The silence of the sanctuary was almost suffocating. No wind, no sound — only the distant echo of Lucy's footsteps reverberating through the walls covered in ancient inscriptions. The bluish glow of the Nosferion, now sealed in the form of an amulet around her neck, cast spectral reflections on the stone floor.
The huntress walked with controlled breathing, sensing the smell of mold and rust in the air. The walls seemed to whisper names she couldn't understand — perhaps forgotten prayers, perhaps laments. After passing through an arched corridor, she entered a vast circular chamber.
At the center stood a gigantic mirror, its frame adorned with claws and distorted faces, dominating the room. The glass, opaque and old, reflected a cold, misty version of reality.
Lucy approached slowly, eyeing her reflection with suspicion.
"Hmph… another cursed relic, huh?" she muttered, touching the mirror's edge.
Her reflection blinked.
Lucy froze for a moment. Her red eyes flickered, locked on the image before her. The figure in the mirror stood still — unmoving — but something was wrong. The reflection didn't follow her movements.
She raised her hand. The reflection didn't.
She stepped forward. It remained still.
"What the hell…?"
Suddenly, the eyes of the reflection glowed with an intense purple light. The glass began to vibrate, emanating a dense, pulsating energy. Lucy instinctively stepped back, pulling the Nosferion amulet in reflex.
From the mirror, a wave of black and purple energy burst forth, cracking the floor around it. From the center of the reflection, a figure began to emerge — passing through the glass as if it were liquid.
When the energy faded, a warrior stood before Lucy — tall and imposing.
She wore a silver armor etched with tribal wolf patterns across her shoulders and greaves. Her helmet, shaped like a wolf's head, partially hid her face, but the glowing purple eyes pierced the darkness. A metallic mask covered her mouth, and in her right hand gleamed a black katana whose blade seemed to absorb the light around it.
Lucy kept her guard high, steady.
"So you're the trick behind the mirror? Cute… but you don't look like the talkative type."
The warrior remained motionless. She only raised her sword, pointing it toward a large stained-glass window in the hall. Lucy arched a brow, not understanding.
Then, without warning, the warrior sprinted and leapt through the window, shattering it in a deafening crash.
"Hey!" Lucy ran to the edge. Below, she saw an open courtyard — a kind of outer garden of the sanctuary — vast, covered with broken statues and dead trees beneath a red, moonless sky.
Without thinking twice, Lucy leapt from above and landed on one knee, cushioning the impact with the Lycanos, summoned through the Nosferion, now glowing with blue energy.
The warrior stood a few meters away, motionless, her silver cape swaying in the wind.
Lucy rose, wiping blood from her lip.
"I don't know what you are, but if you came after me, you'll have to try harder than that."
No response. The warrior simply assumed a combat stance, black sword in hand, eyes glowing fiercely.
Lucy spun the Nosferion, its blade crackling with electric blue energy, and smirked.
"Alright then… silence is an answer."
Both lunged at the same time. The clash of blades echoed through the courtyard — a sharp, metallic sound followed by an explosion of blue and purple sparks.
The energy of the two combatants distorted the air around them. The warrior attacked with superhuman precision — long, curved strikes, blending speed and raw power. Lucy dodged with sharp reflexes, countering with quick thrusts and bursts of energy from the Nosferion.
The sound of metal against metal roared like thunder.
"Not bad…" Lucy muttered between clenched teeth after parrying a blow that nearly slashed her shoulder. "But I've fought worse than a stained-glass ghost."
The warrior leapt back, the ground cracking beneath her. Then she stabbed her sword into the soil — and a surge of purple energy erupted, forming a mystical circle beneath her feet.
Lucy felt the air vibrate.
"Tch… now this is getting interesting."
With a cry, the warrior charged again, their blades colliding in a storm of energy. Each impact sent shockwaves tearing through the ground and toppling statues.
In the center of the courtyard, beneath the crimson sky, two forces clashed — the electric blue light of Nosferion against the dark purple aura of the lupine warrior.
And at that moment, Lucy understood: that entity wasn't just a guardian… but a reflection of herself.
A forgotten echo.
A trial set by the sanctuary itself.
The wind howled like a living beast over the ruined courtyard.
The two fighters spun, colliding like lightning bolts warring for the same sky.
The bluish blade of the Nosferion sliced the air, while the warrior's black sword left trails of purple energy that warped the space with every strike.
Lucy breathed heavily. Her boots slid across the cracked ground, her disheveled hair sticking to her sweat-soaked skin.
The warrior held her stance — upright, silent, relentless — each move a calculated mix of technique and killing instinct.
The metallic clash of their blades echoed like thunder — clang! clang! clang! — followed by flashes that lit the dark courtyard.
Lucy misstepped, and the warrior seized the chance: an upward slash tore through the air, grazing Lucy's shoulder, forcing her back with a grunt.
"Tch… you're fast," Lucy growled, wiping the blood. "But I'm stubborn."
With a spin, she channeled energy into the Nosferion. The blade gleamed with a surge of blue lightning that swept across the ground, striking the warrior and throwing her backward.
The silver armor cracked in places, revealing pulsating purple light beneath the metal.
Lucy advanced, her predatory gaze sharp.
"Let's see what's under that mask, you metal bitch."
The warrior answered with movement: she tossed the sword aside and rushed in for close combat.
Lucy barely had time to react — a quick punch hit her abdomen, another struck her chin. The dry sound of blows echoed, brutal.
Lucy tried to counter, but the warrior dodged with supernatural reflexes.
A spinning kick sent Lucy crashing against a stone pillar. The impact made her cough blood.
The warrior approached, eyes burning like coals, and grabbed Lucy's neck with one hand, lifting her effortlessly from the ground.
Lucy struggled to break free, gripping the metallic arm that held her, but the strength was overwhelming.
Air fled her lungs. The hum of purple energy around the warrior was deafening.
She raised her other hand, forming an ethereal blade.
The intent was clear — to finish Lucy right there.
But then — a gust of wind blew.
Lucy's coat opened, revealing something hanging from a thin chain on her chest: a red, translucent pendant, glowing softly. Her mother's gift.
The warrior froze. Her purple eyes widened beneath the helmet.
She stared at the pendant — the purple energy around her faltered, trembling.
"…ah…" a muffled sound escaped her mask, for the first time.
The grip around Lucy's throat loosened. She fell to her knees, coughing and gasping for air, watching as the figure before her began to convulse in agony.
"What… what's happening to you…?" Lucy panted.
The warrior staggered backward, clutching her head.
The purple energy inside her began to pulse — each beat stronger, more unstable.
She screamed — a sharp, distorted cry that thundered through the air.
The ground shook. Fragments of energy rose from the earth.
Lucy backed away, shielding her face from the supernatural wind.
"Damn it…!"
The warrior levitated, body arching midair as violet lightning tore through the ground.
Then — she exploded in a wave of energy that swept across the entire courtyard, banishing the darkness for a brief moment.
When the light faded, nothing remained — only the distant echo of the wind and the metallic scent in the air.
Lucy fell to her knees, panting, the Nosferion buried beside her.
"What… was that…?"
She looked around — the mirror, the hall, the courtyard… all gone.
Now she was outside the sanctuary, before a broken staircase leading to a fog-covered plain.
Silence ruled. Only the distant crash of waves against rocks.
Lucy stood, adjusting her coat, still dazed.
Then — the air shifted.
A presence. Cold. Watchful.
Atop a shattered column — a shadow moved, tall, slender, with red eyes gleaming in the darkness.
Lucy lifted her gaze, steady.
The wind blew, lifting strands of her hair as she gripped the Nosferion once more.
"If you came for the same reason she did…" she said in a low, taunting tone, "you'll end up the same way."
The shadow remained still, releasing a faint murmur — almost human, almost laughter.
Then it vanished among the ruins.
Lucy stood alone again beneath the violet sky closing over the sanctuary.
But deep inside, she knew:
something — or someone — was testing her.
And the true guardians of the underworld had yet to bare their fangs.