anwhile, on the battlefield’s eastern flank, Velstain slamd both palms into the ground. A ripple of energy burst outward, cracking the soil, then five massive earth golems erupted from the terrain, towering over the others with rumbling growls.
"Take them down," Velstain muttered.
The golems surged forward, crashing toward Rin and Veronica with heavy stomps that shook the ground. But before they could land a hit—
Clarissa raised her hands, her eyes glowing faintly blue. With a sharp gesture, a telekinetic force slamd into the golems, locking their movents mid-charge, holding them in the air like puppets on invisible strings.
"They’re not going anywhere," she said coolly.
Rin didn’t waste ti. She darted forward toward Cassian, who was already ready, swords clashing in a blur of sparks and steel. Each strike echoed with sharp intensity, both of them relentless.
Suddenly, from the backline, Mira raised her hand. "[Lightbloom]"
A radiant burst of light exploded outward, aid directly at Rin.
But Veronica shoved Rin aside at the last second, throwing up a defensive buff over herself, her armor shimring.
The light blast struck her head-on.
It didn’t even scratch her.
With a fierce yell, Veronica lunged at Mira, decking her with a brutal punch that sent her flying backward across the battlefield.
Velstain reacted imdiately. dashing forward, his armored fists crashing down at Veronica.
But before he could land a solid blow—
Clarissa struck.
Dozens of glowing knives ford from thin air, suspended telekinetically, and launched toward Velstain. He raised an earthen wall to shield himself but still grunted as several of the blades slashed through.
Back near the center, Rin’s duel with Cassian turned more intense. She winced, a deep slash across her side, but her body glowed red for a mont, her FlaSoul skill activating, regenerating her wound with searing energy.
Clarissa sent another wave of psychic pressure, throwing Cassian slightly off balance.
Rin seized the opening.
With a scream and a flaming arc of her blade, she slashed through Cassian’s defense, sparks and fire exploding from the contact.
Cassian staggered back, blood trickling down his arm.
Veronica clenched her fists, her eyes sharp and cold.
"Let’s finish this."
With a sudden burst of speed, she shot forward like a bullet, her body glowing faintly with the energy of her buff. Clarissa, tracking the movent, instantly raised a telekinetic barrier to deflect incoming strikes, shielding Veronica as she charged straight for Velstain.
The ground shook under her steps. And then—
CRACK!
Veronica’s punch landed squarely against Velstain’s chest, right near his sternum. A sickening thud echoed as he staggered back, barely conscious, his mouth open in a silent gasp. Blood dripped from his lips, but he didn’t collapse. Not yet.
Growling, Velstain slamd his palms to the earth. The ground rumbled, his final skill surging outward.
The terrain twisted violently, pillars of stone and dirt rising as he attempted to bury the entire battlefield.
But Clarissa acted fast.
"Not happening!"
Her psychic energy surged in a wave, slamming into the surrounding rock and nullifying Velstain’s control over it.
Veronica didn’t give him another second. She closed the distance, her eyes blazing, and with a full-force punch enhanced by her defensive buff, she sent Velstain hurtling into the gate wall.
The stone cracked.
And Velstain’s body fell limp beneath the rubble.
Dead. Instantly.
Veronica exhaled, her chest rising and falling. Just as she was catching her breath, a sudden scream pierced the air.
Cassian and Mira, both howling in pain.
"What’s happening to them?" she asked, confused and alert.
Rin’s expression turned grim. "We need to end this now."
Without hesitation, she dashed forward toward Cassian, who was too distracted by the internal pain wracking his body. Rin’s blade glead, and plunged straight into his chest.
Cassian coughed, blood dripping from his lips.
"...Please... tell the Lieutenant..." he murmured, his voice faint, "Thank you... for everything..."
Rin’s gaze softened. "I will. Now rest."
Cassian’s eyes slowly closed, and his body slumped, lifeless.
Clarissa shouted from behind, "I can’t hold Mira much longer! She’s changing, her power is growing!"
Veronica didn’t wait. She sprinted toward Mira.
But just as she neared, a blinding light exploded from Mira’s body, flooding the entire battlefield in radiant white.
Clarissa’s voice cracked with urgency. "It’s too strong, get to , NOW!"
Veronica and Rin didn’t hesitate, they bolted through the blinding glow, struggling to reach Clarissa as the light intensified, pulsing and vibrating like it was going to erupt.
Just as they reached her—
BOOM!
The light detonated, tearing through everything in a thunderous shockwave.
Clarissa’s shield flared bright, holding steady as debris and energy blasted around them. When the light finally faded—
Smoke lingered.
And then they saw her.
Mira stood alone, her body now mutated, a monstrous form, elegant yet terrifying. Her new silhouette glowed faintly, power dripping from her every movent.
She stood tall in the middle of the ruined battlefield.
--------×--------
At the northern gate, Liam chuckled darkly, brushing dust off his armored shoulders.
"I didn’t expect you all to be this strong," he muttered, voice steady. "Guess it’s ti to get serious."
With a sudden step forward, the air around him grew heavy, as if the ground itself recognized the shift in threat.
Claus raised his hands. Crystalline mist spiraled upward, then with a wave of his arm, he sent massive ice chunks hurtling forward toward the group.
Emma, unfazed, stepped in front, hands igniting in flas. With a shout, she unleashed a blazing wall of fire, the collision between ice and fla erupting in a burst of steam.
But before the steam cleared, Gareth had already lunged forward, aiming straight for Emma.
CRACK!
A long whip lashed out.
linda, precise as ever, cracked her electrified whip across Gareth’s path, forcing him to retreat and snarl.
anwhile, Aya took her shot.
She had been steady the whole ti, crouched low, lining up her aim on Liam. She fired, once, twice, each bullet clinking harmlessly off his skin.
"You think bullets can pierce ?" Liam sneered, his voice dripping with arrogance. "My body is harder than steel."
But Aya didn’t flinch.
She ejected the last round from her clip and slotted in a single, glowing bullet, imbued with a faint, eerie red hue.
Made from a refined zombie core.
She took a deep breath.
Bang.
Liam smirked, stepping forward casually, just in ti for the bullet to tear clean through his forehead.
Silence.
Liam stood for a beat, confusion flickering in his eyes, then collapsed, blood spraying across the ground.
Dead. Instantly.
Gareth’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"That... that bullet, what the hell...?"
Aya stood slowly, lowering her rifle. Emma gave her a nod, a grin on her lips.
"Nice kill, Aya."
But Gareth wasn’t done.
"You’re gonna regret that!" he shouted, shaking off linda’s whip with a sudden gust of wind. The air scread around him as he blurred forward, faster than before.
His speed twisted the wind, pulling Emma’s flas into a violent swirl. Then, he spun.
A powerful vortex spiraled around him. "Claus!" he barked.
Claus instantly responded, hurling a massive block of ice into the center of the spinning wind. As the ice shattered and vaporized inside the vortex, it rapidly cooled the hot air, condensing moisture.
The pressure shift and temperature drop triggered a rapid formation of storm clouds above. Seconds later—
Rain.
Heavy, drenching rain poured from the sky.
Emma’s flas sputtered under the downpour. "This... is bad," she muttered, stepping back as her fire began to die.
And then the tornado ca.
It barreled toward them, wild and uncontrollable.
"Everyone! Close to !" linda shouted, slamming her whip into the ground. A shimring barrier of hexagonal plates rose up around her like a do.
Emma, Aya, and even Claus, who now stood conflicted, hurried into the shield’s cover just as the raging tornado hit.
BOOOOM!
Wind howled. Debris flew in every direction. The rain intensified, pounding against the barrier as linda gritted her teeth, pushing her energy to the limit to hold the shield.
Outside the do, the battlefield turned into a storm-torn hellscape, the northern gate crumbling from the elental onslaught.
As the tornado howled around them and rain poured relentlessly from the stormy sky, Emma turned to the others, her voice urgent but uncertain.
"What do we do now?"
Aya, crouched near her rifle, eyes focused, responded firmly, "I have a plan."
The others listened closely.
Emma nodded. "Alright. Let’s do it."
linda, wiping the rain off her brow, added, "You’ll only get one shot. Make it count."
With no ti to waste, they moved fast.
Despite the rain, linda extended her whip in a circular motion, summoning a transparent energy shield around Emma. The mont it activated, the rain sizzled on contact, giving Emma the dry space she needed.
She took a deep breath.
"Ti to turn up the heat."
Fire erupted from her core, wrapping around her body like a second skin. The shield pulsed as Emma activated her [Ultimate Skill: Infernal Wreath]
The temperature spiked in seconds.
Steam hissed around her as raindrops evaporated mid-air, and her silhouette was now nothing more than a glowing figure wrapped in swirling flas.
She grinned, eyes glowing golden.
"I’m ready."
Emma shot forward, blazing through the storm like a teor.
Gareth, sensing her approach, summoned a gale to defend himself, his arms crossed to block the impact. But the mont Emma’s flaming fist connected—
He staggered.
A strange weakness pulsed through his limbs. His breath grew shallow. Confused, he looked at his hands, then behind him—
linda was there, standing still, whip glowing faintly.
She smirked coldly.
"My whip’s not the only thing that bites. [Soul Drainer]. I’ve been siphoning your energy."
Gareth’s eyes widened just as Emma’s next blow smashed into his chest, sending him reeling.
He shouted desperately, "Claus! Help!"
Claus, struggling under Aya’s assault, turned and summoned jagged ice shards, launching them toward Emma.
But Emma didn’t even flinch.
Instead, she shouted, "Aya! Now!"
In a blink, Aya appeared behind Claus, rifle slung, holding only a small injection gun.
"Claus," she whispered. "Wake up."
Claus froze. His eyes, distant and glowing with ice magic, locked on her.
"Sister...?" he muttered, voice trembling.
But his body still moved on its own, arm rising, aiming to blast her.
anwhile, Gareth smirked. "Seems luck’s on my side after all—"
CRACK!
A bullet tore through his shoulder, knocking him off balance. He turned and saw linda, already aiming again.
"Damn you—!"
Before he could recover, Emma, blazing brighter than ever, raised her hand. A concentrated orb of heat surged in her palm.
She whispered, "Goodbye," and released it.
The inferno engulfed Gareth, his scream lost beneath the roar of the fire. Within seconds—
Ash.
Nothing more remained.
Emma staggered, the flas around her flickering and dimming. Her knees buckled, energy drained. She tried to move toward Aya, but collapsed to one knee. "Aya..."
But Aya wasn’t stopping.
She stepped forward, into Claus’ freezing aura. Her body shivered violently as ice began to crust over her arms and cheeks.
"It’s okay..." she whispered through chattering teeth. "I’m here, Claus..."
Each step was agony, her boots crunching over frozen mud.
Her hand reached out, fingers stiff, nearly blue, and finally, she embraced him.
Claus’s aura surged, ice threatening to consu her completely.
But Aya didn’t let go.
With her last strength, she pulled out the injector from her belt and drove the needle into his side.
Fsshht!
The serum, designed to neutralize core corruption, spread instantly. Claus gasped, clutching at his chest as a blast of icy energy exploded outward.
"AAARRRGHHH!!"
Aya held tight, refusing to back away even as frost crawled up her neck.
Then, silence.
The cold ebbed.
The wind died.
Slowly, Claus’s hands loosened, his shoulders slumped, and the light in his eyes softened.
He blinked. "Sis...?"
Aya, still clinging to him, broke into tears. "Thank god... thank god..."
She sobbed into his shoulder, her frozen skin still trembling, but the warmth of relief slowly spreading through her heart.
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