Nyi Sukma gathered her spiritual power, and with a sudden burst released all of it at once.
With tremendous force, she swung her spear.
And—the black smoke wrapped around her body instantly shattered and dispersed.
Her body floated back down, and she sprang backward.
Her hand reached into the black bag and pulled out something—
A bamboo stake made, similar to the four stakes she had previously given to Rara Kemuning.
Then—with swift movement, she drove the stake into the ground.
"Fortress Prison of Pancarona—manifest!"
Five shimmering rays of light emerged from the planted stake.
Red, blue, yellow, green, and white.
Moments later, the five colors spread across the area.
And—the black smoke covering the ground disappeared.
The dark storm clouds and lightning above them vanished.
Everything returned to normal.
The remaining evening sunlight still colored the western sky in reddish orange.
The school garden lights turned on automatically.
Hanako floated downward and landed on the ground.
She growled angrily.
"What did you do, ugly woman?!"
Nyi Sukma pulled Mrs. Yuyun and Rara Kemuning backward, away from Hanako.
She intended to face Hanako alone.
Then she took her stance, spear pointed directly at Hanako.
Meanwhile—
black smoke emerged from Hanako's clenched fist.
It formed into a black staff, slightly curved and about five feet long.
At its tip was a massive black sickle blade with a blood-red hamon pattern flowing along its edge.
The spirit lunged toward Nyai Sukma and swung the large sickle.
Nyi Sukma blocked with her spear.
Then she jumped sideways and counterattacked with a downward slash followed immediately by a quick thrust.
Hanako deflected the attack with her sickle-staff.
Clang! Clang!
Sparks burst from the collision of the weapons.
The metallic ringing was almost deafening.
Hanako followed with a wide horizontal slash from her right side.
Nyi Sukma leaped far backward to evade.
She circled toward Hanako's right side and thrust her spear toward the spirit's ribs.
Hanako blocked again.
For some time, the two exchanged attacks.
It became clear that Nyai Sukma possessed exceptional skill in traditional martial arts.
Her movements in offense and defense remained precise and controlled.
At one moment—
Nyai Sukma executed a feint.
She began a downward slash, but halfway through redirected the strike horizontally toward Hanako's abdomen—
then followed with a sharp thrust.
A dark red line about four inches long appeared across Hanako's lower left abdomen.
Thin black smoke seeped from the wound.
The sound resembled hot metal being cooled with water.
Hanako glanced at the injury.
She looked at Nyai Sukma coldly.
But—
slowly, the wound closed.
It disappeared completely.
Her body restored itself.
"Dark Ocean!"
Hanako unleashed her technique to flood the area with a wave of darkness.
But—
the black wave only traveled five steps before vanishing.
She raised her hand again and summoned a black vortex—
but it disappeared as well.
Apparently, the technique released by Nyi Sukma restricted Hanako's abilities.
A black portal appeared behind Hanako.
She slowly stepped into it—
but her body remained in place.
She did not disappear as she normally would.
"You won't escape from here, evil spirit! Return the people you kidnapped!" Nyai Sukma shouted.
She wasted no time.
She rushed forward and thrust her spear.
Hanako blocked with her sickle-staff.
Two black serpents emerged once again from her back.
Savagely, she attacked Nyai Sukma from three directions—
the sickle-staff and the two black serpents.
As the attacks accelerated and intensified, several strikes landed on Nyai Sukma.
But—
Nyi Sukma seemed unaffected by pain.
Her stamina did not weaken.
Her attacks became even stronger.
Even the injuries she suffered slowly healed and disappeared.
Apparently, the Fortress Prison of Pancarona not only restricted her enemy—
it also enhanced her own strength.
"Rara, prepare the sacred vessel of Dewi Sekartaji to seal this demon!"
She shouted instructions to her student.
Nyi Sukma had already weakened Hanako with the Fortress Prison of Pancarona.
Now she believed capturing Hanako and sealing her inside the Vessel of Dewi Sekartaji would be easier.
Rara Kemuning quickly brought forward an oval-shaped vessel.
Its widest part measured about the width of an adult man's handspan.
The vessel was golden.
Carved into it was the image of a beautiful girl wearing a flowing scarf and an ornate circular crown.
Green beads circled the neck of the vessel.
Its lid was pointed and red with a large half-ring ornament of gold.
Rara stood beside Nyi Sukma.
She chanted and breathed onto the vessel.
Then she opened the lid.
And—
Hanako suddenly felt her body being pulled by an unseen supernatural force into the sacred vessel.
Her body slowly shifted toward it.
She struggled to maintain her footing.
She planted her sickle-staff into the ground to resist.
Now she had to face two overwhelming pressures.
First—
the Fortress Prison of Pancarona suppressed her strength and abilities.
She was forced to remain grounded and could no longer float freely.
She could not use her black smoke serpents.
And could not even escape.
It was as though an invisible spiritual prison trapped her.
Second—
the pulling force of Dewi Sekartaji's sacred vessel kept growing stronger.
If she were sucked inside—
she would never escape.
"Hmph… if that's how it is, then you leave me no choice."
Hanako growled in anger.
"I'll wipe all of you out!"
From her hand appeared a glowing red sphere the size of a basketball—
the Power Orb she had brought from the Oblivion Realm.
The orb floated about three feet above her head.
Black smoke poured from it down to the ground.
More and more smoke spread outward across the surface.
Then—
from within the smoke—
black creatures emerged.
Their eyes glowed bright red.
Each had a pair of horns on the sides of their heads like buffalo horns.
More and more appeared.
Five…
Ten…
Twenty…
Thirty…
Eventually—
hundreds.
They emitted strange growls—
hoarse and echoing, as though coming from a deep valley.
A sharp smell spread through the air—
like burning rubber tires.
On both sides of the Power Orb, black vortices appeared.
From each emerged a floating black serpent.
They twisted and hissed.
Their glowing red eyes stared at everyone there.
"Attack them. Leave no one alive!"
Hanako shouted the command.
The black creatures surged forward—
charging directly toward Nyi Sukma and Rara Kemuning.
***