When Lucy's body was split apart, Shakan finally realized something.
It wasn't blood that splattered, but golden light.
What he had cut through was only Lucy's light afterimage still lingering in space—
because time itself couldn't react fast enough to her movements.
And without warning, the real Lucy appeared behind Shakan, slashing his back with her sword of light.
—Sreek!
The slash was powerful enough to send Shakan crashing to the ground.
"Arkh!" he groaned, his voice hoarse as he spat out blood.
"Damn… that bastard's attack hurts," he muttered through clenched teeth.
Lucy panted heavily, exhausted from their fierce battle.
At that moment, Shakan saw an opening.
He leapt with blinding speed, grabbed Lucy's head tightly, and activated his Special Skill: Individuate Control.
Caught off guard, Lucy fell victim to the attack.
Meanwhile, the unconscious Garaka had been secured by the soldiers.
Waker and Agrasa were facing the First Demon, who seemed completely overwhelmed fighting them both.
Agrasa, with his Skill: Iron Hand, and Waker, with his Skill: Blood Wing, cornered the demon relentlessly.
Kaine, on the other hand, was dealing with the Second Demon with absolute calm and ease—his power seemed far beyond that of his opponent.
Back to Lucy—
As Shakan's skill took effect, Lucy's body convulsed violently.
An unbearable pain surged through her brain, as though her memories and consciousness were being devoured alive.
Within seconds, Lucy lost her awareness, yet she didn't collapse; her body remained upright, rigid like a puppet.
Her eyes turned blank and lifeless—Lucy had been completely taken over by Shakan.
He commanded her to assist the First Demon fighting Waker and Agrasa.
Lucy responded instantly, shooting forward and attacking Waker.
Her sudden movement caught both Waker and Agrasa completely off guard.
Waker couldn't comprehend why Lucy was attacking them.
"What the hell are you doing, Lucy!!?" Waker shouted.
Lucy didn't respond.
But Agrasa seemed to understand the reason.
"It seems Lucy's been controlled too…" he muttered to Waker.
Waker was taken aback for a moment.
Kaine, realizing what was happening, immediately rushed toward them.
At the same time, the Second Demon regrouped with Shakan.
The situation worsened—now it was four against three.
As they all gathered in one area, Kaine appeared to have a plan, though he couldn't explain it amid the chaos.
He swiftly grabbed both demons using his Special Skill: "God's Hand Catch"—
a radiant light emerged from his back, forming wings shaped like giant hands that seized both demons and hurled them far away from the battlefield.
The situation instantly became more manageable—now it was two versus two.
Agrasa and Waker exhaled in confusion, not understanding why Kaine had done that, but the tension eased slightly.
Waker now faced Shakan, while Agrasa confronted Lucy.
Waker activated Skill: Blood's Wing to propel himself backward, then triggered Skill: Dracule's Hand.
His hands glowed red—not from blood, but from accelerating blood flow through his arms, enhancing his strength and speed dramatically.
However, the pressure was immense; his hands began trembling and going numb from the strain.
Shakan was caught off guard and took a direct hit, sending him flying backward.
Waker immediately dashed forward again, though he couldn't repeat the same move—his arms could explode from the overpressure if he did.
This time, he forged a sharp blade made of blood and swung it at Shakan.
The strike landed, but the wound it left was shallow.
Shakan's skin was far too tough—even a blood-forged blade couldn't pierce it.
"That's why I didn't use the blade from the start…" Waker muttered.
Shakan struck Waker the moment that whisper escaped his lips,
sending Waker flying with a single devastating punch that left him writhing in pain.
Meanwhile, Agrasa, who was fighting Lucy, didn't seem to struggle.
Since Agrasa was iron and Lucy was light, her attacks simply bounced off his metallic body.
Lucy couldn't use her full power, her mind still locked by Shakan's control.
Switching perspective—
Waker, recovering from the blow, shouted,
"Why don't you control me the same way you control Lucy!?"
Shakan remained silent.
That silence told Waker everything.
"Heh… so your power can only control one person at a time, huh?" he sneered.
Shakan said nothing again, lunging toward Waker.
Waker was ready this time—his blood-forged sword clashed with Shakan's hardened skin.
Cling! The impact rang loud and sharp.
They exchanged blows in rapid succession, their movements blurring as their speed reached inhuman levels.
Waker's speed now rivaled Shakan's—thanks to Blood Wing and the accelerated blood flow in his legs.
The clash between the two was brutal and relentless, a violent dance of raw power.
Meanwhile, Kaine—
He had dragged both demons far away, all the way to the mountain where Tsujin was sealed.
When they crashed into the massive wall of stone, Kaine exhaled in relief.
"Finally, I can unleash my power without being suspected…" he muttered.
The two demons, confused by his words, attacked him together.
But when their strikes landed, a thin barrier of light appeared, blocking the attacks completely.
Kaine then conjured a massive cube of light that enclosed the three of them, preventing the demons from escaping.
He raised his hand, condensing countless light particles into one—forming a single light atom with an immense level of destructive energy.
His voice shifted—softer, melodic, feminine—
as he shouted:
"God's Fury!"
The explosion that followed was cataclysmic—yet the cube contained it all.
Had it not, the blast could have destroyed two islands at once.
Outside, only a massive tremor could be felt amid the chaos of war,
and no one noticed what had just occurred.
Everything within the cube was annihilated—both demons and every atom inside.
Only Kaine remained, untouched, for light could never harm light.
Even his clothing survived—he had converted its structure into photons,
a trick also used by Lucy, Waker, and Agrasa to protect their outfits from their own powers.
Kaine leaned against the wall, drinking a small pill.
His voice lowered again, returning to its usual tone.
Not wanting to draw suspicion for having defeated two demons so easily, he decided to rest there for a while.
Back to Agrasa.
Lucy's light attacks still bounced harmlessly off his metallic body.
So, Agrasa decided to go on the offensive.
He activated Skill: Iron Jump, gathering metallic energy in his legs,
then released it in a burst of pressure that propelled him forward at tremendous speed.
He formed a massive iron fist and struck Lucy head-on.
Under Shakan's control, she had no reflex to dodge.
The punch landed squarely on her head.
In that instant, Lucy's consciousness and memories began to resurface.
Everything she had once lived through came flooding back—
as if her very soul was forcing her to remember.
Eighteen years ago.
Lucy was born.
Her white hair and jet-black eyes resembled her mother's.
But the first person she ever saw wasn't her mother—it was her older brother, Lace Wathert.
Her mother, Lisa Wathert, had died during childbirth.
Her father, Bare, passed away six months before Lucy's birth from a heart attack.
He had been a hard-working farmer devoted to his family.
Lucy was an orphan from the moment she opened her eyes,
raised by Grandfather Laque, the caretaker of an old orphanage.
The sound of the sea was always near,
and when it rained, water dripped through the broken roof.
Four years later—
Lucy grew into a quiet girl.
She loved reading books in the orphanage, and because of that, she rarely socialized.
She was close only to her brother.
Lace had begun working at the age of six—when Lucy was just a baby.
He became a traveling merchant, selling from morning to night.
Lucy always waited for his return at the orphanage.
Sometimes Grandfather Laque tried to talk with her,
but Lucy would remain silent—too timid to interact.
All she wanted was to wait for her brother's return.
Whenever Lace came home, Lucy would rush to him, excitedly sharing everything she had read.
Lace would smile gently and say,
"You're such a smart girl, Lucy."
Time passed.
Lucy kept reading, enjoying her brother's cooking,
and sharing every new thing she learned until she turned eleven.
Seven years later—
Lace was preparing to leave the island to work farther away.
He was seventeen at the time—six years older than Lucy.
Before leaving, he promised,
"I'll find a better job, Lucy!
When I come back, you'll be able to eat as much as you want!!"
Lucy was sad to see him go, but she accepted it—it was his dream after all.
Years passed again.
Without Lace, Lucy was forced to interact with others.
But since she didn't know how, her way of doing so was… unusual—
causing trouble and making noise.
She was soon labeled as a "rebellious child."
By day, she made chaos.
By night, she sat quietly reading.
Grandfather Laque was often confused by her dual nature—
rowdy in daylight, serene in darkness.
Still, he spent time with her,
sometimes playing or discussing whatever book she was reading.
Little by little, Lucy became happier—
though deep down, she never stopped waiting for her brother.
Years rolled by again.
Lace never sent a single message.
By the time Lucy turned eighteen, she couldn't bear it anymore.
She decided to leave—boarding a ship, carrying only stolen bread as her rations.
Not out of anger…
but out of a deep longing for the only family she had left.
Back to the present.
That flood of memories stabbed through Lucy's mind, awakening her completely.
Shakan smirked when he saw it.
But the sudden return of her memories sent Lucy's emotions into chaos.
And then, from the storm of emotion,
a unique, unknown ability within her quirk awakened on its own.
The skill was called "The Resurrection of Angels."
The space around her fractured—
from the cracks emerged terrifying figures with white wings: the Angels.
They looked horrifying because—
"Angels must appear terrifying,
to frighten and drive away the evil born into this world."
The angels rose in unison.
And since Shakan no longer controlled Lucy,
he shifted his focus—attempting to command Tsujin to stop them.
A great war erupted once again—
even as the sun began to rise.
To be continued.