Snow howled and wind tore through the air. Visibility had dropped below twenty meters—nothing existed in this world but the two of them.
"Are they all dead?"
"I—I—I came first," Kobeni said, holding up three trembling fingers.
"How'd you save me just now?"
Kobeni quickly explained what Yoshida and the Scapegoat Devil Hunter had discovered.
Hoshino nodded, motioning her closer. "I've got a plan. Come here."
She hesitated, then shuffled a step forward until she was almost touching him.
Hoshino leaned in, whispering a few quick instructions. Kobeni's face went red as a cooked crab.
"Be serious. What're you blushing for?" he asked, confused.
"It's... um..." Kobeni's voice was as tiny as a mosquito's. "It tickles."
"Oh." Hoshino's eyes swept the storm, staying alert for the Fiend's return. "You got sensitive ears or something?"
"Eh?"
"I said, are your ears sensitive?"
"...Th-the w-wind's kinda loud, I-I think I heard you wrong."
Hoshino repeated the question casually, word for word.
Kobeni froze.
This... this is workplace sexual harassment, right? It's gotta be! He even said it three times!
Unlucky! So unlucky!
Why me?!
Wait—I get it. He's lying! He must've seen my body before and now he's obsessed with me!
What a creep! He gets away with everything! If I don't fight back, he's just gonna get bolder!
Hoshino looked at her. "I asked you something. Answer."
"Ah? I... uh... yeah," she murmured, eyes downcast.
"Oh. My ears are sensitive too," he said matter-of-factly.
"…"
Kobeni nearly stumbled face-first into the snow before Hoshino grabbed her by the arm.
Just then, a sharp roar split the wind.
"It's here!" Hoshino turned.
A towering shadow loomed in the blizzard, growing darker and more defined—like a massive pillar.
Hoshino raised his hand. Instantly, the snow compacted into five thick walls in front of them.
The white haze split apart as a colossal snow pile—thick as an ancient tree trunk—hurtled toward them like a battering ram.
It smashed through the first wall, then the second. By the third, the wall burst apart in a storm of ice dust and fragments.
Hoshino couldn't see it clearly, but he could feel the impact—something massive made of snow tearing through barrier after barrier.
"At this rate, it'll break through... unless—" His eyes flashed blue.
The Avalanche Authority had two major drawbacks.
It couldn't create snow.
And it could only control snow directly or indirectly connected to the ground.
The fourth wall collapsed. The fifth began to shake violently. A rounded "ram head" burst through the snow wall—aimed to crush everything in its path.
But it stopped—just one meter in front of Hoshino.
"Yeah, I thought so. If I just create a contact surface, I can hijack control of the snow."
He arched a brow—then frowned. Something felt wrong.
"Where's the Fiend? Why hasn't he attacked yet—"
He turned—and froze.
The Fiend who'd vanished ahead was suddenly behind them, two white blades slicing for Kobeni's neck.
She raised her dagger to block.
"!!!" Hoshino nearly jumped out of his skin.
The snowblade missed the dagger and swung for her head—
—but Kobeni, startlingly calm, bent her wrist downward and drove her dagger straight into the Fiend's heart.
Clack.
The blade of snow shattered across her face like dust.
The Fiend stumbled back, lifted a finger—and six snow spears formed instantly, launching straight for her.
Kobeni didn't retreat. She stepped in, keeping her dagger buried in his chest.
Hoshino's eyes glowed bright blue. The snow under her feet compacted, steadying her stance, while six giant arms burst from his back to intercept the snow spears.
The air exploded with snow fog—but the arms remained untouched.
Even detached snow constructs share their solidity with the Fiend's own form.
Hoshino charged forward.
Just as planned—he supported; Kobeni attacked.
He didn't have real combat technique yet, and against a swordmaster Fiend like this, there wasn't much he could do.
But Kobeni could.
Her close-combat skill far outclassed his.
The Fiend darted left and right, trying to shake her off, but she clung to him like a curse. Blow after blow, she drove him back. Her reckless, relentless assault forced him on the defensive.
But that kind of fight was dangerous—and it couldn't end things.
They couldn't kill him.
If he just bought a moment, pulled half a meter away, and got that damned dagger out of his heart, he could lop her head off in one swing.
Then—something pink flickered in his ice-blue eyes.
The tiny thermos hanging from her neck.
Its hand trembled as a large stream of steaming water shot toward its chest.
His face twisted instantly.
Kobeni twisted her dagger upright, then slashed sideways.
Shhk!
The blade carved from his left chest to under his right arm.
A spray of blood and shredded organs followed, painting an arc of red across Kobeni right side—only to be swallowed by the storm.
The Fiend's face contorted in pain. If he hadn't dodged left, his heart would've been split in two.
And just like that—his fatal weakness was exposed.
Where it was wet, it couldn't turn to snow or repair itself with snow. Only natural regeneration worked there.
That was why he'd ditched his clothes in the first place—too hard to dry.
But this wound was huge—spanning most of his chest. The organs inside were shredded beyond quick healing.
He solidified his form, intending to finish her off with pure swordsmanship.
Instead—blood sprayed again.
"You little monkey!" the Fiend spat.
Her small dagger gleamed like liquid light, slashing faster than he could react, carving out chunk after chunk of his flesh.
There's a saying in karate: A thousand low kicks, all to land that one killing high kick.
You condition your opponent to guard low—then when the moment comes, you go straight for the temple.
That was how killing worked.
When the power gap wasn't too big, battle was all setup and misdirection—layer after layer of bait until the final strike.
But this "female monkey" in front of him—
Every fake opening, she ignored.
Every real one, she hit dead-on.
Dodged every killing blow.
Moved like lightning.
Every strike drew blood.
What kind of joke was this?
At this rate, he'd die.
He glanced around—the storm was reaching its peak, wind howling like a living beast.
He'd end it here—with his strongest technique.
The wind surged, knocking Kobeni off balance.
He leapt back, eyes blazing bluer than ever, watching the slim silhouette fighting to stay upright against the storm—still charging toward him, undeterred.
The Blizzard Fiend, proud by nature, snapped.
"Right here!"
"I am the origin!"
"I am the invincible god!"
"This is my divine domain!"
"What do you have to challenge me?!"
The light dimmed.
2000 meters in the sky, snowflakes gathered like iron filings.
Ice crystals formed a dōmaru armor, the armor tassels hanging like silver chains, trembling with the airflow and shedding fine silver particles.
The sword's surface was like a mirror of ice crystals, the blade pattern as if cut by a ruler, the spine smooth and clear, the guard revealing a snow mallow pattern.
In the blink of an eye, a 600-meter-tall ancient warrior lay horizontally in the sea of clouds.
It raised a 400-meter-long sword.
The helmet's tail feathers were streamlined by the wind.
It descended straight down.
Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz—
The sound was like a muffled drum, striking directly at the soul.
The Okura Plaza was just over 400 meters wide and long.
Such a massive, solid sword, falling from thousands of meters in the sky with the force of gravity.
There was only one outcome.
The sky would fall and the earth would crack.
A tsunami of snow as the sky, shattered stones as the ground. Humans caught in between would have countless ways to die.
However, Kobeni ignored everything, following the Fiend as it rushed toward the center of the plaza.
As their blades crossed, two more bloody holes appeared on the Fiend's body.
Its eyes widened as it finally remembered.
In that confined space, this girl had trembled as she hid at the back, so cowardly it was infuriating. She had completely given up resistance the moment a teammate died, even dropping her dagger.
Worse than an extra character, a complete movie clown, meant to be mocked and hated by the audience.
But now...
The Fiend couldn't understand, no matter how hard it thought.
Just as the warrior was less than 800 meters from the ground, someone told it the answer.
Under the heavy snow curtain, a pair of eyes projected two brilliant blue beams of light.
"What a coincidence!"
A voice pierced through the blizzard.
"This is my divine domain too!"
Hoshino clapped his hands together—smack.
The world convulsed.
The plaza's snow—eight meters deep—vanished in an instant.
Hoshino stood at the center line, the axis of everything, as eight pairs of colossal arms—each over two hundred meters long—rose behind him like folding fans.
With a technique drawn from the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū school of ancient swordsmanship—Mutō-dori, "the swordless catch"—he caught the falling blade.
BOOM.
Sound and wind merged into chaos.
Buildings ripped from their foundations. Forests of cedar snapped and fell. The world looked like it was ending.
Blood poured from Hoshino's eyes, twin streams of crimson mixing with snow. He and the Fiend wrestled for control of the blizzard itself.
Snow climbed up their bodies, firmly gripping him and Kobeni, protecting them from being swept away by the wind and waves.
When the winds finally began to fade and the snow settled, Kobeni charged again.
"Hmph."
The Fiend snorted, flicking up a local gust that sent the slim girl flying.
A smart move—he'd realized that smaller, focused bursts of wind were perfect against her light frame.
He lunged after her, blade raised, before she could ready her dagger again.
But then—a small round mirror flew from her hand.
The Fiend shattered it without hesitation.
Not far away, the mirror in Hoshino's hand was struck by a sudden snow spear, flying into the storm and vanishing.
"I WON!!!"
For the first time in years, the Blizzard Fiend felt genuine exhilaration at victory.
He charged forward, surrounded by countless glittering shards of mirror, blade raised high to strike Kobeni down.
And in that instant—time slowed.
He saw himself reflected a thousand times in the broken glass. His heart thudded once. A thought flashed like lightning.
He remembered.
The Aging Authority.
In the old team, someone had used it—requiring two mirrors, one for entry and one for exit, to harm her target. Extremely restrictive.
That boy, though—Hoshino—his version was stronger. Only needed an "entry" mirror. The "exit" mirror could be conjured. Still hard to pull off. Needed surprise.
But then—
Why did he tell me that?
He's too cunning for that.
He hid his hands behind his back when he used his Authority, but he made sure I saw him put the mirror in his pocket...
…
…
Maybe...
The Fiend's eyes went wide. "I'm going to die," he whispered.
His pupils rolled toward the edge of his vision.
At the far end, the boy was smiling.
A transparent mirror stood in front of him, with four thin fibers connected to it.
[Aging (B+): 30%]
"Four limbs," Hoshino said softly.
Four shards among the scattered mirrors extended gray "gun barrels," each aimed at a different point on the Fiend's body.
Bang.