THE DUEL OF THE THREE QUEENS

As Kenji and Yumi withdrew with the bitter victory of their duel, the infinite castle continued to take its toll.

Mio was running through a hallway that looked like a ruined temple, the echoes of distant battles echoing off the stone. She was looking for her friends, for Asimil, for anyone. The dispersal of the team had been a devastating tactical blow.

At that, in the gloom at the end of the corridor, she saw a smile. A cold, arrogant and terribly familiar smile. It was enough to make her stop in his tracks.

From the shadows, Karen emerged. — I've been waiting for you, Fallen Star — the General hissed, her dark aura rippling around her. — Last time, your little friends served as a distraction. —

— You won't get away this time, traitor. — Mio replied, her voice an edge of pink steel as she wielded The Pink Requiem.

There were no more words. The rematch had begun. The room, already filled with the residue of a previous battle, became the stage for their duel. Mio was a whirlwind of sonic energy, her halberd leaving pink trails in the air. But Karen was her equal, her Void attacks were pure, powerful and precise.

Karen took advantage. She noticed the slight hesitation in Mio's movements, the way she favored her right side. Mio was still suffering from the after-effects of her wounds from the battle against Legion and Ignis. She was fighting with all her power, but she was not at one hundred percent. Karen, sadistic and observant, began to concentrate her attacks on that weakness, forcing Mio into a desperate defensive.

Meanwhile, on a rooftop swept by an endless rain...

The other battle was reaching its climax. Tenshi danced around Vorlag, her movements were those of an agile and cunning fox. She threw balls of light energy that followed him like spectral hounds. Tenshi could manipulate his own attacks, making them spin and change direction at the last second, giving him an advantage over Vorlag's calculated defense.

But Vorlag showed why he was the Strategist. He wasn't trying to dodge every attack. He was analyzing his patterns.

— Your style is impressive — said Vorlag, his voice a deadly calm in the midst of the storm. — But it's predictable. You always leave a 0.3 second opening after changing the direction of three orbs at once. —

Tenshi froze. He had read her fighting soul.

In that instant of hesitation, Vorlag executed his deception. He feinted an attack to the left, and when Tenshi moved to counter, his shadow sword was already elsewhere, tracing an upward arc that she could not block.

The blade opened a deep cut in her abdomen, making her bleed. The blood, bright red, combined with the rain that soaked her clothes. She stepped back, bringing a hand to the wound to try to stop the bleeding, but it was of little help.

She was finished. And She knew it. Vorlag stepped up for the final blow.

— You fought well, Kitsune — he said, almost with respect.

Tenshi looked at him, and in her eyes there was no fear. There was fierce determination.  — I'm not done yet — she whispered.

With his last strength, he clasped his hands together in front of his chest and used a forbidden skill, a final sacrifice technique of his clan. 

[Last Glow of the Spiritual Fox].

His entire being exploded in a column of pure white light, so intense that it consumed color, sound and the rain itself. Vorlag, caught in the epicenter, only had time to open his eyes in surprise before he was completely incinerated and erased from existence.

The light faded. The rain fell again. Tenshi, his life energy completely consumed, fell backward. With his last strength, he sat up and leaned his body against a wall. He looked up at the broken sky, the rain washing the blood and tears from his face. One last smile tugged at her lips. He saw Kenji's face. He saw the smiles of Asimil and Luce.

— I won... — he whispered.

And with that thought, the light in his eyes went out. He had won the battle, but he had lost his life, alone.