◇ ◇ ◇
(Now then, how should I approach this?)
I kept my eyes fixed on the Yata no Hebi as I formulated a strategy.
The monster had eight heads, and every single one of them was impossibly massive. If I focused too much on any one of them, the others might seize the opportunity to strike at Hanemiya. Attacking while maintaining awareness in all directions was a simple concept, but in practice, it was a task of extreme difficulty.
Just as I was weighing my options, a sound like space being warped echoed through the air. In the next breath, two shadows appeared beside me, carried on a gust of wind.
"—I’ve come to reinforce you."
"—Powerful magic is always a plus in a situation like this, don’t you think?"
I heard two feminine voices from behind. I didn't even need to turn around to know who they were. It was Fuuka and Shion.
"You’re a lifesaver. I was just starting to feel short-handed."
With the two of them here, the scope of our tactical options expanded exponentially.
"Setting that aside, Fuuka, are you all right? Your wounds seem to have healed, but your clothes are a mess."
Shion directed her concern toward Fuuka. Indeed, there were no visible injuries on Fuuka’s body, but her Wafuku was shredded in several places, looking like it might fall apart at any moment. She had likely used Recovery Magic for emergency treatment, but magic couldn't mend fabric.
To have wounded someone who had weathered every attack unscathed until now spoke volumes of Instructor Kiryuu’s mastery. Yet, despite the damage, Fuuka stood tall. She looked more at peace than when we had first gone our separate ways. It seemed she had overcome something significant.
"...It is a bit difficult to move," Fuuka murmured softly.
Shion gave her a gentle smile. "Stay still for a second. I’ll restore your clothes with Time Rewind."
As she spoke, Shion activated her Special Ability. The air trembled slightly, and the space enveloping Fuuka wavered. The shredded sleeves reconnected naturally as if a thread were being rewound; the frayed hems smoothed themselves out, erasing the damage. Her tattered Wafuku returned to the pristine state it had been in when we first arrived in Kyokutou.
"Thank you, Shion. That helps."
"You’re very welcome."
Watching their calm exchange, I finally spoke to Fuuka. "Fuuka, that eight-headed serpent is apparently a monster from this country’s myths. Do you know anything about it?"
"I don't. But I think Nagisa might."
"Where is she now?"
"With Haruto and Instructor. They're near the southwest of Hanemiya."
As I reached out to sense Haruto and the others, the Yata no Hebi began to stir.
"Tch! First, we need to gather data on that thing! I’ll handle the four heads on the right, and Fuuka will take the four on the left. Shion, support us and intercept any attacks aimed at Hanemiya!"
"Understood!"
"Leave it to me!"
The three of us sprang into action simultaneously, splitting in three directions.
◇
While drawing the attention of the heads on the right, I looked for an opening and replicated Mental Transmission. I established a connection between Shion, Fuuka, and the girl I assumed was Nagisa Asagiri.
『Nagisa, can you hear me?』 Fuuka’s voice echoed through the telepathic link.
『Eh—Big Sis? Big Sis Fuuka, where are you?!』
『I’m currently engaged with the Yata no Hebi. I’m speaking to you through Orun’s Special Ability.』
『Orun...? You mean the "Demon King" on the international wanted list?!』
『That’s the one. But it’s okay, he’s an ally. Orun was also the one who blocked that breath attack earlier.』
『I-I see...』
『So, Nagisa, what do you know about the Yata no Hebi? Do you know how to kill it?』
『Everything I know comes from the myths, so I don't know if it applies to the real thing... but in the legends, you couldn't defeat it unless you severed all eight heads at the same time. If you take them out one by one, they just regenerate instantly.』
(Worth a test, then.)
I closed the distance while weaving through the lashing tails and blasts of mana.
"—Third Form: Mont Drei."
I transformed my Magic Sword into a greatsword that exceeded my own height.
"—Hah!"
I targeted the slowest of the four heads in my sector and swung. Channeling Momentary Super Ability Boost: Impact into the strike, I sheared the head clean off. However, the stump wriggled like bubbling foam and the head grew back almost instantly.
"I see. The regeneration is incredibly fast."
I caught a glimpse of Fuuka doing the same to another head, only for it to reconstruct itself just as quickly. As we both drew close, one of the heads that was currently unengaged unhinged its maw. Inky mana converged within its throat until the very air began to distort, and then it discharged a blast toward Hanemiya.
Before it could reach its mark, a clear voice rang out.
"—Don’t think for a second that you can best me in a magical duel."
A geometric pattern flickered in Shion’s right eye, and silver mana began to spill forth. Fine cracks spiderwebbed through the air around her, and from those rifts, the frigid air of a frozen world came rushing out.
Mist swirled, and silver Magic Circles manifested in multiple layers. As if draining the heat from the atmosphere, the mana around Shion was sucked into the center of the arrays. She pointed her wand through the circles at the incoming breath attack and unleashed her spell.
"—Silver Burial of Absolute Zero: Glaciel!"
A silver radiance erupted from the tip of Shion’s wand—a cold, silent torrent of destruction capable of freezing space itself. The dark breath and the silver mana collided mid-air; the inky blast was instantly frozen solid, ground down, and shattered into a million ice shards.
Without losing momentum, the piercing silver bombardment engulfed the head that had fired the breath, blowing it apart before vanishing into the horizon and leaving a silver afterglow in its wake.
Yet, even the head Shion had obliterated immediately began to regenerate.
『Just like Nagisa said. It doesn't look like this thing is going to die unless we cut them all down at once.』
『Then I will be the one to do it,』 Fuuka’s telepathic voice came through, quiet but filled with an unwavering resolve.
『Understood. We’ll leave the finisher to you. Do you need time to prepare?』
『Five seconds.』
『Got it. Shion, cover us!』
『Right! On it!』
Fuuka pulled back from the Yata no Hebi to focus her concentration. Shion stepped forward to fill the gap.
"—Second Form: Mont Zwei."
I split my mana, manifesting two Magic Swords. The Yata no Hebi let out a low, rumbling groan as its eight heads swiveled in different directions. Some of them twisted their bodies, attempting to lunge at Fuuka.
"Not on my watch!"
I was the first to charge in. I closed in on the right-hand heads, parrying a snapping jaw with both blades before leaping to the side to bait their movement. Immediately, another head lunged at me. I deflected it with my left blade and delivered a sharp slash under its jaw with my right. It wasn't enough to kill it, but it was plenty to keep its attention on me.
I moved across the battlefield like a whirlwind, stacking slashes to build up hate. Once the timing was right, I vaulted into the air above the serpent. The beast began to charge a breath attack to swat me out of the sky.
But it never got the chance. Before the breath could be fired, Shion unleashed her magic.
"Silver Frost Storm: Boreas!"
A silver tempest, reaching temperatures far below freezing, slammed into the Yata no Hebi, turning everything in its path into a world of white. The monster’s hide became encased in ice, its movements growing sluggish.
"Sixth Form: Mont Sechs."
I transformed my dual blades into a bow, nocking an arrow of converged mana. I infused the projectile with my Special Ability and fired it straight down. Where the arrow pierced the Yata no Hebi’s body, space began to buckle. The surrounding air was crushed inward as a torrent of gravity erupted.
The effect was devastating. The heads already slowed by the frost were dragged down to the earth by the sheer gravitational pressure. Even the massive, writhing torso ground to a halt as if frozen in time.
—Then, the cherry blossoms bloomed.
(Is that... the true form of Fuuka’s cursed katana?)
I caught my breath at the sight of her. The blade in Fuuka’s hand was no longer copper-colored; it had turned a soft, pale cherry-blossom pink. The Yoryoku rising from the steel looked like petals dancing on the wind, and that same floral light was reflected in her eyes.
The Yata no Hebi’s heads tried to move toward her all at once, but between the cold and the gravity, their bodies refused to obey.
"Thank you, both of you," Fuuka murmured softly.
She took her stance upon a foothold of solidified Ki. After a brief pause, her lips moved.
"—Yaezakura."
In that heartbeat, her blade swung with a speed that defied the eye. It left no sound of slicing air, only the sensation of a passing breeze. Eight slashes were unleashed, melting into the wind as they went. They danced like cherry blossom petals, simultaneously and unerringly severing all eight of the Yata no Hebi’s heads.
The heads fell a moment later, crumbling in silence as if they hadn't even realized they had been cut.
"...It’s finished."
At her signal, the eight heads and the massive body began to dissolve into mist, vanishing into the wind. In the clear sky, the pale pink Yoryoku turned into a blizzard of falling petals, raining down over Hanemiya.
It wasn't a blessing, nor was it a pardon. It simply felt like a princess who had been driven from her home was finally letting everyone know, without a word, that she had returned.