It didn’t take us long to reach our destination. In front of us was the enormous obsidian fortress that the demons used as their hideout. Claudia was inside, performing the final step of their plan, and it was up to us to put an end to it.

 

The moment we arrived, the main entrance to their hideout was already wide open, and there wasn’t a single demon around to guard the place. It was basically inviting us to go in. It was too easy, confirming that a trap was set for us, but instead of letting our fears overwhelm us, my daughters and I faced it together, knowing we’d overcome anything as long as we had each other.

 

With time running out, we entered the fortress, with me leading the front and the girls watching my back.

 

“Be careful, girls. Don’t put your guards down even for a second,” I advised.

 

“Got it!” They responded in unison.

 

Upon entering, we were met with a long but narrow corridor lit up by torches, it was the only path we could take. Without delays, we rushed inside as fast but as carefully as possible.

 

It had been minutes since we entered. Thankfully, not a single demon was present inside, allowing us to save our energy for the bigger and more important fight against Claudia. I was hoping we wouldn’t face any problems along the way, but unfortunately, we were presented with one.

 

The path that we’d been following this whole time had suddenly split into four, and we didn’t know which one led to Claudia.

 

We had no choice but to stop and think of a solution to our current situation.

 

“M-mom, what do we do now?” Fae asked, looking worriedly at the paths.

 

“I don’t know… We don’t have the time to guess which one is right. Splitting up isn’t an option either because I wouldn’t be able to protect any of you if something bad happened,” I said in worry.

 

We were in a predicament, and the longer it took us to find a solution, the worse it would be for us. It would have helped if I could locate Claudia’s life force, but for some reason, I couldn’t see hers.

 

I was at my wits' end and was about to gamble everything on a guess when someone showed up. It was Saro, the demon I despised the most. She teleported behind our backs but showed no intention of attacking us.

 

“Hey there, girls. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” She casually said. She wasn’t emitting any ominous presence, a clear sign of peace.

 

Upon seeing her once again, I couldn’t contain my rage, and it burst out instantly.

 

“You! I have a score to settle with you! I’ll make you pay for what you did to my family!” I declared, energy already crackling around me.

 

“Hey, now. I’m not here to fight. I’m actually here to guide you where the boss is,” Saro claimed, holding up her hands.

 

“Shut up! I’m done listening to your lies! This time, I’ll make sure you never disturb my family or anyone precious to me ever again!” I shouted in fury.

 

I was about to engage in a fight with her when my daughters decided to stop me.

 

“Mom, we don’t have time to fight her. We have to prioritize saving the Titans,” Fae reasoned out, pulling on my arm.

 

“I think we should give her a chance. She’s our only option left after all,” Rein said, ever the pragmatist.

 

“Sis is right. For some reason, I think she’s telling the truth,” Astrid added, her intuition sharp.

 

“Unfortunately, your daughters are right. I’m not lying. The boss knew you were coming and ordered me to welcome you in and show you the way. Not gonna lie, I’m irritated by the idea of helping you, but her orders are absolute, so I have no choice but to abide,” Saro explained, sounding genuinely annoyed.

 

“It’s obvious that you're leading us to a trap, so why should we listen to a demon like you?” I said with conviction.

 

“Well, you don’t have a choice, do you now? The clock is ticking as we speak, so what will it be?”

 

Due to my daughters’ words, I managed to sort out my mind and remember our priorities. “Fine, lead the way. But once you show even the smallest hint of suspicion, I’d be the one to send you back to where you came from,” I threatened.

 

“That’s pretty morbid, but suit yourself,” Saro said jokingly. “I wish I could’ve teleported you girls right this instant, but my curse technique doesn’t work on your mother, so I guess we’re walking,” She added sarcastically.

 

“I’m already walking on thin ice, so don’t test my patience,” I said seriously.

 

Without further ado, she led the way, and we followed her while making sure not to put our guards down, knowing she could betray us at any time. Throughout our walk, she was making small talks the whole time, but we were completely ignoring her.

 

In the path that she led, we passed through multiple locked rooms, but I managed to spot one that was slightly ajar and took a quick peek inside. In that room, I saw multiple enormous glass cylinders filled with thick green liquid. I wasn’t able to completely see what was inside the cylinders, but something that held importance was definitely inside them. I was curious as to what they were, but I couldn’t afford to get side-tracked, so I focused on saving the Titans first and ignored what I saw for the meantime.

 

Finally, after minutes of painstakingly following her, we arrived at our destination. She opened the door in front of us, and inside was an enormous room. Upon entering, we saw a huge round table in the middle of the room with used chalices on top, and above us were banners that represented each of the demon generals we fought. Our attention immediately shifted upon noticing the enormous demonic gate in front of us, and Claudia was standing before it, performing the final step of their plan: freeing the Demon King trapped inside God's Realm.

 

The Titans that were captured inside the orb artifact were placed on top of an altar, and their energy was slowly being drained and transferred into the enormous demonic gate to the point where they couldn’t talk or move any longer.

 

Claudia noticed our presence and shifted her attention toward us. ”Girls, welcome to our lair. You’re just in time for the climax!” She said, with unsettling excitement.

 

“Enough with your blabbering! You made the wrong choice of leading us here. We’ll make sure to stop your plan from coming to fruition at all cost!” I responded with determination for the final time.

 

Knowing how little time we had left and seeing that the Titans were in grave danger, we didn’t wait a single second and went on offense right away.

 

Earlier, before we entered the fortress, I had relayed my plan to my daughters. It was simple: Once we found the whereabouts of the Titans, Fae would focus on saving them while Rein, Astrid, and I covered her back and kept the enemy busy.

 

Even though Claudia was a powerful witch, we already knew her weakness and how to defeat her. All we had to do was take away her magic staff so she wouldn’t be able to cast spells anymore. After all, she’s just a normal human once we take her weapon away. It was a simple and straightforward plan, but knowing how powerful our enemy was, we came here aware that it wouldn’t be that easy.

 

Just like how we always fought during our past adventures, Astrid and I attacked in harmony while Rein covered us from a distance with her long-range offensive spells.

 

“Need my help, boss?” Saro offered, standing off to the side.

 

“No, no… I got it from here. You just stay right there and watch,” Claudia calmly and confidently declined, clearly relishing the challenge.

 

We focused everything on offense so we could overwhelm her, but unfortunately, she was just as prepared as us.

 

We combined our strength and bombarded her with multiple attacks, but she managed to block all of it with ease using defensive spells while counter-attacking with her own offensive spells at the same time.

 

It was one versus three, but she managed to flip the script and overwhelm us instead. Even with our combined strength, our attacks weren’t reaching her at all. Additionally, each of her offensive spells was so powerful that it took all of our efforts just to dodge and defend against it.

 

Rein is a prodigy when it comes to magic, but Claudia, on the other hand, surpassed her on so many levels. She was a menace with magic. Not only was she adept at using defensive and offensive magic, but she had also mastered all the types of magic there are and could use them simultaneously or at the same time. My magic only revolved around dark energy, and I only managed to improve it by learning different variations of it, while Rein had only mastered water magic and only had limited knowledge in light and flame magic.

 

Even though it seemed impossible and our enemy seemed out of reach, we didn’t show any signs of giving up. We were even more determined to defeat her. After all, the stakes this time were so high that we couldn’t afford to mess up no matter what.

 

“Come now, girls. I’m sure you can do better than this!” Claudia taunted while laughing maniacally.

 

“Don’t worry, we’re just getting started,” I responded with determination, panting slightly.

 

Once again, we attacked her with everything we had, incorporating the things we’d learned in the past couple of months we’d been separated from each other. Rein used her spell, ‘Aqua Jet,’ on me and Astrid to boost our agility while supporting us by bombarding Claudia with projectiles to divide her attention. Astrid, on the other hand, incorporated the earth magic she learned from Coney into her sword techniques, making her attacks even more destructive. With the help of my daughters, the burden I was feeling was lessened, and I managed to fight properly without holding back.

 

It took us a while, but finally, our teamwork was slowly but surely paying off, and we were finally able to push Claudia to her limits. She was getting overwhelmed with the combinations of attacks we were throwing at her, and she was having a hard time keeping up.

 

With our combined efforts and perseverance, I was able to find an opening and sneak in one of my spells. The moment I found the opportunity, I used my spell, ‘Homing Paw Missiles,’ and targeted her blind spot. She managed to notice it at the last second and almost blocked all of it, but thankfully, one missile managed to touch her body, meaning a great stroke of bad luck was coming her way, and she had no way of avoiding it.

 

She was unaware of the effect of my ability, but she was smart enough to realize that she couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. So, before something bad could happen, she finally got serious and managed to catch us off-guard by trapping us and encasing our bodies in ice, only leaving our heads free. It happened so fast that we didn’t see it coming and weren’t able to react in time. We couldn’t move our bodies, and my daughters couldn’t use their weapons any longer.

 

“Phew! I know how capable you girls are, so it’s better to be safe, just in case,” Claudia sighed in relief. “The show’s about to reach its climax, so until then, make yourselves comfy,” she followed, adjusting her hat.

 

She was confident that she had already won and had finally relaxed, but she didn’t know we still had one member left of our family. She wasn’t paying attention to Fae at all because she didn’t see her as a threat and that was the biggest mistake she made. Throughout our fight against her, Fae managed to sneak behind her without her noticing, and she was successful with the task we had given her. She removed the orb artifact containing the Titans from the altar, and this stopped their plan of draining the Titans’ energies from progressing any further.

 

“Mom, I got them!” Fae shouted, holding the glowing orb.

 

“Good job, sweetie!” I responded, my voice muffled by the ice.

 

Claudia was utterly surprised that a mere little girl was the one who put a halt to her plan. This caused her confidence and ego to break. It was the first time she showed any signs of panic, something she didn’t show even when confronting the Chosen Ones earlier.

 

She then immediately shifted all of her attention toward Fae to try and take the Titans back from her grasp. She was about to attack Fae with her spell when a miracle happened. The stroke of bad luck that I infused her with finally kicked in. While she was in the middle of casting a spell, the mana crystal in her magic staff suddenly cracked, weakening her spells and making them unstable. Because of it, the spell she fired at Fae was significantly weakened and missed, giving me the opening I needed to stop her once and for all.

 

Now’s my chance!

 

I escaped the ice she encased me in by transforming back to my cat form. I immediately grabbed her magic staff using my mouth, and it was a success. She didn’t see it coming and wasn’t able to cast a spell in time to defend against my surprise attack.

 

Now that she didn’t have her weapon, she was finally powerless and just a regular human. I destroyed her magic staff by incinerating it with my magic, and the ice she encased us in was dispelled, freeing my daughters in the process.

 

Thankfully, she didn’t have a spare magic staff around, making it impossible for her to take back the Titans from us. My only concern was Saro, who was watching us this entire time, but thankfully, she didn't seem interested in intervening and was just on standby, as per Claudia’s original order.

 

Finally, after months of planning and preparation, we managed to be victorious, put a stop to their plan, and prevented a world-ending catastrophe from happening and allowing an even bigger threat to arise.

 

Now that Claudia wasn’t a threat to us anymore, we decided to just leave her alone and proceed to reunite the Titans with their Chosen Ones who were fighting outside against the demons and waiting for our triumphant return.

 

“Leaving so soon? Aren’t you gonna finish me off?” Claudia asked, her voice laced with something dark.

 

I stopped in my tracks and looked her dead in the eyes to respond, “I won’t allow my daughters to witness such a horrible scene. No matter how much I hate you, it’s not worth it tainting my hands with your blood.”

 

Her reaction to my response was the opposite of what I expected. She burst into laughter instead of feeling utterly defeated.

 

“Tsk.. What's so funny?!? Mom, we have to do something about her, or else she’ll just repeat all of this again!” Astrid said in anger, still shaking from the ice.

 

“If that happens again, then we’ll be ready,” I assured her, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.

 

Astrid finally calmed down after my assurance. “You’re right, Mom. I’m sorry I got heated up,” she responded.

 

While we were talking, Claudia moved away from her spot, walking slowly toward the enormous demonic gate and then started caressing its surface. She then asked an interesting question.

 

“Aren’t you at least a little bit curious as to why I asked Saro to lead you here, knowing that you’ll do everything in your power to stop me?” Claudia asked, a sly smirk returning.

 

“It’s best that we ignore her. Let’s keep going, girls,” I said, tugging on my daughters' arms.

 

We were on our way out when Claudia said something that piqued our interest and stopped us cold.

 

“The truth is, there are two important things that are required for our plan to work. First, we need to collect a massive amount of energy to power it up. That’s where the Titans come in, beings who are made up entirely of mana. The second and most important thing that we need for us to unlock this enormous gate is a key, and it happens to be in the possession of one of your daughters,” she revealed.

 

She then pointed her finger toward Astrid. “The sword that you are holding is the legendary hero’s sword, correct?”

 

We were all shocked by her revelation. We didn’t know her weapon held such importance. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but Astrid’s reaction said it all. “Is it true?” I asked, looking at Astrid.

 

“It is, and I’m sorry I haven't told you yet. We’ve been so busy that I couldn’t find the right time to do so. I’ve just recently learned it as well, but this sword once belonged to the hero who fought together with the Witch of Creation and died sealing the Demon King. Apparently, I’m the descendant of that hero, that’s why I can wield this sword,” Astrid said truthfully, holding the hilt tighter.

 

I noticed that she didn’t sound happy at all. “Well, isn't that good news?”

 

“It’s just that… It’s a very big responsibility to take in, even for me,” Astrid said doubtfully.

 

While we were conversing, Claudia suddenly burst out of laughter and started tearing up. “Is that what you’ve been telling yourself this entire time? You believe you’re the hero’s descendant?!? Ha-ha! I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but the hero never had one to begin with.”

 

“H-how could you possibly know that?!?” Astrid asked, riled up by the disrespect.

 

“Well… Let’s just say I’ve lived long enough to meet the hero himself,” Claudia hinted darkly.

 

“You’re lying! The hero has been dead for a millennium! There’s no way for you to live that long!” I said, defending my daughter.

 

“N-no, Mom. It’s entirely possible to live that long using a Forbidden Cursed Technique. It’s what the Head Witch was trying to achieve by transferring her soul to my body,” Rein chimed in, having studied the concept.

 

“How lovely! It appears you already know how it works. You see, I’ve been keeping myself alive for a millennium by transferring my soul to a new body every time my previous body grows old. But the thing is, I don’t use just any random body, I use the best kind there is. When the hero passed away, I took the liberty of sampling his DNA and made a lab entirely dedicated to producing clones of him. As you can see, it was a success, but I only created clones of him as girls, and since then, I’ve been keeping myself alive by using those clones as my vessel,” Claudia revealed.

 

“C-clones? Don’t tell me-”

 

When she mentioned the word, clone, I already knew where the conversation was heading. My reaction said it all, and Claudia was able to read my mind just by looking at my facial expression.

 

“It appears you’ve already realized it, cat. Let me put it in words so the others would understand,” Claudia said with a sinister smirk, then followed, “the girl you’ve been calling your daughter this entire time is nothing but a clone I created using the hero’s DNA.”

 

I didn’t want to admit it, but the moment Claudia revealed herself to us, I immediately noticed the physical similarities she had with Astrid. I thought they might be related somehow, but I just ignored it and labeled it as a mere coincidence. But now that the truth had been revealed, there was no denying it anymore.

 

“N-no. Mom, she’s clearly lying! I grew up as a human. I have a family, I was raised by my sister. I… I have a life of my own!” Astrid said, her eyes begging and crying, shattering under the weight of the lie.

 

“Oh, sweetie, I’m not lying, and your family is smart enough to realize that. You see, it happened twelve years ago. One of the clones I created managed to escape my lab. That clone took the hero’s sword and another baby clone when she escaped. I didn’t bother chasing after it because I knew fate would lead them back here again one day, and would you look at that, I was right,” Claudia said, twisting the painful truth.

 

“Enough! It doesn’t matter if what you’re saying is the truth. Clone or not, Astrid will always be my daughter,” I said, standing firm with my words, wrapping her in a fierce hug.

 

“You’re right, Mom. Astrid is part of our family, and she’ll forever be our sister,” Rein said, equally determined. Fae agreed immediately.

 

We did our best to cheer Astrid up, but it didn’t work. The truth was too much for her to handle, and she ended up falling into despair. “A-are you telling me that my entire life was just a lie?”

 

“Lie? Oh, sweetie. Your life was nothing to begin with. The one you believed to be your sister was just another clone like you, and your current family is just play-pretend. You are not a hero or a warrior. You’re just a cheap imitation I made with only one purpose: become my vessel, and you’re just fortunate enough to escape that fate,” Claudia taunted, aiming for the kill.

 

Astrid finally snapped, and her rage took over. She was overwhelmed with so much emotion that she couldn’t think straight anymore and ended up doing something horrible.

 

She ran toward Claudia filled with so much anger, with the sole purpose of ending her life. It happened so fast and unexpectedly that we weren't able to stop her.

 

“A-Astrid, Nooo-”

 

It happened in an instant. Before we knew it, Astrid had already driven her sword forward, aiming for Claudia’s heart. The moment Astrid’s blade plunged, Claudia’s masked expression finally shifted. Not to pain, but to savage triumph. She had deliberately baited Astrid into attacking her so that the final piece of their plan would be finally completed. She had used her own chest as the guide, her body the ultimate sacrifice, so that Astrid’s sword would perfectly align within the demonic gate’s lock that was obscured behind her body. Her life had been the final, calculated price, and the gate was finally unlocked.

 

After seeing Claudia’s blood on her hand and her sword finally fulfilling its role as the key to freeing the Demon King, Astrid broke down in sorrow and deeply regretted her action. “N-no… what have I done?”

 

Before taking her final breath, Claudia hugged Astrid and smiled. “Thanks to you, my long-awaited wish will finally come true,” she whispered before finally losing her life.

 

The fortress started trembling moments after, and the enormous demonic gate suddenly started glowing ominously. Finally, it opened. After it had fully opened, a mysterious figure stepped out of it.

 

“Finally! Our Demon King has returned!” Saro celebrated, rushing excitedly toward the mysterious figure.

 

We immediately assumed the mysterious figure to be the Demon King, but to our surprise, it wasn’t a man at all, but a woman with an immense presence no one could even come close to, not even the legendary Chosen Ones. It was the first time we ever felt such a presence.

 

The figure was a terrifying woman who embodied the absolute authority of the cosmos, commanding an instantly intimidating presence that seemed to warp the very air around her. Her vast, flowing gown was the star-dusted night sky itself, woven with swirling nebulae and distant starlight. Her unnaturally pale white skin contrasted sharply with her long, black hair. Her features were sharp and cold, highlighted by black lips and nails of absolute darkness. Most striking were her dark, sharp eyes. They held the cold, ancient depth of the void, conveying a chilling sense of judgment and immense power.

 

There’s only one way to describe it: A Cosmic threat has been unleashed.

 

”W-who are you? You’re not the Demon King!” Saro said in panic, her celebration cut short.

 

“Of course that’s not the Demon King, silly,” a mysterious voice chimed in. The voice came from behind us.

 

The mysterious voice then revealed itself to be Claudia, alive and well, but now she was in a much younger body, around the same age as the girls. She must have transferred her soul to another clone before taking her last breath. 

 

She approached the woman that came out of the demonic gate with respect and finesse, then bowed her head with grace. “It’s my pleasure to finally meet you, Goddess Astra,” she greeted.

 

The Goddess looked around her surroundings before speaking, her voice echoing with cosmic depth. “Where am I?”

 

“You are in the realm of the mortals, and it is I who freed you from the eternal binding that the Witch of Creation cast upon you,” Claudia responded respectfully.

 

“I see, I remember now. That wretched witch… Not only did she imprison me, but she also took away someone very important to me. I… I must find her and exact my revenge!” Goddess Astra declared, her voice laced with ancient fury.

 

While the two were conversing, Saro chimed in, her anger about to burst out. “B-boss, what is the meaning of this? Where is the Demon King?!?”

 

Claudia looked at her disappointingly. “Isn’t it obvious? There was no Demon King to begin with.”

 

“B-but you promised us. We even sacrificed everything for you,” Saro said, tears dripping from her face, realizing the extent of the manipulation.

 

“It’s not my fault you demons are so easy to manipulate,” Claudia responded without any care.

 

“You liar!” Saro shouted. She was about to attack Claudia out of rage when Goddess Astra decided to intervene.

 

“Silence! I cannot think with all this noise.” With just a simple wave of her hand, she sent Saro flying, causing her to crash violently into a nearby wall.

 

I realized that they hadn't noticed our presence yet, so while they were busy, I approached Astrid to get her attention. “Sweetie, get up. We have to leave, now,” I urged.

 

“Mom, I… I didn’t mean to,” Astrid sobbed, unable to look at her blood-soaked sword.

 

“Oh, I know, sweetie, I know. We’ll talk about it later, but for now, we have to get out of here before they notice us,” I responded while hugging her tight.

 

After I managed to calm her down, we rushed outside of the room while the enemy was distracted. Now that we had saved the Titans, we had no reason to stay there any longer.

 

“M-mom, who was that? They called her a Goddess,” Rein asked while we were running, her voice full of terror.

 

“I don’t know who she is, but there's one thing I know: we don’t stand a chance against her.”