"Huh?"
Feeling something abnormal in her body, Yuno trembled as a slight pain beneath her left chest struck simultaneously.
This confused her greatly as it was the first time she felt something like this; the pain was mild, yet for some reason, she felt content about it.
"Not like she's a masochist, but her feelings for this pain made her unable to hate it."
"Innocent..."
However, this second of lowered guard proved fatal, as Minene seized the opportunity, teleporting a space bomb, creating a small black hole.
*BOMMMM
Neglect is fatal; one should never drop their guard. Yuno, always cautious against Minene, who had been able to fight on equal terms, now faced a sudden pain distracting her.
For monsters of her level, this distraction is fatal, especially for those who can manipulate time and space.
"...!"
With the bomb exploding in front of her and being swallowed by the black hole, Yuno's expression sank. It was too late to teleport or create a barrier.
No doubt, if she didn't do something now, her fate would be sealed.
*Tlin...
"Exchange..."
*Shuaaa
And just as the shadow beneath Yuno expanded, a small murmuring sound echoed, like the clang of metal, at the same time Yuno disappeared from her position, replaced by a rock.
*BOMM
With a terrifying explosion, the rock was destroyed and absorbed into the void.
"Eh? Sixth..."
Unable to believe what was happening, Minene opened her eyes, looking in a specific direction where a girl with long black hair, dressed in a kimono, holding a katana, stood. She was sure that a bit more, and Yuno would have been killed, but Tsubaki intervened in time, looking at Minene with amusement.
"You..."
"I arrived just in time, Gasai-san."
Smiling, Tsubaki gently stroked her katana, looking at Yuno, who was now by her side, with amusement.
She had used her ability, exchanging the position of matter in space. This ability allowed Tsubaki to select an object and replace it with another.
It was similar to teleportation, but unlike it, exchange didn't require a person to calculate coordinates at the moment of materialization, and there was no risk of space distortion. The movement was faster, as it only involved swapping one material for another.
However, it also had a weakness, as the distance of exchange shouldn't be too long; otherwise, there was a risk of getting trapped between distortion and causing anomalies in space. But at a short distance, this ability was very effective.
"Surprised? Please don't hold back, Gasai-san; I'm on your side."
Looking at Yuno, who frowned, Tsubaki brought a hand to her mouth and smiled.
After all, according to Yuno, Tsubaki is an enemy.
A person who hasn't killed due to the will of her beloved.
"What happened to Fifth?"
Without lowering her guard, Yuno clenched her fist. Tsubaki being in front of her conveyed one thing—Fifth had died. Although she didn't know how, if Fifth died, it meant that Tsubaki was on the same level as Minene.
Fighting Minene is a headache, fighting two of the same level is even worse, and Tsubaki remained a powerful variable.
"Dead."
Confirming her suspicions, Tsubaki turned her head.
"But don't worry, Gasai-san. Yuki-kun took care of Fifth; I had nothing to do with it."
Sighing with regret, Tsubaki recalled that huge dog and the one who disappeared into the shadows, the person who, through kindness, gave her beautiful memories.
"Yuki?"
Blinking, Yuno was surprised. Yuki managed to kill Fifth in a very short period, but this also made her worry, as Yuki was supposed to be with Tenth.
"For now, we have our enemy. I suggest we face her together; we won't win otherwise..."
"Fine..."
Although Yuno didn't want to admit it, Tsubaki was right. Minene is so powerful that a single mistake is fatal, so she nodded.
"Tch!"
On the other hand, Minene clicked her tongue in displeasure. Yuno was a problem, but having Tsubaki too...
(Hmp! Brats, don't think you can stop me so easily.)
Although these two girls are troublesome, she still had plenty of maneuvering space, especially since her Diary hadn't shown the [DEAD END] yet.
Otherwise, she would run without hesitation. She's not foolish enough to fight for something as worthless as Pride...
"Alright, brats! I'll play with you!"
Snapping her fingers, multiple spatial fluctuations appeared around her in the form of spheres, while her body flickered.
"Here it comes!"
Yuno knew what these spheres were; they were space bombs. She spun her katana and prepared to teleport...
"Exchange..."
*Tlin
However, Tsubaki was faster than her. They disappeared without a doubt, replaced by a pile of concrete.
*BOOMMMM
With the bombs exploding, the sky darkened, and several mini black holes appeared around.
As a fan of explosions, Minene's attack destruction scale was large, catching the entire Omekata temple and its surroundings, similar to a nuclear bomb.
If Yuki saw this, she was sure this destruction scale would be similar to that of a Bijuudama.
*Shua...
"Powerful..."
Reappearing 20 kilometers away from the explosion, both Tsubaki and Yuno opened their mouths.
"Hmp! That bitch, don't think she can scare me. I won't let her have Yuki."
Gritting her teeth with hatred, Yuno turned her head.
"You, distract her a bit; I'll kill her."
"My name isn't 'You,' Gasai-san... you can call me Tsubaki."
"Will you do it or not?"
"Of course, leave it to me, Gasai-san."
Perhaps seeing that Yuno's mood worsened every second, Tsubaki had no choice but to yield in this. After all, they were in this together, and she also admired Yuno's courage. Even facing this destruction scale, she didn't hesitate to fight; her bravery alone was impressive.
Although Tsubaki didn't think it was courage but rather extreme madness...
"Alright, brats! Can you still run?"
With her body flickering, Minene smiled as several black spheres appeared around her. No matter what, she wouldn't let these two women get close, especially Yuno; her ability to cut through space was too powerful for her barrier to stop.
"If you allow me, I'll be the one to entertain her, Novena-san..."
Gently taking her katana, Tsubaki breathed and adopted a dancing pose, tilting the sword in front of her.
Since Yuno took the initiative to attack, she could only obey her orders and gain all the time possible.
*Tlin
"Exchange"
*Creakkk
---
At the same time, the world was entering a frenzy. The most powerful organizations in the world were monitoring this intense battle, utilizing their satellites. The images captured left these organizations breathless.
Especially the United States and Japan...
Two super-powerful humans engaged in a battle of atomic-level disaster.
The fact that these individuals soared through the skies without the need for equipment or any tools was more than enough to confirm that they were monsters, beings with extraordinary powers.
It should be noted that ever since satellites captured images of the monstrous Ice Lion, as well as those humanoid monsters, Duodécimo and Yuki, the world's satellites shifted their focus directly to Japan, Sakurami City.
The ground zero disaster zone...
So they were present when Yuki and Duodécimo fought, as well as the death of these entities.
Although they didn't know why these monsters fought amongst themselves and where they came from, their main goal was to eliminate them, and if possible, examine them. Their genetic information was valuable, and the energy these beings used to create such destruction was equally precious.
Even when they mobilized the military under the guise of aiding civilians, their primary priority was recovering the bodies of these monsters.
Unfortunately, there were no harvests so far.
However, they didn't give up.
Many believed that as long as they continued monitoring, these monsters would reappear. And they weren't wrong...
The monsters reappeared; this time, two women were battling brutally through the skies.
Simultaneously, the scale of the disaster increased...
This excited these people greatly, yet at the same time, the fear of these beings grew.
---
**Author's Note:** As always, the third parties in a war are inevitable...
TN: Me looking who exactly asked