The Arrowhead stopped once again, but this time it glowed fervently, as if telling the remaining knights that behind the huge door past the new obstacles, Dracula was waiting.
The knights readied themselves.
The two vampires, stripped of the deep shadows that hid them, stared at them with disdain in their eyes.
One stood tall, with clothes that were as dark as the shadows. His hair was long, draping down to his shoulders, and was as black as his leather attire.
Even with the light from the Arrowhead, the shadows still surrounded the vampire. Blending into the dimly lit hallways, his figure barely stood out, giving him an eerily ghost-like appearance.
The other had fiery red hair that stood on end, resembling spikes. His eyes were calm but had fury hidden in them.
He wore similar dark leather clothing, but unlike the shadow wraith, his seemed brighter, almost shining.
The three knights, exhausted both mentally and physically, locked eyes with the creatures. No words were spoken, no commands made.
In a split second, a fight erupted.
The redhead launched first, as he sped across the floor.
His eyes glanced at the Arrowhead briefly. His arms shot forward, and out of thin air a long metal chain, with sickle blades on both ends, manifested.
The vampire dismissed his eyes from the floating figure, realizing that it was nothing more than a mere lantern.
The weapon was launched forward, with the blade end slicing through the air and dawning a red glow that grew brighter as the metal approached the knights.
Sparks flew as Gareth's sword met the attack. But it didn't stop there. After the sparks came a small explosion of fire that stunned Gareth and sent him staggering back.
Bjorn screamed his name, and Mark moved in. With perfect timing, he parried the other blade that had snaked its way toward Gareth.
Narrowly dodging the following explosion, he ran to fight the enemy in close quarters.
With the two blades of the chain weapon still far away, the vampire had no choice but to fight mostly unarmed.
Unmoved by Mark's challenge, the vampire wrapped part of the chains around his fists.
Each blow countered Mark's swift blades, and with each blow the chains around his fists began to grow red-hot.
At first, Mark was the attacker, and all the vampire could do was counter. But the tempo of their close fight increased swiftly, slowly turning the tables on Mark.
Now Mark could feel the immense pressure coming from each blow delivered, and with a sweaty face and tired breaths, he was being pushed back.
Gareth had tried to reach Mark, but to no avail. Somehow the sickle blades, even though out of reach from their wielder, still moved and attacked of their own accord.
Bjorn moved in using his shield—so crumbled and battered that their holy knight insignia was barely recognizable—to fend off one of the flaming blades, giving their leader a small respite.
A frustrated grunt escaped Gareth's mouth as he pushed away an attack, ducked to avoid the explosion, and charged forward, only to be pushed back again by chains that swung at his head, barely missing it.
He turned his back on Mark's battle to face the weapon. His eyes momentarily glanced behind him.
Since the fight started, something bothered him.
Why did the other vampire refuse to attack?
It just stood there, wrapped in shadows like a cloth, watching as the battle unfolded with cold eyes and an indifferent look.
If the other joined, they would lose. It took the three of them, and it seemed they could barely do much against this one. If the shadow vampire helped its kin, the flow of the fight would change.
So why?
Why did it not lend a hand? Why give up such an advantage? Why did it just stand there and watch?
Dismissing the confusing thoughts, Gareth pushed on. Whatever reason the vampire had for not interfering, Gareth did not care. He would kill them both, whether they fought together or not, because they all deserved to die.
He moved quickly, dodging an attack and parrying another. The chain weapon was formidable but was made to fight in wider spaces, unlike the halls of the castle.
"Bjorn," Gareth called out. "Move towards me."
Bjorn locked eyes with him and nodded. Using his shield, he blocked an attack and shook off an explosion as he dashed toward Gareth, who did the same.
The two blades followed like predators, bearing down on the knights. The chains rattled across the floor, catching up to them.
They dove in, red-hot and ready to strike. Instead, they missed the duo and struck each other instead.
Dodging the explosion that followed, Gareth used the flat edge of his sword to hit the chains away, and Bjorn, summoning all of his strength, smashed his shield into the part where the blades ended and the chains began.
The weapon shook, trying to escape being placed between the stone floor and Bjorn's shield.
Taking his eyes off Bjorn and the chains, Gareth dashed toward Mark.
The sound of his footsteps was drowned by the clashing of blade against chain metal. But Mark, sharp as ever, heard his approach.
He avoided a strike that could potentially blow his head off and melt his flesh. He moved back, drawing the unknowing vampire toward Gareth.
Moving out of the way, a sword shot past his shoulder, aiming for the creature's face.
The surprise attack was dodged with ease. But from under its chin, another attack sped forward.
Mark's curved blades bit into the vampire's pale skin, but only barely.
The creature hissed.
Gareth's silver blade cut through the air once more, ready to end the fight, not before an explosion from behind shook the whole hallway, throwing him off balance and missing his mark.
The sickle blades were free and swam forward, the sound of chains rattling through the air announcing their approach.
The two knights were about to be cornered.
Mark moved away, heading toward the blades, sword drawn.
Gareth did the opposite. He regained his balance and launched his attack. Luckily, the explosion had also distracted the vampire.
Fists drawn, the vampire threw a punch at Gareth's sword.
In his mind, Gareth knew two things had to happen in order for him to win.
One, he had to be extremely precise, and second, he had to be able to take a punch.
Everything happened within seconds.
His sword moved swiftly, with such precision that it could make an experienced butcher envious. His blade moved past the chained fist that moved to parry his attack and cut into its wrist.
The vampire responded just as fast. Without the sword even fully disarming him, his other fist slammed against Gareth's side, cracking his armor and sizzling the skin underneath.
Gareth didn't wince or scream, for as the chained hands of the vampire broke his metal armor, his steel sword had left its wrist, and before the fist could fall off, the cold steel slashed across the vampire's neck, beheading it.
Only after did Gareth scream.
The pain came first, then the smell of his burnt flesh filled his nose.
He felt his ribs crushed and tasted blood in his mouth. His only solace was that he wasn't bleeding. The attack had injured him, but not as severely. The nature of the vampire's weapon or powers had closed off any possible blood loss with burning.
"Good, I can still fight."
Gareth was not one to take gambles, especially during fights like these. Maybe the one-eyed fighter was rubbing off on him. Maybe.
He grinned, his smile covered by the shadows cast in the dimly lit hallway.
And then he brandished his sword.
One was dead, and still one remained.