"Add zombies to the list of weird things we've found in this castle," said Saya as she cleaned her sword of decaying flesh and blood. Despite being outnumbered she and Hagi had gotten through the next few rooms without much issue. For Saya it was more like getting the rust out of her system. Being asleep for five years her muscles had been weak and her reflexes not as sharp as they were supposed to be. Now, after slaughtering a bunch of undead, she felt almost as good as new. Not that the fight against the dragon earlier didn't help.

Hagi had some blood on his suit but like Saya hadn't broken out a sweat in the slaughter. "First a dragon, then a mysterious woman and a castle. Now zombies. What a strange journey this has been."

Saya didn't hold back her glee. "You still need work on your humor, Hagi, but it was nice of you to try."

The two went on walking, passing through corridor after corridor that looked the same as the first one they had passed through. It just felt like one long hallway leading them to another location.

That is, until they reached a large open room. It was a front lobby, with a giant chandelier in the center of the ceiling, and simple wooden chairs against parts of the walls. A small set of stairs led to a wooden door at the opposite end of the room. That was where the two would be going next.

Saya went first, already tired of killing zombies and skeletons amazingly. "I want this over with-"

"Saya, wait."

The woman stopped and turned back to Hagi. It wasn't often that he used a somewhat hesitant tone. "What is it, Hagi?"

The man put his left hand to his ear. "Something's coming."

Before Saya could ask what he could possibly mean, Saya saw it. It was outside the large windows on one side of the room, but that lasted only a few seconds before it smashed through. Glass and parts of the wall went flying through the air and landed at Saya's feet. The giant flying creature hovered in the air before her and screeched. The leathery wings which spanned fifteen feet at least and a grotesque maw made it very familiar to Saya.

"A chiropteran?"

"No, a mutated bat from the looks of it." Hagi had quickly moved beside Saya, though he knew she didn't really need his protection she still appreciated his actions.

"Good. Then this will be easier than I thought." Saya raised her sword to strike.

This giant bat was a protector of the castle entrance, sent by the master to keep any unwanted intruders from advancing too far into it. Though the undead were technically the first lien of defense the bat had been watching from the shadows as Saya and Hagi had gone through, waiting for the opportune time to strike. Granted, from the looks of the entrance it hadn't seen action in a very long time and was at first slow to move upon its prey.

Obviously the bat wasn't going to let them make the first move. It began to flap its wings, generating gusts of wind that threatened to hurl Saya across the room. Were it not for Hagi standing in front of her to prevent this she would have gone flying.

That wasn't all as the bat began to fly around the room at incredible speeds. For a beast as big as it was it was pulling off speeds that made it look like a blur. It was so fast that Saya didn't even see it moving towards her from the side. Hagi saw it at the last possible second and got between it and Saya. The edge of its wing collided with Hagi's coffin-shield. Although he tried to hold it back Hagi and Saya were both floored by the collision and fell.

The bat flew right on and began to circle around for another strike.

Saya quickly got to her feet, sword held tightly in her right hand. "It's too fast!"

Even as fast as she was Saya was no match for the bat, at least in terms of speed. They had to do something to slow it down before they became its next meal.

"I got an idea. Come with me and be ready to go in." Hagi ran towards the center of the room. Saya didn't ask what he was doing but trusted him regardless.

The bat flew around and was in the process of going in for a swooping attack when Hagi made his move. He leapt into the air and threw something small and metallic from his hand. It was a small throwing dagger that he carried on his person in case of situations like this. However, Hagi hadn't thrown it at the bat. Saya heard a chink of metal hitting metal and soon realized what Hagi had done.

The chandelier on the ceiling fell, the rope holding it up had been cut by Hagi's dagger. It fell quickly and landed on the bat. By chance the chandelier had a sharp pointed underside that went into the bat's back. Yet it lived, struggling under the weight of the fixture pinning it to the ground.

"Now, Saya!"

"Got it!" Saya rushed in, her entire body filled with adrenaline before she leapt into the air. The bat peered up at her but while it struggled to get free it was helpless to what came next. Saya drove the blade of her sword through the top of its skull, the sturdy bone breaking like glass under the power being driven through it. The stab stop short of the hilt, and fresh red blood poured out of both ends of the wound. The red glint of the bat's eyes went out, becoming lifeless as its life blood pooled under its body.

After making sure it was indeed dead Saya pulled her sword out of the bat's skull and stepped back. Her eyes were bright red, as they usually were in the heat of battle and the shedding of blood. "That wasn't as easy as I had hoped. Good thinking, Hagi."

Now that the bat was deceased, the door to the next room slowly opened, but all that could be seen was darkness.

Hagi was already on his way over to see where it could possibly lead. Forgetting about the giant bat now that it was dead Saya went over to join him.

"You find anything, Hagi?"

Upon looking through the open doors Saya realized she didn't even need to ask. The musty smell that greeted her nose made her cough once. "Smells like a sewer..."

Not appearing to be affected by the smell like Saya, Hagi pulled open the double doors, and the smell washed over them like a tsunami. "There are stairs leading downward."

Her eyes trained to fight in the dark Saya easily saw them. The walls were made of stones and were damp from constant perspiration. Like Hagi had said, the stairwell lead down further into a deeper darkness. Saya could hear water, both dripping and running, from where she stood.

Their options were limited, but only one real choice could be made.

"We won't get anywhere standing here. We better get moving." Saya took the first step towards the netherworld below.

As the two made their way to the subterranean world, they couldn't have known that just outside the windows of the castle entrance, a man in black armor had been watching them the entire time.