Kren faced down the corrupted Ava alongside Caleb and Amy, their former mentor's body now a vessel for darkness. Though it pained him greatly, they had to stop Ava's rampage before more innocents suffered.

"Please, Ava, we know goodness remains within. You must fight this evil!" Kren implored her. But Ava merely smiled coldly, crimson energy coalescing around her fists.

"She is lost to us! Do not hesitate!" Caleb warned. Nodding grimly, they fanned out, prepared to battle their one-time guide. Kren crackled with electric power while Amy and Caleb readied mystic strikes.

Ava's fists shone malevolently. "Full Counter awaits, children. All you unleash will be turned back twofold."

Caleb was the first to attack, scything blades of aura energy toward Ava. But faster than thought, she redirected the blast back amplified, slamming Caleb through a wall.

Amy circled warily, unwilling to risk such retaliation. But Kren knew they had to act soon before Ava's vile powers escalated further. I must time this precisely...

Trusting his instincts, Kren fired twin lightning bolts just as Amy struck with a pillar of flame. The combined torrent of power overwhelmed Ava's counter, blasting her backwards.

Yes! Her focus is disrupted! Kren realized. "Hit her again now!" he yelled. Amy nodded, immolating Ava before she could recover. Their foe sank to her knees, flesh charred and smoking.

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"Enough... I yield..." Ava rasped weakly. Kren hesitated, then saw fresh corruption seeping into her aura. This evil lurked deeper than the flesh.

With profound sorrow, he unleashed a final thunderous burst, searing away Ava's arms before the spreading darkness could claim them fully. A necessary evil to prevent her wreaking further harm.

Ava collapsed, the demonic power dimming from her ravaged form. Kren went to her side, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

"Forgive me, teacher. I pray your soul finds redemption's light once more." He could only hope they had spared some glimmer of Ava's true self. But for now, grim necessity ruled the cruel day. Not all battles ended in joyous victory over the encroaching night. Some scars would remain, never to fully heal.

Karen faced down the corrupted Raven alongside Lea and Mike, their former idol now transformed into a merciless engine of destruction. Karen's hands trembled around her mystic rifle. Could she bring herself to end the captain's life, no matter how far she had fallen?

With a feral scream, Raven manifested swirling aura blades and hurled them at Karen's team. Mike erected a shield in time, but the dark blades relentlessly sought weaknesses.

"Her attacks won't cease until we're dead!" Mike warned through gritted teeth. "We have to strike back!"

Karen hesitated until a sword nearly slipped through Mike's barrier, coming within inches of impaling Lea. Swallowing hard, Karen took aim at their possessed former hero. I have to do this...for my friends...

Before she could fire, Raven disappeared, reappearing in their midst to wreak havoc. Karen wheeled, but too slow - Raven grasped Lea in an unbreakable hold, blade pressed to her throat.

"Drop your weapons or she perishes!" the corrupted captain hissed. Karen's guns clattered to the floor as Raven retreated, dragging the helpless Lea with her.

Seeing the raw terror in her friend's eyes, Karen felt something harden within. With lethal precision, she drew a hidden pistol and fired right at Raven's head. The captain fell back, slain instantly.

Lea collapsed sobbing into Karen's arms. But as the adrenaline wore off, Karen began shaking uncontrollably. She had felled their former role model without hesitation. What did that make her now?

"You saved us; you had no choice," Mike said gently, though his face was pale. But Karen barely heard, sinking into sorrowful revelation.

How long until she came to view all lives as disposable means to ends? What price victory if it left naught but blood and rust upon the soul? These were the thoughts that haunted Karen in the war's aftermath. No righteous cause could justify such costs. She only prayed for forgiveness, which still awaited somewhere beyond the horror.