Decisive Battle: Volnyux of the Calamity Night

"[Origin Burst]: [Pure Vampire Lord]!"

The moment I managed to haul myself upright, Laura unleashed the full extent of her vampiric heritage.

She was likely burning through the mana she’d siphoned earlier. She looked dependable as ever, a sight I’d grown used to but still respected. She wasn't the only one moving, though. Merli, arriving a heartbeat later, immediately set to work. A teleportation circle flared beneath her feet as she began evacuating the civilians.

"—Attack, all of you!"

Shiki’s buffs rippled through the air, settling over us.

Unlike my own crude methods—which usually involved beating the world into submission with sheer volume of mana—her magic was elegant, a refined lattice of power that bolstered our every move.

"—I’ll add mine to the pile. [Fire Resistance Bestowal]."

I specialized in conceptual buffs. Using the techniques I’d scraped together in that other world, I layered on protection specifically designed to counter Volnyux.

Pulling off improvised coordination in a cramped arena like this was a nightmare, but for some reason, looking at this motley crew, I actually felt like we could make it work.

"I had hundreds of kin prepared," Volnyux noted, her voice eerily calm. "You killed them all?"

"Yeah, we did! You’ll need more than that to put us down!"

"I see. How inconvenient, human. Stop stealing the time I have with him."

"Don't give me that. You're the one who decided to crash a festival. That's on you."

Yamato-san, his speed pushed to the limit by Shiki’s magic, lunged forward. I noticed then that he was channeling mana directly into the katana I’d given him; his movements were sharper, more aggressive than the last time I’d seen him fight.

"[Boundless Ice Swords]... You’re going to pay for hurting my childhood friend."

Ayane’s magic was nothing if not direct. Over a hundred blades of ice materialized behind her in a jagged halo before screaming toward Volnyux. She’d controlled the trajectory perfectly—none of my summoned beasts or allies were so much as grazed, while the monster took the full, freezing brunt of the storm.

"Trifling... but so long as I stand, my children will be born from the earth!"

The creature poured mana back into the ground, and for a moment, the floor itself seemed to heave as more earthen incarnations began to crawl out.

They didn't last a second. Laura, in her Vampire Princess form, tore through them instantly. It was her shadow manipulation—the moment a head popped up, she’d seize their own shadows and rip them apart from behind.

"You have an inexhaustible supply of mana, it's true," Laura said, her eyes cold. "But I remember your weakness. You can't create anything truly strong on the fly. Against us, it's a waste of effort."

"—The Vampire Princess is as troublesome as ever."

Volnyux didn't panic, even as her minions were shredded. If anything, her smile only widened. She was actually enjoying this.

Even as Behiko tore chunks out of her, even as Yamato-san cut her and Luna and Ayane froze her limbs, she didn't flinch. The "she" I knew only kept fighting for one reason: to find a way to die.

"――――It’s time. [Origin Connect]."

Just as our coordination reached its peak and the Luna I knew moved to strike the core that had finally been exposed, Volnyux let out a sharp laugh.

Then, the world changed.

"[Arche Gaia]."

She unleashed a power I didn't even know she possessed.

A tidal wave of magma surged forward, swallowing our front line whole. In the same breath, jagged swords of earth erupted from the ground, snapping at our heels. Sharp, wooden stakes lanced toward Shiki and me in the rear. In a single, devastating instant, our formation was shattered.

"This was never meant to be my power, and I had no desire to use it," she said, stepping through the ruin. "But I suppose I shouldn't hold back against those who insist on interrupting our time together."

"Damn it—Everyone!?"

A technique of that scale should have carried a massive recoil, yet she moved as if unburdened, closing the distance between us in a flash.

"Still worrying about others? It makes me quite jealous, Reima."

"—[Weapon Summon]: [Dainsleif]!"

"Another weapon I’ve never seen... Now that the interlopers are out of the way, have you finally decided to face me properly?"

She brandished a sword made of compressed, solidified magma—a weapon she hadn’t revealed until now—and unleashed a relentless flurry of strikes. As I thought, my mana is bottoming out. But my actual combat prowess is higher than it’s ever been. Small favors, I guess.

She laughed with genuine joy as our blades clashed. I felt a surge of pure hatred toward her, yet my mind kept drifting, terrified for the safety of my friends.

"—You’ve done quite enough, messing up everyone’s live performance like this!"

A voice I hadn't expected to hear cut through the chaos. It was a voice I recognized from the stage—the singer I thought had run away. She was chanting now, channeling an absurd amount of magical energy.

"[Spirit Summoning: Konohasakuya-hime]!"

A pulse of magic washed over the entire arena.

The spell didn't just heal Ayane and the others—it completely restored my mana reserves.

"I finally reached you," she called out, sounding breathless. "It took a while, but I finally made it. Reima-kun, don't hold back! Give it everything you've got!"

I had no idea how she knew my name, but Kushinada’s intervention had just wiped away my last remaining worry. My friends were safe, and I was back at full power. We had fought for this moment, and I wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by while the monster's core was exposed.

"Merli—lend me your strength! I’m calling Gram!"

I couldn't afford to miss. I needed my final trump card. But summoning her was a task too great for me alone. I needed the help of my master—the only one capable of assisting in a summon of this caliber.

"You just sent me away and now you're already working your big sister to the bone? You're a hard man to please, Reima," Merli teased, though she was smiling. "But fine. Leave it to me!"

That's my master for you.

I closed my eyes, focusing every ounce of my will, and began to weave the words of power alongside her.

""—That which is the primordial fish that supports the world; that which is the dragon-fish that rules the magic swords; that which is our sworn ally, the ultimate one who bears the title of strongest.""

We paused for a beat. This was the pinnacle of magic—a secret technique where two casters shared the staggering mana cost of a single spell.

""[Dual Spell]————[Terminus Summon]!""

The moment Merli and I finished the chant, the world itself seemed to groan.

The space around us shrieked, unable to withstand the sheer pressure of the entity we were pulling into existence. An overwhelming, suffocating presence dominated the arena, as if the world was reaching its breaking point.

"[Magic Sword Princess]: [Gram Bahamut]."

A woman with silver hair appeared. Calling her "peerless" or "beautiful" felt like an insult to her sheer existence.

Everything about her was too perfect, radiating an aura that demanded all others prostrate themselves. A single, massive black horn protruded from the right side of her head—sharp, elegant, and a permanent reminder that she was anything but human.

"Hah! So, that is your trump card?"

The pressure was on a different level. Her very existence felt heavy.

She was the strongest, a being that consumed ninety percent of my mana in an instant and started gnawing on my life force when that wasn't enough. It was a sacrifice I’d prepared for, but it was still a bitch to endure. I could only maintain her for thirty seconds at best. I only had time for one command.

"Gram—exterminate the [Demon King Seed]."

"Understood... Big sister will do her best."

Her reply was clipped. There was no time for the joy of reunion or idle chatter. Following my orders with absolute loyalty, she manifested a single sword and effectively submerged the world.

It wasn't that seawater literally filled the arena. It was conceptual. She had dyed the entire venue with the "concept" of the sea. In an instant, Volnyux’s authority over the earth was severed, and her regeneration vanished.

Twenty seconds passed. Volnyux, staring down certain death, simply laughed.

Gram didn't waste words. She lunged.

"So this is... the current you. Ah, truly... a Hero."

Volnyux left those words behind as she was struck. In a single blow—no, in a flicker of movement faster than a heartbeat—the fatal strike was dealt.