Ulysses's ethereal plane trembled. Azure and red lightning tore through the sky as the earth cracked beneath the weight of the power emanating from Cletus, now transformed into a living abomination — a fusion of flesh, shadow, and metal.
His deformed wings beat, creating vortexes of energy that tore at the floating rocks and made the air thrum.
Lucy dashed across the ground, her sword in one hand and Tory's spear in the other, her eyes burning like embers. Her first move was instantaneous: she blasted forward at supernatural speed, leaving a red afterimage.
"Let's see if you can keep up with my dance, freakshow!" she yelled, spinning the spear.
Cletus roared, and the sound seemed to distort space. He surged forward, each step punching craters in the floor. His claws clashed with the metal of Lucy's sword, producing sparks and shockwaves that detonated the air around them.
Lucy spun backward, dodging a downward strike. The monster's blade plunged into the ground, sending rocks flying.
With an aerial flip, she hurled the spear like a lightning bolt, striking Cletus's chest — but the weapon glanced off, leaving only a superficial scratch on his demonic hide.
"Dammit... is that skin or steel?!" Lucy muttered, narrowly evading a tail that cracked through the air like a whip.
Cletus gave a grotesque smile, his pointed teeth splitting his face to his cheeks.
"You fight well... for a flaw," he said, his voice echoing from all directions.
"But it's pointless."
He raised his sword, and a torrent of black energy crashed down on Lucy. She crossed her weapons to block, her feet sliding on the cracked ground. A second attack followed immediately — a barrage of crimson projectiles shot from his wings.
Lucy leaped, spun in mid-air, and with fluid motions, parried every shot with her sword, sending the energy blasts careening into the void. She descended in a diving strike, cutting the monster's leg — but the wound sealed instantly.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" she yelled, pulling back.
The fight that followed was intense and brutal. Lucy threw her arsenal at Cletus, but he was relentless. They clashed in close quarters, the redhead using all her supernatural strength, but Cletus parried and blocked with ease, drawing blood.
In a desperate move, Lucy tried to use her monster trigger to counter, partially unleashing her monster form as she lunged at Cletus.
She rained blows upon him, tearing flesh, but his regeneration was faster than her strikes.
She then switched tactics, cycling through the arsenal she'd acquired: shockwaves from the Baruk club, energy slashes from the Gnu and Fritz twin blades, and purple fireballs from the Velmorah staff.
The barrage staggered Cletus, but he recovered almost immediately.
In an instant, he vanished and reappeared before Lucy, burying a fist in her stomach.
The blow launched her across the plane, smashing her against a nearby rock. He began to taunt her.
Cletus laughed. A guttural, resonant laugh.
"It's useless!" he roared.
"No matter how strong you are, you'll never be more than a half-breed."
He raised his arm, his third eye flaring blue.
"You can't defeat a pure monster... the true Ulysses!"
Suddenly, his right arm extended like a living spear — the flesh elongating into a whip of bone and energy. Lucy tried to react, but the attack came too fast.
A slash echoed through the air.
The monstrous arm was severed mid-strike. The flesh dissolved into dark smoke as it hit the ground.
Cletus's eyes went wide.
"What?!"
From the top of a floating rock, a female silhouette emerged. The wind whipped her short white hair and her silver trench coat, marked with tribal wolf sigils. She stood with her katana sheathed, her blue eyes fixed on the creature.
Nyra.
She landed lightly, her stance that of an expert swordswoman, a cold smile on her face.
Cletus roared:
"You... bitch!"
Nyra straightened up, holding the katana with one hand.
"I've come to take my power back," she said, her tone cutting.
Then she turned her gaze to Lucy, pointing the blade.
"And you... can't handle him."
With a supernatural leap, Nyra appeared before Lucy, the katana centimeters from her face.
Lucy blinked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, look at you, making a dramatic entrance and stealing the spotlight..."
Nyra smirked.
"Well... you think it's fair to keep all the fun for yourself? How selfish..."
Behind them, Cletus let out a roar that shook the floating stones. The two turned their eyes to the monster, and Nyra pointed her katana at him.
Lucy took a deep breath and spun her sword in her fingers.
"Whatever you say... fine by me."
The two stood side-by-side, the wind whipping their hair — Lucy's red energy mixing with Nyra's azure lupine aura.
Cletus watched them with contempt, beating his monstrous wings.
"You think you can defeat me?" he sneered.
"Defeat the power of your dear father, Ulysses?!"
Nyra answered firmly, her eyes glowing intensely:
"You're about to realize you can never control his power."
Lucy added, walking in sync with her:
"You're wasting your breath, pal."
She glanced at Nyra with a taunting smile.
"Guess he needs to learn the hard way!"
Nyra returned a slight smile.
"Agreed. Let's teach him what true power is."
Without another word, the two advanced in sync. Nyra was first, her katana a blur of blue light, leaving trails of energy in the air. Lucy followed, her sword and spear whirling in a lethal dance.
The ground ruptured when they collided with Cletus, and the impact exploded the entire plane in a wave of light and shadow.
The final roar of Twilight had begun.