A large number of golden knights swarmed at Veer from all directions as Noelle gave a twisted laugh. Eleana unsheathed her sword as she jumped over, but before she could, Noelle gave a tsk and moved her hand.
An armored knight crashed onto Eleana from her left onto the floor with a bang. Eleana barely defended herself as dust filled the air. As the dust cleared, there was now a shimmering translucent moon in the room, making a sharp contrast against the twinkling lights. Meanwhile, the attacker was clearly a female, completely clad in blue armor, with two swords in both hands — one red and one blue.
Veer was fighting four golden knights simultaneously. He concentrated on his partially formed Star Chakra Core to flow energy through his channels with star energy. He was imitating the flow of energy from Star Chakra Core Perfection. Suddenly, he burst out with double his attack speed as he rapidly deflected the incoming strikes and decimated the golden puppets one by one. Each of his attacks cleaved through the golden knights.
He heard a sudden crash and noticed that Eleana had fallen. His rage increased as he spotted the figure that was now fighting against her. It was the same knight who had attacked him and Kerin. He instinctively wondered how many people were after him, but his anger only grew as he continued to bombard attacks on the golden knights.
The atmosphere was chaotic — strange lights flickered with sharp sounds, Veer's explosive strikes echoed through the air, golden knights swarmed, and Noelle's hysterical laughter filled the room.
He tried to go after the blue-armored figure, but was bombarded by attacks from all sides as Noelle laughed again, "Bastard, finally you will be in my hands!!" Veer was barely avoiding the attacks from the dozen knights who surrounded and attacked him relentlessly. They seemed to lack any sense of pain as they pursued him.Veer was getting tired but continued to attack like a madman.
He had just slashed three more puppets with forward thrusts when Veer was struck in the foot. His body wavered as he staggered slightly. Just then, he realized it was a trap. His pupils constricted as he looked toward Noelle — she had trapped him again.
Her initial words and rage were strange. Only now did he understand. As he regained clarity, his focus shifted to his armor, where the puppet from earlier was still attached, though partially broken. That was the cause. He had lost control of his emotions because of this small puppet. As he evaded attacks and leaped away, he tossed the small puppet aside and landed farther back. The golden knights immediately chased after him as Noelle laughed, "There's nowhere to go… Veer…"
Noelle looked back and said, "Finish that bitch, Miss Shranaut… show her! Haha!" Shranaut suddenly spun rapidly away from Eleana, and both she and Eleana were completely engulfed in flames.
Veer was grief-stricken as he saw the moon shimmering within the flames while blood dripped from his own wounds caused by the golden knights. He blamed himself — "Again… because of me…" But he had to focus on surviving first. More knights joined the fray, attacking Veer frantically. There was nowhere to run.
Finally, Veer couldn't hold out and fell back as several golden knights grabbed him, trapping his arms and legs. He continued to struggle as Noelle approached.
Noelle snatched his Katana and said, "Last time, you got saved from this. Also, because of that damned prince. Though Master doesn't want you anymore, I want you, Veer. I want your art — your strange powers from the academy days. I want your soul. Ahhhhhh…"
She moved closer, brushing her hair against him as she leaned near his ear and whispered slowly, "This time, I'll make you mine… you'll never be able to disobey me…"
Veer's thoughts raced as he struggled, but he couldn't find any solution. Suddenly, there was a loud crash as Noelle froze in fright and Veer briefly escaped her grasp. A figure had drilled through the road and concrete above, crashing into the room. As the dust settled, golden knights surrounded the newcomer as Noelle screamed, "Bastard again… just why are there so many bastards ruining my plans?!"
As the dust cleared, Veer's pupils constricted again as he went into a daze, looking between Noelle and the newly arrived figure.
She was strikingly beautiful, with flowing red hair and silver armor. Her midriff was exposed between her armor plates. Her presence distorted the very air, and Veer could barely focus. Her face showed clear annoyance as she glared at Noelle. What shocked him most was her face.
She turned around and punched, scattering the golden knights in all directions. Half a dozen disintegrated instantly. Eleana and the blue knight stopped fighting, staring at her in disbelief.
The figure turned to Noelle, who was dumbfounded. Then she screamed, "So, finally you've come to stop me… Sis!"
Veer was stunned. So, she was Noelle's sister? Did she come to save them? Who was she working for? Questions filled his mind as he watched.
The remaining golden knights redirected their attacks toward the new figure as Noelle shouted, "No one will stop me, not even you!"
The newcomer punched again and said in an authoritative voice, "Noelle, you really are a traitor… just because of you, our family is done for! I've managed to keep the news from going public, but you! Why are you doing this?! Our family is in shambles, and here you are doing this nonsense!"
"Today, I'll teach you a lesson!" she shouted, bombarding the golden knights with punches so fast that Veer couldn't even follow them. Every golden knight was destroyed in seconds.
Noelle stepped back as her sister advanced toward her.
The figure demanded, "Why are you doing this? Your sister is a Black Knight… we had a family… and you destroyed everything…"
She made a grabbing motion as though something was constricting Noelle, who screamed in pain. The blue knight escaped from Eleana and dashed toward Noelle's sister, but the void suddenly warped, and the knight crashed into the ground behind her.
Noelle screamed as she struggled, "It's because of you… bitch! It's because of this guy here! You all never understood the power of consciousness! You're a disgrace to our legacy! Why did you go after void powers?! You destroyed everything! It's all because of youuuu!"
She cried as Noelle's sister's expression darkened. The sister raised her hand again to grab her, but Noelle recited something. From her hair, an intricate bird-shaped clip flew out, screeching as it transformed into a beautiful puppet bird.
Everyone froze in shock as it became a phoenix puppet. Eleana murmured, "A phoenix… puppet."
Noelle's sister began casting something as the room distorted. Meanwhile, the puppet lifted Noelle into the air. "I will return to crush all of you… Ahhhhh!" Noelle screamed as the golden puppet bird tore through the ceiling with a blast and flew away, leaving a trail of blood behind. It seemed Noelle was injured again by her sister.
Her sister's eyes widened as she muttered, "Someone interfered…" She spat blood and collapsed .
Veer looked around at the devastation — the escaping blue knight, Noelle's unconscious sister on the ground — and sank into deep thought.