“Yuki! Retreat!” Musi shouted, firing off a massive explosive.

“Damn it, I’m trying, Musi!” Yuki retorted sarcastically, creating ice under her feet to slide away from the explosion, only to still get caught by the shockwave, sending her flying back to Musi’s side.

“Real smooth.” Musi joked as Yuki nailed the landing like a superhero.

“Oi! What the hell is your problem?! Who are you, and why are you attacking us?!” This time, it was Yuki’s turn to shout in between catching her breath.

Slowly, a girl with long platinum blond hair emerged from the smoke caused by the explosion. She had two smaller horns protruding from her forehead and two more prominent horns from the sides of her head, along with a pink gemstone in the center of her forehead and pink eyes.

She wore what seemed like a Military uniform, primarily white with black accents, short-sleeved with a dress that fell just below her knees, a black ribbon around the front of her collar, pockets on her chest, a belt around her waist, and a few miniature golden chains connected to that belt.

The intent to kill was evident in her eyes, rage apparent all over her face. Each step she took made the two Spectral Sentinel girls fall further to the ground.

“I came as fast as I could when I heard that my beloved Gaia had passed down her abilities because of a sneak attack that killed Apollo and Athena, but here I find two rogue Sentinels, neither of whom is her inherenter. Whether you sat by the sidelines and watched as they died to take their place or only got here after to steal their valor, I’ll make sure you understand what it means to harm my beloved.” She said, her voice as cold and steady as her bare feet, which made contact with the cement.

“Musi, we need to use that! This woman is at least at the Legendary level!” Yuki commanded as her agent appeared on her shoulder—a familiar-looking white and gold snake who went by the same name.

“Already? Mistress told us not to risk it until she’s fully tested them. We could di-”

“This woman isn’t like Chronos! She actually plans to kill us! Musi, use it!”

Distressed, Musi nodded in agreement as her Carbunkle partner, Eris, followed suit and appeared on her shoulder.

“Oh? If you have any tricks, please use them. I will engrain how much you fucked up into your very soul. The more you power up, the better.”

Clicking their tongues in unison, Musi and Yuki took a few steps back as their Agents began to transform into futuristic bracelets with ripcords in them. Posing their dominant arms in front of their face, they glared at the unidentified woman before shouting.

“Spectral Interface: Double UP! GLACIER!”

“Spectral Interface: Double UP! VIBRATION!”

In a flash of light like all other Sentinel transformations, for some reason, Musi and Yuki began to change forms despite already being transformed.

With a blitz of speed, Yuki tore her way through the light that covered her, her speed beginning to near the realm of Lucy’s Lightning Fiend. She attacked the unnamed girl with her sword, the world around her seeming to contort and freeze from her sheer power.

“YUKI! SNOW MOTH!”

Her cape became a pair of fragile-looking and intricately designed silver wings, her hat turning into a second, shorter blade.

The assault wasn’t done; however, it had just begun as Musi, without even exiting the light of her transformation, activated her Orchestra instantly, bombarding both Yuki and their assailant with thousands of magical rounds, each one causing a tiny explosion.

“MUSI! RESONATE SIREN!”

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Taking to the skies, a tail made of pure Mana encased Musi’s legs as fish-like scales began to cover her body like a protective coating.

With both their attacks making contact, Yuki retreated to Musi’s side. This time, though, they didn’t need to wait for the smoke to clear, as the sound of clapping could be heard closing in on them.

“S-she survived?! Prepare for a second attack!” Yuki said before dashing forward, Musi nodding as she prepared another volley of bullets.

Once the clapping stopped, so too did Yuki’s charge. So, too, did the smoke disperse, revealing the unnamed woman not just alive but unharmed… So, too, did the world around them stop.

“I see… You’re servants of the Sentinel Goddess… Nobody else could create something capable of transforming you for a second time. While I personally don’t care about her retaliation, my team might not want to deal with that.” The unnamed girl hummed, walking forward; once again, each step she took added more pressure to the Spectral girls, making it nearly impossible for them to move.

“You asked who I was? I am the Fatherland’s foremost Sentinel, the Sentinel of Domination, Sovereign Calista!”

Without them even realizing it, this Calista character had managed to walk right next to them with an eerie smile on her face.

“Just this once, I’ll let you live. But please remember that you, being servants of the Sentinel God, won’t save you twice. Lebewohl.”

Without saying another word, Calista vanished, leaving the Shadow World and the two Spectral Sentinels to their own devices.

Falling to her knees and coughing up blood, Yuki quickly reverted to her human form due to the backlash of that device she used, much to the dismay of a terrified snake.

“Ssssayaka! Are you okay? Sssspeak to me!”

Falling onto her back, Sayaka let out a sigh… “Yeah… I’m fine. I think… My Mana Core might be damaged, but nothing a few potions from the System can’t fix. Listen, you need to protect Chronos. Even if she comes to see who Gaia’s successor is, that woman will attack the moment she sees that Xin girl with her. If Chronos dies, the Xin will have a chance to get their hand on the girl. We cannot allow that to happen.”

Musi’s eyes widened as she untransformed herself. “What? WHY? HOW? She beat both our asses, and you expect me to be able to beat her with that damned Lightning freak? Even if she’s stronger than us, that Sentinel is in another league altogether!”

She didn’t like the idea of working with Chronos in the first place, but she wasn’t stupid enough to not see the urgency of the situation at hand. They knew completely well what the Xin would be capable of if they got ahold of Lily-Rose.

“Think of the Prophecy. Until the Mistress has prepared sufficiently, we must delay it. Listen, follow my plan, and you’ll have a chance.”

…

…

“Eh? So you got this System whenever Operator Gaia passed on her Sentinel abilities, and it lets you grow at an elevated rate along with giving you all of this?” Lily-Rose exclaimed in surprise.

“That and then some, yeah, basically. Glad you got the gist of it.” Lucy nodded.

Back in Lucy’s Sentinel base, Lucy had just finished explaining everything related to the System to Lily-Rose. All the stuff that she found necessary, anyway. Much to her surprise, it only took about half an hour.

She was used to talking to complete idiots who didn’t understand anything. Granted, it would probably take less time for an ordinary person to grasp it because this System is a pretty common trope in literature nowadays. Still, for Lily-Rose, who knew next to nothing of human culture or customs, half an hour didn’t seem bad at all.

“A-and now I have this power too? Even without being a Sentinel?”

“As long as you have that marble I gave you, I think so. Pretty neat, right? This also means whoever Zone pairs up with will also get it. That’s mildly worrying, actually… Welp, guess we’ll cross that bridge sooner or later.”

Lily-Rose was taken aback by Lucy’s casual demeanor. She still wasn’t used to being treated this well. If her Mother knew she got something like this, she’d immediately start scheming on how to use it to maximize the destruction the Xin could cause, and god forbid her siblings found out, they’d terrorize her to no end.

“How are you okay with me having this?! What if I betray you? W-what if I lose control or something? I’m still half Xin; their blood runs through me!” Lily-Rose panicked, not particularly liking the connotations of having this power.

Everything that could go wrong flashed before her eyes. She could get kidnapped, and the Xin could gain the power of this System. She could lose herself in a fit of rage or countless other things.

Seeing Lily-Rose panic made Lucy smile, turning her head to Nell and Zone. “See, how could you possibly hate someone who is so naively honest?” She chuckled before turning her attention back to Lily-Rose.

“Look. That Emblem is a sign of trust. I will not and will never limit what you’re allowed to do unless it’s self-destructive in nature. That includes trying to cause destruction. I won’t stop you from trying but will stop you from succeeding. Plus, from the moment you accepted that Emblen, you became the Wand of my Coven. Won’t you become my mighty sword?”