Abandoned Castlevania II Fanfic (Part 3)

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

-o-

He had made the return trip to Jova in less time than he had expected. He had made the necessary purchases of any additional supplies he might need, although he didn't expect this to be as long or as dangerous as the quest to reclaim the relics a year ago. But he wasn't about to take any chances.

And so when Simon Belmont finished his business in Jova, he proceeded down the long path to the ruins of what was once Castlevania. As Simon had suspected, the road there was far more calmer than before. In the trek between Jova and Veros, he hadn't encountered any monsters or agents of evil linked to the kidnapping; something that he found to be particularly odd. Even nightfall, which were horrible nights whether Simon had a curse or not, failed to bring about any creatures of evil.

Then again, Simon thought, whoever was responsible actually do want me to show up.
A day of traveling brought Simon to the town of Fetra, where he stayed the night for a brief rest. Unlike his previous visit here, where the villagers had been harsh to Simon (understandable since they were the closest populated city to Castlevania) for past interventions, Simon had received a far more friendly reception from the folks. Simon couldn't help but feel somewhat threatened, as he could tell his actions had left some scars on this town.

After a night's rest, Simon continued onward until he entered the forest which surrounded the ruins' walls. Once colorful and clean, the forest had turned into a dark wasteland with leafless trees dominant and a mucky substance covering the ground below. The purplish-gray clouds blocked out even the slightest sliver of sunlight, giving the impression of night. Despite the disturbing sensation in his stomach, Simon almost felt at home with the darkness. It had always been something that had filled him with purpose for all those years.

That is until he married Agatha, where he found a new purpose in life. And it is because of that purpose which drove him this far.

His line of thought was disrupted when he hear the haunting howls of wolves. He proceeded cautiously towards the worn walls of the castle ruins and stopped when he noticed two green-furred wolves emerge from a nearby fallen tree. The wolves noticed the hunter like a nice piece of meat and surrounded him.

The first wolf leaps at Simon, who quickly sidestepped the beast. Unraveling the chain whip, he tossed it towards the wolf and watched as the chain wrapped around the creature's belly. With a mighty heave, Simon tossed the wolf into the air and watched as the creature was impaled onto one of the thorn-filled branches. After much squirming and struggle, the wolf went limp and turned to smoke, leaving behind only a thin layer of blood.

Simon turned his attention to the second wolf, who opened its mouth and let out a cloud of green gas which slowly approached the hunter. Simon rolled out of the cloud's path, pulled out a dagger, and tossed at the wolf, but the creature was quick enough to evade the projectile and launch another cloud at Simon. Simon ran and jumped over the cloud of gas, landing right in front of the wolf. He then punted the wolf's head with enough force to make him airborne and cause the beast to explode upon impact with a nearby tree.

The battle had been won. Even after a year of inactivity, Simon was glad to know that he still had it. He was about to proceed forward when he noticed a shiny object on the ground. Approaching the object, Simon realized that it was a small silver cross, presumably dropped by one of the wolves he had slained. Simon picked up the cross and inadvertently snapped it into two by applying pressure with his fingers. The two pieces quickly faded and Simon suddenly felt somewhat stronger than before. He couldn't tell how this happened or why, but he didn't put much thought to it. With that, he continued onwards.

Over the course of the next hour, Simon has had a few more encounters with the forest wolves and had managed to claim victory with minor injuries. Every once in a while during these fights, similar silver crosses would be found and snapped into two which gave Simon a small (but brief as it turned out) power boost. After a while, Simon stopped collecting silver crosses and any ones he encountered from then on were left behind. Even without the constant power boosts, Simon had held his own against the wolves rather well... although he did find it odd that he would only fight these wolves and nothing else.

Could more powerful creatures be waiting beyond the forest? The thought crossed Simon's mind as he approached a small wooden bridge which looked to have been built recently. He crossed the construct carefully, keeping an eye out for any more wolves or other powerful creatures. After the bridge, though, the path through the rest of the forest was calm. No wolves appeared to attack the hunter and no efforts were made to challenge the vampire hunter and slayer of Dracula. Despite the strange turn of events (or lack thereof), Simon continued onwards.

An hour later, after navigating the dead forest for a long time, Simon finally reached the bridge that led to Castlevania. Simon studied the bridge briefly before crossing and noticed several holes along the way. He found this strange, since the bridge was in pristine condition a year ago and there were no signs of decay. Whoever was responsible for the kidnapping must have tampered with the bridge so as to make Simon's journey even more difficult.

Simon didn't care, though. It was just another obstacle to overcome, so he started his way across the bridge, careful to avoid any holes and steep edges along the way.

-o-

Meanwhile, high above the ruins of the castle stands the restored castle keep where Dracula would normally await the hero of the day. On this day, however, Dracula is dead and there are no signs that he will return to the living until the end of his hundred year cycle. Instead, looking over the surrounding lands is the robed man who had spied on Belmont for the past year, the villain responsible for the kidnapping of the famed hero's wife.

He turned away from the scenic view of the forests to look over Agatha, who laid on a concrete platform in the center of the room, unconscious yet still vibrant. The robed man turned back to the window and looked down towards the bridge, where he saw Simon Belmont sidestepping the various holes in order to reach the front entrance of the castle ruins. He allowed himself a single nod; he had anticipated the hunter's speedy arrival and wasn't disappointed.

After a few moments, the robed man removed his ragged clothes and tossed them aside, revealing a well-built young man with shoulder-length red hair and pale blue eyes. His bodies was covered with various scars; most presumably the scars of combat. A bronze-colored chain wrapped itself around the sword that hung by the man's belt, which also held pouches of herbs and other weapons. His favorite tools had always been the fangs though. While he didn't have the thirst for blood as often as other vampires would, he did enjoy using them for a good meal.

With the encounter looming closer, the man stepped into the darkness and commenced his training. The time is nearing soon enough.

TO BE CONTINUED...