On the upper level of the castle, Haven and Elena faced an encounter with an armored mercenary and a mage.
"Haven, we need to take down as many of them as we can!"
"I know," Haven replied, determination in her eyes as she rushed toward the armored mercenary. "You take care of the mage, Elena. I will dispose of this human."
The armored mercenary drew his sword with a flourish. "Dispose of me? You must not know who I am, tick."
Haven gripped her sword with both hands and delivered a powerful downward slash. The mercenary did not move away; instead, he blocked her attack. Both of their swords clashed with a loud clang and the blade of Haven received a small chip from the impact.
"You are not bad, tick," the mercenary said with a hint of respect in his voice.
While Haven was busy with the armored mercenary, Elena was on her way to attack the mage. The mercenary mage pointed his wooden staff at Elena and whispered under his breath. Her guess was right as the mage conjured sharp icicles. The orb on top of the wooden staff glowed and the ice shot forward at a high speed.
With a quick reaction, Elena paused. Her eyes glowed red as she knocked the shards away with her sword. "Not enough, human!" she taunted.
"Oh, then let me try something different," the mage replied with a grin. He produced a vial of water, popped the cork, and poured the liquid onto the ground. Whispering once more, the water began to float in the air and turned into four sharp icicles.
The smirk of the mage widened as he directed his staff toward Elena. "This is going to bring pain to you but joy to me."
The four icicles shot toward Elena. Just like before, she managed to block three of them, but the mage had other plans. Just as she aimed to deflect the last one, he whispered a final word and transformed the ice into water.
Elena saw this unexpected event happening before her eyes. She tried to move her body out of the way, but the liquid splashed against her left cheek and arm.
"Aaah!" Elena cried out in torment. The holy water burned through her skin like acid. Her sword clattered to the ground as she fell to one knee and collapsed onto the floor, crying out in pain.
The mage felt a sense of satisfaction for tricking the vampire. "Who knew holy water could be so effective? I have not even shown you half of what I am capable of. I just wanted to see how well it affects you parasites."
He knelt with his staff held firmly in his hand as he looked at Elena who was writhing in pain. "You look thirsty, vampire. Luckily for you, I have two more vials of holy water right here." A smirk spread across his face.
"No!" Haven cried out. She pushed the armored mercenary away with her enormous strength and rushed to the side of her sister. "Elena, are you okay?"
Elena did not reply. The armored mercenary lunged toward Haven. "Do not turn your back on me, leech!"
Haven intercepted his attack, but the man used his spirit force to enhance his strength. He pushed her away to create space and swung with all his might. The muscles beneath his armor bulged as he delivered a heavy blow that sent Haven flying through the air.
Haven flipped through the air and landed on her feet. She rushed the armored mercenary and they both exchanged blows. The sharp clang of metal echoed through the room as the two fought.
Meanwhile, the mage took out another vial filled with holy water. "Let us continue where we left off. I think you said that you were thirsty."
He pulled the cork and poured the contents onto the floor. He raised his staff and chanted incantations that caused the water to float in the air, forming one large and sharp icicle. Elena momentarily forgot her pain and widened her eyes at the ice hovering inches from her face.
"One word from me and you are dead. But if you beg, I might change my mind," the mage taunted with a cruel smirk.
Elena did not respond at first, but she noticed something in her peripheral vision that made her chuckle softly. The sound ignited the anger of the mage. "What is so funny? Do you want to die?"
"I am laughing because you are blind, human," she replied. Her laughter rang out defiantly.
"Burning you with holy water has made you lose your mind. I wonder what would happen if the icicle made of holy water pierced your brain. It might just bring you to your senses."
Elena then pointed to someone behind the mage. When the human turned his head, he saw a middle-aged, beautiful woman with an expressionless face staring at him. A look of horror crossed the face of the mage. Before he could react, the woman lunged forward. She grabbed his face and drove her sharp thumbs into both of his eye sockets.
His staff clattered to the ground as he screamed and struggled to break free, but the grip of the female vampire was too strong.
On the upper level of the castle, Haven and Elena faced an encounter with an armored mercenary and a mage.
"Haven, we need to take down as many of them as we can!"
"I know," Haven replied, determination in her eyes as she rushed toward the armored mercenary. "You take care of the mage, Elena. I will dispose of this human."
The armored mercenary drew his sword with a flourish. "Dispose of me? You must not know who I am, tick."
Haven gripped her sword with both hands and delivered a powerful downward slash. The mercenary did not move away; instead, he blocked her attack. Both of their swords clashed with a loud clang and the blade of Haven received a small chip from the impact.
"You are not bad, tick," the mercenary said with a hint of respect in his voice.
While Haven was busy with the armored mercenary, Elena was on her way to attack the mage. The mercenary mage pointed his wooden staff at Elena and whispered under his breath. Her guess was right as the mage conjured sharp icicles. The orb on top of the wooden staff glowed and the ice shot forward at a high speed.
With a quick reaction, Elena paused. Her eyes glowed red as she knocked the shards away with her sword. "Not enough, human!" she taunted.
"Oh, then let me try something different," the mage replied with a grin. He produced a vial of water, popped the cork, and poured the liquid onto the ground. Whispering once more, the water began to float in the air and turned into four sharp icicles.
The smirk of the mage widened as he directed his staff toward Elena. "This is going to bring pain to you but joy to me."
The four icicles shot toward Elena. Just like before, she managed to block three of them, but the mage had other plans. Just as she aimed to deflect the last one, he whispered a final word and transformed the ice into water.
Elena saw this unexpected event happening before her eyes. She tried to move her body out of the way, but the liquid splashed against her left cheek and arm.
"Aaah!" Elena cried out in torment. The holy water burned through her skin like acid. Her sword clattered to the ground as she fell to one knee and collapsed onto the floor, crying out in pain.
The mage felt a sense of satisfaction for tricking the vampire. "Who knew holy water could be so effective? I have not even shown you half of what I am capable of. I just wanted to see how well it affects you parasites."
He knelt with his staff held firmly in his hand as he looked at Elena who was writhing in pain. "You look thirsty, vampire. Luckily for you, I have two more vials of holy water right here." A smirk spread across his face.
"No!" Haven cried out. She pushed the armored mercenary away with her enormous strength and rushed to the side of her sister. "Elena, are you okay?"
Elena did not reply. The armored mercenary lunged toward Haven. "Do not turn your back on me, leech!"
Haven intercepted his attack, but the man used his spirit force to enhance his strength. He pushed her away to create space and swung with all his might. The muscles beneath his armor bulged as he delivered a heavy blow that sent Haven flying through the air.
Haven flipped through the air and landed on her feet. She rushed the armored mercenary and they both exchanged blows. The sharp clang of metal echoed through the room as the two fought.
Meanwhile, the mage took out another vial filled with holy water. "Let us continue where we left off. I think you said that you were thirsty."
He pulled the cork and poured the contents onto the floor. He raised his staff and chanted incantations that caused the water to float in the air, forming one large and sharp icicle. Elena momentarily forgot her pain and widened her eyes at the ice hovering inches from her face.
"One word from me and you are dead. But if you beg, I might change my mind," the mage taunted with a cruel smirk.
Elena did not respond at first, but she noticed something in her peripheral vision that made her chuckle softly. The sound ignited the anger of the mage. "What is so funny? Do you want to die?"
"I am laughing because you are blind, human," she replied. Her laughter rang out defiantly.
"Burning you with holy water has made you lose your mind. I wonder what would happen if the icicle made of holy water pierced your brain. It might just bring you to your senses."
Elena then pointed to someone behind the mage. When the human turned his head, he saw a middle-aged, beautiful woman with an expressionless face staring at him. A look of horror crossed the face of the mage. Before he could react, the woman lunged forward. She grabbed his face and drove her sharp thumbs into both of his eye sockets.
Blood and gore leaked from the eye sockets of the mage as he screamed at the top of his lungs. With a swift and brutal motion, the woman used her strength to crush the skull of the mage and killed him instantly. As the mage fell lifeless, the sharp icicle that had been floating before Elena shattered upon hitting the ground and scattered into countless shards.
She then tossed the lifeless corpse of the mage to the side as if he were nothing more than a broken toy.
"Hehe, first you could not see, and now you are headless. Who really lost their mind, huh?" Elena laughed with a dark glee in her voice. She rose to her feet and walked toward the figure that had saved her life. Bowing her head slightly, she spoke. "Many thanks for your assistance, big sister Rebecca. I underestimated these humans and their dirty tricks; it will not happen again."
The armored mercenary was still engaged in combat with Haven. He turned his head momentarily to see how his partner was faring. Shock washed over him as he realized the brutal fate of the mage. Anger surged within him as he took in the sight of the headless body of his partner on the ground.
"Quintin!" the mercenary screamed with anger. Rage consumed him as he charged toward the middle-aged woman. "You will pay for this!"
He could feel the energy rising within himself and his hand bled from gripping his sword too tightly. The middle-aged woman did not move from where she was standing. Rebecca remained unfazed with a look of pity etched on her face as she regarded the mercenary.
"Are all of the humans blind?" she said as she lightly shook her head.
Haven however was closely behind the mercenary that took his attention away from her. "Do not ever turn your back on me, human!"
With a powerful stroke, she raised her sword and swung it down. The blade pierced his back and drove deep into his body. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
As the mercenary laid on the ground, he looked at the headless body of his partner. The mercenary felt great pain radiated through his back and it intensified with every passing second. He reached a trembling hand toward the corpse of his partner. "Sorry, my friend."
Haven stepped closer and mercilessly stabbed the bloodied tip of her sword through the skull of the man. Turning to Rebecca, she bowed her head. "Thank you for the assistance, Head Maid Rebecca."
"No need to thank me, Haven. We are at war and we must work together."
The gaze of Rebecca shifted to Elena. "Rise, Elena. We still have much to do. I will head downstairs to help where I can. You two go further upstairs and make sure no children remain trapped. Kill anyone who stands in your way."
Elena stood up straight and both she and Haven bowed. "We will do as you command, Head Maid."
Rebecca nodded and turned toward the door. Just as her hand reached the doorknob, she looked back at Elena. "Please take care of yourself, Elena. You must live on and keep the memory of the late young master John alive." A hint of sadness was in her voice.
Elena nodded. "I will be more careful, Head Maid Rebecca."
With that, Rebecca left the room and her presence remained like a protective shadow. The moment the door shut, Haven turned to Elena.
"Elena, are you okay? You could have died!" She wrapped her arms around Elena with worry on her face. "I was so worried about you."
Elena returned the hug and placed her arms around the waist of Haven. "Thank you for your concern, sister." Their moment of relief was short because both knew the battle was not over.
As they let go of each other, Elena approached the body of the headless mage. She thought the mage was strong and wondered if he left anything useful behind. She saw the bag of the mage on the ground and decided to look inside. She knelt and poured the contents onto the floor.
She saw three books that looked like spell books and two vials labeled Holy Water. A third vial caught her eye. The clear liquid looked just like water, but the red tag said A Warrior's Rage.
"Wow, a Warrior's Rage!" Haven said as she looked over the shoulder of Elena. "I have heard that it doubles the power of the user, but there is a time limit."
"This vial was likely for the man you killed, Haven. I do not think the mage would find this useful because his body was too weak," Elena said as she stared closely at the vial.
"Even if he had managed to use it, his death still would have happened," Haven said. She shrugged and dismissed the thought.
Elena nodded. Her gaze shifted to the door that led upstairs. "We should head up and see if there are any children we need to save."
She gathered the items and placed them back into the bag. She secured it at her waist. As she adjusted the belt, she looked up and noticed that Haven had already moved away.
"What is taking you so long?" Haven called out. Her voice echoed slightly in the quiet room.
Elena looked up from the bag. She saw Haven standing by the door that led to the stairs with a light smile on her face.
"Sorry for the wait, sister," Elena replied. She finished with the bag and hurried over to Haven. "Let us find some more humans to kill," she said with determination.
Haven chuckled softly. Her expression soon turned serious. "Do not forget about the children, Elena. We need to save them first."
Elena nodded. The weight of their mission settled over her. "Naturally. We must find them and make sure they are safe."