Chapter 1
Dracula laughed, and rose from his throne. He grabbed a stone, which contained the blood of all of his enemies that had died in his castle. Not too long ago, he was a human...Soma Cruz. But now, his human side was demolished, never to return. And only one being could stop him. Julius Belmont.
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Julius ran through the forest, and finally arrived at a giant door. Beyond it lay the replica of Dracula's Castle created by Celia, which was now Dracula's home. The door opened, and in he walked.
He was greeted by a horde of Skeletons. He quickly smashed through the undead warriors with his whip, and walked past the crushed bones. A zombie emerged behind him, and grabbed him. However, it was quickly decapitated by his knife.
He walked into an open courtyard, with several bones lying around. He ignored them, and walked on. Before he could exit the room, he was blocked by a red gate of blood, which had engulfed the entrance way as well. A floating, cloaked being wielding a staff appeared, and summoned several undead warriors. They were quickly slain, and Julius destroyed the wizard as well. The gate disappeared, and he entered through the next door.
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Julius destroyed the last merman, and observed the next door. It was...different. Embedded in it was the shape of a silver, winged skull, outlined by the color of blood red. He opened the door.
A voice greeted him. "Belmont...we meet again. I assume you have come to destroy Dracula. I cannot allow you to do that."
A being with a scythe appeared, and created a portal. Out of the gateway came a large, lumbering knight.
"Prepare to die, Belmont," said Death.
Chapter 2
Death vanished, and the knight stared at Julius with eyes of hatred. It slowly moved towards him, and smashed its fist into the ground where Julius was standing. The Belmont back flipped away at the last second, and threw an axe straight at the guardian's chest, knocking it to the ground. As the metal warrior rose, it swiftly tossed a dagger at Julius, injuring him. Julius quickly jumped onto the knight's shoulder, and smashed its head with a swift kick. The knight fell once more.
Julius checked to make sure the knight was dead. Before he could, it grabbed him, and threw him across the room. Julius took out his whip, and latched it around the knight, pulling him right onto its head. He shattered the head with a deadly kick as he flew towards it. The knight fell apart, and from its remains floated a red orb. Julius absorbed it, healing his wounds.
"Well done, Belmont," said the voice of Death. The blue-robed being floated from the remains of the knight, and laughed. "At least for an old man such as you. But you have not triumphed. This was simply your first battle. Next time, you shall die."
Death vanished again, and left behind a gauntlet and an orb of silver color. Julius strapped on the glove, and examined the orb. As he observed it, a strange stairway emerged from the ground, which led to a door that seemed to lead to thin air. He noticed that the door had 8 slots in it, that matched the size and shape of the orb. He put the orb in one of the slots, and the door opened. As he entered, he found that he was now in a garden.
He walked through the garden, looking at the several plants. He was greeted by a skeleton-like creature with skin and odd black pants. He grabbed his whip, but was startled when the skeleton talked.
"Wait! I'm not one of Dracula's minions! I don't work for him, okay!?" said the skeleton.
"Who are you? And why can you talk?" said Julius.
"My name is Elric. I was once a true human, but I walked into a mysterious fog, and ended up in this castle. I was killed by one of Dracula's minions, but I managed to hold on to my consciousness, in the form of this skeleton. But I can help you. I have access to several resources that may be of use to you. However, there is a price. Money. There is a need for money even in the afterlife, as you can see. But I cannot sell to unworthy travelers. Prepare yourself," said Elric.
Elric suddenly transformed into a large skeleton, with blades merged with his arms. "Now, we shall determine whether or not you are worthy."
Chapter 3
Julius found himself hiding for his life. He knew that Elric wasn't playing. He would kill Julius, but he didn't know why. So, he would have to get serious as well. Julius charged toward the giant, but he was batted back by the skeleton's blades. Elric growled, and shot a large fireball at him. Julius dodged, and threw a dagger at Elric's head, damaging him. Elric jumped into the air, and threw a giant dagger at Julius, which the Belmont dodged and countered with a flaming kick, knocking Elric to the ground. He transformed back into his normal size.
"Well done, traveler," said Elric.
"The name's Julius. Julius Belmont," replied Julius.
"Belmont? You were the one that sealed away Dracula once and for all. Had I not have been killed at that very moment when the castle was doomed to the underworld, my spirit may have been released. But with Dracula's presence, my spirit cannot return to its rightful place. I apologize for attacking you. I believed you were another unlucky traveler who believed that they could defeat Dracula. If Dracula killed them, he would know more were coming. He would be prepared. So, I needed to test you. If I had known you were a Belmont, I would have believed in you right away. But, as a reward, I shall give you this," said Elric. He handed Julius a strange cube with a Lizard's Tail engraved on it, and another orb, this one of Ivory color. "And because you wield the familiar whip, the Vampire Killer, here is another gift."
Elric gave Julius a ruby jewel, and told him to place it on the whip. Julius did as told, and the whip became enveloped in blazing flames and turned a red color.
"Feel free to come back to my shop at any time!" said Elric. Julius nodded, and walked on.
As he ventured on, he saw several stone statues, lifeless. His eye caught an unusual one. While the others were of humans, one was more...demonic. He ignored it, but as he passed, it came to life, followed by 5 other similar statues.
One gargoyle spoke in the voice of Death. "Well, Belmont, you thought I would simply allow you to infiltrate my master's forces? Ha! Now, prepare yourself...prepare to die!"