Miles away, in the Silent Canyon, Katya rose. The purple light of the Void runes faded, leaving a cold, violet aura around her hands. She felt the fusion complete, a silent echo in her chest. She looked at the cracked earth, then up at the darkening sky. The sound of the world was now a controllable whisper.
The forest felt wrong. Branches drooped. The wind held its breath. The silence was heavy, like the whole place waited to ambush them.
Eleanor's neck muscles tightened. A pulse of sound, then another. Uneven.
"Yeah," she muttered, fingers tightening around her axe. "They're here."
Black feathers drifted down through the branches like ash. Three corrupted angels slipped from the shadows. They were bigger and sharper than the usual fodder. Their cracked armor leaked oily black mana.
Allen exhaled. Blue sparks danced on his gloves. "These aren't the same ones from before," he said.
"No kidding," Silvia replied, her staff already glowing silver. "Their corruption's deeper. Careful."
Eleanor stepped forward, planting her boot into the dirt. "I'll open," she said. "Cover me if they swarm."
The lead black angel screeched and dove.
Eleanor moved first.
A burst of gold flared behind her, light trailing around her arms as she swung her axe upward. The blade caught the creature mid-charge. Metal met corrupted bone with a sharp shockwave. Feathers scattered.
The angel hit the ground, twisted unnaturally. Its eyes glowed muddy violet.
"Stubborn," Eleanor hissed.
The second one rushed her flank, but Allen slid in, dragging his hand across the ground. A line of blue runes lit up, and a burst of condensed wind knocked the creature off balance.
"Eleanor, finish it!"
She darted in, bringing the axe down. Golden light burst from the impact, splitting the monster's chestplate.
Silvia lifted her staff. A halo-like circle formed above her head. "Divine Art: Lunar Volley!"
Silver bolts shot downward, tracking the third angel as it tried to dodge. Each bolt bent mid-air. The angel shrieked, wings crumpling as it crashed into a tree trunk.
They barely had time to breathe before the forest shook again. Three more corrupted angels dropped in behind them.
Eleanor grinned. "Cool. Round two."
Allen flicked his wrist. Wind coiled around his arms like living ropes. "I'm gonna pull one away. You two handle the other two!"
Silvia nodded. "Stay in my range. I can reinforce your mana if you dip too low."
Allen shot forward, wind cracking around him, dragging one black angel deeper into the trees.
Silvia and Eleanor turned back to back as the remaining two spread their wings, corruption leaking like steam.
Eleanor lowered her stance, golden light building around her axe. "Call it."
"Alright," Silvia answered. "On your go."
The angels charged.
Eleanor exploded forward. Silvia's magic spiraled behind her like a trail of moonlight. The forest lit up with gold and silver colliding against the darkness.
Allen's fight was sloppy.
The black angel he'd dragged off was fast, carving trees like paper. Each slash sent a wave of corrupted wind ripping past him.
He ducked behind a boulder as another shockwave cracked the air. "Bro, can you chill for one second?"
The creature screeched back.
Runes flickered across Allen's gloves as he pressed his palms together. Divine Art: Gale Step.
Wind burst under his feet, launching him sideways just as the black angel lunged. Its claws smashed into the ground where he'd been standing, splitting the earth open.
Allen skidded across the dirt, digging his boots in. "Alright, fine. Let's do it your way."
He raised both hands. A swirling vortex formed between them, thickening into a tight spiral.
"Divine Art: Tempest Drill!"
The compressed wind shot forward like a coiled spear, slamming into the angel's chest and pinning it against a tree. The impact blew bark and feathers everywhere. The creature roared, thrashing. Cracks formed along its armor.
"C'mon," Allen whispered through clenched teeth, pushing mana in. "Break already."
A final blast snapped through the air. The angel's chestplate shattered. It dropped, twitching, then stilled.
Allen let out a long, shaky breath. "One down."
Back with Eleanor and Silvia, their fight was a blur of gold and silver light. The remaining two black angels fought in sync.
One swung its wing like a blade, forcing Eleanor to step back. The other spat a black beam at Silvia, who blocked it with a crescent shield of moonlight.
Silvia stumbled slightly from the impact.
"You good?" Eleanor called.
"I'm fine," Silvia breathed out. "Don't let them flank us."
Eleanor smirked. "Already on it."
She burst forward, her axe lighting up. Divine Art: Solar Edge.
A straight, clean arc, simple but fast.
The nearest angel raised its forearm to block—a big mistake.
The golden light carved straight through the corrupted limb, sending the creature spinning back with a shriek.
The other angel tried to dive at Eleanor's exposed side, but Silvia snapped her staff downward. Silver chains of light erupted from the ground, wrapping around the angel's wings.
"Divine Art: Moonbind! Hold it!"
Eleanor didn't waste the opening. She pivoted, swinging her axe in a downward cleave. BOOM. The angel exploded into black dust.
Only one remained, half its wing gone, corruption leaking from the stump like smoke.
Eleanor twirled her axe once, resting it on her shoulder. "Surrender? No? Cool."
She dashed in and finished it with a clean diagonal strike. Black feathers floated down around her like ash.
Silvia lowered her staff, panting. "We actually handled that well."
Eleanor nodded. "Yeah. But something's off."
Silvia blinked. "Off how?"
Eleanor pointed behind her. "Their corruption's thicker than before. More controlled. Someone's directing them."
Silvia swallowed. "You think it's her?"
A few miles south, the forward command post was chaos. Meredith, a lieutenant with a braided bun, checked a flickering tactical screen. "Where is she? Katya's signal dropped an hour ago."
A medic shook his head. "She split from the main advance force. Said she had a necessary detour."
Meredith slammed her fist on the table. "A detour? During a Supreme Goddess assault? Check the logs for recent comms with Theo or Zak. Anyone who knows her movements." She rubbed her temples, watching the chaos unfold on the screen. "If she's compromised, this whole operation is a waste."
Allen stumbled back into the clearing, shirt torn, hair a mess, but alive.
"Hey," he said, breathing hard. "So, not to spoil the moment, but we got a problem."
"What now?" Eleanor asked.
Allen pointed upward.
Through a gap in the canopy, black feathers drifted down. Not three. Not six.
Dozens.
And something heavier moved above the trees, slow, deliberate, confident.
Silvia's grip tightened. "That, that can't be."
Eleanor didn't blink. She knew the presence.
"Melody."
The name dropped like a stone.
A jagged little laugh slipped out, and Eleanor recognized it instantly.