Jaeger naturally supported Kasumigaoka Utaha's decision to grow stronger, a pleased smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
[Chat Group]
Miyuki Uchiha: "Eh? Senpai wants to get stronger now? I remember when she first arrived in the Naruto World, she didn't even want to fight."
Yamamoto Mei: "Maybe Jaeger-kun influenced her."
Esdeath: "Excellent! Women who fight are so much more attractive. Utaha, this is a wise—no, an incomparably wise decision~!"
Luo Hao: "Esdeath is correct. Utaha, though you no longer require my guidance, I shall say this—your resolve proves that you already carry the spirit of a martial artist!"
Sakura Tohsaka: "Good luck, Utaha-san!"
Erina Nakiri: "I've never been into fighting… but even I'm kind of excited now. Go, Utaha!"
Shinobu Kocho: "It feels as if gods and angels are beginning their ascent…"
Jibril: "Hold on! Why is everyone cheering for little miss Utaha? Where's my support?"
Nerona Jaeger: "Probably because they still see you as a ruthless bean-making machine."
Jibril: "Ouch! Mr. Jaeger, that really stings!"
Saitama: "Want me to cheer for you? Go Birdman— I mean, whatever. I'm curious what move Jaeger will use to beat you."
Jibril: "Tch! I'm not a Birdman! I'm a Flugel—crafted by Lord Artosh, the God of War!"
Saitama: "Huh? You've got wings, so you're a bird. What else am I supposed to call you? Women are weird."
Jibril: "Ughhhh—!!"
Watching the chat scroll like a slot machine on turbo mode, Jaeger couldn't help but feel satisfied.
The atmosphere was livelier, warmer, and more unified than ever.
If everyone were like Muzan—loud, arrogant, and pathetically weak—then this chat group would be nothing but migraines and wasted oxygen.
Over the Atlantic Ocean…
With just over two hours left before the Demon Slayer world mission concluded, Jaeger's trio had chosen an isolated battlefield—far from Japan. None of them had the heart to wreck the birthplace of their beloved anime memories.
Jibril hovered serenely in the sky, wings spread, eyes emotionless.
Below her, Kasumigaoka Utaha—now in full pink-dragon form—prepared herself for combat.
"Go on," Jibril said lightly. "Strike first. You won't get another chance."
"Fine by me," Utaha answered without hesitation.
She knew she was outmatched. Completely. But hesitation would only get her killed faster.
Her dragon eyes spun into a Mangekyō Sharingan, swirling with deadly clarity. Heat swelled in her chest as she opened her maw wide.
"Boro breath—!"
BOOOOM!
A blazing inferno roared forth—enough to scorch an island off the map.
But—
"You're too slow."
The voice came from beside her.
Her pupils shrank violently.
Jibril had vanished from her line of sight—and in her place, a gleaming scythe of light hummed ominously.
Too fast.
Far, far too fast.
Even her Mangekyō couldn't track Jibril's movement.
"Kamui!"
Utaha instantly activated her dimensional shift. Her entire dragon body flickered out of the physical world, phasing into another dimension.
A perfect defense.
Or so she thought.
Pain detonated through her body a split second later.
Slash.
One clean swing—
—and it tore straight through Kamui space.
And through The Twelve Trials, an artifact known for granting twelve deaths and twelve rebirths.
CRACK—!
The hundred-meter dragon was cleaved in half mid-air. Blood rained down into the ocean like a crimson waterfall.
"RRAAGHHHH—!"
The dragon's roar shook the sky, raw with agony—but the injury wasn't permanent.
A golden glow surged.
The Twelve Trials triggered instantly, restoring her body, knitting her flesh back together with unnatural speed.
Utaha gasped as her vision steadied.
"D-Did I… just die!?"
Floating shakily, she stared at Jibril with wide, horrified eyes.
Even with twelve lives, Jibril had cut through her like paper.
And her Kamui—Kamui!—how did she get struck inside another dimension!?
Esdeath: "Wait, wasn't Kamui supposed to let her dodge everything? And The Twelve Trials can tank a full city's destruction…"
Miyuki Uchiha: "You're right. But Jibril's spatial mastery lets her invade alternate dimensions. She can chase you down even inside Kamui."
Yamamoto Mei: "And defense-wise… the Trials might survive a city-level blast, but Jibril's casual slashes are island-level at the bare minimum. That attack just now probably cut through the sea floor."
Nerona Jaeger: "Plus speed—Jibril can move 4,000 km in 0.02 seconds. That's… yeah, basically twenty laps around Earth in one second. To Utaha, it's the same thing as someone hitting the time-stop button."
Esdeath: "…The more I hear, the scarier she sounds. I'm still way too weak."
Luo Hao: "Inconceivable. Before I joined this group, I thought god-slayers were the pinnacle of all beings…"
Saitama: "Oh! That regeneration was pretty amazing. Spatial defense too. Still not enough, though."
Nerona Jaeger: "Well, against you? Almost nothing is enough."
Saitama: "Man… I really thought I'd see something exciting this time."
With a single strike, Jibril reminded everyone just how terrifying a Flügel truly was.
"You're too slow. Your defense is broken. Planning to rely on those twelve respawns to stall me?"
She spun her glowing scythe, sparks trailing.
"Too bad—I can kill you twelve times before you finish blinking."
"Hah… I'm not stalling."
Utaha's voice steadied. The trembling faded. Determination sharpened her dragon eyes.
So what if she died once?
The Twelve Trials demanded it. Resurrection had its costs.
"I won't run anymore!"
Then—
"Spacing out again? Your instincts are still dull," Jibril whispered—
—behind her.
Utaha froze.
What!? Even her Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't track Jibril's approach!
But she had a trump card.
A power capable of halting even Jibril's impossible speed.
Time—Stop.
No chant.
No stance.
No preparation.
Time simply froze.
Winds halted mid-spiral.
Colliding ocean waves formed a still mosaic.
Seagulls hung motionless in the sky, wings rigid.
Luo Hao: "Time Stop… even after witnessing it several times, it remains monstrously powerful."
Esdeath: "Wait—Jaeger got caught by that once, right?"
Yamamoto Mei: "Makes sense. Esdeath's time stop has a chant delay. Utaha's? Instant activation."
Luo Hao: "Indeed. Even I couldn't sense the moment it triggered. I only noticed when the wind suddenly stopped."
Esdeath: "Damn it, I really need to evolve my Frozen Fruit further. I'll need some sturdy test subjects from other worlds…"
Sakura Tohsaka: "Everyone's growing stronger… and I feel like I'm just stuck."
Erina Nakiri: "It's okay, Sakura-chan. I'm the same… well, aside from having a Mythical Zoan Phoenix form."
Sakura Tohsaka: "…"
Miyuki Uchiha: "Pfft—Erina, that's literally the definition of overpowered! You just crushed Sakura's heart!"
Erina Nakiri: "W-Wait! I didn't mean it like that!"
Sakura Tohsaka: "It's fine. Jaeger-nii said the Fourth Holy Grail War is about to begin in my world… and when it does, I'll summon a powerful Servant."
Erina Nakiri: "That's wonderful! I'll support you all the way, Sakura-chan!"
The excited chatter of the chat group didn't reach Kasumigaoka Utaha—not here, not now.
Time had frozen.
Before her hovered Jibril, perfectly still, suspended midair like a painting. Every heartbeat felt like a century.
Utaha's breathing came rough and uneven; her draconic muscles trembled from the strain of her final gamble.
One chance.
That's all I've got.
Her crimson Mangekyō spun fiercely.
This is everything I've become… everything I've fought for.
Thunder crackled across her scales, fire roared in her lungs, and her power surged to its absolute limit.
"—Thunder Flame Dragon Hammer!!!"
A deafening roar exploded from her throat as her massive dragon form lunged forward, tearing through frozen time itself. Lightning coiled with blazing fire, turning the sky into a canvas of destruction.
The force warped the air.
The world shook.
And then—
BOOOOOOM!!
The impact split clouds apart, shattered the sea beneath them, and hurled Jibril's unmoving body across the horizon like a comet blazing through the atmosphere.
Utaha staggered, panting, her pink scales cracked and blackened. Time flickered—
—and resumed.
"...Did I get her?"
She forced her eyes upward, searching—hoping—but the chill in her spine struck first.
"You've failed."
A soft whisper brushed her ear.
Utaha froze.
Jibril stood beside her. Untouched. Unscratched. Smiling like a cat playing with a dying mouse.
"Even a hydrogen bomb couldn't harm me," she said sweetly. "What made you think that would?"
Utaha's body trembled.
"Tens of thousands of meters… and you came back instantly…"
"At my speed?" Jibril tilted her head with a laugh. "Even if you launched me off the planet, it wouldn't slow me down."
Her six wings ignited with divine light. Terrifying magical pressure rippled through the sky.
"This battle ends here, Dragonmaiden."
Light exploded.
Blood splattered the air before Utaha could even register pain. The Twelve Trials desperately rebuilt her flesh, but Jibril was faster—far faster.
Her hands became phantom blades.
Heads severed.
Hearts shredded.
Lightning incinerated.
Mana shells detonated.
Limbs torn apart.
Her soul ripped, crushed, reforged—
over and over and over—
Eleven deaths in an instant.
Sakura Tohsaka: "That's… horrific."
Esdeath: "She chose this path."
Luo Hao: "And she has already surpassed countless mortals."
Saitama: "She's barely hanging on…"
Utaha resurrected for the twelfth time, falling forward with a ragged gasp. Her body reformed midair—shaking, scorched, barely coherent. Her eyes opened only to see Jibril floating above her, smiling like a victorious executioner.
"This is your last life, Dragonmaiden," Jibril sneered. "Twelve deaths. That's your ceiling."
Mana swirled violently in her palm, distorting space.
"Five Percent—Heavenly Strike."
It wasn't elegant. It wasn't refined.
It was pure annihilation.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A blinding white blast swallowed the world.
Ocean evaporated.
Clouds vaporized.
The atmosphere screamed.
A towering mushroom cloud clawed at the heavens as reality itself warped from the sheer force.
Kasumigaoka Utaha's massive dragon body was obliterated—reduced to a single smoldering scrap of flesh.
And then—
A pair of hands caught it.
Calm. Gentle.
Nerona Jaeger.
In seconds, the scrap pulsed with life.
Scales grew.
Flesh stitched.
Bones rematerialized.
The dragon vanished—leaving behind a black-haired girl, weak and shaking, red eyes dim with exhaustion.
Her voice was a whisper.
"...I lost."
Her forehead leaned against Jaeger's chest, her legs unable to hold her weight. She had nothing left.
But there was no regret.
She who began powerless—just an ordinary girl—
had risen high enough to fight with a god.
And for her…
That was enough.
Jaeger looked down at her, gently brushing aside her messy hair.
"I'm proud of you, Utaha."
He lowered his forehead against hers, his voice warm and impossibly soft.
"You truly are my Dragon Girl."
Utaha didn't answer with words.
Her cheeks burned scarlet, and her trembling fingers clutched the fabric of his shirt like she never wanted to let go.
That alone said everything.
For a moment, the chat group went silent.
Even the loudest, rowdiest members knew better than to interrupt a moment like this.
…Well.
Most of them did.
"Oi, oi, are you two done yet?"
Jibril hovered above them, arms crossed, pouting like a child who'd been skipped in line at the amusement park.
"I just shattered your precious Dragon Girl twelve times, Jaeger. I think I've earned my fight."
Jaeger looked up at her, completely unfazed.
"Toss me a Senzu bean."
"Huh?" Jibril blinked. "Oh—sure."
She tossed one down casually… then paused, thought for a second, and popped another one into her own mouth.
She hadn't been wounded in the slightest.
But this was Jaeger she was facing.
Even a Flügel had the right to be cautious.
Jaeger helped Utaha sit up and gently pressed the bean to her lips.
In an instant, warmth flooded her body. Color returned to her cheeks. Her breathing steadied.
Her eyes flew open in shock.
"What… this thing… it even restores my Twelve Trials!?"
She stared down at the empty spot where the bean used to be, utterly staggered.
"Just one bean and I'm completely restored… It's like—like the healing potions in games!"
Jibril puffed out her chest proudly, wings fluttering with smug energy.
"Well, obviously! That's the brilliance of my Senzu beans! They're absolutely perfect!"
Jaeger smiled softly and cupped Utaha's cheek.
"You've done enough. Rest."
She nodded, still dazed, her gaze lingering on him before she vanished back into her world.
The sky grew still.
And now—
Only two remained.
Kasumigaoka Utaha disappeared into her own world, leaving the battlefield behind.
Above the endless ocean, suspended in the air like gods overlooking creation, stood the final pair.
"It's just the two of us now, Mr. Jaeger," Jibril murmured, voice trembling—not with fear, but pure exhilaration. "Ever since the very day I joined the chat group… I've dreamed of fighting you."
Her hands gripped the light-forged scythe, wings spread wide, divine radiance spilling off her like an ocean of magic.
Her golden eyes glowed with battlelust so intense it bordered on worship.
Jaeger hovered silently across from her, his expression calm and unreadable. Then, his voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Jibril, tell me something."
His eyes narrowed slightly, fixing on her with quiet resolve.
"Do you still have enough Senzu beans left in reserve?"
•••
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