It Starts

I'm on the ground as Carmilla is grabbing my hair and Nisha comes in. She's shocked and freezes at the door.

"We have a little visitor, little Nisha," says Carmilla.

Right after transforming into an Angelus, I let out a flash of light, repelling her from me. Some of my hair has been pulled from its roots. My wings launch me away from her and towards Nisha. I grab her, carrying her in my arms. The guards are still digesting what is happening, giving me an opening to jump past them. A few seconds later, we're in the throne room now.

"Let's get out of here, Nisha," I say, panting.

"No, put me down!"

"We're going to the edge of the server together."

"I said, PUT ME DOWN!!!" She punches my face. I lose my grip on her and then we tumble onto the hard marble floor.

"What?" I ask, gathering myself. We're surrounded by dozens of guards now.

"I'm fine," she says to them. "Let me handle him."

"Nisha, why are you— You said— We'll find the Eternal Blood Chalice."

"I already told you, didn't I? Getting there is impossible and I'm not interested in that bloody chalice anymore. My purpose is here, to lead—"

"That's right," says the witch in her usual dress. The guards pave way for her.

"Stop this," I assert in desperation. "all of what you're doing, or Zaori will come to destroy all of you and this castle!" I'm thinking about Nisha. She'll get caught up in the mess.

"If she dares." The guards cheer at her arrogant talk. "That little brat will only discover real pain and regret if she was to come here. And I'm not fond of stowaway rats in my castle." She nods to her guards. "How shall we kill him, Nisha?"

I thought I am finished but then I spot Algron from behind the cheering crowd. He is folding his arms as he observes. To tell him I have done what he asked, I nod and he gets it.

It's visible on Nisha's face—the hesitation. After all that talk of hers, there is still a part of her that wants me to leave alive. But I know for sure. . . that I'm not gonna die here.

A series of explosions shake the whole castle. Their cheering turns into gasps of confusion and fear. That's when Algron pulls out his gun and shoots Carmilla. She takes the hit. Her stomach is left with a gaping hole as she falls. Not satisfied, he comes near and shoots her two times to make sure she's dead. Her face is now in pieces. The guards are afraid of him as well as the other common Atasaias. They're not sure if they want to avenge their Queen's death. Well, they look like they have been wishing for this for a long time.

"Let's go," says Algron to me.

Nisha is sitting on the ground, shocked by the violence. I pull her by the arms as I say, "Come on, Nisha. Let's get out of here." My smile doesn't change the face she's putting on.

No one stops us from running away and out of the castle. This is it, we're free. At long last, we're free! No more of that bloody castle! I hold Nisha's hand tighter as we run. But then she escapes from my grasp and stops. I and Algron are wondering what she's thinking about.

"Both of you don't realize what you've done," she warns.

"As a matter of fact, we do," I say. "We killed that monster who tried to make you a Queen of her cannibalistic cult! We have no business here now, let's go!"

"What's the matter, Nisha?" Algron asks instead.

"She's still alive," she says.

"No, she's not. You saw her head riddled into pieces."

"You thought destroying the Seven Darken Stones would kill her? No."

"What do you mean?"

"She hid the last one somewhere in the castle."

From here, I see the Darken Stones fixing themselves into whole pieces on top of the destroyed towers. A dreadful sight this is, for it means that all of the work we've done was for nothing.

"What?!" Algron exclaims. He grasps Nisha's arms as he asks, "Where is the last one?" But she shakes her head. I don't know if that means she doesn't know or she doesn't want to tell us.

Gritting his teeth, Algron reloads his pistol and gives me ten magazines to fill with Angelus blood. I hurry filling them all while Nisha is sitting there on the rock, looking far into the ocean.

"What's the plan?" I ask as he puts the magazines on his belt.

"Don't die."

"That's a given, but—"

"We have to find the last Darken Stone somewhere in the castle. It's the only way to defeat her."

"Why don't we just escape to the ocean?"

"Can you swim faster than bats flying?" Well, I guess no. I can't believe I'm so dumb. "We will be sitting gargoyles if we do that. We have no choice but to kill her here. And no doubt that she'll summon a dome."

A beam of violet light breaks out from the castle and rises very high into the black sky. It explodes and from there, creates a violet dome that covers the entire island.

"Speak of the devil," he curses.

The fight is about to start. I must prepare myself. I can tell that she's not an ordinary NPC. She's not even a boss like in domains because she can think to herself.

"Both of you will die," Nisha dreadfully says to us while she stares at the sea.

"We will prove you wrong," I say. "Right, Algron?" He's not answering. "Algron?" I notice that his face is full of fear and uncertainty. Clearly, this is not according to plan.

Then at the gate of the Castle, Carmilla comes out with her face intact. Her guards are leading the charge. I can feel her smugness even from this distance.