Once again, Cinderella regenerated, but Mitsuki counterattacked with his sword. She blocked it, yet he used the rebound to aim with his shotgun. Marco intervened, cutting off her two right arms, and Azel fired at her head once more.

The shot echoed, blowing apart the princess’s torso, but it still wasn’t enough.

The remains of her body scattered like black dust carried by the wind, but before they could touch the ground, they began to gather again, as if an invisible will pulled each particle together with relentless force.

Enraged, Cinderella regenerated and screamed with all her strength.

Her scream was not human. It was a torn, guttural wail that seemed to rise from the very core of the ruined kingdom. The soundwaves shook the debris, rattled broken tiles, and stirred the pools of water, as if the entire world responded to her call.

From the distant ruins, ash knights, skeletons, corrupted animals, and all kinds of deformed creatures eroded by the curse emerged. Soon, their target became the castle ruins, where the princess’s scream demanded their presence. They marched toward it obediently.

Their steps were uneven, dragging, producing a constant murmur that grew like a rising tide. The sound of creaking bones, clashing rusted armor, and claws scraping against stone merged into a macabre symphony advancing from the darkness.

Their empty eyes faintly glowed in the rain, reflecting absolute obedience.

At the same time, Cinderella unleashed a massive attack of rising spikes from the ground near her feet. The spikes burst forth violently, shattering stone and sending fragments flying in all directions.

The adventurers retreated, but they did not allow themselves to stay out of the fight for long. Time was something they did not have.

Breaking through the emerging crystals, they advanced like an unstoppable storm. Marco used his sword to shatter the spikes, while Mitsuki fired and slashed at the same time, his body turning into ash to gain the momentum needed to increase his speed.

Every step was an explosion of movement. Marco spun his blade with precision, deflecting fragments flying toward his face, while Mitsuki appeared and disappeared between clouds of ash, leaving dark trails that dissolved in the rain.

The sound of the shotgun boomed like an irregular heartbeat in the chaos.

With the rain clearing, the previous weakness had vanished. In the blink of an eye, both of them appeared before the princess, ready to unleash a devastating attack.

The air between them compressed from their speed. The ground cracked beneath their feet as they propelled themselves forward, and for an instant, everything seemed to freeze before the impact.

Azel already had the Lady of Cinder in his sights, while hundreds of thousands of monsters crawled through the darkness between puddles forming in the ruined streets of the old kingdom of Axorhibis.

The archer breathed with difficulty. Every heartbeat hurt, every movement of his fingers pulling the bowstring pushed him to the limit. Even so, his eyes did not waver. His gaze remained fixed on the target.

The swords clashed once more, and the princess’s four arms spread like wings, responding to every attack. Her defense was not impenetrable, but landing a hit required multiple maneuvers.

Each arm moved independently, creating a constant barrier. The crystal blades whistled through the air, leaving luminous trails that split the rain into invisible fragments.

Still, that was where Azel came in, firing an arrow that once again pierced the princess’s head.

The arrow tore through the air with a sharp whistle and pierced Cinderella’s skull, carrying fragments of ash that scattered like dry dust in the storm.

Fighting more than two people at once would always bring complications, and maintaining concentration was the hardest challenge of all.

Every second demanded a decision. Every mistake could be the last. The battlefield was no longer a physical place, but a web of movements, predictions, and reflexes intertwined in a deadly dance.

Mitsuki, however, though he fought without pause, his mind was submerged in complete darkness.

He heard distant voices, the clash of swords, but he was no longer there with them.

The world felt distant, as if he were watching it through a fogged glass. His movements remained precise, but they lacked conscious intent. It was a body fighting by inertia.

Was this what the system meant when it said his mind, body, and soul would be damaged? If that was the risk, then it was better than he expected.

All outcomes lead to death; in that case, sacrificing a piece of his soul wasn’t so bad. If it ensured his survival, then there was nothing to argue about. He would simply let his body flow with the fight.

’Was this something that was meant to happen to me?’

Within the darkness, he closed his eyes.

’If we win, what will happen to me afterward? My body is destroyed, so I don’t think I can recover from this.’

The swords clashed once more in the distance.

Mitsuki looked at the blurry images his eyes saw out there.

The princess moved between buildings while Marco exchanged blows with her. Apparently, his body was doing the same, so he fully immersed himself in what was happening.

He ran through the streets; his feet splashed the water pooled in the puddles, sending ripples outward that broke against the debris. He chased the princess and, together with Marco, forced her to retreat.

Nearby, high above, particles of ash rose to form the giant "lens" that would bring forth a beam of total annihilation. The ring was still under construction, of course, but it already emitted a low hum that could be felt more in the bones than in the ears.

From his lifeless golden eyes, Mitsuki extended his hand toward one of the nine pillars looming in the distance. While running, he tried to break that ash pillar, but the force binding the ash to the structure was so strong that he could do nothing.

His energy collided with the pillar and dissipated, as if the structure absorbed any attempt at interference.

His expressionless face turned back toward Cinderella, and from there, he knew there was no other option but to kill her before this entire part of the kingdom was consumed by a solar death ray.

He accelerated through the ash. He ran along vertical walls and leaped toward her.

He exchanged two sword strikes. The first bounced off one of the crystal blades, but the second managed to sever one of the princess’s arms.

At that moment, a rain of arrows fell. Marco and Mitsuki glanced at each other and hid within the alleys while Cinderella continued running along the open street.

The arrows shattered the ground where they struck and hit the princess, slowing her down and turning her into an easy target.

Mitsuki emerged from one of the alleys, and Marco followed. Together, they forced Cinder into a long jump back toward the arena before it was too late—but above, Azel was waiting with a dozen deadly arrows.

He released the string; the arrows cut through the wind and pierced the princess. Ash from her body splattered with each hit, leaving holes through her rusted armor.

The pillars began to fall.

From behind, Mitsuki appeared and fired point-blank. The flames further separated the ash from the princess’s body. At the same time, Marco slid across the ground and brought his sword down on the specter’s neck, finally decapitating her.

Ash began to fall from the sky, and the clouds that had parted to reveal the sun started to close.

Mitsuki aimed his shotgun, but the princess’s voice asked a question from the remains of the ash.

"Who are you? Why does it feel like you know me?"

The expressionless Mitsuki did not respond, but Monar, lying in the distance, spoke instead.

"Seems like... your ash curse has run out, hasn’t it? Without it, you’re just..."

The princess sighed.

"A ghost who should have perished along with the others."

She looked at Mitsuki’s feet.

"I never thought you’d be this persistent. I didn’t lack strength or magic, but..."

She closed her eyes.

"Every time you fell, you just kept getting back up. Especially the ash boy."

The shattered body of a silent warrior. A sacrifice reflected in Mitsuki’s dull, lifeless eyes.

"I suppose I wasted my chance; I can no longer regenerate. I failed before... I failed now. But at least I know I won’t go alone."

The whispers of specters in the distance.

"I’m a very bad loser."

Mitsuki didn’t wait for her to finish speaking. His weapon roared, and that beam of blue flames illuminated the darkness of the battlefield. The ash that composed the princess’s body disintegrated under arcane magic until it vanished completely.

Everyone watched the end in silence and...

[ You have defeated the S+ rank specter (SSS due to the ash curse) Guinevere Cinderella. ]

[ You will receive rewards. ]