A/N: As promised, here is part deux. For full reading experience it is also advised to play "The End" soundtrack of Lords of Shadow 1 when you get... when you get to the "thing." You'll know what I'm talking about.

His mouth tasted foul.

Dracul rolled onto his stomach and vomited. And even though centuries of undeath had atrophied his innards, he could still feel them constrict at the sight. Black, greasy sludge. Disgusted, he bounced up, and a soft oath reached out for his ears. A second, and something propped him up. "Shh, it's all right, Gabriel, it's all right, we've got you," an achingly familiar voice intoned. "That thing does not control you anymore."

"M-" The elder spun around, and his legs nearly gave out from under him. Blue eyes, wide with concern, stared back. "Marie?! H-how are you e-even-"

"Suffice it to say, the Bernhard's Fiend had tried to buy us off." The Forgotten One's gruff cackle rang out to his side. "Such a shame it chose to coat its proposal with too much sugar."

"What the daemon's trying to say-" Alucard's snort. "Is that the castle revived Mother so we'd be more inclined to let it go. But it only made us more determined to banish it." The warrior rested his hand against Dracul's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

The vampire lord wiped his face clean. "Weak," he replied, "yet strangely... calm."

"You shouldn't be surprised." Ikayiel nodded. "Because there's still one more issue that needs to be tackled. The Wyrm. Haste is what had stopped the Fiend from imbuing this monstrosity with sentience."

"The W- what? What on earth are you ta- Bloody hell!" Dracul startled. "What is that?!"

Marie offered him a mild smile. "Primordial Chaos molded in the shape of your Dragon Form. But it's been docile ever since we forced the Demon out of your body. Our guess is that it cannot command it. Not in the state that it's in."

"Speaking of the Demon..." The vampire tore his gaze away from the motionless beast. "Where is it now? And how- how did you expel it? Can it be destroyed once and for all?"

The sound of a throat being cleared, and Dracul pivoted to see the frazzled archangel levitating beside him. Burns marred his face, soot smudged his armor, and many of his feathers were smoldering like coals. Remorse dug its nails into the Dragon's mind at the sight.

A small gilded birdcage hung close to his sibling's shoulder. It was occupied. "There is someone Who's ready to answer all of your questions, brother." Gabriel gestured to the armor-clad figure twenty or so yards away. "It's between Him and you. Go. We won't interrupt you."

"Who-" the elder began, but fell silent midway. It was apparent. Who else had the power to freely make and unmake everything? God Himself.

With his heart in his mouth, Dracul drew near the Supreme Being. His senses were screeching protests, yelled and shrieked them into his ear. Turn back, turn back, before He scatters your ashes across the wind for centuries of sacrilegious opposition! But what was the point of running? Elohim would find him all the same. He could only rise to the challenge.

"Hello, Gabriel," the Host spoke in a low-pitched, almost guttural voice. Bizarrely enough, the noise didn't seem to be emanating from the figure's mouth. "It is a pleasure to meet you at long last."

-and that voice reverberated with crisp familiarity. A shadow draped him, and the vampire pivoted. Aye, the Forgotten One loomed right behind him, arms folded and gaze empty. God was using the daemon's voice?

"Please, forgive Me this rather unpleasant formality," the archfiend spoke up, and the Lord's Avatar took a bow. "For only My spokespersons can understand Me. Ikayiel will give voice to my concerns for the time being, if you don't mind."

"Why are You here?" Dracul asked, puzzlement pitching his voice up.

"To talk to you."

"What is it You wish to discuss?" What a dumb question. As if it wasn't obvious.

The Lord's Avatar thwacked His hands together, and the vampire flinched. "Oh, a plethora of things. But first of all, I'd like to ask you a question. You've demonstrated great distaste for My decree, and I'm frankly curious. Why? You acted as though I had offended you in person."

"You're the Creator. You know everything there is to know." Dracul gave the Being a sullen glare. "You're mindful of my motives already."

"True, but I'd love to hear you articulate them."

The Dragon sighed. "Profound manipulation. You've used me to do Heaven's work."

Elohim's bluish-green eyes widened. "Heaven's work?"

"Lucifer. It's... it was Michael's responsibility to banish him. But 'twas I who did it. And then-"

"And then I took everything you had ever loved from you," God finished for him.

Dracul lowered his voice to a grumble. "You could have told me what was required of me. Instead, You preferred to dangle a carrot before my face and usher me blindly forward."

"But to commit innumerable genocides and indulge yourself in sacrilegious debauchery because of that? Murder is never an answer, Gabriel, and you know it." The Host folded His hands across the chest.

"Then what was I supposed to do, hm? I didn't have any options, any opportunity to change that what has been preordained! I'm the "unholy" part of your saintlike archangel! I am duty-bound to make "evil" decisions!"

A hushed hum escaped the Avatar. "Do you remember the story of Job, Gabriel?"

The vampire arched a distrustful eyebrow, but composed himself. "Job is a righteous and devout man. Lucifer suggests that he is this merely because he's prosperous and happy. He is tested if he could remain pious in spite of the hardships You subject him to. He loses everything: his home, his family, his possessions, but he stays steadfast. Only in the end, he begins to express doubt and You reprimand him. What does this have to do with anything?"

"And how does that tale end?"

"You recompensed Job everything he had lost after he had refused to badmouth You-" Dracul paused as realization sent shivers down his spine. "You... tested me?"

"In all honesty, yes. A test you've failed, but don't misunderstand." The Being interlocked His fingers. "I knew it would take time for goodness to ignite within you for a second time. This is one the greatest feats a Child of Mine can accomplish. To garner all that makes them human, even after their humanity is taken away from them by force. You may have turned your back on Me, renounced your name, and let your contempt spawn that fiendish megalomaniac, but this..." God's expression remained neutral, but the vampire could sense His smile. "This spark has lived on inside of you despite everything. Even in your darkest hour your motives were pure, if a bit misguided."

"But was it all worth it?" The elder couldn't hold back a snappy response. "So many gave their lives. The common people, Your allies, the Founders! All that just to see if I could redeem myself?!"

"Not entirely," the Avatar answered patiently. "The threat of Lucifer's Return was as severe as you might imagine. You've felt it yourself. And in spite of being tethered to Gehenna, the Morning Star had accumulated enough power to obliterate My Creation. This world needed a protector. A mortal whose spirit represented a perfect union of good and evil. A human so they'd find love, and fallible so they'd learn how to overcome their imperfections."

The Dragon chose silence.

"It is no secret that I chose you long before you were even born, Gabriel," He continued. "The Dracoduh Apostates, the Brotherhood, Laura, Ikayiel, My Own blessings... All were there to ensure you'd emerge triumphant in your confrontation with My former favorite." The Host heaved a sigh. "Yet this needless loss of life, this bloodshed. It broke My heart, it really did. But I picked the lesser of two evils."

"Satan would have exterminated every living being," Dracul surmised in a quiet voice.

"Indeed." An armor-plated hand crawled up the vampire's shoulder. "But don't think masterminding the tragedy that befell you brought Me joy. You were in great pain, and I could see that. I wedged you in-between Lucifer and Earth. At the time I couldn't offer you anything significant aside from My continuous support. But this is about to change."

The Host clapped His hands, drawing the attention of everyone present. As the archangel, the warrior, and the Justicar approached something... else began swirling in the air, as well. Silhouettes of smokeless fire appeared, encircling them all. Those closest to the Lord took shape of slender-winged humans, while others stayed amorphous clouds of light. Sylphlike and out of this world, the angels eyed the vampire with genuine awe and curiosity.

"Eliana?" Dracul mouthed as he recognized three familiar figures to the Avatar's left side. "Raphael? Uriel?!"

"He knows us. You lose, Az." The minstrel elbowed the other gloomy-looking angel robed in purple garb. "I'll have those five staters you promised."

"Uriel!" the Heavenly Hosts exclaimed reprovingly.

"Uriel," Raphael intoned. "The Avenger-Champion had shadowed us on our journey to the Order's stronghold, remember? Of course, he would know us." The messenger's pellucid eyes fluttered towards the elder. "Greetings, brother. It is good that you have found your way to us."

"Though, it is rather unsettling to stand before you in person." Eliana let out an uneasy chuckle. "You did vow to wreak vengeance upon everyone responsible for your plight."

"Aye, but that was before I came to understand your reasoning," the vampire reassured her.

Two more shapes materialized into sight, one on each Elohim's side. Wrinkles riddled their exposed hands and both of them had much stockier physique – elderly men, Dracul speculated. But for someone dressed in gowns and concealing their faces behind carnivalesque masks they most certainly gave off an air of authority. An air so thick one could cut it with a knife... And even the angels themselves appeared to be intimidated by their presence. Out of the corner of his eye, the vampire could see Marie start to fidget.

"The tribunal," the Avatar elaborated. "A trio of Justicars rule over it, your Marie included. I believe you know its purpose already, Gabriel."

Dracul's mouth crimped. "Judgement," he murmured.

"Without a doubt." The left Justicar echoed a good-humored chortle. "You've always been quite an astute one, Gabriel Belmont."

That voice... the vampire lord perked up. "Volpe?"

"Yes." The Justicar bowed down, and a shriveled hand rose to yank the mask off. Deep-set gray eyes bored into his. "First and foremost, allow me to introduce you to Rinaldo Gandolfi, a genius alchemist and weaponsmith." The former bishop of the Brotherhood gestured to the second Justicar. "The one who had created the Vampire Killer."

"Ave, Prince of Darkness." The man in question saluted and cast his mask aside. Rinaldo had long, hoary hair plaited into two even braids, a hooked nose, and a well-trimmed imperial. Pale blue eyes flickered inquisitively across the Dragon's features. "Ah, it is an honor to come face to face with the legendary wielder of my cross."

"You... you two are His agents-" Dracul cupped his chin.

Eliana offered him a modest smile. "It was a tale of thousands of years in the making. It had to be perfect if you were to prevail over our rebellious brother."

"Khm." The Forgotten One's voice returned to normal. "This is all fine and superb, but I would like to be paid. Now." His evil-eyed gaze settled on the elder, and Dracul pursed his lips. "I'm done with playing the punching bag for this... him."

"Ah, yes, sure thing." Gabriel nodded. "Though if I remember correctly Uriel did not work out the details of your agreement, did he?"

"With the amount of time I was allotted?" the lesser angel sputtered. "I was half-surprised I even managed to strike a deal with the guy, considering his prejudice against us."

"Prejudice, hah!" Ikayiel guffawed. "I dislike negotiating with buffoons. Particularly the ones who babble a mile a minute."

A sneer crooked Uriel's features. "You show great contempt for someone who has made it this far to earn his wings back. So, let's sort this out now. What is it you want, fallen one?"

"What I want, what I want," the archfiend parroted. "I desire to plunge my claws into the belly of the mortal who had dared to imprison me in that husk! I wish to rip out his intestines and feed them to one of Satan's lapdogs! Flay him alive and use his skin as ledger paper!" He stabbed his finger at the vampire. "But, more than anything, I demand the return of my primary powers! This measly whelp has misused them for long enough!"

"But this doesn't add up!" Eliana balked. "Why are furious at him? You had relinquished Chaos and Void of your own volition! It's a part of Uriel's deal with you!"

"Sister, you forget that Ikayiel is not a patient individual," Raphael stated in a gentle tone. "Several centuries of captivity would render anyone manic."

Gabriel put his hands on his hips. "Ikayiel, you've already attempted to extract your power out of him. It didn't work-"

"It didn't work merely because that white-furred cretin chose to interfere!"

Dracul let out a growl. "Insult Alucard one more time and your own power will squash you, daemon."

The Forgotten One emitted a low, grinding noise almost as if he was gritting his teeth. "Listen up, swine. If not for this pact with the Paragons, you would have been eviscerated. But I am magnanimous. In front of the Almighty, I'm giving you an opportunity to surrender that what you have stolen. Use it, for you won't have a second chance."

"You died once. Were pounded into the ground twice." Blue twinkled, and the Void Sword slipped into the vampire's hand. "It is as though you can't – or don't want to – learn, daemon."

Another smug and boisterous laugh. "Big talk from an ant-sized lizard. If I were you, I'd savor these last few minutes, oh mighty Prince of Darkness, before your brother rams the Killer through your throat."

"What?" The elder's eyes widened in shock. He caught sight of the archangel's frowning face.

"Enough!" The Host roared, seizing control of Ikayiel's voice once more. "There will be no fighting, understand? The tribunal is here to judge two perpetrators. The Fiend that had gorged itself on the souls of the innocent and... and you, Gabriel. Or should I say, a thorn in My side."

"But-!"

"You truly thought we're going to absolve you of all your sins, vampire?" the angel in purple raiment cried out. "The one who has antagonized our Lord for a thousand years? The one who vowed to hunt His Children for all eternity? The one who made it painfully clear that God failed?!"

"Hold your tongue, Azrael!" Gabriel snarled. "The Justicars are yet to reach a verdict!"

"Don't try to deny it, Gabriel!" the psychopomp snapped in return. "You know it better than anyone here! Come on! Tell the leech! Tell him that you were created just so you could destroy him after they pass judgement!"

Awkward silence enveloped everyone present. Scowling, Dracul turned to his exasperated sibling. "Is it true?" he forced through clenched teeth. "Are you here to kill me?"

"Yes." The archangel inhaled sharply. "I'm the only one who can put you to permanent rest."

"So why not do this when the Fiend took over?"

Gabriel's brow rose. "Because I do not wish any more blood on my hands!" He spread his arms. "Brother, I do not want to fight! Why do you think I had implored you to seek forgiveness? So the Lord would take pity on you. So we'd be able to exist side by side."

"But- but I did. I did ask for forgiveness!" the vampire retorted, angered. "Right before the beast whisked me away." He swiveled and gave the Host a scathing glare. "You know that one cannot survive without the other. I am guilty, that I accept, but why condemn the one who has never questioned You? What for? Just to prove a point?"

The angels grew quiet and fearful. The Avatar cocked His head to the side, but did not answer.

A loud brattle disrupted the silence. Inside its birdcage, the invertebrate threshed and flailed, yowled and hissed. They wish you nothing but harm, a piping voice shrieked inside the elder's mind. Not all is lost! I can save you, my Prince! Can save you from their wrath!

After what just happened? he thought back. You think me an inbred simpleton?

I am no Earthborn, my Lord, the castle fawned over him. The Earthborn cannot master the Primordial Chaos and Void. That inept daemon had said it himself. But I can. I can use that power to tear open a portal into other domains! We can escape! And He will not be able to follow us! Not without the Horn!

Hmph! Why should I allow this, abomination?

What is better? To know you've ended up in a whole 'nother realm away from everything that had ever caused you pain or rot in timeless agony as punishment for your sins? Your death will not be enough to appease them. You will be cast aside by the very same God that you had once revered. Convicted by the only woman you had ever loved. Betrayed by the creature you call 'your son' as he turncoats to the paragons' side. And your saintly brother... Not some exalted guardian of Heaven, but an instrument. God's tool. And when He's stuffed and bored, He'll use that tool to put you out of your misery. That is his purpose. His destiny. Isn't this that which you preach?

"Stop twisting my words around, beast!" Dracul snarled out loud, startling everyone around him. "What can you do? You're in chains! You're defeated! Begone!"

"The castle-" the archangel attempted to interject, but was cut off by God's raised hand.

His own low-pitched chuckle echoed inside the vampire's head. "Why, your gullible sibling will let me go," it spoke up in a smug tone. Rows of teeth lined its jaws.

The elder's lip crawled up. "And why would he set you free, pray tell?"

"Gabriel," Elohim uttered and flashed a glance at His messenger, "unfetter the beast, please."

As if thunderstruck, he watched as the angel set the cage on the ground. The gilded grille dissolved in a swirl of dust, and the slug slithered out. With a grimace of disgust, Dracul stepped backwards and glared daggers at the untroubled Being. "Are You out of Your mind?!" he snapped. "You brush aside something You've detained Yourself?!"

"How dare you- mmph!" Azrael began, but was promptly subdued by Raphael.

The slug sprouted centipede-like legs and crept towards him. "Absolved by the very same God that has descended from Eden to have me judged. The irony is delightful."

It let out an unhinged cackle. "You saw it with your own eyes, my Lord. Even the caretakers of His throne are feeble and imperfect. Their single-mindedness veer into megalomania. To free someone like me... One would have to be half-crazed or senile. So how does it feel to understand that God isn't as faultless as humanity envisages Him? How does it feel to recognize that you've been misled all this time? That all of your suffering did not have any meaning?" The Demon's final words were a blur of gurgling screeches.

Dracul pivoted on his heels. He could sense the Maker's curious gaze tunnel beneath his skin. His sibling's smile, weak yet brimming with hope. Marie's disquieted tilt of her head. Alucard's raised brow.

It felt... familiar.

A test. Another test. A second chance.

God, the Paragons, the tribunal, the lesser angels. All were testing him. To see if he could persevere in spite of the Fiend's efforts to sway him. This... this would justify the Heavenly Hosts' passiveness throughout the castle's blasphemous rant. They were waiting for his response. And with this reptilelike thing looming large-

Dracul gazed about himself. Wygol has been unmade. 'Twas not hard to imagine what kind of casualties the Hosts could sustain if the colossus were to lash out once more. They had already lost three of their greatest warriors. The chaste Remielle. The valorous Cassiel. The sage Michael. Destroyed alongside their material dark sides. How must it have felt like to await your inescapable demise? To know that you are going to die and there's nothing you can do to change that? The Founders had given their lives to right all of their wrongs. To ensure the Lords of Shadow would not torment humankind any longer.

How it must have felt for his angelic doppelgänger. To become a virtuous paragon, one of those who you had personally slaughtered to achieve a selfish goal. What burden it must have been to walk amongst them. To know that your own doubt and fury had been given life to. To be conscious of the fact that one day you will be required to make an ultimate sacrifice in order to be forgiven. Suffering paled in comparison to this sense of shame. Pain would end, ire would numb misery, but remorse would always be with you.

The Founders of the Order created the Lords of Shadow. They are one and the same.

The Fiend was wrong. His suffering did have a meaning. It had eased that weight on his brother's shoulders. It had made him forget about his responsibility, if only for a short while.

Only my father, Gabriel Belmont, can destroy Dracula.

Alucard, beyond doubt, had meant this to be metaphorical. But here- this simple sentence took on a much more literal meaning. The vampire's lips crinkled in amusement.

The Demon's forked tongue spun lie after lie. Its hide. Its life. It would do anything in order to survive. It treated mortals with casual disdain, sneered at God's divine messengers, and outright ran amok at the sight of Him. But when it took a licking, it decided to disengage. Loathsome creature. Only fainthearted wretches sought to escape with their lives. Those who did not fear judgement remained steadfast.

And he was no coward.

"Once." The elder turned around, arms folded. "Once I had fallen into your web of intrigues and machinations, beast. For centuries I've been your unwitting puppet. Your own hapless life. It is the only thing that you care about, and this attempt to subjugate me is all the proof I need. I'm finished. The Paragons may have manipulated me, yes, but you... You abused me to further your own heinous goal. If they wish to put me down like a dog, then so be it. I shall rejoice when I see you rot alongside me in Hell, Bernhard!"

"Don't you understand?!" the Fiend sputtered, and a quiver rippled its body. "You've served your purpose! Zobek is no more and Satan has been dealt with! They no longer need you! You're going to ally yourself to a cluster of holier-than-thou bureaucrats?! You?! The self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness?!"

"The irony is delightful," Dracul echoed, not letting his gaze off of the slug. "Finally, the Lords of Shadow learn how to master their resentment towards their heavenly halves."

"But- but!" The leech's voice grew squeaky once more. "Please! Please, please, please! I don't deserve to die! I'm a victim of circumstance! The Bernhards were the ones who summoned me. They're the ones who set this disaster in motion!" It bounced and coiled about the vampire's ankle. "Please, my Lord, my Prince! I looked after you, I saved you in your wanderings, I gave you shelter! Do not turn your back on me!" All three rows of its teeth – yellowish, laced in drool – parted in a fell hiss. "Don't you dare abandon me, Gabriel Belmont!"

With a muffled oath, Dracul tore the salivating leech away from his leg and crumpled it up into a slimy lump. The slug squirmed, and an acidic secretion oozed forth through its skin. It ate away at the flesh of his hands, but pain no longer troubled him. The elder hurled the crushed slug at the Hosts, where it was caught and deposited into a newly-conjured up cage by his angelic brother.

Gabriel glanced the reeling beast over and proffered the cage to Uriel. With a gentle smile crooking the saint's mouth, he approached the vampire and gave him a strong pat on the back. "You've made the right choice," he said, a heartwarming gleam in his eyes. "You persevered in spite of everything. Even with a means of escape within your reach, you chose to stay." His brows climbed up. "I'm proud. Proud to call you 'my brother.' "

"As am I," Dracul returned. "You make a splendid soldier of God. Loyal and devout till the end." He heaved a small sigh. "It's just... so odd to think about. Are you not worried that you're going to die?"

"Not in the slightest." Gabriel's red-tipped wings moved as he shrugged. "It may have irritated me once, but I grew out of it. The people I- we both care about are overjoyed. They are getting their well-earned happy endings. Marie, Trevor. Mother and son reunited at last after centuries of silence. Think about the stories they're going to tell others." He let out a mirthless chortle. "It numbs the pain. Makes you forget that you won't be there to hear them."

The vampire's shoulders slouched. "There has to be another option..."

"Oh, believe me. If there was, I would've used it a long time ago. This... is the only way to kill the Demon. To make sure it remains destroyed." The archangel rubbed the nape of his neck. "But, come. The committee is being assembled. Let us not linger."

Gabriel's eyes remained downcast throughout the entirety of the legal proceeding. Mute and motionless, he listened as Volpe, together with Gandolfi, recited the charges against the Bernhard's hellspawn. Homicide, heresy, treason, gluttony... The list went on indefinitely, and the Paragons agreed to skim over the remainder of the formal indictment. For they still had one more case to analyze. And a much more tangled one at that.

Dracul stood beside him, head tilted back and a thin-lipped phantom of a smile on his lips. Yet the saint recognized that this was just for show. The elder was trying to bury his weariness, his troubles. To not let anger take over. He had chosen to be judged and now spent these brief minutes trying to defend his decision. Evidently, it was harder than it seemed as Gabriel could catch a sigh being uttered here and there. The archangel could do nothing here, except perchance, offer his undead sibling a pacifying quirk of his mouth every once in awhile.

Marie and Alucard were with them, too. The Justicar let her peers deal with the Fiend, and the Wolf... Trevor's mouth was crinkled in a weak but bittersweet smirk. And why shouldn't he be smiling? After all, other angels had told him that he would be admitted into Eden, no questions asked. In their eyes, Alucard had accomplished the impossible. He had preserved his humanity despite his condition. He would see his Sypha, share a drink with Simon, have a friendly sparring match with any of the others who has found their way into Heaven. The boy's fortune could be envied.

The Justicar, on the other hand, had a scowl etched into her face. Again, why shouldn't she be frowning? Her duty was to pass judgement on the defendant. To be as passionless and indifferent as she could possibly be. There was no room for emotion in a court of law, and Marie understood that.

"-and hereby you, daemonium, are sentenced to death," Rinaldo's voice thundered. "Your soul, and the souls of everyone you had consumed, shall be scattered across Limbo. There, they shall remain till the end of eternity. One-hundred and eight angels shall watch over them and persecute anyone who attempts to piece them together. Even in death, you shall not torment humankind. So it is decided, so it shall be."

Gabriel nodded to himself – an appropriate punishment for something this wicked. Limbo, not Hell. The Fiend wouldn't be thrown into the pits of the abyss... not with Satan wearing the infernal crown. The fallen angel was a stubborn one. He would exploit anyone to regain his 'rightful' place in Heaven. But not even Lucifer had the power to breach Limbo and bypass more than a hundred of heavenly soldiers.

The birdcage with the condemned Demon was set aside, and Gandolfi gave the two brothers an inquisitive look. "Princeps Tenebrarum," he called, "please, step forward."

Dracul faltered as he saw the archangel shift in sync with him. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

"We are one," the saint responded in the same hushed voice. "I will accompany you wherever you go. If one of us proceeds, then we both shall stand before the judge's gavel. It is something that even our uprooted link cannot change."

A myriad of conflicting emotions flashed across the vampire's face. "Ah," he managed, his head bowed. "Thank you, brother."

And so they strode forth. Stoic, determined, dogged. Two sides of the same coin. At one time they harbored a common hatred toward each other. Both of them, they thought, could never collaborate. How could something so contrasting cooperate? It was like asking water not to snuff out a candle's fire. And yet- they marched. Marched, halted and knelt in front of the tribunal as one.

"Stand up." The Avatar's voice was soft, but firm.

Gabriel complied and bravely met the Maker's cyan gaze. Elohim canted His head, staring straight into the knight's eyes, and flourished His hand. Volpe nodded.

"Marie?" he addressed the distraught Justicar. "We're in need of your aid. Will you join us now?"

The woman's shoulders sagged. Sniffling, she stumbled toward her peers and took her place in the middle. An unhealthy pallor stained her cheeks and red rimmed her eyes. It was almost as if she was about to weep.

Some of the angels – and in particular, the psychopomp, Gabriel noted – regarded her with contempt. She had broken the law. Went against her superior's orders. Buckled under emotion. And for a cold-blooded member of the tribunal, 'twas a profound crime.

"Don't fret," Elohim guessed his thoughts. "Your Marie may have disobeyed My will, but I hold no grudge against her. She did what she felt was right. Cardinal, read the charges if you may."

The former clergyman cleared his throat. "Gabriel Belmont, you are being accused of committing crimes against humanity. Against God Himself. From desecration of our sacred sites to wanton massacre of thousands of innocent people. From taking the Lord's name in vain to becoming a host for the Demon that devours souls. These transgressions are enough to justify an eternity in Gehenna's burning maw. How do you plead?"

The knight's head jerked back in surprise. "You didn't ask the Fiend this."

"I'm interested in your answer, not the Fiend's," the Avatar replied.

He took a moment to mull this over. "Not guilty," he eventually said in a firm voice.

An indignant grumble stirred up the Hosts, and he could see all of the Justicars' eyes round. A bewildered, yet somewhat encouraging crease twirled Alucard's lips. Even the Forgotten One broke loose of God's control to utter a small 'what.' Elohim Himself remained unruffled, a mask of impassivity cloaking His true thoughts. "Your statement?" He asked as tenderly as a father would his child.

"You knew all of this would come about." Gabriel straightened his back. "You took an active part in all these happenings. You knew my dark half would wreak havoc. I lent You my aid. I defeated Lucifer. Your onetime favorite. He was the real thorn in Your side, You've said it Yourself. To sentence someone who has done You such a service – twice, now – would be... would be..." he trailed off.

"Unfair?" God suggested. "Hypocritical? Unjust?"

"To be frank, yes."

"Gabriel, you did not deserve Paradise." The Host took a step closer. "You've sowed terror and destruction for centuries. You slaughtered, you massacred, you butchered," He went on, each word like the sting of the whip against the man's flesh. "All that to demonstrate your disdain for Me. To show how 'foolish' it was of Me to bless such a remorseless creature. In a way, you behaved even worse than Lucifer, and his treachery had hurt. Yet, I couldn't raise My hand against someone I had created-"

He looked over His demoralized Champion, and his gaze softened. "But..." He drew near. "You're right. You did restore light to My world, just as I have fo- just as I have hoped. You vanquished the Morning Star. And most importantly you didn't let the Demon influence you just now." He paused and rested His hands against the knight's shoulders. "You're right. It would be unfair. It would be unfair to doom the man who had aided Me. Regardless of his motivation."

His grip stiffened. "But, understand. I will not admit you into Heaven. You've hurt My people. But neither will I send you to Sheol. You've preserved the lives of those who survived." The Avatar's eyes bored into his. "What I offer you, however, is Nirvana. Freedom from all fires of desire. From all burdens of life."

"You- Death? You speak of death?"

"Yes. Should you take up this offer, I'll create an isolated dimensional pocket within Limbo and place your soul there. No one will be able to disrupt your rest. You won't be able to see your loved ones, but you shall be at peace." God's hands slipped down. "Or you can decline. Alucard and Marie will stay with you here on Earth, and you will be able to rebuild your family. Neither the Paragons, nor the Demon will trouble you ever again. But in order to for this work, you will have to promise me. Promise me you will not regress back into evil. For if you do, I shall stretch out My hand and smite you."

"Y-You're letting me choose?" Gabriel stammered. "Why?"

"For far too long you didn't have a choice. Now it is your chance to mold your own fate, My Champion."

"Then I choose death," he said without hesitation.

Elohim steepled His fingers. "You surprise Me, Gabriel. Don't you wish to remain with your kin?"

"I have craved release ever since I drank Laura's blood. It was a poison which drove me mad. Hatred made the pain abate, and I had succumbed. Instead of seeking aid. And all those people who died at my hands-" The knight could feel liquid well in his eyes. "I-I wish to die so I w-won't remember the suffering they have endured because of me. Not e-even kindred love can erase this shame. To stay here, to be alive is an affront to their memory!"

Bloody tears ran down his cheeks, but he didn't make any effort to wipe them away. "A-and even without the castle's mutterings, I know that the evil of my past deeds will catch up on me! I cannot a-allow that. I wish to depart with a clear conscience. To not have this thought gnaw at my mind..." The elder's voice gave out, and he sobbed.

"Do you regret your actions?" A hushed question followed.

The man's chin quivered even as he tried to muster all the strength he had left. "Y-yes. I betrayed my beloved's trust, damned my only son, subjected thousands of innocents to a fate worse than death—" Yet before he could realize what was happening, the vampire felt himself being pulled into an embrace. "Wha-" he hiccuped as warm metal pressed against his skin.

"You repented," the Voice returned, and for the first time, it wasn't Ikayiel's. Ethereal and ambiguous, it was practically brimming with heartfelt joy. "Repented in front of Me. There is nothing I wanted to hear more."

"Heh." His own arms wound themselves around the Being's frame. "T-that felt... odd, yet somehow soothing. It's- it's like a load has been removed from my shoulders."

"Every man has the power to repent. It is your mantra, Gabriel, your arc. Your name. The culmination of everything you've fought for. And as for Me... I adore that quote." The corners of the Host's mouth quirked upward, and He moved back. "But you have chosen, and I shall abide by your wish. Go now. I'm giving you a few minutes to bid your farewells."

Gabriel smiled. The very next moment, a gentle weight barreled into his arms, and he stepped back in sheer bewilderment. Marie tucked her wet with tears face into his chest. "I-I was so afraid for y-you," she blubbered, hugging him closely. "I couldn't- could not have been able to sen-sentence y-you-"

"Shhh, love, it is no longer a threat to any of us," the vampire whispered back. "I am just... so happy to see you alive and well. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you once more."

A cramp shuddered the Justicar's muscles. "Yet I- all of us are about to lose you."

Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut. "Try, try not to think about it. Concentrate on your own happiness."

The jangle of armor rang out. "How can we, Father?" Alucard inquired, gold eyes aglow. "We're about to break our promise. We're about to leave you behind. What does this make us? Turncoats? Oath-breakers? Worse? And with the atonement-"

"Trevor," the archangel interrupted. "Arguing is futile. It has already been decided."

"And besides," the vampire lord added. "This is something that I wanted for a long time now."

"But-!"

The saint smiled. "My boy. The mere fact that you managed to hold onto your humanity across these centuries is praiseworthy. But I'm not as strong. It had taken me a millennium to finally, finally rediscover mine. I wish to keep it, and the only way to guarantee this is to die."

Alucard hung his head. Without uttering another word, the trumpeter folded the warrior in his arms. Trevor stiffened at the sudden physical contact, but it wasn't long before he reciprocated. "I had hoped thought it would not come to this," Gabriel heard the Wolf utter dismally. "But you are set in your ways, aren't you."

"Aye, that I am."

"Gabriel." A light pat on the man's shoulder. "Can you hand the Vampire Killer over to Rinaldo, please? He wishes to repair it."

"Repair it?" The knight pulled away to flash a glance at Eliana. "But Zobek-"

"Zobek might have rebuilt the Vampire Killer, but there is still one piece missing." The weaponsmith neared, a lopsided smirk twirling his lips. "The stake. Crissaegrim's hilt, if I'm not mistaken." His smile widened. "Oh, and marvelous forging, Trevor. Lightweight, but as accurate as Death's sickle. Well, color me impressed, lad."

"Yes, well, the blade-" A sheepish grin graced Alucard's mouth. "I'd spent a decade or so searching for a smith alone. Then a year more trying to sway him. A shame that the Forgotten One snapped it into two, though."

"You're coming with us, are you not?" The seer tilted her her sideways. "You won't be needing it anymore. Where we are going, violence is non-nonexistent."

Gandolfi gazed skyward. "If Alucard has no need of it, then I imagine it is time I restore my creation to its former glory. Gabriel, the cross, please. Thank you." The grizzly Justicar looked about him and frowned. "Blast. The Wyrm's breath has scattered the fragments of Crissaegrim if not outright destroyed them. What am I to do now...?"

"No need to trouble yourself, Rinaldo. I have you covered." The archangel flicked his wrist, and the damaged blade materialized in his hands. "It is in my power, after all."

"Ah, yes, perfect!" The weaponsmith grabbed the proffered piece. "Good thing I don't have to work the forge anymore." He muttered a few words and Crissaegrim's handle dissolved into the combat cross's stake. Mumbling to himself, the artificer linked the slivered fragment up with the rest of the relic. Black drained from the weapon's surface with a sizzle. "There," he said and held the gleaming Vampire Killer out. "This should hold better than the necromancer's spell."

"You're the one who understands this cross the best, Rinaldo." Gabriel gave the man an indulgent snort and took the weapon.

"I should say so. But it was nice to know that Dracul over here still favored a whip even after cleaving the Killer into several pieces."

"Old habits die hard." The vampire rolled his eyes. "In my defense, I didn't truly suppose that it would break as... casually as it did." His expression turned into grimace at the sudden bellow of laughter around him. "Oh, humor me. I had used the thing to break momentum!"

An incensed 'bah!' reached out for the knight's ears, and he lifted his head to see the Forgotten One glaring him down. "Look," Gabriel addressed the archfiend. "Our Lord has promised to pay you, and pay you He will. Just in a different... khm, currency."

"Oh, I'm not vexed." Ikayiel waved his hand. "I'm just a trifle frustrated I will not be getting your soul. Do you even realize how much I would have gained if I were to auction it off?" He let out a jubilant chortle.

Eliana sighed. "Ikayiel, Ikayiel. Sometimes I fear that your ruin did not teach you anything."

Goosebumps prickled the herald's skin. And, judging from the uneasy silence that had extinguished the group's joy, they had felt them as well. The Maker's Avatar strode by, a solemn glare in His eyes. "I shall reward Ikayiel after our business here is concluded," He said and turned to the trumpeter. "The time has come, Gabriel. Do you have the courage to do what is necessary? Necessary for this quest to succeed?"

"Yes, I do." The angel's fingers wound around the cross's body.

"Then, proceed as you may, My Champion. Fulfill your duty."

The reattached stake of the Vampire Killer slid out with a rasping hiss. Gabriel whiled away a few moments scrutinizing the armament's immaculate etching, and then pivoted to face his twin. "This will hurt," he declared, "hurt unlike anything you might have experienced." The saint inched toward the vampire, cross aloft. "I need your assurance that you will not back out, brother."

"I've made my peace with my God, with my family, and with myself," the elder answered, posture relaxed and eyes half-lidded. "My time is done. I am ready, brother. Deliver your blow."

The archangel nodded. Somewhere in the background, the clangor of the Demon throwing itself against the grille of its cage rang out. All around, the Heavenly Hosts waited with bated breath. Off to the side, Alucard and Marie clung to each other, apprehension raw in their eyes. Alongside him, the King of Kings watched, an enigmatic smile on His mouth.

Bracing himself, Gabriel took a roundhouse swing. For a moment the paragon held onto a glimmer of hope that the Avatar would interrupt him. Would cut him off and say this was all a test. That He had never meant for this to evolve into bloodshed. That He absolves them all of their crimes-

But Elohim stayed silent.

The stake punctured Dracul's chest with a moist squish. A sound so simple it resembled someone biting into an apple. The vampire stumbled away. An unruffled, if not straight-out proud, smirk twisted his lips. "Ha. Haha-" he coughed up, hands rising to loop about the cross. "It feels... warm. I didn't expect... a-any warmth."

Pain pierced Gabriel's brain like a white-hot needle. He tried to cry out, yet the bitter taste of cooper on his tongue denied him. Heaving a choke, he slammed his hand against his heart. Wet soaked his palm. His iridescent blood was oozing through the cracks of his armor. A mirror image of the wound he just inflicted. Subduing the urge to sob, the archangel straightened and marched forward. Where his undead twin awaited him.

Clasping his hands over Dracul's, the paragon wrung the crucifix free. Baring his teeth in a resolute snarl, he flourished and planted the weapon over again. There was a squelch, a spurt of blood, and the elder's eyes grew vacant. The stake had perforated his heart.

There, the vampire would have collapsed if not for Gabriel catching him. "Egh," Dracul muttered. "An unerring aim, I see. D-does it-"

"It hurts me, too," he whispered back. Pain throbbed within his ribcage, bit by bit bringing his own heart to a stop. Despite himself, the archangel found himself hugging his sibling. Astonishment washed over him when he felt the elder return the favor, as awkward as it seemed from his point of view.

"I'm... I'm sorry." A croak fled the Dragon's throat.

"Wh-" Another sting. "Whatever for?"

"My ex-existence dooms the ones I- I care..." His grip slipped. "...about."

"Oh, no-no," Gabriel blurted out, "this isn't your fault. This is... h-how it was meant to... b-be. You can't take the blame for-" the angel broke off. "Brother?" Flecks of ash danced in front of his eyes. "Brother?!"

Dracul's body was dissolving, crumbling to dust like Laura's. This time, Gabriel couldn't hold back a sob. Brushing the ache inside his chest aside, the knight laid his sibling's decaying body and retrieved the crucifix. The vampire seemed as peace, and that's all what mattered to him. He climbed to his feet. The Dragon was no more.

Within its cage, the Bernhard's Demon emitted a bloodcurdling shriek. Its caws quickly grew laden with panic though as tears began to show up all over its serpentine body. They ripped its flesh and splintered its bone. A second, and the Fiend could be likened to a tumid, purplish carbuncle. It breathed another slurred curse, yellow teeth showing, and... burst into a million of slimy pieces. Wisps of blue light begun to escape its frame. The castle's Demon was no more.

Ground quaked beneath everyone's feet. The Wyrm tumbled down, its endoplasmic body thawing like snow in the sun. Soon enough, it was nothing more than a puddle of orange muck. The Demon's hatred of God was no more.

Gabriel could feel blood gush out of the wound across his heart, but he didn't care anymore. He had accomplished what he was created for. And now... was there anything else? Would there be anything else? He couldn't tell. Even he, the chief of the angels, the Prince of Light, could not tell God's true plan for them all. Each breath scraped against his throat.

With his head held high, the archangel ventured forth. He paid little attention to the Hosts. How they shrank back before him, how they made way. 'Twas all beyond him. Time slowed down. Numbness spread through his joints. He did not even respond to his legs buckling under him. He took a knee. He demanded his body to obey. But it refused.

He fell. He tried to get up. Yet instead he gasped in mortal agony.

Multicolored blotches clouded his vision. They swarmed his sight, and for an instant, Gabriel saw the flowery meadow. A creek. And a forest nearby. The place where he and Marie would roam before the Decay...

His heart shriveled and halted. Gabriel mustered a feeble smile.

Death was a natural conclusion for every creature, living or otherwise. As natural... as transition 'tween the two.

A/N #2: Now, before you sharpen your stakes and go out for my blood, let me just say- wait for the epilogue. It will clear a thing or two on the whole story. Heh. No spoilers.