"What are you doing?"
Soma glances over his shoulder to see Shanoa, who has dressed in one of the sets of clothes that Yoko brought to her, stares at him in curiosity. It has been an hour since Yoko left his apartment, leaving Soma and Shanoa to finish her pancakes that Soma has made for her. Once they finished their breakfast, Soma suggests Shanoa to check out the clothes that Yoko brought for her while he decides to strengthen the barrier that protects his room by adding more talismans to what Yoko referred to core spots. Those basically are spots where the talismans are so the spots need to be hidden.
Soma has added more talismans to the other four spots, including the one that is located inside the mirror world that can be accessed through the mirror on his room, and now is adding the talismans to the last spot.
"Strengthening the barrier that protects this room; after what Yoko said earlier, I don't want to take any chance" Soma answered before he pushes the shoes cabinet back to its original position to hide the talismans on the wall behind it.
"That is a unique way to set up a barrier" Shanoa commented with intrigue as she observes the talismans on the wall, placed on strategic spots to form a magic circle.
"This is how the ancient Japanese set up their barrier but this one is particularly used by those from the Hakuba clan" Soma explained after he has returned the shoes cabinet on its original position before he stands back on its feet.
"Now that the barrier has been strengthened; it is time to go outside and do grocery. You should come with me, for now it is better for us to stick together" Soma said before he walks toward his room to retrieve a few things.
Once Soma enters his room, he immediately approaches his nightstand, opens its drawer, and retrieves a container that contains a red liquid. Opening the container, Soma dips his right index and middle finger into the liquid before he starts to draw a magical symbol on the wall of his bedroom.
"Hear my pleas and open on my command" Soma chants softly, causing the symbol to glow. A small portal then appears in front of him and something comes out from that portal. A sword, a holy sword, his signature holy sword as what Yoko liked to call it, comes out from the portal.
Claimh Solais.
During his time in exploring Castlevania, twice, Soma has managed to gather a quite large amount of weapons that he is sure he can open up a temporary weapon shop with all the weapons he has. Of course, Arikado being Arikado, plus Japan heavy restriction on weapons, Soma ended up need to hand all his weapons to the agency where Arikado works.
But when he moves to Romania, the church has given him a special permission to own a weapon that he can use to defend himself in case there is a cult that manages to slip off their watch and aim to kidnap or kill him. Obviously, he chooses Claimh Solais, his most used weapon back then. The church also grants him a silver gun as an extra protection in case Claimh Solais alone isn't enough. That is why Soma owns two weapons within his apartment though he usually only carries around silver gun since it is easy to conceal and requires no magic to conceal it.
But like what he said earlier, he doesn't want to take any chance.
Grabbing the holy sword, Soma then closes the portal. Afterward, Soma calls upon the power of Doppelganger, causing his body to glitch for a moment but when his body has stopped glitching, Claimh Solais is no longer on his right hand, already being wield by his unseen other self. While using Doppelganger soul can help him conceals his weapon but that doesn't conceal their presence so someone with sharp sense like Yoko or Arikado will capable to sense the power of Claimh Solais from within himself.
While Soma is in his room, Shanoa has decided to wait for him by sitting on the couch while thinking about what the Belnades has shared with them this morning. If the Belandes's theory turns out to be true then someone in the present who knew about her has, somehow, managed to open a time portal to send her here. She concluded that she probably was an unknown to most people back on her own time which might explain why she wasn't targeted by the cults who wish to revive Dracula.
However, the Belnades and Soma's lack of knowledge about Ecclesia makes her wonder what happened to the organization she once called home as time passes on. Do people simply forget about them? No, if that is the case then the knowledge of glyphs should not be passed on too and the Belnades clearly mentioned that some books and scrolls do mention glyph. If that is the case then she concludes that Ecclesia was most likely purposely erased from the church's record for one reason or another.
Considering what its founder and leader aimed, Shanoa can understand why the church wants nothing to do with Ecclesia anymore.
"Sorry for the wait" Shanoa stands back on her feet and turns around to see Soma exits his room while carrying two items that she observes seem to be some sort of a headgear.
"You will need this, we will head to the department store with my motorcycle" Soma explained as he hands her one of the headgears that he carries.
"Motorcycle?" Shanoa said while titling her head slightly as she accepts the black headgear that is given to her.
"Better to see it for yourself, c'mon" Soma answered while nodding to the door.
After locking the door and leaving his apartment, Soma leads Shanoa to the underground level of the building where the parking area is located. In the parking area, Shanoa is greeted by vehicles that Soma called as car, best described as a self-moving wagon that has several cool features. They come in various sizes and shapes though what intrigues Shanoa is the fact that their wheels aren't made of wood but, according to Soma, rubber.
After walking for a while the two of them finally reach Soma's personal vehicle, a white sport motorcycle.
Soma smiled proudly at his motorcycle, a gift from his family for celebrating his success in being accepted on a university aboard. After inserting the ignition key, Soma turns on his motorcycle and rides it on before he stares toward Shanoa who is observing his motorcycle.
"Put your helmet on and ride on it" Soma instructed as he nods toward the seat behind him before he puts his white helmet on to show her how it is done.
"So, motorcycle is like a steed made of steel" Shanoa concluded as she wears her helmet in the way that Soma has shown her.
"Pretty much" Soma responded with a shrug as Shanoa starts to climb on his motorcycle and sits behind him.
"Put your hands around my body so you won't fall off" Soma instructed again before he starts to navigate his motorcycle so it will face the entrance of the garage.
As soon as Shanoa, hesitantly, puts her arms around his torso, Soma revs up the engine and rides off on a, somewhat, responsible speed. He notices Shanoa's arms tense up a little before tightening her hold on him.
"Much faster than a horse, right?" Soma called out with a grin on his face, not even care when Shanoa gives him no response as he easily maneuvers through the street filled cars.
Shanoa ignores his claims of this thing being faster than a horse as she wants him to focus his attention more on the path ahead of them since considering how fast this thing is, Shanoa doesn't want to imagine what happens if they crash against something. As they ride on, Shanoa starts to notice how different the town is compared to what she remembered on her own time.
Most areas are filled with buildings with no more any room for nature to take place and there are a lot more people around too, the town is literally filled with a lot more lives. The biggest change probably is the existence of those tall buildings that Soma refers as skyscrapers, none of those buildings exist back in her time and the biggest building she can remember in her time was the Castlevania.
After a few more minutes, they finally arrive on their destination; a tall building that Soma refers as a department store. It is a tall building, not as tall as those skyscrapers, but tall enough to almost rival the Castlevania, almost since she believes Castlevania is still taller than this building.
Once Soma has managed to park his motorcycle on the parking area, he instructed Shanoa to get down and to place her helmet on her seat before he does the same.
"I am surprised your hair still looks smooth, some of my female classmates always complain how riding motorcycle always ruins their hair" Soma pointed out without any real meaning behind his words.
Shanoa simply strokes her hair once to see if his statement is true or not and finds out it is true. Many have commented on her hair in the past, especially Laura and Monica, but she tends to ignore it. She decided to let her hair grow mainly to cover her back since the first time she walked around with a backless dress, she got too many stares from the male members of Ecclesia… including…
"Hey, you okay?" Soma asked when a troubled look appears on her face, he hopes he hasn't said anything that reminds her of bad times.
"Yes… I am fine… my hair looks fine probably because of one of the glyphs I possessed" Shanoa replied after shaking her head, deciding to humor Soma's question to distract her mind from the memories of him for now.
"That's really useful, I do hope one of the souls within me will do the same for my own hair" Soma stated playfully in a fake worried tone as he pats his white hair.
"Souls?" Shanoa immediately questioned in suspicion, prompting Soma to raise both his hands in front of him in hope of calming her down.
"It is part of my innate ability, the Power of Dominance. You see, whenever I killed a monster, depend on my own luck, their soul will end up getting into me. This allows me to use their ability, it isn't something I can control so whenever I killed something, again depend on my luck, a soul always ends up entering my body" Soma explained as he pulls out his motorcycle's ignition key and stores it inside his jeans' pocket.
"That is… a rather interesting ability. I presume it is an ability originally possessed by the Count?" Shanoa inquired, feeling glad that the distraction that Soma, unknowingly, provided works in keeping her head in the present.
"From what I know about it, yes. It is supposed to be the ability that allows him to control the monsters inside Castlevania, dominating them. But my power never develop on such extent since I keep rejecting the darkness" Soma explained as he starts to make his way toward the entrance of the department store with Shanoa following him from behind.
"Does it have any side-effect on you?" Shanoa asked before they enter the department store and she immediately notices the change of the temperature as soon as they enter the store, it feels colder inside.
"At first, it was hard to maintain my sense of identity with that many souls inside me but overtime, I learned how to keep it even with many souls inside me" Soma answered as he grabs one of the shopping carts and pushes it toward his first destination. Fortunately, he is good in remembering stuffs so he has made a mental note on what he needs to buy.
Shanoa observes as Soma pushes… the moving basket… and grabs one of the items displayed on the shelf to inspect it. Overalls, the store reminds her of Jacob's store back at the Wygol village… only much bigger. However, what intrigues Shanoa the most is…
"This store lacks supervision" Shanoa commented, prompting Soma, who is in the middle of deciding whether to get cheese-topped mini bagels or pepperoni-topped mini bagels, to glance at her and raise his eyebrow.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"People just take whatever they like without the staffs supervise it, is it a modern time practice that do not exist in the past?" Shanoa asked while gesturing to the people around them who simply take the item they want and put it to… their moving basket.
Soma at first only stares at her while blinking twice before he lets out an amused chuckle which seems to confuse her further.
"I guess, in a way you are right. But we are being supervised right now. You see over there" Soma said while pointing at a certain object that is attached to the ceiling.
"That thing is called as CCTV or surveillance camera. How do I explain this… they function like an eye that allows the staff to see what they can't see from their position. There are many surveillance cameras around the store so the chance of people taking stuffs without paying are pretty low, besides, the doors are installed with a system that will allow the staffs to know whether a thief just ran out of the store or not, you see the guy in black uniform outside? That is one of the security staffs. So if a thief runs off from the store, the security will be immediately alerted" Soma explained as best as he can before he puts the pepperoni-topped mini bagels package into his shopping cart, finally deciding on more meats than cheeses.
"Technology advancements have gifted humanity with many incredible technologies, have not it?" Shanoa commented in wonder as she looks around and spots several others CCTV in the room. All the technologies she has encountered so far have managed to somewhat impress her, from the television, smartphone, microwave, refrigerator, motorcycle, and many more.
"Yeah, humans have really come so far from the stone age… but everything can reach this point partially thanks to you too Shanoa" Soma said as he puts several pancake mixes and bottles of maple syrup into his shopping cart.
Shanoa turns around to face him when she heard his remark before she tilts her head in confusion.
"I don't know why the church's record never mentioned about you or Ecclesia but you did defeated Dracula too, didn't you? To me, that makes you as much as a hero as the Belmonts, the Morris, and the Belnades. Without you guys, I doubt humanity will reach this point. So, thank you so much Shanoa" Soma said genuinely with an appreciative grin.
Hearing his genuine words cause something within Shanoa to feel different, like there is this warmness within her. It was just a simple thank you yet the sheer feeling behind his words is enough to make Shanoa feels something within her heart. Emotions are complicated, even now she still tries to relearn it all yet she knows that the feeling that she feels at the moment…
She enjoys this feeling.
Soma simply smiled as he watches Shanoa clutches her chest and lowers her face slightly though he can still spot the tiny smile on her lips. He has experienced the same thing with Yoko a year ago during his first time in Castlevania where Yoko said that despite doing so much, she never received any meaningful thank you and perhaps Shanoa is in the same boat as Yoko. Doing so much without receiving a thank you, sometimes people just take something for granted that they forget that the simplest act like this can make those who have done much feel appreciated.
"Now tell me Shanoa" Shanoa looks up at Soma who just crouched down to grab something from the lower shelf before he smiles at her while showing her two different boxes of cereal.
"Which one do you prefer? Honey flavored or chocolate flavored?"
Thankfully, nothing really eventful has happened during their shopping. After getting all the necessary foods as well as a few products that Yoko suggested to him through a text message for Shanoa's sake, the two of them went to the second floor to get some clothes for Shanoa. Soma admitted that he felt little awkward shopping female clothes with a woman who isn't related to him especially when one of the staffs commented what a kind boyfriend he is to accompany his girlfriend shopping clothes.
Soma doesn't have what it takes to correct her while Shanoa seems to be unbothered by such comment.
"Let's practice calling me one more time" Soma declared which prompts Shanoa to look down at the black device on her hands again.
After buying five more sets of clothes for Shanoa as well as two coats and a hat, Soma then brings her to a cell phone store to get her a smartphone. He will be a lot more at ease once he knows that Shanoa can contact him with her phone whenever there is a trouble while he is away. Afterward, he buys them some fried cheeses from a street vendor before bringing them to a park just outside the town that gives the visitors an amazing view of the town since the park is located on a hill.
"Understood" Shanoa replied before she starts to operate her phone again in the way that Soma has taught her before. A few moments later, Soma's smartphone starts to vibrate and let out a noise that Soma referred as ringtone, telling Shanoa that she has, again, succeed in 'calling' Soma's smartphone.
"Great, now you know what to do if there is ever a trouble while I am away" Soma said with a nod before he takes another fried cheese from the bag that sits between them and takes a bite off it. Their grocery is safe on the ground next to the bench that they are occupied at the moment.
"Aside from calling people, you can also do a lot other stuffs with smartphone. Like taking a picture for example" Soma explained when he notices Shanoa still observes the black object in her hands.
"It also functions as a camera?" Shanoa asked in surprise since she previously thought that this smartphone was only an advance version of a telephone.
"You bet it does" Soma answered with a chuckle as he gently takes the black smartphone from Shanoa's hands and shows her to access the camera function. Afterward, Soma raises her phone to the sky so the camera can take the picture of the two of them.
Shanoa is surprised to see a clear reflection of herself in the small screen of the smartphone.
"Say cheese" Soma declared while forming a small grin.
"C-Cheese?" Shanoa repeated, not quite understand by what he means.
When Soma presses the capture button, the smartphone captures the picture of a grinning Soma and a confused Shanoa.
"Look decent enough for our first picture together" Soma commented with a chuckle as he hands the black smartphone back to Shanoa. Shanoa can't decide whether she actually likes the result of the picture or not, especially after staring at her own confused face. Does it matter? She guesses not but one thing does catch her interest.
"The picture does not come out in a paper form?" Shanoa asked while staring at the man next to her who is devouring another fried cheese.
"It doesn't but if you want the picture in paper form, I can print that out for you" Soma explained while trying to remember whether his printer back at his apartment has enough inks or not.
"That will not be necessary, I just used to the camera which will print out the picture after I taken a picture" Shanoa politely declined and explained why she asked if the picture will come out in paper form too.
"You have experienced with camera? Are you interested in photography by any chance?" Soma asked in curiosity, not really expecting the woman to be interested in such activity.
Shanoa simply shakes her head to answer Soma's question before she looks up to enjoy the view of the town while recalling those moments when she needed to deal with photography.
"During my mission, I came upon a journalist whom I saved. But he misunderstood my intention and declared that he would reveal me as a witch to public if I did not help him in getting some pictures of creatures that he wished to write an article about" Shanoa explained, recounting her first meeting with Marcel.
"Hold on, doesn't that mean this guy basically blackmailed you to do his work?" Soma said, not liking the way this guy used the black haired woman to take pictures of monster.
"We called it as a deal, he would scrap all story about me being a witch while I taken picture of some creatures for him. He still generous enough to pay me for the pictures" Shanoa explained with a shrug, not really bothered by what Marcel did.
"At least he paid you. What happened to him after you done taking pictures of the monsters?" Soma asked with a sigh as he picks another fried cheese before handing it to Shanoa
"He got fired" Shanoa answered after observing the snack on Soma's hand before she accepts it with a nod. Soma can't help but blink his eyes a few times after hearing Shanoa's simple answer.
"What?"
"Apparently, he was supposed to write sport articles instead of supernatural articles. I supposed his chief decided to fire him when Marcel kept writing supernatural articles instead of what he supposed to write" Shanoa explained before taking a small bite from the snack on her hands. She is surprised at how good the fried cheese actually tastes.
Soma doesn't know whether he needs to pity the man or say that he deserves it but overall he finds the situation to be hilarious that he can't help but letting out an amused laugh. Shanoa watches the white haired man as she nibbles at her cheese, once again noticing how strange it is for her to be able to have a conversation like this with him, the reincarnation of Dracula.
The dark presence that she can sense within him will always be a constant reminder for her that this man is the reincarnation of the lord of darkness that has spread misery and created havoc throughout history yet his easygoing attitude as well as the constant kindness that he shows started to make her feel less uncomfortable around him, something she doesn't know how to feel yet.
He is really an enigma for her, an individual that she can't fully comprehend yet.
"Now that was hilarious, hopefully he can find another job afterward. Anyway, how is the cheese, good right?" Soma asked with a chuckle as he watches Shanoa finishes the fried cheese that he just gave her.
"I never thought frying a cheese with oil will make it taste good" Shanoa commented once she swallows the cheese in her mouth. Soma about make a comment about how culinary has advanced as much as technology but a dark presence that definitely doesn't come from him immediately alerts both Soma and Shanoa of a possible threat.
Soma and Shanoa immediately stand back on their feet before quickly turning around only to be greeted by a figure who wears a crimson and black cloak with the hood up, preventing the two from seeing the figure's face.
The first thing that Soma wants to do is to look up at the sky and yells 'Oh c'mon! Today supposed to be Saturday, my peaceful day!' but in the end decides to approach the matter in a more appropriate manner.
"Who are you?" Soma demanded as he prepares to summon Claimh Solais on his hand. Shanoa, however, decides to immediately summon a pair of crimson rapiers on her hands and assumes her battle stance.
"You may call me Shards, Lord Dracula" the figure stated with a deep feminine voice, telling Soma that the figure is, most likely, a woman… though his eyebrow does twitch slightly when she called him Lord Dracula.
"So, what is the name this time? Night Crusher? Dracula Reviver? Or maybe… Death and friends?" Soma asked, already knew that this lady most likely come from a cult that hunts him down, after all, why else would she call him as Lord Dracula rather than his real name?
But what worries him the most is the fact that this woman actually is here. Ever since he moved to Romania, he hasn't encountered any cult members at all which proves how strong the security that the church provided to prevent any cult to get to him. The fact that she is here must means there is a hole that the cult she associated to has found… or her cult is simply too powerful for the church's current security.
"I see no need to mention where I came from when you are not my target" Shards answered calmly as two crystal orbs fly out of her sleeves. As soon as Soma heard that he wasn't the target, he immediately puts himself in front of Shanoa and stretches his arm forward to create a barrier through the soul of Final Guard just as the crystal orbs shine brightly before enveloping everything in purple light, forcing both Soma and Shanoa to briefly close their eyes.
When they open their eyes, they are no longer in the park that they occupied earlier. At the moment, they are in an empty field where everything is surrounded by purple hue. There is also wall on all corners of the field, showing that the field feels more like a room.
"We are in a pocket dimension" Soma concludes as he dismisses the barrier he created after observing the area before he looks up to see Shards already float a few feet off the ground. He doesn't watch Doctor Who or read those sci-fi novels for nothing; he knows they will come handy in the future.
"Good observation Lord Dracula" Shards praised, though it feels more like she mocks him, before the two crystal orbs start to glow in purple again.
Soon, many black portals immediately appear on the ground, surrounding Soma and Shanoa completely. From those portals, various monsters start to come out, all of them are the armors type starting from Knight Armor, Ax Armor, Bomber Armor, Crossbow Armor to those that Shanoa considers to be difficult to defeat like Hammer Shaker and Double Hammers. Soma even can spot three Great Armors among the horde of armored monsters around them.
"This is bad" Soma stated as he takes a few steps back at the same time Shanoa does until their back meet each other; they are completely surrounded. Shanoa analyzes their situation for a few moments as the armored creatures start to approach them before she immediately decides on what to do next.
"Soma duck!" Shanoa commanded as she dismisses the rapiers on her hands, prompting Soma to immediately crouch down on one knee. Shanoa's eyes start to glow as the cloth that covers her shoulders and back immediately torn apart, allowing Soma to see the runes on her shoulders and back which glow dimly.
"Venus!" Shanoa exclaimed as she materializes a very long sword made of pure purple magical energy on her hands, the result of the combination between one of her weapon glyphs and Nitesco glyph. Shanoa then spins herself while swinging her oversize sword, cleaving most of the creatures that surround them in one slash.
Soma can't help but stare in slight awe as Shanoa manages to kill most of the monsters that surround them in one hit, one slash… though he also notes that the clothes she wears will be unusable after this since it has holes on each shoulder and a big one on the back that completely reveals her back and the cool-looking rune that he doesn't know was there last night. Also, he notes that there is no soul that coming toward him despite that number of monsters that has been slain by Shanoa… odd.
"Better close your ears Shanoa" Soma warned as he quickly stands back on his feet as soon as the beam sword on Shanoa's hands disappears. Calling forth the power of Mandragora, Soma summons the demonic radish on both his hands before he throws one toward the remaining group of monsters and the other one toward the robed figure.
The Mandragora that Soma threw lets out a horrifying and deathly scream that while manages to completely shatter the remaining armored monsters, fail to do anything against Shards since there seems to be an invisible barrier around her that protect her from the Mandragora's scream.
Of course she will have set up a barrier around herself.
"Astounding but I am afraid still not enough" Shards commented before the two orbs that float on her sides start to glow again, this time in red. About thirty magic circles instantly appear behind Shards before those magic circles immediately fire a large number of magical bullets toward Soma and Shanoa.
Shanoa about to react by summoning shields through her Scutum glyph but this time Soma reacts faster.
"Then taste the power of vacuum cleaner!" Soma declared as he summons a magic vacuum through Persephone's soul. To Shanoa's surprise, the vacuum cleaner, as Soma referred it, manages to absorb all the incoming magical bullets, ensuring that no bullets will manage to reach them.
Once no more magical bullets come toward them, Shanoa immediately runs toward Shards as fast as she can, closing the gap between them in matter of seconds. Once she is within the right distance Shanoa immediately leaps forward and thrusts her hand forward, prompting a large fist made of earth that is created through her Lapiste glyph to appear on her side before it launches itself forward to crash against the barrier around Shards.
Seeing that her first attack has no impact on the barrier, Shanoa does the same with her other hand, prompting another large first made of earth to appear on her side. Despite the fact that Shanoa has slammed the large fists over and over against the barrier, the barrier keeps remaining strong; not a single crack can even be spotted on its invisible surface.
"It is useless; such strike will never do anything against my barrier. But please do keep trying" Shards said, appearing more amused by Shanoa's vain effort.
"Shanoa throws her to the sky" Soma commanded before he immediately uses Hippogryph soul to jump high to the sky. Shanoa immediately decides to follow Soma's command by grabbing the barrier that surrounds Shards with the large fists and throwing it toward the sky, right where Soma is waiting for it.
"Then what about something bigger?!" Soma asked as he summons a giant ax through Giant Ax Armor's soul and slams it toward the incoming barrier covered Shards. Simultaneously, Shanoa immediately launches both manifestation of Lapiste glyph forward, the fists hit Shards's barrier from the back while Soma's giant ax hits the barrier from the front.
To Soma's surprise, despite their combined attacks that are strong enough to create a shockwave upon impact, it does nothing to the sphere-shaped barrier that surrounds Shards.
"Remarkable effort but still… useless" before Soma can react, several magic circles already appear around them before each magic circle instantly fires a black thunderbolt toward Soma.
Shanoa blue eyes widen slightly in worry when she sees Soma got hit by several thunderbolts and pushed toward the ground by those thunderbolts. Activating Rapidus Fio glyph, Shanoa immediately disappears and reappears right on where Soma crashed before she materializes a pair of blue large shields to protect them from the incoming thunderbolts.
"Are you okay?" Shanoa asked as she glances over her shoulder to see if the white haired man is fine or not. She feels a bit of relief when she sees Soma simply dusts himself before standing back on his feet.
"Yeah, I am fine. Just a little bit… shocked" Soma stated before chuckling a little at his own joke. Thanks God for Bugbear's soul giving him high resistance against all form of electricity or else he will suffer more damage than this.
"It is no time for a joke" Shanoa scolds lightly as she focuses her attention back toward holding up her shields to protect them.
"You're right, sorry about that" Soma said while rubbing the back of his head before he takes a deep breath while closing his eyes briefly.
When Soma opens his eyes; his silver eyes change into crimson briefly as he calls forth some of the souls under his possession.
"Come!" Soma shouted while raising his right hand as he summons several familiars under his possession; gargoyle-like monster Gaibon, a small winged creature the Mini Devil, a beautiful plant woman Alura Une, and a flying broken sword Alastor.
"Go!" Soma commanded his familiars, prompting each of his familiar to do the orders that he has given them via telepathy.
Gaibon immediately flies toward the sky while avoiding the thunderbolts that try to strike it down before it immediately fires a large stream of fire toward Shards which of course blocked by the barrier that surrounds the woman. Simultaneously, Alastor immediately attacks the barrier directly, trying to find any weak spots by repeatedly attacking the barrier from various angles.
While Gaibon and Alastor distract Shards by keeping her attention on them, Mini Devil quickly fires sonic waves at rapid speed to destroy each magic circle that fires thunderbolts toward Soma, Shanoa, and Gaibon.
"If physical attack won't shatter barrier then let's try science-based attack" Soma declared to gain Shanoa's attention. While Shanoa doesn't understand what Soma means, she decides that any plan for now sounds better than no plan at all.
"Do you have a plan?"
"I do and I will need your assistance to pull it off" Soma answered with a confident nod and smile.
"That's right; waste your energy trying to uselessly break the barrier. Eventually a chance will present itself for me to strike you down" Shards whispered as she observes the two familiars keep trying to break her barrier before the two orbs on her side start to glow in blue. A moment later, several blue magic circles instantly appear around her to replace the magic circles destroyed by the Mini Devil.
Each magic circle immediately and rapidly fires a blue magical beam with three beams manage to pierce Gaibon before it can try to dodge the beams, causing the familiar to disappear. Alastor and Mini Devil manage to dodge the initial assault of the beams but soon start to get overwhelmed too before the beams eventually manage to hit them and cause them to disappear.
Before Shards can try to shift her attention back the white haired man and the black haired woman, new monsters immediately surround her. This time it was a horde of winged skeletons which wield a spear and a shield.
"Oh? Still not done yet?" Shards asked no one in particular before the magic circles around her start to fire blue magical beams toward the group of Winged Skeletons, prompting the familiars to either dodge the incoming beams or block it with their shield.
While Shards is busy trying to kill all the Winged Skeletons that surround her, she fails to notice the vines of Alura Une that come to her direction. Thus, before Shards realizes it, the vines already wrap themselves around the barrier that surrounds her before they quickly slam Shards and the barrier to the ground, right where Shanoa is waiting for her.
Shanoa immediately touches the invisible barrier in front of her with both her hands before she activates one of her glyphs, the Vol Grando glyph that commands over ice, and starts to freeze the barrier as well as the air around her.
"What are you planning now?" Shards asked as she commands the magic circle on the air to fire the blue magical beam to Shanoa… only for the group of the surviving Winged Skeletons to immediately block the beams' path, preventing the beams from reaching Shanoa.
Shanoa simply narrows her eyes as she puts more magical energy into her effort and simultaneously makes sure she won't overdo it and loses most of her energy. A few moments later, Shanoa manages to completely encase Shards and the barrier around her, along with the vines of Soma's Alura Une, in a large ice crystals formation while also dropping the temperature of the air around them, making icy mist to come out from her mouth and nose every time she breathes.
Shanoa is a bit surprised when a vine suddenly wraps itself around her torso before it immediately pulls her back so she will stand next to Soma.
"Here a question Shards, what do you think the end result will be if an object that has been frozen solid in sufficient cold temperature suddenly heated up rapidly?" Soma asked as he stretches his right arm forward and calls forth the power of Final Guard to create a barrier that will protect him and Shanoa.
At the same time, Soma raises his other hand to the air while calling forth a different soul within him. The cold air that Shanoa has created with her glyph starts to heat up as Soma summons the power of Aguni to heat up the air around the ice crystals formation that Shanoa made. Since the sun isn't present here and only the thunderbolts and the beams become the source of heat then Soma concludes that Shanoa must be capable to drop the temperature to a very low point with her ice glyph… which means if he brings the temperature up to a very high point in a fast rate then…
"It will explode"
As soon as Soma said those words, the reaction that he wants immediately happens. The result of the cold that Shanoa created and the heat that Soma created has managed to affect the surrounding air enough for a large explosion to manifest a few moments after Soma started to heat up their surrounding, killing all the familiars that Shanoa summoned as well as destroying the magic circles that Shards manifested.
If Soma hasn't created a barrier to protect them, the explosion will also affect them in some ways, and although the same can be said about Shards's barrier but one thing is clear for Soma. Her barrier is spherical in shape unlike his barrier which means there needs to be a way for her to breathe… unless she doesn't actually need to breathe or magically enhanced to survive with low oxygen. But if she isn't then that must mean the barrier allows air to pass through it… if that is the case then…
Shanoa immediately uses Pneuma glyph to create blast of wind to clear up the smoke that surrounds them once the explosion is over while Soma dismisses Alura Une while still keeping his barrier up.
It doesn't take long for them to spot Shards though this time, she is standing on the ground instead of floating a few feet off the ground but the explosion has clearly affected her. There are many tears, burns, and holes in her robe with the entire of her left sleeve have disappeared while half of her right sleeve is no longer there. A part of her hood also has disappeared, allowing Soma and Shanoa to see a dull grey eye and part of her blonde hair. Her visible skin shows that she has multiple burns wound and bruises across her body. The two floating crystal orbs on her side also show sight of damage.
"What a commendable effort, I clearly have underestimated the two of you more than I should have. However, I have completed my objective" Shards stated as if the current condition of her body doesn't matter to her.
Soma, however, doesn't want to end this fight without answers and thus immediately charges forward while calling forth the power of Black Panther's soul to disappear and reappear in front of Shards.
"You won't go anywhere until I have answers for the questions I have" Soma said with narrowed eyes as his body glitches momentarily but when his body stops glitching, Claimh Solais already present on his right hand.
"I am afraid that isn't for either me or you to decide, Lord Dracula" Shards stated simply as she closes her eyes… and both Soma's silver eyes immediately widen in surprise when he can feel an extraordinary dark presence that feels like it comes from every angle around him… until his senses finally manage to determine from the presence actually comes from.
Soma immediately moves backward in high speed that makes him looks like disappearing and reappearing next to Shanoa just as darkness comes out from beneath Shards. The darkness at first comes in form of multiple tentacles that surrounds Shards before those tentacles immediately intertwine with each other to form a form that Soma believes mean to be the image of a devil.
"What is this dark power?!" Shanoa asked as she summons a pair of swords on her hands with her Secare glyph.
"That is what I want to know too!" Soma exclaimed as he holds Claimh Solais with both hands.
"Be assured that you will get the answer in time. But for now, we need to bid you two a farewell" Shards said calmly just before the darkness completely encased her. The 'devil' that the darkness has taken form of then suddenly lets out a roar that causes a loud cracking sound to reach both Soma and Shanoa's hearing.
Before either Soma or Shanoa can do anything else, a bright light suddenly appears from above them and forces to shield their eyes. The last thing Shanoa saw before the bright light fully enveloped them is the space around them starts to crumble as the devil that darkness formed starts to dissipate but before it completely disappears…
Shanoa knows that those glowing eyes of the devil are directed solely on her.
"Yoko, we have problems"
Predictably, once the two of them capable to open their eyes again, Soma and Shanoa already return to the park that they occupied earlier with no trace of either Shards or the devil they saw. The only proofs that they have about the battle are Shanoa's damaged turtleneck shirt as well as small burned spots on Soma's jacket and shirt.
As soon as they returned to the real world, Soma immediately calls Yoko to, presumably, inform her and the church of what just happened to them. It gives time for Shanoa to sit back on the bench they occupied earlier and think through of this new development carefully. Shards has made it clear early on that she was here not for Soma, so most likely she was here for Shanoa. Yet despite that fact, Shards has claimed that she has completed her objective… was she not here for Shanoa? Or perhaps…
Shards simply fought them to test their power and how well they are in working together?
Shanoa doesn't know if she can call their teamwork as good or not since she rarely works together with others even before she lost her memories and emotions However she does admit that her glyphs and his souls are probably more similar in nature than what she previously thought… that should at least give them an edge in terms of versatile department due to the versatility that their respective power granted them.
"Yeah, go it. I will be more careful from now… understood, I will tell the landlord to do what you just said… alright, thank you Yoko. I will see you later" after bidding Yoko a farewell, Soma ends their call before he lets out a tired sigh. Whoever these people from Shards' cult are, they sure move fast but he is disappointed that he can learn nothing after their battle, either about Shards or the cult she afflicted to. One thing that is clear though is that they aren't after him…
Which probably means Shards and her fellow cult members might be the one responsible to bring Shanoa to his present… or maybe there is more than that especially after he becomes aware of that extraordinary dark presence… what kind of being capable to emit such presence? One that is comparable to Dracula in term of power?
"We should probably head back for now before anyone crazy shows up again" Soma declared as he shifts his attention to Shanoa who seems to be deep in thought. Upon hearing Soma's declaration, Shanoa stands back on her feet and gives him a nod though her action also reminds Soma of the current state of her attire.
"Here, wear this" Soma said as he removes his jacket before offering it to Shanoa who simply tilts her head slightly as if asking why she should wear his jacket.
"It might get a little windy on our way back to my apartment" Soma explained with a shrug. Although she still doesn't see the point of wearing his jacket, she decides to humor him and accept his jacket before wearing it. As expected, his jacket is a little too big for her but she will lie if she doesn't admit how warm it is.
"C'mon, let's go" Soma said after picking up what they bought earlier before he nods toward where he parked his motorcycle. Shanoa follows Soma quietly before she stops for a moment to turn around and give one last look at the scenery that the park presents them.
Whether she likes it or not, she has been pushed into yet another battle that she isn't fully understand yet… just like last time. Last time, she hasn't questioned anything. Why only she can use the Dominus? Why he decided to take Dominus for himself? Why she supposed to do everything on her own? Why she even needs to fight? For a greater good? For fulfilling her role? Who decided her role? In the end, it doesn't matter because the one she trusted and believed end up betraying her while the one ally she doesn't know has been protecting her all this time ended up sacrificing himself for her sake.
Will this time be any different than before?
"Shanoa"
Shanoa turns around to see Soma has approached her and now stood a few feet away from her. He simply smiles her at her before once again nods his head toward where he parked his motorcycle.
"Let's go home, I can't wait to try making this pasta"
Perhaps… this time, it will be different… even if she isn't entirely sure she can be at full ease around the reincarnation of Dracula…