Chapter 25: Time-bound

The night was never young nor late. The ticking of the clock strikes at 2:30 echoing around like how the tiny insects sing in a dark night.

It WAS a quiet and peaceful night not until something came up. He WAS in a middle of a good dream not until he heard a foot landed outside the room.

If it was just an average person, the light sound was nothing.

But since he's a light-sleeper and has keener senses, he was awaken by that sound.

Silently, he got up. Taking each step cautiously as he went out to meet who visited him by this time of hour.

From the church's aisle, he saw a petite shadow slowly getting up. But he didn't let the chance slip for him to take another step.

As fast as the wind, he came behind the shadow, pointing his golden sword.

But much to his surprise, the petite shadow pointed his weapon at him at the same time he came behind him. Looks like he's fast and cautious as him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of visiting me this time of the night?" The priest smiled, but it was different to the ones he usually shows.

It was a smile indeed, but it's also deadly. A smile that tells this visitor that if he did some suspicious movements, he won't think twice to cut his head off.

"Wait..!" The shadow said and slowly stood up. A portion of his body became visible by the moonlight from the windows.

That's when the priest noticed the golden weapon he's holding.

"T-that gun..!" He narrowed his eyes as he examined it.

He can't be mistaken. There's no other person in the world who holds that gun but someone he knew.

"Where did you get that? It's not something that can be kept easily." The priest glared.

"Rather than explaining, it's better if I show it to you..." The shadow said and stepped into the light.

Father Stephen's eyes widened at what he saw. This person is wearing a black hoodie with a symbol of golden cross on the shoulder from each side, a black pants and black military boots.

What's more, the outfit of this person exposes the upper body which shows the curve of waist and those big rounded breasts covered in black brassiere. Yes, the petite shadow is a female.

She removed her hood that shows her lavender hair shining from the moon's crimson light. Next, she removed her black face mask which showed her innocent and beautiful face.

And at that moment, the priest unconsciously let his guard down. The girl quickly grabbed him in the collar and pointed her golden gun at his chin.

"This must be familiar to you, Mr. Rain."

There's only one person who used to point his gun at him like that. And it is no other than that small fellow from the Holy Ministry.

"You're... Grosvenor's grandchild?!"

"Yes, I am."

The priest blinked several times. He still can't believe what he's seeing. And what's more, he has committed a big mistake from the moment he became a hunter.

"I'm sorry!" He suddenly bowed his head deeply, "I thought you're a guy all along! I thought Grosvenor has a grandson! I'm truly sorry!"

She blinked, "It's fine. I get that a lot. They always thought I'm a guy because of my behavior."

"If I may ask... what brings you here at this hour wearing that... Err... black uniform that I've never seen before?" He asked as he tried his best not to gaze at the lass' body again.

"Ah, this? This is the uniform I have in our time."

Father Stephen raised an eye brow, "In our time?"

She sighed, "Father Stephen Celis, believe it or not... I came from the future." Her golden eyes met his.

If she remembers it correctly, she did hear that name before. And if she's not mistaken, Rae mentioned it to her not long ago.

The lass blinked several times, "Huh? Did you just say... Zaman?"

"You heard it right." The vampire said, "He's a level-C vampire but he's dangerous. He learned to maximize his vampiric senses to the fullest and used it to do evil things."

"T-then, what are we waiting for? We need to stop that Zaman! My friend's in danger!" Yana was about to leave when the vampire grabbed her arm.

"Not so fast! You don't even know how you can go back to your time."

"Is there no other way? I need to warn Rae, he's in danger!"

"If there is, then I wouldn't wait here for so long and let my partner do all the job." The vampire sighed in frustration.

"She's in your time, she managed to follow Zaman since she can't get affected by his power. All we can do now, is to wait for her return so that you can come back to your time."

The lass shook her head, "But I don't want to wait! I always wait. I don't want to feel useless again!" Tears welled up her eyes.

The vampire remain silent for a moment.

Then, he took a deep breath, "Waiting doesn't mean you're good-for-nothing, it doesn't also mean you're a failure. No... it shows power. By waiting, you show how much you trust the people around you. How much you believe in their abilities, in their strength and capabilities. How much you put your hope in an unseen force that you'll receive what you've asked for. That's what waiting means."

There's a silence between them as the cold breeze of wind came and passed by.

"It doesn't matter how long you've waited. What's important is what you did while waiting. And for now, we'll pray for their safety and success."

She couldn't say more. He was indeed right all along. With that, she looked above the dark gray sky and closed her eyes.

'Rae... I hope you're doing fine. Please be safe...'

He's been bothered by it all along. He can't forget that strange thing he just saw. Sure, his existence as a vampire is strange enough but that is for a human's perspective. If there would be something unnatural happening on extraordinary beings like them, then that's something really intriguing.

'How come a vampire who has an ability to age slowly, had those wrinkled hands?' Damien solemnly thought.

In his hundred and twenty years of living, he hasn't encounter such thing.

And as someone who feeds his curiosity, he can't let this matter go unsolved.

'What's more, he mentioned something about a golden pocket watch. Maybe it has something to do with his identity.' He said to himself and went to the small library.

"As much as I hate using my power, looks like I'll be needing it today." He sighed and placed his hand on the floor.

He closed his eyes and focused his energy to distribute around the room.

"It's the new vampire!"

"What is he doing here?"

Voices began to whisper from the shelves.

"I need your help." Damien said.

"What did he say?"

"Is he for us?"

"But I heard Cal doesn't like him.."

"Look," Damien rebutted, "I know you don't trust me yet, but I'm asking you help for the sake of your young master. Please..."

Funny, he hasn't used the last word for a long time. There's a moment of silence before the voices return.

"Alright."

"What do you need?"

"Well, I need something that tells about a golden pocket watch." Damien replied.

The voices murmured as they began to search.

"We only found one match to what you seek."

Then, a book suddenly came flying towards him and good thing, Damien managed to catch that book.

"P-please be gentle in flipping my pages!"

He chuckled, "I will."

Then, he gently opened the book and found the page where lies the item that he's been looking for.

"Time Keeper?" He mumbled as he glanced at the description.

'The TimeKeeper is an artifact made by a magician long ago. It was said to be omnipotent for it has the power to turn back time and to travel to the future. But of course, everything has a price to pay. Whoever uses the this item has to give up anything that has something to do with time like your youth. The TimeKeeper devours anyone who can't comply with its condition. Unless, one can find a more suitable prey, powerful enough to satisfy it's hunger. And when that happens, the Time Keeper will grant immortality, a body that will not decay nor destroy. A body that will live forever. Because of it's dangerous power, the artifact was kept by the hunters. So that no monster can ever use it for evil.'

After reading the passage, Damien suddenly remembered Zaman's wrinkled hands.

'Could it be?' He thought and decided to ask the kid himself.

But just as when he was about to enter the room, he heard a sound of glasses being crashed. Quickly, he opened the door and saw a woman in black hood, grabbing the collar of Zaman's clothes.

There's a golden cross symbol on her shoulders which means she's from the Holy Ministry.

From the looks of it, she came from the windows and broke it to get the kid.

"Hey! What are you doing? Who are you?!" Rae's voice can be heard from the other side where Yana's house can be found.

"I'll be taking this guy with me." Said the huntress and grabbed Zaman before she jumped and ran from the roof.

"Wait! Get back here!" Rae was about to follow them when Damien ran from the window.

"Your highness, wait! There's something you need to know!" He exclaimed.

A bit farther from the crowded streets, the huntress brought Zaman to an abandoned place.

"Hand the Time Keeper, now!" She said and threw him on the ground.

Then, he smirked and scoffed, "Even if you kill me right now, the artifact isn't in my possession."

"Why would I trust a criminal like you?"

"Oh c'mon sweetheart, even criminals like me has a right to tell the truth, noh?"

All of a sudden, a bullet was shot on his leg. And Zaman groaned in pain.

"I'm not here to play games, Zaman..." Then she pointed the gun inside his mouth with a those threatening eyes.

"Where is the Time Keeper?"

"Are you looking for this?" Said Rae who just came. He raised his hand which holds the golden pocket watch.

"How did you get that!?" The huntress seems shocked.

"Rae! Give the Time Keeper to me, now!" Zaman exclaimed.

"No, hand it to me!" The huntress reached out her hand.

"Don't do it, vampire king! She's a hunter, our enemy!"

"You got it all wrong, I don't mean any harm. You've got to trust me, hand me the Time Keeper." Her sharp gazes from earlier become softer as she talked to Rae.

"How can I trust someone who can't even show her face?" He said with that suspicious look on his face.

With that, the huntress froze. She was torn whether to show her face to him or not. But if she did, it will ruin the time frame. She might change something in the future.

Rae glanced at the boy on the ground, "Zaman, when did I ever became the vampire king?"

His eyes widened and recalled what he said. He have said too much that he spilled the beans.

"I won't hand this to any of you until you've proven enough that you can be trusted."

The huntress shook her head, "No, you must give it to me. That artifact is dangerous!"

Suddenly, Zaman crackled an evil laugh.

"Suit yourself, boy... But don't ever tell me I didn't warn you." He grinned devilishly.

All of a sudden, the watch glowed as it floated on the air. They can see nothing but a bright light that if they didn't close their eyes, they'll get blinded.

"I've finally found you..." Said a ghastly voice.

"My... prey!"

Rae tried to open his eyes and saw a glimpse of a huge mouth that was about to eat him.

Just in time, Father Stephen came and kicked the giant jaw as hard as he could. It collapsed on the wall making a big impact.

"Mr. Rae, are you alright?"

The lad nodded, "Thank you, father."

The huntress sighed in relief that he was not eaten.

But then, Zaman's appearance suddenly changed. From a boy, he became a teenager. But his hands remained wrinkled.

"Stephen... Up to this time you still get in my way!!!" He said grumbled in gritted teeth.

His eyes glowed in red as his ear became pointed and his fangs became longer.

The priest blinked and looked at him from head to toe and seems like didn't even flinch from his transformation.

"Uhm, excuse me? May I ask... do I know you?" The priest smiled bashfully.

And there was silence for a moment for Zaman remembered he's in the past, not from the time where he came from.

His face became red in embarrassment, "I-it doesn't matter! I'll kill you all right here and now!"

Suddenly, the Time Keeper appeared on his hand.

"Let's end the game, shall we?" He grinned.

Knowing what he's going to do, the huntress quickly turned to Rae, "Get down!"

She took her ring off and jumped at him when Zaman activates the Time Keeper's power. A strong wave passed through them.

"Wear this ring," the huntress whispered while she was on top of him. She placed her golden ring on his middle finger. It stings a little, but it slowly fades away.

"That will protect you from the Time Keeper's power." She added.

When they got up, they saw the priest who stood frozen.

"What happened to Father Stephen?"

"He's been frozen in time. I'm sorry, I only have two rings with me. But we can bring him back once we've defeated Zaman."

Rae nodded and glared at the vampire holding the Time Keeper.

"Oh? So you chose to give your ring to that brat... Let's see how long will you last!" Zaman said and blasted fire and lightning towards them.

'How can he have those power?!' The lad thought.

"Don't get distracted! It's the Time Keeper that gave him those power!" The huntress explained as they dodged his attacks.

"Then, I just have to snatch that watch away from him!" The lad said and jumped from his behind.

He bit his thumb and turned his blood into sharp shards of crystals.

"No, don't do it!" The huntress shouted, but it was too late.

When Rae fired those shards, Zaman countered it with a strong gust of wind, throwing all those shards back at him. Those gave him cuts and wounds all over his skin.

Then from the watch, came golden chains that wrapped around him. Rae struggled but he can't move to break it.

Zaman laughed, "It's useless, kid. I can read your mind. I know what you're going to do next. Like how you're planning to use your blood and make it explode!" He threw the lad on the wall as hard as he could.

'He saw right through my plan!' Rae panted as he tried to get up.

The huntress used her energy and shoot Zaman. But he used the Time Keeper to freeze those bullets and threw them at Rae's direction.

"No!" The huntress ran towards Rae to protect him.

She got hit from her shoulder and Rae caught her before she falls.

"NOOO!" He exclaimed and tried to check her pulse.

'She's still breathing! Thank goodness!'

Zaman laughed mockingly, "Hilarious! What a show! A hunter protecting a vampire? Interesting!"

Rae glared at him as his hair turned bloody red and his eyes glowed in bright red.

He was about to attack him when the huntress pulled the hem of his shirt as if calling him. He leaned closer as she placed her lips to his ear.

"Don't... let him... get into you..." She whispered and secretly handed one golden bullet on his hand.

Even he's clueless on how to use that, her words made him calm and forgot about his anger. He nodded as a response and gently helped her to get up.

"Oh? You're still going to fight? Why can't you just accept that you can't defeat me?!" Zaman grinned devilishly.

Rae took a deep breath as he remembered something during his training.

"You know why you can't defeat me?" Asked Ash as he gazed at the tired looking lad. He kept on panting as he was filled with cuts while he can't even hit his Dad.

All of a sudden, Ash came in front of him and flicked his forehead. The lad groaned in pain as he gently caress the red spot of his forehead.

"You always overthink. You make plans in your mind while you fight. That's a lot of work to do. You can't accomplish two complicated things at the same time." He sighed.

"Then? What should I do?" The lad's eye brows furrowed.

"When you fight, you observe. And when you found an opening, that's when you think of a plan to take your enemy down."

The memory made him smirk, 'Who would've thought I'll be able to test what Dad taught me.'

Then, Rae rushed towards Zaman. But this time, he's calmer than before that he can't seem to read the lad's mind.

"This can't be!" Zaman panicked.

He used the golden chains and attacked Rae. But he used his claws to counter them as he tried to get closer to him.

With that, Zaman used the power of the Time Keeper once again and send a hailstorm.

And his appearance changed once again. From a body of a teenager, he became an adult. But his wrinkled hands remain.

"No, you don't." Despite the hailstorm, Rae grabbed the golden chains and pulled them with all his might.

When Zaman was pulled closer to Rae, the lad punched him in the face.

Now that he's distracted, the huntress aimed her gun and shot Zaman's arm that it got separated from his body.

"NOOOO!" He tried to reach for his falling arm but noticed that Rae's going to attack him.

To avoid his kick, Zaman turned into bats and tried to scatter all around.

"Not so fast!" With the cuts he had, Rae used his blood and turned it into red whips that reached the bats and cut their wings off.

Then, Zaman returned to his form but this time, he became an old vampire with wrinkled skin!

"No! This can't be! I will be immortal!" He crawled to reach for the Time Keeper.

But the huntress took it and pointed her gun at him.

"Don't even think about it." She glared.

"Wait!" Rae interrupted, "Please don't kill him! There must be a reason why he have done this."

She sighed, "You're way softer than I imagined in this time. But even if I didn't kill him, he'll die eventually."

Then, they heard Zaman groaned in pain as his body slowly rots away.

"W-what's happening?!"

"That's the price he'll pay for using the Time Keeper. If you're not strong enough to control it's power, it'll devour you instead." The huntress explained and used her power to seal the artifact.

When Zaman turned to ashes, everything went back to normal. The priest was freed from the time freeze and can finally move.

Rae became gloomy, 'So in the end, I wasn't able to save him...'

The huntress leaned towards him and suddenly flicked his forehead.

"Stop making that face. In this world, you can't save everyone. But you can always choose to move forward and protect those who are precious to you." She said with those sincere golden eyes looking at him.

A smile slowly drawn on his lips, "You're right."

All of a sudden, her body glowed in white light.

"It's time for me to go." She said.

"Oh, right! Thanks for this." Rae removed the ring and gave it back to her.

"Miss huntress..." He called, "May I ask you something before you go?"

"What is it?" She asked and wore the ring.

"Why did you choose to give that ring to me? You could've given it to father Stephen."

She blinked and blushed a bit.

"Do I really have to answer that?"

The lad nodded, "Yes, I'm curious."

"I-it's a secret!" She looked away.

"Eh? That's lame..."

The huntress glanced at him, "Well... If you're that eager to know..."

She turned around and suddenly cupped his cheeks. Leaning forward as she pressed her lips to his.

His eyes widened in surprise. He was caught off guard. Even the priest who's watching them is even more surprised.

'K-kids nowadays are so... bolder...' He thought.

She slowly pulled away and met his eyes, "I'll wait for you in the future... Elliot."

It was the last thing she said before she disappeared.

Rae blinked fast. It was as if he's taking the details of what happened just now. But he was distracted when he heard a familiar voice.

"Rae?" It was Yana, who just got back from the future.

"Yana! Where have you been? You suddenly disappeared!" The lad rushed towards her and noticed her cold hands.

"We should head back now." The priest said as they went out of the building.