The girl stood in a silent crouch, two knives—one black, one white—held ready in her hands. Although her face remained hidden beneath the hood of her robe, she was secretly breaking out in a cold sweat.
(Unbelievable... these people are monstrously strong. If this level is the world average, this is going to be exhausting.)
The demons standing before her possessed power that reached the very pinnacle of the Demon Realm, but having just crossed over from another world, the girl had no way of knowing that.
While she shuddered at the thought that warriors of this caliber might be common in this land, she refused to let her agitation show. She kicked off the ground and lunged forward.
"Hah! If you're coming at me, that means the fight is on!"
Seeing the girl charging straight for him, Megiddo bared a predatory grin and swung a massive arm to intercept her. The girl leaped high, evading the giant's fist, and began sprinting up the length of his arm.
(By all appearances, he’s a power-based brawler. His swings are wide and his movements are slow... but his defense is likely immense. Striking those muscles won't do much. In that case!)
Even as she analyzed Megiddo's capabilities, her body never slowed. Flipping her knife into a reverse grip, she used the momentum of her sprint to lash out at the giant's face.
However, the blow was cut short by Ein, who suddenly appeared and seized the girl's wrist.
(Teleportation? No, there were no ripples in the air. It’s unlikely she moved faster than I could perceive. Since she grabbed my arm instead of striking me, the most likely culprit is Time Stop. She can’t physically harm me while time is frozen, so she grabbed me to halt my momentum...)
In the heartbeat her arm was caught, her mind raced to dissect the ability. She twisted her captured limb with a practiced motion, slipping through Ein’s restraint. Simultaneously, her eyes scanned the perimeter to track the others.
(The others haven't committed yet. Judging by their positioning and the flow of their magic power, the white-haired one is a caster. The one merged with the tree seems to be focusing on mid-range support for her allies rather than attacking me directly. As for the massive lizard... he’s probably holding back because his attack range is so wide he’d catch his own teammates in the blast.)
Her movements remained fluid despite her frantic thoughts. She dodged Megiddo’s follow-up punches with the grace of flowing water.
As the girl had deduced, Megiddo and Ein were the primary vanguard, while the others were waiting for her to move away from the melee so they could strike.
Seeing an opening, Ein attempted to stop time again to circle behind her—but she suddenly froze and canceled the ability.
"Wh-What is this? Magic power threads? When did she...?"
A staggering number of translucent threads had manifested around the girl, obstructing Ein’s path. The threads were incredibly fine and held very little magic; in the normal flow of time, they would snap at a mere touch.
However, these threads were a lethal counter specifically designed for Ein. In a world of frozen time, objects became immutable—unbreakable and unmovable. Therefore, these flimsy threads became insurmountable barriers during a Time Stop, hindering no one's movements but Ein's.
Ein had only used her ability once, yet in that single instance, the girl had seen through the nature of the power and devised a perfect countermeasure.
As one of the preeminent powerhouses of the Demon Realm, Ein understood by intuition: this girl was dangerous. The longer this battle dragged on, the worse their odds became.
"Isis! Don't worry about us! Fire!"
"...Understood."
At Ein’s command, Isis spread her hands. A massive magic circle manifested in the sky in response. From its center, a Blue Flash of Absolute Zero that could freeze the very world was unleashed.
"Don't look down on me!"
"What—!? A Reflection Formula? Ugh!"
The girl swung her knife in a wide arc, and the flash bounced back toward Isis as if it had struck a mirror. Isis was forced to break her stance to evade her own attack.
Immediately after, Megiddo swung his fist at the girl's back while she was occupied with the reflection.
"You're wide open!"
"...No, I'm not."
"What!? Tch..."
The girl's reaction was faster. Without looking back, she hurled her white knife at Megiddo. Caught off guard, the giant's movements faltered for a fraction of a second—all the opening she needed to roll clear.
After clearing the magic threads, Ein rejoined the fray, but the girl's evasions were so precise that she remained impossible to pin down. Still, the girl wasn't acting out of confidence; she simply couldn't find a moment to counter and was being forced entirely onto the defensive.
The battle was reaching a stalemate. The moment that realization crossed everyone's mind, the girl made her move. Facing multiple opponents, she knew she couldn't win a war of attrition.
She suddenly broke away from Megiddo and Ein, pulling back into the open—even though she knew it would make her a target for Isis and Magnawell.
As she retreated, Isis prepared a spell designed to bypass reflections while Magnawell opened his maw to unleash a wide-range Breath. But just as they were about to fire, they lost sight of her.
"What!?"
"...She... vanished?"
The two were stunned, but as legendary warriors, they relocated their target almost instantly.
The girl had somehow moved to the spot where her white knife had fallen. She scooped it up in a single fluid motion. The blade began to vibrate at a high frequency, emitting a shrill, piercing whine.
"...Pierce Death!"
"Gugh!?"
"Magnawell!?"
The white knife streaked through the air like a bolt of lightning, piercing Magnawell's front leg. The blade shattered his "impenetrable" scales as if they were glass. For a creature of Magnawell's size, it was little more than a scratch, but the shock of having his defense bypassed so easily caused his mind to momentarily go blank.
Then, before the girl could be seen again, Magnawell's massive body was launched high into the sky.
"Gah!?"
"...Just as I thought. The underbelly is soft."
"What!? That bastard... she moved instantly again..."
Ignoring the stunned Megiddo and the others, the girl quietly took aim at the airborne Magnawell.
(To be honest, this big lizard is the biggest nuisance. I can't parry attacks with that much mass, and it would be a nightmare if the time-stopper started supporting him. I launched him up because I assumed he couldn't fly with that body, but... can I finish him?)
Her hope of removing Magnawell from the fight was crushed when the dragon spread wings large enough to shroud the sun.
"You've done it now!!"
"Ugh... You can fly with a body that size? I’m really starting to hate this world. Here we go."
"You seem quite relaxed for someone in your position."
Muttering with an exasperated sigh, the girl dodged an approach from Ein. Ein was swinging her fists in pursuit, unable to use her Time Stop carelessly for fear of more threads.
"I wouldn't call it relaxed... but you guys haven't fought as a team much, have you? Your coordination is sloppy. You're hesitating because you're afraid of hitting each other."
"Even if that's true, you're still the one at a disadvantage."
While slightly surprised the girl had finally spoken, Ein didn't let up her assault. As she parried fists being launched at impossible speeds, the girl wore a sharp, defiant smile.
"Disadvantage? Don't make me laugh. For example, right now, any difference in our numbers or condition is completely meaningless."
"Oh?"
"Are you an idiot? An advantage only matters if you can actually use it. If you can't capitalize on your numbers, then you don't have an advantage at all. Go practice your teamwork and come back later."
"I see. That was quite instructive. I’ll be sure to make it a priority... after I've killed you."
It was as the girl said: Ein and the others had rarely fought together. Each of them possessed such overwhelming power that they could win any battle alone; there had never been a need for coordination.
But they couldn't afford that luxury against this opponent. Even while facing all of them, the girl had the breath to spare for mockery. Ein focused her mind and lunged, but for the third time, the girl vanished.
"Again!? Is it teleportation!?"
This was the girl's most frustrating asset. Her technique was magnificent and her physical stats were high, but none of it was beyond what Ein and the others could handle. Only this "teleportation" remained unreadable.
Since Ein felt no ripple in time, she knew it wasn't a Time Stop. Yet, disappearing without a magic circle or even a flare of magic power was utterly nonsensical.
The girl reappeared and charged straight for Lilliwood, holding the white knife she had recovered. Ein tried to give chase, but the girl was faster, weaving a web of magic power threads behind her to block the path.
"...Taking out the healer first is a basic rule, right?"
"I won't let you have your way!"
With Ein blocked by threads, Megiddo and Isis too far away, and Magnawell being too large for a quick rescue, Lilliwood stood alone. But Lilliwood was a master of defense. She manifested a massive wooden fortress around herself—a barrier so thick even Ein would have struggled to break it.
The girl's expression didn't flicker. She hurled her black knife forward at the wall and her white knife backward toward the center of the battlefield.
The others paused for a fraction of a second, baffled by the strange move. Megiddo was the first to realize the truth.
"Crap! Lilliwood, get out of there! Her ability isn't teleportation! It's Forced Teleportation! She can swap anything the black knife touches with the location of the white knife!"
Almost as soon as Megiddo finished his shout, the wooden fortress struck by the black knife vanished into thin air.
The girl closed the distance to the stunned Lilliwood and drove a heavy punch into her gut.
"Gugh! Ah...!"
"Lilliwood!?"
Lilliwood was sent tumbling away, her body doubling over from the impact. Isis cried out in alarm. Ein, having finally cleared the threads, stopped time and moved behind the girl. She threw a full-power punch, resuming time a hair's breadth before contact.
Certain she had caught her this time, Ein watched as her fist sent the girl's body spinning away.
Ein stopped time once more and rushed toward the cloud of dust where Lilliwood had landed.
"Lilliwood! Are you hurt!?"
"No, I'm fine."
She helped Lilliwood up, shielding her behind her back as they stood in the settling dust, prepared to counter any further ambush.
"Ein! Look out! That isn't me!!"
"What—!? Oh, no!"
"Got you!"
Hearing Lilliwood’s voice from across the field, Ein realized the truth in an instant. The girl she had just punched was merely a Split Body. She had allowed herself to be hit to lure Ein into a trap. From the very beginning, the girl’s true target had been Ein herself.
But it was too late. Ultra-fine magic threads had been woven to seal her escape, and a lethal blade was already descending toward her back. Evasion was impossible, and stopping time wouldn't be fast enough.
The girl’s blade swung toward Ein’s neck—and stopped.
"...Eh?"
The sound escaped the girl's lips, her certainty of victory shattering. The battle had gone exactly as she’d planned; she had created the perfect opportunity to eliminate the most troublesome threat.
But her planning ended there.
"...I don't know who you are or why you're here... but if you intend to harm my family any further, I won't show mercy."
As if mocking the girl's tactical brilliance, the Strongest of the Demon Realm—Kuromueina—had arrived.