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The Eskapa tournament descended into chaos with the unexpected arrival of Serenity, the fourth warlord, materializing before them. Disbelief gripped everyone, uncertainty paralyzing their next moves as they recognized the immense danger she posed.
Serenity rose from her towering tombstone, leaping down to where Nathaniel stood. Her landing reverberated with an overwhelming presence, a force so potent it sent shivers through their bodies. Xxv froze, fear strangling him as her aura seemed to crush his very being.
"Her presence is on another level," he thought. "Is this the true power of a warlord?"
Serenity approached with unnerving calm, unperturbed by the Eskapa members before her. "How intriguing," she said, her voice smooth. "A human who knows of the Aegis of Immortality and the future."
Though immune to her oppressive aura, Nathaniel's knees trembled under the dark energy radiating from her. Stunned, he stammered, "Why are you here? You shouldn't be here. What are you doing?"
He hadn't foreseen Serenity's appearance in his story's tournament, making her presence a jarring anomaly. "Are you really Serenity?" he asked.
She tilted her head, her green eyes glinting with a crimson cross. "You act like you know me. Oh, right—I mentioned you see the future. Didn't you foresee meeting me here? Or perhaps, according to your visions, we weren't supposed to meet in this place?"
Nathaniel swallowed hard, unnerved by her Crimson Eye. "Unless," she continued, "your visions of the future aren't exact."
"You heard us?" Ruri interjected. "You've been listening this whole time?"
Nathaniel recalled Serenity's role in his story: she would appear by possessing an Eskapa spy. "No," he said, "she's been in the Eskapa from the start."
Ruri, shocked, demanded clarification. Nathaniel explained that one of her subordinates bore Serenity's curse mark, allowing the warlord to see and hear through them. He revealed that, per his visions, Serenity was meant to appear three months later in the Dekaro kingdom, where Ruri would confront her to stop her from seizing a fragment of the Aegis of Immortality in the Great Forest of Dekaro.
Serenity smirked. "Impressive. You even know my plans. I wasn't sure the Aegis fragment was there, but since you've confirmed it, that's my next destination. It'll be tough to breach, but my agents inside will handle the magic casters reinforcing their barrier."
Ruri unleashed a fierce aura, breaking free from Serenity's dark energy. "You think I'll let you do that?" she growled, yanking her spear from the ground.
With a swing, she shattered the energy binding Xxv. Serenity's eyes gleamed. "The youngest Columbus, the living warhead, Ruri Katsuki. I admire your skill, but I'm telling you now—you can't win against me."
Ignoring her, Ruri prepared to attack, but Nathaniel rushed forward, blocking her. "What are you doing?" she snapped.
"Please, both of you, don't look into her eyes!" he shouted.
Too late. Ruri and Xxv had already met Serenity's gaze, her Crimson Eye activating. "You're mine now," Serenity said. Curse marks appeared on their bodies.
Nathaniel explained that Serenity's curse turned its bearers into her vessels upon death, creating millions of soldiers for her wars. Serenity, amused by his knowledge, confirmed his words. "Those marked by the Undying Princess become my puppets. All I need to do is kill you here."
She added that her mark allowed her to see and hear through them anywhere in Endoryo, making them her spies even if they survived. "Impossible," Xxv whispered.
"No one can remove this curse unless you kill me," Serenity taunted, reiterating her plan to destroy Ruri's town.
Furious at the threat, Ruri lunged, shoving Nathaniel aside and striking with her spear. "I'll end you before you can!" The impact unleashed a massive explosion, scattering debris.
Xxv pulled Nathaniel away from the blast. Serenity emerged from the smoke, effortlessly parrying Ruri's attacks with her fishing rod's hook. Matching Ruri's speed, she countered with the rod's string, its claw slicing through stone and shattering anything it struck. The string extended, pursuing Ruri relentlessly.
Ruri dodged with her incredible speed, whispering, "She's channeling immense energy into that rod, cutting through stone. But I know this isn't its full power."
Despite evading the strings, Ruri couldn't close the distance to Serenity, who was surrounded by the weapon's reach. Realizing the danger, she halted her advance, retreating. "What's wrong, little girl? Done already?" Serenity teased, grinning.
Serenity assessed Ruri's power, noting the high-level magic and overflowing energy in her body. Ruri's spear glowed, transforming into a wagon. She unleashed energy missiles, but Serenity sliced through them with her rod's strings. "Weak attacks like that won't touch me," she boasted.
Yawning, Serenity recalled her strings. "I came out to have fun, so let's make this more exciting." She slammed her fishing rod into the ground, summoning a massive magic circle. "Garden of the Living Dead!"
Dark energy surged, enveloping the floor and spreading through the tower. Magic circles appeared, spawning giant tombstones across the structure. "Impossible," the Eskapa Sandata gasped. "She's turned this entire place into her territory."
"She's too powerful," Kyroz said. "This is the might of Warlord Serenity."
Creating such a vast territory required energy equivalent to a hundred beings and a spell of unparalleled mastery. Pyun urged Ruri to open a portal for the Sandata to join and defeat Serenity together.
Ruri leaped back, preparing to open the portal, but Nathaniel intervened, pleading, "Don't let the Sandata enter! It's for everyone's sake."
"What are you talking about?" Pyun shouted. "Stay out of this!"
Nathaniel explained that entering Serenity's territory was a trap. Her Garden of the Dead cursed anyone lingering for ten minutes, like Ruri and Xxv. No magic could remove it, and marked Sandata would become Serenity's spies or soldiers upon death.
"Shut up!" Pyun snapped. "Why should we listen to you?"
Confident they could end the fight in five minutes, Pyun insisted on entering. "You're wrong," Nathaniel said. "You can't win against her."
"You dare underestimate us Sandata?" Pyun retorted. "You're just a human who thinks he's clever."
Nathaniel grabbed Xxv's shoulders, urging them to understand that Serenity was invincible in her territory. If her current body died, her soul would transfer to another cursed corpse. "Every death in her territory becomes a living corpse for her army. Over five hundred years, her forces have grown endlessly."
"A billion?" The Sandata recoiled, wary of Serenity's undefeated record.
"Only Magdalena or the tenth warlord can defeat her," Nathaniel added.
Serenity clapped, praising Nathaniel. "Well done, but you've ruined my plan to claim the Sandata. No matter—those here will join my army." She struck her fishing rod again, activating spells on the tombstones. "Rise, my followers, and greet our guests!"
A surge of dark energy accompanied countless undead warriors pouring from the tombstones, attacking applicants and monsters in the tower. "Damn it!" Ruri shouted. "Everyone, get to the twelfth floor! I'm opening a portal out of this tower!"
Through her connected earpiece, Ruri heard her team's cries for help, trapped by undead swarms. "I can't leave them," she muttered.
Serenity's undead, former warriors, outmatched many applicants. Xxv stepped forward. "Lady Ruri, open the portal. I'll hold her off while you escape."
Red smoke enveloped Xxv as his crimson flames incinerated undead, though some persisted, ignoring their burning bodies. A massive orc charged, unfazed by the flames. "Lady Ruri, prioritize yourself," Xxv urged. "If she can revive through corpses, we can't win here."
Ruri refused. "I'm not the kind of leader who abandons her team to save herself. Escaping is pointless with this curse on me." Her eyes glowed as she activated her Crimson Eye. "Your power is terrifying, but let me show you why I'm called the living warhead."
Over a hundred magic circles materialized, summoning cannons like her crimson item. "Gatabaru Shugin!" Energy missiles erupted, obliterating thousands of undead in explosive bursts, reducing them to ash.
Her team marveled at Ruri's power, hope flickering as they recognized her as the war's living weapon, capable of turning battles with her arsenal. Xxv continued burning undead to protect her.
Serenity, unfazed by her dwindling army, twirled her fishing rod, casting a magic circle. "Time to introduce one of my collections. Come forth, Garuda!"
She pulled, summoning a colossal undead dragon. "What is that?" Agane gasped, recognizing Garuda, a legendary prime dragon who ruled the strongest dragon city for centuries before vanishing three hundred years ago.
Serenity boasted of defeating Garuda and enslaving it, dismissing dragons' power due to their mortal limits. "To prove Garuda's might, I'll let you face him."
Garuda roared, unleashing dark energy from its mouth. A devastating dragon blast obliterated the area, leaving a twenty-meter-wide, thirty-foot-deep crater. The Sandata feared for Ruri, but Xxv's red smoke had carried her and Nathaniel to safety.
"Are you okay?" Xxv asked.
Undead charged again as Xxv donned his mask, ready to fight. Ruri's cat-like subordinates arrived, kneeling to report their return. "Lady Ruri, I'll handle the dragon," one said. "If we don't stop the warlord, the undead will keep coming."
Ruri sighed, knowing another blast of that magnitude—fourth-grade dragon magic—would overwhelm her team's defenses. Her subordinates hadn't been in the territory long enough to be cursed, so escape was possible. "Save yourselves and return to aid Seberus in protecting the town. I'll handle this."
Some protested, insisting on fighting beside her, bound by their Katsuki oath. Ruri admired their loyalty but stood firm. "If you die here, you'll become her soldiers, killing more. Leave before the curse takes hold."
Her team hesitated, but her spear slammed the ground, her voice commanding obedience. "I can't promise I'll defeat her, but it's pointless if we all die here."
Defeated, they complied. Ruri added, "Take the human. If he can see the future, he's valuable to the Eskapa."
As wind swept the battlefield, Ruri surveyed the charging undead, knowing she couldn't win, even against the dragon, with Serenity barely exerting herself. Glancing at Nathaniel, she thought, "A human who sees the future? Unfair." Then, softly, she asked, "Tell me, human, will I die here?"
Nathaniel froze, unable to answer, shaking his head in silence. Ruri smiled faintly. "No need to answer. It doesn't matter. I'll fight to the end." She waved her hand, opening a portal. "Go. Live and keep fighting for peace."
Her team pulled Nathaniel toward the portal. His gaze lingered on Ruri, guilt gnawing at him. Escaping to save himself while leaving Ruri and Xxv to face Serenity's certain death felt wrong. Koko's words echoed in his mind: Nathaniel held Endoryo's fate, able to alter destinies through his choices.
"Xxv," Ruri said, "I'd send you with them, but with her curse on us, we'd endanger the Eskapa."
"Don't worry about me, Lady Ruri," Xxv replied. "I'm ready for this fight."
Nathaniel trudged toward the portal, conscience heavy. If he could change fate, he could save Ruri and the others, but fear of the dragon's power paralyzed him. He knew he couldn't face even one of Serenity's minions, let alone her.
Then, a realization struck. "Her territory has a core where her true body resides," he whispered. Mentally, he asked Melon if she sensed it.
Melon confirmed a powerful presence on the tower's first floor, likely Serenity's true body. Nathaniel stopped, turning to Ruri. "There's still a way to survive."
"What?" Ruri asked, startled.
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