Chapter 137: Only the Head Has a Hitbox? Take My Spiral Pile Driver!
With Castlevania's official arrival in the current world, both Trevor and Dracula, those two fated enemies, had formally entered the existing order of things.
But anyone with a decent knowledge of Castlevania III knew there were three more important NPC units involved.
The pirate Grant, brought under Castlevania's influence and temporarily transformed into the villainous Grant, serves as the default BOSS stationed in the room at the top of the Clock Tower, the same BOSS room where Ross had used Genbu to finish off Feitan. He has the ability to freely climb any surface: vertical walls and ceilings are as easy for him as flat ground.
The magician Sypha, petrified by a Cyclops and left as a trophy statue in the deepest part of the Dark Forest. Only by defeating the Cyclops can her petrification be lifted. She commands three elemental abilities: ice, lightning, and fire, and some of her spells can directly alter the environment within Castlevania.
As a side note: if the player clears Castlevania III while partnered with Sypha, she and Trevor end up married.
The vampire Alucard, initially stationed as a BOSS in the B route's Alucard's Cave. Defeat him and he recognizes the player as worthy, becoming a partner. He can fire multiple fireballs and transform into a bat. Speedrunners consider him essential.
All three of these special NPCs could theoretically be integrated into the current world, but that required a small operation on Ross's part.
The short version: clear the Secret Realm stage once while partnered with each of the three, Grant, Sypha, and Alucard, and the prerequisites for pulling them into this world would be satisfied.
Once all three prerequisites were cleared, the corresponding units in the Secret Realm would become pure NPC projections capable of only basic interaction.
Ross, who was never the type to watch things happen from a distance, headed straight for the B route the moment he stepped in.
There's something about doing something like this that gives a person an unusually strong sense of motivation.
The underground B route leading to Alucard's location was, it had to be said, considerably harder than the overground paths. It wasn't just the mummies, golems, and fire elementals, each with their own specific mechanics. There was also a highly corrosive liquid dripping from the ceiling at irregular intervals, capable of dissolving the stone floor beneath it.
Even Trevor himself would find this stretch difficult.
Ross, however, moved through it with complete ease.
Permanent Trevor abilities active, Power Glove ready to swap in other character templates at any moment, Mega Buster on his arm firing away the entire route. It was more or less a walk through empty space.
The difference in combat difficulty between ranged and melee is significant enough that it barely needs stating.
Ross pushed through quickly and broke into the deepest section of Alucard's Cave: a vampire's private pod hotel installed beneath an enormous crucifix. Well. A coffin.
The moment Alucard caught the scent of Ross's vital, living human presence, he rose from the coffin in one straight, stiff motion.
Ross had already gotten a general description of Dracula's appearance from Killua, white-haired elegant aristocrat, so when Alucard appeared in his British-style, white-haired, absurdly good-looking form, Ross gave a satisfied nod.
The original black-haired, flat-topped, middle-aged design really was not worthy of the A-list title.
Of course, Ross didn't lead with his news. At this point Alucard wasn't in any state to listen.
You had to beat him first. Then he'd hear you out.
What Ross hadn't expected was that Alucard seemed to have gained a refined and surprisingly practical close-range fighting style, possibly a result of the character design change. In addition to his original abilities, he was now working with a shield-and-short-sword combination.
In standard conditions, Alucard's BOSS form was essentially a complete recreation of Dracula's first phase from the original Castlevania. His main attack is throwing open his cape to release a spread of three fireballs. He can dissolve into a swarm of bats at will, a swarm with no attack or damage hitbox, and move freely around the BOSS room. Critically, the only point on his body that registers a hit is his head, and only when the bat swarm reconvenes into a human shape. Hitting anywhere else does nothing.
If he had kept to that original pattern, Ross would have had a complete counter ready for it. All Ross needed was the Power Glove and the Hero's Shield from Gilgamesh pushed forward, and the fireballs, being projectiles at their core, would have posed no threat at all. After that, just wait him out. Alucard's defeat would have been a matter of time.
But the Alucard in front of him right now had abandoned that and was fighting with a shield-and-short-sword style that was genuinely elegant without sacrificing effectiveness.
...The kid had clearly had a rough life. His father owned an entire Castlevania and still couldn't be bothered to kit out his own son with decent equipment. Probably confiscated by the butler again.
When Alucard realized his three-way fireball spread was doing nothing to Ross, he dropped the technique without hesitation and went straight to close-range striking.
One with shield and sword, one with shield and cannon. The two of them traded back and forth in a fight that was going neither direction fast.
Alucard was also very good at working within the rules. Currently in BOSS state, the only valid hit point on his entire body was his head. As long as he protected that, everything else could take whatever Ross threw at it freely.
Without the flashier technique effects that other BOSSes brought, this version of Alucard had something more practical: the genuine capability to put any ordinary adventurer flat on the ground.
And then he ate a Spiral Pile Driver.
What happened was this: Ross faked a muscle failure and let the Hero's Shield get knocked away, but had already used the opening to swap cartridges, switching from Tower of Druaga to Nekketsu Fighting Legend. Then, accepting one solid hit in exchange, he pulled the Mega Buster back into his body in the same instant and got both arms around Alucard.
The moment the Grade S Tiger Fighter grapple technique registered, Ross launched straight into the air with Alucard in his grip.
This particular Spiral Pile Driver was slightly different from the standard version, though. Alucard's Cave had a ceiling. When Ross launched upward with Alucard locked in, he drove Alucard's head directly into it.
He genuinely lost close to half a health bar from that alone.
But just as Ross moved to catch him for the second hit on the way down, Alucard's body dissolved into bats and scattered.
"All right. I'm done playing."
Ross looked over at the far side of the room where the bats had reconvened into a human shape, one hand pressed against his head, grimacing, every trace of British composure completely gone. Ross patted the Mega Buster and switched the attack mode to Freeze Cannon.
Four consecutive hits later, frozen solid each time, Alucard finally went down on one knee. He looked up at Ross with an expression that contained several things at once.
He had barely opened his mouth to invite Ross to join him in taking on Dracula, the projection, when Ross delivered two sentences out of nowhere, like a bolt of lightning hitting him square in the chest. Alucard's body locked up completely. His pupils went into shock.
"Your father is trying to resurrect your mother."
"Also, you might be getting an extra one."