The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
On top of that, Reez possessed a mysterious ability similar to Nina’s spatial teleportation.
If we let ourselves be forced onto the defensive, we wouldn’t stand a chance.
Reaching that conclusion, I decided to act first.
I took the lead, moving ahead as if to guide everyone.
I leaned my body forward, minimizing my exposed surface.
In that posture, I closed the distance while occasionally stepping left and right.
“Ah, geez! You’re so annoying!”
Altera fired off a rapid volley of fireballs, but not a single one hit, and she let out an irritated shout.
I had been so overwhelmed by her terrifying abilities that I’d gotten swept up in the moment…
But now, at last, I’d managed to grasp her behavior patterns to some extent.
When she attacked, her gaze shifted toward the target for just an instant.
When she tried to evade, the foot on the opposite side moved ever so slightly.
…Things like that.
Everyone has habits in battle, and Altera was no exception.
By observing them carefully, I was able to read her movements to a certain degree.
That was only possible because everyone had come to back me up, giving me a bit of breathing room.
I couldn’t be more grateful.
“Open… a hole.”
“Come forth, bullets of lamenting ice…!”
“M-me too!”
Nina opened holes connected to subspace, and Iris and Finia poured their attacks into them.
Openings appeared around Altera and Reez, and the two girls’ attacks came flying out from within.
“Tch—what a tricky attack!”
Reez frowned and focused entirely on dodging.
The fact that she was deliberately evading—did that mean she couldn’t manipulate subspace like Nina?
If so, then what exactly was her ability…?
No.
This wasn’t the time to think about that.
“Haahhh!”
“Seeeeh!”
We’d closed the distance enough.
I slashed at Altera, while Yuki went after Reez.
“As if that’d work!”
Altera instantly formed a sword of flame and blocked Kusanagi’s blade.
Meanwhile, Reez leapt backward, narrowly avoiding Yuki’s twin swords.
Could it be that she couldn’t use that instantaneous teleportation repeatedly?
Maybe there were specific conditions required—or maybe it consumed too much mana…
No.
It could also be a bluff—saving it for the perfect moment to unleash a devastating counterattack.
For now, it was safer to assume she was still holding back.
Yuki seemed to understand that as well. He didn’t overcommit, instead launching probing attacks one after another.
With twin swords, his number of strikes was overwhelming—perfect for testing Reez’s movements.
“Take this! Just hurry up and burn already!”
“Yeah right—like I’m just going to let that happen!”
“So cheeky, cheeky, cheeky! You’re just a human!”
Whoooosh—the flames surrounding Altera swelled even larger.
Rather than holding back, it felt like she was breaking past her limits through sheer rage.
An overwhelming power.
As expected of one called a Heavenly King—perhaps it deserved admiration.
“This time, you’ll definitely burn!”
Altera’s entire body burst into flames…
And then those flames converged into her right hand.
She raised that hand toward the sky.
The fire gathered there, growing larger and larger.
It looked just like a sun.
“Prominence Flare!”
A sun manifested on the ground—and came crashing down.
What a monster.
If that attack hit directly, not even bones would remain.
And avoiding it—or blocking it—would be incredibly difficult.
But I wasn’t worried.
“I-I’m going in!”
Finia charged forward, fiery wings sprouting from her back.
She flew straight toward the sun Altera had created…
And thrust her hand into it.
That was all it took.
Just that, and she seized control from Altera, reflecting the miniature sun back at her.
That’s right.
She was one of the strongest species, highly skilled at manipulating flames.
When it came to fire, she could rival even a Heavenly King.
In other words…
Finia was Altera’s natural enemy.
“Wha—!?”
Altera clearly hadn’t expected her trump card to be pushed back, and her eyes went wide in shock.
She then hurriedly glanced around.
In her line of sight were Reez and the other demons.
“Ah, seriously! This is so infuriating! Prominence Flare!”
Even Altera probably couldn’t cancel an attack once she’d unleashed it.
But she also couldn’t manipulate it freely like Finia could.
So she chose mutual annihilation.
She fired the same attack again, smashing the two miniature suns into each other.
“KAAAH!!!”
A violent storm of heat and shockwaves erupted.
“Ghk… gravity manipulation!”
In an instant, I generated a simple shield using a repulsion field to protect everyone.
Even so, it couldn’t completely block the heat—it felt like being inside a sauna.
After a moment, the flames subsided and my vision cleared.
“Haa… haa… haa…”
Altera was breathing heavily.
Reez was also injured, but she was still standing.
The other demons, however, hadn’t fared as well.
It wasn’t total annihilation, but I could see many of them lying scattered about, caught up in the attack.
“You—how dare you…!!!”
“After tormenting us humans so much, you get angry when it’s your turn to be hurt?”
Without backing down an inch from the enraged Altera, Yuki shot back at her directly.
Like me, he was clearly furious.
“What is that supposed to mean…? Humans can die as much as they want! You’re annoying, disgusting, hateful… and just by living, you’re harmful! Your very existence is steeped in sin!”
Altera glared at us, her eyes filled with even deeper hatred.
That hatred in her gaze…
Somehow, it reminded me of Iris from the past.
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