Lieutenant Colonel Dan

"No! Ithaqua still has—"

Hoshimi Miyabi's sixth sense flared to its limit at the last moment, but she was still too late. Before she could finish, a gray-white scroll unfurled from the Hollow and swallowed them both.

Time froze in that instant.

Beneath the white domain, everything stood still. Dust hung in midair, and the Ether mist became a gray-white curtain.

A pink-haired figure stepped out of the white scroll, her lips curving into an inscrutable smile.

"Little one of the Hoshimi Family, your swordsmanship isn't bad." She stopped before Hoshimi Miyabi and offered her assessment.

There was no mockery in her voice, only the calm of someone who had lived through long years. Then her gaze settled on the Demon Blade. She studied it for a moment, a trace of nostalgia entering her eyes.

"The Tail-less Demon Blade? I didn't expect to meet another wielder who could master it completely. The last time I saw it, it was in that person's hands..."

She turned toward Ithaqua—or rather, toward his weapon.

"Erebos... It ended up with the Meflor Family?" Her voice dropped, as though she were talking to herself.

"I wonder if my Taumiel is still around."

As the pink-haired woman sank into memories of the past, the Void Hunter emblem on Hoshimi Miyabi suddenly caught her eye.

"Strange. Didn't we agree back then that Void Hunters weren't allowed near the Black Wall? How long have I been asleep? Has the pact expired?"

While she was lost in thought, a faint tremor ran through her frozen domain of time.

"Hm?"

The pink-haired woman looked startled. Then, without warning—

Ripples appeared in the space behind her. Another pink-haired woman emerged, bringing a terrifying killing intent with her.

Beneath the gray-white scroll, a cold gleam flashed. That slash was like a phantom,