Vals's avatar aimed the tip of his fiery sword directly at the incoming wave of energy—
"—Devour, Crimson Lion."
The flaming sword writhed violently, and from its blade burst a colossal lion made of pure fire! Opening its massive jaws, the fire lion sank its fangs straight into Cross Crisis!
The searing crimson heat and the radiant blue flames clashed in a fierce struggle—before detonating violently, shaking the very earth beneath us.
"...?!"
Xenovia stood utterly speechless at the outcome. Neither Irina nor I knew how to react. The sight was simply that horrifying.
Xenovia had gathered her holy aura to unleash an ultimate technique. In contrast, Vals's avatar had effortlessly countered it with a near-instant spell. Which meant that right now, Vals was—
"Power, speed, technique. I am superior to you in every single metric. That is the reality of our situation."
"..."
Throughout our fight so far, he had demonstrated capabilities on par with—or superior to—the three of us combined. We already knew he was strong. But hearing it laid out so bluntly still stung...
"I should add that the original body is even stronger than a construct like me. You understand what this means, don't you? As you are right now... you have zero chance of victory."
We had definitely grown stronger through Mr. Maurice's grueling training. And yet... even after all that, are we still falling short...?!
Watching us break out in a cold sweat, Vals's avatar let out a light laugh.
"Fufu... I can feel your anxiety. And yet, none of you have given up. You're still desperately scheming, looking for any tiny opening to end this in a split second. A truly dangerous group. In a way, you're more trouble to deal with than some low-tier god. Though, I suppose that's what makes you interesting."
Vals's avatar flashed a refreshing smile and gave us a thumbs-up.
...It didn't look like he was going to let his guard down anytime soon. Not that I was expecting him to in the first place.
Irina muttered with a grim expression:
"Raw power won't work, speed won't work, techniques won't work... At this rate, our only option is to target a weak point... But does he even have one...?"
"..."
Her quiet complaint suddenly brought something to mind.
Come to think of it... it wasn't like Vals didn't have any weaknesses...
If I remembered correctly, back when we first crossed swords during the raid on Auros Academy—
Just as that thought crossed my mind, Xenovia suddenly gasped, her eyes lighting up.
"That's it! Nice one, Irina!"
"Huh? W-What is it, Xenovia?"
"A weakness! His weakness! I heard about it from Issei and the others! He has a heart made of glass that shatters at the slightest insult!"
...Well, calling it a weakness was... yeah, I guess he did have that flaw. To think someone who could read minds would be completely defenseless against mean words... Why did his ability and personality end up so mismatched?
Xenovia shouted:
"Irina! Kiba! Yell every insult you can think of! Hey, you! Lame-o!"
"E-Ehh?! S-Saying mean things feels like bullying, it's making me hesitate... No! This is for Heaven, for the world, and for everyone! I have to do it! Um, uh... Lame-o! Creep! And... you have ZERO TASTE!"
Xenovia and Irina began screaming out every insult that popped into their heads.
I-Is this really okay? I mean, sure, he's an unforgivable enemy and a minion of a god trying to destroy the world... and targeting a weakness during combat is a valid tactic, but...
"Ugh... Gah! M-My heart...! I-I'm going to cry..."
Vals's avatar clutched his face in agony! Tears were legitimately welling up in his eyes!
It's working! It's actually working! He brushed off our combined attacks like nothing, but simple insults are bringing him to his knees! Seeing this is making me want to cry for a whole different reason!
"Nice, it's working, Irina! Stupid! Idiot! Also... your mom's got a stick-out belly button!"
Xenovia! Where on earth did you even learn a phrase like that?!
Irina quickly followed Xenovia's lead.
"Oh, that's right! I remember Ms. Ignis mentioning a few forbidden words you should never say to a man! They should definitely work!"
Not that person's name! Hearing Ms. Ignis brought up in a situation like this is literally the worst-case scenario!
"Is that true, Irina?! Great, hit him with it!"
"W-Wait a second... Um... err, what was it again? I think it started with... 'ho'..."
"'Ho'?! What comes after?!"
"'Ho'... Ah, I remember! It was 'Ho-×××××-Bakyun'! I don't really know what it means though!"
"'Ho-×××××-Bakyun', got it! Take this, you 'Ho-×××××-Bakyun'!"
...I felt lightheaded. Pretty sure that's not something you should be screaming at the top of your lungs in public... More importantly, what in the world is Ms. Ignis teaching her?!
Subjected to a barrage of countless insults (?), Vals's avatar sank to his knees on the ground, weeping in agony.
...Can we please stop now?
Just as I stepped in to hold the two of them back—I heard a snapping sound, as if something inside him had just broken completely.
I turned around. The avatar, who had been writhing in pain a moment ago, was now standing upright like a vengeful specter, a terrifying, unnatural grin plastered across his face.
And then—
『FUHAHAHAHA! How dare you insult me like that! You muscle-brained girl who's recently been stressing over whether your chest is turning rock-hard from muscle, and you self-proclaimed childhood friend erotic angel who spends her nights indulged in sweet delusions and indecent acts alone in her room!』
""WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!""
As the two girls let out a blood-curling screech that pierced straight into the heavens, I slowly looked up at the sky.
Dear Everyone,
How are you all faring today?
I am out here swinging my sword for the sake of my comrades again today.
It seems that we... or rather, they...
Are about to face a truly terrifying retaliation.
[Kiba Perspective - END]
Vals (Avatar)... Awakened (Lol)
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