As if it were a scene rehearsed long in advance,
Even as Nanoda ignored the Imperial Prison Dragon's breath and moved to behead Briz outright, Mana swords burst from the bushes on both sides, stabbing straight for Nanoda's undefended flanks.
In the brief instant it took her twin broken-horn blades to whirl around and knock the Mana swords aside, Nanoda had already charged straight into range of Briz's hammer swing — the bronze hammer, which should have lagged half a beat behind, came crashing down!
Boom!
A solid, compact ward of Defensive Magic unfurled, intercepting the blow.
Briz was startled to find that though his strike had clearly shattered the Defensive Magic, more layers waited beneath it.
Nanoda swung her blade again, aiming for the same arm she'd already wounded before.
But a huge shadow suddenly loomed over her from the side, and three long blades slashed at her from three directions as she was mid-attack.
Nanoda triggered Defensive Magic again while holding Paradox Magic in reserve. That instant of shifting tactics meant her Severance Magic slash only grazed and shattered the bronze armor on Briz's shoulder.
Revolte's Divine Technique: Sword Shatter hadn't earned its reputation for nothing.
The layered Defensive Magic cracked apart inch by inch, unable to bear the strain.
Just as Nanoda was about to be cut in half at the waist, her hands blurred into afterimages, responding in an instant.
Paradox Magic: Motion and Stillness opened for a single second.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three tones like the great bell of a temple rang out in that instant.
II
It felt to Nanoda like striking three slabs of solid stone. Even deflecting at the optimal angle, she barely managed to force the three blades back in that single instant.
In her blind spot, a fourth long blade entered the edge of her vision from below at an angle — by the time she registered it, there was no time left to dodge.
She had no choice but to cross her arms quickly, blocking with her broken horns!
It was like being struck by a mountain that could run — the upward slash sent Nanoda's whole body flying!
Two more rows of Mana swords stabbed toward Nanoda as she hung suspended in midair!
And overhead, a sea of flame came bearing down close behind.
Paradox Magic: Motion and Stillness for one second, followed immediately by Severance Magic!
Her broken horns flashed with a keen edge — the Mana swords on either side were knocked away by the invisible slashing strike, and the sea of fire overhead was cut apart, its scorching flames dousing themselves against the earth beside her.
Nanoda landed lightly on the ground. One Demon against five — though she hadn't yet managed to strike one of them down first, at least she remained unscathed for now.
"Two more joined in, huh."
Watching Schlacht, who hid behind Briz's bronze armor while keeping his eyes fixed on her every moment, Nanoda felt as though an unbridgeable gulf separated them despite the short distance.
It was at that very moment that Schlacht's voice suddenly surfaced inside Nanoda's mind.
"There's no need for us to keep fighting like this. Cooperation would benefit us both."
Nanoda looked up at Schlacht, who said nothing aloud, his gaze never leaving her.
This telepathic magic, like a voice carried a thousand miles, caught her off guard.
No wonder those Demons coordinated so precisely — Commander Schlacht had probably been using this magic all along to relay information and direct them.
"Your goal is to erase Gaderia, and mine is to protect it. There's no room for cooperation."
Nanoda refused coldly, her words sharp.
"Far more interesting than those two Humans. An opponent worth going all out against — I can hardly wait to try my blade on her!"
Revolte flexed his three arms, still numb from the impact, fighting spirit blazing. Even with magic amplifying him, he'd been captivated by the technique Nanoda had just displayed.
As a Demon General inclined toward physical combat, he could tell — physique aside — that Nanoda's skill might even surpass his own.
"Revolte. Don't underestimate her — she's barely used any magic yet."
Solitär, the Great Demon who'd once crossed paths with Nanoda before, stepped out from behind the tree where she'd been hiding, smiling.
With her sharp sensitivity to Mana, she could see that the white-haired Demon was like a black hole, ceaselessly devouring the Mana around her — her Mana volume was climbing higher by the moment.
If not for Schlacht's orders, she would absolutely have stayed hidden until Nanoda left.
"Boom!"
Nearby, the battle between Hafleet and Lernen raged on.
The massive fireball failed to kill Lernen, who had thrown up Defensive Magic at full strength.
Lernen, breathing hard from the scorching heat, fired off a barrage of black impact magic in succession, sending Hafleet leaping and scrambling about again.
"Useless. Can't even handle one old Human man."
Revolte's contempt for the underling he'd forcibly conscripted was plain on his face.
Of everyone present, Revolte alone looked more or less at ease.
"Bronze" Briz's bronze armor had already been battered and gashed all over by Severance Magic, his right arm a bloody mess. Still, he held his ground before Schlacht like a loyal knight.
"The Keeper" Zaha circled high in the sky astride his Imperial Prison Dragon, daring only the occasional stone drop or dragon's-breath attack. He didn't even dare bring the dragon in close for a claw-and-fang strike, terrified that both Demon and dragon alike would be sliced clean in two by that uncanny cutting strike.
"Whew."
Nanoda let out a long breath.
Her Mana had built up nearly enough over the course of the fight so far. Her goal now was to use another Paradox Magic technique, catching them off guard to strike down one of her opponents first.
A top-tier Great Demon rivaling Macht, one high-ranking Demon General, two mid-to-upper-tier Demon Generals, and an Omniscient One who saw through the entire situation.
It wasn't quite the full lineup of the Seven Sages of Destruction, but it was still a fairly formidable roster.
Nanoda had no idea what outcome Schlacht the Omniscient One had foreseen for this one-against-five battle.
She simply pushed his foresight — his ability to see through her every move — out of her mind and focused entirely on the fight.
From this moment on, it was either him dead or her.
Nanoda transformed once more into that utterly rational, cold-blooded assassin.
Sensing the shift in Nanoda's aura, Revolte tightened his grip on his sword without meaning to.
Inside his head, Schlacht's message lingered: "You might die."
"Hey! Rolwen! Hang in there! Stay with me!"
Timmy carried the blood-soaked Rolwen on his back, step by step, hauling him out of the swift-flowing river — blood stained the whole stretch of the current, a wretched, horrifying sight.
Rolwen and Timmy had each been handling two of the arms, locked in a fierce, all-out fight against the four-armed Demon General.
Then, midway through, a female Demon had appeared out of nowhere and ambushed Rolwen with a Mana sword. In the desperate moment, Timmy had no choice but to grab him and leap into the river together.
The wound on his back, where the Demon's blade had struck him, throbbed with agony the instant it touched the clear water.
Ignoring his own injuries entirely, Timmy laid the barely-breathing Rolwen down beside a relatively clean stretch of rock.
His right shoulder and left leg had both been run through by blades, and worst of all was the gash on his stomach, still leaking blood steadily.
Timmy tore off his own clothes, praying the wound hadn't reached his organs as he wrapped a makeshift bandage around it.
"This is... humiliating."
"Enough. Don't talk anymore!"
Timmy was relieved that the two Demons didn't seem to have followed them.
____
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