But now… it seemed there was no longer much time left for her to grow stronger.
At this very moment, the gigantic transdimensional spatial gate had fully opened. Within the enormous black vortex, countless grotesque monsters emitting black-purple, corrupt auras poured out like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, roaring as they flew forth.
They had bat-like, grotesque wings on their backs, while their limbs were writhing tentacles resembling those of an octopus.
Even their heads looked like haphazardly stitched chimeras—mouths like insects, filled with spiral-shaped, saw-like teeth. Their scarlet eyes, saturated with filth, brimmed with hunger and slaughter as they gazed upon the humans below as if they were mere food.
In the city beneath, dense crowds of people were drawn by the anomaly in the sky. Yet the moment they looked up, an incomparably vast surge of magical power erupted, instantly deploying a cognition-blocking barrier and a mirrored space barrier that enveloped the entire city.
Amid the thunderous noise and violent tremors, the people of Japan—well accustomed to such situations—began evacuating in an orderly fashion. Minor earthquakes were nothing to worry about, but major ones were always followed by aftershocks.
Far away, in her room at Raize's house, Sei—who was teaching Asia to train holy power—also saw the scene in the sky outside the window. The cognition-blocking barrier was useless against her.
A cold expression instantly appeared on the girl's face. She felt intense disgust toward the aura leaking from the massive spatial gate in the sky, and all of it clearly did not belong to this world.
"Sister Sei, what is that in the sky?"
Asia, whose training had been interrupted, also noticed the phenomenon outside the window. She nervously asked Sei.
To her, the sight looked like the end of the world itself. Moreover, Sei's expression had become extremely serious and cold, which made Asia even more uneasy.
The coldness on Sei's face vanished in the next second. She reached out and patted Asia's head like a little adult, ruffling the girl's radiant golden hair, then said with a gentle smile:
"It's nothing—just some overstepping fanatics. That scene in the sky won't last long. Let's continue."
Asia still had questions and lingering unease, but under Sei's friendly, intimate gesture and her warm, healing smile, that anxiety disappeared in the very next moment.
All that remained was tranquility and trust. In front of this Saint-like sister, she felt inexplicably at peace.
Asia truly loved this feeling.
Meanwhile, in the backyard, Eu and Laffey—who were feeding the little Manjuus—were also interrupted by the scene in the sky.
The Manjuus were startled when they saw the phenomenon overhead, but these little creatures were fearless by nature—after all, in the game they were known for piloting self-destruct ships without hesitation.
They were only worried about their mistress and the shipgirl. Immediately, they chirped noisily and formed a protective circle around Laffey and Eu.
Eu frowned slightly, lifting her gaze toward the anomaly in the distant sky. A deep sense of unease welled up within her.
"The Commander is angry over there. He's already gone to kill them. He told you, Sister Eu, to stay at home and not go outside."
Laffey set down the wine bottle in her hand. The drunken flush on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a serious expression. Through the mental link, she had learned of Raize's situation.
After conveying his instructions to Laffey—Raize fell silent.
At that moment, their attention was once again drawn to a new phenomenon in the sky.
Hiss—!
A high-density, compressed beam of dragon breath shot up from within the city below. Its speed was so extreme that it flashed by like a ray of light, yet the destructive power it carried was utterly terrifying.
Boom!!
Energy between heaven and the world surged violently. A silent explosion echoed in the ears of beings like Raize. The alien monsters that had been falling toward the city like a rain of dumplings were erased as if wiped away by an eraser, reduced entirely to black ash.
"Disgusting worms—followers of an evil god—don't bring your filthy, rotten stench into this city!!"
A voice filled with revulsion and killing intent echoed across the sky. Immediately afterward, a horned dragon girl clad in a maid outfit tore through the sound barrier and arrived in the air.
Unlike her usual friendly demeanor, Tohru now had both hands transformed into grotesque dragon claws. Her once beautiful face was twisted with ferocity and loathing, sharp fangs glinting with cold light in her mouth.
Her gaze was fixed on the beings within the spatial black hole. To her draconic vision, massive entities were struggling within the vortex, forcing their way out.
With utter disgust, the dragon maid opened her savage jaws wide. Another dragon breath—powerful enough to turn the city below into a meteor crater—condensed and blasted straight into the spatial black hole.
"Kekeke… that won't do, Daughter of the Emperor of Demise."
The moment Tohru attacked, a chilling, sinister laugh emerged from within the spatial black hole. Then, a massive entity appeared—mountain-sized, covered in black misty fur formed from corrupt magical energy. It resembled a sea urchin, but far more horrifying, its enormous body surrounded by countless black tentacles.
And it was not the only hostile presence. Around the spatial gate in the sky, many more aberrant monsters appeared, radiating twisted, malevolent magic—far more terrifying than the earlier vanguard.
Faced with Tohru's devastating attack, a grotesque mouth suddenly opened on the surface of the giant black "sea urchin," swallowing the dragon breath whole. Its withered, blackened teeth clamped down on the beam.
A corrosive aura seeped from its mouth and fangs, eroding Tohru's magic. In the next instant, it actually bit the dragon breath apart.
"Since when did dragons of the Chaos faction start protecting human cities?"
The voice was filled with mockery and disdain. Beneath one of the massive creature's tentacles stood a man in a black robe, dressed in the style of Western nobility. By Western standards, his face was even rather handsome.
Yet his skin was pale green, and his hair writhed like Medusa's serpents—his head was covered in squirming tentacles.
Even the tentacles on his back were connected to the massive black creature above him. This grotesque man sneered as he stared at Tohru.
The tentacle linking him to the creature twitched slightly. The sea-urchin-like monstrosity above rapidly shrank, deforming like a deflating balloon. In a second, its massive body compressed, retracted along the tentacle, and vanished.
It was not a summoned pet.
That monster was merely a part of his body.
"Get out of this world, you repulsive, filthy existence. Otherwise… die."
Tohru stared coldly at the revolting being radiating immense power. Her icy dragon pupils flicked briefly toward a distant house, where Lucoa stood by a window, smiling and giving her an "OK" gesture.
The meaning was clear—there was no need to hold back. She had the surroundings covered.
With the aftermath secured, the dragon maid had no intention of restraining herself. As the words "go die" left her mouth, an overwhelming aura erupted from her body, blowing away clouds for several kilometers.
Crack—crack!!
Two sounds like something snapping echoed from around the spatial black hole. Tohru wore a ferocious, vicious grin as limitless magic—like a perpetual engine—flooded her draconic claws.
In an instant, she slashed through the grotesque man's body and the surrounding space.
The man's face still held that confident, eerie smile—
and then, in the very next second…