With the collision of the two ultimate techniques, the resulting explosion devastated the city. Scalding hot winds swept over Ellen's entire body like ocean waves.
Ellen didn't deliberately try to block this shockwave. Instead, she turned around and chose to use the thrust from the explosion to shake off the Spirits' entanglent.
As for whether the Spirits would die in that explosion, Ellen didn't care at all. If they died, she would just take a bit more ti later to retrieve their Sephira Crystals. Even if they survived, it was impossible for them to catch up to her.
[System damage... 24%... Retreat recomnded...]
Naturally, Ellen paid no attention to the warning about the damage level from the armor.
Honestly, being caught in the aftermath of a full-power strike from Spirits, an ordinary Wizard would probably have lost their life long ago. Let alone abandoning defense to forcefully accelerate using the shockwave—an act that practically amounted to courting death.
But she was different.
Ellen Mira Mathers is the strongest Wizard in the world—she had never doubted this in the slightest.
Just because it was impossible for other Wizards didn't an she couldn't do it.
Adjusting the density of her Territory to block the tongues of fire eroding her back, Ellen manipulated the gravity around her, correcting her flight path.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
The gap of several kiloters was shortened in this brief span of ti. As arrogant as using the Grim Reaper's head as a stepping stone, Ellen charged into the battlefield where Itsuka Shido was, with an overbearing and invincible posture.
—————————————
"Shido! Watch out!"
Hearing Yutsuki's warning, Shido didn't hesitate. Almost at the exact mont Ellen charged in, he summoned Sandalphon to protect his front.
"...In the way."
Ellen's cold voice rang out. As if sweeping away a roadblock on the highway, she swung her laser sword forward.
The next second, Ellen's beloved sword struck the blade of Sandalphon.
BOOM—!
Rather than a slash, Shido felt as if what he received was a teorite falling from the sky. In the re instant of the clash, his body couldn't withstand the massive impact and was sent flying into the air, crashing to the ground after being thrown nearly a hundred ters.
Yutsuki saw that beside Shido right now, Sandalphon, broken in two, dissolved into particles of light and scattered in the air, while pale white flas burned across various parts of Shido's body.
"Shido!"
"Oh, please don't make any sudden moves.Yutsuki-san."
Ai Mulian fired a shot near Yutsuki's feet.
"..."
Looking at the smoking hole by her feet, Yutsuki stopped in her tracks, turned her head, and glared at Ai Mulian with cold eyes.
"Ah~ Yes, this is it. This expression is simply wonderful. Eyes freezing cold to the freezing point, even while burning with anger. Being able to see this expression of yours makes this job absolutely worth it, even without pay."
As if discovering a priceless treasure, a thrilled smile appeared on Ai Mulian's lips.
Bang! Bang!
Firing two shots near her own feet, the ice freezing Mulian's feet—having lost its Spirit power supply—was easily shattered by the magic bullets.
"Well then, Ellen-san has also arrived on ti. Artemisia should also be waking up soon. Although I know you must be thinking of ways to retreat, it's fine to stay a little longer, Yutsuki-san."
Without launching an attack on Yutsuki, Mulian turned her gaze to Ellen and spoke in a cheerful tone.
"Since we're all here, let's watch the end of Souji-sensei together."
Landing in front of the inverted Honjou Nia, Ellen raised her beloved sword and, like a nail, pierced it through Honjou Nia's abdon.
"————————————!"
In an instant, Nia's agonizing scream echoed in everyone's ears.
Soon, bright red blood spread on the ground, and gradually, Nia's body stopped struggling.
"..."
Wordlessly pulling out her weapon, allowing the other party's blood to splatter on her. Ellen's lips moved slightly, muttering incomprehensible syllables softly.
Then, Nia's body began to emit a black luminescence. The tattered Astral Dress decomposed and vanished bit by bit. The resulting specks of light gathered at the girl's chest, condensing into a gem shining with a dark, glossy luster.
Holding the Sephira Crystal in her hand, Ellen said softly:
"Inverse Sephira, retrieval complete."
"—!"
Right at this mont, Yutsuki exerted sudden force, charging towards Ellen like a bolt of lightning.
So fast!
Although Mulian had been constantly vigilant against Yutsuki suddenly acting up, the speed and agility Yutsuki burst forth with exceeded her expectations. In an instant, she broke free from her obstruction and arrived in front of Ellen.
"Hmph... Hacker?"
With a glance, Ellen realized the other party's arms were dislocated. To still recklessly charge forward filled her with imnse disdain.
The laser sword swung out with the speed of thunder, the sharp blade slashing towards Yutsuki's waist.
Originally, Ellen thought the other party would undoubtedly be sliced in two at the waist by her. However, as if seeing through Ellen's thoughts, Yutsuki abruptly sank her body, dodging Ellen's slash by a hair's breadth.
"Wh—?!"
"Lightning Spear."
Before Ellen could cry out in surprise, Yutsuki closed the distance, blue-white lightning flashing at her bangs.
Normally, this level of electric shock couldn't affect Ellen. However, the electric snake, as if possessing a will of its own, accurately found a damaged opening in the armor, directly touching the skin of Ellen's arm.
"Guh—"
The paralyzing sensation brought by the electric shock caused Ellen's left hand, gripping the Sephira Crystal tightly, to lose sensation. The black gem slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.
"Damn it!"
Not giving Ellen a chance to react, Yutsuki, like a soccer player preparing to shoot, kicked the Inverse Crystal flying.
"What—"
Ellen widened her eyes in disbelief.
Seizing this opportunity, Yutsuki ran to Nia's body, grabbed her collar with her teeth, and flew into the air dragging her body.
(Is her real target Sister's body?)
Seeing this scene, Ellen instantly understood Yutsuki's intention.
If Yutsuki had snatched the Inverse Crystal right then, there was no doubt Ellen would have pursued and killed her without hesitation. Let alone taking Nia's body away, she herself would surely die.
Conversely, by kicking the Sephira Crystal away now, to prevent mission failure, Ellen had to prioritize retrieving the Sephira Crystal. This undoubtedly bought Yutsuki precious ti to escape.
(Hmph... petty tricks.)
"Adeptus 2, Adeptus 3. I leave Hacker and Sister to you."
After instructing her subordinates, Ellen chased in the direction the Sephira Crystal was kicked.
(Since the Sephira Crystal has already been extracted, that host body has no value. Since you want it so badly, I'll let you have it.)
"Don't think you can escape."
"To actually dare snatch soone from Sister Ellen's hands at a ti like this. I'm liking you more and more, Yutsuki-san."
Watching the two Wizards chasing from behind, Yutsuki opened her mouth and shouted loudly:
"Shido, over here!"
"—!"
As her voice fell, a violent tornado instantly rose from the ground, blocking Mulian and Artemisia's path. Simultaneously, two chains took the opportunity to wrap around Yutsuki and Nia, pulling them to Shido's side.
"As expected... I knew you were playing dead, Shido."
Breathing a slow sigh of relief, Yutsuki said feeling reassured.
"My body practically fell apart. Yutsuki... that was too risky. If I really passed out. You would have..."
Shido said, his face filled with lingering fear.
"Well, you successfully caught , didn't you? As long as the result is OK, it's fine."
"Hah—"
Probably knowing it was useless to persuade her, Shido sighed. Looking down at the grueso wound on Nia's abdon, a wave of self-bla surged in his heart.
"Yutsuki, Nia is..."
"Don't worry... she'll be fine."
It was unclear whether she was comforting Shido or truly confident. Yutsuki answered in a steady voice.
Just as Yutsuki and Shido were about to retreat, an irritable engine roar suddenly ca from nowhere. A sports car suddenly charged right in front of Yutsuki and Shido. The car body had many holes smashed into it, and blue smoke rose from the inside. Clearly, this car was totaled.
And what surprised Shido and the others was that upon seeing this sports car, Mulian and Artemisia suddenly gave up their pursuit and landed next to it.
The car door slowly opened, and a man walked out looking perfectly relaxed.
Light gray hair, a pitch-black suit, and eyes as dead and silent as rust.
"Ah, that was so thrilling! Speeding while dodging falling rocks from the sky, I felt like the protagonist in an Arican movie, it was so aweso."
"Isaac Westcott..."
Shido read the other party's na with clear hostility.
"Long ti no see, Itsuka Shido. And nice to et you, Hacker, uh no,Ryougi Yutsuki. Your good health is better than anything."
Exuding a sense of incongruity completely out of place with the scene, Westcott greeted the two very politely.
"Ike."
At this ti, Ellen had returned to Westcott's side. She presented the Inverse Crystal to him.
"Amazing, so this is—the Inverse Crystal,Qlipha."
Gazing intoxicatedly at this pitch-black gem, Westcott seed unable to contain himself, a crazed smile appearing on his lips.
"Thank you for your hard work. Artemisia, Mulian, and my dear Ellen. Thanks to your cooperation, everything unfolded perfectly according to the script."
"Of course, I am the strongest Wizard."
"I am very sorry. I fell for the enemy's trick and held you back."
"Well. It is work after all, naturally I would complete it properly."
Script?
Hearing the other party's words, Yutsuki couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.
Obviously, the Westcott of this world hadn't t her before, otherwise he wouldn't use a greeting like "nice to et you." However, from initially sending Nia to Shido's side, to now killing Nia and retrieving the Inverse Crystal, including the counterasures Yutsuki's side took, everything seed to be under his control.
"However, a script is a script. If the opponent isn't excellent enough, this script would have reached its end right from the start. Although that's exactly what I'd want, it would be a bit boring."
Saying this, Westcott began clapping for Yutsuki and Shido, speaking with an approving face.
"Thank you very much, thanks to you. I can finally take another step on the path to my long-cherished wish. As a return gift, let show you sothing interesting."
While declaring loudly, Westcott slowly reached out his hand.
"You bastard... what are you trying to do!"
"—What am I trying to do? Haha, having absorbed the Spirit power of nine people, do you still need to ask such a question at this point?"
"Wh-What did you say...?"
Shido frowned in confusion. And at this mont, Westcott took the Inverse Crystal—and effortlessly pressed it against his own chest just like that.
"Guh—Oooooooooooh—"
Starting from the Inverse Crystal, pitch-black light emitted an ear-piercing static noise like lightning. Only the dark night around Westcott was carved out anew, turning into a curtain that wrapped around him.
A few seconds later, the dark night was absorbed into Westcott's body. The Inverse Crystal originally in his hand had disappeared. In its place, was a large burnt hole on the chest of his suit.
"...Yutsuki, he took the Spirit's power..."
"Mhm, he absorbed it."
Nodding with a grave expression, Yutsuki said in a deep voice.
"Beelzebun."
As Westcott called out the Demon King's true na, the leather book engraved with an inverted cross appeared in his hands.
"Oh? How incredible. It's clearly the first ti summoning a Demon king, but the thod of using its power, even its privileges, are as clear as if they were spoken right by my ear..."
After closing his eyes and sighing with emotion, Westcott fell silent for a mont, then slowly closed the book.
"Then, let's call it a day here for now."
"Is that okay? Ike?"
Ellen tilted her head. She seed to think this was a good opportunity to capture everyone in one fell swoop.
"Even for , relying on this to devour more than one Demon King right now would endanger my body. Besides, by the ti the other Spirits rush over, it's highly likely we'll be drawn into a tough battle. Moreover—"
Saying this, Westcott narrowed his eyes, looked at Ryougi Yutsuki, and revealed a aningful smile.
"I don't want to suffer a loss at your hands like in the previous world, Ryougi Yutsuki."
"..."
"Well, we'll et again soon. Itsuka Shido, you and your Spirits enjoy what little peaceful ti you have left to the fullest."
Seeing Yutsuki ignoring him, Westcott shrugged, finding it dull. After giving his subordinates a look, he turned and left.
Before leaving, Mulian suddenly turned around and smiled faintly at Yutsuki and Shido.
"It seems I'll be keeping you company for a while longer, Yutsuki-san, Itsuka Shido. I hope we can have a pleasant ti playing together in the future."
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