Within the now crystal-clear ke, a lone figure waded toward the ter, his movements slow but deliberate. Lacua did not bother to hold his breath; instead, he let the water envelop him, his body sinking deeper as he strode across the ke bed.

  It took only seds to reach his destination, a gaping hole where a ptform had oood, the remnants of an old magic circle barely visible on the disturbed sediment.

  "This time, I’ll have to rush my pns," he muttered, frustration g his tone. Raising both hands, a purple magic circle fred to life beh his palms, its eerie glow illuminating the depths. As he carefully lowered his hands toward the ke bed, he tinued, "With the surrounding nations closing in, those fools will have no choice but to call upoiara’s power once again."

  The water trembled.

  Boom!

  Lacua’s focus shattered in an instant. A violent force sent shockwaves through the ke, ing his sense of dire. The world around him spun wildly, the murky depths turning into a chaotic blur.

  Bm!

  An instant ter, his body was violently expelled from the water, crashing onto the shore with bone-jarring force. A t pilr of water shot skyward in his wake before colpsing in a heavy downpour, dreng the surrounding area.

  "Urgh…" Lacua groaned, his limbs trembling as he pushed himself upright. His vision swam, his chest ached, and his clothes were soaked through.

  His fingers curled into the wet sand as his frustration mounted.

  "What the hell hit me…?" he rasped, his teeth gritted in anger.

  Lacua staggered to his feet, his body still ag from the impact. His soft cap was o be found, lost somewhere in the ke’s depths. As he steadied himself, a sudden, oppressive gaze settled on him, sending a chill down his spine.

  His pupils dited, his irises darkening to a deep purple as his demonistincts fred to life. A low growl rumbled from his throat.

  "Who’s there?" he demanded, his voice sharp and ced with irritation.

  No response.

  Lacua’s patiehinned. His fiwitched, itg for a. Gritting his teeth, he let out a low chuckle.

  "Not ing out?" His lips curled into a sharp grin. "Heh… Then I’ll just have to force you out."

  Summoning the vast reserves of magicules within him, he extended both hands outward. A dozen orbs of pure destructive energy materialized, their glow an ominous shade of violet.

  Just as he prepared to unleash them, a face materialized beside his own, illuminated by the purple glow of his {nuclear bullets}

  A woman's face.

  "Eep!"

  Lacua let out an undignified yelp, stumbling backward in pure shock. His tration shattered, and the orbs of 'absolute destru', once so carefully trolled, veered wildly into the sky.

  BOOM!

  A of violent explosions illumihe night sky, briefly turning darkness into day.

  As the brilliant glow of destru faded, Lacua’s wide, startled eyes locked onto the figure standing before him.

  Kaori.

  She hovered slightly above the ground, arms crossed, her cold, goldearing down at him with nothing but disgust.

  Lacua scrambled to his feet, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn’t waste a sed, his hands were already f a new batch of {Nuclear Bullets}.

  'Shit! I've been had! Who the hell is she? And how did she get past my [Magise]!?'

  His mind raced, but before he could act, the woman, Kaori, spoke.

  "Now, what exactly were you pnning to do back there?"

  Her voice was smooth, gentle even, carrying an unmistakable warmth, as if she were merely making casual versation.

  But her eyes…

  Cold.

  Unfiving.

  Like the heart of a tundra, frozen and merciless.

  Lacua felt a shiver creep up his spine. For the first time, doubt wormed its way into his thoughts.

  Lacua forced a grin onto his face, raising his hands in mock surrender. "I-It appears there’s been a misuanding. Surely, we sort this out!" His voice was loud, filled with feigned cheerfulness.

  "Oh?"

  Kaori’s voice carried an amused lilt, but her words dripped with dession. She lifted a delicate metal fan, partially cealing her smirk.

  "This is supposed to be an Arch Demon?" she mused. "Demons must have really let themselves go over the years. You’re already begging for your life?"

  Lacua’s grin faltered for just a moment before wings burst out of his back, his eyes fshing with righteous fury.

  With a sharp fp of his wings, he unched himself into the air. "I don’t give a damn who you are!" he snarled, swinging his arms in rapid succession.

  Purple, orbs of {Nuclear Bullets} blitzed toward Kaori, eae brimming with energy.

  "But now you die!"

  BOOM!

  The world erupted in a blinding explosion. Fmes and shockwaves tore into the ke, sending a t wave of water crashing outward. Steam hissed into the night air, momentarily obsg everything in a swirling veil of mist.

  Steadying himself midair, Lacua unfurled his demonigs, his gaze locked onto the dissipating smoke.

  His breath hitched.

  'Did that actually work?'

  "That's it?" Kaori’s voice rang through the settling chaos, crisp and unimpressed. As the dust cleared, her form became visible once more, untouched. Her pristine robes fluttered gently in the lingeri, not a single scorch mark upon them.

  "How disappointing," she murmured. The only evidence of the attack y in the edges of her metal fan, now glowing a molten e.

  One by one, she had parried every {Nuclear Bullet} with nothing but the precise flick of her fan, even as they exploded.

  Lacua’s breath hitched. His hands trembled for a moment before his frustration boiled over. "Damn you!" he snarled. With a sharp motion, he reached into his cloak arieved a purple crystal, its surface pulsating with ominous energy. The moment his fingers curled around it, the crystal fred with dark light.

  A bde materialized in his grip, a sword of pure, densed energy.

  Kaori scoffed, her expression unreadable as she flicked her wrist. The moveme a ripple through the fabric of her robes, parting them just enough to reveal the twin swords resting at her hip. With practiced ease, she pced a hand on one.

  Shing!

  A whisper of steel cut through the air as she drew her pure white bde.

  Lacua ched his teeth, his jaw tightening. He had faced strong oppos before, but this Majin was something else, powerful, impossibly so. Every instinct screamed at him, warning that her strength was on par with a Demon Lord, if not greater.

  Yet, despite that suffog pressure, a smirk slowly crept onto his face.

  "It doesn't matter how strong you are," he sneered, gripping his bde tighter. "Your meddling has ruined everything, but know this, you have incurred the wrath of My Lady. And as her faithful servant, I will dispose of you and prepare the vessel for her glorious return."

  He let the words sink in, watg her carefully for any sign of hesitation.

  "As for this measly natiohe surrounding tries have the scraps when I'm through."

  Lacua’s eyes gleamed as he gauged her rea.

  'Good. That should be enough to make her hesitate. She ’t kill me now. She needs information. Which means she ’t go all out. Which means… I win.'

  His fidence solidified as she fully uhed her sword, a bde so immacute that it sang as it left its scabbard.

  Lacua tightened his grip, fog all his senses on her movements. The moment she slipped up, even for a sed, he’d strike.

  Then...

  His blood ran cold.

  A sound, a whisper of death.

  Behind him.

  The unmistakable hum of air being sliced apart.

  'But how…?'

  His thoughts barely had time tister the impossibility before he instinctively turned...

  And his world was swallowed by white.

  The gleaming edge of Kaori’s bde filled his vision.

  ---

  Within a grand, cathedral-like hall with a high ceiling and intricate geometric patterched into the floor, two figures enjoyed a serene moment.

  On a beautifully designed chair, a young girl sat, holding a cup of steaming tea. She had short, vibrant pink hair tied into a side ponytail. Wearing a dark, elegant outfit with fur-trimmed shoulders, giving her a noble h-ranking appearanbsp;

  The demoed in the ornate chair was no ordinary being. She was one of the Primordial Demons, a entities that had existed sihe world's creation. This particur one was known as the Primordial Purple.

  Tht stood her butler, a young-looking Arch Demon, who moved with practiced grace as he carefully poured tea into her cup before returning the pot to its pce.

  Violet took a sip, sav the fvor, and exhaled in satisfa. The moment of peace was short-lived, however.

  A flicker of bck smoke appeared behind her, so brief it vanished in an instant.

  "Please excuse my intrusion… Viole."

  Violet fli the suddeion of a haing on her shoulder, nearly spilliea.

  Her butler reacted instantly, his body tensing, ready to strike at the intruder.

  Now posed, Violet turned her gaze toward the newer. "Who the hell are you? Are you one of Guy’s?" she asked, scrutinizing the woman before her.

  The uninvited guest, unbothered by the hostile reception, simply smiled. "Is it the hair?" She twirled a few strands between her fingers, smirking as she met Violet’s gaze. "'t you take a guess?"

  Violet narrowed her eyes, sensing something amiss. Then, a realization struck her. "Wait." She stood, sing the room. "Where's my sed butler? He should have been guarding this space, at the very least, keeping watch."

  "Oh, that ohe woman tilted her head in amusement. "He's sleeping right now. Though, do demons in this realm even sleep? Either way, don’t worry, he’s not dead, if that’s what you're w."

  Violet raised a hand, signaling her butler to stand down. She studied the intruder carefully before speaking again. "You're an unusual demon. If you’re not one of Guy’s, then… Are you a Chaos Demon? You have no color."

  At that, the woman’s smirk deepened. "Oh? So you know of us?" She casually propped her feet onto the table.

  Violet scoffed. "Hmph. Guy already wiped out all the Chaos Demons." Then, her expression shifted to one of mischievous delight. "Ne, ne, why don’t you bey subordinate? Guy would never see it ing, his rea would be priceless!"

  The aused before bursting into ughter.

  Violet frowned, pouting. "What’s so funny?"

  The stranger’s golden eyes gleamed with amusement. "To answer your first question," she began, "I was a Chaos Demon. But I have a color now, you’re just too weak to see it."

  Violet’s eyes darkened, but she held back from taking the bait. Instead, she sidered the implications. "Chaos Demons don’t have colors… unless..." She halted, shaking her head. "No, that’s impossible."

  "Oh, but it is possible," the woman sang pyfully. "There's a new Primordial in town. Primordial Chaos. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?"

  Violet’s expression turned serious. "And why are you here?"

  Tomokashi leaned ba the chair, stretg zily. "I've bee on an errand by my master," she said, her voice lighthearted yet deliberate. "It involves the small nation of Raja."

  "We retly discovered a magic circle at the bottom of a ke. Was that your doing?"

  "Hah?" Violet scoffed, setting doweacup. "You think I have nothier to do than scribbling magic circles in some random ke?"

  She leaned forward slightly, a smirk pying on her lips as she studied the red-haired demon. "A better question is why someone like you is so ied in that tiny kingdom."

  Tomokashi, still lounging fortably in Violet’s chair, met her gaze without hesitation. "Oh, I’d be happy to ahat," she said, her tone light. Then, her expression shifted, and with slow deliberation, she added, "As long as you. Leave. Raja. Alone."

  The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.

  The air grew dehe weight of Tomokashi’s presence pressing down like an unseen force. She locked eyes with the Primordial Purple, dario respond.

  For a few seds, silence reigned.

  Then, Violet chuckled, unfazed. "No deal." She leaned back, resting an elbow on the armrest. "I have a better offer, you and your master serve me, and maybe I’ll leave Raja alone." Her lips curled into an amused grin. "Primordial Chaos? Hah! Lying doesn’t suit that pretty face of yours."

  Tomokashi didn’t react with anger. Instead, she simply… pouted.

  "Aww, so it’s a no-go?" She sighed dramatically. "Well, there goes my perfe to win Maple's favor. All you had to do t. Now though… Well, it’s not all bad, I suppose." Her smile turned sharp. "Hearing a Primordial scream, now that sounds like an exhirating experience."

  Violet’s smirk faltered ever so slightly. "Hah?"

  Tomokashi stood up in a single, fluid motion, her fur-lined cape billowing as she moved.

  "You wao meet my master, yes?" She raised a hand, gripping the edge of her cape. The inner fabric began to shift, the dark material swirling like liquid before bleeding into a deep crimson hue.

  A portal rippled iehin the folds of her cloak.

  Tomokashi’s eyes gleamed. "Your funeral."

  The portal fshed.

  And then, from its depths, a figure stepped forward.

  SaberGlory