The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"Even this… still isn’t enough…?"
"This might be… a little dangerous…?"
We slammed our trump cards—mine and Yuki’s—at the same time.
Given our current condition, that was the strongest attack we could possibly think of, and yet…
Altera wasn’t down.
She seemed to have taken a fair bit of damage, but instead of falling, it looked like we’d only managed to make her even angrier.
"To think you’d force me this far… unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable! I’ll kill you!!! I’ll burn your whole body to ashes and incinerate your soul until nothing is left!!!"
The pressure pouring out of Altera surged all at once.
It was suffocating—so intense it felt like her killing intent had actual mass.
With a whoosh, flames erupted from beneath Altera’s feet.
They wrapped around her, clinging to her like armor built to protect its master.
Then even her hair transformed into blazing fire…
Her entire body was wreathed in flames.
Her hair became fire itself.
Altera had entered her full-power state.
"Now that it’s come to this, you’re finished. I’ll burn you away in a single moment—instantly, in a flash… kyahahahaha, dieeeee!!!!!"
Altera kicked off the ground and rushed toward us.
Even though there should have been a fair bit of distance between us, she closed it instantly with overwhelming acceleration.
"First, you!!!"
"Tch!?"
Her target was Yuki.
As if imitating him, she formed a sword of roaring flames and swung it down in a single strike.
Yuki crossed his two swords in front of him like a shield to block—
"Don’t block it! Dodge!!"
"—!!"
He reacted to my shout and leapt backward on instinct.
He managed to throw his body out of the way, but one of his swords was swallowed by Altera’s flames.
The sword endured the blaze for only a few seconds…
Then it reached its limit, snapping with a dull crack—no, melting.
"What insane power…!"
Yuki grimaced, then counterattacked with the remaining sword.
Altera’s attack power was overwhelming.
But cowering or running wouldn’t accomplish anything.
To stop her momentum, even a little damage was necessary—Yuki’s decision was correct.
However—
That correct decision looked like a fatal mistake when faced with the reality before us… Altera’s strength was beyond comprehension.
Yuki’s blade passed right through her without cutting anything at all.
It should have been a direct hit, yet she didn’t have a single scratch.
"Kyahaha! Attacks like that don’t work! They don’t work, don’t work, they don’t work!!! Right now I’m in Flame Form… my whole body is fire. Can a sword cut fire? It can’t, right? The only way to beat me now is with magic or that special attack you used earlier. And well… I’m not going to let you use it a second time!!!"
"Tch…!?"
"Yuki!!!"
Wreathed in total flame, Altera charged at Yuki.
It was such a simple attack—and precisely because of that, nearly impossible to evade.
He couldn’t block.
He couldn’t dodge.
Then…!
"Gravity Manipulation!"
I instantly shifted the gravity on Yuki’s body sideways.
Then I doubled it.
Like he’d been struck by a giant, Yuki was hurled away—
And barely escaped in the nick of time.
I restored the gravity immediately afterward and moved to regroup with him.
"Thanks, Rain."
"Don’t mention it."
"Still… warn me beforehand next time. My heart almost stopped…"
"I’d like to, but we don’t exactly have time for that."
"Hmmm… even now you can joke around like that? Are you stupid? Hey, are you stupid? Or did fear break your brains?"
Altera smiled with absolute confidence.
Her body was burning, yet her eyes were cold as ice.
She was probably thinking about how best to toy with us.
Despite her cute appearance, her personality was utterly vile.
"…Rain, can you still use that attack from earlier?"
"…I’m out of spare cartridges, so no. Yuki?"
"…I have a spare sword, but it’s really just a spare. It can’t produce the same power as before."
"…Meaning we have no way to beat her?"
"…And running won’t be easy either."
We confirmed just how hopeless our situation was.
Then we looked at each other.
"Heh."
"Haha."
Even now, smiles slipped onto our faces naturally.
It was pure bravado.
A small act of resistance toward Altera—refusing to succumb to despair.
We hadn’t planned it, yet Yuki and I smiled at the same time.
I guess we were thinking the same thing.
We clicked—that’s what it felt like. A sense of shared resolve.
Yeah.
A really good feeling.
After this, I’d love to talk about all kinds of things with him over something delicious.
"And for that…"
I raised Kusanagi.
Yuki drew his spare sword and once again held a blade in each hand.
"…We have to beat her."
"Yeah."
The situation was overwhelmingly in her favor.
Even so, seeing our unwavering determination—our heightened resolve—made Altera frown in confusion.
"You still intend to defy me? I don’t get it… You two are going to die here. You know that, right? You can feel it, right? That you’ll lose to me?"
"No."
Losing begins the moment your heart breaks.
So I forced myself to stand strong, unshakable.
"Not once have I thought we’re going to lose."
"Yeah. Rain’s right. We’re going to beat you."
"And afterward, we’ll take care of the demons behind you too."
"Yep, let’s do that."
"Stop spouting nonsense! You can’t possibly beat me! Look how strong I am! Your attacks don’t even work on me!"
"…Then, how about this?"
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