Ruins, dust, and debris painted a bleak scene. Where once stood the grand castle that crowned the prison-city of Babadar, there was now only destruction and desolation. Amid the chaos, a towering figure held a massive warhammer high — crushing and relentless.
Babadar glared down at Shizu, who no longer had the strength to do anything but close his eyes and brace for the end.
The hammer came crashing down with brutal force and blinding speed. But before it could land, a voice pierced through the smoke — fierce, desperate:
— Malevolent Slash!
A dark strike tore through the air, obliterating everything in its path. Babadar reacted swiftly, raising her weapon to block the attack, which then shattered part of the city's colossal walls in a violent explosion.
When the dust cleared, Anin Thailor stood atop the ruins, her orange aura flickering wildly, her body marked with wounds. Her eyes locked on Babadar's with fury barely contained.
— Why would you do this? — the tyrant growled, her voice sharp with rage.
Anin descended the rubble, unwavering.
— Isn't it obvious? I'm saving an ally from a monster.
Babadar's anger erupted. With a roar, she kicked Shizu's limp body toward Anin. She tried to catch him, but before she could react further, Babadar struck them both with a devastating blow, sending them flying in a burst of destruction.
Shizu collapsed unconscious. Anin held his body protectively, her eyes fixed on the nightmare before her.
Babadar cracked her neck. Her aura surged, revealing a pair of curved horns and large, violet wings cloaking her form.
Her deadly eyes met Anin's. A chill ran down Anin's spine.
— If you're my enemy... then you don't get to live another second.
A thick smoke rose from the slums, heavy with the stench of ash and ruin. But it barely had time to spread before a second explosion tore the sky apart, hurling everything outward.
Shacks collapsed like dominos. Roofs shattered. Screams were swallowed by the sounds of chaos. Revolutionaries fell like ragdolls, many unconscious, some groaning in pain — their bodies scorched and battered.
Phisil lay amid twisted metal and splintered wood. She tried to move, but nothing answered. Her arms burned — both broken, both burned.
Barely conscious, she opened one eye. Through the smoke, she saw a woman approaching — wrapped in a blazing red aura, like hell itself walked beside her.
Phisil's heart sank. Eyes wide, voice cracking, she screamed:
— JUST KILL US ALREADY! WE'D RATHER DIE THAN KEEP LIVING IN THIS HELL, LAURA BABADAR!
The woman halted.
Her voice was calm, strong:
— Don't worry. No one here is going to die. And no one will keep suffering either.
She stepped forward.
— And don't ever call me by that filthy name again.
— Leave everything to us.
Phisil blacked out, but a thought whispered in her fading mind:
"Leave everything... to us?"
In the city, houses crumbled one after another. The ground cracked open, as if hell itself was clawing out from below. Citizens scattered, running from the carnage engulfing the Babadar capital. Earthquakes ripped the streets apart, while the remaining rebels clashed with the Empress's guards in bloody, chaotic skirmishes.
— This way, Lady Anistina! — shouted Carlius, pointing to a group of mercenaries under siege.
— End of the line! Drop your weapons! — one of the guards barked.
Anistina dashed across rooftops, her eyes set on her allies. With a leap, she dove into the fight, slicing through two guards on landing. Like a deadly dance, her daggers spun — no wasted motion, no hesitation. In a single spin, she switched blades and cut down a whole line of soldiers.
Carlius charged behind her, greatsword drawn. His strikes were clean and brutal, each swing dropping an opponent with crushing weight. The tides turned.
As silence fell over the broken battlefield, one fallen guard spat out blood, glaring up at them:
— So this is it? You betray the Empress and kill your own people?! What kind of commander are you?
Anistina stared at him in silence. Then she approached, slowly.
The guard tried to crawl away, but he was too weak.
— First of all... I didn't betray anyone. I left that monster willingly.
— Second... It's former commander. That title means nothing to me now.
Without flinching, she drove her boot into his stomach, knocking him out cold.
— Easy, Lady Anistina! — Carlius said, worried. — You'll kill them at this rate…
She paused, took a breath, and straightened her posture.
— Move out. Everyone, follow me.
As they raced toward what remained of the castle, thunderous blasts shook the ground. Anistina's gut twisted with dread.
— You, help the civilians! Carlius, with me!
The squad nodded and split up. But Anistina's thoughts spiraled:
"What's going on out there… Shizu… Anin… please hang on…"
But they weren't hanging on.
The battle between Anin and Babadar had reached its peak. The tyrant unleashed a barrage of savage strikes. Anin dodged the first dozen — each evasion pushing her back, as if even the air around Babadar crushed her.
Panting, Anin gripped her sword, raised it to her shoulder, and unleashed a flurry of black slashes:
— Black Barrage!
Babadar surged forward with terrifying speed. She dodged each strike like it was nothing. Then, in a flash, she stomped onto her hammer and spun with a flying kick aimed to crush Anin.
Anin dodged by a breath — but she was spent. Her legs trembled. Her lungs burned.
Babadar laughed.
— You're slowing down. I could keep this up forever!
Desperate, Anin looked at Shizu, unconscious in the distance.
"I just need to buy time… until everyone arrives… until Shizu wakes up… I'll give it everything I've got!"
She charged again.
Babadar swung the hammer in a blur. Anin couldn't block. Each dodge sent shockwaves through her bones. Then came the spin again — the stomp, the launch, the hammer.
This time it hit.
Anin crashed into the rubble but pushed herself back up, blood running down her face. With a cry, she launched another desperate attack:
— Black Barrage!!
Babadar planted her feet, charging dark aura into her hammer. She swatted the black slashes away, one by one, with monstrous precision.
Anin gasped.
— How!?
Suddenly, Babadar redirected one of the strikes straight back at her. Anin barely dodged and landed, but before she could move again — the hammer was already there.
She jumped back just in time.
Saw an opening.
Swung.
But Babadar vanished — only to reappear behind her, fist slamming her through a wall of debris.
— I think it's time we took this seriously — Babadar said, her voice low and cruel. — Let's take things up a notch.
She lifted her hammer, her aura warping into something darker. Purple light gleamed from the weapon, pulsing with deadly power.
Anin's heart sank.
— T-That's the same attack… the one that killed my master!
Babadar raised the hammer to the heavens — then slammed it into the earth.
The shockwave was cataclysmic.
The entire city quaked.
The sky screamed. Fire and smoke swallowed everything.
Anistina shielded her face, barely able to comprehend the scale of what was happening.
And in the center of that hell, as flames consumed the air and stone fell from the sky…
Babadar's voice echoed.
— Infernal Mist.