Yuurei was amazed by how spectacular and huge the castle was. There was nobody guarding the front door. It would seem like there was no need for anybody to guard this place. Between the person guarding the entrance of the cave, the monsters in the cave, the snowstorm, and the vampires, he could understand why there wasn’t anybody guarding the castle of Ansem.

There weren’t any worries about that, or so Yuurei and the group would think. The light mage would open the front door and he would smile when he entered. There was a lot of warmth emanating from this place and they had to close the door quickly.

Kailani would return Brone’s outfit as they had a destination to go into now. She would look around and her nose was quick to pick up scents from everywhere. The structure was huge, and it was a lot of room for fighting here. The berserker was going to say something, but he would notice Kailani’s face. He wondered what was wrong, but he figured he was going to find out.

“I smell nine people coming towards us. Wait no I smell ten of them. Be on your guard it seems like they know we’re here.” She said to them.

Yuurei would hear her words and he was glad that she was the one that told them ahead of time. The light mage had opened his hands and two magic circles would appear floating and he would have stars coming out and entering his body. He would feel himself stronger and faster as he was getting into a fighting stance.

“Brone, if there is someone stronger than the rest of them, then I need you to take the rest of them. This is going to be a tough one, but after that, we should hopefully be right there to Ansem.” He said to Brone as they would be appearing soon.

319

Brone Heavyaxe didn't have the patience or the time to be awed by the castle that stood erect within the blizzard, the cold of the snow pelting him and the wind pressing against him were annoying him long before they arrived. When it was his turn to passed in through the doorway of the large double doors, he quickly slammed the doors shut. All fell silent as the wind was no longer fighting him.

"Blasted weather" he grumbled, his teething chattering. As he turned to face his companions, Kailani handed him his clothing back and he was happy to don them again. Warmth was coating and comforting him, though the essence of the blizzard still clung to him like a specter. His nose was beet red and running which didn't allow him to smell the aromas that lightly scented the home.

It was beautiful, how everything was designed, though barely any light was available, save for the fireplace that was in the nearby parlor room and a few torches that lined the hallway further in towards the back behind the staircase. The foyer they stood in was so large that Brone though it was the living room. He looked at the rugged floor that draped over the marble floor, how clean and well kept it was... then the dwarf sneezed and a large amount of mucus tainted the expensive rug. And to that, Brone simply shrugged, not caring one bit.

Then he noticed his comrades were getting ready, to which he grunted in annoyance, "We just got in out of the damn cold" as he drew his axes.

Suddenly two handfuls of vampires, decorated in fancy clothing appeared throughout the foyer. Two at the top of the staircase, two  halfway down the staircase, three by the doorway of the parlor room and three by the opening to the long hallway by the staircase. They all looked as if they had just attended one of Blue Pegasus' events which gave nostalgia to Brone.

"Good evenin'" Brone laughed, thinking about how he didn't need a formal suit for this event.

351

It wouldn’t take long, but they would all arrive. Yuurei was rubbing his arms against each other, and the fireplace was doing the trick. Still, the appearance of the vampires was annoying. It would seem like they were all making sure that they were going to have to go through them to get anywhere.

“Are we seriously going to do this? We actually made it through everything you put in front of us and made it here. The big man himself couldn’t come out to take us on?” He asked them.

The vampires would look at each other and then they would look over at Shea. Shea would laugh a bit as he would hear his nonsense.

“So you got through Mya, but I figured she didn’t put up a fight. That woman has hated Master Ansem forever. The experimental vampire was supposed to do some damage, but I guess you guys have a healer on your team. I, on the other hand, will give my life for him. Hopefully, presenting you three dead to him will prove my worth to him.” He said to the group.

He would drop from the top of the staircase and down to the lower level. He made no noise, and he would look over at the group and he would have a huge smile on his face.

“Ah so you must be the boy. I didn’t think you would ever set foot here. You nine go feast on the little man and the woman with the cats. I will handle this guy on my own.” He said to the group as he rushed straight toward Yuurei.

Yuurei saw the speed with which he had rushed to him, and he would he had a small window to dodge the attack. When he did, he would feel the force behind the attack, and knew from right there he was on a whole other level from what they had fought before.

Yuurei would go for a low kick to the vampire’s shin, but he would jump up and away gracefully with a smirk on his face.

350|669

Enemies:

Vampire Soldiers: These soldiers are well trained, and work well with each other. They will try to split into groups to overwhelm their targets. They usually use their sharp nails to slice their opponents. They will try their best to get to the neck of their opponent to feed on them, and they all come with swords. Enemy's Statistics Strength: 250x9 Speed: 120x9 Constitution: 120x9 Endurance: 120x9

Shea: Shea one of Ansem’s high rank soldiers and vampire. Being turned by Ansem on his death bed gave him a devotion to the Vampire Lord that he never thought he would give anybody. He is smart, but quick to anger when talking about his dark lord. He is trying his best to become one of Ansem’s top rankings soldiers but has failed to do so within the decades that he has been alive. He does anything his lord asks him and being a high-ranking soldier of Ansem has access to his throne room. Enemy's Statistics Strength: 500 Speed: 500 Constitution: 500 Endurance: 500

The entire group emanated a menacing aura, the atmosphere of the foyer was intense that the flickering lights struggled to keep lit. The vampires gave sadistic smirks, waiting for the signal.

Brone sneezed. Destroying the intense theatrical entrance of the enemy, some vampires who pride themselves on their performance gritted their teeth in anger, "How dare you, soil the first act of our gothic drama" Elise, a vampire who donned elegant purple hair and matching heels, had said to the dwarf as she took a single step down the staircase in an exaggerated fashion, trying to maintain the essence of the genre.

"Gothic drama?" Brone sniffled, showing he had little care for their show, "I thought this was a comedy" he chuckled. The moment he insulted them, the vampires began to move, their eyes red with a mix of anger and irritation. Brone quickly shoved Kailani into the parlor room while he simultaneously swung his steel axe, planning on slicing off the incoming arm that was baring claws.

A hit!

However the blade didn't cut all the way through, surprising the dwarf, but he didn't allow that to slow him, he swung his second axe which slammed into the open maw of vampire who tried to bite upon Brone's neck. Blood leaked from the vampire's mouth, clearly it cut enough to force Jared back, but not enough to decapitate him as Brone had hoped. "Tough bastard, aren't ye?" he growled between his teeth.

"An understatement" Wolfgang, the brawny-looking vampire who sported a varsity jacket appeared on the dwarf's right, but before he could real back his fist for a punch, Brone swung his axes which were still embedded in Jared, forcing the black haired vampire off his weapons and sending him flying to Wolfgang, who had instinctively caught him.

Brone then ran towards the doorway of the parlor room where Kailani was getting up from the floor of, however Orpheus, the blue haired vampire, appeared in front of the doorway, standing as if he is part of a tragic scene, "We are Ansem's finest, the Hellion Cast" he strummed the lyre that he held so delicately, as beautiful as the sound was, Brone didn't care and didn't slow, he swung his axe, aiming for Orpheus' head, to which the blue haired vampire raised his left leg to deflect the blow, but the dwarf made a feint, stopping his swung halfway, then dropped beneath the raised leg before swinging his steel axe which delivered a deep cut into Orpheus' right leg while he ran passed him, forcing him to drop to the floor.

"Send in the understudy!" Brone laughed as he entered the room and closed the door after him. He looked back to Kailani and mouthed 'Hide'.

Orpheus, who was picking himself up from the floor growled with intense anger, his eyes went red, embarrassed that his posture was broken. The rest of the Hellion Cast cracked their knuckles and began to pose, trying to get back into character and waited for Elise's queue as she stood before the door, annoyed.

520 | 871

Yuurei would see that Brone was being attacked by a group of vampires. He was about to do something, but Shea had rushed straight to him. He would cover himself and he would feel the man’s fist on him. It was then he would feel the force behind the attack, and it would send him flying. He would hit the wall of the castle and he would bounce off the wall and onto the ground. The light mage would get up from the floor quickly and he would move away from the spot he was there. Shea would hit the ground instead of Yuurei.

He would get on his feet, and he would prepare himself to fight. Shea would rush toward him again and he would strike at Yuurei. The berserker would parry the attack coming to him, and he would swing his left fist at Shea. The vampire would dodge the punch without a problem, and he would gain distance from Yuurei before rushing straight to him.

The light mage would see the vampire right in front of him and they would exchange attacks. Yuurei would try to land a hit on Shea, but he couldn’t land a hit. Shea wouldn’t be able to hit Yuurei either, but the vampire was quick with his attacks. He wasn’t just attacking with his hands and legs, but he was also trying to get a bite out of Yuurei.

The half-elf would jump back from Shea, and he would look over at the vampire’s face.

“What is your name? Mya gave me her name, so I might as well ask you before we continue this fight.” He said to him.

Shea would rush straight to Yuurei and he would get into his face and he would try to strike him. Yuurei would dodge the attack as he saw Shea’s hand right by his face. The light mage would spin around, and he attempted to kick Shea. Shea would block the attack, but he would be pushed to the side and away from the half-elf.

“The name is Shea. If I defeat you, I should be worthy of his praise and approval.” He said as he was wondering what to do next.

Kailani would hide with Renji and Nimbus. She figured that she would allow the fighters to get their hands dirty. She would be able to heal any of them if they got injured in the battle.

405|1074

Jared yelled out in pain, trying to curse, but could barely form a sentence now that his jaw and mouth were damaged, "Don't cry about it, Jared, the show must go on" Meriam cartwheeled by her companion with a joyful expression which further annoyed Jared.

"Now!?" Wolfgang said, impatiently pacing back and forth while staring at the door.

Elise looked at him, annoyed with his impatient nature, "Go on then, it wouldn't be the first time you broke form" she gestured to him as she looked away from him dramatically. Wolfgang scoffed, not caring, he simply wanted to put his fists to work, tired of only using his fighting skills in mock fights. He then rushed forward and tackled the door, breaking it with ease, but as he entered the room, a chair was thrown at his face, but his reflexes were quickly, he backhanded the chair, shattering it to splinters, but it was simply a distraction as the blade of an axe slammed into his neck and before he could react, Brone's second axe slammed into the neck as well, digging deep, but Wolfgang's neck was still attached.

The red haired jock smiled while staring at the dwarf who had leaped into the air for the attack, "Not enough-" Wolfgang was then interrupted as Brone dropped to the floor and forced his strength onto his axes, forcing Wolfgang onto his hands and knees. The brute force of the dwarf trying to dig his axes deeper into the vampire's neck while Wolfgang held against the floor caused his hands and knees to dig into the wood. It was now measure of strength that neither let up on.

"Hello!" Meriam poked her head into the room and smiled when she saw the situation Wolfgang was in, "Wolfgang isn't doing so well" she happily said to the rest of the vampires.

Jared rushed passed her, but the moment he entered the room, the force between Wolfgang and Brone were applying against one another shattered part of the floor and the two plummeted into the hole. Jared rushed to the edge of the hole and looked down, but before he could react, a hand reached out from the hole and grabbed Jared's collar, the arm then pulled downward, but Jared didn't allow it to happen, he instinctively pulled back, allowing Brone to pull himself up and the moment their eyes met, he slammed his helmeted head into Jared's forehead, cracking his skull and ending his unlife.

Brone stood at the edge of the hole with Wolfgang's severed head in his left hand. "Lost one of me axes" Brone said in between heavy breaths as he looked through the doorway at the rest of the vampires, "Any of ye want to get it for me?" he pointed to the hole in the floor.

"My turn!" Meriam happily dashed into the room along with Orpheus by her side.

"He shall perish as I play the song of sorrows" Orpheus sang as he and Meriam split up, flanking the dwarf by swarming him, constantly running around him in complete circles. Brone began thinking of his next trick, because he knew his only hope was to continue playing tricks at least until he took all of them down or until Yuurei came in for the save.

559 | 1,430

Yuurei wasn’t enjoying this fight with Shea. He couldn’t really land a hit on this guy, but he couldn’t do the same thing. The light mage was quick on his feet, and he was going to continue to make sure that it would stay like that.

“You aren’t going to like the outcome of this fight Shea. Still, I got to take care of you, so I can help out Brone.” He said to the vampire.

Shea would laugh a bit when he heard those words, and he would rush to him. The vampire would close the gap between the two. He would strike at Yuurei a few times, and he would move back as he would avoid being hit. The light mage would smile on his face as it seemed like he was being frustrated with not being able to land a hit.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to get your master’s approval if you can’t land a hit Shea. I’m going to kill your master after I finish up with you.” He said to Shea.

Shea would hear these words and it would irritate him. He didn’t like what Yuurei had said to him about Ansem. He would move quicker, but it wasn’t enough. The light mage would watch Shea attack, and he would dodge the attack. When he did that he would move into Shea, and he would elbow the vampire right into the abdomen. The vampire would be sent flying and the distance between them would increase. Shea would fall to the ground, and he would grunt from the pain as Yuurei hit him hard.

“I see you starting to see the difference between us two. I do get to say you’re strong though. Still, not enough to take me on.” He said to Shea as he was getting under his skin.

Shea would get up from the floor as he would groan from the pain. Yuurei would just crack his neck as he was getting ready to take him out. He did know that Brone was fighting nine vampires, so he had to do what he could to help out if he even needed it.

361|1435

Meriam was the first to strike; she was quick, darting in low with a large grin on her face as her claws came up. Brone was already backing up to avoid the attack. As the swipe nearly hit him, the dwarf was already swinging his blade, but Meriam was already gone, her speed had surprised Brone, but it was all a distraction. Orpheus had delivered a kick into the dwarf's back, the ringmail armor shattered, sending metallic rings everywhere.

Brone was grateful his armor had protected him, allowing him to twirl about and slam his axe into Orpheus; though subconsciously the blue haired vampire put his lyre in the way, trying to deflect the blow, but the instrument was just that, not only form of defense, so it was shattered and the axe bit into Orpheus' side, sending him flying and slamming into the large painting of a well dressed lord.

"Well then-" Brone was about to make a clever joke, but his eyes spotted movement; Meriam returned and attempted to try and swipe at the dwarf again, but he jumped back and began to run towards the other side of the room.

"Run, run, little hairy boy" Meriam laughed as she began skipping after her prey.

Once Brone reached the fireplace, he halted and turned about, just in time for Meriam to tackle into him, just as Brone hoped, he had used his steel axe to deflect her claws. She had great strength and had tried to shove him into the fire, but the dwarf was too sturdy, however he had given her the upper hand and lifted his heel slightly... only to reverse their positioning; he spun and allowed her momentum to propel her into the fire. She collided with the blazing logs and the unclean soot that was being collected for a long time.

The cloud of soot burst from the fireplace and crept through the room, nearly reaching the other side of the room where the rest of the vampires were.

"Be on your toes" Jude careful pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose, "As I recall, he tends to use tricks to get the upper hand" as he said this in his monotone voice, the rest of the vampires stood ready in case of a surprise attack.

Suddenly something burst through the cloud of soot, and both Jude and Harriot quickly intercepted and lashed out their razor sharp claws, dicing the figure... however they soon realized it was the burnt form of Meriam, now dead in pieces.

"And this is why you aren't allowed to write the important screenplays" Harriot gave Jude a side glance. Jude merely scoffed, not caring that he had a mistake and destroyed Meriam, who had long ago hated, "And will either of you stop your snogging and actually assist?" Harriot angrily turned towards Sol and Luna, who were in the corner, embracing one another while staring into one another's eyes.

"Mind us not, for my love's radiance draws the attention of the room" Sol caressed Luna's pale skin with the back of his hand.

"No force or threat shall take my eyes from my love's" Luna said in little more than a whisper as she lightly brushed her lips against Sol's.

"VILE INSECT!" Orpheus pulled himself from the hole in the painting. His eyes were blazing red, his precious lyre was destroyed. Now he sought the dwarf, who he intended on feeding until he was but a raisin. With the soot cloud dissipating, Orpheus managed to spot the smaller frame of the dwarf jumping into the hole in the middle of the room. Orpheus quickly dove in after him with intense anger.

622 | 2,052

Shea wasn’t supposed to lose, he didn’t think he could be bested by anybody, but the higher-ranking members in Ansem’s circle. Still, that one hit had allowed him to feel the power that Yuurei had in his body. The light mage could see it in his eyes, and it would seem like the traveling and everything and the fighting had gotten him stronger. This was good because it was what he needed to fight against the Vampire Lord in the castle. Shea would disappear from Yuurei’s line of sight, and of course, the vampire was silent on his feet. He would make his way behind him as he was going to drain his blood and regain his health from Yuurei.

The berserker knew that he couldn’t see him and if that were the case, then it must have been because he was somewhere he couldn’t see him. Yuurei had readied himself as he was getting ready to exchange blows with Shea right now. This guy was an Ansem sympathizer unlike Mya, which is why he didn’t kill her in the first place. It wasn’t just that, but this guy had threatened and order an attack on Kailani and Brone, which he wasn’t going to allow.

Shea would end up behind Yuurei and he would latch his teeth into the light mage’s neck. Yuurei would feel this, and he would grunt from the pain, but he wasn’t going to let this go on for too long. Instinctively, Yuurei would reach over to Shea with his hand into his fist as he would connect his fist to the man’s skull. He would feel the impact of Yuurei’s attack and then it would go all dark as the vampire noticed that he wasn’t breathing or thinking and then it went blank.

He would fall on his back, and he would just look lifeless as if Yuurei had killed him by breaking his skull. He would crack his neck as he would look down at Shea.

“That’s for threatening my friends. Now you don’t get to be anything to Ansem, or even see his death.” He said as he was getting ready to go help out Brone.

Yuurei would look around and he would hear crashing noises in another area. It wasn’t just that, but it would look like a burst of flame would light up the other room before dying down quickly. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he would make his way over there. When he got in the room, he would see that there were a bunch of vampires still left and conversing while fighting Brone. It would seem like there were two that were next to each other.

He wasn’t sure what was going on here, but he could tell those two were not paying attention to their surroundings. I guess a surprising entrance would be a good thing to do. He thought to himself as he ran straight towards Sol and Luna. When he got close enough, Yuurei would attempt to pierce both of their hearts and take them out for all to see.

517|1952

The moment Brone landed upon the stone cellar floor, he looked about, searching for his second axe.

"Running like a rat!?" Orpheus came crashing down, his claws nearly dinging in the dwarf's back, but luckily Brone tumbled out of the way. The moment he spotted his axe, he dove for it, "Your weapon will not stop by rage!" the musician cried out as he darted for Brone.

The moment the dwarf grabbed the handle of the axe, he quickly turned about and swung both his axes. Even though Orpheus' claws dug into the dwarf's side, sinking and scraping bone as it pierced the skin, the axes beheaded the vampire. "Blast it!" Brone cried out in pain. The head of the vampire tumbled, though the body was dead, it remained standing with it's claw still imbedded in the dwarf's side.

Broke took a deep breath and kicked the corpse away. As the claw was ripped away, Brone winced in pain again. He began catching his breath. He's been constantly moving, constantly thinking for the next move and this was the first time he could stop and try catching his breath. But he couldn't stop thinking, he knew he had five more vampires to tend to, "Damn it" he cursed with an exhale.

"Sorry, but that was simply the first Act" came the voice of Elise who had stepped into the light emanated from the fireplace above the hole. Her black dress moved so elegantly as her purple eyes caught the dwarf's attention.

"Lass" Brone said as he forced himself to get into his battle stance, gripping both his axes, "Yer blind... this is the third Act, and the curtain will fall on Ansem's head" he chuckled though blood had shown through his shirt. Elise licked her lips, smelling the blood.

"How foolish that you think this is your story when it is-"

"No monologues" Brone interrupted as he darted forward, forcing Elise to take a step back and dodge the axe swing, then a side step to dodge the second swing, she had watched the dwarf fight her cast members enough to recognize his attack pattern. She lashed her clawed right hand but Brone ducked, dodging it while bringing his steel axe up with an undercut, Elise then blocked it with her left hand. There they were, staring at one another as they pressed against one another, a test of strength.

* * *

"I don't hear Orpheus yelling anymore" Jude removed his glasses to clean the lenses with his napkin.

"Obviously he had perished" Harriot said with little to no emotion, simply with assurance.

Both Luna and Sol yelped in pain as Yuurei sank his hands into their chest. The lovers looked into each other's eyes, "Do not cry... my love..." Sol struggled with his words as his last breath was escaping him, though the pain was intense, he did his best to find the last bit of his strength to raise his hand to caress his love's face, "For your hand... shall never part from mine..." his left hand holds her right hand.

"I cry... but I do not fear..." Luna's eyes water and tears run down her face as she stares into her love's eyes, "For our love... will remain... ever after-" before she could finish her sentence, she goes limp. Sol, grief hitting him, begins to cry for just a second before he too goes limp.

Harriot and Jude stare at the lovers in silence before they both say "Tragic" at the same time with the same dead tone. Then they rush at Yuurei at full speed intending on ripping him apart.

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Yuurei had killed the two vampires without a problem. He looked at the others as the two in front of him would exchange words. It was then they would both become limp and fall to the ground. The large thud on the floor would bring him to stand up straight. He would look over to see that there were two vampires rushing straight toward him. It would seem like they were not happy with his actions. Well, honestly, he couldn’t tell because they looked like they didn’t show any expressions on their face.

They would try to slash at him, and the light mage would step back as he would dodge their attacks. He wasn’t going to let these monsters get a hit on him. He had already had to deal with Shea doing that, but it wasn’t going to be the same with them. He would dance around the room they were in as the two coordinated their attacks with each other. The berserker looked at Brone for a second and he could tell that his friend was going through a lot on his own.

He was glad that he was able to come when he did to lighten the load for him. The half-elf would continue to move around as he was able to count how many vampires were remaining now. It would seem like it was just these three that were remaining. That was good because then it wouldn’t be an issue. He had maintained his magic the entire time, so he was quick to dodge them with ease. He was checking on their patterns and soon enough he knew what and how to take them both out. It wouldn’t take long, but they would both try to attack Yuurei at the same time, but he would jump out of the way and gained a nice amount of distance from them.

“This guy won’t stop moving. He’s faster than the little guy.” Jude would say.

“Careful, if he’s heard that means Shea was defeated. He’s no pushover.” Harriot said.

They were right though; Yuurei was quick to press his feet on the floor before pushing toward them. He would move as quickly as he could, and he would move at full speed before closing the distance between the two of them. Yuurei had both his arms out ready to land a double lariat on their necks and possibly take their head off their bodies in an instant. If they were taken out then, there would only be one vampire left before they would go and see Ansem and deal with the Vampire Lord.

436|2388

Elise was going to say something clever and eloquent, but Brone would never know what that would have been because before she could speak, he pulled the same move he had dealt against Jared; he slammed his other axe into Elise's mouth, cutting into her mouth and jaw, but like the previous vampire, she was sturdy. But Brone didn't let up, he pushed forward, forcing her up against the wall of the cellar and pressed the blade, trying to force it deeper into her mouth, but the woman was strong, the look of anger in her eyes were piercing, her lavender pupils deepened and her corneas went from white to black, the dwarf didn't need a fortune teller to know that was bad news and a foreboding warning, so he pressed as hard as he could.

The vampire lashed at him, or at least she tried to, her clawed right hand was aiming to rip the dwarf's throat out, but the other axe had slammed against her wrist, pinning it to the wall. Elise's scream was muffle, the steel axe prevented her from making barely a sound as Brone pushed further.

For the briefest of moments, Elise and Brone stared into one another's eyes, their faces so close, only the blade of the steel axe kept them from getting any closer. Elise could see fear in Brone's eyes, a fear he was battling with his straight-forward fighting, betting his life on this final attack. As for Brone, he could see tiredness in Elise's eyes behind the anger. He would have wondered what that could be, if it wasn't for his rage that was driving him.

He stepped in and the blade managed to fully go through, severing the top part of Elise's head from the bottom.

The vampire went silent and limp and Brone stepped back. He spent his couple of seconds taking deep breaths, still gripping his axes in both hands. He wanted to tend to his bleeding wound, but he still had four more vampires to deal with. He looked up at the hole in the ceiling and made his way up a pile of crates, then managed to climb out of the hole.

Instead of seeing four vampires waiting for him, he saw Yuurei with the heads of the lovers at his feet, "That's five to your five" Brone laughed in between his heavy breathing, "I guess Ansem is the tie breaker" he said. He gestured to the door of the parlor room with one of his axes, signaling for Yuurei to lead on and he'll follow. Then he looked over to Kailani who was coming out of hiding, gesturing her to follow.

448 | 3,116

Yuurei was looking around to see if these vampires were still alive and kicking. It wouldn’t seem like any of these would come to attack him. That was good because he needed all the energy, he could have to fight Ansem. While waiting he would hear the words from Brone, which would make him laugh a bit. It was true now that he thought about it. They had both taken out five vampires each and now they were heading to the final one. This was good and he was actually anxious and nervous about it all. The vampire lord himself didn’t come out even though he could probably hear and smell his underlings dying.

“Yeah, let’s be prepared for that.” He said to Brone.

Kailani would use her nose to smell blood everywhere, but the scent of a bunch of things just standing in one place. She would come out of hiding without hesitation and she would see both her friends still standing. The dragon slayer would walk over to them both with Renji and Nimbus on her shoulders. There she would see that they were both wounded, which made her get close to them without hesitating.

She would heal them both at the same time. She had to make sure that they were ready for the next battle. She knew that there was a strong scent of death behind the other door, but there were two others as well.

“So, there are three scents coming from behind the door over there. One smells of death and the other two do not so much. We’re going to have to prepare ourselves for what’s to come.” She said to them as she was finishing up healing them.

Yuurei would crack his neck as he would hear her words and he would take them into consideration.

“I’m glad you two are here. We came this far, so let’s finish this together. Still, like I said please run if you guys need to.” He said to them, but Kailani would shake her head because she wouldn’t do that.

Yuurei would move toward the door where the scent was coming from. Kailani had led the way on where to go, and there Yuurei would open it up. When he did that, he would see Ansem sitting on a throne with two people chained next to him. Yuurei would look at them and then looked over to Ansem as he could see that this man looked scary and was a force to be reckoned with.

“The young lad finally made his way to me. I cannot believe your son never gave up on hunting me down.” He said to the two people in chains.

Yuurei would hear this and he would look over to see the two people. His eyes stared into them, and he would slowly realize that he had similar features to them. It wouldn’t take long, but he would realize that those were his parents. He was furious, but also tears began to roll down his cheeks. He didn’t know whether to attack or just drop to his knees.

Still, he felt as if he had failed. Why? Well, he had been preparing for this day to seek vengeance for his parents, and they were alive and rotting all this time. If he had known this, he would have worked and trained harder and faster to rescue them.

“Mom, dad?” He would call out to them wondering what they were saying.

Ansem would look at everyone and allowed things to go as they were.

“My son, you have grown so big. And is that, it must be Kailani. You have been by Yuurei's side this entire time. I’m glad and happy, but you two shouldn’t have come here. He’s too strong.” She said to them as she noticed the dwarf with them.

“Ansem leave my son and his friends alone. They don’t need to go through what Caerwyn and I are going through.” He said to Ansem.

“You’re telling me what to do Elijah? Your son came here with his friends and killed my followers. I must return the favor. If they made it this far then a lot of my men must have perished. It is only right I give him the battle he wants and deserves.” He said to Yuurei’s father as he would stand up and looked at the three of them.

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Brone felt relief when Kailani's magical touch hovered over his wound. The pain and ache vanished within a minute. "Thanks, lass, now let's go finish this" He said with a reassuring smile, then gave a solid grin to Yuurei, they were so close to reaching the half-elf's goal.

They followed Kailani as they made their way through the castle until finally they reached the throne room and there upon his throne was another vampire. Brone didn't need to be a genius to understand this was Ansem, but seeing the couple chained to the vampire's side, then to see Yuurei's expression, it hurt Brone. He had always thought his parents were dead, but to see them like this, the dwarf gritted his teeth in anger, "Bah! To hell with this monster!" Brone said as he drew both his axes and ran forward.

Ansem chuckled as he watched the dwarf run towards him, "Clearly you are joking, this is your fighter? A stout creature who moves so slowly?" he joked as he slowly walked down the steps that led to his throne.

Brone blinked and the next thing he knew, he was standing next to Yuurei where he had first started. He was confused at first, but instead of thinking it over, he just ran again as Ansem slowly made his way to the bottom step, his arms spread out, as if presenting himself in a genteel fashion.

The dwarf blinked again and once again he was back where he started. He wasn't sure what was going on, but when he looked over to Ansem, he saw that his cape had flapped as if a strong wind had suddenly blew pass. Then he thought of the possibility that Ansem was moving so fast that he wasn't able to see the vampire move.

What was going on?

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Yuurei was not happy with how Ansem spoke to his father. He didn’t know his parents like that, and it was because of this monster. He had taken that away from him. He was going to pay for that, and it was going to be now. He felt the energy within his gauntlet surging through him and as for his other spells he had been maintaining them this entire time. He had his left-hand open and soon a magic circle would appear with stars coming out and entering Yuurei’s body. This would allow him to feel as if he could take more hits than he was used to.

He did notice that Brone had tried to move forward, but Ansem’s cape would push the dwarf back. That surprised Yuurei because he was pretty sure that it was hard to push Brone back. The vampire lord continued to walk down the stairs as Yuurei’s parents couldn’t move from where they were.

“Your parents are going to watch you die, and continue to live on. They will have to live knowing that I kill their son. I will have your friends watch you die as well, so you don’t have to worry about their lives. I love watching elves suffer and that girl behind you seems to care about you a lot.” He said to Yuurei as he would make his way to the dance floor.

Kailani would take a step back as she knew that she would only get in the way of this fight. Yuurei crack his neck and his knuckles due to anger and he figured it was time to fight. The light mage rushed straight toward Ansem without hesitating. The Vampire Lord would see this, and he was surprised by his determination. Still, it wasn’t enough. The power he had now wasn’t enough for him to be able to take Ansem.

Yuurei had the power, but his speed wasn’t enough. He would swing his fist at Ansem, but the Vampire Lord would dodge the attack without a worry. It was then that Yuurei would feel something hard hit him on his face. It wasn’t just that, but he felt a slight crack on his jaw as he was sent flying across the room. The berserker would crash right into a wall causing debris to pick up everywhere.

"Yuurei! Yuurei!" Both his parents said at the same time as they were shocked and scared for their child.

The half-elf would cough up blood from the attack and he would feel that this vampire had fractured his jaw as well. Still, this couldn’t be the end. He needed to take him out, he needed to kill him, this couldn’t be for nothing. Yuurei would get up from the floor slowly as that one attack had done a lot to him. Ansem would smile when he saw that the young man was still standing this was good because he wanted to enjoy this.

He would look over to Brone next and with a smile on his face, he would start approaching the dwarf.

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The vampire had spat out banter, and though Brone had played with such witty talk in fights, he was annoyed at this point. They have gotten this far and felt it was time to end it all, but before the dwarf could make his next move, Yuurei made his. Just when Brone thought they would have the upper hand, the vampire quickly sent the half-elf into the wall, clearly inuring him. The dwarf was surprised and began worried.

Regardless of how the situation seemed, Brone still felt that the team had a shot at winning, so when Ansem approached the dwarf, Brone ran up to him, intending on pulling out one of his tricks. He swung his iron axe at Ansem's face, but then feinted and dropped low while swinging both axes at the vampire's midsection.

As the blades of both axes slammed into the vampire's stomach, the dwarf felt as if he had hit solid stone. Ansem's body didn't jerk or give any movement as if Brone had hit an unmovable force. This was dangerous. Brone quickly jumped back to gain distance, but Answer was already in his face, not allowing distance between them. He clenched his fist and Brone reacted by crossing his axes, using both of them as a form of defense, but as Ansem's fist slammed into the axes, he shattered both of them and his fist slammed into Brone's stomach.

The dwarf blacked out for but a moment, but he quickly woke up on the floor, Kailani leaning over him. As he picked up his head, he realized he was sent flying some distance away.

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Yuurei would see that Ansem was attacking Brone. He started running toward his friend as he didn’t want him to get hit. The sheer power from Ansem was scary enough to make him nervous. He wasn’t sure if Brone would be able to take that attack head-on. Still, he wasn’t quick enough, and Brone would also see what they were dealing with firsthand.

The berserker rushed straight toward the vampire lord. He hoped Brone being a distraction would be a start to change the fight. When he got to Ansem though, the vampire lord would turn to Yuurei quickly and he would dodge the attack without a problem. The light mage would swing with his left hand afterward, but Ansem would dodge that as well. He had a smirk on his face as he looked at Yuurei. It was time to play with his food.

Ansem would watch Yuurei struggle as he attempted to attack again and again, but every time he missed, Ansem would rip away at Yuurei’s skin as wounds would appear and blood would spew out. His parents would look over at the fight and they would start crying at what was happening. They had seen their son for the first time in seventeen years and now he was being tortured by this monster. They knew this would probably be the last time they saw their son, and it tore them apart.

“You should have been much stronger than this Yuurei. It’s too bad that you would die like this.” He said to Yuurei.

The light mage would stay quiet as he was hyper-focused on trying to take down Ansem. Still, no matter how hard he tried it was the same result. The Vampire Lord was starting to get bored and he would just chuckle a bit.

“It's time to end this and make your friends suffer.” He said this to Yuurei as he would step in front of the man’s face.

Yuurei didn’t notice at first, but he would still feel something warm on his abdomen. It happened so fast, but when he looked down, he would see a hole through his stomach, and he would look at Ansem in the face. They would stare at each other for a few, and then Yuurei would start coughing out blood repeatedly. The vampire lord would step back from Yuurei as the young man would fall to his knees and then flat onto the floor.

Ansem would look at Yuurei’s friends and he would shake his head. He would move over to his throne and he would press something. Soon enough the castle would start to shake as he would look over at the group.

“I shall leave you four with a parting gift. This castle will disappear from this area, and the people in that town will be free from my curse. You have done enough for that, but you lose something, well someone. You guys will stay behind in the snow and watch your friend slowly die in pain and agony. You can try to save him, but that’s if you can.” He said to them as the castle began to shake more.

It wouldn’t take long, but the castle would disappear from its location but would leave those Ansem didn’t want to bring along behind in the cold snow. The snowstorm was no longer happening either, so they were at least safe from that.

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Brone's vision blurred a moment, his body still reacting to the devastating blow Ansem had dealt. He struggled, but Kailani managed to assist him back onto his feet. After a coughing fit, his eyes focused again, in time to see Yuurei losing the battle badly. "I need to..." he began to say, but as he took his first step, he felt his legs shake. He wasn't sure if it was his body still reacting to the punch the vampire dealt or his own fear. He knew well he wouldn't be able to do anything. His weapons were destroyed in a single hit, and Yuurei had yet to land a clean blow. Brone tried to think, maybe some kind of trick, but no matter what he thought of, he knew it wouldn't work, Ansem was too fast and too powerful.

Then it happened. Yuurei was dealt a fatal blow and Brone cried out and began to run towards his friend, but he simply collapsed due to the pain from his wound. Stressed, he tried crawling over to Yuurei who had fallen. Ansem gave his departing words before he vanished along with the castle.

By the time Brone had reached Yuurei, the castle was gone and they were all left in the still snow, the blizzard long gone as well.

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Kailani had seen what happen and she rushed over to Yuurei as well. Her eyes let out water without holding back. She saw what happen and knew what it meant. The words from that monster stabbed her in her heart and she felt hatred toward the monster. Still, what matter the most was Yuurei right now. She would use her healing abilities to try and tend to his wounds, but it was too much. The light mage looked at Renji, Brone, Nimbus, and Kailani and he could only feel himself getting colder. He cried because he saw his friends crying. He didn’t want this to happen, and he didn’t want them to suffer. This was one thing he wanted to avoid. He was glad and sad that his parents were alive, but he had failed to free them.

He started to cry as well as the pain he felt hurt. Yes, he felt the physical pain, but it was overlapped by everything else he felt. He reached out toward Kailani touching her face. His hand slid on her face before he dropped to the side. He tried to speak, but nothing came out, everything was cold.

What felt like a lifetime was quick. His eyes opened up as he looked around to see that there was light all around him.

He would get up from the ground and he would see that the wound on his stomach was gone. His eyes looking around the area he would think this was what the afterlife looked like. It wouldn’t take long, but a Seraphim would descend toward Yuurei.

“You are so close to death, but I feel like your journey has not ended young one. You have a lot of goals and desires unfulfilled.” She would say to him.

Yuurei would look over at her as he was surprised that such an angelic being existed in this world. Her wings, her body, and her eyes were just out of this world.

“I don’t want to die. I still got to rescue my parents. My friends are waiting for me, and I don’t want to make them suffer. Is there anything I can do to go back?” He would ask the Seraphim.

She would smile when she heard his words and figured she would offer him what she wanted to give him.

“I can help you, Yuurei. Yes, I know your name and I know of your journey. You are a special case, and therefore I would like to help you. I will grant you the power to become what is called a Nephilim. It will grant you unfathomable power. It is but a fraction of my own. You will have to be bound by me through a contract. It isn’t just this power I’m giving you, but I’m giving you the blood of Uriel. You will become stronger than any Nephilim could ever become. Now I ask you do you accept?” She asked him waiting for him to answer her.

Yuurei didn’t think about it, he wanted to get back to being alive, and if this was how he was going to do it then so be it.

“I accept the contract and the power you grant me.” He said to the Seraphim.

She would have a smile on her face when he said this. She would stretch her arm at him, and her hand would start to glow. Yuurei would start to feel the power surging through him, and his eyes would open again. This time he would see that Kailani was holding onto his body. The hole in his abdomen closed up due to his new powers and Kailani’s healing capabilities.

“I’m back guys.” He said this as he would pass out from everything that happen.

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[exit]

By the time Brone had gotten back onto his feet, Kailani was already at Yuurei's side, trying to heal him. As he got closer, he noticed the healing spell wasn't closing the wound. Yuurei laid still, tears streaming down his eyes, then Brone realized he too was crying. It was silent save for Kailani's audible crying. She looked as if she was trying to hold it together all the while trying to heal the half-elf. Brone didn't know whether to pull Kailani away and tell her it's no good or to allow her to continue. They were done, not only did they lose after traveling for so long and so far, but they're losing a friend. The light of the mage was flickering out.

Suddenly there was a gasp of air and Brone quickly turned to face Yuurei. The half-elf was alive and the hole in his body was gone. He returned from the brink of death and a big sigh of relief escaped the dwarf's mouth. He quickly looked away, "I guess yer too stubborn for death" is all Brone said as he walked away, trying to hide his tear covered face from his friends. He needed a moment of peace, away from the others to collect himself.

They've lost, that's fine, so long as everyone escapes with their life. Though this to be true, it was assured that Yuurei wouldn't feel too joyful for some time. As the dwarf was contemplating what to do next, he notice a piece of armor that was in the snow. At first he had thought it was the shattered remains of his own helmet, but as he pulled it from the snow, he realized it was something else; a helm, yes, but not his own, something more well crafted, with the etchings of power.

Hopefully this was a sign that there is still hope.

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[Exit]