Agnes and Ariana stood side by side.
Waist-length golden hair and a beige coat.
After all these years apart, Ariana had grown into a graceful young woman, though traces of the little girl she had once been still lingered.
Terrifying no longer sufficed to describe John's expression. Murderous intent blazed in his eyes, and the moment his vertical pupils appeared...
The many beings of hell that had been about to follow Ariana out shuddered with fear.
A wave of cold surged through the passage, with him at its center.
Layer upon layer of ice spread over it.
Agnes's hands were free of their restraints. She raised them, drawing on magic to form a defensive barrier.
"Being from beyond this world," John said, his voice thick with suppressed killing intent, "you have violated something far deadlier than a taboo."
Ariana tilted her head, and a voice neither male nor female emerged from her mouth.
"A wizard?" She glanced at Agnes. "Is this the gift you brought me?"
Agnes could not afford to turn against the Hell Lord now, so she could only say, "He is a relative of this body's owner."
"I have yet to merge with this body. The will within it is rejecting me." Ariana looked down at her arm. The bracelet, glowing like the Diadem, resisted the Hell Lord's arrival.
"This wizard comes from an ancient family, with an exalted bloodline," Ariana said coolly. "You brought her to me and summoned hell's projection. I will deal with him for you."
"It is my honor," Agnes said respectfully.
Ariana raised her hand slightly, and the ice exploded.
She stepped out, her left eye pitch-black and her right eye blue.
The Hell Lord had not yet fully entered this world, having merely projected her consciousness into Ariana.
She was a