Count Dracula

Keanu had carefully prepared an underground cavern beneath the windmill ruins as the battleground for Dracula.

The limited space of the cave seriously impaired the flight of the vampires. Agility creatures are masters of rapidly closing in and dodging their adversaries. This was evident from Van Helsing's encounter with the three vampire brides yesterday. And Marishka's demise proved that Keanu's chosen terrain thoroughly stunted their movement. The narrow space was Keanu's primary defense.

Sure enough, Count Dracula arrived. He had no choice but to come.

In the original Van Helsing storyline, Dracula coveted Frankenstein's monster. Legend had it that vampires, undead creatures, were unable to conceive living offspring. Dracula's children with his vampire brides were stillborn. To grant life to his offspring, the only way was to channel the life energy from Frankenstein's monster into his child. This was a pivotal plot point in the story.

Keanu's entrance may have tweaked some details - Anna's affection shifting from Van Helsing to Keanu or Marishka's death at Keanu's hands instead of Van Helsing's, but he could not alter the fundamental components of the 'task world'.

Like how you used to go through the door but now prefer climbing through the window, regardless of where you enter, the door and window are inevitably there and the house would still be yours. These fundamentals remained unaltered.

Thus, Dracula's need for Frankenstein's monster is also a constant.

As seen in the film, Count Dracula exudes the aura of a gentleman. A vampire forever frozen in his forties, refined and noble, with the mystery and charisma typical of an aristocrat. It's a known fact that Dracula was part of the Villares family and was turned into a vampire after death, leading his father, Old Villares to curse God with a vile family oath.

Upon Dracula's arrival, Keanu stays in the dark and uses Spiritual Exploration. But the results revealed were surprising.

"Vampire, Count Dracula, HP 2000, Agility Type."

Beyond that, there was no further information about Dracula. It indicated that Dracula's level or WP was so high that the Spiritual Exploration was almost ineffective, unable to provide more intel. But even the known data is alarming enough for Keanu.

The next instant, Dracula, as if sensing something, turned his eye in Keanu's direction. Keanu tensed instantly, realizing that using Spiritual Exploration on powerful targets could alert them.

Despite this, Dracula didn't seem bothered. He merely sneered in Keanu's direction before disappearing into the cavern with his two vampire brides. The damp environment and myriad of tunnels formed by the ruins, along with the initial stakeout, suggested a plot to Dracula. Yet his confidence in his power meant he could overlook any plot.

When has a human ever managed to succeed in hunting him down through centuries of attempts? His comprehensive strength gave Dracula the confidence to face any trap. A glance confirmed to him that those hiding in the dark were of minimal threat.

As he got deeper into the cavern, signs of the monster's presence were evident. The giant footprints, signs of survival, and the distinctive lingering smell in the air confirmed to Dracula that this was the creature that had once slipped through his fingers.

With a satisfied sigh, Dracula murmured to himself with a sense of gratification, "This is destiny's favor. I thought it had gone away, that our children couldn't live. But now, it's returned…"

"It could be a trap", Verona advised.

"No matter what trap, it cannot stop us", commented Dracula darkly.

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling howl echoed from a nearby tunnel.

Dracula and his brides exchanged looks, recognizing the howl as that of Frankenstein's creature. The vampires charged toward the sound.

The gloomy tunnel was no hindrance to the night sight of the vampires. After traversing about a hundred meters, they found Frankenstein's monster tied to a pillar. The creature roared louder with terror as Dracula approached.

Instructing his brides with a wave of his hand, they rushed over to release the creature while Dracula maintained a distance of ten meters.

Just as the brides were about to untie the monster, Dracula spotted something shimmering beneath the creature's feet.

A wave of dread swept over him: "Retreat!"

An intense light exploded, engulfing the two vampire brides and Frankenstein's monster like a tidal wave. The Light Trap, which caused the death of countless goblins, was Keanu's second defense.

Amid horrifying screams, the vampire brides rushed out, shielding Frankenstein's monster.

The scorching sun pitilessly burnt the brides, their previously captivating visages scorched into horrific blackened states, sporting eerie black and white stripes. Strangely, the monster seems unaffected by the sunlight.

Dracula looked on at his brides and the monster, a paradoxical mix of fury and joy on his face. At the same time, the loud rumbling of collapsing rocks echoed from the cave's entrance.

Realizing the approaching danger, Dracula dashed towards the exit only to find it blocked by massive boulders, leaving a small exit. Through it, he could see a man standing outside the tunnel.

It was Keanu.

"It's him! He killed Marika!" cried Verona.

"Roar!" Dracula bellowed.

He was about to move those rocks, storm out, and rip Keanu to pieces when he suddenly heard bullets whistling toward him from behind.

Realizing the alarm, Dracula deduced that someone else was hiding in the tunnel with the monster. He should have thought of it sooner; the Light Trap needed to be preset. The one setting up the trap couldn't have been the bound monster.

A dark figure was charging from deep within the tunnel, firing relentlessly at Dracula. It was Van Helsing.

Countless bullets were shot at Dracula in the dark tunnel. After the initial shock, Dracula sneered. Such an attack was trivial to him. With a wave of his hand, the two vampire brides lunged towards Van Helsing.

A series of resounding shots and shouts erupted from within the tunnel, suggesting an intense fight, even though the actual happenings were obscured. From the urgency of the sounds, Keanu could even hear Van Helsing's choked gasp which means he was under attack.

That Van Helsing was injured and grumbling within such a short span showed how disadvantaged he was in the conflict. But this was Keanu's carefully chosen battleground, his trap had more tricks up his sleeve than just the Light Trap.

The next moment, Keanu had fetched a little thing out of his emblem. "An unknown item made from Vesuvius magma and Gobi Desert alkali by Carl. Can create a light source similar to the sun, causing 120 damage every second to undead creatures, lasting for 8 seconds." This was an item from the original storyline that Carl didn't know how to use, but Keanu immediately claimed it. It was a formidable weapon against vampires, dealing almost 1000 of accumulated damage - significant to any undead. And this was Keanu's third strategy.

The next moment, Keanu threw the light source into the tunnel, bringing blinding light into the dim space and triggering terrified cries from Dracula and his brides.

With the exit blocked by rocks and Van Helsing guarding the rear of the tunnel, Dracula knew he was running out of time. With a mighty swing of his arm, a large rock blocking the exit was removed, revealing a small hole. Yet a split second later, Alena's shrill scream echoed in the tunnel, her body showing signs of decay.

Mustering his strength, Dracula shoved two more rocks aside, creating a hole large enough for a person to pass through. But it was too late for Alena who crumbled to ash in the sunlight.

Van Helsing, relieved of some pressure, remembered Keanu's command and fired relentlessly at Dracula.

Understanding her impending doom, the last bride, Verona, lunging at Van Helsing, froze just as her nails were about to scratch his face. Like an ancient mummy exposed to the wind, she rotted into ash.

"No!" Dracula howled in fury and grief.

He charged at the final rock obstructing his path, sending it flying towards Keanu.

Keanu, having already shot at Dracula four times, didn't flinch from the incoming boulder and fired a fifth shot. The boulder just grazed his cheek.

With a mighty crash, Dracula finally broke through all the rocks, lunging towards Keanu.

This was the severest blow he had suffered since becoming a vampire. All his brides were dead because of Keanu, and he had been exposed to sunlight and still hadn't managed to escape it.

To his shock, he discovered that he had stepped into a vine trap.

It was yet another low-level entanglement trap.

Emblem reminder: Due to the high level of the trapped target, the entanglement trap can only immobilize it for 1.5 seconds.

A cunning glint flashed in Keanu's eyes.

Dracula might never know how Keanu managed to predict his landing spot. Starting, Keanu didn't use an entanglement trap. However, when Dracula began pushing the rocks aside, Keanu swiftly deduced Dracula's exit position and laid a trap for him.

1.5 seconds is short but it felt like an eternity for Dracula. As soon as the time passed, he quickly moved to avoid stepping into another trap. To his shock, he stumbled into yet another entanglement trap.

Keanu's traps were arranged in a triangle. Had Dracula simply surged forward after triggering the first trap, he could have made it out. Instead, he learned his lesson too quickly and fell back into the trap laid out for him.

The consecutive traps held Dracula for 3 seconds, allowing Keanu to land three shots and absorb the sunlight for three additional seconds. When he escaped the second trap, he no longer dared to rush at Keanu and dove into a dark corner of the cave, narrowly escaping the final two seconds of sunlight.

Exposed to strong sunlight for 6 seconds, Dracula lost 720 HP. Pair that with Van Helsing's and Keanu's relentless assault, he lost nearly half his HP and his two vampire brides, Dracula was alone. It was the worst setback Dracula had ever faced.

All credit, or the blame, belonged to Keanu. Dracula now bore a great hatred towards him.

The next moment, when the light faded, Dracula emerged from the darkness, charged fiercely at Keanu, and simultaneously launched a red shock wave.

"Vampire Dracula special skill: Bloody Shockwave. Inflicts 150 damage to all enemies within a straight-line distance of 20 meters."

Keanu, with a mere hundred HP, would die instantly upon taking this hit.

Yet, in that critical moment, Keanu did something that left Dracula utterly stunned.