PART 1
In the Eastern District of Shiba's Five Element barrier.
Nonaka Yuki, who raised her hand to fight Seiryuu alone, had a plan. It was
to change the field of battle. Seiryuu who protects the Eastern domain has an
affinity for wood. Because water is compatible to the wood element, the Edo
River is making Seiryuu stronger. Continuing to fight near the river would
only be advantageous to Seiryuu.
The Master Servant Contract that Yuki has with Basara, strengthens those in
the contract the deeper their bonds are. Prior to visiting the Village, Yuki's
fighting strength was already that of a Pre-S Class but by deepening her bond
with Basara before their fight against Celis, her strengths were now that of a
S Class.
However, after analyzing the power of Seiryuu while they fought, Nonaka
Yuki came to a quick conclusion: if they were to continue fighting in their
current location, she would not stand a chance.
Therefore, she had to change the battlefield. But just stepping away from the
river wasn't good enough. The whole area was named "Edo River District"
and thus, while not as strong, was still compatible to Seiryuu's wood element
to strengthen it. To make things worse, the entire eastern district of Tokyo
within the barrier was full of locations associated with water. Just south of
Edo River District was Ichikawa District, which had the character for river in
its name. The neighboring Urayasu district is also a landfill site that sits on
top of the sea and historically speaking, was also a famous salt farm. Salt is
considered to be a part of the water element in the Five Elements, and thus,
Urayasu might be an even more dangerous place for Yuki to fight.
Westward was not looking so good wither with Koto District also containing
the character for water in its name. If however, they were fighting outside the
barrier and not within it, Koto District could have been an option. Koto
District is home to the Kameido Sengen Shrine, an offshoot shrine to the
Sengen Shrine in Mt. Fuji, the shrine that houses the spirit of Konohana
Sakuya-hime, the same spirit that resides in Yuki's blade Sakuya. If they
were outside the barrier, the shrine would have definitely helped in powering
up Yuki's Sakuya.
But within the barrier, while the carbon copy of buildings were recreated, the
holy spirits that reside in the shrines themselves were not brought into the
artificial world recreated within the barrier.
And to make things worse, the name Kameido is a name given to worship the
water deity.
Kame, meaning turtle, overlaps with the God of the North, Genbu, who is a
turtle himself, thus making Kameido a very dangerous location for someone
fighting Genbu.
However, the directional advantages and their elemental compatibilities do
not only strengthen the 4 Gods, but also helps Yuki as well. The opposing
element of Seiryuu's wood element is the element of metal. And the metal
element was out in the west.
So Yuki headed towards the west, further than Koto District. She made her
way for Sumida District. While it wasn't in the west per se, but in the western
side of the Eastern Districts, getting away from all the water would weaken
Seiryuu's wood element and Yuki needed all the help she could get.
But Sumida District wasn't without its own problems. The very name
Sumida, while spelled differently, comes from the Sumida River, and thus,
once again is affiliated with the water element that will strengthen Seiryuu.
So Yuki decided to fight just before Sumida District, at the town of
Kinshicho. Metal was most concentrated near the train station so Yuki
headed towards the South Gate of the station since it was facing the business
district with all its high rise buildings and also gave distance from the
northern side of the station which was home to Kinshi Park which would
have played to Seiryuu's wood element.
"This place will surely…!"
Just as Yuki arrived near the south gate of the station, she looked up towards
the sky only to see the dragon charging down at her.
It wasn't difficult to lead Seiryuu to this location. After all, it was the
dragon's duty to protect the eastern districts. And since Yuki already attacked
first, it had determined Yuki to be a threat to its domain and will relentlessly
chase her down.
With all the water in the nearby areas, Seiryuu had grown to a tremendous
size. To protect its area, it had no qualms in recklessly charging into Yuki.
Yuki quickly jumped off the pedestrian overpass that she was standing on,
and in the next moment, saw the entire overpass being destroyed by Seiryuu's
charge.
"Ha!"
Taking advantage of the momentum of her jump, Yuki swung Sakuya several
times to send multiple slashes towards Seiryuu. But before the blades could
reach Seiryuu, a giant barrier of wind surrounded Seiryuu and negated the
oncoming attacks.
"Kh…"
Yuki bit her lip in anger. She was a versatile swordsman who fought close
and mid range using the power of spirits. With her element of metal and
Seiryuu's affinity for wood, she should be right up close to Seiryuu and
delivering as many slashes and strikes as she could. However, the Four Gods
have direct control over their elements and that means the wind barrier that
Seiryuu has, makes it impossible for Yuki to approach it. And unlike Mio and
Kurumi, Yuki was not exactly proficient with elemental magic or long range
attacks. Even if she were to use Sakuya and somehow break through the
barrier, if Seiryuu sent another gust of wind her way, she would have to use
Sakuya on the defensive and won't able able to attack the dragon directly.
But since Seiryuu was the guardian of the eastern districts, the dragon would
most likely refrain from using any long range destructive attacks to target
Yuki. The way it charged at Yuki at the overpass was an indication to its will
to preserve the buildings and structures of the area. Yuki could buy some
time by dodging those physical attacks and wait for a chance to strike.
However, the fact that the wind barrier from before so easily deflected her
blade attacks meant that Seiryuu's wind affinity was definitely stronger than
her wind-based blade attacks. That's why Yuki had to do everything she
could, to bring Seiryuu someplace that will weaken it.
After landing on a building, Yuki carefully analyzed the situation. She could
continue to dodge and weave and find an opening to strike, but she didn't
step off the building for her next jump. It wasn't that she was afraid of being
hit. She's fighting one of the Four Gods. Of course she won't come out of
this battle unscathed. In fact, she would have to prepare to throw her life
away to defeat Seiryuu. But she couldn't just do that. After all, she made a
promise to make it out of this alive. If she were to die, the master servant
contract would also weaken Basara, and that would make it all the more
dangerous for him to fight Shiba.
So while Yuki's enemy was the dragon in front of her, it wasn't as easy as to
just winning against Seiryuu. This was Shiba's home turf. Any sort of dirty
play could happen. Even if she were to use all her powers and subdue
Seiryuu, Shiba could send in some reinforcements to kill her or kidnap her.
Whatever she does, she had to make sure that she did not become a hindrance
to the others.
Yuki watched as Seiryuu rose back up after destroying the overpass. She had
to remain calm. She had to consider the risks as long as Shiba's barrier was
active. If there was no barrier, she could unleash all of her powers.
"…"
Yuki heard something cal out to her. Something voiceless reaching out.
"Sakuya…?"
She felt it through her hands that gripped the blade. The sword was telling her
to trust it. To let it unleash more of its power. And that was what Yuki
needed to find her plan to fight against Seiryuu.
"In understand."
With that, Yuki faced her back to Seiryuu and began to sprint towards the
main road, jumping over roofs on the way.
With Sakuya to guide her way, she headed south towards the location that
would weaken the dragon the most.
But Yuki wasn't aware yet.
Aware of the thing behind Seiryuu who was chasing her.
That while the barrier was supposed to replicate everything in the outside
world, there was an important thing that was missing within the barrier.
PART 2
Unlike in the eastern district where Yuki was moving around to find a more
advantageous location to fight Seiryuu, Kurumi in the southern district did no
such thing against Suzaku.
Since Suzaku was a bird, the very flapping of its wings gave it an affinity to
wind. An affinity to wind also meant an affinity to the element of wood.
Since Suzaku was naturally a fire element creature, the wood and wind
element complemented its natural powers and you could say that Suzaku was
in its complete form from the getgo.
But the reason Kurumi did not move was because their field of battle was at
Tokyo Bay right near the marine park. While water does complement the
wood element, it still opposed Suzaku's natural element of fire. So, Kurumi
had to use her water element attacks to fight Suzaku.
But did the elemental advantage help Kurumi in battle?
That answer wasn't as clear.
Battles are a constantly evolving thing. And so, as time passes, many new
problems start to appear. In the case of Kurumi, she had to remain as close to
the surface of the sea as possible if she would like to fully unleash her water
element attacks.
"Kh…"
Kurumi had to dodge quickly, while flying, to avoid the explosion. For
Suzaku was shooting down fireballs into the ocean and causing the explosion
of the impact with the water to try and damage Kurumi.
While she could dodge and weave using her flight magic, it was never a good
thing to let your opponent fight above in the midst of an aerial battle.
"Damn!"
While gliding over the surface of the sea, she got into touch with the spirit in
the water, and began to fire back the water towards Suzaku like a cannon.
But Suzaku did not budge at all or defend itself. So all the water cannon shots
that Kurumi sent, hit it directly.
Except that nothing happened. Suzaku was a giant bird surrounded with fire.
Some measly water attack that Kurumi came up with on the spot won't affect
the fiery veil surrounding the bird, even if the water attack was a natural
weakness to the fire element. Simply put, even if Kurumi used a water
element attack, Suzaku's fire element overpowered it.
"I guess I'm going to need something else to damage him."
Kurumi had to think whether to sacrifice her water element attacks by
engaging herself in aerial battle against Suzaku, or to sacrifice her flight to
stay on the surface and focus on her water attacks.
But it was neither option that Kurumi had to take. Suzaku above her, spread
its wings wide, and in the next moment hundreds of burning feathers were
unleashed from the bird and came hurtling down towards Kurumi.
And she couldn't just dodge. The way Suzaku was causing steam explosions
the last time, any of these feathers could cause an explosion to get her. And
setting up a water barrier might not do so well either as the fires from the
feathers might evaporate the barrier, and that would be deadly.
So Kurumi had to go with a third option: to defend and evade at the same
time. The first thing Kurumi did was to set up a barrier; not a water barrier
but a wind one. Controlling the wind barrier to form a sphere around her, she
used her flight magic to move quickly. Not horizontally, but by dropping
straight down deep into the sea.
Just as Kurumi sunk below into the ocean, the fiery feathers all hit the surface
of the sea and caused countless explosions. And since Kurumi was now
surrounded by water, she was able to better utilize her water element.
"Haaaaa!"
Kurumi concentrated power into her hands in front of her chest to create a
huge whirlpool inside the ocean. And by clapping her hands, she sent that
whirlpool high above to create a gigantic pillar of water that began to form
itself into a water dragon, bigger than Suzaku, in the air. The water dragon
then charged towards Suzaku and swallowed it whole.
"I won't let you!"
As Suzaku started to wrestle and fight inside the belly of the water dragon,
Kurumi called forth more water to maintain the shape of the dragon and
dragged down Suzaku into the depths of Tokyo Bay while she herself flew
out into the air once again.
The water element snuffs out fire. So for Suzaku being trapped inside the
ocean would be akin to a normal person taking a bath in poison. The water
surrounding it would surely take its toll on Suzaku.
"Now, all I need to do is…!?"
With victory almost guaranteed, Kurumi couldn't contain her shock when a
giant fireball broke out from the water prison and charged straight at her.
"Damn it!"
Kurumi just barely avoided that charge by using her flight magic. But the
fireball she dodged wasn't an attack by Suzaku, it was Suzaku itself. Just like
how Kurumi used a wind barrier to surround herself with to create distance
between herself and the water within the ocean, Suzaku did the same using a
fire barrier. It created a fire barrier so hot that it instantly evaporated any
water that came to contact with it. And by doing so, it survived being dragged
into the ocean and was able to come back and retaliate.
"I thought I had it in the bag…"
"But it's not like that was a complete waste."
She did not say that out of bitterness. It was actually true. The Suzaku she
currently saw in front of her was definitely smaller in size than before. Even
if it was for a moment, Suzaku was indeed dragged into the ocean, so the
opposing power of the water element must have taken its toll. So Kurumi
knew that all she had to do was slowly chip away at Suzaku's fire elemental
energy.
But Suzaku suddenly charged at her. Even if it may have been weakened,
Kurumi would still be unable to create a carrier strong enough to protect her
from a headlong charge. At worst, Suzaku will just smash through her barrier
and will kill her.
So Kurumi quickly used her flight magic to evade above Suzaku and fired a
water element attack towards its back.
"Huh!?"
At that moment, Kurumi saw that Suzaku wasn't charging at her, but at
something behind her. And what she saw horrified her. For Suzaku was
charging towards the port with all the containers. Not just normal containers,
but oil tankers.
A series of massive explosions rocked the area as the entire port went up in
flames. Then suddenly, all the flames began to morph itself in the shape of a
giant bird: into Suzaku.
Now Suzaku was far bigger than anything Kurumi had ever seen.
"I see…when you aren't on a rampage, you can actually use your brain to
fight smart."
Because Kurumi used spiritual magic to fight, she doesn't use any of her own
magical powers and that does help her conserve some energy. But her
physical stamina and spiritual energy were at low levels, especially after the
water dragon and prison technique from earlier. While she could possibly
pull off those moves a few more times, there was no way that was going to
work on the current Suzaku. In fact, the current Suzaku was probably big and
powerful enough to evaporate the entire Tokyo Bay.
But even faced with such a calamity, there was no doubt in Kurumi's eyes.
Because Kurumi was entrusted to fight Suzaku here by the others. She
couldn't let the others down. So Nonaka Kurumi knew that she had to do
everything she could to defeat the giant flaming bird.
When Kurumi and the others fought in the Demon World, she lost her fight.
Even if she did finally defeat the same enemy with the help of Maria during
the fight with Chaos, it didn't change the fact that she still lost and that her
loss put a burden on the others.
So she swore that she would never lose again, no matter how strong her
opponent may be. And for that, Nonaka Kurumi would give her all in this
fight.
"I can no longer afford to lose…!"
And with that, Nonami Kurumi charged straight towards Suzaku.
PART 3
Of the Four Gods, there is one which is often considered to be different to the
others. The defender of the North, Genbu. There were two things that
separated Genbu from the rest. First, Genbu was a combination of two
spiritual beasts: a turtle god and a snake god.
The second was its name. The other gods, Seiryuu, Suzaku and Byakko were
all names with a combination of "color" and "beast" for their characters.
While the "Gen" in Genbu can be considered as the color "black" it also
meant "snake". And the "Bu" in its name has the meaning of "turtle" and
"God of War" at the same time. So unlike the other beasts, both Chinese
characters in Genbu's name refers to beasts, and the second character
referring to Genbu being a God of War was not just a simple reference.
Genbu really was the most powerful and battle oriented out of the Four Gods.
That is why even when the massive golem charged towards Genbu, it didn't
even flinch. It is true that the element of earth is strong against Genbu's
element of water. But their attacks still did not do anything to Genbu. None
of the golem's punches or the earth magic that its castor was using did
anything to penetrate Genbu's hard shell.
But Genbu was not just a big turtle with water element magic. The snake part
of Genbu was another weapon itself with its whip like body and sharp fangs.
The snake tail of Genbu struck the charging golem like a whip and
disintegrated the upper torso of the golem instantly.
But Genbu knew that it was not over. Genbu looked up and saw the castor
floating in the air with some sort of wings on her back. She must have flew
and dodged the snake whip the moment it hit the golem. But she was wrong
to think that being airborne would help her dodge its attacks.
Genbu prepared its water element magic, but instead of water, it was ice.
Genbu, being the protector of the north, also had the property of "winter".
That meant that the water element that Genbu uses can also be molded with
ice properties.
"Kh…!!!"
The castor must have realized what Genbu was doing and quickly started to
create defensive magical barriers. But Genbu did not care. There was no way
the castor was going to survive the mil ions of ice shards he was going to
shoot her way. With a combination of water magic and ice magic, he used a
power shot of water to hurtle all the ice shards towards the castor at the speed
of sound. The shards tore through the castor's earth element defenses like
cotton candy and hit the castor.
"…"
But something felt off with Genbu. He definitely felt his magic hit the castor,
but it didn't feel like the feeling of hitting flesh. More like the feeling of
hitting hard stones. His instincts told him to turn southwest, and that's when
he saw the castor with her eyes not losing a single shred of determination.
She then turned her back to Genbu and flew away to gain some distance.
The figure that Genbu hit before must have been a stone clone. For a castor
who could control and create golems, a stone clone should surely be easy.
The castor flew off towards one of the bright light areas of Tokyo. It didn't
matter whether she was fleeing or whether she had a plan. For Genbu's role
was to protect the northern districts and to destroy anyone who threatens it.
PART 4
Kinuta Park was currently the battle ground for two seperate battles: Mio and
Byakko's fight near the baseball field, and Maria and Balflear's fight.
But Narse Maria's opponent wasn't Balflear. It was the countless numbers of
sludge shaped creatures that covered the turf.
Legion.
The devils were all the same shape and size. Each of them were over 2 meters
tall and around the same size as Maria's past enemy, Valga. Each of them
were not so powerful, but their large fists could definitely pack a punch, and
the sheer number of them was quite daunting.
There must have been at least a hundred of them there, and while they did not
possess high levels of thinking to dodge and evade attacks, every time they
guarded an attack, it slowly chipped away at Maria's stamina.
Maria had to adopt a hide-and-snipe approach to take them out one by one to
conserve energy. Although she could have hid in the forest in the park to
sneak up to each creature, it would also give the devils a chance to sneak up
on her. So, Maria took the fight out into the open in the wide open field.
Quick on her feet, she dodged all the lumbering punches from the Legion and
executed perfect counter punches and kicks to defeat each monster as they
came. When four or five of them charged her at once, she punched into the
ground to create a shockwave to blast them all away.
The blast also took out another dozen at the back.
"Hmmm, there really is no end to this."
Even Maria had to admit that the odds were not in her favor. She must have
killed over 100 of these Legion already but more and more of them just keep
coming out from the summoning circle Balflear created. She won't be able to
stop the swarm unless she defeats Balflear himself, but she wasn't able to
sense his whereabouts. But he must be in this area as he has to maintain
control of the Legion while also providing maintenance to Byakko's
condition. He must be using some sort of magic to hide his presence. The
silver lining of that magic was that Balflear himself wasn't able to attack
Maria as he had to conceal his location and presence.
Still, Maria had to do something quickly. Fighting all the Legion was taking a
toll on her physically and emotionally. If she was even to be hit by one
attack, the others will jump on her in an instant and that will be that.
And she can not let that happen.
She had already tasted defeat during the fights in the Demon World.
Technically, Kurumi and Zest lost as well but their situation was different.
Kurumi couldn't unleash her full powers because she thought that Basara was
held hostage, and Zest lost as a penalty for stepping into Kurumi's fight to
stop the fight.
But Maria… She lost fair and square.
Of course, her opponent was that Takigawa, Lars if you wish, so he was
never going to be an easy opponent. And just because Maria was the only
person to lose, it did not mean that she was weaker than the other girls.
Nevertheless, she still lost that fight. So, this was one fight she couldn't lose.
There had to be a way. Balflear's contract with Legion meant that he could
summon these creatures endlessly without consuming any of his own magical
energy. So what Maria had to do was create an opportunity where Balflear
will reveal himself. And she would have to strike him in that one opportunity,
or she will lose.
And while Balflear could use his barrier magic to block Maria's attack, she
wasn't without a trick up her sleeve. She could unlock her seal, overload her
powers and focus all her energy in one strike.
But that was one hand she couldn't play. After all, the last time she lost
against Lars was specifically because she overloaded on her powers and her
physical body was unable to handle the stress. For a close ranged fighter like
Maria, losing control of her own body was the same as losing the fight. And
while she had been training with Basara to slowly unseal her powers bit by
bit, she had never tried it in practice, and this would be the first time she
would do so. It was simply too risky to unseal her powers in front of Balflear.
How ironic that all the training and preparation for unsealing her power had
made her cautious in actually using said power.
If she were to actually use her powers, it would be a gamble. And this fight
wasn't just about Maria. Mio was fighting against Byakko nearby as well. If
Maria was to lose against Balflear, the Legion will simply target Mio next.
And even if Legion was summoned by Balflear, because of his ability to hide
himself, Byakko won't consider him a threat to the area and will simply
attack both Legion and Mio.
If only she could link up with Mio. Then perhaps the two of them could work
out a way to defeat Byakko and Bal—
No.
She couldn't think like that. She had to defeat Balflear and Legion right here
and now, then go and help Mio take on Byakko. And she did have one last
hand she could play. Something she picked up while training with Basara.
She only had one chance.
And she would not fail.
So, Maria set her plans in motion, to defeat Balflear and Legion.
PART 5
The fight between Basara and Shiba in the central district was taking place in
the midst of all the highrise buildings to the west of Tokyo Tower.
An area that would usually be full of business people was without its hustle
and bustle within the barrier. But the area was not without its sounds. Dull
sounding clashes vibrated through the air and a faint buzzing similar to a
guitar amp, rang through the district.
Suddenly, a gust of wind whooshed past. Except, it was no wind. The streak
of color moving close to the speed of light was Basara charging towards
Shiba. It was Basara who chose this place to fight. Away from all the
buildings that lay north of Tokyo Tower. The Azabu and Toranomon area to
the north and north west of Tokyo Tower were full of embassies from
countries all over the world. If Shiba were to dissolve the dimensional barrier
during their fight as the combat took place in those areas, any damages
inflicted on the embassies will have a disastrous consequence for Japanese
diplomacy.
So, it wasn't just Tokyo. Shiba was taking the entire country of Japan
hostage. While fighting towards the east of Tokyo Tower would have moved
the fighting away as well, Shiba would have been placed closer to the Four
Gods and would have accumulated their powers more quickly.
The central district they were fighting at had the affinity for the Earth
element. The fields and parks that lay to the east of Tokyo Tower would have
also complemented his power. And while the high rise buildings had Earth
and Metal affinity, the property itself was of Wood. For Shiba to increase the
power of the Earth affinity, it would have been beneficial for him to reduce
the Wood affinity within the area.
There was another reason for Shiba to fight in this area and that lay with the
Zojyouji Temple in the district. Part of the JodoShu Buddhism established by
the Tokugawa family, the feng shui of the temple held significant powers.
The Ura-Kimon Gate in Zojyouji Temple and the Kimon Gate in Kaneiji
Temple lay northeast and southwest respectively and were used to focus and
concentrate the power.
Just like how the military base in the north strengthens Genbu, the Kimon
Gate and the Ura-Kimon Gate also played their part in Tokyo city. With their
long history in establishing the feng shui in Tokyo, if either of the gates were
to be destroyed, it will cause an unbalance in the feng shui in Tokyo and will
cause the Four Gods to go berserk and in turn, will lead to the destruction of
Tokyo.
And so Basara had to fight while making sure that the fight was taking place
well away from the gates and the embassies. As long as they were away,
Basara could fight at full strength as well.
Moving faster than the wind, Basara closed his distance with Shiba and
unleashed Brynhildr.
Shiba, seeing Basara's movement, began to move, only for Basara to raise his
speed and step away to the side. Shiba's eyes tracked Basara but suddenly,
Basara disappeared from his sights with another sidestep.
Using his momentum as a pivot, Basara spun on the spot to unleash a
powerful horizontal slash, faster than the naked eye could fol ow.
"Phew, that was close."
And with a curl of his right hand, a defensive barrier sprung up and
surrounded Shiba. Basara's slash hit Shiba right in his blindspot but the
barrier absorbed the full impact of the slash.
This was Shiba he was fighting. Basara gave his all in that strike, and it didn't
even scratch his barrier. That just proved the difference in their strengths. But
this time around, he couldn't depend on the help of his friends as they were
fighting their own battles.
No, it's not that they couldn't help him. They were helping him. They were
helping him by fighting the Four Gods and Balflear. And it was Basara's job
to defeat Shiba. That meant that he had to expect situations when his plans
went awry. This was Shiba after all. However, he wasn't expecting his first
and fastest strike to be so ineffective, that Basara was left hanging in the air
in a mild state of shock. His eyes saw a black blur and his brain registered
that it was Shiba's foot.
But for a speed type like Basara to not be able to keep up with the blur of a
kick meant that the kick itself must have been some sort of ability of Shiba's.
Thinking on instinct, Basara continued the momentum of his horizontal slash
to spin his body away from the kick, and he felt a strange gust of wind pass
his cheek.
"Oh, you didn't use Brynhildr to block it?"
"You must be really cautious of my attacks Basara".
Of course, he was. Takashi was adamant that he dodged Shiba's attack, yet
he was damaged so badly to the point that even Kaoru's magic couldn't heal
him. It must be something to do with Shiba's ability. Right now, Basara
wasn't able to identify that ability so he had to make sure he dodged
everything.
With a backflip, Basara gained his distance from Shiba and made multiple
slashes towards Shiba. The slashes cut through the air but Shiba just swayed
on the spot to dodge all of them. But Basara expected him to dodge.
Shiba heard a groaning sound from behind and turned to see a giant building
falling his way.
Basara's blades weren't for him, but for the building behind him.
"Geez, just because we're in a barrier, you sure do crazy things."
Shiba let out a chuckle. He still had time to dodge.
"!!!"
But Basara didn't let him. With a great swing, Basara brought down
Brynhildr for a vertical slash. But it wasn't for the Banishing Shift. No. A red
glow surrounded his blade. A red glow that was only given to those who
shared the blood of the previous Demon Lord Wilbert. It was the same slash
that defeated Leohart in the battle in the Demon World.
The Gravity Slash.
Back then, Basara needed the help of Sheila's medicine to use this ability.
But since the battle with Celis at the Village, where he was able to use
Belphegor's spirit, Basara had learned to control his demonic powers at will.
If the gravity would crush Shiba, that would be for the best. But even if he
didn't, the gravity could keep him trapped long enough for the building to
come crashing down on him.
"Oh, so this is the famed Gravity Slash… I've heard all about it from
Balflear."
Shiba spoke in such a nonchalant manner that you wouldn't have guessed
that this man was about be crushed by a highrise building. But Shiba was the
very image of calm, and he raised his right hand as if to catch the building.
Basara stared in shock. Even Shiba won't be able to catch the force of a
falling building with a single hand.
He didn't. Basara could only watch as a brownish glow appeared on Shiba's
hand. And in the next instant, the entire building, concrete pillars and all,
were reduced to dust.
PART 6
Basara watched Shiba turn the building to dust and it dawned on him. So that
was Shiba's ability. What Shiba just shot out from his palm wasn't magic. It
was most likely "Ki". Unlike Magic, which was used by higher beings such
as spirits, Ki was available in abundance on Earth. The Five Elements
themselves are all properties of different Ki. Ki resided in nature, and people
and animals were not exempt from that. But for people and animals, their
spirit determined how their Ki was used. There were those within the Hero
Tribe who were able to channel their Ki for combat, but those numbers were
few as the Heroes themselves usually fought using the power of the Four
Gods. And those who did fight using Ki were usually only able to use the Ki
within their body.
What Shiba used right now was definitely Ki. And from the brown color,
Basara was certain that Shiba was channeling the Earth energy of the central
district. Shiba must be able to manipulate Ki to fight with.
The very reason Shiba set up the Five Element dimensional barrier was
probably for him to absorb all the Ki that was being generated from the
different complementing and opposing elements in the area.
Basara finally understood now. Even if he may be faster than Shiba, things
such as "killing intent" and "presence" were all parts of Ki. That's how Shiba
was able to sense and predict all of Basara's attacks. And with Takashi, even
if he was able to physically block Shiba's attack, all Shiba had to do was
channel and overload Takashi with Ki to damage him indirectly. A well
trained Ki user is able to channel the Ki from the elements to and fro one's
body. It was no surprise that a master Ki user like Shiba would be able to
channel Ki through other people.
Now that Basara knew what Shiba's ability was, he could finally formulate a
plan to defeat him. But Shiba must be aware of Basara's trump card. The
Universal Rejection that he used against Celis, which allows him to negate all
physical and magical properties. The Universal Rejection must have negated
the visual magic that Shiba was using to observe the match. So he must have
a faint idea as to what Basara's trump move may be. Shiba also must be
aware now that Basara is able to use his Banishing Shift again, unlike when
he was fighting Celis.
He wasn't able to use his Banishing Shift then because of the contract he had
with Chisato screwed up the spiritual balance inside his body. But with the
help of Belphegor's spirit restoring balance during his fight with Celis, he
was also able to remove the corruption within Takashi's body. Shiba
wouldn't have known about this as he had already left the village by then.
But for someone who can sense Ki, Shiba should be able to sense that
something had changed in Basara's spiritual makeup.
And the way he was acting so relaxed, there must still be many cards for him
to play. For now, Basara could only guess what those cards were. This does
put him at a disadvantage. There was a clear gap in their strengths and Basara
had already shown all his cards while Shiba has not revealed his. However,
Basara has always overcome situations like these. His opponents were always
stronger than him. So Basara focused on a plan to defeat Shiba. And by the
time his mind came up with an idea, his body was already moving on its own
and charged into the smiling Shiba.
PART 7
Yuki continued to head south from Kinshicho while avoiding Seiryuu's
attacks. Sakuya's element was metal. But her wind blade attacks did nothing
to Seiryuu whose element was Tree. So now she was headed to Sumida
Ward, an area she once rules out as a battleground, because of its abundance
of water, an element that would complement Seiryuu's Tree element.
"So that's why you wanted me here."
Yuki now understood why Sakuya was leading her to this area. The further
she headed southwest away from Kinshicho, the stronger Sakuya began to
glow and give off power.
And she arrived where Sakuya was leading her. To the Monzen-Nakacho
Station of the Tozai Subway Line. Precisely, to the Ooyokogawa River
nearby. The word for "flower" in the name of the spirit that resides in
Sakuya, Konohana Sakuya Hime, means "Sakura" (Cherry blossom).
Sakuya was a Tree element weapon.
And the riverbanks of Ooyokogawa River were full of cherry blossom trees.
Sakuya's metal property is an opposing element to Seiryuu. But unless she
can get close enough to strike Seiryuu, it didn't mean anything. Seiryuu's
wind barrier was simply too strong.
But Yuki knows that Sakuya is just as, if not more, powerful than Seiryuu.
On a head to head, perhaps Seiryuu's strength was stronger than that of
Sakuya. But Sakuya chose Yuki to be its wielder, and they have overcome
many adversities together over the years. The bond that they share, and the
bond that Yuki shares with Basara and the others, are more powerful than any
flimsy bond between Shiba and Seiryuu.
That is why Yuki will not be fighting Seiryuu with Sakuya's opposing
property of metal. She will believe in her sword. She will believe in Sakuya
who had chosen her. She will believe in the bond that they share together.
Atop the Ishijima Bridge on Ooyokogawa River, Yuki clasped her sword and
focused.
As if to answer her cal, Sakuya began to glow, and the very nature around
Yuki also responded. The sakura trees that only bloom in late March
suddenly all bloomed in unison. The bright light from Sakuya, the moonlight
from the crescent moon and the countless sakura trees in full bloom,
enveloped the entire area in a light crimson color.
Seiryuu flew above them. It knew that Yuki was down there. The sudden
surge in the tree element power made Yuki a shining beacon in the darkness.
But Yuki did not care.
"Sakuya…"
Having her name called, Sakuya summoned a vortex around the river, the
wind carrying the thousands of sakura petals into the air. The petals and the
wind then concentrated and was absorbed into the blade of Sakuya, changing
its color from silver to a sakura-pink, and finally to crimson.
When Seiryuu saw the change, it acted quickly. It opened its huge jaw, and
blasted a gigantic blue and green beam from its mouth. Seiryuu fired a Tree
element beam attack towards the girl. It used the tree energy within its body
and not from the surrounding sakura trees as the sword absorbed all the
powers from the nearby trees. Recognizing the threat that the girl now
possessed, Seiryuu no longer paid heed to the environmental destruction, and
decided to blast away its strongest attacks to eliminate the threat.
Seiryuu's beam blasted the entire area around Yuki. Seiryuu experienced the
same feeling Yuki experienced when she sent wind blades to it the first time.
Seiryuu's beam met a wall of crimson that was pushing back against it.
Seiryuu then changed its attack to a wind element attack and let loose another
attack, only to have it be blocked by the crimson barrier again.
That meant one thing: at that moment the girl's power outmatched its own.
A huge explosion rocked the area from the collision of the beams and Yuki's
barrier. Luckily for Seiryuu, its wind barrier protected it from the explosion.
It quickly judged that Yuki would have to absorb the powers of the sakura
trees again in order to fire another one of that crimson attack from before, so
it wasted no time in attacking the girl to prevent her from absorbing power.
Seiryuu swooped down to where the girl would be and dispelled its wind
barrier to prepare to fire off another beam. Except, the girl was charging
through the dust and debris of the explosion, straight to Seiryuu. And Seiryuu
finally saw it.
On the line of trajectory of the girl and itself lay a sakura colored "road" lain
out like a carpet of flower petals. The smoke and dust from the explosion had
covered this road so Seiryuu wasn't able to notice it, and because the area
was already full of Tree element energy, it was unable to sense this sakura
stairway either.
The girl ran to the top of the sakura pathway then took a leap right behind
Seiryuu in its blindspot, then unleashed a devastating vertical slash of deep
crimson through the night sky towards the blue dragon.
PART 8
The south district was the home to the fire element. Having blown up the oil
tanker and absorbing all the fire energy within the area, Suzaku glided along
the night sky, all but guaranteed of its victory.
Ever since it has absorbed the fire energy of the oil tanker, the battle went
from being a battle between beast and spell caster to a battle between hunter
and prey. The spell caster was originally able to fire off some water based
magic. But now all the prey could do was to run away and evade attacks.
But run away it did well. Suzaku was still unable to land the finishing blow.
Although, a big part of the was because Suzaku was not using any mid to
long range attacks, reason being that it had absorbed too much fire energy. It
had absorbed too much power to the point where Suzaku might risk
destroying the area it was assigned to protect, if it unleashed any long range
attacks. And if Suzaku was to evaporate the Tokyo Bay, it would greatly
imbalance the waterways in Tokyo and may even affect the elemental powers
of the other Four Gods.
That is why Suzaku was currently remaining airborne and attacking from afar
with small burts. Currently, Suzaku's flames were strong enough to turn the
girl to ash by slightly brushing against her. But the girl's use of wind magic
meant that she was able to survive by the skin of her neck each time Suzaku
attacked. However, sooner or later. Fatigue will strike the girl. She would not
be able to continue this cat and mouse chase forever.
"!"
Suzaku saw the girl floating in the air, preparing to cast a spell. But it did not
care. Even if Kurumi was able to use all the water in Tokyo Bay for her
attack, it would not be enough to take down Suzaku. Wind attacks will only
make Suzaku stronger, there was not enough earth above the water for any
Earth element attack that could cause considerable damage, and any fire
based attack by her would simply be absorbed.
And while the girl did use spirit magic, which was separate from the Five
Elements, none of her powers or her spirits were strong enough. There was
simply no spiritual being stronger than Suzaku in this southern district.
So the girl posed no threat at all. And Suzaku saw that she was casting wind
magic, which would only strengthen its flames, so it charged right towards
the girl.
But in the next instant, something crashed into Suzaku.
Impossible. Currently Suzaku's flames were hot enough to evaporate
anything that it came into contact with. There was simply nothing in this area
that could physically hurt it.
And that was when Suzaku realized, when it looked around, the the flames
surrounding its body had seemed to have disappeared.
"Seems like the plan worked."
Kurumi Nonaka gave herself a pat on the back for her strategy. In this battle,
Kurumi was using two different elements: water elements for attacks that
opposed Suzaku's fire affinity, and wind magic to give herself the ability to
fly. And it was during her flight that Kurumi came up with her strategy.
When she had cast her water dragon spell and dragged Suzaku underwater, it
had used a flame barrier to evaporate the onslaught of water. She had done
the same with a wind barrier when she had to go underwater. And that gave
her an idea. To surround Suzaku with a gigantic wind barrier. To remove a
crucial element that Suzaku needed.
Oxygen.
Normally, fire from magical spells and spiritual magic don't require oxygen
and doesn't exactly fol ow the laws of science. But the Five Elements draws
its strength directly from the natural source of energy. Therefore, the amount
of flame that Suzaku was unleashing would have to burn through a lot of
oxygen to maintain it. It was only a matter of surrounding Suzaku with a
wind barrier and the fire burnt through the oxygen real quick.
Without the flames, Suzaku was nothing but a gigantic floating bird at this
point.
"Look at you. You're just a floating piece of teriyaki chicken."
Kurumi's little joke couldn't contain the sense of pride she felt with her plan.
"I'll teach you why you couldn't defeat me."
"It's the difference in fighting experience… and the fact that you have never
tasted defeat."
And with that countless water lances shot out from the sea to penetrate
Suzaku.
PART 9
Zest, who was fighting Genbu in the northern district, was currently heading
to a different location. Southeast from their previous location, Zest was
heading towards the business district of Ikebukuro.
Floating atop of the train station, Zest was certain that this was the best place
for battle. She had came to this area once. After their fight in the Demon
World against the Current Demon Lord faction and it was decided that Zest
will move into the Toujou household, they had come here to shop for
furniture. As the maid of the household, she was entrusted with the finances.
And while the generous funds in their bank account, thanks to the
contributors in from the Demon World, meant that money was not an issue,
there would be no wasteful spending under the eye of Zest. That is why Zest
and the others had come to Ikebukuro to shop for cheap deals. And that was
related to the reason why she chose this place to fight Genbu.
Because she wanted to learn more about the places she visited with her
master Basara, Zest always made sure to research the history of every
location they visit together. Ikebukuro was no exception. The first reason
why they moved here was to get away from the military base that was
strengthening Genbu. And the district they were in before had the Sumida
River flowing through, which also added to Genbu's already frightening
power.
Regardless this northern district was still a disadvantage for Zest. But there
was something here that will all ow Zest to close the gap between their
powers.
That was the earth itself. In the northern area before, there was plenty of
earth, but the mountain earth was full of water, which gave power to Genbu.
The lands around Ikebukuro did not seem to contain water, which would all
ow Zest to create more powerful versions of golems.
There was also the issue of buying time. Genbu was a massive creature.
Further to that, as the dimensional barrier currently covering Tokyo was
created by the holy magic of the Four Gods, a pure blooded demon like Zest
was unable to use her full power. But this northern area was connected to the
central district where Basara was fighting. If the others defeat their respective
opponents, they would be able to come and help her fight Genbu.
But that was was an option Zest did not want to take. She already felt like
excess baggage by not being able to enter the Village with Basara and the
others. While that was done in order to not aggravate the villagers, she still
felt like she was unable to provide support to Basara when he really needed
her. So it was impossible for her to play the waiting game. To depend on
someone else. Genbu was hers to fight and her alone.
"How weak of me… to even consider the need for help."
At that moment, a monumental object came crashing down from the sky and
destroyed the building under her, the Sunshine Aquarium. And absorbing all
the water from the aquarium was the grotesque turtle-like creature.
"Genbu…"
The creature's eyes turned towards Zest and she summoned two new golems
as if to challenge it. When she summoned one golem before, it was easily
overpowered by the turtle and snake beast. This time, the even numbers
should give Zest more of a fighting chance. The white and blue golems Zest
created this time were coated in armor and wielding swords and shields. The
golems were created from the Seibu (West) Department Store and Tobu
(East) Department Store respectively.
"Go forth!"
Controlling two golems was no small task. In fact, it wasn't a matter of using
double the magical reserve. Instead, it was double the creation magic and
double the controlling magic, so in reality, it was closer to 4 times the magic
to control two golems, and this was going to be a strain on Zest if the battle
was to be drawn out.
The two golems charged at Genbu and began a synchronized array of attacks.
These golems wielded swords but that did not mean that their attack power
was greatly strengthened to rival that of Genbu's. However, the use of swords
and shields have made a significant change to the battle. Genbu was being
pressed. Genbu was made of two separate creatures connected together. That
meant both the turtle and the snake had to make independent decisions each
time they attacked or defended themselves. This of course meant that things
did not go smoothly when they mess up their timings. It's one thing to join
forces and fight one enemy.
Fighting two equally sized enemies alone was a very different task. What
made things worse for Genbu was that the golems didn't have that problem.
They were simply puppets being controlled by Zest. That meant that they
were able to move fluidly and synchronize their attacks to the same heartbeat
without any confusion.
Of course the snake could still propel itself like a whip from before and strike
down at the two golems, but Zest was sure that it was not able to do so. The
reasoning lay in the nature of the golems' attacks. There was a reason why
Zest had the golems equip swords. While the snake's whip all owed it to
attack enemies from afar with a powerful snap of the whip, that whip-like
motion made it extremely vulnerable to the blades. If the golems were to
block the whip with their swords, the snake will risk cutting itself on the
sharp blades. While the turtle was blessed with an absolute defense, the snake
did not have a hard shell surrounding it.
Watching from atop the ruins of Sunshine Aquarium, Zest was preparing for
her final plan when Genbu let out a bellowing wail.
"What…?"
In an instant, Genbu had turned a large part of Ikebukuro into ice. Her two
golems were also frozen in place with the rest of the city.
"!"
Zest dodged the quick attack from Genbu, only to see a large snake head
come at her from above.
What Genbu did before was to unleash all the water it had stored inside its
body to freeze the area. This was all a strategy from the very beginning. The
reason why Genbu did not use its ice attack twice in the mountains before
was to give off the impression that it needed a large body of water to use ice
attacks. The ice attacks consumed a lot of energy, and Genbu needed to make
sure that the target was the real one: it had already been deceived by a mud
clone before after all. So after confirming that the woman floating in the sky
was indeed the real one, Genbu launched its ice attack. And in case she was
able to dodge them, it send its snake tail after it as well. All the snake had to
do was swallow the woman whole and crush her in its mouth.
"…!?"
It was at that moment that Genbu realized that something was off. First, it
was suspended in mid air, even after using the propulsion of water from
within its body to launch itself at the woman. Second, the mouth on the snake
head was not closing.
"I knew you would have eventually ignored the two golems to attack me
directly."
Genbu looked up to see the woman floating above him.
"I knew that you would have factored the risk of using your whip attack. So
you would most likely attack me with the turtle part of your body."
"And I used all of that against you, in order to penetrate your absolute
defense."
Genbu understood what she was saying. And it knew why it couldn't move
and why it couldn't close its mouth. It knew exactly what the woman did.
The tall white building that the woman was standing on before was turned to
sand. Not just any old sand, but sand that was being funneled into Genbu's
body through the mouth of the snake. The reasons why the snake couldn't
close its mouth was because the density of the sand was far greater than the
biting strength of the snake's jaw. Genbu's absolute defense was only from
attacks from the outside. It cannot block attacks from within. The woman was
planning on overfilling its body with sand to rupture it from within. It won't
let that happen!
Genbu tried to throw up the sand from within the body when
"It won't work."
Sand started to pour into the turtle's mouth as well and Genbu wasn't able to
throw up the sand. It started to hear a creaking sound as his body was starting
swell from all the consumed sand and the hard shell was finding it hard to
contain the body.
"Ikebukuro's name literally means 'landfill' as was the origin of this town. Its
very name origins means that the land itself killed the water in the area.
Therefore, there is no stronger a land than this to defeat you."
"I am Basara-sama's maid… I cannot be eaten by the likes of you."
"So feast on this land as much as you want. I shall grant you a feast that shall
appease your gluttony to your heart's content."
Genbu lay suspended in the air as sand continued to flood its mouth and fill it
up.
"After all, as Basara-sama's maid… I must be hospitable and accommodating
to guests at all times."
And as the woman stopped talking, Genbu felt its body implode.
PART 10
While Maria was looking for an opportunity to use her trump card, Mio too,
was fighting at Kinuta Park. Precisely, at the baseball field against Byakko.
Byakko, who protects the west, had an affinity for metal, which made the fire
using Mio its natural threat. But things were not going so well for Mio.
It wasn't that her magic wasn't good enough. Having defeated Luca in the
Demon World and continuing her training with Basara once they returned, as
well as having more 'extra sessions'
with Basara compared to the other girls, Mio was definitely stronger than
when she was in the Demon World. And while the barrier by the Four Gods
meant that there was some restrictions on her power, she should still be
strong enough to take on Byakko.
But no matter what fire attacks she threw at it, it didn't work. She threw
fireballs at it, rained downs spears of fire and created pillars of fire at its feet.
Byakko was simply too fast.
Its reactions speed was faster than Mio's speed to cast magic. And Mio
couldn't just cast a spell that would attack the entire area as Byakko always
stayed within the baseball pitch. To be precise, Byakko only lingered around
the pitcher's mound where the Byakko Spear was planted.
And Mio couldn't damage the spear lest it destroy the barrier that the Four
Gods set up. The barriers were created for Shiba to take the people of Tokyo
as hostages. If they were to accidentally destroy the barrier, the Four Gods
will go on a rampage and will lead to the destruction of Tokyo.
But Mio couldn't just approach Byakko either. For every time Mio tried to do
so, Byakko will fire off multiple crescent shaped blades from its body that
will chase after Mio.
"Kh… Damn it!"
Mio was pushed to defend herself, using her magic to create fire pillars to
block Byakko's attacks. She was only able to create the pillars and barriers in
time as long as she kept her distance, so fighting close range was not an
option.
"You really are a bother aren't you?"
Mio was forced to admit that their difference in speed was causing a lot of
trouble for her. For a fighter like Mio who relies on casting powerful spells
from a distance, speed type enemies are her worst nightmares. The first time
she faced off Basara in his living room, he had Brynhildr pointed at her neck
in an instant. And even with her fight against Takashi, she was only able to
buy some time for Basara.
But that was all when she lacked any real combat experience. She was
definitely stronger now. And she will never forget the bitter feeling of being
so useless.
She glanced towards the other side of the park and saw Balflear summon
countless creatures to fight Maria. That was a man who was second in
command to the current Demon Lord Leohart. Of course he was going to be a
force to be reckoned with.
Time and time again, Mio had been saved by Maria. Ever since the time
when Zolgear came and killed her parents. But has Mio managed to return
the favor? It seemed that Basara was always the one to help Maria when she
needed it. Back when Sheila was taken hostage, it was Basara who fought
and defeated Zolgear. When Maria felt like she lost her position in the house,
with Zest coming to live with them, it was Basara who cheered her up.
"Now it's my turn."
Mio Naruse promised herself. It was her turn to help Maria. And together…
No, with everyone, they were going to go and support Basara.
"Let's do this."
Mio began to cast a spell and suddenly a strong vortex began to swirl around
Mio. The vortex picked up the sand from the park and resulted in a giant
tornado in the middle of the park.
Byakko stared at the black tornado. That must be some sort of plan of attack
for the girl. But Byakko was not afraid of such a threat. The tornado in the
Five Elements fell under the Tree element, which was weak against Byakko's
Metal element. The Metal element was already being strengthened by the
Earth element of the park. If Byakko was to attack the tornado, it will cancel
out the tornado and shred the girl at the same time.
But before Byakko could launch an attack, a glaring white light shone
throughout the area and a loud sound ripped through the air. It was a
thunderstrike. And it struck right in the center of the tornado.
The girl must be causing this. But Byakko wasn't able to grasp her intentions
until he felt himself being pulled towards the tornado. As his body was afloat,
he wasn't able to dig himself into the ground and Byakko found himself
being dragged closer and closer to the tornado. It tried to create a wall of
metal to stop his pull, but the metallic wall was simply pulled into the
tornado.
"!"
In a last ditch effort, Byakko grew metal spikes all over its body. If it's going
to charge head first into that tornado, it was going to make sure to impale the
girl while at it. So Byakko stopped fighting back and let the magnetic force
pull it towards the tornado.
Just then, the tornado changed from black to crimson. And the magnetic pull
on Byakko stopped. But it was too late. Byakko wasn't able stop itself from
charging head first into the crimson tornado.
Byakko didn't even make a sound.
It simply evaporated.
What Mio Naruse used was magnetism. By using magic to create a vortex
around her, she was able to pull in the iron sand in the area to cause a
magnetic field. And that field was just too strong against Byakko, whose
entire body was made to create metal. And while the wind element was weak
against Byakko's metal element, it was also used to power up Mio's fire
element. That was why Mio was able to instantly change the tornado into a
tornado of fire by adding fire magic to it. It was so hot and strong that
Byakko evaporated the moment it came in contact with it.
"Phew…"
Mio dispelled the tornado as she relished in her victory. That was one thing
she could tick off her to-do list. But her job wasn't done yet. Their battle was
still ongoing.
"Mio-sama!"
Mio snapped her neck towards Maria's scream. At that moment, she didn't
realize that it wasn't a scream of congratulation from Maria. It was a scream
to warn her. And Mio saw why Maria let out a warning. For one of the
disgusting looking creatures that Maria was fighting, was right in front of her,
and it brought down its massive fist towards Mio.
PART 11
Maria's brain snapped into overdrive as soon as she saw Mio in danger. It
seemed that her cry out to Mio did reach her ears. But that wasn't enough. At
any other time, Mio would have been able to deflect the attack from a single
Legion, but the current Mio had just given her all fighting Byakko and
controlling lightning magic. Her senses and reaction were just not the same.
Damn it!
If it was her, she would be able to survive a blow from Legion. But not Mio
in her current weakened state. Any direct contact will be devastating at this
point.
But Maria could not fault Balflear for this seemingly underhanded attack on
Mio. He was the commander of his army. He must have predicted the
outcome of Mio's fight to set his plan in motion after factoring all the
possibilities. And fights like these didn't have rules. While Mio fought with
Byakko and Maria chose to fight Balflear, there was no unspoken rule for
Balflear to focus solely on Maria. For Balflear, Mio and Maria were all part
of the same group trying to stop Shiba. So if there really was anyone to
blame, it would be Maria. For all owing Balflear the opportunity to attack the
vulnerable Mio.
What can I do!?
The distance between herself and Mio was not something that could be
covered by a short sprint. And there weren't any time for her to unlock her
seal. But she still had to do something. She had to protect her precious
family.
"Arrrrrghhhhhh!!"
Maria Naruse let out a ear splitting scream and, out of pure instinct, brought
down her right fist towards the ground.
Balflear watched Maria as he hid his presence with the Wraith ability.
"What a pointless endeavor."
Balflear smirked to himself. There was simply too much a distance between
the baseball field where Mio was, and the park where Maria was standing.
And no matter how powerful Maria's fist was, the shockwave of her punch
will weaken as it emits further away from her. Even then, Legion's fist would
strike Mio long before the shockwave of Maria's punch reached her.
Deciding that Mio's fate was sealed, Balflear focused Legions' attention
towards Maria.
"!?"
But he was faced with an unbelievable sight. Maria's fist, while it struck the
ground, did not create any shockwaves. Instead, a crimson colored glow
emitted from her fist. In an instant, that crimson force field expanded, and the
Legion surrounding Maria were all crushed by some unseen force, including
the Legion that was about to strike Mio.
"Unbelievable…"
Balflear understood what that power meant. Maria Naruse just used gravity
magic.
"Maria…?"
Mio was in a state of shock as well. Not just at finding herself safe from
harm, but also at seeing Maria use gravity magic.
"…Mio-sama…I'm so glad…"
Mio saw Maria look her way with a smile as her legs gave way from under
her.
"…Maria!"
Mio quickly activated her flight magic and propelled herself to Maria,
catching her just before she hit the dirt. As she clung onto Maria's frail body,
Mio sensed for oncoming attacks but couldn't detect any movements. There
were no Legion in sight. Perhaps Balflear deducted that a two on one will not
be advantageous to his situation, and made a hasty retreat.
Taking a soft sigh of relief, Mio looked down at Maria in her arms. She had
lost conscious but looked to be sleeping in peace while breathing gently.
"But…what was that…?"
No one answered her question. The only things left at the park were a
sleeping succubus and a massive crater.