Kariah-Belle Nadire was having the worst day.

First, her childhood friend had been killed at the hands of her brother. Now bounty hunters were on her tail.

She dashed through the snowstorm with all her might. The sharp ice that also fell from the sky broke against her skin thanks to her sky blue mana hull.

Behind her, Xex and Svett fought criminals that chased Kariah. They were after the goddess' power.

"Whoa!" cried Kariah-Belle as she narrowly dodged a powerful grenade explosion.

"Give us the brat!" yelled one of the villains.

Kariah-Belle knew the bounty hunters wanted the power of the goddess even though they had no idea what the power was. She hated that all she could do was run. She stood no chance against these big named bounty hunters without help from Kul. The goddess was still unavailable.

She got hit hard in the back of the head. The hit sent her tumbling in the snow. She hurried to shake the stars from her sight to see spears made of black mana were hurtling towards her so fast she couldn't dodge.

Suddenly Kaden stood before her and deflected the spears with his sword. He was clad in sleek black armor that resembled a dragon. His tail wagged slowly and his cape flapped in the wind. He looked back at her and his helmet revealed his face.

He looked so cool. He resembled the hero she would see on tv back at the orphanage. Her mind flashed with memories of Lax-Rim.

She was about to cry when Kaden asked, "you good?"

Kariah nodded. "Thanks, big bro."

"Go hide." He told her.

"Bu-"

"No buts," he gave her a serious look. "These guys aren't messing around. We can't fight and babysit you."

Kariah-Belle wanted to protest but knew her brother was right. She bolted for the nearest glacier to hide behind.

The battle was amazing. Explosions rocked the landscape. Giant glaciers were being destroyed due to the intense fighting.

She watched Akio in awe. She was using Sage Instinct so masterfully, that together with Rayne she took down a group of low tier thugs.

She heard Aya scream and her heart sank. When she spotted Aya, her heart sunk further. The girl had a huge chunk missing from her left side. Blood gushed from her. Her mana hull flickered out of existence but she conjured another before she could pass out.

Kana stood laughing. "How do you like that, Frozen Gun!" Her armor had changed to resemble that of a panther. Two stars were gliding across her armor. "I've been saving this power just for you!

Kariah-Belle knew what that was. Kana performed a one-star transcendence. A skill known only to Darkness Tamers.

She hurried over in Aya's direction but stopped when Aya hollered, "don't come any closer! Hide and-"

She stopped mid-sentence to evade an attack from Kana. Aya would've been hit by a follow-up attack if Ikirria wasn't there to kick it away.

"Ikirria Bloodmoon." grinned Kana. "You can die along with her!"

She sent a large laser at them. Ikirria put her hand on the ground and a barrier made of blood surrounded them, protecting them both. The purple and black explosion shook the landscape. If Kariah-Belle

When the sphere broke, Kana was in front of them. She and Ikirria exchanged blows. Ikirria was in her Bloody goddess armor. Kariah-Belle only heard rumours of the holy Knights famed skill. She was keeping up with Kana but couldn't seem to find an opening.

It was all Aya could do just to keep from getting hit. Even in her Stardust Queen mode, she was struggling to keep up.

Kariah-Belle wanted to help but knew she'd only be in the way. All she could do was look on with worry. Scared her senior might die.

"Get down!" Akio tackled her to the ground and throwing knives flew overhead. They dug into a glacier and exploded, destroying it.

Black Weapon stood before them. He had a black war axe in his hands. "You've done well to evade me little girl but you can't run forever."

He lunged at them and the two young women dodged. He went to attack Kariah-Belle who was hit with the axe. The force of the attack created a shockwave and sent her tumbling along the snowy ground through a glacier.

She screamed in pain as she laid in the snow. She spit blood. Without Kul her defense was weak against someone like Black Weapon. Her whole body hurt

He went to finish her off but Xex came to her rescue. The Divine Knight threw one of her fiery axes which BW deflected. She was upon him instantaneously. She caught her axe and proceeded to attack with a combination of slashes and kicks. Black Weapon was doing well defending himself. The two were at a stalemate.

Kariah-Belle got shakily to her feet. She looked around. Rygilya was nowhere to be found. The Knights were outnumbered. They had managed to defeat a few enemies but three Knights died during this battle. It wouldn't be long before their numbers wore them down.

Suddenly Kariah-Belle saw silhouettes in the distance. They were closing in fast. When they got closer Kariah-Belle could see they were Knights. One of them jumped and fired his rifle at a villain sneaking behind Kariah-Belle.

Reinforcements have arrived. The tide was turned in the blink of an eye.

"There!" cried Kariah-Belle as she pointed in Aya's direction.

Two of the Knights nodded. They hurried to join the fry.

Kana screamed in frustration. She no longer had the upper hand. Within minutes she was captured.

"Damn you all!" she wailed. She looked at Aya. "I'll get you for what you did to my master! Then I'll kill yours!"

Aya said nothing. Suddenly her mana hull shattered and she collapsed. That gash on her side started to ooze blood again.

Oh no. Kariah-Belle thought.

Kana laughed. "Looks like you might die here after all. Rest in peace Frozen Gun."