Emira, Edric, and Amity made into the hospital just before the boiling rainstorm hit. It was unclear how long it would last so they resigned themselves to the idea of not being able to go home any time soon. But that wasn't a big issue anyway, Emira had come to spend some time at Viney's bedside, the other two Blight siblings came along for emotional support. Especially Amity, knowing exactly how her big sister was feeling right now.
The three teens checked in with the front desk and were directed towards the ward. As they walked, Amity noticed how down her big sister was, so she tried to give her some words of encouragement. "Hey, it'll be alright, Em."
"Mittens, you're the last one who needs to tell me that right now," said Emira with a bitter tone.
Amity was taken aback by her sister's reaction and asked, "Em, I was just–"
"Give it a rest, Amity!" Emira turned on her little sister with an angry epression. "The person you care about didn't have almost all her blood drained from her body and almost left for dead in the streets! At least Luz woke up a few hours later! Viney's still out, and none of the other victims have woken up from their encounters either! So don't tell me 'It'll be alright', because it's not right now!"
"Em, what the hell, calm down," said Edric.
Emira advanced on her little sister, making Amity's back hit the wall. "And what about all that 'Oh my precious, Luz!', 'What if I never get to tell her how I feel?!' crap you were spouting a couple of weeks ago, huh?! Have you even told her yet or are still dragging your damn heels!"
"Emira, that's enough!" Edric pulled at his twin sister's arm and put himself between Amity and her. "Calm down, we know you're hurting! But you don't have to take it out on Amity!"
Emira glared at her twin brother for a moment before turning that glare onto Amity, her heart sank when she noticed the tears in Amity's eyes.
"I'm sorry…I know I'm a coward…I haven't worked up the nerve to say how I feel…I really am the last person to tell you how to feel in this situation, Emira…" Amity sniffled.
Emira calmly walked towards Amity, Edric remained where he was, not completely convinced that Emira wasn't going to do something in her heightened state of emotion. To show that she was not going to do anything, Emira sat on her knees to bring herself closer to Amity's eye level.
"No, Mittens, I'm sorry. I…I'm just really worried about Viney…and I'm a complete wreck right now…I didn't mean to say that…" Emira's tears started to fall as she added, "You're not a coward for not telling Luz how you feel. When you feel ready, you tell her, and not because I or anyone else says to. Okay?"
Amity wiped her tears, letting a smile appear on her face. "It's okay, I really do know how you feel right now, Em. So, don't worry about it."
"Still, that doesn't give me the right to say that to you…sisters?" Emira held out her arms for a hug.
Edric could tell that his twin sister was sincere in this gesture and moved to the side to allow Amity to step forward. The young Blight child walked until she was in her big sister's arms and both of them hugged it out.
"Like I have a choice? I'm kind of stuck with you and Ed," said Amity.
"Your darn right you are," said Emira.
Once that little emotional outburst was concluded, the Blight siblings continued their walk to the ward. However, when they arrived there, they saw one of the Healing Coven witches just standing there.
"Um, excuse me, is everything alright?" Emira asked.
"Master said…no one is allowed in…"
All three siblings raised an eyebrow at that answer.
"Uh…okay…is that what you call your boss?" Edric joked.
"Master said…no one's allowed in…"
A pit formed in Emira and Amity's guts, a feeling of dread over how monotonous and lifeless he sounded, almost as if he was…
In a trance, Emira, Edric, and Amity thought at the same time.
Trances were just another form of illusion magic, so both of the twins knew what to do. Edric and Emira drew half of a spell circle, combining it together, and together shot it towards the Healer witch. The circle reacted, fighting against something that was controlling the witch's mind. After a few seconds of resistance, the hold on the demon's mind was broken, creating a blowback effect that threw the twins and the demon onto their rears.
"ED! EM!" Amity called out.
"We're fine, just check inside the ward!" Edric ordered.
Amity ran towards the doors and pushed them open with all her might, but once they were open, she gasped. All twelve of the victims who were in a comatose state, all their cots were empty.
Edric and Emira joined their little sister, and Emira screamed in shock that neither the other victims, nor her girlfriend, were present in the room. The demon healer finally came to, shaking his head out of the hypnotic daze he was put in.
"Oh…Titan help me, I've got the worst damn headache. What happened?" he asked.
"That's what we like to know?! All the victims are gone!" Amity stated.
"WHAT?!" The demon healer rushed into the ward, his head turning to and fro as he took in the sight. "H-HOW?! They were completely comatose! There's no way they could've gotten up!"
Emira stormed her way towards the demon and looked him in the eyes with an angry glare. "You were babbling something about a 'Master' and that he didn't want anyone to come in here! Did that monster come back?! What do you remember?!"
The demon pressed his hand against his head, trying to recall his memories. "I…I remember coming in for shift change, and then I caught sight of a shadow…after that…it's hazy, way hazy. I can't remember!"
The demon rushed past Emira, prompting her to shout, "Where are you going?!"
"I need to alert security and call the Emperor's Coven! We need to find the patients!"
Suddenly, the lights went off in the hospital. Edric, Emria, and Amity invoked a light spell, creating three orbs that emitted turquoise, azure, and purple light. The demon healer created his own green orb as he looked around.
"Damn, storm must've knocked out the power! Just stay here, the backup power will kick in soon!" Afterwards the demon ran off to go inform everyone.
"Viney…Viney's gone…she was taken by him…!" Emira hugged her body as fear gripped her. "He came for her…" Small cracks started to form along Emira's body as ethereal violet light began to shine from them. "I'll never see her again…"
"Now, now, we can't have that." A smooth, sophisticated male voice echoed inside the room. "I can't have you turning, it'd be such a waste to have that happen."
Amity shined her orb of light around, just as she passed it over Emira, her eyes widened with fear. "EM, BEHIND YOU!" The young Blight child drew a spell circle, summoning her Abomination from the floor. "ABOMINATION, ATTACK!"
The sludge creature groaned aggressively as it charged for the figure behind Emira. However, the muck monster was no match for the Phantom, Dracula. With a wave of his hand, the vampire released a blast of purple and black energy which exploded the Abomination into chunky pieces that painted the walls behind it. Dracula turned his attention back to Emira and gave her a charming smile.
"My dear, I have your lover. Do you wish to see her? I can take you to her," said Dracula as he offered her his hand. "Take my hand, and I promise to reunite her with you. You have my word."
"You…You'll really take me to Viney?" Emira asked in a desperate tone.
"SIS, NO!"
"I'll take that as a yes!" Tendrils of shadows darted from Dracula's cape and wrapped themselves around Emira. The tendrils quickly reeled her in, holding her aloft to Dracula's left. However, his red and gold eyes set themselves on Amity. "Hmm, I can sense you're a strong witchling as well. Perhaps I shall–"
"NO!" Emira yelled. "Just take me! Don't touch my little sister!"
Dracula looked between Emira, then to Amity, and then back to Emira before shrugging. "Very well, probably best not become too greedy. However…" Dracula returned his glowing gaze back to Amity. "I will be seeing you soon, little witch."
The Phantom wrapped both himself and Emira in shadows before disappearing, leaving Edric and Amity alone in the ward.
Luz was pinned under Viney, her friend had been turned into a vampire underling, and now she was about to have her blood sucked.
"Don't struggle, Luz, it'll only hurt more if you do." Viney licked her lips as she added, "And I'd rather not ruin such an intimate moment."
Luz, as ashamed as she was to admit it, but she blushed. "Viney, you're cute, and having an encounter with a vampire is one of my guilty fantasies."
"Mmm, I'm glad I can make your dreams come true."
"Yeah, but I just realized the reality of it is not that appealing anymore!"
Luz bucked her hips up as hard as she could, the sudden action caught Viney by surprise and made her hand loosen around Luz's wrist. With that, Luz rolled to the side and threw Viney off and into an armchair. The human girl got back up and assumed a fighting stance. "Viney, I need you to try and fight whatever's got ahold of you! I don't want to hurt you!"
Viney got back up and chuckled. "Oh, Luz, I know that's an empty threat. I know you need to use those pieces of paper in order to use magic. But I'm not going to give you a chance to use them!"
The turned witch dashed across the room and towards Luz, the Latina made as if she was about to grab for one of her glyphs, making Viney focus on her right hand. That's when Luz attacked, she flattened her left hand and struck Viney in the chest with a palm strike, the impact was doubled with the momentum of Viney's dash, knocking the vampire witch back as she rolled on the floor.
Viney coughed, sucking in air as it was knocked out of her from the attack. "W-Wha…What was that?!"
"Like I said, Viney, don't make me hurt you! Try and fight it!" Luz begged.
Viney growled as she made a spell circle in the air, she laced that circle over both of her arms, turning them into the claws of some feral creature. Luz pulled out one of her Spell Rings just as Viney lunged at Luz.
[Bind, Please.]
Several chain constructs made of yellow light appeared out of nowhere. Immediately all of them wrapped themselves around Viney's body, some of them breaking off into smaller versions and wrapping themselves around her clawed fingers to prevent her from drawing a circle. Viney thrashed against the constructs but was unable to break her bonds.
"UGH! What the hell is this?! Since when can you use magic like this?!" Viney exclaimed.
"I have a lot of questions for you, but I need to go and help Willow and Gus!" Luz ran to the other side of the room and picked up the WizarSwordGun. "I'll be back for you Viney, I promise!"
Luz ran up the stairs, skipping every second step as she made her way upstairs. Once she reached the second level, Luz found three more of the girls from the ward, one of them being Luna, and all three of them had the same colored eyes as Viney. "Oh…crud."
The three girls hissed and lunged for Luz.
[Defend, Please.]
A barrier of yellow light appeared in front of Luz just in time for all three of the girls to smack against her hard light shield. The three vampiric witches groaned as they held their heads, disoriented from hitting their heads against a hard surface. Luz took advantage of this and ran around them. She headed towards the door where she saw Willow and Gus last, but before she could enter, several green vines burst out of the room, slamming three more of the formerly comatose girls against the wall.
Gus and Willow ran out of the room but stopped when the saw Luz.
"LUZ!" they cried together.
"WILLOW! GUS!"
Luz ran up to them and gave them as big a hug as she could. After that short hug she separated herself from them and asked, "Are you alright?! Did they bite you?!"
"No, luckily, Gus conjured several copies of us in the room! Which gave me enough time to do that," Willow explained as she pointed at the three girls still wrapped up.
"What's going on?! How the heck are they even here?! Shouldn't they be back in the hospital?!" Gus asked.
"I think it's him! The Phantom, Reven, whatever, must've kidnapped them and brought them here," said Luz.
"But when?! We've been walking around here almost all day, and we haven't seen anyone," said Gus.
Luz glanced down the stairs, but her gaze went further as she thought about it. "Gus…do you think this place has a basement?"
Willow gulped. "Oh no, please tell me we aren't going down there?"
"No, I am. You two find a room and barricade it! I'll take care of Reven, or Dracula, or whoever's behind this!"
"…Okay, but be careful, Luz, please," Willow pleaded.
Luz smiled at her friend as she nodded.
Gus, on the other hand, was glancing between his two friend as if they had lost their minds. He knew Luz was brave, a bit impulsive, and super positive, but she wasn't like Eda, she didn't have the same kind of magic to fight against something like this. "Luz, what are you saying?! You need to hide with us! You can't just go and fight that monster!"
Luz rubbed the back of her head as she raised the WizarSwordGun into view. "I'm not exactly defenseless, Gus."
Gus looked at the weapon in Luz's hand, it looked just like Witch's weapon.
"Here, hold this for me," said Luz as she tossed the weapon towards Gus.
The young witch boy clumsily grabbed the weapon, his eyes widening with awe at the sight of it. But then he turned his gaze to Luz as he watched her put on two different rings. "No…"
[Driver On, Please.]
The buckle around Luz's waist shined before transforming unto the WizarDriver. Luz switched the Hand Author so that it was positioned for the left hand.
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin! Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
"Henshin!"
[Light, Please.]
Luz pointed her left arm out and as she did, a magic circle appeared.
[HI~KA~RI!]
Willow and Gus stood back as the magic circle passed over Luz, once the circle finished, Luz was now taller, and older, transformed into her heroic alter ego, Kamen Rider Witch.
Gus' eyes were practically sparkling upon witnessing the transformation, hopping up and down like a giddy kid. "You're Kamen Rider Witch! Luz is Kamen Rider Witch! You're Kamen Rider Witch!"
"Yeah, cool, right?" Witch asked.
"SUPER COOL! Y-You gotta tell me everything!" Gus gushed.
"I promise I will, later. But right now, go with Willow and hide! Like I said, I'll take care of this."
Gus saluted Witch, causing Willow shake her head as she smiled.
"Oh, and I'll need that back."
Gus looked at the weapon still in his hand. "Oh, shoot! Sorry! Here!"
Witch took the weapon gratefully and nodded at her friends.
"C'mon, Gus, let's find a place to hide," said Willow as she grabbed the witch boy by the wrist and led him away.
Her friends went down a different hallway, but she knew they weren't going to be safe for long. With the boiling rainstorm, there was no way for them to get out safely, and if the rest of girls from the ward were in the house, then that meant Dracula was in the house as well. The best thing to do right now is defeat Dracula as quickly as possible before anything else happens! Her attention was gained when she noticed the vampire witch girls getting back up. But first, those three.
[Bind, Please.]
Before the three girls could attack, construct light chains appeared around them, tying them up in much the same way as Viney.
"Sorry girls, but I can't have you hurting yourselves or my friends." Witch glanced back at the three witches who were still trapped by Willow's vines. "Hopefully that'll hold."
Witch ran around the three vampire witches and jumped from the top of the stairs and landing at the bottom floor. She went back into the living room to check on Viney, but she was surprised to find that she was no longer there. Dracula, she thought.
The masked hero looked around the room, and that's when she saw a door open. Witch rushed towards the door and pointed her weapon into the doorway. Just as she suspected, it was a basement door, with a staircase that was leading downwards.
"Into the unknown, Luz old girl," said Witch.
[Sight, Please.]
Witch's helmet shined for a moment before the light settled, granting Witch enhanced vision. The shadows were lit up, making any sneak attacks from the shadows pointless. The heroine walked down, deeper, and deeper down the spiraling stairs until she finally reached the bottom. She was amazed to see that the entire basement level was essentially one huge laboratory. Old equipment littered the area, flasks, beakers, test tubes, cauldrons, workbenches, and shelves filled with old and rotted ingredients.
This is definitely a Potion witch's workshop…
Witch's helmet detected movement further ahead, prompting her to double time it towards the indicator marked on her HUD. The vastness of this underground lab was a testament to how rich the owner of this mansion was, it seemed to go on forever, making Luz wonder just what else this Reven Darwick was up to down here. The Kamen Rider made it to a second level platform, she ascended the stairs and raised her weapon in preparation to fire.
"VINEY, NO!" Witch exclaimed.
When Witch reached the top, she watched as Viney, holding Emira close, bit into her neck. The green haired witch tensed, but soon went limp as Viney's fangs sunk deep into her flesh.
The shadows coalesced before Witch and created a cocoon, that shadow cocoon soon faded away and revealed Dracula, smiling that charming smile at Witch. "Ah, the hero. I'm surprised you found me; I didn't think anyone would come here."
"This house originally belonged to Reven Darwick, the Blood Count! Tell me, 'Dracula', was he your Gate?! Are you the Phantom that resided inside of Reven?!" Witch demanded.
Dracula's smile widened, and then he began to laugh. His laugh echoed within the cavernous space of the underground lab, prompting Witch to tighten her finger on the trigger. After a few seconds of laughter, Dracula wiped a tear from his eye.
"I never thought there would be anyone who would remember my name, but I'm glad I was wrong." Dracula took a step forward and raised his arms up in a dramatic fashion, making his shadow cape flutter from the sudden action. "Indeed, Kamen Rider Witch, it is as you said, I am the Blood Count, Reven Darwick!" Dracula placed his hand against his chest and added, "But, I am also the Phantom, Dracula."
"What?"
"I was abducted from my prison cell, and to this day I still don't know how or why I was taken, but it was so. I was subjected to a ritual; I could tell that it was designed to bring me despair." Dracula's smile soon turned sinister. "But the ritual caster didn't think that I would be able to merge with the Phantom inside me! It seemed it and I meshed quite well with each other, and as a result, I ended up in complete control! Granting me power beyond my wildest dreams!"
Witch gasped internally when she heard his explanation. It's just like Mr. Soma said…Reven Darwick took control of the Phantom and its powers because he was already an evil person! Making an already dangerous person even more dangerous! "Alright, so you are Reven and Dracula, in that case, tell me why you're doing all of this?! Why are you attacking female witches?! If you're not creating more Phantoms, then what's your goal?!"
Dracula smirked as he walked towards a chair and sat down in it, allowing Witch to see Viney sitting on her knees while Emira's head rested on her lap. "Unfortunately, I kind of lost myself in the fun of killing when I managed to combine the blood of a vampire with mine, succeeding in a witch-vampire hybrid. So, I didn't really see much beyond stalking my prey and reveling in the kill. However, that all changed when I became a Phantom. I have much bigger goals in mind."
Witch growled as she asked, "Such as?"
"Nothing big, I just want to topple Emperor Belos." Dracula's eyes glowed with murderous glee at the idea. "I find this Coven System is so inefficient, stifling our magic potential by sealing the rest our magic, and proclaiming himself and those who follow him as the only ones worthy of wielding all types of magic. Such actions are the height of arrogance and pride. But with this power, not even Belos will be able to fight against me. I'll tear down this Coven System, and usher in a new era of witches, stronger, and more powerful than any of this generation!"
"And them!" Witch pointed to Emira and Viney. "What do you gain from controlling them?!"
Dracula chuckled. "Any proper ruler needs a harem; these girls will be the first of my brides. I will turn the worthy and the loyal, but for my vision, I need strong heirs, and these witches have strong blood. Now that I've infused my venom into them, I've infused them with my own vampiric power, they will be able to produce strong hybrids."
Witch couldn't believe what she was hearing, he attacked these girls just to turn them into baby factories. "Okay, you're not just an enemy to every good thing in existence, but you're also an enemy to all womankind! You'll be the first Phantom I'll enjoy destroying!"
"I wonder if you'll be able to do that, Witch. Because I want you to join my brides. You're strong and powerful, and there's just something about the smell of your blood that's just oh so alluring," said Dracula.
Yep, my fantasy is officially dead, crossing that off my list!
"SUCK ON THESE SILVER BULLETS!"
Witch fired multiple shots at Dracula, the light infused silver bullets flew through air as they weaved towards their target. Dracula raised his right hand and summoned a wall of shadows the blocked the bullets from hitting him. Viney gently placed Emira's head onto the floor before getting up and charging straight for Witch. The Beast Keeping and Healing Track witch turned her arms into animal claws as she slashed at Witch, the heroine easily dodged the attacks, but that was only to serve as a distraction as Dracula appeared behind Witch and slashed at her back with his sword.
Sparks flew from her armor as Witch spun around, switching the WizarSwordGun into sword mode, and slashed at the vampire Phantom. But Dracula already moved away, allowing Viney to come in and attack again, forcing Witch to stop mid attack and pull back. Viney slashed with her claws again and again, but Witch managed to sidestep her attacks, dropping low, and sweeping Viney's legs. The vampiric witch fell to the ground, hard, disorienting her for a moment. Of course, this once again allowed Dracula an opening to attack Witch from the front, landing two strong blows with his sword across her chest.
More sparks flew from Witch's armor, making her grunt from the impact and small amount of pain it caused her. "Coward! Quit hiding behind Viney and fight me! Or are you too afraid?!"
"This is merely strategic, my dear, besides, I'd focus if I were you. You left your friends upstairs alone with rest of my brides," said Dracula.
Witch hurriedly took a headcount of who she faced. Viney was the twelfth victim, she had bound three of them with her Bind Spell, and Willow bound three more with her vines. That was at least eight so far, which meant there were another four unaccounted for. "Oh crap!"
Willow and Gus barricaded the door, and not a moment too soon, as they finished blocking the door, it was besieged by the four remaining brides, each of them struck at the door, trying to get in.
"Willow, this is so not good!" Gus admitted.
"We just need to hang on until Luz defeats the Phantom! It won't be much longer!" Willow stated. I hope.
Willow and Gus backed up when they heard a particularly hard thud against the door. It sounded like all of them were trying to ram down the door at the same time. But that notion was quickly thrown out when a blue muck colored fist broke through the top of the door. The two witch children screamed as they backed away, that's when the same fist broke through again, and then a second fist. In less than a few seconds, an Abomination slithered its way through the hole and appeared in the same room. The wall adjacent to the door glowed orange before it was completely blown out, revealing all four of the brides.
"Construction and Abomination magic! They can still use their magic even though they're vampire slaves!" Gus pointed out.
"You use Plant magic," said one of the brides.
"A magic that is so full of vitality and strength," said another.
"Our master would love to have you as one his brides," said the third.
"Please don't make this harder than it needs to be," the fourth reasoned.
Gus looked at Willow, whose eyes were already wide with fear upon hearing that declaration, but she suddenly narrowed her gaze.
"Sorry, but I'm not marrying a vampire monster!" Willow proclaimed as she drew a spell circle.
She slammed her hand against the floor, calling to the wood and reinvigorating its cells. The wooden planks suddenly shot out and released vines which tore a large gash into the ceiling. The vines continued until they created a wide hole that let the boiling rain pour into the room, effectively separating the vampiric witches from Willow and Gus. The brides of Dracula hissed in anger at this stall tactic, while Gus and Willow high fived each other.
"Let's make this a little more difficult," said Gus as he drew his own spell circle.
Wave of azure light washed over the room, blinding the brides for a moment. When they opened their eyes, they saw that Willow and Gus were gone. That is until they looked down at the person sized hole in the floor that they made leading down to the first floor.
"C'mon!" the fourth ordered.
All four of the brides rushed out of the room, leaving it empty. Or so it appeared. In reality, Gus was maintaining an illusion field, making it look like they had made a hole to escape through, when they were still in the room, invisible to their eyes.
"Nice going, Gus!" Willow exclaimed as she praised the witch boy.
"Yeah, but I don't know how long this will trick them. Plus, I won't be able to keep this up forever," said Gus.
"She'll beat it, I know she will!"
Luz was having an even more difficult time, Emira had awoken, now turned into another of Dracula's vampire bride slaves. The illusionist created multiple copies of herself, Viney, and Dracula. Thankfully, her Sight Spell combined with the helmet's magical detection allowed Luz to determine which were fakes and which were the real ones. But that still didn't make it any easier, now with Emira in the mix, Dracula had two more shields to hide behind, and of course Witch wasn't going to hurt them, which only left her open to all three of their attacks.
Dracula appeared behind Luz and hit her with a blast of his dark energy, throwing her to the ground. His shadow cape released tendrils that wrapped around her ankles and threw her up towards the ceiling, slamming the hero into it before slamming her back down to the floor. Dracula transformed into bats made of dark energy, all four dozen of them swarmed Witch, slashing at her body from all angles before combining above her and blasting Witch from above with a shower of rapid fire energy blasts.
Multiple explosions went off around her, and with the last shot fired, Witch collapsed to one knee, and her transformation cancelled. Now Luz was fully exposed, unprotected by her armor and at the mercy of this Phantom and his vampiric friends.
"Well now isn't this interesting. I knew I smelled human blood coming from you! I haven't seen a human on the Boiling Isles before, this is quite a treat for me," said Dracula as he slowly made his way towards Luz.
"D-Don't…come any closer!" Luz warned as she tried to raise her weapon.
Emira suddenly appeared and grabbed Luz from behind, making the human girl drop the weapon as she lifted her up. "Don't struggle Luz, it'll only take a second. Like Viney said, it'll hurt for a moment, but then you'll feel really good and powerful after." Emira lowered her head towards Luz's ear and whispered, "I know you want to become a powerful witch, and with our Master's help, you'll get to have that. And you'll get to be with us, doesn't that sound like fun little cutie?"
"Emira please snap out of it…"
Dracula was a foot away from them, his charming smile never for a moment leaving his face. "I heard that the vampires left this world because they found human blood much more satisfying than witch's blood. I'm eager to find out, but I promise I'll stop in time to turn you. But first…" Dracula lowered his head a little so that he was staring Luz at eye level. "Look into my eyes…"
Luz shut her eyes; she couldn't let him hypnotize her. But Emira played dirty as she moved one of her hands to Luz's side and began tickling her. The shock of the sudden touch and tickling made Luz laugh out loud and forced her to open her eyes for a moment, but a moment was all that Dracula needed. When their eyes met, Luz went still.
Dracula used this opportunity to delve into her mind, he was curious as to how this young girl obtained such power, a power that was able to destroy beings like him. And if he could somehow harness this power for himself, he would be that much more powerful, not even the Phantom Generals or Belos himself would be able to stand a chance against him. When the vampire Phantom entered Luz's mind, he found himself in a black expanse, with a spotlight shining down on him.
"What's this? I should be seeing her memories by now…"
"And here I thought I was the pathetic one."
Dracula looked around, hearing a female voice that did not belong to the young girl. "Who's there?!"
"I was caged by this human girl, but you went and merged with your Gate and lost yourself to your Gate. I find that more disgraceful than my pitiful existence!"
"I DEMAND YOU SHOW YOURSELF!" Dracula ordered.
"You dare order me you plebian?!" From the shadows, a giant owl creature emerged that made even Dracula quiver with fear. "You dare order me?! The great La Lechuza?!"
"You…You're a Phantom too?!"
"I am, and unless you want to do die…" La Lechuza glared with her glowing eyes, and spread her huge wings, creating a gust of wind that made Dracula brace himself, "You will leave this place before I tear your mind apart and leave you a drooling mess!"
La Lechuza opened her large beak and grew to twice her size as she came down on a screaming Dracula.
Dracula screamed as he was thrown away from Luz and landed a few feet from where he once was. Emira released Luz and hurried to her master's side along with Viney as they both cried out, "MASTER!"
Luz held her head, feeling dizzy from the experience. She checked her neck and sighed in relief that she wasn't bitten. "Did…Did La Lechuza just save me?"
Dracula rose to his feet, pushing away his brides as he growled angrily at Luz. "Damn you girl! What are you?!"
Luz didn't waste this opportunity as she quickly transformed again.
[Light, Please.]
[HI~KA~RI!]
The magic circle appeared once again and transformed Luz back into Kamen Rider Witch. A light shined from Witch's chain link, she took it out and saw that it was the ring that she created the night she spoke to King, the one with the starburst symbol. With renewed vigor, Witch struck a pose as she stared down Dracula. "I am the hero who will shine a light in the darkness! The defender all the innocent! I am Kamen Rider Witch, warrior of hope!" Luz struck a pose and held it for a few seconds, much to the confusion of Dracula, Viney, and Emira. "Now eat this suckas!"
Luz switched the Hand Author to the right hand.
[Lupachi Magic Touch Go! Lupachi Magic Touch Go!]
[Flash, Please.]
Luz held up her right hand as the ring released a huge flash of yellow light that filled the entire underground lair. Dracula felt the light burn at his body, forcing the vampire Phantom to shield himself with his cape, but even that was being burned through by the light. As for Emira and Viney, something different was happening with them. The light from the ring blasted through the girls, burning out the essence of Dracula's curse. That same light shined brighter as it pierced through the entire house, hitting the rest of the brides that were upstairs.
When the light faded, Emira and Viney collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious. Witch opened her eyes and looked at the ring with newfound amazement. "Wow…Guess you're some kind curse reversing ring? Or maybe more like purification?"
Dracula glanced at his brides, no longer feeling his connection to them or any of the others. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"I freed them from your control and purified them of your vampire essence…stuff. Now they're back to normal, but if they're not, they will be after you're gone! The kid gloves are off!"
Witch removed the Light Style ring and replaced it with a green gemstone ring. After switching the Hand Author to the left, Witch placed her hand over it and activated her new style ring.
[Plant, Please.]
[Kooooooooo~jo~!]
Witch's magic circle appeared above her and fell over her body, the crystal of her helmet was now a bright emerald green, while the helmet took on a more square-ish shape. The crystal buttons on the side of the coat were now half squares and sporting the same emerald gemstone. Witch could feel it, this form was stronger than Ice and Light, it gave her the feeling of being invincible.
"It's showtime, Dracula!"
Dracula brandished two of his batwing swords and dashed straight for Witch. Utilizing his speed, Dracula slashed at Witch's chest plate, and while sparks did fly from the armor, the damage that was done was negligible, and barely made Witch flinch. The vampiric Phantom noticed and jumped upwards, hovered in the air for a moment, and then combined the two batwing swords until it was dual edged sword. Dracula infused the weapon with his dark energy and came down with an overhead strike. The blade made contact with Witch's right collar as Dracula growled, trying to pierce through the armor to kill Witch. But it was quickly becoming apparent that the attack was not having any affect on her.
"Are you done yet? If you are, then it's my turn!"
Witch grabbed the blade of Dracula's sword with her right hand, easily pushing it off her as Dracula tried to force it back down. With her left hand, Witch struck the Phantom in the chest with a strong pale heel strike, sparks flew the Phantom's chest as he was sent flying across the room, eventually crashing into the wall on the far end and leaving a body sized indention of himself. Dracula managed to tear himself off the wall, and glared with rage at Witch, but his glare lessened when he watched Witch take his sword and snap it in half like a toothpick.
"She's gotten stronger, and just from a simple change of helmet colors?! What kind of magic is this?!" Dracula shook his head as he rose to his feet. "Clam down, I just need to keep my distance and wear her down."
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Dracula probably knew better than to attack her head on again and was probably going to resort to long distance attacks. However, it seemed her magic rings had a suggestion as the second ring that Witch forged on that same night shined. Taking the hint, Witch slipped on the ring and activated it.
[Fissure, Please.]
Witch's right hand glowed with green energy as she slammed that same hand down on the ground. Earth elemental magic flowed through the stone and bedrock, cracking the floors, walls, and ceiling. Green light glowed from within those cracks, and in a matter of seconds, several thorny vines burst out from them, like enraged vipers all of them aimed themselves straight for Dracula. The Phantom panicked and quickly transformed into his bat swarm form to avoid getting attacked directly by the huge plant tendrils.
The Kamen Rider of hope merely chuckled as she sent a pulse through the ground and into the plants. Some of the plants sprouted smaller vines, but at the ends of them were flowers that had razor sharp teeth and acidic saliva, the dozens of bats weaved and bobbed to avoid the dozens of monster plants that were snapping at them from every direction. Several of the bats were caught in the jaws of the monster plant offshoots, and subsequently burst into particles of violet light. One of the bats managed to make it through, and that remaining one transformed into Dracula. The Phantom lunged at Emira, his tendrils shooting out of the cape to grab her, believing if he had a drink of her blood he could get more power, enough to defeat Witch.
But Witch wasn't having that.
[Connect, Please.]
A portal opened beneath Emira, making her disappear from Dracula's sight. He turned to go for Viney, but another portal opened beneath her as well, and effectively removing both of them from the fight.
"HOW DARE YOU, I AM A THE BLOOD COUNT! A SUPERIOR FORM OF WITCH! I WILL NOT BE FELLED BY YOU!" Dracula proclaimed.
"Hate to break it to you, but yes you are!"
Witch willed one of the vines to attack, the vine swiped Dracula at his back and sent him flying towards our hero. The Kamen Rider of Hope dashed forward and held out her left arm, once he got close enough, Witch struck with a clothesline hit to his neck, sending Dracula into a spin before landing hard on the ground.
"Let's take this outside!" Witch stated as she slammed her hand on the floor again.
A deep rumble and violent shaking happened around Dracula, and before he had the wherewithal to figure what was about to happen, a coiled mass of vines rose from the ground like a surfacing whale and took the monster upwards.
"The finale!"
[ VERY NICE, KICK STRIKE! FABULOUS! ]
Witch's right foot glowed a bright green and she ran towards the rising pillar of vines. A gap opened for her as the pillar took Witch along for the ride to the Phantom. Up on the surface, the mass of vines breached the surface, exploding out of the ground of the front lawn as Dracula was treated to a shower of boiling rain. Just then, Dracula watched as Witch burst out from the vines above Dracula. The Phantom could only watch as Witch flipped around once and brought her glowing foot down in a powerful ax kick that split the monster in two. The resulting strike created a powerful explosion, one that drew the attention of Willow and Gus, and some others in the distance.
The Rider flipped a few times in the air before landing on the ground without any harm. Witch then snapped the fingers of her right hand as the top of the vine pillar blossomed into a giant flower that acted as an umbrella for the entire estate, blocking the boiling rain from touching anything within its cover. After looking over her work, Witch nodded, sighed, and let her herself fall backwards onto the dirt and grass. Now that the danger had passed, Luz's armor disengaged, returning her to her normal state, and exhausted.
"That…was intense," said Luz.
"LUZ!" Willow and Gus called out as they exited the mansion.
Both of her friends skidded to a halt and dropped to their hands and knees on either side of her, with expressions of worry plastered on their faces.
"Are you alright?!" Gus asked.
"I'm fine, exhausted, but fine. How are you two?" Luz asked.
"We're fine, a bit scared, but that's past," said Willow.
Luz carefully propped herself up on her elbows and asked, "What about the other girls? Are they doing alright, too? I portaled Viney and Emira into the livingroom to stop Dracula from getting them. By the way, it was Reven Darwick, he turned into a Phantom and managed to merge with it because of how evil he was."
"I did see them on the way down, but we kind of ran past them to check on you first," Willow confessed.
Gus on the other hand gasped at the revelation. "You mean the infamous Reven Darwick was the culprit, and I was right?! And he was a Phantom?! How?!"
Willow decided to explain. "According to Luz, some people can turn into Phantoms and still retain everything about who they are, instead of the Phantom just imitating them. The only catch is that they have to be as evil as the monster inside them."
Gus' ears noticeably fell a little. "Oh…so there was no chance that Zera…?"
Luz reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Gus, but after that night, Zera was gone. That Phantom was just wearing her body as a disguise."
"But you managed to stay you, did you merge with the Phantom?" Gus asked.
"I kind of used my boundless positivity and imprisoned it inside me and that's how I use my new magic, I essentially made it into a magic battery," Luz explained.
Gus ran his hands through his hair as he tried to process all of this information. "Wow, this is wild, and a lot to take in."
"Tell us about it," Luz and Willow stated at the same time.
The trio had a small laugh, but it was cut short when Willow noticed some lights in the distance. Luz quickly dismissed the Driver and covered the buckle, she then put the rings away and let Willow and Gus help her up. It was a team of the Emperor's Coven witches led by Lilith Clawthorne, but she wasn't alone. Landing next to her was Eda, once she spotted Luz she bolted from her sister's side and hurriedly checked Luz over.
"Kid are you alright?! Are you hurt?!" Eda asked.
"I-I'm fine, Eda, I promise! Just a little tired from all the running around we had to do in there. Oh, right, the girls from the ward are all inside, Kamen Rider Witch destroyed the Phantom that kidnapped them," said Luz to Lilith.
Lilith regarded the human for a moment before nodding. "Alright, everyone, search the premises! Civilians take priority, render aid immediately and call the Healing Coven to bring some of their order here! I want this entire area sealed off and any potential evidence bagged and tagged!"
"YES, MA'AM!"
Back in the caverns underground, the Phantom generals were assembled, Set appeared in his usual fashion and bowed to Tiamat ready to report.
"So, I assume your presence here is an indication that something has occurred?" Tiamat asked.
"Yes, Lady Tiamat, I report that Dracula, a.k.a Reven Darwick, has been defeated by Witch," said Set.
Ifrit chuckled. "Ha, good riddance, if he couldn't get with the program then he doesn't deserve to be in our ranks."
"I wouldn't disparage our fallen so quickly, he was still useful. We might've managed to find a couple potential Gates among his victims," said Set.
Tiamat hummed in the darkness as her five sets of eyes blinked. "I see, keep them in our sights for the time being. But in the meantime, we have another target in mind. Isn't that so, Kitsune?"
Nine fireballs appeared in the air, which then coalesced and transformed into the construct of a large nine tailed fox. "Indeed, Lady Tiamat."