"There he is!" Lord Lazar clapped with satisfaction.
Gabriel was speechless. His hand let go of the blade and fell back to his side.
This was the last thing he was expecting.
"My lord, there must have been a mistake!" He put a hand on his chest and bowed. "I'm sorry for the twisted joke, I will make sure to deal with whoever…"
"A mistake? I don't see a mistake! All I see is a sacrifice worthy for a lieutenant!"
A small human child stood before them. His clothes were a dirty rug and a chain around his neck, held by a monster. Tears and snot ran down the sides of his face. His core trembled from fear.
The boy glanced over to the confused Gabriel and, sensing the demonic aura of the man, screamed. The monsters laughed upon hearing his voice crack.
"He sounds just like a banshee!"
"What a cute little thing! Can I keep his corpse?"
"Let me eat him!"
Even Lord Lazar thought that it was funny.
"See this, Gabriel? Your human disguise can't even fool a child!"
Before Gabriel could have realized it, the monsters cleared out of the way and formed a crowd around him and the human boy.
Despite the strange turn of events, it was still his job to serve Lord Lazar. His sacrifice being a child just meant that he had an easier job killing him.
Gabriel grabbed the handle of his rapier and unsheathed the blade. The child couldn't do anything about it but cry, as the man approached him with a weapon in hand.
There was just one meter between the two. Gabriel stood before the boy, whose legs seemed to have frozen from shock.
He looked the boy in the eye and waited.
The monsters were excited at first, as they haven't seen a lieutenant play such an interesting game with his prey. It took them a few seconds to realize Gabriel wasn't doing anything.
"Come on now!"
"What are you waiting for?"
"Kill him!"
After he realized he still wasn't dead, the boy looked at the man. His face was covered with a black shadow and only the light of his eye could be made out.
"Where is your weapon?" Gabriel asked.
"I d-don't have a-any!" The boy cried even louder.
Gabriel lowered his weapon and approached one of the nearby tables. He took a large silver knife from one of the guests and handed it to the child.
The boy was just as confused by this act as well as the rest of the monsters.
"There you go." After walking back to his place, Gabriel raised his sword. "Come at me!"
The crowd burst into a frenzy. This was the first time a lieutenant made things so interesting!
Lazar leaned forward on his throne with an excited smile.
"I knew he was the showman type, but damn…"
Gabriel bore a determined frown on his face. He kept his rapier aimed at the boy's throat, vigilantly waiting for the moment he would strike.
But the boy remained still. He cried even louder than before despite the weapon in his hand. Most humans would have attacked already, but this one did not.
"What's wrong?" Gabriel raised his voice. "Why are you not attacking me?"
The boy tried to give an answer, but the crying rendered him mute.
"Are you suicidal? Do you find no joy in life?"
He shook his head.
"Then stop crying already and give me an answer!"
The child wiped away his tears and dropped the knife to the ground.
"I d-don't want to hurt you, M-Mister…!"
Gabriel froze down. His breath caught and his hands let go of the blade as the realization hit him.
Something was bothering him for the longest time and finally, he understood what it was.
He came into this world with the purpose to guard the one who has summoned him. His sole purpose was to fight in self-defense, protecting his master from all who tried to hurt him.
But that's not what he was doing. He was forced into an army of maniacs who slowly corrupted the human realm. Even when he tried to paint his actions as self-defense it felt wrong, as the truth is he was on the offensive.
It wasn't about good or bad for him. It was about doing a job that subsequently gave purpose to his being. Right now, he was doing the exact opposite of that job, thus betraying the very foundations of his existence.
Gabriel was utterly broken. Yet, even now, he tried to remain professional.
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He turned towards Lord Lazar and bowed deeply.
"I can't do this!"
"Huh? What do you mean you can't?"
"This lifeform is unable to cause us any harm. If I were to kill him, I wouldn't be defending you, but rather attack him without a purpose!"
"Are you telling me my orders have no purpose?"
"That's not what I mean, my lord! This child just isn't…"
Lazar threw his wine at him, shattering the glass on his head. The impact was so great that Gabriel almost fell. The other monsters turned dead silent as the vampire raged.
"How dare you defy my orders? Don't you remember who brought you into existence? Me! It was me! You are nothing without me!"
His drunken yelling could've struck fear in the bravest of hearts, but Gabriel took it with a hand on his chest. Even in the face of death, he tried to remain as professional as he could despite the wine and blood leaking down the side of his head.
"Get out of my sight!" Lazar yelled. "I don't want to see you anymore!"
"As you wish, my lord." Gabriel bowed before leaving the room.
The monsters gave him disappointed looks as he disappeared behind the door, but he couldn't care any less. When he was finally out of sight, his walk turned into a run, then a mad dash as he ran for the closest exit out of the castle.
Blindly rushing through the doors, his desperate charge resulted in him falling through a door and appearing on the second-last floor of the realm, the scarlet garden.
The floor was empty. Only a small breeze gave out any sounds as it ran by the scarlet roses. The stars up above shone brightly as always, enhancing the beauty of this already calm place.
Gabriel took a few steps and collapsed onto the cobblestone road. His whole existence felt pointless and he didn't have any power to go on.
Tears began to form in his eyes.
Tears. He was surprised to find out he could generate such substance.
"Maybe my tears will do good for the ground." He whispered. "I hope the roses will enjoy it."
His eyelids grew heavier. It was hard to focus his thoughts and he felt a sudden urge to rest. The flowers slowly faded darkness overcame his mind.
– – –
When he returned to consciousness, something felt off. The garden around him was untouched, still blooming with the same beauty as before.
He felt an awful smell. It was that of burnt wood mixed with overcooked flesh. When he turned around, he saw a thick smoke emanate from the door that led to the castle.
It took him a moment to realize what happened.
"N-No way… Master!"
He rushed to open the door and smashed it open. As he did, a horrible sight came before his eyes.
The elegant entrance of the castle was on fire. The remains of monsters were splattered all across the walls, flowing into a pool of blood amidst the burning wood.
Gabriel rushed through the fire and straight towards the ballroom. Along the way, he saw humanoids of matching attire use fire to fight his fellow monsters. Gabriel took note of them but didn't stop, as his master's safety mattered most.
As he neared the ballroom door, he heard a conversation between a man and Lord Lazar.
"N-No way!" Lazar grunted with pain. "It wasn't supposed to end like this!"
"For almost a year now, I've been summoned into this world to defeat you. After so much pain and suffering, I will put an end to this nightmare!"
Gabriel kicked open the ballroom door. Amidst the fire was his master, kneeling before a young warrior with a long sword above his head.
"You took away my friends, now I take away your life!" The man yelled as he brought down his weapon.
Gabriel ran with all his might. He reached out to stop the man, but he was simply too slow.
The sword came down and cut off his master's head.
The severed head fell to the ground and rolled away, stopping just before Gabriel.
Gabriel was speechless. He dropped to the ground and hugged Lord Lazar's head.
"N-No…" He muttered in disbelief
What happened next became somewhat of an urban legend. After witnessing his master's death, Gabriel fell into a vegetative state. He wouldn't respond to any questions and he wouldn't react as the humans placed him into a cage and transported him into their realm.
Ultimately, the human's plan was successful. The child they sent into the vampire's realm was a trojan horse. He never lived, nor did he ever have a soul. He was an illusion with a portal scroll cast on it.
The humans knew the vampire lord would celebrate the defeat of three of their four strongest heroes. They knew that when he gets drunk, his decision-making skills would drop and he would become a much easier opponent to deal with.
This is the tale of how the number one strongest hero was able to defeat the vampire lord. This is how the evil of their world ceased to exist.
However, when one tale had ended, another began…