The world went dark in an instant. Almie's eyesight vanished. She backed away instinctively as something sharp whistled past her neck. A wet warmth touched her skin. Her vision returned — she was bleeding. Her fingers found the shallow cut along her throat. If she had stayed still even for a second, she would have lost her head.
Nina glared at her, blade dripping with fresh blood.
"Really! I'm not here to figh—" Almie yelled.
"Go blind!" Andrew shouted again.
Almie ducked, caught Nina's arm and the hilt of her sword, then shoved her away. She staggered back as a blast of heat struck her side. Groaning, she pushed herself to her feet. The grass looked strangely vivid as her eyesight returned. Nina's blade sliced in a wide arc toward the bent-over Almie.
Nina slammed into Andrew as Almie's foot connected hard with her neck. Andrew caught her weakly.
"Please, listen to me," Almie said desperately. "There's something I have to say to her."
Mark approached Bella silently. "Is she the one?" he asked.
"Yes," Bella nodded.
"Mernia, kill her," he ordered.
Almie stood still for a split second. Then she was slammed violently into the ground and flung around like a rag doll, smashing into trees and gouging trenches through the earth.
"Go blind!" Andrew shouted again.
Her eyesight vanished once more.
"Mernia, rip her apart," Mark said coldly.
Almie was suddenly lifted into the air. For a moment she seemed to float. A stream of blood trailed behind her. Then something massive closed around her head and down to her elbows — the jaws of an enormous creature. A sharp, searing pain exploded through her body as the beast bit down hard.
Andrew, Bella, and Nina winced. Mark remained stone-faced.
The large mermaid spirit held Almie suspended in the air, its teeth sunk deep into her torso. Almie's legs dangled lifelessly beneath her.
"You're going to kill her!" Sarah yelled, grabbing Andrew by the arm.
"What?" he asked, confused, his head throbbing. "Isn't that the point?"
"No, I don't think she's—" Sarah began, but stopped.
Unlike her siblings and Nina, she couldn't normally see spirits. Iggy had been an exception that no one understood. She knew Mark had a spirit but had never actually seen it. For a split second, something enormous — shaped like a mermaid — flickered into her vision before it blew apart. Almie dropped heavily to the ground, battered and bloody.
"No!" Sarah yelled, her hands flying to her mouth.
"You guys killed her! She just came to talk!"
"Why would she want to—" Andrew started, confused.
Almie was already back on her feet. Her red hair covered her eyes, her arms hanging limp at her sides. Andrew quickly pulled Sarah behind him. Nina raised her sword high. Mark gritted his teeth. Bella smiled wickedly. Something had changed.
"I came to talk," Almie muttered, "but you wouldn't let me. I'm tired… I can't take this anymore."
Her hands moved slowly through her blood-matted hair. She gathered it and tied it neatly into a bun. A wide, unsettling smile spread across her lips, her eyes now fixed on the entire family. Blood still seeped from the deep tears in her torso, but the flow was slowing.
"Come at me," she said, smiling. "I'll beat some sense into all of you."
"Guys, something's wrong. I don't think we should figh—" Andrew stopped abruptly as Nina charged at Almie.
"Stop!" he yelled.
Nina's blade sliced through the air. Almie parried it cleanly with her own sword. She couldn't counterattack — a massive fireball roared toward her. She leapt over it with a graceful flip, but her eyesight vanished again. Her thorn blade blocked a rapid series of strikes from Nina. Feeling the rising heat, she ducked under another searing beam of fire.
Sharp, ice-cold shards suddenly pierced her side. She reached down instantly and felt them embedded in her clothing. Her vision returned. With a swift cut, she shattered the large spiky ice formation beside her. She caught Nina's next swinging blade by the hilt and delivered a powerful uppercut, sending blood spraying from Nina's nose.
Almie's blade sliced through the following fireball as if it were tofu. The split sections exploded violently, taking a large chunk of the garden with them.
Nina released her sword and backed away. Almie advanced slowly, her thorn blade gripped tightly in her hand.
"I can't summon Mernia," Mark said bitterly. "She did something to her."
Nina yanked Mark back just as Almie's blade skimmed his face. The red-haired woman had closed the twelve-foot gap between them in an instant.
Iggy grabbed Almie and unleashed a torrent of flames. The intense heat forced the entire Rose Manor group to retreat. When the fire died down, Iggy was left holding nothing but a burnt jacket.
Almie grabbed Bella by the scruff of her neck and slammed her into the ground, using her body to "weed" the grass. Iggy felt the impact through their connection. Nina leapt at Almie from behind. Almie caught her fist, then swept her leg, knocking Nina off balance. Almie's own fist hovered inches from Nina's face — but she suddenly backed away.
A large shard of ice struck the exact spot where Almie had been standing, Nina scrambled to her feet.
Almie walked slowly toward them, her sword hanging loosely in her grip. Her eyes didn't seem focused on any of them in particular.
Nina lunged. She jumped over the arc of Almie's blade, parried the next strike with her forearm, and drove a punch into the side of Almie's head. Almie's eyesight vanished again. Nina grabbed the blade and wrenched it from her hands. Bella seized the opening and unleashed a roaring pillar of fire. Some of the flames caught Nina as she tried to escape.
The group stared, sweating, as the massive pillar of fire finally died down. Almie stood in the center of the charred earth, her entire body smoking. She was perfectly fine aside from the wisps of smoke curling around her.
"Sarah, this is not the time," Andrew said as Sarah tugged desperately at his shirt.
In an instant, Almie was in the middle of their group. Her fist flew toward Andrew's face. His eyes widened as it closed in — but Nina slammed into him, sending both him and Sarah flying. The punch caught Nina squarely in the shoulder with a loud, sickening crack. She was launched a long distance across the garden, crashing near the lab.
"I'm sorry, Master," Iggy said suddenly to Bella. "Permission to borrow your body."
Bella didn't hesitate. "Granted."
"Nina!" Andrew yelled.
"Go deaf!" he screamed at Almie.
Mark twisted his hips, planted his foot, and swung. A massive ice hammer slammed into the side of Almie's head and shattered on impact. She stayed on her feet, her eyes now locked on him.
I'm going to die, Mark thought in that instant. He hadn't regained his balance after the strike. He saw the tiny shift in Almie's arms, her legs, her waist as she adjusted her stance, her almost imperceptible breath. I'm dead.
A large blue flame struck Almie squarely in the head, driving her to her knees. Thick smoke billowed out, causing the group to cough violently. Andrew broke into a run toward Nina. Sarah followed right behind him.
Bella stepped forward, her face set in a fierce scowl, her eyes glowing bright blue.
"I could get used to this feeling," she smiled. "Come on, ordeal witch. Iggy will teach you a lesson."
Andrew approached Nina, concern written all over his face. She had slammed into the gate with such force that it bent like wire. Nina clutched her injured shoulder, wincing in pain.
"It hurts, Master," she muttered, staring at the ground.
"We're not supposed to be fighting!" Sarah screamed. "She didn't come here to kill me. She had something to say!"
"What?" Andrew and Nina asked at the same time.
"Thanks to you guys, it's all gone up in smoke!" Sarah yelled.
"Sorry, Sarah," Andrew sighed, holding his throbbing head. "My head is pounding… so that's what you were trying to say."
Nina looked at him with deep concern. She dragged herself to her feet, still cradling her shoulder. "Can you use that in your current condition?" she asked.
Andrew struggled to stand, but his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees again. For a moment his body refused to cooperate. Blood streamed from his nose and eyes. He wiped it away roughly.
"I'll be bedridden for a month at best," he said with a weak smile. Then he pulled Nina close and kissed her.
Sarah stared at them, astonished. "Is this really the time for that?" she asked, wide-eyed.
[Partner Activated: All stats of Partner are hereby increased by 300%]
Andrew slumped unconscious instantly. Nina caught him before he hit the ground.
"Sarah, look after him," Nina said softly. "I'll go put an end to this."
She disappeared in an instant.
Iggy, still in full control of Bella's body, grabbed Almie by the hair and flung her toward the manor. Almie crashed straight through the ornate marble wall with a deafening boom. Chunks of polished stone and shattered crystal chandeliers rained down as she stamped to her feet inside the grand hallway.
The Rose Manor's elegant corridors — lined with velvet drapes, gilded mirrors, and priceless paintings — were rapidly turning into a warzone. Paint and broken glass littered the marble floors as Almie regained her balance.
A blue glow flared from outside. Almie dodged just in time as a roaring pillar of blue flame incinerated the wall, leaving a gaping, smoking hole through the once-majestic east wing. She sprinted down the long hallway, dodging terrified maids who scrambled out of her way between toppled antique furniture and fallen tapestries. She slid low to avoid Iggy's flaming kick, then grabbed her leg and slammed her head into the polished oak floor. The impact caved in the wood, sending both of them crashing down through the ceiling to the ground floor below.
Bella was bleeding. Almie twisted her arm painfully behind her back amid the debris of what used to be a luxurious sitting room.
"Stay still, will ya?" Almie said, frustration clear in her voice.
She leapt back as something small and blue shot past her face, missing by inches. Bella stood up smiling, tiny blue lights revolving around her like orbiting stars.
"You're dying today," she laughed. "Any last words?"
"Spike," Almie said coldly. Her thorn blade appeared in her hand in an instant. She took a low stance — sword in her left hand, right hand raised in front of her face.
Needle-like blue flame bullets erupted toward her like fire from a gatling gun. None grazed her hair. Almie's blade moved in a blur, cutting down and deflecting every single projectile. Iggy's eyes widened in shock and she backed away. Almie closed the distance almost instantly.
"I'm just going to knock you out," she muttered. The hilt of her blade swung toward Bella's head — but Almie suddenly flipped backward, parrying a strike from Nina. The force sent her flying across the hall, smashing through a row of expensive rosewood cabinets.
"You okay?" Nina asked, stretching out her arm to help Bella up amid the splintered wood and scattered porcelain.
"It's Iggy," the possessed girl replied grimly. "I'm currently in control."
There was a crack and crunch of broken glass underfoot as Almie walked toward them. Her red boots crushed shards with every step across the once-pristine marble. Blood trickled from a gash on her head and the deep wounds across her torso. Her skin was badly burnt, her red hair had come loose during the fight and now fell wildly over her shoulders like a large, fluffy bush. Her blood-red eyes looked exhausted, lacking their usual fire. Yet she still gripped her thorn blade tightly, her bloody face set in a deep frown.
Nina's sword hissed as it came to rest inches from her face as she stared at Almie. Iggy's palm glowed bright blue, instantly igniting the nearby velvet curtains and antique wooden furniture with intense heat. Thick smoke began to fill the once-elegant hall.
"We can take her," Nina muttered.
Iggy nodded in agreement.
A heavy silence fell inside the manor as the three stared at each other. The grand hallway, once adorned with velvet drapes and towering crystal chandeliers, was now filled with dust and debris from earlier destruction.
Almie took the first step. For a brief second, both she and Nina disappeared from Iggy's sight, then reappeared.
She dodged Nina's vertical arc of the blade, parried her left-foot kick, and drove her fist straight into Nina's nose. She tilted her head just in time to avoid a small blue flame shot toward her. Then she vanished again as Nina's blade sliced cleanly through her afterimage.
"Shit," Nina growled through gritted teeth.
Almie appeared below Nina's outstretched hands and used them as a springboard. Nina saw stars as Almie's foot slammed into her face. In the same motion, Almie caught Iggy by the arm, bent her head aside as a beam of fire shot from her palm, then drove her boot into Iggy's gut, sending her flying across the room and crashing into a row of antique rosewood cabinets.
Nina's blade flashed with blinding light. A white line traced through the air, rapidly forming a massive spiderweb of glowing slashes that wrapped around Almie, cutting across the grand hall from multiple angles. Priceless paintings and marble pillars were sliced apart as the lines spread.
"Ready… Set… Strike!" Nina yelled.
Everywhere the glowing lines had appeared took damage. Almie dodged the first slash, parried the second, then analyzed the outrageous pattern of attacks in a split second. An extremely quick pattern, she thought. She moved with insane speed and precision — one inch off and Nina's attack would carve deep into her body. Her form blurred as she danced through the deadly spiderweb, dodging every single activated slash.
"What the fucking hell?!" Nina roared.
When the barrage finally ended, the interior of the manor was in ruins. The once-elegant space around Almie had been shredded to splinters and stone fragments, yet Almie herself stood untouched. She had evaded an entire spiderweb of lethal cuts in mere seconds.
Almie defended against Nina's follow-up strike with her thorn blade, then stepped on a broken wooden beam. It launched into the air. She grabbed it mid-flight and hurled it toward Iggy, who was taking aim from atop a damaged crystal chandelier. Iggy leapt off just as the wood shattered the massive fixture, sending shards of crystal raining down onto the cracked marble floor.
"Nina?" Iggy called loudly, her voice echoing through the ruined hallway.
"Yeah… she's a fucking monster," Nina affirmed, gripping her blade tightly as Almie emerged from the thick cloud of dust and debris floating through the once-elegant corridor.
Sparks flew as their blades clashed repeatedly. Almie parried every one of Nina's precise, powerful strikes while occasionally dodging searing blasts from Iggy. She moved like a ribbon on the wind, graceful and untouchable. Stepping on Nina's foot to throw her off balance, Almie struck. Nina barely defended in time, but her blade snapped on impact, sending sharp shards flying across the cracked marble floor.
Nina backed away, bleeding from fresh cuts. Iggy unleashed a barrage of blue flame shots toward Almie, but the red-haired woman had already vanished.
"Where are you aiming at?" came a calm voice right beside her.
Iggy froze in horror. Almie's hilt slammed into the side of her neck. The possessed girl slumped instantly to the debris-covered floor.
Nina clutched her wound, grabbing the broken half of her sword and staring warily as Almie approached through the settling dust. The grand hallway — once lined with velvet drapes and glittering chandeliers — was now a wreck of splintered wood, shattered crystal, and scorched walls.
"Sorry," Almie muttered. "I didn't actually mean to cut you. I just got caught up in the moment."
Nina stared at her suspiciously from the ground. "I take it Sarah was right?" she asked coldly.
"No idea what she told you," Almie replied, bending down to look at Nina. Her blood-red eyes locked onto the knight's ash-grey ones. "But I came here to talk."
After a moment, Almie stood up and stretched. Her bones cracked loudly, and the wraps around her chest strained against the motion. "Don't look at me like that. You guys attacked first," she sighed. "It was fun, though. If you can stand, help your friend. I'm going to look for Sarah. There's something I have to say to her before I leave."
Almie turned and walked away, her red boots crunching over broken glass and fallen plaster as she disappeared outside into the damaged manor.
Sarah looked up as the sky suddenly darkened. It was the middle of the day, yet something felt deeply wrong. Thick smoke still rose from the damaged Rose Manor behind her, though it was slowly dying down. She stood protectively over Andrew, several cube-like artifacts floating around him and steadily injecting healing liquid into his body. Her brow furrowed in deep concentration as Mark approached.
Sarah didn't look at him or acknowledge his presence.
"Sarah, I think you should go hide," he said slowly. "She may come back looking for you." He glanced at the darkening sky. "Something big is coming."
"She has something she wants to say, and I'm not leaving until she does," Sarah replied firmly, checking Andrew's pulse and temperature.
"But… aren't you afraid she might kill you?" Mark argued.
"If that was her goal, considering what she did to all of you, I would have died long before Bella or anyone else showed up," Sarah sighed.
Mark suddenly stepped in front of Sarah, shielding her with his body. The rustling of leaves and the strong wind couldn't hide the sound of approaching footsteps.
Almie walked slowly and gracefully toward them — far too graceful for someone so heavily wounded. Her sword was back in its sheath. All that remained of her clothes were her dark skirt, her boots, and the wraps around her chest. Her red eyes glowed faintly as she approached, the wind whipping wildly through her disheveled hair. Behind her, the once-majestic Rose Manor stood scarred: walls cracked, sections of the roof caved in, and elegant gardens trampled and scorched.
"I'm not letting you get to her," Mark growled.
"Move," Almie said firmly. She shoved him aside without waiting for a response and stood directly behind Sarah.
Sarah finished checking Andrew's vitals thoroughly — he would make a full recovery much faster thanks to her intervention. She turned to face Almie.
"I have a remedy for your wounds," Sarah said, staring at the battered woman.
"No time for that," Almie replied flatly. "They're approaching. The dark sky says it all."
"So what is it you want to say?" Sarah asked, her heart pounding.
Almie fumbled with her belt, frowning in concentration as she checked her pockets. "Oh, I've got it," she said brightly. She pulled out a white envelope and held it out to Sarah.
Sarah stared at it without taking it.
"I could give it to him myself, but I don't think I'd be able," Almie said sadly. "You're Carl's girlfriend, aren't you? Please pass this on to him for me." She smiled.
Sarah slowly accepted the letter. "What is going on?" she asked after a moment.
Almie was stretching and jumping lightly in place. "The Ordeal is out to get you," she said simply. "They're approaching — I can feel them."
"Aren't you part of them?" Sarah asked, wide-eyed.
"Tell Carl this is my last good deed as a horrible human," Almie smiled. "I doubt I'd be able to face my brother like this. Wherever he is, I hope he's alive and well."
"Are you planning on—" Sarah began.
" I'll put a stop to this current mission for a while," Almie laughed. "Until then, find a way to protect yourself. I'd hate to see Carl sad."
Sarah stared at the warmth in Almie's eyes — the warmth of someone about to throw everything away.
"I would have liked to show you our hideout, but sadly it's not in this dimension. This is the best I can do for now," Almie said, her gaze sweeping over the damaged manor and scorched gardens. "Isn't it strange that there are no guards around your manor? I'm sure the Ordeal has something to do with it."
She began walking out of the garden toward the gate. Sarah followed silently.
When they reached the grand iron gate, Almie opened it and smiled at Sarah, gently patting her on the head. In the distance beyond the gate, a large group of figures was approaching — their numbers far too many.
"Let's meet again sometime," Almie said with a smile. She started walking toward the oncoming crowd without looking back. Her hand clasped the hilt of her blade and drew it slowly.
"This is going to be my final battle," Almie smiled, a grin spreading across her lips. "Better look cool while I go out."