The Mirage Palace trembled as Krad turned to face Han, his golden eyes blazing with renewed determination. The silver marks on his arms pulsed faintly, a reminder of the beast within, but they were under his control now.
Han's white eyes narrowed dangerously. "You think you've won? Just because you've leashed your pet monster?"
She raised both hands, and the shattered mirrors around them began to reconstruct, pulling themselves together from fragments scattered across dimensional barriers.
"This is my domain," Han hissed. "And in my world, I decide who lives and who dies."
The Mirage Palace expanded violently, its walls stretching into infinity. New mirrors materialized by the thousands, each one reflecting a different version of reality. In some reflections, Krad saw himself already dead. In others, Mist lay broken and bleeding. In still others, Dani and Kora were nothing but fading memories.
[System Alert: Mirage Expansion Detected]
[Han's Power Level Increasing: 5000 → 7500]
[Environmental Advantage: Maximum]
"She's drawing power from the mirage itself," Mist gasped, forcing himself upright despite his injuries. "As long as we're trapped here, she's essentially invincible!"
Krad clenched his fists, feeling the ache in his recently healed wrists. His mana was critically low, his body was screaming, and the Moon Eater's whispers still echoed faintly in the back of his mind.
But he'd made promises.
"Captain," Krad called out, his voice steady despite everything. "Can you still fight?"
Mist's lips curved into a pained grin. "Kid, I'm a Slayer. I don't stop fighting until I'm dead."
Gray mist began pouring from his body again, though noticeably thinner than before. His sword hand trembled, but his grip remained firm.
"Hey!" Krad shouted to the two women struggling to their feet. "I need you to trust me!"
Dani wiped blood from her eyes, her tracking magic flickering weakly around her fingers. "What's the plan?"
"Han's power comes from this domain, right?" Krad's mind raced, remembering something. "She controls the reflections, the mirrors, the entire space. But what if we destroy---"
Kora's eyes widened. "The throne... when you hit her earlier, the throne cracked. Maybe that's the anchor point for her domain!"
Han's expression twisted with rage. "You think it will be that simple? I'll kill you all before you take three steps toward---"
She vanished.
[ Skill Detected: Mirage Step ]
Krad's instincts screamed. He threw himself sideways just as Han materialized where he'd been standing, her hand passing through empty air.
"Evade!"
His body flickered, the skill activating on pure reflex.
[ Evade Uses Remaining: 3/14 ]
But Han was relentless. She appeared behind him, her movements impossible to track as she phased through her own mirrors like they were doorways.
A devastating kick caught Krad in the ribs.
[ Damage Received: 520 ]
[ Health Points: 18% ]
He crashed through three mirrors, their surfaces shattering against his body. Each broken reflection felt like being cut by a thousand tiny knives.
"Krad!" Mist's voice cut through the chaos. "I'm coming!"
"No!" Krad gasped, forcing himself upright. "Get to the throne! All of you! I'll hold her off!"
"Are you insane?!" Dani shouted. "She'll kill you in seconds!"
"Then make those seconds count!" Krad grinned despite the pain, despite the impossible odds. "I didn't take control back from a moon-eating dragon just to give up now!"
Han's laughter echoed through the palace. "Brave words, vessel. But bravery won't save you from---"
Krad charged.
It was reckless, suicidal even. His level was still only 300+ compared to her 7500. Every logical calculation said he should run, should hide, should do anything except engage her directly.
But Krad had never been very good at listening to logic. His fist ignited with a faint golden glow, not the Moon Eater's silver, but his own power, raw and untrained but entirely his own.
"Merciless Strike!"
The blow connected with Han's jaw, snapping her head sideways. The impact sent shockwaves through the Mirage Palace, causing nearby mirrors to crack.
[ Damage Dealt to Han: 0.8% ]
It was nothing, a scratch... but it was his scratch.
Han's white eyes blazed with fury. "How dare you---"
Krad didn't let her finish. He pressed the attack, his fists moving in patterns he didn't know he'd learned. Each strike was fueled by desperation and determination, by the faces of those he'd promised to protect.
Behind Han, he could see Mist leading Dani and Kora toward the shattered throne. They were moving as fast as their broken bodies allowed, but Han's copies were already manifesting to intercept them.
"Your attention is divided, vessel," Han observed coldly. "Fatal mistake."
She caught Krad's next punch effortlessly, her grip crushing his knuckles. Then she drove her knee into his stomach with bone-shattering force.
[ Critical Hit! ]
[ Health Points: 9% ]
Krad's vision went white with agony. Blood filled his mouth, and he felt something rupture inside him. He crumpled to his knees, gasping for air that wouldn't come.
"Pathetic," Han released him, letting him fall. "Did you really think you could---"
A chain of spectral light wrapped around her ankle.
Han's head snapped down in surprise. The chain was weak, barely visible, powered by mana reserves that shouldn't exist. Dani stood fifty meters away, one arm outstretched, blood streaming from her nose as she burned through what little life force remained to fuel the spell.
"Now!" Dani screamed.
Kora's broken staff erupted with golden light. "Radiant Lance!"
The beam of pure healing magic, inverted into a weapon of destruction, slammed into Han's back. It wasn't enough to seriously harm her, but it was enough to make her stumble.
And Mist was already there. His long sword, wreathed in gray mist that had taken on a crimson tinge from his own blood, descended toward the cracked throne with all the force of a Celestial-ranked warrior's final strike.
"Force Slash!"
The blade didn't just cut the throne, it cut through the dimensional fabric, severing the anchor point that bound Han's domain to this reality.
The Mirage Palace screamed. Every mirror shattered simultaneously, their fragments dissolving into motes of silver light that scattered like dying stars. The infinite walls collapsed inward, the impossible architecture crumbling as the domain's foundation was destroyed.
"No!" Han's shriek was equal parts rage and anguish. "You can't! This domain is my existence! Without it, I'm---"
The palace vanished. Reality snapped back into place with a sound like a thunderclap. They were standing in the ruins of the Kingdom of Darkness once more, the ancient plaza cracked and scorched from their battle but blessedly real.
Han fell to her knees, her perfect features contorting in pain. Without her domain to sustain her, the corruption that Xerxes had inflicted began to unravel.
Krad forced himself to stand, every movement agony. He limped toward the fallen Cursed Queen, his fists still clenched despite the pain.
"It's over," he said quietly.
Han's gaze lifted to meet his, and for the first time, he saw something human in those terrible white eyes. Not the monster Xerxes had created, but the woman she'd once been.
"Over?" she whispered. "Yes... perhaps it is."
Han's features started to change. The harsh, perfect beauty softened. Her white eyes flickered, and for just a moment, Krad saw a flash of emerald green.
His breath caught.
"Wait... those eyes..."
Memories surged through his mind—Hanan's gentle smile, her silver hair catching the light, her determination to protect her kingdom despite being just a child. And now, looking at Han's true face as the corruption fell away...
"No," Krad whispered, his voice cracking. "It can't be..."
The woman before him was older, her features worn by centuries of corruption and pain, but the resemblance was unmistakable. She looked like Hanan would look in thirty years, the same elegant bone structure, the same silver hair, the same eyes that held ancient sadness.
"W-who are..." Krad's legs gave out, and he fell to his knees beside her.
Mist, Dani, and Kora approached slowly, their expressions shifting from battle-ready to horrified understanding as they saw what Krad had realized.
Mist's gaze darkened. "She's Hania, the Queen of this kingdom." His voice wavered. "And… the mother of Princess Hanan and Bruwa."
Krad's entire world shattered.
"N-No. You're lying!" He stumbled back, his legs weak. "I thought Hanan's mother died!"
Mist shook his head.
"You..." Krad's voice cracked. "You're their mother?"
Queen Hania's tears fell silently. "I... was once."
"But how?!" Krad's voice broke. "Why were you like that? Why were you corrupted?"
Queen Hania clutched her chest, the remnants of the shattered core still embedded faintly within her.
"The Divine Intervention... It twisted me. When Damos attacked our kingdom, I tried to protect my daughters. But I failed."
Her voice trembled. "The Red God punished me for stopping Damos. They shattered my soul and Xerxes cursed my body. I was turned into a vessel of corruption. The Cursed Queen, Han. They made me forget who I was."
Krad's knees buckled. "No… this can't be…"
"But my daughters," The Queen's voice softened, her tears shimmering in the moonlight. "They were spared. Hanan and Bruwa were all I ever wanted to protect."