The ground split open.
Not like a normal crack in stone.
This rupture looked wrong—too deep, too dark, as if the earth itself had been peeled apart.
Fragments of the ancient seal scattered across the clearing. The glowing symbols that once held the prison together flickered briefly before fading like dying embers.
Liora stared at the fracture beneath her feet.
"…I didn't do that."
No one answered.
Because everyone had felt it.
Something enormous had just been disturbed.
The witch hunters slowly backed away from the broken seal, their formation tightening instinctively. Even the commander—who had shown nothing but calm authority since arriving—looked uneasy now.
Cairis stepped forward and grabbed Liora's wrist.
His grip was firm.
"Stay close."
That alone made her nervous.
"…You say that like something bad is about to happen."
His crimson eyes were fixed on the widening crack.
"Something already did."
The fracture in the earth deepened.
Instead of stone beneath it, there was only darkness.
Endless darkness.
A thin stream of silver mist rose from the gap and spread across the clearing like fog drifting from another world.
The commander's voice cut through the tension.
"All units, fall back ten meters."
The hunters obeyed immediately.
Boots scraped against loose soil as they repositioned, weapons drawn and glowing with holy enchantments.
One of them whispered to the commander.
"Ma'am… this isn't normal."
She didn't respond.
Her eyes were locked on the broken seal.
"…I know."
Then a voice came from below.
Soft.
Slow.
Ancient.
"…So much time…"
Every person in the clearing froze.
The voice rose from the darkness beneath the ground.
"…Two thousand years…"
The temperature dropped sharply.
Liora felt goosebumps crawl across her arms.
"…Please tell me that's just an echo," she muttered.
Cairis didn't look at her.
"That's not an echo."
The voice continued.
"…And yet the world still feels the same."
Something moved beneath the crack.
The darkness shifted.
Then it began to rise.
At first it looked like smoke. Thick, black strands curling upward from the abyss.
But the longer it gathered, the more defined it became.
A shape.
Tall.
Too tall.
The witch hunters instinctively raised their weapons.
The commander shouted, "Defensive positions!"
Holy light erupted from their armor, forming overlapping barriers.
But the creature emerging from the crack didn't even glance at them.
Golden eyes opened inside the darkness.
One pair.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Each eye glowing like molten metal.
They scanned the clearing slowly.
Hunters.
Magic.
The shattered seal.
And finally—
Liora.
The creature stopped moving.
Every golden eye fixed on her at once.
"…You."
The word echoed through the clearing.
Liora felt Cairis's grip tighten.
The hunters shifted nervously.
"…Commander," one whispered, "what is that?"
The commander answered quietly.
"A disaster."
The creature rose fully from the broken seal.
Its body looked vaguely human now, though made entirely of living shadow.
Long arms.
A tall silhouette.
A face half-formed from darkness.
But the golden eyes remained.
Bright.
Ancient.
Cruel.
"…So," the creature said softly.
"…the little witch has returned."
Liora blinked.
"…Excuse me?"
The creature tilted its head slightly.
"…You truly do not remember."
Cairis stepped forward, placing himself between the entity and Liora.
"Identify yourself."
The creature laughed.
The sound was dry and hollow.
"…You command me?"
Its eyes shifted toward Cairis.
"…Demon royalty."
Cairis didn't react.
But the shadows around his feet began spreading across the ground like ink.
The creature studied him with mild curiosity.
"…Interesting."
Then its gaze returned to Liora.
"…But you are the one I waited for."
Liora crossed her arms.
"Well, that's concerning."
The creature spoke a single name.
"Azhrael."
The commander inhaled sharply.
The hunters stiffened.
"…Impossible," someone whispered.
Cairis's expression changed.
"…Azhrael."
Liora glanced between them.
"…Should I know that name?"
The creature smiled.
A thin, unsettling curve of darkness.
"Yes."
It leaned forward slightly.
"…You killed me."
Silence swallowed the clearing.
Liora stared at it.
"…I definitely would remember that."
"You would."
Azhrael's eyes burned brighter.
"…If this were your first life."
The ground shook violently.
The crack beneath them widened.
Before anyone could react—
The world vanished.
Everything shattered into silver light.
The clearing disappeared.
The sky collapsed.
And gravity vanished.
For a moment Liora felt nothing beneath her feet.
Then the world reformed.
But it was not the forest anymore.
She stood on the broken floor of a massive ruin.
Endless sky stretched above them, filled with floating islands and fragments of ancient structures drifting through pale light.
Rivers of glowing energy flowed through the air like waterfalls running sideways.
Huge marble pillars floated upside down in the distance.
And scattered across the horizon were the remains of ancient cities.
Collapsed temples.
Shattered towers.
Ghostly bridges leading nowhere.
The witch hunters looked around in shock.
"…Where are we?"
The commander whispered the answer.
"…The Spirit Realm."
Liora turned slowly.
"…That's not good, right?"
Cairis's voice was quiet.
"No."
Azhrael hovered several meters above the ruins now, his body fully formed from swirling shadow.
"This place," he said calmly, "was once the heart of your empire."
Liora frowned.
"My what?"
"The Witch Empire."
He gestured toward the floating ruins.
"You ruled here once."
Her stomach tightened.
"That's ridiculous."
Azhrael laughed.
"…You said the same thing the last time we fought."
The sky darkened.
Fragments of ancient buildings drifted slowly through the air around them.
Azhrael's golden eyes narrowed.
"…But this time I will not make the same mistake."
Dark energy spread across the ruins.
Sharp and violent.
The witch hunters raised their weapons.
"Commander!"
"Stand your ground!" she shouted.
Cairis stepped forward again.
His shadows exploded outward across the floating platform.
"You want her," he said coldly.
"Then you go through me."
Azhrael studied him for a moment.
"…You are brave."
Then his voice turned colder.
"…But you are not the one I came to kill."
Dark spears shot from the sky.
Dozens of them.
All aimed at Liora.
Cairis moved instantly.
Black wings burst from his back.
Huge.
Monstrous.
The air twisted around him as his true power began to emerge.
Shadows formed a massive barrier in front of them.
The spears collided with it and exploded into fragments of dark energy.
The ruins trembled.
The hunters staggered from the impact.
Azhrael watched calmly.
"…A demon prince."
His eyes glowed brighter.
"…Good."
The darkness around him expanded.
"…That will make this battle more entertaining."
Cairis's horns appeared.
Curving black spires emerging from his hairline.
His crimson eyes burned like fire.
The ground beneath his feet cracked under the pressure of his aura.
Liora stared.
"…Okay."
She swallowed.
"…You definitely didn't show me that form before."
Without looking at her, Cairis replied,
"You didn't need to see it."
He stepped forward.
The shadows around him surged violently.
"…But now you do."
Azhrael smiled.
"…Yes."
The sky above the Spirit Realm turned black.
"…Show me your strength, demon prince."
His golden eyes locked onto Liora again.
"…Before I finish what your previous life started."
The ruins trembled.
The battle was about to begin.
And this time—
Azhrael intended to make sure the Star Witch never rose again.