Footsteps echoed through the still space as Lady Anastasia walked along the path. The hall stretched long and oblong, ending in a solemn semicircular apse that crowned it like the hush at the end of a prayer. Its shape mirrored a basilica. Crystal marbles paved the floor, catching the faint white light that slipped through a small circular opening in the roof and scattering it into cold glimmers.

  Stone pillars marched along both sides of the central path, rising toward the distant apex in perfect symmetry. After every fourth pillar, a towering stone figure stood watch, its shadow sprawling across the marble.

  "Where am I?" Lady Anastasia muttered. She stopped and turned to stare at one of the statues. The figure stood over fifty meters high, taking the appearance of a god. In its hand was a heavy bow made of stone, complete with arrows.

  The duchess took a step forward and placed her hand on the statue, examining its surface. "This architecture," she whispered as she slid her palm across its edge.

  Her eyes shifted sideways and locked onto the rows of pillars and statues that seemed to stretch on forever. All of the statues had the same appearance and posture, but what distinguished them were the weapons in their grips. Each held different weapons such as spears, shields, axes, war hammers, and more.

  Lady Anastasia spun around and stared into the darkness far beyond. A soft, barely audible movement reached her ears. "What good would it do you to keep hiding?" she said. Her detached voice echoed through the stillness.

  An anticlimactic silence filled the space, but after a short moment, the response arrived.

  "I thought I hid my presence well enough," the voice boomed. A bright light descended from the tiny opening above and struck the point where the creature sat.

  He was seated on a stone throne with his chin rested on his palm. He wore a sleeveless white robe wrapped diagonally across the torso, secured at the waist, and falling in loose, flowing folds like a toga. His hair was pale brown and framed an old, weary face adorned with jewelry.

  "I do not get visitors very often," the creature said as he straightened. "Looks like accepting that human's favour was the best decision." A gentle smile touched his lips.

  "Hmm," the duchess hummed and slowly blinked. "It's common sense to introduce yourself when meeting someone new, isn't it?" she finally said.

  "Haha, pardon my disrespect. I go by the name Vexar," Vexar replied courteously, his tone measured. "Now, what's yours, my lady?" he asked. His gaze lifted to meet Lady Anastasia's.

  Lady Anastasia's eyes turned condescending. "What sensible reason is there in introducing myself to an inferior being?" she demanded. Her voice remained calm yet carried an underlying sense of respite.

  Vexar's expression soured as the words reached him. "Inferior?" he repeated.

  The lady did not reply. Instead, she began to walk toward him, her footsteps reverberating. "Why don't we start by setting things straight?" she declared and halted directly in front of Vexar.

  "What?!" Vexar exclaimed. He jerked back into his seat in alarm.

  Without uttering another word, Lady Anastasia raised her left leg and planted it on the left arm of Vexar's throne. Then she bent forward, her face hovering directly in front of his.

  Vexar's heartbeat accelerated. He stared into Lady Anastasia's eyes and instantly regretted it.

  The eye shimmered like a captive sea: turquoise and jade colliding in a radiant, glassy hue. Long lashes framed it, shadowed by a faint wash of violet. At its center, the pupil was not empty black but marked by an inverted crown sigil resting in the dark, as if sovereignty itself had been turned upside down and sealed within her gaze. Her eyes were both the definition of beauty and sovereignty.

  Lady Anastasia's lips parted, and she finally spoke. Her voice was almost quiet. "Who gave you the audacity to sit while I'm standing, demon?!"

  "Wh-what?!" Vexar jolted back to reality. His own eyes glowed from staring at Lady Anastasia's for too long. "Do not lump me in with those despicable creatures!" he roared. Veins bulged as he rubbed his eyes desperately.

  "Oh, I see I struck a chord," Lady Anastasia chuckled and stood up straight. "A demon who doesn't want to be called one. How hilarious," she said, almost chuckling.

  Her gaze turned deadly. "Only I've heard better jokes," she hissed.

  "You're so infuriating!" Vexar shouted. His jaws clenched in fury. "I asked for a female human who would be the vessel for my powers, and this is what Harbinger sends?!" he raged, darting his finger at her.

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  "Huh?!" Lady Anastasia cut in. Her tone suddenly turned icy. Her head fell toward the ground. "Haha... hahahaha!" Her laughter became manic.

  Sweat slid down Vexar's face and fell to the floor in a quiet splatter. ‘Wh-what's this murderous intent?’ he gasped internally. ‘There's no way a mere human could have such a choking aura!’

  "Hahaha!" Lady Anastasia laughed louder as pressuring aura flares exploded from her form. "What insolence..." she whispered shakily. "How audacious. What an insult." Every word roared louder than her voice and sent tremors through the space.

  "You asked for a female vessel, and Harbinger sent me?!" Her lips twisted. Her eyes began to burn with rage. "Good," she clicked her tongue, then whirled and began to walk away.

  "Harrh," Vexar's chest heaved as the choking pressure lowered. After calming himself, he spun toward the lady, his gaze hardening.

  "Where do you think you're going?!" he roared. He rose to his feet, stretched his hand forward, and bit his lips.

  ‘I can't believe I was shaken by a mere human!’ he rasped internally. "You think I'll let you go easily, huh?" he smirked.

  Lady Anastasia did not reply, nor did she act as though anything was speaking to her.

  "You arrogant bitch!" Vexar roared. "Hehe. If you won't obey my will voluntarily, then you'll do so by force!" He smirked. A dark red light shone from his palms and flared out wide in a net-like form.

  "Awake, my golems!" he commanded.

  The light spread across the room and struck the surface of the statues. As the light connected with the golems, they came to life. Their eyes gleamed with darkness as they thumped out of their assembly.

  A tremor ripped through the floor, halting Lady Anastasia in her steps. She looked through the haze and realized a statue stepping forward to block her path. In its hand was a warhammer made of stone, its edges rough and jagged.

  "Thought you could underestimate me, huh?" Vexar laughed. "Well, that was an error!"

  Lady Anastasia exhaled. An unsurprised expression lingered on her face.

  "Tch," Vexar hissed. Then he turned to his army and declared, "Attack!!"

  The statue before the duchess immediately swung its weapon in a wide arc, aimed toward her entire body.

  Before Lady Anastasia could process the next thought, the hammer reached her face. Its immense inertia created torrents of air that lashed against her face and hair.

  Vexar's smile darkened.

  When collision seemed inevitable, Lady Anastasia made a last-second spin to the right. The hammer connected a breath later. Its edge grazed past her shoulder before hitting the ground in a deafening fracture.

  "Kekeke," Vexar cackled delightedly. "Glock Harbinger already told me about your powers," he said mockingly, staring at the settling plume.

  "You wield the ability to seal anything just by touch. That power might have been a pain if not for its only flaw." He rose from his throne and walked toward the settling plume. "It only works against entities with souls. Meaning without a soul, your power is useless. Lucky for me, my golems do not possess souls—" He stopped mid-sentence when he heard a sudden clatter beneath him.

  He looked down and sighted a stone pebble spinning on the floor. Without giving it a thought, he rose to continue speaking, but instantly gulped his words after realizing Lady Anastasia stood directly in front of him, blood dripping from her shoulder.

  A gust of cool air blew out of her throat.

  "Eek!" Vexar screamed and jumped back to his throne. "What're you doing? Attack her already!" he screamed to his golems.

  From above, another golem descended, this one wielding a spear. Lady Anastasia simply tilted her head, avoiding the spear by mere centimeters as it struck the ground. For a second, everything was normal.

  But soon after, the earth detonated and burst apart, sending slabs and rocks flying about. Yet Lady Anastasia stood still.

  "I see you're all bark and no bite," Vexar taunted as he lifted his foot from the ground.

  "You bore me," the lady finally spoke.

  "Eh?" Vexar blinked.

  The duchess walked out of the cloud while the dust sizzled away from her attire. Blood soaked her wounded right shoulder, but the bone was unbroken.

  "What arrogance?!" Vexar screamed. His eyes bulged. "You think you can take on my army?!"

  "I do not fancy the thought of dealing with a lowly organism like you," Lady Anastasia replied bluntly.

  Vexar scoffed. "I see you still haven't learned your lesson yet." He swung both arms wide. "Let's see how you fare against their combined strength!"

  "Go!!" he commanded.

  The statues poured forward. Their different weapons gleamed in the faint light as they surrounded the lady.

  ‘Thinking of it,’ Lady Anastasia thought, holding her chin. ‘The description Harbinger gave this creature matches the exact same description of my sister Lady Aurelia's powers.’

  Her pupils rose and locked onto the statues. ‘How do you know my sister's powers, Harbinger?’ she wondered.

  Amid her thoughts, an axe-wielding statue leapt forward and arched its weapon downward. Without sparing as much as a glance, Lady Anastasia shifted aside and watched the axe hurtle downward just inches from her face.

  "Unlike Aurelia's that seals souls," she started and raised a finger toward the axe.

  Everything dragged into clarity.

  "My power allows me to seal the flow of tenzen or anti-tenzen through any four-dimensional existence."

  Her finger touched the axe and slid along its blade.

  "Without tenzen or anti-tenzen..."

  A crack sounded from somewhere deep within the golem’s chest.

  It did not fall at once. It stood there, massive and unmoving, as though refusing to acknowledge what had begun. Then the fissure widened. Thin lines raced across its stone body like veins of pale lightning. Dust trickled from its shoulders. A fragment slipped from its arm and shattered against the ground.

  The dark glow in its eyes flickered.

  Another piece broke away. Then another. Not violently but slowly, gently, as if the energy binding it had simply grown tired. The seams between the stones loosened. Gaps formed. Its fingers crumbled mid-curl, scattering into gravel that pattered across the floor.

  The great frame swayed. With a hollow groan, the light within it dimmed to nothing. The towering shape came apart in sections, collapsing inward until nothing remained but a heap of lifeless stone.

  "...everything unravels," Lady Anastasia finished. Her pupils rolled to Vexar.

  "Who's next?" she asked.