A tale not of justice, but of a man's desperate struggle against temptations
Dracula pried open the iron bars of the cage and stood still for a moment, watching.
Inside, Kagarino Kirie remained curled up, unmoving.
He tilted his head. "What's wrong, Kirie? Why aren't you coming out?"
{You've got some nerve asking me that, Lord Dracula!}
Kirie hugged her knees tightly, glaring straight at him.
{According to all the novels I've read, this is where you're supposed to gently lift me in your arms, comfort me with kind words, and boost my affection stat in one big romantic moment! If you played it right, I might even be ready to sit in your lap and… do other things!
Are you just emotionally stunted—or are you just too lazy to even bother!?}
These were the frustrated thoughts of a sixteen-year-old girl trapped in the brain of a tsundere vampire.
Just then, a mysterious voice echoed in her mind.
[Yo, young lady! How's it going?]
Kirie flinched internally, but composed herself quickly. She was, after all, a vampire girl trained in magic.
{Who are you?!}
[You can call me the system. Or anything else, really—names aren't important. What is important is: do you want to win over that lazy ass vampire in front of you?]
Kirie glanced up at Dracula's annoyingly handsome face.
Her stare sent a shiver down Dracula's spine.
He rubbed his face. "Kirie, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
She simply nodded silently, eyes blank.
"…Okay then." Dracula reached out and touched her forehead. "No fever. Weird. Maybe she's just shy?"
[Listen carefully. Tell him you twisted your ankle and can't walk. He'll have no choice but to pick you up. That's your moment. Use your charm. You know what to do.]
Kirie cleared her throat, then put on her best pitiful expression.
"Lord Dracula… I twisted my ankle. I can't walk…"
"Oh, that's all? No need to be embarrassed about that," Dracula said nonchalantly. Then he snapped his fingers. "World—carry her."
[You idiot!!] Dracula's system screamed in his head.
[A pretty girl just handed you the perfect opportunity to hold her in your arms—and you passed it off to your Stand?!]
Kirie was now floating in mid-air, cradled in the arms of World, which of course, as a Stand, was invisible to her.
She could only stare blankly at her own levitating body as she trailed behind Dracula.
{Coach, Lord Dracula is playing by no one's rules...}
Dracula scratched his cheek, shuffling lazily toward Allen's direction. "I told you, I'm too lazy to carry people. Kirie's light, sure, but still—dozens of pounds is dozens of pounds."
"Besides, after all the effort she spent running away from marriage, if I touch her, she might try to stab me in my sleep."
[No no no, she really won't.]
Kirie, now watching herself float through the air, asked mentally:
{System-san, what now?}
[First off, I'm not a "san." Second—struggle a little.]
{Struggle?}
She thought it over… then flailed herself free of the invisible Stand's grasp.
She fell to the ground with a thud, clutching her leg in pain—this time, the ankle twist was real.
Dracula rushed over and knelt beside her, inspecting her injury.
"What's with you, girl? Does your family have a history of Parkinson's or something?"
"…Yup, now it's a proper sprain," he muttered, examining her swollen ankle.
{Perfect. Now… surely he'll carry me now, right?}
Kirie thought triumphantly.
But then Dracula's hand lit with blood energy—and in an instant, her injury vanished.
"There you go, all healed up. You can walk now. Come on, up you go." He patted her shoulder and stood.
Kirie sat on the ground, completely dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Allen was beaming with pride.
"Mr. Gabriel! Look—I defeated the vampire!"
Dracula strolled up, yawning as he patted Allen's shoulder. "Well, at least you didn't bring shame to the Belmont name."
Allen grinned—until he spotted Kirie behind Dracula, face dark with irritation.
He instantly raised the Vampire Killer whip, eyes wary. "Careful, Mr. Gabriel! That one's a vampire!"
Kirie glared at him, her mood growing even fouler.
"I know," Dracula replied, tousling Allen's hair. "You should've figured it out by now, right? My true identity?"
Allen froze.
"Gabriel… is a name I haven't used for over a thousand years," Dracula said calmly. "My real name… is Dracula."
"Dracula?" Allen's voice suddenly rose with excitement. "So you really are the founder of the Belmont clan—the father of our ancestor, Alucard?"
"I am not." Dracula cut him off firmly.
"Huh? But…"
"I said no, and that's final." Dracula leaned in, face dark and brooding. "Kid, you got a death wish?"
"But our family records—" Allen faltered, taking a step back in fear.
"They're wrong. That brat Alucard made them up." Dracula declared without hesitation.
"…Alright then. But, Lord Dracula," Allen said hesitantly, "does that mean next time we meet… we'll be enemies?"
"No." Dracula replied, his voice calm. "This will be our last meeting. Soon, there will be no Dracula left in this world."
He looked Allen square in the eyes, and in a grave tone continued, "Kid, I'm giving you the Vampire Killer. Use it well. Even if there's no Dracula left, the mission of the Belmonts isn't over. I have a duty to pass on to you."
Allen dropped to one knee, solemn and resolute.
Dracula placed his palm gently on the young man's head and began to speak slowly:
"Even without Dracula, darkness in this world will never vanish—because it is born from mankind itself. As long as humans exist, the shadows will always linger in the corners of the earth. So today, in the name of the King of Darkness, I grant you and your clan a new mission: From this day forth, the Belmonts shall wield the Vampire Killer and stand against mankind's darkness—protecting the very survival of the human race from within the abyss."
Bowing his head, Allen declared, "I, Allen Belmont, on behalf of the Belmont family, accept this great mission."
Dracula nodded in satisfaction and patted Allen on the shoulder. "Get up, kid. There's one last thing I need you to do."
With a smile full of knowing mischief, he added, "When you get back, find yourself a few girls and rebuild the Belmont family strong. Fighting against all of humanity's darkness won't be possible without manpower, after all."
Allen's face turned bright red in an instant. Dracula just chuckled—and, with Kirie in his arms, dissolved into a cloud of mist and vanished.
Allen stood there dazed, staring at the rising sun. He muttered under his breath, "Hmm… come to think of it, that noble lady wasn't half bad…"
On the rooftop of a cathedral in Paris, Dracula stood gazing at the horizon. Beside him, hiding in the shadows and clearly sulking, was Miss Kagarino Kirie.
"What's wrong, Kirie? Why the grumpy face? You mad at me?" he asked, glancing sideways.
"I'm not mad, my lord," she replied flatly. "I was just thinking… it's amazing how you've lived so long without ever finding a partner."
Dracula rubbed his nose awkwardly. "You say you're not mad, but here you are roasting me already."
Kirie turned away, but suddenly found herself being scooped up into his arms. She looked back, stunned—only to see herself cradled in Dracula's embrace.
Her face instantly flushed crimson.
Dracula held Kirie close as he took off into the dim sky just before dawn, heading back to Castlevania. While flying, he said casually, "Kirie, if you've got something to say, just say it. I'm too lazy to guess."
Blushing, Kirie gave a small nod.
Dracula thought for a moment, then added, "Oh, and if some voice claiming to be a 'system' starts whispering in your ear again—don't listen to it. It's a scam artist."
"A scam artist? What's that?"
"It means it's trying to sweet-talk you into something dumb."