The Rondo Of Blood: A Rewrite of Castlevania Nocturne

Wandering Souls

Heeding Richter's words, Annette rushed inside the house. She quickly headed for Maria's bedroom and woke her up in a hurry. Maria was still sleepy when they both felt the ground underneath them shake violently like an earthquake, whereupon Maria became completely awake and held onto Annette without hesitation.

"Where's Richter?" Maria asked.

"He said he's going to check it out." Annette replied. "The barrier is falling apart. We have to go downstairs now!"

Despite the constant barrage of tremors pulling the house apart, Annette was able to take Maria downstairs where they hid under the table. The house began to shake as furniture and decorations all around them fall onto the floor.

"Stay here!" Annette told her sister. "I'm getting my sword! If anything happens, scream as loud as you can!"

Maria nodded, she knew too well to obey and have faith in her sister as Annette ran all the way to the tower at the left side of the cottage. When she reached the tower, bottles and beakers placed at the cabinets shook violently and some of them managed to drop into the floor in pieces.

Annette pulled a rectangular case from underneath her desk and opened it with a small key from the drawer. Inside was a sword with a swept hilt and a tall and slender blade concealed under a red scabbard. Just as she took the sword, Annette heard a high-pitched scream from the cottage.

"Maria!" Annette yelped as she hurriedly sprinted back to the house.

She reached Maria, thankfully unharmed for the time being, staring grimly at the front door where someone was continuously knocking without end. With the handle of the sword firmly in her hand, Annette slowly approached the door.

"Who are you?" She asked, just inches away from the door.

"Are you Annette?" An unfamiliar voice called from the other side. "My name is Edouard. Belmont told me to find you!"

Curious, Annette cautiously opened the door and saw a dark-skinned stranger in front of her. "Are you friend or foe?"

"Friend!" Edouard answered. "Forgive us for intruding but we need your help. Monsters chased us all the way here and my friend and Belmont stayed behind to fight them."

"That explains the barrier collapsing. But what kind of monsters are they dealing with-"

They were suddenly interrupted by an abrupt sound of a large explosion coming from the distance. That alone gave Annette the answer she needed. Without hesitation, Maria ran past her sister and Edouard and began sprinting through the meadow.

"Richter!" She yelled.

"Maria, get back!" Annette yelled as well, chasing after her with Edouard tailing behind.

It didn't take long for Maria to enter the forest where, as she wandered deep toward the distant sounds of battle ahead, spotted someone unfamiliar fending off a duo of winged harpies on her own using a sword to parry their attacks, lunging at her from the air with their clawed feet on both sides with no signs of stopping in an attempt to wear her down.

Maria then summoned a pair of vermilion birds and a blue-furred tiger to accompany her. With her vermilion birds she isolated a harpy in the air whilst the tiger dealt with the other one that was pestering the stranger. The tiger managed to bite off one of the harpy's wings, crippling it long enough for the stranger to reach out and impale it in the face.

Maria stared in awe at the stranger. She was just as dark-skinned as Edouard but she immediately found her to be so beautiful and majestic. But she couldn't admire her for long as her vermilion birds were having a hard time trying to keep up with the other harpy, which was swinging its wings so they wouldn't get any closer.