The scene opens at the back gate, where the air is thick with the scent of ozone and scorched earth. Jack stands amidst the rubble, his eyes scanning Rose with a predator’s curiosity.

  "Well, lady... what is your name?" Jack asks, his voice airy and carefree.

  "Rose," she replies simply, her posture perfect despite the chaos surrounding them.

  Jack chuckles, a dark glint in his eyes. "Well, you certainly look the part. But you know what they say about roses—if you try to touch them carelessly, you get stung."

  He tilts his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Tell me... do you sting too?"

  Across the base, at the Divers' quarters, the ground is fractured from the weight of an invisible pressure.

  Mitsuo is locked in combat with the Second Demon Prince, Diablo. Even against such a high-tier threat, Mitsuo fights with one hand tucked casually into his pocket, his movements a blur of effortless superiority.

  Suddenly, Diablo smirks. He throws his arms wide, and a massive Space Territory erupts around them.

  Unlike the dark voids of other demons, this domain glows with a faint, haunting blue light. Mitsuo pauses, looking around the shimmering borders of the territory with genuine fascination.

  "Quite the spectacle you’ve made here," Mitsuo remarks.

  "You like it?" the Prince sneers. "It makes the effort worth it when a Primordial offers praise."

  In a flicker of blue light, Diablo teleports. He reappears instantly in Mitsuo’s blind spot, his hand shaped into a lethal claw aimed at the back of Mitsuo’s head.

  Without even bothering to turn around, Mitsuo raises his free hand and catches the strike.

  The Prince recoils quickly, putting distance between them, as Mitsuo’s sapphire eyes sparkle with a cold, mocking amusement.

  Back inside the severed territory, the floating figure glares down at Claire, her annoyance shifting into something sharper—recognition.

  "You!" the figure hisses. "You were with that black-haired Primordial when he stole my daughter! How perfect. It seems I won’t have to hunt you down separately after all."

  Claire’s eyes lock onto her, her claws extending as she settles into a predatory crouch.

  Before descending, the figure launches a pulsating, egg-like structure into the center of the arena.

  It hits the ground and ruptures, dozens of tentacled monstrosities emerging from the slime to swarm the gathered units.

  Everyone not occupied with maintaining the protective sphere—the remaining Wrappers and Feathers—leaps into the fray to keep the horde at bay.

  The figure drifts down, landing gracefully on the ice directly in front of the Ghoul.

  "Olivia," the woman says, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "Remember that name. It is the name of the person who killed you."

  The moment the words leave her lips, Olivia lunges. She moves with a speed that defies logic, her strikes a barrage of overwhelming force.

  Claire barely manages to twist out of the way of the opening blow, but she is immediately forced onto the defensive.

  Olivia’s relentless assault begins to push the Special Grade Ghoul back, step by bloody step.

  To be continued...

  At the back gate, the air was thick with tension, yet Rose and Jack walked side-by-side through the wreckage as if they were taking a casual stroll through a garden.

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  "You’re just like Mitsuo, you know," Rose said, her voice calm and conversational.

  Jack glanced at her, a playful glint in his eyes. "Ah, so you know him? Is he a friend... or perhaps something more?"

  "Pffft!" Rose let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Someone like him as something more? That’s hilarious. Lol."

  She emphasized the 'lol' intentionally, mimicking Mitsuo’s exact cadence to let Jack know exactly how little she was intimidated by his family line.

  Jack’s smirk widened. "Well then, when are we starting?"

  "Right now," Rose whispered.

  Before Jack could blink, the ruins vanished. He was pulled into a vast, pitch-white Space Territory.

  The transition was so fluid and effortless that Jack couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Impressive, lady. Truly."

  Meanwhile, at the Divers' quarters, Mitsuo was casually roaming inside Diablo’s blue-lit territory.

  He walked with his hands in his pockets, looking more like a tourist than a combatant.

  Every time the Demon Prince attempted an assassination strike from the shadows, Mitsuo parried or stepped aside without even looking.

  Finally, Mitsuo stopped. "Are we done playing?"

  His voice was flat, but it carried a weight that sent a literal chill through Diablo’s spine. The Primordial was no longer amused.

  Back inside the white void, Jack walked carelessly, mirroring Mitsuo’s behaviour in the other territory.

  He stopped and looked into the nothingness. "Well? Is this all you wanted to show me, lady?"

  "No," Rose’s voice echoed from everywhere. "I’m just starting."

  Jack turned to see dozens of Roses materializing in a circle around him. He chuckled. "Quite the display."

  In a synchronized motion, every Rose leveled her hand at him.

  A barrage of Mana Voids—the same technique used by Lilith—erupted from all directions, converging on Jack in a massive, blinding explosion.

  As the dust and white light cleared, Jack was seen walking forward, unharmed.

  His body was enveloped in a vibrant blue glow, his Aura shield having absorbed the brunt of the impact. Suddenly, the "real" Rose appeared, walking calmly beside him once more.

  Jack chuckled at her. "That almost shocked me."

  "You’re more like him than you think," Rose replied, her image flickering before disappearing again.

  Without warning, a swarm of high-tech drones—identical to Aether’s—materialized in the white sky.

  They surrounded Jack, their barrels glowing red before unleashing a relentless hail of plasma fire.

  Jack smirked, his own Mana surging outward to form a localized field that swallowed the plasma whole.

  "You're even better than I thought, lady," Jack said, his eyes finally showing a spark of genuine combat heat.

  In the heart of the base, Colonel Z was on the front lines, moving through the smoke to pull wounded soldiers away from the lower-tier demon threats. As he set a medic to work, he was approached by two elite figures: Rafael of the Blazers and the mysterious, frail-looking member of the Divers.

  "Sir, the space barrier we set up isn't responding," Rafael reported, his expression tight. "The arena is completely cut off by a foreign territory. We need to break it, and fast."

  The Diver, his presence calm despite his weak appearance, added, "We also need to manually reboot the auto-defense systems. If we don't, we’re just leaving the door open for more of them."

  Colonel Z turned to the young man. "The reports are grim, Vincent. Are the Divers still holding? Are your people safe?"

  "Yes, sir," Vincent replied softly. "We’re all fine."

  The Colonel turned to Rafael to ask the same, but the Blazer cut him off with a sharp nod. "We’re safe too. Let’s just move."

  "Follow me," Colonel Z commanded, and the two elites fell into step behind him.

  Inside the severed Space Territory, the battle was going poorly. Claire was sent skidding across the ice, her Ghoul form battered and bleeding from Olivia’s relentless assault. She crashed near Aoi, only to be caught and stabilized by Cassey’s tentacles.

  As Olivia drifted toward them, her eyes glowing with a cold, maternal hunger, Aoi tried to command her parasite to strike. To her horror, the tentacles refused; they remained coiled and trembling, paralyzed by the presence of their "mother."

  Cassey gently lowered the wounded Claire to the ground. Olivia stopped, her head tilting as she looked at Cassey with sudden, intense curiosity.

  "You..." Olivia whispered. "What are you?"

  "What?" Cassey stammered, confused by the strange question.

  Before Olivia could elaborate, the sound of roaring thrusters filled the air. Aether descended in his full Executioner suit, his AI assistants' red targeting reticles locking onto Olivia’s vitals. Olivia looked up at him as if watching a persistent fly.

  "Tch. Another annoyance," she hissed.

  "I like the nickname," Aether replied with a metallic smirk.

  "It wasn't intended as a compliment," Olivia spat.

  Aether let out a dry laugh. "You get my kind of humor. That’s cool." He didn't wait for a reply, unleashing a barrage of plasma voids from his suit's integrated cannons.

  Olivia swiped her tentacles, the dark appendages moving with enough force to dissipate the plasma mid-air.

  One tentacle lunged toward Aether’s cockpit, but it was sliced clean through by a blue aura-infused strike. Aldric of the Feathers stepped forward, his sword humming with power.

  "Nice one, buddy!" Aether shouted, pivoting in the air to maintain his fire.

  The two began a coordinated pincer attack—Aether raining down plasma from above while Aldric distracted her on the ground with his aura slashes.

  Seizing the opening, Haether ignited, her fiery Phoenix form illuminating the dark territory. She dived from the blind spot, unleashing a searing flame slash across Olivia’s back.

  While the elites focused their fire on the mother, the rest of the crew fought desperately to hold back the tide of the other monsters.

  To be continued…

  ? MYukH. All rights reserved.