Castlevania: Nocturne In The Moonlight (HIATUS)

Wandering Souls

The stranger, with her eyes against her target, used a wide area full of dust and earth around her to make a bow and two arrows in the other hand. In quick succession, she unloaded both arrows without hesitation upon the harpy. The first arrow managed to stab the harpy's left wing, pinning it against a nearby tree, while the second arrow shot straight into its head, causing it to inflate and combust into a puddle of blood.

The stranger turned to Maria as she blew the smoke off of the muzzle. "You fight good, little dove. May I ask for your name?"

Before Maria herself could answer, Annette tackled her with open arms. "Maria! There you are!"

"Layla! You're all right!" Edouard said, panting behind them. "I brought Annette but... where's Richter?"

Before Layla could give an answer, they heard a loud growl of a beas from afar followed by a menacing howl of a wolf. The group run toward it, hoping for the best that Richter could hold on until they arrive.

⚜️

At that very moment, Richter, covered in cuts and bruises, was surrounded by the minotaur and a werewolf who were circling around him ready to strike.

"Come at me." Richter confidently spoke, straightening his whip as he braced himself.

The minotaur suddenly rammed toward Richter with its own horns straight at his chest while the werewolf itself dashed toward him from behind. Seconds before they crash upon him, Richter waved his whip toward a high branch and whisked himself toward it.

Just when Richter thought he was safe whilst standing on the branch, he found himself barely missing the werewolf, being launched toward the trees by the hands of the minotaur, which began slashing him madly with its claws. Richter tried swinging his whip against it, but the werewolf was careful not to get hit and evading his attacks.

Then the branch Richter stood on shook horribly, almost throwing him off balance, as the minotaur below began chopping the tree down. As the tree began to fall, Richter jumped onto another branch as he opted to use his sword instead, leaving the whip on his belt. And the fight with the werewolf ensued, but now he was on equal footing with the beast. The werewolf was quick on his swipes but Richter was able to dodge them fast enough to swoop in for a fatal slash.

Richter managed to slash the werewolf through the flank and the back while keeping his distance from its claws. Below their battle, the minotaur threw up a poisonous liquid that sprayed onto the branch Richter stood on. He quickly switched to his whip as he swung to the next branch nearby. The werewolf used the opportune moment to spin furiously toward Richter with a fistful of flames.

Richter dodged it by jumping out of the way and cracked his whip at the creature in mid-air, eviscerating the werewolf's back causing its upper half to combust into bloody paste. Hearing the mad roar of the minotaur below him, he looked as the minotaur threw its axe through the forest, chopping down several trees in its path. Richter himself was not safe as he couldn't grapple to another tree quickly and slipped to the ground as several branches along the way broke his fall.

Richter landed roughly on the ground unconscious while the minotaur raised its arm where it recalled its axe back into its hand. It slowly walked toward Richter with its axe dragging along behind him. The son of a dying clan literally gone cold at its hooves, the minotaur raised its axe ready to cleave his head off with one precise swing.

"NO!" Annette furiously yelled as she charged at the beast, unsheathing her sword and a cold chill surrounded the blade.

The beast did not pay any attention to her as it began to drive the axe straight into Richter's neck. Fortunately, Annette slid in front of Richter and raised her sword to protect him. As the axe collided with her thin blade, it began to glow as a trail of ice materialized into a shield that repelled the axe's fatal swing, freezing the axe entirely. Annette then lunged her sword upon it as a trail of blue flames erupted from the tip of the blade, destroying the axe in one fell swoop and creating a wall of fire that drove the creature back.