Chapter 6: Survival
Every once in a while, Suzume remembered that she was not in Dracula's castle.
Some of the aspects were similar. Both were fortresses designed to keep intruders out. Both were comprised of stonework. Both were currently populated by the undead, or whatever category applied to these new vampires. And both proudly displayed towers that stretched far into the sky, perfect for casting a silhouette against the moon above.
But the differences were becoming apparent. Dracula's castle did not possess an upper structure that could have been called a castle by itself, complete with its own front gate. While she had heard about dark barriers protecting Dracula, he most likely would not have used a holy field like the one that surrounded the upper half of the structure. And while this castle's towers were indeed impressive, none of them contained a clock.
It was past midnight. The bells would have struck by now. She turned to look at Death, momentarily wondering if all the stories were true, and what it must be like to live inside such a noisy structure.
Death had more pressing concerns on his mind. Once he saw that he had Suzume's attention, he began his explanation. "Slogra will enter the tower here and engage the opposition in battle. This will both distract the enemy and prevent interference from any ground-based threats." As he spoke, Slogra moved to the side of the gate.
He gestured upward. "The holy magic field appears to be spherical in shape. I will analyze it until I am able to determine its radius. With this information, I will be able to pinpoint the location of its source." He looked at Suzume. "It will be your task to head to that location and eliminate the field directly. With the barrier out of the way, I will be able to instantly appear at the location of their master, strike him dead and claim his soul."
"What if the master himself is the source?" Suzume asked.
"You should attack him. Expending his energy and attention in the battle should give me the opening I will need." He paused. "Any subsequent steps will be determined at that time. I do not know if destroying the master will have any significant effects on the other vampires or on this castle. Do you have any objections?"
"None", she said. "How will I reach the source?
"Gaibon will carry you directly to the closest entrance point", he said, gesturing to the gargoyle. "Afterward, his role will be to guard us from aerial attack."
She nodded. "I understand."
"We do not have much time. Prepare to move as soon as Slogra enters."
Suzume turned to look at Gaibon. With an inquisitive look on his face, he lifted one of his wings upward and pointed to himself with his other claw. She smiled. "I think I'll ride on your back this time."
"You are handling yourself better in their presence", Death noted.
She shrugged in his direction. "I guess I just needed to be sure they were looking out for me."
He gazed at her. "You are still preoccupied with the safety of your soul."
"It's hard to trust someone who'll have no interest in my well-being once this is all over."
"Your reaction is normal." He appeared to be thinking about something. "Perhaps with a vow of fealty, I may be willing to support you for the remainder of your existence."
She shook her head. "Marcus probably felt the same way at first." She sighed. "Now look what he's become."
"His current status is the result of his own actions."
"He did it so you wouldn't kill him!" she said in a frustrated voice. "Even I can see that!"
"He informed me that he disapproved of my goals, and then made an effort to prevent my success. Mortals who oppose me frequently find themselves to be expendable."
"Maybe he's right..." she grumbled to herself.
"You have possessed similar thoughts. I am certain of it. You wish for there to be a way to save Soma. You wish that you could prevent Dracula from returning entirely."
She sighed. "Why did all of this have to happen in the first place?"
Death looked upward briefly. "It is difficult to recall events from the late 11th century."
"I don't mean Dracula. Some things, I can't change." She stared at his eye sockets. "How did this happen? Why is Soma here, and why do they have his power?"
He looked past her to Slogra's position. "There is not enough time to explain. We must initiate the plan now. I will be able to inform you of the details later."
Her eyes narrowed. "You're not telling me something."
"Nothing of importance", he said dismissively. "I did not instigate these events. I did not even become involved until Marcus intervened."
"That's kinda hard to believe."
In an instant, Death was floating directly in front of her, his cloaked presence looming over her figure. His voice showed a great deal of annoyance. "I have not spoken lies to you, Suzume. I even swore off pretense at your request. Why are you incapable of accepting my words as truth?"
Her response was less emotional. "You want me to trust you, and yet you don't trust me enough to let me know the whole story."
One of the difficulties of speaking to someone who has a skull for a head is that it is impossible to tell the difference between a piercing glare and a direct yet understanding look. Nevertheless, his voice reflected it. "Very well. We move now, but I will inform you of everything that happened at the earliest convenience." With this, he turned and started levitating upward.
"That's more like it", she said to herself as she watched him leave. At the sound of a soft growl, she turned to face Gaibon, who had already lowered himself to the ground. "Right, I'm coming."
Mounting him was simple enough. Once he had returned to a standing position, she turned to look at the other demon. "Good luck, Slogra." And the pair took off in the same direction.
Slogra watched his allies depart for a moment. Then, as his eyes became more serious, he turned to the gate and started breaking it down with his spear.
The lower levels were of no consequence to Suzume. The master was up in the tower, Death had said.
She looked upward. Death had already passed out of sight. The holy field was several stories above them. The important thing was to wait until they got word from Death, then move in.
"I don't know if we should be heading for the field right now", she whispered into Gaibon's ear. "We don't want the master to know that we've arrived just..."
She never finished the sentence. There was a sound of rushing wind, then Gaibon suddenly jerked in the direction of the tower. His arms stopped flapping and the two stopped rising. Then, at the apex, the demon pitched forward and headed into an uncontrolled nosedive.
Suzume's first thought was to panic. Her second thought was that Gaibon still had wings. She leaned down, grabbed his arms, and held them out as if they were a glider. It wasn't perfect, but it gave her enough control to aim for one of the tower windows just below them.
Her aim was spot on. Gaibon sailed through the window, landed flat on his chest and skidded to a stop in a roar of pain. Suzume jumped off and immediately looked around. She was in what looked like a study. A desk sat against one wall, portraits and bookshelves lined the walls, and a chair had been overturned.
A vampire was now standing in the way of the window. "The master is not to be disturbed", he said in a menacing voice. Behind him, the window slammed closed.
The ensuing fight did not end as quickly as Suzume had hoped. Yes, she had her staff, but the vampire was better at dodging it than she expected, and he was armed with knives. Worse yet, Gaibon was still prone on the ground, and the vampire seemed to be just as interested in hurting him as he was in attacking her.
In the end, she managed to strike him with a fire spell, fake a swing at him, and then strike him in the chest as soon as he made a hasty dodge. Once she landed that hit, it was over for him. He was too weak to dodge the follow-up strike.
"My sacrifice is worth eternity", he gasped as his body burned to ash. Then all was still in the room.
As she attempted to catch her breath, Suzume headed for the window and tried to open it again. After a few tests, she gave up. It had been sealed tightly. The only remaining exit from the room was the door that appeared to lead to the central structure. She would have to take that exit and try to find another way out.
This was not her immediate concern, though. She headed to Gaibon's side. Despite her worst fears, his eyes were open and he was still moving slightly. This was a relief, she decided. She'd hate to be stranded alone in the tower. "I should've expected resistance", she said to him. "We'd better hurry."
Gaibon nodded weakly and struggled to his claws and knees. Then his strength gave out and he collapsed again.
"No!" In an instant, she had knelt down beside him. "They injured you? That's..."
She checked his body quickly for wounds. He had a number of stab wounds, evidence of the vampire's hit-and-run strategy. Not to mention the more serious wound: a throwing knife that had caught him directly in the chest. Ignoring his roar of pain, she pulled out the knife with a small amount of effort and examined it.
"Holy water", she muttered. "They aren't holding back." She looked at Gaibon again as he continued to fail to stand. "I'll bet his other knives were treated, too. Nothing lethal, but..." She stopped. It was so obvious now. "...good for slowing you down."
Gaibon's eyes stayed upon her. He was in pain. She could tell that easily. And she wouldn't be able to finish the mission unless he recovered. But what could she do?
She looked at her staff. "Does healing magic even work on a demon?" He recoiled in pain as she brought it closer to him, so she decided against the idea immediately. She was going to be left to her own devices, it seemed.
An elderly man, clad in the red robes of a cardinal, lay upon a bed in what appeared to be a church's clinic. To his side, a man and a woman, both dressed in religious garments, looked down at him with concern.
His expression was frightened. "What do you mean, six months?"
"I'm sorry, but that's what the doctor said", the woman responded.
Gaibon continued to stare at Suzume with frightened eyes. She realized that she was still holding the staff over his body. Without a word, she dropped it further away from him. "What the hell was that?"
"This is a typical scenario in any church." Death's voice could be heard clearly. "Even the holiest-minded of men are resistant to the idea that their time could be at hand."
"Wait." She looked up at the ceiling, although she realized that any direction would have sufficed. "You did that?"
"You asked me to explain the situation as soon as an opportunity arose."
She rolled her eyes. "I didn't exactly expect a dramatization!"
"And I did not expect you to get Gaibon injured and waste time. But I have yet to criticize you for doing so."
Suzume gave up on the argument and instead headed toward the desk. Perhaps it would contain something that would help.
"Can't something be done?" the cardinal asked.
The young priest shook his head. "All of our standard medicines have failed."
"Faith has not been enough, either", the nun added. The cardinal sighed and stared at the ceiling.
After a moment of thought, the priest offered an idea. "If holy methods cannot save you, then perhaps the time has come for unholy methods."
Suzume found a handkerchief among a pile of unrelated objects in one of the desk drawers. It would be enough to clean the wounds, she decided.
"The church is not above corruption. Even those who practice the holy arts can be swayed by sufficient emotion."
She walked back to Gaibon's body. "I can't argue with that. I'm here, right?"
"Your sarcasm is noted."
As she knelt down and checked his wounds, she decided to ask. "By the way, what do you do to help a gargoyle heal?"
"I resummon him after his death", Death replied matter-of-factly.
Typical for him, she thought. "I don't think he's going to die just yet", she pointed out.
There was a lengthy pause. "I do not know", he admitted. "You could try fire. He has an affinity for it." Suzume nodded and produced a small flame in her hand.
The cardinal shook his head slowly. "I don't approve of this. I'd rather be a dead rotting corpse than a living rotting corpse."
"Excuse me!" Suzume shouted in an annoyed tone. "Don't distract me when I'm casting magic!"
It was to little avail. While Gaibon was indeed not harmed by the fires that currently covered his body, they did nothing to aid his wounds. Worse yet, vapor was rising from his chest wound, suggesting that the holy water within had risen to a boil.
"Maybe he's right", she said to Gaibon. "Maybe death is the only cure." Oddly enough, this didn't seem to provoke any kind of fearful expression on his face. She considered that he probably knew this already.
She shook her head. "No", she said. "I won't kill you. We're in a hurry. You need to keep going, no matter what. There has to be something else we can do."
Inspiration struck. As far as she could tell, there were two main problems that needed solving: she needed to close the wounds and she needed to make sure that he was not weakened by the presence of holy water. And she had just thought of a way to kill both birds with one stone. It would take a sacrifice on her part, but one she was willing to make...
She went to one of the light fixtures and carefully removed a candle.
The priest had another idea. "It is said that vampires remain fair for their entire existence."
The cardinal thought about this. "That's true, but I don't want to live in fear of sunlight. People might get suspicious."
"I understand. I shall look for another solution."
"That's not necessary", the nun interjected. "I have heard..."
"Wait a minute!" Suzume looked up from what she had been doing. Below her hand, hot wax from the candle continued to drip upon Gaibon's injury, with almost no negative feedback from the patient himself. "I know her voice! She was that damn vampire, wasn't she?"
A brief pause later, she heard Death's voice again. "You are correct. I was getting to that shortly."
"You'll have to let it wait", she said. "There's something more important than your story right now."
"I do not under..."
Death's voice was cut off at this point, as Suzume pulled the silver coin from her pocket and firmly pressed it into the melted wax on Gaibon's chest. He roared slightly in pain, but this subsided quickly.
Suzume smiled. "He said that thing protects against holy power. I hope it's enough. Can you walk now?"
Gaibon slowly tried to sit up and get to his feet. A few moments later, he succeeded. Once he had regained his balance, he bared a mouthful of sharp teeth at Suzume. She chose to interpret this as a sign of gratitude.
"You're welcome", she said. "We need to leave that there until the water evaporates. Now how about we find a way out of here?"
In hindsight, Suzume concluded, she was thankful that she had given Slogra a chance.
Gaibon, even at a time when he was not injured, was not known to be a close-range battler. Certainly, he was physically strong and she could imagine the damage that his claws could inflict, but that was not his strategy. His specialty was fire-breathing, preferably from a distance.
This meant that Suzume was stuck in the position of having to beat up the demonic guards with her weapon of choice. And given the day so far, every bit of practice counted.
After several rooms' worth of dispatching the undead, Gaibon was finally feeling confident enough to spread his arms and fly through any rooms with a high ceiling. This changed the team dynamic slightly. Before, he was best suited for dispatching ranged attackers and helping to finish anyone who was currently engaged in battle against Suzume. Now he was leading the strikes, covering the opposition with a rain of flames while she took down the stragglers and fire-resistant opponents. Either way, they were both doing their job and few of the creatures were giving them any trouble.
"You'd think this place would have more windows", Suzume grumbled.
Gaibon, who had been hovering just behind her, suddenly came to a landing and dashed to Suzume's side. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he reached for her arm, grasped it, and pressed her hand against the coin that continued to adhere to his chest.
"This is going to be inconvenient." Death's voice did not display anger, but his manner was not pleased.
"It was necessary", she responded. "Without his help, I can't..."
"I understand your motive", he interrupted. "I am concerned about the method. The coin was intended for you. You are likely to run into problems without it."
"Don't you think I know that?" She sighed. "Look, for me, it's a convenience. Right now, for him, it's a matter of life and death!"
"Those words have little meaning for a demon. Nevertheless, I will allow this." A short pause. "Keep moving. Shall I assume that you have not abandoned your desire to learn about these events?"
"Go ahead", she said automatically, trying to think of faster ways of walking through the hallways while remaining in contact with the coin.
"I have heard", the nun resumed, "that there exists a man who possesses the powers of a vampire, yet walks in sunlight and does not fear purity."
The cardinal looked at her suspiciously. "You don't mean Dracula?"
She shook her head. "Not quite. His name is Soma Cruz."
Death spoke emotionlessly now. "It should be apparent now that this scheme was created, not in support of my goals, but in fear of my responsibilities."
Suzume thought about this for a second as she led Gaibon down a hallway. "I'm guessing this cardinal would be the so-called master we've been tracking?"
"That is correct."
"Makes sense, I think. So how does Marcus fit into all this?"
"The cardinal contacted the church and requested the presence of Soma. The church in turn sent Marcus to find him."
She winced slightly. "So he was being used, too." A brief pause. "No flashback this time?"
"I pay considerably more attention to the dying than the healthy."
"Wait. You were actually there for that conversation?"
"It is my duty."
Suzume thought about this silently as she and Gaibon continued through the castle corridors. Her arm was starting to get tired.
Death continued. "Soma had gone into seclusion by this time. It was his opinion that, as long as his existence remained common knowledge, there would always be men and forces of darkness who would seek his power." His voice had become bitter, and Suzume considered that he qualified as one of those forces. "The church had outdone itself. Only his close friends and a select few of the faith knew of his existence. How appropriate, then, that they would be the next ones to be tempted by the power of Dracula."
She sighed as she headed through the next doorway. "Even the church is imperfect, I suppose."
The next room was guarded. She sighed. Break time was over. She moved away from Gaibon, allowing him to resume his usual offense, and prepared her own onslaught. Death, once again, would have to wait.
To the average observer of a castle, it appeared to be a normal window, one lacking any kind of shutters or locks. To Suzume's eyes, it was a blessing.
Gaibon entered the room immediately after her. He was acting fidgety again. Suzume, noticing the pattern, pressed her hand against the coin again.
"I have pinpointed the location of the source." Death had apparently been waiting for her. "Head to my position without delay."
"I will", she said, and then released the coin. She looked up at Gaibon's face now. "Are you feeling well enough to carry me?"
Gaibon walked over to the window and looked upward. Then he turned around, staring at Suzume for a moment, and his view traveled down to the coin on his chest. Without any warning, he gripped the coin and pulled it free of the dried candle wax, and then held it out for Suzume to carry.
"Are you sure?" she asked warily. As she took the coin from his claw, he nodded.
She could not agree with his opinion. As soon as he released the coin, he started to lose his balance. Suzume's eyes widened. Despite his confidence, his wound hadn't healed. Whatever passed for a demon's blood was starting to ooze from the injury again, albeit slower than before. He was still weakened. He needed the coin. And by pulling it out, he had ensured that the wax was now useless for holding it.
Why'd he have to do something so hasty and stupid? Especially now, as Death grew impatient? How was she going to be able...
...a solution popped immediately into her mind. It would be awkward, but it would work if she did it right. Gaibon hadn't collapsed; he just needed a bit more time, that's all. This would help. Even better, it would ensure that she remained in contact with Death.
And, her mind told herself, you want to do this anyway, don't you?
"You still need this", she said. She reached out and pressed the coin back against Gaibon's chest wound again. Its effect kicked in quickly, and Gaibon looked like he was recovering already. It wouldn't hold long, though. She had to act fast.
Without another word, she stepped forward and embraced him tightly, her own body holding the coin firmly against his wound.
Her mind kept trying to tell itself that this was being done for practical purposes. Nevertheless, she ended up appreciating the moment as much as possible. Her arms wrapped around his back, tightly binding the firm, well-built muscles that the demon probably took for granted. Her hands briefly moved up to the back of his shoulders, feeling the raw strength within them, the strength necessary to allow his wings to keep him airborne. Her face rested against his upper chest, and she noticed that it felt warmer than the rest of his body, probably due to his fire-breathing nature. He could not feel his lungs inhale or exhale; perhaps this was not a necessary action for him.
Gaibon merely stared down at her, unsure of what she was doing, and not knowing how he should react. She looked up at him and spoke softly. "I've got my grip."
He understood. Moving as effectively as he could toward the window, despite the added weight, he lifted his wings and took off for Death's location.
Suzume was unable to view the scenery around her, her line of sight blocked almost entirely by her ally's pectoral muscles. She started to second-guess herself. Had her actions been equally foolhardy? How long could she keep such a grip? And did Gaibon know where he was going?
As if to answer her second question, Gaibon stretched out his legs and wrapped them around her back. She welcomed the added support, as well as the tension of his thighs pressing against...
"I hope that I am not interrupting your moment."
At the sound of Death's voice, Suzume's attention shifted immediately. "Does he know where he's going?"
"I am directing him. Do not be concerned."
She nodded. "So what exactly did the cardinal do to Soma?"
A pale-faced man with white hair, dressed in a largely blue outfit, walked cautiously into what appeared to be a temple. He was escorted by Marcus, as well as a number of armored clerics.
The man, who Suzume recognized as Soma, was the first to speak. "Why have you summoned me, Cardinal?"
The elderly man stood up from his chair. "I am ill, Mr. Cruz. The doctors say I don't have long. I wished to meet with you before God calls upon me for the last time."
Marcus looked at the man with concern. "I'm trained in the art of healing. Perhaps I can help you."
The cardinal looked at him briefly, and then shook his head. "No... There is no need. What I need is you, Soma Cruz!"
As he shouted this, a group of clergymen closed the gates behind the group and barred them tightly. Marcus turned in surprise. "Huh?"
Soma lowered his head in contempt. "So it is a trap after all..."
"The cardinal had a plan for Soma", Death continued. "I do not understand the methods that he used, but with the help of his assistants, he managed to reawaken the power of Dracula within Soma, and then directly transferred it to his own body."
As he spoke, Gaibon reached his position. Using his scythe, he pointed in a direction of one of the tower windows. The gargoyle looked in that direction, nodded, and headed directly for it.
Suzume pondered Death's words. "I can't imagine what that must have felt like for Soma..." As she spoke, Gaibon reached the boundary of the holy field. Seconds later, the pair were passing through it, prepared to take on whatever menace existed within.
At least, before Gaibon came to a complete stop in midair.
Suzume looked around quickly. "What's going on?"
Gaibon didn't respond. His arms slowly stopped moving, and he pitched forward again. "Not again!" she screamed as he started freefalling toward the castle again. Above her, she could see the boundary of the holy field as they left it.
This time, she realized in horror, she couldn't get to his arms without letting go of him. With no better ideas in mind, she continued to hold him tightly and tried to rotate in midair so that she would be further from the ground.
"Release him." Death's voice was firm and immediate. Suzume glanced up at Gaibon's unconscious expression, sighed, and released him without second-guessing herself. Now she herself was falling toward the ground, this time without any chance to protect herself from...
...she was being held. From her perspective, she saw Gaibon continue to the base of the castle, where he hit the stone in a painful manner. Even from here, she could see the blood.
She turned her head to find Death levitating near her, and she slowly came to the realization that he was holding her in his bony arms.
Look what you've done. You put your faith in the bringer of the world's demise, and now all your allies are dead, and you are firmly within the grasp of death. Your fate is entirely in his hands.
Suzume groaned. Not this again...
"What just happened?" she asked hesitantly.
Death's body language was pensive as he stared at the gargoyle's body far below him. "I cannot understand it. The holy field has never stopped him in the past. This requires some analysis."
Serves you right. You really thought you could align yourself with pure evil and somehow harness it to your own ends?
"...can you put me down, please?"
He returned his gaze to her. "Very well", he said slowly, heading toward the tower wall. "You would be wise to notice that I just saved you from falling to your death."
"For what it's worth", she grumbled. "Just admit it. There's no chance in hell I'm leaving here alive, is there?"
"I will not rule out the possibility." He released Suzume on a balcony. "Nor should you."
"Your plan failed", she said dejectedly. "They clearly knew that Gaibon was coming, and they stopped him. Everything we did was for nothing. So now..."
"These facts did not escape my notice. This is why I am considering alternate strategies. We have not yet lost."
He can say that. He's immortal. He has nothing to lose if he fails. This is why he continues to be a threat, despite repeated losses. You, though...
"But we haven't even begun to win!"
"I admit that there have been difficulties. We must continue nonetheless. The vampires remain, and we are here to combat them. Surely it is possible to succeed if we have survived everything that has happened so far."
"No! We haven't!" She shook her head at the stupidity of his claim. "I've died twice! We just lost Gaibon, and it's been almost an hour since I saw Slogra! The only reason you're still optimistic is because you're an immortal force of..."
"What am I doing wrong?"
Suzume stopped immediately. Death had practically screamed his words. Before now, she hadn't even known that he could do so.
Get out of there. Now. Go. Go. Run. Leave now. You pushed him over the edge. He's going to kill you. Save yourself.
After a moment's pause, he continued, his voice considerably softer yet with no less tension. "On every occasion when Dracula has returned to the earth, humans from the chosen bloodlines have been capable of battling and defeating him, with their only trouble being the tenacity of his minions. I do not understand why, when I am in opposition to these forces of darkness, I must deal with so much difficulty and pessimism."
She stared in silence at him as he ranted. He noticed. "Your mother was stabbed by one of her enemies. As her allies continued their mission, she spent her time recovering. Yet she never lost her resolve. A woman by the name of Carrie was forced to kill a kinswoman and learned that her potential romantic interest was secretly one of her adversaries, and she persevered. Even the legendary Sypha fled from accusations of witchcraft, spent her life disguising her identity, and was turned to stone before she ever started the family tradition of opposing Dracula." He sighed. "What have I done to you that makes you unwilling to continue?"
He has to ask? He set you up to die...
"I don't know!" she yelled in frustration. "This whole mission is wrong! Every Belnades and Belmont I know just headed in and fought all the odds and was victorious! They never had to sneak around or plan or anything!"
"You tried the direct approach. You died."
"...I know." She sat down on the balcony. "And I know I haven't died since we tried your strategy. But we haven't accomplished anything worthwhile, either."
"You defeated a number of minions, including at least two of these vampires."
Don't forget Marcus. He almost convinced you to kill him.
"I couldn't do it alone. Your demons helped a lot. I wouldn't have had nearly as much success..."
As soon as she started saying that, she realized its significance. Perhaps it was the answer she was looking for. After all, Death's stories were accurate, yet incomplete. Sypha was turned to stone, but she only continued on her adventure once she met Trevor and he broke her curse. Carrie would not have gotten as far without the assistance of a professional vampire hunter, a distant Belmont relative, and a few questionable sources of help. And her mother was surrounded by friends, including some who stayed with her, protected her and helped her recover once she was found...
She stood up and looked at Death. "I think I've figured it out." She smiled slightly. "I've had many successes. You mentioned some of them. With Gaibon or Slogra at my side, we were nearly unstoppable. We had our flaws, and we compensated for them. Those parts of the plan worked out."
She took a deep breath. "So how come I've never battled with you at my side?"
Because he wants you to lose. He wants you to die. This way, he can revive Dracula and keep you from getting in his way if you oppose him.
Death recollected. "I had my other duty to accomplish. More recently, I have had other tasks to handle at the same time." A glance at Suzume. "My presence would not have helped. I am capable of fighting the vampires, but I cannot harm the demons."
"Why not?"
"I will not answer that question. Such information is not to be known by mortals."
He probably leads them. You've heard the stories. He's been undermining your mission from the start...
Shut up, she thought to herself. He made that part of the pact clear. It didn't really matter to her, anyway. She had a more pressing question on her mind.
"So exactly what can you do?"
His response was swift. "Considerably more than you realize. The trouble is determining what I am permitted to do."
She frowned. "That's conveniently vague."
He didn't respond. He was staring into space. Given his lack of facial features, this meant that he did not perceptibly move for the duration. It was unnerving to her.
Finally he spoke again. "Suzume... do you trust me?"
Dumbest question of the century. He's all but admitted that...
She decided that the question deserved an honest answer. "No. I can't. Not when you seek to return Dracula to the world. Not when you allow good people to die. And these voices sure as hell don't help, either."
"I did not ask you if you like me." He tilted his head slightly. "You mentioned voices."
"They're not really voices", she admitted. "More like... instincts. Telling me not to trust you. Telling me to avoid you. That coin helped, but..."
"Your instinct is to be afraid of me. This is normal." A brief pause. "I believe that it is preferable to the alternative. If humanity did not fear death, they would have less reason to appreciate life."
Fortune cookie nonsense. He's trying to rationalize himself to you again.
He floated closer to her. "You hate me. You fear me. There is no reason why this should change." Without warning, he grabbed her by the waist with both hands and lifted her up directly in front of him. In her position, all she could do was watch him as he spoke.
"Yet I want you to accept me. I want you to admit that death exists in the world, and that many mortal lives are cut short, and that this is the way that the world works. I want you to notice that mortals act to prolong their own lives, and curse my presence, and sometimes improve themselves in the process, and yet the time of their demise comes anyway. And I want you to know that this is not a malicious act on my part, but a necessary one."
He pulled her closer to him, to the point where her head was inches away from his skull. All she could see was his eye sockets and the bone around them. A slight motion on his part would cause the two to come in contact. As if he knew she was thinking this, he moved her the last few inches, allowed her forehead to touch his own, and then moved her back again.
"And I want you to realize that I am here, directly in front of you, holding you in the air with my own hands, and I have not claimed your soul. And I will not claim your soul unless you do something to deserve it, such as dying, or betraying your word. I have not killed you. I have actually saved you from being killed, which you should know is an action that I do not normally take, because I agreed to perform such tasks as part of a pact that I have formed. Because I do not betray my word, either."
He set her down. "I will ask again. Despite what I am, do you trust me?"
She stared at him, at a complete loss for words. Even her inner voice was silent, except for one line that continued to persist. He is Death.
Finally she spoke. "I can't trust what I hate and fear. Give me something I can believe and understand, and I may trust it."
"It will suffice", he said simply. Then his voice brightened. "I have devised another plan."
As she looked up with a hopeful look, he continued. "I have never tried it before, but I believe that it will work. I will explain shortly, but I must ask you to make a vow first."
Her expression became concerned. "What is it?"
"You must never speak of the words that I am about to tell you again. At any time. No other living being should be allowed to possess this knowledge. This includes beings that are not human."
"This isn't going to make me want to break the pact, is it?"
"It should not have that effect."
She nodded. "I promise."
He started hesitantly, as if he didn't know where to begin his speech. "I should have never attempted to lead this mission."
"Is this going to be one of those 'humanity must decide its own fate' speeches?" she asked.
"This is similar, but not identical. Do you recall the reason why Marcus survives?"
"Yeah. I talked you out of killing him." She paused. "That doesn't do a whole lot for your 'not malicious' speech."
"I did not claim his soul because I am forbidden from claiming the souls of living creatures. I did not kill him because he was not dying, did not pose a threat to me, and did not threaten the mechanics of the universe. Gaibon did not kill him because you stood in his way. Gaibon did not kill you because our pact forbade him from doing so." He sighed. "And I gave up on killing him because I found the situation infuriating and I decided that it was better for me to abandon his soul for the moment than to continue to be exposed to that farce."
She raised an eyebrow. "You thought it was a farce?"
"You once referred to me as one of the most powerful forces of nature in existence. This is accurate. Yet there was a deliberate effort to ensure that my use of this power did not negate the intent of every other aspect of the universe." His voice was rueful. "My existence in general is nothing more than a lengthy map of rules telling me everything that I must do and everything that I cannot do, with little space in the middle. And this mission has proven to me that I am trapped in this intricate labyrinth, and that there does not necessarily exist a direct path to any given goal."
"I can't imagine what that's like."
"In this regard, I suppose I am inferior to humanity. You can set a goal and accomplish it. Sometimes you cannot achieve it immediately, so you think of another approach that will get you there eventually. You are rarely in the situation where you are capable of achieving a goal in countless different ways and yet are not actually allowed to use any of them. If you seek to kill a man, you can kill him. There may be repercussions for doing so, but the man will still have been killed."
His voice was becoming tense again. "I once envied this. I considered how it must feel to be able to end the life of a mortal, not because it was necessary, but because I felt it was appropriate. I sought a workaround. I found it in the form of these pacts that I have been making, which would allow me to take actions that were otherwise not specifically granted to me due to the orders of someone else who could make the decision for me at my request.
"They did not work as I had planned. For every limitation I could bypass, two more were forced upon me. And then everything went wrong, and now I am in a pact with a man which consists of nothing more than my being forced to obey his every order, and this man decided to destroy the very mortals that I have been observing and reaping for my entire existence, and I can do nothing to change this." He shook his head. "I would not have chosen to become the enemy of humanity."
"Isn't there something we can do?" Suzume had blurted this out before she even gave it any thought.
"It is unlikely." He gave her a careful look, and then spoke again. "An opportunity may arise for humanity in the future. They would be wise to take advantage of it." A brief pause. "Do not expect me to be of any assistance at that time. I am obligated to oppose such things."
"But... what if we don't kill Soma? Won't that..."
He glared at her. "Do not go back on your word. The sacrifice of your soul will not be sufficient to keep him alive."
She glared back. "Is that so? What if I give up and leave the cardinal alone?"
"You must not do that. He must not be allowed to succeed."
She shuddered. He was using that otherworldly emphasis again. She had never questioned it in the past. That was its intent, she realized, and he certainly didn't resort to it often. "Why? What's up?"
"It has become apparent to me that, regardless of our motives, the cardinal must be stopped by any means necessary. He has usurped the power of Dracula. I cannot forgive this. He has sent an army of vampires to slaughter humans. You cannot forgive this. And yet neither action is his greatest offense."
She shook her head. "You're being dramatic again."
"This is difficult to explain." He looked down at himself, then at Suzume again. "I will make an attempt. I want you to describe me to the best of your knowledge."
She looked at Death. "What? Well... uh... you're a skeleton. The top half of one, anyway. You like to wear cloaks, although I know you've tried a lot of costumes..."
"You are describing my physical manifestation. Describe me."
"What? So you're not..."
Death shook his head. "I suspected this. Would it be common knowledge around your church that the Belmonts have been able to destroy me through physical combat on multiple occasions?"
She nodded. "That bit always confused me. I mean, how could they possibly..."
"I have never been stopped so easily." As she looked at him in confusion, he continued. "Dracula has always seen fit to give me a physical incarnation when he returns to the world. This works to our advantage, as having a body allows me to interact with or attack the living. In recent centuries, this strategy was changed in an effort to make his resurrection easier. Any attempt to harness his power or remanifest his castle is sufficient for me to adopt this form now."
"So when the cardinal awakened Soma's power..."
"Precisely. Such bodies are products of dark magic and are vulnerable to divine power. Once it is destroyed, I am no longer capable of serving my master in battle, so my activities are limited to gathering information or returning to my official duty."
"That makes sense", she stated. "Things still have to die, right?"
"I do not require a body to reap souls. The scythe is purely part of the metaphor."
"Okay. I think I understand." She paused. "Why did you bring this up?"
He shook his head again. "If you understood, you would know the answer." His voice lowered to a grumble. "I suppose it would be faster if I simply impressed you."
Looking slightly upward at the sky, he continued. "Your mother spent most of her day taking care of official church obligations, then started asking other clergy members why she had received no updates about your status or the fate of the village. Your younger sister was tutored in her magic studies. Both are currently asleep in their respective beds. Slogra has successfully defeated the guards that approached him in the tower, and he is currently searching for stragglers and awaiting new orders as they are given. Gaibon, despite your suspicions, is not dead, and I strongly suspect that he will be rejoining us shortly, but I admit that this is based on my knowledge of him rather than my observations. Marcus is..."
Suzume, who had been eyeing him with interest during the entire speech, interrupted. "They're alive? That's..."
"We will discuss them shortly. Pay attention to my point. You have called me a force of nature. The term is accurate, yet you have not understood the depths of what it entails. I am Death. I am not an entity that claims souls. I am the act of claiming souls itself. I can recite the daily activities of Yoko Belnades because I have been watching her the entire time. Her and every other mortal in existence. My duty cannot be fulfilled without omnipresence. If a person halfway across the world is dying, I must be there to bring his soul to the afterlife. I am eternal, I am inevitable, and I cannot be stopped."
Suzume took a few moments to think about this, and then muttered. "...yeah. No wonder the powers that be wanted to put some limitations on your power."
"Yet, at this time, I do not know where Soma Cruz is."
"I can see why that would annoy you."
"It does not merely annoy me. When an aristocrat freed himself from the boundaries of time and ensured that I could not reach his soul, that annoyed me. When a vampire discovered a way to use art to create alternate dimensions that I was unable to perceive, that annoyed me. At this moment, we are dealing with someone who has sealed part of the world away from me."
"That's hardly a problem", she said. "You know he's somewhere in that holy field, right?"
"Consider your words. During the years you have spent in the church, have you ever heard of a holy power that was strong enough to stop me entirely? Not just to prevent me from reaping the soul of a wounded human, but to ensure that I could not even make an attempt?"
This caught her off guard. "No... I guess not. If someone found a way to do that, it would have been big news."
"I am asking you to eliminate a barrier. One that has proven strong enough that I cannot perceive anything beyond it, let alone pass through it. So that I can enter the chamber of a formerly dying human and claim his soul. And I am asking you to do it quickly and subtly enough that no living creature will ever learn that it has happened. If other mortals find out, they can repeat the procedure, and I will be prevented from fulfilling the very purpose of my existence."
Suzume's voice was a whisper. "You really do need my help."
Death nodded. "You understand now. I have devised an alternate solution, and I believe the theory is sound. If it does not work, I will continue to do everything in my power to help you succeed. For me, failure is simply not an option."
She nodded slowly. Then she stopped, and her voice took on a suspicious tone. "It's a bit convenient that completing this mission will also allow Dracula to be reborn, isn't it?"
Death sighed. "I expected better of you. If you must insist on thinking of my request in that way, then I shall remind you that you agreed to a pact with me and that I will reclaim your soul if you break it."
"...I knew this was too good to be true."
"Nothing of what I have said is false." He stared at a certain point in the sky. "If you must distrust me, at least accept that this situation needs to be resolved quickly."
"...if you say so", she said with some reluctance. "Now, what about Gaibon and Slogra?"
"Gaibon will rejoin us shortly. For now, I must pick you up again."
"What? Why?"
"We are still in a hurry. I have bought us enough time to prepare, but only if you will follow my instructions."
And he scooped up Suzume again in his skeletal arms. As she surrendered herself to her fate and followed his instructions passively, he adjusted her position so that she was facing downward, and her arms were stretched out. It was an uncomfortable position, but he insisted on it, so she obeyed. Moments later, she noticed that he was carrying her off the balcony and floating into the air again. From here, she could see the ramparts of the castle far below, as well as the spot where Gaibon hit the ground.
"Wait a minute", she said. "He hit the ground a long time ago. Shouldn't there be more blood now?"
"It will make sense in a moment", he said. "Open your mouth as if you are gasping for breath."
She blinked in confusion, and then did so. Seconds later, he adjusted his grip to hold her more tightly and uncomfortably than before, and...
...below her, Gaibon's blood was finally beginning to spread along the ramparts, and even his flesh itself was being replaced by its reddish hue. She was aware that there was now wind blowing across her face, and she realized that she hadn't felt it in a long time. She felt oddly short of breath, too. She turned her head to look at Death, who noticed her expression.
His voice was oddly cheerful. "Time has resumed. The past twelve minutes never occurred. I have just saved you from falling to your death."
She gaped. "You can do that?"
"There are severe limitations. Aside from information transfer, nothing in the universe could change between the two moments. We could not move objects or influence other people, and we needed to return to exactly where we were before." And, in a softer voice, "Once again, no mortal being must know of this."
She nodded silently. Nothing he did would surprise her any more.
A few seconds later, Gaibon flew up to meet them. He was still bleeding slightly, and he no longer had the coin, and he was now red instead of blue, but it was clearly him. Her eyes moistened slightly, and her lips widened into a smile. He returned a mouthful of sharp teeth in her direction.
"His ability, on the other hand, has been documented frequently by vampire hunters. Upon severe injury, his body secretes a hormone into his circulatory system, which spreads it to the rest of his body. This hormone increases his regenerative capability and keeps him alive, with the added bonus of stimulating the physical output of his entire body. From the perspective of a casual observer, it appears as though he changes color and becomes stronger and faster than before. He can only accomplish this once per incarnation, and further severe injury will kill him. You may think of it as a second wind."
With these words said, Death placed Suzume directly on Gaibon's back. Gaibon, notably, had no problem supporting her weight now.
"So now what?" she asked. "What's your plan?"
"It has not changed significantly", Death replied. "He will take you to the same entrance as before, and you will find and destroy the source of the field. Slogra is currently making his way up the tower, and he will eventually arrive to support you. I cannot count on the fact that the cardinal has not moved elsewhere, but it will not take me long to find and reap him. The rest continues as before."
"That's it?" she asked incredulously. "That's the exact same plan! What about the fact that Gaibon can't pass the field?"
"That is the major change." He paused, and then tried to give Suzume as sincere a look as possible. "Our conversation convinced me of the flaw. I should not lead this mission. I simply have too many inherent limitations on my abilities. I cannot simply rush into this castle and attack the opposition. You can."
"You sent me on the attack last time, too. I still don't see the difference."
"Gaibon and Slogra are my two most loyal minions, and I have found that they are also quite effective at the direct approach. When I watched Gaibon react to the holy field, despite his earlier immunity, I considered a theory. In light of everything, I have decided that they, being bound to me, can somehow be subjected to the same limitations as myself."
He looked at Gaibon thoughtfully, then nodded in Suzume's direction. "This is why I am binding them to you."