well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

The loud screams and pained voices that echoes through the halls of the church were of no surprise to anyone. The Oakland Church had always been a place of despair, for reasons other than the worshipping of God. Valeria stood outside in the silence of the night as she looked upon it with disdain. She was never quite a fan of places of worship but oddly found a sense of twisted comfort in them but this place was far from comfort. With the howling winds, multiples voices echoed, exposing the world of the terrible things done to them. They were quite rampant, enough for the townspeople to warrant calling for help. Although she wasn’t quite sure if she would be able to help much, she was here to accompany Erebus due to their agreement. Their job this time around was to rid the church of the spirits although, to the vampire, that seemed redundant. They always came back. It seemed to be nothing more than an endless cycle of tormenting those tormented sounds but that didn’t bother her. It was a job after all and one that needed to be done. She had very rarely interacted with spirits before so finding the chance to do so was too good an opportunity to pass up on. She always though, or rather hoped, that there would be no life after death and yet, the wonders of the world continued to prove her wrong by indulging her in the realities of haunting spirits and enlightening her with the concepts of heaven and hell. It was troublesome, if anything, as she couldn’t help but wonder that there truly was no end. Nevertheless, thinking about the end was something she could not do right now. After all, she had just embarked upon her journey to find a new beginning. She simply hoped she wouldn’t regret it. Sauntering in with hopes of the rogue following close behind, she looked around the church. It looked so pure and clean that it irked her. During the day, it was always quite busy but at night, the people left it along in fear of the phantoms that haunted their sacred place of worship.

364/2500

well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

Compared to the man who walked around adorned for war, quite understandably so, the vampire was clad in a simple outfit comprising of a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a jacket. Her hair was let loose, hiding its pale color within the darkness of the church. The job today was to simply get rid of the lingering presence but for Valeria, it was a bit more than that. It had been a few days since the agreement between the two was reached and this was their first conquest together. She wanted to observe and examine her own feelings and she wanted to see if being around him really did push her to become stronger. Sure, she realized it was something that she needed to do eventually but whether his presence actually made a difference in her sense of urgency was an entirely different question and she was here to find the answer to that.

"You're not looking too bad yourself, I guess." Replying to his pleasantries, she followed the man into the great room. It looked very similar to a typical church, filled with the void of feelings of hope and despair that danced in the union. As they approached the podium, she noticed that he was leading her to the trap door behind which the catacombs rested. "It seems like you've been here before. I don't suppose you happen to know why these spirits latched onto the church in particular, do you?" She was quite intrigued. There was always something about churches that drew her to them despite her disdain. As someone who was arguably closer to these kindred souls than the living, perhaps she wondered if they too came here with a twisted vision of seeking comfort only to end up realizing that it was the place that tied them down to their internal traumas instead.

673/2500

well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

The sound of his footsteps halting brought her wandering eyes back to him, momentarily observing the interior of the church. While the place was quite clean and in pristine condition, there were traces of its age apparent if one looked closely. In the dark, Valeria had no problems observing the old building. While no specks of dust rested within these walls, the wood boasted fragility, perhaps staying strong because of the prayers of the people to assure them that even with practical impending dangers, belief is the answer. It was quite an ignorant system indeed but the vampire wasn't there to offer her own heavily prejudiced take on the people who demanded her help.

She locked eyes with Erebus as he answered her question, bringing up a war that caused a visible confusion in her expression. The vampire had lived quite long so while the tragedy of Oak did sound like something that rang bells in her mind, she was at a point in time where her memories only further dug her dilemma of reality. Sometimes, she couldn't really tell if the things that she remembered happening were a fragment of the reality she had witnessed throughout her life or whether they were nothing more than concoctions of her own imagination, mingling with memories of real occurrences to further send her into a trance.

What she did understand, however, was the different nature of the rogue when working. He seemed almost sad when talking about the corpses which did catch the silver-haired woman off-guard. She didn't particularly see him as someone with a lot of humanity which was ironic considering that out of the two, he was the human. However, she also acknowledged that she didn't know him well enough yet so his unexpected status as an empath served as a reminder of his layers, that she would need time to peel now that she had reached a settlement with him. "Damned they really are but they have to go. Since you've been here before, do you also know how to get rid of spirits? I've never had the opportunity to kill one." Of course, the vampire didn't. She had spent all her life wanting to kill one thing only, narrowing her vision of the world to better accommodate her own hatred.

Her snake-like eyes watched Erebus as he revealed an odd symbol on the ground. From the corner of her eye, she could apparitions in the dark. They were like blurry silhouettes that blended with the dark. "Have you seen spirits above ground before?" She looked back at him, "I think we might have to stay up a bit longer than expected."

1116/2500

well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

To be reminded of their status as the undead was apparently the way to rid this church of the ghastly spirits that surrounded it. The vampire nodded, slightly underwhelmed by the method but nonetheless, intrigued. She, for one, knew just how powerful knowledge and awareness were. After all, she remained shrouded in the layers of denial for that very reason. To be aware of one's vulnerability really brings forth a lot more advantages, for others at least. Valeria sort of pities the poor souls who were trapped beneath this apparent holy structure, sent off without prayers and unaware of their own fates as the undead. Breaking the news to them, in a way, was a lot harsher than killing them because it would make them recognize their lack of humanity. The vampire herself knew all too well how that particular feeling burned within her frozen heart.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, her nose picked up the scent of sulphuric acid lingering in the church. Scrunching her nose, she could tell that within the realm of possibilities, the chances of this going well were rather slim. Her eyes that followed the apparitions made their way back to the circle once the figures had disappeared, not hidden away in the darkness because the creature of the night could find them quite easily. The glowing circle began to take form, spreading out like a mandala on a canvas, stinging her gaze in the process. Its appearance was as beautiful as it was devious and for good reason. As the numbers started swaying around, giving rise to a figure, Valeria moved towards the side to avoid the reach of the desperate spirit, shrouded in darkness.

Her snake-like eyes followed as it began to take more practical form, chanting in what she recognized as Bellan, before being interrupted by Erebus. She swiftly moved away as the poltergeist manifested into a long shadow monster, diving into the wooden floorboard and slithering through it like a snake. Even in the darkness, its shadowy figure stood distinct against the old, creaky wooden floors, making it rather easy for the vampire to follow its traces. As Erebus began to take action, she stood on the sidelines, ready to jump in if needed but he seemed more than capable of handling the situation himself. However, the monster was quite fast. As it sped through the floor, wreaking havoc in its path as a testament to its strength, she couldn't stand aside for long. Instead, she kept a close eye on it because compared to humans, her sense of sight was a lot keener in this environment.

The walls began to bleed, earning almost a scoff from the woman who could not smell the blood. "Be careful, it's using illusions." The problem was that she could not tell where the illusion ended and reality began. She could only speak for the blood but when it began to show its skeletal face, she was at a blank. Erebus, however, seemed more experienced as he chanted in Bellan, attempting to drive the spirit away but that didn't seem to work. The vampire swiftly moved to the side, staying closer to the circle, as an attack making use of what she guessed was darkness magic, came her way. It hit the podium, in front of which she stood, causing the wood to decay and melt away, bringing forth another burst of the smell of sulphuric acid. As her attention was momentarily taken by the horrendous effect of its attack, it seemed that her partner was caught. His words entered her ears with little instruction before he got attacked.

The scent of his blood invaded her nose but Valeria managed to keep her focus, immediately aiming for the floor where the circle was drawn. If the monster was being protected by it, she simply needed to get rid of it. Turning her attention towards the glowing ring, she clenched her fist before aiming it toward the floor with as much strength as she could muster up. Luckily, the old stature of the church meant that it had been structurally weak in areas, allowing the floor that adorned the circle to crack against the impact of her attack. The cracks in the floor separated the circle, causing the glow to flicker away as an indication that it was working. A shriek escaped the monster, seemingly weakening its power. However, she needed more strength to completely break the surface on which the circle was drawn. As she recoiled her arm to go for another hit to cause a crack large enough to destroy the circle, she felt something slither over her wrist, pulling her back from making her next attack.

1900/2500

well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

The slimy grip on her wrist burned into her skin, pulling her away from the cracked floorboard. It seemed that attacking the glowing runic drawings on the floor did indeed work towards weakening the powers of the monster, as made obvious by the shriek that escaped its body. She flinched as the sound invaded her ears but didn't have much time to react as she felt her body being pulled back. As Erebus attacked the poltergeist, the impact that sent it flying in the other direction dragged her with it. Yanking at her shoulder, her body was moved away from the circle that she was so close to destroying.

She planted her feet firmly against the floor, dragging her against it for a few feet before pulling her off her feet but as she moved through the air, the cape was tossed on her shoulders by her partner who moved in the opposite direction. It instantly weighed down on her as her free hand grasped onto the cloth that engulfed her entire body. Instantly, her vision was hindered. The darkness that surrounded her took on a shining white, blinding her momentarily before her eyes adjusted. While her vision remained perfect amid the darkness, she could see a lot more. Multiple apparitions flying away from the chaos caused by the monster blurred her sight as the screams of the creature, which seemed chaotic and wild suddenly seemed even more demonic.

Because of the properties of the cape, her wrist managed to phase through its grip, letting her escape before the monster collided against the old walls towards which it was headed. For a moment, she felt like she was falling, causing her to extend her arms forward and roll over into a somersault as she landed against the floor before stabilizing herself. She could hear the thud of the rogue landing behind her. The scent of his blood lingered in the air, indicating that he had taken a bit of damage. Valeria, however, focused on the monster in front of her.

Wasting no time, she leaped forward as she caught sight of the dagger flying past her and towards the monster from the corner of her eye. As the blade pierced into the monster's eye, causing a spurt of black goo to taint the wooden floor, her body followed close behind. Her wrist was still tingling with a burn left behind where the creature grabbed her but the rush of adrenaline pumping through her body made it so that she didn't notice. As she moved, her left hand removed the cape from her body while the right one balled into a fist, pulling it back before slamming sideways into the back of the dagger, pushing it a lot deeper into its huge eye socket until the blade completely disappeared into it.

The force of the sent it into a state of frenzy. The wall behind it cracked ever so slightly as its body was pushed deeper into it from the impact. Its body attempted to flail around in pain but the vampire was quick on her feet as she raised her leg to collide it against the monster, sending it flying in the direction opposite to where the circle was located. She was sure that Erebus would pick up where she left off as she leaped back towards the cracked circle. The glowing lines around it flickered as she approached, pulling her fist back and then slamming it against it. The impact caused the pieces of wood to go flying, causing cracks within the drawn circle as the runic glyphs faded back into the darkness. The light disappeared as it faded to being nothing more than a simple drawing against the tattered floorboard.

The screech of the monster was the only thing she heard as she turned back immediately to see what was happening. It really did seem like the drawing was some sort of protection, or perhaps, even a summoning ring that gave rise to this monster which immediately seemed a lot weaker but more volatile upon its destruction of it.   Its weakened state finally weighed down on it as the attacks delivered by Erebus previously and her own hits crashed against it. With no more protection available, the monster began disintegrating. Whether Erebus delivered a final blow or not to rid the church of the monster was up to him but she found herself asking, "Is it over?"

2639/2500