Klein felt the witch’s floral perfume and the warmth of her body pressed against his. Despite his warrior’s strength, he was unable to move. Walpurga’s physical power, reinforced by centuries of ancient magic, was overwhelming.

Walpurga remained motionless for a moment. Her blue eyes softened, losing their arrogant gleam for a deep melancholy. She loosened her grip but did not get up.

"You remind me of someone..." she finally said, her voice now only a whisper. "Someone who also thought he could carry the world on his shoulders."

’She’s talking about Konstantine...’ thought Klein, sensing the sadness emanating from her.

"Konstantine was a fool," she continued, her fingers almost brushing Klein’s face. "He created monsters to save humanity, and he ended up betrayed by his own creations. I was there that day."

She finally stood up and sat at the edge of the lake, staring at the silvery reflections of the water.

"I raised my hand against him because the angels had promised me freedom," she confessed with palpable bitterness. "But freedom only became a vaster prison. I spent fifteen centuries perfecting my curses, hoping to redeem myself..."

Klein sat down beside her, respecting her silence. He realized that beneath this facade of cruelty and arrogance, Walpurga was a woman broken by remorse.

"I won’t let you die, Klein," she added abruptly, turning toward him. "Not by my fault... And if you were Konstantine’s disciple, I must train you and protect you."

’She’s transferring her regrets onto me...’ he understood. ’She no longer sees me only as a disciple, but as a chance for redemption.’

Walpurga’s guilt had become the driving force of her devotion. She could not bear the idea that this new "vessel" of her master’s will could fade before her eyes. Every piece of advice she gave him and every mystical art she taught him was to avoid reliving the trauma of the Millennial War.

"I am a bastard who also has his own ghosts. I killed my brother, I let my father die... we are both monsters looking for a reason to stay standing."

Walpurga turned her face toward him, her lips stretching into a sad smile. "Maybe that’s why we get along so well."

"Maybe," admitted Klein. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

She let out a melodious laugh. She moved closer and rested her head against Klein’s shoulder, ignoring the smell of sulfur and blood that permeated his clothes.

"Listen, Walpurga..." began Klein, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I am not Konstantine. I am Klein... And if I agreed to come to this tower, it is because I also want to redeem myself for the harm I caused and then respect his will... It won’t be to fill your voids."

The witch let out a sad laugh.

"That’s exactly what he would have answered me..."

She stood up and took back her parasol, her silhouette once again becoming the very image of the ruthless witch of Babylon.

****

"These creatures are no longer simple possessed, Klein," she observed, her melodious voice resonating against the stone walls. "They are Guardians, forged from the DNA of fallen warriors and pure demonic mana... S-rank."

She blew a smoke ring that slowly rose toward the ceiling before dissipating into the gloom. Her smile remained fixed, both amused and dangerous.

Klein did not bother to reply. His fingers mechanically brushed the guard of his katana, checking one last time that the blade was easily drawable. He smoothed his silver hair back, a now habitual gesture, as three massive silhouettes emerged from the shadows.

The monsters stood nearly three meters tall. Their bodies, covered in black chitin plates, gleamed faintly under the torchlight like natural armor shaped by darkness. Each plate fitted perfectly into the next, revealing in places glowing red veins that pulsed slowly.

Their eyes shone with a scarlet red, and from their throats came a deep rattle, a low sound that made Klein’s ribs vibrate in his chest.

The first guardian held in its right hand a spiked mace covered in rust. The second had claws so long they almost dragged on the ground. The third, even more massive, carried no apparent weapon, but its fists were two blocks of reinforced chitin.

Their aura exceeds anything I’ve encountered so far, thought Klein, his jaw clenching involuntarily.

His Predation Eyes activated instantly. A brief pain crossed his pupils, then the information appeared in his field of vision as if engraved in the air itself.

[Target: Possessed transformed by a powerful demon...]

[Level: S+ Rank]

[Weakness: Neck joint]

[Warning: Reinforced chitin/high resistance to standard physical attacks]

Klein took a deep breath. The air tasted of iron and sulfur. He felt his muscles tense, every fiber of his body preparing for the effort to come. His pulse beat in his temples, fast and steady.

"Step aside, Walpurga," he ordered, drawing his katana in a fluid motion. "These guys are mine..."

His blade reflected the torchlight, casting moving glints on the damp walls.

Walpurga raised an eyebrow, then tilted her head back slightly. She spread her arms in a theatrical gesture before stepping back a few paces, her heels clicking softly on the stone. Her dress brushed the ground without raising the slightest dust.

"Go ahead, my little warrior," she retorted with a provocative smile, bringing her pipe to her plump lips. A new puff of violet smoke escaped from her nostrils while her eyes shone with a mischievous gleam. "I’ll be here to pick up the pieces if any remain."

She sat down on a broken stone block, crossed her long legs, and waited.

Their jaws opened and a muffled roar came out, a sound so powerful that the air itself seemed to vibrate. A fine dust detached from the joints between the ceiling stones.

Then the beast charged.

Its massive feet struck the ground with a steady rhythm, each step making the tiles tremble. Its mace whirled in the air, describing a wide and destructive arc. The impact pulverized the ground where Klein had stood a fraction of a second earlier, stone shards flew in all directions, and a crater as wide as a shield opened on the tile.

Klein had already disappeared.

His legs bent, then relaxed with explosive power.

He used <Dash>

A surge of bluish aura propelled his body to the right, to appear on the beast’s flank. The wind whistled in his ears during this instantaneous movement. His blade deployed in an ascending arc, shining with a strong bluish glow.