The Fallen (Oneshot)

The Fallen

He was running out of breath in the strange hallways of this place. He could not stop. He must not stop. Not until you saved it.
Big drops of sweat ran down his face. It had been hours since he had left. The images of his burning village were still fresh in his mind.
Annette ...
She had been abducted, along with her younger sister. The village was set on fire and blood, demons and monsters roamed the streets, killing everyone in their path. Richter had tried to stop them, and had eliminated a good part of them, but he could not prevent the two young women from disappearing.
At first, he had felt an immense anger in him. He had sworn to kill anyone who would try to block him. It was a promise he had made and he would not fail to honor.

He had quickly headed for the home of the one behind all that. His mortal enemy, that of his family for generations. Dracula. The road had not been easy, far from it. Richter Belmont had to fight to survive. He had dropped an incalculable number of monstrous heads in a single day. And it was hurt and tired that he had arrived at the big clock tower. Meanwhile, he had found Maria, Annette's little sister. The latter absolutely wanted to follow him on his quest, but he told her to stay safe and wait for her return.
Poor little Maria.
The girl, because she was one, she was not more than ten years, had stopped crying. He had left it in the small cell, well away from the monsters and other ghouls hanging around.

The clock tower was huge. Richter knew he had to hurry, time was running against him. He was afraid for Annette. She was his fiancée, and he had failed to protect her the first time. He would not fail to save her. No. He had to save her. The young man continued to run, despite his injuries, despite his fatigue. His hand was hugging the family whip he had brought with him: vampire killer, the vampire killer. This whip had passed into the hands of all his ancestors whose names had been lost in the meanders of time. It was the only weapon able to end the reign of the terrible vampire.
The young man climbed the floors as quickly as possible, and each time a horde of monsters and ghouls were on his way. They destroyed them, not without difficulty because of his fatigue, then continued to climb.
Quick. Quick. His enemies were only looking for one thing: to slow him down. Why ? Richter did not know, but a bad feeling hugged him the moment he asked the question.

Finally, he had arrived at the top of the tower. The door creaked as he opened it. That's when he saw her.
Annette.
She was there on her knees, and she gave a supplicating glance to her fiance. The latter approached slowly, a broad smile on his lips. He had arrived in time to save her. The voice of the young woman rang in the room:
"Why did not you come earlier?"
Richter did not understand. He approached again, looking for words to reassure her. But Annette got up and stepped back, not leaving the young man's eyes. A swarm of bats surrounded the young woman.
It was at this moment that he understood everything. It was too late, much too late. Annette, her sweet Annette, had nothing human left. She had become a vampire. And Richter felt his heart tighten. He knew what he had to do. Gently, he murmured to himself:
"I'm a vampire hunter, and I know what to do."
He squeezed the handle of the vampire killer in his hand. Yes, he knew what he had to do now.