The interior of the castle was so vast it seemed to breathe.
Black walls, lit by crimson crystals, shimmered with a liquid glow.
Lucy walked slowly, each step pulled forward by sheer curiosity.
"Who would've thought… a demonic castle looks way more interesting inside than in the travel brochure," she murmured with a smirk.
The beams supporting the ceiling curved like the fangs of some colossal beast.
At the end of the corridor stood a monumental door, adorned with fossilized bones intertwined like roots.
There was no handle — only the overwhelming sense that she was meant to enter.
Lucy placed her hand on the surface.
Her body passed through it as if the door were made of water.
On the other side, the air smelled of iron and ancient dust.
The hall was enormous, held up by twisted stone pillars and red metal trusses connecting ceiling to walls like the veins of a living creature.
Massive chains crossed the center of the room, sealing away something enormous.
Lucy stepped closer. The ground trembled beneath her feet.
The creature raised its head — a colossalskeleton, its bones dark as coal, cracks glowing with a pulsing red light.
In its hands, a spiked club the size of a car.
The creature's eyes ignited blood-red.
The chains snapped, one after another, bursting with a thunderous crack.
The surrounding structure crumbled — pillars and floor shattering. The monster rose, unleashing a roar so deep it seemed to shake the air itself.
Without warning, it tore a huge block of stone from the floor and hurled it at her.
Lucy leapt back, raising her sword —Dracallion — and split the rock into two perfect halves that crashed to the sides.
"Leave this place, mortal," the deep voice echoed.
"Your kind is forbidden here. Weak, unworthy creatures... you do not belong!"
Lucy smiled with mock politeness.
"First talking skeleton I've ever met. I bet you'd be a museum's main attraction."
The giant's eyes blazed hotter.
"You — a mere human — mockme?"
He swung his club, releasing a crimson shockwave. Lucy twisted aside, letting the blast rip through where she had been.
"Too easy," she teased.
"Insolent... WORM!" the creature bellowed.
"I am Baruk, the Skeletal Prince! The last thing you'll see before you die!"
"Oh, terrifying," she said dryly.
Lucy spun her blade between her fingers, a dancer ready for her performance.
"Alright then, Prince of Bones..."
"Let's put on a show!"
Baruk charged, each step shattering the floor.
Lucy moved like smoke — graceful, precise, untouchable — letting the brute exhaust himself with his own power.
She drew her twin pistols — Rebirth and Nocturne — and fired repeatedly at his skull and joints.
The bullets clanged off like they'd hit iron. Barely a scratch.
"Is that all?" Baruk sneered, swinging his club in a wide, violent arc that nearly crushed her.
In the next instant, another blast of red energy came her way.
Lucy raised her sword, sliding the blade diagonally — redirecting the blast right back at him.
The monster stumbled back, momentarily dazed.
"Oops. My bad. You were supposed to be on the other end of that, right?"
His answer came as a flurry of blows that cracked the ground.
Lucy weaved between them, closing the distance inch by inch.
She rolled beneath the club, planted a foot on it, and launched herself skyward —descending like a silver comet.
Dracallion pierced through the skeleton's chest.
A crimson light burst from the wound — the monster's vital core.
Baruk dropped to his knees.
His bones vibrated; the glow in his eyes began to fade.
"You... you're not human... are you?"
His voice trembled between pride and fear.
Lucy grew serious for just a moment.
"Who knows? Even I don't really know what I am."
The giant lowered his head — defeated, but with respect.
"Whatever you are... you've proven your strength. I acknowledge... your power."
The light flared brighter.
"Take my soul... and move forward. I grant you... my blessing."
Baruk's body dissolved into red particles, like magical dust drawn into the void.
His club floated up, then drifted toward Lucy's hand. She caught it with childlike excitement.
"Well, look at that. A new toy."
She spun it once, testing the weight.
"Love it."
She turned toward the gate leading to the next level — when the silence shattered with the roar of an engine.
A motorcycle burst through the top of the gate, diving toward her like a missile.
Lucy jumped back, locking eyes midair with the mysterious woman —the blonde rider from outside the castle.
For a second, they stared at each other — a duel compressed into a single heartbeat.
When Lucy landed, her grin returned.
"You here for the party too? 'Cause I don't remember sending out invitations."
The woman didn't answer. She drew the spear from her back and launched an energy harpoon straight at Lucy.
Lucy arched backward in a fluid motion, the projectile missing her by inches.
"Wow... I like her," she laughed.
The rider spun the bike sharply, eyes like frozen steel — a thin scar marked her right cheek.
Then she accelerated, leaping through a massive gap in the ceiling, vanishing into the upper darkness.
Lucy sighed dramatically, brushing her hair back.
"This just keeps getting better and better…"
Before her, the castle pulsed — growing, twisting, alive with shadows and secrets.
And Lucy moved forward — ready to face them all without hesitation.