In the dark forest, a rustling sound began to be heard.

This put everyone outside the barrier on high alert.

Were they enemies’ reinforcements?

"It’s me..."

A voice, somewhat unfamiliar to them, came from the forest.

Only Yuri, after a moment of reflection, recognized the voice.

"Is that... Princess Karina?"

In the forest, Karina’s figure slowly began to emerge from the darkness.

At this moment, her appearance hadn’t changed much compared to a few years ago.

She was wearing a new animal skin dress she had prepared.

However, her expression was much darker than before, and she looked disheartened.

Seeing that the arrival wasn’t from an enemy, the guardians relaxed and continued to monitor the situation of the light barrier.

To them, a foreign princess was certainly not as important as their own little princess.

However, what Karina brought with her drew everyone’s attention.

"This is... Luna’s body..."

Wrapped in a white cloth, Luna’s body was being carried by a large black wolf.

At this moment, her limbs had been reattached and stitched back onto her torso, appearing quite intact.

"When the wolf found Luna’s body, it brought her back. I intended to go after Shirley, but it seems there was some mistake along the way, and I ended up missing you all until now..."

"Shirley... is inside?"

There was no denying that Karina’s calm appearance now seemed somewhat moving.

Yuri nodded and then looked at Luna.

"What should we do now? Prepare the resurrection ritual immediately?"

To them, death was still an unpleasant thing but not as terrifying.

After all, the idea that death is irreversible does not apply in the other world.

With certain methods and rituals, achieving a certain level of "immortality" and "resurrection" isn’t very difficult.

"It’s better to wait a bit. Her Highness Shirley should be coming out soon..."

Audrey said.

After all, the barrier in front of them had already shrunk considerably, leaving a very small battle space for those inside.

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Shirley...

Karina looked at the barrier with a tired and worried expression.

...

And reality was in line with what they had observed.

Inside the barrier, the battle was reaching its final stages.

The puppet’s appearance was no longer as clean and polished as it had been during the fight with Luna.

Its armor, especially around the chest area, was covered with cracks, looking like it could break at any moment.

Yet it continued to withstand attack after attack firmly.

On the other hand, Shirley was also not in good condition.

She was panting, with some drops of blood swirling around her irregularly, as if they were about to fall.

"It’s just... up to here!"

This phrase was for both the puppet and herself.

During the previous battle, the puppet had not used very powerful techniques, only wielding its large sword with precision.

In this way, Shirley managed to injure it to this point without paying too high a price.

Now, with a bit of luck, if she could land one more hit, she might be able to break the opponent’s armor...

The puppet understood the meaning of Shirley’s words and tightened its grip on the sword.

Light began to shine around it.

Both, as if in sync, took a step forward at the same time.

The remaining blood droplets turned into a flow of blood, moving toward the sword’s tip, forming a new sword covered with a layer of blood.

The distance continued to close...

The brilliant light was already starting to burn Shirley’s skin, but at that moment, she smiled.

Even if she could enter the "Berserker" mode, she was still a mage now.

How could she face the puppet in a direct battle?

She did not attack but lunged at the puppet’s large sword, transforming into a pool of blood.

After that, another body of Shirley remained in the previous position, with the blood sword already formed on her chest.

A blood-red glow almost connected the two bodies.

The blood sword pierced the puppet’s chest with incredible speed.

The cracks became more visible, and the sound of the puppet’s armor breaking and overloading was evident.

Finally, the bloody glow passed through its body, and fragments of armor fell to the ground.

Its eyes began to fade, its hands and head drooped, and it knelt on the ground.

The large sword it held also fell beside it.

Finally... it was over...

Exhausted, Shirley sat on the ground, deactivating her spiritual armor, and returned to her original appearance.

After defeating the puppet, the next step would be to search for Luna and Karina, as well as the puppet master...

Thinking about this, Shirley suddenly noticed something.

Why had the barrier not disappeared yet?

In an instant, an extreme sense of danger overtook her, and she immediately looked at the puppet kneeling on the ground.

However, the puppet, which seemed to have lost its energy, was only staring at her with its empty eyes.

And indeed, a terrifying light was forming in its right eye.

Shirley tried to dodge, but it was too late.

Just like the blood sword she had launched, the light beam from the puppet’s eye had almost the same speed.

The light expanded to Shirley’s eyes, covering her entire field of vision.

"Ah!!!"

Shirley let out a cry of pain, even trying to turn her head, but the fast light beam still struck her left eye.

An intense burning sensation arose from her left eye, and she gripped the ground with one hand while the other covered her eye.

In agony, Shirley struggled to open her right eye and looked in the direction of the puppet.

Was there still some movement?

What is this?

What is happening?

She couldn’t see clearly, but something was emerging from the puppet’s body and was already beside her.

The sensation was cold and sticky against her skin.

"What is this!?"

The fear of the unknown left Shirley agitated, but the next moment, something even more terrifying happened.

The strange thing was infiltrating directly into her blinded left eye.

"Ahhhhhh—"

...

The light barrier was gradually dissipating.

"Her Highness Shirley!"

"Shirley!"

Everyone rushed to Shirley’s side, looking at her as she sat on the ground with her head bowed.

"Is the enemy?"

Merlin looked around but only saw a pile of debris and a large extinguished sword.

"Shirley, are you okay?"

For some reason, Karina seemed a bit nervous.

She crouched down and placed her hand on Shirley’s shoulder.

"Me?"

Shirley’s voice had a hint of an enigmatic smile.

"I... am feeling very well..."

Shirley lifted her head, tilting her neck.

Her silver hair, falling over her face, covered the left side of her face, and the corner of her lips still formed a strange smile...