Fate To Fake: Loved by the Fallen; Fated to Kill the Divine

'W-We need to escape… we have to,' she thought with a desperate expression.

In the corner, another figure twitched.

The shopkeeper—the very same man Leo had spoken to earlier. His face was drained of all colour, his body trembling uncontrollably as his eyes stayed locked on the monsters before him.... he had been a fool to keep his store at this time.

A bigger fool for ever getting involved.

He should have left. Should have shut everything down. Should have stayed the hell away.

His eyes darted to the side, and his guts twisted further when he saw the piles of bodies stacked near the sewage water.

The stench was overwhelming, but the fear was even more!!

But now was not the time to think of the dead. He needed to escape.

His panicked gaze swept over the group—seven captives, at least six still alive enough to move. That meant… There was a chance. A chance to use them. To let them be the distraction while he slipped away.

His eyes were fixed on the man trembling right next to him... His customer.

The poor bastard was shaking so badly his teeth clattered. But there was something else in that tremor—not just fear. Something… desperate.

'He'll be easy,' the shopkeeper thought, slipping a hand into his pocket.

He leaned close. The man beside him flinched as the shopkeeper pressed a small packet into his palm.

White powder.

The man's wild eyes darted, then he ripped it open and inhaled the contents greedily. His body stiffened, the trembling ceasing almost at once. A dazed look spread across his face as the fear melted away into blank nothingness.

The shopkeeper's lips curved into a grim smile. He bent closer, whispering hoarsely into the man's ear.

"They're fighting for us. They need only six. So if one of us runs… they won't bother to chase."

His fist clenched tightly as he hissed those words.

The man blinked before nodding his head with hazy, unfocused eyes.

"Yeah…" His words came out slurred, his voice barely steady.

"So goodbye!" the shopkeeper hissed, his lips twisting into a cruel smirk as he started to stand. But before he could move further, the drugged man suddenly shoved the shopkeeper aside and bolted forward in a stumbling run.

"Hahaha! Sucks to you!" he shouted with a manic laugh, face lit with a twisted kind of joy—as if he already believed he was free, as if survival was in his grasp.

His steps were clumsy, legs heavy, but he kept running, not once looking back.

The others blinked in shock, their eyes darting to the trio who had captured them. Camazotz, Dracula, and Nergal stood motionless, still caught in their hushed argument instead of giving chase.

The shopkeeper scowled, sweat rolling down his temple. 'Why aren't they making a move?' he thought, teeth grinding. If he had known they wouldn't chase… he would've run himself instead of letting that bastard go.

Raphael turned her head, glancing back. She saw the man's figure still running... His steps were jolly, almost childlike, as though the danger around him no longer existed.

Something about it felt wrong, but… he had escaped.

Maybe… maybe they could too.

Her chest tightened with fragile hope. She looked at her friend... but instead found her staring intently—not at the escape, not at the monster, but at the shopkeeper.

Raphael followed her gaze. The shopkeeper was pale as a corpse, eyes darting like prey cornered by hunters.... His whole body shook as though a gun were pointed at him. Without hesitation, he bolted.

"NO PLEASE!!"

Everyone else flinched at the sudden movement, but again, the trio didn't budge.

Not a step!

The captives hesitated for a second and... One by one, they stood shakily to their feet and began to run. First a woman, then two men, all scrambling forward with ragged breaths and pounding feet.

The tunnel echoed with their panicked steps... until only Raphael and her friend remained.

Raphael swallowed hard, "Let's go," she whispered urgently, tugging her friend's arm.

But her friend didn't move. She clutched Raphael's hand even tighter, anchoring her in place, her body stiff as stone.

Raphael's face darkened, "What are you doing? Everyone's running away! This is our chance!"

Was her friend insane?

Everyone else had fled—how could they just sit here, wasting the only chance they had?

Raphael yanked her friend's hand, forcing her up. She pulled hard, dragging her forward in hurried, stumbling steps.

"Come on! What are you staring at?!" Raphael shouted.

Her friend's head turned back once more, eyes locked on the trio, and she saw it— Dracula, Camazotz, and Nergal were grinning.

As if this had been what they were waiting for all along.

A shiver sliced down her spine. She bit down on her lip hard, forcing herself to keep running with her friend.

"I can see them!" Raphael cried, "I can see the others!"

Before them, the escaped captives ran straight, frantically searching for a manhole with a ladder... or any way out.

Her friend stared blankly, watching the fleeing figures as if they were already doomed. She seemed lost in something Raphael couldn't understand.

Then, slowly, her friend turned her face toward Raphael, lips parting, and uttered—

"Did we get any survivors admitted to our hospital before?"

Raphael frowned at her friend's strange words as they ran. "What do you mean—"

Before she could finish, a violent gust of wind blasted from behind them, rushing through the tunnel like a hurricane. The force nearly knocked them off their feet.

And then—

Chuckkk!!

The sound of flesh tearing echoed through the tunnel.

Everyone halted mid-stride in sheer terror. Feet slipped on the wet ground, some captives tumbling to their knees as their eyes widened in disbelief.

The trio was there.

Right before them.

Camazotz—the bat monster—stood with his claws buried deep in the chest of the first man who had run away. The creature had moved so fast that no one had even seen him strike.

Cough… Cough…

Blood gushed as the man hacked violently, blood spilling from his lips. His body jerked weakly in Camazotz's grasp before the monster's jaw stretched unnaturally wide.

With a grotesque snap, the bat-thing devoured him whole, swallowing him down in a single gulp.

"…"

A hollow silence fell.

Everyone froze.

Not a word... Not even a scream.

Their eyes blank, their limbs stiff, their souls locked in place by the horror of what they had just seen.

Only the sound of chewing echoed through the dark, wet tunnel.

Camazotz lifted his head, blood dripping from his lips, and smirked.

"It's time to hunt the prey~" he hissed, licking his mouth with a wicked gleam. "Run, baby, run~"

"KYYYAAAAA!!"

"AAAAAHHHHH!!"

Screams ripped through the tunnel as the captives scattered, stumbling, tripping, clawing over each other as they fled into different tunnels without a second thought.

Camazotz chuckled with amusement, seeing their cry really made him excited.... He turned his glowing eyes toward Dracula and Nergal.

"Just as usual. Hunt them before they leave this place. And…" His gaze snapped to Nergal, sharp as knives. "…Do not leave any remains. Got it?"

Nergal gave only a dismissive wave of his hand before turning toward one of the tunnels with calm steps.

Camazotz then shifted his gaze to Dracula, smirking with sharp teeth glinting in the dark.

"Can't believe the great Dracula is reduced to hunting prey like a common beast with us… for food... Hahaha."

A vein pulsed across Dracula's temple. His crimson eyes glowed faintly, his jaw clenched—but he said nothing.

With a slow turn, he walked into another tunnel.

Camazotz's grin only widened, his amusement rising as if Dracula's obedience was the sweetest food of all.

Meanwhile—

"Fuck, fuck!" Raphael's friend shouted, her voice trembling with panic. She gripped Raphael's hand tightly, pulling her along as they ran, their footsteps splashing hard against the damp stone.

She dragged her through twisting corridors, forcing turn after turn!

"I knew it! They were just playing with their prey… like animals!" her friend muttered. Her eyes darted wildly, searching. But every tunnel was the same... dark.

No way out.

They needed to find one.

"W-What the hell are those things?" Raphael gasped, her voice breaking with horror. Her chest burned as she forced air into her lungs, her glasses fogging, "I've never even seen monsters like that in a movie…"

"Like hell I know… the fuck is that thing? So fucked up… fuck, fuck!!" her friend screamed.

She yanked Raphael by the hand, darting through the endless tunnels—right, left, right, straight.

Finally, they skidded to a halt.

"D-Dead end?" Raphael gasped, her chest heaving as she stared at the wall that stood before them.

Her friend gritted her teeth. She spun around to run back the way they came—

Step…

A slow, deliberate footstep echoed.

From the shadows ahead, Dracula emerged. His tall figure seemed to blot out the dim light, his crimson eyes gleaming with cruel amusement.

"I really caught what I wanted," he said with cold satisfaction, "Hahah…"

Raphael's heart plummeted as her face turned pale and... Her friend froze beside her, their hands clenched tightly together until their knuckles whitened.

They only have each other now!