Azel groaned, pushing his shattered frame up from the crater. His body had been healed, yes—but the pain remained, deep and raw. His arms trembled, his vision was barely holding steady. Blood matted his hair, caked his mouth. He stood through sheer will, but every inch of him begged to collapse.
Anna stepped in front of him, void magic sparking violently around her like unstable lightning.
"Move Anna. You'll die."
"Then I die .We might meet again, might not. But I'm not letting that bastard take you."
Anna snapped, her voice breaking with fury and grief. Her eyes glistened.
A single tear slid down her cheek—and then her magic exploded.
A massive void domain erupted beneath her feet, crackling with distortion. Azel's eyes widened—too late.
The shockwave launched him skyward, like a projectile.. He twisted midair, roaring her name, but the pull was too strong. Her domain had become a repelling force, designed for one thing: to throw him out of the battlefield.
"Anna!"
He howled, even as the wind howled louder.
Inside his mind, Forbanna's voice snarled.
"Fool! Think rationally—she's sacrificing herself to save you. Don't waste it!"
But Azel bared his teeth, eyes wild.
"She's not sacrificing anything—you are just trying to save yourself, you selfish witch!"
Forbanna fell silent, stunned by his desperate side.
Below, Anna stood alone before Hakugo, her hands trembling, shadows swirling. She'd done what she had to—but her heart shattered with every second Azel was flung farther away.
Above, Azel's body twisted in the sky, his scream swallowed by the storm.
And the battlefield below rumbled once more.
Anna's eyes flared, black irises swallowed by a deeper darkness as her fingers stretched open. A circular glyph spread beneath her, humming with unnatural force.
A wave pulsed outward.
The world went silent.
The very air trembled. Hakugo's smile faded slightly.
He tried to use magic but he couldn't.
He snapped his fingers. No reaction. Tried to summon divine reinforcement—nothing.
"Hoh... anti-magic? Annoying, but not enough."
He vanished in a blink and reappeared behind Anna, his voice low and cruel.
"If I'm going to break you in, I'd rather not damage the goods."
WHAM.
His strike landed clean on her back.
Anna was flung like a ragdoll, smashing into the cliff wall with a deafening crack. The stone shattered, impact lines spreading like spiderwebs behind her body.
She grunted in pain, collapsing to her knees—but her domain still held.
Hakugo straightened his robes, stepping forward. But he paused.
'Void Magic: Absolute Stillness.'
"...What's this pressure?"
Something was tugging him.
No—not pulling. Gripping.
His body felt heavy, unnaturally so. He looked around, narrowed his eyes.
"This magic… this isn't elfcraft. Nor beastkin. Not even Cursewright filth. What... are you?"
Suddenly—BOOM.
A fist collided with his gut.
Nothing was there.
His body lurched, and he grunted from pain, staggering back.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
Invisible fists rained down on him.
He snarled, blood trickling from his nose.
With his divine sight, he finally saw it—countless translucent hands, ghostlike, pale and long-fingered, stretching from the domain's edges, clawing at his limbs, binding him down and pummeling him from all sides.
"So... this is your domain."
He licked his bleeding lip, still grinning.
"I'll enjoy taming you."
Anna glared at him, breathing heavy, blood running down her temple.
"I'd rather be torn apart than touched by scum like you."
Her voice triggered something.
The hands doubled.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The ground beneath Hakugo cracked. His holy cloak tore. His expression faltered as he covered his face, the onslaught denting the earth around him. One particularly fierce punch struck his face. He staggered, head ringing.
"ENOUGH!!"
He roared, and a wave of divine power burst from his body—shattering the domain like glass under a hammer. The darkness dissolved, the ghostly hands evaporating in screams.
Anna stumbled back, coughing blood.
"You're stronger than that brat husband of yours."
Hakugo muttered, eyes glowing gold.
"But now you've pissed me off."
He surged forward.
But—a trap was waiting.
As he neared, his instincts screamed.
Too late.
FWOOOOOOOM.
A tear in reality opened beneath his feet—a tiny black hole, dense and furious. The gravity twisted space, pulling with monstrous force.
His eyes widened.
"What—? A gateway to the abyss!?"
Anna stood behind it, her arms raised, body shaking violently as she channeled every last bit of her power into holding the spell.
"Suffer forever in the pit of Hell."
Hakugo fought it, boots dragging across the ground, his limbs straining. But the force was immense. His hand was caught.
He snarled, eyes wide in panic.
"Damn you—damn you—DAMN YOU!!"
With a howl, he drew a dagger and sliced off his own arm, severing it to escape the abyss's grip.
The spell collapsed and hole vanished.
Anna fell to her knees, completely drained, her vision swimming. The rain fell harder now, soaking her, turning the muddy ground into slush.
Hakugo's stump smoked, holy light trying to seal the wound.
His fury was incandescent.
"You'll suffer far worse than just death now."
He grabbed her hair, yanking her upright.
"Let's see how long your pride holds out."
He hurled her.
SMASH!
The cliffside split as she crashed into it. The wall caved in, forming another cave-like crater from sheer force.
Anna slumped at the edge of the impact, motionless, barely breathing.