1 Chapter 1 - Coming Home

"Supernatural beings have always coexisted with humans in this world, but ever since the most powerful mage cast his spell to split them from the human realm, those creatures have vanished, and the world has remained harmonious for a long time. However, not all of them were completely gone; those creatures have been silent for a while, but soon they will rise again, trying to conquer both worlds."

One night, with strong winds, deafening thunder, and flashy lightning, a man was walking home to a mansion on top of a mountain. He was wearing a soldier's uniform and carrying a duffle bag; he looked like he was on long duty in the army. When he was close to his home, he seemed to notice something strange. The wind blowing, the smell of the surroundings, and the noise made by the birds were somehow strange for him. As soon as he entered the gate, he felt differently, heavy, as if there was something that was aware of his presence. When he looked at the front door of the house, he saw it was open and there were some strange scratches. He immediately ran closer to take a look. It looks like the work of a wild animal with large and sharp claws. He finally went inside and saw that there's nothing wrong inside, so he decided to go upstairs, where his younger sister Evette's room was.

While walking to the stairs, he hears a soft groan coming from the upper floor. As he came closer, he recognized the one making the noise: Keith, their butler, a loyal servant of their family. He was lying on the floor as he tried to put pressure on his wound in his belly. The man quickly came to him and asked about what happened to their home. Keith grabbed the man's collar and said, "Evette is in danger; go find her, please." The man was shocked and worried and rapidly searched his sister's room, and he found a big mess. It looks like someone robbed them or a big fight ensued. He got more anxious, but he calmly figured out the situation. The man noticed some dirt beside the bed—a couple of pieces of rock debris—but not just from an ordinary rock, as if it were emitting a strange aura. He was completely convinced that these circumstances were serious and that he needed to act swiftly.

The man went back to the lower floor straight to the library. When he was about to open the door, he heard the window shattered, so he entered the room immediately. It was dark, but he saw a big silhouette; it was not a human. Then he softly spoke the words, "A gargoyle?" It noticed him, so it harshly spread its wings, preparing to fly out through the window. He quickly grabbed a blade displayed by the wall and charged towards the gargoyle, only to find out that it had taken his sister. He paused for a moment, trying to find out what to do; however, his sister's captor was ready to escape. The man didn't have a choice but to attack and swing his blade. The man tries to cut its wing, but it barely scratches it. The gargoyle flaps its wing, creating a strong wind that pushes the man a little. Gargoyle quickly took off through the window, but the man grabbed its lower body, so he was able to fly with it. It wants to fly a little higher, but the weight is too much. It tries to shake off the man until they both fall to the ground. Evette falls too; not far from them, she was unconscious, but the man has no time to take a look at his sister. The gargoyle looks angry; it growls, ready to attack, lifting its claw. While the man holds his blade, making a stance, waiting for a perfect chance. The battle has begun.

The gargoyle charges toward the man, and the man waits for the perfect opportunity to counter its attack. From the moment the gargoyle's assault reaches the man's range of attack, he quickly turns around to dodge, then swings his sword so hard for its wing that it still doesn't work; it was harder than he could have ever imagined. The gargoyle was prepared for the next strike; it released powerful energy from its body, making the man stunned for a while, and then it aimed to smash the man's head. For the last split second, the man barely guarded himself with his blade to reduce the impact; he was pushed off so far that he got past some trees and statues along their mansion's yard. Landed on a shallow pond, he hardly felt his limbs, but he needs to stand up and fight for the sake of his sister. Trying to get up, he holds his sword with all his remaining strength. His breathing is hard, and his vision is getting blurry, but the gargoyle wants to finish him. The massive creature once again flies towards the man, and at that very moment he remembers one thing his grandfather used to tell him: "Some of us look strong on the outside; however, we are still broken from the inside. Maybe our body is young and strong, but our soul is lonely and envious." When he hears those words, to him it doesn't make sense, but now in this very fight he understands everything. He waits for the gargoyle's attack once more, focusing on his final attack. He was at his limit, but this time he was certain of victory. Before the gargoyle's attack hits him, he strikes a specific spot on the enemy's neck—a small gap in its stone skin that reveals its weakness. His enemy screams in pain, but he won't wait that long to finish the fight. He tries to sever its head, but his strength wasn't enough. Out of nowhere, he hears a gunshot, and the gargoyle looks behind. Keith was holding a shotgun, and he bandaged his wound with a torn cloth to temporarily stop the bleeding. Keith shot the gargoyle continuously until it lured away from the man, then Keith slowly walked to the man and said, "Are you okay, young master?" The man just nodded while keeping an eye on the gargoyle. The gargoyle paused for a moment; it seems something caught its attention. Then it tried to walk away from the man, and Keith looked and walked towards Evette, who was still passed out. Keith once again shot it until he was out of bullets. They want to catch up and stop it from taking Evette, but their bodies are on their limit. It picked up the unconscious girl, then prepared to fly away. Out of desperation, the man threw away anything he could pick to the gargoyle. He keeps shouting the words, "Let go of my sister!" Keith, on the other hand, tries to reload his shotgun. He is panicking that the bullets keep falling to the ground. There's nothing they can do. The gargoyle is finally able to fly away from the mansion. The man consistently smashes the ground while tears fall from his eyes. Keith knelt out and cried, "I'm sorry for not being able to protect her. My whole life's purpose is now gone." The man stops hitting the ground and says, "This isn't over; I know there is a way we can get her back."

The man stood up and rushed to the mansion, straight to the library. He went to a fireplace and grabbed something inside, a switch, and then a secret door opened. Heading up inside the hidden room, it was such a mess. He quickly searches for something, and out of disappointment, he says, "The book was gone!" Keith follows the man, and he is shocked to know that their valuable family heirloom was stolen. They both stared out of nowhere, didn't know what to do anymore, and then, in an instant, the man came up with an idea. He asked Keith to get him a brush and ink with a special blank scroll. "This will do; we just need to inform them about this incident, and then I know we can still save her," the man said while writing a letter. "Young master, are you sure you want them to find out? We failed to protect something that can greatly affect the balance between the two," Keith insisted, but the man interrupted him. "If we don't do this, we will lose her forever. As the new head of the family, I will take all the blame and punishment from this," the man confidently stated while eagerly finishing the said letter. After a few minutes, it was done. "Go get the owl," the man softly asked Keith. He was in pain from all the injuries from the fight, but the sooner he sends this letter, the better. Keith holds a white owl, then hands it to the man. He inserts the scroll in a cylinder-shaped container, then ties it to the owl's feet. "Take this to them; you're our only hope." The man speaks with hope. At last, the owl flew away.

"Young master, you really need to take a rest," their loyal butler worriedly told the man. "Not yet; there is something I must do first. You must treat your wound; if not, you could lose a lot of blood," the man replied as he walked out of the room. "I am scared of what would happen, first the young maiden, and now you, young master, what will I do if I lose both of you?" Keith answered with a shaky voice. "I can handle everything from here, thank you," the man said as he completely left the room. He slowly walks outside the mansion, straight to the yard, then through a forest not so far from their home. Deep in the woods, there is a cemetery where his ancestors are buried. Getting closer to a grave with names embedded on it, Judith Rose Van Luther, his mother, and Benedict Van Luther, his father, say, "I don't know how to face you after I let my sister be taken away from me, but please give me strength to face this mess. I will do anything to make it right, anything for the only family I have." The man speaks as he wipes tears from his eyes. "You really mean anything?" out of nowhere, a man surprisingly asked. "Who are you? How did you get here? This is a private estate of our family," the man responds. "People call me the grave digger, but you can call me Dante," the strange man answered with a big smile on his face, his two big teeth sticking out. He wears dirty clothes like he really is a grave digger, and his hands look very rough. He was holding a sack filled with unknown stuff. "What on earth do you want from me?!" the man annoyingly asked again. "Oohhh, I just heard you will do anything to fix your mistake; I just got a bit curious if that is true," Dante replied while making silly movements like he was really happy from their conversation. "Yes, I will do anything," the man replied, but Dante cut in, saying, "Excellent, I have a great deal for you; maybe I can help you with your revenge." The grave digger dug up the sack he was holding and then took out a well-honed blade. "This is the Blade of Vengeance; this can cut through any enemies, even that gargoyle," Dante says airily while swinging the blade. "Hold up, you saw that I was fighting that thing?" the man ambigously asked. "Yeah, and you looked pathetic swinging that dull blade of yours; hahaha, if only you had this that time, then maybe only maybe you'll win against that stoned fella," the grave digger spitefully responded. "How dare you insult my family's treasure? That blade passed down generation to generation to protect my ancestor's legacy!" the man angrily reacted. "Yet you let that thing escape with that little girl; how can you protect anyone or anything if your weapon can't harm any foes?" Dante answered with a serious face. "Listen to me, my friend; you can't bring back the past to make things right, but with this blade, you will never lose again. Every enemy will fear you once you draw this intrument of death at every battle," he added. The man silently took a glance at the blade, then he asked, "So what's the catch?" Dante was astounded and said, "You're a bright one; hahaha, I like you. Like I said, this is a deal; you will gain the power you've been seeking; however, you need to make a pact with me." The man said, "Let's hear it." The grave digger dug up another item from his sack; it was a shovel. "Like I said, I am a grave digger, so when the time comes and your life ends, I'm going to be the one to dig your grave and bury you," Dante seriously said. The man got a little confused, so he asked again, "That, was it? Anything else?" The grave digger sat down on a stone and answered, "Yes, that's it; if it suits you, we can make the pact right here, right now." The man hesitated; he doesn't want to trust the grave digger; on the other hand, his other self is craving power and wants to begin the pact. "There's no time to think; if what he's saying is true, I can save Evette in no time; there's nothing to lose. I really need this," the man told himself. "What should I do for the pact?" he asked. "We need a drop of your blood to this magic circle I am drawing, then say these words: I am, your name, of one's own accord. I want to make a pact with the grave digger, to be the one to dig my grave. When the time comes, in exchange, this blade of Vengeance's ownership will be mine from this moment until the day I die." Dante explained. While drawing the magic circle of their pact, he handed the blade to him. The man wounded himself and said,

"I, Gregory Van Luther, of one's own accord, want to make a pact with the grave digger. In exchange, this Blade of Vengeance's ownership will be mine, from this moment until the day I die."

After those last words, the wind blows really strong and the thunder becomes loud, while the lightning violently strikes straight to the ground, not so far from the grave digger and the man. He felt something strange in his body; his body felt light, and his injuries were healed in no time. He was amazed by what happened; he kept touching his body, and when he was about to ask the grave digger again, he was gone. In a blink of an eye, Dante was nowhere to be found. Gregory didn't want to waste any time, so he ran as fast as he could, going home. As soon as he gets to the mansion, Keith speaks to the young master. "Someone is waiting for you in the guess room, sir." The young master just nodded and walked inside straight to the guess room. "Long time no see, Sir Gregory," the guess speaks as the young master slowly sits in front of him. "What are you doing here? Henry Alville," Gregory replied. "The Council sends me; you've been summoned, my friend," Henry answered with an annoying smirk on his face.

Gregory was expecting this, but it was too soon; now he needs to face the council himself.