The station was dying.
Entire sectors collapsed into burning voids while dimensional alarms screamed endlessly through the shattered structure.
Yet in the middle of the chaos—
one battle consumed Marley completely.
Vivian.
Shadow's blade collided against Vivian's corrupted light again, releasing another violent shockwave through the corridor.
Despite the wound piercing his chest, Shadow refused to slow down.
"You hesitate too much," he said coldly while blocking another strike.
Vivian's crimson eyes narrowed.
"And you bleed too easily."
Dark energy exploded from her body.
Shadow vanished into darkness before the blast could consume him, reappearing above her with a downward strike aimed directly at her core.
Vivian raised one hand—
and stopped the blade.
The floor beneath them shattered instantly.
Shadow's eyes narrowed slightly for the first time.
"She's getting stronger."
Nearby, Marley forced herself back to her feet despite the blood staining her side.
"Shadow… don't kill her."
"I noticed."
Vivian suddenly unleashed a wave of corrupted symbols that tore through the corridor.
Shadow barely escaped in time.
Several dimensional soldiers behind him were not as fortunate.
Their screams vanished beneath the explosion.
Meanwhile—
the rest of the battlefield continued collapsing.
Lexia fought through overwhelming swarms alone, her breathing uneven now, blood covering one arm.
"Still alive?" Zack shouted through comms while struggling to stabilize failing systems.
"Unfortunately," she replied before cutting another demon apart.
Near the core sectors, Maximilian and Alfred fought side by side against the Demon King's advancing forces.
Even Maximilian's movements had begun slowing slightly.
The enemy pressure was becoming unbearable.
Then—
a new presence arrived.
The temperature dropped sharply.
A crimson portal opened above the battlefield.
And from it—
a woman stepped forward.
Elegant.
Terrifying.
Long silver-black hair flowed behind dark armor marked with ancient symbols.
Her gaze immediately locked onto Marley.
"…Seraphina," Marley whispered.
The woman smiled faintly.
"It has been a long time."
Sid's expression darkened instantly.
"The Commander of the Crimson Dominion…"
Even Alfred looked tense.
Seraphina slowly descended onto the battlefield while flames twisted around her feet.
"I expected more from you, Marley."
Marley tightened her grip on her weapon.
"You should have stayed buried."
Seraphina laughed softly.
"Still pretending to be humanity's savior?"
Suddenly—
she vanished.
Marley barely blocked the incoming strike.
The impact launched her backward through shattered debris.
Seraphina pursued immediately, her movements impossibly fast.
Their weapons collided again and again, sparks and crimson energy exploding around them.
"You abandoned everything for this world," Seraphina said during the assault.
"And look what it became."
Marley forced her backward briefly.
"At least I fought for something real."
"Oh?" Seraphina smiled coldly. "Then why is your granddaughter standing with us?"
Marley froze for half a second.
And Seraphina struck instantly.
The blade pierced Marley's shoulder.
Blood splattered across the ruined corridor.
"MARLEY!" Lenore shouted desperately.
But before Seraphina could finish the attack—
Vivian suddenly appeared between them.
Her corrupted energy surged violently.
"Enough."
Even Seraphina paused.
Vivian's crimson eyes glowed unnaturally bright now.
"She belongs to me."
Marley stared at her in pain.
"Vivian…"
For the first time—
something flickered inside Vivian's expression again.
Confusion.
Pain.
Then sudden anger.
"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!"
Her power exploded outward uncontrollably.
The corridor began collapsing around them.
Shadow immediately grabbed Marley and pulled her back before falling debris crushed them.
"She's unstable," he said sharply.
"No," Alfred's voice came through comms.
"She's fighting the control."
Meanwhile—
inside Vivian's mind—
darkness.
Chains.
Fragments of broken memories floating endlessly through a void.
A child laughing.
Marley smiling.
Liana singing softly beside a window.
Then flames.
Screams.
Blood.
And another voice—
the Demon King's.
"You were abandoned."
"You were betrayed."
"You were created only to suffer."
The chains tightened around Vivian's consciousness.
She screamed inside the darkness.
"No…"
Then—
another hand touched hers gently.
Warm.
Familiar.
Marley.
Inside the fractured mental prison, Marley stood before her granddaughter.
Older.
Wounded.
But smiling softly through tears.
"You were never alone."
Vivian's eyes widened.
"Grandmother…?"
Around them, the chains rattled violently.
The Demon King's voice thundered through the void:
"SHE BELONGS TO ME."
Darkness surged toward them like a tidal wave.
But Marley stepped forward without fear.
"No."
She reached toward Vivian slowly.
"I will bring you home."
Outside—
Vivian's body froze completely mid-battle.
Everyone noticed instantly.
The corrupted energy surrounding her became unstable.
Shadow narrowed his eyes.
"What's happening?"
Alfred looked toward Marley's motionless body nearby.
"She entered Vivian's consciousness."
Lexia stared in disbelief while blocking another demonic strike.
"She WHAT?!"
Meanwhile, Maximilian slammed another Draculian commander into the ground before looking toward Earth below through the shattered station walls.
The massive seal beneath the planet continued breaking apart.
Faster now.
The planet itself trembled beneath growing crimson fractures.
And deep underground—
something ancient was awakening.