Four

"Welcome to the End."

The voice boomed out from somewhere within and echoed loudly in the main hall. Lady and Dante stepped forward, and the exit behind them sealed itself off. They recognized the voice. Ramos. He was waiting.

Looking for a way deeper into the castle, they proceeded up the stairs. But the path was destroyed, and there were no doors in sight on the upper level. Looming high above them was a large circular window that the sun shone through and lit up the room as best it could.

At the base of the staircase and under the window stood a large, elaborate statue of amazing detail. A powerful knight riding a horse that reared back in a strong defiance. On its side, there was an inscription. "Dedicated to the holy and noble Gabriel Lionheart, for defending my castle for eternity from the weak. The frail are not permitted. –June 13, 1475."

Lady read it over to herself, not knowing what to make of its message. She prayed that they were not weak in the eyes of the castle's protector.

"Dante, do you really think that both of us are strong enough to be here?"

"Not sure… You better walk behind me, just in case."

Slap.

"Oww… Hell was that for? I didn't mean for protection or anything. I was just thinking that if that cougar-guy saw us, he would see me before you and we would look strong.

Slap.

Dante sighed. He just wasn't good with words.

"It's not a 'cougar-guy.' It's Lionheart, and I don't think it's such a good idea to insult him again while we're here."

Dante agreed, even if just to avoid another painful comeback. On the ground level, they found two doors, but one was locked.

"Better stuff's behind locked doors… Blow it open."

Lady shouldered Kalina Ann and fired a great missile. But when the missile came within a certain distance to the door, a strange force field appeared. It guarded the door against the explosion. Then, a large hand appeared from its read depths. It curled up into a fist, swerved around Lady, and knocked Dante off his feet.

"… … … That's bullshit…"

"Heehee… well it was your idea, Dante."

The two of them approached the other door instead, deciding that without a key, they were going to avoid locked doors that just happened to have giant, painful red hands that came out of them. Dante fired his gun at the new door.

"No weird fist-thing. Let's go."

They pressed onward past some small storage rooms, and up a long flight of stairs leading up to one of the towers. It lead to a dead end. But in the ceiling, Dante could see the soft light of a small candle trickling down, seeping through a crack.

"Blast it."

"Um.. Dante? Are you sure you want…"

"Blast it open."

"Yeah, but remember a few moments ago, the last time we just randomly decided to blow through something? Maybe we should just…"

"Look Girl… We've been here for twenty minutes-And I'm itching for a battle. I just have a feeling that something really awesome's up there, and I want to fight it."

Don't argue with Dante when he's in a dangerous mood; she knew better. So, she blasted her way through the ceiling. The two of them climbed onto a table and through the newly created hold in the ceiling. There, they found a small closet, a table, and the candle that had caused the light. This finding was pointless.

But then Dante saw something. A human-size puppet stood in the corner, propped upright against the wall. Its strings were tied to a nail near the ceiling. In its hands, something glittered in the light of the candle. They inferred it was the key to the door with the mysterious force.

Dante took the key and yelled. He was far less happy to have found the key than expected. Lady didn't understand.

"What's wrong? Now we can move on."

"I'll tell you what's wrong. That isn't the point. I need to fight something. Where's all the demon guards? Where the hell are the bosses? Why is there nothing to fight here! Nothing at all! I just found a key. I just walk up here, find a key that will surely take us deeper in the castle… and nothing is defending it? This Ramos guy's a real moron."

"Umm… Dante? Behind y…"

"This whole place sucks. When I find this asshole, I'm gonna show him how to throw a real party. sigh… I give up. There's nothing here. Maybe we have the wrong place?"

But Irony has a way of stabbing you in the back. Sometimes literally. Sometimes using a demon puppet with a pocket full of knives.

Dante soon found out what was waiting behind him. The sun died down, and the rain poured heavily upon the castle tower.