"...how is it possible that they are all alive…? I thought that I would die if even one slash would reach me, but some of them were completely unprepared on the higher floors and are just unconscious…!?"
"Hey, how about we count our blessings and not question good luck?"
"If we don't stop talking and hurry, there will be plenty of casualties, including us!"
Blanid grumbled while carrying two people, got hushly scoffed at by Bernadette, also carrying two, but then the two of them got quietly scolded by Mira, carrying just one.
"I tried! I tried to get him back on our side! I tried to make him put effort in! But he never did!"
The former Kyle Houndred gritted its teeth, making sparks fly.
"...but… didn't you kill everyone else who tried to do the same?"
"...!"
Amelia cleared her throat, making sure that the deofolized human's attention would stay focused on her, and pointed out, surprising the former Kyle quite a bit.
"Pffft…! Of course, I should expect that you will be able to figure it out and find faults in my past behavior."
It really did seem that the deofolized human wished to speak up about its past, as it jumped at the opportunity provided without a moment of hesitation.
"The first one… was a mistake. A helpful servant. A friend of that trash's mother, lady Orina… I didn't plan to kill her. Just wanted to scare her off. Didn't work. I got angry. She died… So, I made it seem as if she died in an accident as she tried to do something to help that trash."
The deofolized human revealed with dejection, before shrugging its shoulders dismissively.
"That gave me an idea… Spreading a rumor that the trash is cursed was just so easy. Making it take root by killing off a few more who got too close to him wasn't difficult either… But… It didn't go my way in the end."
"?"
It said and began gritting its teeth again, causing Amelia to raise her brows, actually intrigued.
"That trash was incredibly protective of his favorite new cousin, and it was quite satisfying to tear them apart by convincing him she would die if they stayed close. Especially since I had no real way to follow through with it~ It was all pure empty deception~ That said, Young Lady Saria's mother. Lady Lia, on the other hand… For the longest time, I had no idea that she was always on that trash's side and manipulated things behind the scenes! I wasn't useless after all! It was her! SHE WAS MESSING UP ALL OF MY PLANS! I COULD HAVE HAD ROTSARD WRAPPED AROUND MY FINGER IF NOT FOR THAT BITCH!"
*THUMP*
Former Kyle Houndred howled, turning around in its anger and stomping its foot in the direction of the Vallhall territory…
"...eh…?"
Only to freeze up and let out a baffled gasp at the realization that there were no unconscious humans, or the Great Fae of Nature, around anymore.
"...eh…? HAAA?! YOU…!"
"STONE PUNCH!"
It took it a moment to realize what had happened, and the realization was followed by an outburst of anger, only that Amelia was already prepared and finished chanting the spell!
*THU-SHING*
"…!"
Only that, the deofolized human was faster…! It did not dodge the spell that was meant to launch it into the air, but, instead, it sprouted dozens of spikes from its skeleton-like body and anchored itself to the ground, rendering even the successful spell useless.
"Pfft! It's usele…"
*CRACK*
The former Kyle Houndred snorted, only for an orange-sized bottle to smash against its skull…!
*kshhhh*
"GHAAAAAAAA! AGAAAIIIN!?"
*whoosh*
And splashing some unidentified liquid that immediately started fizzling on top of the metal bones, causing the deofolized human to screech in pain and lose enough concentration for Blanid to rush in without it realizing!
*SHING*
*SHING* *SHING* *SHING* *SHING* *SHING*
A blade that has already proved its worth against a gedwyld-corrupted human possessed by a former Arch Deofol bisected the skull and spine of the deofolized human in one go, but Blanid wasn't going to risk anything and cut it apart as efficiently as she could.
She wasn't even done then, either!
"POLARIS!"
"NRAO!"
Without wasting any time, she jumped back and called out at her command, her contracted fae materialized on her shoulder and let out a feisty growl!
Before the sliced apart metal bones even touched the ground, a pillar of light burst out from beneath them, sending them high into the sky…
…probably much higher than was ever necessary…
"Umm…?"
"It's fine! Perfect, even!"
Blanid mumbled awkwardly while glancing back at Bernadette, who shook her head and called out while reaching her hand towards the dot that the target became.
"..."
"?"
For a moment, Bernadette glanced over at Blanid, or rather at her sword, causing a little confusion for the petite black-haired girl…
"Original spell…!"
"Original means experimental! She means we need to use defensive spells or else we'll get hurt!"
Bernadette breathed out, focusing back on the speck in the sky that the deofolized human had become, and called out, causing her older sister to explain hurriedly while already casting her own spells.
"Unstable water-fusion-headded spear!"
"???"
The chant that followed was dubious at best, and, certainly, Bernadette received quite the baffled looks.
"I-it's a work-in-progress, okay?!"
The spell that looked just like a little more top-heavy water spear shot through the air, but the distance from the spot it launched from and its destination was long enough for Bernadette to get self-conscious and cry out with her face flushed with embarrassment.
*BOOOOOOM*
Not for long, though, because a couple of moments later the spell reached its target and exploded, creating a spectacle akin to the fireworks of mist…!
"Brace for the impact!"
"Impact…?"
"!"
Suddenly, Bernadette called out, making Blanid gasp in confusion while the others simply followed the warning….
*UMPH*
"GUH…!"
Only for the incoming shockwave, a couple of seconds later, washing over all of them, pressuring them to the ground and almost knocking Blanid off her feet!
"Well, if you're going to be dumb, you have to be at least this resilient, I guess."
"Oh, shut up! Learn to control your spells first! What good is something so powerful if you risk dying from it!?"
Bernadette shook her head over Blanid's mess-up, causing her to snap right back with exasperation, greatly offended, and looking for a fight.
"Both of you, please calm down."
"More importantly, did we manage to cleanse it…?"
Amelia spoke up in an attempt to prevent the other two from escalating the fight, but it was Mira's words that got all of their attention and actually accomplished it.
"Hopefully…"
"I mean…we better be careful, considering that Rotsard's spell hasn't faded yet…"
Bernadette mumbled in a dejected voice while Blanid remained cautious.
"...and speaking of… what is going on with Rotsard…?"
Amelia nodded, looking towards the massive black half-sphere taking over the training grounds…