Bell was separated from the group after appearing in a dark room with few lights shining. She looked around for others and saw no one was there with her, so she yelled.
"Mike? James? Hein Eduard? Where are you guys?" There were no responses from anyone; it needed to be more quiet.
Bell worried when no one responded, making her think, 'Did something happen to them? Did the Blood Dragon kill them?'
'No Bell. Alucard can't kill everyone for that short moment. If he didn't kill my husband and others, then where did he send them to? Did he teleport all of us to different places in this place?'
'The answer will not reveal itself if I stay here and think, so I have to explore this place.'
She went forward, and a woman's voice in the distance said, "I have to fight you, chosen by master Alucard. And don't worry about your friends. They will fight others."
After leaving the barely lit hallway, Bell saw a Russian woman with black hair, green eyes, and two swords in her back; a special aura came from those two swords. Bell recognized the two swords from the Russian woman's back, hers long before she lost them.
She told the woman, "I guess I must fight you to pass you?"
"Before we fight. I'd like to introduce myself. I am Ariadna the right-hand of Alucard. Now, what's your name?"
"Bell... Bell Old City."
"You have no weapon on your. Here, take this." She threw one of the swords on her back toward Bell.
'I don't think she realized I was the perverse master of these swords.'
"I-?!" Ariadna didn't let Bell speak, so she dashed toward her, not giving Bell a chance to block, only dodge.
"Not fair! You didn't-?!" The sword swung from upwards, getting close to her head, but she stamped Ariadna's foot, making her stop and jump backward to collect herself.
"Tsk!"
Bell took the opportunity to strike, but Ariadna blocked the sword with her sword, and Ariadna's hair was only cut from the slash.
"You are strong for using that sword for your first time."
After saying that, she charges at Bell, and many clash with the steel without hurting anybody. Ariadna saw those clashes were not going anywhere, so she jumped in the air and flew straight down toward Bell.
Bell expertly defends herself by swiftly striking Ariadna's chest with the sword handle. This powerful maneuver sends her hurtling backward toward the wall, a testament to Bell's remarkable skill with the sword. Without her quick reflexes and razor-sharp technique, Ariadna's attack could have been devastating.
"Why did you not kill me right there?!" Ariadna asked Bell.
"Because..." Bell holds the sword differently than before. This stance brings out a powerful aura. When seeing that pose from Bell, Ariadna was baffled; she was momentarily speechless.
"...Because I want you to want to defeat you with this powerful stance."
"You have no right to use that stance! Only the great Immortal King Dragon can use that stance, not a stranger like you!" Ariadna was angry that the grey-haired woman with a ponytail was in that pose.
Without saying anything to her, Bell said, "God Speed Slash!"
A light from the sword emerged, turning Bell into that light. Bell swings her sword toward Ariadna's leg, but she blocks it with her sword. Her leg was safe for now.
***
"Tsk! You can see my attacks by holding that sword." Bell said.
"Oh, you know about these sword's powers, don't you, Bell Old City? That makes me believe, after seeing you use the great Immoral King Dragon's stance and have knowledge of these swords. Means that you were?!"
Before Ariadna could complete her sentence, Bell leaped into action, transforming into a beam of light and charging towards her. But the Hatchling quickly reacted, blocking the attack and countering with a swift strike towards Bell's side. However, Bell was equally skilled, landing a powerful kick that sent Ariadna flying through the air.
"You are strong for an old woman!" She stands up and continues,
"However, can you dodge this?"
"Hell Flames!"
Flames fled straight from Ariadna's sword towards Bell, but she swiftly slashed them out of existence with her blade.
"I sound like a broken clock, but you are good at using Heaven's Holy Sword. But not good enough as me!" She dashed toward Bell while flames were emerging from her weapon.
Their swords clashed, producing a symphony of clinging sounds that echoed in the arena. Bell and Ariadna were both equally skilled, and their fight was intense. Despite the fierce exchange, neither seemed to have sustained any visible injuries.
"Honey! Please, I have been training with Heaven and Hell blades in my younger days before you were born, so you are not better than me!"
After saying that, Bell attacked Ariadna, but she moved her shoulder from the flying strike, and her sleeves got cut, revealing a tattoo of a cross brace. Ariadna jumped backward when she saw her tattoo was showing.
"What! What! What should I do? My tattoo is showing." Mumbling to herself.
Bell's eyes caught a glimpse of the tattoo on Ariadna's shoulder before she quickly covered it with her hand. Despite knowing what that tattoo meant, Bell charged towards the enemy without hesitation and swung her sword.
Ariadna reacted quickly by blocking the attack and stabbing Bell's skin, burning it. She screamed from the pain. Alucard's right hand laughed when she saw her enemy was in pain and on the ground.
"See how strong we are! This what happens-?!" Before she could finish her sentence, her head spilled off from her body, rolling on the ground.
Bell was behind her after cutting her head clean off from her body. She puts the sword on her back and says, "You shouldn't have given me Heaven's Holy Sword to fight when it counters Hell Unholy Blade attacks. That's why you lost Alucard's right hand, Ariadna."
The unbreathable pain in her body was gone, but blood was still dripping from her arm, so she bandaged the wound and picked up Hell's Unholy Sword from Ariadna's hand.
"It's been a long time since I held these two."
She went straight, forgetting about the tattoo and exploring to find her husband and others; she started yelling their names again.
"Mike? James? Hein Eduard?
"Where did Alucard teleport them to?" She was yelling her group names while walking straight forward in a hallway where lights flickered frequently, which annoyed her.
"Shit! These lights aren't helping either."
"I have to find them quickly."
As she walked through the pitch-black area, she unknowingly turned around and returned to where she came from. The lack of light made it impossible to navigate, leaving her feeling lost and disoriented without those pesky lights to guide her.
As Bell walked down the hallway, she couldn't help but notice a painting on the wall. It depicted an epic scene of an elf attacking a white unicorn with a sword while another enemy approached. The snowy mountain in the background only added to the drama, with three mysterious figures standing on its peak. And one of them seemed to be wielding a scythe.
But Bell knew better than to let herself get distracted. She pressed on, determined to reach her destination. However, after a while, she realized that something was amiss. She was still in the same hallway despite walking for what seemed like forever. It was time to retrace her steps and determine what was happening.
"Why is this hallway so long? I have been here thirty minutes straight, and still not a single exit of this place?"
Bell was getting tired of being in the hallway for so long. That's why she decided to rest for about ten minutes. After the rest, she calls her husband and others' names, but there is still no response. Finally, she reached the end of the hallway, but then she saw Ariadna's dead body.
"Fuck! Fuck! Why did I ignore that tattoo."
Bell saw the tattoo on Ariadna's shoulder, which was glowing, and voices of strange language were enchanting, but Bell was alone in the room, so it wasn't hers, and the enemy was dead.
When she heard that voice, Bell took a deep breath and said, "Fuck. I have to fight again."
Bell was waiting until the enchantment would end after it got brighter and brighter as time passed. It stops. The room was quiet for a moment until a creepy laugh vanquished the quietness of the area.
The glow in the tattoo stopped when a mysterious voice echoed, "Rise, Rise, my child! Show you strength!"
Strings from the ceiling came down, linking to Ariadna's body like a marionette. Her skin turned into wood after connecting to her body, and her eyes became soulless. She was no longer human.
Standing up, she grabbed her head and connected it with the rest of her wooden body, and after doing that, she threw a punch at Bell Old City.
To be continued.