Bab 222: Shadow Redeemed (Post-Castlevania LoS x Pre-Genshin Impact) by JBukharin
Words: 11k+
Link: -https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/24175
1: A Weary Shadow's Renewal
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"I was adored once, above all others… I too did not deserve to be cast out, abandoned, you now know what that feels like, don't you?"
"Hate can bring us back, give us strength. Embrace it!"
"You dare to challenge me? You will die for your blasphemy! Your soul belongs to me!"
"You have been fooled Gabriel! She is gone forever!"
"Surely you can do better than that, Gabriel!"
"God doesn't love you! He let your beloved die!"
"Die Belmont!"
"You think you can defeat me?!"
"Impossible!… is… that… the power of God?"
"No! Stay back from me!"
That battle against Satan. That prophecy to save the world. The lie that so many people perpetrated all for the sake of plunging him in damnation once he was done with his last mission.
Gabriel Belmont still remembered the very details of that day too perfectly.
Spoiler
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A curse, that's how he saw it. A memory that was meant to perpetually remind him that the chances of him finding his own heaven was denied by the very God he worshiped- the hope that Lord blessed him with, so false and yet so tempting.
Like honey, but actually poison.
But the days of him cursing the one that had him forsaken were gone by now. In fact, one would say that he was no longer bound by an oath to the Christian God ever since he… woke up here.
Away from known land, and into a new circumstance that deprived him of even the means to weep for the loss of that wrong hope. Gone was the chance of him reuniting with his wife. Gone was the humanity that he fought for as none here knew anything of what Gabriel knew of his past.
He was… found. Unconscious, left at the mercy of some unforgiving sea that ultimately saw fishermen retrieve his body. He couldn't remember the precise reason he ended up there.
He only remembered rushing out of Hell, trying to make it out of there alive as hot tears blurred his sight, the pain of that unforgivable betrayal still stinging as as all his horrible and painful steps had granted him nothing.
Marie was still dead, the woman having failed to see the hurt that she delivered with that 'sympathetic response' to what God's plans were. The Brotherhood of the Light, liars to the core that had been so quick to dispatch him and see him perish.
Perhaps they were all happy that he was gone. Good riddance… for him too as he would have to suffer any treachery from this point onward.
As he was brought back to land, Gabriel was introduced to the small community of Ritou, a relatively small port-town that was known as the main connection between Inazuma, the country he was now living by, and Liyue, another country that existed beyond the wide ocean the town bordered with in the west.
After having his body tended, Gabriel took hours to fully sponge what he had heard from the kind elderly couple that explained to him all he needed to know. He was resentful, yes, but these normal human beings felt too at peace.
He stood out as a sore thumb even in silence, something that didn't pass even as he folded his armor, kept all his equipment to the side and tried to settle in this land as a mere worker at the docks.
Gabriel just wasn't the kind of man that was experienced to this sort of hurdle, but patience was something he still had despite how abused that had been back during his last deed as a monster-hunter.
These days, he knew, had to be over for him. His purpose was too tainted to continue and this land was too peaceful to need a violent man. Thus he reneged to his vows and sought his own happiness within simplicity.
His old life was gone as far as he cared, for Gabriel Belmont sought to live the rest of his life as a normal citizen of a small community. His mood was still negative at times, but weeks went by before he truly felt at home.
And while he had slowly gotten somewhere with this goal, the past seemed to have chances to poke its ugly head at him. Specifically when his Combat Cross tried to get his attention, glowing softly and calling upon him.
Not just the Cross… it was the Lord. He was trying to reach him for… something. But nothing could move the decision that Gabriel had set for himself, a humble man he aspired to be, away from pain and sorrow as he was once condemned to experience.
It was a good life… until fate decided to be cruel to him once more.
While he himself didn't see anything worthy of concern, Gabriel found the sudden 'deployment' of guards in Ritou to be concerning. No words were spread on why they would be needing that sort of protection as the village was far from any potential threat of the land.
Yet, Gabriel felt it in his blood the night that something did change in his hopelessly calm life: the Combat Cross was glowing harshly at this point, alarming him to an extent as he couldn't even rest properly because of it.
He didn't approach it at first, but then, he heard it, a loud roar that ripped the town's silence apart and woke up the many folks that had gone to sleep. To Gabriel, it was instinct that urged him to retrieve the weapon, magic filtering in him as he felt that something was very wrong.
Without hesitation, he rushed out of the home he was given, the small hut just near enough to the core streets of Ritou as he started to look for the source of that unnatural roar.
It didn't take him long to find him. Numerous humans influenced by dark magic were engaging in combat with the guards, struggling against them yet winning due to their leading figure.
Standing at quite the towering height, the cackling being that looked quite human if not for the demonic mask and the two natural horns that protruded through his forehead, the malicious being responsible for this attack had an unpleasant stench of… pure dark magic.
Gabriel was now tempted with two options: he let this village die and left it to its fate, or he dared to fight once again for humanity-
No, it wasn't just 'humanity', it was the humanity that knew not of him. He could have easily walked away from this and avoided trouble, but…
These people don't deserve this.
They took him in, a stranger, with no particular reason if not kindness. There was no prophecy, there was no plan from above for him. There was only just retribution. Good deeds for good rewards, and bad deeds for… those unworthy of his mercy.
Thus he approached, planning to end this as quickly as possible.
Two corrupted troops rushed at him, lances readied to strike. They were… slow. He may have been inactive for a while, but his body was still capable of handling some divine feats that none of these mortals could ever hope to comprehend.
He sidestepped in both cases, but not before smacking the two with the Combat Cross as a prayer was chanted, Light Magic purging the darkness and freeing them from the demonic hold as they slumped on the ground unconscious shortly after.
The tall being noticed, turning his head and snarling as he saw Gabriel approaching. No words were shared as the behemoth ran towards him, preparing his heavy club for a quick kill.
A quick kill sure unfolded, but not in the way the monster envisioned. Gabriel's Combat Cross fully manifested as the precise whip attack went to wrap around the being's neck and, with a snap-like shift, the edges of the whip cut his head off.
It was instantaneous and such a move led to the many corrupted humans to fall apart as blood erupted like a volcano from the decapitated leader.
Gabriel stared at the sight just for a brief moment and… then left for his home.
That was it. No rush, no urge to go on. Only this and this alone.
He was back to his bed, undisturbed for the rest of the day. The weapon was put aside, he hurled any worry aside as he just sought rest from that unpleasant night. He was greeted in the morning by the very guards he 'saved' by his house's entrance.
They wished to thank him, to humor him with a chance to join the guard or even petition to join the Shogun's army. Gabriel refused all of that, keeping mostly quiet but making it clear through his behavior he sought no glory from this.
They didn't disturb him once the door was closed shut on them.
The town knew he had done it- Gabriel had killed a dangerous Oni. The voice spread far and wide as he knew that others tried to revere him for being a hero. Rejection slowly burned that away as normalcy was restored within the end of the first month spent in this different land.
And as peace was back in his life, he received a new job due to what happened that night.
"Inazuma City?" He mumbled. "How come do I have to go there?"
"Well, since you can defend yourself pretty well, I wanted to have you take care of this commission," Saito, his employer, explained. He sounded nervous and, to an extent, Gabriel could justify how moody he felt at having to depart his new home for a while. "The road is filled with wild Yokai and we need spares for what was lost when the Oni attacked. I tried to have guards do that but they demand too much from us."
That sounded… reasonable enough. As much as it pained him to leave for a trek, it was not without a good enough motivation. It was just a shame that he had to take on this hurdle on his own.
"I will… make sure to do this then."
A smile appeared on his boss' face, and he was given a permit for the equipment he was meant to bring back. He was given a cart with two horses and plenty of space in the vehicle to carry what was needed back to Ritou.
He bid a pleasant few days to the elderly couple that still kept on visiting him while asking them to keep an eye on his house for any issues. With that done, he packed what he needed for the trip and…
Gabriel was off for Inazuma City.
His Battle Cross and Armor stashed together in a small back at the end of the cart.
------d-d-d-d---------------
AN
Gabriel's departure unfolds Post Lords of Shadow but before the DLCs and he arrives before Khaenri'ah's catastrophe.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone