"How do we stop the upcoming invasion, Sire?"
The question echoed across the shattered remains of Levincia's frontline command.
Soldiers stood trembling.
Civilians waited behind collapsing barricades.
The sky itself looked bruised from constant war.
Then—
Jhonathan arrived.
Brunhilde rested in his grip like a judgment that had finally chosen a direction.
His presence alone made the air heavier.
Not oppressive.
Just certain.
Without answering the question, he stepped forward.
And charged.
The million shadows surged at him instantly.
A black ocean of stolen lives and forged death.
Jhonathan met them head-on.
One slash.
A shockwave tore across the battlefield.
Not cutting space—
but reordering it.
Dozens of shadows vanished instantly.
Another slash.
The ground itself exploded outward in a straight line of force.
Entire clusters of enemies were erased mid-motion.
Brunhilde pulsed.
Its spirit resonated with Jhonathan's own soul.
A synchronized rhythm formed between blade and wielder.
Each strike began rejecting reality.
Not just damage—
but existence denial.
One by one, the shadows dispersed.
Like history being gently erased.
At the center of the battlefield—
Goja raised her hand.
The ground twisted.
From the shadows emerged a distorted form.
Desiree's tree form.
But corrupted.
Broken.
A puppet made of memory and decay.
Death, standing beside Jhonathan, moved instantly.
One strike.
The shadow form shattered into fragments of dark dust.
"…Pathetic imitation," Death muttered.
Then—
a voice appeared behind Jhonathan.
"Are you okay?"
Grimmy.
Before he could respond—
the ground erupted.
Spikes burst upward in every direction.
A coordinated trap.
Goja's domain expanded.
Grimmy vanished into shadow immediately.
Not fleeing—
merging.
Her movement became unreadable.
A shadow among shadows.
Goja narrowed her eyes.
"…Interesting."
Then she smiled.
And copied her.
Two Grimmy-like figures appeared across the battlefield.
Both moving identically.
Both impossible to distinguish.
The air distorted as they clashed.
Grimmy summoned her scythe.
"Shadow Scythe No.10: Oblige Blade."
Metal screamed through space.
Reality bent around the strike.
Goja watched closely.
"…You should be fainted right now."
Grimmy smirked.
"…I am the shadow, idiot."
The battlefield split again—
Jhonathan holding the front.
Grimmy fighting the mirror war.
And Goja smiling at the center of it all.
The real invasion had not even begun yet.