Kill everyone except him."
The words echoed across the battlefield.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then the Ghost Army roared.
Thousands of voices merged into one terrifying sound.
The ground shook.
The academy walls trembled.
And the army charged.
"DEFENSIVE FORMATION!"
Teachers immediately shouted orders.
Ghost Killers rushed forward.
Students grabbed weapons.
The battlefield exploded into chaos.
Ghost soldiers flooded through the broken eastern wall.
Wave after wave.
Endless.
Like a black ocean swallowing everything in its path.
Daniel remained frozen.
His mind was still trapped on one sentence.
Ask him where Ava is.
McLone had said it.
Finn had hinted at it.
Bill had reacted to it.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
And Daniel could feel it.
Then a ghost soldier lunged toward him.
Mary immediately intercepted.
CLANG!
Her blade smashed into the creature's weapon.
"Daniel!"
Another attack.
Then another.
Then three more.
Mary blocked all of them.
Her eyes never left Daniel.
"Focus!"
Daniel blinked.
The battlefield returned.
The screams.
The fighting.
The war.
It was still happening.
And people were dying.
Nearby, Noah slammed both hands into the ground.
A massive stone wall erupted upward.
BOOOOOOM!
Hundreds of ghost soldiers crashed into it.
Noah wiped blood from his lip.
"I'm getting really tired of walls."
Felix laughed.
Then launched himself into the enemy army.
Lightning exploded around him.
BOOM!
Ghost soldiers were thrown through the air.
Another punch.
Another explosion.
Another dozen enemies destroyed.
Lucy stood behind the front lines.
Golden healing energy surrounded her hands.
Wounded students were brought to her one after another.
She healed them all.
Without complaint.
Without rest.
Lily coordinated defenses.
Zoya froze entire sections of the battlefield.
David fought while battling the whispers inside his mind.
The Great 8 stood together.
And for a brief moment—
The academy held.
Then McLone moved.
BOOOOOOM!
The ground shattered beneath her feet.
She crossed half the battlefield instantly.
One spear strike.
That's all.
One.
Spear.
Strike.
Noah's giant stone wall exploded.
The entire structure collapsed.
Everyone froze.
Noah stared.
His strongest defense.
Gone.
Destroyed in a single attack.
McLone smiled.
"Pathetic."
Then she attacked again.
BOOM!
Teachers were thrown backward.
Several Ghost Killers crashed through buildings.
Students screamed.
The battlefield immediately began collapsing.
Bill stepped forward.
Enough was enough.
"McLone!"
She turned.
The smile on her face disappeared.
The hatred returned.
Pure hatred.
"Bill Williams."
The air became heavy.
Even Daniel felt it.
These two clearly knew each other.
McLone lowered her spear.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
"You should have stayed dead."
Bill laughed softly.
"Sorry to disappoint you."
Then both vanished.
BOOOOOOOM!
The collision shook the academy.
Shockwaves tore through the battlefield.
Windows shattered.
Walls cracked.
Students were forced backward.
The fight between Bill and McLone had begun.
Daniel watched in shock.
Bill was strong.
Very strong.
But McLone matched him.
Strike for strike.
Blow for blow.
The battlefield itself suffered from their battle.
Then McLone smiled.
A cruel smile.
"Does he know?"
Bill's expression darkened.
"Stop."
McLone laughed.
"Then he doesn't."
The spear moved faster.
Bill barely blocked.
The impact launched him backward.
He crashed through a damaged building.
Dust filled the air.
Daniel's fists clenched.
Every time she spoke, she aimed directly at the same wound.
Ava.
Then David screamed.
Everyone turned.
David had dropped to one knee.
His eyes were glowing.
The whispers had become unbearable.
Images flooded his mind.
Ancient ruins.
The First Ghost War.
Caden Williams.
Then another image.
A little girl.
Long dark hair.
Laughing.
Running through a field.
David froze.
The image became clearer.
The girl turned.
And David recognized her immediately.
Ava.
His heart nearly stopped.
Then he saw something impossible.
The vision wasn't from the past.
Ava looked older.
Not twelve.
Not the girl who died.
Older.
Alive.
The vision shattered.
David gasped.
Mary immediately ran over.
"What happened?"
David looked terrified.
"I saw her."
Silence.
"What?"
"Ava."
Daniel immediately turned.
"What did you say?"
David struggled to breathe.
"I saw Ava."
The battlefield seemed to stop.
Even the fighting felt distant.
Daniel rushed toward him.
"You what?"
David looked directly into his eyes.
"I think she's alive."
The words hit harder than any attack.
Alive.
The sister he buried.
The sister he cried for.
The sister he lost.
Alive.
Daniel couldn't think.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
Then McLone laughed.
The sound echoed across the battlefield.
She had heard.
Of course she had heard.
"Interesting."
Bill immediately looked alarmed.
For the first time in years—
He looked truly afraid.
McLone pointed her spear toward Daniel.
Then smiled.
"Looks like the truth is finally catching up."
Daniel's heart pounded.
"What do you know?"
The battlefield fell silent.
Even some ghost soldiers stopped moving.
McLone's golden eyes locked onto his.
Then she spoke.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As if enjoying every second.
"The day Ava died..."
Daniel felt cold.
"...was the day your family stopped belonging to itself."
Nobody understood.
Not fully.
But Bill did.
Mr. Stone did.
And the fear on their faces told Daniel everything.
The truth was bigger than he imagined.
Much bigger.
Then suddenly—
The horn echoed again.
MOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!
The Hunter.
The sound rolled across the mountains.
Across the battlefield.
Across the academy.
Everyone froze.
McLone slowly looked toward the horizon.
For the first time—
Her smile vanished.
Then she whispered:
"No..."
The reaction shocked everyone.
Because McLone wasn't afraid of Bill.
She wasn't afraid of Mr. Stone.
She wasn't even afraid of Finn Foster.
But whatever was coming—
Terrified her.
And in the distance, beyond the mountains, something enormous began moving.