Arachnia VS Braver!
The two commanders of the Order Faction and Evilus, the instant they laid eyes on each other!
No words. Straight to violence.
No, perhaps Finn had plenty to say, but for Valletta, who'd already laid her trap and was more than halfway through her mission, she had zero interest in listening to that damn Pallum run his mouth.
Her mindset right now wasn't far off from Dix's. All she wanted was to fight Finn. To kill.
Outwitting Finn in strategy? That couldn't hold a candle to the satisfaction of just chopping his head off!
In short, Valletta wanted one thing: the thrill of combat!
Everything else was tossed out the window.
On the other side.
The moment Finn arrived, the Adventurers under the Order Faction felt their spirits surge, their fighting morale transforming instantly.
And Kaguya, who'd been bearing the brunt of immense pressure, finally let out a breath of relief.
Against Dix, who'd lost his mind completely and was fighting like a rabid dog with zero regard for his own safety, she'd been on the verge of buckling.
She knew if the fight had dragged on any longer... she'd be spending a good long while in Airmid's infirmary.
She exhaled slowly, her chest heaving from the exertion.
Kaguya looked down, scanning the crisscrossing cuts and bloodstains left across her body from the battle, and the state of her precious custom-made combat kimono, now reduced to a "battle-damaged limited edition." Her blood boiled.
She raised her head. Her narrowed eyes locked onto Leon, and her gaze turned murderous.
"Leon... you bastard!!"
Facing the fury of his benevolent goddess of mercy, Leon spread his hands in a picture of innocence, blinking.
"My dear Miss Kaguya, your opponent doesn't seem inclined to give you time for a speech!"
Before the words had even left his mouth!
A dark figure ripped through the lingering smoke of the explosion, surging toward the two of them with manic ferocity.
"Fireball!"
The blast detonated, and Leon didn't stop there, firing off Fireball after Fireball in rapid succession. A chain of explosions hammered the ground between them and the charging shadow.
Leon's hand shot out and locked around Kaguya's slender wrist, yanking her toward him.
Before Kaguya could even process what was happening, her body was already pulled smoothly into Leon's solid embrace.
He kicked off the ground and, carrying her, retreated at speed toward a predetermined position, lobbing underpowered but visually impressive Fireballs at a steady rhythm to slow Dix's pursuit.
"..."
The man's arms were warm and full of a sense of security. The lines of muscle beneath his shirt were unmistakable against her body...
Kaguya's mind went blank. Her body went inexplicably weak, and her hands began tracing across Leon's chest as if they had a will of their own. Then that flushed, delicate face buried itself against him.
She breathed in deeply, greedily...
An aggressively masculine scent she'd never experienced before flooded her senses.
The impact hit her brain like a truck. Kaguya felt dizzy, her thoughts crashing completely.
A barely audible whimper escaped her lips, and the Eastern beauty went limp from head to toe, every ounce of strength draining away.
She didn't even notice that deep in her own eyes... faint pink hearts had begun to surface.
Fortunately, Leon was fully focused on dodging Dix and running for his life. Otherwise... with his wealth of experience and extensive knowledge, he'd have read Kaguya's current state in a heartbeat.
...
"Ptuh!"
Dix spat out a mouthful of grit, slapping out the scattered embers clinging to his body. His crimson, crazed eyes locked onto the piece of trash who was using the girl in his arms as a shield while fleeing, hiding behind her body the entire time.
"GET BACK HERE!!!!"
Leon said nothing. He simply predicted Dix's landing spots with precision, lobbing Fireball after Fireball into his path, blocking his pursuit in an unbroken chain.
Meanwhile, he wove through the chaotic battlefield like a snake, closing rapidly on his next "meat shield."
"Ryuu! Alise! Help me out!"
"Kaguya got seriously hurt by Dix!"
The cry for help, combined with the critical words "Kaguya seriously hurt"...
Both swords of justice changed expression on the spot. They looked at the Rudra Familia members blocking their path, and their gazes turned lethal.
"Jura! Get out of my way!"
Ryuu roared, her wooden sword a blur as it swept the enemies back. She whipped her head toward the direction of the voice.
The moment she turned...
She felt a dark shape, trailing a gust of wind, brush right past her shoulder and vanish several meters away in the blink of an eye.
What was left for Alise and Ryuu was only the snarling, beast-like form of the Level 4 Adventurer Hazer, Dix Perdix, barreling straight at them.
"?"
The two of them, having just pushed back their opponents, stared at the retreating figure and at Kaguya nestled in his arms, her face flushed crimson with an expression of pure bliss. They froze on the spot, utterly windswept.
Their mouths hung open. Their eyes went blank. Their brains collectively stopped functioning.
Alise: "..."
Ryuu: "..."
After a long beat, the blonde elf turned her head stiffly, like a mannequin, and stared straight at her companion.
"A... Alise, wh... what just happened?"
Alise pressed her lips together, her expression complicated.
"Sorry, Ryuu. That question is beyond my life experience to answer. But... I think dealing with the enemy in front of us is more important right now."
Before she'd even finished...
"Come on, let's dance! Justice bitches!"
Dix launched himself skyward with a manic laugh, slamming down between Alise and Ryuu like a meteor.
"Ryuu, move!"
"!!!"
The impact cratered the ground, and before the dust had even settled, Dix was already moving. The crimson cursed spear tore through the air, splitting into deadly serpentine strikes as he launched an immediate assault on both of them.
Watching the ally who'd inexplicably started fighting their opponents for them, the Rudra Familia members exchanged confused glances. But their hesitation lasted barely half a second before realization hit, and their faces lit up.
"Reinforcements!"
"This is our chance!"
"Jura, what do we do?"
"What do you think, idiot? Pile on!"
"Yeah, yeah! All together! Kill the justice bitches!"
Alise and Ryuu's expressions hardened. Fighting side by side, they strained to hold back Dix's relentless onslaught... then caught a glimpse of the Rudra Familia charging back in from the corner of their eyes.
"Ryuu!"
"Understood!"
The instant the words left her mouth, Alise stepped forward, Crimson Order angled toward the ground.
Skill: Scarlet Harnel Bloom, activate!
Skill: Justice Fire, activate!
"Hah...!"
"Bloom! Arga!"
Crackling flames erupted like a crimson lotus in full blossom, engulfing her entire body and her beloved sword.
"Scarlet Harnel!"
Captain of the Astraea Familia, Scarlet Harnel, Alise Lovell!
Level: 3!
When her enchant magic and unique skills synergized and detonated together...
She became a force rivaling Level 4... a hero in the making!
"Come on! Let me see what Evilus's Level 4 is really made of!"
She kicked off the ground, her speed exploding as she became a blazing scarlet streak, clashing with Dix in a vicious storm of blades.
Spear shadows and sword light wove together in an endless web, the deafening ring of steel on steel drowning out everything around them.
"Damn justice bitch!"
Jura scrambled backward in alarm, his expression wary as he watched Alise lock into a savage exchange with Dix.
"Tch, so what if she's a 'hero candidate'?"
He cursed under his breath, then turned a vicious glare on his subordinates.
"That Scarlet Harnel is going all out. We can't crack her right now. You lot, go kill Gale!"
His men collectively short-circuited at the order.
"Huh? Us? Kill Gale?"
They pointed at their own noses, faces painted with disbelief.
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