Lucy's veins pulsed with rage. She lunged, her fury propelling her toward Hachizen. But her blows met air. He materialized behind her, mocking her feeble attempt.

"Do you think you can lay a finger on me?" Hachizen's voice dripped venom. "YOU ONCE SATIABLE WEAKLING!" His fist struck, and Lucy's insides convulsed. Blood erupted from her lips. The impact sent her hurtling through the void, like a wounded comet.

Leonard's anguished. His voice, sliced through the chaos. Lucy's knees quaked, her gaze drawn to him.

But Lucy knew the truth: Hachizen, the sorcerer, transcended mortal bounds. Leonard, stood no chance against this immaculate demon.

"No!" Lucy's voice cracked. "Leonard, you're out of his league. His mastery over time and sorcery-too vast, too ancient." She had glimpsed the abyss within Hachizen's eyes-that consumed souls.

Yet Leonard's resolve burned. He wasn't merely a lumberjack seeking vengeance. His family's massacre fueled a fire inside him. She understood his desperation. To face the demon was to court annihilation.

And so Leonard squared his shoulders, Lucy whispered a prayer. The arena pulsed, awaiting its final act.

In the clash of worlds, Lucy's blade met Hachizen's sorcery. His eyes held secrets-of creation, destruction, and the threads that bound them all.

The crucible of shattered glass and blood-soaked earth, they would either fall, an alliance against the immaculate, a defiance that defied eternity.

Blow after blow, Lucy and Hachizen danced. Her bones splintered, and pain seared through her like wildfire.

And then it came-the "Silver Fang." Hachizen's technique it was a maelstrom of destruction. Each hit tore Lucy's flesh apart.

Her arms-twisted, contorted-resembled a broken marionette. But Lucy clung to life, to purpose. Sasha's ghost whispered: "Fight".

Lucy's scream not of defeat. The immaculate demon faltered; his eyes the cost of sorcery, the weight of eternity.

Lucy stood, her body, a canvas of pain, bore witness to what she fought. But a laughter came forth.

"Sasha," Lucy hymn of regret. "Sorry." The knife gleamed in her hands. "I'll meet you in paradise, my love." With a battle cry, she lunged, blade aimed at Hachizen.

But fate, capricious and cruel. Hachizen deflected her strike effortlessly. The blade, meant for him, veered off course. And in that moment, destiny laughed.

The knife, once poised for him found a new target: Lucy's own chest. Her eyes widened, realization dawning. He had become the instrument of her demise. The blade sank, severing flesh, piercing bone.

He pressed the knife into her trembling grip. Lucy's body met the unforgiving ground, rain started pouring like tears from heavens. It washed over her like an endless trail of blood flowing everywhere. His hands still at the knife she's holding, he pushes her into the ground.

Leonard's cry, echoed through the rain. Lucy's breaths came in ragged gasps. The knife, still lodged in her chest.

As Lucy lay on the ground, her trembling hand still clutching the knife that had taken her own life, Sasha's soul materialized before her. Ethereal and forgiving, Sasha's presence held both love and sorrow.

"Sasha," Lucy whispered. "Forgive me." The weight of failure pressed upon her-a promise unfulfilled, justice denied. She had sought vengeance, but in the end, it was her own heart that bled.

"I don't deserve your love, for I'm a failure. You should've just let me die that day, Sasha. How can you even call me your friend?" Lucy's voice guilt and despair upon her.

But Sasha, remained steadfast. Her soul shimmered, memories woven into light. "I never regretted shedding my blood for your own freedom," she replied.

"You were like a sister to me. You've always been there to protect me when the world looked down upon me, because of my mother's actions. She was stoned to death for committing adultery. I became an orphan, taken in by that church-the very place where I met you. You were my light, showing me what it meant to live. You shielded me from bullies."

In the playground, there were four kids taunting her. Their cruel words: "Sinner." But Lucy, fueled by anger, clenched her fist. "Get lost!" she shouted, and the bullies scattered like leaves in the wind.

"Are you alright?" Lucys voice, a soothing balm, reached Sasha's wounded heart. Back at the present the rain still fell.

"I will never forget that day," Sasha continued. "The day I met you... My hero."

"You have spent your life protecting me." Sasha's forgiveness, like rain washing away sins, enveloped Lucy.

"So I've offered you my life as payment throughout all these years."

"I just want to see you live like the rest," Lucy confessed. Her love for Sasha, she was like a sister to her.

And then Sasha replied: "Life isn't worth living without sacrifices."

"There's no need to be afraid anymore," Sasha continued. "We will spend eternity together, in the paradise where there's no sickness nor death." The promise hung, eternity.

Sasha's ethereal hand met Lucy's. "Let's go... My love." Sasha whispered.

Leonard's desperate plea echoed through the rain. His hands trembled, seeking to hold on to her life slipping away. "Please stay with me!" he implored.

Lucy, her breaths shallow, gazed at him-a sister, a friend, a bridge to eternity. The rain bore witness, relentless and impartial. "It's no use," she whispered. "We won't even reach the nearest hospital without me passing away."

But Leonard, fueled by desperation, clung to hope. "N-no!" His voice cracked. "T-there's something we can do! Please, I'm begging you, Lucy!" His tears merged with raindrops.

Lucy's smile held secrets-the weight of sacrifice. Her hand, against Leonard's cheek, anchored him. "This is the end of the line for me," she murmured. "Listen closely."

And then her words, fragile as the rain, wove destiny: "You will carry the torch-the flame that will ignite revolution, leading to the syndicate's downfall."

"I will watch over you like the stars in the night sky," Lucy continued. "Just promise me one thing... Don't die." Her breaths faded, but her legacy burned against dark broken world. "You both finished?" His voice dripped venom. "It's so good to see myself take down my own comrade-a traitor." His words, like shards of glass. And then, almost as an afterthought, he added: "Oh! Did I say that out loud?"

Leonard's fist tightened, rage etching  on his face. He turned toward Hachizen, the immaculate demon-the architect of suffering. "Don't you dare say that to her, you dirty rascal," Leonard spat, every syllable a blade.

Hachizen's smile, like a serpent's, twisted. "Am I supposed to drop on my knees for forgiveness?" His voice dripped mockery. "Come on now! What are you waiting for? Are you just gonna let her rot to death?"

"Just like your family? You don't have a purpose. Now tell me... what makes you think you're worthy of living?" Hachizen's words, like venom, sliced through Leonard's rage.

"Man, I hope I was one of those men," Hachizen taunted. His eyes, once immaculate, now held suffering reveling in their torment.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU INSOLENT MORON!" Leonard's cry echoed. He charged, every part of his being aflame. But Hachizen, the immaculate demon, defied every blow. His dodges were fluid, mocking-each evading all of his attack, a testament to his power.

Hachizen's kick sent Leonard reeling, pain erupting in his stomach. He knelt, gasping for air. Hachizen, the immaculate demon, released his sword-a blade forged in cruelty.

"Die like a man," Hachizen sneered, poised to end Leonard's life. But fate, intervened. A warning from one of Hachizen's own men. The immaculate demon looked up, eyes widening.

Something fell from the sky-a force beyond comprehension. Hachizen leaped away, and the ground quaked and small crater was formed. From its depths emerged a figure-a man with a fur-lined hood.

Franco-the warrior of the North men, the frozen sentinel who sent shivers down his enemies' spines. His burly exterior belied wisdom, and his purpose was etched in every sinew. Hachizen's voice trembled: "Franco..."

The battlefield trembled as Franco stepped forward. His eyes gleamed with determination, revealing wisdom beyond his rugged exterior. The frozen warrior-the sentinel of the North men-had arrived.

"Time to get warm, boys!" Franco's voice echoed, and the rain seemed to pause, awaiting his command.

To be continued…