Runebelle watched the healing shot soar through the air.

  "Please, please let it reach her in time," Runebelle pleaded silently. "I can't lose her. I can't let Aliana end her like this...”

  The shot sped through the air, closing the gap between them, but Aliana's blade descended with alarming speed. Time seemed to slow as Runebelle watched in agonizing suspense. It looked like her shot was not going to make it in time. Risebelle was going to be destroyed.

  "Please, please, please," Runebelle whispered. Her eyes slammed shut and tears came from them.

  “PLEAAASE!!!!!!!”

  In the critical moment when all seemed lost, a powerful bolt of lightning arced through the air, colliding with Aliana's descending blade. The impact sent sparks flying in every direction, and the force of the collision caused Aliana to stagger back, her attack disrupted.

  Runebelle's eyes open upon hearing the lightning bolt. Her heart soared with hope. She turned her gaze toward the source of the lightning, and there, standing before them was Roselle.

  Roselle stood tall with a smile gracing her lips. "I am here," she nodded, but her gaze shifted upwards. She felt the top of her head “But I think I’ve lost my hat along the way. I hope Dr. Kintovar won't be too upset about that...”

  Runebelle's healing shot reached Risebelle. The sensation was like a lifeline that pulled her back from the jaws of destruction. Risebelle’s eyes widened in astonishment. Her systems went back to 28%.

  "I'm... alive," Risebelle managed to utter.

  Runebelle’s normally sad look broke into one of relief and joy. She couldn't help but smile, even if it she could only do so faintly.

  "I made it!” Runebelle exclaimed.

  Risebelle wiped the dust from her face and looked at Runebelle, who was now standing just a few feet away.

  "I told you to get out of here, you know," Risebelle said with exhaustion in her tone.

  Runebelle shook her head firmly with tears still glistening in her eyes. "I couldn’t just leave you. You’re my older sister," she replied gently.

  Those words hit Risebelle like a well-aimed strike to the chest. ‘Sister’... The word lingered in her mind. She had always been fiercely independent, considering herself nothing more than a soldier or a tool in Dr. Kintovar’s grand design. Yet here was this fragile-looking pink and blue-haired girl, someone she had barely acknowledged until now ready to risk her life to save her.

  Risebelle glanced down at her trembling hands. ‘I can’t believe how much they’re changing me... ‘She thought.

  On the outside, she crossed her arms and gave them the faintest of smiles. "You’re both idiots.”

  Runebelle’s faint smile grew brighter. "You’re welcome," she said softly.

  From a few steps away, Roselle grinned mischievously. "Aww, look at this! A battlefield family reunion. Group hug?"

  Risebelle’s smirk disappeared. Her gaze became chilling enough to freeze the air. "Say ‘hug’ again spark plug, and I’ll turn you into an ice sculpture."

  Roselle instantly held her hands up with a sheepish grin. "Nope, no hugging. Hugging is canceled. Carry on!"

  Meanwhile, Aliana approached. She couldn't hide her frustration. "Who is this?" she questioned with disdain.

  Roselle, standing resolute said, "I am Roselle, and I've come to put an end to you. What you've done here is unforgivable."

  Aliana's icy gaze bore into Roselle as she retorted, "Unforgivable, you say? Coming from creations like you, those words hold no weight. You know nothing of the world, of power, of ambition. You exist solely because of the whims of a mad scientist. You’re not even real."

  Those words ignited something fierce within Roselle. Her hands clenched tightly around the hilt of her cannon. Yellow lightning swirled around her weapon intensely.

  "Say whatever you want about me," Roselle replied with a controlled anger. "But don’t for a second think I’ll let you get away with hurting my sisters, or anyone else again. You’ve probably killed countless scientists, haven’t you?"

  Aliana’s face darkened. Without another word, she lunged forward. Her blade seemed to aim directly for Roselle’s chest before shifting course in an instant toward her side.

  Roselle leapt backward just in time to narrowly dodge the strike. She realized immediately that Aliana wasn’t just fast—she was calculating. She was prepared to exploit even the smallest openings.

  "I need to be faster," Roselle muttered to herself. Summoning her lightning, she let more of it coil around her cannon. The yellow arcs hummed with power. She swung her weapon up to meet Aliana’s next strike. Their weapons clashed and sent sparks flying in every direction.

  Roselle and Aliana traded blows. Roselle’s cannon pulsed with energy and every swing seemed to grow sharper, faster. Finally, she saw her opening and sent a surge of lightning through her cannon, amplifying its power. The force of her next strike pushed Aliana back several feet, and in that moment, Roselle aimed her cannon directly at her opponent’s chest.

  "Got you," Roselle said right when she fired. The shot roared forward, but Aliana twisted at the last second to narrowly avoid the point-blank blast. The force of the shot still grazed her, tearing into the ground and sending debris flying.

  Aliana skidded to a halt. She stared at Roselle. The icy composure she had cracked just enough to reveal a flicker of surprise. “You’re more of a threat than the others,” she said with both irritation and curiosity. "You’re actually keeping up with me."

  Roselle lowered her cannon slightly. And just responded with a serious look.

  While leaping back, Aliana began to form a deadly arc of ice spikes with her sword. The spikes multiplied and surrounded her in a deadly formation. She then pointed her blade at Roselle and launched the barrage of ice spikes at her.

  Roselle, in turn tried to maneuver her massive cannon to intercept the incoming spikes; however, the close contact with Aliana's sword caused a freezing aura around her cannon which began to encase it in ice. Roselle gritted her teeth. The ice spikes were closing in fast and this ice made her cannon's movements sluggish.

  Roselle made a split-second to drop her massive cannon and focus her energy on creating a sphere of lightning energy around her body. The crackling lightning arced and danced around her to form a protective barrier.’I've never attempted anything like this before,' she thought, 'But...'

  Roselle extended her lightning sphere into four distinct parts, each one aimed at controlling some of the ice spikes. The lightning extensions shot out toward the incoming ice spikes and collided with them in a burst of elemental power. She managed to control the ice spikes with her lightning reaching out like hands and tossing them out of the way.

  Roselle brought the crackling lightning sphere around her body closer to Aliana. The Cryomancer's eyes widened with surprise. She swiftly conjured a barrier of ice around herself. The lightning sphere collided with the icy shield, causing a clash between the two forces.

  Aliana could feel immense pressure from the lightning sphere pushing against her defenses. She gritted her teeth and struggled to maintain the barrier.

  Roselle poured more energy into the lightning sphere and intensified the assault. The overwhelming force of Roselle's lightning sphere proved too much for Aliana's defenses, and a surge of electric energy engulfed her.

  Aliana's scream of agony echoed through the battlefield as she was sent hurtling backward with her body wracked with pain. She crashed into the ground some distance away. Her body twitched from the residual effects of the lightning strike.

  Roselle, her golden hair shimmering like a radiant crown, gazed down at Aliana with an intense glare. Her usual demeanor had been replaced by ferocity and her eyes blazed with anger.

  Roselle glared at Aliana and declared "It's over." while placing her weapon her back and thrusting her hands downwards.

  Aliana slowly pushed herself up from the ground. Her breaths came in ragged gasps, but her aura flickered erratically. She gazed at Roselle with a defiant glare.

  "It's not over," Aliana hissed. "Did you think that was the extent of my power? Up until now, you've only seen up to Sword Magic Level 3. I didn't think you damn creations would end up giving me so much trouble...”

  Roselle's serious look suddenly shifted into one of genuine confusion. She blinked at Aliana, then titled her head slightly and asked, "Sword Magic? What's that? Is it like a fancy trick with a sword?"

  Risebelle, standing a safe distance away with Runebelle, sighed deeply and lowered her eyes. She crossed her arms. "Of course she doesn't know about Sword Magic. She wasn't around for Aliana's great novel on Sword Magic. You remember that nonsense, don’t you?”

  Runebelle clasped her hands in front of her and gave a solemn nod. "I do. "She talked about it... a lot."

  Meanwhile, Aliana managed to push herself to her feet. Her grin was more predatory than amused. She straightened and pointed her blade toward Roselle.

  "Sure," Aliana said mockingly. "You can call it a fancy trick with a sword if you want. It’s just ‘a parlor trick’ to embue your magic into your sword.”

  Roselle’s eyes narrowed slightly. She caught the undertone of Aliana’s words. "But if it’s not just a trick, then what’s so special about it? Is it, like, a sword that writes poetry or something?"

  Aliana’s grin widened. "Not quite, but why bother explaining it to you when I can show you?”

  With a flick of her hand, Aliana's blade, Kori Tengoku began to emit an even more intense icy aura. Her smile widened and her eyes gleamed with a hint of madness. Her presence seemed to shift. An aura of unparalleled power enveloped her. The very air around her seemed to freeze and her blade crackled with icy energy. She raised her blade high and screamed, "Sword God Form: Tengoku, the Ice Heaven!"

  In that moment, a light enveloped her, and her figure was bathed in an ethereal, icy radiance. Her once-blue hair turned a brilliant shade of silver and her eyes gleamed with an otherworldly intensity, becoming blue.

  Her clothing, which had previously been a deep shade of azure became a pristine, crystalline white, adorned with frost patterns that seemed to dance across its surface. Her sword Tengoku, was no longer just a blade; it became the embodiment of the frozen heavens, now dripping with ice at a lowered temperature.

  Risebelle held a note of concern upon seeing Aliana's Sword God Form. "It looks like a transformation of some sort," she said with worry. "Roselle, be careful. Don’t blink, at all."

  Roselle focused on the warning from Risebelle, but even with that warning, she lost sight of Aliana, which made her blink in confusion.

  Aliana reappeared behind Roselle in an instant. Her blade came mere inches from cutting Roselle's neck cleanly off. Roselle just barely managed to step back but even when she did, ice seemed to come from Aliana’s blade which reached her neck.

  “This isn't just a parlor trick, little girl. This is what happens when ice ascends to the heavens. Did you really think you could keep up with a Sword God like me?"

  Aliana’s blade slashed across Roselle’s shoulder. The icy energy emanating from the wound surged through her veins, making her entire body feel like it was being torn apart. The sheer pain left her unable to scream. The ground beneath her feet froze in an instant, and a glacial wave followed Aliana’s swing which sent Roselle flying into a tree with brutal force.

  Her body collided with the trunk. Frost crept up her legs and across her torso until it encased her in a crystalline prison of ice.

  “Roselle!” Risebelle shouted with her eyes wide. She tried to step forward, but her knees buckled. She clutched her side with her body trembling from the strain of her negative magic reserves. She knew she couldn’t push herself any further—not without risking her own destruction.

  Runebelle stood frozen in fear. Her hands trembled and her lips quivered. She muttered, “I... I don’t know what to do.”

  Risebelle cut through the air with a commanding tone despite the clear strain she was under. “Runebelle! Go help her! Unfreeze her!”

  Runebelle shook her head in a panic. “I don’t know how to do that!”

  “You have fire magic, don’t you?” Risebelle snapped with equal parts frustration and desperation. “You’ve got ice, fire, and earth! If you came through for me, you can damn well do it for Roselle now!”

  Runebelle flinched at Risebelle’s outburst. Her gloomy gaze shifted back to Roselle, who remained trapped in the growing frost. A second layer of ice seemed to be forming around her from her neck.

  “Please, Runebelle,” Risebelle said while speaking softer. “Help Roselle before it’s too late. I’ll... I’ll come up with a plan. Just trust me.”

  Runebelle’s hands balled into fists. Her chest felt tight and every instinct told her that this was pointless to try, but the sight of Roselle trapped and helpless made her shift slightly to a quiet resolve. She whispered, “Okay.”

  Risebelle’s lips curled into the faintest hint of a smile, though pain lingered in her eyes. “Good. Now move.”

  Runebelle began running forward towards Roselle. Aliana, standing amidst her icy dominion turned her gaze toward Runebelle. Her face twisted into one of amusement. “Oh? The little ball of sorrow is stepping up to the plate now? This should be entertaining.”

  Runebelle ignored her taunts. She extended her hand and tried to bring out her fire energy, the same one she uses to create her fire pillars. The flame appeared in her hands, flaring brightly. It began to melt the ice surrounding her sister. The frost hissed and cracked under the heat, and steam rose into the air.

  “Come on,” Runebelle murmured. “I…I have to do this. I’m the only one who can help her.”

  Behind her, Risebelle clenched her fists with her mind heavy in thought. ‘I just need time to figure out how were going to take her down before we become her permanent ice sculptures.’