Alucard had strayed far from the castle, originally attempting to harvest when he noticed the leaves of trees began to shift from green to an orange hue. Winter would come soon, and with Sypha and Trevor off on their little journey—Alucard was left to guard Castlevania and the Belmont Stronghold alone.

And yet, when Alucard wandered the woods, he caught the sense of something else lingering within the shadows. He could hear it, almost feel it. He figured they were night creatures, and he decided that he needed to clear them out. They were far too close to the castle for his liking, and refusing to do anything about them would only surely cause trouble later on.

Alucard moved swiftly, his thin long-sword in tow. He made haste to slaughter the savage night creatures that charged at him with their bloodthirsty claws and teeth, his movements effortless and almost graceful. However, being alone was his disadvantage.

Suddenly, Alucard was bound with a barbed wire-like contraption of some kind. It wrapped around his body, shredding through his clothes and painfully burning his skin underneath. It was silver, one of his harshest weaknesses that targeted his vampiric heritage. He tried to phase out of it with pained grunting, but the silver locked him in its clutches, drawing his blood. He tried to order his sword out of its sheathe, but it was bound against his body, unable to slip out.

When Alucard looked up at his assailant, he saw a mad-man, a necromancer of some kind. The man had purposefully unleashed those night creatures to draw Alucard in, and like a fool Alucard had stepped in the trap. The man raised his staff towards him, and Alucard, left alone to be killed, froze up.

Crimson blood suddenly splattered against the ground, soaking into the dirt. The body fell, and it wasn’t Alucard’s. The blond dhampir looked up with confusion and surprise, seeing his supposed-savior standing above the necromancer, their form illuminated by the moonlight.

“Who are you?”

Alucard’s words slipped out quickly, yet firmly. It didn’t matter, truly, who this person was—he needed to free himself from this wire now, far too vulnerable like this.