On the upper level of the castle, Haven and Elena faced an unfortunate 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, delivering a powerful downward slash. The mercenary did not evade; instead, he intercepted her attack. Both of their swords clashed with a resounding clang, and Haven's blade received a small chip from the impact.
"You're not bad Tick" the mercenary said, 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, whispering incantations under his breath. Her guess was on the mark as the mage conjured sharp pointed icicles. The orb on top of the wooden staff glowed and sharp, pointed icicles sprang forth at breakneck speed.
With a quick reaction, Elena paused, her eyes glowing red as she parried the shards with her sword. "Not enough, human!" she taunted.
"Oh, then let me try something different," the mage replied, a sinister grin spreading across his face. He produced a vial of water, popped the cork, and poured the liquid onto the ground. Whispering magic incantations once more, the water began to float in the air, coalescing into four sharp icicles.
The mage's smirk widened as he directed his staff toward Elena. "This is going to bring pain to you but joy to me. Hehehe.".
The four sharp pointed icicles shot towards Elena and just like before, she managed to parry the three icicles but the mage had other plans. Just as she aimed to deflect the last icicle, he whispered a final incantation, transforming it into water.
Elena managed to see 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, collapsing onto the floor and crying out in pain.
The mage felt a sense of satisfaction for tricking the vampire. "Who knew holy water could be so effective? And I haven't even shown you half of what I'm capable of. I just wanted to see how well it affects you, parasites."
He knelt, his staff held firmly in 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. She rushed to Elena's side "Elena, are you okay?"
Elena didn't reply. The armored mercenary lunged toward Haven. "Don't turn your back on me, leech!"
Haven intercepted his attack, but he 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, sending Haven flying through the air.
Haven flipped through the air and landed on her feet. She then rushed the armored mercenary and they both exchanged blows with each other, the sharp clang of metal echoing through the room as the two are fighting.
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, then raised his staff, chanting incantations that caused the water to float in the air, forming one large, sharp icicle.
Elena, momentarily forgetting her pain, widened her eyes at the icicle hovering inches from her face. "One word from me, and you're dead. But if you beg, I might change my mind," the mage taunted, a cruel smirk on his lips.
Elena did not respond at first but she noticed something in her peripheral vision that made her chuckle softly, igniting the mage's anger. "What is so funny? Do you want to die?"
"I'm laughing because you're blind, human," she replied, her laughter ringing out defiantly
"Burning you with holy water has made you lose your mind. I wonder what would happen if the icicle that is made out of holy water pierced your brain —it might just bring you to your senses."
Elena then pointed to someone behind the mage. When the mage turned his head, he saw a middle-aged beautiful woman with an expressionless face staring at him. A look of horror crossed the mage's face, and before the human mage could react, the woman lunged forward, grabbing his face and driving 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 female vampire's grip was too strong.
Blood and gore leaked from the mage's eye sockets as he screamed at the top of his lungs. With a swift and brutal motion, the woman used her strength to crush the mage's skull, killing him instantly. As the mage fell lifeless, the sharp icicle that had been floating before Elena shattered upon hitting the ground, scattering into countless shards
"Hehe, first you couldn't see, and now you're headless. Who really lost their mind, huh?" Elena laughed, a dark glee in her voice. She rose to her feet and walked towards the figure that had saved her life. Bowing her head slightly, she said, "Many thanks for your assistance, big sister Rebecca. I underestimated these humans and their dirty tricks; it won't happen again."
The armored mercenary, still engaged in combat with Haven, 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 his partner's headless body on the ground.
"Quintin!" the mercenary screamed with anger. Raged consumed him as he charged towards the middle-aged woman "You will pay for this".
He could feel the energy rising within himself, his hand bled from gripping his sword too tightly. The middle-aged woman did not move from where she was standing. The middle-aged woman remained unfazed, 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. "Don't ever turn your back on me, human!". With a powerful stroke, she raised her sword and swung it down, piercing his back and driving the blade deep. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
As the mercenary laid on the ground, he looked at his partner's headless body on the ground. The mercenary felt great radiated through his back, intensifying with every passing second. He reached a trembling hand toward his partner's headless corpse. "Sorry my friend"
Haven stepped closer, mercilessly stabbing the bloodied tip of her sword through the man's skull. 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." Rebecca's gaze shifted to Elena. "Rise, Elena. We still have much to do. I'll head downstairs to assist where I can. You two go further upstairs and ensure no children remain trapped. Kill anyone who stands in your way."
Elena stood up straight, and she and Haven both bowed. "We will do as you command, Head Maid."
Rebecca nodded, then turned towards the door leading out of the room. Just as her hand reached the doorknob, she glanced back at Elena. "Please take care of yourself, Elena. You must live on and keep the late young master John's memory alive." A tinge of sadness colored her tone.
Elena nodded earnestly. "I will certainly be more careful, Head Maid Rebecca."
With that, Rebecca left the room, her presence lingering 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, worry etched on her face. "I was so worried about you."
Elena returned the embrace, placing her arms around Haven's waist. "Thank you for your concern, sister." Their moment of relief was brief, as both knew the battle was far from over.
As they released each other, Elena approached the corpse of the headless mage. She found the mage pretty strong and wondered if there might be something of value left behind. She saw the mage's bag on the ground and decided to take a look. She crouched down and poured the contents that was in the bag on the ground.
What she saw that there were three books that looked like spell books, two vials labeled "Holy water". A third vial caught her eye, its clear liquid almost indistinguishable from water, but the red tag boldly proclaimed "A Warrior's Rage."
"Wow, a Warrior's Rage!" Haven exclaimed, peering over Elena's shoulder. "I've heard that it doubles the user's power, but there's a time limit."
"This vial was probably for the guy you killed Haven, I don't think the mage would find this useful, his body was too weak" Elena said as she closely stared at the vial.
"Even if he had managed to use it, his death would have been inevitable," Haven shrugged, dismissing the thought.
Elena nodded, her gaze shifting to the door leading upstairs. "We should head up and see if there are any children we need to save." She began to gather the items, placing them back into the bag and securing it at her waist. As she adjusted the belt, she glanced up, noticing that Haven had drifted away.
"What is taking you so long?" Haven called out, her voice echoing slightly in the quiet room.
Elena looked up from adjusting the bag around her waist and noticed Haven standing by the door that led to the stairs, a light smile on her face.
"Sorry for the wait, sister," Elena replied as she finished securing the bag. She hurried over to Haven, her spirits lifting at the sight of her. "Let us find some more humans to kill," she said with determination.
Haven chuckled softly, her expression shifting to one of seriousness. "Don't forget about the children, Elena. We need to save them first."
Elena nodded, the weight of their mission settling over her. "Naturally. We have to find them and ensure they're safe."