"So that's it, huh…" Lucy murmured as she stepped closer to the faint sparkling light floating in the air.
Her hand reached out, fingers just inches away—
Suddenly—
From within the light, Susa's true self burst forth—eyes burning red.
Her dagger slashed across Lucy's chest in a swift, merciless arc.
"Come on, Lucy—don't touch things carelessly," Susa said with a sly smirk, following up instantly with a kick to Lucy's stomach.
BOOOOM—!
The air trembled, a powerful shockwave rippling outward.
But Lucy didn't budge—
not even an inch.
"Hey, toy... how dare you talk down on me?" Lucy growled, grabbing Susa's leg midair.
With raw force, she smashed Susa into the ground.
CRACK!
Dust exploded upward.
Lucy immediately followed up with a heavy kick to her gut, launching her across the battlefield.
Susa's body crashed and skidded close to the ground, tumbling—
—but Lucy was already there,
flying after her, striking again, her fist slamming her into the earth before she could regain balance.
BAAM!
"What the—?!" Susa gasped in shock.
"You're still very naïve, toy… if you think you can defeat me with such petty tricks."
Lucy's voice was cold.
Susa's eyes widened as a sharp sting pierced her real body—
Lucy stretched Damascus behind to land the attack, Damascus buried deep into her body.
"That's impossible…! How did you—how did you find out!?" Susa shouted in disbelief.
Lucy raised her blade to decapitate her without hesitation—
—but before she could strike, a flashing ray of dark Renshi came flying from afar.
Lucy twisted her wing forward, blocking the attack, the impact shaking the ground beneath her.
Susa took the opening and switched away, vanishing in a blur.
"You've done more than enough damage here, Lucy,"
a deep voice echoed from the shadows.
"I can't allow you to claim her life."
A figure stepped out—
The head of the guards, but now his form shimmered—
his body distorted like a humanoid darkside spirit, though his human face remained human.
Lucy's eyes widened. "You… you were one of them all along? And I couldn't even remember?"
The man grinned.
"Don't be surprised, Lucy. The best is yet to come."
It was Ikanami, one of Fedora's toys.
"I killed you earlier… so you were pretending back then?" Lucy asked, her tone edged with fury.
"Call it whatever you want," Ikanami said, stepping closer, his aura dark and calm.
"But for me… I call it observation."
Susa turned toward him.
"You took your time to help me out. I thought you were coming earlier."
"Shut it. You disappointed me. Yaki will be so mad," Ikanami snapped, switching closer to her.
"Don't you dare scold me like a child! If you think you can defeat her, then go ahead and try—you fool!"
Susa shouted, her voice filled with rage.
"Calm down, both of you."
A voice echoed—cold, commanding.
From the surrounding shadows, Yaki emerged, his form that was splited now merged—
each of his fragment formed the shapes of the all guards themselves before.
The three of them now stood together, their eyes fixed on Lucy.
"Walk out of here now, Lucy," Yaki said. "It's your only chance.
There's no way you can win this battle against all three of us."
Lucy's lips curled into a smirk.
"Huh… three? That's a fair number, if you ask me."
Her tone dropped low, her eyes glowing fiercely.
"Let me make one thing very, very clear about myself.
Ever since we discovered that our Renshi was sealed in half by our parents,
we've lived our lives searching for a way to undo it.
But the spell… was impossible.
Still, not everything was impossible depending on who was finding it."
She stepped forward, her aura flickering faintly between light and dark.
"I was only using half because I haven't figured out the seal yet… not even half, really.
Because I was never serious.
Not once.
Until I fought Fedora… and was shamefully defeated."
Her gaze hardened.
"I never went all out in any battle—until Fedora maybe a long time in the past I did,i might not remember.
But do You know why I don't go all out?"
The three stood silently, their eyes narrowing with suspicion.
Lucy's grin widened.
"We're witches, dude. We share the power of the wizards—even if we're not as strong.
But come to think of it…"
Her voice darkened, rising with quiet intensity.
"Doesn't it scare you to your core—what going all out might actually look like?"
Her smile turned unnervingly calm.
"Now this bitch is creeping me out…" Ikanami muttered.
"Shut it—it's all bluffing. Don't let your guard down," Yaki barked.
"Bluffing? Well… whatever you call it, that's up to you."
Lucy exhaled deeply—
then dismissed Damascus, letting it fade away in light.
Instantly, the three of them switched toward her,
their weapons drawn—
Susa with her twin daggers,
Ikanami with his massive twin hammers,
Yaki with his single sword.
They attacked in perfect unison—
But before their strikes could reach her—
WHOOOOM—!
A tremendous aura of light and dark Renshi burst from Lucy's body,
sending all three of them flying in different directions.
A spiraling tornado of black and white energy surrounded her,
the earth trembling under its force.
"What the hell is this power?! Nobody told me she could control her both Renshical sides!"
Ikanami shouted, barely holding his ground.
"Shut up already! Don't let your guard down, I'm telling you again!" Yaki yelled over the roaring energy.
"She's not invincible! The only reason she's using both is because her body can't handle her Dark Renshical side alone which is stronger—she's supporting it with the Light to protect her body! Keep your focus the light Renshical side is not for attack!"
He raised his arm, shielding his eyes from the swirling storm.
Then—
The raging aura retracted back into Lucy's body.
And she appeared before them—
Her form divided cleanly in half:
Her right side—pure white, marked with glowing Renshi tattoos across her arm, leg, and face.
Her left side—deep black, the same markings pulsing like dark veins.
Two massive wings extended from her back—
the right, shining white;
the left, shrouded in shadow.
Her sandals were gone—her bare feet glowing with Renshi, cracks of light forming beneath each step.
Lucy stepped forward.
"Now… who's backing down for who?"
With every step, the ground below her fractured, collapsing two feet deep and spreading wide.
The three adversaries stood frozen—helpless.
"Come on, you fools! We've got the numbers! Attack her with everything you've got!" Yaki roared.
He switched first, charging at Lucy with his sword raised.
But—
Lucy's eyes flickered toward him.
And in an instant—
his body froze midair.
"W-What… what is this…? I… I can't move…"