A hush like the calm before a storm fell over the thoroughfare as the combatants began their move.
Anima was the first to accelerate. Of the two twins who had split to the left and right, she closed in on Theta, who stood nearby bracing behind a massive greatshield.
Anima’s combat prowess rivaled that of a Viscount-class High-ranking Demon. Although she was currently weighed down by the exhaustion of running for days without sleep, her raw strength was still a head above the rest.
As Anima charged fiercely and pulled back a fist to strike, Theta remained motionless, hunkering down behind her shield. Without a moment’s hesitation, Anima slammed her fist into the metal wall.
Even for a demon, the blow from a former Black Bear with overwhelming physical strength was staggering. Theta was forced back several steps despite her braced position—but it was Anima who suddenly dropped to one knee.
"Anima?!"
"…That… just now…"
Kaito called out her name in a panic, but Anima simply looked puzzled as she knelt on the cobblestones.
"How does it feel," Theta asked, her voice detached, "to be struck by your own power?"
"My own power?"
"Precisely. My shield reflects the exact same impact I receive back onto the attacker."
"…I see. Reflection Magic."
Theta specialized in defense, and her primary method of combat was the counter-attack. For Anima, whose style relied almost exclusively on close-range physical strikes, this was the worst possible matchup.
"You are certainly strong," Theta continued. "I suspect your offensive and defensive power far exceed mine. My own attacks likely wouldn't even scratch you. However, your own strength is another matter entirely."
"…"
"Are you planning to circle around and bypass the shield?"
Anima’s eyes widened slightly.
"It’s futile. You’re slow. In terms of sheer speed, I am the faster of us. You will never get behind me. And from the look of you, magic isn't your forte. You have no way to get past my guard."
As Theta spoke with calm, arrogant certainty, Anima bowed her head. Theta expected the beastwoman to crumble in the face of such a hopeless situation. Instead, a ferocious, predatory smile spread across Anima’s lips.
"Heh… Hehehe… Hah! Hahaha!"
"What?!"
Laughing as she rose, Anima slammed her fist into the greatshield again, without a shred of hesitation. The impact was immediately reflected back as damage, but Anima didn't seem to care in the slightest as she unleashed another blow.
"Circle around? Bypass? Don’t be ridiculous!"
"?! Are you a fool?! No matter how many times you strike, it’s useless! The durability of my shield is—"
"It doesn’t matter!!"
"Guh… ugh…"
Under the relentless drumbeat of fists, Theta was physically shoved backward.
"Unfortunately for you, I don't know any way to fight other than a crushing charge!"
"Augh?!"
"You return the same impact you receive? That just means you aren't actually nullifying it! I’ll just keep hitting the damn thing until it shatters!!"
With every strike, the power behind Anima’s fists increased, hammering down with heavy, echoing thuds. Under the sheer violence of the assault, the shield finally began to groan. A web of small cracks appeared on its surface.
The reflected damage was accumulating; blood began to trickle from the corner of Anima’s mouth, but her assault didn't slow. If anything, it grew more savage.
"What is wrong with this woman… she’s a maniac! This is like fighting… a wild… beast…!"
"Ooooooooh!!"
"Hieee?!"
Anima let out a roar like a primeval monster. Her heaviest, sharpest fist yet slammed home, and the greatshield finally exploded into fragments.
Theta’s eyes went wide with shock, but Anima didn't pause. She reached out and seized Theta by the collar.
"Guh… (W-What incredible strength… I can’t move!)"
"Gaaaaah!!"
"Gah?! Fuh?!"
Anima hoisted Theta into the air with one hand as if she weighed nothing and slammed her into the ground.
The tremendous impact against her back left Theta gasping in agony, and her expression slowly dissolved into pure, unadulterated terror.
"…A-Ah…"
Sharp, bestial eyes looked down at her. In that moment, Theta understood. This beast would not stop. She would not hold back. Until her opponent was completely broken, she would continue to swing her fists with zero hesitation.
It was the very despair Theta had intended to inflict on Anima.
There was no escape. The creature before her was a predator, and she was merely prey. The moment she realized this, the ferocious beast raised her fist for the final blow.
"Damn it! Stay still!"
While Anima and Theta were locked in their brutal exchange, Eta and Sieglinde were engaged in a battle of their own.
In contrast to the other pair, it was Eta who possessed the overwhelming physical advantage. The strikes from her great spear were powerful enough to incapacitate Sieglinde in a single hit. However, despite that power, not one of those strikes had reached her target.
"You’re like a completely different person compared to that first exchange. Have you been hiding your strength?!"
"I wasn't hiding it," Sieglinde replied calmly. "I had lost it."
She parried a horizontal sweep of the great spear, guiding it upward with her twin blades held at an angle.
"Lili—my friend—I kept it from her, but my body was actually quite battered. My throat was the worst of it, but there were other old wounds. Until now, I had been masking them with constant enhancement magic just to function."
"What?!"
"The fruit is as incredible as the rumors suggested. Better, even. My body has been completely restored. Because of that, I am currently in my prime—perhaps even beyond it. It is a wonderful thing, having one's body move exactly as envisioned."
"Don’t mock me!"
Eta unleashed a high-speed thrust in a fit of irritation, but Sieglinde parried it with ease, sending the spearhead veering harmlessly to the left.
It had been like this from the start. Thrusts, sweeps, overhead chops—Eta unleashed every technique in her repertoire, but Sieglinde turned them all aside.
"Why?! Why won't my spear land?! I have the advantage in power and speed!"
"You do. But… you are clumsy."
"What?!"
"Your physical abilities are certainly superior. However, you have grown arrogant in your natural talent. Your attacks lack refinement and true training. With that level of skill… your blade will never touch me."
"Kuh!"
That was the crux of the situation. While Eta had the raw stats, Sieglinde’s mastery was leagues above hers. Her footwork was refined to the point of elegance, born from staggering amounts of training and battlefield experience. In terms of pure martial prowess, Sieglinde was the undisputed master.
"Fine… I’ll admit your skill is impressive," Eta snarled. "But you can't win just by parrying. You don't have enough power to damage me—"
"Ten and eight. It’s time."
"What?"
Eta knew she was being outclassed in skill, but she believed that if the fight became a war of attrition, her physical stamina would carry the day. Just as she said as much, Sieglinde swung one of her swords sharply against the spear.
"Wh—?! Impossible!"
Eta had intended to block the strike, assuming it was within her power to do so. But the moment Sieglinde’s flame sword connected, the great spear shattered into a thousand pieces.
"…W-What did you do…?"
"That was a sturdy spear. It took ten layers to finally reach the breaking point."
"I asked you what you did!!"
"…Ever since I realized my own powerlessness years ago, I had sealed away my most proficient magic as part of my training. I wanted to learn to fight without it."
"Proficient magic?"
Sieglinde spoke with total composure to the screaming Eta. Since the tragedy that had struck the Second Division, she had intentionally avoided her specialty to force herself to grow stronger. But now, with the safety of someone precious on the line, she saw no reason to hold back.
"My specialty is Enchantment Magic. Every time I parried your spear, I applied a formula that would store an impact within it. I simply activated them all at once."
"…?! Damn it!"
Seeing the tide turn, Eta attempted to leap backward and put distance between them.
"Attempting to retreat when the odds are against you is a sound basic tactic," Sieglinde noted. "But because it is a basic tactic, you should have assumed I would predict it."
"What?!"
Sieglinde threw one of her twin blades at the retreating demon.
"The acceleration formula is stacked eight-fold… Activate!"
"Gah?!"
The flame sword left her hand and instantly became a streak of red light, piercing through Eta in mid-air.
"I missed your vitals. With your durability, you shouldn't die from that."
With a quiet murmur, Sieg gave her remaining sword a light flick, extinguishing the flames. The battle between the physically superior Eta and the technically masterful Sieglinde had ended in a total, bloodless victory for the elf.
To be honest, I could barely see what was happening. Everything moved so fast. But looking at Eta pinned to a wall and Theta cratered into the ground, it was clear that Sieg-san and Anima had won.
"Wait, Anima, stop! That’s enough! She’s out!"
I scrambled to stop Anima, who looked ready to continue tenderizing the already unconscious Theta. Theta was in a truly pitiful state… I wasn't even sure if she was still breathing.
Anima obeyed my command and stepped back, joining Sieg-san in front of me. They both immediately resumed their combat stances. The reason they hadn't relaxed for a second was the final man—the one with the blue hair.
He hadn't lifted a finger to help the twins while they were being defeated.
"…Good grief. Bacchus-sama told me to let the underlings gain some experience, so I stayed out of it… but that was pathetic."
The blue-haired man finally spoke, his voice dripping with contempt as he turned a sharp gaze toward us.
"To drag the War King’s name through the mud like that… I suppose I have no choice. I'll have to clean up after these idiots."
He took a slow step forward, looking us over with a cold, analytical eye.
"My name is Sigma. I am a Baron-class High-ranking Demon."
A chill went through me. I’d expected as much, but hearing the rank confirmed was another matter. This was bad. Anima was covered in cuts and bruises, and while Sieg-san looked alright, her heavy breathing told me she was exhausted.
Eta and Theta hadn't been weak by any means. Even if the fights ended quickly, my defenders were far from a hundred percent.
As cold sweat ran down my back, Sigma dropped his center of gravity and took a stance reminiscent of a master swordsman about to draw his blade.
"Don’t let defeating those low-level fools go to your heads. They were mere underlings, not even fit to stand in my shadow."
"…"
"Now then… prepare yourselves!"
"Waiiiit just a second! That’s quite enough!"
"…Eh?"
Just as Sigma was about to lunge—in a situation that was about as tense as it could possibly be—a bubbly, completely out-of-place voice echoed through the street.
I looked up toward the roof of a nearby building.
"The heavens call! The earth cries out! The people demand I protect my best customer! Yah!"
"…"
A strange object leaped from the roof and landed right in front of us. It was a sight I knew all too well.
"The Messenger of Love and Justice! The Mysterious Helper Beautiful Girl! Magical Lovely Magical Girl Alice-chan has arrived!"
"…"
A person in a pink cat suit was striking a dramatic pose. I only knew one person this ridiculous.
"…I’d like a replacement, please."
"There are no replacements! No returns! No cooling-off period!"
…She really was a predatory merchant.
Dear Mother, Father—Sieg-san and Anima managed to win their fights, but then a Peerage-class demon bared his fangs. And just when things looked dire, a new helper appeared… but honestly, let me say it one more time. I’d like a change of personnel, please.
(I couldn't believe it. How did she pack so many jokes into a single second? "Best customer"? She’s calling herself a "mysterious helper" while screaming her own name! And "Magical Lovely Magical Girl" is just redundant! My brain can't even keep up with the retorts! I can't lose to her pace… I have to find the ultimate comeback…)
Or something like that, a completely different battle might have been unfolding in my head.