A hole opened in the ceiling, and as Shiro lowered the knife she had raised, she looked up at the sky.
Um, since Shiro was still here, that meant the one who had broken through the ceiling just now was… Saracrim?
Could a person fly that fast in an instant… No, that was not the point!
Eh, did she die?
Even if she did not die, would she not die from falling from that height!?
If this were the world of a gag manga, I would think she was alive with a human-shaped hole in her, but the hole currently open was just a large, forceful hole!
Knowing Shiro, she probably did not hit the ceiling with all her might out of anger… Ah, perhaps Shiro was staying still and looking up to catch her!?
「Onee-sama! Are you okay!?」
「That was closeeee! Seriously dangerous! I thought I was going to dieee! I am aliiive!」
The one making a commotion was Sonken-san, who had jumped down in a panic earlier.
Perhaps her heart was pounding, as she held her breasts and looked back at Shiro with a surprised face.
「That shorty is for real! Did Saracrim get blown away!?」
「Stunned… It is shocking. Know that it is astonishing.」
「I knew she was strong, but to be defeated so easily… R-Ryuubi-sama. The ceiling might collapse, so do not get close.」
Soso-san also stood with his mouth agape, and Kan’u-san protected Ryuubi-san from behind while staring wide-eyed at the hole in the ceiling.
That was right. An opponent who seemed unbeatable was dealt with in an instant, so of course they were surprised.
「Unbelievable… Shiro-san is unbelievable… Does this mean the grudge over food is scary? I will never fight with Shiro-san over food again… Nine lives would not be enough…」
「Wow. So envoy-dono will become King now. Envoy-dono… no, what commands will our King give?」 Purunru.
「No, like I said, I will not become King…」
Besides, was Saracrim really okay?
Since it was Shiro, I thought she would hold back appropriately, but… Wait?
Did this mean that Saracrim was an opponent so strong that Shiro, who was good at holding back, had to send her through the ceiling instead of knocking her down on the spot?
If she was that strong, could it be… that she was still perfectly fine?
Well, no way. No matter how strong she was—
「――――How dare you touch our face! You have done it now!」
「…Mm.」
As I was thinking that, as expected, Saracrim flew back at a speed equal to or greater than the speed at which she had been sent flying.
She looked angry, but far from being fine, she seemed to have almost no damage.
「!」
Suddenly, the temperature rose, and somehow Saracrim was on fire!?
Her long red hair swayed like burning flames, and flames erupted from her fist to her elbow as if she were jet-propelling herself as she struck down toward Shiro’s head!?
Fortunately, Shiro seemed to know she would return, so she blocked Saracrim’s attack with her knife… but I heard a sound of metal rubbing strongly, unlike the usual struggle between a knife and bare hands.
「To think a low-life like you could land a hit on us! The cooking was terrible, but the fight seems fun, gbu!」
「…Have fun? I will not let you have such leisure.」
Shiro pulled her knife from the clash and kicked Saracrim in her exposed torso. Saracrim looked shocked and let out a mournful, low voice.
「A… kick? You kicked us!? With your dirty feet!?」
「Hmm. I kicked.」
Shiro answered calmly, lightly bouncing her knife up and down, showing her composure.
「How dare a low-life like you! Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!」
Seemingly irritated by this, the temperature around Saracrim rose so much that the air shimmered like a heat haze.
I could feel the heat radiating here, but Shiro did not seem to mind at all.
「My liege. Please come behind me. If you do not mitigate the heat to some extent, you will collapse.」
「Ah, ah… Thank you, Aina.」
When Aina stood in front of me, I felt the heat lessen slightly.
Seeing this, Ryuubi-san and the others all moved behind Aina.
「Unbelievable… Saracrim was not getting serious against us.」
「Not humiliation, but shock. Know that it is astonishing. Just how strong is that child…」
No, even if you look at me, I am troubled…
I knew Shiro had become even stronger than before she trained with Kukuri-sama in the Elf village, but just how strong had she become now?
Meanwhile, Saracrim stood up and approached Shiro at an imperceptible speed, unleashing a barrage of attacks… but Shiro continued to dodge them with a cool face, and perhaps reading the timing, she landed precise counterattacks.
「Gu, do not joke with us! Gabu, why! Why can’t I hit you!」
The barrage of attacks did not stop. Although each strike was too fast for me to see, I could occasionally see Saracrim’s head snapping back.
It seemed Shiro had the advantage, but since each blow looked heavy, it was a situation where one could not let their guard down.
「Somehow, that is nostalgic. I also got hot-headed when I could not hit him. When that happens, you cannot hit them.」
Sorte smiled self-deprecatingly, perhaps recalling her training in Hayato’s garden.
However, her gaze toward Shiro and the others was serious, and she, along with Renge and Aina, seemed to be watching every move intently so as not to miss anything.
「Nah! Gunyununu, Bueh!! If only I could hit you aaaaa, Buraba!!」
Saracrim, getting hotter and hotter because she could not hit, and Shiro, whose counterattacks were gradually increasing.
Somehow… Saracrim was probably strong, but Shiro was so strong that it was reassuring to watch, or rather, too strong.
「Hmm. If you have a trump card, you should use it. Otherwise… I will end this.」
「Mukachuku mukachuku! Mukachuku, you low-life! Fine, I will show you! Regret making us get serious!」
Gouuu! Flames erupted from the ground, enveloping Saracrim’s body.
Since flames had been appearing around Saracrim earlier, I thought she was some kind of fire-related race… but unexpectedly…
「…It’s a dragon.」
As the flames grew larger, a dragon with a red body and wings appeared.
It was clearly a Long (Eastern Dragon), not a Ryu (Western Dragon), and it was obviously a Fire Dragon.
In terms of size, it was smaller than the Earth Dragons Rokaz or Rokuz, but it was far larger than us.
And we knew the terror of dragons all too well.
So naturally, I panicked.
「Sh-Shiro!」
「Hmm. lord, it is fine. Dragons are convenient.」
I called out to Shiro, leaving the decision to flee to her out of worry, but Shiro gave me a gentle smile.
「Do not look away!」
She would not miss such an obvious and bold opening. As Saracrim attacked with her massive body, Shiro dodged naturally, as if it were only natural, and slashed with her knife.
Even though the opponent was a dragon… Her movements were so neat, beautiful, and efficient that it felt like the afterglow of the knife’s trajectory remained.
「That guy has become too strong… I feel the gap widening again…」
「She has not even used her Cloak of Black Shadow yet… So the training with Kukuri-sama was that tremendous.」
「In terms of strength, I think she is weaker than Cassandra, but still, she is a Dragon…」
Yes… She should be a Dragon, but Shiro, without using any skills, was handling her with ease.
I knew she was not the head, since the name of the Fire Dragon leader was Vol-chan, or Volmeteus, but still, Dragons were supposed to be strong… yet seeing this, Shiro had such an overwhelming advantage that it was scary to feel otherwise.
「How dare a low-life like you! Ha! That is right! Since you are a low-life, I should just do this!」
「Ah!」
Saracrim, who had been approaching Shiro repeatedly, moved away, broke through the already damaged ceiling further, and stopped high in the sky, becoming small in the distance.
「She fled to the sky… Is this not bad?」
When Saracrim opened her mouth, a red, burning orb appeared and grew larger with time.
「Ahahahaha! That is why you are low-lives! Low-lives who crawl on the ground without being able to fly! I will burn you all to ashes!」
This… was bad!
It was likely a breath attack, or a massive fireball intended to be fired at us, and it went without saying that we would all be caught in it.
I thought we had to retreat quickly… but Shiro, who should have made that judgment, said nothing?
Was she okay!? Was she just unaware!? When I looked at Shiro, she gave me a thumbs-up with a mun! expression… Seriously?
Um, the opponent is in the sky, you know?
Was she perhaps planning to deflect those fireballs until the opponent’s stamina ran out?
Or did she have a long-range attack that could reach an opponent in the sky?
I did not think 『Fourth Cloak: Dull Serpent』could reach that far, but had her training allowed it?
However, at this distance, I thought it was more likely to be dodged…
Shiro took a deep breath in, and then exhaled deeply.
As if releasing all the strength from her body, she looked up, jumped lightly a few times on the spot, and then pressed her feet firmly against the ground.
Did she intend to jump all the way up there…? I thought so, but apparently not.
「…『Cloak of Black Shadow – Sixth Cloak: Scarlet Swallow』」
As Shiro whispered, a beautiful scarlet aura enveloped her, giving me goosebumps.
Covering her head like a hood and wrapping around her tail, the scarlet aura split slightly into two at the end.
As it covered her back, the aura extending from her shoulders to her shoulder blades became wings, and her form was truly that of a scarlet swallow.
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