Chapter 139 - Spirit resonance.

Going back a little, to before Alya unleashed her nihilistic orbs, somewhere in the vast forest…

A cold, icy wind swept across the land, coating the earth in frost and crystalline ice.

Standing in the middle of the frozen landscape, a beautiful young girl fought several demonic beasts.

Although she was surrounded, the young girl wore a wide, fearless grin. It was an oddly unusual sight.

Despite the miasma corroding their minds, the demonic beasts all stiffened.

Rather than being intoxicated by the feeling of having their prey outnumbered and surrounded, they were instead stricken by the illusion that they were the ones being hunted, like bunnies being glared at by a snake.

Long, silver strands of hair fluttered and danced gracefully in the moonlight with each movement of her body, while the girl's nine fox tails bristled and lashed out with the ferocity of a wild beast, inflicting fatal wounds upon her foes.

The silver-haired girl, Nikita, stood her ground without flinching. A casual swing of her arm was enough to wound a demonic cyclops twice her size and send it flying with the same force as though it were a mere goblin.

"Fufufu, how weak! Even with that disgusting mist assisting your healing abilities, what's the point when you're all so weak?"

Her soft giggles rang like the chimes of bells, a beautiful contrast to her words. Her voice soft and pleasant to the ear.

For Nikita, being outnumbered and surrounded wasn't a handicap or disadvantage.

If anything, it was a training opportunity. She still wanted to gain more experience in situations where she had to face multiple foes at once.

She manifested gleaming blue swords of ice, slashing and deflecting the stone clubs of the demonic cyclops, while severing the heads of several demonic wolves with a slash of her nine tails.

Her movements graceful, poised, like a mystical dance of slaughter. Another demonic cyclops came charging at her from the front, her nine tails twisted and dancing freely as if they had a mind of their own.

One tail coiled around its arms, another around its legs; once she had it rooted in place, another tail was coated in ice blades, severing its head and freezing it in an icy barrel.

With a swift motion, she spun her body, her tails spread outward as she shattered its frozen body into shards of ice, glistening in the air.

Nikita slowly opened her faintly lidded eyes, the ice shards sparkling around her figure as she spun, painting a magnificent sight to behold.

Whenever a fist came crashing down to flatten her, she would catch it with her bare hand and twist it until the limb bent unnaturally.

Then, she would deliver a finishing blow to the beast's stomach, gouging a fist-sized hole through its body.

Her tails would form ice blades and slice the beasts to pieces, or unleash a wave of icy air that turned them into ice sculptures, illuminated by the light streaming down between the branches of trees from the twilight moon.

Aside from the ones encased in ice, the beasts that had been cut to pieces would immediately regenerate, their bodies restoring themselves the moment they were dismembered.

"Their regenerative abilities really are a huge pain. Even if I keep bashing them, they just won't stay down."

Under normal circumstances, Nikita would have been thrilled to find opponents she could fight without worrying about breaking them. However, this wasn't the time to lose herself in battle.

Scolding herself, Nikita unleashed a wide-range ice wave that radiated terrifying coldness, freezing all the demonic beasts in an icy death.

But the number of the demonic beasts was so vast that her brow furrowed in mild irritation.

"Sigh, at this point there'll be no end to it… Fine then, I shall carve you all up until you're all nothing but chunks of flesh."

ROOOOAR!

The demonic beasts all roared out in frustration at having their movements thwarted, lunging at her in their vast numbers, but Nikita's lips curved into a crescent shape.

Ice blades suddenly sprouted from all over Nikita's body, emerging from her arms, legs, torso, and back like the quills of a porcupine.

"Fufufu! Come on, don't tell me that's all you've got! Let's embroil in a deadly dance of blades!"

With a playful giggle, Nikita spun around at incredible speed, like a spinning top.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

The countless ice blades extending from her body swept through the surrounding demonic beasts, slicing them apart from every conceivable angle.

Their massive bodies were torn to pieces in an instant, unable to withstand the relentless storm of blades. The heavy stench of blood and flesh permeated the cold, night air.

Even those attempting to attack her from behind were mercilessly cut apart, their claws and limbs severed before they could land a single blow.

By the time Nikita finally came to a stop, the ground around her was littered with dismembered demonic beasts.

Yet, even then, the disgusting black miasma continued to writhe around their remains, desperately regenerating their shattered bodies.

"Seriously? You're still not dead?"

She exclaimed exaggeratedly, though she had known this would be the likely outcome. It was clear she would have to freeze the miasma along with the body to put a stop to it.

A massive, demonic cyclops closed the distance as it towered over her, the massive frame of its fist closing in on her face. A single blow from that fist would blow apart the head of anyone struck.

But with the casualness one would have at catching a ball, she easily stopped the momentum of its incoming fist, absorbing the force and releasing it behind her.

The ground shattered from the force, and dirt and leaves were sent scattering in the air around them.

Nikita glanced over her shoulder; her gleaming eyes were so cold, they could freeze the soul. Those eyes, it was as if she were looking at filth.

The cyclops's heavy body twitched from the murderous intent it could feel from that gaze, its muscles straining as it exerted more force into its outstretched fist, but Nikita did not resist the force; instead, she used it to her advantage.

"Haaaah!"

With a war cry, she grabbed its massive arms, twisted her body, and pulled its massive frame toward her, using its own momentum against it; she flipped it onto its back.

The force of its massive body slamming into the ground caused a small, localised earthquake as the force spread to the earth, creating a massive crater at the point of impact, the ground sinking in beneath it.

GUFAW?!

Before the demonic cyclops had time to raise its upper body, Nikita lunged forward, planting her heels onto its torso, putting her entire weight onto her stomp and conjured a blade of ice in her hands, slitting its throat before delivering a knee kick to its face, crushing its nose in the process.

But even this much wouldn't amount to much; Nikita froze the massive body of the demonic cyclops, freezing the miasma trapped within the ice as well.

Several beasts leered at her from the darkness of the dreary forest as if she was a tasty piece of meat, their snouts dripping wet with drool.

Furthermore, the pieces of the severed limbs already began their regeneration. But Nikita waves her hand and unleashes icy cold air to freeze them in place.

"Sigh…. I hope master is having better luck dealing with these things."

She murmured as she watched their shredded bodies reform. Her gaze subconsciously headed into the darkness of the forest.

…

At the same time, in another section of the forest, the sound of roaring thunder boomed as purple lightning flickered through the air…

AWOOOO!

The demonic beasts howled in pain as they were struck by lightning, their bodies being fried from the inside.

However, even after being burned black and reduced to lumps of flesh, the miasma continued to coil around them like maggots.

"Seriously, what's up with these things?"

Haruto observed the remains of the demonic beasts with a disgusted expression, his brow furrowing as he narrowed his eyes.

The black mist felt oddly familiar. It gave off an instinctive feeling of revolt.

(Wasn't this the same thing I saw contaminating the sky the other day?)

He wondered, tilting his head in thought. Without even sparing another glance at the charred remains, he unleashed another blast of lightning, reducing what was left of the beasts to nothing.

"If it's like this here, then I wonder what's happening in the city? Did any of them even escape the forest?"

Despite his current situation, he couldn't help worrying about the city in the Albanian Kingdom, where they had stayed previously.

Considering the number of demonic beasts roaming around the forest, he really didn't want to consider how many of them would be attacking.

But beasts were known to be highly intelligent and territorial.

Under normal circumstances, most beasts would be too cautious to approach human settlements.

There were some stories of entire villages being annihilated by huge numbers of beasts, but such occurrences were rare.

Furthermore, most highly populated cities could easily exterminate an army of beasts the moment they were spotted.

But Haruto couldn't help but wrinkle his brow in concern.

These beasts in particular were extremely unusual. The way they healed, regardless of how much he wounded them.

Their eyes were devoid of light; it didn't even seem as if they were consciously aware of what they were attacking.

(If they were simply hungry and were driven mad by the urge to eat, I'd understand, but I feel something is off.)

He still didn't know what that black mist was. He knew it was miasma from Alya, but aside from that, he was completely clueless.

(Th-That's right, I also can't contact Alya from this distance… I hope she hasn't overexerted herself.)

He found himself deeply concerned about his partner. Although she had left without saying a word, he instinctively knew that she had most likely flown to the city.

Alya wasn't particularly interested in fighting, and since he had spent the entire day sparring with Nikita, Alya had most likely gotten bored and wandered away.

"But as long as Alya is there, then… Wha?!"

Suddenly, a stone club came crashing down toward him. Haruto immediately raised his sword, deftly blocking the attack by the skin of his teeth.

The force of the blow reverberated through the earth, levelling the surrounding ground and forming a huge crater around him.

"Tch."

Haruto grunted through his teeth and lowered his centre of gravity, and with a sweeping horizontal slash, he severed the body of a cyclops cleanly in half from the waist down.

Followed by a downward vertical slash, splitting it in two from the head down to the waist.

The massive frame of the body collapsed backwards. But he knew this wouldn't be the end of it. He had dealt similar damage to them before.

With a flick of his finger, another roaring thunder erupted, striking the remains of the fallen body where it lay.

(All that's left are the demonic wolves, but… Why aren't they attacking? They've had plenty of opportunities.)

Haruto narrowed his eyes in doubt. While he was facing the demonic cyclops, he was extremely wary of the demonic wolves scattered around and blending in with the darkness of the night.

But they hadn't made a move; even with his back turned and revealing so much of an opening, they still showed no sign of attacking.

Most of the demonic beasts could not roam freely around the forest. Embedded inside the trees were mana crystals that were enchanted with barrier magic to repel beasts and monsters.

(Are they waiting for something? Is it a trap…. No, wait?!)

Before he could put his thoughts into words, from the corner of his vision, he saw a streak of green light, shooting straight up towards the night sky.

"Th-That's… Alya?"

His parched lips barely moved as he whispered those words. The blood drained from his face as he stared up at the sky in a daze.

What he had just seen was a spirit art technique used as a signal. It only lasted for a brief second, but he could feel it.

The fact that he could sense the energy signature just now contained Alya's energy made it all too obvious that Alya was sending them a signal from her current position.

At this point in time, Alya was still locked in a fierce battle against the demonic greater dragon. But of course, Haruto had no way of knowing that.

Suddenly, the demonic wolves took that opportunity to lunge at his unguarded figure, their fangs bared, but…

"I don't have time to deal with you; move!"

A bone-chilling voice came from his lips. At the same time, a violent storm of wind erupted around him, sending the demonic beasts hurling uncontrollably through the air and snapping through branches of trees.

The blade of his sword shone faintly with Spiriurem as he held it in a natural stance.

His golden eyes gleamed as he glared into the forest depths; his murderous intent engulfed the surroundings and frightened the demonic beasts.

"… I didn't want to cause too much harm to the forest, but I don't have the time to deal with these beasts."

With that said, Haruto transferred an enormous amount of spirit energy into his sword.

The gleam of the blade grew brighter as he swung his sword in a wide arc, unleashing a massive slashing attack towards the beasts still hiding inside the forest.

The slash mowed down the trees in a wide area with devastating power, cutting down the demonic beasts directly in their path, and gouging out the ground for several kilometres.

…

It was at that moment that Nikita was pummeling another demonic cyclops.

Its fist slammed down in an attempt to crush her, but Nikita easily stopped its downward arm. Clenching her fist, she delivered a punch without holding back.

The punch sent its massive frame bending from the force, lifting it off the ground and sending it flying.

(Unless I use a wide-area ice attack, there'll be no end to them.)

Nikita calmly analysed her surroundings while coldly preparing to unleash her attack, but…

Suddenly, a powerful slash of light had blown away the remaining demonic beasts around Nikita, incinerating them with heat.

"… I think you may have overdone it."

Nikita said, gasping as she stared blankly at the severed trees that were cut directly from the stump below. It stretched all the way to the mountain in the distance.

She had been facing a group of demonic wolves when the slash blasted them all away and left the forest charred.

"I had no other choice."

Haruto explained, the glow of his sword diminishing.

"Even so, your attack may have reduced their numbers, but you also cut down all the trees with those mana crystals inside them."

Nikita pointed out, her beautiful ruby eyes scanning the forest, albeit what was left of it.

"Those beasts were becoming a nuisance. More importantly, Nikita, we have to go back to the city."

For a moment, Haruto stared at the scenery with a look of guilt before hardening his expression.

Nikita sent a sidelong glance at his hands clenching the hilt of his sword and furrowed her brow.

"Hm. The city? Did something happen? I saw a pillar of light a second ago, but…?"

"Considering the state of the forest, it wouldn't be surprising if similar situations were happening there as well."

"So you think it's being attacked by demonic beasts?"

"The possibility is high. But if this is due to the miasma, then it's also likely this could be happening everywhere."

Haruto rubbed his temple as if he was enduring the onslaught of a headache. He couldn't imagine living in a world where beasts attack nations regularly due to the miasma.

(Just thinking of it is so tiring… What would happen if those numbers grew into the hundreds, thousands or even higher?)

It was a situation that could be said to be the beast apocalypse. But it wasn't funny, even as a joke.

"Nikita, which direction did you hear the sound of beasts before?"

Haruto inquired, his finger resting on his chin. He had a feeling he knew the answer, but he wanted to confirm it with her.

"Can't say for sure, as the sound was spread out across a wide area. But most of them were heading towards the direction of the city we came from."

"I thought so."

Haruto sighed, as he felt a feeling of dread. If those beasts really were heading towards the city, the casualties would be stupendous.

"What are we gonna do now?"

Nikita inquired, tilting her head questioningly. It seemed she also reached the same conclusion. Though emotionally, she wasn't as concerned as he was.

Nikita was a silver foxkin whose home was on the northern edge of the continent; while she didn't feel as apathetic towards the human nation's misfortune, she also wasn't as empathetic either. She simply tilted her head cutely while pondering to herself.

"Hm. Let's see… I believe we wiped out most of the beasts roaming around the eastern side of the forest, but I doubt that's all their numbers amount to."

Haruto closed his eyes and used wind spirit arts to spread his senses across a wide area.

Nikita felt a sudden breeze caress her skin as the wave of wind spread out in a circle around them.

The dreary forest was dark, and the only source of light available was the light of the moon, streaming through the gaps in the trees.

But with this art, he didn't need his vision. With his eyes closed, all he could see was darkness. Then, as if reaching for a light, countless energy sources appeared one after another.

(This is… One hundred… Three hundred… No, it goes up to six.)

Cold sweat trickled down his brow as he counted the number of demonic beasts he could sense in the nearby woods.

"What did you see?"

Nikita inquired. From his pale face, she could guess it wasn't a favourable answer. But even so, she questioned anyway.

"There are then several hundred beasts roaming the forest."

"Eh? That many?"

Nikita's eyes widened. It came as no surprise that the forest was inhabited by various species of beasts and monsters, but it was still a ridiculous number.

"So… Any ideas on what we're going to do?"

Nikita was naturally surprised, but her voice was still nonchalant, as if she wasn't as moved by it.

"Not sure, but I'm certain Alya needs our help; let's go!"

Without missing a beat, Haruto manipulated the wind around him and softly flew into the sky.

Then, once he reached a high altitude where the trees were no longer in his line of sight, he narrowed his eyes and accelerated in the direction of the city.

"Eh?! W-Wait for me!"

Nikita yelled, hurriedly chasing after him. Haruto was accelerating near the speed of sound, but his body wasn't feeling the effects of the air resistance.

This was thanks to the coat that he currently donned; it was his spirit gear that was made by Alya herself. And she gave it several properties.

Not only does it endow him with excellent defensive ability once imbued with his mana, but it also helps him when using wind arts to fly by granting him wind resistance.

Even flying faster than sound does not affect his physical body. And he could potentially go even faster.

Behind him, Nikita was running along the air, manifesting ice footholds as she trod along; despite the speed of Haruto's flight, Nikita wasn't lagging at all, nor was she out of breath.

For the silver foxkin, this was nothing more than a light walk in the park. As they flew, demonic beasts would occasionally approach them from the sky, but Haruto had manifested a wind barrier around them in the form of wind blades, shredding all that approached in a merciless storm of blades.

Furthermore, Nikita manifested blades of ice that orbited her body, piercing and stabbing the demonic beasts as they came within reach.

"Hm, it seems your bad premonition wasn't unfounded; the situation is awfully bad down there."

Nikita pointed out below them. With their speed, it took them practically no time at all to reach the outermost edges of the nation.

...

From their position in the sky, they had a bird's-eye view of the royal knights defending the outer gate in the east.

The knights were putting up a good fight, but their formation was being destroyed as their numbers fell. It didn't take a genius to know how dire the situation was.

Similar sights could be seen in the royal capital city. Haruto clicked his tongue as he came to a stop, hovering above the city.

"No choice, I'll reduce their numbers with a big attack!"

He said, raising his hand towards the sky. As if in acknowledgement, Nikita also raised her hand in a similar manner.

ROOOAAAR!

Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and the wind churned violently. In the sky, a massive bolt of lightning was raging as if it were a living creature, as if it were the will of nature.

Strangely, the lightning seemed to be endowed with two different colours, blue and purple. It twisted and undulated unnaturally.

The bolts carefully took the form of a massive, coiling dragon that blotted out the sky; it roared up at the heavens, as if claiming supremacy of the sky. Its roars boomed in the ears of those on the ground.

"Ngh…"

Haruto furrowed his brow, a purple aura emanating from his body. This was the first time he was conjuring an art of such a massive scale.

It would've been difficult if he were alone, but now he had Nikita silently assisting him.

Similarly, her body was clad in an aura emanating from her, rather than Haruto's menacing violet; hers was a beautiful, dazzling azure blue.

Once both their lightning had completely merged together, Haruto sent her a sidelong glance of confirmation.

Nikita sent him a playful wink to give him her signal. At that, they both brought their raised hand downward towards the battlefield, and following their gestures, the dragon of lightning descended onto the battlefield below.

The dragon wreathed in lightning writhed like a living creature. Its massive frame instilled fear in the hearts of those who witnessed its mighty form.

The air was distorted and vibrated from the heat of the dragon as it made its descent; the roaring of thunder accompanied its massive frame.

The dragon opened its huge maw, big enough to swallow multiple demonic cyclops simultaneously, and engulfed the demonic beasts in a searing heat, vaporising them as it exploded.

The royal knights and royal mages all blinked blankly in wonder as they witnessed this spectacle. Multiple explosions thundered simultaneously as plumes of dust rose into the air.

Controlling an art of this scale without mass casualties would've been extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the current Haruto, but Nikita was redirecting all the bolts of lightning away from the knights.

The silver foxkins were all blessed with a vastly superior affinity with lightning. Even if Nikita had spent most of her time developing her ice arts, her species granted her a strong advantage with lightning.

Nikita had even sent several lightning javelins towards other areas of the city that were crawling with vast numbers of demonic beasts, eradicating the demonic beasts in her path.

"The art ended up vastly stronger than I initially expected, but I'd say this is a good result."

Haruto said, sighing as he observed the battlefield. The city down below was severely damaged, and the wreckage of the residential area was noticeable even from their current position in the sky, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

As for the cleanup after the battle. Such things would have to be taken care of by the high officials who were in charge of the city.

"Indeed. That last attack reduced their numbers considerably, but just to be safe."

Nikita raised her hand downward towards the forest. And a huge, thick column of ice rose from the ground.

The icy column moved in a horizontal line, separating the outer perimeter of the forest from the inner section of the entrance gate currently being defended

"That should prevent any new beasts from approaching."

She said, smiling smugly at the ice wall she had just erected.

The height of the wall was so enormously large that it would be impossible for ground beasts to climb to the top. As such, the only beasts that could pose danger were of the flying kind.

"Nice thinking."

Haruto praised, staring down at the towering walls of ice. But then suddenly…

"Kyaaa!"

He heard a scream coming from the residential area in the noble district. Clad in wind, Haruto charged towards the ground, Nikita chasing after him by creating a circular ice platform as she kicked off it. The force of her leap shattered the ice as small shockwaves spread out around her.

It happened in the blink of an eye. A young girl clad in high-quality noble clothing was being attacked along with her lady knight by a demonic goblin.

A young man fell on his butt, a group of demonic goblins attacking him, but Haruto decelerated towards the ground, stomping onto their backs and crushing them with the downward momentum of his fall; the force reverberated through the ground as a crater appeared at the point of impact.

"Quickly, get away."

He said to the man before rapidly approaching a young girl who was hiding behind her knight. The demonic goblin leapt onto her.

It was at that moment Haruto appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and wedged himself between them and twisted his body, kicking off the head of the demonic goblin from the neck with a horizontal sweep of his leg.

The illumination of purple lightning flashed, momentarily blinding everyone in the vicinity, then the sound of roaring thunder echoed, and the body of the goblin was reduced to nothing.

The ground was a scorching crater where the lightning had struck, the scent of charred smoke filling the air.

"Are you okay?"

Haruto's expression was indifferent as he stared at the spot the goblin once stood, then he gently grasped the young girl's hand and helped her to her feet. The softness and warmth of her small, delicate hand transmitted to him.

Her eyes, which reminded him of the vast blue skies, stared intently at him.

He found himself captivated by every strand of her long, radiant hair that was like the rays of sunlight as it danced in the wind.

She seemed speechless as her cute little lips moved wordlessly without forming any coherent words. Haruto could only smile awkwardly at that.

"Wh-Why are you okay, my Lady?! And… Um, who are you, Mister?"

The young knight who was fending off the other demonic beast turned and sheathed her sword; she seemed to be slightly flustered that the young noble lady was almost at death's door.

"I… I'm Haruto."

He introduced himself awkwardly under their fixed stare. He had flown down the moment he heard her scream; it was nothing more than pure impulse that led him here.

"… H-Haruto."

The young, blonde-haired girl's lips parted as she whispered those words under her breath, as if processing his name.

Nikita raised an eyebrow from behind him in exasperation as she shrugged her shoulders as if giving up.

"… And you're?"

"Ah… My apologies, I am Seilah, the daughter of Duke Julis."

She introduced herself with a flawless bow of her head. Her cheeks reddened in a faint blush. 

(A duke's daughter. Why is such a high-ranking noble all the way out here?)

He wondered, his finger resting against his chin in thought. Most of the residents had already evacuated from the area.

There were still other residents running away, but it was odd for such a high-ranking noble to still be in a place as dangerous as this.

"U-Um… Forgive my rudeness. I should've also introduced myself as well; I am Dina, the knight serving as my lady's bodyguard."

The young woman clad in armour said, bowing her head.

"Y-Yes. Nice to meet you."

Haruto replied, smiling as he gave a bow in return. His black hair fluttered in the wind.

"Hey. Haruto, should we really be doing introductions at this time?"

Nikita said, shooting him a cold glare.

Her nine fox tails waved softly as her fluffy ears stood up. She looked so cute that Haruto had to suppress a chuckle.

While they were talking, she had manifested blades of ice, cutting the throats of the approaching beasts mercilessly.

"You're right, I'm sorry to have burdened you this much, Nikita."

"It's nothing for you to apologise for."

She replied in a huff, though her lips were curving into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

"We'll make a path for you two to go safely; is that okay?"

Haruto inquired, glancing at the two females.

"Y-Yes. That would be most appreciated."

Dina said, bobbing her head.

"Nikita, can you make a path?"

"Hm. Leave it to me!"

Nikita answered, stepping towards the front. In an instant, the air in the surroundings plummeted.

As she stepped on the cold, concrete pavement, it froze into solid ice. Nikita casually raised her palm towards the beasts wreaking havoc in the city.

Grrr!

The beasts all stiffened as if sensing the danger. This time Nikita had no intention of holding back; her intent to kill flared. It created a powerful force that engulfed everything in its malice.

It was a world of pure white, encroaching on the surroundings in a blizzard that made even the heart freeze in shivers. The icy wind seemed to sap even the slightest warmth from the air.

Nikita's cold, crimson eyes did not hold the slightest bit of compassion. She was fully intent on vanquishing all the monsters in sight.

She would unleash an ice attack meant to eliminate her enemy. She had no intention of holding back at all.

With a voice that held no emotion, she uttered.

"Freeze."

In the next moment, a wave of icy air capable of absolute destruction was sent hurtling towards the demonic beasts.

The streets, buildings and the paved road were buried in an absolute freezing cold storm, encasing everything within a wide range in ice.

Glass windows rapidly became covered in layers of frost as the glass started cracking visibly before shattering.

The beasts all did their best to escape, but it was fruitless. The icy air moved faster than they could flee, ensnaring them in its cold embrace.

Even the demonic cyclops took advantage of their huge frame and physical strength, but even that was pointless.

They instantly lost the sensation of their arms and legs before they were completely buried in an icy grave

Even the miasma trapped within the ice and the thick plumes of black miasma coiling through the air were frozen solid, transforming into countless white ice shards that glittered within the storm.

"A-Amazing…"

Dina and Seilah both stared wide-eyed in wonder, their disbelief left them rooted in place as they stared at the frozen beasts.

Even while standing behind Nikita and receiving Haruto's protection, their skin still shivered from the cold.

"Good job. You two can go along that path."

Haruto commented, seemingly satisfied. But then—

"Huh?!"

Both Haruto and Nikita gasped; they suddenly felt a powerful pressure erupt.

The vibration of the sky was even stronger than when they had combined powers and manifested that massive dragon.

A sense of dread fell over them. They weren't the only ones. All those who could sense magic power felt it.

(What's this feeling that's making my skin crawl?)

He narrowed his eyes as he searched for the origin of his crisis, but…

"Ah, Master! Over there!"

Nikita said, pointing in the distance, at a single point in the sky. When Haruto stared in that direction and squinted his eyes, he gasped involuntarily.

There was a green-haired beauty there. No, her hair was pure white. But he subconsciously knew who it was.

It was none other than the spirit monarch, his contracted spirit—Alya, seemingly in the middle of activating some kind of technique.

"Is that a Sky Dragon?"

"It seems different from how it was depicted in the books I've read."

Haruto squinted his eyes at the massive dragon currently attacking Alya. But she used barrier arts to fend off its approach.

"It's probably because of the miasma… But, at this rate…"

Beads of sweat trickled down Nikita's brow as she felt an instinctive sense of danger.

"Ah, Alya—?!"

As if spurred on by that feeling, Haruto opened his mouth. But his words were cut short; the blast dyed his vision pure white.

It was as if the world was painted over, and all sounds ceased for a moment, before the sound of the explosion sent his ears ringing.

A massive explosion beyond belief shook the skies.

"Ah…?"

Nikita had seen a group of people from the corner of her vision and hurriedly accelerated towards the battlefield, where she activated her strongest defensive barrier technique—Cocytus.

…

Back to the present time…

Haruto stood in the air, the ground beneath nothing more than a blur of colours.

Holding his sword at the ready, cold sweat trickled down his brow as he got into the most optimal stance, his golden eyes glaring coldly at the mid-tier devil that had used the greater dragon's body as a medium to manifest itself.

Its dark, dull eyes were devoid of all light and sense of will. Its body was clad in hard, black exoskeleton-like armour.

(But if it's a devil, light should be its weakness!)

He thought inwardly: an invisible foothold made of solid mana had manifested at his feet; using it as a platform, Haruto kicked off it and wrapped a current of wind around himself.

As soon as he came within reach of the devil, he delivered a vertical downward slash of his sword. But the devil raised its arm to block the sudden attack. With a faint tink of metal hitting metal, his blade rebounded off its arm.

But the devil twisted its body, releasing a spinning kick towards Haruto's torso. Haruto promptly held his sword in a defensive stance, blocking the force of the kick.

But he was unable to completely suppress the force of the kick. Without being able to gain his footing midair, Haruto was sent hurtling downward from the force of the kick.

"Guh…"

Rather than fighting against the force, Haruto used it to his advantage, allowing it to carry him away.

(If I keep going like this, I'll crash deep into the ground.)

At his current altitude, no amount of life would save him from the fate of being turned into a squash watermelon.

Manipulating the wind, he was able to slow his momentum and regain control of his body. There was still an ache in his body, but he was able to save himself.

But the devil gave him no time to think. It observed him with its cold, menacing eyes and accelerated towards him.

Haruto hurriedly flew away from the devil using the wind. They flew in circles, carving upward and downward arcs as they flew in complex and unpredictable trajectories.

Their velocity reached speeds that would be considered dangerous for the body to withstand unprotected.

An explosion bloomed profusely in the sky. It was as if fireworks were being blasted repeatedly.

Haruto unleashed a torrent of light in the form of a slash and bullets of light.

While it did seem to be doing some damage, aside from slowing it down, the damage wasn't significant enough to finish it off or render it incapacitated.

Haruto spun mid-flight, producing a violent gale that blew away the devil from reaching him. But it spread its wings and glided through the air unbothered.

In an instant, it had closed the distance, clenching its fist and striking at Haruto's body that was still clad in wind, but Haruto swiftly accelerated, evading the sudden attack.

He flipped backwards midair, aiming a downward kick at its head, but the devil blocked his leg with the side of its arm and thrust out its fist; Haruto quickly backflipped again to escape the attack.

He used his wind arts to maintain his centre of balance as he stood on one arm, twisting his body in a circular motion to dish out a rapid barrage of spinning kicks.

Though connected, they had failed to do any harm to the body of the devil aside from making it stagger backwards.

It stabbed at his body with the pointed edge of its tail that was still upside down.

But Haruto created a solid barrier of mana and used it to propel himself to the side, a hair's breadth away from the claws.

Then, he twisted his body to release a horizontal sweeping kick, blasting the devil away. But its tail shot forward, attempting to stab his heart.

Haruto quickly released a fierce gale and rode the wind as he flew away from the tail's range.

Beating its wings, the devil flew after his fleeing form as they rose higher in the sky, eventually losing sight of the ground below in a sea of clouds.

Thus, the game of chase continued, neither side willing to give the enemy the slightest opening.

Just the kinetic energy of their flight was enough to severely harm anyone unlucky enough to get hit.

Under normal circumstances, flying at such speeds would be difficult for the body. Not to mention, at their current altitude and the speed of their flight, the winds themselves became lethal projectiles, attacking their body.

But the devil had an innate tough exterior, while Haruto was being protected by his spirit gear, which mitigated the effects the recoil would have on his body when flying faster than the speed of sound.

(Should I use lightning acceleration for more speed? No, but…)

He wondered as he did his best to evade the lethal attacks from the devil.

For a moment he briefly considered it, but ultimately refused. Currently, his human body would be subjected to the heat of cladding his body in lightning.

Not only would it worsen his injuries, but he could also risk electrocuting himself if his control were to falter for even a second. In other words, it was a high-risk, high-reward technique.

But healing while flying at a subsonic speed and fending off the constant attacks from the devil was a back-breaking task. 

(No, it's not worth the risk of getting harmed in return.)

At that, Haruto evaded another claw that came slashing down towards his side. At the same time, he twisted his body and aimed a slashing attack imbued with light at its neck, but the devil quickly moved away and gained distance.

This exchange continued, a careful exchange of offence and defence without pause. Both stayed within arm's reach of the other, searching for an opening in their opponents' defence.

It was unclear how much time had passed since their initial exchange, nor could he tell how many times they had exchanged attacks.

From an outside perspective, perhaps it was only a few minutes or more, but during that uncertain amount of time they had exchanged nearly hundreds of attacks.

Haruto gasps for breath as beads of sweat trickle down his brow. Sometimes Haruto would turn around and attack with his sword, while the devil countered with its claws, sending a screeching sound and sparks to scatter and dance with every attack.

The speed of their flight was slowly approaching the speed of sound; blade and claws met head-on, moving at such insane speeds that it was difficult to distinguish their form.

The fantastical explosion of battle erupted, illuminating the night sky. Clashing and collided each time they came within arm's reach of each other.

(What is this thing made of? It won't budge no matter how many times I hit it.)

Cold sweat trickled down his brow. He couldn't see any end to the enemy before him. The devil, however, maintained an expressionless face throughout the exchange.

With a slow, seemingly casual observation of its arm, there were several scratches and burns there from the times its fist or arms made contact with Haruto's sword that was imbued with the light element.

Suddenly, he roared out in fury and unfurled its fleshy wings.

And with a speed it hadn't shown before, it closed in on Haruto, circled to his rear and swung its leg, unleashing a wide sweeping kick.

"Wha?!"

Haruto was taken aback by its sudden burst of speed; he barely positioned his sword in time to block the attack, but the force of the kick reverberated against his blade, making his arms numb. It sent him spiralling across the sky like a broken kite.

It gave him no time to take evasive action or counter. Instead, it closed in on him from the front, side and back, up and down, launching a flurry of punches and kicks that came from multiple angles.

Haruto did his best to evade its continuous barrage of attacks as his body was tossed around like a rag doll; sometimes he was even forced to take hits to deliver a heavier blow.

But his sword wasn't able to pierce the toughness of its exoskeleton.

The devil closed in on him again, thrusting out its fist, but Haruto slashed with his sword. Without batting an eye, it easily deflected the blade and punched Haruto directly in the abdomen, his lips parted against his will, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying back again.

His spirit gear gave him incredible defensive prowess, but it could do nothing against blunt force impacts.

(D-Damn it! At this rate… !)

Haruto clicked his tongue in vexation. He quickly manipulated the wind to stop himself from crashing into the ground.

However, he winced in pain as he coughed up more blood against his will.

"If I hadn't enhanced my physical body at the last moment, there is no doubt the damage would've been much worse."

He laughed bitterly. The bones in his ribs were rattled from the blow, and his internal organs were already badly damaged. He felt as if he could faint at any minute now.

But he bit his lips and endured the screams of his body.

The devil closed the gap between them and slashed with its claws, but Haruto deflected it with his sword. He manipulated the wind, rounded to its back and sent a sharp kick to its side.

But the devil seemed to have been expecting that and raised its arms to block the attack; however, Haruto didn't let up on his fierce onslaught of attacks.;

His punches and kicks had become clumsy after accumulating so much damage, but he ignored the state of his body and pushed it to its limits by enhancing his body further.

He coated his legs and sword in light energy, and he unleashed another barrage of kicks and sword slashes. 

Slamming his leg and blade into the side of the devil, its body bent backwards from the force; then a vertical slash came straight downward towards its head, and it immediately raised its arm in a cross to block the blade.

But Haruto had predicted that outcome as well; he stopped his sword an inch before contact and sent a punch imbued with destructive energy to its unguarded stomach; the energy coating his fist exploded upon impact.

The body of the devil was sent flying through the air, but Haruto manifested a mana barrier under his feet as a platform; the air exploded in a shockwave as he kicked off and chased after its body.

Once Haruto had overtaken it, he spun his body horizontally and raised his sword aloft before swinging downward along with the centripetal force, the strike sending its body torpedoing across the sky.

(Tch… This thing, is it using the force of my attack to maintain distance?)

Haruto narrowed his eyes. It wasn't his imagination. Just as the blade of his sword made contact, the devil had manoeuvred itself so it could optionally use the force of his attack to distance itself; even after taking multiple attacks, the exceptionally tough armour wasn't damaged at all.

(How infuriating…)

"…."

The devil spread its wings to stifle its momentum, floating silently as if to mock his efforts. Suddenly, its tail aimed, then shot forward like the head of a spear.

"Wha?! Tch…!"

The attack was so sudden that Haruto was barely able to block it. The devil's eyes shone eerily as its tail slashed out again and again in a relentless barrage.

Haruto did his best to deflect each one, sharpening his mind as he traced the trajectory of the path the tail would travel.

The sound of metal rang out repeatedly each time his blade struck against the tail.

However, that was his mistake; he was so preoccupied with its tail that he had failed to notice that the devil had come within arm's reach, its claws thrust outward in an attempt to pierce his heart.

Spurt!

Blood sprayed, but Haruto had been able to divert the trajectory of its claw at the last second; its claws gouged out his flesh as they pierced his arm.

It was a complete surprise on his part. What he should have done was erect a barrier to block the attack, but it was so sudden that he was unable to do so on the spur of the moment. In other words—

"This is because of my lack of experience."

This was, of course, his first ever battle against a dangerous opponent who could seriously threaten his life.

Not to mention, his body had become sluggish from taking so many wounds back to back.

Sometimes in a battle between two beings whose strengths are comparable to each other, the body must be able to move before the mind.

Luckily, the long sleeves of his spirit gear coat were unaffected, but his unprotected arm was gashed open when his sleeve fell from his strenuous movements.

"If only I could've reacted faster, better."

To be fair, any other human would not have gotten away with only minor injuries in the midst of such an attack. But Haruto ignored this fact as he cursed his own incompetence.

(Without the defensive quality of my coat, I would've lost an arm just now.)

Haruto quickly flew away to maintain distance. But the devil's attack was relentless. It closed in on him from the front, launching slashes, punches and kicks.

Haruto was forced to receive them all in a desperate struggle.

Their bodies moved so quickly that it would've been impossible to see them with the naked eye.

Its claws and punches weren't the only thing he had to be wary of; sometimes its tail would stab out once an opening was bared, forcing him to divert its trajectory, then a claw would come thrusting at his torso, but once he evaded that, a knee strike came aiming for his face.

The devil made use of everything at its disposal to beat him down, even using feints to confuse him.

But Haruto was just as relentless; once he blocked or evaded an attack, he would release his killing intent while attacking with spirit arts that would be fatal to a regular human.

With neither side giving the other an inch to breathe, it became a battle of endurance and wits.

Both sides moved so fast that they were approaching speeds several times faster than sound.

The air rippled with each collision; the explosive sounds of their clash, along with shockwaves, spread outwards as a semicircle with both Haruto and the devil in the centre.

Haruto unleashed a wide-area slashing attack in the form of light, but the devil immediately darted to the side, moving out of its range.

Then it circled back to his rear to launch a barrage of deadly counterattacks that didn't at all hide its savagery.

And as if responding to that, Haruto's attacks became even fiercer. Haruto conjured up orbs of light and orbs of fire, unleashing a barrage of projectiles several times the speed of sound.

But aside from the orbs of light, the devil didn't seem particularly concerned about the orbs of fire. It closed in on him from the front, weaving between attacks, and slashing him with its claws.

A constant chain of explosions thundered as the orbs exploded. A plume of smoke swept through the air. But Haruto and the devil paid no attention to that. 

Fists and blades moved and intersected faster than the eyes could blink. Their collision ignited sparks as a loud tremor echoed across the sky.

The pressure sent a wave, with both Haruto and the devil at the epicentre. 

Haruto swung his sword, brushing the tail of the devil aside with a horizontal sweep, and stepping within its range. His left fist clenched as he clad his fist in an intense light of destruction and moved in an attempt to strike.

But as if sensing the danger, the devil promptly took evasive action and flew away to avoid the attack.

"Hmph. As if that'll work!"

Haruto manipulated the light on his arm, condensing it and spreading it across his body.

With his body clad in destructive light, he accelerated towards the devil. Seeing the beam of light coming towards it, which seemed no different from a comet approaching the devil, it stopped in its tracks and immediately veered diagonally to the side, narrowly avoiding the collision.

But Haruto promptly changed the angle and position of his body to forcefully reroute himself towards it.

Pursuing the fleeing devil as if he were a beam attack homing in on it. With his arm outstretched, he yelled.

"Take this! Brilliant flash!"

Several spears of light gathered in the night sky, twinkling as if they were stars. The trajectories of their spearhead all pointed towards the devil.

In a single instant, they all shot forward like an arrow, drawn from a bowstring.

Streaking across the sky like shooting stars, the devil did its best to evade each one.

But Haruto's lips twisted into a grin as all the spears moved as if they were alive, drawing complex arcs and geometric lines, converging together, surrounding the devil in a three-dimensional spherical cage, trapping it from all sides.

"Now, be singed by the light of retribution."

His voice was cold and detached, as if he were the judge declaring the sentence of the devil.

In that instance, the dazzling cage of spears all closed in on the devil. Engulfing it in the light of purification.

At that moment, all sounds ceased; it was a wondrous phenomenon. All colours faded from the world, leaving behind a blank canvas. As if the night sky was painted over.

It was then that the massive blast of the explosion erupted like a storm.

From the ground, it seemed as if a miniature star had just detonated, sending fierce winds wreaking havoc across the sky.

(Hopefully that did some damage…)

Haruto hardened his expression. He was sure it was a direct hit, as he left no blind spot for it to escape, but he wasn't confident this attack would've taken it down.

And as if to respond to this foreboding feeling, the blinding light grew weaker and dispersed. At the same time, a massive figure tore through the veil of light, revealing the body of the devil.

Its condition was ragged and battered, but it still showed no sign of weakness.

Its dull, empty eyes glared at Haruto. As there was no emotion, as usual, he had no idea what this devil was feeling at the moment.

But he could at least guess it was furious from the murderous intent directed at him.

(Its healing ability had weakened significantly.)

He mused, noticing how slowly the devil was recovering from its burns.

"You've been beating me up one-sidedly until now. Let's see how well you handle elemental arts!"

He said, accelerating towards the devil. Since he didn't take any time to heal his own injuries, his sudden movement only worsened his already beaten-up body.

And even the speed of his flight was considerably slower than before.

But Haruto ignored it, closing in on the devil and unleashing a blast of flames.

The flames spread out in a wide arc, the heat hot enough to burn the air and illuminate the night sky.

The heat was so intense that a human body would have been reduced to ash.

But the devil flew through the flames without flinching, dispersing swathes of flames and appearing before Haruto, landing a squarely timed fist directly into his face.

Since its body, clad in armour, had been engulfed in the heat of the flaming arc, the blow did even more damage.

Haruto was blasted away by the force again; the bones in his jaw were broken from that punch, and his skin was slightly burnt red from the residual heat.

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. But his fighting spirit didn't diminish; on the contrary, it shone brighter.

Using the wind to propel himself upwards, Haruto once again closed in on the devil from beneath it, unleashing another slash of light.

"…"

As if sensing the danger, the devil immediately spread its wings, moving out of the range of the slash; instead, it circled behind Haruto's back, spinning its body vertically and slamming an axe kick into his back, sending him hurling downward.

"… Ngh."

The world spun, creating a dizzying sensation in his head as he lost track of the ground and the sky, left and right.

But the devil quickly pursued his descending body and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks.

The air ruptured as shockwaves blasted through the sky. Haruto's blood spilt as he felt his consciousness slipping away.

His mouth was filled with the taste of blood, and he had bitten his tongue, causing him to reel in pain.

(Tch… No, I… I can't allow myself to fall unconscious! I… I must…?!)

He desperately held onto his fading consciousness, clenching his fist. But the devil's fist once again slammed into his torso, breaking his bones in the process.

His body descended like a comet, the cloud being blown away as he plummeted to the ground.

Before he could fall with the full weight of his body.

He promptly forced his battered body to turn around and swung his sword to release a slash of light to stifle the momentum of his fall and lessen the force.

But his body still took the brunt of it as the earth shook when he crashed into the ground, leaving behind a massive crater at the point of impact.

"Cough."

Haruto coughed violently. He felt pain; no, he felt overwhelming pain lacing throughout his entire body. His left arm was broken from the fall, and the broken bones in his jaw made it even more painful.

The pain was so bad that he felt he would faint on the spot. Biting his lips, Haruto fought the urge to pass out.

{Haruto…!}

Alya's weakened voice echoed through his head. The current Alya had used up all of her power when she had unleashed her nihilistic orb earlier.

But even in her current state, she was still conscious and could perceive what was happening.

Being in such a weakened state while not being able to help the person most dear to her left her extremely frustrated.

—I… I want to help him!

Haruto groaned as he heard it; no, he felt it. Something inside him stirred. He did not know what that 'something' was, but it gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling.

(… Those words, were those Alya's inner thoughts?)

He wasn't certain, but it was the only conclusion he could reach. Perhaps it was their bond as spirit and contractor. Perhaps it was their shared path between their two souls.

Though if it were up to Alya. She would have proudly boasted that it was the manifestation of her undying love.

Even in her current condition, Alya's true feelings of wanting to help her most treasured person could not remain dormant. Her love was truly unyielding.

It gave him a sense of reassurance. But also made him realise how pathetic he was. It was so shameful he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself.

(After making such a grand, heroic entrance, to think I'd end up like this.)

He smiled self-deprecatingly. Hearing Alya's voice only solidified Haruto's resolve. His will to fight burned hotter and hotter.

(That's right, unless my spirit breaks, I will keep moving forward, even if my body collapses.)

His hand moved weakly, gripping the hilt of his sword as he tried his best to get to his feet.

{H-Haruto?}

"… I-It's fine. I… I'm okay."

He said, glaring up at the devil still flying in the sky. Its exoskeleton was hard for his sword to cut through in a single swing, so he'd have to weaken it with continuous attacks in a single spot until he eventually overwhelmed its natural defences.

(Victory is only for the brave and the bold. Cowardice does not have any claim to that right!)

With that thought in mind, he manipulated the wind again, accelerating towards his foe.

But what Haruto didn't know, or didn't realise, was that for a brief instance, his golden eyes had flickered from gold to violet before returning to gold.

It happened so fast most would hardly notice it. But if someone had caught a glimpse of it, they would've noticed the small star that had appeared in his pupils, glowing subtly with a violet hue.

Haruto closed in on it from the front, unleashing countless slashes onto its body; the devil easily parried his sword, taking advantage of its innate toughness and countering once an opportunity presented itself.

Unfortunately, Haruto had no intention of taking its attacks head-on; he enhanced his physical body further, evading and deflecting its attacks as he unleashed another barrage of slashes; the sound of metal rang out along with scattering sparks.

Haruto hurled wind blades at the devil, lightning bolts and even manifested blades of water. He even froze the water into ice lances.

But nothing worked; the devil easily shrugged off all elemental attacks regardless of which elements he sent hurling at it.

{Haruto… That thing used the flesh of a greater dragon to manifest itself in a physical form. Although it's not on the same level as that dragon, it seems to have inherited its high tolerance towards elemental attacks.}

Alya explained in a rueful tone, but as Haruto shot light bullets, the devil eyed him warily and promptly took evasive action.

Despite possessing the natural high resistance of a greater dragon towards each elemental attack, its fundamental nature as a demon remains unchanged, making it extremely wary of the light element, which contains positive energy.

(So it has high resistance to all natural elements, except for the light attribute, then...)

All he needed to do was imbue his blade with highly concentrated light and strike it at a single point with a clean hit. An attack strong enough to destroy its tough body in one go.

His light cage had done considerable damage before.

But now he needed something to destroy it for good.

"But my sword can barely get past this guy's armour."

Haruto muttered, gritting his teeth in frustration. To deal a lethal blow, he'd need to be within arm's reach.

That would only leave him open to receiving fatal wounds himself.

It was a risky gamble, but at least he now knew the necessary precautions he could take moving forward.

{Haruto, I have a suggestion… There is one technique we could use.}

Alya suddenly hesitated for a moment before giving her suggestion.

"What?! What kind of technique is that?"

He asked, curiously. As they conversed, he kept a rapid-fire barrage of light bullets at the figure of the devil, keeping it from approaching.

{Spirit resonance… I'll infuse my essence into the blade of your sword.}

"Spirit resonance? What kind of ability is that? And why didn't you tell me about it sooner?"

{I didn't think we'd need it. The main reason its body is so tough is largely that it inherited that durability from the dragon.}

Alya explained, her voice calm.

{There are two secret arts that existed: spirit resonance and spirit fusion.}

"Huh? Spirit fusion?"

{… Both techniques share the same premise, but are fundamentally different.}

Spirit resonance is when the contracted spirit merges its essence with the blade of its contracted partner. Becoming a part of their weapon.

Spirit fusion is when the body, heart, and soul of both spirit and contractor become one. In other words, it was more intimate than the two.

{The technique we're going to use is spirit resonance… For the time being, spirit fusion is unavailable.}

"Huh, why?"

{Because the conditions have not been met yet. But leaving that aside. Hear me out.}

And so, she informed him of her plan. His eyes widened as an illusory image of Alya appeared before him. Her figure was so dazzlingly beautiful that even a goddess would be jealous.

{To perform this technique. I will have to regain some more of my strength… And the fastest way to do that is…?}

Her expression became gentle as her arms outstretched, cupping his face as her lips approached his. Strands of her long hair caressed his cheeks, tickling his skin as their lips touched.

At that, Alya felt an immense amount of spirit energy flooding into her body, as if rejuvenating her form. She felt a feeling of relief, basking in this feeling; her hands cupping Haruto's cheeks strengthened as she embraced him strongly, unwilling to let go.

At that moment, the violet gemstone embedded inside his sword glowed with a faint emerald green.

…

At the same time, elsewhere within the noble district of the capital city. There was a building that was the headquarters of the church that worshipped the elemental goddesses.

Standing on a balcony, a young girl draped in white priestess clothing stared straight up at the night sky.

Her face was concealed by the hood of her outfit, but her lips were carved upwards into a faintly knowing smile.

"Oh, my. What a mystical sight. How splendid it is."

The young priestess said, her voice laced with elated joy. Her hand outstretched towards the black-haired boy bravely fending off the attacks of the devil himself.

"It's just like those myths foretold in the history books of the heroes; no, perhaps this is the making of a new legend."

She said, her body shaking as if she had just received a divine revelation. The theatricality of her movements did not seem to be an exasperated ploy. Her tone, her words, and her manner were like those of fanatic believers.

Standing on the tree branch next to the young priestess, there was a lone bird. It seemed as ordinary and mundane as any other bird.

However, its feathers, which shifted with iridescent colours, seemed to give off a strange, otherworldly glow.

The bird was not startled by the priestess's odd behaviour, but kept its eyes towards the sky. Reflected in its small, dark eyes was a single black-haired boy.

"It took him longer to appear than I initially thought, but it seems your prediction was correct, as always."

The priestess said. There was no response; that was natural. Aside from the lone bird, there was no one else in the nearby vicinity.

After taking another glance at the boy, the bird spread its wings and flew away, its feathers scattering in the wind.

"Oh, I'm surprised she left so soon, considering how much she wanted to see him… But I suppose it's for the best."

The priestess murmured to herself. Her fingers pressed against her lips, the colour of rose petals.

Her voice was drowned out by the occasional explosions in the distance, but for some reason her words seemed to be carried by an odd power.

She casually removed her gaze from the sky and glanced downward at the noble district below her.

Explosions from various magical attacks resounded, and the clang of metal could faintly be heard if one were to focus on the sound.

Her eyes were hidden behind her hood, but she didn't particularly seem to be perturbed by the battle around her.

Instead, she played with long strands of her hair that were hanging loosely outside her priestess's garbs, and observed the state of the battles taking place as if she was watching something interesting.

(Sigh… I hope these wide-scale attacks don't become frequent due to the Demon Gods' miasma.)

The young priestess thought, sighing as if she were an employee who was troubled about being overworked.

"Still… Humans are so fascinating to observe. No matter how many times I see them."

Humans were ugly and selfish. She had witnessed it so many times. She had seen many of them betray and stab each other for their own personal gains.

 But humans were beautiful and pure; she had witnessed them all helping each other. Whenever they were forced to face the adversity and the unreasonableness of the world, they would huddle together.

It was a mix of contradictions. But that is also why she found them to be such interesting creatures.

Because they were selfish, they were flawed; because they could be selfless, they were beautiful.

They were so quick to change that she had found them to be baffling existences.

What is a human? It was a question she had wondered about with no particular reason in mind.

Her creator was a being she had viewed as the true definition of a goddess. She had thought that creator—Mother-- was a perfect being untainted by the world.

But even then, was she really perfect?

Even her mother had made many mistakes and had her heart burdened by countless regrets. These feelings were, perhaps, the collapse of her view of her mother as a perfect goddess.

Was she really any different from that of a human? If so, why is that? How closely were they compatible?

These murky feelings grew more strongly and pungently as she began observing humanity in her creator's place.

What was the difference between a human and a god?

She did not know. She had sought that meaning since the day she first gained cognition. If both could be selfish, while both could also be selfless.

Was it really the fundamental difference in their nature as mortal and divine? Was it the difference in their worldview?

Their roles? The hierarchies that distinguish them?

She had initially thought that she would discover something by observing them closely, on the same stage. But even now, she had yet to arrive at an ideal answer.

Because she desired it. Because she longed for it. Because she searched desperately for it. Yet, no matter how much she reached out her hand, grasping that ideal, it was so far out of reach that she felt so frustrated.

(Humans aren't puppets; keeping them unified would be an impossible and daunting task. It's no wonder the elemental goddesses allow them to do as they please.)

Though the elemental goddesses are the ones who held the foundation of the world, they didn't have the time to observe humanity around the clock.

(Well, even if they could, it was unlikely they'd want to.)

She mused. Even the gods have their own desires. Just like humans, they have their own preferences and distaste. That was the nature of being alive.

At the end of the day, they were also living creatures with their own sense of self.

"Either way, as for the four cordial pillars, only mother seems to care for the humans of this world, though even she has decided not to interfere and merely observe, but… Now that this boy has appeared, it seems her lost hope has already started to rekindle."

She said, staring up at the boy who was facing the devil in the sky at this moment. It was hard to say how the other pillars felt.

The northern pillar had abandoned her post and had been missing for several years after the death of the creator.

(Since the demon god is about to return, the world is about to face another huge crisis, but mother… She probably won't interfere like last time.)

Her glossy lips parted as she let out a faint breath. The pillars were the last defenders of the world; unless the demon god threatened the divine tree—The heart of the world- they wouldn't interfere with its crisis.

She took another glance at the boy in the sky, and her eyes flashed with expectation.

"Yes… Perhaps he could—?"

Suddenly, she swallowed down those words as the sound of footsteps became audible.

"S-Sister Nia!"

Another girl draped in priestess clothing came running onto the balcony, panting as she called out to the priestess by name, Nia.

"Oh my, you seem awfully flustered; did something happen?"

Nia queried, her voice playful and sunny. It was as if that self-deprecating atmosphere around her earlier was all a lie.

"Th-There are more injured among the casualties! Currently, there aren't as many available personnel at the moment! Your healing magic is needed!"

"I see… In that case, we must make haste; please lead the way."

Nia responded, smiling sweetly as she glanced back over her shoulder.

She gracefully removed her hood, as long, translucent strands of her bluish-silver hair fluttered in the cold night air; her alluring, blue eyes gleamed like precious gemstones.

…

Going a little back in time, before Haruto and Nikita unleashed their combined dragon. Inside the royal palace of the kingdom of Albanian. Inside a long hallway.

The clicking of hurried footsteps echoed as a lone girl ran along, panting as she grasped the hem of her long gown with both hands.

(Wh-Where is he?!)

She thought, her brow contorting as a bad premonition clouded her head. 

She was the princess of this nation, Princess Sofia.

"Don't tell me that idiot ignored Father's orders and left the castle without permission."

She said, her lips pursed in displeasure. As the nation was currently under attack by demonic beasts, their father—the king- had forbidden him from accompanying the royal knight on the battlefield, fearing his lack of skills and experience would only get in the way and hinder those already on the battlefield.

"Why doesn't he ever listen?! Honestly, it's like dealing with a spoiled child; no, perhaps a child would know better."

She murmured bitterly under her breath as she ran along the narrowed corridor.

Although she was grumbling to herself, her usual calm expression was laden with worry. Her older brother had snuck out to join the battle outside.

As a prince, he had no experience dealing with the military. They had learnt the necessary skills in cases where they were expected to lead the army of their country to battle as royalty.

But learning them and experiencing them in the flesh were a completely different matter.

"Father is still caught up in the royal meeting room. I doubt he has noticed anything yet, but…"

Moonlight streamed through the open window, illuminating the path in a beautiful silver glow.

Her lovely, violet hair swayed gently as she panted for breath. Sofia glanced out onto a balcony that showed the view of the capital city below.

The destruction reflected all too clearly in her alluring, lilac eyes. Biting her lips, she swallowed her feelings as she ran back inside the palace.

Each time she came across a maid or a knight servant, she would immediately inquire about the whereabouts of her older brother, but their response were all the same.

No one knew where he had gone.

Of course, Princess Sofia already thought the likelihood of him being in the royal palace was slim.

Otherwise, there would've been at least one person who had spotted him by now.

The palace was indeed massive, but it wasn't so big that one person could be so hard to find, and the prince no less.

"Sigh… What should I do?"

Princess Sofia finally came to a stop, her shoulders slumping as her rosy lips, reminiscent of cherry blossoms, parted and she let out a faint breath.

(The Hero, Lady Katsumi, had yet to arrive with the knights that were dispatched to retrieve her, too.)

Worry clutched at her heart as a vague sense of unease filled her head.

The beasts' attack had been so abrupt that she had yet to calm her heart. No, it was unlikely her heart would have stayed calm in this situation.

It was at that point that someone she didn't expect greeted her from behind.

"Oh, my. If it isn't Princess Sofia."

A man in his forties, clad in a stylish suit, said, smiling as he greeted her. His hair was blonde and neatly arranged, strands of his golden hair framing his well-ordered face.

"Y-Yes. Long time no see, Duke Markae."

Princess Sofia smiled politely as she held the hem of her dress and curtsied gracefully.

Markae was a noble of the highest rank. Throughout the generations, his family had served the royal family as their most loyal retailers alongside the Julis ducal household.

"Yes, though you seem awfully flustered at the moment."

He said, narrowing his eyes curiously. Princess Sofia did her best to put on a poker face as she responded.

"W-Well… You see, I was wandering around in search of one of my servants. It seems she had gotten lost in the commotion."

"Hmm. Your servant, you say?"

"Yes. You've seen how bustling the palace had been during the beasts' attack, no?"

Princess Sofia adjusted her glasses as she gave a reasonable answer. Her lips curving into a faintly strained smile.

"I see… Indeed, with the situation as it is. I suppose it's only natural for a few servants to be missing, isn't it?"

"Hehe, I'm glad you understand, Sir Markae."

Princess Sofia said, chuckling coolly to herself. The Duke leered at her with such intensity that Sofia's smile twitched uncomfortably. But her calm mask didn't slip from her face.

It must have felt as if her skin was being pricked by a storm of nails. This was, of course, one of the most influential nobles. She couldn't tell him that the prince had escaped the royal palace. She would already imagine many scenarios that could occur if she did.

Especially if Duke Markae made a formal complaint towards the fact that the prince easily slipped out of the royal palace. This was more than mere negligence; this was carelessness.

That would only cause trouble for the security teams in charge of handling the palace defence. Saying that they were incompetent and that their own negligence had allowed the prince to escape.

(Well… The situation is already like this; it's unlikely that Brother will be able to hide himself on the battlefield, so Father is bound to find out eventually.)

But with the situation as it is now, it was inevitable that the situation would end up like that.

In that sense, the knights in charge of guard duty were bound to be reevaluated and relieved of their responsibilities. There was nothing Princess Sofia could do about that.

"Incidentally. May I ask what your purpose is for visiting the royal castle at this time?"

As if to change the topic, Princess Sofia inquired. But she immediately regretted her sudden question.

With the state of the city as it was, inside the royal palace was the safest place in the city, aside from the Church and the underground where the residents were being evacuated.

Even the other nobles were currently taking shelter inside the palace at this moment.

"Haha… No need to be so on guard, Your Highness."

Duke Markae said, smiling faintly as if he found it amusing. He was a man who was as capable even without taking his ducal title into consideration.

Markae was capable of shrewdly masking his true motives to the point that even the king would've struggled to guess what he was thinking behind that faint, amicable smile.

He had been peering rather closely at Sofia's expression until now, and seemed to notice how unsettled she was about something.

But for some reason, he chose not to pursue the matter as he cleared his throat.

"I actually came here to inquire of His Majesty about the mines located inside my territory."

He explained, his expression hardening hesitantly.

"Yes? Is there a problem?"

Princess Sofia inquired, tilting her head questioningly at his troubled expression.

"Apparently, unusual monsters had been taking up residence there."

"The mines?"

At that, a faint, ominous feeling filled her heart. The mines were among the most important places for the kingdom of Albanian.

Not only are most of the nation's minerals gained there, but also all top-quality mana crystals were found in the mines.

As such, the mines were of the greatest importance to the nation's economic development.

"Monsters are using it as their breeding grounds?! Why hasn't a subjugation team been dispatched to exterminate them?"

"That was exactly what I had wanted to discuss with His Majesty."

"Hm. But wouldn't you have been able to hire a few skilled adventurers or mercenaries?"

"I already did. I paid a good amount of money to some C- and A-ranked adventurers, and I even requested assistance from the mercenaries, but they have all been rather unsuccessful."

Duke Markae heaved a sigh of exhaustion as his shoulders slumped. Seeing his reaction, Sofia concluded he was telling the truth.

Her sharp purple eyes had evaluated many scheming nobles before; he'd have to be a good actor to have fooled her.

But she wasn't so naive as to think that it was impossible. She simply wasn't able to understand how a monster could take down several skilled C- and A-Ranked adventurers and even a mercenary.

"Just now, you said it was an unusual monster, right? Is it not a goblin, ogre, or cyclops?"

Princess Sofia questioned, listing out the monsters that came to mind. But there was nothing unusual about them.

In terms of appearance, those were the monsters most commonly seen in urban environments.

They were also spotted in caves where they ambushed anyone foolish enough to wander there alone.

"As unfortunate as it is. Those aren't the monsters that were spotted. This one, however, seems to be a new or rare kind. I wanted to ask His Majesty about it, but it appears my timing was rather off."

He explained, sighing as his brow furrowed. The attack of the demonic beasts had been so unexpected that he was at a loss as to what to do.

The King was busy investigating and discussing a solution as well as how to deal with the aftermath.

The sudden attack had left him with no time to spare at the moment. The current situation trivialised the urgency of the mines.

"If you don't mind, Sir Markae. Do you have a description of the type of monster it is?"

Princess Sofia inquired curiously. If she knew more about the monster, there was a possibility she could determine its type and the danger it posed.

"Unfortunately, most of the workers there haven't made it out alive. And the adventurers that were dispatched only gave vague descriptions."

He said, shaking his head. He had also dug up old records of all kinds of monsters and beasts that could fit the description, but to no avail; he was unable to conclude.

"What's the description of the monster? Can you tell me?"

Sofia queried, her alluringly gorgeous features twisting into a stern frown. 

"Apparently, it's some kind of shadowy serpent that uses toxic mist. Those who were infected by the mist have all died, while those who made it out became sick; they too were also discovered dead soon after."

He explained, his face darkening. Many medical experts had studied their corpses, yet even they were unable to recognise the toxic substance that had infected their bodies.

"… I see."

Sofia fell silent, the colours draining from her face as she processed the information. But no matter how hard she thought about it, no immediate monster came to mind of that kind.

There were a few serpent monsters that used poison to ensnare and incapacitate prey, but those kinds weren't spotted around these parts. And their toxins are able to be treated with healing magic that detoxifies poison. As long as they were treated in time. 

(A discovery of a new species of monsters… And a sudden invasion of demonic beasts attacks. Could all of this be connected?)

Sofia's expression clouded as she pondered to herself. It was then that there was a brief flash of lightning from the outside, followed by a booming roar.

The explosion in the distance sent a slight tremor across the royal palace. The ground shook for a faint moment. The glass window cracked and shattered, sending fragmented glass scattering.

"… Ngh."

Princess Sofia stifled her screams and reflexively shut her eyes, her hands grabbing onto the stone wall as dirt crumpled and fell from the ceiling.

Although the vibration of the concrete floor was slight, it gave the illusion as if the entire structure would collapse.

"W-Was that lightning?"

Princess Sofia said, meekly opening her eyes and peeking out the broken window, which had shattered from the pressure.

There was no trace of a thundercloud hanging in the sky. And yet what she saw next made her gasp for breath subconsciously.

A plume of smoke was rising far in the distance.

It wasn't just one, but several at multiple different points. It was one of the lightning lances unleashed by Nikita earlier.

The point of landing was outside the castle's vicinity, in an area filled with demonic beasts.

It went without saying, but the demonic beasts were all erased, leaving nothing but a burnt scent behind.

"It seems things are only getting noisier out there."

The Duke sighed once again, turning his attention outside the window. Beasts and monsters attacking small villages and remote human settlements were the norm in this world.

He had never seen a beast attack of such a massive scale attacking a nation before. There was a faint shadow of unease across his face.

"So it seems… I'm certainly not looking forward to the aftermath."

Despite her gloomy expression, Sofia could only let out a weak, sarcastic chuckle as she directed her attention outside.

…

Haruto widened his eyes as he stared at his sword. The long, pristine blade was now tinged green.

Its form, once a thin western longsword, was now a massive greatsword; it felt oddly light and comfortable in his hand.

"This is… How did my longsword become a greatsword? And it doesn't weigh much at all."

Haruto's eyes widened at the sight of his sword's newly transformed state, gleaming as moonlight reflected off the surface of the emerald blade.

{Of course not. I have completely assimilated myself with your sword; altering its shape and size is simple. Though spirit armour materialisation is also impossible at this time.}

Alya's smug voice resounded directly from the sword in his hand. Though the latter half of her words was rather dispirited.

(I know I made your spirit gear to be extremely durable already, but if I had not used the nihilistic orb, he could have manifested spirit armour for extra added protection.)

Alya lamented; the green glow of the blade pulsed as if resonating with her own heartbeat—core.

"Alya, how much power can you unleash in your current condition?"

{At this moment, my synchronisation with your sword is only at twenty per cent. It's not perfect, but this should be more than enough to deal with a mid-tier devil.}

Regardless of whether she was thinking this far ahead, his sword was forged directly from Alya's own essence to begin with. Which made her compatibility with it particularly exceptional.

It was as if the blade was always a part of herself, and she was finally returning to her complete state.

"Twenty per cent? What does that mean? Is that a numerical measure of your current power?"

Haruto asked, tilting his head in puzzlement.

{No. It is the percentage of how far I've infused myself with your sword. That is the synchronisation. The number goes from one to a hundred; the higher the number, the more strongly I've fused with your blade, but for now I can only reach twenty per cent.}

Alya explained, her voice smug. It goes without saying, but the higher the number, the stronger the power that can be drawn at that moment.

"I see… Does this mean spirit fusion works the same way?"

{That's right. But as I said, we can't use that right now. But fear not, spirit resonance allows you several advantages. Try thinking of another weapon in your head, anything. But make sure you have a clear mental image of it in your mind; otherwise, I won't be able to see it.}

Haruto focused his thoughts, and the greatsword in his hand dispersed; green particles of light converged, morphing into a long, two-handed sleek spear.

"Huh?! It morphed again?"

Haruto exclaimed, eyes blinking in surprise. The spear gleamed with a faint, green hue as he observed it closely. Again, he tried thinking of another weapon.

Green particles of light gathered again, then his spear morphed into a dagger, then into a scythe twice the size of his body, and then again into a katana.

As long as he could clearly envision it in his mind, there was seemingly no limit to its weapon alteration.

(Wait, could it also take the form of modern weapons? Or armour?)

His lips curled as he thought of various applications he could use the spirit resonance technique to his advantage.

{What an evil grin. But I also think that your appearance of yours is so adorable. And I know what you're thinking. To answer your guess, spirit resonance has no limit aside from the wielder's imagination. There is a saying: the weapon reflects the heart of its wielder, right?}

"I see… So it really can become anything, huh?"

The katana eventually settled into the form of a two-handed longsword; the blade was slightly curved at the edges. It had intricate carvings as its aesthetic design.

{With my essence dwelling within your weapon, it is no longer purely a physical material, but has become something semi-spiritual. Also, I forgot to mention, even if your weapon is fractured or broken, I'd be able to repair it without issue, similarly to how a spirit can regenerate its wounded body. So there is no need to worry.}

"I see… That's good to know."

Haruto smiled faintly at that. Having one's weapon broken in the midst of battle was certain death. Not having to worry about that was a major relief.

Especially when dealing with an opponent with such a sturdy body. Haruto kept a rapid fire of light bullets towards the devil, who kept evading them while vigilantly glaring at his sword.

{Oh. One more thing before you go… There is one more thing I must do with the little power I have remaining.}

"Hm. Which is?… Oh?"

Haruto raised an eyebrow as he felt his body getting lighter. The pain lessened, and the injuries he had sustained until now were rapidly healing. Even his broken bones were restored.

{No matter how strong you may get, it's only natural that you won't be able to fight at your best if you're not in optimal condition, right?}

Alya had activated healing arts and was repairing his injured body through physical contact with his sword.

"I see… Then with this maybe I can."

Haruto narrowed his eyes as he observed his body. In this state, his confidence only soared higher.

He turned his attention back onto the devil and flew into the sky, a greenish swirling wind cladding his body.

The devil stared at him warily with its eerily empty eyes for a moment, before closing the distance and jabbing at him with its sharp claws.

But Haruto twisted his body and evaded the claw an inch away from getting stabbed, before grabbing its outstretched arm and severing it cleanly from the shoulder.

(Wow! How sharp is this blade?! For it to slice through that thick armour so cleanly without any resistance at all.)

Though elated, he was secretly surprised. Until now, the hardness of the devil's body had been a great source of concern, yet through the power of spirit resonance at only twenty per cent, his sword had become sharp enough to cleanly slice through the arm of the devil.

The devil quickly backed away to restore its severed arm.

But Haruto clad his blade in battle aura. And wings of light that were similar to an angel's feathered wings manifested on his back, granting him extra manoeuvrability midair; there was even an additional halo of light hovering above his head.

{Hehe… Are you an Angel now? Or maybe the term fallen Angel fits better?}

Alya giggled at the sight. Although his angelic, translucent wings were like those of an angel, the purple aura emanating occasionally from his body gave them a darker tone.

Their pure white colours were a shimmering bright violet as the aura traced each feather. The hue gave it an ominous aesthetic.

"If I'm about to slay this devil. I figured I might as well look the part."

He replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He was merely using spirit arts to manifest wings of light and the halo above his head.

Since spirit arts would invoke the elemental laws envisioned by the caster, applying wings of light was a simple matter.

{Your ability to cast several arts simultaneously seems to be improving, and with practically no time lag, too.}

Alya breathed, her voice filled with elation. Seeing her contractor—Partner's growth made her heart dance with joy.

"You think so…?"

Haruto awkwardly scratched his cheek, his face flush slightly from shyness at her sudden praise.

{Yes. This particular art seems somewhat similar to that of the apostles of the White Empress. Though theirs are on a completely different level.}

Alya analysed as she observed his glowing wings. The blade of the longsword pulsed as if mimicking her excitement.

"Hm, the White Empress? I was just thinking about the biblical angels and devils."

Haruto explained, tilting his head. He really did choose to manifest those wings on pure impulse. There wasn't anything as sophisticated about it. It was solely his own childish desire.

{It's rather fitting. In times of old, it's usually the angels that vanquished the evil devil, isn't it? Your world has a lot of interesting stories.}

"… You really know a lot about myths on Earth, don't you?"

{Heheh… That's a trade secret, remember?}

"Humph. Anyway, thanks to spirit resonance, we can finally do some damage to that thing."

Sensing that Alya had no intention of elaborating any further, Haruto chose not to probe her for more details and turned his attention back to the devil that was flying away.

It seemed to have noticed the danger and was keeping its distance, but Haruto promptly spread his wings.

A plume of luminous light feathers scattered in the wind as he chased after the devil's retreating figure.

And so, the tides of battle had turned.

…