The battlefield had gone strangely silent.
The air trembled around Katsa.
Her Wing 2 form burned brighter than the moon itself, white light pouring from her body and illuminating the darkness around her.
Lucia stood across from her, watching carefully.
For the first time, her expression carried genuine curiosity.
Lucia:
"It's wonderful... for someone like you to unlock Wing 2."
Katsa lowered her head.
Her fists tightened.
Katsa:
"I'm not feeling happy."
She slowly raised her eyes.
"I'm angry at you."
The white aura around her intensified.
Katsa:
"You made Junyu turn into a monster."
Her voice shook with anger.
"You made all of us miserable."
Lucia remained calm.
Lucia:
"Katsa... this form isn't even yours."
Katsa looked directly at her.
Katsa:
"This is me."
WHOOSH!
Katsa vanished.
Lucia's eyes widened.
A streak of white light crossed the battlefield.
Katsa appeared directly behind her.
Lucia slowly turned.
Lucia:
"What... is this speed?"
Katsa was already moving again.
She disappeared into the white glow.
Then—
WING 2 — EXPAND.
The energy surrounding Katsa erupted outward.
Two enormous white wings began forming behind her.
Feathers of pure energy spread across the sky as Katsa rose from the ground.
She flew higher.
Higher.
Until she hovered above Lucia, looking down through the blinding white light.
The clouds around her began to scatter.
Katsa spread her wings.
Katsa:
"LUCIA!"
Lucia looked up.
Katsa:
"Answer me..."
Katsa's wings opened completely.
"How are you going to dodge these?"
Hundreds of white spikes formed behind her.
For a moment, the sky looked filled with stars.
Then Katsa thrust her hands forward.
KATSA:
"GO!"
The spikes descended.
More than a hundred white projectiles tore through the battlefield, striking everything in their path and forcing Lucia to react instantly.
Lucia placed one hand against the ground.
Lucia:
"Rise."
The earth shifted.
A massive wall erupted in front of her.
The white spikes slammed into it one after another.
The wall remained standing.
Katsa's eyes widened.
Katsa:
"How is she doing this?"
The last few spikes disappeared against the wall.
Katsa stared down at Lucia.
"What is the extent of her power?"
Lucia stepped out from behind the wall.
She brushed the dust from her clothes.
Lucia:
"Wing 2."
She looked toward Katsa's wings.
"Great form."
Lucia's expression became strangely calm.
"Katsa... may I ask you something?"
"How did you achieve such a form?"
Katsa didn't hesitate.
Katsa:
"From myself."
Lucia's eyes narrowed.
Lucia:
"No."
Katsa frowned.
Katsa:
"What do you mean?"
Lucia looked directly into her eyes.
"Why are you acting like you know me more than myself?"
Lucia answered immediately.
Lucia:
"Because I do."
The wind moved between them.
Then Lucia asked:
Lucia:
"What is the name of your family?"
Katsa froze.
Katsa:
"I don't have a family."
Lucia's expression changed.
Lucia:
"Why are you changing the course of the fight?"
She turned slightly.
"Why are you running away from me?"
Katsa's eyes narrowed.
Katsa:
"Because you are the last Achilles."
Katsa blinked.
Katsa:
"Achilles?"
Lucia stared at her.
Lucia:
"Seriously? You don't know about them?"
Katsa shook her head.
"I don't know."
Lucia took a breath.
Lucia:
"The Achilles were the people who created this Wing Technique."
Katsa's wings slowly moved behind her.
Lucia continued.
"And to use it..."
She looked directly at Katsa.
"...you must come from their bloodline."
Katsa's expression changed.
Katsa:
"Where are all the others?"
Lucia's voice became quieter.
Lucia:
"Dead."
Katsa's eyes widened.
Katsa:
"What?"
"Who killed them?"
Lucia answered with two words.
"Lacod Darmen."
Silence.
Katsa's expression froze.
That name.
She had heard it before.
Katsa:
"That name sounds familiar..."
Her eyes widened.
"That's Junyu's dad."
Lucia nodded.
Katsa's voice became unsteady.
Katsa:
"Why would he kill us?"
"Were we an evil power?"
Lucia shook her head.
Lucia:
"No."
She looked toward the dark horizon.
"You were the only power capable of dethroning the Dynasty of the Devils during the Great Dark Era."
Katsa said nothing.
Lucia continued.
Lucia:
"Lacod Darmen killed all of you."
A pause.
"Even his own wife."
Katsa's breathing stopped for a moment.
Lucia:
"Runa Achilles."
Katsa's eyes widened.
The name hit her like a memory she couldn't understand.
Runa... Achilles.
Her wings trembled.
Lucia walked over to a nearby rock and calmly sat down.
She no longer looked like she wanted to fight.
Lucia:
"I'm not here to fight you."
Katsa stared at her.
Lucia:
"I'm here to inform you."
Lucia crossed her arms.
"Lacod Darmen is not dead."
Katsa's expression hardened.
Lucia:
"And we are not the bad people here."
Katsa's eyes narrowed.
Lucia continued.
"Lacod Darmen will return."
"He has already planned his return."
"But he won't return for everyone."
She looked directly at Katsa.
"He will return for you."
Katsa stood frozen.
Katsa:
"Tell me you're lying."
Lucia shook her head.
Lucia:
"We want to bring the old era back."
Katsa stared at her.
Lucia:
"And do you know why?"
Silence.
Lucia's voice became heavier.
"Because that's the only way to stop Darmen."
Katsa's eyes widened.
Lucia:
"He is coming."
"In a few months..."
She paused.
"He is going to return."
"And when he does..."
Lucia looked toward the sky.
"...in his perfect vessel, none of you will survive."
She looked back at Katsa.
"Neither will we."
The wind grew stronger.
Lucia:
"The world needs to be forged."
She slowly stood.
"We will forge the world."
"We will create a new one."
Her eyes hardened.
Lucia:
"The New World."
Katsa clenched her fists.
Katsa:
"Lacod Darmen will slaughter all of us."
"He's a thirsty killer."
Lucia didn't respond.
Katsa shouted:
KATSA:
"HE IS NO HERO!"
Lucia stepped forward.
Lucia:
"KATSA!"
The entire battlefield seemed to echo with her voice.
Lucia:
"WE NEED YOUR POWERS!"
Katsa stared at her.
Lucia:
"WE NEED YOU!"
Her voice became louder.
Lucia:
"THE WORLD NEEDS YOU!"
Katsa's white aura flickered.
Katsa:
"Why do you need me?"
She looked furious.
"And why should I help you?"
Lucia's expression became serious.
Lucia:
"Lacod Junyu is the vessel of Lacod Darmen."
Katsa froze.
Lucia:
"And he can't die physically."
Katsa's eyes widened.
"The only one who can kill him..."
Lucia pointed toward Katsa.
"...is you."
Katsa's expression collapsed into disbelief.
Lucia continued.
Lucia:
"He's losing himself."
"His U.S. is gaining control over him."
"And eventually..."
"He will bring Lacod Darmen back."
Katsa shook her head.
Lucia:
"Believe me."
"There is only one hope."
Lucia's voice became almost a whisper.
Lucia:
"Kill Junyu."
Katsa's eyes widened.
Katsa:
"No."
Her aura surged.
"You are just using me!"
She stepped forward.
"You're trying to manipulate me!"
"All of this is a lie!"
Lucia shook her head.
Lucia:
"No."
She looked directly at Katsa.
"It isn't."
"When I cast the spell on Junyu..."
Lucia paused.
"He already had someone inside him."
Katsa's breathing became heavier.
"So my spell didn't work the way it should have."
Lucia's eyes narrowed.
Lucia:
"It didn't control him."
"It awakened someone inside him."
Katsa stood completely still.
The white wings behind her slowly lowered.
Lucia turned away.
Lucia:
"I won't fight you."
She looked over her shoulder.
"The choice is yours."
A final pause.
Lucia:
"Choose humanity."
Katsa's strength left her.
She dropped to the ground.
Her white aura flickered around her body.
The battlefield became silent.
Katsa stared at the ground, unable to process what she had just heard.
Darmen is coming.
Lucia walked away.
Her final words echoed through the darkness.
Lucia:
"Be ready."
The wind swept across the battlefield.
Katsa remained on the ground beneath her enormous white wings.
For the first time since awakening Wing 2...
She wasn't thinking about winning.
She was thinking about Junyu.
And the truth about his father.
LACOD DARMEN IS COMING.