Fate To Fake: Loved by the Fallen; Fated to Kill the Divine

Leo and the cloaked figure stood frozen at the foot of the stone stairwell, their eyes locked on the low, guttural growl rumbling from the creature before them.

At first glance, it looked like a dog… but there was nothing remotely canine in its presence.

Its skin was stretched taut over its bones, the colour of burnt charcoal, merging perfectly with the castle's weathered stone. Red eyes glowed like molten embers in the gloom, and from its jagged maw, strings of thick saliva dripped to the floor, sizzling faintly against the blackened flagstones.

The cloaked figure slowly raised its weapon, the rusted curve of the blade glinting under the rising moonlight.

Its hood tilted slightly, eyes fixed on the beast, which snarled and barked in sharp bursts.

Grrrrlll~

Leo's fingers curled into fists. His breath came uneven, not from fear but anticipation. "What do we do? Has Dracula already noticed us? Is this his guard?"

The cloaked figure's head moved side to side in a slow,

"No. His presence isn't here… yet. From the look of it, this is just one of his guards, like in the forest. It's nothing to be afraid of." The voice, muffled by the hood, carried an odd calm... just before the figure hurled the weapon with a sudden whip of the arm.

Ssllckk~

The blade spun through the air, whistling like a hungry ghost.

The beast sprang aside with inhuman speed, claws scraping across the floor, and then lunged straight for them with a roar.

"Worrrr!"

Leo's heart lurched. His stance shifted instinctively, knees bending, breath drawing deep into his chest, but,

Clucckkk~

Thud!

In a blur, the weapon curved back through the air. The cloaked figure snatched it mid-spin and, without breaking motion, swept the blade sideways. The beast's head slid cleanly from its body, landing with a wet thump that echoed into the silence.

Leo blinked, "That's… slick," he breathed, his eyes reflecting awe.

But the horror was far from over.

Grrlll~

The low snarl returned... this time, from behind. They turned. Another one of the creatures was crawling from the darkness.

Then another... And another. One by one, they emerged from every shadow like maggots spilling from a wound.

Scrrchh

A faint scratching sound made Leo glance up. One clung to a pillar above them, its claws digging into the stone like a leech, its blood-red eyes glaring hungrily down at them.

"Hah… shit…" Leo muttered under his breath, swallowing hard. His hands clenched tighter, his knuckles whitening.

The swarm lunged.

Leo stepped forward, body twisting, and his fist cracked into the first creature's face. The blow made a sound like splitting wood. The beast yelped and tumbled away, but before he could breathe, two more after him.

Beside him, the cloaked figure moved like a shadow made flesh.. each step was precise, each slash of the blade was clear cut. The heads of the creatures rolled across the floor, yet the horde did not falter.

It was easy, but the problem was… those dogs kept coming, and they didn't have time to play around.

Especially since they couldn't waste their energy here facing these things. Leo couldn't kill them; he just knocked them out, punching harder and harder.

"We can't waste our strength here," the cloaked figure growled, sidestepping another lunging beast.

Leo gritted his teeth, smashing another across the snout with a sharp hook. His chest burned with exertion, his breath ragged. Even a brief pause to exhale left him vulnerable—each second, more beasts pressed in.

"We need to move!" he barked, striking another in the jaw so hard he stumbled back with a cry like a wounded child.

For a heartbeat, he took a glance at his own hands. No deep cuts. No torn flesh. Their claws and teeth hadn't wounded him. He wasn't sure if it was luck… or something else.

"This is taking too long…" the cloaked figure muttered.

In a sudden movement, it gripped Leo's collar. "Go. Search the upper floors. I'll hold them off." Without waiting for his reply, it swung him towards the staircase with a speed that made his stomach lurch.

Leo shot upward instantly, his eyes widening slightly in surprise before catching one of the rails to stop himself from falling down.

Thud!

Pulling himself up, he caught sight of the swarm below. The dogs... if they could be called that—were still coming, their numbers kept growing.

Yet none could pass the cloaked figure's flashing blade.

He sprinted along the upper corridor, throwing open doors one after another. Most were empty, filled only with dust and cold air.

Below,

Slicck… Slcckk…

The cloaked figure kept slicing the dogs, but they were slowly getting over it… the sheer number was increasing.

'What kind of sorcery is this?' it thought with a frown as the dogs kept coming without rest or fear.

Just before it was about to be covered with dead and swarming dogs—

"There's one door locked!" Leo's voice echoed from above.

A brief sigh escaped her lips. She lifted her free hand, and from the void within her cloak, another rusted blade materialised. Her eyes flared gold beneath the hood, and for the first time, the beasts hesitated. Their growls choked into silence, crimson eyes glazing over in a trance-like stillness... like turned stone or something and,

Then—

Ssshhhlllll~

She spun in place with the grace of a dancer, blades outstretched. The arc of her movement sliced through the horde like a spinning top wrapped in steel.

Thuckk… Thucckk…

Bodies hit the floor in pieces.

Without wasting a second, she immediately kicked off the ground, she hooked her blade into the stair's railing and swung herself up.

Grllll~

Her lip curled. "Tsk."

She clicked her tongue, seeing the monsters coming up to the upper floor again. She ran towards Leo.

Meanwhile, Leo's fingers hurriedly worked on picking the door lock, meticulously using his tools.

"Hurry!" she shouted, the sound of claws scraping closer and closer down the corridor.

"I'm trying!" Leo snapped, sweat beading on his brow. "This thing's older than the rest… but stronger too."

Even though it was old, it was surprisingly sturdy—unlike the big one on the gate.

'Guess size doesn't matter,' he thought, twisting the final pin.

Click…

The sound echoed. Leo's eyes widened.

"You can be proud of your weird skills later,"

Just as the cloaked figure seized him by the arm and yanked him inside.

The beasts' teeth snapped shut on empty air as the door slammed behind them.

Thud!

Leo locked the door from inside, pushing his back against it, thinking they might try to barge in… but to his surprise, they didn't.

He frowned, leaning toward the keyhole.

Drip...

A strand of thick saliva slid into view, followed by a dozen red eyes glowing in the dark.

"Nope!" Leo shook his head with a slightly sweaty face before checking the room they had entered.

"This is... different..."

Leo muttered as his eyes swept over the strange room.

Unlike the other cold, empty rooms they had passed, this one seemed different.

The glow of warm candlelight flickered across polished furniture, casting long shadows that swayed against the walls. There was a faint smell of aged wood mixed with something sweet and metallic.

The air here didn't bite with the chill of the rest of the house.

And then his gaze froze. In the far corner, resting almost too naturally among the homely comfort, was... a casket.

"I guess the whole 'vampires love caskets' thing is true after all," he muttered under his breath.

If Ophis had been here to hear that, she would definitely have thrown him inside just to prove a point... and maybe even lock it for good measure.

The cloaked figure beside him wandered forward.

Leo followed, his boots crunching softly against the carpet. "See anything?" he asked.

A deep sigh escaped the figure. "Again... nothing," they muttered with a tone heavy enough to sag their shoulders. "No clues, no signs... nothing to tell us he's been here. Maybe Dracula's already done whatever he planned and left."

Leo opened his mouth to reply, but his attention caught on something else entirely.

"...Oh my goodness," he whispered, walking towards the wall.

Before him hung an enormous painting... old, cracked, and smelling faintly of varnish.

The frame was ornate and patched as if centuries had passed.

The cloaked figure turned to see what had stopped him, their eyes narrowing beneath the hood. "What is it?"

Leo didn't answer. His gaze was locked on the painting.

The cloaked figure's curiosity rose. Stepping closer, it tilted its head, looking up at the towering canvas.

It was a painting of a family.

Well... a huge family.

Dozens... no, perhaps a hundred people—were crammed into the grand portrait.

Faces upon faces, stretching out into the edges of the frame. Leo tried to count, but gave up halfway through; there were simply too many.

Just then, among strange faces, he felt a familiarity,

"Ophis?"

His voice was almost a whisper. There, among a row of children, stood a little girl who looked just like her.

And behind her… a mature woman, both standing close together as though linked by more than blood.

But it's not over... There were even more women like her... mostly like mothers of each child?

Not sure,

But what truly froze him was the figure in the very centre... Dracula himself!

Leo blinked, his face tightening. "Damn..." His hands balled into fists, "This... this is his freaking family?"

"Just what the hell was he doing..."

The very idea horrified him. This man... this monster had a wives Leo had never even heard of, and children… countless children.

It was madness. Not even the wildest tales he'd read came close to this kind of insanity.

"Haha..."

The cloaked figure's chuckle cut through his thoughts, the sound laced with something between amusement and disbelief. "What's got you so rattled? You look like this is the worst thing you've ever seen."

Leo's brows furrowed. "You're telling me there's something worse than this?"

The cloaked figure's grin widened. "Oh, there's always worse. Ever heard of Oedipus?"

"O—what?" Leo tilted his head, utterly confused.

The cloaked figure laughed again, shaking its head. "So innocent..." It almost seemed pleased with itself—until a voice rang in its mind.

'I will fucking kill you if you touch him... or corrupt him with your filthy words.'

The tone was cold enough to chill bone, and the cloaked figure actually flinched. It coughed awkwardly. "N-Nothing."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean? Now you've made me curious."