Beethoven - Scourge of Vampires [ONC 2022]

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The reaction came almost in an instant. Vampires began to pour into the hall. Maximilian howled in rage and reached out towards the Maestro, but he had already begun to move back towards the pipe organ, hand reaching out. The only ones that didn't move in response were Bernhard and the pitiful creature that continued to pump the bellows for the pipe organ, seemingly unaware of the chaos that had erupted.

"You'll need this, mate." Beethoven grasped the grip of Bernhard's sabre and tossed it in one movement, before tugging at the stops and switches on the organ. "Oh, and this will be painful. But worse for them."

The Maestro's hands slammed down upon the keys of the pipe organ and a wretched sound emerged from the pipes. Screeching and bellowing, louder than Bernhard had heard it before. The Maestro spoke true, the sound almost felt like it pierced Bernhard's ears, thrusting into his brain, but the vampires had an even more visceral reaction.

To a one, their hands raised to their ears, even the Vampire Lord. Many fell to their knees, screaming in pain and Bernhard remembered what the Maestro had said. Vampire senses were far more acute than those of humans. The sound, that felt uncomfortable to Bernhard, painful even, must have felt like torture to far more sensitive ears.

He found himself able to move, the Vampire Lord's spell broken by the pain that he suffered. He reached down for his sabre, the grip feeling as though it belonged in his hand, and turned to face the horde of vampires that had entered the hall. He intended cutting a swathe through the stumbling, pain-wracked creatures and affording him and the Maestro an escape.

"Come on, Maestro!" He glanced around to see the Maestro continuing to press the keys. "We have a chance to escape!"

Even now, however, the tones of the discordant notes were beginning to diminish. To the side, the creature that had pumped the bellows had fallen to the floor, curled into a fetal ball, no longer giving the pipe organ the air that it needed to play. Maximilian had already started to recover and glared at the Maestro with undisguised hatred.

"No! You deal with him!" The Maestro lifted his hands from the keys and jumped over the seat, batons appearing in his fingers. "I'll handle the others, but you must stop him. Kill him and we beat them all!"

At those words, Maximilian's head whipped around towards Bernhard, his eyes falling to the sabre in his hand. With a slow, deliberate turn, the Vampire Lord faced Bernhard, his hand raising, long, elegant finger pointing towards the sabre. Only, this time, Bernhard did not feel the urge to drop his faithful blade. He had the Maestro back, his sabre in hand. He had all the faith he needed to counteract the sorcery of Maximilian.

It felt as though they became the only two people remaining within the hall. The Maestro had dodged past the Vampire Lord while Bernhard distracted him, tearing away towards the flood of vampires that had entered the hall. Already, Bernhard could see, from the corner of his eyes, clouds of dust exploding.

Maximilian knew he could no longer bring Bernhard or the Maestro under his control. He circled to the side, eyes narrowed and locked upon Bernhard. Those long fingers flexed, the nails stretching further outwards and becoming long, vicious looking claws. He intended to fight and Bernhard was not about to disappoint him.

He waited, circling along with Maximilian, waiting for the Vampire Lord to attack first. All the while, he could feel the creature trying to dig into his mind, but that would not avail the vile beast. Bernhard would never fall under his spell again and, if he had any control in the matter, neither would anyone else.

In the blink of an eye, Maximilian pounced towards Bernhard, striking out with first one clawed hand and then the other and Bernhard only managed to step out of the reach by pure instinct. He raised the sabre, catching the claws upon the blade as they swept past. Sparks flew from the blade, as though two metals had struck against each other, and Bernhard could see the eyes of Maximilian lit by those sparks.