Alex found himself in a place that stretched out as an endless expanse of water, disappearing far beyond the horizon. A large, round moon hung in the sky, glowing with a soft, pale light. The landscape in this place was truly unique and captivating.
But this place was also a unique dimension created with the purpose of limiting the influence of the Great Ones on the real world. This dimension was formed thanks to the power of a being known as Rom, who possessed a unique ability, something like a shield.
While being in this dimension, Alex was surprised that Rom, being an artificially created Great One, had such abilities. Alex knew that the beings known as the Great Ones in this world were the offspring of Outer Gods. And that was precisely why the very existence of Rom, who could limit the influence of such beings on the real world, surprised him.
Alex stood high in the sky, observing what was happening below. Maria stood beside him, who had quickly accepted the fact that her feet were standing on something solid, even though there was nothing beneath them. She didn't even ask why, while standing in the sky, it felt as if she was standing on something firm.
All her attention was focused on what was happening below. Beneath Alex and Maria swarmed a huge army of spiders that looked like smaller copies of Rom, with long and sharp spider legs. The reason for such a large gathering of these creatures was that every time Alucard dealt even the slightest damage to Rom's body, she would disappear, trying to escape, and summon even more of her children.
Maria couldn't count the exact number of disgusting spiders below, but there were truly a lot of them. Alex's gaze wandered across the space as he watched a rather strange scene: Alucard's familiars endlessly destroying the army of Rom's children. Alucard herself was already so angry at Rom for constantly running away and only summoning her children to stop her.
Throughout all this time, Rom had attacked Alucard only a few times: once by freezing Alucard's arms. And the second time, Rom summoned a block of ice that fell from the sky, freezing a small section of the dimension and turning Alucard's familiars into ice statues.
But even then, Alucard managed to inflict significant damage to Rom's body. Rom's stone spider head was covered in cracks, and some of her eyes were missing, with murky purple blood seeping from the empty sockets.
Alex couldn't help but notice that his wife was deliberately striking the strongest part of Rom and hadn't landed a single blow on the vulnerable parts of her body. Maria, standing next to Alex, looked down again to see what was happening. She saw hundreds of spiders climbing on top of each other, forming a mountain. Narrowing her eyes, Maria tried to understand what was happening and what these spiders were trying to do by climbing on each other.
But a moment later, she got her answer when one of the spiders at the very top leaped upward, trying to reach her. Realizing that Rom's children were trying to get to them, Maria tugged on Alex's sleeve to get his attention. Feeling Maria pulling on his sleeve, Alex looked away from Alucard and turned to her.
"What happened? Don't tell me you've suddenly become afraid of heights?" Alex asked with an amused smile, looking at Maria.
"I'm not bothered by the height. It's what's beneath us," Maria said, shaking her head and pointing downward with her finger.
"And what's below?... Oh, this was to be expected when there are so many of them," Alex asked, raising an eyebrow and looking down.
Shifting his gaze downward, Alex also saw a mountain of spiders climbing on top of each other just to reach him and Maria. Alex had thought that the height at which he and Maria were standing would make Rom's children ignore their presence. Realizing they had still been noticed, Alex sighed and pulled the Trident of Poseidon from his inventory.
Spinning the Trident of Poseidon in his hand, Alex struck the tip into the space beside him. After the strike, a small ripple spread across the calm water's surface below, expanding in all directions. The next moment, the water below began to churn, and water pillars erupted, launching dozens of Rom's children into the air.
Dozens of water pillars appeared around Alex and Maria, creating a natural barrier. Alex struck the tip of the trident against the space beside him once more, and the dozens of water pillars transformed into Hydra heads. Dozens of Hydra heads swayed from side to side, and with a wave of the trident from Alex, each Hydra head immediately rushed downward, swallowing Rom's children.
Maria, standing beside Alex and watching this, knew what kind of weapon Alex was holding. All her attention was focused on the Hydra heads that were devouring dozens of Rom's children, clearing the entire space beneath them.
"One problem less," Alex said, tapping the trident against his shoulder and stopping paying attention to what was happening below.
"That… was very beautiful. I've never seen anything like it," Maria said, unable to take her eyes off the water Hydra heads.
"The main thing is that you like it… Good thing I didn't return this trident to its rightful owner," Alex said with a slight smile.
Maria turned her head toward Alex and nodded with a smile. From Alex's memories, she knew how he had obtained this trident and which god it belonged to. Standing beside Alex, Maria shifted her gaze to the side and looked toward where Alucard was. Alex was also watching his wife, who was currently busy fighting Rom.
Alex understood that his wife wouldn't need help to deal with Rom, so he decided to use the water Hydras to clear the entire space. By this point, Alucard had already removed the restrictions to the first level, and her speed had increased significantly. At that moment, Alucard was running at high speed toward Rom, dodging the blocks of ice flying toward her. Alucard didn't know what had happened, but now Rom had begun attacking, and very actively.
Blocks of ice continued to fly out of portals that appeared in the most unexpected places. Already almost beside Rom, a huge block of ice fell in front of Alucard, blocking her path. Without slowing down, Alucard became intangible and passed through the block of ice.
Passing through the ice block, Alucard instantly appeared beside Rom and raised her hand. The muscles on Alucard's arms instantly swelled, becoming larger. Clenching her fist, Alucard struck forward, intending to kill Rom and end this. All this time, Alucard had felt disgust toward this cowardly creature that could only run away. Alucard didn't hesitate as she struck forward.
As Alucard's arm moved, she didn't notice that the space around her arm was distorting. And when her fist struck Rom's head once again, nothing happened. But the next moment, the sound of cracking glass rang out, followed by a powerful shockwave that instantly swept away everything around it.
In the place where Alucard had struck, the space became covered in cracks that instantly restored themselves. And the next moment, Rom's body exploded in a bloody firework, and all parts of her body flew in different directions, falling onto the water's surface.
After killing Rom, Alucard froze in place, not understanding what had happened. She clearly felt that she had struck something completely different, and this caused a strange feeling in Alucard. Trying to understand this feeling, Alucard heard footsteps behind her and immediately turned her head.
Turning around, Alucard saw Alex and Maria walking toward her. There was the usual smile on Alex's face, while Maria looked at Alucard with a calm gaze. Alex wasn't surprised by what Alucard had managed to do; on the contrary, he had expected his wife to be able to do this sooner or later.
"Good hit, my love. I'd say it was quite effective," Alex said, raising both hands and giving thumbs up.
"You knew?" Alucard immediately asked with an amused smile on her face.
"Of course I knew… I just decided to stay silent. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to see your surprised face when you accidentally broke space. It was an unforgettable sight," Alex said, nodding with an amused smile.
Alucard looked at her husband with an amused gaze, not denying that she had indeed been surprised by what she had managed to do. This was already the second time she had been surprised by her new powers. Maria calmly listened to the conversation between Alex and Alucard and quickly understood what they were talking about and what had happened to Rom. But now she was interested in a completely different question — how were they supposed to leave this space.
While Alex and Alucard were talking, Maria looked around, trying to find anything besides the endless water and the bright moon hanging in the sky. Looking around, Maria lowered her gaze and no longer saw the reflection of the red moon in the water.
Previously, in the reflection of the water, she had seen the Red Moon hanging over Yharnam. But now she only saw her own reflection in the water and the reflection of the pale moon. Shifting her gaze away from the water's surface, Maria raised her head again and saw a barely visible silhouette in the distance that hadn't been there before.
"There's someone there…" Maria said, trying to understand what she was seeing.
"What did you say, Maria?" Alex asked, hearing her voice.
"A moment ago there was no one in that direction. But now there's a silhouette standing there," Maria said, pointing in the direction.
Maria was human, so she couldn't clearly make out who the barely visible silhouette in the distance belonged to. Alex and Alucard, however, could see very clearly who that silhouette belonged to. In the distance, illuminated by the pale moonlight, stood a woman in a wedding dress with her hands folded in prayer, quietly crying. The woman's face was hidden behind a white veil, through which her face could barely be seen.
The woman's face was thin and pale, like that of a walking corpse, and her eyes were completely black. And her gaze was fixed on the moon. Her white dress was soaked in blood from her stomach all the way to the hem of the wedding dress. The woman continued to cry, looking at the moon, paying no attention to what was happening around her. Alex immediately recognized this woman. The woman in the blood-soaked wedding dress was Yharnam, the Pthumerian Queen.
Alex didn't know much about this woman, only that she was supposed to give birth to Mergo, the infant Great One. And that Mergo was supposed to be the child of another Great One named Oedon. But after learning who the Great Ones truly were, Alex understood that Mergo was not Oedon's son, but Oedon himself, who wanted to manifest in the real world.
But he failed, and the Pthumerian race he had used for this purpose came to ruin and oblivion. And so Oedon remained frozen in the form of an unborn child, trying again and again to manifest. But he couldn't because the second Great One continued to interfere with Oedon's complete birth, restarting the cycle of one day and summoning new Hunters.
"Maria, get ready," Alex said, looking at Yharnam.
"For what? What's happening?" Maria asked, turning her head toward Alex.
"Something unpleasant is about to happen. Carmilla, stand closer to me," Alex said, standing behind Maria and looking at Alucard.
Alucard understood what Alex meant and immediately stepped closer to Alex and Maria. Maria herself didn't understand what was about to happen, but her instincts instantly began screaming danger. Yharnam stopped crying and lowered her head. Yharnam slowly began turning her head toward Alex, Maria, and Alucard.
Seeing this, Alex immediately covered Maria's ears with his palms so she wouldn't hear a single sound. When Yharnam finally turned her head in their direction, the sound of cracking glass spread throughout the entire space. Along with the sound, a clear crack appeared on the pale moon hanging high in the sky, which quickly began to spread.
A small piece of space broke off and fell downward, dissolving into the water's surface and causing small ripples. At the same moment, a loud, maddening cry of an infant began to sound from all directions. And from the crack in the moon, the light of the Red Moon began to shine. The Pale Moon shattered like glass, and its shards began raining down, revealing the sight of the Red Moon. The light of the Red Moon was so bright and intense that Maria closed her eyes, feeling pain in them from looking at this moon.
"Carmilla, hold on to me tightly. The space is about to collapse," Alex said, still covering Maria's ears with his hands.
"I understood that without you. Where this is all heading. This infant's cry is really irritating," Alucard said, placing her hand on Alex's shoulder and digging her fingers into it.
The sound of the infant's cry grew louder with every moment. The infant's cry, sounding throughout the entire space, caused the dimension itself to become covered in cracks that quickly spread across the sky. Only Yharnam, the Pthumerian Queen, continued to look at Alex, Alucard, and Maria.
Very quickly, the space began to collapse, becoming covered with more and more cracks from the sound of the infant's cry. A moment later, the dimension created to contain the Red Moon and prevent it from rising in the sky simply collapsed. Alex instantly grabbed Maria by the waist, pulling her into his embrace, and grabbed Alucard with his other hand.
A moment later, Alex, Alucard, and Maria found themselves high in the sky above Yharnam, rapidly falling downward. Maria, feeling the rush of wind in her ears, opened her eyes and immediately understood what was happening, seeing how quickly the ground was approaching.
"Hold on tight, this isn't over yet!" Alex shouted so that Maria and Alucard could hear him through the rush of wind.
Maria gripped Alex's clothes tightly, afraid of getting hurt during the fall. Alucard, on the other hand, simply enjoyed the feeling of free fall, not even thinking about the possibility of getting hurt. As he fell, Alex couldn't stop cursing because he had once again found himself in a situation of free fall.
Realizing that the ground was very close, Alex pressed Alucard and Maria tightly against himself, and at that moment his back collided with a solid surface. Alex broke through a thick layer of the temple's stone roof with his back. Alex, Alucard, and Maria fell straight into the center of the already familiar Temple built in honor of the Amygdala. From Alex's landing in the center of the temple, a crater formed, and the stone walls and pillars became covered in cracks.
Lying on his back and holding Alucard and Maria against himself, Alex stared blankly upward through the hole in the temple roof. Through the hole in the ceiling, the light of the Red Moon penetrated, and the air was filled with a thick smell of blood that had intensified with the arrival of the Red Moon.
Stopping feeling the sensation of free fall, Maria opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Alex's face, who was staring blankly upward, not stopping his stream of curses. Rising, Maria pressed her hands against Alex's chest and began to get up. Once on her feet, she understood where they had ended up.
Raising her gaze upward, Maria swallowed slightly at the height from which they had fallen. At that moment, Maria forgot how powerful Alex was and that falling from such a height was the most ordinary trifle for him.
Alucard, meanwhile, lay on top of Alex, looking at his face. She was amused by the fact that instead of using his powers, her husband had preferred free fall. Alucard placed her palms on Alex's cheeks, forcing him to look into her eyes.
Alex stopped cursing Oedon and looked at his wife.
"Stop acting like a child. It feels like this is the first time this has happened to you," Alucard said, looking at Alex mockingly.
"It's not the first time. I'm just irritated by how it happened," Alex said in a calm tone, reaching for a cigarette.
"Of course, my love. And since you've finished acting like a child, then get up… But I wouldn't mind lying like this a little longer," Alucard said, narrowing her eyes with a smile on her face and running her nail across Alex's chest.
Alex chuckled lightly, hearing Alucard's words, shaking his head and showing that he didn't mind lying a little longer. But they still had to move on. Not removing the smile from her face, Alucard got up from Alex and stretched slightly. Clenching the cigarette between his teeth, Alex pressed his hands against the ground and sat up, lightly cracking his neck.
Leaning his cheek on his knee, Alex shifted his gaze to the doors that had previously been closed. As he remembered, on the other side was the spiritual village of Yahar'gul, a part of the city organized by one of Master Willem's students — Micolash. Micolash, being one of those who had researched the blood of the Great Ones, had left Byrgenwerth together with Laurence.
But in the end, their paths diverged, and Micolash created the School of Mensis. If Laurence conducted terrible experiments on people using the blood of the Great Ones, he also used that blood to heal people. Micolash, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Laurence. Micolash was ready to do anything, committing the most horrible acts without remorse or consideration of the consequences.
Micolash ordered people to be abducted from the streets to perform blood rituals and experiments on them in order to achieve his goal of making contact with the Great Ones. He didn't care how many victims he sacrificed to fulfill his desire to connect with the Great Ones. Micolash believed that to ascend, one needed to grow eyes inside, and the blood of the Great Ones was merely a conduit to their power.
And one day Micolash managed to make contact with a Great One, but it cost him and his followers their lives. Micolash found a way to make contact with a Great One. But for this, a special ritual was required that demanded a great sacrifice. And without hesitation, Micolash and his closest supporters gathered to perform such a ritual, while those members of the School of Mensis who were against such a madman were forcibly dragged into the ritual.
Micolash understood that one human brain was not enough to make contact with the Great Ones, and therefore a mass ritual was performed to unite the minds of all members of the School of Mensis and meet with the Great Ones. The bloody ritual that Micolash and all members of the School of Mensis performed allowed them to make contact with the Great One named Mergo, but this contact cost them all their lives.
Recalling everything connected with the School of Mensis, Alex exhaled cigarette smoke, tapping his finger on his chin. Alex wasn't concerned about what was happening within the walls of the School of Mensis, or what a mad bastard Micolash was. All that concerned him was only the death of Mergo himself.
Everything else Alex already considered merely obstacles on his path. Alex stopped thinking only when he saw Maria's palm in front of his face. Putting out his cigarette on the floor, Alex shifted his gaze to Maria, who was looking at him with an interested gaze.
"What happened, Maria? Are you feeling unwell?" Alex asked, raising his gaze to Maria.
"No… I'm fine. It's just that you were silent for several minutes staring at those doors," Maria said, shaking her head to show that she was okay.
"I was just thinking. I think we should return to the Hunter's Dream to rest a little. After everything, you definitely need a short rest," Alex said with a smile, looking at Maria.
Hearing Alex's words, Maria thought for a moment, considering his suggestion. She didn't want to admit it, but she was truly tired — not only physically, but also mentally. They had traveled a very long way, and her endurance was beginning to wane.
After finishing her thoughts, Maria nodded, showing that she really wanted to rest. Alex shifted his gaze to Alucard, who calmly nodded her head. She didn't need rest and wasn't tired. But she knew that upon returning to the Hunter's Dream, she would be able to absorb another portion of Blood Echoes. Seeing that Maria and Alucard agreed to return to the Hunter's Dream, Alex got up from the floor.
"I hope there's a Messenger's lamp nearby that we can use. I don't want to wander around for another few hours," Alex said, rising from the floor.
"I think the lamp will be somewhere close. I'm hoping for that," Maria said, nodding her head.
Alex simply nodded because he didn't remember where the nearest lamp might be. Lighting a new cigarette, Alex approached the open doors and saw a staircase leading downward. Beginning to descend the stairs, Alex breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that he was almost at the end and would soon be able to return.
Descending downward, Alex, Alucard, and Maria were immediately met with the grim sight of Yahar'gul. It seemed as if Yahar'gul represented a completely different side of the city, which was the darkest part of it. Everywhere, barely audible sounds of bells rang, echoing from all directions. Looking around, Alex continued walking forward to find a Messenger's lamp. Continuing forward, Alex couldn't help but think that this place really resembled a cursed city.
Continuing forward, Alex, Alucard, and Maria descended lower, moving further into Yahar'gul. They emerged onto a large area with eerie statues that looked as if they had been molded from dozens of bodies. And at the very edge stood a chair on which sat a dried corpse with a strange elongated cage on its head.
"Here's the lamp… I don't want to wander around this place right now. All I need now is rest," Alex said, touching the Messenger's lamp.
"I agree with you, my Hunter. This place feels so wrong to me. And that sound of bells cuts the ears," Maria said, feeling the ringing of bells in her ears growing louder.
"Quite an interesting place. The smell of madness here is the most intense… It feels like we're near the very source of madness. Delightful," Alucard said, enjoying the views of Yahar'gul.
"I'm glad you like it. But let's come back here later," Alex said with a slight smile, looking at Alucard.
Hearing Alex's words, Alucard simply shrugged. She was intrigued by the spiritual village of Yahar'gul, but that didn't mean she was going to explore this place to uncover all its secrets. After finishing her inspection of Yahar'gul, Alucard approached Alex and leaned on his shoulder. Alex extended his hand toward Maria so she could take it.
When Maria took Alex's hand, he touched the Messenger's lamp, and an ethereal puddle appeared beneath their feet, into which the Messengers pulled them. A moment later, Alex, Maria, and Alucard were already in the Hunter's Dream. No changes had occurred in the Hunter's Dream; it remained frozen in time, even though the Red Moon had risen.
"Now we can drink some coffee and rest a little. What do you think about that suggestion, Maria?" Alex said, stretching and lightly rubbing his shoulders as he climbed the stairs to the workshop.
"I'd be happy to have some coffee, my Hunter," Maria said with a slight smile on her face.
"Carmilla, will you have coffee? Or wine?" Alex asked, turning to Alucard.
"I wouldn't say no to wine. In your reserves, there should be something that satisfies my taste preferences," Alucard said, nodding slightly.
"You don't need to worry about that. My selection of alcohol is quite extensive," Alex said, glancing back over his shoulder while standing at the entrance to the workshop.
Entering the workshop, Alex immediately noticed Doll, who was sitting at the workbench with her head lowered and her eyes closed. The moment Alex entered the workshop, Doll's eyelids twitched slightly, and she opened her eyes. Opening her eyes, Doll immediately looked at Alex, and a tender smile appeared on her face.
The memories Alex had shared with Doll had helped her better understand and realize herself as an entity. When Alex had left the Hunter's Dream again, Doll had fallen into another sleep that helped her sort herself out. And waking up again, Doll felt different, more alive.
And seeing Alex again, Doll felt warmth bloom in her chest. Standing up from the chair, Doll approached Alex and, before he could understand what was happening, hugged him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest. Maria, who partially felt the emotions Doll was experiencing, simply sighed and walked around them while they embraced. Alucard saw how drastic the changes in Doll were, smiled slightly, and walked further inside.
"Dear Hunter, I fell asleep again while waiting for you. I wanted so much to meet you when you returned," Doll said, raising her gaze to Alex with a tender smile on her face.
"You don't have to do that. But it makes me very happy to hear it," Alex said, gently stroking Doll's cheek.
"I want it myself… When we were talking, you asked what I want for myself. Right now, I just want to be near you," Doll said with a sweet smile on her face, pressing her cheek against Alex's palm.
"Ugh… My heart. You're too cute for me to handle," Alex said, clutching his heart, seeing the adorable expression on Doll's face.
Hearing Alex's words and seeing him clutch his heart, Doll was overcome with panic. She thought something was wrong with him and that he needed help. Doll grabbed Alex's hand in a panic and placed his palm on his chest, trying to figure out what she should do. But placing her hand on his chest, she felt that there was nothing wrong with his heart.
Realizing that everything was fine, Doll became even more confused, not understanding why Alex had clutched his heart if he was okay. Alex, noticing Doll's behavior, immediately stopped clutching his heart and laughed at her reaction. When Alex laughed, Doll became even more confused, not understanding what was happening.
"Dear Hunter, what's wrong with you? Do you need help?" Doll asked, trying to understand what was happening with Alex.
"I'm fine. I was just joking. No need to worry," Alex said, shaking his head.
Hearing that he was fine, Doll breathed a sigh of relief. And for her own reassurance, she placed her hand on his chest again to make sure everything was okay. Feeling Alex's heart beating rhythmically, Doll was convinced that everything was normal.
Some emotions were still new to her, and she didn't understand many things yet. Smiling, Alex took Doll's hand and led her to the workbench. Seating Doll on a chair next to the workbench under the gazes of Maria and Alucard, Alex reached into his inventory to find drinks.
A moment later, Alex pulled out an exquisite bottle of wine and a crystal glass with golden patterns.
"Your wine, Carmilla. I just don't remember what it's called," Alex said, handing over the bottle of wine and the glass.
"Hmm… The aroma is wonderful and rich… Thank you, my love," Alucard said, opening the bottle of wine and inhaling the rich scent coming from it.
"Enjoy… Maria, maybe you'd like something similar? Or would you prefer coffee?" Alex said with a gentle smile, looking at Alucard before turning his head toward Maria.
"I wouldn't say no to something stronger than wine right now," Maria said, raising her gaze to Alex.
"I can offer whiskey. I drink it often myself," Alex said, pulling a bottle of whiskey from his inventory.
Maria looked at the bottle and nodded, agreeing with Alex's suggestion. Seeing Maria's agreement, Alex took out three whiskey glasses and placed them on the workbench. Opening the bottle, Alex poured whiskey into the glasses and handed one to Maria, while offering the other to Doll. Doll knew about alcohol but had never tried it.
And she felt interest in something new, especially if it was offered by the one she loved. Taking his glass of whiskey, Alex sat down on a chair and stretched his legs forward, letting out a heavy sigh. Taking a sip of whiskey, Alex intended to rest a little before the final push to end the problems of this world. Taking a sip of whiskey, Alex breathed a sigh of relief, feeling all the tension recede into the background.
To be continued...
(As I said, there's very little time left until the end of this world. And I'll try not to drag it out. So in the next chapter, we'll spend a little time in the Hunter's Dream, and then we'll move on immediately. I'm already itching to get back to the main part of the story, but I can't just drop everything halfway through and just go back, then remember this world, and then come back. Now we can go eat. Peace, love, and explosions.)
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