Greetings! I guess some of you won't be able to play Aria of Sorrow again without seeing Graham as Walter's reincarnation because of this. Really, I thought it very fitting, both of them are arrogant, mentaly disturbed and crazy enough for it, in my opinion they are very much alike.
About sensing this fanfic coming to an end, it is true, as I commented before in 'Leon', this is a short piece that would have only fifteen chapters, so the next one is the final for this story. What I may say is that you can expect a long chapter, for I have put a great deal of attention to the scene of Alucard and Soma's conversation, since this I think is the most waited moment of this fanfiction (And I truly expect to not desapoint you) between other things to set the final conclusion, and also my ending notes that I would like you to read, but its no obligation.
So, I hope you enjoy this chapter! See you again in the next friday!
Chapter 14 – Mathias
A bolt of lightning cut again the dark sky in half, followed by a fierce flash of light that briefly illuminated the entire surface of the region and the complete extension of the abandoned castle.
When the light dissipated, as one, the vampires moved swiftly, disappearing from where they had stood and resurfacing in the center of the outer courtyard where their swords met with a severe crash.
The pressure they had placed on the first stroke, due to the superhuman strength they had, caused the ground to crawl in several places under their feet, but keeping their balance perfectly, the two men soon began a fast sequence of blows that were dodged or blocked by one another. The speed was such that the rain that fell heavily around them could no longer reach their bodies, forming a kind of air dome with the vacuum left by the movement of their weapons.
Those who followed the duel could barely see the movements the two vampires made to reach their opponent, except for the dhampir who perfectly accompanied both men with eyes filled with concern and dread, barely able to surpass his initial shock. He tried to force against the moorings that held him in a new attempt to escape its influence, but it was useless, the magic was too strong even for him and he only felt its supernatural force drain even more of his energy, leaving him weakened.
"Stop trying, Young Prince..." Death that was next to him spoke with respect in his tone. "Unfortunately there is nothing you can do to break the spell... No matter what has happened between you both, you will have to trust your father this time..."
"Even you knew of his awakening..." The black-haired man said to him, not hiding the resentment in his voice.
"Castlevania and all its inhabitants are attached to their master... There is no way we couldn't have noticed the exact moment that Lord Mathias began to awaken completely, just as he did in the old days when he was resurrected and we also to serve him."
The skeletal creature turned his head to the dhampir as if he were looking at him.
"The decision to not reveal the truth to you come from the orders of our lord, who did not find you prepared to receive this news, given the history of events that occurred every time you and your Belmont's friends had find out about his return in the past."
Alucard looked away, unable to counteract that.
"Although this time..." Death went on, seeming to take great account of something. "You really decided to end this old feud between you... didn't you, Belmont?"
The dhampir stared at Julius in disbelief.
"You knew it?!"
"I..." The hunter stammered in embarrassment. "I was sure not long ago... We talked, he and I... I decided to give him a vow of trust."
The dark-haired man glared at him.
"And how do you find something like that and you do not tell me?!"
"He made me promise to not tell you, Alucard... I'm sorry..." Julius turned his attention to the battlefield, his face guilty.
"I warned you that this could end up happening..." Yoko's voice made itself present as the witch watched the two vampires, but not distracted from the conversation that had begun between them.
"He-Hey! Wait a minute! Don't tell me that everyone here knew that he was out there wandering around being Dracula with fangs and all again?!" Hammer questioned with some indignation.
"Yes..." Mina whispered in a small voice filled with some guilt, though worried she continued to search with her eyes for her longtime friend.
"I didn't know..." The blond-haired woman replied. "But as I said before, I warned that this could end up happening... Our luck is that he woke up without changing inside..."
Yoko then looked directly into Alucard's black eyes.
"I once told you that your presence now in Soma's life is completely constant... I don't know what kind of conversations you both had these last few weeks, but it was you who prevented him from falling into the same darkness he had throw himself completely in the past. As much as you blame yourself for leaving Castlevania without having helped him back then, you did it now, Alucard."
The dhampir stared at her, his expression filled with surprise and his black eyes gleamed with contained emotion, but he did not give any reply to the woman. His attention returned to his father who at that very moment charged again against Graham.
The two vampires struck at the same time, the glittering silver of their swords met in the air. Soma pushed his opponent violently and shot a precise kick that Graham managed to dodge, leaning to the side. The man with long silver hair was suddenly enveloped by a white light and he struck his attack on the floor, creating translucent circles on the ground where, seconds later, columns of bluish and lethal energy sprouted and began to chase his opponent through the extension of the courtyard.
Soma dodged quickly, moving away from the other vampire rolling across the floor and leaping away. He did not wait and also invoking his magic, he caused a hundred scythes to appear in the air and threw them at his enemy who teleported to another part of the area to avoid the attack; the sickles devastated the place where he had been, burying itselves in the concrete and cracking the ground in several places.
Not a second had passed after Graham reappeared on the other spot, he immediately turned, raised his sword and blocked a brutal onslaught from his adversary, who executed a quick sequence of blows that the vampire found certain difficulty to follow and successfully block.
Graham tried to gain the advantage of the duel to himself and used his powers to block the last blow of his opponent and stun him for a few seconds, delivered a violent punch that hit completely Soma's face, disorienting him momentarily, and chanting a ancient rite he summoned a dozen stone creatures that rose from the ground obeying the command of their master, who immediately teleported to the top a tower, taking on a safe distance.
Soma looked at the siege of monsters advancing against him and with features filled with contempt, just raised his hand up as his body was shrouded in shadows, beginning to emanate an intense black magic that grew around him. His golden eyes glittered dangerously, and the silver-haired man suddenly disappeared. Beneath the group of monsters that had just been grouped together where he had been, appeared a large black circle that filled the length of the floor, and suddenly five-meter-tall thorns sprang up from the circle and rose upwards like stakes, impaling violently all creatures whose bodies began to crumble before the powerful counterattack.
"You will need a lot more than this pathetic sample of power to defeat me, Walter." Soma spoke dryly after resurfacing next to the vampire, watching him impassively.
Graham smirked cynically.
"Your extreme confidence will be your ruin, Mathias!"
The red-eyed vampire's body was enveloped by a strong red and malignant light that seemed to distort the scenery around him, and then suddenly it exploded, spreading through the environment, destroying everything it touched.
Soma teleported immediately to another part of the same tower. The ancient building began to crumble into thousands pieces and the debris, propelled by the attack, was forcefully thrown away and the golden-eyed vampire was likewise flung through the air. In the middle air his body gleamed with a pale golden light that wrapped him completely in half a second and disappeared the next instant. The man fell swiftly towards a completely flooded area that was part of the decoration of the outer courtyard and which descended in more than five meters of depth, but instead of sinking, Soma slid on the surface of the water and stopped still above it, completely recovering his balance.
His golden eyes filled with great fury hunted for his opponent who had also landed safely at another part of the opposite end of the area. A flurry of flames then appeared in his right fist and lifting up his arm, without hesitation the vampire struck the air and three gigantic fireballs left his fist in his enemy's direction.
The attack swiftly crossed the courtyard, destroying the stone floor. Graham quickly turned around and noticing the magic attack coming, he jumped immediately, the propulsion thrust him many feet up and forward in the air. The fireballs collided with violence against the building, causing that entire sector and another tower to collapse, and the castle shook hard in its foundations.
Concentrating all his power on one of his hands, still in middle air, Graham struck a powerful magic wave of bluish energy against his opponent that quickly crossed the distance between them. Soma barely intercepted the attack, and having no time to dodge, he lifted his left hand before him and received all the power of the attack against his palm, pushing him violently back.
The silver-haired man slid across the surface of the water that rose to upwards with the propulsion of the wave and evaporated with the intense heat that it concentrated. Still being swiftly pushed backwards, crossing the flooded area to quickly be propelled against the concrete floor, Soma with great effort finally managed to stop several meters later, still holding all the power of the magic that had attacked him concentrated in a small sphere that gleamed dangerously in his left hand. The sleeve of his shirt was completely destroyed and part of his arm got severely burned.
Grimly, Soma looked for Graham and saw him still falling towards the courtyard, and without hesitation he grabbed the magic ball in his left fist and using his power, he caused the shadows to once again envelop his body and propel him upwards towards his enemy in a whirlwind of dark flames that surrounded him in mid air and took on the shape of a great black dragon whose wings majestically struck the air, flying towards its opponent.
Graham's eyes widened in surprise and he prepared to receive the impact. The dragon opened its huge mouth and swallowed him completely, and inside the ocean of shadows, the two vampires met again.
Soma gave a slight sword blow that was easily blocked by the other man's silver weapon, and then they both attacked at the same time. Graham struck a sharp, deep horizontal cut that violently pierced his opponent's left side and Soma, spinning in mid-air, returned Graham's magic, ruthlessly hitting the glowing sphere in the other man's face.
Graham felt all the destructive force of the attack that he himself had created, mixed with the other's dark power, and was hurled away with great force. He fell towards the ground, banging violently against several columns of stone that plummeted completely with the impact and speed of his body, which after several meters finally stopped motionless on the ground.
Soma plummeted to the opposite side, the propulsion pushed him hard and he also slammed violently against the side of another tower, completely destroying that part of the structure and then falling to his feet on the upper wing of the outer courtyard near where his friends stood under the influence of the black spell. And as soon as his feet touched the ground the man fell hard to his knees, coughing and spitting a great deal of blood while holding the left side of his body where the crimson liquid overflowed abundantly.
Trembling, using his free arm to partially support himself, the vampire took a deep shaking breath while trying to control the immense pain that exploded and took over his entire body. His regeneration ability was active and working as fast as it could to close the wound, but it was deep and caused by a sheer silver blade that made the process even slower and painful.
He thought he heard several voices calling him, but he could hardly tell what they were saying. In that moment everything had become vague and disconnected as he struggled to regain the balance of his body as soon as possible.
In his mind he listened to the dry, ruthless clicks of an imaginary clock that seemed to count to him the passing of seconds that were rapidly declining like the steady drop of the fine sand of an hourglass. He could feel his time begin to wear out, and inwardly Soma began to despair.
With great effort he wiped his face with his arm and rose to his feet, looking at the expanse of the outer courtyard he found that Graham had also succeeded in doing the same, and at that moment, with his noble suit torn, dyed red, burned and destroyed at several parts, standing next to the last column he had collided with, the left side of his face severely wounded and bloody, the vampire stared at him with red eyes filled with pure hatred.
"MATHIAS!" Graham screamed in rage. "THIS DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING! I WILL DESTROY YOU!"
Soma remained silent, breathing heavily, keeping his hand on the wound trying to staunch the bleeding. His eyes darted away from his opponent for a brief second and his attention fell on the group trapped in the powerful and lethal black magic. It was expanding quickly and Death was no longer able to slow its advance. Both vampires had been fighting for almost half an hour and he hadn't had any second more to lose.
He needed to finish that duel at that precise moment or otherwise...
Unwillingly his gaze met again with the dark eyes of his son, who stared at him with strong emotion. Soma was moved and felt his chest being filled with deep sentiment. He knew what he had to do to make his adversary open his guard, and made a decision; the dhampir, recognizing that evenly look as a silent farewell, the same look the vampire gave him on the night of 1999, widened his eyes, struck by fear, and Soma purposely turned his face away towards his opponent.
"Come on then, Walter! Let's finish this once and for all!"
Soma tossed away the silver sword he held in his hand as Graham teleported himself to the same level as the other vampire, about twenty yards away.
Both men stared at one another deathly, the rain pouring heavy on their faces, and after a flash of lightning struck the sky, they hurled themselves against each other to deliver the final blow.
Graham struck, his silver sword glittering with a voracious glow, and Soma stepped sideways and received the full blow of the weapon that pierced him completely in the chest, just millimeters above his heart. The other, in turn, grasped his opponent's right arm with his left hand, maintaining the sword, preventing his adversary from pulling it out, and with his free fist gleaming a reddish magic, Soma struck a straight blow across the other's chest, hitting the vampire's heart, who stared at him with a deeply shocked expression.
The magic began to fall apart, spreading through Graham's body, destroying each of one of its cells and tearing apart every bit of the length of his soul. The light went out completely from the vampire's eyes as his existence was consumed permanently by the force of the mortal blow. Graham's aura disappeared and the lethal spell working on the farthest group also fell apart at once.
Breathing heavily, Soma released the other man and broke the chain he had around his neck, taking the Ebony Stone to himself. Then with a kick he jerked his opponent's body toward the abyss, and it fell through the outer wall outside the castle, disappearing into the darkness.
The remaining vampire withdrew with a sharp thrust the sword from his chest and the blood spurted even more abundantly from the two deep wounds in his body, dyeing his black garment in crimson and all the ground at his feet. Soma released the weapon that fell on the floor with a thud, his sight darkened and his body plummeted, leaning towards the abyss.
Suddenly something grabbed his arm and pulled him back before it was too late and he felt himself fall to the ground supported by someone's embrace, and he thought he heard his son's familiar voice calling him distantly, but the rain continued to fall hard and his conscience surrendered to complete darkness.
