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

The figure smirked under the hood. "Well then… let's go to the afterlife together~" She snapped her fingers—

Thud!

A stone rolled out of nowhere, skidding across the cracked floor until it stopped near the mirror. For a moment, everyone frowned... And then the orange stone cracked,

BOOM!!!

The mirror exploded into fragments along with,

"Hello, fucking asshole~"

A loud, haughty voice rang across the chamber.

Dracula spun toward the sound... only to be struck full in the face by muddy boots slamming down with brutal force.

Filth smeared across his mouth and nose... His eyes went wide... Shit!!

The vampire lord's body rocketed back like a falling comet.

Thud!

He crashed near the shattered altar, stone dust rising in the air.

From the broken mirror, the cloaked figure emerged, staring up at a rope swinging down from the jagged hole they had first descended through.

Leo slid down recklessly on the rope, landing beside her. His eyes locked on her worriedly. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

However,

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" she screamed, her voice shaking with a rage she had never shown before.

She had been seconds from saving him... seconds from ending this... and now this idiot had barged in, undoing everything.

Leo rubbed his ear and frowned. "Don't shout." He sighed, shaking his head as he stood firmly before her. "I'm doing what's right. I couldn't sit back. Not while you're here."

She stared at him in silence.

Leo's cheeks flushed, but he forced the words out anyway. "Don't look at me like that… I couldn't just leave. Even if we don't know each other well, you've been by my side through this hell. That's enough for me... That means I can't abandon you."

The figure's lips parted, then closed. She wanted to curse him, to scream until her throat gave out. But instead, a sigh slipped past her lips, heavy and defeated. "What should I do now?" Her voice cracked, almost breaking. "What about Ophis? What about saving her?"

Leo's answer came without hesitation. He nodded firmly. "She's safe. Resting. I laid her down myself... she'll be fine. I swear it."

The cloaked figure bit her lip, her voice trembling between anger and disbelief. "Then explain this... what the hell are you holding?"

Leo blinked, following her glare to his hand. He lifted it sheepishly.... A shovel?

"Yeah. I found it in his yard." His grin was foolish, boyish even. "Not bad for a weapon, right?" Proud of the useless thing he had snatched up while running away.

"…You have got to be kidding me," she hissed. "A shovel?! Against him?!"

"Hey, don't underestimate it." He held it like a sword, smiling with ridiculous confidence. "Feels solid."

"…Are you freaking serious?!" she shouted, her voice breaking, but before she could throw him away—

"Good… haha… good…"

A voice, deep and wicked, slithered through the room.

"You came back for your own death."

The laugh that followed rattled the walls, making them both freeze.

From the rubble, Dracula rose. His silhouette stretched tall, his shoulders cracking as bones realigned, his eyes burning with blood-red fire. His gaze found Leo and locked there with killing intent.

And Yet Leo—

"Pff! Hahahahahaha!"

He laughed.

The cloaked figure blinked in shock.

Was he insane?

No!

It's Dracula who was insane now.... Dracula's face itched with Leo's boat's prints.

His Once-proud face was streaked with filth, bits of mud still clinging to his lips.

Holy shit!

Leo laughed even more.

Dracula's rage twisted into something monstrous. He opened his mouth and screeched violently, making Leo flinch as he covered his ears. In an instant, Dracula vanished from sight—then reappeared before them, with murderous fury.

The cloaked figure thrust her blade forward, but Dracula met her strike with his palm and slammed her against the wall.

BOOM!

She crumpled against the stone like a doll.

Dracula turned on Leo with cold, murderous indifference.

Leo's grip tightened on the shovel, his throat dry. He swallowed hard.

"Why don't you laugh now?!" Dracula's voice thundered. "Come on—LAUGH!!"

His fist smashed into Leo's gut, nearly snapping his spine.

Leo flew back, blood spraying from his mouth. His boots cracked the ground as he barely managed to land upright, shovel raised desperately to block the next strike.

Tang!

Steel rang against claw.

But Dracula didn't relent. He blurred into motion, slashing again and again.

Left... Right... Slash...

Leo's arms burned, his hands trembling, but his movements flowed.

He blocked every strike with fluidity, deflected, and staggered but stood.

Dracula's frown deepened.

Leo's lips curled faintly... He could keep up?

"Don't you dare look down on me!!" Dracula roared. His kick came swiftly as lightning, arching toward Leo's chest.

Leo barely used the shovel to block the attack.

Crack…

The shovel snapped in two.

Leo's body shot through the air like a broken spring.

Thud!

He crashed, skin torn with scratches, muscles screaming in pain. His body twitched violently as he gasped for breath. Through blurred vision, he saw the cloaked figure rushing toward Dracula, buying him precious seconds.

Leo exhaled, dragging hot air through his lungs, his chest finally easing from the suffocating pressure.

He had been forcing himself with technique.... without it, he would already be dead.

"I… I guess a vampire's shovel isn't good at killing them," he rasped bitterly, clutching his side with a grimace.

Why the hell had he even thought it would?

His face twitched in pain. He had chosen to return instead of running away... He knew it was suicide.

Yet he came back—like an idiot.

'I'm definitely going to die this time.'

The thought dangerously yet acceptingly entered through his mind as he staggered to his feet.

His fingers brushed something rough and round. He glanced down...

A smirk cut across his bloody lips.

Meanwhile,

The cloaked figure's curved blade sliced through the air, sparks flaring with each violent clash. Dracula swatted her strikes aside with terrifying ease, his crimson eyes glowing with cruel amusement.

"Hmm? What's this?" His voice was calm, almost mocking, "You've grown faster… is protecting that mongrel worth so much to you?"

He crouched suddenly, muscles coiling, then snapped his leg outward. His kick slammed into her knee, sending her stumbling back like a broken doll. She slid across the ragged floor, boots scraping, her hood slipping slightly as she steadied herself, glare searing at him from beneath the shadows.

Dracula's lips curled. "And now, you cannot even kill yourself, can you?" His grin was wicked. Only moments ago, she had tried to end her own life with him, as if she was doing great or something, yet now—

"Haha-"

THUD!!

Suddenly, Dracula's head jerked forward violently. The impact rattled his skull, leaving his vision spinning and mind hazy for an instant. Slowly, he turned—

Leo stood there, gripping a length of skeletal bone like a crude sword with tensed shoulders and a deep inhale.

With an awkward grin tugging at his lips, Leo muttered, "Guess vampire bones really are stronger…" His voice carried a strange mix of amusement and disbelief, as if even he didn't expect the strike to hurt him too hard.

Rage twisted Dracula's face, veins bulging on his forehead. He lunged at Leo, claws ready, and cut his throat.

"How dare you humiliate my kin!!" He shouted.