"Can you cast such powerful magic without chanting? It seems you're indeed not just capable of communicating with angels."
Kanzaki Kaori looked at the different glows in Yoshino's eyes, feeling immense pressure. It seemed the most powerful person here wasn't the woman named 'Toujou Nozomi'.
It was this Saintess named Yoshino.
"Now isn't the time for chatting, Miss Kanzaki. If you believe you have the strength to stop me here, then let Yoshino see your power."
After saying that, Yoshino extended her right hand towards Kanzaki Kaori, and in an instant, a massive number of ice cones descended upon her from the sky.
For the initial guiding attack, there was no need for rule-based attacks; this was just simple ice.
Kanzaki Kaori looked at the ice spikes descending from the sky towards her, and squatted down into a drawing stance.
However, this posture caused some of her skin to be faintly visible. Just as she had said, due to the Magic Formula, Kanzaki Kaori's clothes were designed to be very revealing.
This movement caused a slight blush to appear on Yoshino's face, but the current Yoshino was in serious mode, and even if she felt shy, she remained focused.
Kanzaki Kaori's sword-wielding right hand suddenly trembled, and the ice in the sky instantly shattered into countless shards that fell upon Kanzaki Kaori. Bathed in the ice rain, Kanzaki Kaori was now 'all-out'! No one could stop her.
"A warrior? What beautiful swordsmanship." Watching Kanzaki Kaori's swordsmanship, Toujou Nozomi involuntarily exclaimed, 'Wow~'.
This was what they called Iaijutsu, wasn't it? In her own world, she had seen some competitions of famous swordsmen. Now, seeing Kanzaki Kaori's Iaijutsu and comparing it to the swordsmanship of those people in her memory, it was like a university student versus an elementary school student, there was absolutely no comparison. Kanzaki Kaori could casually stand in front of that group of people and say, 'I'll take on ten of you!' Such a cool thing to say.
"In the information Yoshino knows, the Magic Side has the existence of Saints. I wonder, Miss Kanzaki, what is your ranking among all Saints?"
Yoshino's words made Kanzaki Kaori pause, then she quickly returned to normal.
"Ninth place," Kanzaki Kaori said. There are only a little over twenty Saints in the world. For Kanzaki Kaori to hold the ninth position among them, one could say she truly lives up to being a Saint of the great Anglican Church, couldn't they?
"Then, as a Saint, do you truly intend to draw your sword against Yoshino, Kanzaki?"
The golden light in Yoshino's left eye emitted, and a faint, sacred aura began to emanate from her body. She stared expressionlessly at Kanzaki Kaori, who was breaking out in a cold sweat.
"...For that child, I have no choice but to do this!" A Saint drawing her sword against a Saintess—if this matter were to spread, she might lose all face. But for Index, she would still draw the sharp blade in her hand against her! Even if the opponent was a Saintess!
"Why must you take Index away?"
Toujou Nozomi was not at her full power right now, so she couldn't be of much help against an existence of Kanzaki Kaori's level. She could only watch from the side.
"I said... would you believe me if I said I was doing it to protect that child?" However, given their actions over the past few days, she believed Yoshino wouldn't trust her.
"I can't believe you when Index has such severe injuries on her body."
As expected, the chill emanating from Yoshino instantly froze the surfaces of all the surrounding buildings. The thought of the wound on Index's body, even if it was just an act, was still too much.
"Th-this is because... I didn't want to hurt that child either. But for some reason, the 'Moving Church' on that child's body was destroyed, I...!"
"Now, I can only offend you. Saintess! Seven Flashes!" Kanzaki Kaori used her maximum power to unleash Seven Flashes.
In an instant, the ground tore open, and steel wires converged on Yoshino from all directions, surrounding her like a net, leaving her no escape.
If it were an ordinary person, they would surely be cut into pieces by these steel wires. Kanzaki Kaori, who had never intended to kill, had struggled internally for a long time before making this decision.
After all, with the aura from just now, if she didn't use her full power properly, then she would definitely not be a match for this child in front of her.
"Boom boom!!" Fragments of the ground swept towards Yoshino's body. However, Yoshino merely watched the bullet-fast debris calmly, with no intention of dodging.
"Freezing." She softly uttered a single word. The temperature in the space before Yoshino rapidly dropped. The debris turned into blocks of ice due to the low temperature, stopping just as they were about to hit Yoshino. They began to revolve around Yoshino, protecting her like a shield. Even the steel wires Kanzaki Kaori had used were covered with a thin layer of ice.
"To lower the temperature so much in such a short time? It seems you are truly formidable, Saintess. Although it's not possible right now, I am now going to use my ultimate move. I hope you can withstand it, Saintess."
Kanzaki Kaori was extremely worried now, because if she didn't use 'Sole Flash' now, she wouldn't be able to cause her any harm.
However, 'Sole Flash' was a move that instantly used the power of the 'Son of God'. As a 'Saint', Kanzaki Kaori could use a portion of the 'Son of God's' power.
And when activating 'Sole Flash', she would suffer a certain amount of damage due to the forcibly drawn-out power. If even this move couldn't subdue Yoshino, then Kanzaki Kaori would be completely helpless.
"Stop. There's no need for us to continue fighting like this. You are not my opponent now, nor will you be my opponent in the future. Even if you tried to use the 'Saint' power within your body just now, it would be useless against me, completely useless. Isn't your goal to protect Index? Then we should be able to talk properly now."
Yoshino retracted all the spiritual power from the surrounding ice. In an instant, the ice exploded in the air, falling like rain on both Yoshino and Kanzaki Kaori.
"I... I don't know if I can believe you. After all, that child doesn't have much time left, and we want to bring her back quickly. Stiyl should have already defeated that boy and gathered with me now." This matter concerned Index's life, and Kanzaki Kaori didn't know if she could trust Yoshino. After all, in a sense, they were still enemies.
"Don't worry. And don't be afraid. Although I cannot reveal my current identity, I can use my angel to vouch for me. There is no falsehood in what I have told you, no concealment whatsoever." A pair of wings formed from golden light spread behind Yoshino, and Yoshino extended her hand towards Kanzaki Kaori.
"Now, can you trust me, Kanzaki?" Yoshino gave Kanzaki Kaori a gentle smile.
"An angel... You, you truly are a Saintess. If that is the case, then I am willing to believe every word you say, Saintess." Kanzaki Kaori performed an ancient ritual before Yoshino, reaching out and placing Yoshino's extended hand on her head. With an angel guarding her, she must be a person of pure body and mind. So what reason did she have not to believe someone whom even a proud angel could trust?
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