Erika swung her katana with lethal precision, leaving Carol no opening to counter. Carol could do nothing but defend; every time she attempted a strike, Erika’s blade effortlessly parried it away. With one devastating thrust against the center of Carol’s blade, Erika sent her reeling into a tree. The force of the impact made Carol cough up blood, yet she remained on her feet. Panting heavily, she brushed the crimson from her mouth, her expression hardening despite the pain.

  "Ha! Behold the countenance I so desire! A resolve to conquer, maugre all the spite of fortune!" Erika exclaimed, her smile radiating pride.

  Suddenly, Carol’s vision flickered with glitching fragments of her burning village. The whispers of the deceased villagers echoed through the halls of her mind, her eyes widening in a mask of shock and horror.

  (It hurts..! It hurts!!) a man’s voice groaned in agony.

  (Help me... Please, help me!!) a woman’s voice roared through the flames.

  (Mommy... where are you, Mommy...) a child’s voice cried out into the void.

  Tears began to fall as Carol unconsciously responded to the haunting whispers. "I'm sorry I messed up... I'm sorry I messed up...!" Her left hand clutched her head, fingers gripping her hair tightly as her tears hit the dirt.

  Noticing Carol’s grip on her sword loosening, Erika’s eyebrows twitched with mounting frustration. She shouted with all her might, her voice a thunderclap designed to snap Carol back to reality. "Are these salt tears the only tribute thou canst offer? Whither hath thy spirit fled? Whither is thy resolve vanished? Speak, Carol!"

  "I-I'm sorry... I messed u—"

  Erika cut her off instantly, her annoyance flaring. "Cease this mewling like a baby in swaddling clouts! I'll have no more of thy 'sorry'!"

  Startled, Carol’s attention snapped back to Erika. The Saint stood before her, the tip of her katana leveled directly at Carol's heart.

  "If the voices within thy mind do rack thy very soul, then stand at defiance against them! Show unto that hollow whisper that thy heart is of more rugged temper than such phantoms!"

  Carol fell into deep thought. She gripped her sword tightly once more and brushed the tears from her eyes. With a silent, steady breath, she lowered herself into her battle stance, a quiet demand for the fight to continue.

  Noticing the shift in her meaning, and the glimpse of wind energy finally channeling through Carol’s blade, Erika snorted with pride. "It is well! Let us put it to the proof, whether thy resolve hath been steeled anew or not!"

  Back in Qtiryn Territory, the blue sky was slowly consumed by scarlet, ratcheting up the tension for every citizen within the city. Outside the walls, Ordeus and Crake stood together. Behind them was a patchwork force: the remaining soldiers of Qtiryn and Neurn, Crake’s reinforcements from the Empire, Benjamin, and Crake’s personal maid.

  "Alright, listen up, everybody!" Ordeus roared, taking charge of the assembly. "This time, it’s going to be different. We are going to handle the awakened Leviathan’s force, the very source of this scarlet sky above us."

  The soldiers listened in anticipation, though many gulped nervously.

  "I know some of you are scared. In fact, it is far too early to face them, knowing our current condition. But," Ordeus clenched his fists, determination lingering as his expression hardened, "we still have something to protect. Something we cherish in our homes. If we simply wait and do nothing until the other Holders notice us, it will already be too late. Therefore," he gestured toward his troops, palms open to bolster their morale, "I ask you to fight. Not for your countries, but for your families and your own safety."

  The force fell into a heavy silence, a wordless answer as most of the soldiers gripped their weapons tighter.

  Noticing their heightened morale, Crake snorted in disbelief, while a proud smile spread across Ordeus’s face. With a swift motion, Ordeus drew the sword from the scabbard at his waist. He turned toward the open field alongside Crake, who wielded a spare sword with his remaining arm. In the distance, an army of the undead drew closer, led by two hooded Apostles charging toward the city.

  "Now, onward," Ordeus commanded, pointing the tip of his blade toward the field. "Show them the might of Margias!"

  With a unified war cry, the soldiers charged. The Apostles leading the undead only snorted in amusement, viewing the combined forces of Ordeus and Crake as mere insects. Simultaneously, the two snapped their fingers, manifesting a domain large enough to entrap everyone, including themselves, within a wasteland of darkness.

  Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Mira leaned against a corner in Aria and Grey’s room, muttering in frustration as she recalled Mary’s orders. "‘Stay here and help them,’ my foot. That just leads them straight into the death zone," she grumbled to herself.

  Sensing a faint pulse of Dark Ender, her attention shifted to the window. Through the glass, she saw a barrier of darkness rising outside the city, swallowing a large portion of the green fields.

  Rein, Noire, Revir, and Saria all felt a crushing sense of dread as they spotted the illuminating barrier near the gate after finishing their supply run in the city.

  "Should we return right now? I have a feeling we might be facing something bigger," Noire suggested, his voice tight with nerves.

  "You guys should go back to the infirmary. I need to find my little sister first," Rein replied. He backed away a few steps before turning toward the mansion, rushing off in a state of worry.

  "A-are you sure..? What if that barrier breaks apart and reveals something dangerous..?" Saria called out loudly, panicking over what they should do.

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  "Don't worry about that! There's something far more important that we have to do!"

  "What kind of impor—Hey!" Rein had already vanished from sight by the time Noire spoke. Noire sighed in disappointment, while Revir wore his usual smile and Saria remained in her panicked state.

  On the other side of the mansion grounds, the barrier caught the survivors' attention, causing their tension to escalate further.

  "What is that?" Arvain asked, confused as he stared at the darkness.

  "Wait here, dear. Your mother has something to do," Hana said, running off toward the mansion.

  "W-where are you going?!"

  "Your mother has something far, far more important that she needs to do. So be a good boy and wait here, okay!?" she stated, already entering the mansion and disappearing from Arvain’s sight.

  Arvain stood there in silence, watching her go. He clenched his hands tightly in frustration, feeling useless. However, one of the students called his name, requesting medical help; he had no choice but to do what he could for now.

  "Seems like it’s our turn," Mira said, still watching the massive barrier through the window. In response, Yuno pulled his hat down, shadowing his face. "Erick, Dulcinia, get the others ready. This is going to be one hell of a journey," he commanded as the two moved toward the door.

  However, a sudden shift occurred. "Wait..!" It was Aria. She had finally regained consciousness, looking at them while clutching her side, struggling against the pain that radiated through her body.

  Carol, now the attacker, pushed herself to her absolute limit with every swing of her sword. The weapons clanged violently, clash after clash, as Erika was forced into a purely defensive stance. Erika smiled excitedly in the heat of the struggle, while Carol’s expression hardened with grim determination. In one devastating strike, Carol unconsciously flooded her blade with wind energy, slamming it against Erika’s katana. Though Erika managed to hold the strike, their gazes locked as the blades hissed against each other. Erika was genuinely surprised; Carol had finally managed to push her back, if only by an inch.

  "Oho! It seems thy craft doth slowly wake from its slumber, mine own sweet sister!" Erika exclaimed, radiating pride at Carol's achievement.

  "Thanks for that, Big Sis!" Carol replied, straining to hold her ground. "But this is just the beginning!" Using her remaining strength, she channeled her Ender through the steel and shoved Erika away.

  At that moment, Erika was struck by the shift in Carol’s expression. It was a smile, a genuine, joyful smile, like a child who had finally achieved the impossible. Erika responded with a snort of amusement, quickly regaining her footing.

  "It seems thou art merry in thy struggle!" Erika replied, now gripping her hilt with both hands as she leveled the blade at Carol. "But fear not; our revels are not yet ended, not until thou hast summoned thy true art and bidden thy spell to speak!" Immediately, the blade of her katana was wreathed in Haven Flame, a clear sign that the battle had escalated.

  As Carol stared at the flames, the flickering, glitching scenes of her burning village returned. Her body trembled and her face darkened with horror.

  "Yet still thou wouldst persist this time!" Erika shouted, noting that Carol’s grip remained tight despite the fear. "’Tis this very fire that makes thee great, mine own sister. Clasp thy blade with a hand of iron! Cleave the thorns that do beset thy heart, and carve thy path upon the world's cold face!"

  Hearing Erika's words, Carol’s eyes widened in bewilderment. She caught a glimpse of the same figure from her dreams, the one that made her chest ache with phantom pain, standing right behind Erika. With a forced motion, Carol leveled her sword, gripping the hilt with both hands. She closed her eyes, concentrating as wind energy radiated across the steel. Finally, she whispered a new, powerful incantation.

  "Wind..."

  She rushed forward as Erika unleashed a volley of fire-blades. Carol unconsciously dodged every strike, moving as if she had already read the future. As she closed the gap, she leaped high, raising her sword above her head. Erika readied her katana, empowered by Haven Flame. With the chance radiating before her, Carol snapped her eyes open and finished the cast.

  "...Edge!" she roared.

  The blades met with a deafening ring. Carol’s sword released a violent surge of wind energy mid-clash, blasting the leaves from the surrounding trees.

  "At last! ’Tis as I foretold, little one!" Erika cried out, unable to contain her excitement. "Cast forth thy spirit! Let me behold the full glory of thy soul, Caroline Erlikh!"

  With that, the final curtain of their duel rose. Erika backed away, breaking the clash just as Carol’s sword struck the ground, kicking up a blinding cloud of debris. Erika leaped into the sky, hovering in the atmosphere. Seeing her sister above, Carol recklessly charged, leaping toward Erika with her empowered sword held over her shoulder.

  "Shattering... Windiria..!" Carol whispered, casting yet another new spell as she swung heavily at Erika. Erika managed to slip through the strike, vanishing once more, but the result of the spell was devastating. A small section of the mountain peak was crushed by the sheer force of the wind. Without stopping, Carol pivoted in mid-air, spotting Erika back on the peak. She manifested a familiar green magic circle beneath her feet, accelerating into a high-speed rush.

  Their gazes remained fixed, Carol’s face hardened, Erika’s grin wide with thrill. Smoke and debris billowed as their blades met again and again, the impact growing stronger with every collision. Finally, as their forces became equal, they both recoiled. Panting heavily, the sisters shared a silent nod. They gripped their swords with both hands and rushed forward for one final strike, channeling every ounce of Ender they had left.

  Carol’s mouth began to bleed from the strain, while Erika’s artificial body started to fail, her skin peeling away in small flakes. As they passed each other in a final flash of steel, both collapsed into exhaustion. A small cut opened on Carol’s cheek; for Erika, the damage was worse, as the skin on her arm had peeled back significantly.

  Satisfied, Erika snorted in amusement and turned to face Carol. "Now thou art thyself again! Memory or no, thy blade findeth its mark without pause. Truly, a triumph to be envied."

  Hearing this, a small hint of a smile drifted across Carol’s dusty, blood-stained face.

  "I pose this riddle to thee, Carol: When this storm hath passed, what path dost thou intend to tread?" Erika asked, her expression turning serious. Carol looked shocked.

  "I..." Another flicker of glitching memory appeared. The figure from her dream smiled with a love Carol still didn't understand, giving her the resolve she needed. "I'm going to find that fragment."

  "What dark spirit prompts thee to speak thus? From what depths of memory dost thou draw such words?"

  "I have a feeling about it... that if I don't do anything to find it, I’ll regret everything I’ve done in the past."

  Erika let out a light sigh, sheathing her katana. "So be it! Yet first, we must arm thee for the fray. Those shadows of thy memory shall show no mercy, shouldst thou dare to confront them alone."

  "I know. That's why... I'm going to repay the consequences I created, with or without my memories. Right, Big Sis?"

  Erika responded with a smile, honoring her sister's decision.

  Happy New year everyone!

  Hoping for the much better year than 2025!