Iris stood up from the ground, her burnt arm dissolving into dust before re-forming as if it had never been injured. She looked at Tael and Ozymandias, who had ceased their battle, stunned by the dramatic change in her.

Suddenly, 20 shadowy figures materialized in front of Iris, their weapons—knives, swords, and guns—poised at her.

“Iris, stand down!” one of the figures commanded nervously.

Iris chuckled darkly, her voice tinged with amusement. “How could she let herself be injured? Ah, that personality is so annoying. She should sleep like the good little girl she is. Heheheheh.”

"Who are you and where am I??!” Iris wondered whiles she was in a dark void and she saw a girl materialize in front of her, grasping her face with a cold, detached expression.

“I am the monster you keep trying to bury. I am you. Your true self. I am death. Now go to sleep, Iris. Let me handle everything,” She stated coldly and Iris trembled as her eyes grew heavy, succumbing to the Death. She soon fell asleep, leaving Death in control.

“I won’t say it again—stand down, or we’ll use force,” the Subaru servant commanded coldly.

"Ants," Death scoffed before she released an overwhelming pressure that caused most of the servants to collapse, bleeding heavily under the strain. Only 13 remained, barely able to stand.

“Now, now, don’t worry,” Death said with a sadistic smile, “I don’t plan to kill you all. Iris wouldn’t like that.” Her gaze was cold as she looked at the surviving figures. These servants who were confident in there abilities were now scared and trembling.

“But why not play a game with Iris?” Death suggested. The ground around her began to swirl furiously with blood that came from her body, and several Blood Knights emerged.

The Blood Knights charged towards the children, who were shielded by the black-suited servants. The knights relentlessly attacked the protective barriers, trying to breach them. One knight hammered a shield with its spear, causing the barrier's light to flicker and weaken.

“Children, once the shield goes down, you must run away at all costs, you hear me?!” one of the black-suited men advised urgently, his fear evident.

“Ye…ss,” the group replied hesitantly, their voices laced with anxiety.

“Iris Subaru! Immediately cease all attacks, or you will be disqualified and punished after the games!!” a woman inside the shield shouted desperately, hoping to provoke Iris into compliance.

Iris glanced at the woman, a slight smirk playing on her lips. “The fun has yet to begin,” she murmured in a low, menacing tone.

Ray, who had once exuded pride, now trembled in terror. Just moments ago, Iris seemed like an ordinary, weak girl, but now the pressure around her was suffocating and monstrous.

'It’s as though she’s a monster,' Ray thought in fear, his palms shaking uncontrollably.

As Iris was about to finish off the maid and servants, the ground began to quake violently. A horde of monsters was heading towards her way and before them were Iris's friends.

“Is Iris okay?” Sheila asked, concern etched on her face as she started to move toward her.

Tael quickly grabbed Sheila’s arm, pulling her back. “Iris is not herself,” he said, with a frustration tone.

“I have to deal with these monsters? What a pain,” Iris muttered, her irritation rising as the situation grew more complicated.

[Dark Knight]

Two immense space rifts appeared beside her, one on her left and one on her right. From these rifts emerged two colossal, dark knights, each towering 60 feet tall, their massive swords gleaming ominously on their backs. The ground trembled under their weight as they landed.

With an ear-splitting roar, the dark knights charged towards the hoard of monsters and used their swords to slash the monsters like butter.

The monsters were acting strangely. In most cases when a monster faces an opponent many times stronger than itself it would run away, however, these ones were acting strangely and attacked without care for their lives, almost like the Rift their in was scared of the monster this child summoned.

Iris floated into the sky, observing her knights as they ruthlessly dispatched the monsters below.

“Now that the monster problem is taken care of, how should I deal with that brat who dared to hurt the pathetic version of me?” Iris mused, her gaze fixed menacingly on Ray, who was still paralyzed with fear.

“It’s been a long time since I killed someone,” Iris said with an evil grin.

Iris soon noticed that the hoard of monsters kept respawning every time they were being killed by her knights, which caused her to be angrier. “Why can’t they just die already?” she hissed, glaring at the unending swarm.

“I need to finish this quickly. Round Table [Queen],” Iris called out, her voice cold.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

As the Rift trembled, a massive space rift appeared, and from it emerged a female knight covered in dark flames. Her presence radiated an overwhelming pressure that reverberated throughout the entire Rift. Even the parents in their monitoring room felt the oppressive pressure.

Queen, the towering figure, held her sword before her, and as she did, nine enormous black swords materialized in the sky, floating ominously.

“I thought you had forgotten about me, master,” Queen chuckled darkly.

“I actually had,” Iris replied with a twisted grin. “To think I’d end up with two personalities, and one that could bury me so deeply. How cruel.”

______________

In the room where the parents were seated, panic erupted as the group of scientists burst in, their faces pale and eyes wide with fear.

“What the hell is happening?” Goshi Subaru demanded, glaring at the frantic scientists and Isakawa.

“Sir, we’re detecting extremely powerful energy waves coming from the Rift,” one scientist stammered, sweat pouring down his face. “Our equipment can barely handle the pressure.”

“I advise that we save the children immediately before it’s too late,” another parent urged, their anxiety palpable.

“Damn it! You fools had to provoke Isakawa’s daughter!” Tomita roared, his face flushed with fury as he turned on the other parents.

“Isakawa, explain this!” Goshi Subaru demanded, his voice edged with anger.

“I don’t know. It’s your fault for messing with my child,” Isakawa replied with a nonchalant shrug. His calm demeanor only served to heighten the other parents' fear. Despite his outward composure, Isakawa was deeply concerned about the escalating situation.

“To be honest, I don’t fully understand this,” Isakawa admitted. “This pressure doesn’t feel like Iris. It might be a second personality.”

Jennifer, hearing Isakawa’s words, grew increasingly worried. As they watched the scene unfold on the screen, Iris’s gaze locked onto them, her eyes glowing.

All of a sudden the entire room was filled with a heavy pressure that made them all have one feeling, { Unavoidable Death.}

The gravity of the situation struck everyone with a chilling realization—this kind of pressure could only come from someonw who had killed countless people. Isakawa, noticing Jennifer's distress, quickly cast a protective shield around her.

“Brother Takase, let me speak with her,” Isakawa’s casual demeanor vanished, replaced by a serious and urgent tone. “If you don’t want your son to die, let me talk to my daughter!”

Takase, though reluctant, ultimately relented and handed Isakawa a crystal mic designed for communication with the Rift.

Isakawa knew he had to act strategically. He needed to catch Iris off guard, to surprise her when she least expected it.

The Queen Knight, stood there its image could be seen clearly on the screen no monster daring to approach anymore . Her elegant black armor, designed in the style of men’s armor with sharp spikes on the shoulders, and her long, dark sword, were all bathed in a black flame. With a powerful swing, she cleaved through the horde of monsters, sending them into a chaotic explosion of flesh and blood. The ground was now littered with the corpses of the slain Rift monsters. However, she intentionally missed Iris' group.

“Iris, that’s enough!” Kaguya’s voice echoed coldly in Iris’s mind.

“I’m not done playing, so don’t interrupt me, Kaguya,” Death responded with an icy tone.

“If you’re done snooping around, you might as well come out. I am a very busy person, you know,” Death snorted, her annoyance evident. She felt during this whole time she was being monitored by someone else.

The Rift begun to tremble, and a colossal figure, nearly the same size as Queen, emerged. It bowed respectfully before Queen and Iris. The figure was green, with four enormous antlers sprouting from its head and a body covered in lush, vibrant plants. Its eyes, though green, were wise and human-like as well as its face.

“I didn’t expect to meet a fellow guardian here!” the figure’s deep, resonant voice declared.

“What the hell is a Guardian?” Death asked, her confusion clear as she regarded the figure. She had no knowledge of such beings.

“I think you’ve mistaken me for something I’m not. I’m not a guardian, neither is Queen,” Death clarified, shaking her head. The figure’s confusion was evident; how could she possess the aura of a guardian and be more powerful without actually being one?

"If I'm correct you're the master of this Rift. So now tell me why you appeared here?" Death didn't want to drag this talk for long as she noticed that the shield of the people in black was going to break soon.

"Please leave my dungeon," the being said as he really wanted Death to leave.

"Your aura and your summon’s aura would break up the dungeon, causing it to collapse," the being explained as it looked at Death with a serious face.

Death raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “I have one question. Why does this Rift not disappear like other Rifts?”

“I own the Rift, so I’m the one who decides when it should disappear. Even if you defeat the boss, as long as I’m here, this Rift will remain. And also... it’s a trend among the other guardians,” the being chuckled, a hint of mischief in its voice.

“A trend? Really?” Alka from the space just gave him a sarcastic look as she looked at the being. Because since she came to this world she lacked information about the Rifts. What were these Rifts? Why did they appear? What's their purpose? These questions kept wondering through Alka's mind but she couldn't crack the case, but it seems Death has been able to get some information.

“Even so, why the Subarus?” Death asked, her curiosity piqued.

“I find the Subaru family extremely interesting. The more I observe them, the more I’m entertained. That’s why I like to stay here and help train their children. I mean no harm to them,” the being admitted with a smile.

“Last question. How did this Rift end up here?” Death asked with a stern look on her face. She needed to know more about Rifts, because Alka kept on bugging her for information in her mind constantly asking her questions, which made her extremely annoyed.

“I have no idea. I just woke up to find myself in this new place. And where I was had disappeared and I was in this caged like Rift,” the being explained, a solemn expression on its face.

“Okay then. However, you must not interfere with us,” Death commanded, pointing at Ray’s group on the ground.

“Do what you want,” the being responded. As he finished speaking, his form dissolved into a shard of green light and vanished. The monsters that had been attacking were gone, and the remaining Dark Knights returned to Death’s side.

“We’re going to die!!” Heili screamed in terror, her eyes wide as she stared at the Dark Knights before them. She surely witnessed their power and if the Knights were to attack them, they would not have the power to resist.

In the observation room, the parents were shocked by the conversation between Death and the Guardian. The concept of these so-called Guardians was new to them, and they learned that some of them even chose to interact with humans. Goshi Subaru clenched his teeth, contemplating the possibility of other great families having their own Guardians. He sighed with relief that his family had been spared, recognizing that this Rift, despite its dangers, could be a valuable training ground for their children.

However, the situation was spiraling out of control as Death continued to try and attack Ray and his group.

“Iris!!” Isakawa’s voice could be headed, his blue eyes glowing coldly. And Death, momentarily taken aback, turned her attention to him.