The Black Knight's Wrath

The second house stood eerily intact compared to its demolished neighbors. Captain William and Alucard approached cautiously, weapons raised. As they neared the porch, a shadow darted behind a skeletal oak tree.

William's rifle snapped up, finger tightening on the trigger.

Alucard grabbed the barrel. "Sir... don't shoot. We don't need attention from unknown creatures."

After a tense moment, William lowered his weapon. "Alright..."

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Alucard whispered.

The interior was a graveyard of shattered furniture and peeling wallpaper. Bloody footprints led upstairs. They cleared each room methodically until Alucard froze—a crimson trail snaked down the hallway, ending at a partially open door.

William peered through the crack.

A nightmare unfolded inside.

A towering obsidian knight held a child's head in its gauntlet like a macabre trophy. With a sickening crunch, its fingers compressed the skull like overripe fruit. Four other corpses lay mutilated—two decapitated, two with ribcages pried open, organs strewn about like discarded toys.

The knight's helmet rotated 90 degrees with a metallic click.

"Found you!"

Its laughter—a distorted, multi-layered screech—filled the house as it drew a greatsword wreathed in black mist. The knight's shield began emitting an inky vapor, the surface pulsing with dark energy.

"RUN!" William roared.

They barely cleared the staircase when the knight charged. Its shield smashed through the wall in an explosion of plaster and wood, then plowed straight into the adjacent building.

Outside, Alucard's hands shook as he aimed his rifle. "What the fuck was that?!"

"No idea!" William racked his shotgun. "Stay focused—"

"Don't blink... he might escape."

The whisper came from behind them.

They turned slowly. The knight stood inches away, helmet tilted curiously.

"BOO!"

Gunfire erupted. Bullets ricocheted harmlessly off the knight's armor as it spread its arms in mock invitation. Alucard hurled an impact grenade—only for the knight to casually block it with its shield. The explosion dissipated like smoke in wind.

"Pathetic." The greatsword slammed down.

The ground trembled. Four obsidian spikes erupted in a line—each twice the length of the last—barely missing Alucard as he dove aside.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" William screamed.

"I DON'T KNOW!"

The knight's laughter cut short as Simon's voice rang out:

"HEY, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Its helmet split open, revealing a maw of needle teeth in a grotesque smile.

"Choose someone your own size!" Simon challenged, energy sword flaring.

"Fine!"

The knight moved. One second it stood twenty yards away—the next, its shield smashed into Simon with the force of a freight train, sending him crashing through a brick wall. Before Simon could rise, six floating blades materialized overhead, angled precisely at his skull.

Alucard's warning came too late. "SIMON! ABOVE—"

A chunk of concrete hurled by the knight sent Alucard sprawling, pinning his legs.

Simon rolled as the blades struck—two deflected by his shield, the others detonating against the house in bursts of black flame. He signaled to William: Paralyze it. Distract. I'll strike the heart.

The plan died as the knight vanished.

An explosion rocked a nearby house. A spinning greatsword fragment embedded itself in Simon's shield before detonating, sending him skidding backward.

"Fight me like a man!" the knight bellowed.

"FUCK YOU!" Simon spat blood.

The knight's roar shook the street as it charged, ten spectral blades orbiting its body. Walls disintegrated in its path. Just as it lunged for the killing blow—it froze.

An 8-foot-tall silhouette loomed behind Simon—a being of pure shadow with a smile full of jagged, luminous teeth. The knight screeched, backpedaling so violently it tripped over rubble.

"You... what's... your... name...?" it rasped.

Simon blinked. "S-Simon?"

The knight's armor began convulsing. Black and violet energy crackled across its surface as its voice split into dissonant harmonics:

"I, MARTIN, KNIGHT BANNERET OF THE EMPIRE! SHALL END YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"The fuck? I just met you!"

Martin's charge shattered the ground. Simon's shield blocked the blow—then shattered, the impact launching him through the air. William and Alucard barely caught him as Martin summoned four spectral knights, all chanting in an eldritch tongue.

The cavalry arrived in a hail of hellfire.

Twin Comanche helicopters unleashed a rocket barrage, annihilating the phantom knights. Martin survived—barely—his shield gone, sword broken, chest cavity exposing a pulsating blue heart.

Simon's energy sword plunged into the glowing organ.

"Any last words?"

Martin's helmet cracked open, leaking black ichor. "You... will... not... find... peace... Corrupted Angel..."

The heart imploded, taking the knight with it.