Babadar swung her warhammer with fury, unleashing a wave of wind so intense that everyone was thrown back, forced to scatter. Dust rose, cloaking everything around them. From opposite ends of the battlefield, the four warriors watched closely as the fog cleared, revealing the demonic silhouette of the Empress.
With her eyes locked on Anin, standing directly ahead, Babadar stepped forward and, consumed by overwhelming rage, growled:
— "So... you want four against one? THEN SO BE IT!"
With a long, animalistic roar, her purple aura exploded outward. She spun her hammer with brutal force and shouted:
— "Equivalence Distribution!"
The energy radiating from her grew exponentially. An unbearable pressure gripped the air. Dust scattered in every direction, the ground trembled, and the sky darkened beneath the sheer weight of her power. The destruction from her presence alone spread across the ruins like a wave of pure terror.
At the center of that vortex, Babadar stood tall, her hammer resting on her right shoulder. Her deadly gaze fixed on Anin. Then, with a cold, final voice, she declared:
— "Let the final confrontation begin."
Another day had passed. Night had fallen once again.
The war had lasted a full day and a never-ending night. Now, the climax approached.
In the ruined city — once a cradle of hope, now reduced to rubble and silence — guards and revolutionaries worked side by side, digging with bare hands, searching for survivors buried beneath houses, buildings, and memories.
Anin, once marked by fear, now stood serious and determined. She raised her sword, its blade covering the left side of her face, and without a word... she charged the Empress.
Babadar quickly assessed the battlefield and chose her target: Carlius.
In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind him, hammer raised — her speed, unreal.
With a strike that could have crushed him, she brought the weapon down — but the impact never came.
Carlius blocked it above his head with his sword, firmly gripping it with his right arm. He smiled and taunted:
— "What's wrong? I thought you were stronger than this."
Babadar was momentarily stunned.
Then, from afar, a voice echoed across the battlefield:
— "Fire Serpents!"
Laura appeared, launching three massive flaming snakes through the sky toward the tyrant. Babadar dodged the first two easily, but the third coiled around her midair and exploded in a fiery blast.
From within the explosion, something shot forward with deadly speed — Anin.
She cut through the flames, charging at the Empress:
— "Barrage of Slashes!"
Multiple black slashes flew in rapid succession toward Babadar, who blocked each one with terrifying precision. Amidst the attacks, Anin appeared to her left and swung her blade again.
Babadar countered with her hammer, but Anin leapt back at the last second, narrowly avoiding a strike that crushed the ground.
From above, Anistina dove toward Babadar, knives in hand — aiming directly for her eyes.
But Babadar tilted her head back, dodging the sharp blades at the last instant.
She yanked her hammer back and spun, creating another massive gust aimed at both attackers.
— "Sword Style: Greatsword of Protection!" — Carlius shouted.
In a flash, he stepped in front of the attack and blocked the entire shockwave as if it were nothing.
Babadar growled, disbelief in her voice:
— "HOW?!"
— "Fire Blessing!" — Laura shouted.
A colossal fireball fell from the sky, heading straight for Babadar. With no patience left, she punched the air, shattering the fireball with a shockwave so powerful it scattered flames across the battlefield.
But Anin, Anistina, and Carlius gave her no time to recover.
— "Frontal Slash!" — Anin yelled.
A massive black slash flew straight toward Babadar. She dodged it, only to spot Anistina closing in on her right — and Carlius from behind.
Babadar turned at an angle to catch them both and blocked their strikes at once. The ground quaked from the impact. They stared at her in grim silence.
— "Malicious Cut!"
— "Flame Serpent!"
Two attacks flew toward the Empress. An explosion lit the field.
Laura flung away her scabbard and declared:
— "Flame Aura!"
Her body ignited in powerful fire. Anin did the same — her orange aura enveloped her sword, making her blue hair sway like fire. The two rushed toward the smoke and rubble.
Suddenly, debris launched from the impact came hurling toward them. Anin and Laura dodged and slashed through each fragment.
With a spin of her hammer, Babadar cleared the dust and charged them. She swung her weapon down with immense force, and both girls blocked it together. The strength behind the blow sent them crashing to the ground, but they roared as they pushed back, refusing to give in.
Babadar leaned back, off-balance. Laura spotted an opening and risked a frontal strike. Carlius noticed and shouted:
— "DON'T DO IT!"
Babadar grinned.
Using her flexibility, she braced her hammer behind her and swung upward with full force.
— "Infernal Mist!"
The hammer blazed purple and rushed toward Laura's head at impossible speed — but Anistina tackled her out of the way, taking the brunt of the blast together. The blow leveled the battlefield, raising a deadly crimson fog once more.
Anin screamed, searching the red haze in panic. Then something dashed toward her — she turned, but too late.
Babadar's hammer struck her, launching her across the field, destroying everything in its path. Anin tried to anchor herself with her sword, but Babadar was already there.
As time seemed to slow, Babadar whispered:
— "Now... die."
— "Perfect Guard!"
Carlius jumped in front of Anin, his sword glowing with yellow aura. He blocked the devastating strike, creating a massive shockwave.
But blood poured from his nose. His body went rigid, and in that moment, Babadar kicked him away.
She vanished into the mist again. Her voice echoed through the red void:
— "You're hard to kill... but don't flatter yourselves. It's not because you're strong. It's because I'm holding back..."
— "...after all, this is one versus five... so I can't use 100% of my power. Which just means more suffering for you..."
Fear spread through their hearts.
Beside Laura, Anistina heard a whisper:
— "You'll be the first to pay... for your betrayals."
She spun around — too late. Something pierced her stomach. She coughed up blood.
Babadar appeared behind her and punched her hard, sending her flying.
— "BABADARRRRRRRRR!!" Laura screamed, charging the tyrant in rage. But Babadar just laughed and vanished again.
Anin and Carlius rose with difficulty, hearing Laura's cries. Too late.
Claws shot from the mist, aimed to impale them.
Anin pulled Carlius away — but Babadar was already there, swing ready.
Carlius raised his sword, took a deep breath, and shoved Anin aside.
He took the full blow.
The impact shattered his shoulder armor. His right arm was crushed.
Laura raised her sword high, her fiery aura blazing:
— "FIRE BLESSING!!"
A massive fireball lit up the fog, pushing it back. But suddenly... the flames began to vanish.
The mist was devouring them.
— "What... what's happening?!"
Voices echoed in the fog:
— "Isn't it obvious...? The mist consumes your flames. Your magic. Your aura. Your strength. The longer you stay... the weaker you become."
Laura trembled.
— "So she's been weakening us... from the very start..."
An attack came from behind. Laura dodged — but Babadar followed, fist raised. Laura blocked — but was launched away.
She tried to get up but couldn't see.
A punch hit her. Then another. And another. Blow after blow. Babadar laughed, relentlessly pounding her.
Just as the final punch was about to fall — a voice ripped through the fog:
— "FRONTAL SLASH!"
Anin slashed through the mist, her sword cloaked in dark energy. Babadar dodged narrowly. Anin caught Laura.
— "You're safe... I'm here. We can do this. Look at me!"
Laura, bloodied, looked up at her.
— "Please... help me defeat this monster! Together we can win!"
Laura rose, holding her flaming blade.
— "If you say so... let's crush this bitch!"
Babadar snarled, voice booming:
— "Blah, blah, blah! All you do is talk big, but you never deliver! You're pathetic!"
Anin and Laura stood side by side, eyes burning.
— "Now you fall!" they said in unison.
Anin smirked:
— "You call yourself the strongest, yet you hide in fog, terrified of losing? That's pure hypocrisy."
Laura joined in:
— "Exactly! Deep down, you know you can't face us head-on. You never could."
A tense silence fell.
Then... Babadar stepped from the mist, aura glowing violet. Her empty eyes locked on them. She said nothing.
Anin spoke calmly:
— "If you're truly the strongest, fight us directly. Stop hiding."
Babadar punched herself in the face, blood dripping from her hand.
— "Idiots... I tried to stop him from making this worse... you damn idiots..."
Laura watched, horrified.
Suddenly, the entire mist was pulled back into Babadar's body.
The battlefield cleared. Carlius and Anistina lay wounded.
Babadar faced Anin and Laura. Her purple eyes glowing lifelessly.
— "If you wish to die in the worst way possible... then so be it."
Anin and Laura raised their blades, ready.
— "Bring it on!"