Chapter 35: And a Smile That Judas in Hell Might Be Proud Of, Part 4

Alex against Death. Sword against Scythe.

For about two minutes, Dracula, transformed into a dragon, had been flying above the arena, which the throne room had abruptly transformed into. During all that time, he hadn't launched any attack, limiting himself to observing for one reason or another. Alex, of course, was grateful for this. She already had enough with Death without that thing coming at her, but at any moment that could change, of course.

Alex and Death had indeed launched attacks. In that time, dozens of them, hundreds, swift and blinding. And none of the attacks had reached their target. Naturally, it was a battle between two supreme assassins. Real fights ended in an instant, at least fights between people who knew what they were doing. Although that thing wasn't a person, of course.

After those two minutes, Alex and Death launched hundreds more attacks, simply clashing between them. They ended up colliding and sending sparks flying, the metal of her sword making contact again and again with the material the scythe was made of. She didn't think it was metal, or any alloy from this world. Deep down, she supposed she was lucky it hadn't broken.

After so many attacks and defenses, and attacks that served as defense, pure aggression, pure... killer instinct. It was Death against a person, a being who had lived in death since she was six years old, lived with death up to her neck all the time. Futilely trying to swim against the current. Now that she was on the predestined shore, she had no intention of backing down, not even close, not until she destroyed her enemies. She would do it no matter what.

As proof of this, Dracula spat fire and she felt no fear, not a bit of fear. As if she knew beforehand that the flames wouldn't reach her? As if she had seen the future?

Because the remaining wizards intervened, creating a barrier that diverted the infernal flames, the dragon's breath, towards the skies, towards Dracula himself. In reality, most of the flames were lost in the blue sky, doing nothing, but a small amount of his own attack hit Dracula's draconian form. And he screamed.

He screamed with more rage than pain, but there was pain, without a doubt.

How could there not be? If anything could hurt that monster, truly hurt it, it was his own attack. So she could say that the wizards had made the first real progress since all this madness began against the ultimate enemy, the only one that counted.

But well, even if that was the case, they quickly paid for the miracle they had achieved. The enraged Dracula hit the ground with his long, long tail full of spikes. That destroyed the floor and sent the wizards, falling, screaming, to a certain death. She felt a vague pity for their loss. She lamented the human lives, of course. They hadn't ripped out her heart to replace it with an ice cube. But they weren't the first nor the last who would die today. And at least they had chosen to come here and sacrifice themselves.

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They had chosen to die.

Like Daniela.

Like her. The ones she really had to worry about were the innocents out there, dying en masse. Facing a nightmare they couldn't even conceive, much less confront. Stoically, as if she hadn't been left completely alone, Alex continued her battle against Death. No, against Dracula's henchman.

Like all his henchmen, it was nothing more than an extension of that monster. While she fought with Death, she fought with Dracula. She knew it perfectly. She wouldn't let herself forget it. It was perhaps what would decide the outcome of the fight.

After a while, Death seemed to come to some kind of epiphany.

"I see. It's not that you've awakened a mysterious power at the last minute. Previously unsuspected. It's that you're furious about your friend's death. Completely beside yourself. And you don't want to know anything more about anyone. Not about yourself nor the world. You're fighting with a power that you didn't even know yourself. Because you no longer have an ounce of fear of death. But..."

Death laughed.

"What do you think you're doing, girl? Do you think that will be enough to defeat me? I've taken thousands of millions of people over the centuries. And I've seen just as many ways of facing death, always with the same result. You're not special, you'll die like everyone else."

In a fight to the death, one couldn't waste breath. Anyone who disobeyed that rule was nothing but a disgusting beginner. But Alex decided to break that rule. Because she needed to, yes, she needed to say it.

"You're not an immovable law of the universe. Just an asshole in a tattered cloak. If you were the concept of death, you wouldn't... You wouldn't kneel before Dracula. Not before a simple vampire, no matter how much he's the King. The progenitor."

"So shut up and die."

A single attack. She knew it. All she needed to connect was a single attack. Of course, the same went the other way. With a single touch of that scythe, she would die.

But it didn't matter.

Alex had known from the beginning that she was vulnerable, fragile.

(afraid of dying) But she wasn't going to let fear stop her. Not at this point, for fuck's sake.

Alex launched herself forward as if shot. Wielding the sword in both hands, swinging it with all her might. With a complete movement of the body, from head to toe.

Her speed was explosive like lightning, as was her attack power. She thought that would be enough to pierce Death's defense. But once again she was wrong. Although at the last moment, Death managed to deflect the attack. Sparks, as always, flew between them. As if representing a gap that could never be crossed. A barrier that would always keep them apart. Until, of course, she was cornered.

Until Death took her to the other side. If they didn't keep her alive to suffer. For the amusement of the great Lord of Darkness: Dracula, the son of the dragon, the prince of darkness.

And a Smile That Judas in Hell Might Be Proud Of, Part 4: END