Abandoned Castlevania II Fanfic (Part 1)

Digging through the hard drive archives and came across this thing, which is an old follow-up to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest that I had started writing and eventually abandoned. I'll be posting the few completed chapters I have online and maybe even include notes on what would've been the rest of the story... but unless something happens that gives me a sudden urge of creative inspiration, don't expect a complete story out of this.

Disclaimer: The author acknowledges that Castlevania and all related characters is a trademark of Konami and not of the author.


-o-

After a long precarious journey, after many battles and confrontations, after many near-death encounters thanks to the sickness inflicted upon him by the curse, vampire hunter Simon Belmont had finally made it to the ruins of what had once been Castlevania. This was a place that, until some time ago, had been the abode of the vampire count Dracula, the evil creature who had placed this curse upon the land.

With cautious steps, Simon enters the grand hall. He sees all the rubble. The main passage seems to have been blocked off thanks to the previous. Just as Simon was about leave, he noticed a faint glow coming from the farthest pile of rubble. With the powers of his flame-infused Vampire Killer whip, the weapon that had been in his family for generations, he destroyed the debris to reveal a hidden passageway.

Strange that I had not found this before, Simon thought, Perhaps this was built recently.

Simon hesitantly stepped inside the passageway and navigated the dark halls until he reached a ceremony room. Laying in the middle of the room was an empty coffin – Dracula's coffin. The only one that remained in the castle, no less. And completely unguarded. Simon looked around for a bit before taking a step closer to the empty casket. His uneasiness betrayed the brave hardened posture he put out and for good reason. One would think that the empty coffin would be heavily guarded and yet no one was around.

Putting aside any thoughts, Simon took out the five body parts that he had collected from the various mansions throughout Castlevania. He dropped them into the empty casket unceremoniously and then recanted an old prayer that his grandfather had once taught him as a boy. When the recantation was completed, Simon waited a moment for something to happen. Soon, the five body parts began to glow and fill the coffin interior with bright light. When the light faded, Simon soon found himself the revived Count himself.

Count Dracula stood tall before his mortal enemy, an intimidating sight given his weakened state. His skin was a ghastly white, wrinkled, and almost transparent to the point that you could see the skeleton and few vital organs through the flesh. His face, once a slender, distinguished (some would say charming) face, was almost Death-like in nature. His eyes were completely blacked out, no hint of a red glow as before. Instead of a cape and fine suit that had been his trademark, he wore a decaying cloak and dark black robe which completely hid his body. Yet within the worn exterior beated a heart of life.

Simon and Dracula stared eye-to-eye against each other for several minutes without a word or breath shared, neither one of them willing to make the first move. After what seemed like an eternity, Dracula opened his cloaked and from it spewed massive orbs of flame and magma. Simon managed to avoid the barrage of attacks and snapped his flame whip; the tip of the weapon managing to connect to Dracula's skull. The count stumbled to the ground as his flesh caught fire as a result of the attack. Simon got closer to Dracula and threw a flask of holy water at the fallen Count, but the Vampire had managed to knock the flask away and shoot an energy bolt that struck the mighty Belmont in the chest.

Simon clutched onto his chest, shaking off the pain that had resulted as Dracula slowly got to his feet. He swung the whip against towards Dracula, but the count had managed to catch the end of the whip and, despite the intense pain resulting from the flames burning into his hand, mustered the strength to throw the whip towards a nearby wall, sending Simon airborne. The vampire hunter soon crashed down against the wall and landed on his right shoulder, fortunate that it was his head. Simon slowly got up as the Count stalked him with clawed hands extended outwards. Pulling out a small box, Simon opened it and pulled out the sacred flame he had acquired. As soon as the Count was close enough, Simon tossed the flame to Dracula's face, forcing him to recoil and growl in agony as the flames began to eat away at his flesh. As Dracula attempted to put off the flames with both hands, Simon seized the opportunity he was given and pulled out another relic, the Golden Knife. With a swift hurl, the knife flew from Simon's hand and impaled the vampire's chest, which soon exploded into flames.

Not quite a wooden stake, Simon thought, But it gets the job done.

Before long, Dracula erupted into flames and his screams were louder. Simon picked up the stray flask that had been knocked away, opened it, and splashed the holy water onto the Count. The water had managed to put out the flames and all that remained of the Count was a skeleton which soon turned into ash. Simon dropped to his knees and let out heavy breaths, only to suddenly feel relieved and relaxed seconds later. He could feel the curse being purged from his body and the land. After a long time, the Count was slain, laid to rest for another century where the next in line would do the deed that Simon and others in the bloodline have done before.

But unbeknownst to Simon, the nightmare was far from over.

-o-

After the death of Dracula and a moment to relish the victory he had finally earned, Simon collected the ashes of the count and placed them in the coffin. Before shutting the wooden casket shut, he pulled out the crucifix that hung over his neck and placed it on the small mound of ash that had once been the count. With that piece of business done, Simon closed the lid on the coffin and wrapped it in some chains he had found laying around the castle remains. With great strength, he then dragged the coffin out of the remains of Castlevania and into the open, where the sun was just beginning to rise. With the last remaining flame in hand, Simon tossed it at the chained coffin, took a step back, and watched as the coffin exploded into smoke and flames. While it would not bring a halt to the one-hundred year resurrection rule that applied to the Count, it would at least prevent another early revival.

And with that, Simon Belmont began the long journey to the town of Jova, where he was given a hero's welcome. The villagers had congratulated Simon on his victory and pleaded everlasting gratitude towards the Belmont family, but Simon downplayed his newfound fame. He was happy, though, that he had gotten the respect he had longed for when he first defeated Dracula long ago. That, in his mind, was enough reward to him.

However, amidst the crowd of admirers was a peculiar robed man whose cloak concealed his very identity. He eyed the mighty Belmont with great interest and the tiniest hint of resentment. Though no one could see it due to the darkened hood, a dreadfully weary frown formed on his ghostly face and a silent snarl escaped from his crooked lips. When the crowd began to disperse, he stood there eying Simon as he was conversing with one of the maidens. Whether it was a strange or a friend or even a close acquaintance... the robed man couldn't tell for sure, but he knew this could be of great interest. Just as Simon was looking in his direction, the robed man turned away and faded into nothingness. Whether the hunter noticed his presence was of no consequence, because one way or another, the two will cross paths down the road.

It will only be a matter of time.

-o-

Six months after the death of Dracula, Simon Belmont had long retired from the adventuring life. Things have been relatively quiet and other than the threat of an impending plague that never happened, no major incidents have occurred. With that life long behind him, Simon spent more time with Agatha, the maiden he had met at his reception in Jova and had taken a personal liking to. It didn't take long before he would eventually propose to Agatha, whom accepted without hesitation

A month later, Simon and Agatha were married before what was deemed the biggest wedding in the town of Jova for its time. It seemed as though the entire village had halted its daily affairs to witness the wedding of the former vampire hunter, something that Simon couldn't help but be humbled about. Within in the crowd of villagers was the robed man; the same one who had his eye on Simon months earlier. This time, however, Simon had spotted the robed man and gave him a puzzled glance before turning away. The robed man continued to watch Simon as he embraced his new bride and in the back of his mind, inspiration struck. The robed man couldn't help but smile at the thought and with that, faded into obscurity once again as the ceremony progressed...

TO BE CONTINUED...