Hollows Eve

Chapter 11

.: HOLLOWS EVE CHAPTER 11:.

Kaila's Perspective

I stood inside of the chamber slightly shaking at the sight of… well…. GOD himself I believe. From what I can understand…. I'm literally staring into the existential face of the creator of all things, God himself. His name just happens to be Arceus.

The fact that I'm getting into something that's ten times bigger than me is one thing…. But now the situation is getting even realer than before. I fear the worst, but hope for the best in a time like this. Especially considering the fact that one of those powerful "Demons" I know is Dracula….. The king of vampires. But what of this other demonic entity? Is there someone just as powerful, if not MORE powerful than Dracula himself?

Well…. I guess it's time for me to just face the music, because I have no choice at this point. No turning back now…. I'm standing in the face of the creator himself as he looks down at me. Relaying his plea for all of us, the members of the Ten Commandments Army to stop the two powerful demons from enacting their plans and taking things over….

"Two VERY powerful demons…. Are aiming to make their way here and ruin the conscious balance of life….. They have committed great sin in their own lives….. so now they wish to destroy the lives of others. And they will do anything to get what they desire, including spilling the black blood of several innocents. You and the other Ten Commandments army members must venture out into the city to find out what's going on.

Otherwise, if the enemy succeeds….. then it shall be a day of reckoning for us all." He said to me while squinting his eyes, signifying his seriousness.

I looked down towards the floor with a slight hint of worry, and then I closed my eyes to muster up the courage to ask Lord Arceus a couple of questions.

"M-my lord…. I dare not to question you… but is it alright if I ask you a few questions?" I asked him while looking straight up at him.

"Of course. Speak my child." He has the same booming kind of voice as Lord Death….. though his is nowhere near as deep or threatening. He more or less sounds like an old Buddhist man that's been meditating in the mountains for a decade.

"Thank you. My first question is, what is this "New Testament?" I heard from….. a reliable source….." a slight beat of nervous sweat dropped from Amuki's head when she heard what I said.

"That in the new testament….. it is said that the destroyer would one day destroy both planes of existence….. in the living and the dead. Is that true?" I asked with my hands at my sides. I gotta say it's still kind of intimidating to be talking to the literal personification of GOD himself. I know I'm rubbing it in at this point, but how would you feel if a spiritual projection of the holy Jehovah was actually talking to you right in front of your face?

"Ahhhhh…. So you know of the New Testament? I shall make this brief for you." Two stone tablets…. The ones from before….laid on two stone tables near the giant altar that held the blue orb that Arceus came out of are right in front of me to the sides….

"These are my words….. It contains the law that governs both planes of existence. I once cast out the destroyer because he violated these grave ten rules… I am the creator, the highest, most unmistakable God known as Arceus. You shall have no other gods before me, you shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Thou shall not have any other gods before me, or after me. With no graven images replacing my own with materialistic idolism.

Thou shall not take the name of the creator in vain, for it is the creator that bears fruit for the ones that walk the plane of existence.

Thou shall honor thy own creators, the ones that gave your life. Your mother and father."

I looked down slightly when he said that….. "Father". Give me a break.

"Thou shall not take what doesn't belong to you. Thou shall not covet or think sinfully of those who are close, or even FAR away from them. Thou shall not commit adultery to those who are innocent. Thou shall not bear false witness, or lie in order to get what they desire. And the final one being….. Thou shall not kill unjustly or unlawfully. These are all laws that I have set into place in order to maintain balance…. But it seems that was not enough to contain the destroyer's influence." He tried to make rules in order to keep him in line?...

"But why? What's going to happen?! If he's going to destroy all of us, then what's the point of having the hollows exist anyway?!"

"That is a good question. You see….. only the purest of beings are capable of resisting such forces such as…. Temptation…. Lust…. Greed…. Anger….. Envy…. And Evil. Those who are not entirely pure of heart will always be subjected to great sin. This also applies to YOU…. Kaila Amiyuki." I looked straight at him and blinked my eyes twice…..I know I've sinned at least ONCE in my life. But what is he even talking about at this point?

"Hollows are necessary to maintain the order between the planes of existence. They exist as no true form of sin or virtue, they only give purpose to that which separates. The destroyer's wrath is something that not even I can contain…. That's just how powerful he really is. This is the purpose of the hollows….. the purpose of the Ten Commandments Army. To protect thine allegiance to the creator, and seek to maintain balance so that the entire world does not fall apart. This and much more falls on your shoulders….You as the Grim Reaper must see to it that the world you live in, and the world in which you do not exist do not fold over to the destroyer's power. You play a very large part in the battle between good and evil…..I trust you know what you must do?"

I…. didn't know what to think. I thought I had gotten into something BIG before…. But now…. I don't know….the purpose of the hollows is to maintain balance and order between the planes of existence? And I'M supposed to pick up the slack for all of that...?

"I don't know if I'm truly ready for all of this…" I said while just… staring at the floor. "This is just… Way too much! I mean I'm just a girl!" I said while closing my eyes and grimacing.

"You are not just a young girl… there is much more to you than you know." He said to me, and with a quick response I shot back.

"Then tell me?! Is that why I'm here?! Why did Lord Death bring me here?!" I yelled at him, frustrated a little bit. My feelings are getting the better of me…. How stupid is it to try and chew out GOD?

"Calm yourself child. There IS a reason as to why Lord Death brought you here…. But it is not the reason you think. There is another reason…. A bigger, and more "Different" reason. That you will have to find out for yourself….." He said while looking down at me calmly.

And as I looked back up at him and blinked twice while the blue light form the glowing orb in the middle of the alter shined in my eyes…..he said to me… "Now go young child. Go seek out your destiny….."

_

3rd Person

After some time in the sacred chamber housing the Ten Commandments, our heroes began to venture outside of the castle together as one complete group of only 8 members. Kaila, Jack, Amuki, Steinman, Wolf, and the other members of the army, Akuyama, Gayami & Kozuto all ventured out into the night-blazon town of Nightmare.

The sky was still a fierce blood-red, however the moon is still very much unchanged. Still gleaming a bright gray-ish white. Its moonlight radiated the town only but so much, as our heroes made their way across the bridge with Jack walking in front of everyone, as well as Steinman & Wolf following closely behind.

"Oh my goodness Kaila, you must have some serious guts to lash out at the creator like that!" Amuki naively said to the distraught Grim Reaper while walking right next to her. "What were you thinking? It was rather risky to go against the word of the great creator." Gayami was also walking right next to her.

"You could've been silenced, or WORSE doomed to eternal damnation! And you know what I mean by that right?" Kaila was just walking in between them while holding her left arm with her right and looking down slightly.

"Stop it Gayami you're scaring her! It's cool; Arceus is actually a really chill kind of guy. He's very forgiving so I'm sure you're off the hook. Besides she's the Grim Reaper! She has a responsibility to this world that she can't really escape. The creator wouldn't just take that away from her because she asked one too many questions!" Kaila cringed a bit and shadows befell her visage.

Amuki noticed the disturbed look on Kaila's face and put one hand over her mouth…. "Ohhhh…uhhhh…." She said, realizing that she was also distressing Kaila.

"Nice goin'." Gayami said while folding her arms.

"Ok look. It's ok Kaila. You're a very strong girl, I've seen you at work! You can do this. I know the job seems like it's all or nothing, but maybe later on you'll find that you're a natural at it. It's ok to feel a little scared sometimes." She said with a comforting tone whilst bestowing her hands on Kaila's shoulders.

"In fact…. When you think about it fear can be a good thing. It's about how you channel that fear that matters. So don't be scared of what "Fate" has in store for you." She said with a bright smile to try and lighten the mood. Kaila continued to look down without responding.

"Ehhhhhhh…..You okay?" A drop of sweat ran down Amuki's head. "it's funny isn't it?" Kaila finally spoke after not saying anything for at least a minute. Amuki perked up and looked at her.

"It's funny how fate deals your hand right back to you…How it plagues you with things you don't necessarily understand…. But in order to win, you have to play the game out. So….. Hopefully if I can play my cards right I'll have a full house. There's definitely no going back now….. So whether or not I can take on this kind of "Responsibility", I'm going to try my damndest to survive this whole ordeal." Kaila said, finishing her sentence with a slight smile that re-assured her of her "Confidence" in the situation she was given…. The hand that "Fate" had dealt her.

Amuki smiled back at her with cheer. "Awesome! That's the spirit!" and then continued walking next to her, but Kaila's look changed from a confidence smirk, to a regretful frown. Something that Gayami noticed, and raised her eyebrow at.

"EY! Hurry up girls! I got somethin'!" Jack said to them, prompting all of them to run after him and immediately head into the city. The town was completely empty and full of a pungent, deathly smell that reeked of blood-wash. Though no one was around, so it seemed as if the town was empty, almost like a ghost-town.

Jack sniffed the air despite not having a…. y'know… NOSE. "*big whiff* …..I can smell it here too, the stench of hollow blood. But my eyes…. I believe they're deceivin' me." There literally was NO trace of Hollow blood around anywhere.

Akuyama followed right behind Jack Von Lantern and twisted the visor dial on his right eye and looked out into the town distance as everyone kept walking. "Damn me too. I can't seem to find a single shred of life in town." Kind of ironic isn't it since this is technically the plane of the dead that we're in.

"Hmmmm….. Ok, we'll split up 'ere. Aku, you go with Kozuto & Gayami. Wolfie, you tag along with Steinman." Steinman then grinned at Wolfie and Wolf responded with a low, dog-like growl.

"Understood. Let's go mutt! Shall we begin looking for more test subjects?" Steinman said, joking a bit about his busted experiment that he was never able to finish.

"Do not test me mad scientist. Let's just go and find them!" He roared at him to shut him up.

Jack folded his arms and looked at the two of them. "The sky is still a deep blood red….. in fact if it gets any deeper then it's gonna start rainin' blood. So I want both of you to find the dead rack-off who did this. We might not see anything yet…..*takes another whiff* ….. But I can sense…. And SMELL the dead bodies. They're here….. And I bet that ol' batty bastard Dracula has somethin' to do with it. So snuff 'em out Wolfie." Jack told Wolf his prime directive, and Wolf responded by nodding. He then got on all fours and began his search for Dracula by sniffing the pavement and following his "Scent".

"Good luck then I guess. Though for putting me with the mutt, I hope you come across Dracula and suffer a horrible, painful death." He then chuckled afterwards.

"Heheheheh. You sick f**k. Y'know I can't die. Now get outta here. Your pet is waitin' for ya'." Jack said back to him while going after Wolfie. "The rest of ya'! Y'know your places. Let's move. I want every nook & cranny of this place explored. Leave nothin' un-turned. Got it?" He said to everyone else.

"Yes sir!" Kaila and the others responded, though Kaila responded to Jack's command kind of late. And with that everyone departed and went their separate ways, walking down different paths to find clues that could lead to Dracula being found out. Their first objective though is to confirm the deaths of several hollows in the vicinity….. Little did they know…..

"Awwww… poor misinformed Jack. Don't you know…? It's never a wise idea to go off alone…." A figure in a red robe said atop a high end roof of one of the nearby Victorian village buildings. The figure showed his blood-soaked fangs underneath, as they were a combination…. Of black and white….

_

As the night was still very young, the figure jumped into the air and descended into the night like a raven, or to be more specific….. a bat flying in the sky. He then landed on a roof, seemingly praying on those that lurked below it. Gayami, Akuyama, and Kozuto were walking nearby, as they had been for several minutes, talking about the current situation regarding the blood prophecy.

"I don't know what's going on…. To be honest I'm afraid for Kaila's even being here. I don't want her to suffer the same fate that I suffered….." He means suffering a violent death in the real world. OR just…. Dying in general.

"She wouldn't suffer the same fate! Fate wouldn't allow it. Come on Aku, you have to look on the bright side of things. Plus she's the grim reaper AND Lord Death's daughter. There's no way something like that could happen to her. Especially not in the realm where the dead walk the earth. I'M more concerned about this blood red sky." Gayami said while looking up at the sky.

The figure, who we probably know by now is Dracula, looked down at the trio as they walked and licked his teeth and lips. "We should be. Don't you sense any kind of deaths around this place? If not then we're just mindlessly walking around." Kozuto said while putting his hands in his pockets.

"Hold on. I can use a certain spell to find out." Using Shokanju, she then conjured what looked like a purple wand with white trimmings. The wand had wing-like garments on the sides that were also purple in color with a large violet orb radiating in the middle.

She raised it forward and then began to incite an incantation….. "Long live the great light that shines with my very soul, the one that transcends the ground and radiates from the kingdom of the sky. Let me borrow your sacred light so that I may cast a shadow upon those that hide in the darkness…. Magic Spell #1: Parairuminēshon!"

Gayami radiated with purple magic energy, as her aura flowed forth, a light shined bright from her wand and released a giant ring of spirit energy. The energy created a gigantic beacon of purple light that illuminated the entire alleyway they were walking in…. and now they could see the bodies. The bodies of the innocent hollows murdered.

"*gasp* ….." Gayami covered her mouth with her free hand in horror at the sight of such a disgusting display of violence. As did Akuyama & Kozuto, who couldn't believe what they were seeing.

There were dead bodies of innocent hollows all around them, with their black blood staining the walls. Some of them were ripped open from the inside, and others were slashed, beheaded or cut apart completely. It was a massive, horrifying, black bloodbath.

Gayami shook in disgust and shock at the horror she was witnessing. "What kind of…. Monster would…..BBBLLAGH!" She vomited on the ground at the sight of such violence. Violence as it is makes her kind of queasy. She's not exactly the "Violent" type….

Akuyama held Gayami up after she vomited. "It's okay…. At least we know what's going on for sure now. We need to find and report back to Jack. I'm sure he's probably discovered what's going on by now…." Akuyama said whilst holding her in his arms.

"Gggh….yeah…. you're right. Le-let's go….GGGH." She was about to gag as she looked away from the disgusting scene, completely appalled at the sight of it every time. But it seems Dracula wasn't going to let them leave so easily….

"Awwww…. We can't have that now can we?" And so he raised his hand, and it began to glow a blood-red glow… flowing intensely with demonic energy.

"Nightmare…"

While looking down at the scene, then turning his back on it to walk away with his teammates… Kozuto sensed an evil presence that wasn't there before…..As his head sprang up in alarm.

_

All the meanwhile, the others were busy trying to find out what Dracula had done to the other hollows as well. Wolfie led them to a clock tower that had a dark tint too it, but the clock's inside numbers shined with a yellow glow.

"C'mon Wolfie, did you find anything yet?" Steinman uttered while continuing to walk. "I'm still searching! There seems to be a very pungent smell though….. *sniff* …. *sniff* *sniff* …..Hmmm…. It seems Dracula's leading us on a wild goose chase." Wolfie said while standing on two legs instead of four.

"What do you mea- …. Wait….." Steinman began to piece together what Wolfie was saying….

"Think about it…. I could smell the bodies of the dead from a mile away…. But only you, and possibly the new grim reaper girl could see them. There must be something wrong here…. Why is it that all of the bodies are invisible?" Wolfie said questioning Steinman.

"Well that's obvious. Dracula's trying to cover his tracks. He must be using a stasis curse in order to manipulate the visibility of the bodies. But that's not enough to shield them from MY view….." Steinman's eyes glowed red, as he could intensely see the deaths of hundreds of hollows.

"Heheheheh…. He underestimates my experiments…. With the power of Mortis… I can see ALL that befalls me. Hahahha! Dracula you old FOOL!-" Steinman grunted…and took several steps backwards out of confusion. "What the?..."

"What? What do you see?!" Wolfie looked back and asked Steinman what he was seeing. All the while…. A voice began to speak to him inside his mind…..

"Ohhhh you poor deluded soul…. You don't think I know what the Mortis eye is capable of? The bodies of these forgotten creatures are not the only thing you'll see underneath the terror of the blood moon….." And suddenly…. The creatures one by one, started to rise. They grunted like zombies, and began walking slowly, and then running towards their adversaries in a maddening rage.

"Wrath…"

_

Last, but certainly not least, Kaila, Amuki and Jack walked around the main boardwalk leading into a nearby graveyard that housed tombs, temples and several graves that acted as memorials to certain hollow monsters. However it was sealed off by a wall of thick, unbreakable spirit energy. But to Kaila it only seemed like a regular graveyard…

However, the situation was getting even more grimm. As the leafless trees began to take a haunting shape, the wind blew harshly in the distance creating an eerie feel, and the streets of Nightmare began to spread apart completely. Leading to a small, looking mansion in the distance.

"Huh….. The house of Nosferatu….I never thought I'd see that again. Where are you….? You piece of shit." Jack thought while continuing to walk. Amuki & Kaila followed right behind him, wondering why he was being so silent.

"What's up with Jack….?" Kaila asked Amuki while looking at her from the left.

"He's probably eager to battle Dracula again….. This is no doubt his handi-work. And him & the king have a personal history together. A score to settle if you will. That's why whenever Dracula's name is mentioned….. Jack grows intense….. angry…. And Scary." Amuki said with a hint of fear in her voice, as if it was shaking.

Kaila turned back towards Jack, and could feel the haunting energy coming off of him. As he continued to walk, Kaila could feel his overwhelming energy leaking out. His aura manifested into this gigantic, slobbering mess of pumpkin vines with six heads made out of actual pumpkins. Both pumpkins had horrifying demonic faces that looked as if they were taunting her, and terrifying her at the same time.

Kaila's eyes expanded in fear….. "Ok…. Remind me never to piss him off." She said while shaking in her voice with slight remorse at slapping him earlier. She knew what he was all about…. If he wasn't scary then…. He's scary now.

"If Jack's that angry at Dracula…. Then he must've done something horrible to him….So horrible that he wants him erased form existence…." She said while looking down.

"Oh believe me! You have no idea-" Amuki stopped, as the entire world around her went negative for a second…. Her eyes started to expand and dilate as if she was being subjected to an illusion… "W..Wh…What?... What's h….happening to me?..." She couldn't move. Her body remained deftly still.

Kaila stopped and looked at her concerned. "Amuki? Amuki are you alright?! JACK!" Kaila called out to Jack who looked back at Kaila & Amuki. "Hmmm?"

"Something's wrong with Amuki! She can't move!" Jack turned all the way around and began walking all the way over to both of them.

"What….? Why….why is the ground turning black?!... What is this?!" She began to stoop to her knees, as the ground turned a dark black with a reddish tint. Almost as if it was lit up by the glow of an intense, burning fire.

Amuki brought her head up, and saw that she was indeed in the midst of a burning inferno, right in front of what looked to be a castle that was majestic looking in nature. Almost like something out of a fairy tale. The castle was crumbling to the ground and burning into nothing but ashes, and amongst all of that several dead bodies layed inside of the fire and right in front of her, their dead carcasses all shadowed by the fire…..

"What?... What is this?! NO THIS CAN'T BE!" Amuki gripped her head and started yelling and crying as hard as she could.

"Oh my god what's wrong with her?!" Kaila asked frantically.

"AAAAAAAHHH! MAKE IT STOP! MOTHER! FATHER!" Amuki screamed out loud.

"Don'ttry and scream child….." A voice that echoed called out to Amuki in the midst of the fire. Before her a figure stood, also shadowed by the illuminating fire. The figure grinned behind a large red robe and looked at Amuki with glaring red eyes.

"No….not you… You can't be….." Amuki looked at the figure while on her knees. The figure's eyes began to shape into a pentagram star which revealed the fates of those Dracula had put under nightmare stasis.

" I can see into your fate….."

Gayami was strung up and restrained by a plethora of what looked to be rose vines with prickly thorns. The vines had covered her arms and legs, and even managed to rip through her outfit revealing much of her body against her will…

"AAAAAGGHHH LET ME GO! WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?! GGGGH! I Have…. To reach my wand! If I could just reach it…." Gayami reached out towards her wand that she had dropped beforehand, but in the midst of a shadowy corner beyond the alleyway, out came more rose vines. And they grabbed the poor witchling's wand and snapped it in two.

"*gasp* my wand…." Gayami gasped in horror at the sight of it all.

"And it seems like right now it's under my command…"

"HRGH! Come on Gayami! We're under fire! Snap out of it! HRGH!" Kozuto was slashing through several of the rose vines that came up from the ground to attack him, as was Akuyama, who fired at the vines with what seemed like hollow laser pistols.

"HRRRGH! GAYAMI! WAKE UP!" Akuyama stated while firing incessantly at the vines.

"No…. PLEASE DON'T…I BEG OF YOU…." Gayami looked as if she was traumatized, as a look of absolute terror struck her face. Before her the vines held up what seemed like the bloodied bodies of both Akuyama and Kozuto. Both of their bodies were dripping from head to toe.

"Now that I finally have what I want….."

"I BEG OF YOU! DON'T! PLEASE!" Gayami cried out, but it was all in vain. The vines then pierced right through both of their chests, spewing black blood everywhere and all over Gayami's face.

Gayami whimpered and then screamed out loud, as she was swallowed up by the rose vines that covered every inch of her entire being now.

"GAYAMI!" Both of the boys had screamed out as Gayami had be caught in her worst fear… Violence.

_

Wolf & Steinman's situation wasn't much better. Both of them were fighting off several of the undead hollows who seemingly walked around with no soul inside of them. Just literal, undead, rotting flesh that walked and preyed on them with no conscience.

Wolf slashed through multiple zombies and hacked off the head of one that was about to attack Steinman right behind his back. "Thanks Wolfie! But we're in trouble…. It seems like there's too many!"

The zombies seemingly came from every corner… as they began to run furiously at their prey. "HHHRRRAGGH!" Steinman powered up and revealed his power as an energy-based hollow, wiping out several portions of the horde with a beam of his own powerful spirit energy from his mouth. However it wasn't enough to stop the running horde….

"Your fate is completely sealed….."

The horde began to overwhelm them both as they fought their hardest. Slashing and hacking, punching and kicking, blasting and roaring as hard as they could. But it was too much. And they were eventually buried underneath the massive horde.

_

Amuki continued to scream and whimper like she was having a heart attack, she remained on her knees inside of the burning hellscape she was seeing. All the while the figure still spoke to her….

"You know it's rather funny…. Isn't it? This is the same position I saw you in last time…. Cowering in fear and despair…whimpering at the loss of everything around you…..it really is funny….." We then get a peek into the figure's eyes and once the pentagram stars disappear….. The eyes then close. And once the re-open, the vampire king's eyes had glared down onto the three of them atop the large mansion, where he stood with a smile on his face.

"How fate deals your hand right back to you? Isn't it?... Hmhmhmhmhmh…." Dracula was standing atop the mansion of Nosferatu.

Jack stopped walking and then turned around to find Dracula atop the mansion. His eyes expanded a bit, showing his obvious anger.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH! MAKE IT STOOOOOOOP!" Amuki screamed out one more time before Jack leaped from the ground and charged right at Dracula. His swords clashed hard with his claws. And pretty soon the two of them were face to face underneath the moon.

Dracula held Jack up as he pressed down with his swords…. "Ah….Jack old friend….. good to see you again." Jack looked down at Dracula with disdain and then smiled. "Good to see you too. You dirty bastard." The two of them then separated and charged at each other and clashed again, trading sharp bladed blows back and forth with such abrasiveness that you could feel the hostility in each swing, particularly from Jack's sword.

After being locked into a singular position where their blades were clashing, Jack looked at Dracula's face with disdain and grunted. Dracula just smiled. "Hehehe… what's wrong today Jack? You're fighting with more gusto than USUAL!" Dracula then swatted Jack away and sent him flying through several buildings in the main square. Even the fountain that painted Lord Death's image amidst several other monsters such as a bleeding skeleton he had crashed through.

"Don't you know by now?... You cannot kill that which is already dead. So with you trying to intimidate me…. It's really cute. But the king has no time for you right now." Dracula said, bragging about his power.

Amuki was still having a nervous breakdown as Kaila helped her stay sane and stable by holding her close and telling her it'll be okay.

"Don't worry Amuki, it'll be fine! Jack's got this really! Don't be scared ok! Im right here. I'm right here!" Amuki was crying and hyperventilating as if she was going insane.

Somehow underneath Kaila though, a plant stem grew, and then it quickly blossomed into a beautiful dahlia rose right beneath her feet.

"Ahhhhh of course…I almost forgot about you." Dracula turned his attention back to Kaila and Amuki. Kaila responded by looking right at Dracula and glaring intensely.

"You bastard…. Stop this right now! What the hell do you want with me?!" Kaila rang out at Dracula from below.

"Oh I told you little reaper girl. It's not what I want. It's what my mistress wants…..So now it's time for me to take you in-" Dracula raised his hand but just as he was about to finish his sentence a plethora of pumpkin vines pierced through his arm.

Dracula was in shock at the sight of this, and he yelled out with intense pain. "AAAAAAHHH!"

This was obviously Jack's doing, and it seemed like Dracula's little "Attack" on him didn't do much to repel him. As he was walking forward amidst the destroyed buildings and monuments with pumpkin vines protruding from his arm piercing Dracula's skin.

"Tch…. And you think I'm cute eh? Lemme remind ya' of somethin' mate… I might not be able to kill ya'….. right now….. but I can certainly hurt ya'." Dracula grimaced and looked to his right at Jack, who emerged from the smoke & shadows completely unharmed.

"Me on the other hand…. You won't be able to get a single dodgy on me…. Heheheheheh….." Jack then jumped at Dracula and drop kicked him in the face, sending him flying and grunting into a wall where Jack pinned him with tons of pumpkin grass roots. He then put one of his swords to his throat, and demanded that he tell him what he's doing here.

"Now tell me what the f**k you're doing here? And also, what did you do with the hollow bodies that are alive!" Dracula grinned at Jack. "So you noticed…?"

Kaila looked up at them wondering what he meant. "What…..?"

"Do you think I'm f*****g stupid?... I must admit…. You almost had me there. Pullin' a fast one eh?..." Jack said while grinning maliciously.

"Heheheh… you know me so well." Dracula said while also grinning.

"I now know the entirety of the hollow bodies I smelled were just an illusion. In reality…. You were tuckin' 'em away weren't you?" He insinuated.

"Hemhmhmhmhmmmahahahah… Hahahahaha! Yes…. And now the mistress has plenty of bodies to experiment with. You should get ready….. Hahahahah…. The return of the demon princess is NIGH! The blood Prophecy is almost complete! And the downfall of hollow kind is at hand. She WILL carry out the destroyer's will!" Jack shoved the blade into Dracula's throat savagely.

"GAAAHCCK!" Dracula coughed up an immense amount of blood and was choking intensely, spewing blood onto Jack's clothes.

"Shut up with all that demon princess malarkey… Now… tell me what you've done with those hollow creatures….or else I'll chop ya' bloody head off." He said while staring him down in the face, inciting fear into his eyes as he grimaced while not being able to speak.

"Ohhh… that's right….. you can't talk can ya? Ya bloke….. oh well…. Guess you can't give me the answer. You've got 5 seconds to heal yourself or else I'll silence you for the next….. Eh… whenever you wake up." Jack dislodged his word from Dracula's throat and raised it up into the air while counting down. "5…..4….."

The rose beneath Kaila's feet started to bloom in the meantime, but it was also growing at an extensive rate. It grew thorns, and it's petals expanded…. And multiplied…. And it's roots started to grow!

Kaila looked down at the monstrous plant and watched it grow. "What?... What the?! HEY! What's with this giant plant- MHMMMMHHHHPPP!" The plant's roots had turned into rosen vines, which then exploded from the rose itself scattering many petals before Amuki & Kaila. Before Amuki or Jack could stop it, the vines had already ensnared Kaila in their grasp.

"MMMMMPPHHHH!" The vines had covered Kaila's mouth.

"It's okay little girl…" Kaila looked over at the patch of rose petals that began to blow into a cyclone of petals. The petals got thicker and thicker as the wind picked up, eventually spinning so much, they somehow turned into…. Blood.

"Pretty soon, it will all be over. This nightmare will end…. And you can join your friends in the afterlife instead." The blood dripped off of someone emerging from it. The person had an even bigger red robe than that of Dracula himself. It sounded like a woman…..

She began to pull down her hood and it revealed a dark-brown haired woman with green eyes that looked very similar to Kaila's teacher…..

Kaila looked upon the woman with fear struck in her eyes. "MMMMPHH! MMHHHMMPHPH! MHHHHMAPHPH!" She screamed for help as much as she could, but it was no use. The vines had held her tightly, as the woman began to walk towards her, and a large rose vine came out of her palm making blood drip from it.

Kaila managed to summon enough spirit energy to power through the vines and grab the ones holding her mouth, while Jack looked down at the scene and saw her there. "2…..1…What?... Is that?!" Dracula took this chance as a counter-move, and struck Jack with one of his signature techniques.

"BLOOD VENOM!" He struck Jack and impaled him in several places, spewing certain parts of his blood all over the place. His blood actually managed to burn through the roof of the house they were sitting on.

Jack slid backwards with several holes in his body, however they quickly healed afterwards. Dracula's throat also seems to have healed from Jack slitting it earlier. "Hahahhaha…. Like I said… the blood prophecy… Is NIGH! HAAAH!" Dracula attacked and charged at Jack again, slashing at him, but Jack struck back and sent him flying into the sky. As Jack & Dracula continued fighting while Kaila remained helpless, at the mercy of the woman approaching her.

"MMMMMPHHMHHM!" She struggled hard, but finally managed to rip off the vines using all of her strength. "AMUKI! HELP! SNAP OUT OF IT! PLEASE! I NEED YOU!" Kaila called out for help from Amuki who still gripped her head in fear and anguish, but Kaila's words reached her. And she looked up with dilated eyes at the world around her….

"My….My…My kingdom…My….. my family is it….. is it?..." The illusion faded and Amuki saw Kaila reaching out to her right in front of her, trapped inside of the thorny vines.

"AMUKI HEEHEHEELP!" Kaila was sinking inside of the vines, they began to swallow her whole and Amuki immediately summoned her wand and pointed it at the vines. It emitted a cold aura and fired a frost-like projectile that froze the vines and caused them to shatter like glass.

"Kaila! I gotcha!" Kaila was falling amidst the smashed and shattered icy vines, and Amuki caught her friend, lowering her to the ground with relative ease.

"It's alright…. Your fine now. I've got you Kaila…." Amuki said, trying to calm her down. Kaila was visibly shaking….. all of those gross, blood-covered vines terrified her. Amuki held her friend close to comfort her in her time of need…. But the comforting moment between them was ruined as the woman in the red robe approached them, beginning to strip her red robe off….

"Good job little princess….." Amuki looked up from holding her friend and her eyes expanded. What she saw in the dream….. was actually her worst reality.

"You've managed to actually save the poor child and master your magic. I'm impressed. It's been so long…. So long since I've seen you." The woman had fully taken off her robe, and revealed herself to have a figure on Amuki's level, but a much more sinister costume. Her dress consisted of a crimson red corset with a black outlining on her breastplate, covered from her chest down to her waist with black rose vines, as well as a black dahlia rose on her right breast. She also had a necklace made out of silver right on her neck that housed a Rosario with a ruby inside of it. Inside of the ruby was a pentagram star…. Just like the ones Amuki saw in her eyes.

Her arms had black gloves that covered up to her shoulders, and all along the sides of them were red vines that were in contrast to the vines on her neck. A long skirt also protruded from the bottom of the dress that was black in color, but was also covered with a front piece that was also red with black lining, and tied back with a black ribbon. She also wore black stockings with rose vines covering them, and black high heels….

Amuki looked at the woman's visage and then grimaced and growled…. Extremely angry at the mere sight of her face. "I remember that face as well…. That's the last look I saw on your face the last time we met. It's been so long…. Hasn't it?" The woman then grinned down on Amuki from afar and continued walking towards them….

Amuki gripped Kaila's elbow with intense rage…. "YOU…..GGGGRRRHH…..YOU…..How dare you show you f*****g FACE!" Amuki looked up at the woman and her eyes had turned yellow, and she had gained purple markings on the sides of her eyes. Almost like eye shadow.

Jack had finished clashing with Dracula, as he reported back down to the roof top and landed with Dracula quickly following him. The two were breathing rather hard, but Dracula took notice of the woman's appearance. "Hmmmm….. looks like mistress has finally arrived."

Jack looked down at the three ladies and raised an eyebrow, wondering who she was and how she got here. Kaila looked up at Amuki, she could see it in her eyes that she was angry. "Amuki….? Why do you look so different?" She asked out loud, all Amuki could do was growl in utter anger at the sight of the horrid woman. "Amuki! Who is that woman?! Answer me!" Amuki dropped Kaila and immediately ran towards the woman, using Shokanju to summon her sword to her hand.

"AMUKI!" Kaila called out to her to stop, raising her hand. But Amuki charged right at her with her sword drawn." RRRRRRRGGGHH! YOUR GOING TO DIE! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU! YOU EVIL b***h!" Amuki raised her sword and it extended in the air.

"MAGIC SPELL #1: CRYSTALLINE TRA-" The woman had struck Amuki, and with one swing, sent her flying into a building. Just on her own strength alone…

Kaila was in utter shock…. She couldn't believe how strong this woman was….. is this the "Mistress" That Dracula spoke of? Was this her power? And…. Does she want something from Kaila?

"How pathetic….. I guess I was wrong….so many years have gone by…..and yet you never learn do you? Hmhmhmahahha…." Amuki laid inside of a wall bleeding from the head after crashing into it.

Jack had seen the entire thing and was beyond angry at this point. He disappeared and re-appeared, striking the woman with the blunt force of a freight truck, causing the ground to collapse underneath her and a mighty gust of wind to blow.

"AGH!" The gust of wind caused Kaila to put her dukes up and cover herself. "Ohhhh it looks like you have a knight in shining armor little princess…" The woman slyly looked up at an angry Jack Von Lantern, as he thrusted his sword into her, but missed every single time he tried to s***h her. He slashed at her multiple times, but the woman was fast and dodged every single swing. In fact, Jack once swung with so much force, he managed to annihilate an entire building when swung!

"Sword Stream….." He then looked at the woman, and immediately went after her again, however before he could attack, Dracula got in his way and countered his attack by sinking his claws into him. "Blood VENOM!" Jack was blasted with Dracula's tainted blood inside of his body, causing him to be forced back into a wall. However this didn't really affect him that much.

Jack looked up from the wall while holding his insides, as the terrible twosome jumped onto the roof of Nosferatu's mansion, and the woman began to speak…..

"Hear me!... Reaper girl." She was talking directly to Kaila… who looked up from the ground and right at princess blood rose.

"You're playing with forces that a mere scared, lost little girl like yourself cannot even hope to understand. I mean really!... Lord Death must be an i***t!" She said while malevolently smiling down at them both. Jack glared right back up at her while still holding his insides.

"He put a little girl in charge of preserving balance in this world?! HAH! This will be easier than I expected….. It's like your lordship personally wrapped up a gift for yours truly." She said while talking down to her.

"Who….are you?..." Kaila said while looking at her scared still.

"My name is of no concern to you Reaper Girl. Pretty soon you won't be around to her of it. But by some chance you manage to survive in this cruel, dark world…. You may call me Blood Rose. I am the demon witch princess, the REAL princess. And I shall also be your death. Make no mistake…. Your blood. WILL be mine. And by the time the prophecy is complete…. All of Purgatory shall fall beneath my feet. Hahahahahahahah…. HAHAHAHAHAHH! HAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAH!" She kept laughing maniacally as her visage lit up the night even more, giving way to a more evil stench in the air…..

"Ahhhhh… But I know how lost you are….. And since I'm willing to help you play the game even further….. I'll tell you something fun. A nice riddle….. if you can decipher it….. You'll know exactly where to find me.

Look deep inside yourself….. And then open your eyes to the world in front of you….It is there that you will find the deepest, darkest, blackness inside your own mind…."

.: TO BE CONTINUED :.