Before Bakuzan could reveal anything, the strange girl broke the neutralization imposed by his force.
With a sharp beat, she propelled herself straight at him.
Bakuzan reacted immediately.
He extended his hand — a silver sword materialized in a cold flash — then charged to meet her.
The blades clashed in a brutal and rapid exchange.
Erasa did not stay back.
She launched herself in turn, her violet and bluish aura tearing through the air.
The girl then found herself caught between two fronts.
Bakuzan in front.
Erasa from behind.
Even for her, maintaining control became impossible.
Suddenly, her body disintegrated in an explosion of dark feathers.
A moment later, she reappeared in the heights.
"Disappear!"
From the sky fell a rain of red and violet light arrows.
At their tips, a black, viscous substance pulsed.
Poison.
A poison designed to kill everything, even Ineffables.
Bakuzan swept away the projectiles with sword strokes, dispersing the arrows before impact.
Erasa, for her part, simply extended her hand.
Space folded.
The arrows stopped dead… then unfolded, petal by petal.
They became flowers.
Bakuzan remained frozen, stunned.
The powers of Mü Thanatos embodied by Erasa seemed limitless, even against an ineffable entity.
But the girl was not defenseless.
Lucifer's flows still burned within her.
They allowed her to resist Mü Thanatos's order.
The real question was simple:
how long?
Erasa's voice, icy, rose behind her mask.
__ You will now tell me what your link is with my father…
and then, I will slit your throat as it should be.
The girl stared at her.
Her gaze was empty.
Absent.
As if her actions did not truly belong to her.
Her body moved.
But her will seemed elsewhere.
She slowly raised her hand.
__ Try it and see.
She did not have time to add a word.
Her arm fell to the ground.
Her eyes widened, frozen by the shock.
Erasa sheathed her sword against her shoulder.
The blade was covered in blood.
__ Next time, it will be your left arm.
Bakuzan remained motionless.
He had seen nothing.
It was not a speed attack.
It was a principle.
Mü Thanatos was not just an entity.
She was the Dream, absolute Conceptualization.
In this framework, Erasa could reach anyone.
Wherever they were.
Whatever they were.
She was, at that instant… invincible.
The girl stared at her severed limb.
No regeneration came.
Erasa's attack far surpassed the flow of Lucifer she possessed.
It was insufficient.
Far too insufficient.
She nevertheless turned her eyes toward Erasa…
and jumped.
It was a lost battle from the start.
She knew it.
And yet, she continued.
Erasa raised her sword.
The blade aligned, ready to cleanly sever the girl's head.
But at the last instant…
Erasa met her gaze.
The girl closed her eyes.
Not to dodge.
Not to defend herself.
As if she were voluntarily awaiting death.
An icy shiver ran up Erasa's spine.
The next instant, she deviated her trajectory.
The girl passed into empty space and crashed heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Bakuzan, bewildered:
— You… didn't kill her?
Erasa did not reply.
She simply watched the dust dissipate.
The girl struggled to her feet, her gaze filled with incomprehension.
— You didn't kill me…?
Her voice trembled.
— Are you unconscious or what?
Erasa abruptly sheathed her sword.
Bakuzan widened his eyes.
— Hey— what the hell are you doing?!
Erasa's voice rose, muffled behind her mask:
— You're not proud to serve my father, are you?
The girl remained frozen.
Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second…
then she looked away.
— Shut up…
Her voice became rage-filled, almost desperate.
— If you're not capable of killing me… then I'll kill you!!!
She tried to leap.
But her legs gave way.
They fell brutally to the ground.
She lost her balance and crashed, without legs… with one arm missing.
A heavy silence settled.
She slowly raised her head.
Erasa stood before her, hand extended.
— In reality… you clearly don't stand a chance against me, Erasa said calmly.
— I am the apostle of Mü Thanatos.
A violet breath undulated around her.
— Mü Thanatos can feel everything simultaneously…
and like her…
I can feel your sorrow now.
Erasa tilted her head slightly.
— My father's flow can no longer mask it.
The girl placed her one remaining valid arm against the ground to support herself.
— How…
Her voice broke.
— How can a daughter be against her own father…?
Erasa remained silent.
The girl slowly lowered her head.
— Why…
Her voice became almost inaudible.
— Why do you refuse to kill me…?
Her fingers trembled.
— My sorrow is none of your concern…
I just want to die.
To rid myself of this pain.
Bakuzan looked away.
He understood now.
This fight was no longer a confrontation.
It was a fall.
Erasa turned slightly away and declared in a calm voice:
— Anyway… I don't know the exact nature of your sorrow.
But one thing is certain: you're not truly against us.
I therefore see no reason to kill you.
The girl struggled upright, leaning on her one remaining valid arm.
— Leaving me alive is the worst thing you could do…
Her voice trembled.
— Kill me. I beg you.
Bakuzan stared at her in silence.
Erasa slowly turned her head toward her.
Tears welled at the corners of her eyes.
— Is it my father who makes you suffer? Erasa asked.
The girl shook her head.
— Your father… I don't care about him at all.
I serve him only because…
her voice broke for an instant,
— the person I love is in his service.
Bakuzan widened his eyes.
— What…?
The girl raised her gaze, then withdrew inwardly, as if sucked into her memories.
— My name is Ravena Solenne.
Her voice became more composed, almost distant.
— Originally, I was human.
I lived in a remote place, far from any civilization.
Not out of fear… nor strategy.
Simply because I hated being surrounded.
She took a deep breath.
— My domain was natural medicine.
I did research, I created plant-based remedies.
I worked under the authority of a man named Ryan Bostagus.
She sketched a bitter smile.
— Officially, he was my supervisor.
In reality… he was a profiteer.
Bakuzan clenched his teeth.
— He exploited my knowledge and my creations to get rich.
He sold my remedies on the biggest markets.
I made money too… but far less than him.
And honestly, I didn't care.
She shrugged slightly.
— Ryan, he was obsessed with money.
Always more. Always higher.
While I… worked in the shadows.
Her voice grew more grave.
— All the light was for him.
All the honors.
All the newspaper headlines.
She paused.
— My name appeared nowhere.
Not a mention.
Not even a footnote.
The silence weighed heavy.
— Everything belonged to Ryan Bostagus.
Erasa watched her without looking away.
— And yet…
Ravena sketched a strange smile.
— Did it really bother me?
She shook her head.
— No. Not that much.
In reality… not at all.
She slowly raised her eyes.
— I categorically refused to be in the spotlight.
I don't think I would have been proud of such a life.
Her voice grew colder.
— And then… I've never had much attachment to people.
I've always found them too conformist.
Too predictable.
She lowered her head slightly.
— Staying in the shadows…
that was where I felt in my place.