Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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Watching Alucard fight was a sight to behold for Max.

Swifter than any werewolf, he moved with an incredible amount of grace, wasting no movement or effort. Even if he was using a rather sizable shield, one that most men couldn't lift and do as he did. Despite being hobbled by his powers being sealed, and perhaps the 'only' reason Max could keep up was for that very reason.

Orlox, even transformed into a towering slender lizard, moved with such speed that he performed full strikes between a blink of her eye. Yet Alucard side stepped it with ease and didn't stop keeping up the pressure with powerful piercing thrusts or swift slashes. Though to keep up the way he was implied he was tapping into the castle again to boost his strength. The way he did back when the castle called Soma back to it. Or Max was just unwilling to accept that centuries worth of combat experience could match raw power.

'And he kept up with it despite not having to use a sword in over a century really,' she noted even as she fought on. 'But there has to be something wrong, he's doing so much damage and Orlox looks like he's healing fast... Not going to complain though, this is the first time I've seen the twins exulted Prince of Darkness fight..'

While Julius jumping into the fray along with Yoko was an interesting study. As Julius had fought along side Alucard back in the Demon Castle Wars. Thus the pair fell into surprisingly easy step, working together with the range of the Vampire Killer as well as flung axes and holy water. Meanwhile Yoko hung in the back, and as Max watched she saw that even Yoko had a style that was suitable for Alucard. She was targeting projectiles keeping the air free for the two men, and the more she took out the less possessed the rest of them had to deal with.

'He's not healing like before is he?' Alex mused as he pushed himself to his feet and braced himself to rejoin the fight. It was clear that Orlox was healing when he devoured one of the prisoners. Much in the same way as the spells that Alucard used in fact. Yet with three hunters against him, Orlox should have been devouring more...?

'I think I get it, he's compelling the targets he's been eating...' so even in this state Orlox wasn't stupid enough to eat those serving him. Alexs' muscles ached as he pushed himself forward, but he got himself out of the ice shield Alexis had put him in. "Its a shame Sam is missing this, not many chances to see Julius in action along with Lord Alucard and Yoko," he mused aloud for his sister.

"Get back in the shield and take some video?" Alexis offered, her conversation with Sam from earlier and the knowledge that Alex was right still in her thoughts. Sam 'would' be disappointed in missing out such a battle... "Then again we still haven't found the cult leaders. I suspect that our Lord will want to personally deal with them for their actions against Soma."

"True, though I can also see him take the painting that Soma is trapped in, go to the master chambers and yeet it out of the window..."

The mental image of the eternally stoic Alucard disappearing into the chamber, only to see the painting get flung out the window...

Alexis wasn't about to get her head bitten off by a maneaters' distended eye stalk.

But if she had been less trained, prepared, or unsuspecting, the mental image would have just gotten her head torn off her body.

"Then there's the idea that he reincarnates 'again' and ends up one of my students..." Alex continued, recalling the Dark Children students he occasionally had under his wing. And currently had under said wing.

"If a white haired puff ball who dresses way too lordly to be normal shows up..." Alexis replied as she sent ice blades along the maneaters distended eyes and sliced them open.

"How would I live with myself if I had to tell Lord Alucard I had to fail his father in mythology..."

"With a lot of laughter and several of Ruperts' best pint?"

"He's not going to be running the bar by that point, I know he's a poltergeist but people are going to start asking questions if he doesn't cycle someone in for a few decades."

Chaos was slowly being carved into order as the hunters, aided by Dracula's forces, began to bring down Orloxs' own forces. While the dark servants of Dracula would continue giving the hunters worried side eyes, waiting for the hunters to turn on them. Well, their duty was to their lord and currently the young master. Max had to bodily grab the handle of an ax she flung to keep it from cleaving a servant's head in two.

Two Medusa heads side eyed each other as they watched Max slide forward a pace before resuming their attacks... Giving her a WIDE berth as they flew.

Even as Orlox found himself taking a step back in mounting frustration. His reptilian eyes swept the field directly in front of him. Noting the wrenched half blood, now joined with the Belmont and the witch. Yet somehow, despite the Belmonts' age with his speed reduced and his power a dull blade, they were pushing him back.

Thrashing at the back wall of the theater with the tip of his tail and his feet digging into the floor. He strained to keep from being pushed back and he couldn't stop. He sent out his skulls only to see the witch snipe them down away from targets that he could either use to heal or attack. Weaken by age as he may have been, the Belmont was still a hunter and he was also blocking Orlox's ability to heal.

'I refuse to be defeated as easily as Galamoth!' he thought sourly as poison dripped from his maw. While his claws only had the faintest traces of Alucards' blood on it.

There were a few slashes in that elegant suit the prince was wearing, while his eyes were as red as the blood he was carving out of Orlox.

The vampires' tail suddenly sent a warning to Orlox's brain when it failed to hit the wall behind him. A heavy weight clamped down on his tail, with enough force that he felt the bone in his tail crumble under it. But there was nothing back there, it was merely the back of the room, and the wall clearly didn't fall 'down' on his tail...

'He can't have the power to influence the castle like his father! Given that his powers are sealed away!' But it was a worry that began to gnaw in the back of Orlox's mind, as much as Alucard professed to serve humanity, he was here. Fighting on behalf of his father, would the castle respond in answer? He pulled on his tail, trying to free it from whatever fell on it only it was stuck fast. 'I'll have to cut it off...' he realized as he dodged another attack. But the Dhampires' sword scored a deep gouging wound in his hip now that Orloxs' tail was caught.

Pulling on his tail, dread began to rise up in Orlox. What if Alucard 'could' influence the castle? His father wasn't here, and Alucard was acting as temporary lord while Dracula was sealed up. Then there was what Alucard did to the succubus who had displeased him. Clearly Alucard inherited his fathers' ruthless tendencies against those that displeased him. And while Alucard couldn't do anything particular to a soul the way his father could...

'He needs to die before he becomes a threat like his father...' Orlox thought to himself in determination as he tried to jump at Alucard. But his tail yanked him back down sending him off his feet and in that moment both hunters fell upon him. Vampire Killer alone was a torrent of agony, the wounds inflicted burning in a way that Alucards' sword couldn't. Yet a slap from the whip was proving to be nothing compared to the anger fueled slashes and stabs from the dhampire.

Desperation caused him to turn around and claw at the edge of his tail. Revealing it to be trapped 'in' the wall. Clamped down to the ground, with the wooden wall, bleeding slowly into a deep red. Orlox tore at his tail, his claws raking against the scales of his own body until he finally reached the bone. Cutting further became a problem as the attacks behind him intensified with elemental attacks from the witch. Now that he wasn't summoning skulls anymore, eliciting a hiss of outrage as he turned around and lashed out again with his long scaled arms.

The skulls were resummoned though now he sent them straight at the witch, hoping that the pair of men would go and protect their little caster. Emerging from the abyss black portal, the skulls chattered incessantly as they flew forth, their hallowed eyes focused on the witch.

Yoko quickly shifted to a very 'try me!' expression as she began weaving her spells when suddenly that little mounted plush charged forward again. It wove through the floating heads stabbing into them with its little, amazingly real, blade while lightning orbs swirled around it. Drifting around as electric satellites that struck skulls that got too close to the familiar pair. Ice spears shot past the pair stabbing the skulls in their gaping maws or soulless eyes.

"You waste my time," Alucard hissed past his fangs that were itching to bite. He could barely feel his fathers' presence in the familiar. Causing his skin to tingle with heat that made him want to sink his fangs into Orlox for this insult to his family. 'Edge the sword into that wound...' he continued plotting move after move. Targeting Orlox's still heart while dodging the lizards' curled claws. Splatters of poison saliva burned on the fabric of his suit and he would have to change clothes after the fight.

But Orlox was also a sputtering enraged lizard at this point, there was no elegance to his movements. Or methodical structure to his movements the way predatory animals had. Orlox was nothing more than a filthy, lowly, mongrel aping his fathers ability to transform...

Leaving Julius anxious as he felt the castle resonate further with Alucard. Julius didn't remember how Alucard felt after his powers were sealed due to the loss of his memories. Perhaps back then it was different, back when they were in the castle. Yet he could remember how Alucards' power felt before he sealed it and how he felt all these years later.

'He feels more like his enraged father than him...' Julius thought in growing worry. Steal the kill from Alucard and how would Alucard react? 'This is a man wanting to protect his father, but we can't afford to lose him to his anger...' The idea that Alucard would have the same emotional reaction to this as his father worried him.

Off to the side he saw Yoko running in, lightning dancing along behind her, electric silver streams of power that she began wrapping around the Alucard sword...

'Oh...' Julius snapped off the head of a possessed demon as realization bloomed in his mind. Buffering the sword with her spell, she would kill Orlox, Alucard would merely carry the spell to the vampires' heart. 'He won't get to have an enrage fueled kill but he's still part of the kill', Julius realized. Internally nodding in approval before he turned his attention to killing the other demons.

Lightning radiated out from the enchanted blade, jolting the stilled heart into a massive spasm. It traveled along the nerves and blood vessels igniting the sluggish blood and numbed the muscles. Only to go deeper until the blade pierced the heart. Orlox roared a rasping cry of pain as his clawed hands swung at his body in a desperate bid to get the sword out of his heart. Ice spells stabbed into those hands pushing them back with every swing.

Sharp pointed icicles that began to spread out at the reptile hands, numbing the palms as he slammed his hand against Alucard. Exploding into chunks of frozen ice, blood frozen into hail stone small chunks bounced out. The fingers broke at joints flung forward breaking as it hit the ground, while the palm dusted halfway through. Muscle, bone, both as fragile as a snowball that fell apart with only the top of his hands muscles left smacking against Alucard. The blood was chilled so much it didn't smear or even carry a scent.

Outside of the battle the possessed cults and prisoners began to stagger about as the skulls began to flicker. The skulls disengaged from their hosts before floating upward into the air losing their distinct shapes. The Weres didn't stop attacking, while several zombies, skeletons and plant based began to retract. Alucards' anger was beginning to weaken, freeing them to think for themselves as they looked about.

The range of dead were vast, cultist lied beside kidnapped victims and the servants of the castle. Chairs and floor were crowded as the twins began taking shots at the skulls working to free the last few remaining possessed victims. While Max made her way to the stage at a light jog, eyeing everyone on the stage in lowkey concern.

'Valencia will be proud when I tell her,' Julius thought to himself as he looked over Yoko and Alucard with an apprising eye. His partner had been so worried that Yoko was too spazzy to be a good partner for Alucard but...

Alucard pulled back his blade before turning to issue Yoko a cool stare. "You stole my kill," he pointed out as he flung the blood off the blade. It struck the ground and smeared away at an arch at his side.

Yoko shrugged, unbothered by his dark stare, "we couldn't save your father when he fell, but we will not let you fall." While she stared back at him defiantly. "We never believed there was a way 'to' save your father. Now we have that chance and we can't lose you while we have this opportunity!" She returned, refusing to back down to that ruby hued gaze.

"She's right Alucard, we need to save Soma and we can't lose you," Julius agreed.

While a maid rose up from the wooden floor of the stage resting over her extended arms was a dark suit. Quite possibly a replacement for the one Alucard now had gotten damaged in their battle, as it wasn't his traditional armor. The maid was quiet, her eyes lowered demurely as Alucard snatched up the hook of the hanger and stalked off. Followed discreetly by the maid as the other three hunters joined them.

"That was an impressive display!" Max began cheerfully, "I honestly didn't think I'd ever live to see 'the' Alucard in actual combat. Sam's going to be jealous, so here's to hoping another reason for a battle to come up!"

While the twins listened to Max their gazes were glued on the retreating form of the prince.

"Oh he's mad as a riled hornets nest," Yoko answered, her tone not quite put upon but not thrilled either. "I can't say I blame him, we all enjoy beating the stuffing out of what makes us furious. But not in the castle, not like this," she began when she saw the expression on the twins faces. "Oh he's going to hear us talk about him regardless so might as well. You know how nobles are, above the 'idle chatter of the masses'. He just tunes us out, he does it all the time," she pointed out.

Not reassured at the least, the twins kept their lips zipped until Yoko sighed in quiet resignation. "Yes, he's cranky, he has every right to be cranky. He's been doing this alone for 'centuries' he's just not used to people straight telling him to his face we appreciate or that we care."

"You have a point," Julius admitted with a small cleansing breath. "But we shouldn't just force the man, so let us deal with the room and try to find that cult leader. We need to unseal the room to get Soma back to his body..." There was no real need to 'remind' everyone what the plan was, but it was a simple way to get them back on track. Pulling the twins attention back onto course and give Alucard some time to cool off on his own.

'Yoko is right, and she may have some experience dealing with Alucard. But she knows Alucard in a way different than how the twins idolize him as...' He looked once more around the large theater room. Maids and butler, uniformed skeletons, were already moving about, cleaning up blood, and setting to work restoring order to the room.

The other monsters that had no normal business in the room were slinking away through the same methods they had arrived in. With only that one familiar of Soma's still drifting along the air above them all. Unlike the others it had the plushy on its back and Julius wanted to believe that Soma put his soul in the doll. That they could fix the situation 'that' easily...

'If wishes were fishes...' he mused to himself as he looked at the other hunters. "So we get a message to Sam to join us and resume the hunt."

"Right," Alexis nodded, "by now he's probably turned the turned humans back and is on his way to join us."

"You found a method?" Alex asked pleased and reassured in equal measures by the statement as his twin nodded.

"Yes, Camilia of all the beings left the cure and then apparently went on vacation out of the castle. On a beach of all places..."

"A beach..." Max repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Welcome to the new age of the Children of the Night!"