"Boom!"
The sound of iron-clad boots landing neatly on the ground echoed.
Suddenly, within the radiant light emitted by the ten jet-black shikigami seals, ten young girls appeared.
These were ten girls, each with different appearances but exceptionally beautiful, with tall, graceful, enticing figures, fully armed with various equipment.
Some were clad in full body armor, others in light gear for better mobility. Some were armed in key areas of their bodies, and a few were simply equipped with leather and cloth. Corresponding to their equipment, they held different weapons.
The girls in heavy armor wielded heavy steel spears or large double-handed swords, and some even carried huge tower shields, exuding an extraordinary oppressive aura.
The ones in lighter gear wielded single-handed swords, war hammers, or long spears, and some had slender swords or short knives. The lighter the equipment, the more nimble and agile the weapons.
These ten girls, fully armed and wielding weapons, resembled valkyries emerging from mythology—beautiful and courageous.
Immediately, the ten valkyries arranged themselves in two rows, as if protecting their master, kneeling towards Rozen's direction.
"Master!"
Their synchronized voices rang out, revealing to everyone where the loyalty of these beautiful and valiant girls truly lay.
"Defensive Shikigami...!? And ten of them...!?"
Finally, Kogure Zenjirou's face showed astonishment.
These ten fully armed valkyries were precisely Rozen's self-made defensive shikigami.
Supported by the ten valkyries, Rozen couldn't help but smile.
"Thanks to a game I once played, I not only gained knowledge of various weapon skills called sword skills, but also gained two years of experience leading teams through clearing. It would be a waste not to utilize this knowledge and experience. So, after nearly a decade of effort, I finally created ten defensive shikigami like these. Though I don't usually summon them, carrying them as shikigami seals, I thought today was a good opportunity to put them to use."
Rozen explained to Kogure Zenjirou with a smile.
These ten valkyries were shikigami Rozen had developed based on the knowledge he gained from SAO.
As he mentioned, Rozen had two years of experience leading teams through clearing in SAO, and there were plenty of sword skills in the game. All this knowledge lay dormant in Rozen's mind. It would be a waste not to use it, so Rozen created these ten valkyries.
Each of them was equipped with advanced combat skills, much like Yasha of Kyoko, but different from Kyoko's two Yasha, Rozen inputted various sword skill from SAO into the valkyries, forming a team that complemented each other. Controlled by Rozen's Puppetry technique, their combat prowess approached that of a upper-level familiar. After gaining all of Yakou's knowledge before his death, Rozen further improved these ten valkyries, elevating them to the level of upper-level familiars.
In terms of raw strength, they might not surpass Hokuto and Enenra, but in terms of combat skills and cooperation, these ten valkyries, working together, could rival the top-level familiars. Coupled with Rozen's Puppetry technique and tactics, even if the opponent were the top-level familiar, they had the power to put up a fight.
Since the defensive shikigami were continuously summoned, they placed a heavy demand on the caster's spiritual power, especially with ten defensive shikigami. Even though Rozen could handle the strain, he felt it unnecessary to waste spiritual power. Since they weren't usually summoned, Rozen kept them in the form of shikigami seals. Today was a rare occasion to summon them.
This was also the reason why Kogure Zenjirou was deeply shaken.
Originally, having four Defensive Shikigami made him very rare within the Exorcism Division. However, Rozen possessed a total of twelve, including Hokuto and Enenra—twelve Defensive Shikigami at his command. This was simply unheard of.
Even for an onmyoji who could possess precious Defensive Shikigami, having one or two was already astonishing. Kogure Zenjirou had never seen anyone simultaneously control twelve such precious shikigami. The mere expenditure of summoning them was enough to directly incapacitate an ordinary onmyoji, yet Rozen appeared to handle it effortlessly.
Remember, this was still under the interference of the Tengu.
In such a situation, being able to summon shikigami was already remarkable. To summon twelve at once, and even including Kinu and Gyokuto, who were being used as curse tools, commanding a total of fourteen summonable Defensive Shikigami, each one extraordinary—just how strong was this man?
If he hadn't been weakened before, could they have truly arrested him back then?
Kogure Zenjirou's inner turmoil grew.
However...
"It's too early to waver now."
Rozen raised a hand, formed a mudra, and focused his gaze on Kogure Zenjirou.
"Next, let me show you my full power."
Having said that, Rozen's magic transformed into a massive amount of jutsuryoku, flowing through the spiritual channels established by the shikigami contracts, entering the bodies of the ten valkyries, and even into Hokuto and Enenra.
"Attack!"
Rozen commanded.
"As you command!"
The ten valkyries responded in unison, then resolutely rose. Their cold gazes were fixated on Kogure Zenjirou.
What followed was an almost predictable one-sided battle.
With Rozen's support, the ten valkyries, based on their different roles, some blocking Kogure Zenjirou's strikes with their shields, some focusing on attacking, some maneuvering around, and some hindering Kogure Zenjirou's movements, not only coordinated seamlessly but frequently utilized various sword skills from SAO, directly overwhelming Kogure Zenjirou.
Seeing Kogure Zenjirou clearly at a disadvantage, even the four Tengu serving as his shikigami grew anxious. Disregarding any further interference, they also joined the battle simultaneously. However, Rozen allocated four valkyries to engage them, preventing them from approaching Kogure Zenjirou.
As for Kagami Reiji and Yuge Mari, they faced an even tougher situation. Initially, one of them could hold their ground against Hokuto, but as Hokuto's dragon breath relentlessly bombarded them, their injuries worsened.
Eventually, in a final act of defiance and frustration, one struggled to maintain the barrier, while the other was nearly overwhelmed. One was shattered by Hokuto's dragon breath, and the other, taking advantage of its intangible nature, was engulfed by Enenra's smoke.
Thus, Yuge Mari was the first to fall, swallowed by Enenra's smoke, suffocating and fainting.
Kagami Reiji, with his fierce personality, held on stubbornly. However, he was eventually sent flying by Hokuto's dragon breath, falling to the ground and forming a pool of blood.
As for Kogure Zenjirou, in the end, despite the perfect and flawless cooperation of the ten valkyries, when his divine blade was blocked by a valkyrie's tower shield, he was hit directly in the chest by another valkyrie's war hammer skill, knocking him down.
In this battle, besides the trump card Crimson Wing Formation, Rozen brought out his true and considerable strength.
Whether it was Summoning Arts, Puppetry Arts, or Onmyodo, he utilized them all to their fullest.
No matter if it was magic, jujutsu, or swordsmanship, Rozen displayed them all with great mastery.
In the end, Rozen emerged unscathed.
Meanwhile, all three formidable "Twelve Divine Generals" of the Exorcism Division were defeated and no longer able to fight.