Dracula's castle

We see the Carpathian Mountains. We arrive at the right station at dawn, but there is still a long journey ahead bye carriage.

It's already sunset.

"The sun is going to set soon... Are we almost at the place you're heading for?" Doreen asks.

"Just a little further." Van Helsing says.

We ride through the mountains in silence.

"Van Helsing?" Silence. But I don't back down, and keep talking. "What are you doing to do to that girl?"

If the only options are to kill or be killed, what did she come here to do? "Who can say..." She doesn't give a clear answer. We ride for two more hours.

The scenery suddenly opens up around us, and a tall castle comes into view.

"Whoa... This place is pretty amazing." Nemo says.

"Wow! It's a huge castle. It looks old..." Victoria says.

"The history for the vampire race is long, and they have lived in a number of regions. This is most likely one of their bases." Doreen says.

"I don't know how to put it... It's huge and amazing, but it has a melancholy feeling about it." Lupin says. Now that she mentions it, the castle does have a certain sadness.

Is that girl waiting for us all by herself in that castle that used two stand with such dignity in the past?

"Let's go." Van Helsing sets off, and we follow.

Our footsteps echo in the hall.

While the interior is in disrepair, it's not as bad as the decrepit exterior.

"It's hard to believe how run-down this place is." Nemo says this in a soft voice, sounding sadder than I expected. I turn around.

"Nemo, have you been here before?" I ask.

"Nope, I've never been here... But, there's just something about it..." Nemo says.

"Nemo. You were questioning why Dracula II was do strong?" Van Helsing asks. "Dracula II is a pureblood."

"Pureblood?" I ask.

"The vampire race were very reclusive, but humans, after all, are the ones who determine the state of the world." Van Helsing says. "Because vampires are so similar in nature to them, they could not remain completely detached from human society. As time passed, a group of vampires deepened their relationship with humans, and their blood began to mix."

"I see. I suppose love knows no boundaries, even species." Doreen says.

"Hmph... Call if whatever you like." Van Helsing says. "As their relations with humans grew stronger, those who were against it became minority within the overall population. There are those who simply detested humans, or cited 'vampire pride'... The reasons varied, but all of them possessed the incredible physical abilities that vampires originally had."

"I see... So the reason the girl is so strong is because she has no human blood in her." Lupin says.

"Which means that might was probably the norm in the past. Vampires used to be a source of fear for humans... I can see why." Victoria says.

"But, ultimately, most of those who chose not to mingle with humans naturally disappeared." Van Helsing says.

"Source of fear, huh..." Nemo says.

Van Helsing continues speaking as she walks. "She's close... She'll be at the place where I killed Dracula I..."

We suddenly enter a great open space, a large room the size of a great hall. I see wide, luxurious staircases and elaborate chandeliers. Although everything looks worn-out now, their presence speaks of the past splendour of this mansion.

"I've been waiting for you, Van Helsing." Standing at the centre of the stairs is the pure-blooded vampire... As if she had been waiting for whole time. "I shall have your head in this place, where my father spent his last moments."

We all tense up at these hateful words. However, without hesitation, Van Helsing steps forward without even drawing her guns.

"Van Helsing?" I say.

"...Stand back and watch." Van Helsing says.

"Whoa, whoa, are you sure you don't need our help?" Nemo asks.

"This is my problem to deal with. You can all stay back here." Van Helsing says.

"Ho...? You came with a retinue, but you don't seek their help? I don't care if you all attack me at once." Dracula II says. "It's just a matter of having more dead bodies to clean up afterwards."

"You sure enjoy talking, Dracula... Do you fear me?" Van Helsing asks. "Why don't you go ahead and kill me if you hate me that much? That is... if you can."

In the tense atmosphere, the air around the girl seems to swirl. "...Very well." She brushes her cape back and raises her fists. "Don't think I'm the same as before. I have been training endlessly for the purpose of ending your life. My father's regret... my mother's misery, and my people's anger, will all be avenged here and now! Here I come, Van Helsing!" Her speed enables her to close the ten steps between them in an instant. As we expected, Dracula II's physical abilities are extraordinary. "Do you take me for a fool?! You don't even have your guns out...!" Van Helsing takes every one of the girl's punches without so much as a change in her expression. "What's the matter...?! Aren't you going to fight back?! You...! How far must your mockery go?!"

Van Helsing brushes aside an unending stream of punches and kicks, doing nothing but fighting defensively. But...

how is Van Helsing able to block these attacks so easily?

From what I saw at the auction, the girl's fists hold a tremendous amount of power. Is it really possible to take this many blows, even though they may not be direct hits?

"She isn't taking the **** of her foe's attacks head on." Doreen speaks as if reading my mind. "The hits aren't actually hitting her directly, and she's able to skilfully avert them in different directions to lessen the impact. But that method of fighting is probably something only Van Helsing can do. No normal person would be able to react to Dracula's attacks this way... Her reputation as the human weapon is earned."

Does that mean... Both of them are superhuman beings above the range of what's considered normal?

For some reason, this scene before me of two people fighting for their lives, looks sad to me. "...Are you sure she doesn't need help?"

"There's probably no need." Lupin says.

"But..." I say.

"We're not going to abandon her, just... It's not what Van Helsing wants, and I'm sure she has some sort of plan." Lupin says. "If we think she's in dire danger, we'll go in and help, and we won't take 'no' for an answer. Until then, we should stay out. Just like Van Helsing says, this is probably something she needs to tackle on her own."

"Something she has to do herself..." I say.

"Don't worry. Van Helsing is strong, and I believe she has a good heart." Victoria says. "She'll figure out a way."

"...Okay." I nod hesitantly at Victoria's points. As we watch the fighting progress, it all changes suddenly.

Van Helsing sinks her fist into the girl's abdomen. Van Helsing wastes no opportunity when her opponent loses her balance, and delivers a blow to Dracula's head with her elbow.

The girl jumps back in defence. However-- By that time Van Helsing has her two shotguns out and already pointed at Dracula. "Move, and I'll shoot." The tables have completely turned from her defensive fighting earlier. The hunter and the hunted. A tense silence fills the space between them.

"So? I can easily avoid anything you try to shoot at me...!" Dracula II says.

"Would you like to try it? If you do, it will cost you your life." Van Helsing says. "You yourself should already understand. You are far weaker than your late father. You cannot defeat me."

"Then shoot!" Dracula II says.

"I only seek your surrender. I had no intention of harming you from the start." Van Helsing says.

"What... is the meaning of this?!" Dracula II asks. "You would show me mercy, now that it's far too late?"

"I'm warning you. Don't move." Van Helsing says.

"Then... Why didn't you show us this mercy two years ago?!" Dracula II asks.

"I don't want to shoot you." Van Helsing says.

"You...! If it wasn't for you...! Mother and Father would be alive!" The girl leaps forward.

I gulp at the dull boom of the gunshot.

Dracula is rolling on the floor, as if she'd been thrown back.

"I warned you..." Van Helsing says.

Not a single drop of blood stains her clothes. Instead, there are white shards...

I immediately realise what they are: Rock salt.

Van Helsing had no intention of killing the girl from the very beginning.

"I... I'll kill you!" Even after being shot, Dracula II stands up. Van Helsing fires another blast, and the vampire falls to the ground. "I will destroy you and everything you hold dear!" Even then, Dracula tries to stand up once again. "Aaaaaah!" Dracula screams as the gunshots continue.

"Stay down." Van Helsing says.

"I will get my ****... No matter what! I will never forgive you for...!" Dracula II says. "Ahhh... Ahhhhhhh!" She is blown away, like an old rag, and rolls across the floor.

"Van Helsing..." I say. "That's enough, Van Helsing!"

It seems like Dracula has finally lost the strength to withstand more gunshots, and has stopped moving. "Uh... Ugh..." Her face is twisted in pain.

"It should be clear that you're no match for me, Dracula II." Van Helsing says. "There is no way you can defeat me with your capabilities. And.. Stop stealing treasures. Humans can be more cruel than you can imagine. If you don't stay on your toes, you're going to be consumed someday. Give up trying to take your **** out on the entire human race."

"I will never forgive you, Van Helsing! Not you, not ever...!" Dracula II says.

"Yes, I'm the only one deserving your ire." Van Helsing stands and looks down at the girl for a long time. "But you can't kill me just yet. There is still something that I must do. But... Once it's all over, I'd gladly give myself to you to be killed. I deserve as much."

"Van Helsing..." I say.

"Dracula II... My **** must put an end to your quest for ****." Van Helsing says. "Don't turn your hate on anyone else."

Dracula slowly rises to her knees, shaking. She apparently has no more strength to resist, and Van Helsing lowers her guns. "What is the meaning of this...? Are you trying to atone for your crime...? I will not let it happen! You can't hold out a helping hand and pretend that you're good...! Just kill me. I could never face Mother and Father, knowing that I had accepted your sympathy."

"...I don't need to kill you." Van Helsing says.

"Kill me... Kill me!" The girl crumples to the ground-- "Ah... Ahhhh... Ugh..." For a while, her crying is the only thing to break the silence within the hall.

Outside, thunder roars in the distance, dully echoing through the castle.

I don't know the truth behind the war two years ago, or what war is really like... I only have knowledge from history lessons and what I've read on the internet. I don't understand war very well. But to me, Dracula II and Van Helsing both look like victims carrying the weight of their sadness from those events.

A huge castle has gone to ruin. She has probably here all alone for the past two years...

Just like I had been.

No, her pain is far greater than mine. A hatred that she can't do anything about, and an anger that burns through her. Her suffering must been immense.

"Um..." I speak hesitantly. "Do you think we could possibly... bring her back with us?"

"Her...? You mean Dracula?" Doreen asks.

"What?! Caleb... Wouldn't you say that's impossible? The girl's been saying she wants to kill us." Nemo says. "It never crossed my mind as an option. I've got to say, I'm against it."

"I can't agree to it, either. Her presence puts us all at too much of a risk to be acceptable." Victoria says.

As I'd expected, everyone disagrees... I could tell that Dracula, leaning on the staircase to support herself, was quietly looking at me.

"Caleb... why would you want to do that? You must have a reason."

Now that Lupin's asked, I start to explain my reasons, little by little. "I think It must be very lonely for her to stay her all by herself... I think that's very sad. At first, I didn't realise it, because being alone seemed so natural to me... But now that I look back, the time I was alone were a very painful and trying time in my life." I try to explain myself, but the words just aren't coming out, and I get frustrated. "I think there are a lot of things she won't see or understand... Not as long as she remains here. That's why I want you to come with us. I think things will start to look different to you with a change of scenery... Does that sound... crazy?"

"Caleb..." Nemo says.

"...Yes. That certainly does sound... outlandish." Dracula II suddenly starts talking. "Why are you so **** to 'help' me? You don't even know me, so why should you say things like this, as if you cared?" Her gaze is sharp, searching for answers.

I look directly back at her, staring into her eyes. "My life has not been as difficult as yours... but I know little bit about loneliness. That's why... I want to try and do something about that. Even though, it's a dangerous situation, I also know the pain of losing parents..."

She remains silent for a time. "So you presume to know how I feel, and now you're trying to save me? Hahah... Your opinions are worthless."

"...I'm sorry." I say.

Dracula takes a breath, then looks around the hall before turning to me again. "This place... is the mausoleum of people--my family. A tomb needs a keeper. I cannot leave this place behind."

"Isn't **** your only desire?" Van Helsing suddenly speaks up. "Then for the sake of those who rest here, you must keep on eye on me. So that when all is said and done, I won't just change my mind and take off. Kill me someday... Then you can return here, with that act as your memorial to them."

"Can I trust you, Van Helsing?" Dracula II asks.

"...Yes. But... right now, that's as much as I can offer you." Van Helsing falls silent.

Dracula doesn't say anything either, and simply stares at her. There is a long silence. Finally in a soft voice... "...Fine. I will come with you." Dracula says.