The ascent to the top of the tower was only a few steps away. Klein advanced along the narrow spiral staircase whose black stone walls exuded a demonic mana so dense it had become palpable. At his side, Walpurga followed him. The screams of the possessed and the howls of the chimeric guardians echoed in the stairs, approaching with a terrifying regularity.

Suddenly, a shock shook the entire structure. A horde of monsters surged from the lower levels. Walpurga stopped dead, her black umbrella pointed toward them. Her amethyst eyes shone under the brim of her hat.

"Klein... the road ends here for me..." she murmured, her voice remained clear despite the chaos. "I will stay and eliminate these wastes once and for all."

Klein stopped two steps higher, his gaze turned toward her. His torn coat revealed his tense muscles and the scars that glowed faintly. "Are you sure? There are thousands of them down there."

Walpurga let out a brief laugh, a sound filled with arrogance. "You forget who you are talking to, my little Klein... I am Walpurga. Even the depths of the Abyss would not dare claim me without my consent." She took a step toward the edge of the void, her Genesis 5-star stage mana beginning to boil around her like a sea of violet ink. "Go... the woman of the scarlet night awaits you at the top. Do not make her wait, or I will have to deal with her myself."

"Take care of yourself..." replied Klein in a neutral tone, although his eyes betrayed a gleam of concern he could not completely mask.

"Do not be sentimental..." she retorted without turning around. With a brusque gesture, she unleashed her power.

< Genesis : Domain of Curses >

The air froze instantly. A violet shockwave swept the staircase, creating a barrier of altered reality that the monsters crashed into head-on. Klein seized the opening and rushed toward the heights.

< Aura Technique : Dash >

He became a silver streak, devouring the steps four at a time.

As he reached the upper levels, where the tower’s architecture merged with the sky of Babylon, the passage was blocked by massive silhouettes. They were demons, creatures whose gray skin was covered with bony plates and whose eyes were mere slits of pure fire.

"Mortal... your journey ends here..." growled one of the demons, his voice echoing like grinding stones.

Klein did not bother to respond. He smoothed his long silver hair with one hand, while his other hand gripped the hilt of his katana.

The first demon charged, raising a mace made of blackened bone. Klein did not retreat. He raised his hands in front of his face, his fingers moving with uncommon speed.

< Mystic Spells : Tripataka... Prana Mudra >

An ethereal glow, a mix of lunar silver and stellar gold, enveloped his hands. In a flash, he used the telekinesis learned from Diavolo to seize a massive marble slab lying on the ground and hurl it against the first attacker.

The impact was deafening. The block of stone shattered the demon’s shoulder, sending him backward with the sound of dislocating vertebrae. He tried to get up, but several of his ribs had given way under the shock, forcing him into a slower and more jolted movement. Klein perceived this hesitation and understood he must not let such an opening pass.

< Art : Sundering Eclipse >

< Second Movement : Quarter Moon >

He struck while pivoting on his left foot. His blade described a perfect arc at chest height, then a series of energy blades suspended in the air materialized around the creature. These struck precisely at the demon’s joints as he tried to rise. Black and viscous blood spurted from the gashes and splashed the stone walls.

"Kuh!" spat the second demon, his fangs grinding with exasperation.

He extended both hands forward, and a wave of corruption spread like a sheet from his torso. The toxic cloud advanced rapidly, corroding the air and leaving blackish mold trails on the stone.

< Aura Repulsion >

Klein dispersed the cloud in all directions before it reached his face. The demon stepped back, surprised. Klein gave him no time to understand. He lifted his katana with both hands, lowered his center of gravity slightly, then murmured:

< Art : Sundering Eclipse >

< Third Movement : New Moon >

The change was immediate. Klein’s aura, which until now had haloed his body, suddenly retracted to coil around his muscles like a second skin. His heart began to beat at a frantic rhythm. The energy of the Sundering Eclipse poured directly into his bloodstream.

He leaped, his feet striking the ground with such force that the stone slabs shattered under the impulse. In a fraction of a second, he was in contact.

The demon, despite his constant attention, was caught off guard. He desperately tried to raise a mana barrier, but this time the wall had no time to solidify. Klein struck in extension, the blade penetrating the still unstable energy, and tore through the demonic protection as if it were mere paper.

The demon screamed, a hoarse and deep sound that echoed long between the tower walls.

Klein did not wait for the echo to end. He sheathed his blade with a nonchalant gesture, turned on his heels and continued on his way, stepping over the still twitching body of the first creature. He thus crossed the last stone arch and emerged onto the summit plateau of the Tower.

The spectacle awaiting him surpassed in horror everything he had imagined during his ascent.

The top of the tower was nothing more than a circular arena, entirely submerged under a thick layer of blood. Each step Klein took produced a sickening sucking sound, accompanied by small ripples that spread across the surface of this organic liquid.

In the center of this sea of blood stood a pile of corpses. At the top of this macabre heap, a silhouette sat with legs crossed, as if resting after a simple walk.

It was a woman with excessively long black hair. Her strands floated in the blood around the pile, mingling with severed limbs and outstretched fingers. She wore a silk dress now saturated with red. The wet silk clung to her slender figure, hugging every curve with such precision that Klein could distinguish the contours of her hips and the curve of her chest.

She slowly turned her head toward him. Her eyes were of absolute black, devoid of sclera or pupil, two pits of unfathomable void that seemed to suck in the surrounding light. Fresh blood tears flowed uninterrupted from her orbits, tracing vermilion furrows on her porcelain-pale cheeks. They dripped down to her chin, then fell into the scarlet lake with a small plop that pierced the crushing silence of the summit.

Klein felt his fingers clench on the hilt of his katana. His face, which he believed prepared for anything, fell apart in surprise. The person before him was the last one he expected to meet in this place.

" Dyana ? "