Venatores Noctis: Selfless Self-Destruction: Chapter 3 – Results of Lost Hope

Chapter 3 – Results of Lost Hope

After his long travels, Claudius arrives at the site of the tower to find that an entrance to it jutting out of the ground is surrounded by beastmen and strange black skeleton vampires that have little to no skin on their bones set up in the battle ruined campsite that surrounds the site.

“You are welcome inside,” a beastman says.

Despite not being attacked by the beastmen, Claudius takes advantage of their passivity to kill them with three large swipes of his whip. He winches after the attack because of his injury from the vampire lord and remembers what the woman said before offering up the pain the penance and going down the stairs to enter the upside down tower. The stairs down are a crumbled mess with dirt slowly dripping down like an hourglass as if the structure will collapse if broken in the right place. Further down, Claudius enters the first room. This room contains ruined what must’ve been beautiful statues, paintings, furniture, and more. These ruined objects are being cleaned and fixed by serfs, and just like the beastmen on the surface, these ones don’t mind Claudius' presence.

One of them bows to Claudius then says, “Welcome to our castle. Please, do not mind our appearance and make yourself at home. Do you need first aid? We have many doctors that can help you.”

The beastman’s honest question about his health gives Claudius pause before he stabs it with the end of his whip to silently kill it. This method is the way by which Claudius slays every single serf and vampire in this castle with a few small fights that end in seconds here and there. Claudius does a thorough cleaning of this castle hoping to find a vampire lord or someone to tell him where the center of the tower is, but he doesn’t find any. It then occurs to him that he let his zealotry get to him and did not see the obvious opportunity.

“It wouldn’t be a sin to take advantage of their hospitality so I can find the center of the tower,” Claudius silently says to himself before realizing another thing. “Guardian angel, my guardian dear. My grandfather’s guardian angel led him through his trials to his fate, his wife, and the only serfs who could redeem themselves. Will you not show me the way as well?”

Waiting in silent prayer gives Claudius no answers so he assumes he is where he is meant to be and that his chosen course of action is correct. When he travels further down into the tower, he finds himself in another castle, but this is more like a small town. Every large room contains something different. Some are taverns, bakeries, and restaurants, while others are homes and even churches. To his surprise, the churches practice the same true Catholic faith that he does and there doesn’t appear to be any sign of sin or misdeeds, however, he is still uneased by the sight of the beastmen, skeletal vampires, and other vampires who go about their daily business as if they weren’t monsters living in a destroyed castle. Reconcentrating his efforts on his task, he goes up to a human serf who is selling clothes that he is making.

Claudius asks him, “Might you know where the lord of this castle is?”

“Dead and in the ground where he belongs. Were you hoping to kill him yourself?” the serf answers.

“I was.”

“Well, there’s nothing evil in this tower anymore, friend. The serfs have risen up in every castle in this tower, killed the lords, and now we live here in relative peace.”

“Relative?”

“Relative because fights will sometimes break out and the Corpus may lose themselves to their sinful ways, but I think we’re doing better than one would expect.”

“A Corpus? Those creatures of legend are here?”

“You’ve surely passed several by. There are no true vampires in this area. Not anymore.”

“I’ve been attacked by vampires in this area and my holy whip has killed them.”

“If you know the legends, then you know that the Corpus die when God allows them to and when their penance has been paid, so they can enter Heaven. This is a tragedy really. I assume that’s why you’re all beat up?”

“Yes, and it’s why I doubt that the Corpus are here.”

“I can’t help that and can only assure you that what the Corpus do is outside of their will and they helped us destroy the last of the lords. They even destroyed the blasphemous magic in here that allowed those who used it to teleport.”

“I thought Saint Nevar destroyed that when he destroyed the tower.”

“He did, but the power to make portals still existed within the tower since it all fell to the ground. Now, thanks to the serfs, that power is forever lost.”

“Why did the serfs rebel?”

“Because of Saint Nevar’s and Saint Josiah’s example. They inspired us to rebel.”

“Then why also did the serfs rebel against the Church?”

“We haven’t. It’s just that we’re rebelling against those in Church that take advantage of us and think of serfs as nothing more than irredeemable creatures, which is ironic because of the saints who were serfs and Saint Raven who was a Corpus.”

Finding no way to argue with the serf’s point, Claudius wonders what to say next for a few seconds.

“Who runs this mess of castles then and how is it still together?”

“The most powerful of serfs that led the assault on the lords. You’ll find them a few castles down. As for keeping it together, it probably has to do with the original magic that kept it together and maybe even the will of God since it’s so improbable that it’s still together.”

Hearing that it’s God’s will that this tower be together ignites Claudius’ anger since it sounds like blasphemy to him, but he holds his rage in a way that doesn’t show his rage on his face or body language. He then thanks the serf before moving down to visit the leaders of the serfs. On his way there, the two other castles he passes through are filled with similar scenes to the last with one castle having schools and libraries and the second having farms and bakeries. It is then that Claudius’ resolve wavers as a young child comes up to him and asks him if he needs a doctor and food since his condition is obvious to this child. This child is also part wolf, which shows Claudius that the serfs have been here long enough to reproduce. In his mind and the mind of some of the others in the Church, it is an abomination for beastmen to reproduce despite them still being considered men and having the same rights as men, assuming the place they’re living in isn’t biased against them.

“No, I’m fine,” Claudius says to the boy.

The boy doesn’t appear to believe him until he says, “Okay. Hey, how can I look as cool as you? Did you get that look by being a knight of the Church?”

For some reason, a beastman turns to look at Claudius at the hearing of this then runs away deeper into the tower. The beast’s suspicious behavior causes Claudius to chase after it until he finds himself at a dead end that happens to be a graveyard. Many gravestones litter this room with inscriptions that note some of these people as the ones that fought for the serfs’ freedom while others are noted as being victims of the vampires and even the Church. Seeing that there’s no way out of this room, Claudius feels out the walls and then the graves to try to find a possible hidden exit. The boy even more curious about Claudius than Claudius is about the beastman follows him into the graveyard to watch him until he becomes impatient and approaches him again.

He says, “What are you looking for, sir?”

“Nothing that should concern you,” Claudius answers.

“You look like you’re looking for secrets. Let me see if I can help. I found a chicken in a wall once. Don’t know why it was there, but I heard the lord that had the castle I found it in loved eating chickens so much that he had to hide his excess stock of it in all sorts of places.”

Ignoring what the boy said, Claudius thinks to himself about how to get him to leave.

“Hey, I found a secret staircase! Is this what you’re looking for.”

The spot where the boy finds the staircase is an ordinary grave that doesn’t stick out in any way. Seeing the staircase, Claudius moves passed the boy and down the stairs without even thinking to thank him. This secret reveals an area filled with the mangled bodies of serfs, humans, knights, and other seemingly normal folks. Despite this being a horrid sight, part of Claudius is sourly relieved that his suspicions that this tower still contains evil are correct. Going further in, he finds several beastmen, Corpus, and humans talking to each other.

“The Church has sent their soldiers to kill us! I told you they were going to!” one of them says.

“Maybe this is a misunderstanding. Did you send out your allies to scare them away again? You know that you’ll only be met with force and prolong this misunderstanding,” another beastman counters.

“That was for a good reason.”

“And what reason may that be? So you can continue with these experimentations that you inherited from the lords? I thought that we promised to move beyond this.”

“And I thought that you said I can continue them as a last resort because of the knowledge that would be lost.”

“That wasn’t me. That was my weakened side talking.”

“All the Corpus say the same thing, but it’s no matter. The lords here had an amazing last resort plan among many and we need to take advantage of it. We can’t let their research go to waste.”

“Their research that forces people to combine into a singular body? It’s an abomination.”

“You know how prideful the lords were and how they hated each other. They had a plan to separate themselves once they no longer needed to be combined. Granted, it was in its early stages, but you can see that I’ve been getting good results in undoing the beast modifications they put on people and those they have combined with others.”

“Most aren’t well in the mind after your experiments.”

“Okay, okay, but it’s something that we must make a decision on right now. If I explain any more details of the experiments, then we’ll be here all day. The Church’s soldiers have already killed the guards on the surface and those in the uppermost castle. Now, after everything that I’ve explained and the enemy banging at our gates, tell me that you agree with me.”

“If the Church sent their soldiers here, then we’d be seeing more than just one and there would be more chaos.”

“Tch. You dolt. You don’t understand what is happening!”

During this conversation, Claudius is unsure of how to act while listening in on what the enemy knows of him. His enemy is clear and in front of him, however, he is outnumbered and in no shape to take on so many at once, especially with the Corpus among them. The side who is on the side of the Corpus probably wouldn’t appreciate it if he killed the beast experimenter even though they are against each other, so that option is out of Claudius’ mind. Even so, looking around at all the scientific experimentations done on both the living and dead here that mocks God’s creation begs him to act sooner rather than later. Thinking that this was the same challenge that his grandfather faced, Claudius silently prays for bravery, strength, and bravery before leaping into action. He kills several beastmen with an efficient use of his whip and continues to kill multiple of them as he takes advantage of their surprise.

“I told you they’re here to kill us!” the experimenter says before working some kind of strange machinery. “I have no choice but to activate it as it is. You can thank me later.”

“No, wait!” the Corpus says to no avail.

A dark force comes out of the machine and shakes the very tower. It begins to suck in everything around it and seeing as how it is breaking apart the tower, Claudius assumes that it will destroy it and begins to leave. On his way out, he sees the boy that was following him get sucked in the direction of the dark force. At that moment, it was as if time was moving slowly. Claudius saw the boy’s terrified expression and saw him reaching out for him. A part of his soul tugs at him to go save the boy, but he thinks that living the life of a beastman is a curse, so he abandons him.

Even while leaving, Claudius doesn’t help anyone who is struggling not to get sucked in or fall victim to the collapsing tower. In fact, he pushes passed them and uses them to pull himself up while they fall. Eventually, Claudius makes his way out of the tower. He falls to the ground out of exhaustion and struggles to even stand. He then watches the staircase that goes into the tower slowly begin to sink down. Part of him remembers the boy and thinks about him again as he feels that he could’ve saved him.

“No, I couldn’t have been able to,” Claudius says to the rogue thought in his head.

As the staircase continues to sink, Claudius can see beastmen, Corpus, and other human serfs desperately trying to fit through the narrow hole that none can seem to fit through. The poor people beg Claudius to help them, but he just sits there thinking to himself that they deserve it.

“Pray for mercy because your death is near Repent of your sin of rebelling against the Church,” Claudius says to them.

Claudius can hear the people’s screams until he hears a loud crushing noise. He lays down before thanking God for his victory and his purpose being fulfilled. After getting up, he limps as he begins his way back home only to be stopped by the ground shaking again.

“I knew it wouldn’t be that easy,” Claudius says.

Ready for a fight, Claudius takes out his whip, however, when his enemy emerges from the ground where the tower was, he finds that his whip will probably not be enough. What emerges is an enormous beast that is a mile long and the size of a house along with some of the ruins of the tower. It has the body of a wolf, a half wolf, half fly face, the arm of an ape, a claw for another arm, and the wings of two different kinds of insect. The body is split in two by two different mouths and its lower half is that of a snake. Finally, hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands of humanoid figures can be seen writhing around in it appearing to try to break out and faint moans and screams emanating from its body.

“What kind of ungodly abomination are you?” Claudius says.

“We are the result of not leaving us alone and your persecution,” the creature says in many voices, “Whereas the Church was uncharitable to us, we have been charitable to you in letting you know this before you die.”

“God will not let me fail. To kill you is to achieve my destiny. Guardian angel, grandfather, please grant me strength.”

To Claudius’ dismay, his whip can hardly do any damage to the beast and is run over and seemingly killed by it soon after. In his half dead state, a light enters his mind to wake it up.

“I’m sorry, grandfather. I’ve failed you,” Claudius says.

“No, you haven’t. You still have a chance,” Nevar says.

“Is that you, grandfather?”

“I’m here for you, Claudius.”

“Hurry and grant me your intercession so I can live up to your legacy.”

“You don’t have to live up to my legacy in the way that you think.”

“What do you think?”

“What do you think I mean? Everyone has their own unique God-given purpose. My father achieved his after he died and I did by being pushed into it by God. You have a different one and I’m sorry to say that it’s changed because of your failure, but there’s still a chance to make amends.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

A second light enters his mind, which turns into his guardian angel.

The angel says, “It is true that you were meant to destroy the castle to finally seal away the magic and tainted scientific research within, but you were also meant to save the serfs within and bring them back to the Church and renew their faith in God.”

“What? Why couldn’t you tell me this before?”

“You were shown it and various people gave you good advice. You were shown the goodness of the serfs, given the advice to ask for help from the vampire hunters in your family’s hunting party, and told by a priest that certain people have certain roles in life and not everything harder to do is always right.”

“Then leave me to die so I may serve my penance in Purgatory or let me live in pain for as long as God will allow for the same reason.”

“That will not be necessary if you do what God actually wills. You have another chance if you follow my son’s example who is doing his part correctly,” Nevar says.

“My father? If you say so. I won’t let you down again, grandfather.”

Nevar smiles and then says, “I know you won’t, my grandson.”

Waking up from his injuries, Claudius finds himself with the other members of his family’s hunting party. His wounds are being dressed while others pray over him. They thank God that he’s awake, able to stand, and limp around. He makes his way to one of the leaders of the hunting party, or rather, they meet halfway after Claudius says that he wants to see him as his reason for not resting.

“You should be resting, sir,” the hunting party leader says.

“I will, but not yet. You must know of the massive abomination out there,” Claudius says.

“Oh, we know. It’s been out there for three days destroying towns, farms, and attacking cities on a rampage. We already have an army with siege weapons setting a trap for it. It’ll be dead before you know it especially since it bit off more than it can chew when it attacked Rome.”

“But what you don’t know is that it’s my fault that the beast is loose.”

“We figured you had to do something with it when we found your barely alive body near the ruins of the tower.”

“No, I could’ve stopped it from happening altogether. The beastmen were not allied with the vampires nor was there a single vampire among them. In fact, there were Corpus there. One of them got scared and activated a machine tainted by dark magic that sucked in both the dead and the living to create that creature. What that beastman did is indeed terrible, but it’s not like his fears were unfounded as I proved him right by carving a bloody path to him.”

“There’s no time to worry about that. I’m sure you have some painful penance in mind for yourself to make up for it. I suggest that you don’t do it. Do something simpler like praying that rosary the size of your arm for a while and promise God not to ever do something like that again.”

“I’ve already talked to my grandfather and my guardian angel who told me the error of my ways. I told them that I won’t let them down.”

“Then there’s nothing more to say. Let’s just keep this between ourselves and not tell anyone. Well, tell no one besides your confessor. We’ll get you back to your father soon. I’m sure he hasn’t stopped praying for your safety since you left.”

Sure enough, when Claudius returns to Rome damaged by the beast he unleashed, his father meets him halfway to hug him. Claudius tells his father what happened in secret and this doesn’t change his father’s attitude towards him.

“You aren’t mad at me?” Claudius asks.

“No, because I know that you’ll pick yourself up and become a better man. It was also good to hear that my father said to follow my example despite me being such a klutz. I can already see it in your eyes,” his father says.

“I’m…I’m sorry for everything I said about you. About calling you a coward and…for being such a foolish son.”

“Don’t worry about it. Come, you must get your rest. I’m getting a celebration ready for-Oh! I’ve spoiled the surprise! I’m sorry!”

“A party? For me?”

“Yes, to celebrate your coming back.”

“I…I guess I shouldn’t complain or say what is best for myself. I’ve been doing that for too long and dressing it as God’s will. Thank you for everything, father.”

Claudius embraces his father and looks forward to the future having learned from his mistakes. Once he gets better, he cleans up his appearance, and even though he is still a hunter, he vows to do what is right no matter how hard or easy it may be.

The End