Moon Castle shook violently, as if a powerful earthquake had struck its very foundations.
Within the dark domain unleashed by Sansa, the battlefield felt like outer space .. deprived of all light.
The only illumination came from the blazing auras of Oliver Khan and Frey Starlight, who flanked the princess from both sides, pressing in from the right and left in a coordinated attempt to cut her down.
In response, the shadows around Sansa coiled tightly, forming a black, iron-like dome of pure darkness.
Both Oliver and Frey struck it relentlessly, launching a torrent of blows .. each slash leaving behind afterimages and trails of fire as their weapons clashed violently with the strange, metallic barrier.
With a wave of her hand, the dome erupted in jagged spikes, repelling both of them.
"A pitiful struggle."
The thing inside Sansa scoffed, its crimson eyes glowing brighter as pulsating black veins spread violently across her pale skin.
The demon had always harbored a singular obsession .. an all-consuming instinct etched into every fiber of its being:
"Kill the Emperor."
That thought wasn't just a desire .. it was a command, embedded into its very existence. He couldn't deny it, even if it wanted to.
Unlike Frey and Oliver, who fought to confront the threat before them, the demon saw this entire battle as nothing more than a warm-up… a prelude to the real battle against Maekar Valerion.
And he had no time to waste.
Moving freely through Sansa's body, the demon let out a nightmarish scream. The shadows around it convulsed .. then exploded outward in the form of burning skulls, their jaws wide open as if ready to devour everything in their path.
"This is insane…" Frey muttered, surrounded by an endless wave of flaming skulls.
"Don't stop!!"
Oliver Khan roared, dashing into the storm of destruction with a flicker of ethereal movement—using his phantasmal form to block the incoming barrage.
Frey followed without hesitation.
"Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow: The Black cutter! "
Taking advantage of Oliver's lead, Frey unleashed hundreds of dark slashes, colliding with the swarm of skulls.
The battlefield descended into utter chaos.
Sansa and Frey clashed directly, aura against aura, while Oliver remained caught in the center of it all.
Fuelled by his blood form and aura amplification granted by Dark Sister, Frey grinned as he maintained his relentless assault.
"You want a war of attrition?"
His voice barely carried over the deafening roars of the continuous explosions .. the result of every clash between skulls and his black arcs.
"I can do this all day!"
With an inexhaustible SSS rank aura pool, and the power of Dark Sister amplifying every strike .. along with Oliver covering him .. Frey unleashed a storm of attacks, moving at a speed too fast for the bare eye to follow.
Oliver Khan watched it all, eyes wide open.
"He's matching a high-tier Wave Controller in ranged combat… blow for blow."
Not to mention the sheer volume and purity of aura his body emitted…
Frey Starlight's evaluation had risen sharply in Oliver's mind. He was certain now ..this boy could go head-to-head with any awakened SS- class .
Oliver had no choice but to give it everything he had .. he refused to be outshined by someone barely half his age.
Meanwhile, a deep scowl spread across Sansa's face .. the demon inside her growing frustrated.
Frey had completely countered him, forcing it to draw even more power against the defiant youth.
But the moment it did ..
Oliver struck.
A clean blow tore through Sansa's shoulder, forcing the demon to recoil.
Its attention snapped back to the masked man.
Oliver had protected Frey .. and used the slightest lapse to land a decisive hit. If the demon ignored him for a second, he would punish it instantly.
"Annoying…"
The demon found himself completely cornered .. unable to break free from the overwhelming synergy between its two opponents. They fought in perfect harmony, as if they had trained side by side for years.
He glared at them both, more black veins spreading across Sansa's once-pale skin.
"The masked one is strong, but can't hurt me… the other is weaker, but his attacks bypass my defenses."
Frustrated by being pushed back, the demon let out a furious shriek. The shadows responded in kind, forming a barrage of spears, swords, and spinning black blades.
With both hands raised toward Frey, He unleashed everything at once .. sending a storm of destruction hurtling toward the boy, who was still preoccupied dealing with the flaming skulls.
At the same time, black tendrils and monstrous hands surged toward Oliver as well.
The battlefield was so overwhelmed with attacks, it was as if chaos itself had taken physical form.
The demon aimed to separate them.
Oliver would likely survive such a barrage…
But Frey Starlight lacked the raw durability of higher-ranked fighters.
With a twisted smile, the demon sought to eliminate him first ... by crushing him completely.
Frey Starlight found himself facing a storm of black rain threatening to tear him apart.
But he didn't hesitate .. he charged straight into it.
Drawing in a massive breath, he exhaled violet flames, forcing his body to release every ounce of aura it could produce.
"Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow: Mirage!"
In the blink of an eye, a thousand perfect copies of Frey appeared.
All of them ignited their swords .. and shouted in unison:
"Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow: Black cutter!!"
Each clone unleashed the same technique as before .. A devastating wave of black arcs, multiplied a thousandfold !
The entire battlefield trembled as the attack exploded outward, shaking the very foundations of the castle.
Frey's assault tore straight through Sansa's shadow dome, overwhelming it completely in a blast of raw power.
Under the night sky that now loomed above, Frey had utterly overwhelmed her—sending Sansa flying, crashing through dozens of walls behind her.
The clones immediately returned, merging back into a single figure who staggered, barely able to stay upright .. breathing heavily.
"Well done!! Frey Starlight!"
Oliver Khan rushed forward, seizing the opening Frey had created.
Engulfed in blue flames, he launched a crushing assault on Sansa, who struggled to regain her footing.
"Piercing Star!"
Crossing his daggers into an 'X', Oliver unleashed the full might of his strike upon her.
The shadows whipped around her, trying to shield her .. but the fire aura pressed in harder, forcing both powers into a violent clash.
And then—
The iron darkness shattered like fragile glass.
Oliver's daggers carved two deep wounds across Sansa's chest, and blood poured freely before she vanished .. retreating back into the shadows.
Oliver stood still, injured, blood dripping from the hole in his side.
He stared at the spot she had disappeared into.
He could have killed her just now .. he was sure of it.
But that hadn't been his goal.
"Starlight… tell me you can finish this," Oliver said.
Frey appeared at his side.
"No. We need to force the thing inside her to came out..."
He couldn't do anything to her like this.
Frey was drenched in sweat as Oliver prepared himself for the next round.
"Things are about to get a lot harder."
"You don't need to tell me…"
They both felt it.
The shift in aura—heavy enough to thicken the air.
Sansa had vanished into the dark.
No… something else had emerged in her place.
Something with wide-open crimson eyes, seething with wrath.