(Chapter 9: The student becomes the master)
(Castle Ruthven)
The cold gripped the Carpathians this day with an iron grip, during the night, snow rained upon the mountain range unexpectedly. More convenient for Lord Ruthven and his unholy caravan, and to make matters worse, all the werewolves that had been slain during the battle for Ostrokov had been resurrected!
The thick layers of snow and ice blocked off any paths leading to Castle Ruthven, a castle that had been strategically built in between two mountains. It was first constructed in the years following Lord Ruthven's banishment from the Knights of the Holy Order due to him starting up an unholy cult behind the Vatican's back.
Lord Ruthven recognized his castle thanks to the outline, for it had been engulfed by vegetation due to years of neglect. This was the first time in centuries that he was stepping foot into his old domain.
The vampire overlord turned around and looked up at the road that had been carved into the side of the mountain, the same road that served the way out and into his property. The road went from a small village within Transylvania that served as Lord Ruthven's hideout when he was laying low following his first defeat at the hands of Van Helsing, this defeat coming before his campaign to resurrect the Empress Thalaba.
He bared his fangs and nodded his head towards Birsha to get his attention before pointing towards what appeared to be a column of rock, this pillar of sediment was at one point a statue of Lord Ruthven himself, but years of erosion made it nigh unrecognizable.
"They'll be following us, do not let them in…" Lord Ruthven commanded to the golem which he built from the bottom up. Birsha growled and stepped towards the pillar, grabbing it with both of his massive hands before jerking them upwards.
The pillar burst from the bridge that they were crossing over with a thunderous boom that echoed across the Carpathians. Birsha stood at attention, holding the pillar in his arms in the bridal carry, waiting for his vampire superior to give him the next command.
Lord Ruthven pointed towards the top of the mountain that they had just crossed under and gave Birsha a thumbs down. The golem understood and turned around, baring his teeth before lobbing the pillar towards the top of the mountain with every ounce of his prodigious strength like some sort of tree-trunk sized javelin!
The pillar smashed into the top of the mountain with an explosive impact that also bounced around the mountain range like a clap of thunder that echoed across the sky. The caravan watched in stunned silence for what seemed like hours, the bridge beneath their feet began to rumble and a massive cloud of snow, ice, and sediment began to tumble down the mountain where the pillar had smashed into.
The weight of all the frosty Earth smashing into the bridge caused it to buckle under the weight, centuries worth of mortar and brick falling several hundred feet to the foot of the Carpathians. A pleased smile and cocky laugh slipped from Lord Ruthven's lips before he turned around, making his way for the entryway of his old castle.
A large iron gate that had been eaten by rust shifted, large slivers of red and brown fluttered to the snow-covered stone brick ground. A few seconds of silence went by before the gate began to squeak tremendously as it started to rise into the air, two ghoulish gaunt individuals that were clad in robes stood next to two pillars, one to the left and one to the right, having switched levers that allowed the gate to rise.
"Welcome home, my lord…" One of the gaunt men acknowledged, bowing his head as Lord Ruthven strolled into the entryway with the rest of his caravan behind him.
"Your presence has been greatly missed…" Lord Ruthven spoke softly as he approached a gigantic set of double doors that were twenty feet in height.
With a push of his hands on both doors, they creaked open at a snail's pace, but when the doors met the wall, a massive chamber stood before them. The interior of the chamber had been torn all to hell since it had been last used. A large stone archway was against the wall, covered by dust and cobwebs. The ceiling was in the process of collapsing, a large chunk of it having already fallen to the floor, covered in dry rot, most of it having already wasted away over the course of time. Large hooks hung from the ruined ceiling near the archway. Miniature channels connected to a large, emptied pool in the center of the chamber where an archaic pagan symbol had been scrawled at the bottom of it.
"Now…we can begin." Lord Ruthven said, a smirk creeping on the corners of his lips.
(Ostrokov town limits)
"Van Helsing?" Aidan asked as he stood behind the monster-killer who stood at the top of the hill, watching over the ruins of Ostrokov. A few of the townsfolk that managed to flee the carnage were returning to see their home in complete shambles. The heart of the left hand of God sank, his expression darkening.
"Yes?" Gabriel inquired, giving his head a slight turn to look over his shoulder, but not all the way.
"They've made it, we're running out of time." Aidan announced solemnly.
"There is still hope—" Van Helsing began before turning around, heading up the hill to wake the rest of the gang up.
Dracula had transformed into his hellbeast state, curling his massive wings around his brides to keep them warm during the night, and as a safety measure since all of them were out in the open. Aleera and Verona remained in their humanoid states, but Marishka had morphed into her bat form to curl her wings around Carl, who slept in her embrace.
"I want you to make a portal to wherever they're located, if you can't find a way inside, find a spot from where we can make our way into their location without being detected. While you do that, I'll wake the others up."
"That's the thing, Van Helsing." Aidan sighed. "I'm running out of energy to—"
"Aidan, with all due respect…this is not a time to be a coward." Gabriel spoke, his voice of a deathly seriousness.
"I'm not being a coward…" The warlock groaned. "It's just that we've been on the road, all over Romania…I have opened portal after portal, and now it's starting to get the better of me."
"Well…do you have enough for at least two more?"
"I can try." Aidan said with a sigh. "That's the only thing I can do."
"I'll wake the others, go ahead and do your magic…literally…"
The monster-hunter moved up the hill towards the vampire allies and the monk, Aidan took a deep breath and began to motion his arms in a circle while closing his eyes. By doing some breathwork, he felt his body begin to vibrate with untold vigor. He detected the negative auras of Lord Ruthven and co.'s vibrational energy, and when he opened his eyes again, the warlock found himself standing within the gigantic chamber at Castle Ruthven.
Aidan's eyes popped open with shock, and his jaw hung in amazement as he watched several werewolf minions hooking towering barrels of blood on the hooks that swung over the archway. Lord Ruthven himself was standing in the dried-up pool, holding the Blood Whistle in his right hand.
The eyes of the warlock darted around the chamber, frantically searching for any entryways that Van Helsing and team could use to enter and thwart the vampire overlord's efforts at resurrecting the ruthless Empress Thalaba. When Aidan looked up, he noticed a large wooden beam dangling from the ceiling, threatening to give way if enough pressure was put on it. The beam was angled in such a way that at least two people could stand on it, perfect for a stealthy attack.
Aidan then discovered large holes in the stone walls of the chamber, he approached the wall and phased through it with his ethereal body, noticing that some of the walls had collapsed due to centuries of misuse and abandonment. The walls had fallen in such a way that they served as balconies that some could stand on.
"Someone is here…" Lord Ruthven said, a look of disdain carved into his drop-dead handsome face. Clint sniffed the air trying to detect where this person could be located.
"They aren't physically here, but someone must have used the powers of astral projection to travel here…" The vampire overlord continued.
Shit Aidan thought as he jumped from the hole in the wall, plummeting to the ground. The warlock stretched his arms to his side and then motioned his arms and legs as if he was swimming in a pool, and he began to fly, locating a ridge close by that offered a decent look into the chamber.
The warlock hid behind a rock at the top of the ridge, waiting for a few seconds before glancing out of cover.
"I know you're out there…Aidan…you treacherous bastard…" Lord Ruthven snarled, standing on the edge of the hole in the wall that he felt Aidan's energy surge from.
When Aidan opened his eyes again, he found that a portal was ready at his front. The warlock looked over his shoulders to see that the rest of the alliance stood ready for another fight in under less than 24 hours, most of them looked amped up, but of course…Father Valentino had his reservations.
"We need to move…now." Aidan warned as he entered the portal, the rest of the alliance followed behind him with Van Helsing at his side.
(Castle Ruthven)
The alliance exited into a portal that opened into the unforgiving cold peaks of the mountains, Aidan motioned for them to take cover behind the rock that was situated at the top of the flat ridge that had been created several minutes prior.
"We need a plan, Van Helsing." Carl suggested, his face stricken with worry, as he took a quick peek over the rock to get a perfect view down the ridge to the castle.
"I'm with you in that regard—" Gabriel began, his brow furrowing as he looked over the rock, he could get faint glimpses of what was happening within the castle via the rather large hole in the side of it. "Alright. We have one goal now, get the Blood Whistle." The monster-killer continued.
"What's wrong with killing Lord Ruthven?" Father Valentino questioned interrogatively, raising a brow as he glanced up at Van Helsing, an untrustworthy scowl on his face.
"We'll get to him eventually, they're just one step away from resurrecting Thalaba at this point. Taking the Blood Whistle is the top priority. When he inevitably comes to get it back, that'swhen we strike him down." Gabriel answered, the priest sighed and shrugged his shoulders with a whatever look on his face.
"Aidan, you're going to make me and Father Valentino a portal inside the castle, make sure it's a good vantage point for the both of us. Dracula, you and your wives will make an entry when it's your cue to attack. You'll know it when you hear it…"
"What about Lord Ruthven and his right-hand men?" Aidan asked, crossing his arms, a gentle but frigid breeze blowing through his snow-white dyed hair.
"Birsha the golem can be weakened by anything of a liquid material, Clint is a werewolf and can be damaged by silver. Lord Ruthven has proven to be weaker than Dracula when in his true form…so I say that we stand a good chance at seizing the day. When the Blood Whistle is retrieved, I shall hand it to you Aidan, and you'll lay low at Vaseria for a day. After a day, we'll all meet up and discuss further matters."
"We're taking the Blood Whistle back to the Vatican, where it belongs in the archive." Father Valentino announced.
"I don't think so, I plan on burying it."
"Yeah…bury it…because when one dumb adolescent boy or girl finds it in the future, they'll become infatuated with it and use it for their own nefarious purposes…are you insane?" Father Valentino scoffed towards Van Helsing's refusal to let him have a say in their plans.
"Gabrielle, if we send it back to the Archive, Lord Ruthven will go right back to it and take it again. We need to bury it somewhere in Europe or Romania, so he'll never find it even if he tried his hardest to." Van Helsing bit back.
"And he'll just destroy Romania or whatever until he finds it again, with countless of lives dead in the process. The death toll will be higher than the Black Death…"
"Listen, Gabrielle…we're not sending it back to the Vatican, and there'll be no more arguing." Van Helsing put his foot down, but the priest had more to say.
"Looks like Operation Annihilation is a go, let's do i—" Before the priest could finish, a deafening cry was let loose from the castle far below them, eight-hundred meters in the distance. This terrible shriek echoed across the mountain range, forcing everyone in the alliance to cover their ears. The sound was so loud that it let off a shockwave, blowing their clothing and pinning their lungs against their ribs. Had this unholy symphony of doom been a single octave higher, it would have more than likely ruptured their ears…
When the sound finally faded away, Van Helsing looked towards his alliance and nodded towards Aidan, his eyes wide, his mouth agape. The monster-hunter appeared frantic for the first time in forever.
"He's blown the whistle; we need to move this instant!" Gabriel cried, Aidan went right to work, creating a portal which Van Helsing, himself, and Father Valentino entered. As Carl went to enter, the portal sadly closed as the vampires started to take off with Dracula leading the way in his hellbeast form, flying towards the castle followed behind by Aleera and Verona.
"Wait!" The friar called out, waving his arms as Dracula and two out of three of his brides got further and further away from the ridge. "Are you just going to leave….me?"
While enjoying his adventures with the men (and women), at this point so far, Carl would have liked a little while longer to rest between battles and if they were going to abandon him at this ridge, that may just be granted!
He looked down and noticed a winding rocky path that indirectly led to the bridge halfway down the slope that went down into the Transylvanian countryside. He could get away and head right back to Ostrokov, even though it would be an unpleasant sight, he could still find refuge in taking nap after nap.
"You know what? This is fine!" Carl chirped as he began to make his way for the rocky path, his excitement increasing as he finally thought he was going to catch a breather. "This is fi—"
"Oh I don't think so!" Marishka cried out playfully, her talon-feet snatching the wrists of the friar as she clapped her wings together, pulling Carl from the ridge and flying over the massive area leading to the castle.
"Ho-holy shiiit!" Carl screamed in terror, his legs kicking in a paranoid frenzy. His heart a jackhammer in his chest, despite the leathery grip of Marishka's talons around his wrists keeping him steady in the air, his stomach dropped as if he was riding a roller coaster.
From within the castle, Lord Ruthven was standing in the middle of the pool. Watching as the large barrels of blood tipped over, crimson fluids spilling into the man-made canals and channels that flowed directly to him. He felt the red liquid staining his boots, getting inside of him and dampening his socks, watching with sadistic glee as the blood swelled up his calves and eventually his knees. He glanced up, a red mist began to surround the archway as pagan symbols etched into the stone began to glow a bright red just like car-lights…
The air felt heavy, and a faint buzzing sound was heard thrumming in his ears, the werewolf minions received the audio twice as much, evident by the looks of discomfort on their faces as they had yet to transform. The vampiric overlord noticed faint balls of light starting to swirl and dance around each other in the space under the archway…
"Yes…" Lord Ruthven snickered as he looked down at the Blood Whistle, which was quaking in his hand. The blood that was pooling around him had risen to his waist where it finally stopped, he enjoyed the feeling of the warm and wet fluid encircling him, soaking his clothes and parts of his shirt and the bottom half of his cape and robe. He felt his skin beneath his clothes soaking up the life force, seeping into every pore that it touched.
He brought the ancient device to his lips, watching as the balls of light within the archway began to expand and ripple in the air. Faint outlines of a ziggurat discretely noticeable within the ripples. All it would take is a second blow into the Blood Whistle and the portal would open to the Ancient Mesopotamian pocket dimension where the Empress Thalaba had been trapped in by the Knights of the Holy Order untold years ago.
Lord Ruthven took a deep breath, and then…
SHPLAT! A hook pierced through the back of his hand unexpectedly. The pain surged through his entire right arm, his left hand clutching the gaping hole in the right as Lord Ruthven howled in pain. Leaning over, when he looked up, he would be staring into the snowy slick bottom of a boot.
Gabriel watched as the Blood Whistle went skidding across the floor of the chamber, and when he went to reach for it, Lord Ruthven's arms clasped around his body in a tight embrace, driving him across the blood pool into the stone wall.
A werewolf minion picked the device up, and finished the deed, blowing into it. The loud, eardrum-bursting shriek echoed around the chamber again. The blood in the channels and pool rippled and generated miniature waves as they traveled to the archway, feeding it.
Father Valentino emerged from the shadows, unloading two silver bullets into the small of the minion's back, but at that point it was too late! The werewolf collapsed into the bloody pool as everyone watched the archway now.
The ripples burst with a great light, and when the light faded, a sunny Ancient Mesopotamian day was visible in the portal. Not a cloud in the sky, massive ziggurat nestled in an arid desert.
"Clint, get to the temple, bring her back, NOW!" Lord Ruthven cried, his trusty werewolf nodded his head and made a mad dash for the portal while in his human form, but two winged women swooped in from behind. One of them with long dark hair, and the other with orange hair, the dark-haired one snagged his left wrist while the orange-haired one snatched his right.
Together, Verona and Aleera hoisted Clint up and launched him into the archway, making sure he connected with the supporting beam that held it up on the side. The impact let loose some dust, and the portal faltered, the vision of the ziggurat "glitching" out much to Lord Ruthven's dismay. Seconds later, the entire archway crumbled with dust taking its place as all the bricks fell into a massive heap, the portal falling apart and crushing Clint in the process!
"NO!" Lord Ruthven cried before receiving a fist to his temple, knocking him into a wall of the pool. Gabriel was quick to brandish one of his Tojo blades, activating it before slicing it down towards the back of the vampire's neck, unfortunately, his nemesis was swift and connected with a backhand that sent the monster-killer flying back out of the pool.
"I…have had enough of you…" Lord Ruthven hissed through his teeth, approaching Van Helsing as he underwent his transformation into his hellbeast form. The monster-killer defiantly pulled out a Tojo blade and readied it, but right when the beast lunged at him, Dracula smashed in from the side, and once more it was hellbeast against hellbeast.
Father Valentino emerged from a hole in the wall, unloading round after round towards the werewolf minions that had fallen into a frenzy trying to retrieve and attack the alliance. Their large furry bodies dropping as each silver bullet punched through their hide.
"Valentino!" Van Helsing called out, motioning for the priest to throw him one of his revolvers. The priest —while reluctant— did as such and the monster-hunter snagged the firearm from the air before spinning around to blast a beast in the face, downing it instantly.
The priest and the monster-killer shot at the werewolves, advancing towards each other until they stood back-to-back, reloading with ammunition that had been provided to them by Aidan. Werewolf after werewolf fell at their feet. Finally, it seemed like they were putting their differences aside!
A wall burst in the distance, and in marched the towering golem. Van Helsing's eyes narrowed, and Father Valentino took aim at the menace in the distance. This hesitation allowed a werewolf to charge upon them from behind, slamming its massive hairy arms into their backs, smashing them into the floor with authority.
Father Valentino looked over to see that Gabriel had rolled onto his back, the werewolf began to descend upon them, strands of saliva falling from its gaping maw. To their luck, Aleera was there to intercept the beast, her talons slamming into its massive head and slamming it into the mat as she drove it to the ground.
During this moment of hesitation, the priest done the unthinkable.
Father Valentino had brought along more than one tracking device due to how severe he thought the trip would be. He had heard about the lengthy journey and tales from Van Helsing's campaign against Dracula in the years prior, the case against Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and all the others.
Despite how much of a threat Vladislaus Dracula posed to the Church, and even the world if he got what he wanted. The count stood nowhere near the threat levels of Empress Thalaba, a being so powerful that the Church couldn't kill her and was forced to imprison her which was a monumental task in its own right; and Mephistopheles, another being that actually defeated the Knights of the Holy Order which forced the rest of the Church to step in, and just like Thalaba, seal him away into a pocket dimension.
If Lord Ruthven was gunning to get the unholy empress resurrected, the stakes would arguably be the highest that the Vatican City and the entirety of the Church had seen in time untold. His unwavering loyalty and promise to defend the Church and the secrets of the Vatican Archives brought him to 'overprepare' as he put it, but for 'righteous' reasons.
Seeing Gabriel get beaten down and nearly killed at Vaseria during their first confrontation with Lord Ruthven outside of the Vatican Raid, had lowered the priest's confidence, and to make matters worse, the supposed 'left hand of God' had resurrected a disciple of Satan by indirectly using dark magic —an abomination against God— to receive help.
The proverbial line in the sand was crossed when Van Helsing revealed that the Blood Whistle wouldn't be returned to the Vatican Archive. Who does the monster-killer think he is!? Does that crazy bastard think he's seriously got more power than the Church!?
In the eyes of Father Gabrielle Valentino, Gabriel Van Helsing had now flown too close to the sun, and was in it for himself…it was no longer God's plan, but Van Helsing's…
This wouldn't do.
Without a slight hint of regret, the priest rolled over and jammed the tracking device into Van Helsing's ear as hard as he could while he was distracted by another attacking werewolf. To cover his ass, Father Valentino whipped around and fired at a ghoulish minion that was hurriedly approaching them with a halberd, to make Gabriel think that he just got saved by him instead of getting 'righteously' betrayed.
With the betrayal going unknown, the two men clambered to their feet and split up, Father Valentino continuing to fire upon any werewolves that got close while Van Helsing snagged the Blood Whistle from the ground and began to run around with it, playing keep away from Lord Ruthven and his cronies.
Seeing who was in possession of the powerful device, Lord Ruthven reached out towards the monster-hunter with his massive, clawed hands, but was grabbed by the legs by Dracula from behind and launched into four werewolf minions like a game of monster bowling. Hellbeast Ruthven being the ball, and the werewolves being the pins!
Birsha stomped his way towards Father Valentino, looking to swat his gigantic hand across the head of the priest, but Verona smashed into his head from behind, making the towering humanoid stumble forward with footsteps that shook the entire room.
When Verona came in from behind, she wanted to keep up the attack, but from out of nowhere, a transformed Clint Shadows would have other ideas as he tackled her from out of their air! Their larger bodies slammed into the dirty floor and began to wrestle for control.
Verona's sisters looked to keep their foot on the gas pedal, Aleera slammed into Birsha from the front, driving her clawed hands and talons into his face. The golem tried to tear her away, but the red-headed vampire was relentless and continued her assault, driving him further and further back.
When Birsha took a massive step back, he cleared enough space between him and her to snatch her entire head into his hand and bring her down with a single-armed slam.
Birhsa wouldn't stop there, no, he brought his column-like leg up and went to stomp his massive foot down on Aleera's body. The entire room shook when his foot connected with…the ground!
A yellow and gray blur had shot under Birsha, and in the nick of time, Marishka had come to her youngest sister's aid. Infuriated, Birsha let out a bone-chilling howl that would be cut short by a silver bullet to his rock-hard face.
"Forgetting someone!?" The priest inquired as he unloaded a few more rounds upon the golem, the silver bullets doing no damage at all to his menacing foe. Birsha kept his glistening emerald-colored eyes locked on Father Valentino as he grabbed a pillar leaning against a wall, baring his teeth as he prepared to lob it towards his smaller target.
"What are you doing, priest!?" A voice screamed from the side, and everything went black in Father Valentino's vision a second later. When his vision returned, he noticed the pillar smashing into the spot where he once stood, now he found himself several feet behind the golem rather than at his front.
"What the?" The priest asked before turning to see Aidan at his side. "You keep your filthy devil magic away from me!"
"Suit yourself!" The warlock cried as he took his silver sword and threw it at something behind the priest which turned out to be a werewolf.
"Aidan!" Van Helsing called out from afar, catching the warlock's attention before throwing him the Blood Whistle. "Take it to Vaseria and hide it until further notice!"
"Will do!" Aidan replied aloud after catching the ancient device from the air with one hand, stepping through a portal, quickly closing it before any of Lord Ruthven's minions could follow him.
After overseeing the battle, Friar Carl thought it was now a good time to emerge from cover now that several of Lord Ruthven's werewolf minions had been slain. The numbers of the unholy vampiric overlord were starting to dwindle, and they were becoming more desperate and frantic in their attacks.
Letting loose what he considered to be a battle cry, Friar Carl rushed from cover and unloaded silver stake after silver stake from the automatic gas-powered crossbow; his 'battle cry' overcome with terror and came out as a shaky yell rather than anything else.
Birsha turned around to see Aleera and Verona right on top of him, and he was too late to react as their talons snagged his left and right arms, Verona to the right, and Aleera to the left. The golem tried to keep his footing but lost it and fell into the bloody pool, large amounts of crimson fluid splashing around the room!
"Feeling hungry, Aleera!?" Verona asked viciously, her dark blue eyes gleaming.
"As always, sister!" The red-headed vampire shrieked before the two of them began to tear into the softened flesh of their mighty enemy.
Upon seeing this, a grin came to Friar Carl's face as he took aim at the weakened golem with his automatic crossbow invention. "Make way!" He called out as he watched Verona and Aleera taking chunk after chunk out of the once thought to be indestructible foe.
The two sisters cleared a path out of the way of the silver stakes, and Carl began to unload upon Birsha, the silver stakes piercing into his softened flesh, which Aleera and Verona removed from his body, pulling massive hunks of clay out.
When Carl aimed for the head, Lord Ruthven dropped in from out of nowhere, back in his human form, slamming his powerful arm onto the weapon as it fired, half of the silver stake emerging from the barrel. The friar gasped as a solid kick to the balls was dealt to him, dropping him to his back as he grasped his gonads, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
Lord Ruthven grabbed the stake that was halfway out and looked over his shoulder to see Marishka about to dive bomb the vulnerable Birsha. Timing it correctly, the vampire overlord launched it towards Marishka and the stake pierced her wing. The blonde let out a shrilling cry of pain and stalled in the air, allowing Lord Ruthven to fire another silver stake which pierced through her body…
With a weak groan, Marishka was sent spiraling out of the hole in the wall, plummeting several hundred feet towards the ground.
"NO!" Carl screamed at the top of his lungs, darting past Lord Ruthven and standing on the precipice looking over the frosty wasteland hundreds of meters below him, squinting his eyes, the friar could barely make out the silhouette of Marishka as it passed through the fog.
You can join her…Lord Ruthven thought to himself as he aimed down the crossbow's sight, but right as his finger hovered over the trigger, he felt a sharp pain pierce into his back and then a massive weight slam against him!
Carl looked back, his heart pounding inside his chest, threatening to punch through his chest cavity as he watched Van Helsing grabbed a nearby silver stake that had been fired already, stabbing it into Lord Ruthven's ribs!
Carl then looked back into the sheer drop and shrugged his shoulders. "Fuck it…"
A scream of bravery and defiance immediately morphed into terrified yowling. The arms and legs of the friar flailed wildly as he went into a freefall, feeling the powerful current of wind pounding against his monk robes! "What the hell was I thinkiiiiing!?"
Back inside of the castle, Van Helsing removed the silver stake and went for the killing blow by stabbing it through the heart of Lord Ruthven just to be met by a wicked backhand that knocked him and his hat away.
The monster-killer stumbled but regained his footing, taking out one of his Tojo blades, his brow knitted with rage, his eyes narrowing with disdain for this ancient enemy.
"You've failed, Ruthven, just like you did in the past…" Gabriel warned, firing up his circular blade which whirred to life as Lord Ruthven dug into his pocket to pull out his ornate dagger.
"I haven't failed yet, Gabriel…you're just in my way…"
Lord Ruthven was the aggressor first, charging forward and trying for a downward stab at Van Helsing's head, but the monster-hunter blocked with his Tojo blade, sparks flew with a loud SHASH! Their respective strength canceling each other out and knocking the two away momentarily.
Van Helsing took a large step forward to close the distance, slashing downwards at a diagonal angle to carve into Lord Ruthven's chest, but his arm was deflected, and the sharper-than-scalpel blade of the dagger ripped a diagonal line through Van Helsing's coat and undershirt, creating a long bloody streak across his chest!
The monster-hunter bared his teeth and growled in pain, allowing his enemy time to kick him in the thigh and knock him back a few steps. Gabriel brushed his hand across the wound and examined his freshly spilt blood.
Rage overcame him, and Van Helsing charged forward with a scream, trying to cut Lord Ruthven's head off with the Tojo blade. However, all the vampire had to do was step to the side and land a kick to the back of Gabriel's leg to knock him down to a knee before slicing another diagonal wound into the back of the monster-hunter. Another scream, and another attempt to take life from Lord Ruthven as he went to stab his dagger into the kidney of the left hand of God!
Van Helsing glanced over his shoulder to see his enemy falling upon him, dodging away from the blade which pierced into the stone wall behind them. With a frustrated hiss, Lord Ruthven began his efforts at trying to rip his signature weapon from the wall, and Van Helsing used this to his advantage to land a big straight punch that knocked his vampire foe away.
"You only delay the inevitable, Gabriel. All you're doing now is wasting your time!"
The two rivals charged each other and collided once again.
Back outside, Carl was turning cartwheels and somersaults in mid-air as he fell freely. His legs and arms continuing to wildly flail and strike the air surrounding him. The ginger-haired monk hadn't stopped yelling from terror ever since he willingly chose to dive after his beloved Marishka.
Finally gaining the courage to try and course-correct himself, twisting his body over so that he was facing the ground which was still far below him, now he could see Marishka, still in her bat form, spiraling out of control towards the rocky ground around two-hundred meters below them now.
"Marishka!" Carl called out, gaining her attention as he flattened his body out. Putting his legs together and pinning his arms to his sides to become a human torpedo. He felt the wind encircling him as he gathered speed, closing in on the blonde.
Reaching out, her talons snagged his hands and pulled him close. Her wings enveloped him in a cold but affectionate embrace.
"What are you doing!?" Marishka questioned, looking at the monk like he was crazy!
"Saving your ass, that's what I'm doing!" Carl replied aloud, the howling of the wind all around them making their voices barely audible to each other despite being right next to each other.
"Can you fly!?" Marishka asked, hysterically.
"What!?" Carl screamed.
"I said: Can you fly!?" she asked again, louder this time.
"Wha—no…"
The two looked towards the ground, five hundred feet away from their deaths. The two looked at each other and screamed.
A portal was then seen opening on the ground, Marishka's eyes narrowed and she tilted her head with confusion as Carl continued to scream his head off. To her delight, Aidan was there, ready to open a portal for the two of them to fall into and land safely into a nearby location away from harm.
Unfortunately, a large blur shot into Aidan and slammed him against a rock. The warlock groaned as his squinted eyes opened to see the hellbeast form of Lord Ruthven having snatched him by the throat…
Aidan tried to pry off the muscular arms of the demonic bat that stood before him, but he just couldn't contend with the power of his former superior.
"Traitor…" Hellbeast Ruthven growled as he raised his other arm up, preparing to slice the warlock to bits with his claws.
Van Helsing, get the crossbow ready. I'm going to teleport myself and Lord Ruthven back inside the castle Aidan said, speaking into the consciousness of the monster-killer as he strained against this beast.
Van Helsing stood in place, picking up the automatic crossbow. His eyes scanning around the room, looking for any sign of Aidan and Lord Ruthven. His finger trigger happy as it twitched and curled near the trigger of the weapon.
Then they appeared in the distance just on the edge of the gaping hole in the wall, the monster-hunter took aim, and…
Gabriel dropped the weapon.
Clutching his head, groaning in agony as an intense throbbing overcame him. It was like his skull was in a vice grip, being squeezed from every side of it. Top and sides felt the worst pain, it was akin to a thunderclap headache, a persistent one too.
The pain was enough to bring the left hand of God to his knees, hands on either side of his head, clawing into his temples and pulling massive chunks of his long, layered hair to the sides.
Not only was there pain in his head, but he could also feel something else within. It felt like something was moving around, touching his brain as it moved. A mechanical whirr was heard as well, but when Van Helsing frantically looked around for the source, there was no one to be seen. The only things he could see was the action that was unfolding all around him.
Back outside, Carl and Marishka continued to fall. Just seconds away from smashing into the ground, they both braced for impact.
Their bodies jolted…but they were still alive!
Loud beating of massive wings echoed around them, and when they both opened their eyes in unison, it was revealed that Dracula had swooped down to rescue the two of them.
"That was gutsy of you…" Dracula growled towards the friar, who sheepishly nodded his head as he flew back towards the castle chamber where the action was starting to dwindle, at this point it was just the heavy hitters of Lord Ruthven's army and the alliance fighting each other.
Placing his two friends down, Dracula noticed that his other two brides were fighting Lord Ruthven now that they had distracted him from mutilating Aidan, who was gasping for air, leaning against a rock. Aleera and Verona seemed to be keeping hellbeast Ruthven at bay by flying circles around them and using hit and run tactics, so Dracula set his sights on Birsha, who as approaching Father Valentino.
At the same time, while Van Helsing was distracted by pain, Clint leapt upon him. Bringing the monster-killer to the ground. The dark furry beast tried to clamp his jaws around the head of the left hand of God, but Gabriel bravely fought back by grasping the top jaw with his left hand and the bottom jaw with his right. He strained as he thrashed beneath the jet-black humanoid that was on top of him. Stands of saliva fell from Clint's maw and onto Van Helsing's face, prompting the monster-hunter to groan with disgust.
Clint gave up, rearing his head back before striking forward again. Van Helsing knew that there would be no stopping Clint unless he sacrificed a limb to defend himself, the teeth were coming towards his neck and Van Helsing screamed in pain when those teeth sank into his forearm. The tremendous bite force of werewolf-Clint nigh bone crushing.
"Van Helsing!" Father Valentino cried out as he rushed for Clint, grabbing him by his large foot, trying to pull him off. The beast growled furiously and cocked its free leg back before smashing its other foot into the priest's chest. His body slid under Birsha's legs, who turned around to try and grab him just to be met by Hellbeast Dracula, who slammed into him.
Dracula hoisted Birsha off the ground and flung him towards Clint, the heavier body of the golem struck against him with such a force that it knocked him out of his werewolf form, rendering him almost naked with just a piece of dark cloth covering up his cock and balls as he leaned against the wall.
Van Helsing clutched his bloody right forearm and rolled over, gritting his teeth in pain as he inched his body against the wall to support himself.
Dracula morphed back into his humanoid appearance, his wings folding into his dark clothing as he grinned. Slowly approaching Clint who had to give up everything in his power just to shove the seemingly unconscious golem off him before rising back to his feet.
"Looking a bit tired there, aren't you…" Dracula began, slowing down towards the end of his sentence, he didn't know the name of this dark werewolf, a look of confusion briefly appearing on his face.
"Clint." The enemy finished the count's sentence.
"Right…Clint." Dracula began. "Imagine…having all of the power you do, this large army of mongrels, that thing there next to you, and Lord Ruthven…and yet you still can't finish the job."
"Oh, I can finish it…we can finish it…" Clint gasped between breaths, motioning his arms towards Dracula and back to himself.
"You can re-join Lord Ruthven, your brides too. We can reminisce about the past, when you were just a student under the master's wing…" He continued, baring his teeth, his entire body wracked by pain from having Birsha bruising a few of his ribs.
There was a pause, Dracula glanced towards Van Helsing with a grin playing on the edges of his lips as if he was looking for some sort of approval before returning his cold gaze towards the vulnerable Clint Shadows.
"Some things are better left forgotten…" Dracula said before hissing, quickly transforming into his hellbeast form once again. Clint became a werewolf as well as his winged foe descended upon him, werewolf Clint was too weakened to fight back and was pinned against the wall as his demonic foe sank his fangs into his neck. Clint whimpered as he struggled to push Dracula off, but it was just no use.
In a matter of seconds, Clint's entire body went limp and hellbeast Dracula pulled away, licking some excess green blood off his lips.
Dracula turned towards Van Helsing, a laugh rumbling in the back of his throat as his hideous face sported a grin, nodding his head towards the monster-killer who returned a cheeky smile and a laugh as well.
"Nice one…that seemed familiar." Van Helsing acknowledged the execution method of Dracula, earning another rumbling laugh from the hellbeast.
Birsha was down, Clint was dead…again, and all the werewolves that remained in Lord Ruthven's army had been slain. Blood and gore littered the chamber of the castle from their fallen bodies, and now only Lord Ruthven himself was still standing, fighting against Aleera and Verona who were keeping up with his hellbeast form in their bat forms.
Aidan limped towards Van Helsing and revealed a silver bottle with a cross on the front of it, shaking it from side to side. Liquid sloshing around within.
"Finish it. You can do the honors."
Nodding his head, Van Helsing unscrewed the top of the bottle of Holy water. Dumping the contents into the barrel of the automatic crossbow that Aidan had also kicked to his feet.
Aiming down sights, Gabriel fired a silver stake coated with Holy water, using the exact same method to try and kill Lord Ruthven just as he done the same to Marishka during the Dracula campaign.
Right when Lord Ruthven had Aleera and Verona in his clutches, his hands on their necks, a projectile punched through his abdomen, forcing him to release the sisters as he gasped for air, collapsing to his knees.
His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as red-hot tears of frustration and despair oozed from his eyes, streaming down his cheeks as he fell forward, stopping himself from faceplanting into the ground by bracing one arm to support himself.
Van Helsing, Carl, Dracula, the Brides, and Aidan surrounded Lord Ruthven as he shifted back into his humanoid form. The deep gash on his stomach not regenerating unlike his other wounds, Holy water dripped from the massive visceral hole in the center of his torso as a weak gasp slipped from his lips.
"N-no…" Lord Ruthven hissed, his voice soft and weak as he crawled to the feet of Van Helsing. His hands traveled up the legs of the monster-hunter as he shakily lifted his head to stare at Gabriel in the eyes.
"Like I said, Ruthven…" Van Helsing began before nudging his knee against his enemy's face, knocking him to his back with a thud. "You've failed…"
Looking towards Aidan, Gabriel nodded his head with a triumphant smirk on his lips. The warlock returned the gesture.
"Aidan, get us out of here."