Leave Power Stones and Reviews to show support.
I had written a volume and a half more for my previous work, but it received minimal support, so I hope people show support for this one.
Comment too. It feels like I am writing to actual people and not ghosts.
************************************************************
*CLINK CLANK*
The hooves of the horses made sound as we rode on the cobbled road that seemed to have seen better days. The boundary around the road was made of stone, the top layer of which seemed to bear marks similar to those on the road.
On the front of the group was Harris, a man who was half a century old, whose head had started to show signs of balding. Behind him was me, and beside me were Tristan and Garrick, both of whom were not that behind Harris in age.
This was all there was to our group. Well, that was all that was left anyway. Most of us died, and those who did not, left. Not that I can blame the latter. I have half a mind to desert the group as well.
This is not because I am concerned for my life. This is because I am concerned for our cause. At the Church, ever since I was inducted into the Brotherhood, I grew up with the idea that we were the final defense for humanity. We were the ones to carry the torch for its hope.
With this ideal in my heart, I have slaughtered monsters till now, and do not regret it. But what I regret is what I was not told.
I was not told that the monsters can have human skin like humans.
Humans who at the threat of death would not hesitate to throw others' lives away.
Humans who would treat humans more like cattle than any vampire will do just to satisfy their lust.
Humans who would enacts act of violence among their kin that would pale in comparison to the lycans.
Humans who would treat their brethren with less kindness than a necromancer.
If somebody had told me these things before I came here, I would have laughed in their face. 'That is not possible.' I would have said, but now, I cannot deny it even if I want to.
And I don't want to.
So now I fight with a seed of doubt in my heart that has been festering into a tree. It has festered to a point that I, who used to pray before food, don't even say last rites to the dead.
But alas, who else could I blame?
God is immortal.
God is omniscient.
God is omnipresent.
God is omnipotent.
If he is all of those, then why do we suffer?
For some test? Then why does he test unborn babes?
Why is it that some live a life of complete leisure by being born into wealth, while others are crippled from birth?
Why does he even need to test us? If he is omniscient and omnipotent, could he not determine what a person really is like? Even then, why do innocents have to suffer in this punishment?
These questions are what occupy my mind. I asked some of these questions to my brothers, but all I got was the same answer with different words.
All of this is part of God's plan.
This plan, no one knows.
So, as the tree of doubt festered, my tree of faith that had been growing wilted without my knowing until it finally died.
God may have a plan, a grand, intricate plan that someone like me could never comprehend, but I don't even care anymore.
I don't hate him.
Hell, I don't even know if he exists.
So, I stuck around, not because of faith, but due to brothers who I grew up with, but all of them died or deserted, so here I am, in this barren place, with the only people left carrying our mantle.
At least that is what I try to say to myself, to keep myself going.
But I know the real answer. I don't want any more innocent to suffer, and whether there is heaven waiting for me or hell, I do not care. I am going to save as many people as I can.
I have already lost my childhood. I am not going to let anyone lose theirs.
This is a grand ambition. Big words from a heretic like me who has renounced his faith in God, I know. But this is all that keeps me going.
"Are you sure people live here?"
Tristan asked Harris as we broke our way into the boundary of the village after placing our horses in a makeshift place.
"That is what we were informed." Harris replied to him.
"Hmm…this place looks pretty dead to me." Garrick added, and I could not refute his words.
The air in the whole village screamed stagnant. Streets were covered in snow that seemed to have remained unshoveled for ages. Torches remained unlit in all places, making the dreary place appear darker despite it being morning. Well, as much as morning it can get in these places.
I am sure some sorcery must be involved in this.
Then suddenly, every hair on my body stood straight.
"Positions." Harris said, and I took Vampire Killer from my waist.
At his words word, my brothers tensed up in attention, everyone getting ready in proper stance, forming a circle around.
For a while, we remained absolutely still…
"…"
"What? There is not-"
"On your left!" The voice tore from my throat as I swung my whip at Tristan's head, who ducked just in time for the hook of the whip to strike a vampire who had snuck from above, turning it into bloody mist.
As if on cue, more and more vampires started to move out from the snow blanketing the roof, from the windows of the rundown houses.
"There were supposed to be people here! Where the hell are they?!" Tristan shouted as he clenched the mace in his hand far too tight until his knuckles turned white, or maybe it was from the cold.
"Talk later." Garrick spoke as he poured his strength into his knee, and uncoiled like a snake striking at the vampire near him, caving that filthy thing's face in. Simultaneously, other vampires leapt at us, and I shifted my focus from my brothers to the vampires.
"Raaa!!!"
With a roar, three vampires aimed for my head, coming from above, while 2 vampires leapt from the ground. Quickly but with full focus, I swiped my whip in front of me with enough force to leave bloody mist in the place where vampires previously stood.
But of course, this was not the end. Replacing them, more vampires moved towards me in a manner that was fitting for their beast-like appearance.
"Graaa!"
"MRPH!"
With a grunt, I ducked under the vampire and stabbed it in the chest with the stake of the vampire killer, and flipped away from the spot I stood at just as another vampire crashed into the spot. Taking a short sword from my waist, I quickly swiped it at the vampire and beheaded it.
"AAAAHHHH!!!"
Just as I was busy dealing with the vampires, a loud shout caused me to look back to see…
"Tristan!"
…that was all I could manage to say before Tristan, who had strayed away from me during the fight, was bitten on his neck. Just then, more vampires pounced on him.
My hands before my words reached him, and I threw 5 daggers in succession at the heads of vampires who were nearest to him, biting into his flesh and trying to rip into it.
'This cannot go on. I have to use magic.'
I decided to use magic, seeing that one of my brothers was already bitten by those creatures and soon would turn into them without a shadow of doubt. I intended to preserve my magic because it takes far too much time to recover it. A time that I presume we will not be rewarded with. But alas, we are far too weak to pass through this village and fight her minions without a death amongst us, much less kill the damned Lord of Vampires.
So much for my big words.
Soon, by channeling the magic from the light medallion, my entire body was covered with light that seemed ever encompassing, illuminating this dreary place. This light channeled into the vampire killer as well, and I swung around with all my might.
"HWA!!"
The whip moved so fast that it created a momentary disc of light, with spots of dark crimson from the blood of the vampires.
'Not enough!'
Using the momentum that my weapon provided, instead of stopping the whip, I changed its direction, preserving the force behind the attack. Once more, heaps and heaps of vampires died, but like trying to remove water with a bucket from the ocean, more filled their place, making it seem like nothing had happened.
"Harris!" Garrick shouted as he bashed his shield on the face of the vampire, and Harris' visage contorted into one of pure rage as the shadow medallion on his belt glowed ominously.
That was my cue to cut my magic off.
"RAAAAA!!!!"
With a war cry, he struck the ground and it rumbled, which caused the vampires who were fighting over each other to overwhelm us to loose their footing and scatter a bit. That was my cue.
"HYA!!!"
With a cry of my own, I called for all the strength my arms could muster and moved my whip around, chains riddled with thorns, and turned all of the vampires into paste, but I knew better than to stop.
*THUM*
Another punch and the ground trembled once more. Garrick snapped his neck around, and when his eyes caught an abnormality, he shouted to me.
"Michael! The well behind the smithy."
I did not need more words. Garrick was a ranger with eyes that had allowed him to survive in our profession that claims the young.
"Cover me!" I shouted and sent Vampire Killer's head to hook at the overgrown tree without any leaves, and pulled.
*KrrrkkrRR*
With the sound of dry bark breaking and creaking under pressure, the tree gave way and fell on top of the well, which was serving as their hiding place if the sun ever graced this cursed place with its radiance.
This would slow them down, but only for a moment or two. But a moment is all that I needed. I did not stop after pulling the tree and sent the head of the whip to latch onto a cobbled wall.
*THOOK*
I moved my head as an arrow whizzed past it and struck a vampire who was aspiring to feast on my flesh.
Not today, you leech.
Moving the whip like a thread and its head like a needle, I continued to pile more and more rocks onto the entrance of the well, all the while killing any vampire that managed to make it out of the opening or got close to me, until I had the things just the way I wanted.
'Now!'
I screamed at myself as I took three bottles of holy water and flung them at the entrance to the well and watched them crash on it, covering the entire surface of the well and the entrance around it in holy water.
"REEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"
Sharp shrieks of vampire reverberated from the well, and the reason for that was no doubt the bottle of wonder.
"Sealed!" I announced as Harris, who had switched off his magic, and, by wielding his sword, increased his power and speed to remove the vampires whose presence had significantly thinned but not ceased.
"Garrick! Look out for more tunnels or wells! These things are still creeping out."
I barked at Garrick, who acknowledged it without giving anything away, and, still immersed in combat, darted his eyes round and about to find where these things were coming from.
I, too, kept my eye out, but my focus was more on making sure that these leeches do not reach us and Tristan's well-being. There was no doubt in anyone's mind here that Tristan was going to turn, but all of us wanted to give him a proper death, rather than mixing his blood with the leeches.
"HYA!"
I shouted as I activated my magic once more to perform a single sweep and switched it off. My breath barely labored. This was overwhelming, it was true, but if it was enough to kill me, I would have long been buried with my brothers or become the meal of some other creature.
From the corner of my eye, I could see a leech making its way to Harris' neck, who was busy holding back three of them at the same time.
'Not today.'
I spoke to myself as I flung four of my daggers at the creatures, preventing Harris to join ranks of Tristan.
"Thanks, lad."
"Say that to me when we get back!"
I spoke back at his words that came out of an instinct.
"Michael! Behind the abbey!" It was then that the words of Garrick reached me, when my eyes drifted to an abbey in the distance. I could not see anything untoward, but I believed in Garrick's eyes more than mine.
Taking one last look at Tristan, I shouted.
"Hold the fort!"
Saying this, I took off at the highest speed I could muster. I dashed so fast that everything became a blur, with crimson painted all around because even if my legs were moving fast, my wrist was moving faster, controlling the Vampire Killer with perfection, so much so that no vampire could even lay a hand on me.
In a few moments of maneuvering and running, I finally reached my destination, which was a small abbey, a structure familiar to the church I grew up in but so much different because, unlike the place I was from that at least pretended to be holy, this place did not even waste an effort in such a thing. It looked more like a home of Satan from every way one looked.
I wasted no effort and broke the doors that were supported by moss instead of hinges, and was immediately met with a view that was not any different from that of a slaughterhouse, but instead of pigs, dead remains of humans were strung up like some macabre decoration that had been frozen by cold.
My grip tightened on Vampire Killer.
From the center of the pedestal, where sermons must be held, vampires were springing like the rats they were.
Most were running from behind towards where we were fighting before, while a few were feasting on the decorations.
It was an infant.
My grip went loose.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!"
With a cry of primal rage that seemed far too strange for me to muster after what I had witnessed in my journey, I channeled light magic and became a beacon of light in this former hallowed ground and struck with all my might.
*BOOOOM*
Nothing was left.
Nothing but the unfortunate who were strung up like some animal.
Looking at them, I wanted to give them a proper burial right at this instant, but the sounds of the fight still reached my ear, calling to me.
"I apologize for the delay, but I will give you a proper burial." I said to no one who could hear.
Saying this, I quickly departed with great speed and greater burden on my soul. In no time, I reached my brothers, but it seems that my presence was no longer required, because Harris just dealt the finishing blow to the final vampire, leaving us littered with blood and flesh on the snow, creating some twisted form of art.
Seeing me arrive, Garrick quickly turned to me and, taking a deep breath to study himself, he spoke. "You done on your end, boy?"
"Aye, just some corpses to give burial to." I spoke to him, which caused the grimace on his face to deepen, and that followed the same pattern when both of our eyes drifted to Tristan, who was sitting on the ground with the support of the rock behind his back, gasping for breath as the blood near his neck was already frozen to a crisp, with black veins bulging from it.
Words were stuck in my throat. One would think after seeing the life seep out from the eyes of so many people, it would get easy, but it never does.
It never does for me.
But that is why people like Harris were here.
With steps squelching the flesh of these hell spawns, Harris took a vial containing holy water and broke it on top of Tristan, whose gaze looked hallowed and then…
"RRRRRREEEEEEEEE!!!!!"
…a sound incapable of being produced by a human came from his throat as his body moved with such agility that betrayed his previous dead like expression. Smoke rose from him, from the wound on his neck, that he seemed to hold in vain attempt to stop the burn.
This caused me to look away, while Garrick looked none too pleased by it. But Harris, with a face as cold as this frigid ice, unsheathed his sword and…
*THUD*
…Tristan's head rolled on the ground with a thud, and his body was soon to follow after.
"…"
For a while, none of us spoke.
Then Harris turned around and spoke to me.
"Bury the dead. We don't have much time."
Saying this, he left both Garrick and me with the corpse of Tristan.
He looked at me and spoke with a sigh.
"Move, lad. We have to bury them all."
At his words, my body seemed to get the energy to move, and I moved in unison with him. With practiced movement, both of us started to dig graves, a practice I hope no one has to be unfortunate enough to do.
We dug 19 graves, for those who were strung up, and Tristan as well.
"Help me move him in." Garrick said, and I spoke in reply.
"Aye."
What else could I say?
Absentmindedly, I lowered the corpse of my former brother, who had been talking to me, and left him to be claimed in this cold place, not even giving him reprieve to be buried beside his fallen wife.
Then I turned around and got up from the grave when a hand fell onto my vision. I gazed up to see the owner of the hand to be Garrick. I took it and let him pull me out, leaving behind the corpse of my fallen brother with a part of my soul in the wake.
"You rest here. I will bury those from the abbey."
I spoke as I tried to move away, but was instead held by another hand of his, as he pushed something in my hand. After this, he retrieved his hand. I saw what he had placed in my hand, and it was a medallion with a crimson gem.
A shadow medallion.
Tristan's shadow medallion.
I looked at him wide-eyed.
"I- I could neve-"
"Keep it, Michael. Tristan would have wanted it to be used, not buried away now of all times."
"If this is the case, then you should have it. Harris already has a shadow medallion, and I have a light medallion."
At this, he shook his head to deny.
"No, I am just an old man with half a foot in the grave. You are young and have a whole life in front of you."
"But-"
"No buts. I have no talent for magic. That is why I was not given a medallion in the first place. Keep it. Shadow magic corrupts, too, and you are the only one who is kind enough to care about others. Anyone else among our ranks would have destroyed their corpses. You did not.
At your worst, you will be redeemable.
At best, I would be a lost cause."
These words rendered me mute as I took the medallion and looked at it numbly as I walked towards the abbey. His words rang in my mind as I looked at the shadow medallion, and for a moment, I could swear I could hear it calling to me.
Am I really worthy to wield this medallion?
Also, can I really wield it?
When the church assigned medallions to the brotherhood, it did so depending upon their affinity for them, but I was never allowed to check my affinity for the shadow medallion and train with it.
They gave me a light medallion since the very beginning.
But if Garrick has deemed me worthy to carry on the legacy of Tristan, then I shall wield it.
As I was mulling over my thoughts, I reached the abbey that had been defiled by the vermin and destroyed by me. As I gazed at its dilapidated roof, I could see the corpses hanging up as far as its ceiling.
With my mind absent, I removed each corpse carefully to prevent damaging it more than it already was. I took it and moved them to the already dug up grave on several trips until I finally placed the final corpse that was unrecognizable to the point that I was unable to determine its age or gender.
After burying them, Garrick read them their rites, and both of us moved to the stone where Harris sat with a map opened.
"Did you read the rites?" He asked without looking up, and I replied, "Done paying the rites. What are you doing with the map over here?"
I followed up with a question, to which Harris replied as he moved his eyes away from the map to look at me, "Making sure that the map matches this village and is not useless. Get ready, and tie your horses out. We are going on foot."
"Aye." Garrick said as we both made our way to the horse that we had hurriedly chained to a wooden post. Poor things looked scared by the onslaught that had ensued, just like their predecessor, who had died in the midst. At least they got to survive the first bout.
Quickly, we secured them to a shed that had snow weighing down on its roof. Placing the horses inside, we restocked on many things. Mostly rations, bland & dry bread, daggers, and holy water.
With this, we came back hauling knapsacks on our backs. Getting to Harris, the first thing I did was hand him his own knapsack that he took giving it a single cursory look inside, then placed it on his back.
Then, he pointed to a small clearing of forest covered with pine trees and snow.
"We make our way there. If we continue to walk there, we can at least see the castle of Vampire Lord from a distance before dawn. Let us depart."
Following this, we left the village, leaving our brother behind. We walked for hours and hours, crunching snow and dry twigs beneath our boots. In our time, we did not encounter any animals. They were probably driven out or hunted to extinction by the leeches.
We barely talked as we made our way, the grim reality of our suicidal mission finally creeping up on us.
Killing the Lord of Vampires.
An enormous task.
A part of me thinks if the church simply wants to get rid of us or has struck a deal with the leeches, with us as the offering to leave most alive. That is a fair deal if such a thing had happened.
More such useless thoughts kept going on and about in my mind until the voice of Harris reached me.
"H're we are. Feast your eyes upon the house of dread lord."
At his words, my eyes drifted to the structure in the distance that looked so small from where I stood, but its presence felt so large that it was hard to describe. It was completely black, and wore clouds like a blanket that were dark from being doused of its evil.
Seeing it, I could feel my courage and resolve waver, but I soldiered through it.
'I have come so far now. Getting cold feet now, of all times, would be spitting on the faces of my brethren.'
With those words, I tried to gather what part of me that shook as best as I could and involuntarily moved my hand over the shadow medallion that seemed to fill me with newfound strength.
After all of us were done sightseeing, we decided to make our way towards the castle because even though it was going to get darker, we were safer in a castle with walls around us than a forest full of trees where those creatures could kill us from anywhere.
Due to this, we made our way towards the castle. The more we walked, the more we could hear the sound of our own breath over the sounds of our footsteps. A sense of foreboding washing our over us. A realization that we were waking in the maws of our own death, and there was no going back from this.
*THUD THUD*
Our steps sounded as we walked on stone as black as hell instead of cold snow towards the castle. Reaching there, Harris turned and informed us about this place as white air left his mouth.
"This is the back entrance of the castle. We will have to climb through the edges of the hill to scale the castle. When we step inside, there is not going to be any time to waste. If someone dies, then you don't mourn them, you don't cry in anguish.
Remain calm and don't make a sound. The smallest of sounds will reverberate in this place and will attract a whole army of vampires that will descend upon us.
Attack only when necessary.
And…"
Finally, his cold expression broke to reveal an old man who had experienced far more than he could bear, suffered loss that could not be put into words.
"…don't die."
Words that we all wanted to come true, but knew were just a fool's dream.
After this, we began to walk by the side of the hill, just at its edge, and pieces of stone fell as we placed our feet. Our pace was slow to make sure that we do not succumb to a fall.
It took us a time that could not be measured because the sky remained perpetually with dark clouds to finally arrive at a tower facing a hill the most, with a tall spire that was near one of the windows of the castle.
I threw the end of my Vampire Killer and hooked it at the spire, and scaled it quickly. After doing it, I let it down for Harris and Garrick to climb as well.
Then Garrick threw an arrow with a rope tied to its end just above the windowsill. After making sure of the strength of the rope, we crossed from the spire to the window. Reaching there, we found it to be covered by curtains and a headboard instead of glass.
At this, Garrick peered through the curtain and, after a while of surveying the place, gave us a signal to enter. Quietly and making sure nothing crumbled beneath our steps to make a sound. As silent as we could be, even going as far as to breathe without a sound, we made our way through the castle, but alas, our luck had run out.
"VrrrrrRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
With reckless abandon, their unending tides surged at us.
"Brothers…meet you in heaven." That was all Harris said as he activated the shadow medallion for it to enshroud him in its power as he raced towards the tides and started to make quick work of them.
We, too, were not to be left behind. I took out the whip and channeled my light magic. In front of these creatures, my light magic is far more potent than Harris' shadow magic. Just as I used it to irradiate light in every corner of the place where we stood, the sound of inhuman screeching filled our ears as the leeches turned to just a pile of dust.
But we were not to rest and revel in our small victory. We had to keep moving, deeper into the castle. Along our way, I kept getting the feeling that we were being watched, and knowing who the owner of the castle was, I have no doubt in my mind that we were being watched.
I am sure that no matter how hard we try, we cannot hide from the Lord of Vampire, still, we try to stick to this foolish notion of stealth. We were just delaying the inevitable.
We passed through the hallways, slaying vampires bit by bit, who were chipping on our strength, leaving us gasping for breath, but we did not rest. We could not rest.
We were not allowed to rest.
This kept on going in circles until we arrived at our destination.
"Hmm~ It took you quite a time for you to arrive~"
A soft, seductive voice rang in our ears, coming from a woman sitting in front of a large throne. She was wearing a dress that left most of her chest exposed but covered her head instead. Her skin was as pale as snow, with glinting ruby for eyes. Shadows cast by her seem to flicker and lengthen on their own.
As she spoke, she had a smile of amusement crowning her face, one that has when addressing a child.
"My my~ You make a lady wait for you and refuse to answer her questions~ That is not very polite indeed~"
"You shall get no politeness fiend. You shall di-"
"Silence."
*SHING*
One moment, Harris was shouting back at the seductress in righteous rage, and the next, his head was rolling on the ground.
"HARRIS!!"
The shout tore through my throat as I was about to lurch at him when I was pulled back by Garrick.
"Not the time to grieve." Garrick muttered as sweat managed to form on his forehead in this chilling and biting cold, as his gaze remained sharp and unmoving from the Lord of Vampire.
At his words, Vampire Lord's smile creased into something of ridicule.
"Precisely. I would hate it if you were to focus on anyone other than me~ Mich-ael." She addressed me, not by any usual words but by my name.
This realization sent a chill down my spine.
'How did she know it? Has she been keeping eyes on me? Since when?'
Such questions moved past my mind faster than a galloping horse. But then another sensation followed the initial despair and fright.
Calmness.
"How did you know my name?" I asked the question with no change in my tone, as if discussing the weather, which provoked two varying reactions from two different people.
Garrick was stunned in surprise that I not only spoke against such pressure, but managed to direct my question at the source of the suppression.
Vampire Lord looked at me with curiosity and soon turned to morbid possessiveness.
"How about you join me in my private chambers and then…" I felt a wave passing by me, a strong sense of attraction towards her for a moment as her eyes shone red, but I shrugged this feeling off.
"…I will do anything…you…ask~"
As she continued to speak, the wave increased in intensity, but unlike it did not even stick to me. Then she looked at me with a face of someone who has already won the battle before it had even begun, but it cracked as her eyes bore into mine.
Then her face of seduction turned to cinders and flew away with the wind, and was replaced by pure shock. As if what she saw was something she could not have imagined in her wildest memories.
"How…is it possible?"
"…" She said as she expected some answer, but I did not deny her any.
Once more, she was driven towards stupor.
"How are you resisting my charm? How is it possible?"
'Charm?
What is this?'
This strange ability made me increase my guard further, but listening to her acknowledging the effectiveness of one of her powers seemed to soothe my soul.
Once more, I did not utter a word and continued to look at her with still eyes devoid of any warmth.
This caused her to become more frustrated, until it didn't.
"No, this is better. It would not be any fun to help myself to an empty husk. Now, we could have…"
She disappeared…
"…so much fun."
…and whispered in my ear, with her arms keeping me in an embrace. It would have been a wonderful sight to see if only one hand was not clutching the dismembered head of Garrick whilst the other, covered in his blood, stroked my cheek, leaving stains behind.
This sight should have caused me to cry in anguish, but it did not.
All I felt was one thing.
I have to kill her.
Not due to anger, but an indescribable feeling that had been growing on me since I wielded the shadow medallion.
"Hmm…silent. Just so you know, most women do not like men who do not pay attention to them. But good for you because I love it…when they resist~"
Shadow magic flared all over my body, and I felt stronger than ever before, but I did not waste even a single moment basking in it. Quickly, I cocked my fist back and smashed my elbow at her, which moved with supernatural speed, but my target was not a normal person but a Lord of Shadows.
She quickly moved away from me and flew in front of her throne, the same smile playing on her face as if nothing had happened.
"Oh~ You have thorns as well~ All the better~"
"Lady Vampire Lord, die."
I spoke with as much politeness as I could muster, and then used Vampire Killer for its greatest purpose. Channeling Shadow Magic through the Vampire Killer made it feel like a second limb to me, I swung it with every ounce of strength.
It moved cutting through the air like a snake, and struck true at the Vampire Lord, but if a single swipe was enough to vanquish her, she would not have been able to live as long as she has.
She once more moved like a gust of wind, but I quickly identified where she appeared.
'Above.'
Like a snap of a finger, I changed the direction of the whip, leading it up to a vertical swipe. Once more, she dodged it effortlessly as well, but I remained undeterred and turned that swipe into a full whirl, taking absolute advantage of my weapon.
"Enough playing around."
But all of this was halted by just a single word from her. My whip was fixed in the air as if it were embedded in the wall of the castle.
"Move!!"
I shouted as I tried my best to move the whip, but it remained absolutely still in the air, refusing to budge even a little. Realizing the futility of taking the weapon, I gave up on it and took out a vial of holy water and threw it in the air, firing a small shot of Shadow Magic at it to burst it in the air, but what I expected did not happen.
The same force that was holding my whip hostage was preventing the vial from bursting, leaving it suspended in the air.
'Something work!!'
I screamed internally as I flung whatever I had on my person, but none of it worked. As I kept on doing this, the Vampire Lord looked at me like an adult looking at a child with amusement.
"Have you done your worth or is there more that I shall await for my beloved?"
"I am not familiar with how you or your kind perceives things, but I am not your beloved, my unfair Lady." I replied with a frown on my face, intending to dispel any senseless notions of hers, but it appeared that I had failed in my endeavor.
"Do not be so unkind to me, my beloved. At least use my real name." She smiled as what she was about to say would shift the foundation my life was built upon, which by now had already crumbled.
"My name is Carmilla, Queen of Vampires.
I am also one of the three founders of Brotherhood."
But crumble it did.
There was so much I wanted to say.
'It has to be a lie.'
This was the most prominent thought in my mind. I mean, it must make sense. This was not just possible for the order to be founded by her. The purpose of the order was to hunt down things like her, so how could it be founded by her?
But why will she lie?
By the strength she has demonstrated until now, she does not need to rely on lies or any tricks to defeat me.
"…"
"She must be lying. You are thinking that." Carmilla spoke with a smirk.
"I apologize, but what you have uttered just seemed far too outlandish, Lady Carmilla." I replied to this woman with polite words just due to force of habit.
Nodding at my reply, she spoke, "Yes, I am able to see how it would seem like a lie to you, but unfortunately for you, this is all true."
"Even if you say that, in the end, these are just your words. Your words hold no merit." I retorted, my eyes darting around to find any way I could put up a decent fight against her, but I could find none.
"That is true, I do not hold any tangible proof other than my words."
"Then what would those words be? Care to part with them?" I followed up.
"Not at all. Well before the order was founded, many creatures of the night roamed the land, going around killing and terrorizing the humans. Seeing it, several like-minded people decided to fight against the creatures instead of sitting hand in hand.
Slowly but surely, we started to push back, but the rate at which we were killing them paled in comparison to the rate at which they were killing our kind. So, instead of moving as individuals, we decided to band together and form Brotherhood as a spear against them, with me, Zobek, and Cornell at the head.
Together, we launched attack after attack on the monsters, finally driving them away.
Then, at the end of our crusade, the three of us were allowed the opportunity of a lifetime.
To ascend to Heaven and live the rest of our life with our Lord, casting aside their bad half that is Lords of Shadow, and ascending as pure and untainted."
"What?! God is real?!"
I could not help but blurt out.
At this, Carmilla's smile widened as if this was the reaction she was expecting from me all along.
"Real, alive, and most uncaring with how things have been in the past and present."
"This can't b-"
"This is getting quite vexing. How about we stop the useless chatter and get to enjoy the pleasure of flesh~" Carmilla suggested with a sultry look, going right back to how she was talking to me before, but I remained unperturbed.
"While you are certainly beautiful, I would still decline Lady Carmilla."
"But why~ Scared that I am going to eat you?~ Don't worry, I won't, mayhaps just a taste will suffice~"
She said as her eyes glowed red, then in a commanding tone spoke.
"Crawl over to me on your hands and knees."
"I decline still."
I spoke quickly, which caused an expression of surprise to bloom on her face.
"I thought you were immune to charm, but it seems even mind control remains ineffective." She commented off-handedly.
"Seems so." I replied as I channeled Light Magic and shone its light in every corner. Carmilla might be fast enough to evade all of my attacks, but her shadows cannot hold out in front of the power of light.
As I illuminated, the entire throne room became covered in light that even I could not see with my eyes. I thought that my magic worked until…
"HUPP!!ArgH!!"
…I was flung from where I stood by an immense constructing force at the wall of the castle that knocked the air out of my lungs. But the force did not stop, it kept on pressing me against the wall, making my bones creak and groan.
This interrupted my concentration in channeling the light magic, which soon wore off, causing the light recede and red to taint my vision, probably my own blood.
In this world of red, I saw Carmilla right in front of me, with a scowl on her face.
"That light was quite a headache. Don't do that again, if you help yourself."
"I am afrai-KHAAA!!!" I tried to retort, but an immense pain took hold of me, and I managed to move my eyes downward despite the force that had taken hold of me.
Carmilla had shoved her hand onto my chest and was gripping my heart.
I turned to look at her, blood dripping from my mouth.
'Is that it? Is this how I die?' The thought burns in my mind, but there was nothing I could do.
"Don't look at me with such a somber face. What is broken can be put back together as well.
Not to mention, for me, death is just a state of being, and soon it will be for you."
She whispered as I felt her fangs sink into my neck, but I could do nothing as she pulled my heart out simultaneously.
Nothing at all.
Other than dying the way I chose to, rather than living the way she wanted me to.
So I channeled magic.
Neither Shadow nor Light.
But both.
"AAAAAAA!!!! YOU DARE CHOOSE DEATH OVER MY FAVOR!!!" Carmilla roared as she jumped away from my body like it was fire and spoke as if offended by my rejection of her.
Normally, I would have said something. Maybe an honest answer that would have enraged her, but I did not have enough power to say anything, not only due to a missing heart, but also due to broken bones, punctured organs, and Shadow and Light magic thrashing in my body.
So I just looked at her and smiled.
A smile of acceptance of the death that was to come.
Maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me as my end was near, but for a moment I could swear that I saw Carmilla's face change from the Queen of Vampires to a human.
'What a strange sight.'
…
…
…
…
…
…
"Chee…"
…
…
"Hroo…"
'What is this…sound?'
…
…
"Tiiink…"
…
'Is this…wind I feel on my face?'
I thought as I felt light shining on my eyelids, forcing me to open my eyes.
As I opened my eyes, the vision in front of me was a blur of blue for a while until my vision started to clear.
'Is this…heaven?'
I could not help but think, seeing the clear blue sky, a sight that was impossible to see in the times I was raised in, and something I had only heard of.
'That shouldn't be possible. I had renounced faith.' I thought to myself, still lying on the ground. This has to be heaven because there is no way I survived having my heart pulled out, and all of that magic running rampant.
Then I tried to move my hands that gave me a strange sensation as if they were moving for the first time. The same was true for my whole body as I pushed myself up, until I was sitting on the ground with my legs stretched out.
'Wait, my heart.'
The thought suddenly came into my mind as I felt cold air on my chest. Looking down, I found that there was no wound on my chest.
"How…"
I could not help but mutter as I touched the place where Carmilla had plunged her hand in.
'My chest is healed, but my armor is broken around that area.'
Once more, the more I saw, the more confused I became. But instead of sitting in one place, I decided to get up and move around a bit. Getting up, I found that there was my trusted weapon, Vampire Killer lying two paces beside where I had lain moments before.
Both of the magic medallions were already strapped to my waist, though there were no daggers or holy water vials on my person.
But still, what I had is more than enough.
Once more, I looked up to see the sun shining with a comforting warmth.
Seeing that it looked to be about noon, and knowing that the sun sets in the west, I got a general direction for south and decided to make my way to it. My first plan was to find something to-
*THUD THUD*
It was then that it hit me. A shrill sound in my ear like a cannonball had crashed right next to me, my eyes getting blurred and my knees getting weaker, I crashed and rolled on the ground.
"Argh!!!"
I grunted so hard as I kept my hand on my ears, but instinctively. Everything in front of me was spinning, the world flickering its colors from its vibrant colors to dull grey.
Sounds so strong that they kept on scrambling with my head.
I did not even realize that I was taking labored breaths.
This thing kept on going on for what seems like an eternity, until the sensation started to dull, and it was just a buzz at the back of my head.
"What…haah…was it?" I murmured to myself as I took a deep breath.
Now that the sensations were not overwhelming me anymore, I could realize what the sensations actually were. Somehow, I was able to hear the sounds of every insect, smell even the trees, and look far beyond what I ever imagined.
'Wait, it couldn't be…'
A sudden realization.
My broken chest piece.
Healed chest.
Enhanced senses.
Carmilla ripping my heart.
Her biting me.
Her words.
The reality hammered.
"I am a…vampire?"
'No, this cannot be possible. I am walking under the sun without burning.'
I rationalized the best I could, but then why was I feeling this way?
Questions keep piling up.
Then I decided to keep this for later, and decided to focus on my ears, trying to hear to the best of my ability for any strong sound, but despite trying my best, all I could hear were the sounds of insects and birds.
I focused a bit more, and I could hear very faint sounds of waves crashing back and forth. The sound was coming from the east, so I decided to trust my newfound hearing ability and changed my direction from south to east.
Following this, I kept on walking, still feeling strange in my own body. This feeling started to dampen more as I walked. As the strangeness decreased, I started to increase my speed until I was running.
Everything before me became a blur of green as I ran through the forest at a supernatural speed. One more question to piles of them.
As I kept on running, the winds rushed past my face, making a howling sound. Sounds of insects were suppressed by it, and by concentrating a bit, I could also hear the sounds of waves more clearly than before.
I kept on running in that direction until a smell hit me. Smell of blood.
This caused me to halt instantly, and I snapped my head in the direction where the smell was strongest. It was faint, but I could still pick it up. There were some unknown smell mixed with it.
Once more, I closed my eyes and tried to pick up any sound from that direction. It was not much, but I could hear the sounds of slow but strong steps.
Then, I opened my eyes, clear of any confusion or questions, and completely focused.
I took Vampire Killer in my hand and, crouching a bit, took off in that direction. Once more, trees rushed past me, but I did not admire them now.
There was nothing in my mind other than the prospective enemy that I was going to face, whose multiple sounds of steps suggested either there were multiple enemies, or there was a single one with multiple legs.
I leaned on the former.
As I was a few distances away, I jumped on the top of the tree to get a broader view of the situation, and what greeted me was a grim yet familiar sight that I had unfortunately grown used to.
Wolf-like monsters were feasting on the remains of what had been a human, if the tattered piece of bloodied cloth was anything to go by. There were a total of 17 of them here. 13 were eating, and the rest were basking in the shade of the tree, their maws colored crimson from the blood of whom they had feasted upon.
'This is not Heaven.'
The thought etched itself into my mind.
Then I did what I did best.
I killed.
*SWOOP*
*THUSH*
The whip made a sound, and by the time the sound reached them, all of them died, whether those who were mid-feast or sleeping in the shade. All of their heads were turned to mush, and then their bodies fell on the ground with a thud.
Following this, I jumped down from the tree and walked into the small clearing. With grass blades bending under my feet, I crouched down to inspect the monsters.
'This doesn't seem like anything I had seen before. This looks like a wolf, but has 5 hearts. Its head also had three eyes before I turned them into mist. His claws are sharper than any I have ever seen before.
Nay, not as sharp as Carmilla's. His hide is thicker than it appears to be.
Might this be a form of lycan?
Had I arrived at the region under the Lord of Lycans?'
This caused me to stiffen up. This notion came with its own set of problems. Problems that caused me to stiffen in my search. But I had to go somewhere.
So, I once more went my way towards the water, but before that, I took my time to create a grave and gave a proper burial to the ones who died, placing their clothes above their graves.
I ran faster than ever before, almost flying with how fast and long my strides were.
This kept on going on until the canopy of green thinned, giving way to more light, and finally giving way to the golden shore of sand, repeatedly being hit on its border by waves of water, that retreated after each attempt.
Once more, I was enraptured by the sight of the clear blue sea, instead of the dark black water acting as a mirror to the dark sky. I could not help but relax and take a deep breath, letting in the smell of the breeze.
For what seemed like forever, I just sat down on the shore and relaxed, watching the sun set that enraptured me with its ethereal beauty instead of the grim reminder of what was to come at night.
I sat there for hours and hours, memories of my past life going through my head, my fallen brothers, the monsters I killed.
For a moment, a thought entered my mind.
'Would it not be better to just live here? Fish for my food, sleep in a wood cabin, and spend time gazing at the sky.
I have played my part in the war, didn't I? I almost died from it. So would it not be fine for me to just stop and spend the rest of my life here…until I die.'
When I was in Brotherhood, this is how I imagined an ideal life to be. To live a mundane life until death, but now that I have a chance to live it, somehow it feels more oppressive than I thought.
So I did nothing, just took a deep breath, feeling discomfort despite being in a place that I had always dreamed of.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
I did not realize when I drifted off to sleep, but I was woken up by the first light of the sun shining on my face, greeted by a sunrise after witnessing sunset.
Once more, I remained in place, gazing at the sky for a while, until I decided to go under the shade of a tree, drifting off to sleep once more, with the soothing sound of waves coming and crashing down by the shore.
I woke up once more by noon and decided to eat a coconut despite not feeling hungry or thirsty after all this time. As I was chewing on it, my eyes caught something in the blue of the sea shining back the sun.
'A boat? No, it is too big to be a boat but too small to be called a ship either. What is it doing here?'
I thought with undivided interest because the people on the boat were the first I had seen after waking at this place, who were alive. If they were here, then they were bound to have some settlement where I could know where I am.
I also observed the activity of the vessel, and could understand that the main purpose of the ship was to fish.
'I could swim there, but that could scare the people as well.
Maybe I should let them come to me instead.'
With this thought, I broke a tree with a single punch and removed bark from it. Then, channeling a bit of Shadow Magic to create a spark, just like Harris used to do, I set the wood on fire and kept on feeding the fire to produce as much smoke as possible.
It took quite some time, but I could notice people on boats shouting and talking something amongst themselves in a foreign tongue and pointing in the direction of the smoke. After what seemed like an argument, the boat started to steer in my direction, with everyone keeping their eyes open and looking round and about.
This might be because of the monsters I had encountered before.
To show that this was not created by a monster, but a fellow like them, I started to wave and make a sound.
"HEEEEYYYY!!!! HERE!!!!"
Because they were looking for anything untoward and the loud sound of my voice, they were quick to notice me, but hesitant to approach.
So I continued to shout at the top of my lungs, waving my hand in an attempt to show that mean no harm. Hesitantly, they moved the vessel closer to the shore. Seeing me behaving without hostility, they gained more confidence and moved faster, until they were touching the shore.
Then, I walked towards the shore and finally breached the water, pushing past it as ripples formed at my every step. I was finally waist-deep in water, with the boat in front of me. People on the vessel were clearly human, though their feature was not any I had seen before. Their eyes were sharper.
"My name is Michael." I spoke to them as they were looking me up and down. At my words, they turned to each other with a face of confusion and turned to me, when someone with a bald head spoke to me.
"@Y*)JA_&$"
'Ahh…I hoped that my ears were playing tricks on me, but it seems they really do speak a different language. Quite a predicament I find myself in.' I thought to myself.
It should have bothered me, but knowing that the difference in language entailed that I was in a land far away from my place of birth, a place filled with unrest and strife.
Still, I needed to communicate with them somehow, so I did the most basic thing.
I pointed at myself and spoke loudly and clearly.
"Michael."
Understanding me somewhat, the man pointed at himself and spoke.
"Norami."
"Norami."
I repeated after him, which caused him to nod in affirmation.
Then I pointed at the Island.
Then at me.
"I."
To the vessel.
"Go."
"Gou?"
Norami spoke in confusion, but somehow, with luck at my side, he understood what I was trying to say and pointed at his boat and nodded immediately.
He then turned to his group of people and discussed amongst them in their common tongue, then, turning to me, reached his hand out. Smiling at him, I grabbed his hand and climbed aboard, finally to begin my journey towards my new life.
*******************************************
Leave Power Stones and Reviews to show support.
I had written a volume and a half more for my previous work, but it received minimal support, so I hope people show support for this one.
Comment too. It feels like I am writing to actual people and not ghosts.