At some point, Kotaro and Ayaka split up due to a Behemoth chasing them both, and he is now traversing the castle with Shinobu who ran into him and helped him kill the beast.
*On the Clock Tower*
Kotaro panted after killing an ax armor, he is completely exhausted.
He punched the wall out of rage.
Shinobu: K-KOTARO!
Kotaro: What... WHAT DO YOU WANT, SHINOBU?!
Shinobu sighed and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, he slapped it off angrily.
Shinobu: Is there... Anything wrong?
Kotaro: NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!
Shinobu: Hey... Come on now, what do you think would Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades think if they see their descendants like this, huh?
Kotaro calmed down and sighed.
Kotaro: Sorry about that... It's just... I'm worried about someone.
Shinobu: Yeah?
Kotaro: She's a vampire huntress... She was sent to investigate before us... And she hasn't come back to Hakuba City for a month!
Shinobu: Oh... Who is this vampire huntress?
Kotaro: My only friend back when I was a kid, Shimomura Yuko, we're still friends up until now and she's one of my classmates in college.
Shinobu: *sighs* Kotaro, calm yourself down, we'll find her, ok? I promise? *hugs him*
Kotaro hugged his relative back and patted her back. Shinobu was like a sister to him.
Suddenly, a girl's scream echoed throughout the hallway.
Kotaro: That scream!...
Shinobu: Wha-
Kotaro pushed her off and ran.
Shinobu: KOTARO, WAIT!!
*Stage begins*
*this plays*
A timer appears on the top of the screen: 2:00
Kotaro had to fight his way through a bunch of enemies, Mini Devils, Medusa Heads, Red Skeletons, Armor Knights, Skeleton Archers and Succubi.
He jumped platform to platform, air dashed and kept his focus on saving his childhood friend while trying not to get killed and falling into pits.
The timer dropped to 1:00 as Kotaro reached a boss room.
*the music plays throughout the boss battle as Zephyr shows up and turns out to be the boss*
*the boss battle is like this but with a timer on the top of the screen except there is something additional at the end of the boss battle*
*after Zephyr's HP dropped down to 7*
Zephyr laughed and stopped time. He flew up. The timer itself stopped decreasing.
Zephyr: One second has passed... Two seconds have passed... Three seconds have passed...
For some reason, he disappeared while the time was stopped.
Suddenly, Zephyr reappeared above him hovering on mid-air while holding a road roller.
Zephyr: ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAA ROLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
He tried to crush him with a road roller but just when Kotaro was about to, time resumed, at the same time, he immediately dug up his pocket watch and stopped time. He crawled under the road roller to get out under it. He whipped Zephyr with the Vampire Killer for one last time.
Time resumed as Zephyr started to age fast, the clock in the middle of the room began to spin rapidly.
Zephyr: WHAT?!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! I AM ZEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! I AM ZEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPHYYYYYYYYYYYRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!-
Before he could finish, he turned into a pile of bones on the floor.
There was not much time left for Kotaro, he has 20 seconds left to save Shimomura.
He ran to the next room as the boss doors opened.
*If Kotaro came late*
*this plays*
Kotaro: !! Shimomura!!
Shimomura looked up panting, she had a bite mark on her neck.
Shimomura: H-huh? Kotaro? Why?... Why didn't you come sooner?
Kotaro's eyes widened.
Kotaro: ...Am I too late?
A red aura surrounded Shimomura, her eyes turned red as she grew red wings from her back.
Shimomura: No, Kotaro. You're just in time. This is the first moment of our brand new life together, come with me, Kotaro.
She offered her hand to her childhood friend and smiled warmly at her.
Kotaro clenched his fist. Even if she had been turned by a vampire... She still cared about him... Yet he has to do this...
Kotaro: Oh my God... Shimomura... I'm sorry I failed... Forgive me if this will hurt... *clenches teeth and prepares to fight*
Shimomura: NO! I'll make you mine forever! Lord Dracula has given me such strength.. Behold!!
*boss battle begins*
*its like this but a bit harder and fast-paced*
*After the fight*
*This plays at the violin part*
Shimomura: *pants and descends to the ground as wings turned to dusts*
Kotaro walked towards her with a sorrowful expression on his face.
Kotaro: Shimomura... Can I tell you something?
Shimomura: Yeah?
Kotaro: I will never forget about you... Thanks for always being my friend until the end.
Shimomura smiled warmly at him.
Kotaro pulled her to a hug and stabbed her with a dagger while crying silently.
Shimomura: Defeat Dracula for me... Richter...
She faded away.
Kotaro: I will, Annette... I hope you get reincarnated again... And at some point... Cross paths with me again...
*If Kotaro arrived on time*
Kotaro: Shimomura!
He ran towards Shimomura and pulled her to a hug while crying.
Shimomura: Thanks for arriving sooner, I was about to get bitten by a vampire.
Kotaro's eyes widened in rage due to him being overprotective of her.
Kotaro: Who?! Dracula? Barlowe?!
Shimomura: No, a different one.
Kotaro: How does he look like?
Shimomura: I can't make out his appearance, he was wearing a robe and had his hood on.
Kotaro: Okay then... Go back to Hakuba City, the path here is safe.
Shimomura: What? But I have to investigate this castle!
Kotaro sighed. He doesn't want this to turn into an argument.
Kotaro: Fine, just stay behind me, okay?
Shinobu arrived in the room.
Shinobu: *pants* You must be Shimomura, huh?
Shimomura: Yeah.
She walked towards Kotaro and slapped him.
Shinobu: Idiot! You could've got yourself killed!
Shimomura: Woah, woah please calm down, I was his first friend, okay? He would hate it if he lost me.
Shinobu: But he could've gotten himself killed!
Kotaro: I don't really care about myself that much when trying to save others, Shinobu. It's better to get hurt than letting others get hurt.
Shinobu: *sighs* Guess I can't argue with that. Let's get going.
Kotaro: Shimomura, just stay close to us, alright?
Shimomura nodded. A boss orb appeared on mid-air and descended down from the air.
They walked to it and placed their hands on it, restoring their HPs.
STAGE CLEAR
*This plays*