Ragnarok flew towards where there ship had been and found nothing. Searching the ground and the nearby areas, there was no sign it had been moved or had ever been there for that matter. Giving up his search he returned to Lyceum and entered his Ryukai form.
As he arrived he found not even Mina was out and the sky was even darker. It was now extremely dark and the moon was barely showing upon the horizon. He struggled to see as he entered the inn.
Opening the door he found a sleeping man in the corner. As he walked by he tripped on the floor and fell down. The old man did not stir and from the ground he saw a body on the floor. Walking over to the table in the corner he found the old man and the body he now recognized as Mina, dead.
“Everyone wake up!” he yelled running towards the stairs. From the rooms on the second floor hallway Starbuck, Warlic, Maria, Mika, and Omicron emerged. He pointed to the corpses. “I’m starting to believe in this Soul Eater.”
Warlic slammed his fist onto the wall. “Not a single noise..that is how the Soul Eaters kill. They bind with a host and eat away at the soul. From the moment they enter the body they control everything...no screams, no pain....”
“What do we do now?” Mika asked.
“We protect the citizens.” Omicron said. “I spoke with the Vampire Hunter...the Soul Eater targeted the most powerful people first and now none of them remain.” he was still concerned about his new ability to read minds and did not tell the others.
“How can we protect them?” Starbuck asked. “Can the Soul Eater even be seen?”
“Yes.” Maria-5 said. “It is a small blue wisp, difficult to see, but still possible. However, I fear there is more than the Soul Eater to worry about.”
Warlic nodded. “The vampires. They are beings without souls...”
“Do you think the Soul Eater is working with them?” Ryukai asked.
“It would explain quite a lot.” Warlic began. “I believe we should attempt to make contact with the vampires. If they aren’t working with the Soul Eater, they would be a valuable asset.”
“When do we leave?” Starbuck asked already willing to prepare. He knew he would never be able to sleep due to the events that had transpired. Even though they were walking towards vampires, they were potentially friendly. The Soul Eater however was not.
“Immediately if everyone is ready.” Warlic said looking around the room. Everyone nodded already prepared and the group moved out of the inn into the dark night. They began to walk towards the edge of Lyceum where they had seen a sign warning the locals of vampires. As they passed the sign, the Dragonguard entered their Gundam forms and provided light and protection from above.
Starbuck smiled relieved as he walked with Maria and Warlic. As they continued deeper into the forest however he began to become worried. The trees were extremely large and their tops seemed to move in together blocking the light of the Dragonguard. They continued on nonetheless attempting to ignore the small rustling of the nearby bushes.
The group was now so deep in the woods, they had difficulty seeing the Dragonguard. The darkness closed in around them and they found the path ended near a large tree. The ground shook suddenly as a large mech flew towards the sky and tackled one of the Dragonguard.
Starbuck grabbed his energy pistol and Maria and Warlic prepared to fight as well. From the shadows nearby a pair of red eyes glowed and a vampire walked forward smiling. It’s white fangs stood out in the darkness and grew as it lunged towards Starbuck.
Warlic quickly stepped in front of the Admiral and grabbed the vampire. His eyes began to glow red and the vampire became surprised. He trembled as he saw the man begin to change. “You...you aren’t one of them...you aren’t one of us...”
“That is right,” Warlic said growling. Claws had formed from his hands and his skin turned a deep red. “Tell your friends to stop attacking my allies.”
The vampire trembled as the man’s white hair separated and formed into two large horns. Wings sprouted from his back. The demon yelled, “I said call them off!”
The vampire was seized by the neck and struggled to breathe. Closing his eyes he spoke telepathically to the mobile suits in the sky above. “Brothers, stop.”
“Why would you ask us to stop?” one of the pilots responded.
“Down here is something inhuman....it is a demonic being...”
“We have a mission. These are the Lights of the Apocalypse. They must be crushed before they crush us!”
“Please...listen to me...” he pleaded. Opening his eyes he stared into the eyes of the demon. Warlic was infuriated and threw the vampire to the ground. “I gave you an order...”
“I tried....they won’t listen...” he said trembling.
“Too late.” Warlic growled leaping forward and stabbing his claw through the vampire’s chest. From his arms, tendrils emerged and began to drain the blood of the vampire. Maria and Starbuck watched in horror as the vampire screamed, dying slowly.
“Vampiric blood...” Warlic howled to the skies. “It is unlike anything I have ever tasted...”
As the last of the blood was drained, Warlic turned around and smiled. His smile was insane as well as his eyes. He looked upon Starbuck and began to move forward.
“Warlic...” Maria said fearfully. ‘No...stop! Don’t go near him!”
“Be quiet you pathetic excuse for a sentient being. He looks so appetizing...”
In the skies the vampire mobile suit continued to fight. It was a humanoid shape with its limbs and head floating. Runic symbols were emblazoned upon it and they glowed a bright red as the mobile suit fought.
Valkyrie moved in with her DG Buster Sword and slashed at the mobile suit. It was split in half and the acid began to erode around the cut portions. The symbols upon it turned a dark purple and the light surrounding Valkyrie was sucked into them. They returned to red as Valkyrie provided the fuel to repair the mech.
Sentinel activated its missile system, and one hundred missiles of pure light devastated the vampiric mobile suit. The same effect occurred and Sentinel was drained of energy to re-fuel the mobile suit.
The Dragonguard coordinated their attacks using missiles, swords, and fangs all at the same time, but nothing they did could destroy the mobile suit. The Gundams and the mobile suit were in a stalemate.
“That is enough!” said a tall being emerging from the shadows of the forest. “The Demon has finally come to our planet.”
Warlic turned around to see a vampire with gray skin staring upon him.
“Greetings, I am Lord Dimitri, leader of the Dark Guardian Vampire Clan.”
Next Chapter: The Dark Lady....The vampires and the Dragonguard got off to a rough start, but Lord Dimitri is here to fix that. The group will meet with an important figure in Warlic's life and find a solution to Necryptos' true problem: The Soul Eater.
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