. He placed a stick of TNT beside the debris, lit the fuse and ran for cover. He heard the explosion and found the large boulders having been turned to countless little smoking pieces of rock on the floor. In the next room were stone pillars leading up and a few centimeters of water on the floor. He jumped to the first pillar, making the ceiling from where he came from crumble again.
Alucard: Oh great! Can't that door stay open for a minute? He noticed the water below his pillar had begun to rise.
Alucard: Oh great... Wait! I'll try that holy symbol I got earlier! He put on the snorkel and let the water rise. It rapidly covered him from head to toe. Just as fast, it covered the top of his snorkel, letting water flow down the pipe and straight in his lungs, almost burning them off. (For the less initiated, water is quite harmful to vampires, not only holy water) he rapidly jumped from pillar to pillar until he burst out of his watery prison, gasping for air. He stayed at the edge of the watery pool to recover his strength. When he was healthy enough, he ventured deeper in and found a large monster there. The top part was the upper body of a beautiful woman, next were three lion heads one beside another and then were countless worms like the one from before forming her legs. She pointed her arm forward and the worms charged him. He used his Marsil's special to fry them and scorch the lion's fur quite a bit. The upper part threw a disk made of water at him. He dodged it and cut her in half with one rapid swing of his runesword. The sword returned to his hand and he cleaned it in the small watery puddle at his feet, letting the monster's debris catch ablaze on their own, leaving only ashes of her left. Alucard went in the next room and saw his door to the future, but as he got close, the floor crumbled and made him fall back in the room he'd fought Scylla's worm in earlier... the one with the blocked exit. Sighing his poor luck, he placed a stick of TNT beside the debris, waited fro it to explode. When it did, a flood of water entered the room, soaking him and inflicting heavy damage. He recrossed the pillar room and Scylla's room to rereach the room with the exit door and found it blocked by debris now. Leaping over the hole in the floor, he placed another stick of TNT beside the debris and leapt back torwards Scylla's room to wait, but the floor beside the door gave way, making him fall back down. The explosion of the debris also made more debris block his way to the pillar room. Another Stick of TNT and two rooms crossed again before he stared at his way out.
Alucard: Hey wait... I could've just turned into a bat and fly back to the top... Ah Dammit! He crossed the door, a bit frustrated at having wasted so much TNT uselessly... especially since it probably doesn't even exist yet...