In a dark and creepy cave, Luz Belmont ventured within, holding a torch in one hand and her whip in the other as she walked and looked around around the cave. It was only until she saw a large shadow in front of her, and then hears a demonic laugh...
"You were a fool to return, Young Belmont." says a deep and menacing voice. "For I, Garlog, will lay waste to all that you know!"
Unphased by this attempt to scare her, Luz stands her ground as she says "You're hardly the least of my worries, Garlog. You're not worth my time anyway...Tiny."
She looks down to see that Garlog was in fact a tiny demon who was just showing his shadow by a lamp.
"I'm not here for you anyway...I'm here for that." She points behind Garlog, who turns to see that looming over him was a Brawler Werewolf, given the spikes at his arms and the horns on its head. Frightened by the beast, Garlog scampers off as Luz tosses the torch and readies herself. The Brawler snarls and readies its claws, the two eager to rip each other apart.
"Hey, Luz!" spoke out King, who was coming her way. "I was catching up when I saw this little guy, and I figured 'Eh, might as well have a light snack', and-WOAH."
"King...step back." And the little demon did just that as Luz suddenly dodged an oncoming claw, jumping over the brawler before running towards the cave walls. The werewolf followed behind her with its jaw wide opened as Luz then flipped off the wall, swinging her whip until...
(BLOODY SLASH)
Later in the day, Luz was with Eda and King on a cart that was being pulled by a horse-like creature as they were making their way to the market with the recovered remains of their latest bounty. As they rode in silence through the rather desolate streets of Bonesborough, Luz rode in her general and narrated in her mind.
"It's been about a week and a half since my return to the Boiling Isles, and already have things gotten a lot more interesting. According to Eda, Gus and Willow, the majority of the Boiling Isles has became a war zone, with the Night Creatures reeking havoc. The Emperor's Coven has gone silent, and without anyone to look for guidance, let alone protection, most of the people of the Isles have gone into hiding. A few so-called demon hunters have been having fun with the surplus of monsters they could now catch and sell, but none of them know how to handle them like I do." She then feels the cart come to a stop as Eda comes off of it and pulls out a bag of captured demons, save for the werewolf corpse. "Eda had just shut down her 'Human Treasures' business, attempting to do more work in help the people of the Isles by getting rid of many Night Creatures as we could." Luz then watches as the Shopkeeper of the Bounty Booth measures the bag on a scale. He stupidly gives Eda one snail, before the Owl Lady gestures to corpses of the Werewolf...and the keeper reluctantly gives Eda more money. "'Course, she still expects pay..." But then, she watches Eda walk over to a poster of her late sister, Lilith, with candles lit below it as the Owl Lady looked sad for a moment, lowering her head before slowly returning to the cart.
Luz sighs as she continues to write. "Though Eda never bothered to tell, I can tell her sister was dead. A lot of people seemed to have idolized Lilith, being the head, and more like the light, in the shadow of the Emperor's Coven. And even though she never stood well by me, I wouldn't wish for a sudden death on arch-enemy, even if they were my ally's kin...For Eda's sake, we will see justice through, and avenge her sister. This, I swear." And with that, Luz finishes up and closes her journal. "So, what now, Eda? Another bounty?"
"Got a big one if you can handle it." says the Owl Lady as she holds the wanted poster up to Luz. "Called the "Selkidomus". It's been terrorizing ships, ravaging boats up and down the coasts, and not only is it a perfect bounty, but substances it produces is of high monetary value."
"So basically, we're going whaling." Luz says with a smirk on her face, to which Eda replies "Yep, and we can keep this one alive, that's even better."
And with that, they make their way down to the docks, where they meet a medium-sized, muscular demon with the overall appearance of a lobster, by the name of Salty. He is a light, brownish-red, and his left arm is a red-and-gray lobster claw. He has two whiskers hanging off from his chin and a two-tone maroon beak, in addition to red horns on his head with darker gray tips. He dons a scar over his right eye, and has a golden tooth sticking out from his lower lip. He also wore a jagged, grayish-white top with a dark cyan cloth around his neck, pinned together by a gray lobster-like trinket with dark gray and yellow claws. Over his top is a navy blue coat with white rings around the sleeves and bluish-gray trim near the neck. He wears medium-blue pants and black boots. Eda comes by and slams the Selkidomus's wanted poster onto a barrel.
"We want in on the Selkidomus hunt."
"That's a pretty big bounty, Owl Lady." said the Captain. "Think you can handle it?"
Then Luz, walked over and said "We can handle anything." Her appearance gave the Captain a shock as he nervously lets both ladies in. Little did they know that they were being watched, by none other than the Golden Guard, who, underneath the mask, was angered by the sight of the Belmont's return. He tightly gripped the handle of his sword, wanting nothing more than a rematch, and a chance to stain his blade with the Belmont's blood. But there was something he couldn't get off his mind, during their last encounter. When Luz showed him mercy and said "If you are who you say you are", like she knew something about him. Whatever it is, he will get the information out of her, one way or another.
Meanwhile, running through the woods was the fledgling vampire Lilith, who was feeling decrepit and discrete as she practically holding herself onto her staff, using it as a cane as she continued to move. She snarled like an animal, feeling...thirsty...hungry for blood.
"Is this...what I deserve?" She asked herself. "...For everything I've done?"
Whether she was disillusioned or depressed didn't matter at this point. For now, she faces other sorts of problems as coming out of the woods were some Wargs, and leading them was someone Lilith didn't instantly recognized. But it was a witched wrapped in a cloak and scarf of their head and faces, concealing it in shadows as they had purple skin and glowing yellow eyes.
"You've been ordered to return to us for your indoctrination." It said, as Lilith finally recognized who it was.
"I know you...but you were petrified."
"I am reborn. An Innocent Devil. You will come with me."
Despite how she is now, Lilith refused to let what has become of her hold her back. She was a vampire now, she had to accept that and embraced the unholy blessing and power that has been bestowed upon her. Gripping her staff, she takes a stance against the Witch turned Familiar.
"I am sorry they did to you in the past...but I will not comply." And with, she rushed in. Her first battle, in what felt like an eternity...was more bloody than what she was used to.
Back to the trio, Luz, Eda and King got themselves comfortable on Salty's ship as it sailed through the Boiling Sea. Luz looked at the Demon Realm's Ocean, seeing that its waters were much like that of Earth's...only hotter. But there was something that was catching her eye as she stared off in the distance...dead sea creatures, floating above the surface, their blood tainting the water as she got a closer look. All of the creatures were killed, by the looks of it, not by a larger predator, just a more dangerous one. As a corpse floated by the boat's haul, she got close enough to pull something out of it, which turned out to be a dagger, much like the ones used by warriors of the Brotherhood of Light, but made of steel and without the engravings. She looked and saw that each creature was riddled with those daggers, and began to wonder what...or who could even do this?
"Luz?" She turned around and saw that Eda called her. She got up and presented the dagger towards her.
"Looks familiar, but I can't put my finger on it." Luz said. "In any have more trouble than accounted for here."
Then King said "I never like hear that."
"All hands!" yelled out Salty as his crew rounded up, with the trio listening in at a distance. "Alright, crew. The Selkidomus has been ravaging the coastline. It was last seen in the Simmering Shoals. You know the drill, "Snag the quarry..." He drops a large bag of snails on deck. "...get the money galore-y." We all do the work, we all get a cut."
The crew cheered while Eda, King and Luz remained silent.
"Now, I'm worried that we have more to deal with this little voyage." Eda said. "And knowing these guys, they have their own agenda regarding us."
"Should we jump ship then? Be on the safe side?"
"No, that'll rouse more suspicion. Let's just stick around for a while; I'll go see if these guys have anything up their sleeve, you act natural, Luz."
"Aye, aye." And with that, the team split up, with King running behind Luz as the captain put the young Belmont to work. From dealing with grunting barnacles, to helping the ship gain speed. Were it not for her frightening reputation, would Salty be rather happy to have such a helpful deck hand like Luz.
"Well, ye had me confront my own biases and I got nothing but respect for ya now, Belmont." He says to her.
"Appreciate that." Luz said. "Now, let's get the job done and hunt us a Selkidomus."
"Arrrghh!" Went Salty as the rest of the crew cheered. Meanwhile, King was trying to enjoy a cracker...when the ship a huge wave and sent him tumbling towards the door of the Captain's Quarters. He would've fell in, had Eda not been there to catch him. Holding her demon companion with her hand at his mouth, Eda was against the wall as she shifted her eyes around.
"King, we have huge trouble." She whispered. "I was in the cabin recently, and found this." She shows him a letter with the Emperor's Sigil on it.
"A letter from the Emperor?"
"That's not all. Turns out this whole ship was owned by Belos. I should've figures something was off, since Selkidomi are peaceful creatures.
"We have to tell Luz!" King said, jumping out of Eda's arms, only for Eda to catch him again.
"Not yet! Once we get close to the creature, then we'll reveal the crew's intentions."
King hated sitting idly by and waiting to take action, as did Eda, but this was something they were used to, as it was a matter of survival. For Luz's sake, they would do what they can to protect her, to make up for the time she spent in a coma. Neither of them wanted anything more than to ensure the girl they've come to know as family was safe. As they both moved away from the Captain's Quarters, they didn't realize that inside, the Golden Guard had heard everything. He was hoping to have caught the two and use them as leverage against the Belmont, but they're smarter than they thought. Looks like he would have to wait for the moment when they're caught off guard, then he'll have Luz right where he wants her.
Lilith was walking much better than before, now having her fill of sustenance. The craving for flesh blood was something all vampires, in their early stages of life, must suffer through. From her lower jaw to just above her chest, it was stained with monster blood, and she honestly hated it. Every new part of herself that she's beginning to discover leaves her more and more distained, knowing that this is her life now, as a monster.
"It's not like things could get any worse." She kept trying to convince herself as she wiped the blood from her face. As she continued to move, two fire bees had flown past her and it made her realize that she was walking right into a colony them. Acting fast, she formed a demonic spell circle and from it came large pillars and sharp splinters of ice that were propelled to the flaming insects like torpedoes. Though her face was stoic, Lilith was quite surprised by how her magic seemed to have been modified in some way, as what seemed to have been a simple ice spell for protection became an offensive attack with such staggering results on her enemies.
"This...power. It's unfamiliar to me, and yet I wield it without a flaw." She said, starting to feel amused. She began to wonder if she could perform more of the magic, and at a greater power, as instead of forming another spell circle, she waved her arms around as the mystical energy flowed through her hands. As this happened, wind began to pick up and snow began to form out nowhere as the fire bees found themselves getting sucked into a vortex as the tattoos around Lilith began to glow while she performed this attack, unaware how much of a great significance it bared, as no one had used this power for decades.
"Not bad." She said with a mischievous smile, practically dancing withing a whirlwind of ice and snow as the light of the fire bees was extinguished. "Yes...not bad at all."
Back on the ship, the crew were just about to reach their destination, The Simmering Shoals, where the Selkidomus has said to be sighted. Eda and King were watching Luz and the captain from afar, contemplating on whether they should tell Luz about the betrayal now or later. They figured once they see the Selkidomus, they would tell her.
"Eyes peeled, mates." Salty ordered as they reached darker waters, and passed a destroyed ship. "She's close."
Luz looked down at the water, and realized that it was not a natural dark, but something else she's seen before, it was tainted with blood.
"Captain! I see her!" Said one of the crew members. "She's here."
They looked to the starboard side and saw the creature above the water, looking to be casually floating towards the ship. The crew looked ready for whaling, but that is when Luz jumped in.
"Wait!" She said, as she pointed to the Selkidomus. That crew watched in shock as it turned out...the creature's side was riddled with knives as it's blood stained the water. "She's dead."
"What could've done this?" Salty asked. And that is when Luz noticed something on top of Selkidomus' corpse. The silhouette of a humanoid body, laying motionless on top of it. Could it have been the reason behind the death of all the sea creatures they had passed on the way here?
Once it got close enough and the Selkidomus' corpse bumped into the side of the ship, Luz had got her answer. Her eyes went wide as she saw the body move...then suddenly leap high into the air, just above the ship. The whole crew saw it too, at awe when it was right on top of them.
Salty began to saw "What in the name of-AGH!" But was cut off with a dagger to the chest. The figure had made it rain knives down on the ship, forcing its crew to get back, but the majority of them weren't so lucky. Only Luz, Eda and King had managed to take cover as the deck and haul of the boat was riddled with knives, just like the sea creatures. And with that, the figure came down and landed on the deck in front of the three.
"What is that thing?!" King asked in fear, hiding within Eda's hair.
Getting a good look at it, Luz could see that it was an undead, wearing a dirty leather vest and pants, while its body was shrouded in bandages, has pale skin and white hair, and it wields a chakra-like weapon with daggers attached in its right hand. It also appears to have spare daggers attached to its wrists. It had lifeless eyes, sharp teeth and glowing yellow veins. Though unique in variation, Luz recognized the creature as a...
"A Revenant?! Here?!" She said before getting to a defensive position as daggers flew by. The Revenant snarled and then jumps off the boat, onto a raft, where it uses its chakra like a motor to speed away to a nearby island. Seeing that the majority of the crew was dead, along with its captain, and the haul having been breeched and scuttled, the trio so no reason to stay on a dying ship.
Using ice magic, Eda crafted a boat shaped iceberg and the three jumped on. Then, she uses fire magic to give the boost towards the island. All the while, the Golden Guard had seen everything from the Captain's Quarters and watched as the Revenant and the trio abandoned the ship. He decides to follow them, getting on his staff as making his own way to the Island.
"Luz, what was that creature?" Eda asked as they closed in the shore. They stepped onto the soil ask Luz answered "I'm pretty sure...that was a Revenant. And undead creature of the highest caliber. The greatest of warrior in life, now having their souls corrupted and forced to fight for evil...I never thought I actually see one."
King then said "Well, we saw one. Now, can we please go home?!" But then Eda bumped him, saying "King, something like that should not be allowed to run amuck in this realm. It has killed sea animals, and nearly got us killed too."
"Not to mention that there's something familiar about this one." said Luz. "The way it flung those knives, and the knives themselves...I know I've seen them somewhere before."
However, as she began to ponder this, walking up to them away the Golden Guard, who made himself known as he spoke aloud. "How fitting that we meet again. Yet, I hoped it would've been under different circumstances."
The trio turned to see the Guard and then stood at the ready to attack as Luz spoke. "You?! What are you doing here?!"
"Well, here I was on a mission to slay a Selkidomus myself, but it looks this "Revenant", or whatever you call it, had beaten me to it."
"Isn't the Emperor's Coven supposed to be Underground at this point?" Eda asked. "Why are you still active?"
The Golden Guard replied "Truth is, I was just waiting for her." He points to Luz. "The hunt itself was just business."
Seeing as if the Guard was looking for a rematch from their last encounter, Luz sighed and shook her head, saying "If you want to fight me, then let Eda and King go. This is between me and you."
"Oh, I agree. But I cannot allow an enemy of the Emperor's Coven to escape so easily. So..." And with that, Luz saw that the Guard suddenly warped in a red flash, making her push Eda and King back as the Guard appeared behind them. Luz swung her whip, getting it caught around the blade of the Alucard Sword. But to her surprise, she found herself being pulled up close as she met the masked face of the Golden Guard.
"You left me alive for a reason last time." He said to her in a low voice. "You have answers I want to know about."
"Like the significance of that sword you stole?" Luz said with a smirk. But the Guard did not find it funny.
"I told you...the sword belonged to my FATHER!" With supernatural strength, the Golden Guard had managed to back Luz off as his eyes glowed red behind the mask. Turning his attentions over to Eda and King, he brought out his staff and manipulates the land below them, causing their feet to get stuck before moving them directly above the steaming waters. Eda tried to use her own magic, but she got knocked out by the Guard unexpectedly throwing a rock at her head.
"Now...I consider myself a patient person, so trust that we can make a deal." He said as he turns to Luz. "Go and take care of that thing that ruined the bounty, and one of the Emperor's Ships."
"Emperor's ship?" Luz thought to herself. The ship belonged to Belos? Had Eda known about this?
"Go get it done and I'll free your friends. If you don't...I'll boil them alive."
"Luz! Help!" King yelled as the Belmont glared at the Golden Guard. "You better pray I don't make it back." She said as she headed off to go face the Revenant. She heads down into a cave, which she believed to have originally be the den of the Selkidomus, until the undead warrior got to it. She then heard some kind of cry and that is when she drops deeper into the den, where she sees the monster, knives in its hands, and a Baby Selkidomus, scared and cornered as the Revenant looked ready to carve it up.
"Oh no, you don't!" Swinging her whip, she slashed the thing in the back, getting its attention as it then pulled out its Chakra weapon and throwing it towards Luz. She dodged and then jumps as she anticipated the weapon coming back. Catching its weapon, the creature growled as it then ran fast around Luz, throwing knives as Luz blocked them with her whip. Deciding to fight fire with fire, Luz brought out her own daggers and started throw some herself, but she wasn't as fast as the revenant, missing the monster by an inch with each throw, while he finally managed to land something, as one of its daggers cut the back of Luz hand.
"Ah!" She yelped in pain, and before she could react, she saw the creature coming fast and hard. It swung its weapon at her, forcing her to move every which way she can in order to not get her face torn off. Then it tried swiping her leg, but she jumped up at the nick of time, only for the Revenant to leaped of its hands and ended up kicking Luz in the chest, sending her back as she was practically slammed against a wall. Then the Revenant slid down on its knees towards Luz, forcing her to move out of the was as it somehow managed to backflip while slashing upwards at her.
Luz then went on the offensive, swinging her whip fast and thoroughly, but seeing the Revenant block the majority of her attacks with its chakra, before sending five daggers attached to strings at her, only to call them back as she dodged, slashing her in the back. What she didn't expect next was for the Revenant to jump and climb up the walls of the cave, circling around her until it dropped down, chakra in hand and managed to get Luz in the front as well.
"Gah!" She went before falling to the ground, bleeding badly and unable to move as the Revenant stood in front of her, weapon in hand, ready to finish the jump. But Luz wouldn't give up as she called on the power of her family's magic, summoning the energy cross and throwing it at the creature, who was caught off guard, forced to block the weapon with its own as Luz had managed to get back on her feet and advance. The Revenant tried to pull back, throwing knives at Luz, who blocked them all with her own weapons as she got in close and slammed her fist into the undead, before taking its chakra and using it to slash open its throat, killing it.
Exhausted, Luz was about to go and check on the baby, but then saw something come out of the Revenant's body, a spirit. It's form was more human than its body, his vest and pants, as well as a bandana on his head of curly, shoulder-length hair, make him look like a pirate. He almost looked familiar to Luz as he spoke.
"Freedom...you had freed me from my corrupted form...I thank you for that."
"Who are you?" Luz asked.
"I was once known as Grant Danasty."
Realization hit Luz hard at that moment. "Grant...you were one of the warriors who fought with my ancestor, Trevor Belmont!"
"Belmont..." he said. "I thought I recognized that whip. So, the Belmont Lineage continues. That pleases me."
"Grant, what happened to you?"
"I was cursed long ago by Dracula. It was your ancestor, my friend, who freed me the first time. But even in death, do the accursed ones not allow to find peace. I fear there may be others who are like me, risen from the dead in order to the serve the Dark ones."
"Other Revenants?"
Grant nodded. "Yes. But know that there's a Belmont who could help them puts me at ease." He gestures to his chakra. "Take me weapon. Use it wisely against your enemies. Free the others. You have the power to do so."
Looking down at the weapon, Luz now recognized it as Venus, the dagger holding ring weapon used by Grant himself. Upon taking it, Luz could see Grant began to disappear as the last thing he said was "Good hunting, my master." With the deed done, Luz turned to the scarred hatchling of the Selkidomus, and then looked at Venus, clutching the weapon tightly in her hand.
Back to where the Golden Guard, he sat on a rock and sharpened his sword with a whetstone while Eda and King were knocked out from being upside down for so long. As this happened, he wondered what was taking Luz so long.
"A part of me wishes she perished. Another wishes to keep her alive." He says to himself as looks at his reflection in the blade. "Which part of me is stronger?"
But before he could think about it more, Venus flew by his head, making him roll as he then saw the weapon slice through the piece of earth Eda and King were trapped in, freeing them and making them fall to the ground, all while the chakra few back into the hands of an angry looking Luz. The Golden Guard was shocked to see her again, let along having the weapon of the Revenant in hand.
"It's done." She said in a low tone. "Now let us go."
"...Very well. I am a man of my word." He said as he turns to leave. "But know this Belmont. Neither I, nor the Emperor are done with you or your friends. You may think we're out of commission, but we're not. We're only waiting for everything to fall into place, and that includes even you." He hops on his staff. "See you around..." then takes off.
The trio watch him go, but then Luz turns back and reveals to Eda and King the baby Selkidomus, surprising the both.
"What do we do with her?" She asks.
Eda explained "Normally, the Selkidomus are peaceful creatures. Growing up without care would cause them to grow violent. These waters would truly have a scourge to deal with if she's left on her own."
"Well, we can't take her home." King intervened. "You know big those things can get?"
That's when Luz got an idea. "I think I know someone who can help."
In the human world, the baby found itself in a huge aquarium, swimming happily as it looked out and waved to her saviors, along with a girl that Vee had befriended, Masha, who had a medium-tan complexion, and has a chin-length black bob cut, dark brown eyes and a tooth gap. She wore a noodle-strap black dress which dons a small white bow on the top of the chest portion, and a dusty-mauve sweater with a thin turtleneck and bell sleeves underneath the dress. She also wore pastel mauve stockings, and black ankle boots that have crater brown accents on the inner sides.
"Thanks for caring for her, Masha." Luz said.
"As a favor to Vee, it's the least I can do." She said. "Imagine my surprise when I found out she was a Basilisk, and that you were a Belmont."
That got Luz's attention as she asked "You know of know family?"
"Not much, but it got me digging up history on it."
Nodding, Luz replied "Well, if you do find anything, let me know."
"You have my word." Masha said as the Trio said their farewells and returned to the Isles.
"Today was crazy." Eda commented. "But we did get some compensation for that lost bounty, and I managed to take the money from the ship before it sank."
"Yeah about that, did you guys know that the ship belonged to the Emperor?" Luz asked, making Eda and King realize that they forgot to tell her. Their eyes met with Luz, who was looking at them with a unamused expression.
"Uh, let's talk about that inside." Eda said as they approached the house, and were greeted by Hooty."
"Heya guys! Hoot, Eda, guess who came over to visit!" A moment of silence. "Well aren't ya gonna guess?"
"Just open up, Hooty." Eda ordered.
"Okay!" And that House demon opened the door, and to the shock of the trio, who the saw in the living room left them frozen in place.
"Hello, Sister." said the voice of Lilith, who looked at all of them. "Did you miss me?"
And that's another chapter done. Really wish I got this done sooner. The show may have had its Finale, but I'm not done yet with this series. Hope you enjoy, and I also hope you can help me with a few things I have in mind.
Should I make Masha related to Eric Lecarde, wielder of the Alucard Spear?
Should I introduce Dimitri and Dario? And if so, how old should they be? Considering they were adults in Dawn of Sorrow.
When should I bring in the Genya Arikado?
Oh, and Noah, if you're reading this, the name of the boss is Revenant (Grant). There will be other Revenants of Castlevania characters who have been possessed before. If you want to pick songs for them, write their names like that.
There will be more soon, be sure about that.
- Light.