The wind roared at the top of the castle, making the torn banners whip against the sky. The blue moon hung so close it seemed to illuminate every drop of rain, thick, cold, almost alive.
Lucy and Nyra faced each other in silence, two identical silhouettes framed by lightning.
Only the gleam of their blades cut through the darkness.
Lucy raised her arm, spun her pistol around her finger, and fired.
The bullets tore through the air like thunder, but Nyra slipped past them with effortless grace, every movement fluid as a dance.
The last shot grazed her cheek, severing a single silver strand of hair that disappeared into the rain.
Lucy smirked.
"See? My aim is still pretty good."
Nyra didn't answer. She lifted her katana. Lucy holstered her pistol, inhaled deeply, and the metallic ring echoed as she drew her sword, Dracallion.
Steel flashed beneath the lightning.
And then they charged.
The first clash made the ground tremble.
The sound of blades carving the air merged with the storm. Sparks burst whenever steel met steel.
Lucy fought with raw brutality, wide, vicious strikes. Nyra countered with supernatural precision, dancing between each blow.
Wind circled them. Rain streamed down their faces. At one moment, Nyra struck Lucy in the chest, sending her sliding back several meters, streaking a trail of blood across the soaked stone.
Nyra's hair, drenched and clinging to her skin, mirrored Lucy's own.
The moonlight revealed what they truly were, mirrored twins, divided by light and blood.
Lucy wiped her mouth and growled:
"That all you've got, wolf-girl?"
She lunged again, swinging Dracallion with brutal force.
Nyra sidestepped and countered with a precise cut, Lucy barely parried in time.
The vampire staggered back, drew one of her pistols, and fired as she advanced.
Nyra spun her katana in circular motions, deflecting each bullet. They piled at her feet, then, with a twist of her blade, she sent them ricocheting back, slicing through the air like metallic rain.
Lucy didn't hesitate. She raised Dracallion and cut downward. The returning bullets split in half midair, bursting with tiny metallic chimes lost within the storm.
Nyra paused, her voice steady.
"Why do you refuse power? The power of our father… Ulisses."
Lucy let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
"Huh… father?"
She kept laughing, dripping with disdain.
"I don't have a father. I just think you're boring, that's all."
She rushed her sister again. Their swords collided once more. Their eyes locked as lightning cracked around them. For a moment, their blades strained against each other in a contest of pure force.
The impact echoed through the walls, the rain erupting around them.
With a skilled twist, Nyra deflected Lucy's strike and sent Dracallion flying into the air.
Before Lucy could react, the katana Kaburami plunged into her abdomen.
The metallic sound blended with a stifled gasp. Warm blood slid down the blade and dripped onto the stone.
Nyra's voice was cold, empty, as she pressed the sword deeper.
"Foolishness, Lucy. Such foolishness…"
She pushed further. Lucy choked, her eyes trembling.
"Power controls everything," Nyra continued, her voice cutting sharper than the blade.
"And without strength, you protect no one. Everyone you love… ends up at the edge of the abyss."
She leaned in.
"Especially yourself."
With a sharp pull, she withdrew the blade. Blood gushed. Lucy collapsed back, gasping.
Nyra reached down and seized the pendant hanging from Lucy's neck, the last trace of their mother and tore it away.
Lucy tried to grab the chain, but Nyra sliced her hand and threw her to the ground.
For a moment, Nyra stared at the pendant in silence. Nostalgia and suppressed grief flickered behind her eyes.
She brushed the wet hair from her face and turned away.
But before she could take a step, Lucy moved. Her wound had begun to close, blood evaporating into steam. She rose with effort, eyes fixed on Nyra.
As she prepared to charge, Nyra lifted Dracallion, still embedded in the ground and dashed toward her. With a swift strike, she drove the blade through Lucy's chest.
Lucy's body arched. Blood streamed along the blade, mingling with the rain.
Nyra stared at her, emotionless. Silent.
From behind, a voice echoed:
"Did you get it?"
Cletus stepped out of the shadows, smiling with wicked satisfaction.
Nyra nodded, cold and calm.
"Yes. The spell of Ulisses will be broken."
Cletus grinned as he approached.
"Excellent. Let's go."
They walked away slowly, leaving Lucy's motionless body at the top of the tower.
The rain thickened into a solid curtain. And then, something began to pulse.
Dracallion, still buried in Lucy's chest, glowed crimson.
The guard warped, opening a blood-red eye at its center.
Arcane symbols floated through the air as a sphere of red and black energy enveloped the vampire's body.
Lucy's eyes snapped open, red as fresh blood.
The sphere erupted into mist, and the sword shot into the air.
Lucy rose slowly, her body steaming, wrapped in crimson energy.
Nyra, still nearby, turned in shock.
Lucy lunged, vanishing in a streak of red mist.
Nyra raised her katana defensively, but Lucy grabbed the blade with her bare hand, flesh tearing, blood streaming, without flinching.
Her eyes burned with primal fury.
Nyra smiled faintly, satisfied.
"So the monster inside you finally woke up."
Lucy seized her arm and hurled her through the air. Nyra flipped and landed atop a stone beam, ready to continue.
But Cletus's voice cut across the storm:
"Wait!"
He appeared beside her, his black cloak whipping in the wind.
"For now, we have everything we need. There's no reason to keep fighting."
Lucy staggered toward them, trembling with rage, blood dripping from her wounded hand.
Her eyes blazed. Her fangs shone. Her heartbeat thudded like a war drum.
Nyra looked at her one last time.
Without a word, she turned and leapt off the tower.
Cletus cast one final, malicious smile at Lucy before vanishing into the darkness.
Lucy remained standing for a few seconds, breathing hard.
Then the ground beneath her began to glow with crimson sigils. Energy exploded outward, lifting the rainwater like an inverted storm.
She screamed, a monstrous, guttural roar that echoed across the heavens.
For an instant, wings of shadowed membrane erupted from her back, curved horns tore through her skull, and black claws ripped into the air.
Lightning illuminated the castle peak, revealing the silhouette of a demon-vampire, furious and magnificent. For the first time, she awakened her Monster Awaken.
But the power faded as quickly as it had come. The demonic form broke apart, and Lucy collapsed to her knees. Blood dripping, breath shallow.
She toppled onto her side, unconscious as the rain washed the stone clean.
Time passed…
(...)
When the storm finally cleared, Lucy opened her eyes with a ragged gasp, her body still throbbing. She tore one sleeve from her coat and dropped it to the ground, exposing her arm. With effort, she stood and gripped Dracallion once more.
Below the clouds, the city of Salt Blake stretched out, gray, distant, alive.
Lucy stared in silence.
Then she lifted her hand and slammed it against the stone beside her.
The explosion was immediate, the impact shattered the wall, scattering sparks and debris.
She stared at her own hand, stunned.
"…So this is what's inside me."
Thunder rumbled.
She took a breath, tensed her body, and leapt from the castle's peak.
As she fell, the wind roared and crimson gargoyles burst from the walls, shrieking as they dove toward her.
Lucy drew her pistols, spinning midair, firing in free fall, each shot lighting the sky.
The creatures exploded in blood and smoke. Lucy sprinted along the vertical walls, slicing through gargoyles with Dracallion as she descended.
Then, with a desperate motion, she used the sword like a wing, channeling red energy to glide for a brief moment.
Wind sliced her face, the moon burning behind her—
And a colossal shadow crossed the sky.
A roar shook the world.
For an instant, everything went still.
Then the clouds tore apart as a colossal winged serpent — Pytharis — emerged, its black scales glistening, its green eyes fixed on her.
Lucy had no time to react.
The beast swallowed her whole.
And the world fell into darkness.
To be continued…