As the last word fell, a distant fissure burst open. Niflheim’s barrier tore like a gaping wound, and the dreadful force surged in like a tidal wave. Belldandy, standing foremost, took it head‑on and was hurled back.

The white mist struck like a venomous tongue finding prey, lashing toward the airborne Belldandy.

Just then, two girls in ceremonial finery stepped from behind Aphelia. Crimson Flame roared to life, igniting the tongue‑like mist and unfurling into a towering wall of fire in midair.

With the girls moving, Aphelia sprang forward and caught Belldandy.

“Ugh…”

Pain first, breath second—Belldandy’s low moan broke under it. A blood-slick gash yawned wide across her abdomen, raw and crimson.

“Damn it… I’m no healer. It’ll hurt. Miss Belldandy, grit your teeth!”

Crimson Fire flared in Aphelia’s palm. Brutal medicine for brutal times—she burned at the soul to force its rebellion, goading flesh to knit under the sting like iron in a forge.

The two girls fought with relentless grace. In their hands Aphelia’s Crimson Fire turned a thousand ways, sealing the breach for a heartbeat. Outside, the dead didn’t dare brush that flame.

The moment was tight; Belldandy only nodded and bit down on her sleeve.

Sss—

Crimson Flame kissed the wound. Skin sizzled with a scalp‑crawling hiss. Pain hammered her bones, and Belldandy bit harder, face blanched, eyes still open—will like iron, refusing the dark.

The two girls held without flagging. Bracer Gauntlets, like Aphelia’s, bloomed along their forearms—yet not twin in purpose. One guarded; one killed.

The defender guided the firewall, carving space between the breach and Niflheim, as if the crimson wall replaced the shattered barrier. The first dead who tried brute force became ash beneath that blaze.

Before Odin could raise Aether for bombardment, the attacker vaulted through the wall. She reaped like a Reaper, and Crimson Fire bloomed wherever she passed, leaving only ash in her wake.

Even working triage, Aphelia felt refined Aether pour into her like a cold river. The Crimson Fire in her hands deepened, richer and hotter.

“Kff—ah!!”

She spat a mouthful of foul blood. The Crimson Fire dimmed, and the terrible wound sealed shut. A thread of white‑mist power squeezed free and burned away in the air.

“Thank you, Aphelia. Please, stop that mysterious one. No one here but you can face her… As for the dead, leave them to me and Odin.”

Runes split from her staff and flared bright, circling Belldandy in whorls of light. Her pallor eased a shade. She eyed the dead battering at the inner firewall and spoke quick and clear.

“A mysterious one? Who is she—”

“It’s the prophecy you have to complete. You’re fated to meet her; otherwise you’ll never escape this timeline!!”

Before Aphelia could press her, Belldandy dashed off, Runed light spinning around her. She streaked white into the massed dead like a falling star.

“Seriously… can you finish a sentence, you oracle?!”

No time for anything but battle.

As Aphelia lunged, the two girls shoved their flames forward. The dead forming an encirclement broke again, and the girls turned into streaks of crimson, fusing onto Aphelia’s arms as living fire.

But the white mist bit like a tongue that never lets go. It knifed through the Crimson Flame and darted for Aphelia’s ribs.

The mist was fast. Aphelia was faster.

Scarlet Inferno wrapped her ten fingers. She pivoted at near‑impossible speed, seized the mist bare‑handed, and burned it. The white hiss turned to an eerie cry, and a figure lunged from it, face‑to‑face.

“Long time no see, Aphelia~”

Warm and haughty, the voice breathed into her ear.

Recognition hit like ice on a wound. Aphelia’s eyes went wide; her fist flew without thought.

Ancient Martial Flow—Shattering Fist!!

Scarlet Inferno catalyzed the strike. Air cracked in a detonation. Half a step, all it took, and a line of dead toppled like trees in a storm.

That chill power—of course it felt familiar. Cold as grave breath, unforgettable as a scar.

“Sig—dri—fa!!!”

The black‑robed figure slipped aside. Aphelia’s eyes blooded with rage. The bone‑tearing pain, the stolen love—it all rose like a flood. And the floating figure still smiled, almost tender.

“Calling me that sweetly, huh~”

Under the black robe stood her greatest foe—Sigdrifa. Armor pure‑white and crystalline gleamed beneath. Whatever fortunes found Aphelia, Sigdrifa hadn’t fallen behind; she might even have grown stronger.

Pure‑white Aether branched in the air as crystal trees, gnawing toward Niflheim. Crimson Fire pounced like a hunting hawk, and the two powers hacked at each other, mercy forgotten.

Their clash pulled the battlefield’s breath. Under that crushing qi, the world narrowed to two silhouettes. The dead dared not approach; a step too near and they’d be shredded to powder by crossing forces.

So that’s the prophecy—now it’s clear.

Mystery woman, only you can face her? Blood debt needs no speech.

Crimson Flame thickened along Aphelia’s bracer gauntlets, gathering deep. Something edged with malice woke inside the blaze.

“Die for me!!!”

Aphelia shot in like a crimson streak, both fists hammering for Sigdrifa.

Scarlet Inferno collided with crystal white midair. Light burst like a newborn sun. Aether slammed Aether, and space shuddered like a drumskin.

Inside Niflheim, no one stood steady. Even Odin, shielding Belldandy in Aether, felt the quake. The rushing dead pitched like swatted flies, quivering on the ground.

“Odin, please. I’ll try to rebuild the barrier. While Aphelia holds the mysterious one, the dead legions are yours!”

Her staff lifted, and white light unraveled into countless threads, veiling her like a cocoon. They spread in all directions like fate woven by Skuld—weak at first, yet ceaseless.

Radiance rolled over Niflheim’s far bank like dawnlight. Every dead soul felt a tremor deep inside, then a sharp pain spider through limb and bone. The source was that white glow; even if Belldandy wanted to hide it, it was impossible.

It was like taunting them to their face and refusing to leave.

Even in battle, Sigdrifa sensed the shift. She laughed soft, raised a hand, and spears of white streaked for Belldandy, trying to force Aphelia to split her guard.

White mist dragged crystal shards through the air like sleet. Even meters away, Odin felt the force within. Azure Aether swelled around her, ready to take the hit.

Aphelia was locked in. Odin couldn’t let her split focus.

Odin braced to be cut—then two silhouettes stepped before her.

“Don’t even—”

“—think of slipping through!!”

The crimson‑clad girls returned. They barked sharp, spun Scarlet Inferno into a mirror‑round shield, and caught the snake‑swift mist. It screeched on the barrier, then broke apart in midair.

“Thanks!!”

Seeing the danger pass, Odin nodded, then called out. Azure Aether flooded upward, and even within Niflheim, clouds bruised the sky.

The two didn’t answer. They hefted Crimson Flame and rushed Sigdrifa, pinning her with Aphelia in a three‑pronged press.

The air war raged, and the dead on the ground refused to slacken.

They howled, thin and bitter, and every eye fixed on Belldandy. Those cold stares felt like sleet on the spine; even Odin shivered.

“Damn it, they never meant to bargain at all!!”

The instant the threads appeared, Odin knew this fight wouldn’t be easy.

The mad dead charged. They threw themselves at the Rhine, rebirth glinting like a star just ahead. Balance be damned—if they could reincarnate, not even gods would stop them.

“Go!!”

An azure thunder spear fired like a shell. The clouds answered with a rolling growl, and a heartbeat later, blinding light split the sky.

Divine wrath fell like a storm. Savage Thunder sketched a charred line along the Rhine. The vanguard dead turned to ash under Azure Thunder, and those struck by thunder pillars were erased utterly.