The battlefield froze in shock as Zhui appeared atop the colossal serpent Serphia, her presence an enigma to all. The soldiers, aware she was a Soul Eater and a prisoner of Galica, were stunned to see her standing before them.
"Your Majesty, why is a Soul Eater here? Why is she with you?" Agane demanded, her voice laced with confusion.
Before Sei could respond, Zhui erupted, shouting down at them. "What the hell are you doing, Sei? You're a queen, yet you abandoned your soldiers to charge into danger alone!" Her anger flared, but Sei merely shook her head, unfazed, which only infuriated Zhui further.
"Your Majesty, what are you planning? Don't tell me you're the reason she's here," Agane pressed, her unease growing.
Zhui answered for Sei, revealing they'd struck a deal: her aid in battle for her freedom. Agane's eyes widened in protest. "She's a Soul Eater, an enemy of the world! In her condition, does she even have the strength to face these Alphas?"
Sei placed a calming hand on Agane's shoulder. "Don't worry, I've ensured she's ready." Zhui raised her hand, displaying a glowing ring. "She gave me this magic crystal. It holds enough energy to fuel me for this fight."
Agane gasped, recognizing the ring—a Class A magic item, the Hakuden Crystal, one of Sei's treasured possessions. "Your Majesty, why would you give the Hakuden Crystal to *her*?" she stammered, bewildered that her queen would entrust such a priceless artifact to a criminal reviled across Endoryo.
"It's only a loan, Agane," Sei replied calmly. "I have no intention of giving it away permanently."
To Agane, lending it to an untrustworthy Soul Eater was as good as giving it away, especially since Zhui desperately needed its power. "Your Majesty, that's a vital treasure of Endoryo! Do you really think she'll return it?"
Sei met Agane's gaze with unwavering confidence. "I trust Zhui will keep her promise. I want to believe in her, to prove my faith isn't misplaced. It's that simple."
Agane, flustered, argued that Sei relied on the crystal in battles, and giving it away left her vulnerable if her energy ran dry. She suggested entrusting it to her instead, to restore her own depleted strength. Sei silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Enough, Agane. Trust your queen. Leave now and let our soldiers rest. I've brought reinforcements—they'll arrive soon."
Reluctantly, Agane complied, her body weakened by poison and energy loss. Her clenched fist betrayed her frustration, the sting of her fading strength evident. "Your Majesty, as your loyal general, grant me one favor. I may not match their power, but I can still protect you."
Agane proposed focusing her remaining energy to shield Sei while she wielded her powers. Sei, seeing her resolve, sighed. "You're as stubborn as ever, Agane. Fine, do as you wish."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for trusting me," Agane said, gratitude in her eyes. She flew to Serphia's head, confronting Zhui. "I don't trust you or your kind, but my queen values Xxv, so she must see something in you. I don't know you, but I'm begging—protect her. Keep your eyes on her."
Leaning closer, Agane whispered that Sei could protect others as long as she could see them, but not herself while using her powers. "To survive, no one can get close to her. I've faced these enemies, and I'm not sure I can keep her safe alone. I'm counting on you."
Agane detailed the enemies' abilities—Juggernaut's resilience, the mage's shadow dimension, and the assassin's Overlord Cris—warning Zhui of their strengths and weaknesses. Zhui nodded, accepting the information. "Even without your plea, I'd protect her. I'm a noble of the Khan, and I honor my agreements."
Agane ordered her troops to retreat to the next town for safety. As they withdrew, Juggernaut struggled against Sei's time-freeze spell, while Katshira, the siren, remained eerily calm, unaffected by her bindings.
"I'm releasing the time freeze. Are you ready to fight?" Sei announced.
Zhui, awed by Sei's aura enveloping the battlefield, questioned her decision. "You've trapped them. Why release them? Can't we attack while they're frozen?"
Agane explained that Sei's time-freeze spell halted all movement within her territory, but no one could harm those inside, as any contact—physical or magical—would also freeze. "Another reason is that Sei can only activate two spells within her territory," Agane added.
"My territory protects only those who believe in me and whom I consider allies," Sei said to Zhui. "You must trust me to be shielded in this fight."
The Hakuden Crystal on Zhui's finger glowed, its energy flowing into her. Sei urged her to fight without hesitation, as their enemies were formidable. Only Zhui could engage all three—Juggernaut, the mage, and the assassin—so they needed to end the battle quickly before her energy waned.
Zhui's body erupted in violet flames, forming a radiant sword infused with Rabaikasyu, a sacred blade of her clan. "Their presence is overwhelming. Are you sure I can take on all four at once?" she asked, sensing their superior energy.
Agane challenged, "Are you scared?" Zhui laughed boldly. "I've faced death countless times. I'm ready, but fighting four at once isn't wise."
"I fought them earlier and couldn't kill any," Agane admitted. "But with the queen behind you, no one can stop you. I've seen her power—you haven't. Trust me, with her, you're unstoppable."
Zhui glanced at Sei, realizing the Espada's reputation as one of Endoryo's mightiest gave them a crucial edge. "Fine, I'll trust you. All I need to do is take them down," she said, steeling herself.
Sei signaled Zhui to attack while the enemies were still frozen, giving her an opening. Zhui didn't hesitate, charging with violet flames blazing around her. The enemies struggled to break free as magic circles glowed beneath them, shattering the spell binding Juggernaut just as Zhui's sword struck.
Too late to dodge, Juggernaut blocked with his arm, flames engulfing it. Unfazed, he swung his other fist at Zhui mid-air. She twisted, evading, and landed on his arm, driving her sword into his forehead. To her shock, the blade didn't pierce his armored skull.
Caught off guard, Zhui couldn't react as Juggernaut grabbed her leg, slamming her into the ground, shattering rocks. Pain seared through her, but she scrambled to rise. Juggernaut's fist loomed, inches from her face. "You're done!" he roared.
Suddenly, Zhui vanished. Juggernaut froze, stunned, as a blade pierced his neck from behind, violet flames erupting. Zhui, equally surprised, seized the moment, slashing his back. Juggernaut staggered, her attack effective. "Hyper Spirit Slash!" she shouted, unleashing a devastating strike that sent him flying.
Proud of her hit, Zhui sensed danger and leaped aside as black shadow spikes erupted from the ground. Dodging with serpentine grace, she spotted the mage casting a magic circle. Without hesitation, she charged, weaving through the spikes, her sword ablaze with violet flames.
"She's too fast, predicting my shadow spikes," the mage muttered, struggling to stop her. Zhui reached him, her sword poised to strike his neck. He conjured a shadow barrier, but her blade was faster. "Got you!" she cried.
To her shock, no head fell. A black substance coated the mage's neck, absorbing her attack into his dimension, as Agane had warned. Standing in his shadow, Zhui realized her peril. "How about this? My turn!" the mage sneered.
Shadow arms seized Zhui, pulling her into the ground's darkness. She slashed desperately, but new arms replaced the severed ones, dragging her deeper. "The more you struggle, the faster you sink," the mage taunted, explaining his shadows absorbed everything, including her flames. "Farewell, Soul Eater."
As the shadows enveloped her, Zhui vanished again. The mage, stunned, sensed no spell or energy aiding her escape. "Impossible! No physical or magical force can break my shadows!" He spotted Sei, her crimson eyes glowing—the mark of her Crimson Eye ability.
Zhui reappeared atop Serphia. "The Time Keeper's power to control time surpasses my expectations," the mage whispered, awestruck. In a blink, Zhui vanished again, reappearing before him, sword raised. "Impossible!" he gasped.
Her blade slashed his neck, drawing blood. He barely survived, wrapping his wound in shadows to heal. "Argh!" Zhui struck again, but he summoned thousands of shadow spikes to protect himself. Just before they hit, Zhui vanished, reappearing beside Agane.
The mage collapsed to one knee, clutching his neck, shielding himself with shadows. "Her time control leaves no trace of a spell, making it impossible to predict," he muttered, fear creeping in. Sei's fingers pointed at him, and he sensed her intent. Panicking, he dove into his shadow dimension. "I escaped. Now to find her weakness."
But in a flash, he was pulled back to the battlefield. Zhui stood before him, her sword mid-swing. "She's rewinding me to my position!" he realized, too late. Her blade severed his head, the strike too swift to counter. "This can't happen—she's a monster!" he thought as his consciousness faded.
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**Expanded Details on the Oblivion Staff**
As Sei faced the siren, Katshira, she elaborated on the weapon's dark legacy. "The Oblivion Staff is no ordinary artifact," Sei explained, her voice steady but grave. Forged in the ancient wars of the Genion, it was crafted by a cabal of dark mages who sought to dominate Endoryo by harnessing the spirits of the fallen. The staff, a sleek obsidian rod etched with crimson runes, pulses with an eerie, otherworldly energy drawn from the souls it consumes. Each life taken in its presence strengthens its power, amplifying the wielder's magic to catastrophic levels.
Sei revealed that the staff's core contains a shard of the Abyssal Void, a fragment of a realm where lost spirits are trapped, feeding its insatiable hunger. This connection allows it to absorb the essence of any creature slain nearby, converting their life force into raw magical energy. The more deaths it claims, the more potent its spells become, capable of summoning cataclysmic forces—such as Katshira's army of water sharks or devastating dark energy blasts. However, its power comes at a cost: prolonged use risks corrupting the wielder's mind, binding their will to the staff's malevolent sentience.
"Its energy is ten times greater than yours, Agane," Sei warned. "In Katshira's hands, it could unleash spells rivaling 5th-grade magic, potentially overwhelming even an Espada if enough souls are harvested." She cautioned that every fallen soldier would fuel the staff, making it imperative to end the battle swiftly to limit its power.
Agane, still reeling, questioned how such a weapon could exist. Sei explained that the Oblivion Staff was thought destroyed after the Great Genion War, its last wielder defeated by an alliance of Espadas. Its reappearance in Katshira's hands suggested Halloween had uncovered it from a forgotten vault, reviving its dark legacy to challenge Galica and Eskapa.
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