Rage flared through Beatrice as her aura erupted.
"What is the meaning of this, Mergo?!"
She shouted.
Mergo casually stuck a finger into his ear, unbothered.
"No need to shout, Lady Beatrice. I can hear you just fine."
The old man smiled, his gaze sharp and lethal.
"Don’t look at me like that. You and I have hated each other for a long time now, after all."
Mergo was deadly serious.
In response, Beatrice unleashed her full power.
"Do you really think you and that worthless servant of yours can stop me?!"
She knocked Mergo’s blade aside and leapt backward.
Seeing this, Mergo scratched his head and sighed.
"I’m quite confident I could defeat you... but I don’t need to."
As he spoke, a horrifying pressure descended from nowhere, crushing everything in its wake.
Beatrice’s expression darkened completely.
Mergo, however, smiled broadly.
"My part is already done. Your true opponent has arrived."
The Golden Witch turned, scanning her surroundings .. and the more she focused, the deeper her frown became.
"So many auras... all of them SSS-class..."
Fear was now clearly etched across her face.
One by one, figures emerged, surrounding her from every direction.
A dark-skinned woman with a savage aura, wielding a massive bow.
A hunched old man carrying an ancient sword.
A young boy floating in the air, bending waves with terrifying force.
And a strange man holding a massive spear.
The four encircled Beatrice.
They did not attack ..
they simply trapped her, sealing off every possible escape.
Mergo and Maria did the same, blocking her path back through the gate.
Then, only seconds later, Beatrice heard heavy footsteps .. someone advancing toward her through the dark trees.
She turned toward the sound, her mind desperately searching for an escape.
Within moments, she analyzed every presence around her.
"None of them are using magic... I still have a chance!"
With her sorcery, Beatrice was confident she could break free.
She had countless magic circles and traps scattered across Earth.
At worst, she could teleport to one of them and escape.
That was her plan.
So the Golden Witch released her spell ... but it shattered instantly, as if it had never existed at all.
In that moment, Beatrice froze ..
as the footsteps of the approaching man grew heavier and closer.
"My magic... it isn’t working?" Beatrice whispered, terror seeping into her voice.
She lifted her head toward the source of that presence.
By this point, Beatrice already knew exactly who it was.
"That’s impossible... he’s far too distant... he shouldn’t be able to nullify my magic from that range..."
The witch spoke as Frey Starlight finally appeared before her.
The moment she saw his face, every cell in her body screamed at her to act—
to do something.
Those dark eyes...
One look was enough for Beatrice to realize that this was no longer the same young man she had faced in the past.
He had once been a wounded wolf, struggling alone.
Now... he had become a feral beast whose limits she could no longer measure.
"He shouldn’t be able to block my magic from that distance... that must be what you’re thinking, Witch Beatrice," Frey said coldly, as his eyes glowed with violet light.
What Beatrice did not know was that Frey’s Anti-Magic had evolved far beyond what it once was.
It was now capable of covering an enormous area.
Anti-Magic: Max Level
If Frey focused all of his power, the range of his anti-magic would become so vast that most mages would no longer pose any threat to him .. no matter how powerful they were.
Standing before Beatrice, Frey extended his hand.
Dark aura coiled around the witch, yanking her toward him as though she had been caught by a magnet.
Frey seized her by the throat, tightening his grip as he effortlessly lifted her into the air.
Beatrice trembled in his grasp, struggling desperately just to breathe.
A mocking smile formed on Frey’s face.
"How strange... you’re the very same witch who nearly took my life a year ago.
And now here you are—utterly powerless, fighting just to stay alive... a life that rests entirely in my hands."
His killing intent pierced into Beatrice like a blade.
"In the past, you toyed with me in the palm of your hand.
Now... you’re the one in my grasp.
How ironic, don’t you think? The way fate plays with us."
Frey gave a faint laugh as Beatrice’s body shook violently.
She couldn’t speak.
She couldn’t scream.
Only her eyes begged for mercy .. clinging desperately to life.
The Golden Witch had reached absolute despair.
She knew she was completely trapped.
Her chance of survival had fallen to zero.
Frey stared at her for a moment, memories surfacing ..
the pursuit across the Ultras Continent...
the disasters it had brought upon him and his companions.
Beatrice had been the cause.
And she was also indirectly responsible for what happened to Clana and Danzo, who had become nothing more than tortured souls within him.
"Join them... and suffer for eternity, you filthy witch."
With a simple motion of his hand, Frey unleashed a massive wave of aura that swallowed Beatrice whole .. and with a single flick...
He erased and annihilated the entire upper half of her body, reducing it to dust.
The lower half of her corpse collapsed to the ground as blood and demonic remains splattered everywhere in a grotesque mess.
Frey stood before what was left of her, his face utterly cold and devoid of emotion.
All of it happened under the eyes of the Shadow Sect’s fighters...
as well as Mergo and Maria.
The drunken old man said nothing.
Everything had gone exactly according to plan.
Several days earlier, after the final battle, Mergo had met with Frey and honored his promise .. to join him once humanity survived the War of Darkness.
Now, thanks to the Shadow Sect, the Imperium finally had a real chance at victory.
Mergo and his organization... along with a significant portion of the Ultras... had defected from the demons and betrayed them, choosing to fight for humanity instead.
And the key to all of it...
...was Frey himself.
The moment Beatrice died, Frey froze in place.
He let out a long breath.
"Finally... it’s over."
His final objective was complete.
He had reached the final stage of Shadow Adaptation .. and with it, he would soon uncover the true nature of the System itself.
The instant the goal was fulfilled, Frey became completely motionless.
A strange white glow flooded his eyes.
His expression turned empty—utterly void—
as if he were no longer truly present.
Immediately, the Shadow Sect’s fighters rushed in and formed a tight perimeter around him, protecting him .. under the watchful eyes of Mergo and Maria.
Then, from the darkness, two presences emerged .. beings who had been here all along, yet unseen.
The first was a massive quadrupedal giant .. Fulghor.
And beside him .. the blue-eyed Gehrman.
The Engineer stepped before Frey’s frozen body and gave his orders.
"Protect him with everything you have. He won’t be able to move for a while."
Gehrman then sat nearby, observing the process.
Now that Frey had completed his final task...
He would finally shatter his chains
and awaken his true potential.
Until then .. their duty was to protect him...
and wait for what was about to come.