The clash between Lunara and the Skeleton Queen erupted like thunder in the heart of the ruined castle.
Dust swirled with each step as Lunara charged headfirst toward her grotesque opponent, her giant sword humming with raw power.
The air between them tensed, vibrating with anticipation.
Reacting swiftly, the Skeleton Queen raised her skeletal arm and shouted, "Skeleton Creation: Skull Barrage!"
In an instant, several massive skulls—each around two meters in size—materialized above her bony fingers, glowing with a faint green hue.
They launched forward like cannonballs, slicing through the air with deadly precision. Lunara's eyes widened for a second, but she didn't stop.
She veered to the side, her legs moving faster than most could follow, dodging the first few heads effortlessly.
But they kept coming.
Her sword arced upward with a clean swing, cleaving two of the flying skulls in half.
Bone fragments exploded outward like shrapnel. Still, she wasn't fast enough to dodge them all.
One skull flew straight toward her chest. With no time to dodge, Lunara gritted her teeth and activated her Creation.
A glowing, shield formed in front of her—just in time.
The skull collided against the barrier with a loud crash, sending shockwaves across the battlefield.
The impact sent Lunara skidding backward, her boots grinding into the stone floor.
As the smoke and debris cleared, her figure stood upright—unscathed, but visibly annoyed.
With a burst of Creation energy around her legs, she launched herself forward, the light at her feet enhancing her speed.
She closed the distance faster than the Skeleton Queen anticipated.
Before the Queen could react, Lunara was already within striking range, her fist cocked back.
"Didn't expect me to come this fast, huh?" Lunara smirked, swinging a brutal left hook toward her opponent's skull-like face.
The Queen brought up her arm in time to block the punch, her forearm rattling from the impact.
Without missing a beat, she twisted and aimed an elbow strike at Lunara's ribs.
Lunara ducked, narrowly avoiding it. The two women—one of flesh and blood, the other of bone and dark Creation—began exchanging rapid blows.
Fists flew. Dodges followed.
Each movement was calculated, fierce, and graceful in its own deadly way.
Lunara maintained the offensive, her years of training evident in every punch she threw.
The Skeleton Queen, while defensive, displayed a terrifying precision in her parries and counters. Still, neither had landed a clean strike.
But Lunara wasn't done.
Her eyes sharpened as she drew in a deep breath.
She suddenly exploded with speed, fists flying faster than the eye could track. A storm of punches rained down on the Queen—nearly a hundred within seconds.
Each one landed with a solid thud against her ribcage, shoulders, and face, forcing the skeletal monarch to stumble back.
Cracks spread across the Queen's bone structure like spiderwebs.
"You're not the only one with endurance," Lunara said, voice low and menacing.
Forced into retreat, the Skeleton Queen thrust her hand forward.
A wall of bones erupted from the ground between them, tall and thick, almost fortress-like.
Lunara didn't slow down.
With a shout, she raised her sword and slammed it against the wall. The structure trembled and splintered under the impact, then crumbled completely.
Bones scattered everywhere like brittle leaves. But by the time she broke through, the Queen was already behind her.
Lunara sensed it.
She turned, just in time to see a jagged bone sword arcing toward her back.
Reflexes kicked in. Creation surged around her skin like a protective shell.
Her body gleamed briefly as if encased in divine armor. The sword struck—and snapped instantly against her reinforced form.
"You'll need more than that," she hissed, spinning around.
The Skeleton Queen snarled but didn't respond. Instead, she began to leap backward, putting distance between them.
But Lunara wasn't about to let her get away. She sprinted after her with focused eyes.
Suddenly, the Queen soared into the air and shouted,
"Skeleton Creation: Hundred-Headed Descent!"
Dark energy gathered above her, twisting into shape.
Then—dozens upon dozens of massive, circular skulls formed in midair, each nearly three meters in diameter.
They hovered for a second, like death itself looming over the battlefield. Then, they dropped.
Lunara's eyes darted up.
The heads fell like a meteor shower, whistling through the air. The entire castle trembled beneath their weight.
When they struck the ground, a thunderous explosion erupted. Debris flew in every direction. Smoke engulfed the entire area in a suffocating cloud of dust and destruction.
The ancient walls began to collapse around them. Towers crumbled. The battlefield became unrecognizable.
The Skeleton Queen stood atop a small mountain of bones, panting slightly, watching the chaos with narrowed eyes.
"That's not enough to kill you… is it?" she muttered, almost to herself.
The dust slowly cleared.
Through the haze, a silhouette emerged. A pair of glowing double swords sliced through the smoke, gleaming with Creation energy.
Lunara stepped forward, her body dirtied but intact, her expression calm and resolute.
"Nice fireworks," she said, "but I'm still here."
The Skeleton Queen growled and extended her arm. A strange weapon formed—grotesque and nightmarish.
A whip made of a full spinal cord twisted into a long lash, with a snarling skull attached at the end.
Its mouth opened wide, creaking like rusted hinges, revealing rows of jagged teeth.
The skull let out a chilling growl.
Lunara darted forward again, her blades humming with each step. The whip lashed toward her, the skull snapping its jaws in the air as if eager to bite through her.
She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding it.
The whip followed her movements, slithering along the ground like a serpent possessed.
It lunged again, jaws chomping at her shoulder, but Lunara curved left, dodging with razor-thin margins.
The whip tried to follow—but couldn't match her agility. It slammed into a stone wall instead.
Cracks spread through the wall before the whip burst through the other side—completely unharmed.
It didn't stop.
The skull devoured a chunk of the wall, chewing on the rock like it was a loaf of bread.
"Seriously?" Lunara muttered. "You made a Pac-Man whip?"
But the brief distraction gave her an opening.
With one final burst of speed, she closed the distance between herself and the Queen. Her swords shimmered, one slashing horizontally, the other vertically.
The Queen attempted to block with her whip, but the bone weapon snapped under the force of Lunara's strike.
In one clean motion, her blade slashed across the Queen's throat.
The Skeleton Queen stumbled, hands grasping at her neck. Her skeletal frame convulsed, and she fell to one knee.
Lunara dropped her stance, panting hard. Sweat trickled down her face, and blood—likely not hers—splattered her armor. But her eyes shone with victory. She looked upward, as if searching for someone.
"Annie," she whispered with a small smile. "I did it…"
But the moment of peace didn't last.
A clicking sound echoed through the room.
Lunara's eyes snapped back to the Queen. Her body trembled—then moved. The bones rearranged, shifting unnaturally.
The head, which had been almost severed, popped back into place with a sickening snap.
The Skeleton Queen rose again, her glowing eyes staring straight into Lunara's soul.
"You thought it'd be that easy?" she hissed. Her voice was more menacing now—deeper, darker. "Why… did you think… you could kill me… so easily?"
Lunara's breath caught in her throat.
This wasn't over.
Not yet.