Chapter 166 — Maruru·Alice
The atmosphere inside the combat chamber grew increasingly oppressive.
Both sides had clearly begun to draw upon techniques meant to end a fight—not merely spar.
Watching from the sidelines, Dex felt a growing sense of unease.
If this continued, there would be real casualties.
At present, the Simurian people and Earth's sorcerers were still in a fragile phase of mutual understanding.
Any bloodshed here would create an irreparable rift, making all future cooperation exponentially more difficult.
This sparring match had to end—now.
Dex's gaze sharpened as he prepared to step in and forcibly stop the battle.
Before he could move, Leo took a step forward, deliberately positioning himself in front of Dex, a polite smile on his face.
"Leader," Leo said calmly,
"the match isn't over yet. There's no need to rush."
He couldn't allow the leader to interfere—not when the enemy had yet to reveal their full strength.
"High Priest…"
Dex frowned, a faint pressure leaking from his body.
"Don't push this too far."
"Just a little longer," Leo replied, sweat forming on his brow as he endured the leader's rising aura.
"The outcome is about to be decided. Surely even the great leader can spare that much time?"
Despite the pressure bearing down on him, Leo refused to retreat.
For the future of the Simurian people, he could not agree with Dex's idealism.
If peace was to be secured, it would be through strength, not hope.
"You—!"
Dex was just about to erupt when—
A terrifying surge of energy exploded within the combat chamber.
Between the two horns on Boses' head, the dark-crimson energy finished condensing.
In the next instant, a scarlet shockwave blasted outward, causing the surrounding space itself to tremble violently.
Seeing this, Megumi hesitated no longer.
If the fight continued, there would be no turning back.
He was prepared to summon his ultimate trump card and bring this sparring match to an immediate end.
"Eight-Handled Sword—"
"—That's enough."
BOOOOM—!!
Just as Megumi's summoning ritual was about to be completed,
a small figure suddenly appeared between the two combatants, her clear, crisp voice reaching both of their ears.
Facing the cursed-energy shockwave that Boses had unleashed at full force, the petite figure merely raised a single hand—
—and effortlessly stopped it.
Her body didn't move back even an inch.
The shockwave, powerful enough to distort space itself, slammed into what seemed like an invisible wall and was completely neutralized.
Seeing this, a hint of surprise flashed through Fushiguro's eyes. He immediately dispelled the summoning ritual.
Once the cursed-energy blast dissipated, the two finally got a clear look at the newcomer.
"It's the young lady!"
The Simurian spectators instantly recognized her.
She was Maruru·Alice, the eldest daughter of Leader Dex, and one of the Simurian people's top-tier warriors.
Alice looked calmly at Boses and said evenly,
"That's enough. The sparring ends here. You may return."
Hearing this, Boses lifted his gaze toward High Priest Leo, who was watching from the stands. Then he turned and walked away, leaving behind a single sentence:
"I hope we'll have another chance to spar."
After Boses departed, Alice turned toward Fushiguro, a faint smile appearing on her face.
"Fushiguro Megumi, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Maruru·Alice, Ria's elder sister. Thank you for accepting my little sister."
Fushiguro looked at Alice—who looked almost identical to Ria—and felt a moment of confusion.
Are you sure this isn't Ria herself…?
"…Hello," he replied.
With Alice's arrival, the sparring match officially came to an end.
Dex let out a long breath of relief.
Thankfully, his daughter had arrived in time. Otherwise, given Boses' personality, the fight wouldn't have ended until at least one of them was completely incapacitated.
Seeing Alice appear, Leo's eyes flickered with wariness. He then turned to Dex and said,
"Leader, I've suddenly remembered I have other matters to attend to. I'll leave the rest of the tour to you."
With that, the High Priest departed, taking his people with him.
Alice and Fushiguro exited the combat chamber and rejoined the others.
Dex stepped forward with a smile.
"Mr. Fushiguro, your strength is truly impressive."
"The Simurian warriors are equally surprising," Fushiguro replied.
"Especially your daughter. Her strength seems even greater than Boses'."
Through his clash with Boses, Fushiguro had gained a rough understanding of the Simurian top-tier combat power.
Even if Boses hadn't gone all out, he was unquestionably at a special-grade level.
And Alice—who appeared suddenly and stopped everything so easily—felt even more unfathomable.
How many warriors of this level did the Simurian people have?
"Boses is also a top-tier warrior," Alice said calmly.
"His strength is no less than mine."
Her tone was flat, her demeanor gentle—nothing like what one would expect from someone so powerful.
"Enough of this for now," Dex quickly interjected, changing the subject.
"It's about time to eat. Let's have a meal together—our guests should try Simurian cuisine."
Afterward, Fushiguro and Kinji Hakari sampled Simurian food, bringing the visit to an end.
At the hangar entrance, Dex and the others saw the two off.
"I hope we'll have many more opportunities to exchange ideas in the future."
"I'm sure we will," Fushiguro nodded.
He summoned Nue, and the two of them departed atop the great bird.
Once they were gone, Dex's smile faded. He turned to Alice and asked quietly,
"What do you think of them?"
"They're undoubtedly among Earth's finest sorcerers," Alice answered without hesitation.
"If the sparring had continued, I believe Boses would have lost."
She could clearly sense that the being Fushiguro was about to summon at the end was on an entirely different level from the previous ones.
"…Even Boses wouldn't have been enough?" Dex murmured, troubled.
"Then what about you? If you fought him one-on-one, how confident are you?"
Boses was already among the strongest of their elite warriors—and yet he couldn't secure victory against a human special-grade sorcerer?
"If it were a one-on-one fight," Alice said calmly,
"I would win with absolute certainty."
Her voice was steady, filled with unquestionable confidence.
"With your ability, you do have a natural advantage against sorcerers," Dex said thoughtfully.
"But no matter what, I still hope we can coexist peacefully with humanity. I don't want war."
Only fifty thousand of their people remained.
They simply couldn't afford another war.
"I understand your intentions, Father," Alice nodded.
If possible, she too wished to avoid conflict with Earth.
But that depended not only on them—it also depended on humanity.
Unless absolutely unavoidable, she didn't want her younger sister to experience war again.
---
Meanwhile, Tokyo.
Zen'in Kaon was shopping and watching movies with Ria.
"Earth is wonderful," Ria said with emotion after a full day out.
"There are so many fun places, delicious foods, and everything feels so lively."
"But wait," Kaon said curiously,
"Shouldn't you aliens have been to way more places? The universe is way bigger than Earth."
She had even been thinking about taking her parents on a space trip someday.
"It's not as great as you imagine," Ria replied softly.
"Ever since I can remember, I've been living on the ship… all the way until now."
When Simurian Prime was invaded and the survivors fled, she had only been five or six years old.
In other words, most of her life had been spent aboard a single spacecraft.
Kaon hadn't expected that. She quickly patted Ria on the shoulder in comfort.
"I see… That's okay. I've been to lots of places.
When we get the chance, I'll take you traveling to other countries too.
There are so many amazing places on Earth."
---