In the gloom of the dungeon, a poisonous smoke rose in spirals from the tank, accompanied by the constant sound of corrosion.
Carl felt his heart hammering in his throat, unable to look away from the arm that Adam kept submerged in that green solution.
The liquid bubbled violently around it, behaving like flesh-hungry acid.
However, Adam's skin resisted, remaining intact.
"The hand of one who is neither alive nor dead..." he whispered with his voice choked by astonishment.
Maintaining an impassive expression, Adam closed his fingers around the submerged syringe and pulled it with firmness.
His arm emerged from the tank dripping the corrosive fluid and to Carl's further relief, the syringe was safe.
The glass gleamed clean and inside the silver antidote flowed slowly, shining with a hopeful purity.
"W-We have it! You did it!"
Receiving the syringe with trembling hands, Carl cradled it as if it were the most fragile object in the world. He quickly took out a lined case from his coat and secured the vial inside.
"Let's go! We have to find Van Helsing!"
He broke into a run toward the exit with renewed urgency and Adam followed him in silence, and together they left behind the darkness of the laboratory to ascend toward the chaos of the battle that was taking place in the heights.
…
Meanwhile, on the outer terrace lashed by the wind and snow, the situation had reached a critical point.
"GROAAAR!"
The roar of the colossal werewolf shook the frigid air and Van Helsing was forced to retreat step by step before the ferocity of the beast, until his heels found the void.
Behind him, only the abyss awaited.
He gasped with his lungs burning, seeking oxygen and the left sleeve of his coat hanging in strips and a trail of warm blood stained the fabric, irrefutable proof that the beast's claws had found flesh in the last exchange.
His crossbow hung uselessly in his hand, with the magazine empty.
The lycanthrope seemed to understand his absolute advantage and a cruel intelligence shone in his yellow eyes, enjoying the terror of his cornered prey.
He approached slowly, savoring the moment, and his huge body cast a dense shadow that engulfed Van Helsing completely.
He threw his crossbow aside and gripped his short knife tightly.
If his destiny was to die there... He would make sure to take the beast with him!
The werewolf raised his claw, preparing the final blow...
Boom
At that precise instant, a deafening crash shook the entire platform.
The side ice wall exploded outward in a rain of sharp shards and an immense figure burst through the cloud of debris with the unstoppable force of a locomotive and rammed the werewolf in the side.
"Awooo?!"
Boom
The beast let out a howl of pain as he was thrown, sliding several meters over the icy surface until crashing violently against a column.
"..."
Van Helsing lowered the knife, looking at this with total astonishment.
In front of him, Adam straightened up slowly, shaking the ice off his shoulders and positioning himself like a shield.
An instant later, Carl appeared running from the newly opened hole in the wall, panting from the effort.
"Van Helsing! Are you okay?!"
The hunter alternated his gaze between him and the mountain of muscles that had just saved him.
"Carl...?"
"GROAAAR...!"
The werewolf, indignant at the interruption, exploded in absolute fury.
He propelled himself from the ground with a roar that made the ice vibrate and his mane bristled completely, giving him an even more voluminous and terrifying appearance.
Momentarily forgetting Van Helsing, he fixed his eyes on Adam.
The lycanthrope dropped to all fours and charged.
Swish
His speed was such that his figure became a blurry black trail, a lethal shadow seeking to tear the giant apart in the blink of an eye.
But Adam remained immovable, anchored to the ground like a tower, keeping his guard low until the last instant.
And just when the claws were inches from tearing his chest, Adam reacted.
Clenching his right fist and tensing every fiber of his musculature, he threw a direct and devastating punch forward.
Booooom
It was like a cannon shot.
His fist found the werewolf's skull in mid-stride and physics did the rest.
Swish
The beast's momentum stopped dead and reversed instantly, being thrown back with terrifying violence, much faster than he had attacked.
Swish... Boom!
The body flew and crashed against the mountain's rock wall, pulverizing the stone and remaining deeply embedded in a crater of its own shape, causing a rain of debris.
"GREAT!" shouted Carl, with his adrenaline spiking. "Van Helsing, we have the antidote!"
He blinked, shaking off the stupor of the moment.
He looked alternately at the beast trapped in the rock and then at Adam's immense back.
"Can you hold him?"
The question found an immediate answer.
The werewolf began to thrash violently, growling and fighting to free himself from his prison.
Adam advanced immediately, his heavy steps resonating on the ice as he closed the distance with absolute determination.
He planted himself in front of the trapped werewolf and, ignoring the bites it snapped at him, extended his huge hands calmly.
One of them grabbed the lycanthrope's upper jaw, and the other closed its fingers around the lower jaw.
"Groaaar... ooo..."
The werewolf's roar transformed into a whimper, while the belated and terrified recognition of his own end shone in his eyes.
The muscles in Adam's arms swelled and he exerted a sudden and catastrophic divergent force.
"Riiip...!"
A terrible sound, that of bones giving way and tissues tearing, froze Carl and Van Helsing's blood.
Adam pulled his arms apart with final brutality.
The werewolf's body gave way and was finally split in two halves from the mouth.
A torrential rain of blood and viscera exploded against the wall, painting the immaculate snow a bright crimson red.
The mutilated corpse fell to the ground in two limp and smoking pieces.
"..."
An unsettling silence descended over the terrace.
Carl and Van Helsing contemplated the carnage with pale faces, unable to articulate a word before such a demonstration of brute force.
"Gulp..."
Finally, Carl managed to overcome the knot closing his throat and swallowed hard to lubricate his dry mouth and break his paralysis.
He forced his legs to respond and approached the carnage lying on the ground with trembling steps, while his boots splashed in the puddle of dark fluids that was expanding rapidly.
His eyes scanned the remains looking for an access point amidst the shapeless mass and focused on the half of the shattered head that was most exposed among the entrails.
Without allowing himself to hesitate for a second, he reached out and his fingers closed firmly around the longest and sharpest fang protruding from the jaw.
He felt the wet and warm texture under his touch and tightened his grip on the ivory. He pulled upward with force and heard the snap of nerves and tendons giving way to his traction. He ripped the piece from the dead gum with a definitive tug, releasing a fresh wave of black blood, and hurried to store it.
At that precise instant, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from behind.
"Velkan! Quick!"
Anna and Velkan arrived; both looked wounded, with their clothes torn and covered in dust, but they were alive.
"Van Helsing! Carl!....."
Anna stopped dead, her eyes bulging, upon encountering the bloody scene
Her gaze swept over the remains of the werewolf and stopped on the imposing figure of Adam, who stood there like a bloodstained executioner.
"You—" Velkan tried to speak.
But the world gave them no time for explanations.
BOOM!!
A colossal crash, deeper and more potent than any thunder, emerged from the bowels of the mountain and shook the very foundations of the castle.
The entire structure vibrated violently, as if an earthquake were trying to bring it down.
Above their heads, the stone ceiling of the entrance arch cracked with a dry snap and an intense golden light filtered through the fissures, illuminating the night.
An invisible shockwave swept the terrace, pushing the air with such force that it forced everyone to cling to the pillars to avoid being knocked down.
"It's upstairs!" shouted Van Helsing, struggling to maintain his balance while looking up at the cracked ceiling. "It's coming from the throne room!"
Anna understood the situation instantly, "It's Lief and Dracula!"
"Run!"
Without the need to exchange more words, the group composed themselves and broke into a run with all their might, ignoring the fatigue and wounds to ascend toward the epicenter of the cataclysm.
…
Upon reaching the top of the main stairs, their steps stopped abruptly.
They stood paralyzed, holding their breath, before the devastation unfolding in front of their eyes.
That was no longer a hall.
The vaulted ceiling had completely disappeared, allowing the snowstorm and the howling wind to lash the interior.
The walls were smoking ruins, marked by clean cuts and melted edges where the stone had been vaporized.
However, in the absolute center of that chaos, the huge throne remained strangely intact, like the eye of a hurricane.
And there was someone sitting on it.
Lief.
He rested his chin on one hand with a posture of absolute boredom, observing a mound of debris in front of him that was still smoking.
And his expression denoted deep disappointment.
"Lief!" shouted Anna, breaking the silence of the wind.
Blinking as if waking from a nap, he looked at them.
"Oh. You arrived."
Van Helsing alternated his gaze between the smoking ruins and the calm figure on the throne.
His mind struggled to process the disparity between the total destruction and the boy's calm.
Was it over? Had Dracula been erased from existence...?
A collective sigh of relief escaped the group upon reaching the same conclusion as Van Helsing. The adrenaline of combat began to dissipate, giving way to a sudden and heavy exhaustion in their limbs.
Carl clutched the box against his chest, feeling that his legs were about to collapse from the accumulated tension.
But that peace turned out to be a cruel mirage.
Just when they lowered their guard, a sound broke the silence.
Clack
The unmistakable sound of stones moving against each other.
It came from the central mound of debris.
And Lief's face blossomed into an expectant smile.
The newcomers' hearts stopped in their chests and they fixed their gaze on the exact point where the stones began to move with an unnatural rattle.
The silence broke before their horrified gazes when the internal pressure increased and a large rock was displaced.
The heavy stone rolled to the side, pushed from the depths, and opened the way for a hand to emerge from the crack.
It was a black claw, dry and totally charred. Its appearance was grotesque, for the skin was so cracked and consumed that it seemed to have burned in the fire of hell itself.
With a violent and spasmodic movement, the burnt fingers grasped the debris, digging into the stone to propel itself toward the surface.
________
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