[Miu's Side]
The light radiating from the stars subsided, and the world of night began to dissolve.
"Talk about terrible power efficiency..."
As the world crumbled, my Valkyrie transformation unwound along with it. The black feathered raiment vanished, returning me to my original Kuoh Academy uniform.
What I had just used was the single most powerful technique available to me as a deity governing the night—a domain that trapped opponents in a starry realm before incinerating them with the combined radiance and heat of countless celestial bodies. The heat radiating from an innumerable count of stars from every direction was impossible to block completely. Furthermore, because it consumed and overwrote an opponent's existing domain, even if I were trapped inside a barrier, I could shatter it from the inside out.
However, the strain was far too immense. Using it instantly dispelled my Valkyrie state. Because it required analyzing the surrounding space, completing the magic circle took precious time, and its absurd energy consumption was the technique's greatest flaw.
Once the night world completely collapsed, the original battlefield came back into view. We were back at the location from before Vika and Belle had deployed their barrier. Perhaps because Belle's domain had shattered, that colossal Demon God had vanished the moment the starry night reached completion.
"So it couldn't maintain its form without being inside that barrier... Still, to think anyone could survive a hit from that. I really hoped I wouldn't be right..."
A starry night that scorched targets with overwhelming light and heat was virtually impossible to dodge. Even if one managed to block it, emerging unscathed was out of the question.
I didn't have a shred of fighting strength left. I truly wished that attack had ended things once and for all...
Yet, my wish went unanswered.
"That's... unfortunate for you..."
A battered, bloody Vika stepped out to block my path. She had lost her left arm... yet to think she still had enough strength left to stand... Beside her stood Belle, who hadn't suffered anywhere near the same level of injury as Vika. Did Vika act as a shield for her...?
As I stared in shock at Belle's relative lack of injuries, Vika let a faint smile touch her lips.
"...No matter how strong I am, she's still my little sister. Protecting her is an older sister's job, isn't it?"
"Yeah... I can definitely sympathize with that."
If Sarah were in danger, I would have done the exact same thing as Vika. My body would have moved on its own before my mind could even weigh the consequences.
Protected by Vika, Belle's expression remained as unreadable as ever, but she had already begun treating Vika's arm. Pulling a small vial—a Tear of the Phoenix—from her clothes, she sprinkled it onto Vika's wound to soothe the damage.
Belle spoke softly to Vika.
"...I'm sorry, Vika. Your arm... it's gone..."
"As expected, even a Phoenix Tear can't regenerate something that's been completely atomized... Ah well. As long as you're safe, Belle♪"
Smiling, Vika gently patted the head of the apologetic girl.
Seeing them like that... they looked so much like my brother and me. They had their own bond. Unlike the enemies we had fought before, they were people who cared for someone else—people willing to put their lives on the line to protect someone precious to them. And yet—
"Are you... still planning to fight?"
I asked the question aloud, even though I knew it was nonsense. Their answer was already crystal clear.
Vika flashed a fearless, confident smirk.
"Of course. I have no intention of quitting when we've come this far."
"Even if... it means losing the person most precious to you?"
At my words, Vika's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"You're quite gentle, aren't you? But having initiated this battle, we can't just turn tail and run now. ...Too much blood has already been spilled. Pain has spread across this entire world—to the strong and the weak alike."
"If you understand that, then why...!"
"It's because I understand. Just as you have things you want to protect, we have things we must protect as well. But to achieve that, this exact pain is necessary."
In the next instant, a dense, suffocating aura erupted from Vika's body. The aura expanded rapidly, enveloping the entire area—
"Re-deploying the 'Armory'?! You still have that kind of power left?!"
To sustain injuries like that and still possess the strength to deploy the 'Armory' again...!
Overcome with shock, I looked closely at Vika once more. As she forced the 'Armory' back into existence, her face turned a ghastly, deathly pale. Dark circles carved deep under her eyes. She was blatantly pushing herself past her absolute limits.
"You're... using your own life force?!"
"Hehehe... If you girls are risking your lives, then we're risking ours, too."
Once again, the surrounding area was swallowed by Vika's innate boundary field.
As if answering Vika's resolve, Belle moved as well, releasing her own power. A vast aura—even greater than Vika's—surged from her, summoning paintings out of thin air all around us.
"...Belle is staying with Vika."
"As your older sister, I'd prefer you not push yourself any further... but thank you, Belle."
The two held hands. Through their joined grip, Belle and Vika's magic blended, creating a resonance of entirely new power. Swirling into the vortex of energy centered around them, Vika's created divine armaments and Belle's painted constructs floated up into the air. Then, the creations of both girls collided in midair, melting and fusing together—
"This is truly the end!"
Manifesting before me was that very same Demon God. It was the ultimate Demon God Belle could summon—one capable of utilizing the abilities of every single entity she had ever painted. Except this time, it looked slightly different. Every inch of its body was embedded with weapons—spears, swords, and armaments of all kinds. Judging by the waves of power radiating from them, every single one was a divine construct forged by Vika. At the center of the Demon God's chest sat a glowing red core, inside of which Vika and Belle were visible. They truly intended for this to be the final strike.
"Hahaha... Just how absurd can you two get...!"
When things reached this level, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
I took up a stance before the colossal Demon God. My Valkyrie transformation was gone, and I didn't have an ounce of fighting strength remaining. I was barely managing to stand on my own two feet.
But still... here of all places... I couldn't afford to lose now...!
"HAAAAAAA!"
I thrust my palm forward, deploying a magic array directly above the Demon God's head. As the magic circle flashed with intense light, a staggering gravitational force bore down on the monster! The Demon God's feet sank deep into the dirt, and I could hear the ground screaming under the weight!
Without my Valkyrie form, I couldn't face that giant head-on. My only option was to shave away its strength bit by bit and force an opening!
"...Something like that... won't work...!"
Inside the core, Belle swept her hand horizontally. With that single motion, my gravity magic was effortlessly shattered!
I had poured a massive amount of power into that spell, yet she tore through it like paper...!
Grasping a colossal divine weapon, the Demon God brought its massive arm down to slash at me. It was a broad, heavy downward swing. There were openings. Yet the sheer, concentrated malice radiating from the Demon God froze my body in place.
Flogging my broken body to move, I leaped backward to dodge the blade. However—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
With just a single swing, the earth was sheared completely in two! The ground violently shuddered, splitting and shifting up and down! A cloud of blasted earth and the force of the downward wind hit me head-on, battering my entire body!
The pain broke my wind magic, throwing me completely helpless into the air. I wanted to move, but I couldn't. Not an arm, not even a single finger would respond. As if my body no longer belonged to me, it refused to listen to my commands.
As I floated helplessly in midair, a dark shadow cast over me. Looking up, I saw the Demon God's massive palm waiting—and without a moment's hesitation, it slammed me down into the ground.
"Gah...! Agh... aaaah...!"
A sharp, unbearable agony flared through my entire body, followed immediately by complete numbness. I probably shattered most of the bones in my body just now... My internal organs took a beating, too... So when pain reaches this point, you stop feeling it altogether... A level of pain that breaks your very sense of touch... My brother must have experienced this over and over again.
I couldn't make a sound, I couldn't even hear my own breathing, and my vision blurred into a smear of shapes—when suddenly...
"I... I told you... I wouldn't... let you touch her...!"
I heard that voice clearly. Through my blurred vision, I saw the figure of a young girl. Battered and covered in blood, using her spear as a crutch, she dragged herself to her feet while coughing up blood.
"This person... is my light... When I lost my family... and spent all that time alone... she welcomed me... She shone a light on me when I was lost in the dark..."
Dragging her heavily injured body, the girl forced herself forward.
"I was always the one being protected... and just when I thought I finally protected her... if I lose her here... I won't be able to see anything ever again... I'll fall back into that darkness...! I don't want to lose... anyone precious to me ever again...! So... SO!"
Planting her feet firmly, she raised her head and screamed toward the sky. Exposing every ounce of her recovered heart and emotions, she poured all her feelings into a roar.
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