The crimson hue of the battlefield pulsed with a heavy silence.
Ingress stood before the smoldering ruins of the barrack, his smile languid and cold. He turned slightly, catching the sharp echo of footsteps crunching through the frost-kissed earth.
Neve emerged from the mist.
Her aura surged—icy, pure, and blade-like. She radiated a chill that crackled through the air. Each step she took toward him sharpened the tension between them like the edge of a sword drawn too long from its scabbard.
"So," Ingress muttered, eyes flickering in the red atmosphere, "you're ready to die… just for him?" His lips curled into disdain. "A curse like you—pretending to protect this world? You're not even real guardians."
Neve said nothing.
Instead, she leapt.
A flash of silver burst from her blade as she descended. Ingress barely dodged, staggering backward as her strikes crashed down with relentless speed.
What the hell…? he thought, raising his sword to deflect a follow-up slash. She's faster than before. Stronger. These movements—they're precise... lethal.
Ingress parried, sweat beginning to gather despite his undead blood. "Since when was Neve this strong?" he spat. "Not even Kazimir pushed me like this!"
Then he spotted an opening.
A flicker of opportunity.
"I've got you now!" he hissed, lunging for her neck.
But Neve twisted midair—no, she flipped clean over his head. Their eyes met as she passed.
And Ingress froze.
Her eyes… they were no longer normal. Inside them, a storm spiraled—a blizzard of light and death. Pale blue and endless. Her hair, too, shimmered with frost, flowing like a frozen waterfall.
"Incredible…" Ingress breathed, the corners of his mouth twitching. "So this is you at a hundred percent? Offense and defense in perfect balance…"
Their blades clashed again, Neve landing back on the ground with a fluid grace. Ingress struck low to force her upward—but she didn't give him the chance. She jumped again, deflecting his counterstrike and staggering him with a parry that sang with power.
And then came the fury.
Her blade moved like a winter storm—ten clean, brutal strikes that drove Ingress backward, slashing across his form with precision that left no room to breathe.
He fell back, blood blooming against his chest. "Tch…!" he gasped. A crescent-shaped slash of ice came flying next—a wave in the shape of a moon. It narrowly missed.
He laughed through clenched teeth. "You're a damn pain…"
Then he touched his chest—and paused. What? My healing… it's slowed? His expression turned grim. Ice… it's affecting me. Even as a high-rank vampire… she's dangerous.
With a snarl, he flung his sword out, launching a shadow slash faster than a blink.
But—
Neve vanished.
The original slash—the one that missed—detonated from behind.
"What the—?!"
He spun, only to see her. Eyes glowing, blade burning with pure frost energy.
Neve drove her sword forward.
The strike pierced his neck. The shockwave of ice sent him rolling across the broken field like a rag doll.
"Uhhh…" Raijin blinked, jaw slack. "Neve? Is that really you…? Yo, not even glazing, but—goddamn. Remind me never to mess with you again."
Kamaki nodded, stunned. "I knew she was built different ever since she froze me solid just for talking too loud that one time…"
Ingress rose again, hand to his throat, eyes burning with fury.
"That's it…" he growled. "No more games. My old self might've lost to you—but this me? You're not winning!"
His body surged with shadow energy.
Neve tightened her stance. This… was where it truly began.
A blink. A rush of darkness.
Ingress appeared behind her and grabbed the back of her head.
"Got you," he muttered.
But the smile faded from his lips when ice cracked beneath his grip.
She was gone.
"What?!"
All around, the temperature plummeted.
Raijin and Kamaki stared skyward. Words failed them.
A massive sphere of glowing frost hovered overhead—radiating power and cold unlike anything they'd felt before.
Jessie, running to the scene after tending to Kazimir, looked up in awe. "That's… Neve?"
From a distant street, Tyrone gaped. "She's going crazy out there…"
"Focus," Lihanna ordered. "Stay sharp. Riah's still fighting. That blizzard isn't our fight."
"Y-Yeah, ma'am…"
Even Felicia and Gendai, further out on the field, paused. The shift in atmosphere was undeniable.
Ingress looked up—and his eyes widened.
He couldn't move.
His body was frozen in place.
And Neve was above, standing within the frozen orb.
Her voice rang clear through the air.
"Last Albis."
The moment her spell struck the earth, the impact tore through the battlefield. The very land froze in an instant—ice devouring streets, buildings, and steel.
The world turned white.
The blast threw up winds that forced everyone to shield their faces.
Neve stood, catching her breath, frost curling off her shoulders. Then—
A beam of dark shadow erupted.
She turned too late.
It struck.
Her body crashed down, battered, breathless.
"NEVE!" Kamaki and Raijin screamed.
Raijin moved first, catching her mid-fall. He set her down, panic rising in his voice. "You okay?!"
"I'm fine…" she murmured, though blood trickled from her lips.
Ingress emerged, eyes blazing.
"You… You unpredictable bitch," he snarled. "I'm done playing. No more tricks. I'll kill all of you—starting now!"
Kamaki blinked, deadpan. "Man… this dude stupid as hell."
He looked at Raijin. "Tell me I'm not trippin'."
Raijin burst out laughing. "Nah. You right. Bro said 'kill us all' like we ain't got hands. Run the fade!"
Without hesitation, the two charged.
"NO!!" Neve screamed. "STOP! DON'T GO NEAR HIM!"
But it was too late.
Raijin leapt, lightning-charged daggers in hand. He aimed to blind Ingress from above—
A flash.
A stab.
Raijin hit the ground, sword through his chest, blood pooling beneath him.
Kamaki retaliated with fire, but Ingress met it with a dark blast. The force shredded Kamaki's body midair before flinging him across the city—barely alive as he crashed near Felicia.
Neve trembled.
She stood alone.
Blood pouring from her wound. Her chest heaving.
"You're… a monster…" she choked. "You don't care about this world. You just want power. You're evil… and you won't get away with it. I'll drag you to the grave if I have to!"
Ingress licked his lips, chuckling. "Let's see you try then, little ice vandor."
A voice burst in from the side.
"NEVE!"
Jessie, ablaze in flame, slid into the scene.
"Take Raijin to Felicia. He still has time. I'll handle this bastard."
Neve hesitated. "But—"
Jessie smiled. "I'll be fine. Promise."
"…Don't die," Neve whispered, gathering Raijin in her arms.
"I won't," Jessie said. "Now go."
Ingress lunged—but a heel slammed into his gut, sending him flying into a ruined wall.
Jessie turned, flame-wreathed eyes fixed on him.
"…You're mine now."