Chapter 42: Our First Battle Against an Important Boss
The assault on Castle Volkihar was ready to commence. The Dawnguard readied their vampire hunting gear, the Stormcloaks prepared their weapons, and the Companions were eager to tear some bloodsuckers apart.
"Alright, does everyone understand the plan?" Subaru asked his comrades.
"Yes!" Erik cheerfully said, before resigning his answer. "No. Maybe?"
Subaru gave a sigh and explained the plan again. "Okay, just to reiterate, Serana will go in first as a decoy to keep their attention on her until we're ready to storm the castle. Remember, all the Vampires will be concentrated in the front part of the Castle."
"So we're going through the back," Seiglinde assumed.
"There is no "back", besides the Port, which is blocked off from the castle at the Garden."
Siegmeyer nodded at what Serana said. "So, a frontal assault."
"Right. The Dawnguard will be the front lines. They're the most experienced with killing Vampires, so they'll be the main fighting force. Ralof and his Stormcloaks will be at the backlines. Their job is to make sure no Vampires get past us and escape."
J'zargo nodded at Subatu's assessment, before asking, "And what of special forces?"
"That would be us and the Companions. We're the wild cards. Aela and her Werewolf buddies will be the heavy hitters for the regular Vampires, while we deal with Harkon personally."
"Alright. So, we're ready to go?" Emilia asked.
"About so, yeah. We planned this to take place in the morning, so we'll have plenty of time before night," the nasty-eyed Undead explained.
"Then let us begin," Isran said, grimly.
Subaru, meanwhile, gave an evil smile. "Alright then, time to pull a Van Hellsing."
Subaru casted Al Shamak to the shore in front of the Castle, allowing everyone to walk through.
Oscar nodded at the sight. "Mm-hm. Still impressive."
Solaire looked over to the team's vampire. "Serana… be safe."
"Even J'zargo must admit this is an impressive display of magical might." J'zargo commented on the portal.
"Keep it down, they might hear us," Aela whispered.
"If they did not hear the portal, they will not hear us," J'zargo said, matter of factly.
Aela couldn't deny that. "Fair enough, I suppose."
"Alright, wish me luck," Serana said as she prepared to head back inside the castle and end this for good.
Sieglinde was more than happy to oblige. "Good luck."
"If anything happens, we'll go ahead and rush in to save you," Emilia said.
"Much appreciated." Serana smiled as she walked to the main entrance and make sure there was no look out.
Serana walks up to the doors of the castle, takes a deep breath, and walks in. Surprisingly, Harkon was nowhere to be seen, though that meant he was probably in his room.
"Princess Serana! We have been searching everywhere for you! Where have you been?!" Vinglamo, one of Harkon's advisors, walked up to her.
"Shopping," she said, sarcastically.
Vingalmo narrowed his eyes. "For weeks? Well, I suppose after being stuck in a tomb for centuries, you were eager to stretch your legs."
"Yeah, I was." There was no need for Serana to lie about that part.
"Regardless, your Father ordered for you to see him immediately once you returned."
Serana slowly nodded. "Alright, let's get this over with."
After being told where Harkon was currently, Serana knew she had to buy time for them to begin the assault. She walked to their old sanctuary for worshiping Molag Bal, where Harkon was standing in the middle of the room.
"So, you have returned, Daughter. May I ask where you have been?" Harkon asked.
"Like I told Vingalmo, I was out in town, strolling, shopping, enjoying my life. For the first time in centuries," Serana said, playing up the act of being a spoiled daughter.
Harkon's expression didn't change, which made it hard for Serana to read her father. "An... understandable answer. To be able to live without restrictions is something I also strive for our kind."
"Is that how you see it?" Serana asked.
Harkon's smile grew wider. "I see more than that, my Daughter."
"Oh, do you now?" the daughter asked, sarcastically.
"Indeed." The father, however, didn't fail to notice the tone. "I see that you have betrayed me and stole the Elder Scroll from me, like your Mother had done before."
"Really?" Serana let out a fake gasp. "What makes you think that?"
Harkon walked around his daughter, making Serana feel defensive. "Simple. When you left, you would have had no other reason to take the Scroll from my possession, other than to prevent me from fulfilling my destiny."
"And why would I do that?" Serana asked, just trying to buy time.
"That is exactly what I want to know. Why? Can't you see what I'm trying to do for our kind? The Sun will forever shackle us, prevent us from reaching our full potential, but right when the prophecy was in our grasp, you sabotaged us." Harkon immediately appeared in front of Serana in an instant, which startled her, his eyes glowing a menacing red. "So, Daughter, answer me. Why?"
"Do you not understand basic ecology?" the younger vampire asked, "If you destroy the sun, it will be the end of the whole world!"
Harkon instantly understood the meaning behind Serana's answer, or rather, his interpretation of it. "Ah, so that's it. Your Mother has tainted your mind. We are not destroying the sun, but transforming it to benefit us."
"To what? Dry out our food supply?" Serana took a step back and clenched her fists in frustration.
"To put us at our rightful spot on this world's hierarchy," the older vampire said. "We are above all other creatures, mortals, and Undead, and you deprive us of our birthright."
"And who says it's our birthright?"
Harkon did a double-take at that. "What?"
"Who said that we were at the top of the food chain? Why not the Elves? Why not the Giants? Heck, why not the Dragons? Why are we the dominant species?"
Harkon scoffed at that. "Oh, please. Elves are merely mortals with pointy ears, Giants are mere oafs with little intelligence, and the Dragons are nearing extinction thanks to Gwyn's efforts."
"Then what about Humans?"
"You can't be serious. Humans are our food. They exist for no other reason than to submit to us."
"Then why do they outnumber us?" Serana asked.
"For the same reason I want to fulfill the Prophecy! The Sun will forever shackle us until we can break free! The Tyranny of the Sun will put us back at the top of the world order! Can't you see what I'm trying to do for us?!"
"Put us back? Since when were we at the top of the world to begin with?"
Harkon's expression turned almost sorrowful, as if he would regret what he was about to do. "I see... There is no convincing you. My own Daughter has turned against me, unable to see what I am trying to achieve…"
"Or maybe you're just batshit insane," Serana jabbed.
Suddenly, Harkon grabbed Serana by the throat and slammed her against the wall at insane speeds. "I will only ask this once. Where is the Scroll?"
Serana glared at her father. "Somewhere you'll never find it."
Harkon snarled in response. "Oh, you will talk. I shall have Davos break you until-"
BOOM! BOOM!
Serana let out a small chuckle. "Heh. Looks like it's time."
"What have you done?!" Harkon growled.
"The right thing, for once."
In the main lobby, the Dawnguard were pouring in, killing any Vampire they could.
"FIGHT, BROTHERS!" Oscar cried. "FIIIIIGHT!"
"DON'T LET A SINGLE ONE ESCAPE!" Irsan commanded.
"Yeah, yeah, we know the drill!" Patches grouched.
"I don't see Serana anywhere!" Emilia said, looking around the halls.
"Go to her old man's big room!" Subaru shouted.
"Go! Kill Harkon! End this!" Isran yelled.
Subaru gave the old man a salute. "Will do!"
The Party ran towards the Sanctuary to see Harkon choking Serana against a wall.
"No! LIGHTNING SPEAR!" Solaire shouted.
Harkon moved out of the way, which forced him to release Serana.
"WHO DARES?!" Harkon roared.
"We do, monster," Siegmeyer said, pointing his sword at said monster.
"So, how do you want to die?" Subaru pulled out a flaming sword with his right hand, and Minya crystals with his left. "Blade or spell? You get to choose."
"I vote we stab him," Patches said. "Real good."
"Death by fire is also good," J'zargo suggested, summoning fireballs in his paws.
"You're all fools," Harkon hissed. "Delicious fools."
"We're not on the menu, discount Undead," the amethyst-eyed woman said.
"And what makes you say that?"
Solaire pulls out Auriel's Bow and pulls a Sunhallow Arrow back. "Because of this."
Solaire loosened an arrow from the bow, which exploded in a burst of sunlight when it hit Harkon The Vampire King screeching in pain from the burst of energy.
"Suck it, off-brand Dracula!" the Great Sage laughed.
The older Vampire hissed in anger, lunging at the group, while Solaire fired his arrows.
"Emilia, Oscar, Aela, you're with me! Seigmeyer, Seiglinde, protect the others!"
Sieglinde nodded at Subaru's orders. "We're right on it!"
Harkon growled in anger and assumed his Vampire Lord form, and roared in fury.
"Bleugh!" Subaru gagged at that. "Ever heard of mouthwash?!"
"ENOUGH!" Harkon had enough of these jokes. YOU WILL ALL DIE HERE AND THE TYRANNY OF THE SUN WILL BE COMPLETE!"
Serana screamed out as she took on her own Vampire Lord form.
"NO! Your ambitions end here, Father! I'm not afraid of you anymore!"
"THEN YOU WILL… DIEEEEE!" Harkon roared in fury as he and Serana rush towards each other and collide in the in middle of the sanctuary.
Subaru and Emilia both launched their respective fire attacks as Harkon turned into a swarm of bats to avoid the attacks. Erik proceeded to use his El Humas, launching the ice spikes towards the bats. Harkon reformed and attempted to attack Erik, but Aela in her Werewolf form slammed into him and began to claw and slash him. The monstrous Vampire threw Aela off, only to remain pinned down by Sieglinde's expert use of Earth Magic. And J'zargo…
…J'zargo prepared to fire off an Ul Goa spell at the Vampire.
"As J'zargo said, death by fire."
The cat-like demi-human launched his waves of fire at the still-trapped monster, which howled in pain. Harkon dispersed into Bats again, and floated to the center of the Sanctuary, reforming himself and creating a forcefield around his body.
"Okaaay… I'm open to suggestions," Subaru said.
Serana turned to the Sun Knight. "Solaire! The Bow!"
"Understood, Serana!" the sun-loving knight said. The bucket-helmeted Undead fired off another arrow towards Harkon, which began destroying the barrier.
"Solaire, keep going!" Emilia shouted.
"Let's make it certain while we're at it! Triple fire attack!"
"Mm!" Emilia nodded at Subaru's suggestion. "AL GOA!"
"INCINERATE!" J'zargo shouted.
"GREAT CHAOS FIRE ORB!" Subaru roared.
As the three prepared to launch their fire attacks, Solaire pulled back one last arrow.
"FEEL HEAVEN'S WRATH!" With one last cry, Solaire fired another arrow of light, hitting the Vampire. The arrow, combined with the three powerful fire attacks, overwhelmed Harkon. Even his Vampire Lord form couldn't handle that much raw fire power.
"Eeeaaauuuggghhh…" The Vampire fell down onto the floor, where he remained, twitching. Harkon's body was so burnt he couldn't even speak. Only grunt in pain.
"Alright… who wants to finish him?" Subaru asked.
Serana was about to speak up, but Solaire held his hand up.
"No. No child should have to put their parent down, no matter how evil they are."
Serana teared up at that. "Solaire…"
Surprisingly, though, Oscar raised his hand. "I'll do it."
Erik looked towards the knight. "You sure about this, Oscar?"
Oscar nodded his head. "I am. However, I shall make it quick. For Serana's sake."
"I… thank you."
Oscar took out his fire sword, and immediately severed Harkon's head from his body, killing him instantly.
"Welp…" Subaru clapped his hands. "Job's done."
Emilia elbowed the Chosen Undead in the side. "Subaru, be a bit more considerate."
"Should we check on the others?" Sieglinde asked.
"You all go ahead... there's something I have to do," Serana said.
"I'll stay with you," Solaire said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Serana nodded as she put her hand on Solaire's. "... Thank you."
Harkon's corpse began to disintegrate until only his skeleton was left. The only thing left was his sword, a katana. Serana went over and picked it up. The last living remnant of her true father. The man that used to love her with all his heart.
A tear fell onto the ground as the Vampire Princess mourned.
"Goodbye, Father…"
Author's Note: I'm not crying. Also, who else is smelling onions? Oh, those might have actually been from the Five Guys I just had. But yeah, I guess this chapter was sad, too.
(Hey, guys, so the Dawnguard arc is finally done with. About damn time. Sorry if the final battle wasn't as… well, as long as it would've been in game, but there are twelve strong people against Harkon this time instead of only two. So, we didn't think it would've lasted very long. Don't worry, we hope to give you guys a lot more awesome battles in the future, but it'll probably be a while.) Now, for the comments! Oh, joy!
5queso: Oh, you were absolutely right about that. The last chapter was definitely the build-up, and this chapter was the end result of that. I've never really delved deep into Warhammer, but to each their own, I guess. Hope you enjoy what comes next!
Kifhjoofff: Espero que te sientas reivindicado en este momento.
Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…
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Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian