A Peacock Husband of Five Princesses by day, a Noble Assassin by Night

All of a sudden, the flames that exploded from Shiera's body turned golden yellow, burning brighter than ever, turning her into a mini sun in the dark surroundings, illuminating the entire street.

She charged again.

This time, she didn't aim for the knight. She zigzagged, ducked its slash, and leapt, her sword raised toward the Grandlich's hovering form.

But the lich anticipated it.

"Velkareth minzul, Ashul Ka Mordrek!"

A vortex of screaming skulls burst from its staff, striking her mid-air. The force slammed into her midsection, tearing the wind from her lungs and flinging her across the rooftop again like a ragdoll.

She crashed through a spire, tumbled, rolled, and barely caught the edge of the building before falling three stories down.

Her fingers dug into the crumbling edge.

Her sword slid and clattered to the tiles above.

She hung there, bleeding and gasping, while the Grandlich floated closer, staff aglow with necrotic light.

"A shame," it said, eerily calm. "You're powerful. You could have served the realm better, but you have poked your nose into my master's business. Now, only death awaits you."

From above, the Death Knight approached her blade.

Shiera's eyes narrowed.

With a grunt, she swung herself up, flipping over the ledge just as a bolt of mana blasted the space where she had hung seconds ago. She landed on her knees, arms raised…

"Aegis Ward!"

A glowing barrier shielded her from the Death Knight's stomp.

Then, she dove.

Sliding under its legs, she reclaimed her blade and stabbed the Death Knight in the ribs before hurling it back like a ragdoll.

But the Grandlich had already begun unleashing a new spell.

The sky above dimmed, the stars themselves flickering.

Ribbons of green-black magic coiled through the air, centering around its staff. A gate began to tear open in the sky, through which howls, screams, and whispers of a thousand tormented voices spilled out.

Shiera's eyes widened. "You're trying to open a rift to the Underworld?!"

The Grandlich grinned under the hood. "Only for a few minutes. Just long enough to bring my army through."

Shiera raised her blade. "Not happening."

The air split, and dozens of skeletal wings burst from the forming gate. Spectral hands reached through.

The Death Knight, now fully recovered, stood in front of it like a guardian. Shiera's magic was nearly depleted, and her body ached.

But she took one step forward.

And another.

"I'm not done yet…"

She slashed the air in front of her, channeling every last ounce of divine mana she could muster.

"Radiant Cross: Form Omega!"

Twin beams of holy energy erupted in an X-shape, burning through the air toward both the Death Knight and the lich. The Grandlich raised its staff to block. The Death Knight threw itself into the blast.

Both were engulfed.

The rooftop shattered beneath the force.

A roar of flame and dust consumed the structure.

When the light faded, Shiera stood alone amidst rubble, panting, sword lowered.

Smoke curled upward.

But from the heart of the blast… a skeletal hand emerged.

Still alive.

Still standing.

And the gate to the Underworld continued to widen.

The Grandlich rose, robes in tatters but its body whole, necrotic energy wrapping around its limbs like armor. The staff in its hand pulsed with obsidian light, drawing in the howls of the dead like a beacon.

The sky screamed as the rift yawned wider, as if it was swallowing stars. From its depths, shadows slithered through, some with wings of bone, others dragging chains.

Shiera dropped to one knee, struggling to breathe. Her blade was cracked, steaming with fading divine light. Her entire body felt shattered from within, but her eyes burned with defiance.

The Grandlich spoke, voice like wind through a graveyard. "You should be honored. Few mortals ever witness the Threshold Unbound. Lay down your sword, and I will grant you a painless death."

Shiera laughed, a dry, bloody rasp. "I don't need mana... to end you."

She reached into her belt pouch and drew a glowing relic, an ancient sunstone, etched with the seal of the First Saints. It's light pulsed weakly but steadily. A trump card. A divine relic that could only be used once every decade.

Her fingers trembled. She had hoped to save this for a truly dire situation. But the final war had come quite early.

The Grandlich paused, sensing the shift in the air.

Shiera raised the stone to her chest, pressing it over her heart. "Sanctus Invicta… grant me one last light."

The stone shattered—its shards dissolving into radiant fire that flooded her body. Her wounds closed instantly. Her blade reformed in her hand, reborn in a blaze of golden-white flame. Her aura surged with divinity, pushing strength to Tier-9.

The Grandlich recoiled, momentarily blinded. "Do you think it will be enough to defeat me?"

Shiera replied in confidence. "It is enough."

She sprinted forward, moving faster than light, cloak trailing fire. Specters shrieked and burst into ash as she passed. Her blade carved a spiral through the air as she leapt, striking the Grandlich mid-incantation.

He screamed as the first cut struck true, splitting the staff in half. Dark energy exploded outward, disrupting the gate's stability.

She didn't stop.

"Solar Rite—Final Exorcism!"

Her sword stabbed through its chest, and a corona of searing light exploded from the impact, forming a radiant symbol in the air behind them—the mark of the sun-goddess herself.

The Grandlich howled as its robe disintegrated, bone and smoke pulled apart by divine fire. It lashed out one last time with a claw of soulflame.

It grazed her shoulder, causing enormous pain not just to her body but to her very soul.

But Shiera gritted her teeth, bearing the pain, and twisted the blade, embedding it fully, and released the last of the relic's stored power.

A sun detonated at point-blank range.

The rift above shrieked and began to collapse. The spectral army, already halfway through, turned to ash in midair, pulled screaming back into the void. The gate folded like paper and vanished with a final snap.

Silence followed the scene.

Ash rained like snow across the broken rooftop.

Shiera dropped to both knees, blade buried in the stone beside her, panting heavily. The radiant flames died down. Her armor was cracked, and her entire body seemed like it had become ten times heavier. She could barely stand, but her eyes were on the Death Knight that was still not dead and was reconnecting its bones.

"This sh*t…" She tightened her grip on the sword and was about to charge forward, but then a shadow moved in the smoke behind her.

She glanced behind.

Alice was seen standing there. She clapped slowly, mockingly, wings folded behind her.

"Well done," she said. "You really are the Saint's chosen princess to ascend to the throne. To kill a Grandlich was undoubtedly remarkable."

Shiera tried to raise her sword. It didn't move.

Alice stepped forward, her voice calm and cold. "But you've burned everything to defeat the grandlich. You have nothing left to stop me or even my Death Knight."

Shiera breathed hard, her body slumped, but her glare was sharp. "Even if I die today, I will take you down."

Alice chuckled in response, raising her hand. Dark chains erupted from her hand and tightly bound the princess instantly. Shiera's eyes widened, realizing that her mana core was restricted for some reason. She couldn't even explode to make a suicide attack.

"Sorry, Princess. Today, you will die and there is nothing you can do about it."