Chapter 15: Claudius

Twice a year, every royal family is required to conduct a royal ball and the Van Helsings are of no exception. This year's event is to celebrate the first born princess' 118th birthday. Everyone has gathered, this is a big day after all.

And Claudius, young as he is, rushed towards the man in a gray suit.

"Brother, brother! I've found you!" He called and the man turned around.

"Oh Claudius, there you are! Is father here?"

The boy nodded, "Yes, he went to King Helsing to greet him."

The man chuckled and patted his head.

Young Claudius was about to say something when Calcifer came and approached his brother.

"It's time." He said and then the man turned to Claudius.

"I'm sorry, I'll be back after the dance." He smiled and went towards the center of the hall.

Young Claudius felt sad. He was always disregarded ever since his brother had a fiancee.

Because of her, his time with his brother was no more. He seldom see him in their castle. He always visits her more than him, his own flesh and blood. And now, as much as he hated going to parties, this is the only time he can meet his brother again.

Young Claudius clenched his fist. He wanted to meet his brother's fiancee. The girl who took his brother away from him.

"There she goes!" The people whispered as the doors went open.

In the arm of King Van Helsing, a girl wearing a red gown stepped forward to meet her fiancé.

Everyone was astounded by her beauty including Claudius.

"We present to you, our débutante for tonight, the first princess of Van Helsing; Princess Astrid Renfield Van Helsing!"

Everyone clapped as they watched them danced.

"Aren't they perfect for each other?"

"Princess Astrid sure has a beauty like a goddess!"

These are the murmurs around. But young Claudius's focus suddenly switched to the most beautiful lady he has ever seen.

The princess' long white hair that's swaying softly as she twirls, her fair white skin like a porcelain, her emerald green eyes, and her cherry lips that matched her sweetest smile.

And that, for sure, he won't forget that night.

"Hmm... this is going to be interesting." Damien smirked as he was sitting from the ceiling while filming the stage.

Claudius cannot be seen from the video, but Rae is visible even in his vampire form.

"Now I know why he chose to be a theater actor in this world." He mumbled.

"I am... Claudius Tepes Alucard, the second prince, son of King Alucard!"

Rae flicked his tongue, "Like the hell I care!" He ran towards Claudius, but even in such speed, he managed to block his punch.

"Your fist, can never reach me." He smirked and suddenly, Rae was thrown by a strong force that made him hit the wall.

"Young master!" Calcifer was about to rush towards Rae when he suddenly noticed that there are vampires lurking around the room.

They're blending with the humans. They're many, maybe one-fourth of the room's population are vampires!

"Rin, now!" At his signal, Rin bursted out her sleeping dust all around the room.

But they're not strong enough to make the vampires sleep. And now, they're surrounded.

"Continue to pour out your dust while I'll burn them all!" Calcifer started to attack the vampires with his flames.

They're too many that they attacked him altogether. He didn't notice someone jumped and was going to attack him from above.

"Cal, look out!" Rin shouted.

But then, the vampire was slashed in half and turned to ashes.

"You shouldn't shoulder everything by yourself, mister." Father Stephen said with a gentle smile.

"Tch! I don't need your help!"

"We'll see about that." He chuckled and both of them started to attack those vampires.

"A hunter... helping Cal?" Rin mumbled while watching them. She can't believe that the priest, a hunter, didn't even wounded Calcifer even he's one of them.

A monster hunter. One can obviously tell if someone belong to them with that one particular symbol: the golden cross. What's more, if they're using a holy weapon that can turn any monster into ashes. The weapon that can only be found in that organization: The Holy Ministry.

Rae got up and started attacking Claudius again. But the same force stopped him from doing so. Is there an invisible barrier? Why can't he touch him?

Claudius smirked, "You never learn." He flicked his index finger upwards and Rae suddenly floated.

Then, he moved his finger to the left and Rae hit the wall from the left side. Claudius moved his finger to the right and Rae hit the wall from the right side. It seems like he can control him, but how?

"I can do this forever." He laughed, watching Rae hit the walls and the floor as he bleeds.

'First, he managed to push Rae towards the wall without even touching him. And now, it feels like he can move his body anywhere he pleases. What kind if ability is this?' Yana thought as she watched.

Then, Yana grabbed the vase she saw near the bed.

'But whatever that is, I won't just watch here while he's hurting Rae!' She swings the vase and hit Claudius's head.

She was reminded of fear when she saw the blood dripping on his head.

"You--!" Claudius glared at her and she suddenly floated in the air.

It was too high that it would be impossible for her to survive if she'll fall.

"If you just sit still, this won't happen. I really hate disobedient girls like you!" At the command of his hand, she fell from the ceiling.

"YANA!" Rae rushed and caught her in his arms.

He can feel her trembling. She was indeed scared from that fall. He hugged her securely as he glared at Claudius.

"You'll pay for this!" He mumbled in gritted teeth.

Claudius scoffed, "Funny. You can't even touch me."

Rae stood up and gently pushed Yana away, "Go and stay with Rin. I'll handle him."

She was about to protest, but the seriousness in his eyes tells her that it would be impossible to stop him now. She nodded and ran towards Rin.

"Mark my words, I'll make sure to take you down!" Rae said which made Claudius laughed mockingly.

"Feel free to try until you die." He said and all the things on the stage suddenly floated and were thrown at Rae one by one.

The lad dodged it all until he jumped towards Claudius but was again thrown by an invisible force and hit the wall. Blood came out from his mouth which gave him an idea.

He rushed once again towards Claudius, and was hindered by that force.

"Tsk! When will you ever learn?" He shook his head in disappointment.

Rae smirked, "Right now!" He spits blood on his face that made Claudius frowned in disgust.

He threw him once again on the wall which was all he was waiting for.

'Now, burn!' At his signal, the blood on Claudius's face suddenly exploded.

Damien whistled at what he saw, "He can do that? Amazing!" He grinned as he kept on filming.

It feels like the vampires never end. They keep on appearing one after the other. Where did they ever come from?

What's more is Calcifer can't fully use his fire power or he'll burn the people around. If it's just him, he won't care at all. But in order not to make the young master upset, he has to protect them even he dislikes humans so much. On the other hand, this priest seems suspicious. Why is he helping them? Is he really against the vampires?

"Mister, behind you!" The priest exclaimed and Calcifer noticed the vampire behind him. He quickly turned around and burned him.

"Don't tell me, you're tired?" Father Stephen teased.

"I'm not!" Calcifer fired up and burned the vampires one by one.

Looks like the priest's plan to piss him off worked so fast.

"I guess this should be enough to make them sleep." Rin said and stopped pouring her dust.

"Now it's time to help Cal." She placed her hand on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Asked Yana.

"I'm calling for help." Rin replied and vines suddenly appeared from the ground.

"Alright my friends, it's time to party!" At her signal, the vines and roots started attacking the vampires.

'Cool!' Yana thought which gave her more reason to help Rae in the best she can.

'Think Yana! How can Rae beat Claudius?' She tried to recall everything, hoping she'll find clues from the smallest details.

'Earlier, I've managed to hit him with the vase while he's facing Rae. And a moment ago... Rae finally managed to wound him even he's hindered with that force. Could it be?' She glanced at the fading smoke on the stage because of the explosion.

Half of Claudius's face has been torn. His skin has been peeled off, his muscles are burned which is the cause of bleeding, and all they can see now is the skull from one side of his face.

"How... how dare you!!!" He exclaimed in rage and his body floated on the air.

The ground suddenly shakes violently. Seems like he's planning to tear this place apart.

"Oh no!" Rin said and commanded the plants to protect the humans from the falling rocks.

"W-what's happening!?" Primo suddenly came out from Rin's bag. He just woke up and now this is what he's facing.

"Oops! I think I should take my leave." Damien mumbled and he suddenly vanished.

In the midst of this earthquake, Rae suffered from further pain. He suddenly groaned as he held his head. It feels like his skull is being torn open.

For sure, this is one of Claudius's schemes.

"Rae!" Yana rushed towards his side. This time, she can't do anything. How can she ease the pain he's feeling?

"Young master, what's wrong?" Primo panicked.

He can't hear them. The pain is too strong for him to hear anything around him. His vision became blurry, he feels like fainting. Everything is spinning around. Rae closed his eyes and tried to calm down.

In the darkness, he saw a child standing.

"Brother!" He called, "Please teach me to use a sword." The child rushed towards a man with a silver white hair.

"I'm sorry, Claudius. I'll teach you next time."

Everything shifted from the hallway. The child is still there as he listened to the maids talking.

"Master Ash is so sweet! He often visits his fiancee from the Helsing manor."

"How I wish I could find someone like him! Princess Astrid is sure a lucky vampire!"

Young Claudius frowned as he clenched his fist. Then, everything shifted once again from the chamber.

"Why did you call for me, father?" The child asked as he looked at the king with a black hair.

"Claudius, my son, I want you to cut ties with Ash. He's no longer worthy to be called my son."

"But why? Brother Ash is my sibling, he's our family."

"He doesn't belong to this family anymore! He's a traitor! He chose those Helsings more than his own flesh and blood!"

Young Claudius shook his head, "No... that's not true... Brother would never do that.."

"Blame that wicked wench! She bewitched your brother and took him away from us."

"I'll make sure she'll suffer... I'll make her pay!" The child cried.

Rae shot his eyes open as the headache finally stopped. His nose is bleeding so much from the pain.

No, he realized that Claudius stopped from torturing him. When he glanced at his direction, he saw Yana and Primo facing him all by themselves. Seems like his attention turned against them.

Wait! Attention?

'Rae! Can you hear me?' He heard Yana's voice speaking in her mind.

'I don't know if you can hear me but, this is the only chance I can take. I've discovered Claudius's weakness! He's indeed powerful, but he can only direct his attention to one target only. Right now, we've drawn his attention. Please, take this chance!'

Rae quickly rushed towards them before Claudius could hurt them. He grabbed Claudius's body and pushed him outside, going to the track and field.

Claudius scoffed, "Do you ever think I'll get weak from the sun?!"

Rae slowly got up, he can feel his body slowly getting numb from all the wounds he got.

If he could only do something more. Something strong enough to defeat him.

He wiped the blood from his nose and glanced at it.

'If only I could pierce this to his heart.' He thought.

'You can!' His human form suddenly said.

'This is no time to lose heart! We need to save Yana and the others. I know we can turn everything around with this power!'

With that, Rae made a small laugh, "You don't have to tell me that, idiot." He mumbled and glared at Claudius.

"You can't take me down!" The ground started to shake once again as the benches floated. He threw it all at him and Rae quickly dodged all of it.

"You're wrong about that!" Rae exclaimed.

"How can a loser like you defeat me when you can't even manage to take your brother back?"

"What did you say!?" Those words triggered Claudius's memories and he became angrier than before.

"Take it back, you son of the wench!" The ground cracked and he formed it into big pieces of rocks.

"Why would I take back what's true? I'm just stating the fact!" Rae exclaimed as he dodged the big rocks thrown at him.

"Liar! I don't believe your lies!" Claudius throws the rocks all around like he has lost control of his sanity.

Rae grabbed the opportunity and concentrated the blood on his hand and turned it into a red crystal spear.

'I've only got one chance. If I fail, it would be over.' He thought as he knew his vampire form won't last long.

He glanced at Claudius who has gone mad. He looked at him carefully and when he saw an opening, he threw the crystal spear as strong and as fast as he can.

In an instant, the spear pierced Claudius's chest, right through his heart. Then, all the floating rocks fell and the ground stopped shaking.

Rae panted, 'Is it over now?' He thought.

Just then, Claudius suddenly laughed, "Do you ever think, this will be enough to kill me!?" He said like a mad man and was about to throw all those rocks at him.

Like an adrenaline rush, Rae raised his arm,

"No!" He shouted and all of a sudden, the crystal spear made from his blood spreads its blades out from different parts of Claudius's body.

Some came out from his head, some from his shoulder, and some from his stomach.

"H-how did you..?" Astonished, Claudius slowly turned to ashes.

"How can someone like you... that wench's son... can have this power?" He mumbled before he was blown in the air.

"Young master!" Calcifer and the others saw what happened and rushed towards him.

"I... won..." He smirked before he lost his consciousness.

They brought him to the school's clinic and tend to his deep wounds. Yana helped in applying the medicine. They all sighed in relief when everything seems fine now. While the lass looked after Rae, Calcifer and father Stephen stepped outside as they waited.

"You... are you here to finish us off?" Calcifer glared at the priest.

"What do you mean? I don't have such intentions." He smiled.

"What are you saying? Aren't you a hunter? Why didn't you kill us?"

"Because I don't have a reason to. You've protected the humans, that's enough for me not to hold anything against you." Father Stephen smiled brightly.

"You..." He was speechless. This is the first time he met a hunter that considers everything before killing.

What's more, he can't get the budging feeling ever since they're fighting the vampires. Why does he feel like he has seen this man's face before?

"Is there something on my face? You kept on staring." The priest chuckled.

Calcifer looked away, "Don't get too high of yourself! I just had this feeling that you look familiar to me."

"Ah, that? But we did meet before, not in a good terms that is." Father Stephen reminded him of the night when he brought Rae back to their house and Calcifer got mad at him.

The gentleman blushed in embarrassment, "W-well... I-I apologize for that..." He looked away.

"It's alright. I know you're just protecting Mr. Helsing that much." He gently smiled.

When Rae opened his eyes, he saw Yana who's been sitting beside him.

"Rae? You're awake!" She was about to call Cal when he held her hand.

"What happened... to the others?" He asked, referring to the people.

Yana smiled, "They're alright. Don't worry."

The lad sighed in relief, "I'm glad." He slowly got up and Yana helped him to sit.

"Did I... managed to defeat Claudius?" He asked.

The lass nodded and told him what happened.

"I... did that? With my own blood?" Rae blinked fast and looked at his arm, from his veins.

Yana was about to say something when they heard a voice.

"Of course, you did. You're her son after all." Said Damien who's sitting by the window.

Rae didn't even notice his presence until now.

"You're that vampire who attacked me." He said.

Realizing someone else's presence inside, Calcifer immediately opened the door.

"Young master!" They rushed inside.

"Yo, long time no see, Mr. Aldon." Damien grinned.

"You are--! What are you doing here?" He glared at him.

"Woah, easy there! I didn't come to fight. I hate fighting." Damien raised his hands which shows how he surrenders.

"Are you here to kill Rae too?" Asked Yana, who's also glaring at him.

Damien scoffed, "Kill? Hah! Sorry miss, but it's not my cup of tea. Rather..." He glanced at Rae and suddenly knelled before him.

"I've come to serve the one true king."

They were surprised at what he did.

"What are you saying?" Rae frowned.

"It is as I said, your highness. I'm here to serve you and become your ally."

"What nonsense is this!?" Calcifer blurted.

"You tried to kill him, how do you expect us to believe you've come in peace?" Yana said.

The vampire rubbed the back of his head, "Well... it's true that I still don't have the means for you to trust me but... I'm willing to tell you everything I know about you and your mother." A smirk slowly drawn on his lips.

"How can I trust your words?" Rae asked, being skeptical.

"You can always ask Mr. Aldon for the validity of my words, right?" He glanced at Calcifer who's now clenching his fist.

Is this really the time for the truth? Will all his efforts go in vain?

Calcifer turned at Rae, "Young master, I think it would be best not--"

"Very well."

"Wha--?"

"I'll listen to you and decide for myself." Rae said seriously. With that, Calcifer sighed in defeat. If he interferes, the young master would suspect him.

"If you dare tell a single lie, I'll never permit you to live." Calcifer warned.

"I know that. As much as I wanted to begin..." Damien glanced at the priest, "I can't let an outsider listen to my story. I can let the girl, but I can't allow a mortal enemy. Please understand." He smiled sarcastically.

Father Stephen narrowed his eyes at Damien, he knows he's doing it on purpose.

"I understand. I shall take my leave." He said and left.

Soon as the priest closed the door, everyone's gazes turned to Damien.

He sat on the sofa and said, "Well then, where shall I begin?"

***

Author's Note:

*ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Claudius has the power of "telekenesis" which he can manipulate (move or float) everything around him using his mind. Since this is a mind power, he got defeated when he was distracted of the painful memories from his past which he kept hidden in his mind and heart. It was indeed a powerful ability but will get out of control if not used properly and wisely.