"Djeeta!"
Lyria yelled as she saw Djeeta being thrown out of the factory like that.
Because she was distracted, the Rosetta power she was using started to waver, and Aviza managed to break free from the thorns.
"Don't look so worried. You're all gonna be next!"
Aviza growled as more dark essence surged from his swords.
"Don't underestimate us! Stan, Therese—we need to work together. And Lyria, protect us with your power."
Aliza said, clearly angry after seeing Djeeta thrown away so easily.
The sounds of battle echoed inside the factory as the crew clashed with Aviza again.
Meanwhile outside, Djeeta—who had been kicked—finally stopped only after slamming into the outer barrier, which forcibly halted her momentum.
"Aghh!"
She hit her back so hard that she created a crack in the barrier before it quickly healed itself, and she fell to the ground.
"Ow ow… my back and my butt hurt…"
Djeeta muttered while patting her lower back.
She couldn't even stand up. She could only sit there, waiting for the pain to fade or at least lessen a little.
"At least my butt isn't as hurt as when Rei was doing it… But at least that one felt good before hurting the next day…"
She then inspected the sword she had been using since the beginning of their journey.
"This sword can't even scratch Aviza's armor. Even if I can fight him, it's useless if my weapon can't keep up."
She had done her best to maintain the blade—repairing it, sharpening it—but since it was just the basic sword she brought from her village, there was only so much she could do.
Maybe it was finally time for her to get a new sword.
"I should ask Sierokarte if she has one I can buy…"
With Rei and Sandalphon, a few minutes earlier, before Aviza unleashed the dark essence
Rei was using the power of the Primarchs to restore the damaged buildings and shops that had been ruined during the monster attack.
He also cleaned the blood from the streets using Leviathan's power, then dried the ground with Tiamat.
"I can't believe I'm using higher-dimension beings for cleaning,"
Rei laughed to himself once he finished.
No one in the Skyrealm would ever imagine using Primal Beasts for chores like this. People usually used such power for world domination or their own selfish desires—not for sweeping the streets.
"Thank you, sir—ma'am!"
The shop owner cried tears of relief when he saw his shop restored to normal.
"No problem. Sorry, we have to go—there are others who need help,"
Rei replied with a small smile before he and Sandalphon continued walking.
As they walked, he asked her how things were going on Ravi Island. It had been weeks since he and the others leave.
"Orchis has been working really hard to bring more tourists to the island. With Apollonia and Adam helping, the island's been moving forward steadily. I'm sure in a few months it'll return to its former glory."
"I see. What about Orchid and the others?"
"Orchid has been pretty lonely since you've been away, but she's been helping Orchis too. Sometimes she even works at the maid café."
"Orchid in maid clothes??? What the hell—I need to see that!"
"She's really cute in it. Even Rosetta keeps trying to make her wear it again."
Sandalphon giggled at the memory.
Rei smiled.
The story had changed so much from the original game.
By this point in the game, Djeeta and the crew would have just finished fighting Akasha—but in this world, Akasha was already inside him, rescued from those who wanted to misuse it.
And in the game, Orchid would have chosen to travel the skies alone. But here, she had people to stay with—friends, a home, and a place to return to.
Knowing that made Rei genuinely happy.
"It's been a while since I saw Sturm and Drang… I wonder where they are now."
He murmured to himself. He hadn't seen them in over a year if he counted the time he spent in the other timeline.
Still, there were many adventures ahead. He was confident he would meet them again sooner or later.
"I also need to prepare the first Revenant Weapon for Djeeta… so she can awaken properly as a Boundary Power user."
He had already met Tweyen, so soon he needed to track down the Two-Crown Bow.
"What are you thinking about?"
Sandalphon nudged him gently.
"Well… the future."
"The future? I didn't think you were the type to think about something like that."
"Haha… you know, it's better to be prepared than to be surprised by—"
Rei suddenly stopped walking. His expression sharpened into a cold, serious look.
Sandalphon halted too, confused by the sudden change.
"What's wrong?"
She rarely saw him look this serious.
Rei stared toward the direction of the mansion.
He could feel it.
A surge of dark essence—powerful, heavy, unmistakable.
It stood out sharply, because he had fought against it many times before.
The dark essence he sensed was far stronger than the one that had controlled the Primal Beasts before.
This one was more focused… more overwhelming… almost condensed compared to the chaotic corruption inside a Primal Beast.
"Is it because the user is just a normal person? Or because their body isn't as big as a Primal Beast, so the dark essence can pour into them more easily…?"
Rei murmured to himself, already trying to analyze it.
He always did this—whenever he found something interesting, he drifted into his own head, thinking deeply, completely forgetting the world around him… until Djeeta or someone else snapped him out of it.
This time, Sandalphon nudged him—hard.
"Stop it. Why are you doing that again?"
"Ah—right. I'm sensing dark essence being used. Probably Aviza."
"Dark essence? What is that?"
Rei wasn't surprised she didn't know.
By the time Sandalphon appeared in the original story, dark essence wasn't used anymore, so she obviously wouldn't recognize it.
Lucifer would, of course as he watched the Sky Realm every day.
"It's just… bad stuff. People use it to gain temporary power, but it turns them into monsters. Honestly, it's not worth it."
But this wasn't the time to explain. Rei was already getting worried.
In the game, Djeeta only fought Aviza as a raid boss.
And in the story event, Rei casually one-shot him.
But this wasn't a game.
This world was real—where life and death actually mattered.
"Can Djeeta and the others fight someone using dark essence? Should we help them?"
Sandalphon asked, worry in her voice. From the way Rei described it, dark essence sounded extremely dangerous.
"Djeeta should be able to fight it with Lyria's help… but the problem is—"
Djeeta's sword.
As far as Rei knew, she had never changed it. She had been using the same sword ever since leaving Zinkenstill.
In the other timeline, when she fought Lucilius, she was already using the Seven-Star Sword, one of the Ten Revenant Weapons… so there had been no problem then.
"Even if she can fight, her equipment won't last…"
And this was her first real fight against a human dark-essence user—not just monsters or corrupted Primal Beasts.
"Then what are we gonna do?" Sandalphon asked.
"Of course I'm going to help her."
Rei raised his right hand and opened his palm.
Sparks of lightning began to gather, twisting and shaping themselves into the outline of a blade.
"What's that…?" Sandalphon asked, seeing an unfamiliar sword take form.
"It's the Blade of Olympus. I made it a while ago."
The lightning died down, and the sword fell solidly into Rei's hand.
"It's incomplete, though. It absorbs way too much of the user's energy."
When he tested it with Aliza that morning, the blade drained his power far too quickly. He had planned to adjust it later.
But Djeeta—she should be able to handle it with the remnants of her Boundary Power.
"Then you're going to go there and give her the sword? I can wait here," Sandalphon offered.
"Hm. Let's see…"
Rei narrowed his eyes, staring toward the mansion.
He calculated everything in a split second—the distance, the angle, the depth of the dark essence presence, the wind resistance, the strength needed.
Everything lined up perfectly.
"Nope. We still need to help the others, so—"
Rei stepped forward and pointed the sword upward.
"Don't tell me—!"
Sandalphon's eyes widened.
And before she could finish, Rei hurled the Blade of Olympus straight toward the mansion with incredible force.
Back to Djeeta—
After resting for a bit, she tried to stand up even though her back still throbbed with pain.
She couldn't stay here doing nothing.
The loud crashes coming from inside told her Aliza and the others were already fighting without her.
"Ughh…"
She grunted as she forced her body upright, swaying a little before she stabilized herself.
"I really want my regeneration ability back…"
With only fragments of her Boundary Power left, she no longer had that ability. Healing had become slow and painful.
Once she managed to stand properly, she took a deep breath and started walking toward the factory entrance again.
Raising her right arm, she looked at the sword in her hand.
There were cracks along the blade, thin but deep enough to be dangerous.
"Haahhh… How am I supposed to fight with this? Looks like calling Bahamut is the only option…"
But calling Bahamut in a place like this was extremely risky.
One wrong move and the entire cave-like structure might collapse on them.
Still, she had no other ideas.
"Aliza!!"
Lyria's scream of terror echoed from inside the factory.
Something had gone wrong.
Djeeta immediately tried to sprint inside, but before she took more than two steps, her instincts screamed a warning. Something was falling from above.
She jumped back on reflex.
CLANG!
A blue sword slammed into the ground right where she had been standing, embedding itself deep into the floor.
"Huh…?"
Djeeta stared at the sword. One look was enough to tell her this wasn't an ordinary weapon.
The blade was huge—gold and white metal, shining unnaturally even in the dim light.
It looked nothing like the swords normally seen in the sky realm.
"Is this… Rei's creation?"
She didn't even need to guess. Only Rei would create a sword with a design this unique—and only he would drop it on her from above.
She looked up, expecting to see him.
Nothing.
Only a hole in the cave roof where the sword must have fallen through.
"Where is he?! Did he seriously just toss this sword down here and NOT help!?"
Her anger flared instantly.
First, he disappeared in the morning without telling anyone—off to who-knows-where.
And now, instead of showing up and helping, he just throws a weapon at her from the sky?
"Phewww… calm down, Djeeta. Not the time…"
She inhaled deeply to calm herself. The others were still fighting inside—she had to hurry.
Still, Rei sent this blade for her. If he created it personally, then it was definitely not normal.
So she sheathed her cracked sword and reached out to grab the new one.
But the moment her right hand touched the grip—
Her vision jolted.
An intense pressure slammed into her body as the sword tried to drain her energy in an instant.
"H-!?—"
Djeeta yanked her hand away immediately, stumbling back.
"What the—?!"
She stared at her trembling right hand in shock.
"What kind of sword is this? If a normal person picked it up, they'd die! All their energy—maybe even their life force—would get sucked out!"
Why would Rei even make something like this?
Then again…
Rei did have a habit of creating completely insane things without thinking.
Like that one time he tried making a lifelike female robot—one that could get pregnant and do everything a human woman could.
Thank Bahamut Lyria found him and stopped that disaster in advance.
"Wait—no, no, it's not the time to think about that."
Djeeta slapped both cheeks lightly and shook her head.
She'd already wasted enough time.
She exhaled slowly, closed her eyes, and focused.
She reached deep inside herself—searching for every fragment, every drop of Boundary Power still lingering within her body.
She needed all of it to even touch that sword.
Opening her eyes, her irises turned blue while her hair swayed lightly from the Boundary Power.
Only her eyes changed color—there wasn't enough Boundary Power left to turn her hair blue as well.
Without hesitating, she grabbed the handle again.
Just like before, she felt her energy being drained into the sword, but she ignored it and forced herself to lift it.
The more energy the blade absorbed from her, the more a bluish glow began to form around it.
Finally, Djeeta managed to pull the sword out of the ground.
The blade now glowed blue, looking otherworldly—empowered by Djeeta's Boundary Power.
When Rei held it, the blade glowed purple because of his different power.
Now it reflected hers.
"Hahh… hahhh… hahhh…"
Just picking up the sword left Djeeta drenched in sweat and out of breath.
Composing herself, she raised the sword and walked back into the factory.
"Time to finish this."