Dante and Leila trudged onward through the day. Things had been awkwardly silent throughout the whole ordeal, but since neither of them could go back to sleep, they would be stuck traveling through the daylight. Whatever had attacked them the night before was most likely a creature of the night, and the fact that the vampires themselves could not walk in the light, well; it was better traveling this way. Though safer, Dante could still succumb to sun sickness, and so he was careful to stay in the shade as much as possible.

Things were moving a lot slower, now that neither of them had any means of transportation. Dante's mechanical horse lay in ruins next to Leila's motorbike. They had gathered what supplies they could, but from there on out they were walking.

Dante didn't like the awkward silence hanging between the two, yet he was too ashamed to start up a conversation. It seemed as if Leila felt the same way.

Suddenly, though, Dante heard a sound, like the whisper of leaves rustling against each other, though it sounded like…

Dante…

"Leila?" he asked, stopping in his tracks, looking at the blonde beside him. She looked at him, holding her bandaged hand in her undamaged one, raising her brows. "What?"

"Didn't you say that?" he asked. At the middle-aged woman's shake of the head, the dhampir froze.

"Who's there?" he said, automatically unsheathing his sword. Leila stood on guard with her ray gun that she pulled from its holster, although she had heard nothing. She stood there, listening, waiting, wondering what Dante was hearing.

"Show yourself!" Dante demanded, but not another word was spoken. He waited there in the silence, sword at the ready, Leila armed and beside him, but after a moment he realized that whatever had spoken his name was gone. "…They're gone."

"Are you sure you weren't just hearing things?" Leila asked, concerned for her younger cohort.

Dante, after a moment of considering the possibilities, sighed. "Who knows," he said distantly, rubbing his head. "Maybe I am."

And with that, the two kept walking through the daylight, across the treacherous and rubble-filled path that led to the Noble ruins.

Heavy, labored breathing was the only sound heard throughout the castle, that and the pitter-patter of dainty, pale feet that pressed against the marble floor with every step. Long, auburn tresses flowed against the black gown she was wearing, the gown whose slender shape accentuated the voluptuous form that lie beneath. Her emerald eyes were no longer glazed as before. No, they were alert, and sparkled more than the moon in the dim candlelight that lined the hallway. There was a sense of panic in her eyes mixed with a feeling of impending freedom as she neared her destination. Closer and closer she ran through the silent castle until—

A loud, piercing scream filled the halls. In front of her stood the cloaked Master Lucius, the only visible facial feature being lips as red as blood curved into a wicked grin. The girl on the other hand looked horrified, and backed up slowly, only to be followed immediately by the Noble ahead of her. She started to turn and run, but another hooded figure stood in her path. Soon, there were four of them surrounding her; Lucius and three others. The Noble Lucius clapped his hands twice, and a horrified scream rang through the air as the three hooded figures approached her.

"Help me, Dante!"

Dante rose in a cold sweat. Although, he couldn't literally rise—for he was covered in dirt from the neck down. Leila kneeled over him, looking frantically into his eyes with her cobalt blue ones, her hand running through his hair.

"Finally, you're awake! I thought I had lost you!" she said, placing his head in her hands. "The sun sickness hit so fast I didn't know what to do!"

"Sun sickness?" he asked groggily, slowly lifting his body from the mound of dirt he was under. Leila nodded.

"Yes. We were just talking when you dropped to the ground all of a sudden, so I quickly buried you in the dirt, just like I did with your father," she explained, helping him up. After he fully rose from the grave, so to speak, she helped him brush the excess dirt off of his person.

"We need to go," Dante said suddenly, starting to walk at a brisk pace. Leila followed, although she was confused.

"Why—

"Charity's in trouble," he said. Leila didn't know what he was talking about, or more so how he knew, but she wasn't going to ask. He was the son of D, after all. Dante himself didn't understand why he was having these dreams but he knew that they had to move quickly if they were going to get there in time.

As they ran through the remainder of the day, only taking breaks when Leila needed them, the only thing Dante could think about was those emerald eyes, that horrible, piercing scream…But nothing brought a chill to his bones like the last words she said.

"Help me, Dante!"

He shuddered, thinking about it. How did she know who he was? Or maybe this was all just a dream? He was tired and confused but there was no time to think about that now.

They passed through a small village on the edge of the path that led to the ruins. It looked like a ghost town, with half of the windows cracked and broken, and not a person in sight. However, they needed to gather more supplies, such as food and water for Leila, and perhaps they could get some form of faster transportation. The large castle ruins in the distance mocked them with its close appearance, though in reality it was miles and miles away.

"Do you think it's abandoned?" Leila asked as the two wandered through the town. However, her question was quickly answered when the two noticed a man in a brown cloak that covered his entire body, sitting on an old bench.

"Excuse me, sir," Leila began as she and Dante wandered up to him. The man's face was hidden by the shadows, though every once in a while a tassel of gorgeous black hair whipped out from under the hood. "But are there some places where we can find food and water, and perhaps some medical supplies?"

"There's a general store just around the corner," came a raspy voice of an elderly man, though the hand that lie on a cane he was holding looked as young as Dante's. The man kept his head low, however, so that neither of them could see his face. "Say, you two wouldn't be Hunters, would you?"

"Yes, we are," Dante answered, trying to get a glimpse at the man, though he turned his head away. Something felt strange about him, as if a dark aura hung over him. Something…alluring.

"Oh, I suppose you're going up to save that girl, aren't you?" the raspy voice continued, oddly sounding as if it were coming from somewhere other than the man himself, though there was no one else around. As stupid as Dante thought it sounded, he thought the voice was coming from the man's cane. "I wouldn't do that," the voice continued. "That Master Lucius is a shady Noble, that's for sure. Killed the girl's brother and he'll probably do the same to her."

Leila clenched her fist, but Dante put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Well, no one else has gone to save her, so we at least need to try," he said firmly. The raspy voice laughed.

"Oh ho ho, I think that's a bad idea. Methinks it's a trap."

"Well, then we're gonna have to fall right into it," Leila said sternly, not liking the man's tone of voice. "Now, where is this general store?"

"Just around the corner, Milady. You can't miss it," the man said. Dante and Leila both nodded before heading off. "It's a trap…" the raspy voice called after them.

"I don't like him," Leila stated firmly, her eyes looking at her broken fingers. Dante nodded, but listened behind him as he heard a voice that seemed oddly familiar.

"…have to stop them somehow," was all he caught it say. The voice was pure and beautiful, angelic perhaps. It appeared that Leila heard nothing, but with Dante's dhampir hearing, he could. Turning around, he looked to see the source of the voice, but saw nothing other than the man in the cloak sitting on the bench.

That's odd…

Sorry that took so long, guys! You don't even know how hectic my life has been…I'll offer an explanation later. ): Sorry!