Chapter Sixteen: Ghost and Sword
Above the ruined forests where Aeris and Sasha faced each other, the air began to shift again.
Crow, still seated upon his broken throne of stone and bone, flicked his fingers once — casually, almost lazily.
At that small motion, a second pulse rippled through the world.
[Command Issued: Deploy Secondary Asset — Seraphina, Ghost Hero (SS-Rank)]
[Mission: Assist in the Capture of Divine Rank Entity — Aeris]
Seraphina, the ghostly assassin bound to Crow's will, shimmered into full visibility beside him.
Her ethereal armor gleamed faintly, and her eyes — once distant and dreamy — sharpened into cold, deadly focus.
Without a word, she drifted forward and disappeared into the mist.
On the battlefield, Aeris frowned as she readied her spell, her staff glowing with vibrant cosmic green light.
Sasha was strong — far stronger than anything she had faced recently — but Aeris was Divine. She wouldn't fall easily.
She raised her staff high, a massive spell forming above her like a second sun.
Then the temperature dropped.
Suddenly, without warning, cold fingers brushed the side of her neck.
A whisper like a sigh of death filled the air.
Aeris spun around instinctively — but it was too late.
Seraphina had already appeared behind her, dual ghostly blades slicing through the gaps in her defenses like mist.
Slash! Slash!
Not to kill — Crow had ordered her to assist in capture.
The blades only disrupted Aeris's spell, severing her control over the magical energy swirling around her.
Aeris staggered, her barrier flickering.
Before she could recover, Sasha moved.
Like a streak of golden lightning, Sasha closed the distance, her sword plunging downward in a sharp, precise motion.
Boom!
The ground exploded around Aeris as she threw up a desperate shield — but it cracked instantly under the twin assault of sword and specter.
Sasha's blade hovered just a hair's breadth from Aeris's throat.
Seraphina floated behind her, silent and deadly, both daggers positioned at vital points.
Aeris panted, sweat beading her flawless skin, her emerald eyes burning with frustrated fury.
"You..." she hissed.
"You belong to him now," Sasha said simply, voice almost tender.
"It's over."
At that moment, Crow's aura finally reached the battlefield — a golden-black wave of divine dominion that blanketed the sky.
Aeris's body shuddered.
Her knees buckled involuntarily.
Her staff clattered to the ground.
Her emerald gaze lifted toward the distant figure she could barely glimpse — Crow, sitting atop his throne, golden eyes locked on her like a god judging a mortal.
[Divine Control — Activation Possible]
Crow smiled slightly.
And whispered a single word.
"Kneel."
Aeris fought for a heartbeat.
And then her legs folded beneath her, her head bowing low, her proud spirit cracking under the combined weight of Crow's will, Sasha's sword, and Seraphina's silent death threat.
The great Aeris — the Celestial Druid, the dream of countless players — had been captured.
And she was his now.
Forever.
Chapter Sixteen End