Pride's smirk froze, then shattered as a golden light erupted from Juniper, undergoing what looked to be a magical girl transformation.

  For a brief period of time, no one could utter a word—not even Pride.

  It was like watching a goddess descend from above, wielding a sparkling golden mic like the ultimate weapon. Even Tenzing was speechless, staring at Juniper in a mixture of wonder and confusion.

  Then, finally, Pride found his voice:

  "...What the hell are you supposed to be?"

  Juniper struck a pose as if modeling for the camera, one hand on her hip and golden microphone raised dramatically.

  She grinned smugly: "What...? Can't handle a little transformation~?"

  Pride scowled at her showmanship, his arrogance faltering for a moment. "You think you look impressive?" he sneered, trying to hide the uncertainty in his voice. "That's just a glorified light show. A cheap trick.”

  "Cheap? Sure, sure," Juniper quipped, twirling the golden mic between her pale fingers. "But I bet it'll be enough to put an egotistical prick like you in your place!"

  Her eyes practically gleamed in the low light as she took a defiant step forward. "You think you're the biggest and baddest god out there, but guess what? You may have ruled over pride for ages, but that doesn't mean a single idol can't outshine you."

  She raised the mic to her grinning lips, clearing her throat before smugly announcing, "It's rap time~!”

  The grin on Juniper's face widened, sensing weakness: "Oh, I would…I so would. I'm gonna tear down your whole reputation, you narcissistic peacock."

  Her eyes glittered with determination as she lifted the mic to her lips. "Watch me. And get ready to regret every single one your self-indulgent decisions, ya pompous prick. Cause I'm about to roast your ass like a barbecued pig~."

  She took a deep breath, excitedly belting out the first lyrics of her freestyle: "My, oh my, watch these gals go awry! Don'tcha worry, we gon' be aight! Tonight, we strike, and we boutta emerge victorious in our fight with PRIDE!!"

  As Juniper rapped, Alice, Tenzing, and Chie began to glow softly with power, their strength being boosted by Juniper's rap.

  Each line of Juniper's rap was a verbal slaughter of Pride's inflated ego. She weaved in personal stories from her upbringing, pointed out every instance of his hypocrisy, and ruthlessly dissed his overconfidence.

  But the best part? Juniper was killing it, her flow and rhyming skills were on point, and she never once stumbled or lost track. Even Pride was listening intently, his face going from anger to annoyance to disbelief to outright fury.

  Juniper kept rapping, pouring all her frustration and spite into her lyrics, channeling the power of her friends into a verbal onslaught.

  Pride's self-restraint was visibly slipping as Juniper continued her rant. He clenched his fists in a poor attempt to hide his mounting anger, but couldn't resist the urge to snap back.

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  "Insolent girl," he snarled, his voice thick with barely controlled rage. "What makes you think you have the right to mock me this way?! Your feeble words are nothing but the mindless ramblings of a mere mortal!”

  "Oh, but my ramblings are anything but mindless," Juniper retorted, completely unfazed by Pride's outbursts. "You may have ruled over pride for centuries, but that doesn't make you immune from criticism. I know your flaws, your insecurities, and the weaknesses you so desperately try to hide. You call yourself perfect, but we all know better. And I'm about to expose you in front of everyone—"

  She took a deep breath before launching into a particularly venomous verse.

  Pride flinched, a full-body jerk of shock as the word "Hooter" was hurled at him with maximum humiliation. His face twisted in pure, unfiltered outrage.

  "I—WHAT?! DID YOU JUST CALL ME A WHORE?!" he roared, his voice cracking slightly from sheer disbelief.

  Pride looked at them all...then back at the smirking pop idol who had somehow weaponized sass better than any divine power they'd ever seen...

  He snapped.

  With an ear-splitting screech of pure fury, shadows exploded outward in jagged tendrils around him, the very air cracking under his wrath.

  "ENOUGH!!!"

  The room trembled as Pride finally unleashed what little self-control remained: "IF INSULTS ARE YOUR WEAPON OF CHOICE… THEN LET US SEE HOW LONG THEY LAST WHEN I REDUCE YOU TO DUST!!!”

  Pride unleashed a wave of pure aura at the girls, paralyzing each and every one of them except for Alice, who remained unfazed.

  The force of Pride's aura was like a freight train hitting a concrete wall; everyone froze in place except for Alice, who was the only one unaffected by the paralysis effect. Pride's eyes narrowed in confusion...then widened in surprise as his gaze shifted to the young lady who remained completely unbothered.

  "What...?" Pride gaped, his anger momentarily replaced with disbelief. "How...? You...you're resisting the paralysis."

  Alice remained composed, keeping her eyes locked on Pride. "Oh, maybe it has something to do with me being an Ephemeral? Who knows."

  Pride was almost too surprised to respond, the mere concept of someone resisting his paralyzing aura was inconceivable to him.

  "That's...impossible…" he spluttered, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "No mortal can resist my aura! Especially not a puny little girl like you!”

  Alice kept her chin up and replied calmly: "Sorry to disappoint, but looks like your aura is no match for my unique abilities."

  Pride bristled at her audacity, his ego bruised by a mere mortal who had the audacity to call him "no match".

  "Hmph. Unique abilities, you say?" he sneered, his confidence starting to creep back. "That's rich. And what would those 'unique abilities' be, hmm? I bet they're no more than insignificant party tricks!”

  Alice's cool front vanished, replaced by something far colder.

  "Pride." Her voice dropped into a tone that made even the air around her feel heavier, as if reality itself leaned in to listen. "I am not an 'Ephemeral' in the way you think I am."

  A flicker of gold passed through her now multicolored eyes—like ethereal rainbows beneath obsidian skin—as she lifted one hand toward him, palm open:

  "I am Alice. And my ancestors have sealed gods like you for centuries."

  The temperature plummeted; Chie watched with wide-eyed awe while Juniper mouthed "Ohhhh shit..." from behind them.

  Tenzing thought, ‘...She’s Void bound.’

  Pride? He looked nervous.

  His grin froze, then shattered as the sheer, unfiltered weight of Alice’s lineage crashed into his divine senses. His eyes widened in pure shock.

  "Wha—?!" he choked out, taking a full step back for the first time in centuries. "No no NO! That is IMPOSSIBLE! The Vessels were ERADICATED!"

  Alice didn’t move an inch; she just stared at him with that same eerie calm while her gaze burned brighter than ever before: "They were erased from history books." She tilted her head slightly: "But not from mine."

  Juniper let out a slow whistle under her breath while Tenzing muttered to Chie: "...I did NOT know this about our new friend." Chie could only nod rapidly like "YEAH WHAT SHE SAID."

  Pride looked between them all…then at Alice again with dawning horror.

  His pride was one thing.

  But facing down something older than gods?

  That was another level of fear entirely~