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

Third Person's POV

Raphael was utterly taken aback when she saw Ophis with… wings?

More like she was horrified!!

And what's more, she was calling that thing her father?

Her mind started to spin in confusion, almost staggering back, but her friend caught her arm, steadying her.

Her eyes widened as she looked at Raphael, "Do you know all of these guys?" she asked with disbelief.

It was like circus magic going on here!

She was surprised, too, but not nearly as shaken as Raphael.

Anyway,

Thud!

Valra and Ophis landed near Leo.

As they looked at Leo, their eyes burned with accusations, the weight of their stares alone enough to pierce him. They wanted to shout at him… well, it was obvious from their look.

Leo wasn't going to hide it.

Obviously, he too was kind of surprised to see them arrive, "Have you guys been following me all this time?" he asked, yet his gaze never left the enemies circling like wolves.

Both Valra and Ophis ignored the question and instead focused their glare on the monsters surrounding them.

"Let's talk about that later," Valra said, her voice low and edged with fury as her hand flared with flames. Fire coiled between her fingers, licking the air as if eager to devour flesh and bone.

Raphael was surprised, shocked by that, her breath catching as she looked at Leo. "S-So all that time…" Her voice trembled, a mixture of fear and awe.

Leo weakly nodded before saying, "Anyway, leave this area immediately and take that man too," as he pointed towards the unconscious shopkeeper who had lost his leg, his body lying in a pool of blood that shimmered faintly in the moonlight.

"What are you going to do?" Raphael asked with a worried face.

But then it was obvious, looking at the situation. Her friend muttered, "I think it's best to leave this to the expert to deal with." She forced a wry smile as her eyes turned towards her prince, who stood unyielding, knuckles white around the katana's hilt.

Camazotz's face flickered grotesquely as burned flesh knit back together, his monstrous grin twisting beneath the pale glow. He turned to Valra, "Nasty… I really hate this woman, you know."

Valra just smirked, her flame surging brighter. "Feelings are mutual," she replied.

Dracula blankly stared at his daughter, crimson eyes locking onto her small frame beside a human.... His face turned ugly… which was already ugly, to be honest.

"I cannot believe you mingle with a human… how disgusting," he growled, his voice reverberating like thunder.

His gaze was so intense it almost made Ophis collapse where she stood. Her breath hitched, memories tearing open inside her mind... the screams, the chains, the cruelty of his hands.

But Leo stepped forward, "I don't see how it's disgusting compared to yourself…" His katana angled upward, its edge glinting as he pointed it towards the hulking monsters at Dracula's side.

Dracula's lips twitched furiously, veins bulging at his temples as he glared at his daughter.

"It's all because of you… If only you had obeyed my orders… If only you hadn't stolen my powers…" His voice was a snarl, "I WOULDN'T HAVE LOWERED THIS MUCH!!"

Ophis gulped... She wanted to speak, to fight back, but no words came from her mouth. Her lips quivered soundlessly as if fear itself sealed them shut.

She was trembling inside as memories clawed back—his torture, his endless cruelty, the way he sacrificed others like broken tools to achieve his goals.

Even now… she wasn't sure if she had truly escaped from his cursed hand.

"I see… so you lost your powers, it seems," Essa muttered in acknowledgement, her eyes narrowing as she watched the exchange unfold.

The magic circle had somehow reversed the flow of power between Dracula and Ophis, but at the time, it hadn't taken full effect. Now she understood why he looked like this... Dracula slowly started to lose his strength.

That means… Essa glanced at Ophis, her eyes widening. Ophis was getting stronger, though she didn't even realise it yet.

Now that makes sense… why Dracula was in this kind of situation.

Nergal's spiked weapon grazed the ground with a scraping hiss as he swirled it between his fingers, the chain clinking in the tensed atmosphere.

His crimson gaze locked onto Raphael's friend with a furious expression, lips curled in disdain. His back still wasn't healing, scorched flesh refusing to close. Unlike the others who devoured everything around them to mend their wounds, Nergal was picky with his prey.

He was the reason there were remains of bodies strewn everywhere like discarded offerings.

A mere human had taken him down twice… with just a gun.

If word ever spread, his own people would laugh at his face, drag his name through the mud.... That was worse than death!

Leo muttered, "Do you think you can still win?" His grip on the katana tightened, though his stance remained measured.

He didn't want to escalate the fight. Raphael was here. The wounded shopkeeper, too. One reckless strike could bring the entire street down on them. And more than anything… his girlfriend and Ophis were here.

He couldn't let anything happen to them.

In fact, the numbers had just increased—three versus four. Even if someone stayed behind to shield Raphael and the others, it would still be even.

And considering Dracula and his team were covered in wounds… it seemed the outcome favoured Leo's side.

It was a matter of time. They would win. However—

"Even if we lose… I want at least one of you to die." Camazotz's tone was death itself, his voice rumbling like a beast's growl. His form twisted as he lunged, claws slicing toward Raphael and her friend with murderous speed.

But this time Essa moved. Her blade hissed through the air, intercepting his strike with a loud screech before she spun, her boot slamming into his chest with crushing force.

Camazotz staggered backwards, the impact cracking the stones beneath him.

"You two, get out!" Essa commanded.

Raphael nodded quickly before grabbing the unconscious man. She glanced one last time at her nephew... No, she couldn't leave him alone here!

Even if something dangerous was going on... no way she could leave her only family to these mons-

"Do you think I will let them go? No prey should leave…!!" Camazotz roared.

His body shimmered, green energy swirling like poison mist. His throat bulged grotesquely, swelling as his chest heaved.

When that happened, Leo's eyes widened in recognition. He flinched, then shouted with everything in him, "Everyone get down and cover your ears!!"

Essa reacted instantly, pushing Raphael and her friend hard to the ground.

BBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

The ultrasonic wave blasted out of Camazotz's maw with devastating force, a beam of sound that split the air itself. The street tore apart under the invisible pressure, chunks of stone ripping upward, while nearby buildings shook violently. Windows exploded outward, glass shattering into endless shards that rained down like crystal knives.

Crack!

BUFFF!!!

The streetlights burst one after another, sparks flying like falling stars, until only darkness swallowed the battlefield.

The clouds slowly moved as... Moonlight bled gently across the broken street.

Leo staggered, shaking his head as warm blood trickled from his ears. His vision swam, dizziness spinning the world on its axis, but he forced himself upright.

He turned to the others and saw them swaying too, dazed, their balance nearly gone.

Just then—

A spiked sphere whistled through the air, cutting straight toward him.

Leo couldn't react in time. And yet—his hand moved on its own. His katana swung upward in a perfect arc, steel ringing as it caught the spiked weapon mid-flight. Sparks scattered across the dark.

Tang!!

Before sliding to the ground, Leo flinched, before shaking his head and looking up. His vision snapped toward Nergal and then Dracula... had already reached for Ophis.

"OPHIS!!" he shouted.

"You're facing me, bastard!!" Nergal roared.

He swirled his chains violently, the links screeching as he pulled the spiked weapon back. Muscles bulged as he yanked it into his hand before launching himself toward Leo.

Leo clenched his fist, inhaled sharply, and marched forward.

Valra had already snapped out of daze and,

"You are the one who killed my champion!!" she said. Her fingers surged with waves of flames that lashed out, twisting like dragons toward Camazotz, who darted left and right, snarling, to escape the inferno.

"Haha… funny you say I did," Camazotz sneered, "If anything, you are the one who abandoned him. You should die instead!!" His claws tore through the air, swiping aside stray fire.

"Don't you dare twist the words!!" Valra roared back, her flames flaring furiously, rising higher, brighter!!

The darkness that had once spread around them, like a tendril, was nowhere here. Unlike in the forest, where it had poured outward endlessly, forcing them to flee, here the corruption was not.

Because the source of energy disappeared long ago.

This time, they could fight without fear of corruption.

"How could you betray me, dear? I thought… I thought we were in this together?" Dracula muttered with a voice that sounded almost pained.

His wrinkled fingers clamped around Ophis's neck, nails digging into her pale skin, ready to snap her throat at a whim.

"You even went so far as to hurt me… for a human? Just how… just what happened to my innocent, obedient daughter?"

Ophis struggled as his grip constricted. She winced, her body trembling, unable to move.

No! She didn't want to move.

Her body obeyed her father subconsciously, frozen in fear.

Especially now, with him blaming her for everything—for his loss, his humiliation, his fall.

"B-But you tried to kill me," Ophis managed, her voice cracking, painful, heavy with disbelief.

Dracula blinked once, then sneered. "So what?"

Ophis's eyes widened.

"Don't act so surprised…" His voice turned mocking, "I have done the same thing to every one of your siblings. Even to their mothers." His face twisted with madness,

"Did they run away? Did they hate me? NO!! They loved me more… they embraced me… and became one with me." His laughter cracked in the night, his gaze rising toward the sky, his face alight with ecstatic delusion.

"Except… you. You and your filthy mother!!" he spat, his expression shifting from joy to pure hatred, fangs bared.

"If not for those bitches trying to save her… I would have already reached the Final Stage! I would have stood at the pinnacle!" His voice grew darker,

"Yet look at me now… barely alive, clinging to scraps, unable to muster even a flare spell without humiliation. Being treated like a monster... animal!!

Arrh!!!

All because of you!!"

Her Mother was protected by them?

Was this truth? Or was it his twisted madness twisting her world again?

She couldn't tell.

Then she saw it. His mouth stretched wider. His grin was torn unnaturally across his face.

And he smirked.

"Don't worry… I will prepare the ritual again. But this time… all I need is your head!"

Ophis's eyes widened in horror as she thrashed her body, trying to escape… she could escape if she wanted, but… she couldn't.

It was as if something deep inside forbade her from going against her father… even though she had helped Leo before.

Just what had happened to her… was this fear buried inside her all this time?

Was it the blood itself whispering that she shouldn't defy her father?

Just as she was about to be devoured, when—

Chuckkk!