Their group advanced through the halls, keeping a watchful eye out for any signs of Vincent. In the darkened castle, however, it was difficult to make out much of anything. Idly, Pale kicked herself for not thinking to mount a weapon light to her shotgun, but she'd been in such a hurry to arm up that she simply hadn't thought of it.

"Where is this guy…?" Evie muttered from next to her. "He can't have gone far…"

"I'd be very surprised if he had," Pale answered. "Watch the rafters. If he comes from anywhere, my guess is that it'll be from above."

Evie let out a small grumble of discontent. "Faron had to build the biggest damn castle in the land…"

"Do not talk bad about my lord," Allen hissed.

"Hate to break it to you, but your lord just had his soul sucked out, and rightfully so, if you ask me. Somehow, I don't think he'll mind whatever I have to say about him."

Allen went to stomp towards her, a deep scowl etched across his face, but movement from off in the distance suddenly caught their attention.

"Down!" Pale shouted.

They all tried to drop, and while Pale and her friends made it, others in Allen's group were less fortunate. One man's head was cleaved from his shoulders in an instant as Vincent passed by, and another's throat was torn open. Both men fell, one of them dead before he'd even hit the ground and the other gasping for air through his ruined throat, blood spurting out from between his fingers as he writhed on the ground.

"Evie, help him!" Pale called. "We'll guard you!"

"Right!" Evie said as she slung her bow across her back and rushed over to the wounded man. She began to fuss over him, desperately trying to pour what was left of her magic into him before he expired.

Footsteps from down the hall caught Pale's attention, and she tensed as Vincent came striding out, licking the blood off his hands. He gave a satisfied sigh as he turned to them, a grin crossing his face.

"Simply exquisite," he stated. "The adrenaline always adds a certain spike to the taste. I imagine this is how it feels when you humans eat something particularly-"

Pale didn't let him finish, instead opening up with her shotgun. To her dismay, Vincent was fast enough to dodge each shot, the entire time drawing closer with every step. By the time her weapon clicked empty, he was nearly upon her.

"I have been waiting for this moment," he told her. "And I am going to savor every-"

There was a sudden roar as Allen came charging into him, his hands ablaze. Vincent weaved around all of Allen's attacks, his flame-covered hands grabbing at nothing but air, before finally lashing out with a strike of his own that drew no blood, but sent Allen skidding across the ground, where he came to a rest next to Evie.

"So impatient…" Vincent chastised. He suddenly looked over to Kayla, who tensed in anticipation, though all he did was tilt his head. "And you? Do you intend to do anything?"

Kayla said nothing, instead standing there staring at him with fear-filled eyes. Vincent sighed tiredly. "There's always one there to spoil the fun… well, not to worry – I will make it painless for you, if you're so afraid."

He took a step towards her, and as he did, the silence was suddenly broken by a shotgun's bolt closing. Vincent's eyes widened, but this time, he wasn't fast enough to avoid the incoming shotgun pellets. Fire washed over him as the payload of nine magnesium pellets made impact with his back. Vincent roared in pain, rounding on Pale, his blood-red eyes narrowing.

"You-"

A crack of lightning cut him off, and he suddenly doubled over, gasping for breath. Pale fumbled in the dark desperate to reload her shotgun, but she didn't get a chance to before Vincent rushed her. Before she even knew what was happening, he was upon her, already ripping the shotgun from her grasp. Pale let out a grunt as the weapon was torn from her, and watched in dismay as Vincent broke it in two, then threw both halves away.

"You are becoming quite the annoyance," he stated.

And then he slugged her in the chest hard enough to send her flying. Pale was sent soaring through a nearby set of ornate wooden doors, ending up in a heap on the floor, gasping for breath.

That was at least a few ribs broken. She was lucky to be alive, she knew – a strike like that could easily have stopped her heart if it had been aimed right. Vincent was still playing with her, it seemed – he must have really wanted to consume her, then. Pale forced herself to stand up, struggling to her feet the entire time.

She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

Pale blinked tears of pain out of her eyes and looked around. She'd ended up in the kitchen, it seemed, though that did little to help her now. She leaned against the nearby counter top to gather herself for a moment, the whole time listening to the sounds of combat in the hall outside. If nothing else, the others were still putting up a fight, which was good.

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The only problem was that now, she was useless, her shotgun having been broken.

Still, she wasn't about to let that stop her. Pale took another moment to gather herself, then turned and began to limp out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

She was just about through the door when she saw it.

Slowly, Pale blinked, and then turned towards it, surprised. It was a large rack full of bright metal cutlery – forks and knives, mainly; that shouldn't have surprised her, given that she'd ended up in the kitchen. But now, she finally had a plan.

Pale limped over to the rack and began to gather as much silverware as she could.

XXX

Kayla doubled over, gasping for breath as she clutched at her stomach. She had to fight the urge to drop down to her knees, even as she coughed up blood. She willed herself to look up at her assailant, gritting her teeth in frustration and pain as she did so.

She could do nothing but watch as Vincent drained the final guardsman of Allen's group. Within moments, the man was gone, reduced to little more than a pile of shriveled skin in a set of oversize armor. Vincent carelessly tossed the man's corpse aside like it was a piece of garbage, and then began to close in on her. Kayla forced herself to stand tall, even as she swayed side-to-side, her vision blurring from the pain.

That last strike to her stomach had done a number on her. At this point, she knew the battle was lost – Pale was nowhere to be found, and Allen and Evie were in no better shape than she was. Everyone else was dead, it seemed.

Still, the act of her standing tall seemed to impress Vincent. He paused, staring at her in amazement.

"Why?" he demanded. "You know you have lost, that there is no way you can win, and yet still you resist. What is it that keeps you going? What happened to that scared woman from just a short time ago?"

Kayla doubled over, breaking out into a coughing fit. Globs of blood erupted from her mouth, spattering all over the ground, and yet she refused to fall. Instead, she angled her head up enough to look at Vincent, glaring at him the entire time.

"I just don't want to give you the satisfaction," she snarled. She took a breath, then struggled to stand upright, sparks dancing across her hands.

"And besides," she added, "I won't go to the grave with a spell left in me."

"Defiant to the end," Vincent noted. "I like that. It will make it all the more satisfying when I-"

A flash of light in the darkness caught Kayla's attention. She turned to look at it in surprise, and was just in time to see the large knife come spinning through the air before making impact in Vincent's spine. He screamed as it sank into his back down to the hilt, and in that moment, Pale came sprinting around the corner, running directly past him in order to tend to her and the others.

"Pale?" Kayla managed to get out. "What's-"

"No time," Pale grunted as she stuffed a bag of something heavy in her hands. "Take it."

Kayla merely blinked as Pale ran to the others and did the same. Curious, she opened the bag.

"Silverware…?"

The word had scarcely left her mouth before Vincent struggled to his feet, ripping the blade out of his back and letting it clatter onto the ground. He turned towards Pale, gritting his teeth the entire time.

"Enough of this," he declared. "I am going to-"

Kayla didn't let him finish. She summoned the last of her strength for one big spell, and then launched it at him. This time, Vincent was able to avoid it, much to her dismay, but that left him wide open for a rushing attack from Allen. The large guardsman led with a silver knife Pale had given him, a feral roar escaping from him. Vincent grunted as the blade sank into his stomach, and for a moment, Kayla expected he'd instinctively pull away.

He didn't, though. Instead, he lurched forwards and sank his fangs into Allen's neck, then began to drink.

Pale, at least, realized what was happening. Before Allen could be fully drained, she ran in, lashing out with her own silver knife. Vincent was forced to release Allen, who immediately fell to his knees, clamping his hand over his neck as it gushed blood. Evie rushed over to him and began to pour what remained of her magic into his body, while he simply knelt there, grinding his teeth and keeping an eye on Vincent as he staggered backwards.

Kayla expected Vincent would rush in, but to her amazement, he was panting heavily, even despite the blood he'd just drank from Allen's neck. He gave them all a baleful look, then leapt up into the rafters, disappearing from view.

Kayla muttered a curse under her breath, even as Pale rushed over to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "What happened?"

"I'm fine…" Kayla managed to get out. "I think he was just toying with us the entire time before you showed up again… it hurts, but we'll live."

"Pale!" Evie called. "You need to come see this!"

Pale immediately rushed over to her, and Kayla followed. As they approached, Evie pulled her hand away from Allen's neck, revealing his wound to the world.

Already, inky-black corruption was spreading through Allen's veins, visible even underneath his skin. Kayla let out a small gasp as she realized what was happening.

"H-he's… he's turning…"

"I am," Allen said, his voice making it clear that the process was anything but painless. He let out a grunt, his body shuddering. "...But, perhaps, this is for the best."

"What do you mean?" Pale asked.

Allen looked up enough to stare at her in the eyes. With one hand, he motioned around him. "Look around you. My lord is gone, my men are dead, this town is, if not completely dead, then close to it… it is only fitting that I should die alongside it."

Pale's eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't be so eager to-"

Allen let out another grunt, then shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "Not until after we've dealt with that bastard." He turned to Evie. "Stop healing me."

"What?!" she demanded. "I'm the only thing keeping the corruption from spreading-"

"I know, and that's why I want you to stop." He took a breath, and then looked over to Pale. "We have no chance against him as-is. But if I do this… we might be able to defeat him." His gaze narrowed. "Don't deny me this."

Pale hesitated, but after a moment, she nodded. "Very well," she said. She looked to Evie. "Do as he says."

Evie's jaw dropped. "Are you crazy? We're already having problems with one vampire, and now you want me to-"

Allen suddenly drew a silver knife out of the bag of cutlery Pale had given him earlier, then held it out for her to see.

"If I start to lose control, this is going into my heart before I can hurt any of you," he declared. "Even if I have to do it myself. Otherwise, I think it's about time we fought him on his own terms. Wouldn't you agree?"

Evie stared at him for a moment, then closed her eyes and took a breath.

"...Fine," she said, opening her eyes once more. "This is… unprecedented. Never thought I'd see the day where a vampire wasn't completely hostile to me."

"Spare me," Allen grunted as he rose to his feet. "Let's just go find this guy before the storm lets up."

Pale offered no argument, and instead motioned for the others to follow her as she once more took off limping through the castle.