"The tendrils... they drilled into his body and are controlling him," Tyla muttered, her eyes narrowing as she analyzed Marco’s distorted form. The dark tendrils that had pierced him now pulsed faintly beneath his skin, writhing like living veins. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Looks like it left a fragment inside him," she continued, her tone calm yet tense. "That piece grew from within—like roots spreading through his nerves, linking to every part of his body. It’s not just possession... it’s parasitic control."

Yumina clenched her fists. Her gauntlets hummed with heat, but her expression faltered. "So Marco is... gone?" she whispered.

She had seen comrades fall before. But still seeing someone turned into something like this— it never got easier.

Tyla didn’t answer right away. Her lips parted as if to speak, but then—

"AHHHHHH!"

A chilling scream ripped through the passage.

"Kurt!" Tyla shouted, spinning around.

Dozens of roots exploded outward from Marco’s arm, lashing like whips. They slammed into the them, sending ripples through the air. Tyla flung a handful of defensive charms forward, activating a blinding light that momentarily held the roots at bay. But the attacks didn’t stop— more roots came, faster and thicker, hammering at their defenses from every direction.

Tyla reached for another charm— then froze. The charms in her hand shimmered once and... vanished.

"What—?" she gasped, looking around.

Yumina’s eyes darted across the passage, searching for an escape. The barrier around them shimmered, distorting the light in strange ways. The air felt heavy, suffocating.

"Careful!" Tyla shouted suddenly, pushing Yumina aside.

CRACK!

A dozen razor-sharp mirror shards erupted from the ground and walls, slicing through the air with deadly precision. They impaled Tyla before Yumina could even react.

"TYLA!" Yumina screamed, her voice echoing in panic.

Tyla’s body went limp —skewered by translucent shards that gleamed with eerie reflections.

For a heartbeat, Yumina couldn’t move. Her mind blanked out, heart pounding violently in her chest. Then, Kurt’s earlier words came flooding back to her—

> "This isn’t my full Domain! I can’t use it when allies are inside. For now, this much will have to do!"

Her eyes widened. "Which means... the one who’s attacking us isn’t Marco."

She turned toward Kurt’s crumpled body. He lay motionless, but his chest was... moving. Tiny, wriggling tendrils crawled out of the wound where he’d been pierced earlier. His eyes snapped open— pitch black, lifeless, and cold.

Yumina shuddered. "He’s... infected too..."

"The charms are being absorbed by his domain," a voice spoke behind her.

Yumina spun around—"T-Tyla?!"

Her eyes widened in disbelief. Tyla stood there— completely unscathed. Not a drop of blood. Not a single wound.

"What the— you were just—"

Tyla glanced down at herself, touching where she’d been impaled. "Yeah, I thought I was done for too... but it seems I unconsciously activated one of my powers."

Before Yumina could reply, Tyla’s hand shimmered and pierced straight through Yumina’s Chest.

"Huh? " Yumina blinked, horrified. She didn’t feel any pain "What are you doing!?"

"Hehehe... relax. See this?" Tyla grinned faintly, watching her hand pass through Yumina’s breast and then retrieved, then groped her breast "It looks like I became a ghost or something. I can phase through objects at will now."

"Stop it... That— scared— the hell out of me," Yumina face turned red, her voice trembling between panic and exasperation. She tried to slap Tyla’s shoulder, but her hand went right through. "Ugh! This is so unfair!"

"Hehehe..." Tyla giggled, but the sound of cracking glass cut their exchange short. The mirror shards began to move again— rotating, shifting, like thousands of eyes focusing on them.

"Not again!" Yumina shouted, readying her gauntlets.

Tyla threw another batch of charms into the air, activating them one after another. Each emitted a radiant glow— only to flicker and disappear, swallowed by the mirrored reflections surrounding them.

"The charms— vanishing again?" Yumina hissed.

"Yeah. Looks like Kurt’s domain... it’s not just a barrier. It’s made of countless microscopic mirrors," Tyla explained quickly, scanning the area. "Each one reflects and absorbs energy-based constructs. It’s like our attacks are being trapped in reflections."

She frowned, then snapped her fingers. "But if it’s reflection-based..."

Her eyes gleamed with determination. She reached into her pocket dimension pearl and pulled out dozens of charms.

"Wait—Tyla, how many do you have?"

"Approximately." Tyla smirked. " thousand."

Yeah, Tyla already prepared thousands and thousands of charms just to be safe.

Yumina’s jaw dropped. "Thousand!? You’re insane or insanely Rich...."

"Maybe," Tyla replied smugly. "Maybe being rich is just my specialty."

Yumina couldn’t help but laugh faintly despite the chaos. "You..."

As Tyla took care of defense.

Fire flared around them as the Yumina’s Gauntlets activated. The mirrored walls rippled violently as the fire began to melt the mirrors. Some had Cracks, it began forming across the barrier’s surface.

But then Tyla’s expression grew serious again. "Yumina, listen. Kurt’s domain is acting on its own now —his consciousness is gone. If it keeps closing, it’ll crush us both."

"So we’re fighting both Marco and Kurt now?" Yumina muttered, her gauntlets sparking.

"Looks like it."

"Then what’s the plan?"

Tyla hesitated for a second, then said, "How about you go inside my pocket dimension? I can phase through here and distract them."

Yumina shook her head fiercely. "You’re not going in alone."

"Yumina, this isn’t the time to argue—"

"I said no!" Yumina interrupted, stepping forward. "That ancient world tree’s corruption might have a way to counter your phasing. You are not escaping but going inside right?"

Tyla froze for a second. The thought had crossed her mind. The corruption they were facing seems like they have some sort of intelligence.

"...Alright," Tyla said finally, her tone softening. "Then we face it together."

Yumina nodded firmly, her gauntlets flaring to life once more.

The mirrored walls cracked further, the distorted reflection of Marco’s monstrous figure twisting into focus. Behind him, the black roots pulsed like veins of an abyssal heart.

"Also... don’t take the Pearl out. If he snatches that too... it’s over," Yumina said, her voice trembling slightly but her eyes sharp with focus.

Tyla wanted to tell Yumina that she didn’t even need to take the Pearl out to use it. With a thought, she could activate it, hide Yumina inside her pocket dimension, and escape instantly.

But escaping wasn’t what she wanted right now. Something deeper kept her there— a strange resonance, a pull toward the copper pot hanging at her waist. Whatever was reacting to it... she needed to know what it was.

Yumina, sensing her hesitation, shook her head. "I know what you’re thinking, but no. I’m not leaving you alone in this place."

The barrier surrounding them began to close in, its shimmering edges flickering like dying embers. The pressure made the air dense, and even breathing became difficult. Cracks spread across the translucent dome as black roots scraped against it from the outside, each strike echoing like a drumbeat of doom.

Amid the chaos, Yumina’s eyes caught something glinting faintly on the ground —Marco’s knife. "This..." she whispered, she quickly thought of a plan.

Before Tyla could react, Yumina darted forward, her boots skimming the ground as she soared toward the fallen weapon. The air whooshed around her as she snatched the blade and, without hesitation, plunged it into Kurt’s chest— right into the gaping hole where the corruption had taken root.

Black liquid hissed as it splattered across the floor. A thick, squirming tendril emerged, writhing like a living worm in agony. Yumina gritted her teeth and yanked it out with both hands.

"Whoa!" Tyla exclaimed. "You almost pierced his heart just to escape!"

Yumina ignored her, tossing the twitching tendril to the ground. Then pointed her Gauntlet and turned into ashes.

The barrier around them shattered completely with a deafening crack. Shards of light burst outward, dissolving into motes that vanished into the air.

That was when everything outside turned hostile. The corrupted roots— dozens, maybe hundreds— snapped and lunged toward them, their twisted forms dripping with black sap. The stench of decay filled the air as tendrils lashed from every direction.

"Take out some healing potions!" Yumina shouted, stepping in front of Tyla, her hands glowing faintly with Prana as she tried to block the incoming barrage.

Tyla found some small crystal flasks with the word Life engraved on it inside the pocket dimension. "This one!" she said, pulling out the cork.

She poured the liquid over Kurt’s chest, where a large wound pulsed with dark corruption. The moment the potion touched him, a blinding emerald light flared.

Kurt’s body began to shine, his wounds closing in seconds. The dark veins across his skin retreated, burning away like mist before sunlight.

The effect rippled outward— the corrupted tendrils halted midair, trembling violently as if gripped by fear. Even Marco, whose body had been twitching and snarling moments ago, stumbled backward, clutching his chest and growling in pain.

"Oh What’s happening?" Tyla eyes shone...

Yumina’s gaze turned. The ancient roots which looks almost corrupted —were stirring. Unlike the corrupted ones, these pulsed faintly with green light. They quivered, as if sensing the potion’s essence.

The contrast was breathtaking: black, decayed tendrils writhing in retreat while the purer, less tainted roots shimmered with life and hope. The entire cavern seemed to awaken from slumber.