Chapter 76: Mina Harker
"Aghh…!" Beta groaned as her wounds began sprouting black tumors which bloats painfully, a pain she knew well.
"This is… Demonic Possession…!" Beta muttered as she stared at the black bloating tumor that grew on the wound on her wrist. The sight of it and the pain that comes with it made her recall the worst time of her life, when she suffered Demonic Possession for the first time. The other girls seem to be recalling the same thing.
"How could this… No… Perhaps the theory that the progenitor blood originated from Diablos is-" Beta was cut by the screams of an important person.
"Hyaaaaghh!" Claire shouted in pain and she was horrified when she saw what was happening to her body. Tears fell down her cheeks, her eyes reflected only horror and despair as she didn't know that her condition can be treated. She thought that it is over for her.
"No… Cid… I'm sorry…" The sight of her master's sister suffering both physically and mentally hurts more than the Demonic Possession ever could. Beta once again cursed her helplessness.
"Epsilon! Can you…?" Beta was about to ask Epsilon to cure their condition but… just a sight of Epsilon is enough of an answer.
"I… can't…! My magic… is out of control!" Epsilon said as she struggled to even control her own magic powers, especially on the affected areas which happen to include her hands, let alone to cure the others. She's even struggling to maintain her thick layers of slime suit which maintained her voluptuous figure.
If this keeps up… I may have to sacrifice my pride… and perhaps my life… to save Lady Claire. But perhaps it'll be worth it! Thought Epsilon as she tried her best to rein her chaotic magic within her body, intending on maintaining enough control in order to cure Claire, no matter the cost.
"Ha ha ha! Look at you pathetic weaklings. How much does it hurt?" Taunted Carmilla as she removed the blood spears that emerged from her body and healed her own self.
"What's going on!?" Mary, the only one who managed to expel the Blood Queen's invasive blood from her latest attack before it could harm her from within, was bewildered by the sight of her allies suffering from the infamous Demonic Possession.
"Just… give me a little time! I must save Miss Claire fi-" Epsilon was about to move to cure Claire of her Possession, or at least attempt to do so, but was interrupted by the Blood Queen gathering blood and magic power around her again, intending to shoot more barrage of blood arrows.
"No… It's… over…!?" Beta muttered as she braced herself to face death.
"Lord Shadow… I'm so sorry…!" Epsilon said as she closed her eyes.
The other Shadow Garden members who also suffered the Demonic Possession also braced themselves for certain death while Carmilla merely laughed and watched their predicament.
"Lady Elizabeth! Please stop it!" Mary shouted desperately towards her queen, who at this point barely listened to her words and disperses the blood she gathered, turning them into thousands of arrowheads, preparing to shoot them at anything that moves.
But before she can launch the arrowheads, she was interrupted by someone being knocked from the Don Jon Tower towards the Crimson Tower. Said person crashed into the floor of the rooftop, attracting everyone's attention.
"Urghh…" From the crater which was formed by the crash emerged a familiar figure. Alucard struggled to stand up. A large gash can be seen in his torso. His wound is steaming as if burnt and it refused to heal.
"To think you can create a blade made of pure energy…" Alucard muttered as he glanced behind him, where Van Helsing stood unnoticed by everyone else before Alucard addressed him. He held a pair of yellow glowing swords made of pure magical energy. Said magic is ten times more effective than even the silver blade's enchantments.
"Told you that you will not win tonight." Taunted Van Helsing, who had to change the color of his magic in order to maintain his Van Helsing persona in front of the Shadow Garden members, especially the Shades who are very familiar with the color of his magic.
"Teacher!" Mary shouted in relief. The other girls, save for Claire, also felt relieved when they noticed him. Beta and Epsilon almost thought their Lord Shadow have come to save them, though Van Helsing's brave and powerful visage is still enough to give them hope.
"You girls look like you're in a pinch." Van Helsing remarked whilst gazing at the condition of his allies, especially the Shadow Garden members.
"I'm so sorry, teacher. I-" Mary was about to apologize but Van Helsing cuts her off. "Do not worry. I shall handle them." Van Helsing confidently said as he faced the three vampires.
"Heh. How useless you are, Alucard. Can't even finish off one human." Carmilla taunted the vampire king with a grotesque grin.
"As if you're any better when you faced him." Alucard remarked with a frown.
"Ha! With the powers that Lord Necromancer gave me I can-"
"Save your breath! Incoming!" Alucard warned as the Blood Queen finally launched her attack towards all of them. Alucard shielded himself with his hardened cape. Carmilla does the same with her wings. Mary, Claire and the Shadow Garden members are helpless but Van Helsing created a yellow barrier to shield them from the barrage of arrows.
Everyone emerged unharmed from her attack this time.
"So that's… the power of a slumbering legend…!" Muttered Epsilon as she wondered if such power sleeps inside of her as well.
"Tch! This is getting tiresome! Alucard! I'll leave these cripples to you! I must finish my mission!" Shouted Carmilla as she faced the Blood Queen alone. Alucard wordlessly complied with her request as he turned to face the Shadow Garden members.
"Hmm…" Alucard noticed Epsilon's presence and glanced at her while grinning. She noticed him staring and returned it with a glare. "What do you want, vampire?"
"Last time we met, I told you I would make you mine one day. That day is today." Alucard said as his magic invades Epsilon's brain through his eyes, making her slowly lose control of her thoughts.
"Epsilon!" Beta shouted as she saw Epsilon walking towards Alucard in a trance, ignoring the pain from the Demonic Possession.
"Now come to me…. my Mina." Alucard said as he willed Epsilon to approach him. Mary tried to stop her but was knocked away by a black whip that emerged from Alucard's cape. The other girls are helpless to stop her whilst Van Helsing and Carmilla watched warily.
"No… Please… Lady Epsilon! Snap out of it!" Shouted the beastkin 612 as she tried to drag her tumor infested body to try and intercept Epsilon before she reached Alucard. But she could not reach her beloved savior and can only watch as Epsilon was pulled into Alucard's arms and had her neck bitten by him.
"Noooo! Epsilon!" Beta watched in horror as her comrade was bitten by the vampire. But what happens next surprised them.
They saw Epsilon's tumor shrinks as her blood is being sucked out of her until the Demonic Possession completely vanished from her body.
"Huh? What's going on?" Beta muttered in confusion.
"Bloodletting, huh. To think that a vampire can serve as a leech to suck out diseases like that." Van Helsing remarked as he concluded that the reason Epsilon's Possession vanished is because Alucard has sucked out the Blood Queen's invasive blood inside her.
Is that why Mr. Van Helsing let him suck her blood? Thought Beta as she almost had second thoughts about her mighty ally when he didn't move to save Epsilon.
Alucard then stopped sucking her blood. "You must be thirsty, my dear. Here. Become one with me and be reborn by night." Alucard said as he proceeded to slice his wrist in order to feed Epsilon his blood.
"No!" Beta shouted as she know what would happen if Epsilon drank his blood. "Mr. Van Helsing! Please! Save-" Van Helsing already moved before she finished her sentence, lunging towards Alucard with his energy blades in hand.
"Too late. She is already mine." Alucard said as he let Epsilon go and resumed his fight against Van Helsing, his rot magic coated blood spears clashed against Van Helsing's energy blades. The rot magic on his spears is capable of destroying Van Helsing's energy blades after a few clashes but Van Helsing simply created new ones and continued blocking the barrage of blood spears from the vampire king.
"Epsilon…!" Beta watched in horror as she faced her friend, whose eyes are now blood red like a vampire's, facing them with a blank face.
"Lady Epsilon…!" 612 muttered sadly whilst once again bracing herself for death, her inability to save her savior being her only regret.
"No… I can't die yet…!" 666 muttered, refusing to give up as she still has a mission to fulfil, a father and a kingdom to save.
A smile found its way to Epsilon's face. Though with her glowing red eyes it looks menacing even though her smile carried no sinister intent. Epsilon walked slowly towards Beta and she closed her eyes fearfully.
"Don't make such a pitiful face. We have a battle to win, don't we?" Epsilon whispered in her ears in her usual teasing tone, surprising her. "Huh? How!?"
"I managed to get my magic under control after he sucked my blood, allowing me to expel his hypnosis." Epsilon said.
"But your eyes… You've drunk his blood… and..."
"No. I didn't become a vampire. For some reason his blood is weak and I can expel it easily when my magic control returns to normal. Not only that but I can now do this!" Epsilon said as she turned towards Carmilla and extends her nails to pierce Carmilla's back.
"WHAAT!?" Carmilla roared angrily as her battle against the Blood Queen is interrupted by Epsilon's nails stabbing her from behind.
"Heh. With this new power, I won't even need slimes to… Hee hee hee." Epsilon murmured while smiling widely and confidently. Her words heard by Beta, who didn't have the full context and merely thought Epsilon may not need her slime suit much anymore if she can just use her body as weapon.
"YOU BITCH!" Carmilla roared and tried to attack Epsilon, only to be interrupted by the Blood Queen's blood spear piercing her from behind.
"ARRRGHHHH!" Carmilla roared once again and turned her attention back to the Blood Queen, deeming her as the greater threat.
"Let them fight for now. Go heal Miss Claire immediately." Beta said.
"Okay." Epsilon complied with her comrade's request and walked towards Claire, who barely listened to anything happening around her at this point.
"Cid… I didn't even get to say goodbye…" Claire murmured in despair before suddenly feeling… warm and soothed.
"Huh?" Claire's vision is already blurry and she lost consciousness as her Possession is cured by Epsilon.
"Rest well, Lady Claire." Epsilon whispered as she left Claire on the floor and went to cure her comrades of their Possession.
"Lady Epsilon… Thank you…" 612 cried as her savior saved her once again. The rest of the Shadow Garden members also gave their thanks to Epsilon.
When she's finished curing all of them, Epsilon turned her attention towards Alucard, watching him as he clashed with Van Helsing.
"Alucard… no… Count Dracula. So that's why you became what you are…" Epsilon murmured with pity.
"What do you mean?" Beta, who overheard her, asked. Mary also listened to their words carefully.
"When he fed me his blood… I received his memory… Of how he was once a warlord fighting a holy war to defend his kingdom… a war that took his beloved wife away from him, resulting him to renounce his God and cursed his own fate, becoming a vampire, an undead."
"Wife?"
"Yes. Said wife reincarnated centuries after her death, whereupon he would pursue her once again and tried to take her away from her husband. Said reincarnation's name is… Mina Harker."
Beta gasped, recognizing the name Mina from the information they received from Van Helsing. The very same name was also muttered by Alucard himself moments before he bit Epsilon.
"Also, Van Helsing… or more specifically, his ancestor, was there leading a group of vampire hunters who managed to vanquish Dracula, freeing Mina from the curse of vampirism before she was fully turned." Epsilon continued.
"I see. I see." Beta muttered while taking notes.
"Lady Epsilon. What should we do now?" 666 asked, eager to contribute now that her strength has returned.
"Beta. Your team and mine should assist Mary in defeating both the Blood Queen and Carmilla. I'll assist Professor Van Helsing." Epsilon said.
"Professor?" Mary said as this is the first time she heard him being referred to as a professor.
"A story for another time." Epsilon said.
"Alright. I'll leave your past life's husband to you, Mina." Beta said teasingly.
"Hmph!" Epsilon merely frowned at her teasing and began walking towards Alucard's direction.
Author's Note:
Starting to make Alucard a sympathetic villain (at least in the eyes of Shadow Garden). The part where Dracula lost his wife and renouncing God was taken from the movie Bram Stoker's Dracula, which mixed Dracula from the novel with Vlad the Impaler.
Had some time in the weekend so I started to write another chapter.
HundredMasks: EXACTLY, two villains, one a true master of darkness, a monster that embodies the end of the age itself, death, the destroyer of worlds, he who brings naught but ruin and death, and a Monster with the heart of a human, hopelessly twisted yet at the same time so tragic, one free and filled with malice that lets him destroy all with a grin on their face, and another leashed by their humanity they suppress so much, lashing out in pain and anger, a beautiful contrast between two villains, two monsters, a monster to be feared, and a monster to be pitied
(sorry for the rant, I'm very passionate about my villains, I love this story)
Answer: The contrast between the two personas is interesting indeed. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
primenidus: You I would actually be interested in seeing Alucard A.K.A Necomancer take Epsilon that should be a good read
Answer: He sort of did… but only briefly.
dariuscrawford482: So when the Nercomancer and Shadow are going to have their own harem moments with the ladies they are having right now. Giving them a Excalibur time
Answer: For Cid? No plans for that considering who he is. Claude though… maybe.