The knight teleported behind Lucas and stabbed his back with its hands. It raised him in the air and split his body in half with a single pull. Lucas' insides splattered on the revenant and others.

Anita screamed as she stared at Lucas' blood on her shaking hands.

Lillian collapsed to her knees, her jaw trembling, and her teeth clattering. She had pieces of Lucas' guts stuck in her hair.

Bow stood still while Lucas' blood streamed down her face. She looked like she was about to puke.

Rocky bit her tongue and balled her hands into fists. I won't die here.

"Why?" Lillian screamed, getting the revenant's attention.

The knight turned to her. "Is this where I deliver some exposition?" It placed its hands behind its back and strolled toward them. The sun burned its skin, turning it green. Its clenched jaw showed it was in pain. "Not interested," it said through gritted teeth.

Its body started expanding, with lumps forming on its skin before bursting like pimples, and its secretion created new muscle and flesh. When it was finished, it stood twenty feet tall. With its green skin, sharp claws replaced its nails; two horns sprouted from its forehead; and a long, pointy tail grew from its tailbone.

Opening its mouth and sucking in the air in the area, the teenagers slid toward it. One of Lillian's humanoid fungus elongated its roots and held them in place.

The knight stopped, frowning. Then it teleported behind Lillian, snapped her neck, and kicked her body to the ground.

Anita screamed before she turned away and ran. The knight showed up in front of her, stopped her in her tracks, and pierced her neck with its claw. She tumbled backward, clasping the wound as blood spilled out. Dark veins popped up from her neck, moving all over her body. She was dead in seconds, her body shriveling like a prune.

The knight looked at the claw it used to stab Anita. A bright circular light glowed on its tip: Anita's soul. It had pulled it out of her body with ease. And with one inhale, the revenant consumed it.

As the monster moaned in ecstasy, Bow dashed toward it with her saber-like scythes in her hands and hundreds of magic swords above her. She moved so silently that not even the knight heard her coming. She pierced its body with the magic swords.

The attack did not affect it.

"Is that all?" It stared at her like she was nothing.

Bow began cutting every inch of its body, going faster with each swing of her scythes while stabbing it repeatedly with her magic swords.

Rocky had never seen her this serious before. No savant had ever made Bow use the full extent of her abilities. Captain Tomboy had warned them not to do so as it drained their magic energy quickly, leaving them vulnerable to further enemy attacks.

When the knight had enough, it blocked her strikes with one arm, punched her throat with the other, and kicked her abdomen. The force thrust her into the air before she tumbled to the ground.

Bow stood right up. Blood flowed down her nose and mouth. She rubbed it off with the back of her hand. "Is that all?" She smiled, revealing her blood-stained teeth. Holding her scythes, she reactivated her magic. One magic sword hovered above her. She was at her limit.

The knight teleported behind her and thrust its hand toward her neck. She blocked it with her scythes. It aimed for her chest. She dodged. Opening its mouth, it revealed a green liquid inside. The magic sword above Bow stabbed the revenant in the head and cut through its mouth. It didn't deter it.

Bow had nothing else to counter it with.

She had run out of magic energy.

When the knight noticed her weakened state, it kneed her crotch. Bow groaned in pain, releasing her defensive stance and holding her genitals. The monster stabbed her abdomen with its claws multiple times before kicking her face. Bow fell to the ground and lay motionless.

Fear had clasped Rocky with an iron grip. She wanted to help Bow fight the revenant, but her body refused to move. Please! Her limbs declined.

The knight killed the headmaster and the other soul reapers in seconds. What could she do?

The monster moved toward Bow, then stopped and looked at Rocky. She gulped, frozen in place. "What should I do with you? Torture? Kill?" It observed her from head to toe. "You're too small." It sighed. "This will be easy."

It teleported behind Rocky and placed its hand on her shoulder. She cringed at its cold touch. Leaning closer to her ear, it whispered, "Are you ready to die, Little One?" It smiled, revealing its sharp teeth.

Come on, come on. Please work. Her body didn't move, and her magic failed to activate. I don't want to die. Tears pooled in her eyes.

The knight left Rocky and went to Bow. "Still alive?" it said with a hint of disappointment. Raising its arm, it thrust it toward the girl's head.

No, no, no, no. Even though they were sometimes enemies-sometimes allies, Rocky didn't want Bow to die. Their constant fighting made her a better soul reaper. She needed it to continue. She closed her eyes, tears running down her face. If you can't save me, please protect her.

Before the knight struck Bow's head, an energy shield blocked its attack. It raised its brow, looking confused. Aiming for Bow again, it punched the barrier many times but failed to break it. Frustrated, it turned to Rocky. The girl had her eyes closed and her jaw clenched. Sweat pooled on her face as she concentrated on maintaining her magic to defend her teammate.

The knight teleported behind Rocky and stabbed her in the back. She opened her eyes and coughed out blood. Pain shot throughout her body. "You did your best." It threw her in the air and spit the liquid in its mouth at her. The fluid swallowed Rocky's head. She went in and out of consciousness.

I'm dying. A tear ran down her face. Her breathing decreased, and she expected her life to flash before her eyes. Nothing happened. Total darkness consumed her.

A bright light appeared from afar. The sound of someone crying came from the same direction. Rocky glanced around and saw nothing—not even the knight. She was alone.

Running toward the voice, she found a little girl on her knees, sobbing. The sourceless light shined on her. "Hey," she called to her.

The little girl stood and turned to her—it was her ten-year-old self. She wore the uniform from Rocky's old primary school. "What are you doing here?" Little Rocky asked.

Rocky placed her hands on her hips and scoffed. "I came to save you."

"You're dying. Aren't you?"

Rocky frowned. "Yes."

"You're too short to die so soon."

"Hey!"

Little Rocky chuckled.

"I'm not short. I'm a superstar."

"You're sixteen. I'm ten. And we're the same height."

Rocky's mouth remained ajar. "You sound like Bow."

"Who's that?"

"A fan of mine."

Little Rocky's face lightened with a smile. "You have a fan?"

"Many of them."

"How many?"

"For now, hundreds. It'll be millions soon."

"That's so cool."

Rocky gave a smug smile. "I know."

"You're so lucky. I have no one like that." Little Rocky hugged herself.

"Is that why you were crying?"

She nodded. "Kids in class were mean to me. They said my parents abandoned me because I'm unlovable."

Pain gripped Rocky's heart, and a sour taste clouded her tongue. She remembered that day. It was a class presentation. The students talked about their parents and their work. Because of her family situation, Rocky spoke about her brother. The other kids mocked her after class for not living with her parents.

She spent the rest of the day crying. When she told her brother, Quincy, about what had happened, he remarked, "You need to develop a thick skin and not let anyone get to you so easily. Words mean nothing as long as you don't react to them."

Those words birthed Rocky's "superstar" persona. And anyone who made fun of her regretted it immediately, as she countered it by being loud and mean.

Rocky hugged her younger self. "Don't worry. You'll be fine." Childhood memories resurfaced. Her heart ached at being forced to grow up too soon. She never enjoyed being an innocent kid.

"Brother," Rocky called out, feeling lost. There was no one to get her out of the darkness.

"Rocky," Little Rocky called.

"Yes?"

"You can't die."

"I don't have a choice."

Little Rocky stepped away from her older self's embrace and looked at her. "You do." She touched Rocky's forehead. "It's time we evolve."

Rocky woke up with a gasp, returning to the real world. With her milky-white eyes, she checked herself to find the toxic liquid gone and the wounds on her body healed. She stood and caught the knight crouched next to Lillian's corpse, consuming her soul.

Her body vibrated from containing a high amount of magic power. She pressed her hands together, and a wave of dark energy shot out of her body and covered the entire island, making it pitch black.

Rocky had activated her pocket dimension.

An opening appeared in the sky, and a light shined down on her, chasing away the darkness. Everything and everyone on the island stood frozen, only able to move their eyes.

Rocky sensed where they all were.

She snapped her fingers, and all the revenants on the island appeared in front of her, standing in a straight line. Clenching her hand, they stuck their tongues out.

"Bumba, the superstar needs you." Her pearly-white scythe with a curved pole materialized in her hand. With one dash forward, she destroyed all the hearts inside the tongues. Rocky's weapon consumed the revenants' souls while their bodies vanished. Bumba would decide their fate in the afterlife.

Rocky ran out of magic energy, and her milky-white eyes returned to normal. Her pocket dimension vanished. Everything unfroze. The sky returned to normal. And the barrier covering the island disappeared.

Rocky stumbled forward, her vision blurred. She took three steps before collapsing to the ground, lacking the strength to move. The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was Ransom's voice asking her, "Where are the revenants, Rocky? Where did they go?"