"Alright, fine."
I sighed and nodded. For some reason, I felt compelled to help him, even though I had no idea what we were up against.
"Let's go then. What do we need to do?"
"Follow me."
Ringo led me deeper into the forest, not far, just enough to completely lose sight of the trail. I hadn't even noticed his footprints had disappeared, nor did I notice a strange red mist beginning to roll in.
The fog was tinted with a dark red that was visible under the moonlight. It was like a red cloud rolled in when I looked away.
"This fog is made of vampire essence. It's used to hide the presence of vampire activity in the area. We must be careful."
Ringo's words hung heavy in the air as we trudged forward, a chill running down my spine. With every step, I could sense a dark presence, hidden among the shadows of the trees, closing in from all sides. We eventually stopped in front of a massive boulder, and I could swear that something was watching us from the darkness.
Ringo pointed to a nearby hill and said, "We need to get to the top of that hill. It's the only way to get to the source of this fog."
We carefully made our way up the hill.
The hill was barren. The base was covered in rocks and debris, and the side of the hill was just soil and rock.
The green vegetation had been cropped down to the dirt. This hill had not a single blade of grass nor any flower or berry. The vegetation was completely absent.
"Strange. This hill, it doesn't have any vegetation."
The hilltop was silent, with no wind, no animals, no crickets or other insects, not even the sound of your boots walking on the ground.
I stood still for a moment, listening to the night. I was sure I'd heard something. A snapping twig, maybe the sound of the wind blowing against leaves. It was more like a hiss, a strange hissing sound.
[This hill appears to be man-made, and I suspect that magic was used to create it. Permit me to assume control of your physical being.]
"Sure," I replied.
My hand shook violently as if possessed by an unseen force. A deafening rumble filled the air, and a purple ball of lightning crackled to life in my palm, pulsating with energy, the force of it causing a tremble in the air.
[Ástrapís Ékrixi]
The lightning tore through the air like a comet, ripping apart the fog and exposing the dark silhouette of a decrepit castle. The walls were swarming with an army of undead monsters, their screams echoing in the night. Every crevice of the castle seemed to be filled with an unearthly presence, a darkness so powerful that it seemed to fill the entire world with its evil.
"It looks like we've found the source of the fog," Ringo said.
"Let's go! We have to take the castle and stop whatever these guys from reproducing!"
I nodded in agreement and followed Ringo as we charged forward, weapons drawn.
The ghouls were caught off guard by our sudden appearance, but they quickly regrouped to form a menacing wall of nightmarish figures. With a collective screech, they lunged forward, claws bared and eyes aglow with malevolence, ready to unleash a wave of terror and destruction.
With lightning speed, I whipped Kokorowatari through the air and, with a fierce roar of rapture, unleashed its full power. A devastating wave of black energy shot out and ripped through the enemy lines like a scythe. Most managed to leap away in time, but one unfortunate ghoul fell in the wake of destruction, its body left crumpled and broken on the ground.
Ringo's arm jerked up as the pistol flared in his hands, every shot ringing in his ears as he unleashed a hail of bullets from the barrel. The shrieks of the ghouls filled the air as each one fell to the ground, falling like ragdolls onto the graveyard soil.
I couldn't believe my eyes - my attacks were missing, but his gun seemed to be doing the impossible. Could it be that he was more powerful than I had assumed?
[They're pretty sensitive to your ranged attacks. Use the ignite command and try to slash them. Or if you have the opportunity, grab and slit their throats.]
I frantically followed Baal's advice and screamed, "Ignite, Kokorowatari!" in a desperate plea. A surge of power surged through me as I activated the ignite command, the sound of fire roaring in the air as flames erupted around the blade of Kokorowatari.
I saw the ghoul's eyes widen as I lunged forward and slashed at its shoulder, leaving a thin red line that glowed with a burning sensation. It writhed in agonizing pain, contorting its body as if it were in unbearable discomfort.
Suddenly, a ghoul appeared behind me, its body hunched and its eyes wild with malice. Its claws stretched out towards me, grasping my shoulder as it quickly mounted onto my back. Its teeth sunk into my skin as it held on tightly with its claws, biting down hard with its sharp fangs.
I quickly used both hands to grasp the ghoul's body, its skin slimy and cold to the touch. Its claws were still embedded in my shoulder, piercing my skin as it fought back with wild eyes and teeth bared. I threw it away with a powerful force, sending it flying through the air before it crashed onto the ground several feet away.
The ghoul struggled wildly as it was pierced by the sword, its body contorting and thrashing in pure agony. Its skin quickly melted away as the flames engulfed it, its flesh dripping off like molten wax. In a few seconds, the ghoul was completely reduced to nothing. The air around it was heavy with the smell of burning flesh.
The other ghouls were quickly dispatched in a similar fashion, leaving the two of us standing in the middle of the carnage. All that remained of the ghouls was a pile of ash scattered on the ground.
I pounced on the ghouls that Ringo's bullets had rendered powerless, dealing them each a death blow in succession. Their bodies were set ablaze by Kokorowatari's blade, blazing intensely like a thousand red hot stars. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, sharp and pungent, a nauseating mix of cooked meat and rot.
[Allow me to borrow your vessel for a moment, George. I need to ask the 'gentleman' within those walls something.]