Main Event Brand of the Hawk

[Archmage Jeremiah]

"Get off the bloody desk now, you cretin." Ciel ordered, quite annoyed at everyone's constant attempts to impede his progress.

Spinning her head around, Zoe addressed Ciel's harshly worded command with a raspberry.

"Uhhh, no-one was sitting here, so I got my front-row seat fair and square. Ya snooze ya lose!~" she teased with a snorting giggle, "Now shh! I'm trying to hear what the stars are saying..." Zoe shushed Ciel, then turned her attention out upon the brilliantly luminous night sky, restlessly swaying back and forth atop the desk.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

 

[Ver]

"Unless the sun conveniently rises in another hour or two, I couldn't tell ya what our best bet is, 'specially since there's little telling how powerful this Dracula bloke truly is," Constantine replied to Sebastian, shrugging mildly.

The scientific journals within Dracula's table didn't possess any info of much interest. More ramblings of notes without context, diagrams for potions that did the unimaginable, and so on.

As for his personal journal, the writing was more legible. Most of the pages were empty, except for the few pages that seemed to be loose from the book, two of which even falling out of the journal itself. Catching one of such pages out of the air, Constantine casually sat atop the edge of the desk, letting out a soft breath.

"Now this... This is curious," he said, before reading what exactly it said, clearing his throat as he did so.

"As I lay within the solace of my own asylum, this hellish underworld that hath nourished me greater than the life-giving sun ever could, I had hoped that I would never be found again. And yet, a man dares to appear me. A sniveling human, so sure of himself, one who has completely accepted the sin of his being. I know not if I admire him for it or condemn him, but it matters little what I think of an insect. Except... He was more than just a mere human. He managed to speak just quickly enough to prevent me from crushing his throat simply for believing he could stand in the same room as I, telling me of a concept that proved... interesting indeed. A... multiverse, he called it."

Constantine pursed his lips, sighed, and then kept going.

"Promises of greater power mean nothing to me; after all, what am I to do with such power? And yet... I am loath to admit that a lowly human was able to maintain my own attention, much more than that, a man of cloth and faith. Perhaps that was what amused me the most. A man bearing a cross, and yet, I felt nothing but pure evil from him. There was no God in him. He captivates me enough with his charisma that after the fact, I could not accept that a human had given me pause for so long. He promised that the power he held would allow me to flee this hell that we called this "world," and live in a new one. A world where none knew who I was. One where I was able to live, free of the Belmonts, free of Ecclesia... free even of my own son, to live as I please. I scoffed at his mad ramblings... until he bestowed such a power upon me, and before I knew it, he had gone, leaving me to record this just to prove to myself that he was ever there at all."

"He called himself Kirei Kotomine, and he called this power, the Right Hand of the Crimson Moon."

Zatanna visibly furrowed a brow, crossing her arms as she looked over the page. "What? No... Couldn't be, couldn't be," she said, shaking her head, "Unless... This journal is way older than I thought."

"Must be. Paper feels so brittle, yet so stiff. Now that's what I call damned archaic. Guess that man got what he wanted in the end; even after everything that's happened, he still finds a way to haunt us," Constantine spat. It seemed that they recognized the names in the page, but didn't seem overly concerned with it, as though it were a bygone memory of a man who fought against the multiverse that he was trapped in.

"Maybe it'd make more sense if we read the other page?"

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

 

[Yun Lee]

Libra would quickly take the other page and read it out loud. Kirei Kotomine...a man of the cloth, but without a God. He could have sworn he'd heard that name at least once before at The Torch. Whoever he was, he was responsible for all this?

@Ver @Everyone​

 

[Jeremi]

View attachment 2196
"I'll say! Who knew children could be so difficult?" Well, boys, at least. Between Ben, Ciel, and Kokichi, Sumia hoped she never had sons! A daughter or two would be lovely, but boys... "I'm almost a bit relieved I haven't gotten married yet."

"Truly a tragedy," Libra replied to Grace's musings. "I would almost feel for him, had we not seen firsthand what he does to innocents." He doubted the image of those villagers burning in a rain of fire would ever leave him.

@Jeremi​

"The old ball and chain? You thinkin' about that already?" Morte spat it out almost like a curse. "You got plenty of time to worry about stuff like that later, you just gotta have some fun before that if you know what I mean."

@Yun Lee

 

[Takumi]

"Unless the sun conveniently rises in another hour or two, I couldn't tell ya what our best bet is, 'specially since there's little telling how powerful this Dracula bloke truly is," Constantine replied to Sebastian, shrugging mildly.

The scientific journals within Dracula's table didn't possess any info of much interest. More ramblings of notes without context, diagrams for potions that did the unimaginable, and so on.

As for his personal journal, the writing was more legible. Most of the pages were empty, except for the few pages that seemed to be loose from the book, two of which even falling out of the journal itself. Catching one of such pages out of the air, Constantine casually sat atop the edge of the desk, letting out a soft breath.

"Now this... This is curious," he said, before reading what exactly it said, clearing his throat as he did so.

"As I lay within the solace of my own asylum, this hellish underworld that hath nourished me greater than the life-giving sun ever could, I had hoped that I would never be found again. And yet, a man dares to appear me. A sniveling human, so sure of himself, one who has completely accepted the sin of his being. I know not if I admire him for it or condemn him, but it matters little what I think of an insect. Except... He was more than just a mere human. He managed to speak just quickly enough to prevent me from crushing his throat simply for believing he could stand in the same room as I, telling me of a concept that proved... interesting indeed. A... multiverse, he called it."

Constantine pursed his lips, sighed, and then kept going.

"Promises of greater power mean nothing to me; after all, what am I to do with such power? And yet... I am loath to admit that a lowly human was able to maintain my own attention, much more than that, a man of cloth and faith. Perhaps that was what amused me the most. A man bearing a cross, and yet, I felt nothing but pure evil from him. There was no God in him. He captivates me enough with his charisma that after the fact, I could not accept that a human had given me pause for so long. He promised that the power he held would allow me to flee this hell that we called this "world," and live in a new one. A world where none knew who I was. One where I was able to live, free of the Belmonts, free of Ecclesia... free even of my own son, to live as I please. I scoffed at his mad ramblings... until he bestowed such a power upon me, and before I knew it, he had gone, leaving me to record this just to prove to myself that he was ever there at all."

"He called himself Kirei Kotomine, and he called this power, the Right Hand of the Crimson Moon."

Zatanna visibly furrowed a brow, crossing her arms as she looked over the page. "What? No... Couldn't be, couldn't be," she said, shaking her head, "Unless... This journal is way older than I thought."

"Must be. Paper feels so brittle, yet so stiff. Now that's what I call damned archaic. Guess that man got what he wanted in the end; even after everything that's happened, he still finds a way to haunt us," Constantine spat. It seemed that they recognized the names in the page, but didn't seem overly concerned with it, as though it were a bygone memory of a man who fought against the multiverse that he was trapped in.

"Maybe it'd make more sense if we read the other page?"

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

The elder hummed thoughtfully as he heard Zatana and Constantine speak, and from what he could gather this Kotomine fellow was a dangerous man of sorts.

Lindel would ignore what was going on between Zoe and Ciel and the desk and finding these passages much more entertaining and important.

"Hm, this Kirei sounds like a threat from some time ago." he spoke up.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Crow @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Archmage Jeremiah

 

[Raptor Jesus]

When Libra caught the other page, he'd feel Sebastian looming over his shoulder and reading the contents of the page as well.

"I... hope you don't mind. There's only the one page, after all." Sebastian would say if Libra were to look up at him.

@Yun Lee @Ver​

 

[Ver]

"He was," Zatanna nodded to Lindel, "He's long gone now, but back then... Well, let's just say that in our line of work, he did something... troublesome, with lasting consequences, and even after all this time, seems like we're still picking up after his mess."

"Why you gotta be vague like that? You could stand to be more dramatic there and say that he fucked up the balance of the whole multiverse. Give it some flair," Constantine said with a dry, jocular tone.

"I don't thrive on such pretention like you, John."

As Libra would look through the other page, it read as followed:

"I was averse initially to the thought of accepting anything from such a man. It is not as though I am unacquainted with men of evil, free from the chains of morality. Such a human construct, so curious in its existence. A construct that keeps men from accepting their inner, beastial nature, oftentimes in line with their so-called God. A man who keeps from smiting others with his wrath because of a fear that his God will smite him as a result... There is little more I find hypocritical than that. Priests like him... Hmph. Perhaps when one gazes too deeply into the spirits of their faith, they end up finding nothing but death and suffering from their damned gods. In that manner, I wonder... if a priest who damns others so passionately is one who is corrupted by his own beliefs, or one who is exercising it in its purest form."

"I mused on whether or not to use the power of this Right Hand to escape or not for longer than maybe I should have. But eventually, I did so. I used the power bestowed upon me and escaped from that infernal world that has rejected me. And if I cannot kill them for it... for what they'd done to Maria, then all that I can do is move elsewhere. A place where the name "Dracula" means little, but perhaps some things are constant. I rose in this new world, one much like my own, a legend just like the others. And what I saw there... It was the same as back then. Humans, so vile and merciless to each other, hiding behind flimsy justifications of morality. They are the same everywhere. It would be better if they were all destroyed. All of them."

A space is visible between this point and a later paragraph. The ink from hereon is fresher and more legible, as though it were written far more recently.

"It has almost been a year since that priest had visited me, and to this day, I have never seen him again. Curious how this amount of time is but a blink of an eye for myself, and yet, it is life or death for insects and humans. Within my castle, I exist, but I do not live. It is just as it is back there. I feel no remorse for the humans I slaughter, the humans that I lure and beckon for, and feed off. Neither do my children. At least, the ones still loyal to me. Traveling across lands through a castle that rises from the ground is quite inconvenient, but it is a gesture that seems to promote fear in the humans, as they do not understand its very existence. They call such things acts of God or the Devil... and it has ceased to be amusing to listen to such drabble."

"Yesterday, a dark sorcerer appeared before me, and somehow, I know right then that he was not of this world. Perhaps it was because of the power that "Kotomine" bestowed upon me, but I recognized that he was an outsider, such as myself. Though he was human, I sensed the wickedness in his heart. He reminded me of Shaft in a way. A dark magus, betrayed by his own mortality, embittered by fellow man. Perhaps that is also why I did not kill him. With his dark magic, I found myself musing on stepping out of the shadows finally, and thinking on it. The idea of ruling over this new world. After all, without a cursed Belmont to stand in my way, who would stop me?"

"This dark sorcerer, Felix Faust. He has goaded me into taking action. I will destroy everything these humans hold dear in order to prove that there is no salvation for them when the time is right. And if nothing else... Well, my minions must feed, after all."

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

 

[Lucky]

Mike and Josh

Mike sipped on the alcohol, taking a deep breath, wondering why the man wanted to hurt them. He wasn't cleared up by any of that and decided to be quiet, taking a deep breath. He wondered how they would beat him, but he didn't dare say it aloud.

Josh sat on the floor, crossing his arms. He was just done with it all.

@Ver @Everyone

 

[Raptor Jesus]

"He was," Zatanna nodded to Lindel, "He's long gone now, but back then... Well, let's just say that in our line of work, he did something... troublesome, with lasting consequences, and even after all this time, seems like we're still picking up after his mess."

"Why you gotta be vague like that? You could stand to be more dramatic there and say that he fucked up the balance of the whole multiverse. Give it some flair," Constantine said with a dry, jocular tone.

"I don't thrive on such pretention like you, John."

As Libra would look through the other page, it read as followed:

"I was averse initially to the thought of accepting anything from such a man. It is not as though I am unacquainted with men of evil, free from the chains of morality. Such a human construct, so curious in its existence. A construct that keeps men from accepting their inner, beastial nature, oftentimes in line with their so-called God. A man who keeps from smiting others with his wrath because of a fear that his God will smite him as a result... There is little more I find hypocritical than that. Priests like him... Hmph. Perhaps when one gazes too deeply into the spirits of their faith, they end up finding nothing but death and suffering from their damned gods. In that manner, I wonder... if a priest who damns others so passionately is one who is corrupted by his own beliefs, or one who is exercising it in its purest form."

"I mused on whether or not to use the power of this Right Hand to escape or not for longer than maybe I should have. But eventually, I did so. I used the power bestowed upon me and escaped from that infernal world that has rejected me. And if I cannot kill them for it... for what they'd done to Maria, then all that I can do is move elsewhere. A place where the name "Dracula" means little, but perhaps some things are constant. I rose in this new world, one much like my own, a legend just like the others. And what I saw there... It was the same as back then. Humans, so vile and merciless to each other, hiding behind flimsy justifications of morality. They are the same everywhere. It would be better if they were all destroyed. All of them."

A space is visible between this point and a later paragraph. The ink from hereon is fresher and more legible, as though it were written far more recently.

"It has almost been a year since that priest had visited me, and to this day, I have never seen him again. Curious how this amount of time is but a blink of an eye for myself, and yet, it is life or death for insects and humans. Within my castle, I exist, but I do not live. It is just as it is back there. I feel no remorse for the humans I slaughter, the humans that I lure and beckon for, and feed off. Neither do my children. At least, the ones still loyal to me. Traveling across lands through a castle that rises from the ground is quite inconvenient, but it is a gesture that seems to promote fear in the humans, as they do not understand its very existence. They call such things acts of God or the Devil... and it has ceased to be amusing to listen to such drabble."

"Yesterday, a dark sorcerer appeared before me, and somehow, I know right then that he was not of this world. Perhaps it was because of the power that "Kotomine" bestowed upon me, but I recognized that he was an outsider, such as myself. Though he was human, I sensed the wickedness in his heart. He reminded me of Shaft in a way. A dark magus, betrayed by his own mortality, embittered by fellow man. Perhaps that is also why I did not kill him. With his dark magic, I found myself musing on stepping out of the shadows finally, and thinking on it. The idea of ruling over this new world. After all, without a cursed Belmont to stand in my way, who would stop me?"

"This dark sorcerer, Felix Faust. He has goaded me into taking action. I will destroy everything these humans hold dear in order to prove that there is no salvation for them when the time is right. And if nothing else... Well, my minions must feed, after all."

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

"Well, I believe on that note, we should he going." Ciel suggested as he stood up from his crouched position beside the desk and walked in whatever direction that led to Dracula. He just wanted to get this over with.

Meanwhile, Sebastian discreetly pocketed some of the dropped scientific notes.

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Crow @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Takumi @Alex Azure​

 

[Crow]

"Eh, what the hell, hit me up as well, mate," Constantine said with a laid-back smirk as he walked over to Siegward and others, certainly up for a drink. Between drinking and smoking, the Brit was truly a man of vices.

"Is it really a good time to be... doing that?" Zatanna asked with a furrowed brow, referring to both the drinking and bickering.

"It's just letting off some steam. You'll end up all sorts of tightly wound if you don't let yourself do it every now and then."

"Are you implying something there?"

"No, ma'am."

In any case, on the desk itself, it was filled with the belongings of one who could be described as akin to a mad scientist or some sort of old-timey alchemist. Vials, glass containers, beakers, and other material lay about, filled with liquids of God knows what. There was little telling how long they'd been there, if they'd been there for a long time.

Books also littered the table, filled with diagrams messily scribbled down, and crude drawings of pentagrams and creatures, like scientific journals, but among all of those lied a more personal looking journal, sticking out as the one having several loose pages sticking out of it, some even torn out in a messy manner as though in a violent rage.

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

"Unless the sun conveniently rises in another hour or two, I couldn't tell ya what our best bet is, 'specially since there's little telling how powerful this Dracula bloke truly is," Constantine replied to Sebastian, shrugging mildly.

The scientific journals within Dracula's table didn't possess any info of much interest. More ramblings of notes without context, diagrams for potions that did the unimaginable, and so on.

As for his personal journal, the writing was more legible. Most of the pages were empty, except for the few pages that seemed to be loose from the book, two of which even falling out of the journal itself. Catching one of such pages out of the air, Constantine casually sat atop the edge of the desk, letting out a soft breath.

"Now this... This is curious," he said, before reading what exactly it said, clearing his throat as he did so.

"As I lay within the solace of my own asylum, this hellish underworld that hath nourished me greater than the life-giving sun ever could, I had hoped that I would never be found again. And yet, a man dares to appear me. A sniveling human, so sure of himself, one who has completely accepted the sin of his being. I know not if I admire him for it or condemn him, but it matters little what I think of an insect. Except... He was more than just a mere human. He managed to speak just quickly enough to prevent me from crushing his throat simply for believing he could stand in the same room as I, telling me of a concept that proved... interesting indeed. A... multiverse, he called it."

Constantine pursed his lips, sighed, and then kept going.

"Promises of greater power mean nothing to me; after all, what am I to do with such power? And yet... I am loath to admit that a lowly human was able to maintain my own attention, much more than that, a man of cloth and faith. Perhaps that was what amused me the most. A man bearing a cross, and yet, I felt nothing but pure evil from him. There was no God in him. He captivates me enough with his charisma that after the fact, I could not accept that a human had given me pause for so long. He promised that the power he held would allow me to flee this hell that we called this "world," and live in a new one. A world where none knew who I was. One where I was able to live, free of the Belmonts, free of Ecclesia... free even of my own son, to live as I please. I scoffed at his mad ramblings... until he bestowed such a power upon me, and before I knew it, he had gone, leaving me to record this just to prove to myself that he was ever there at all."

"He called himself Kirei Kotomine, and he called this power, the Right Hand of the Crimson Moon."

Zatanna visibly furrowed a brow, crossing her arms as she looked over the page. "What? No... Couldn't be, couldn't be," she said, shaking her head, "Unless... This journal is way older than I thought."

"Must be. Paper feels so brittle, yet so stiff. Now that's what I call damned archaic. Guess that man got what he wanted in the end; even after everything that's happened, he still finds a way to haunt us," Constantine spat. It seemed that they recognized the names in the page, but didn't seem overly concerned with it, as though it were a bygone memory of a man who fought against the multiverse that he was trapped in.

"Maybe it'd make more sense if we read the other page?"

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

"He was," Zatanna nodded to Lindel, "He's long gone now, but back then... Well, let's just say that in our line of work, he did something... troublesome, with lasting consequences, and even after all this time, seems like we're still picking up after his mess."

"Why you gotta be vague like that? You could stand to be more dramatic there and say that he fucked up the balance of the whole multiverse. Give it some flair," Constantine said with a dry, jocular tone.

"I don't thrive on such pretention like you, John."

As Libra would look through the other page, it read as followed:

"I was averse initially to the thought of accepting anything from such a man. It is not as though I am unacquainted with men of evil, free from the chains of morality. Such a human construct, so curious in its existence. A construct that keeps men from accepting their inner, beastial nature, oftentimes in line with their so-called God. A man who keeps from smiting others with his wrath because of a fear that his God will smite him as a result... There is little more I find hypocritical than that. Priests like him... Hmph. Perhaps when one gazes too deeply into the spirits of their faith, they end up finding nothing but death and suffering from their damned gods. In that manner, I wonder... if a priest who damns others so passionately is one who is corrupted by his own beliefs, or one who is exercising it in its purest form."

"I mused on whether or not to use the power of this Right Hand to escape or not for longer than maybe I should have. But eventually, I did so. I used the power bestowed upon me and escaped from that infernal world that has rejected me. And if I cannot kill them for it... for what they'd done to Maria, then all that I can do is move elsewhere. A place where the name "Dracula" means little, but perhaps some things are constant. I rose in this new world, one much like my own, a legend just like the others. And what I saw there... It was the same as back then. Humans, so vile and merciless to each other, hiding behind flimsy justifications of morality. They are the same everywhere. It would be better if they were all destroyed. All of them."

A space is visible between this point and a later paragraph. The ink from hereon is fresher and more legible, as though it were written far more recently.

"It has almost been a year since that priest had visited me, and to this day, I have never seen him again. Curious how this amount of time is but a blink of an eye for myself, and yet, it is life or death for insects and humans. Within my castle, I exist, but I do not live. It is just as it is back there. I feel no remorse for the humans I slaughter, the humans that I lure and beckon for, and feed off. Neither do my children. At least, the ones still loyal to me. Traveling across lands through a castle that rises from the ground is quite inconvenient, but it is a gesture that seems to promote fear in the humans, as they do not understand its very existence. They call such things acts of God or the Devil... and it has ceased to be amusing to listen to such drabble."

"Yesterday, a dark sorcerer appeared before me, and somehow, I know right then that he was not of this world. Perhaps it was because of the power that "Kotomine" bestowed upon me, but I recognized that he was an outsider, such as myself. Though he was human, I sensed the wickedness in his heart. He reminded me of Shaft in a way. A dark magus, betrayed by his own mortality, embittered by fellow man. Perhaps that is also why I did not kill him. With his dark magic, I found myself musing on stepping out of the shadows finally, and thinking on it. The idea of ruling over this new world. After all, without a cursed Belmont to stand in my way, who would stop me?"

"This dark sorcerer, Felix Faust. He has goaded me into taking action. I will destroy everything these humans hold dear in order to prove that there is no salvation for them when the time is right. And if nothing else... Well, my minions must feed, after all."

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

"Gwen can't teach me everything and this is a library..."

Ben takes a few of the more magic-based journals and prepares to read them, or pocket them, while he listens for Dracula's diary.

"So, does that mean that Felix Faust is the true mastermind, the true evil, while Dracula's just a pawn in all of this? And this 'Kotomine'..."

Ben turns to Astolfo.

"... Astolfo, what's with that look? Is there something you want to say?"

@Ver @Minerva @Yun Lee @Kaykay @etcetcetc @etcetcetc​

 

[Yun Lee]

For once, Libra agreed with Ciel. Placing the page on the table, the priest felt burning within him sin yet again.

Wrath.

Burning, raging wrath.

Any sympathy for Dracula he may have had was now gone. Nothing excused this. "I will destroy everything these humans hold dear in order to prove that there is no salvation for them when the time is right." How utterly vile. Disgusting. This was no longer about just freeing himself and the others from this brand. This was about saving the people of this world from a fate they never deserved, that Dracula had no right to bestow upon them.

"Yes, let us move on. The sooner we are rid of him, the better."

He'd ask Naga's forgiveness later.

---

Sumia, blissfully unaware of what Morte truly meant, quizzically raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Well, I do enjoy raising Pegasi and all...I just wonder if I'm missing oit sometimes. All my friends are married, and got to meet their children!"

...

"...long story."


@Ver @Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay@Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay@Takumi @Everyone​

 

[Ver]

"Perhaps there was once a time when he was a man, but he is beyond that now," Constantine sighed as he read the second page to himself, letting out a soft chuckle as he took a swig of his drink as well, "But it makes one wonder... if it's precisely whatever humanity remains within him that drives him to do these sorts of things. If it is a sin to be human... then has he transcended humanity and sin, or has he reveled in them? One sympathizes with him, but if there's a reason for him to be considered single-handedly as evil as an entire group of humans... Look no further," He said, getting off the desk and standing on his feet now, before sauntering over to the next door in the corner of the study.

"Are you sure you guys are ready to move on now? I know you've probably come this far already, but... I can feel it in the air, dark magic. Once we go forward, there might not be any going back for you guys," Zatanna said gravely, a soft expression on her face, visibly worried for them. It was a messy situation; one that would end in at least a few deaths, but she had seen her fair share of the darkness even back home. Someone else's darkness shouldn't have been all that foreign to her.

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

 

[Crow]

"Perhaps there was once a time when he was a man, but he is beyond that now," Constantine sighed as he read the second page to himself, letting out a soft chuckle as he took a swig of his drink as well, "But it makes one wonder... if it's precisely whatever humanity remains within him that drives him to do these sorts of things. If it is a sin to be human... then has he transcended humanity and sin, or has he reveled in them? One sympathizes with him, but if there's a reason for him to be considered single-handedly as evil as an entire group of humans... Look no further," He said, getting off the desk and standing on his feet now, before sauntering over to the next door in the corner of the study.

"Are you sure you guys are ready to move on now? I know you've probably come this far already, but... I can feel it in the air, dark magic. Once we go forward, there might not be any going back for you guys," Zatanna said gravely, a soft expression on her face, visibly worried for them. It was a messy situation; one that would end in at least a few deaths, but she had seen her fair share of the darkness even back home. Someone else's darkness shouldn't have been all that foreign to her.

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

"If he truly is beyond redemption, then I guess we'll have to end him once and for all, huh?" Ben says, having some worry in his voice. "I suppose it's for the best no matter what is said, for if we don't end him, his kill streak will continue to grow relentlessly."

Turning to Zatanna, Ben's tone of worry changed to that of determination.

"The same can be said for those who will fall victim to Dracula if we don't make a move. The same can be said for any other batch of people who want to end Dracula's evil deeds, or every man, woman or child in this world that Dracula calls his new buffet table. Someone has to do something, and that someone is me, and I say - it's hero time! Who's with me?"

@Ver @Yun Lee @Raptor Jesus @Archmage Jeremiah @Kaykay @Takumi @Alex Azure @Minerva @Jeremi @Lucky @etcetcetc​

 

[Yun Lee]

"If my life is forfeit in stopping this monster, then so be it. I will do anything I can to prevent him from taking another life."

"Same for me!" Sumia strode forward beside Libra. "I've fought worse than him (I hope), and if it means saving everyone in this world and helping us get home...then I'm ready for anything!"

@Ver @Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi@Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

 

[Raptor Jesus]

"Hmph. I do not care much for the greater good or the lives of those Dracula has wronged..." Ciel said before lowering his head and exhaling out his nose.

"Though, I suppose that we all have a singular goal in mind, no matter the underlying reason behind it." With a look of determination forming on his face, Ciel looked straight toward at the group.

"Despite my unfavorable relationships with the lot of you, I've no doubt that we will reign victorious over our foe. Each and every one of you possesses remarkable abilities and attributes, and I expect nothing less than Dracula to lie battered and defeated beneath our feet.

And in the end, we shall all return home and see our friends and family once again."

With that, Ciel gave off one last reassuring nod and turned around to walk towards the door, Sebastian following close behind.

@Ver @Crow @Yun Lee @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Alex Azure @Takumi @Otto @Peeps​

 

[Crow]

"So, we agree on something at last," Ben smiles back at Ciel. "Guess if there's anything uniting us all, it's our will to kick some serious vampire butt! It definitely won't be our last fight, but let's fight like it is."

Ben was silent for a bit.

"Better save the rest of my breath to for some good 'ol bad guy banter. Let's see... 'Hey ugly' has been pretty overused during this trip... but I guess it's OK if it's true..."

@Ver @Raptor Jesus​

 

[Raptor Jesus]

"So, we agree on something at last," Ben smiles back at Ciel. "Guess if there's anything uniting us all, it's our will to kick some serious vampire butt! It definitely won't be our last fight, but let's fight like it is."

Ben was silent for a bit.

"Better save the rest of my breath to for some good 'ol bad guy banter. Let's see... 'Hey ugly' has been pretty overused during this trip... but I guess it's OK if it's true..."

@Ver @Raptor Jesus​

"Don't ruin the moment...."

@Crow​

 

[Crow]

"Don't ruin the moment...."

@Crow​

"Fine, fine."

@Raptor Jesus​

 

[Kaykay]

"Perhaps there was once a time when he was a man, but he is beyond that now," Constantine sighed as he read the second page to himself, letting out a soft chuckle as he took a swig of his drink as well, "But it makes one wonder... if it's precisely whatever humanity remains within him that drives him to do these sorts of things. If it is a sin to be human... then has he transcended humanity and sin, or has he reveled in them? One sympathizes with him, but if there's a reason for him to be considered single-handedly as evil as an entire group of humans... Look no further," He said, getting off the desk and standing on his feet now, before sauntering over to the next door in the corner of the study.

"Are you sure you guys are ready to move on now? I know you've probably come this far already, but... I can feel it in the air, dark magic. Once we go forward, there might not be any going back for you guys," Zatanna said gravely, a soft expression on her face, visibly worried for them. It was a messy situation; one that would end in at least a few deaths, but she had seen her fair share of the darkness even back home. Someone else's darkness shouldn't have been all that foreign to her.

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​

"I can't say I really want to keep plunging forward into dark magic, and vampires, and stuff like that. But we don't really have a choice, unless we decide to just keel over and die." Sera answered with a somewhat grim smile. "I'm sure none of us wanna go for that choice though, so let's just take down this man, vampire, or whatever he is. Whether he's transcended humanity or is just dreaming...it doesn't really matter, does it? He's doing wrong, so let's take him down. Yeah?"

@everyone​

 

[Ver]

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Guts nodded to Sera, adjusting his armored vambraces before taking the first initiative and stepping to the door in the corner of the study, kicking it open with a powerful kick without even seeing if it was unlocked to begin with (it was).

"Home stretch, then. Or so, we can hope."

Beyond the door was a long, narrow corridor with nothing but candles illuminating the space, hung from the walls as far as the eye could see. And after about a minute of more walking, the corridor in turn led to a far bigger, wider room, with a vast amount of space, so large that there wasn't even a ceiling in sight. Only empty blackness.

In fact, it looked as though the room was a dead end, with there being no other door in sight to lead anywhere. It might have led one to wonder where they were supposed to go next if they were left to stand there for very long, before the door leading into the room suddenly shut by itself behind the group, a loud thud echoing through the chamber, and as the door closed, in front of it suddenly, a familiar voice was heard.

"Ah, so you've finally come. And I see you have some new friends as well," the voice said.

There stood Felix Faust, by himself. The pruney man bore a nasty expression on his face, more confident than before, as though more inclined to face the group in his "base" now. Folding his arms behind his back, he let out a low cackle.

"Might it be possible to persuade you to simply lay down and die instead of trying to put up a fight? It would be far easier on my end if you would be so kind," the sorcerer said with an evil grin so wide it almost looked as though it stretched out his old face more than it should have.

"Faust...!"

@Yun Lee @Crow @Lucky @Jeremi @Kaykay @Otto @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Kaykay @Takumi @Everyone​