Something broke.
Not the ground.
Not the air.
Not even the monsters that towered above them.
Something deeper.
Something unseen.
The moment the World Chalice trembled—
The weight crushing their bodies…
Cracked.
Not gone—
But weakened.
Just enough.
Rio's eyes sharpened.
"…Now."
That single word—
Was all it took.
Auram moved first.
Not hesitating.
Not questioning.
His body surged forward—
A burst of speed that split the dust-filled air—
Straight toward the Ancient Dragon Almarduke.
The dragon roared—
Wings spreading—
Its massive body shifting to intercept—
But Auram didn't slow.
He accelerated.
Twin blades drawn—
Eyes locked.
"…Girsu!"
Behind him—
Girsu followed.
Spear in hand—
Feet digging into the fractured ground—
Each step cracking stone beneath him.
"…Right behind you!"
Auram dashed beneath the dragon's body—
Then shifted direction instantly—
Circling.
Fast.
Precise.
Like a blade tracing a perfect arc.
"There—!"
Girsu's voice cut through.
Auram's eyes flicked—
A black crystal embedded near the dragon's rib.
He leapt—
SLASH
The first crystal shattered.
The dragon screamed.
A distorted—
Pain-filled roar.
But they didn't stop.
"Seventy-two."
Auram whispered.
Then moved again.
At the same time—
Ryota charged.
Straight at the Guardian Chimera.
Iron Steve in hand.
"…Round two!"
The chimera's heads rose—
All seven turning toward him—
Mouths opening—
Energy gathering.
A breath attack.
Again.
"…Oh no not this time!"
Ryota didn't stop.
Didn't dodge.
Didn't retreat.
He bent down—
Grabbed a massive chunk of broken stone—
And hurled it.
BOOM
The boulder slammed directly into one of the chimera's open jaws—
Then another—
Then another—
The energy destabilized—
The breath attack—
Collapsed inward.
The chimera screeched.
Violently.
Pain echoing through every head.
"HAHA—!"
Ryota closed the distance instantly—
Jumped—
And drove his fist forward.
"TAKE THIS—!"
[Scalular Impact]
The force—
Multiplied.
Magnified.
Rewritten.
BOOM
The impact rippled through the chimera's entire body—
Sending it crashing sideways—
Multiple heads slamming into the ground.
Rio stepped forward.
Calm.
Controlled.
Even at 1%.
Her hand raised.
The Crimson Bloodmoon—
Responded.
Glowing.
A deep—
Violent crimson.
"…Moonlight Melody."
She swung.
Once.
The air split.
A wave of blood-colored energy surged forward—
Sharp—
Refined—
Deadly.
But she wasn't done.
Her left hand lifted—
The musket aligned—
Fired.
BANG
The bullet pierced through the wave—
And in that moment—
Her eyes ignited.
"…Chronos Eye."
Time bent.
The projectile accelerated—
The wave sharpened—
Compressed—
And then—
Instant.
BOOM
The attack struck the Guardian Chimera before it could recover—
Tearing through its already damaged body—
Heads screaming—
Limbs tearing—
Energy dispersing violently.
Back to the dragon—
Auram moved like a storm.
Crystal—
After crystal—
After crystal—
Shattered.
Ten.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Each one breaking—
Each one weakening the beast.
"Forty-eight—!"
Girsu roared—
Driving his spear into another cluster—
CRACK
"Fifty-nine—!"
Auram spun—
Blades crossing—
SLASH
"Sixty-eight—!"
The dragon's movements slowed—
Its roars weakened—
Its body trembling.
"Seventy-two—!"
Auram leapt—
High—
Higher—
Then brought both blades down.
"Seventy-three."
CRACK
The final crystal—
Shattered.
Silence.
For a moment—
Everything stopped.
Then—
The corruption broke.
Like glass.
The black veins across the dragon's body—
Shattered.
Faded.
Disappeared.
The dragon let out a different sound.
Not rage.
Not pain.
Relief.
Its massive body collapsed—
But not in destruction.
In release.
Freed.
Girsu didn't hesitate.
The moment the dragon fell—
He turned.
Eyes locked upward.
At Lee.
"…This ends now."
His body surged forward—
Spear igniting with faint light—
Not flame—
Not magic—
Something older.
Something true.
He leapt.
Straight toward her.
Below—
Auram turned.
No longer facing the dragon.
Now—
The chimera.
He saw Ryota—
Still fighting—
Still pushing—
Still alive.
"…Let's finish it."
Auram spoke.
Simple.
Direct.
Ryota grinned.
"…About time!"
They moved together.
Perfectly.
Like they had always fought side by side.
Auram dashed in—
Blades flashing—
Cutting across the chimera's legs—
Disrupting its balance.
Ryota followed—
Grabbing one of its heads—
"…Stay still—!"
And slammed it into the ground.
BOOM
The chimera tried to retaliate—
But Rio was already there.
Another slash—
Another Moonlight Melody—
Weakened—
But precise.
It hit.
Auram crossed his blades—
A finishing strike—
Ryota pulled back his fist—
"…This is for ALL that nonsense—!"
[Scalular Impact]
Maximum output.
Punch.
BOOM
The chimera's body—
Collapsed.
All heads—
Falling silent.
No regeneration.
No movement.
No life.
The Guardian Chimera—
Was dead.
Above—
Girsu closed in.
Lee's eyes widened slightly.
For the first time—
"…You shouldn't be able to—"
Too late.
Girsu's spear—
Pierced forward.
Aimed directly—
At the World Chalice.
"…This ends with you."
The battlefield held its breath.
Because for the first time—
The monsters were gone.
The tide had turned.
And the one who thought she controlled everything—
Was about to be reached.
The sky—
Shattered.
Not by force.
But by inevitability.
Girsu's spear pierced forward—
A straight line.
A decisive end.
Lee's body jerked—
The impact landed.
Clean.
Precise.
Unforgiving.
For a moment—
Silence.
Then—
Girsu's hand moved.
Gripping her neck.
Lifting her.
His voice—
Low.
Final.
"…It ends here."
Lee looked at him.
And smiled.
Not the gentle smile from the murals.
Not the guiding light from the past.
Something else.
Something broken.
Something wrong.
"…You're too late."
A whisper.
Then—
She laughed.
Soft at first.
"…Heh…"
Then louder.
"Ahahaha…"
Then—
Unhinged.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA—!"
Girsu's eyes narrowed.
"…What are you—"
He didn't finish.
Because it began.
Black veins.
Thin at first.
Like cracks in glass.
Spreading across her skin.
Up her arms.
Across her face.
Over her eyes.
"…So this is it…"
Her voice overlapped.
Not one.
But two.
"…The final piece…"
Girsu's grip tightened.
"…No."
He moved.
Spear drawn back—
Then—
SLASH
A single strike.
Clean.
Absolute.
Lee's body split in two.
Severed completely.
Silence.
For half a second—
It worked.
Then—
It didn't.
The two halves didn't fall.
Didn't bleed.
Didn't disappear.
They… dissolved.
Liquefied.
Dark.
Thick.
Like living shadow.
"…What—"
Girsu stepped back.
Too late.
The black mass surged forward.
Not toward him—
But past him.
Toward—
Her.
Lib.
"…No—!"
Auram's voice broke.
Rio's eyes widened.
"…She's not—"
Ryota froze.
"…That's bad."
The black mass reached Lib—
And merged.
No resistance.
No delay.
It entered her body—
Through her chest—
Through the wound—
Through the staff still embedded in her.
"—!!"
Lib's body convulsed.
Violently.
Her fingers twitched.
Then clenched.
Her head tilted downward—
Hair falling over her face.
The staff—
CRACK
Shattered.
Fragments falling away as black energy consumed what remained.
The veins spread faster now.
Across her arms.
Her neck.
Her face.
Her heart.
"…No…"
Auram took a step forward.
"…LIB!"
Girsu's grip tightened on his spear.
"…Get back."
But even he—
Knew.
It was too late.
Lib's head slowly lifted.
Her eyes—
Opened.
Red.
Not glowing.
Not flickering.
Just—
Red.
Empty.
Her long blue hair shifted—
Strands of black weaving through it—
Like corruption made visible.
Above her head—
A halo formed.
Black.
Jagged.
Spiked.
Floating like a crown—
Of something fallen.
Her clothes—
Darkened.
Light fading into shadow.
Rewritten.
Behind her—
Wings emerged.
Not feathered.
Not angelic.
Black.
Floating.
Unnatural.
A presence—
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Absolute.
Rio exhaled slowly.
"…So this is your endgame."
A pause.
"…Possession."
The figure in the air smiled.
Slowly.
Sinister.
Familiar.
"…Not possession."
Her voice echoed.
Layered.
Two voices—
Speaking as one.
"…Completion."
A step forward—
But she didn't move.
The world moved around her.
"…I was always meant to be this."
A tilt of her head.
Eyes locking onto Girsu.
"…You're next."
The words barely left her lips—
Before she moved.
A flicker.
A distortion.
Then—
Gone.
Girsu's eyes widened.
"…Where—"
"—Behind you."
Too late.
A hand raised.
A red light formed—
Compressed—
Dense—
Violent.
"Die."
She fired.
BOOM
The blast connected instantly—
Point blank—
Girsu's body launched downward—
Like a meteor—
CRASH
The ground shattered beneath him—
A massive crater forming on impact.
Dust exploded outward.
Shockwaves rippled across the chamber.
Auram shouted—
"…GIRSU—!"
No response.
Only smoke.
Only silence.
Above—
She floated.
Unmoved.
Unchallenged.
The Corruptor Fairy—
Reborn.
"…Liblee…"
Rio whispered it.
Naming it.
Acknowledging it.
Because this—
Was no longer Lib.
And no longer Lee.
It was something else entirely.
Something worse.
Liblee smiled.
Looking down at them.
At all of them.
"…Now…"
A pause.
"…Let's finish this."
The air tightened.
The dungeon trembled.
And for the first time—
Even Rio felt it.
Not fear.
But—
Danger.
Real danger.
Because the enemy before them—
Was no longer part of the story.
She was the one who ended it.