The time returns to the moment of the decisive battle between Leon and Luffy—
As Leon and Luffy each reached their breaking point—one revealing a long-hidden Longinus, and the other overloading her magic at the risk of bodily collapse—Yukinoshita Yukino and Sharon were also locked in a fierce struggle.
"Hu—"
The freezing wind exhaled by the three-meter-tall monstrous Ice Princess had surged to the intensity of a Category 12 typhoon. Like a super blizzard, it swept through the room, transforming this pocket dimension—originally vast enough to contain the full-scale battle of Ultimate-class devils without crumbling—into a world of ice and snow.
Everything in sight was white.
Everything in the surroundings was frozen solid.
This blizzard, comparable to absolute zero, was breached by Sharon single-handedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!—
Enveloped in a black aura, Sharon showed no fear of the effects of the ultra-low temperature. She charged straight into the blizzard, dancing with the hideous blades in her hands like a stunt performer, shattering the ice mixed within the storm one strike at a time.
Boom!
A massive iceberg came whistling toward her, just like during the fierce battle outside the Yukinoshita mansion. It smashed heavily toward Sharon, but unlike last time when she desperately dodged, she simply swung her savage blades. As if splitting mountains, she detonated the iceberg on the spot.
"This is just too much!"
Clutching her abdomen, Yukinoshita Yukino couldn't help but cry out, even with her stoic temperament.
To shatter an iceberg with a single strike—the only person she had seen do such a thing was Miyamoto Musashi.
That woman didn't stop at icebergs; she would even cut through the meteors created by her master's "Zenith Tempest." She could even slice through space itself. Had she been here, this pocket dimension wouldn't have been able to trap her for a second. With a few swings, she could have ignored the "trials" in each room, broken through the walls, and left.
Sharon was naturally not as exaggerated as Miyamoto Musashi, but to Yukino, she was behaving like a monster. Compared to before, she was a completely different person.
Facing such a ferocious Sharon, Yukino didn't dare let her get close. She constantly increased the distance, forcing the Ice Princess to exhale freezing air to create blizzards and icebergs to stall the assault.
Not long ago, she had been careless and allowed Sharon to close in, resulting in her abdomen being pierced by a lightning-fast strike, plunging her into a state of critical injury.
With that lesson learned, Yukino naturally dared not be negligent again. She poured magic power into the Ice Princess as if it cost nothing, making the freezing air more turbulent and terrifying by the second.
Yet, even so, Sharon, wrapped in black aura, broke through the blockade of frost. Ignoring the frozen wasteland, she charged toward Yukino as if crossing level ground.
One advanced and the other retreated. However, because one was incredibly ferocious and the other was severely wounded, they soon clashed.
After shattering another iceberg, Sharon lunged in front of Yukino, forcing her to throw herself backward in haste.
Slash!
Almost simultaneously, a black blade of light cut through the spot where Yukino had just stood. It was incredibly fast and sharp, like a black flash that sliced the very air.
Her first strike failing, Sharon didn't hesitate for a second before launching a second. With her other hand gripping a savage blade, she hacked down mercilessly at the fallen Yukino, seemingly intent on a direct decapitation.
At the critical moment, a thick wall of ice rose in front of Yukino, blocking Sharon's killing blow.
Bang!
Sharon shattered the ice wall with one swing, sending countless shards flying, but she couldn't continue the downward swing.
Those countless flying ice shards suddenly froze in mid-air as if controlled. In the next instant, they shot toward Sharon like a barrage of ice daggers, forcing her to halt her attack and leap backward to dodge the projectiles.
But as soon as she evaded the daggers, she crouched low and kicked off the ground. Her figure broke the sound barrier, turning into an afterimage as she charged at Yukino once more.
"How persistent...!"
Yukino had just scrambled to her feet. Seeing this, she cursed inwardly.
This woman was indeed a fake nun, and even a fake exorcist.
What kind of exorcist fights with such brutality?
She was more of an assassin than an actual assassin!
Left with no choice, Yukino conjured wall after wall of ice in front of her, trying to block Sharon's charge.
Bang! Bang! Bang!—
As a result, Sharon continued as she had before, swinging her savage blades in a dance-like rhythm. One strike per wall, every blow detonating the ice and scattering shards everywhere.
Yukino tried to repeat her previous trick, controlling the fragments to turn them into ice daggers, but the same move wouldn't work on Sharon twice.
"I've already seen that move. It won't work again!"
As Sharon spoke, she accelerated violently. Her form became almost invisible. She paid special attention to her positioning, managing to dodge every single ice fragment.
Very quickly, Sharon burst through the zone of flying ice and arrived before Yukino again. She raised her savage blade high and swung down.
Bang!
In the next second, countless ice shards flew up again.
But this time, the ice shards were mixed with traces of blood.
"Ugh...!"
Yukino had raised both arms. At some point, thick ice had formed over them. She held them in front of her to protect her head, bracing for Sharon's violent strike.
An attack capable of easily shattering icebergs and ice walls naturally pulverized the thick ice on Yukino's arms. It also caused blood to spray from her hands, staining the rising ice shards red.
This was naturally very painful for Yukino. Not only did a muffled groan escape her throat, but she was also sent flying backward.
Sharon's eyes narrowed slightly. Without a word, she charged forward, catching up to the flying Yukino and swinging her savage blade with cold ruthlessness.
As if she were helpless, Yukino raised her hands again to block, condensing thick ice layers as fast as possible.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!—
Countless ice shards flew; countless heavy thuds rang out. Sharon hacked at Yukino strike after strike, incessantly shattering the ice on her arms. Yukino retreated, her body trembling violently under the heavy blows. More blood splattered from her hands, making her look exceptionally battered.
Bang!
Just as Yukino continued to condense ice to endure Sharon's hacking with her bare arms, Sharon performed a feint. She suddenly spun and delivered a roundhouse kick, slamming her foot into Yukino's side.
"Cough...!"
Yukino immediately coughed up blood. She was kicked away, sliding a long distance across the ice-covered floor until she crashed into the wall and finally stopped.
"Damn it..."
Feeling the agonizing pain in her side and arms, Yukino gritted her teeth and struggled to stand.
"Do you still want to fight?" Sharon lowered her twin blades and walked slowly toward Yukino. "It's about time you gave up, isn't it?"
"...Who's going to give up?" Yukino glared at Sharon, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. "I refuse to lose to the same person twice!"
"Courageous, but unwise." Sharon smiled without a trace of emotion. "I heard that the second young miss of the Yukinoshita family was a very clever person. I didn't expect you to become so much stupider after reincarnating as a devil."
"If your definition of clever means knowing when to surrender, then you don't know me as well as you think." Yukino replied, refusing to back down. "I have never been one to bow my head easily to others. If I were, I wouldn't have been isolated."
"That is true." Sharon nodded in acknowledgement, her face still devoid of feeling. "In that case, are you prepared to be killed by me?"
"Who would want such a preparation?" Yukino said coldly. "I've already died once; I don't want to do it again."
"Then that..." Sharon stopped and lowered her body. "Is no longer your choice."
With that, Sharon prepared to charge toward Yukino once more.
Yukino's heart tightened, and her fists clenched. She was anxious.
Not yet... not ready... I still need to stall for a bit more time...
Thinking this silently, Yukino suddenly exhaled and relaxed her body.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Yukino's sudden words caused Sharon to subconsciously halt her charge.
"...What?"
For some reason, Sharon spoke.
"Why do you risk your life for the Church?" Yukino voiced the doubt in her heart. "Although you're a fanatic, I don't think you're stupid enough to slave away for the people who truly hurt you."
"Your hatred for devils is irrational and lacks any rhyme or reason. Even the 'devout believers' I know only feel disgust or rejection toward devils. Unless they were harmed by one, they would never have such intense hatred."
"Moreover, your attitude toward devils is more than just hatred; it's an extremely intense obsession."
"I truly don't understand. Why are you like this?"
Yukino calmly pointed this out.
"My master says your head is messed up, and I used to think so too. But looking at your attitude earlier, it doesn't seem to be the case."
Yukino still remembered what Sharon had said moments ago.
"You don't know anything at all."
That sentence and that tone made her realize there might be more to this story.
"...What is the point of asking this now?"
Sharon was silent for a while before answering tonelessly.
"I want to know."
Yukino maintained an uncompromising stance.
"Then I'd like to ask you something instead. Why do you assume it was the Church that hurt me?"
Sharon gave a cold laugh and spoke.
"Why couldn't the person who hurt me be a demon?"