In the heart of a castle forgotten by time, shrouded in thick mists, shadows and wooden walls, a young hero walked through the main hall. Each every step he took echoed and broke the deep, disturbing, maddening silence of the local, reverberating between cracked columns and faded tapestries.
In the center of the room, shrouded in darkness, a female figure appeared. Her skin was pale as untouched snow, her hair black as the starless night, and her dress seemed woven from silk threads, magnificent in its delicacy. Even though its appearance could be deceiving, his eyes shone with a hungry, seductive glow. I was in front of a being of darkness, a vampire.
"Welcome, traveler. What are you looking for? Have you come seeking your end… or something else? interesting?"
The girl's voice sounded like a melancholy, lonely chant. A recital of a play that they were both about to perform.
The hero, however, stays silent. He gripped the hilt of his sword and his eyes narrowed. He wasn't there to talk.
With a firm shout, he charged forward.
The hero raised his sword and then brought it down, cutting through the air like lightning. black, tracing its path like a beam of light capable of splitting the very darkness of the night. Still she dodged lightly.
"Huh huh huh! So impatient, handsome. I didn't think you'd be this fast, even more so with that armor, well… big hi hi" — commented the vampire, touching her lips with her finger and smiling mischievously —"It's been so long since my last decent meal… so handsome, it would be a waste to finish you off now. How about surrender? We could have fun together in ways you can't even imagine! I have a reputation for being very creative! Huh huh huh!"
"You talk too much!"
So the duel finally began.
The dialogue gave way to a fierce confrontation, where both advanced against each other. with his eyes burning with determination and killer instinct. The Holy Sword "Bloodstain" hissed and cut through the air. His blows were fast and precise, like the diving from a hawk in search of its prey. More and more, the vampire found herself in disadvantage.
He executed a diagonal strike, which was blocked, and quickly spun under the own axis, using the momentum of inertia to launch another side attack. The vampire narrowly avoided it. The faint melody of steel whistling as it cut through the wind scared her.
She tried to counterattack, but a well-placed kick knocked her off balance. Without hesitation, the hero took advantage of the opening and swung his sword again, hitting her superficially in her core.
"Hyyaaaa! That burns!" — screamed the vampire, stepping back.
The pain caused by the Bloodstain was not just physical, but was like holy fire that consumed even the soul. Even a superficial cut was enough to inflict unbearable torment.
Overcome with fury, the beautiful vampire charged with blind ferocity, tearing through the air with his claws as he abandoned any notion of defense. But the man, realizing his lack of control, slid sideways, like a leaf dancing with the wind, escaping by a thread from the blows that tore the space where his neck was.
Her claws slashed so fiercely that they tore the air apart, leaving only a crimson trail wherever it went. It was easy to see that a blow could go right through a full plate armor, leaving terrible wounds. But, he was like an experienced dancer, dancing masterfully on the stage of this fierce duel, fully relying on his dexterity and avoiding every attack, keeping himself at one step distance of death.
Realizing that her attacks were ineffective, she tried to grab him. However, with two calculated steps backwards, he dodged well.
This was the moment the hero had been patiently waiting for.
In a millisecond, with a movement that was simultaneously subtle and swift, he placed his hand on the hilt of his second sword. In a blink of eyes, the metal gleamed and the next moment, he was sheathing the second sword again.
When the vampire came to his senses, an uncomfortable feeling began to spread through her. his right arm — a tingling that soon turned into an intense burning and a pain that could not be described in words. When looking to the side, she realized, horrified, that her right arm was not there. Only a hot, thick liquid gushing out, marking the place where the member had been.
"HOW… HOW DARE YOU HURT ME, YOU WORM!!!" — she screamed, with her voice overflowing with anger, pain and frustration. His body then began to exude a strange black smoke. Her expression twisted into inhuman fury. — "GRRRR! I HAVEN'T LOST YET!!! I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU!!!"
With an animalistic posture, his silhouette began to twist. Bones crackled and her previously delicate, almost ethereal appearance, and her skin that seemed like porcelain crumbled, as if it had been cracked, revealing beneath it a disgusting and grotesque, as if a monster from a horror story had come out of her. Her previous beautiful appearance shattered into pieces without a trace and even the smell was repulsive.
Even with this terrible sight, a faint smile appeared on the hero's face. Perhaps confidence, or by impulse, but his eyes remained steady, unshakable as they stared without turning away from the creature in front of them.
As soon as the transformation was complete, the creature advanced quickly and attacked ferociously. She moved in an animalistic manner, dragging herself along the ground, like a monster straight out of a nightmare. His claws were dripping with *SANGUE RUBRO*, a powerful corrosive poison.
The hero, using his experience and sharp reflexes, dodged with dexterity, defending himself with his blade while looking for a chance to counterattack. The vampire's movements were unpredictable, often from angles and uncommon ways, being difficult to follow, but their lack of strategy prevented his attacks from reaching their target.
However, for the hero, the winner was already decided. Even with his strength increased, she was still no match and was hit several times by the Holy Sword. Each blow hurt her deeply, until her body began to show signs of withdrawal.
With the opportunity in hand, the hero struck a fatal blow and the sword pierced the right side of the vampire's chest. The pain and severity of the wound were enough to get her back to normal. She can't move anymore.
But then, a black glow came from the direction of the lobby's entrance door. This glow gave the vampire some vitality and stopped her bleeding, despite still staggering and weakening. She should have died, but someone saved her. The vampire then ran to the front door.
"Are you running away? What is happening here?" Thought the hero who considered chasing her, but then the walls of the hall began to pulse, as if the castle had awakened.
The hero gripped his sword tightly as cold sweat ran down his face. Signs of fatigue began to appear. However, his instincts told him not to give in to tiredness, because there was something coming…
*clack-clack-clack-clack*
From the heart of darkness, light footsteps that did not match the weight that carried, cutting through the silence. Slowly, the figure of a little girl appears which resembled a porcelain doll dressed as a Victorian princess. Meanwhile her scarlet eyes shining like rubies, contrasting with the innocent smile on her lips and her approach that carried an oppressive presence said what she was: she was not a child, she was the incarnation of the night and death accompanied her.
The aura flowing from the little vampire was suffocating and her presence was as thick as an evil fog, making the air in the surroundings seem to be trapped in the abyss of the depths of the sea.
"You hurt my Nana, didn't you?"
Even a experient hero, used to deadly battles, felt a chill run down his spine. This wasn't a ordinary vampire. She was the true guardian of this place.
"You shouldn't be here."
Said the little vampire.
"Can't you just give me a moment of peace?"
The hero grumbled.
"You already lost Nana. Go back to your place now!!!"
Said the girl, looking disdainfully at the other vampire. After said this, she threw a blow at the woman, who flew to the wall with her impact of the coup.
"Get ready and take a shower, please."
She said a few more words to the vampire who was recovering from the blow. The adult vampire quickly retreated in fear. The little girl then turned to the hero.
Without hesitation, he began his offensive, knewing that giving space to such an opponent powerful could cost his life. Using his strongest ability, which raised his reflexes and strength at the limit of human capabilities, he advanced, aiming a blow straight into his neck. However, his blade found nothing. He didn't see her deflect.
"This time it's a sword then!" — she said in a relaxed tone, almost playful. — "It looks different from the last one who came here. Even so, looks like weak. It won't last much longer beyond here..."
The hero immediately retreated, with caution.
"I saw you fighting with Nana. It was really fun, you know. She couldn't even touch on you." — The girl smiled mischievously. — "How about if I play too?"
In the blink of an eye she simply disappeared. It didn't even seem like a movement, but rather that reality itself had been distorted, unable to keep up with its existence. The hero felt a chill and trusting his instincts, jumped back… and then he saw part of his armor in the girl's hands, who was polishing it with her fingers.
"Good instincts! You're a true survivor. Have potential."
So then, again, she disappeared right before his eyes. As he tried to move away again, he hit the wall. He was cornered.
"Don't be afraid… I'll give you a little gift."
Saying this, the girl then grabbed the hero's right arm. His small, thin arms looked so fragile, but they contained overwhelming strength like that of a bear. He was also no longer able to move, due to the passive effect of the vampire's evil energy, enhanced by the great difference in power between the two.
Slowly reaching out, she lightly touched the hero's forehead. A heat invaded his body, as if a powerful and deadly liquid poison was trying to lodge itself in his entrails, seeking to spread throughout his body. At that moment, Bloodstain's glow wavered. There was something very wrong happening.
"What… is…~?"
"Shhh!"—The girl touched the hero's lips with the tip of her index finger — "It's okay, hero."
As she let go of his arm, the hero tried to strike, but his body didn't move.
"Don't be afraid. If you survive this, we'll see each other again. Don't disappoint me ♡."
Slowly, the strength in his body left him, making it impossible to stay standing.
The Bloodstain fell to the ground, as if the hope of the world was also falling. The hero's body also fell like a puppet with its strings cut. His body didn't move and his breathing was weak, almost inaudible. The curtains then closed before his great defeat, but like the last ember of a forgotten fire shaken by the wind, he fought fiercely to not let his spark of life go out in the darkness.