Even steeped in pure Aether, it couldn’t veil the Eldritch nature—silk thrown over rust still shows the rot.

As long as these wretches were Eldritch thralls, Crimson Fire was their bane. And now, Aphelia had that flame at her beck and call; her warcraft outstripped anything these thralls could muster.

Then a sight that iced her spine rose before her. The torn shadow swelled like a storm-cloud, its Eldritch reek forced Aphelia to fling it away. Crimson Flame chased close, one heartbeat from turning it to ash.

In that breath, she felt a cold gaze slide over her. She snapped her head up, crimson fire wreathed her, burning back the chill. It saved her, and cost her the kill.

“Val—ky—rie!!!”

The cry, warped and shrill, rippled through the space. The riven shadow ballooned, a grotesque silhouette blotting out the sky. Eldritch miasma surged, with talons like scythes and scales like iron plates, cracked like flowing magma—familiar to the bone.

“A Daemon Beast?!”

It was the very Daemon Beast Aphelia had just slain; its corpse lay by the lab, not even cold. Yet here came two more, identical to the fallen one, as if stamped from a nightmare mold.

The soldiers stared, stunned. They weren’t Aether-wielding titans like Aphelia. They were human, at best veterans against Daemon Beasts. To the common mind, a Daemon Beast was near-unbeatable terror.

That’s why Aphelia and Violet felling one was a feat. At first, only a few showed worldwide; for a long span, nothing changed. Most people—even the United Government—nursed a comforting illusion.

Daemon Beasts were finite.

But now, two emerged, twins to the fallen one, and both at once. One was more than enough; two Eldritch pressures braided together crushed the soldiers to their knees.

As humans, they were brittle before Daemon Beasts, like reeds in a gale.

Aphelia clenched her silver teeth. Crimson Fire ran up her arms. Her Bracer Gauntlets unfurled, locking into full arm-plates. She dropped wholly into battle stance.

She worried less about the two newly shaped Daemon Beasts, more about the bizarre ones below. The attack wasn’t just the “two” above; six more assailants lurked in the blaze below.

Right as worry tightened, the fireground roared. A blood-red glare flared. Several Demonic Spears collided with the vast Eldritch shadow. Pure Aether clashed and burst into blinding light.

“You still got room to worry about others?!”

The dragon-shaped Daemon lunged for Aphelia. Its shadow poured over her, speed at odds with its bulk. Her pupils pinched. Instinct threw a punch. Crimson Flame rose like a cliff-wall against the dragon’s charge.

It wasn’t enough. Aphelia faced more than one Daemon Beast.

A massive form struck from below, so fast even Aphelia couldn’t answer in time. Their strengths met head-on. In that contest, Aphelia lost ground.

How? Was this the fragile Daemon Beast she knew?

Before a thought formed, the dragon Beast clamped down on her body and speared for the heights. Sonic booms trailed its bulk. The twisted shadow vanished from the crowd’s sight.

With one Beast’s pressure gone, people staggered upright. Their weapons could not check this dragon Daemon. Every motion wrought ruin, past anything human heavy arms could deliver.

Violet wanted to break off and engage. But the six strange “humans” were trickier than Daemon Beasts. Alone, they weren’t strong, only slightly above a standard Valkyrie. Together, their twisted limbs meshed in ways that made her scalp prickle.

She still had Executors to protect. Violet grit her teeth. She could say she didn’t care for humans, yet with Valkyries on the back foot, letting a Daemon Beast ravage a war zone would cripple their actions against the Elders.

She wouldn’t allow that. But Aphelia had been dragged off in a blink. Her strongest ally couldn’t help.

A blood-red Demonic Spear drove back the twisted limbs. Violet sneered. Aether, as red as fresh blood, coiled up her arm, aching to fuse with the spear.

“Violet, offer your head here!”

Six warped Eldritch cultists rushed as one. They saw the shift and refused to grant openings. They’d bog her down, and the Executors under her guard were the easiest prey.

Watching them charge, Violet smiled. Blood-red lips curved into a stunning blade of a grin.

“You petty gnats—come try me, then!”

Another crimson Demonic Spear formed in her hand. Savage spearwork and blood Aether howled around her. A scarlet storm met the stabbing tangle of twisted limbs.

High above, Aphelia fought to break the dragon Daemon Beast. Two maidens in ornate dress flashed to her sides, blades seeking its vitals. This time, the beast’s might far exceeded their measure.

“Can’t pierce it? How’s that possible!”

Aphelia churned Crimson Fire, hammering the dragon’s jaws, trying to pry them open. The flame that seldom failed met its match; it tangled with the beast’s twisted black breath.

The dragon didn’t even resist, letting her strike. Its fangs, woven from Eldritch haze, closed like a cage. They didn’t wound her, but they locked her in place.

“Why struggle? You can’t stand against the Eldritch Gods.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll bow to you.”

She snorted. This posture hampered her craft, but Crimson Fire was protean. She refused to believe no path to break free existed. Reality said otherwise—the dragon was dragging her past the sky’s edge.

She could endure extremes, yet the thinning air drew a frown. From the body’s lingering memories, they were about to breach the “atmosphere.”

Aphelia didn’t fear hostile environments. Eldritch things beyond the planet? She still didn’t know their depths. In such a bind, she wouldn’t gamble on a fight that smelled like death.

“Don’t you want the truth? About the ancient civilization. About you Valkyries called the Elders. Especially you, Valkyrie—no, a visitor from another timeline?”

The voice came from within the dragon’s frame again.

This time, Aphelia’s strike hesitated. Then she resumed, relentless. She set the two ornate maidens hunting for a killing point.

What a joke. Even truth shouldn’t be chased while shackled, much less swallowed from a mortal enemy’s tongue. If she wanted truth, she’d help the Valkyries erase the Eldritch first.

The dragon Beast seemed to read her heart. Twisted black vapor billowed from its hide, driving the maidens back. The voice slipped through the dark again.

“Aphelia, do you feel fear?”

“Fear? Of course. I fear death—that’s why I won’t give up.”

She snarled the girls behind her and poured everything into her Bracer Gauntlets. Her flurries couldn’t breach the beast anymore. She needed a single, death-or-glory attempt.

She’d never fall into the infamous hands of the Eldritch.

“You fear the truth, don’t you?”

The voice from the dragon’s skull turned airy, almost holy. It didn’t fit that monstrous shell. Close your eyes, and you’d think a pure maiden was speaking.

That heartbeat of daze cost her. The dragon surged faster. Flame skated its massive body. The twisted form sloughed off under the speed. Eldritch aura fought to hold it together, but this body still obeyed physics.

“In the end, it’s a human frame. With our current means, we can’t surpass the limit…”

The ethereal voice sighed, tinged with a subtle charm. Even Aphelia blanked for a breath. Luckily, Crimson Fire was almost her soul. When she slipped, it jabbed her mind.

The sting snapped her awake. Her eyes flew open. She had already slipped beyond the blue planet. What met her first was boundless darkness.