"He’s coming..."
Despite being suppressed by the overwhelming aura of the inhuman monster standing before them, Raiha and the others prepared for battle almost instinctively.
Dressed in their shrine maiden robes and channeling their magic power, they fell into a formation designed to keep Yui out of the line of fire.
"We’re moving in, Raiha!"
"Right!"
Raiha infused the shikigami she pulled from her sleeves with lightning, while Setsuna nocked a wind arrow and let it fly. Their coordination was flawless as they unleashed a combined assault on Zaraki.
However, Zaraki didn't even lose his smirk as the lightning and wind closed in. He casually swung his arm upward, creating a violent gale with the simple motion.
"What...!?"
"Weak. Your attacks are pathetic."
The sudden gust blew the shikigami off course and swallowed the wind arrows, erasing them instantly.
As Raiha and Setsuna stood in shock at how easily their opening salvo had been nullified, Sakura used the distraction to close the distance. She swung her naginata with everything she had.
"Secret Technique: Dance of the Flying Spring! Hah!"
Leaping high into the air, Sakura brought her weapon down toward Zaraki’s head. She channeled the weight of the naginata, its centrifugal force, and the thrust of pressurized water into a single devastating strike.
But Zaraki caught the blade with his bare arm.
"M-my strike... he caught it that easily!?"
"I told you, it’s weak, little lady!"
Zaraki lunged forward, grabbing the shaft of the naginata that had been deflected by his scales. He swung it with terrifying force.
Caught mid-air with no way to resist, Sakura was whirled around like a ragdoll. The moment Zaraki let go, she was sent hurtling through the air and slammed into a stone wall.
"Gah... hah...!"
"Sakura!" Raiha’s scream echoed across the clearing.
Seeing Sakura coughing up blood from the impact, Setsuna realized they couldn't let him follow up. She moved on instinct, closing in on Zaraki while raining down a constant barrage of arrows.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Don't waste your breath. Your arrows can't reach me."
Setsuna continued to fire her wind arrows like a hailstorm, but every single one was swallowed and extinguished by Zaraki’s own winds.
However, she knew that would happen. Setsuna already had a plan to bypass his defenses.
(It’s true that my arrows can't break through his wind. But—!)
The difference in their raw magic power was too great. Setsuna’s arrows lacked the momentum to pierce Zaraki’s Wind Barrier. If she couldn't break through it, she would have to change her tactics.
"Hah!"
"Hm?"
While continuing her approach, Setsuna suddenly aimed not at Zaraki, but at the ground beneath his feet.
The wind arrow struck the earth and detonated, kicking up a massive cloud of dirt that robbed him of his vision.
(Now!)
She took a sharp breath and kicked off the ground. Channeling every drop of her magic power into a single arrow, she nocked it. She closed the distance to point-blank range before the dust could settle and roared at him.
"You can't deploy a barrier at this range! Take this!"
It was a high-risk gamble—diving inside the Wind Barrier to deliver a strike. But it was the only way she could think of to actually hurt him.
Setsuna watched as her emerald wind arrow flew straight toward his chest from inches away—
"No... way..."
She groaned in despair as the arrow shattered against his skin, dissipating into nothingness without leaving so much as a scratch.
"Not bad. You've got guts and a good head on your shoulders. I like you, woman."
Zaraki offered her a genuine nod of approval, but he didn't show any mercy.
The moment he raised his arm to strike the defenseless Setsuna, Sakura launched another desperate attack from his blind spot.
"You’re too slow, princess!"
"Guh!?"
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Zaraki whirled around and swatted Sakura down. Then, dragging her along the ground, he swung her into Setsuna, blowing them both away in a heap.
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
"Gah... aaaaaah!"
The two girls tumbled across the dirt, groaning in agony.
Before they could even try to stand, Zaraki unleashed the winds gathered around his arms, blastng them again for good measure.
"Setsuna! Sakura!"
Raiha’s voice was thick with grief as she watched her companions get slammed into the ground.
Zaraki walked over and picked up the Magic Items that had slipped from their fingers, tossing them toward Koumaru.
"That’s two down. Only the half-dragon and the brat with the katana left."
Having completed half his task, Zaraki turned his predatory gaze toward the remaining targets.
As Yui cowered in terror, Raiha steeled her resolve. She began to knead her magic power to its absolute limit, unleashing the seal on her strength.
"I won't let you do whatever you want anymore! Even if I have to use this loathsome power, I will stop you!"
It was the Thunder Breath she had used to stop Egos at the hospital. Imbuing the attack with all the Dragon Power she could muster, Raiha glared at Zaraki.
Zaraki looked on with amusement as golden lightning arced around her, her power swelling to a fever pitch. He stood perfectly still, smiling as if inviting her to try.
With a final Dragon's Roar, Raiha unleashed the accumulated magic in a massive bolt of lightning.
The sound was deafening. The flash blinded the world. The explosion was absolute. Feeling the weight of the impact, Raiha was certain she had landed a direct hit. She squinted through the smoke to see the results...
"No... It can't be..."
"What’s so hard to believe? Did you really think that little spark would actually hurt me?"
As the smoke cleared, Zaraki stood there perfectly composed, without a single scratch on his body.
Raiha was stunned that her strongest attack had done nothing, but the truth behind it was even more terrifying. A dragon’s greatest weakness is the power of another dragon. Raiha had unleashed every bit of her half-dragon strength against Zaraki, who possessed the same power.
And it hadn't even left a mark.
The reality was simple: the gap in their strength was insurmountable.
"A-ah...!"
"Do you understand now? This is the difference between you, who tried to reject your dragon nature, and me, who embraced it."
Zaraki looked down at Raiha’s face, which was now twisted in total despair.
An instant later, he moved with a speed that defied the eye. He drove a heavy fist deep into her stomach, sending her small frame hurtling backward through the air.