Heika: Dracula in the LOS continuity is a widower, whose obsessed with his dead wife (whose ghost occasionally talks to him) even after a thousand years of undeath. So even if he had no problem with Louise being jailbait (which I feel he would), he still wouldn't engage in a relationship with her.
Chapter 8: Symphony of the Night Part 4
"Come Louise, we mustn't linger in this, forsaken place." Gabriel said out loud, so Louise could hear him. The vampires cold monotone had returned. The Prince of Darkness's voice, as well as personality seemed to change every minute, just like how his iris's changed from different shades of red. Currently his blood red eyes glowed a menacing shade of sanguine. The duo walked among the dark twisted hallways of Castelvania, there current destination, the dreaded Throne Room. The walls themselves were lined with blasphemous carvings, depicting horrid, ungodly abominations beholden only to him. Torches made from black steel, radiating blue flame, lingered among the cob webs. Batfaced vampires of clan Valkur, as well as strong, white-furred Lycantopes of the Romanian mountains were just some of his servants depicted on the horrible, black mural. Thousands of monsters stalked mankind throughout the thousands of years of civilization. None more terrifying then Gabriel's own servants. Or so they thought, and told themselves. There were...things that lurked, and gnawed on the roots of the world, deep below, in ancient ruins of eons old civilizations. Things that Gabriel hoped were never unearthed. For they were the true monsters of the night, that visages haunted the nightmares of humanity. Gabriel and his ilk were nothing more then children stories. Things that existed in ages past, but no more. Gabriel's legions of darkness existed in the mortal plane, as nothing more then mere shadows of there former selves.
Shadow am I? How fitting...
Humanity, in the shattered wastes of the post-apocalyptic world, had demons, and other men to deal with, in its infinite long quest for survival. Gabriel's minions had worn out there welcome as the world's bogey men.
But here? In the cursed Vampire Stronghold of Castlevania? They ruled. They lurked everywhere. Beasts of darkness stalked the hallways. Few places were truly safe, especially to a young schoolgirl like Louise.
The castle nature was...distorted. Even a being of immense power, and knowledge, such as Gabriel did not fully understand it. It existed in his mind. Yet it existed in the flesh. It was real. And not real. Beings who existed, and still lived in the real world, also existed in the Castle, fully alive and sentient. The usurper could corrupt, and create distorted mirror images of people he knew, but the only one with the power of true creation in the plane, always lit by the pale moon, was Dracul. The Dragon was god here,
"But even a god faces rebellion from his servants, it seems." Gabriel muttered, the parallels to him and his most hated enemy ever present, causing the Dragon to fill with rage, as his hand curled into a fist.
Louise slowly trailed down the dark hallway, inches away from Gabriel, her usually pompous face downcast, and a look of horror plain. Not so cocky now, are you girl? The surrounding blue flame caused a haunting atmosphere to emerge around them. The young pinkette stuttered out, "Right behind you Dracula..." The vampire lord's teeth clenched, in response to being called that, "Were did you here that name?! if I recall, I addressed myself as Dracul back at the academy?"
Her face become flustered, Louise shrugged, "Back there..." Louise's voice trailed off. The girl was oddly relaxed, surprising considering she was in the black fortress of the Vampire Prince. Maybe she didn't understand creatures that could rip her apart in seconds lurked everywhere in these blackened halls. Louise's voice was brought back into focus, as she continued from before she trailed off, "When you told me to close my eyes and cover my ears..."
The vampires face didn't move, as he continued down the hall, maintaining his cold expressionless face. The vampire responded with, "Ah." His voice seemed unconcerned, "What deceitful whispers did you hear?" The vampires sanguine eyes hauntingly glanced around, eyeing for any signs of danger. Louise flicked a strand of her long, pink hair, before sheepishly saying, "He..." She paused, before changing her word, "It, said you were planning to do...terrible things to me. It called you Dracula, Prince of Darkness..."
Gabriels eyebrows raised, "And do you believe it?" Gabriel asked, glancing behind him for a moment to face Louise, as the vampire prince walked. Louise gave a sly grin, shrugging her shoulders. The girl looked funny in her pajamas, as they pink, embroided sleeping-wear clashed horribly with the dark Gothic surroundings of the keep.
"If you were planning to eat me, I think you had plenty of opportunities back there." Gabriel returned the grin,
"Indeed, girl. Though i'm sure many things here would do far worse then simply devour a tender young school girl such as yourself." Hmmmm...Medusa and her sisters are felled. So I dont think there's any tentacles around here. Damn, Alucard to hell for showing that...creepy ass shit the humans like to read, and watch. The vampire Prince crossed his arms, his face curling into a snarl, "Dracula is one of the many name i've been given over the centuries of my torturous existence by the common people , if you must know." Dracul said, sarcastically. He continued, "It means "son of the devil", or "son of the dragon" in the native tongue of the peasants I..."ruled" over." Gabriel snorted, "Which is why I dont care for it. My..." He hesitated for an unknown reason, becoming silent, as his face, for a split second betrayed despair, "My real name is Dracul. Which means "Dragon" or, "Devil"." He grinned, showing off his horrible fangs, "Hence why I disprove of being called "Son of the Dragon" or "Son of the Devil". I'm quite certain the peasants used it as a name of both respect and fear, but coming from...our mutual friend, no doubt it's an insult." Louise raised her voice, "Do people call you anything else? Besides Dracula or Dracul?"
Dracul nodded his head, his jet black hair falling down like an ocean of darkness, "Quite a few title, infact. Prince of Darkness, The Evil One, Lord of Castlevania, The Lord of Shadow..." Dracul's voice trailed off. Pretty damn edgy. The vampires eyes glowed red, as he melancholy gazed at his leather boots a small smile creeping at his lips, "My son has taken a liking to referring to me as "The big evil lizard."
Louise childishly giggled, placing her hand to her mouth, one of the first showings of child-like innocence the girl had shown, "You must really hate that."
Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, "That's why he calls me it..."
Louise's eyebrows raised, as she placed an inquisitive finger on her cheek, "I didn't know you had a son...so that make's you a father then?"
The Vampire Prince nodded his head, "Indeed I am." He chuckled. "Not a very good one though..." Gabriel sadly mused. as he continued to walk down the dark hallway. "Alucard, The White Wolf of Wygnol." He finally said. "A far better man then then i'll ever be." Dracul whispered. his voice filled with pride for his firstborn son.
Louise, innocently asked, "Where is he?"
Gabriel face seemed confused. He wasn't paying attention to the girl, his thoughts about his son taking away his attention, "Hmmm, my apologies," He said with cold sarcasm, before saying, " I wasn't paying attention, who?"
The noblewoman impatiently tapped her feet, saying, "Your son." Louise had paused, standing there without moving.
Dracul glanced back, "Far from here." He said, quite simply. The duo stopped talking afterwords, continuing on there journey through the blackened hallway. The only noise for next minute or so was the roaring coming from the braziers, and the sound of Gabriel, and Louise's feet hitting the stone floor. Finally, the silence was broken when Louise asked with a shy, depressed voice "Do you love him?"
"Very much so." The Vampire Prince said, sadness filling up within him. After being separate for so long, it seems there much awaited reunion was cut short by this horrible business with that blasted portal. With Marie dead, Alucard was Gabriel's only remaining family. Family meant everything to Gabriel. Alucard was his family, and nothing else mattered to him. He'd rather watch the world burn, then loose his son again. He didn't really care either, if it did.
He was on the side of light, solely because his son had requested it of him. No other reason. Or so he told himself anyway...
Interrupting Gabriels dark thoughts, was a sound. Or more accurately, the lack of sound. Silence. Louise had finally stopped talking. Gabriel's eyes trailed to behind, as he looked to see if the girl was doing all right. She was sulking, as her eyes showed little emotion, her arms were crossed, and anger was plainly visible on her face. Uh oh. Father issues. How common. Or maybe something else? Something to do with parents, no doubt. Gabriel payed her no mind, but was curious. The demands to represent her family, and make them proud, no doubt resounded throughout her, especially considering she had to live up to her parents name. As a noblewoman from a noble family, that was doubly so. Though punctured by dark brooding, he had a relatively happy childhood, all things considered. Perhaps Louise hadn't.
That was so long ago...more then a thousand years...the waters of time keep flowing, ever slowly. I wonder... if the monastery still stands?
As the duo continued down the trail of shadow, there surroundings intensified in horror. Besides the murals, grotesque, horrible statues, lingered, made from chiseled blackened stone, depicting demons, eldritch monstrosities, and things worse, and nameless.
He was a bastard. A bastard of noble blood, but a bastard none the less. Abandoned by his father at the rainy steps of a Catholic Monastery. Despite how things turned out with the Brotherhood, Gabriel had nothing but fond memories of that place. Thankfully, not many people knew of Gabriels father, besides the abbot, and monks, so the other boys did not segregate him for his noble blood. He had a few friends, yes, but he mostly kept to himself. Until he meet Marie of course. A smile played on the vampires face, as he remembered his beloved. She was a rough child, always getting covered in dirt, and bruises, but she was infinitely kind. Just as she was as a fully grown woman. He...loved his wife, still. As a widower, he had remained faithful to her, over his reign as the Prince of Darkness. He made no unfaithful sins of the flesh. His new mistress was war, and violence. In those days, he needed nothing more then the battlefield to sustain him. He wondered...what had happened to his childhood home? Or his father? His fathers bloodline? Perhaps...when he had time, and he was back on his own world, he could search for some answer to lingering questions about his previous life as Gabriel Belmont. Maybe...even bring Alucard with him. Some father and son time.
"Dracul..." Gabriel's thoughts were interrupted by Louise's voice. Unlike before it seemed...rather afraid. Fear was in her voice. Gabriel turned to face the young schoolgirl, who was pointing a finger in front of them. Her index finger was quivering, and her face was quite pale. He scanned the hallway to see what frightened her so much.
"Hmmmm..." What awaited Gabriel was...a small figure. A girl. She wore a white dress, and white hood. Her features were obscured by the hood, and her position, but Gabriel could tell she was petite. The most distinct part about her, was her otherwise pure white clothing, was stained in crimson blood. Primarily her backside, and stomach area, but splotches lingered her and there. And she was seemingly weeping. Tears of blood flowed forth from her cowl, while she placed her hands toward her face. After taking a good look at her skin, Gabriel noticed she was deathly pale, as in paler then a corpse. Paler then his own deathly parlor. Besides that, the girl glowed an otherwordly miasma, as if a mist surrounded her body.
Poor little creature...
"A spirit of some kind. Probably a lost soul. Louise, stay away." The Vampire Prince muttered, as he slowly approached the spirit. Louise gulped, her hands still shaking, as fear consumed her. "Its-its a ghost!" Gabriel ignored her, as he slowly approached her from behind. "Dracul, exorcise it!" Gabriel's face adopted a look of mild amusement, as he said in response, ''What, do I look like some kind of priest?" Gabriel could easily exorcise it, a perk of being God's chosen one, and a master of light magic, but he didn't need to. The thing didn't seem hostile. The Vampire Prince coughed, finally reaching the wayward spirit, as he asked, "Excuse me, are you lost, my lady?"
The creature turned around, revealing it's face. Revealing a stunned look of terror on it's face, the thing looked terrified. It...seemed to be human in origin, as the ghost's face had human facial features along with white hair, pale blue eyes, and white lips. The ghost looked no older then twelve. Gabriel brought up his hands to comfort the spirit, before it ran away, "It's all right little one. I am the Lord of this Castle. What's a young lady such as yourself, doing in such a darkened, decrepit place such as this?" He smiled. The spirit continued to weep, tears of blood. As it remained silent. Perhaps it couldn't speak? She isn't a banshee then. And she isn't using glamour magic. I could see through it.
Gabriel continued regardless, "Are you looking for somewhere safe to hide? This place can be very scary." Gabriel's voice was surprisingly warm, as well as friendly. The spirit nodded her small head. Gabriel went onto his knee, offering his hand forward, "Then, as Lord of this castle, it's my duty to escort a lady, such as yourself, and take her into my protection for the duration." The spirit hesitated, before accepting. Gabriel's pale, clawed hand, with her tiny, blood soaked hand.
Gabriel took her hand in his, and walked slowly away. Louise's petrified face of terror slowly melted away, as she began to gaze at the face of the little ghost girl. She's really cute...The schoolgirl thought. Wordlessly. the spirit followed the Dragon, but soon came to realize there was an onlooker. The little ghosts pale eyes trailed to Louise own gaze,.
On noticing her stare, Gabriel yelled harshly, "Louise, do not make eye contact with her!" The vampire seethed, his voice actually having a hint of concern in it.
The young noblewoman sharply moved her head and closed her eyes, avoiding the ghosts piecing gaze. The bloody ghost child lost her interest in the pink haired schoolgirl, focusing on her current protector. The Vampire Prince guided her to the left side, of the carving covered hallway, near Louise. Still holding the ghosts hand, Gabriel's freehand trailed along the wall, grasping, and feeling the carvings of creatures among the wall. His hand trailed down, to a particularly ugly looking Drake. Commonly believed to be extinct, Dragons were indeed, very much dead on Earth. Unless you counted Dracul himself as one, which the vampire prince, and his underlings, did. However, dragon-kind still existed in the form of Drakes, lesser-cousins to the much bigger mythical monsters. Far stupider too, being little more then dumb beast. Very dangerous though. Dracul's, Blood-Reaper Knights, his elite honor guard, rode Drakes into war as mounts, and they were terrors on the battlefield. He knew for a fact a few Drakes still existed in the castle, deep below the earth, sleeping in underground lairs but he was unsure about there fate in the real world. Just like there mightier relatives, they had most likely been hunted too extinction. The drake in question, at least how it was depicted on the wall, was large in size, having blue scales, and a pair of golden eyes. It stood on it's hind legs, having sharp talons on it's feet quite cable of tearing through plate-mail. The Vampire Prince felt it's head, before pushing down on it's golden right eye. With a yelp, Louise jumped back, as that side of the hallway wall went downward, disappeared in a few seconds, and it unraveled like a puzzle piece. A secret passageway!
The little ghost girls eyes opened with wonder as the passage way opened, before turning to face the Dark Prince. Gabriel gave her a warm smile, as he said, kneeling down "Walk this hidden path, and you'll find safety, little one." The spirit warmly smiled, as she wrapped her arms around the vampire princes neck, hugging him tightly. Gabriel, looking stunned, awkwardly returning it. With a heavy heart, the spirit broke contact, giving a final wave, as she stepped inside the darkened tunnel, disappearing in the shadows. Gabriel wasted no time, as he pushed the dragons eye once more, causing the wall to reform, and cover the passageway. Louise placed her hands to her hip, saying, "How the hell did you know that was there?"
"I know every nook and cranny in this keep. There's hundreds of secrets scattered in the fortress alone. " He said simply, walking once more down the hallway.
Louise, following behind asked, "What was she?"
"Some kind of ghost. I dont know her exact species. Her genuine child-like appearance, bloody clothing, and crying, makes me think she's the lost spirit of a murdered child." Gabriel quickly, articulated. He was a master of supernatural lore, and he had seen similar beings before.
Louise appeared sad, a frown developing across her face "How did she get here?"
Gabriel face betrayed no emotion, "This castle is a beacon to the damned, and forsaken, Louise. Abandoned by God, creatures of the night flock to this accursed place like moths to a flame, and pledge there loyalty to its lord. Back in the days of yore, my army swelled with thousands of unholy monstrosities daily." Gabriel's stoic face remained unchanged, "To answer your question, girl, I think she just wandered her from her original haunt, drawn by the dark energy dwelling within the castle. Even if she isn't evil by nature, she's still a creature of the night, and hence, very dangerous to mortals such as yourself. Which is why I didn't want you drawing any attention to yourself." He pointed one of his bony fingers at her
"Who the hell would want to live here?!" Louise raised her voice, and her face became angry. She continued, ranting, "This is like...some stereotypical evil castle in a horror novel! Who would be stupid enough to go here?!"
Dracul, entertained, responded, "Oh it's much worse then that. Castlevania is so large, even I, it's master, doesn't know half of its foundations, and the monsters that dwell within."
Louise eyes filled with shock, "But before, you said-"
"Yes, I know, by heart, the keep. As in the central part of the castle were the Throne Room is located. And that took me centuries of exploring. I know more then anyone about the forsaken vampire stronghold, but my knowledge on the dungeons deep below, the endless cave systems, dark underground lakes, and the other, outer parts of the area is sorely lacking. Eldritch creatures that I cannot tame, or twist to my will certainly dwell below. This place is evil, most creatures that dwell here have no other choice." Gabriel scanned his surroundings. The monstrous creatures depicted on the wall were getting more grotesque, and hideous. The black material used in the carvings, and murals, was certainly metal.
Louise, her eyes darting to her slippered feet, asked, "How much longer till we reach the Throne Room?"She looked uneasy, and genuine frightened,
"Very soon." The Vampire Prince muttered immediately. Gabriel was very glad the only monster they had run into so far, was the ghost girl. Creatures of the Night tended to stay far away when he was ruling, from the Throne Room. And that unwritten rule, had been maintained in his absence. Afraid of the Dragon's wraith, no doubt. Even after so many centuries, the Dragon's shadow still held firm in the minds of it's servants.
The duo finally reached the end of the accursed hallway. Awaiting them, was a a monstrous, large bas relief, depicting an octopus-esque horror. Made from corroded black stone, the statue looked ancient and was in awful condition, the black, chiseled stone-work, being infected by disgusting, green stains, as if it had been underwater for untold eons. The creature depicted in the carving was hideous, looking dragon-octopus. It had scaly, green-skin, as well as jagged, sword-like claws, and had an absolute horrid-looking head, appearing similar to an octopus, complete with disgusting, tentacles. Gabriel didn't want to describe it any further, as the more he looked at, the more his head throbbed in pain. A visage of madness it was, infecting all that looked at it. Louise stomach turned at it's sight, as she yelled, "That's revolting!" She sharply glanced at Gabriel, "Why the hell do you have some many hideous statues in your castle?!"
Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, "Look, I didn't design this place, don't blame me! Besides...I'm an evil overlord. What? You want pretty angels, and naked, decapitated people?" His eyes darted to the octopus-like abomination. Tendrils of fear striking his body, as Ancient tomes of Eldritch knowledge coming back to his memory, Gabriel whispered, "In his sunken house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming..." Lovecraft was a hack. Or maybe he copied this...accursed being. Malachi, I hope to never see you again in this accursed unlife.
Louise had keen hearing it seemed, "Excuse me?" She said, a look of confusion evident on her face,
"Nothing" The vampire prince said, simply.
Louise looked shy, glancing down to her slippers. The girl asked, "I...have another question if you dont mind..."
Gabriel's hand began to feel around the head of the monstrous octopus statue. Damn were is that switch...curse my memory! "Ask away..." Louise gulped a mouthful of air, before asking, "You...mentioned, you also ruled over humans in the past?"
"Quite a few in fact." Said Gabriel half-heartily, as he looked for the switch on the statue of Malachi, that would activate the secret door that led to the throne room, "Why does that matter?" Asked the Vampire Prince.
Louise played with her hair childishly, saying "I find it odd for an evil overlord like yourself to rule over humans, when you have so many...monstrous subjects."
"Cant I have both?" Gabriel muttered, grinning. He still couldn't find that blasted switch. Louise shook her head, "I just find it kind of strange..."
"I burned down many villages without mercy. My beasts devoured and killed countless innocents. The only ones I usually spared had offered to pay exorbitant tithes to my kingdom of shadows. and became protected vassals. Most didn't." Louise's face fell dark, and a shiver of fear went down her spine, Gabirel continued smirking, "I'm surprised, Tristian hasn't followed the same path..."
"And what is that supposed to me?" Louise placed her hands to her hip, and gather Gabriel a venomous look, her patriotism causing the fear to leave her body. The Vampire Prince chuckled,
"Well, Tristan is a tiny country, surrounded on all sides by more powerful neighbors. Your military is a joke. You rely on forming political marriages with other countries, to prevent them from eradicating your existence . I bet the crown is just as weak. Seems to me, vassaldom is the best option you have."
"Tristan will never lower its self to such degradation, and shame! Everyone of it's citizens would rather die!" Louise yelled, her voice filled with conviction, and raw anger. "We would fight any enemy that threatened our ability to governor, and rule are own land!" Gabriel swore, as once again, he touched the wrong area on the blasted dragon-octopus. "With what army?" Gabriel laughed, "Those "Eagle Knights"? All of your neighbors could crush you if they wanted, Germania wants too, not even mentioning those Roman wannabes, and Albion. You think the peasants would rise up in arms against these "oppressors", you treat them akin to cattle!"
"Look." She glared at Gabriel angrily, "I'm the council of lords, the crown, and our generals have considered everything, and I put my faith in there ability to protect us! And besides we treat the plebeians with respect and dignity, as fellow humans!"
"A human, is a human. Your nothing more then piles of meat. All of you. I can assure you, my lady Louise, that you all die the same. The only difference, is the blood you were born with, belongs to a noble families. Your no better then the peasants you rule over." Louise remained silent, gazing at the vampire with a mix of anger, and sadness. It seems, she didn't have a proper reaction his words. It was only for a moment thought, as her eyes became downcast. Rather quietly, she muttered, underneath her breath, "What would you do, if foreign people came to your country, and said you could no longer rule yourselves? Submit, or fight to the end?"
The Vampire Prince smiled, "Fight to the end."
Suddenly, the Octopus Demon opened it's stone maw, revealing a dark entrance way, as Gabriel touched it's stone nose. At last! The secret passage to the throne room had opened! Gabriel dramtically, and mockingly bowed, stepping aside, "Ladies first, milady." He compelled the young student to enter before him.
Carefully, the girl walked through the opening. What awaited her, caused her to loose her breath in amazement.
The Throne Room.
Drenched in a perpetual white mist, Louise could still tell the room was primarily colored crimson red. A large, richly made rug, went from the base of the throne, all the way down to the massive, golden gate, that held a monstrous golden dragon at it's center. Six large pillars stood, three flanking each side of the long carpet. Made from black stone, and primarily covered in the stone snakes on there lower half, on there top half's, they held the statues of, topless, beautiful angels, made from solid gold, whose hands were in the sky, as if they were holding the dark ceiling, which held an ornate, chandler. Louise blushed a deep shade of red. Topless girls...made her feel a strange sensation inside the pits of her heart. On the sides, crimson red draperies stood, among the bricks, and carvings of black stone work. Particles of dust floated above the surface, as small rays of moonlight pierced the stain-glass windows.
The throne itself was massive. First, one needed to walk up a handful of steps, made from the ebony stone the rest of the castle was made from. Flanking the start of the stairs, were two monstrous demons heads, covered in horns, and blasphemous runes. The stairs lead to the dark lords seat of power. The chair itself was covered in dozens of carvings, drawn as horrible, and evil runes, Unlike the rest of the room, it seemed to be made of red gemstones, probably rubies. The top of the chair, held the shape of a daemonic skull, complete with Minotaur sized horns. Spreading around the Throne, dozens of stone, massive bat wings emerged. Flanking the Throne itself, two massive pillar stood, which were being coiled by hideous sea-monsters, having the lower half of a monstrous serpent, and the body of a gianmours fish man, complete with heavily muscular arms, and a butt ugly head.
Finally, at the top, just above the throne itself, a sculpture, depicting Lucifer the Fallen, overlooked the entire Throne Room. A great serpent coiled around his bronze body, which was being pierced by a bronze spear.
"This is the Throne Room...Castlevania's jewe.l" Gabriel walked behind, briefly pressing down on another part of the dark wall, causing the secret passageway to disappear. "Your new home for the next hour or so..."Louise didn't respond. Her mouth was wide opened, and she adopted a stunned look on her face. "It's quite a sight, yes." Gabriel simply said. He had wasted enough time bringing Louise hear, so he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
With a look of annoyance, and the desire to take back what he was about to say, Gabriel yelled, at the top of his lungs, "Chupacabra!"
A swill, miasmaic ball of shadow suddenly materialized in the center of the room, swishing, and swirling a tempest of the void. Louise yelped in fear, running to the Vampire's longcoat, gripping it tightly. She cowered behind the Prince of Darkness,
Fear shall find you, little girl. For comes, a one who even I dread to see...
"My Prince!" A shrill, squeaky, voice emerged, as the ball of miasmaic shadow disappeared, revealing a small, goblin-like creature. The Dwarf was rather small, its height at the Vampire's knee. It's ugly-face was covered in black tattoo's, that sat underneath his glowing, blue eyes. For clothing, he wore a dark hood, along with a brown tunic. Stubby feet, and rugged hands extended from his limbs. The tiny figure ran to Gabriel's leg, hugging him with surprising force, "My prince! The mighty Dragon! Have you come to play cards with me again? Or perhaps you want to browse my goods!"
"Compose yourself!" Gabriel delivered a quick kick, causing the small dwarf to be thrown backwards and away from the Vampire. Yelping, and landing on the Throne Room's floor with a thud, The trickster god, Chubacbra, dusted himself off. Getting up once more, he did a deep bow, speaking in a sophisticated (well by his standards) voice, "Forgive me, my Prince. How can this humble being be of service to you?" Chubracabra pointed at the small girl standing behind The Dragon, "Is this your new concubine? With all do respect, sire, she looks rather young..."
"God no!" Gabriel practically spat, "Besides, I think this ones into other girls, anyway." He said sarcastically.
Louise's face blushed a deep shadow of pure crimson, as she practically yelled, her face seeming shocked, "No i'm not!"
Laughing, the dwarf nodded his head, "Ah I see, My Prince. Then why have you brought a human to the castle?"
"I need you to babysit her." The Vampire Prince answered, "No questions asked...". Already he had turned away. Facing away from Louise, and his dwarf minion, Gabriel opened the palm in his hand, and summoned forth a portal. Ever since he smited his abominable doppelganger, his already considerable strength had increased ten fold whilst inside the cursed Vampire stronghold. As such, he could conjure forth portals to take him to the outside world instantaneously. The blood red, shimmering portal opened with a flash, showering the Throne Room in crimson light.
Louise, angered, yelled, "Your just going to leave me with this lunatic?"
Gabriel snorted, before stepping inside, calling out, "I'll be gone for only an hour. Find a way to entertain yourself. And don't touch anything. This wont take long..."
The elongated portal opened with a Zaaaaaa!, as the long robed vampire entered into the darkened garden. His glowing sanguine eyes trailed around the black rose garden, taking in it's details once more. The decaying corpses were still present, as was Gabriel' makeshift wolf rune. Bah, i'm getting very tired of seeing this same garden...Once again the Vampire Prince was in the real world.
"My Prince!" A shrill, squishy, and quite frankly, horrible annoying voice entered Gabriel's hearing all of a sudden, along with the district flapping sound of leathery wings, under the full moon.
With a bored, yet nevertheless surprised expression, Dracul muttered, "Aborash? I thought I commanded you to spread news of my arrival through the dark, ancient paths of this world!"
"I was about to carry out your command, oh great malevolent one" The little bat paused, before saying, "But I ran into a few...complications!" Wow. The bat's voice was really grating. Almost as annoying as that annoying little trickster back at the castle.
Gabriel frowned, before asking, "And what is that, Aborash?"
"There's a killer on the loose!" He squealed, "The entire guard force has been mobilized, as well as several Knightly orders! Those bastards, Count Mott, and Headmaster Osmond have locked the academy down! The place is crawling with soldiers! I cant escape!"
"Yes i'm quite aware." The Vampire Prince mutter under his breath, annoyed at his minions incompetence. So they intend to throw everything they have against her...it wont matter...Gabriel began to walk towards the exit of the garden, occasionally glancing at the darkened rose flowers. The Vampire Prince turned to face his small, lieutenant, "Officer, I need you to scout ahead, and find the largest concentration of human soldiers..."
"What for?" The annoying bat inquired.
The Vampire Prince grinned, "Find the most soldiers, you find the creature the knights are hunting..."
The small bat gulped nervously, before nodding his head, "Yes my Prince, I shall guide our way..." And with that, the black vampire bat flew into the air, upon a beat of leathery wings, and headed forward. Gabriel followed close behind, trailing in the shadows of the academy, melting into them in a flash of miasmaic darkness. Just one of his many powers, taking a form of pure shadow. He could easily fight through the guards with little effort, but he was making an effort to avoid human casualties, if only for Louise's sake. The Vampire Prince made sure to avoid guard patrols, and particularly stupid students who had wandered out during this crisis. He passed several dead bodies, whom were akin to ones in the rose garden, dry, and sucked of all life. Victoria had developed a never ending, voracious hunger it seemed. Quite common for lesser vampires, but not pure bloods, like the former-knight.
The Academy was in a complete uproar. Gabriel spied several guards discussing the situation, and had eavesdropped on there conversation. All the students had been gathered into the main hall, and put under guard by an entire company of Knights. As almost, if not all, of the young students were of the nobility, there safety was of the utmost important. The peasant servants had been gathered there as well. The gates had been closed, and the rest of the academy fortified to withstand the threat from within. They had no intention of letting, whatever beast lurked in the shadows, out, and unleashed upon the rest of Tristan. They would hunt it, and kill it. It seemed, the headmaster had contacted the Tristian Inquisition, whatever that was, whom were on there way. Probably glorified Demon, or Vampire Hunters. Gabriel smirked. Only members of the Belmont Clan had been able to hold there own against him, the Prince of Darkness. No Vampire Hunter in this world, could match there might.
The Vampire Prince continued his dark journey for several minutes, stealthy, yet with speed, moving across the academies ground, trailing behind his bat minion. Aborash flew with the wind, as his sonar guided him to there destination. The small vampire bat made sure to keep his keen senses acute, and to listen into any guard conversations he could hear. He was sure the master would be pleased with him, if he discovered the location of the beast they were hunting.
The duo traveled in silence, keeping to the shadows. After about thirty minutes of avoiding guards, and sulking in the dark, Dracul found were his prey was hiding.
A small, decrepit stone archway lead into a darkened passage. Two blazing torch scones sat at each side of the entrance way, blazing under the darkened sky. Gabriel knew for a fact, his wayward servant lay within, due to the presence of a large lance of heavily armored knights that waited outside, polearms outstretched. All of them wore grey plate-mail, which held the Tristian Royal Insignia at there centerpiece. Along with the heavy infantry, a group of about a dozen hooded figures sat behind the human barricade, hands outstretched. Academy teachers. Along with the regular Knights, that female captain from before, stood in the front, with her men. Unlike before, she was now wearing a metal helmet, that covered most of her face. Gabriel's monotoned voice, whispered,
"Do you know were that leads, minion?" Gabriel asked the small vampire Bat,
"One of those old "rooms" nobody uses any more, My Prince. There's dozens of there ilk. The Academy is quite massive!" He responded, eager to please.
"Indeed." The Vampire's eyes narrowed. So they had managed to corner her. Interesting. "Wait here, lieutenant." Gabriel stepped outside of the outstretched blanket of shadow, reappearing into normal vision. Lifting up his clawed hands, Gabriel channeled dark magic through his body. Almost instantaneously, a white mist began forming around the area, cloaking the entire area in a dark fog. Knights screamed, alarmed, as the Mages began talking among themselves, confused by the sudden emergence of such strong mist. The Captain tried to keep order, but already, the lack of experience from most of her soldiers caused an aura of panic to seize the group. Gabriel effortlessly, slipped by the large group, cloaked by the fog unnoticed. Gabriel walked through the entrance way, into the dark tunnel.
Most of it was lit by torches, but lacked anything else. Just a simple stone tunnel. Soon enough though, Gabiels keen hearing picked up heavy, animistic breathing, and his sense of smell brought him the delicious smell of fresh blood. Finally, Gabriel reached the end of the passageway, which lead to a large circular room. The room itself was...rather strange. It was horrible bare, being nothing more then a circular room made from stone bricks. It was both wide, and tall, and was lit by torches. What purpose did this place have to the students, or teachers? Gabriel's thoughts went from that, to the scene before him,
For a normal human, it was no doubt pure horror.
About a dozen bodies lay on the stone floor, broken, and ravaged. Parts of the grey armor were missing, or horrible mangled, as was there body parts. Legs, and arms had been ripped out of there sockets, with most of them, now, being little more then bones with strands of red flesh. Bits of flesh were ripped off, and about half of the human corpses had there life essence sucked out of them, becoming hideous husks of armor. A perceptual white mist hung across the room, just like Gabirel's spell from before. In the center of the circular room, was his target.
Victoria. What stood before him was not the girl whom had begged Gabriel for the gift of Vampirism.
It was a monster
Hunched over, was a monstrous figure. Clad in rusted, dark armor, which had sanguine glowing runes etched in it's plate, the creature was shoving pieces of red meat into it's mouth, hungrily devouring the flesh of a freshly fallen Tristian soldier. The Metal gauntlets on her hands ended in black, razor sharp claws that she was using to eviscerate the corpse, and get the good bits out. Disgustingly, she seemingly wore a helmet, which matched the rest of her armor, yet still could eat the meat at a voracious pace. Gabriel watched the metal part, were her mouth would be, open wide, and part as she jammed huge chunks of flesh into her body to be consumed. Perhaps her armor acted as a second skin, of some sort? The helmet, or more accurately, full head mask, was made from a dark metal, and was shaped like a smirking gargoyle head, having two horns sticking from the top, and a mouth of jagged metal teeth. A pair of crimson eyes, glowed hauntingly, solely focusing on her meal. On her back, a black tattered cape sat, with the fading symbol of Dracul's Blood Reapers, his elite vampiric honorguard. Beside her, drenched in a sea of blood, sat her weapon, a hideous greatsword. Almost as tall as her, the blade was covered in glowing runes of red, and had red gemstones encrusted into it's dark hilt.
What have I turned you into...
Gabriel approached, making no effort to mask his presence, proudly striding forward. With a hint of disgust entrenched in his voice, the Vampire Prince called out to her, "Victoria."
At the sound of voice, Victoria turned around, snarling like a beast, over her most recent kill. At the sight of the Dragon, the Vampire Knight fully lost her composure, shivering, picking up her blade, charging forward in a blind dash of speed, while yelling intelligible screams of utter loathing, and fiery rage. She lifted her weapon overhead, and brought it down as she got to her target,
The dark greatsword landed inches away from the Vampire Lord's face. Snarling underneath her metal mask like an animal, Victoria's body quivered with utter hate, and annoyance, as a flash of white filled her vision. Already, a chill, cold wind blew through the room, the very presence of Dracul's physical manifestation of the void, the legendary Void Sword, radiating the cold nature of his vengeance across the room. The massive blade Gabriel had used as his primary weapon for centuries, was being gripped tightly, and held diagonally, from Gabriel's head downwards, which held Victoria's Black honorguard blade back. A grin forming on his lips, Gabriel appeared completely unfazed by the Vampire's strike, " This is how you greet, your lord. Come now, girl. The last thousand years, should have taught you better swordsmanship, dear, little vampire..." Gabriel Belmont grinned, showing his dagger-like fangs,
The Prince of Darkness, as if the shadows itself was forming around him, disappeared for a single second in a flash of darkness. A normal human wouldn't have been able to notice it, but Victoria wasn't a normal human, and her supernatural senses were very well tuned. Still despite noticing it, that didn't mean Victoria could respond in time. Sticking his elbow outward as he reappeared in a cloud of crimson mist, Gabriel rammed himself into the Vampire, using forward momentum to throw her back, using his shoulder as a living batting ram. Gabriel's intention's were to incapacitate, not kill. So he would need to limit the use of his formidable magic for defensive purposes only.
Victoria was thrown to the wall as Gabriel, thrown forward by a burst of his speed, pinned her into place, using a considerable amount of his abominable strength to keep her in place, keeping her on the wall with his arm, the frozen voidsword still in his right hand. "Submit to your Prince. I do not want to kill you..." he pointed the blade to the girls armored throat,
"You're not my Prince anymore, cur!" She screamed, her voice tinged with venom, and hatred. For the fist time, the Vampire spoke. Her voice was contorted, and twisted, infinitely raspy, as if she smoked a hundred boxes of cigars a day. A tinge of power resounded in her voice, making it sound louder, and more deep, perhaps caused by her helmet. Suddenly, Victoria's physical form evaporated, turning into a black cloud of mist. Gabriel jumped backwards, with a slight leap. He pointed his sword forward, scanning the room for her location. The sound of steel flashing, caused the vampire prince to turn around. Dracul casually side stepped to the left, avoiding the downward strike, as Victoria had taken physical form, and resumed the attack, trying to catch the Vampire lord off guard.
The Vampire was peerless in his swordsmanship. The only one who could rival his skill was the White Wolf, Alucard, his own son. No matter how strong this girl had gotten over the centuries of her vigil, Gabriel's might would not challenged by the likes of her.
With ease, Gabriel blocked Victoria's strike, as he wielded the Void Sword in one hand, and conjured a shadow dagger in the other. Gabriel's voice went from mocking contempt, to hateful rage, "You have dishonored Legio Draculus, with your insolence, and wanton violence against the innocent, girl." he said, as he held Victoria in place The Void-Swords glowing white blade prevented Victoria's weapon from impaling the Vampire Prince. Wielding such a large, powerful bastard sword such as the Void Sword in one hand would be almost impossible for a human, but Gabriel was no human. The supernatural strength of the Nosferatu flowed through his muscles, allowing him to pick up heavily armored knights like rag dolls.
Though he couldn't see her face underneath her metal mask, the Vampire prince could only assume she was mockingly grinning at him, "When have you cared about humans, Gabriel Belmont?"
Dracul's eyes filled with contempt, as his fangs clenched in pure rage. His hands trembled with fury, screeching like a banshee, "Silence, girl. Gabriel Belmont is no more. I killed him!" The mocking nature of the Dragon, was replaced, by pure and utter hatred.
Pushing back, Gabriel slashed at Victoria's exposed right side with his shadow dagger, the blade's blood edge inching its way towards the girls armored side, as his mouth salivated in rage. The Vampire Knight jumped backwards, avoiding the shadow daggers sting. Gabriel took full advantage of her retreat pushing forward. In less then a second, the vampire prince had dispelled the shadow daggeAr instead wielding the void sword in two hands, as he pushed forward with his left foot, propelling himself, as he brought down his sword with a battlecry, overhead.
Victoria dodged the blades reach, before launching her own assault. The woman's blade erupted in black flame, as she jumped from the ground in a sudden display of agility, spectral angel wings colored like the abyss springing forth from her back, propelling her into the air, Doing a front flip, the armored vampire, wielding the sword in her black gauntleted hands, landed a few paces away from Dracul, striking the ground, her billowing cape flowing in the wind. The ground around the impact erupted in the black fire coating the evil sword, sending waves of dark flame in all directions around her, scorching the surrounding, decaying corpses, and turning them into cinder, along with her black cloak.
Shadow Magic...
A sense of warmth assailed his body, as the memory of his mentor, filled his head. Smiling, Gabriel began to glow a dark, blue aura. Gabriel summoned forth, the first time in centuries, Light magic.
Gabriel conjured his own demonic angel wings, the crimson, spectral wings propelling him into the air, safely avoiding the torrent of unholy flame. Flying upward in the air, Gabriel dispelled his Void Sword, and unleashed his Shadow Whip, his blood crystallizing, and turning into the sanguine whip he had used to fell thousands of brotherhood knights over the centuries. The horrible weapon trailed a miasma of sanguine, and shadowy mist, as Gabriel spun it in the air, rolling in the air, about to unleash his iconic attack. The Guillotine. Reap the whirlwind of death, scion of Dracul, here comes the Prince of Darkness. Before he attacked Gabriel yelled, echoing the words of his dead mentor, the Great Pan,
"Light counters dark, fool..."
The Crimson Shadow Whip, faintly glowing a blue aura, collided into the ground, as Gabriel made his landing. The whip made contact with Victoria's dark armor: causing the vampress to scream out in agony. Smirking, the Vampire, at the last second, pulled the dark scourge from the ground, ripping up the stone ground, and sending the fallen Knight into the stone wall. Heavily, Victoria slammed into the stone wall. Using her greatsword to pick herself up, she snarled, and barred her fangs underneath her horrible metal mask. Dracul dispelled his Shadow Whip, the crimson, clawed gauntlet disappearing off his hand, as he drew his Void Sword, the icy weapon glowing a white mist.
"I wanted to avoid bloodshed. You are, after all, my servant regardless of the deplorable state you're in. However, it seems you will not surrender yourself willingly. I'll have to drag you back to the Castle." The vampires eyes glowed Sanguine, casting crimson light on his pale, dead skin, and a psychotic grin formed on his lips, "Even if I have to cut you limb from limb..." The Dragon smirked, "By the end of this night, you shall bow before me, Victoria..." he flourished his blade, and threw himself into battle.
Gabriel resumed his assault with a a simple downward strike, gripping the Void Sword with both his hands, which he put little effort into. With sparks flying, the blades collided, as Victoria blocked the strike using her greatsword. Pushing forward with lightning speed. Gabriel intended to pin her in place once more, but Victoria saw through his movie, and at the last second , side-stepped away from the vampire. Colliding into the wall, Gabriel left an impact crater among the bricks. Like before, against that little noble, Gabriel could end this battle in a single second. Yet the results of such a display of power would...be quite messy. If his servant was too survive the night, he would need to show some restraint.
Ah...the exhilaration of true battle . It's all coming back! Come to me little worm! I shall rend you! I shall make you regret I had ever spawned your miserable existence. I will deliver you to your precious cloister whore! The Dragon had once again consumed Gabriel's conscious, as such glorious combat, revived the primal evil within him. He would crush this filthy usurper, and show her the true might of The Dragon.
Turning around, snarling like a beast, Gabriel scanned the room for the fallen knight. Gabriel's nostrils, and sense of smell were overwhelmed with the dead knights blood, and decaying flesh, now scorched, so he couldn't rely on his nose. It was to no avail though. Victoria had disappeared from sight.
So she is hiding from me...no matter.
Swearing underneath his breath, Gabriel used one of his bony finger nails to cut a small rune into his left palm, still gripping the Void Sword forward. After finishing, he whispered Latin words. As a result, the cut began to glow white, and a loud whoosh noise emerged, signaling the discharge of magical energy. An elementary rite of true seeing, taught in his time underneath the thumb of the Brotherhood of Light. Magic holy in nature. If Victoria has used a charm of invisibility, he could now see her. "You cannot hide little girl..."
As he suspected, Victoria had indeed cloaked herself. A faint, white outline of the female vampire appeared just beyond Gabriel. The Vampire smirked, devilishly grinning. Putting as much strength as possible, he threw the Void Sword forward, intent on skewering Victoria. The blade rushed forward in a burst of white light, heading for it's destination at lighting speed. As the blade flew forward, Gabriel manifested the Chaos Claws, the massive, burning weapons of terror, exploding in red flame, as he charged forward were Victoria was. The blade landed inches away from Victoria's invisible head, whose body shimmered silver and entered into normal vision after realizing the Vampire Prince was onto her. Dracul slashed at Victoria with his flaming claws, who barely managed to avoid them, using her enhanced speed to dodge Gabriel's fiery attack. The Dragon pressed onward, taking full advantage of him gaining the upper hand, to drive the girl back. The Vampire Prince's teeth clenched, as he snarled, formulating an attack plan in his mind, I need to tear her apart emotionally...she's too "strong" to simply incapacitate non-lethally by physical means, and she's too weak to survive an all out assault by The Dragon. Think, Dracul. The Fallen Knight, used the blunt edge of her massive sword to block a few of Gabriel's flaming punches. Her ancient weapon, enchanted by dark magic, was no doubt very strong, but she couldn't risk it being dulled by the flames in a fight like this. If she was a faithful homosexual Christian in the Middle Ages...then I need to exploit that as a weakness.
I'll quote some nasty Christian Text...As Gabriel continued his barrage of flaming fists, a cruel grin appeared on his pale lips. The Vampire Prince muttered, with a rather subdued voice,
"And other men and women being cast down from a great rock fell to the bottom, and again were driven by them that were set over them, to go up upon the rock, and thence were cast down to the bottom and had no rest from this torment. And these were they that did defile their bodies behaving as women: and the women that were with them were they that lay with one another as a man with a woman." Gabriel yelled with a sadistic grin. Though it shamed him to admit it, he knew every religious text in Christianity, canon or not, by heart. "Yes, it's considered apyphoca by the church, but the points stands my dear. Your pathetic nun is burning in hell, like the whore she is!"
"Shut up!" Victoria angrily screamed, with venomous rage, "Stop it. Just shut the fuck up, and die! Do you think i'm playing around!"
"Do you think i'm doing anything else, but playing with you little girl!" Gabriel effortlessly avoided the Knight's strike, parrying a second with his drawn, Shadow Blade. While Victoria was fast, Gabriel was, simply, far faster. The girl thrusted her sword forward , in the span of two seconds, about sixteen times, acting as if possessed, in a blur of shadow, with the sole intention of turning the Vampire Prince into a living pin cushion. Gabriel avoided every attack she made. He made no more advances, as he slowly retreated backwards, having his shadow blade outstretched to the side, occasionally using the crystallized, blood sword to guard against her vicious attacks, but he was completely unfazed by the assault. "A thousand years, and you are still lacking in power, a minion you were, a minion you remain!"
Victoria, her voice tinged with madness, yelled, "I will slay you, Belmont! I shall destroy you, unholy abomination!" She had lost any previous composure, and acted as if she was mad beast. Her greatblade, once again, being lit on fire with black flame, acting like a berserker, continuously attacking Dracul, trying to break, his invincible defenses.
She's lost is. It as if she see's herself as a Knight of the Brotherhood once more.
The Vampire Lord grinned, saying, "You fight in vain, my fallen Knight. For I am the Dragon, Dracul! You cant beat, me!" Gabriel's own voice became deranged, as he lifted his arms up into the air, going full on ham, "I am both a thorn in HIS side, and HIS chosen one! I am the Prince of Darkness! You cannot win against meeeeeeeee! My thousand maws shall consume you! I shall rend you! I am the ultimate evil! I am the epitome of depravity! The Lord of sorrow! Muhawhahahahahah!" Gabriel began to laugh manically, I'm having way too much fun. Dracul made a slight leap backwards, as he flourished the Shadow Blade, charging forward once more, laughing darkly. Victoria, snarled, and lept from her potion, raising her greatsword in an overhead attack. There blades collided, with a discharge of magical energery.