Supported by her Master, the cleric begins to prepare her spell.

Kanna's voice rises in a powerful and solemn crescendo as she chants the incantation, with a determination that transcends the pain and exhaustion that had almost overwhelmed her.

Thanks to Strauss, she now has access to an almost limitless supply of MP, as if a deity were supplying it.

Without this, she could never hope to use such a powerful spell. Because of her lover's seed, she also knows that she is more powerful than she has ever been. The combination of that, the contract, and the MP transfer makes her capable of things that were once impossible for her.

Chand curses her. Insults her. Swears vengeance.

But Kanna ignores her, committing the sacrilege.
Her devotion now belongs solely to Strauss.

Even if it costs her life, she will use holy powers to serve her dark master. Because in that darkness, she has found everything she ever wanted.

Even if it means going to hell with her demon.

The air around her begins to vibrate, charged with energy, as a golden light radiates from her body and rapidly expands, forming a magical circle woven with ancient symbols and hieroglyphs.

Her solemn chant echoes through the air:

"Stripers have borne our grief and sorrow,
Stricken by gods, afflicted tomorrow.
Bruised for us, iniquities weighed,
With their stripes, we are healed, unafraid."

Her words resound with an otherworldly force.

 

[STRIPES OF BOUNDING]

Yellow stripes of light begin to emerge from the ground, bright and sharp, enveloping everything within the radius of the spell.

They cast black shadows without light, creating a surreal contrast that transforms the atmosphere of the ruined temple.

Each stripe is covered with pulsating hieroglyphs, sacred emblems that flow as if engraved into the very fabric of reality, sealing every impurity they touch.

These luminous stripes are like ethereal chains, wrapping around the bodies of the enemies and gripping them with an unyielding hold.

The Goliaths, colossi created from the gruesome fusion of skeletons, are the first to suffer the devastating effect of the spell. The stripes encircle them, tightening around their rotting bodies and shattering bones with a deafening crack.

The gigantic monsters writhe, but they cannot escape the grasp of the sacred chains, and their movements slow more and more until they are completely immobilized, prisoners of the spell.

"NO! No! This can't be!"

Ques, the Lich, tries to react, his skeletal hands moving frantically, casting spells of darkness to free himself. But the sacred stripes wrap around him, tightening with a force that even his ancient necromantic power cannot break.

His words of power die on his undead mouth, smothered by Kanna's magic, as his body is bound by a light he cannot extinguish.

Ivanhold, the zombie mage, is not spared. He too is caught by the sacred stripes, and his blizzard abruptly ceases.

The gusts of icy wind dissipate, and the glacial aura that surrounds him begins to fade, trapped by the cleric's power.

The stripes of light tighten around his body, immobilizing him with an unbreakable grip, freezing him within his own aura of ice.

The effect of the spell is devastating.
Not only does it neutralize the power of the Goliaths and Ques, but it also cancels out Ivanhold's most potent magic, preventing him from unleashing more storms or glacial defenses.

 

The battlefield, which had been a hell of fire and ice, calms for a moment under the effect of the sacred light shining in every corner. Every enemy trapped in the stripes is frozen, powerless against Kanna's purifying power.

The cleric pants, observing the devastating impact of the spell.
The Lich is trapped but still alive. They absolutely need to finish him off.

"Now, Xiaikai!" shouts Kanna, her voice ringing with strength, even though her body is at its limit. "Hit the Lich with everything you've got!"

Xiaikai, free from the snow that had been weakening her, understands that this is the decisive moment.

The Lich's power has been reduced to nothing, and Ivanhold, although still alive, is trapped.

Without hesitation, she reignites Tersiflare with all the power she possesses, intensifying her spirit's flames to the maximum.

The fire dancer becomes a living inferno, a fire rising dozens of meters high. The temperatures are so extreme they could melt metal.

The summoner is pouring all of herself into the spirit.

The flaming sphere takes shape, much more rapidly and with incredible power, ready to unleash the final attack. The most powerful, searing, and radiant attack of Tersiflare—the flaming sphere forms, much larger and hotter than before, ready to be unleashed.

This is the end.

The sphere shines like a miniature sun in the heart of the arena, far larger and far hotter than before. Flames twist and dance around the sphere, radiating an oppressive heat, consuming every trace of ice in the air.

[BLAZING DANCING STAR]

Xiaikai channels every drop of power into her spirit, and in an instant, the sphere is launched at blinding speed.

*WOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHH*

The deafening roar of a missile ready to crash fills the air.

The blazing sphere hurtles toward Ques, who, still trapped, can do nothing to defend himself.

He can no longer rely on his necromantic powers for protection. Every attempt to cast dark spells or summon bone barriers is nullified by the purifying light encasing him like an impenetrable prison.

"NO!" His scream is futile. Every effort to resist is thwarted by the strips of light that bind him. "No... I am eternal!" Ques yells, his fleshless face twisting in pure terror.

The flames begin to consume him—first, his robes burn away like paper in fire, then the tips of his fingers, followed by his arms, and finally his skeletal torso. His bones, now so fragile, shatter under the melting heat of the star that crashes into him.

His body begins to disintegrate.

*KABOOOOOOMMM*

The explosion of heat is devastating.

The fire consumes his skeletal form in a burst of blinding light and heat, shattering his undead body into glowing fragments.

His darkness, his necromantic influence, is obliterated, erased by the searing light. His skull lets out a final, chilling scream of agony before it is devoured by the flames.

The terrifying figure dissolves into ashes, scattered in the air.

Kanna's sacred power turned the tide of the battle, her stripes of light allowing her companions to seize victory. Even though Ivanhold still stands, his power has been temporarily sealed.

As the Goliaths dissolve and Ques is destroyed, in fact all that remains on the battlefield is the silent figure of Ivanhold, still restrained by the sacred stripes, and Deedee, torn between her duty as a slave and an impossible love, unable to deliver the final blow.

Deedee stands right in front of him.
Her hand grips the bow-sword, and Strauss's command burns in her heart like a poisonous flame.
Her body is forced to obey, her mind clouded by the power of the collar.

"Destroy his head!" yells Xiaikai, her voice filled with urgency and anger. They can't waste this chance.

Deedee, however, is frozen.

Her gaze is locked on Ivanhold, trapped and vulnerable before her.

The blade of her bow is raised, ready to deliver the fatal blow, but her hand trembles. Her heart refuses to carry out the order. Strauss's absolute command forces every fiber of her muscles, but she resists with all her strength.

Tears begin to stream down her face. Ivanhold, the man she loved with all her heart, is standing there in front of her. But he is no longer himself.

The last time she had seen him alive, his eyes were full of life and love; now they are empty, devoid of any warmth.

The same magic that keeps him standing has stripped away everything that made him human. Deedee can only see a shadow of what he once was. And yet, her heart cannot let go of him.

"I... I can't..." Deedee whispers, the pain evident in her voice. Strauss's will forces her, the collar burning more intensely, almost suffocating her, but her heart rebels.

"I love you, Ivanhold," she whispers in a broken voice, tears blurring her vision. Each word is like a knife piercing her soul.

"Will you marry me?" The proposal the mage made echoes in her mind, just before they were separated forever. How she wishes things had gone differently.

If that promise had been kept, her life would be entirely different.
But along with that vision of the past, another flashback invades her psyche—the overwhelming pleasure given to her by her Master. An orgasm so intense it erases every thought, making her mind go blank, driving her to madness.

The truth she wanted to deny herself rises, unable to be contained any longer by hypocrisy or a memory that, no matter how beautiful, is just a faded photograph of the past. The lies she has told herself are not the reality.

Even though she truly loved Ivanhold, the man who was always too gentle and caring had never truly been the right one for her.
Deep down, she wants to be dominated, no matter how many lies she tells herself.

Strauss's voice explodes in her mind—cold, violent, and commanding, as always.
{He is dead; he's just a puppet. You are mine now.}
Every word echoes in her head, a taut rope that keeps her imprisoned by the contract.

{End his non-existence and fully submit to me.}

"I-I... can't..." Her voice is barely a whisper. A resistance that feels increasingly meaningless. A shred of pride.

{Open your eyes, bitch. You can still be forgiven for this betrayal.} Strauss's voice is like a sharp blade, ready to break her completely.

Kanna doesn’t even have the strength to shout anymore. She has used all her power to trap the enemies, and she collapses to her knees, exhausted.

The spell she cast, far beyond her capabilities, has drained her of every bit of energy.
The price her body pays is immense.

Pain bursts in every muscle and organ, and she coughs up blood.

The yellow stripes of light that once held Ivanhold begin to lose their power. Luminous cracks form along them until they completely shatter.

 

In an instant, Ivanhold is free.

A shard of ice, sharp as a spear, materializes in his hand and is hurled toward Deedee.

The strike is swift.

The ice pierces her stomach, sending a sharp pain that doubles her over.

The police officer screams, feeling the warm blood gushing from the wound.

Her breath is shallow, and she spits blood, her face twisted in an expression of pain and horror.

 

And finally, she understands.

She understands what she had always known but had refused to accept.

She hadn’t wanted to accept it, even to the point of rebelling against her Master.

Ivanhold is gone. That body she once loved is nothing more than dead flesh, a decaying puppet, a ghost of what he once was.

The mage's eyes are lifeless, and in that moment, she knows she must do what is right.

With tears streaming down her face, she lifts her [Sagitta of the Eternal Forest].
Her hands tremble as she prepares for the final blow—one she knows she will never forgive herself for.

With a cry of pain and determination, she drives the blade down, cleaving through the skull of the mage who had once been her love.

The sound of the impact is cold, metallic, like the shattering of crystal.
Rotten brain matter and decayed flesh splatter across her.

A single tear slips from the shattered skull’s eye, freezing into an ice crystal as it falls.

Ivanhold collapses for the last time.

*CRASH*

The zombie disintegrates like a broken mirror into countless shards of frozen flesh.

The sharp fragments of ice, bone, and flesh launch toward her.
She has no time to react. The shards pierce her skin, opening deep, bleeding wounds.

[[ Azherie Loree'Nahil Team Player, IVANHOLD KOZLOV was eliminated from the Demonic Game of Death! ]]

The System echoes in their minds, confirming the Servant’s death. Ivanhold is gone for good.

Luysia and Xiaikai rush to Deedee, whose body is grievously wounded.
Blood mingles with the melting ice on the battlefield.

"I-I was... f-fucking... stupid."

The magical tattoo on Deedee’s neck stops flickering, signaling that her rebellion has ended.

“F-Forgive me, Master…” Deedee whispers weakly, her breath becoming more labored.

{You will have to earn that forgiveness. And don’t think death will exempt you from your punishment, bitch.}

The woman does not respond. There is no life left in her.

 

 

[[ Strauss Wagner Team Player, DECKARA DEMORA LANG was eliminated from the Demonic Game of Death! ]]

The System leaves no doubt: Deedee Lang is dead.