Watching as Tenraku charged towards her, Serafall remained calm and composed, swiftly erecting a defensive magic barrier. Having gauged Tenraku's strength during their previous encounters, she felt no pressure to repel his attacks.
However...
"Ah..." Tenraku's fist struck the magic barrier, leaving it unscathed as before. But Serafall let out a pained cry, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she staggered back, clutching her abdomen.
"Why... Why is this happening? My magic barrier should have blocked your attack..." Her face turned deathly pale as Serafall questioned in disbelief.
"This is one of the abilities possessed by the Tools that Destroy God - Longinus, the Boosted Gear. It allows attacks to bypass defenses and strike directly at the enemy's body."
"All right, Serafall-Sama, let's continue!" Grinning wickedly, Tenraku flashed to Serafall's side, delivering a sweeping kick that sent her airborne.
Boom!
In the sky, Tenraku transformed into a streak of light, relentlessly pummeling Serafall. At one moment, he sent her hurtling into the air, and the next, crashing back to the ground.
"Ahhhhh..." With her defense magic rendered useless, Serafall found herself unable to retaliate, crying out in agony with each blow.
"How... How is this possible..." "Serafall-sama is actually at a disadvantage..."
The dozen or so magic girls observing from afar couldn't believe it. Just moments ago, their Serafall-sama had the upper hand. How did the situation reverse so quickly?!
"Damn you, Red Dragon Emperor, die!" Forgetful of how long it had been since she'd been so thoroughly bullied, Serafall abandoned defense altogether and unleashed her magic, bombarding Tenraku.
Despicable Red Dragon Emperor, did you think Levia-Tan was afraid of you? Come on, let's hurt each other!
Boom!
Fire, thunder and lightning, ice spears... the entire sky erupted into chaos. Tenraku continued to pound Serafall with his iron fists, while Serafall relentlessly bombarded him with magic. However, Serafall's injuries kept accumulating, while Tenraku's healed rapidly whenever they appeared.
Infuriated and feeling the injustice of it all, Serafall roared, "Haha, come at me again!"
Coincidentally, Tenraku's next punch landed squarely on Serafall's chest, causing her to recoil in shock. Shameless Red Dragon Emperor, how dare you hit a girl there!
With no time to cast magic to bombard Tenraku, Serafall quickly raised her magic staff to block.
Boom!
Serafall felt a tremendous force, grunting as her entire body was pushed back.
Though in pain, she managed to block the shameless blow from the Red Dragon Emperor. But...
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out as Serafall's magic staff split down the middle, losing its luster and breaking into two pieces.
"The magic staff... Levia-Tan's magic staff..."
Stunned, Serafall's eyes seemed to lose focus as she stared at the broken staff in her hand.
The intense battle came to an abrupt halt, leaving Tenraku also dumbfounded.
It's just a broken magic staff, what's the big deal? We can just get a new one later.
Unlike Tenraku's nonchalant attitude, Serafall's peerage, watching from afar, were horrified.
"It broke! Serafall-sama's magic staff broke!"
"Fool, quickly retreat!"
Terrified, the dozen or so magic girls quickly retreated, activating defensive magic with all their might to protect themselves and their allies.
Unforgivable... Unforgivable...
Muttering softly under her breath, Serafall lifted her head to look at Tenraku. Tears of sadness welled up in her eyes, yet beneath the tears shimmered a chilling coldness.
Surprisingly, Serafall's demeanor even unnerved Tenraku a bit.
"Serafall-sama, how about I compensate you for the staff later?" Tenraku tentatively offered.
"It's useless, it's useless. Levia-Tan's favorite magic staff has already broken..."
"Unforgivable, Red Dragon Emperor, you are absolutely unforgivable!" Terrifying magic power erupted from Serafall's body, transforming into an extreme coldness that spread in all directions, freezing even the void wherever it passed!
"Oh no!" Even Tenraku felt the extreme danger as alarm bells rang in his mind. He immediately spread his dragon wings to create distance from Serafall. However, before he could fly far, he was engulfed and submerged by the sweeping coldness.
Crack!
In just a few breaths, except for the location of Serafall and her peerage, the entire space was frozen solid!
"Great... Serafall-sama still retains some sanity..."
Almost reaching the edge of the extradimensional space, Serafall's peerage breathed a sigh of relief. Though they had deployed multiple defense barriers, they knew that if Serafall hadn't deliberately avoided them, their barriers wouldn't have been able to withstand the cold.
Activating teleportation magic, the dozen or so magic girls crossed through the ice to gather around Serafall.
After unleashing that terrifying move just now, even Serafall had depleted most of her magic power and now appeared somewhat weakened.
"Serafall-sama, are you all right?" The magic girls helped their mistress up, expressing their concern.
"Sasazi, Nanami, my magic staff... it broke, it broke," Serafall said, clutching the remaining half of her magic staff, on the verge of tears.
"Don't be sad, Serafall-sama. If it broke, we can make another one," Sasazi reassured her.
"Yes, Serafall-sama has already won the battle, and that's what matters most," Nanami added.
"That Red Dragon Emperor is indeed unexpectedly powerful, but Serafall-sama is still superior," remarked another magic girl.
With words of comfort from her peerage, Serafall's mood began to lighten. However, the thought of the detestable Red Dragon Emperor made her furious. If it weren't for him, her beloved magic staff wouldn't have broken. And despite having engaged in engagements with Sona-chan and Rias-chan, he still dared to plot against her. Serafall was determined to expose his true nature to Sona-chan, Rias-chan, and everyone else!
However, at that moment...
"S-Serafall-sama, look, over there... over there..."
As if witnessing something unbelievable, one of Serafall's peerage stuttered.
Following the girl's gaze, Serafall and the others revealed expressions of shock...
To be continued...
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