[Argh!] Blood escaped the mouth of a certain draconic boy on the verge of death. [...H—help....!]

Unable to do anything else, the boy resigned to not choke on his pride and to just directly ask for help. To who?—You might ask. Still on the other side of the rift, no one—or at least no one sane— could be seen around. All there were monsters, small and big, roaming through the cursed land.

And yet, a sliver of hope was present on Tenma's dying eyes, as though he was persuaded that someone was hearing his unsightly plea of help.

[P-please...!] He said, not giving up.

His body, laid completely bare on the ground, was, without doubt, completely devoid of any strength. The life within them was disappearing at an alarming rate and soon would welcome death with an open arm. Nevertheless, Tenma didn't seem to think he had no way out anymore.

[Master!] All his remaining will was gathered in his voice as he shouted these last words, betting everything on them.

Unfortunately, his fate engulfed him before any sort of response manifested.

And so, Tenma died.

Silence returned and welcomed an eerie atmosphere.

“Aw~ Aren't you so cute, begging like that~”

A black mass of shadow, taking the form of a charming female girl, talked with a certain loving tone to the dragon's human corpse. Appearing out of nowhere, and with a tender look, the girl, although very attractive, couldn't be any less terrifying.

“Poor you,” She said, her tone, remembering of one talking to a pet. “Did those humans bully you? That's why I said you shouldn't act so arrogantly.”

The woman, bearing the vampire Queen's appearance, extended her hand, crouched, and patted Tenma's dead body. No hint of sadness could be seen in her eyes despite the fact her action and expression hinted at her caring for the little dragon. She didn't seem to even acknowledge the fact the dragon was dead.

“I told you so many times that you shouldn't underestimate those people.” 'Ariel' continued with a smile. “I ordered you to immediately come at me once you traversed the rift. But, of course, you didn't listen.” Heaving a sigh, she retracted her hand. “I should have known.”

She closed her eyes, calling every ounce of energy in her surrounding at the palm of her hand. Like plague, every monster in her immediate surrounding lost its energy almost instantly and died on the spot. Even Rin's corpse, which was nearby, aged very quickly and took the form of an old woman.

'Airel', however, didn't seem to notice at all as the sphere of energy in her hand grew immensely larger.

“I know that I share a part of the responsibility for your death,” She said, looking down at Tenma's corpse. “But, bad kid still needs to be punished.”

Then, naturally, she transferred the sphere inside the little dragon's body.

A big shockwave ensued,

And a pillar of black light emerged.

Within, Tenma's body rose.

“Learn how awful it is to be reborn as an undead and, bit by bit,” Ariel said, unfazed, “Regain your intelligence. Only then will I allow you to be my pet again.”

The woman stood back up and prepared to leave, completely ignoring the dragon's shrill cry. Her body shook and began to slowly return to its original form of shadow.

However, just as she was on the point of completely disappearing, something happened and stopped her from going away. Almost instantly, the mass of shadow took her form once again, allowing her to shoot her glare at a certain corpse behind her.

White Aura, coming directly from her chest, covered Rin's old and destroyed body trying to protect her. Then, against all odds, she opened her eyes.

“...” 'Ariel' narrowed her eyes while being witness to the whole thing in silence.

It happened all very quickly, as though it was the natural order of things.

A small sphere of energy got out of Tenma's body and flew directly inside Rin's corpse. And as it did, the girl's body returned to its youthful and energical state, completely rid of any superficial injury it had sustained. In fact, if one were to look carefully, the black-haired girl seemed even younger than she originally was.

Countless particles of lights resembling a swarm of butterflies, coming directly from beyond the rift, which is to say from Talia, flew through the air of the Otherside and towards Rin's missing arm and leg. As though magnet, they attached themselves to the girl's body, specifically on the crack present on her from the limit break.

In less than a fraction of a minute, Rin came back to life with a body that was the very picture of life.

“Oh,” 'Ariel' exclaimed, “Nice trick, how'd you do that?”

Rin, however, didn't register her question and took her time to adjust her mind. Her eyes, colored blue on the right and red on the left darted around, trying to comprehend the situation. Before long, she moved her upper body up in a seating position and turned her head to her previously missing hand. Without saying anything and without even thinking of anything, her brain finally comprehended the situation.

A single streak of tears left her blue eyes and she said, “I came back...”

Despite the fact, she had accomplished an impossible feat, the tone of her voice didn't seem to carry any happiness whatsoever. However, even though she tried to conceal it, a feeling of relief was filling her chest.

“Hey,” 'Ariel' said with an imposing smile full of pressure. “I asked you a question.”

This time, Rin was finally brought back to reality and looked at the charming woman that talked to her. It only took that one glance for the girl to know that 'Ariel' was an enemy. An extremely dangerous one.

Before she could answer, though, Tenma—or what was left of him—who was beside the scarlet woman this whole time, screamed with a crazed voice full of anger as he looked at Rin. Grudge. Though the undead are generally devoid of any intelligence and emotion, they all carry a deep hatred for their murderer.

Knowing that 'Ariel' didn't try to stop him.

Still wearing his human appearance and with an unsightly face, he didn't even think before dashing at Rin with all his power. His speed broke the sound barrier and was even faster than when he was alive. His claw stretched out to their maximum, was ready to chop off the girl's head without any hesitation.

Less than a second passed—no, in fact, it might be wiser to say no time at all passed and the draconic boy was already at Rin's side, ready to kill her. Only an inch separated his sharp claw from Rin's neck.

However, no matter how many seconds passed, no blood flew out in the air. Rin's head stayed attached to her neck and not a hint of panic was on it.

“You...” Rin said, acting like nothing was out of place. “You're still alive?”

Unable to move, as though time had slowed down for him, Tenma could hardly let out any voice. Despite the tiny space between his claw and Rin, Tenma found himself unable to advance even a step further.

Rin looked at him with her heterochromatic eyes, with an alarmingly calm expression. She moved her hand and caressed the claw that was so near her neck, and then, “You shouldn't be” she said with a reverberating and terrifying voice.

Following her will, rot began to spread from Tenma's claw to his entire body. Although, unlike the crack that covered Rin's body earlier, Tenma's body appeared as if it was decayed, and, soon crumbled into dust in an instant.

The phenomenon appeared surreal and dreadful, yet at the same time, it seemed normal. Like how every human being needs to breathe air, Tenma's sudden and incomprehensible death seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Even 'Ariel' got her mouth hanging open, unable to comprehend what happened.

Rin, on the other hand, just stood up calmly from the ground.

“That...” 'Ariel' said, a hint of anger in her voice. “That was my pe—”

—However, Rin waved her hand at her before she could finish her phrase, and, in doing so, the mass of shadow that took 'Ariel's appearance lost all its energy and crumbled to the ground.

Rin released a breath before wiping out the blood that flowed from her nose.

“...” She stayed quiet the whole time as she advanced toward the giant rift in front of her.

From there, she could see her sister, Lia, and Winter fighting against the remaining monster. From the corner of her eyes, she could even perceive Ursa and one other unknown woman talking to each other. Everything felt so fluid and yet her mind was fogged and couldn't work as exceptionally as before.

One thing was for sure, though, Rin knew that, at this instant, there was nothing she couldn't do.

And so, she jumped through the Rift.

The wind caressed her cheek, her hair fluttered in the air, her tattered clothes, which unfortunately haven't been repaired like her, showed way too much skin and permitted the cold to spread through her body. Although falling from high in the air, the putrid scent of blood and death still managed to enter Rin's nostril. Even the wind didn't feel fresh and was more reminiscent of poison.

Nevertheless, Rin's facial expression didn't budge as she surrendered herself completely to gravity.

The ground approached at an alarming speed, and as it did, the monster on the ground finally began to notice her. And so did the human. Despite that, Rin didn't panic and didn't even bother to put on her nano mask.

Right before she smashed on the ground, her body unnaturally slowed its falling speed, allowing Rin to graciously land on the ground. She lifted her head and carefully looked at the three remaining Elite that looked at her.

Then, she smiled.

“This battle has gone on for far too long,” She said.

In the next instant, her blue and right eye glowed, generating a gigantic transparent dome that covered the entire city. A few seconds following that, calm returned to the destroyed city.

The Rift had closed, and all the monsters disappeared. All that remained were an unnatural amount of dust flowing through the air and the human, dead and alive alike.

“Wha...” Lia said, unable to comprehend.

Before her attention could return to Rin, however, the little girl beside her shouted with moistened eyes.

“Sis!!” Rena ran ahead, without questioning anything toward her older siblings as though the end of the world was pursuing her. Tears escaped her eyes but her smile couldn't be more genuine.

Rin shared the same happiness. She opened her arms and caught her little sister who had jumped at her chest. Warmth spread through her instantly. Of course, since Rena was crying non-stop, she also felt the small, wet sensation. Nevertheless, she was truly very happy.

Her mouth stayed silent, though, and seconds later, Rena's voice also quieted down.

Knowing through the warm sensation that the one she was holding was indeed her sister, Rena probably passed out from relief.

“...” Rin maintained her smile and caressed the little girl's head for a good minute before finally letting her down on the ground.

She felt a tinge of loneliness squeezing her heart but she ignored it. Instead, she looked at the two other girls in front of her.

“You are...” Regaining her sense, Lia looked at Rin carefully, seeming to remember the girl's identity.

At her side, Winter said quiet, unable to say anything. The look in her eyes transmitted the message, “H-how?” very clearly.

Rin focused her attention on Lia for the moment, “Lia Holder...” She said, making the blue-haired girl tense somehow.

In the next instant, Rin's body disappeared before reappearing right in front of Lia as she had just used Teleportation. She looked at the girl, with a soft, yet serious expression. “It would be good, for both of us, if you could forget about me.”

“Eh...?” Lia asked, confused.

Sudden pain in her abdomen was what prevented her from thinking any further. Her consciousness slipped right out of her like it was a joke and her body fell into Rin's arm.

Like the black-haired had done to her sister minutes ago, she carefully put down Lia on the ground.

“Rin...” Winter finally said, still baffled.

The girl in question didn't pay her any mind, and instead, shifted her attention to a certain blonde woman. “Ursa.” The distance between them was considerable and Rin didn't speak up that much but, somehow, the blonde heard her just fine.

“Take me back to Aiden,” Rin said, her vision turning blurry. She then pointed at Winter and continued, “Along with her.”

Having conveyed her message, Rin finally lost consciousness.