I dedicate this fanfiction to my girlfriend and all my followers, reviewers and beta reader wallaceb.
CHAPTER 25 - The other side of the enemy
The man was just in time to parry the hit with the bow, but the trunk, where he was, could not endure the blow, so it broke plunging the two into the turbulent water.
Swimming in the river was impossible for a human and the shallow waters full of big rocks could be more deadly than Dracula himself, who for the moment seemed to have disappeared.
Helsing tried to return to the surface to breathe, but just as he was about to get is face out of the water something pulled him into the depths. The vampire had clutched onto him and he was not going to release him with ease.
At that moment their murderers' eyes met. Dracula wanted to face the man who nearly killed his daughter and his best friend, he wanted to see him die, he wanted to read inside his eyes the terror and despair that would lead him to beg for mercy even to those who have no mercy.
But it was not as he expected, he saw nothing of this at all, those green eyes were the perfect reflection of those of Dracula, perhaps the man was thinking the same thing of the monster.
Both were at the mercy of the current and it was not long before the two were going to hit a rock that violently divided them.
Simon after the hit was able to return to the surface, but the pain was so strong that it was difficult to even breathe. He remained on guard waiting for a new attack from the vampire, but nothing happened.
"Hey, are you looking for me?" The bat chuckled, he was flying just ahead of the human and had a satisfied expression on his face. "I do not want to miss this scene." He continued amused.
Simon looked in front of him, it seemed that the river and the sky were touching each other and it scared him, he knew that he was approaching a steep descent, or worse, to a waterfall at uncontrollable speed.
"Let's see if you laugh even after this!" Simon yelled as he came closer and closer to the precipice.
The hunter disappeared under the water just before the precipice, only to reappear jumping with his long jacket in his hand against the bat.
Drac was amazed by the contempt that the human being had to death, anyone else in that situation would have been desperate, but instead he remained calm and impassive as if everything were normal.
Dracula always was planning everything in detail preparing useful solutions for every eventuality, but when something went out of scheme he was never able to deal with it and in fact despite having dozens of loopholes to escape the attack the vampire stood to flutter while he gaped at him like a fool.
Simon joined him with a quick movement and wrapped the bat in the jacket. On it began to glow red a magic circle, previously invisible because it had been drawn in black ink on black leather.
Dracula returned to human form and the two began to fall into the void until they crashed on a huge boulder in the middle of the lake at the base of the waterfall.
The screams of pain from the two were overridden by the continuous roar of the waterfall.
Dracula tried to get up, but the pain of broken bones was too strong. Due to the Simon's trap the king of vampires was nothing more than a mere wounded human.
Helsing stood up slightly from Dracula, then he looked for his sword, but the scabbard that he kept on his back was empty.
"Damn!" Muttered the man, who soon after pulled out a knife from his anklet with which he tried to hit the vampire who managed to recover and block the attack just in time.
Dracula gripped the wrist of Simon with his hands using all the strength in his body, but a body accustomed to the magic is not prepared for physical effort and without his powers the vampire could not overpower the strength of the hunter, whose dagger came closer and closer to his chest so as to feel the heat of silver on his skin.
"And so a legend is gone... you Monsters rely on your magic too much!" Commented Helsing with a satisfied air.
"If I were you, I would not sing victory so fast!" Replied the count, " You can block my magic, but you can't stop these!" He concluded freeing one hand and unsheathed his claws with which he tried to hit Simon in the face, but he avoided it by jumping back.
Before Helsing returned to attack, Drac put his hand behind his back and slashed the jacket on which he was lying, breaking the seal.
In a moment he felt his bones pop back into place and the pain disappear, while the defiant and sure Simon's gaze cracked.
Dracula remained motionless while his body magically rose up to his feet.
But the cliché of most classic vampire movies did not intimidate Simon, who did not waste the opportunity to tease the count:
"And now you say 'I'm the count Dracula, blah, blah blah!'?"
"I never said that in my life!" Said the vampire, angry, then his gaze turned serious as he stared at Simon, and continued to speak, as he descended from the rock and then began to walk on water:
"You do not have any other cards to play, right? In addition, you are tired and you can't run so fast in the water."
"You cannot even imagine how many aces I have for you! Don't underestimate the greatest monster hunter in the world!" Simon said without any fear of the enemy who was approaching him. "Bringing me up here was just a waste of time. Why didn't we finish the challenge in the cemetery? At least I could give you a proper burial!"
"I will not let you get to my castle!"
"Do not worry, when I get there you'll already be dead, so it's not your problem." Simon concluded without giving the vampire time to respond. He threw a m84 grenade which exploded in a flash of blinding light, emitting thick smoke and a deafening hissing sound.
Dracula was stunned, he could neither see nor hear anything, even his skin was burning so much that he did not know if the hunter had already hit him or not.
When the vampire finally was able to open his eyes he noticed Simon had come out from the water and sat on the ground with his back against a tree. He was visibly exhausted.
The man without the long black leather jacket looked younger and thin, in fact, the anti"riot suit made him look more robust. Then Simon, to get rid of a useless burden, unlocked the clip of the band of the hat and let it fall to the ground where it struck heavily, it was not an ordinary hat, it was almost a helmet.
After he lightened, the hunter leaned his head against the tree to rest; oblivious to the enemy approaching him.
On his face, finally discovered, was a long scar probably suffered in battle, a reddish beard unshaven for a few days and fiery red hair, much redder than that of Jonathan, collected into a bun made more for comfort in battle than for aesthetics. He was the exact opposite of Dracula, who wasted no time adjusted his hair tousled by the water.
Even after the vampire was out of the water, he was limping and all of his skin was burned and smoldering and had not yet begun to regenerate.
"I didn't think these new ultraviolet and silver dust flash bang grenades were so effective against you... pant, pant... If I had known I would buy more..." Said the hunter coming up with difficulty.
Dracula drew his rapier, but he kept it with the tip resting on the ground as how tired he was and immediately he let it fall to the ground.
Even the Count began to be exhausted. Since he had given up drinking human blood he did not loose his powers, but he had much less energy than he once did.
The vampire stared at the man's eyes, as if wanting to challenge, while Simon stood up, loaded the bow and shot.
In that moment of distraction Dracula used his powers to throw the sword against the hunter.
The man, taken aback, tried to dodge it, but he was wounded in the leg, while the vampire turned into a bat to avoid the arrow, but hidden in the shadows of the first flew a second arrow. The bat did not see it and he was hit in the wing and then got stuck on a big tree.
The wing began to burn like a movie film projector stops on the light, and not being able to maintain the transformation he turned back to human form, while the silver arrow lodged in his shoulder burned his flesh in addition to blocking his movements and powers.
"If this had been a duel until first blood we would be finished par, but it is not." Simon said, sore, but full of himself, "Now I'll be spoiled for choice how to kill you. The stake through the heart is too obvious, I would like something more original, maybe I'll wait for the sun to cook marshmallows on your body on fire, or a large drip of silver nitrate, so I can have fun to seeing your convulsive spasms!"
Dracula chuckled, so Van Helsing asked him curiously:
"It's so fun to die?"
"No, you humans are so funny, you always want to be what you are not, right, Simon? Or should I call you Simone?"
Van Helsing untied the bun, freeing the long curly red hair, and finally tore away the synthetic skin with the fake beard. She had a masculine face, but you could see she was a girl no older than 25 years.
"My name is Victoria, are you happy now that you know my secret? But it will follow you to the grave."
"What sense does it pretend to be a man?" Asked the vampire intrigued from the senseless human behavior.
"I never talked about my secret with anyone, why should I do it now, and especially with you?" Victoria replied, rudely, but the vampire insisted:
"A condemned man is always allowed a last wish, and mine is to know why."
"I am the greatest monsters hunter in the world. I am an icon for the other hunters, if they found out that I am a woman who would continue to trust me?"
"I would trust you. You are strong, a bastard, but you're strong. However, I wonder why you humans want to live so bad, what is the meaning to be racist even towards themselves?"
"Shut up! I don't accept sermons from a monster" The girl yelled, angry, loading the bow with a new arrow.
Dracula's expression changed, the arrow stuck in his shoulder to the tree blocked him leaving him helpless. His life depended on the will of the Victoria and she was not on his side.
The vampire was not worried for the unbearable pain, nor for the impending death looming over him. His only concern was Mavis, he could not leave her alone, he could not abandon her, but he did not know what to do to get out alive from this bad situation and protect his beloved daughter.