The six girls followed the saintly knight ahead of them.
They watched as Dracula—no, Gabriel Belmont—smiled brightly, a stark contrast to his usual gloomy demeanor. Holding the hands of a few lively children, he approached the grand gates of the cathedral.
"Well then, I'll be off. The Archbishop and the Pope await me with a new mission—or rather, spiritual guidance," Gabriel said, gently releasing the children's hands. "Now, run along home before your parents tan your little bottoms!"
"Gabriel-brother's saying weird things again!" one of the kids giggled, making a face before scampering off with the others.
"Rude little brats," Gabriel chuckled, shaking his head before stepping solemnly into the cathedral.
The six girls slipped in quietly behind him.
They saw Gabriel kneeling before a regal old man dressed in white papal robes and a crown. The man touched Gabriel's shoulder with his scepter as he spoke with solemn dignity.
"Gabriel Belmont—Child of Light, Pride of the Brotherhood, and Ace of the Holy Knights," the Pope intoned. "Do you accept this grave and arduous mission?"
With unwavering faith in his eyes, Gabriel lifted his head like a soldier ready to defend the last bastion of humanity. "Gabriel Belmont… accepts the mission."
"Very well, my child," the Pope smiled gently. "Go now. Prepare yourself. This journey will be long and arduous. Say your goodbyes to Mary."
"Yes, Your Holiness." Gabriel rose and departed.
The scenery shifted in an instant—time leapt forward to the next morning, and the location changed to the city gates.
There, the girls saw Gabriel again—his hand clasped tightly around that of a dark-haired girl. They leaned into each other, whispering softly.
Jeanne suddenly felt a burst of scorching heat beside her. Turning, she saw Kiyohime standing eerily still, fan concealing her mouth, eyes hollow with rage as she stared at the girl.
Pale dragon scales began to shimmer on her face.
"Stay calm, Kiyohime. Deep breaths," Jeanne whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Ah, Jeanne-dono, I am calm," Kiyohime replied in a hauntingly serene voice. "I'm just going to calmly… erase the trash who dares seduce our Master…"
Before Jeanne could finish soothing her, another surge of magical energy erupted behind her. Spinning around, she saw Elizabeth already charging up her Thunderous Roar.
"Oh? So Piggy has found himself a sow," Elizabeth sneered. "Let me serenade her with a melody of destruction—"
"Get a grip!!" Jeanne roared, karate-chopping both of her comrades down with practiced precision. She turned toward Kirie, desperately seeking support from the group's usual voice of reason—
Only to see Kirie smiling sweetly, wielding a massive crimson scythe—her awakened blood weapon, born from Dracula's essence: the Scarlet Queen.
"Kirie-san!! Why are you joining in on this madness?!"
Having barely suppressed the chaos, Jeanne and the others leaned in curiously. For once, they'd see what kind of romantic nonsense the usually tight-lipped Dracula might've said in his youth.
Then came the words from Gabriel:
"Don't worry, Mary. I'll be back soon. And once this mission is over… we'll go home to the countryside and get married."
"…." ×6
The girls were collectively stunned by the walking, talking death flag.
Mary, however, seemed completely unaware of the ominous subtext. She clutched his hand tightly and beamed.
"Yes, Gabriel! I'll wait for you!"
"…I can already see the ending," Kirie said, expressionless.
The other five nodded solemnly in agreement.
As expected… Gabriel Belmont never returned to that city.
The girls followed his journey, witnessing how he overcame impossible odds with valor and wit. They saw him pierce the heart of the werewolf king with a holy stake, watched as he bound the vampire queen Carmilla's wings with the Vampire Killer whip and impaled her upon the spire of a grand castle.
He saw himself deceived by the necromancer Zobek, his life hanging by a thread. The self-proclaimed clever Zobek, in the end, only served as the stepping stone for Satan's return.
He watched himself rise again—reborn by sheer faith and unwavering conviction, engaging in a desperate struggle that sent the Lord of Demons back to the abyss.
Then, the gates of Heaven opened… yet refused to receive the soul of this savior.
Instead, God handed him an even more impossible mission: to challenge the Old Gods, entities far more powerful than even Satan.
Sealed within a dimensional prison no human could reach, the Old Gods awaited. To confront them, Gabriel drank the willingly offered blood of the Vampire Princess, taking it into himself, and entered the forbidden space. There, he defeated the Old Gods and absorbed their tremendous power.
From that moment forth, the gates of Heaven were sealed to him for eternity. The holy relics that once aided him began to burn and wound him instead.
And so, the name Gabriel Belmont, Holy Knight, vanished from the world—only the Dark Lord Dracula remained.
Meanwhile, as the girls reveled in watching movies through Dracula's dreams, he too found himself glimpsing into theirs.
But due to the vast difference in mental strength, the images Dracula saw were... considerably more chaotic.
First, he saw a young Elizabeth living in the castle.
Then, she morphed into Kiyohime, the White Serpent, setting Anchin ablaze. The scene shifted once again, this time to a battlefield beneath a sunset—a final clash at the Sword Column.
Just two meters ahead, Mordred was impaled through the chest by King Arthur's lance.
"This parent is really something else," Dracula muttered, sitting cross-legged before the blood-dripping spear tip. "No wonder the kingdom fell apart."
Next came burning Rome.
He saw Nero wielding a bizarre crimson blade, laughing madly beneath the flames.
Then the scene transformed again. A young Kirie stood frozen, staring at the blood-soaked corpses of her parents.
Finally, he arrived at a witch's pyre. Lifting his head, he saw Jeanne d'Arc bound to a cross, the flames licking at her feet.
The dream twisted. Reality bent into a fevered hallucination.
Kirie, still a child, stood motionless beside Jeanne. Jeanne looked up toward the sky. Nero laughed wildly before the flames. Kiyohime, now a great white serpent, stoked the fire. Mordred, pierced through the heart, reached toward Jeanne with a trembling hand.
And floating in the sky was Elizabeth, singing gently, arms outstretched—as though ready to welcome Jeanne into the heavens.
"…Damn, these scenes all blend together far too well," Dracula said, still seated. "Feels like there's a massive info dump here."
He stared at the surrounding dreamscape, thoroughly unimpressed.
Just as he contemplated sprinkling cumin on the now distinctly roasted Jeanne d'Arc, everything turned black.
Dracula snapped awake.
The first thing he saw was Kirie clutching the edge of his coffin, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Lord Dracula…" she sniffled, "your life is… just too tragic…"
Dracula: "…"