Al immediately vaulted toward the three of them and planted himself in a defensive posture before their forms, as if deliberately shielding them from the Agent.

He glanced at Sa-Ya.

Damn it. The potion's wearing off. That means Shae inside the third dimension feels the effect too… and there's still no sign of her coming back, he thought, gritting his teeth.

Meanwhile the Agent began to manifest a number of razor-pointed spears from his obsidian-black energy. Not a single spear, but several.

"Kid. Not everyone is as fortunate as you. And whatever fate decrees shall perish by my hand." he intoned.

Without further provocation, the energy-spears were hurled.

WOSHHH!

Damn! Al cursed inwardly as he witnessed the assault.

Divine energy… was not something he could parry with his present strength. The spears dove with lethal precision, cleaving through the air, aiming directly for Basri who lay unconscious in the rear.

Reflex. Al did not have time for deliberation.

His body moved autonomously—he lunged forward. His hand summoned something from his dimensional ring—the Divine Word artifact again.

"I'm counting on you, divine agent's kryptonite…" he murmured hastily while narrowing his eyes.

As soon as the tear manifested, he raised it toward the incoming strike; the atmosphere around him instantly became taut. It behaved like a shield.

The Agent's eyes widened and he aborted his attack. The black spears suddenly froze midair—vibrating, then dissipating, reverting into raw black energy.

Silence fell. Only the hissing of residual energies remained.

The Agent halted. His gaze sharpened upon the scrap of paper.

His face, previously calm and full of confidence, now appeared… strained. Even the tips of his blackened fingers trembled slightly.

"You! Do not toy with the Divine Word," his voice rumbled, threaded with anger.

Al smiled faintly, regarding the tear which now looked tarnished, no longer radiating that divine luminance as before.

"Success. Hahaha. This truly is kryptonite for a divine agent." Al taunted the Agent. "Now what will you do, haha."

The Agent squinted. "You… cease that immediately and do not impede my task."

Al shrugged casually, his expression innocent.

"Haha. I suppose this is the first time a cursed human has managed to intercept and obstruct a divine agent's duty. I think this is a source of pride for me."

Sa-Ya, half-staggering behind him, almost coughed at Al's words and demeanor.

"Master… what are you doing? And what are you talking about? Your words are strange—are you speaking Azzaleth?"

Sa-Ya did not understand the archaic language Al and the Agent had used to communicate. Added to that, she could still only perceive the swirling black energy rather than the Agent himself.

Al turned and looked at her with a smile.

"You don't need to contemplate it. Hold on. I'm searching for a way to deal with this. I hope this works."

He then looked back at the Agent with a thin smile, lifting the paper again in his hand.

"I know you cannot pass through this. How about you grant my request now. After that I will no longer bother you." he said, attempting negotiation.

"Are you attempting to negotiate with me?" the Agent asked.

Al nodded.

"I never intended to bother you from the start. I know of the destiny of death, which is why I generally do not meddle in others' demises. I let them die if they are meant to. Rather than saving them and urging them to live." he stated.

His gaze grew slightly sharper.

"They call me heartless because of that. Say I don't understand heroism. Saying I don't know how to help those in need, to save those in peril. Fine. But right now—when I'm finally trying to save someone—I end up clashing with an agent of death."

The Agent recognized the veracity in that narrative; Al appeared so composed in his eyes. It indicated that it was not a deception at all. But he could not accept it.

"Hmph… it does sound ironic for you. But that is not my concern. Set aside your sentimentality and stop playing with the Divine Word. Move aside." he said firmly.

Al bristled a little at that.

"Argh… you are incredibly difficult to reason with. Very well then, I will intercept you until my objective is fulfilled." he declared.

The Agent's jaw clenched, muscles tightening with visible rage.

His eyes locked onto Al's figure, burning with a fury that no longer bothered to hide itself.

"Cursed human…" he muttered, his voice rough and cavernous—like something crawling out from the depths of an endless abyss.

"I thought you were something extraordinary, having a Dimensional Eye and being acknowledged by a Divine Word. But it seems you're nothing more than a fortunate brat. Lucky, not special."

Al straightened his back, confusion flashing across his face.

"What do you mean by that?!"

The Agent stared at him expressionlessly, though the air around him began to change—still, but darker, colder. The wild anger from before faded away, replaced by an eerie silence. It was the kind of stillness that made even the world seem to hold its breath, waiting for disaster.

A faint smile crossed his lips.

"I thought you knew many things—but it seems I was wrong. Just so you know, we Divine Agents possess powers that transcend human comprehension. No matter how you think you can stop me, there will always be countless ways for me to complete my task."

Al froze, his instincts on full alert.

And then—without a single warning—the Agent's figure blurred, dissolving into the shadows. One second. Two seconds. Gone.

Al narrowed his eyes, his pulse thundering.

"Eh? Did he… leave?"

That's when it happened.

A scream tore through the air.

"AAAGHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Basri!?" Al shouted instinctively, eyes widening as he spun around.

"Master! This thing… it's here!" Sa-Ya cried, her gaze snapping toward a dark silhouette near Basri's unconscious body.

Everything happened too fast.

The Agent now stood beside Basri, his blackened hand hovering just before the man's chest.

A faint white glow began to seep from Basri's body—his soul, as if preparing to answer some divine summons. But chains of magic coiled around him, stopping that light from leaving.

The Agent turned his gaze toward Sa-Ya, the caster of that spell.

"Meddling with souls. You all truly are troublesome creatures. But this is the end."

And then—

BRANG!!

The chains shattered instantly beneath the Agent's blade of shadow.

The backlash threw Sa-Ya backward violently.

"Ugh…" she groaned, pain lacing her voice.

Al lunged forward—but his movement came a heartbeat too late.

"Stop—!" he shouted.

Yet this time, something blocked his path. A translucent barrier flared to life before him, shimmering like hardened air, halting his advance completely.

"Damn it."

He immediately hurled the artifact in his hand, but the Agent merely lifted a finger—stopping it midair. The fragment floated weightlessly, suspended higher than anyone else within the underground chamber.

The Agent only shook his head.

Beside him, the Scroll of Death reformed—ink-black energy swirling and coiling into tangible shape. He began reciting from it, undisturbed, his voice echoing with an eerie authority—like the utterance of a divine protocol.

His eyes narrowed.

"There have been… minor distortions in your timeline, caused by the meddling of a cursed being. But regardless, this span of time remains your destined moment of death. Accept it—unless you wish to feel the torment of a soul's extraction."

His voice fell like a judgment upon Basri.

The Agent's hand reached forward, gently—almost reverently—touching Basri's chest. Then, with surgical precision, he began to pull.

A faint white luminescence emerged from Basri's body—his soul trembling under the pull. The man's entire frame convulsed violently; his eyes snapped open, wide and glassy, pupils dilating with primal terror as he screamed—his voice raw and soul-piercing.

A sound that told the world—he was not ready to die.

Something flickered across the Agent's expression. Disgust. Curiosity. Even a touch of disdain.

"This soul… it's damaged? Is this the result of a cursed human's interference?"

He clicked his tongue, his voice laced with cold contempt.

"Hmph. You cursed beings truly have gone mad—defiling another's soul this grotesquely."

His dark hand tightened its grip. Basri's soul-light was already halfway drawn out, trembling on the verge of separation. The resistance made the pull sluggish—his target still clinging desperately to life.

And then—

BREGG... CLANG!

A blinding flash of light burst beneath Basri's body.

A magic circle ignited on the ground, luminous chains of light shooting upward, wrapping tightly around Basri's legs—halting the extraction.

"I… was assigned to this…"

The voice came soft, ragged, trembling.

Sa-Ya—her body swaying, complexion ghostly pale, half-lidded eyes shimmering faintly—stood with one hand braced against the floor, the other raised shakily toward the light. Her spell—Soul Binding Chains—was being cast again.

She wasn't even aware of her own stated.

Her vacant eyes fixed somewhere near Basri, but by sheer instinct—or fate—her spell had succeeded, latching onto the very soul being torn away.

Now, Basri's body became the eye of a supernatural storm:

Half of his soul was being pulled by the Agent.

The other half—anchored by Sa-Ya's magic.

The air itself began to vibrate violently, trembling as if two dimensions collided at a single point.

The Agent turned sharply toward her, his gaze cutting like a blade.

"You! Playing with another's soul again?!" he snarled.

Al's eyes widened as he witnessed the impossible tug-of-war—and panic set in.

"Sa-Ya! Stop—don't!"

But before his warning could even reach her, the Agent had already raised his left hand—dark energy swirling like a living storm, writhing around his palm.

He looked at Sa-Ya without emotion, his tone absolute.

"You are a nuisance."

The instant he pointed toward her, the air collapsed.

Al surged forward, through the only direction the barrier didn't reach.

"SA-YA! MOVE!" he bellowed.

Too late.

ZRAAASSSHHHH!!!

A violent surge of black lightning ripped through the air, launching straight at Sa-Ya.

She didn't even flinch—didn't realize she was being attacked. Her trembling lips still whispered her chant, her eyes glistening with tears as her focus remained on Basri.

Al's heart sank.

But then—

GRAB!

A thunderous impact resounded. It wasn't the sound of destruction—

but of something stopping it.

Al's breath caught in his throat.

Between Sa-Ya and the Agent—

a figure had materialized.

That entity had caught the dark strike barehanded.

From the point of contact, shockwaves exploded outward—cracking the stone floor, carving a crater into the ground.

Silence devoured the room. Dust swirled like smoke in the heavy air.

The silhouette moved slightly, its hand tightening—and the black energy shattered, fracturing like brittle glass.

Crack. Crack. PRAAAKKKK!

The shards dissolved into the void.

And from within the haze—

a deep, familiar voice spoke.

"I suppose I'll have to interfere… just this once."

The tone was calm, yet carried an overwhelming pressure—something between heaven's authority and hell's wrath.

A chill raced down Al's spine. His entire being screamed in instinctual awe.

For the first time, the Agent's composure faltered. His eyes narrowed, pupils contracting to pinpoints.

"...You."

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