FLASHBACK – 1 YEAR AND 6 MONTHS EARLIER
Rain drummed against the tall windows of the Grand Library of Asterfall, a place where time seemed to breathe more slowly.
The shelves rose like pillars of a forgotten cathedral, filled with books so ancient that some looked ready to crumble at a touch.
Nyra walked between the aisles, silent as a shadow.
The soft sound of the Kaburami brushing against the polished floor was the only proof she existed there at all.
Her face was partially hidden beneath a dark hood, but her blue eyes glimmered beneath the dim light.
She stopped before a wide table where a massive tome rested, open on yellowed, time-stained pages.
The inscriptions felt almost alive.
As she discreetly turned a page, a voice spoke from the shadows behind her:
"So… you're searching for the Book of Ancient Legends. The story of the werewolf warrior Ulisses."
Nyra immediately closed the book with a sharp thud.
She didn't turn around.
She only replied, cold and precise:
"That's not what I'm looking for. Go away."
The candle flames flickered as Cletus emerged from between the shelves.
First, a whisper of movement…
Then a white smile floating in the darkness…
Then his whole form, as if carved out of shadow itself.
He moved slowly, almost as though he were dancing.
"Then… what are you looking for?" he asked in a low, melodic, dangerous tone.
Nyra did not answer.
Cletus tilted his head, eyes gleaming with malicious curiosity.
"A werewolf who became half human…
who impregnated a vampire woman…
who gave birth to twin daughters…"
He stepped closer.
Now he was only a few feet away.
"That's the story… isn't it?"
In a single motion, swift as tearing wind, Nyra drew the Kaburami and pointed the blade directly at his face.
The tip stopped less than a centimeter from his skin.
But she did not look at him.
Her eyes remained fixed on the floor.
Her voice came low, threatening, far too calm:
"Leave. I won't say it a third time."
Cletus did not step back.
On the contrary—
He leaned closer to the blade.
He looked at the metal with fascination…
And ran his fingertips along it.
"People inherently fear evil…" he murmured as his fingers slid.
"And yet…"
He gripped the full length of the blade with his hand.
His flesh split open, deep and clean.
Blood dripped between his fingers, falling onto the marble floor, each drop echoing in the silence of the library.
"… occasionally, someone may allow themselves to be seduced by evil."
Nyra finally lifted her gaze.
Her blue eyes met his.
A heavy silence fell between them.
Then she sheathed the katana in one fluid motion, elegant as a dance.
The blade disappeared into the scabbard without making a sound.
Cletus opened his injured hand, watching the blood trail down for a moment before the wound began to close on its own, as if devoured from within.
The full regeneration took less than five seconds.
Nyra crossed her arms.
"Where are you going with this?"
Cletus gave a slow, twisted smile.
"Share with me…
the story of Ulisses."
Nyra stared at him for a long moment — so long that even the candles seemed to wait for her answer.
Then, without a word, she turned and began walking toward the exit, her firm steps echoing through the empty corridor.
Cletus remained still.
Watching.
His gaze fixed on her retreating form.
And slowly, his lips curled into a malicious… almost hungry smile.
A smile that said he had finally found what he'd been searching for.
PRESENT
The castle's underground was like an ancient abyss. The walls were covered in petrified roots, and a grayish mist crawled across the floor like a veil of lost souls.
In the center, before a colossal gate carved from bones and corroded metal, stood Cletus — his smile distorted by the flickering light of the torches.
He flipped through the same ancient book, its yellowed pages pulsing faintly as if they were breathing.
His voice came out hoarse and fevered:
"People once screamed in fear of this castle… the Twilight Eye… a foundation built on fear. Fear…"
A low laugh crawled up his throat — cold and animalistic.
Behind him, Nyra stood motionless, the Kaburami resting against the floor, her gaze fixed on the demonic inscriptions shimmering across the gate.
Cletus lifted his head, half his smile swallowed by the shadows.
"Yes… fear," he repeated, almost reverently.
Then he slowly turned toward her.
"Can't you feel it?"
The ground shuddered. A deep, guttural rumble echoed below.
The gate began to tremble, its hinges moaning like ancient beasts in agony.
Runes ignited in red and green light as Cletus spoke louder — each word a profane chant:
"The rage and agony of the forsaken… those whose evil desires were sealed away… all because Ulisses slammed shut the gates of the demonic world!"
With a roar of iron and air, the gate opened, revealing a living, breathing darkness.
Nyra stepped forward without hesitation.
Cletus lingered for a moment, watching the void twist like living smoke.
"What's wrong?" she asked, not turning back.
"Nothing," he replied with a cold smile.
He closed the book and followed her, the fog coiling around their feet as they descended into the abyss.
Meanwhile, Lucy was fighting inside the pulsating, fleshy belly of the giant serpent.
The interior was a living prison — walls of muscle that moved and contracted, dripping acid and birthing grotesque, slimy creatures with gaping maws.
Lucy gripped the Dracallion tightly, bile and blood running down her shoulders.
"Ugh… too disgusting, even for me," she muttered, dodging a massive tongue that tried to wrap around her.
She drove the blade into one of the slimy beasts, tearing open the living floor and unleashing a torrent of thick purple and white fluid.
With her free hand, she summoned Gnu and Fritz, the twin elemental blades — one glowing violet, the other white.
"Time for an acid bath, assholes!"
The twin blades sliced through the air, releasing a dual wave of energy — lightning and wind — that ripped through the serpent's insides, carving a massive gash.
The snake screamed, shaking violently as its body plummeted toward the castle.
On one of the castle's balconies, a mysterious blonde woman walked silently.
Her boots struck the wet stone in rhythm. In her hand — a loaded Uzi, ready to fire.
The night sky blended with the ancient dust that floated in the air.
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently.
The walls echoed with laughter.
The quake was so strong that Nyra and Cletus, deep below, felt the shock — stones fell from the ceiling, and the air itself seemed to split in two.
The blonde woman didn't flinch. When the tremor faded, a cloud of dust and blood rose before her.
From within the haze, the colossal body of the serpent lay lifeless — its eye rolled upward.
She approached, gun raised, aiming straight at the massive eye that twitched faintly.
A wet, horrifying sound echoed…
The eye opened.
And Lucy emerged — drenched in blood, panting heavily, the Dracallion still glowing red.
The blonde's gaze hardened.
Lucy cracked her neck and turned toward a nearby entrance, where a rusted sign read:
"Welcome."
She smirked.
"So this is the next stage, huh…"
She walked past the woman without looking back.
"Wait!" the blonde called, raising her weapon.
Lucy stopped, but didn't turn.
"If you're gonna ask me out, forget it. I don't date people who shoot me in the head."
The blonde arched an eyebrow.
"A date with a vampire? I'm not that desperate." She gave a cold half-smile.
"Besides, I don't really like women who reek of blood."
Lucy looked down at herself, covered in dried gore.
"Yeah, fair point," she muttered, sniffing her shoulder and wincing at the stench of serpent blood.
Suddenly, a Wendigo lunged beside the blonde, roaring.
Lucy fired without even looking.
"Still more charming than that thing."
The blonde spun and shot another Wendigo that appeared behind Lucy.
The two stood back to back, moving in sync as their guns spat fire and smoke.
"Okay, sugar, what's your name?" Lucy shouted between shots.
"I don't have a name."
"Oh, sure, every mysterious girl says that. So… what do I call you?"
"Whatever you want."
Lucy grinned, blood dripping from her fangs.
"Alright then… Tory it is."
With a swift leap backward, she flipped through the air and aimed toward the castle gate.
"The show's all yours, blondie. I've got an afterparty to crash."
She blew a kiss in the air before vanishing into the darkness.
The blonde — now Tory — just gave her a cold, focused look and kept firing both Uzis with deadly precision, the echo of bullets rolling through the castle halls.
Lucy landed at the entrance and disappeared into the shadows — the next stage of the night awaiting her.