Following Dante’s orders, I navigated the basement’s maze-like corridors under Yulia’s guidance. We opened an iron door engraved with grotesque emblems and returned to the dungeon on the fortress’s first underground level.

The guards and prisoners stood motionless under the armored man’s influence. Their vacant eyes stared blankly into the void ahead.

Ignoring these strangely affected people, we rushed up the stairs without pause. Bursting with energy, we reached the fortress watchtower. Below, hundreds of soldiers formed a spear-and-shield line outside the fortress. They held a stalemate against a horde of Corpse Eaters.

Near us, ten soldiers fiddled with bows on the platform. But controlled by Word Spirit magic, they’d stopped absentmindedly. Their hazy gazes drifted into the distance.

Normally, fortress soldiers would support from high ground with arrows and magic. Yet the armored man’s Word Spirit spell—cast by exhausting all his magic—had frozen everyone. The silent fortress lost its defenses.

“The situation’s grim. Let’s hurry and help,” I said, stepping to the platform’s edge. I activated Ghoul Transformation, ready to leap into battle using my enhanced physique.

“No, wait. They can hold a bit longer,” Yulia said, raising her hand to stop me.

“Rushing in blindly gets us killed. With so many Corpse Eaters, we can’t drive them back alone. We need to buy time—so we must plan,” Yulia explained, gazing at the pitch-black swarm.

“See? The soldiers stretched their line too thin and too far. Without fortress support, joining now won’t turn the tide. We prepare first. We act when they pull back toward the fortress,” Yulia analyzed methodically, scanning the battlefield.

I stared at her incredulously. For a moment, I thought I’d mistaken her for someone else.

Strange. Wasn’t Yulia that carefree, airy girl? The one who played with me in detention, made Miss Aileen angry, and got scolded alongside me—where had she gone? Was this Yulia an imposter? A Stand user from another world?

“So the timing’s not right yet. I’ll use this time to cast enhancement spells on you…” Yulia began, then suddenly stopped. She eyed me as if noticing something.

“You’re giving me a rude look, Alice. What bad thoughts are you having?” Yulia puffed her cheeks at me.

“I was just thinking about Stand users. Ah, nothing—I’m just surprised to see you so skilled,” I admitted honestly.

“Little Alice, I never mentioned it, but I’m officially Posein’s military mage. Before arriving, I underwent three months of basic military training. Unlike a certain someone loafing in forests all day!”

“Hmph! You looked like an idiot when Miss Aileen scolded you!”

“What did you say!” Yulia started to retort, but seeing soldiers retreating in the distance, she clamped her mouth shut.

“Anyway, I won’t argue now. Listen carefully—here’s the plan,” Yulia began explaining her strategy.

She said the frontline was too far out and stretched too thin. With insufficient troops, it couldn’t hold. We’d join only after soldiers retreated toward the fortress and consolidated their line.

Per Yulia’s plan, we’d strike at the last moment before collapse. We’d unleash a large-scale attack spell to turn the tide instantly and boost morale. That way, soldiers could hold longer.

First, Yulia used the time bought by soldiers to cast every enhancement spell she knew on me. After repelling the first Corpse Eater wave with attack magic, she’d use flight magic to drop me into the horde’s center. There, I’d fight alone at peak power, slaughtering as many as possible. This would force attackers to turn on me first.

Pressure on the line would ease further. As long as I kept killing Corpse Eaters, the line wouldn’t break. How long it held depended on my time-buying.

Yulia would hover high above, beyond their reach, blocking attacks with magic. Until her power ran out, I could hack and slash without worrying about defense.

Our survival hinged entirely on Yulia’s magic duration. Once her buffs wore off, my weakened form would be surrounded, forcing a retreat.

“But Yulia, is your magic enough?”

“I can maintain your buffs for over an hour. If my power nears depletion, I’ll extract you immediately. Alice, will you trust me?”

“Mhm, I trust you. But—you’re Unicorn-blessed and can’t use offensive magic. How do we handle the initial repelling spell?”

“That’s your job. Don’t worry—I’ll assist your Ghoul Transformation and help you control the magic.”

“Got it. Let’s prepare.”

Yulia cast enhancement spell after spell on me. My body grew lighter than ever. Power surged continuously into my Rampage Ghostification form through her magic.

We stood at the watchtower’s edge. After signaling support to the soldiers, we readied Dark Magic Fire against the charging Corpse Eaters.

“Alice, handle aiming and magic supply. I’ll shape the flames,” Yulia instructed.

“Understood.”

I channeled massive magic into the red pendant on my chest—consuming half my total power.

“…Flames of Purgatory, take arrow form. Manifest fully, dark flames of the Corpse Eaters.”

“…O crimson lotus flames buried in pitch-black hell, hunt the wandering souls before us.”

Through our joint effort, flames materialized from the void as countless arrows. They targeted fifty-plus Corpse Eaters storming the fortress. With a light wave of my hand, the fiery arrows shot forth like bowstrings released. They became a crimson rain, raining divine punishment on the vile horde.

“Success!” I cheered, watching our magic annihilate the wave.

“As expected—I can’t use offensive magic, but borderline tricks like this work. And that Dark Magic tome from the confidential archives? Truly effective,” Yulia muttered, satisfied with the results.

Our exaggerated attack—costing most of our magic—killed most charging Corpse Eaters. Soldier morale soared. They rallied and reconsolidated the crumbling line.

“Good. Step one complete. Time for step two!” Yulia declared. She held me and rose slowly into the air, floating toward the Hunter Settlement teeming with Corpse Eaters. We prepared for my entrance to turn the tide in one fell swoop.