Emmaline Tepes never expected to become the Guardian and protector of the young Richter Belmont, but she's made it work. Over the years she's watched over and guided him, mentoring him into a fine vampire hunter worthy of his family name.
When Re...
Richter and Annette caught their breaths, pausing in the city streets. Maria lay unconscious in Richter's arms. Shouts of anger clamored from the surrounding mob, cursing and damning the heroes who failed.
"Where is Amalie?" Richter gasped.
"She escaped." was all Annette could say.
"Did you send the machine to Hell?"
Annette shook her head.
"You mean it was all for nothing?" Richter cursed.
"We have to go. Now." said Annette.
They ran from the mob. Richter shielded Maria's head from a bread being thrown at them. "Where is Tera?" Mizrak asked when he caught up with them.
Richter grimaced. "She wanted us to go. We had no choice." He looked at Annette as they ran. "Did we?" The heroes fled town under the shadowed light of the eclipse.
Atop a great hill , a solemn black cat watched their escape from afar.
The trio slowed on the outskirts of Machecoul, winded and defeated. Richter carried Maria in his arms. A devilish cackle shattered the air. Drolta had found them, soaring above like a bat out of Hell with an entourage of Erzsebet's loyal acolytes. Despite their exhaustion, the heroes readied for battle.Richter gently placed Maria behind them and cracked his whip.
Drolta cackled, diving in for the kill. Annette tossed her flying knives at the vampiress's neck, missing her by an inch. Drolta honed in on Richter with splayed claws.
Her neck exploded in a burst of blood.
Emma!? Richter gaped with the rest of his companions. Even Maria, waking up, thought her ancestor had returned miraculously healed. It looked like Emma at first, her sword was impaled through Drolta's neck, but they quickly registered it wasn't. Far from it.
Their savior slashed Drolta through and she crumpled to the ground. She glared at her attacker in a mix of sheer disbelief and hatred before shriveling up with a dying screech. Her ragged corpse collapsed on the earth.
The savior, who wasn't Emma but greatly resembled her, turned to the standing acolytes. His sword swishing elegantly to his side in a way his daughter never mastered. "I am Alucard, son of Dracula. And if you fight me, you will die, like thousands of vampires before you." The acolytes ran.
Mizrak sheathed his sword. All gazed on the enigmatic savior in gobsmacked.
Richter was too stunned to hear her. "Are you really Alucard? I thought you were just a myth." He silently cursed himself for making such a stupid remark. She was the spitting image of him. With his back turned there was no way of differentiating him from his daughter. If he weren't so pale, Richter would have easily mistaken him for Emma.
"You must be Richter Belmont. Complete with whip. Hmm. And on the brink of utter defeat." Alucard turned around and faced him. " I hope I'm not too late."
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