Zack’s green sword caught the pale moonlight coming in through the stained glass windows as he walked, casting glittering, ethereal light this way and that. His mind raced and he was unable to tame it, center it or even focus. Who was this vampire? Why was he so interested in this place? More importantly, could he be trusted to succeed in ridding the castle of evil? Zack knew that if the vampire failed, things in his city would only get worse. Back on the ground, Zack’s small and rather poor hometown had been ravaged by crime, a terrible local economy and, most recently, monsters. Zack’s thoughts drifted to his sister, lying in her bed, unresponsive, a red mark inscribed on her forehead. The old magician had told Zack that the only way for his sister to be free is for the demon whose power fueled the curse she was under to die. Zack had killed more monsters, minor demons and unfortunate thralls than he could remember, or cared to remember. After weeks of bloodshed, Zack had determined that the demon king ruling the castle had to be the one he was looking for. The old wizard’s flight spell had worked well enough, allowing Zack to reach the castle.
Having walked back to the crumbling entryway, Zack eyed the clouds below incredulously, wondering if he could trust the vampire. Aside from his spellbound sister, there was nothing below those clouds for him. “Why should I bother going back…?”, Zack muttered to nobody, “It’s not like she’s going to be awake…” He sat down on the edge of the decrepit walkway and heard a voice behind him. “You’re right, she won’t.” He got up slowly and turned around to see a woman in a white robe that covered everything except one golden, glowing eye. “Tell me something I don’t know.”, he sighed. The woman stepped forward and pulled back her hood.
Zack was flabbergasted to see his sister’s angelic face. “M-Mary?!”, he stammered, “How?!” She smiled warmly at him. “The old man has been reading scrolls by my bedside, hoping I could hear him. I could hear him just fine, and one of the scrolls was a tutorial on astral projection. I’ve been practicing for a while.” Zack reached out and brushed his hand on his sister’s cheek, feeling her soft skin give as if she were standing before him, the curse broken. “If you’re wondering, I managed to kick a particularly weak-willed thrall out of her body. I’ve been at the castle for three days now, studying the place and its monsters. More importantly, though, I’ve been learning how to do this.” Mary’s hand shot out from her robes and a few sparks followed it. Zack watched closely as the sparks flew apart, came back together and congealed into a fireball. It grew a bit more, then suddenly shot forth at breakneck speed. Zack could barely track it as it made its way into a nearby pillar and rocked the entire entryway with the resulting explosion. The pillar was reduced to dust. “Alright, sis.”, Zack said with a nod, “I’m genuinely impressed. Maybe we should help that vampire dude from earlier.” Mary nodded. “You mean Gerard. Yes, word is that he plans to try to exorcise the demon that’s taken over the castle’s lord and kill it. I’d be glad to help him.” Zack took his sister’s hand. “Well then, let’s get a move on!” The two strode boldly back through the entry arch and into the forbidding depths of the castle.
Elsewhere, a middle-aged woman brushed a few jet-black hairs out of her face and studied her surroundings. She saw monsters, demons and shambling corpses wandering about as if on patrol. According to her briefing, however, they weren’t her target. Elsa brought her wrist to her face and gave her watch a voice command. “Show briefing images.” The small screen turned on, already showing the visage of an imposing man in kingly armor, the name “VICTOR” across the screen in white lettering. The masters’ orders to eliminate him scrolled below. “VICTOR is the lord of a floating castle, an anomaly in this world. Full of magic, the castle was a utopia until VICTOR was possessed by an unknown demonic entity. Since then, supernatural phenomena, including monster attacks, have increased exponentially in our world. We have given you the means to do away with VICTOR, including blessed ammunition, an armored and powered exoskeleton, and a large quantity of repair fluid in case you suffer injury. Godspeed, Agent Elsa.” Her calm, professional demeanor was only slightly permeated by fear as she leapt high into the air and alighted on a battlement overlooking the castle garden. She saw a confused-looking young man in armor and decided to give him a read. Her watch told her that the subject was human, but with no small amount of supernatural power. An unknown element, Elsa decided to steer clear of him unless he became a detriment to the mission. Her eyes slowly went up the length of the castle, mentally plotting her route to the throne room at the top of the highest tower.
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