Chapter 21
The first stop was Dracula's castle — now Alucard's home. Levi stood before the towering, gothic fortress, its spires stabbing into the sky like dark spears. The place felt quieter than the last time he'd been here — no armies, no madness, just an eerie stillness. As he approached the entrance, the massive doors creaked open on their own. Alucard was waiting inside, his golden eyes wary but calm. "Levi," Alucard greeted with a slight nod, his voice cool but not hostile. "It's been a while."
"It has," Levi replied, stepping inside. There was an awkward pause as they stood there, facing each other. The last time they met, Levi had nearly torn Alucard's father apart. "You look well," Levi added, his tone light. "You… seem different," Alucard observed, studying him with quiet curiosity. "Calmer."
Levi chuckled, brushing a strand of hair from his face. "Spending time alone in the woods, drinking tea, and murdering anyone who disturbs my peace will do that to a man." That earned him a small smile from Alucard. "I suppose that would," he said. They began walking deeper into the castle, the sound of their footsteps echoing through the long, ornate halls.
"Where are Sypha and Trevor?" Levi asked after a while, glancing around as if expecting them to appear from the shadows. "They left," Alucard answered, his voice softer. "Off on their own adventures." Levi smiled, a knowing glint in his eye. "They probably fucked, right?" Alucard let out an unexpected chuckle. "Yeah… yeah, they probably did." The laughter faded into a comfortable silence before Alucard finally asked, "So why are you here, Levi? I doubt it's just for a social visit."
Levi sighed, his eyes flicking toward the grand windows where moonlight spilled into the hall. "I'm… going somewhere far. Very far. And there's a chance this might be the last time we see each other. I wanted to pay you a visit before I left. And, well…" He grinned. "Maybe copy the entire castle's knowledge while I'm here." Alucard arched a brow, amused. "Of course you do, i am just surprised that it took you this long to ask" He was quiet for a moment before nodding. "Alright. I owe you that much. If you hadn't… left my father to me, I wouldn't have been able to do what needed to be done. Consider this my thanks."
Levi's expression softened just a bit. "I didn't do it for you, you know. But… you're welcome." They spent hours in the castle's vast library — an endless labyrinth of books, scrolls, and ancient texts. Levi moved through it with a quiet reverence, using the same trick he had used in the belmont libary, his fingers brushing over the spines of forgotten knowledge, absorbing every scrap of wisdom he could. When he was finally done, the sun was beginning to rise, casting golden light over the stone walls.
At the entrance, Levi turned back one last time. "Take care of yourself, Alucard." "You too, Levi," Alucard said softly. "Wherever you're going… I hope you find what you're looking for, which is mostly some well-needed touch of a woman." Levi smiled, a rare, genuine thing. "I always do." And with that, he was gone.
-scene change-
Levi stood at the base of Styria Castle, the snowstorm swirling around him, biting and relentless. The fortress rose above him like a jagged wound against the pale sky, its spires sharp and unforgiving. Vampire knights lined the walls, their silver armor glinting even in the dim light, but there was hesitation in their ranks — uncertainty. They knew who he was. They knew what he'd done. But their fear didn't save them. Levi didn't even spare them a glance as he walked forward, his boots crunching against the ice-covered stone. "If you're going to stand there," he called out, his voice calm but carrying like thunder, "then you'll die without purpose." The air shifted — and then the slaughter began.
The first spell was a lance of shadow, a jagged spear that erupted from the ground without warning. It impaled three knights at once, lifting their bodies into the air as the darkness writhed around them like hungry snakes. They twitched, choked, and then the shadows expanded — shredding them apart with a sickening wet sound. Levi didn't stop moving. A knight charged him from the side, his sword raised high — but Levi flicked his fingers, and a narrow crescent of wind sliced through the air. The knight's head fell before his body realized it was dead, the blood spraying in a fine mist that froze almost instantly in the cold air.
The castle gates burst open, and they poured out — a sea of pale faces and shining weapons. Levi extended a hand, and a sphere of gravity condensed in his palm, pulsing violently. With a flick, he sent it rolling forward. The effect was immediate. Knights were dragged off their feet, their armor crumpling like paper as they were pulled into the ball's crushing force. Bones snapped and metal screamed, the weight of their own bodies turning lethal. A spell of ice followed — jagged spikes that erupted from the ground, skewering those who managed to escape the gravity's reach. Blood splattered in crimson arcs against the white snow, steam rising as the heat of life bled away.
Inside the castle, the slaughter only escalated. Levi moved through the gothic halls like a force of nature. A group of knights attempted to ambush him from the upper balconies — but with a snap of his fingers, spears of light rained down from the ceiling. The projectiles punched through armor and flesh with ease, pinning them to the stone like grotesque ornaments. The screams were deafening, but Levi didn't so much as flinch. Another knight rushed him from behind — and Levi met him with fire. A wave of molten heat washed over the corridor, incinerating the soldier where he stood. The flames clung to the walls and floor, casting flickering shadows that made the blood-soaked stones seem alive.
They kept coming. They died faster. A knight with a massive axe swung at him — but Levi redirected the blow with a gust of wind and drove a spike of earth through the man's chest. A vampire tried to leap at him from the darkness — only for Levi to catch him mid-air with an invisible force. The creature hung there, struggling, until Levi twisted his hand. The vampire's body imploded, blood splattering across the cold stone walls. He kept going. Through the war room, where maps burned under torrents of water. Through the banquet hall, where bodies floated in the air, their limbs snapping with every pulse of Levi's gravity magic. Through the throne room, where the banners of conquest were reduced to ash.