Chapter 33: And a Smile That Judas in Hell Might Be Proud Of, Part 2

It had done nothing to him. The combined attack of more than a dozen wizards had not only failed to finish off Dracula, a possibility for which Alex had been prepared from the beginning, but it hadn't even left a scratch on him. How was that possible? It was as if she had received the attack herself. For some reason, she had forgotten how to breathe properly.

Some reason? It was pure fear. The monster came for them. There were so many people, but she had the feeling he was coming specifically for her. Alex was so afraid.

Instead of getting used to it, the fear increased as she fought against the enemy.

Suddenly he seemed bigger. Suddenly his eyes seemed redder and brighter like those of a hunting wolf on a starless night. His claws sharper, his sword even faster than ever. Not only had the attack done nothing to him, but it gave the sensation that he was stronger and more overwhelming. Was it because he had stopped holding back after seeing what they could do? Alex came to the conclusion that this was probably too optimistic a thought.

He had simply gone a step further. Even this was a game. It was incredible that Dracula hadn't exterminated humanity in ancient times, when they had been more ignorant and weak. Had the Heroes spoken of in legends really made a difference on their own?

In any case, in this era there was no hero.

No hero and no hope. There was no hope at all.

Dracula suddenly stopped. He found himself enclosed in a circle of ghostly swords. He surely stopped more out of caution than anything else, but Daniela didn't miss the opportunity to attack. Without hesitation, she launched herself at the ultimate monster before whom even death knelt. She flew along with her spear to pierce his cursed heart.

Of course, she didn't get that far.

Dracula jumped over the prison of swords, dodged the spear in mid-air, and gave Daniela a kick in the mouth. For a moment Alex's heart leapt into her throat, convinced that her friend's jaw was going to fly off, but she only fell to the ground, writhing in pain. That wasn't the end. Something was gathering around Dracula's left hand, a dark power. Strange sounds filled the throne room. And also sounds like hundreds or thousands of small wings flapping.

Bats. A torrent of bats coming out of nowhere was flapping around his left hand. Dracula fired, and the bats flew at her, Alex soon found herself wrapped in that black cloak that bit her all over her body. She had the feeling of having been transported to a different room, or even a different world. In an instant she lost sight of her allies and even her own body.

Stolen story; please report.

Heat. Her whole body burned and ached. Those little creatures wouldn't stop biting, tearing, pulling. She could vaguely feel her blood flowing. She should be afraid of dying, but she really wasn't. It was as if her heart had turned to stone. She kept receiving the sensations she should because she wasn't dead, but as for feelings, nothing at all. A death before death.

Alex started screaming before she realized it. But her desperate and pain-filled screams didn't pierce the black curtain. It really was as if she had been abandoned to her fate in a different world. Something did penetrate that black curtain, letting in some light and hope to her world. A hand that was getting filled with bites and blood, but still didn't cease in its endeavor.

"Take my hand!"

Daniela. My friend, she thought. My sister. She extended her hand. Her arm cut through the darkness. Their hands joined in the midst of a hell of chaos and pain.

My sister. My sister.

Daniela pulled her out from behind the black curtain and brought her back to the real world.

Dracula hadn't taken advantage of his advantage. He was simply looking at them with a smile. No. He won't allow it. He could mock and spit on everything else, but on that... No. Just no.

"I'm going to kill you," Alex said. Her legs were shaking and her voice didn't reach much further than her own ears.

Still, she had never been so determined.

"I believe you, so I'm going to give you more motivation."

After those ominous words, Dracula snapped his fingers. An even darker shadow emerged from Daniela's shadow. She realized too late to do anything. But, of course, she tried anyway.

"Watch out!"

Running, extending her hand. Giving it her all and more. But... really... it had been too late from the beginning.

A silver flash. A spurt of blood. And, the body of her only family, falling like a curtain of deep, deep red.

"Daniela?"

But, there was no answer.

There was no answer to her voiceless voice. To her desperate plea.

The thing that emerged was a tattered cloak floating a few meters above the ground and carrying a scythe. There was no need to say what it was.

"I never said I was alone," said Dracula.

Alex stared back at him, sword in hand. At some point, she had dropped the shield.

Well, normal, now...

Her eyes only saw red.

The bats, still hungry for human flesh, returned to devour her. Piece by piece, her flesh and blood were being consumed, the dark curtain closed again. Daniela was

dead

Daniela was

she couldn't be dead

The red light of the vampire's eyes through the curtain of bats. The eyes of an immortal being who believed himself above the cycle of life and death. In that moment, Alex understood that killing him wasn't enough. He would only see it as losing one of the millions of battles he had fought. Instead of killing him, what she had to do, what she would do no matter what...

"I will teach you what fear is."

Something in her brain broke.

No, her entire body transformed into a conduit for something abnormal. Alex wielded the sword. Dozens of bats died with each cut. But that wasn't enough; there were still too many of those bastards, so she increased the pace even more.

In no time, the black curtain disappeared.

Before they could devour her completely, Alex killed all the bats. Even Dracula himself seemed surprised. Death, who subserviently awaited its orders at his side, had no expression to begin with. But Alex would bet it was surprised too.

After all, even she herself couldn't be more surprised, but she didn't care. Only one thing mattered to her.

And a Smile That Judas in Hell Might Be Proud Of, Part 2: FIN