At last, the black sphere was released aiming at us.
"[Holy Sword Barrier]!"
([Holy Kicking Wave]! [Holy Ear Impact]!)
Immediately after the black sphere was released, Iris-san raised the sword in her hand and thrust it vigorously into the ground. Then, countless shining swords appeared from the ground and shot towards the black sphere.
Master Usagi also produced the same light as Iris-san's sword from his leg and shot it at the black sphere, followed by a flash of light from both of his ears.
The two lights from Iris-san's sword and Master Usagi collided with the black sphere.
"Kuh… Hahahahaha!"
"!"
And then, Iris-san's shining swords and Master Usagi's light rays obliterated the black sphere!
"Hah… hah…"
(Kuh… my body is…)
However, both Iris-san and Master Usagi were exhausted after that exchange. They no longer seemed to be able to move properly. Then Quarro opened his mouth, looking slightly surprised.
"Wow… I didn't think that only the two of you could prevent this… I'm not sure if this means I'm the weak one here, or would it be you, the Holy ones?"
"Hah… hah…"
"But it seems that stopping that was all you could do. …So, let's try it one more time♪."
"What-!?"
Quarro said that he would repeat his attack, and a black sphere formed over his head again.
"Ahahahahaha! Look, look! You have to defend against it once more!"
"Iris-san! Master Usagi! Kuh!"
No longer following Master Usagi's words, I immediately ran out and attacked Quarro with my [Omni-Sword] in hand. But before I could reach him, the black mist blocked my way.
"Get out of my way!"
"It's no use. You're not even a Holy; you wouldn't be able to even damage it, you know?"
As Quarro said, no matter how I attacked, the black mist didn't seem to take any damage and swarmed at me one after another. In addition, Quarro mercilessly directed the black mist at the tired and immobile Master Usagi and Iris-san.
Master Usagi and Iris-san responded with all their strength, but they were on the defensive and looked like they were struggling.
Kuro, who had been watching from inside me, opened his mouth.
"It is exactly what he said. The only ones who can defeat the Evil itself are those of the Holy who are recognized by this planet. Just give up."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
I shouted while desperately using my [Omni-Sword] and [Absolute Spear] to get rid of the black mist, and Kuro replied disinterestedly.
"That's right… I can only think of using a weapon that has the power of the Holy in it."
"A weapon with the power of the Holy?"
"When you first encountered the Evil Beast in the other world, the woman who was with you used a talisman to kill it, right? That was definitely one way to purge the power of Evil. Well, I don't think you have one of those, though."
"…No, I do have it. I'm sure it was…!"
"What?"
Kuro seemed to have given up, but I searched desperately in my item box while dealing with the black mist. It appeared that this situation could be overcome… by the use of a weapon with a similar effect to the one used by Kagurazaka-san.
As I searched for it desperately, Quarro stared amusedly at the black sphere floating above his head.
"Look, look, it's almost finished!"
"It's a real pity, but you should give up. You've done your best there, haven't you?"
"Kuh!"
I ignored Quarro's and Kuro's words and continued my search… and found it.
"This is it!"
"Hmm?"
"Yu… Yuuya-kun…?"
While the eyes of Quarro and the wounded Iris-san were focused on me, I had a weapon in my hand.
Then…
"[Heavenly Khakkhara]!"
When I first saw the effects of this weapon, I didn't understand what it meant. The description was so vague that there was not a single detailed explanation. But now, I can understand the effect of this weapon properly.
I hit the black mist with the khakkhara in my hand while ringing the golden ring.
"As I said, it's usele──."
Quarro was about to say that much when he noticed something strange. The black mist that I struck dissipated in an instant.
"What-…"
As expected, this phenomenon was unexpected, and Quarro rounded his eyes. There was only one effect on this [Heavenly Khakkhara], which I had found in my grandfather's warehouse. To exorcise. That's all.
…Thinking about it now, the only explanation for the effect was that it's a somewhat mysterious weapon, but if it has the power to exorcise, then it will affect the power of Evil… just like the talisman at the time, and that was my train of thought. But the results were just right.
I smashed all the black mists that surrounded me with the [Heavenly Khakkhara] and rushed straight to Iris-san and Master Usagi, and the black mists that assaulted them also dissipated.
"Are the two of you okay?"
(Yeah…)
"….."
Then, although Master Usagi's voice came back, there was no reply from Iris-san, so I hurriedly checked and found Iris-san staring at me with a dazed expression.
"Iris-san?"
"Huh? Ah… y-yeah! I'm fine."
"Good, then. I'll take care of the rest… so please keep an eye on it."
I told her that and turned to Quarro again.
"….."
(Hmm… it seems like you can't afford to not fall in love in this situation, huh?)
"Wha… T-that's not true! I-it was just that someone was protecting me… um… it was the first time for me…"
(Hmm… Well, now you know how outrageous my disciple is.)
"…Yes. I understand."
It seemed that they were talking about something behind me, but I didn't have time to listen in on it because I had already returned my full attention to Quarro. Anyway, I looked at Quarro and called out to Kuro, who was inside me.
"What do you think? Does this work?"
"…Hahaha! You're a hell of a guy; you know that? No problem, I'll lend you a hand!"
Kuro laughed in amusement, and a black mist flooded my body.
"…I'd like to ask you a question, can Kuro's power, which was just a piece of Evil, defeat the main body of Evil?"
"Hah! I'll lend you a hand. It's not about whether or not you could possibly win; it's all about winning."
"That's just crazy…"
"…Well, you and I are a good match after all. We can do it."
"Is that so?"
I smiled unconsciously at Kuro, who sounded somewhat embarrassed as he spoke.
Iris-san, who was behind me, raised an anxious voice at my appearance.
"What-… The power of Evil? Usagi, you…!"
(Calm down. I know what you're going to ask, but Yuuya is sane. For some reason, he has the power of Evil in his body, but it's not a problem.)
"Not a problem, you say…? What kind of reason would he have to have that power?"
(Originally, that power didn't belong to Yuuya but a disciple of the Bow Saint had it in her body. However, Yuuya took over that power, and now it's residing in his body.)
"T-took it over, you say…?"
(…He's really a big idiot, after all.)
Quarro was even more surprised and froze at the sight of the Evil overflowing from my body.
"Wait… what does this mean? It's just supposed to be a piece inside you… but its power is the same as mine no matter how I look at it… What the hell are you?"
I didn't answer his question.
Then, my lack of response seemed to annoy him as Quarro twisted his face in displeasure.
"You have the nerve to ignore me, don't you? ──Go."
"──Gigiiiiiiii!"
When Quarro hurriedly waved his arm, a black mist spread about, and several Evil Beasts appeared and attacked me.
"This is…!"
*Kiiiiiiin*
Just as I was about to dispose of the Evil Beast that was attacking me, that clear metallic sound reached my ears.
"G-gi..!"
The Evil Beasts that tried to attack me all fell to the ground.
Involuntarily I turned my gaze to Iris-san who was behind me and she smiled fiercely in response.
"…There are many questions that I want to ask you, but leave the Evil Beasts to me. Therefore… I'm asking you to take care of him, okay?"
"…Yes!"
I nodded vigorously at Iris-san's words and called out to Kuro.
"…Are you ready?"
"Yeah, leave it to me. But, it won't last long. Your power is too strong, after all…"
"That's just fine!"
In addition to releasing the Evil's power, I also deployed my [Magic Attire] and took a step toward Quarro. At that moment, the surrounding scenery was left behind in an instant, and the figure of Quarro was right in front of me.
"Wha──."
"Haaaaah!"
"Gaaah!"
I waved the [Heavenly Khakkhara] similar way to how I handle the [Absolute Spear] and slammed it onto Quarro's head. Then, Quarro, who could not react to the attack, was slammed into the ground.
In that gap, I pierced the black sphere that was accumulating above his head with the [Heavenly Khakkhara]. The black sphere pierced by the [Heavenly Khakkhara] gradually cracked, and light overflowed from it as it burst.
"No way… What the hell are you?"
Quarro, who was slammed into the ground, shouted as he staggered around in a dizzy state…
"I don't know!"
"What?"
Quarro was astonished by my answer.
I've been asked that question a lot today, but there's no way I know who I am. I'd rather be the one asking. All I could say was that I somehow got caught up in this battle between Evil and Holy, and I had to become stronger to feel safe. But it seemed that Quarro was not satisfied with my answer, and his face turned red with anger.
"St… stop messing around! You come out of nowhere and interrupt my fun… I'll kill you!"
As Quarro spewed a large amount of black mist from his body, they branched out into countless pieces and stabbed at me as sharp blades. While knocking them away with the [Heavenly Khakkhara], I gradually closed the distance between us.
"Don't come, don't come, don't coooooome!"
"!"
In the midst of his raging attacks, Quarro turned his palm toward me, and a small black sphere appeared, shooting a black flash of light at me. In response to the black flash, I took a step forward, keeping in mind the final attack Master Usagi had used against the Scythe Saint.
My body moved even faster than before, and the distance separating me and the black flash was already almost gone. In such a situation, I use the [Heavenly Khakkhara] to unleash the [Divine Piercing] still used by the Spear Saint Ronus.
"[Divine Piercing]…!"
The tip of the [Heavenly Khakkhara] pierced through the black flashes of light and finally struck Quarro's body.
"Gaaaah!"
Quarro's body was bent into a crooked shape, and his voice leaked out in anguish.
"No way… This is not how it's supposed to be…!"
Then, perhaps the effect of the [Heavenly Khakkhara] was activated, smoke rose from Quarro's body.
"This me is going to be destroyed! This is a lie… This is impossible…"
Quarro desperately grasped the handle of the [Heavenly Khakkhara], trying to escape from my thrust, but the smoke was even coming from his palms touching it, and he could not escape. Eventually, as the amount of smoke increased, and Quarro's body gradually began to disappear, he suddenly stopped resisting and spoke in a quiet tone, as if his resistance just a moment ago had been a lie.
"Hah… so this is really the end for me. It's a pretty anticlimactic ending, but… well, that's about it. It seems that the Evil Beasts have been defeated as well, and we've lost. I thought I could have more fun playing around."
Quarro said with deep regret and then turned a sharp look at me.
"…I didn't expect such an uncertain factor to be mixed in. It's out of my calculation."
"….."
"But well… now that we know about you, right?"
"?"
I tilted my head, not understanding the meaning of Quarro's words. However, Quarro did not show any sign of answering and now looked at Master Usagi and Iris-san.
"I don't know how much you know about us, but… we are one."
"Eh?"
(…What?)
Iris-san and Master Usagi did not seem to understand the meaning of Quarro's words. They looked at him with a dubious expression while he looked at them with amusement.
"Well then, try to do your best~."
And then, as Quarro's body completely disintegrated, the smoke finally dissipated.
＊＊＊
"───Quarro is gone?"
The young man Evil muttered quietly in the "World's Disposal Ground." Then, he gazed at the palm of his hand as if to confirm his own power.
"Fumu… I see. So it's integrated in this way."
"───What are you going to do?"
The other Evil in the place quietly asked the young man. The other Evil is a somewhat nervous-looking man who looks to be in his thirties.
"It's a pity that Quarro is gone, but there was also… the harvest."
"Is that an enhancement for you?"
"Fuh… it's that, but it's also something different."
"Then what?"
In response to the man's question, the young man's eyes narrowed as if he were gazing into some distant presence.
"I found it ── the outsider."
In the eyes of the young man, the image of Yuuya, who defeated Quarro, is clearly visible.
＊＊＊
By the time Yuuya had defeated Quarro, the Evil Beast summoned by Quarro had been defeated by Night and the others with the Regal Kingdom soldiers.
"Phew… I wondered what it was when it suddenly appeared… but I guess these are the Evil familiars…"
Luna murmured in front of the dead bodies of the defeated Evil Beasts. The Evil Beast that Yuuya and Kagurazaka defeated in the Earth was purified by Kagurazaka's talisman and disappeared cleanly, but the many corpses of the Evil Beast remained in this place now.
In response to Luna, Lexia, who had been keeping quiet, puffed out her chest with pride.
"As expected of my guard!"
"Hmm… Well. More importantly, how's Yuuya…"
While saying this, she looked towards Yuuya and saw Quarro just disappearing.
"…It looks like everything went well over there, too. This time, that Yuuya saved the country from a crisis… For the Regal Kingdom, Yuuya must be considered a hero."
"Aaahh Geez! Yuuya-sama was fighting so splendidly against the Sword Saint in the first place!"
"…You really can't be shaken, can you?"
Everyone was stunned and speechless by the earlier battle between the Sword Saint Iris and Yuuya up until the Evil attacked. For the Regal citizens, everyone knew that Iris, the Sword Saint, was strong. Still, the sight of Yuuya fighting on equal footing with her was a shock not only to the Regal citizens but also to Orghis and the others here.
In the meantime, when the Evil attacked and interrupted the battle between Iris and Yuuya while unleashing a large number of Evil Beasts into the arena, the entire venue was in an uproar, but the situation ended more easily than expected.
The reason for this is…
"Finished. No sign of the Evil Beast anywhere."
"Woof."
For Lexia and the others, the still mysterious Yuti, and Yuuya's partner, Night, have defeated almost all the Evil Beasts. And although Akatsuki didn't take part in the battle itself, he was also very active, using his skills to heal injured civilians and soldiers.
"Night, Akatsuki. Thank you for saving my life."
"Woof~."
"Fugofugo."
Luna patted them, Night seemed to feel good, and Akatsuki looked like he deserved it and was proud of it.
"Even so… he was really just sleeping…"
While Luna stroked Night and Akatsuki, she looked at the still sleeping Ouma with a dumbfounded look.
Then, Ouma opened one eye.
"What is it? You seem to have a problem with that?"
"You're awake?"
"I just woke up."
Ouma made a big yawn as he said that and then turned his gaze to Luna.
"I told you already. I am not interested in the affairs of humans. I'm not going to help."
"…I see."
Luna couldn't continue conversing with Ouma any longer. As Ouma said, as a legendary dragon he is not concerned with the circumstances of human beings; Luna also knew that. Even if there are people who are dissatisfied with the way it is, they cannot be bothered with it because Ouma has the power to wipe out even that… or even the planet itself.
Luna breathed a sigh of relief at having gotten through this situation, but then she noticed something.
"Hmm? Speaking of which… where is the royal family of the Regal Kingdom?"
"Huh? Sure, I haven't seen them… I even remember when they went to give orders to the soldiers, but…"
Although she looked around the entire arena, she couldn't see Orghis and the others, so Luna and the others thought that they had gone to give instructions outside the arena.
In the middle of all this, Ouma sighed again and turned his attention to the sky above the arena.
"…Hmm. Scout magic, huh? It won't work on me, but… Yuuya. You've finally been discovered, eh?"
Ouma said, laughing merrily, and fell asleep again.