"This is fun!" The violet witch laughed, her voice carrying an almost delirious glee as she twirled through the air, effortlessly dodging Yuzu’s relentless assault. Her staff spun in her hands like an extension of her body, weaving intricate patterns of magic as she danced around each strike. "I can’t wait to harvest your soul!"

  Yuzu’s only response was the sharp whistle of her katana slicing through the wind. She wasn’t holding back anymore. Every slash came with deadly precision, each movement fluid and deliberate, but no matter how fast she struck, the violet witch evaded her with unnatural grace, floating just beyond the blade’s reach.

  The air crackled with power.

  Then, with a flick of her wrist, the violet witch thrust her staff forward, and a violent surge of violet energy exploded outward. Yuzu barely had time to react, she twisted midair, kicking off an invisible foothold to propel herself backward just in time to avoid the blast. The shockwave rattled the ground below, sending loose debris scattering in all directions.

  "Hmph," Yuzu grunted as she skidded to a stop, landing lightly on the ground. Her dark eyes burned with unshaken determination, her chest rising and falling with steady breaths.

  The violet witch hovered above her, golden eyes gleaming with amusement. "You're strong, I'll give you that," she mused, resting her staff against her shoulder. "But you lack something, don't you?" She tilted her head, an almost pitying smirk tugging at her lips. "Conviction? No, no… it's deeper than that."

  Yuzu didn’t move, but I could see the way her fingers tightened around the hilt of her katana.

  "You fight well, little fox, but you don’t fight for yourself," the violet witch continued, her voice dripping with honeyed malice. "Tell me, if your precious friend over there—" her gaze flicked to me, and I felt my stomach lurch, "—wasn't watching, would you still be fighting this hard?"

  My breath caught. Yuzu tensed. And in that single moment of hesitation. The violet witch struck.

  “Don’t worry, I got it.” Catherine’s voice rang with unwavering confidence as she flicked her staff, effortlessly deflecting the violet witch’s attack before it could reach me. The crimson barrier she conjured shimmered for a moment before dispersing, as if mocking the feeble attempt against her defenses.

  Yuzu let out a quiet sigh of relief before stepping forward, her form shifting, her presence growing heavier. A deep, resounding hum filled the air as an overwhelming aura of magic enveloped her. Her jet-black hair grew longer, cascading down her back like an endless night sky, and her cloak, once tattered and simple, morphed into a flowing, ethereal dress adorned with silver and violet patterns that shimmered with divine energy. The katana in her grip vanished, fading into mist as she stretched out her now clawed fingers, sharp as blades.

  Her transformation was complete. Then, without hesitation, she moved. A blur of motion.

  In an instant, Yuzu was upon the violet witch, slashing with such ferocity that the air itself seemed to crack under the force. Each swipe of her claws tore through the space between them like a phantom’s whisper, leaving behind trails of black energy. Her speed was immeasurable, almost impossible to track. Yet, the violet witch grinned, her eyes alight with excitement as she narrowly dodged each strike with precise, fluid movements.

  Yuzu’s assault didn’t let up. The moment the violet witch evaded her first set of strikes, nine floating black crows manifested in the air, each radiating with an eerie, suffocating presence. Without pause, they dove at the violet witch from all angles, their movements erratic, relentless, unpredictable.

  The battlefield erupted into chaos, blades of wind, bursts of violet magic, flashes of silver and black as Yuzu and her summoned crows assaulted the violet witch from every direction. The sky above us rippled with the sheer force of their clashing magic, and the earth trembled beneath our feet. Yet, through it all, the violet witch only laughed, twirling through the storm of attacks like a specter untouched by reality.

  “What a spectacle!" she mused, her voice laced with exhilaration. “Is this the true power of the fox-kin? I love it!”

  “Not good!” Ai suddenly did a little hop, her tiny paws landing with a soft thud as she watched the fierce battle unfold before us. Her golden eyes flickered with unease before she abruptly turned her head toward the abandoned shrine. The air crackled with magic, the sky illuminated by bursts of violet and silver light as Yuzu clashed against the violet witch with relentless speed. But Ai wasn’t watching them, she was staring at the shrine, her fluffy tail flicking anxiously. “If this keeps going, then the shrine will fall!” she exclaimed, her voice laced with urgency.

  I blinked, momentarily distracted from the chaos above. “Huh? Why is that?” My gaze followed Ai’s, taking in the worn, ancient structure of the shrine. At first glance, it seemed sturdy enough despite its age, but now that I looked closer, I noticed it. The wooden pillars trembled slightly, and cracks slithered up the stone foundation like creeping vines. The air around it shimmered unnaturally, as if the space itself was warping, distorting. A heavy pressure settled in my chest, an ominous sensation that I couldn’t quite place.

  Ai’s ears twitched as she turned her sharp gaze back to me. “Do you know why monsters exist?” she asked, her tone unreadable.

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  Caught off guard, I hesitated before answering. “If I remember correctly, is it because monsters are a form of reflection of mana, a manifestation of the world’s natural energies… and also a reflection of life?” I furrowed my brows, recalling the words of a certain maid dragon I had met once before. “Or at least, that’s what I was told.”

  “Correct,” Ai nodded, pleased. “However, this is different. Fox-kins don’t rely on mana the same way other creatures do. Instead, they use spatial magic.” Her small paws gestured in the air, tracing invisible lines. “Unlike mana, which regulates the world’s natural balance, spatial magic is something that exists beyond this world. It doesn’t follow the same rules. It doesn’t belong to this realm at all.”

  I tilted my head, still trying to piece together what she was getting at. “Okay…? And that means?”

  Ai’s expression darkened as she let out a small sigh. “That witch,” she muttered, her tail flicking toward the violet-robed figure dancing through the battlefield above us. “She’s not just fighting. She’s been tearing at the space around us since the moment she got here.”

  I froze. “What?”

  “The shrine isn’t just some old ruin,” Ai continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. “It was built to seal something away. It acts as a stabilizer, preventing the natural balance from shifting too much. But that witch…” She growled lowly. “She’s been deliberately unraveling it. Every spell she casts, every attack she dodges, she’s distorting the space around her bit by bit. She’s using Yuzu’s power as an excuse to keep pushing, to keep breaking the boundary between this world and the void beyond.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. My heart pounded as I slowly turned my gaze back toward the battle. The violet witch wasn’t just fighting recklessly. Her movements were precise, her attacks carefully placed, and the eerie shimmer in the air around her wasn’t just an aftereffect of magic. She was doing this on purpose.

  “She’s forcing a dimensional rift to open,” Ai confirmed grimly. “And if she succeeds… the NONO creatures, or the Unknowns will break through.”

  Ai’s prediction came true in the worst way possible. Above the shrine, space twisted and contorted, warping into something unnatural. Then, with a sickening rip, three massive portals tore open in the sky. A foul wind howled through the air as the familiar grotesque figures of NONO creatures began crawling out, three from each portal, their segmented bodies and writhing limbs eerily reminiscent of the ones I had fought mere hours ago. Their exoskeletons gleamed under the flickering violet light of the battlefield, their soulless eyes locking onto the shrine as if drawn to the corruption seeping from it.

  I gritted my teeth, my hands balling into fists as an overwhelming sense of dread settled over me. “We have to stop Yuzu! If this keeps up, the shrine will—”

  “No…” Ai interrupted, her voice carrying an odd, unsettling calmness. It was the first time I had ever heard her speak without a hint of urgency or emotion. Startled, I turned to her, confused, only to find her golden eyes glowing with an eerie intelligence. She remained perched atop my head, her fluffy nine tail curling thoughtfully around her tiny body as she stared intently at the system windows hovering before us. There was something in her gaze, something unnervingly calculating, like she was already three steps ahead of everyone else.

  “We can make this work to our advantage,” Ai said, her voice quiet but firm.

  I blinked, caught completely off guard. “What?” My mind struggled to keep up with her sudden shift in demeanor.

  Ai extended a paw and pointed at the fluctuating numbers displayed on the corruption interface. “The shrine is already filled with corruption,” she explained, her tone void of hesitation. “That witch has been forcefully unraveling its boundaries to destabilize the seal. Every spell she casts, every ounce of spatial magic Yuzu uses, it all accelerates the decay. But what if we don’t stop the rift?”

  A cold chill ran down my spine at her words. I hesitated, barely able to process what she was suggesting. “You’re saying… we let the rift get bigger?” The very thought sent alarm bells ringing in my head. That’s insane, I wanted to say. That’s exactly what the enemy wants.

  Ai nodded without an ounce of doubt, her ears twitching as if she had already anticipated my reaction. “The shrine’s corruption is already nearing its limit,” she continued. “If we push it past a certain threshold, it won’t be able to contain the excess energy anymore. But instead of letting it fully collapse, we redirect that corruption into the void.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “Would that even work?” My voice came out quieter than I intended.

  Ai didn’t hesitate. “Shrine Maidens are meant to purify corruption,” she said, as if that single sentence explained everything. “But purification isn’t the only way to remove it. If you redirect the corruption into the rift before it stabilizes, it will be consumed by the void instead of being absorbed into the world.” She gestured again toward the interface. “Look, it’s already dropping.”

  At her words, a second system window blinked into existence beneath the first one:

  [Shrine Maiden Authority Activated: Summoning Corruption Interface]

  And beneath it.

  [Corruption: 205,422 / 231,234 (88.83%)]

  My breath hitched. The numbers had gone down. I flicked my eyes back to the first window, watching in real-time as the corruption percentage continued to shift.

  [Corruption: 201,422 / 231,234 (87.10%)]

  It was lowering. Slowly, but noticeably.

  Ai’s golden eyes gleamed with unwavering determination. “If we do this right, we can use that witch’s own plan against her,” she declared. “The more she pushes to open the rift, the more corruption we force out of the shrine and into the void. If we time it perfectly… we might even be able to collapse the rift entirely and seal it from the other side.”

  A mix of excitement and apprehension swirled in my chest. This was reckless. Dangerous. Insanely dangerous. If we miscalculated even slightly, it could mean everything collapsing beyond repair. But… if Ai was right, then this was our best shot.

  I clenched my fists and nodded. “Alright. Tell me what to do.”