On the other side of the battlefield, Croft’s pale grey eyes tracked the clash between Adam and Caelum, his weathered face betraying nothing.

"I made the right choice bringing the first prince here. The monster has been pushed back. Without the prince, we would have been slaughtered."

Beside him, Lilith’s threads lashed out, catching a soldier mid-charge. The man crumpled, his throat opened by nearly invisible silk. She spun, her crimson eyes fixed on Croft.

"Don’t dream too much, old man." Her voice was cold, precise. "Adam won’t lose that easily."

Croft’s lips curved into a thin smile. "We’ll see."

Kurt moved.

His hands shot forward, light gathering between his palms—bright, searing, too bright to look at directly. Lilith’s eyes widened, her threads snapping up to form a barrier.

[Flashbang Volley].

The light exploded, not just blinding, but physical. Lilith’s threads, woven to block blades and arrows, could not block light. The radiance struck her full in the face, and she staggered, her hands flying to her eyes.

"Ggh—!"

Kurt advanced, his voice calm, almost gentle.

"Even monsters have hope, it seems." He raised his hand, and light coalesced into a dozen spear-like projectiles. "How strange."

They flew.

Lilith’s threads moved on instinct, weaving a barrier before her, but the projectiles were too fast, too many. One slipped through, grazing her shoulder. Another embedded itself in her thigh. She cried out, stumbling back, her threads tangling.

Kurt’s lips curved into a thin, satisfied smile.

"Perhaps you’re not as dangerous as I feared."

Lilith’s crimson eyes blazed through the haze of pain. Her fingers, still clutching her wounded thigh, tightened. Blood seeped between them, warm and slick, but she didn’t look down. Her gaze remained fixed on Kurt’s cold, satisfied face.

"So then," she murmured, her voice low and dangerous, "allow me to show you the true meaning of danger."

Kurt’s smile faltered.

Lilith’s threads exploded outward.

Subtly, the delicate, almost invisible strands she normally used shifted. Now, from her fingertips came denser, heavier strands, as if darkness itself was creeping between her fingers. They shot toward Kurt from every angle, wrapping around his arms, his legs, his throat, lifting him off his feet.

"Wha—"

[Silk Sovereign: Umbral Binding].

The threads contracted. Kurt gasped as they squeezed, crushing the air from his lungs, pressing against his ribs until they creaked. His hands, still glowing with light, flailed uselessly.

Lilith rose, her wounded leg steady beneath her. Her crimson eyes gleamed.

"Let’s see how bright you shine when you can’t breathe."

Kurt’s lips peeled back from his teeth. Light gathered in his palms, brighter than before, searing.

"Burning... Radiance...!"

The light exploded.

It tore through Lilith’s threads, searing them to ash. Kurt fell to the ground, gasping, his chest heaving. His clothes were scorched, his skin red and blistered where the threads had been, but he was alive.

Lilith’s eyes narrowed.

"Tch."

On the other side of the battlefield, Ignis’s flames erupted. She shot toward Croft like a missile, her fist already cocked back, wreathed in solar fire.

"Die!"

Her punch slammed into the ground where Croft had been standing. Stone cracked, dust exploded, and a crater formed where the old merchant’s feet had been. But Croft was already moving, his weathered body somehow faster than it looked, sliding back out of range.

Ignis straightened, her golden eyes blazing.

"I’ll burn you until there’s nothing left!"

Her mouth opened wide. Light gathered in her throat, brighter than the sun, hotter than the depths of a forge. A laser of pure, concentrated flame erupted from her jaws, streaking toward Croft’s face.

His eyes widened.

The beam struck him square in the chest, lifting him off his feet, hurling him backward. He crashed into a building, the stone wall crumbling around him, dust and debris billowing outward.

Ignis’s flames flickered, her chest heaving.

"Is he... dead?"

The dust settled.

Croft pushed himself up from the rubble, his clothes scorched, his skin blistered, but his pale grey eyes still sharp and cold. He spat blood onto the stone, his voice rough but steady.

"Close." He straightened, rolling his shoulder. "But not close enough."

Derrick moved.

His sword swept toward Ignis’s exposed back—

"[Blood Wall]!"

Isolde’s voice rang out, sharp and commanding. A barrier of crimson erupted between Ignis and Derrick, catching his blade mid-swing. The steel bit into the blood, sending ripples across its surface, but did not break through.

Derrick’s eyes widened. He pulled back, his sword raised, his stance shifting to face the new threat.

Isolde stepped between him and Ignis, her pale eyes blazing. Her hands were raised, blood swirling around her fingers.

"Your opponent is me."

Derrick’s jaw tightened. His voice was flat, dismissive.

"I have no business with a woman."

He turned, already moving toward Ignis.

Isolde’s blood lashed out, wrapping around his ankle, yanking him off balance. He stumbled, caught himself, and spun to face her.

"Do not underestimate me," Isolde’s voice was cold, her pale eyes blazing with fury.

Derrick’s expression darkened. His sword swept up, and a wave of steel energy shot toward Isolde’s chest.

[Steel Edge: Reaper’s Arc].

The blade-shaped energy tore through the air, fast and deadly. Isolde’s blood rose to meet it, forming a shield of crimson, but the arc cut through, grazing her shoulder. Blood sprayed, and she hissed in pain.

Derrick pressed the advantage. His sword swept in a wide, horizontal arc, another wave of steel energy following the first.

"Steel Edge: Crescent Moon!" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Isolde’s blood answered her call. It rose from the ground, from the soldiers who had fallen nearby—all of it spiraling upward, coalescing into a dozen spinning blades.

"[Blood Dominion: Crimson Blades]!"

She swept her hand forward, and the blades shot toward Derrick. They struck his sword, his armor, his exposed skin, drawing blood with each hit. He grunted, stumbling back, his defenses cracking.

But his sword didn’t falter.

He raised it high, and steel energy gathered along its edge, brighter than before.

"Steel Edge: Mountain Splitter!"

The blade came down.

Isolde’s blood rose to meet it, forming a barrier of crimson, but the energy tore through, slamming into her chest. She flew backward, crashing into a stack of crates, her blood splattering the stone.

Derrick lowered his sword, his breathing heavy.

"Still alive?"

Isolde pushed herself up, her body shaking, her blood already answering her call. The crown of thorns blazed above her brow, dark and terrible, pulsing with ancient power.

"I am Isolde Draven." Her voice was soft, but it carried. "I will not fall to a simple swordsman."