The crimson wind danced and swirled, kicking up dust with enough force to raze the city itself. And yet, it never reached its mark.
As her steel axe shattered into fragments, Kotone calmly cast her gaze downward, analyzing her own situation.
In practice bouts using Radiant Divine Arms, her power had never quite matched that of Sazanami Aoi, even if only by a small margin. She didn’t know the details, but that same Aoi had once defeated one formidable opponent, someone bound by a taboo, and then another foe possibly even stronger.
Whether she could even last in a fight against them was uncertain. Perhaps all she could do was delay an outright massacre.
Proof enough, when her weapon clashed with the twin shortswords summoned by Kokujou, it was shattered, fragile as delicate glass. Such a result would be unthinkable in a duel between Radiant Divine Arms users.
Still, anything was better than letting him fight. No matter how slim her own chances of survival, his were even slimmer.
Scarlet winds coiled like sleeves around her arms. Even armored Toukatsu units couldn’t withstand their touch without damage. A barehanded strike would easily rend the limbs from any normal human.
But then, her instincts screamed. Kotone instantly leapt backward.
A glint of black liquid spattered through the air.
Kotone clicked her tongue, uncharacteristically bitter.
Wind, flame, water… Radiant Divine Arms conjured many supernatural forms meant to harm. Yet now, as if to mock such futile power, the poison born of Shiso, the element of death, threatened to drown all resistance in black.
Even without her poison, Kotone knew her blade couldn’t reach Kokujou.
The weight of accumulated experience was too different. This woman had spent the majority of her human life not living, but killing.
And then, there were two demons.
「！！」
Just barely, Kotone’s eyes tracked the sleeve of a fluttering shrine maiden robe. Instinctively, she crossed her wind-cloaked arms in defense.
A kick crashed into her.
(It’s going to break— !!)
A sickening grind through her bones.
One severe injury, and any hope of continuing the fight would be gone.
Live longer, that was all she could do now. Kotone twisted with the blow, letting it hurl her back.
She couldn’t brace. She tumbled across the ground, crashing spine-first into the rubble of a collapsed building.
She couldn’t spare even a blink. In the space of a single breath, these demons could kill.
As she rose to her feet, the sound of sirens melded with a distant whirring, propellers.
For a brief instant, her muscles loosened.
It was probably the FND. They must have detected Kokujou and Shugou. Reinforcements, should arrive soon.
「Fufu… this city really is the best.」
「…Truly. So many rats to play with.」
As the tension of renewed combat shuddered through Kokujou’s frame, Shugou responded with an exaggerated tone of irony.
He clearly had no interest in Kotone. Reaching into his collar, he pulled out a compact radio device.
「If you would be so kind as to clear the way.」
A burst of static crackled back in response.
And then, an explosion.
Kotone looked up just in time to see a helicopter trailing thick black smoke as it passed overhead. It descended, shearing the side of a building before the entire craft violently burst apart.
Kotone held her breath. But miraculously, the personnel inside appeared unharmed.
From within the flames, several beams of light shot out, deadly fangs aimed at unseen targets. She caught a glimpse of shadows leaping away into the chaos.
Before she knew it, the sounds of battle were echoing from every direction. The wind stirred erratically, and the smell of burning intensified.
Just how many hidden operatives were lying in wait in this city?
(Quite a crowd you’ve got here… So much for reinforcements.)
Light gathered in her hand, and from that point a new axe began to form.
She bit her dry lips in tension. An A-rank Toukatsu acting as a decoy, mass troop deployment… Their true objective must be the extraction of Kokujou Lilia.
And yet, how could someone who had already been defeated be walking the earth again? Kokujou had most certainly been slain by Sazanami Aoi that day.
While Kotone wrestled with her doubts, flames gathered in Shugou’s palm. The blaze writhed malevolently, swelling until it loomed high overhead.
(Survive… That’s all I need to focus on now.)
This was FND’s home turf. If she could just buy enough time, reinforcements would come.
Her axe responded, summoning a crimson cyclone to meet the incoming fire.
「Fufu」
Kokujou smirked, not with scorn, but with childlike delight. Not at Kotone… but at something beyond her.
Shugou let out a dry chuckle. Kotone, a moment late, sensed it too.
There was someone behind her.
A suffocating pressure filled the air, and cold sweat slid down her cheek, as if something unholy had brushed against her skin.
No one radiating such overwhelming force would hold back if they meant to kill.
Whoever they were, they weren’t an enemy. But even knowing that, her heart felt as if it might burst from sheer dread.
Instinct refused to let her turn around. The presence alone was enough to paralyze her.
Kokujou’s icy blue eyes glinted with a fierce, eerie flame.
Shugou exhaled a theatrically tired sigh.
「………………If it were just rats, this would be easy.」
Still, that fundamental, destructive energy pulsing in the air.
It was the same power Kotone and Akari had tried to suppress just moments ago,
「Ah.」
Shugou discarded the massive fireball, and at that moment, Kotone let out a short breath.
There was a smell.
Of cigarettes.
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