Outside the barrier.
Couronne was frantic.
The spatial barrier kept shuddering, as if it could break at any moment. From inside came waves of power so terrifying they made the earth itself tremble. Everything screamed how fierce and dangerous the battle within must be.
She clenched her fists so hard her nails almost dug into her palms—but she was powerless. She was simply too weak. And not just her—the whole human race was like this.
Just then, a warm, steady hand settled lightly on her shoulder, which was trembling with tension.
"!!!"
Couronne jolted and spun around. The instant she saw who it was, her taut nerves loosened all at once and she all but sagged with relief. "Rei Ao-sama! You're finally here!"
She didn't even stop to look closely at the two people beside him. Every bit of her attention fixed on Rei Ao—the one anchor she could cling to now. Pointing anxiously at the roaring, light-flooded dome, her voice wavered on the edge of tears. "Jibril-sama and Schwi-sama are in there—they're fighting that terrifying Flügel!"
Rei Ao's expression remained calm as still water. To him, a clash that could unmake heaven and earth looked like children roughhousing. He nodded, his tone light. "I know. Don't worry, Jibril and Schwi will be fine. I know their strength."
He paused, eyes sweeping over the hardened spatial barrier. Then he casually lifted a hand and gave the crack-veined wall a gentle swipe.
Riiip—!
Like a blade slicing silk, the barrier sturdy enough to withstand dueling Heavenly Smites opened under his touch, parting into a smooth gap wide enough for people to pass through. The raging energy turbulence inside seemed pressed down by an invisible force and stilled for the moment.
"Come on—let's go take a look."
With that, Rei Ao stepped forward and strode into the storm.
Couronne didn't dare hesitate and moved to follow—only then noticing the two figures behind him. One was a gentle-looking girl with blue-violet hair, face tight with nerves and curiosity as she glanced around. The other was a small girl in a cute dress with white hair, odd little horns and a tail, looking harmless as could be.
What… kind of party is this? Who are they?
The question flickered through Couronne's mind, but there was no time to dwell on it. She hurried in after Rei Ao.
"Whew…" The unfamiliar surroundings made Michiru a little stiff; she drew in a deep breath. "Let's go too." Gripping Kanna's small hand, she followed, nervous and unsure.
—
The moment they stepped inside, the sight before them made Michiru and Couronne gasp.
The world had become a purgatory of light and energy.
High above, three figures were colliding and crossing at speeds the naked eye could barely catch.
Jibril was fully in battle mode—pink hair streaming, halo blazing, wings of light flared to their fullest. Destructive spells flowered in her hands one after another, a valkyrie descended.
Schwi displayed the Ex-Machina's terrifying technological prowess. Complex mechanical assemblies and flowing arrays wrapped her whole form. Massive cannon muzzles thrust from the void at intervals, spitting beams that could tear space. Her hands sketched rapid patterns in the air like a performance, running ultra-high-speed tactical calculations and support routines.
Their opponent—the Flügel called Azril—wasn't about to be outdone. She hung in the air, emerald hair rippling without wind. The intricate halo of layered magic circles above her head spun faster than ever, an ocean of power gathering around her. She hardly needed to move; with a casual flick she could unleash strikes that crushed mountains and boiled rivers.
Emerald Heavenly Smite lances, pitch-black Ex-Machina artillery, rose-pink torrents of magic—devastating forces crashed together in the sky, detonating and annihilating each other.
BOOM—! BOOM—!
The deafening thunder never stopped. A savage energy storm raked every inch inside the barrier.
The mythical scale of it all shattered the heart of Michiru—an ordinary high school girl. She went pale, body trembling, and instinctively clutched the hem of Rei Ao's coat.
Couronne had seen Jibril and Schwi's power before, but watching them go all out against a peer left her heart pounding all the same.
Amid that suffocating battlefield tension, Kanna—hand in Michiru's—suddenly blinked her ice-blue eyes and tilted her head back to watch the furious combat, the dazzling, muscle-thick collisions of power. Not only was she unafraid—an eager, yearning light slowly sparked to life in those pure eyes.
She tugged on Rei Ao and Michiru's hands.
"W-what is it?" Michiru snapped out of her daze and looked down at Kanna, startled. It looked like Kanna wanted to say something.
Rei Ao understood her at once. He glanced down, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "Hm? Kanna wants to go play too?"
"Mm-mm-mm!" Kanna nodded hard, cheeks flushing with the thrill of it, every line of her face itching to jump in.
"W-What? Play?" Michiru yelped, aghast. She stared at Kanna in disbelief. "Kanna, don't joke around—that's way too dangerous! You can't go!"
She reflexively pulled Kanna behind her, terrified the child would bolt straight into the heart of that annihilating melee.
Rei Ao chuckled and reminded her, "Michiru, you seem to have forgotten who Kanna really is."
"Kanna's… identity?" Michiru blinked. Her gaze drifted, almost on its own, to the little white dragon horns peeking from Kanna's silver-white hair—horns that clearly didn't belong to any human.
In a flash, clarity returned. Kanna wasn't some ordinary little girl. She was a pure-blood dragon from another world, with a lifespan of millennia—one of those fantastical beings of colossal power and long life.
That beach day with Kanna and Tohru—their "volleyball match" that nearly triggered a tsunami—was still burned into her memory. That wasn't a level of power any human could fathom.
~~~
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