Crash!

Rubble collapsed, echoing through the area.

"Ow, ow, ow… Kunou, you okay?" I asked.

"You protected me, so I'm fine. But you're reckless," she replied.

The subway platform was a wreck—ceiling caved in, concrete chunks scattered. The Hero Faction guys were swallowed by Agni, lying bloodied and barely alive, thanks to their shadow armor.

(You unleashed that without your gauntlet. How's your body holding up?) Ddraig asked.

A bit tired, but fine. Cao Cao's still ahead. Can't waste energy here. I hit just above the shadow-user's absorption limit—unlike with Riser, where I needed a Demon King-level blast. This didn't need that much.

(How'd you gauge his limit?)

Instinct… experience, maybe? I adjusted my aura blasts during the fight, watching how they were reflected. At high power, I noticed slight inconsistencies in the returned blasts, so I calculated the upper limit. Had to be careful with Kunou here. Guess I got lucky.

(Impressive. Old partners couldn't do that. Maurice might, but that old freak would do it effortlessly.)

Master Fist God aside, that old man's abnormal.

Anyway, I'm okay. But… maybe I should've narrowed the range. This rubble pile makes me think twice.

"This not being real Kyoto is a relief. Otherwise, it'd be a huge mess," Kunou said.

Ouch, fair point. But Kunou's unharmed, and the enemies are down. Barrier's a go, so let's call it good.

"Let's move, Kunou."

"Right!"

I scooped her up, spread my demon wings, and flew toward Nijo Castle.

Following the map, I spotted Nijo Castle and the offense team at the gate. Everyone's safe.

"Sorry I'm late," I said, gesturing an apology.

Kiba smiled. "Glad you're okay. Assassins on your end too?"

"Yeah, three Balance Breakers out of nowhere. You know my situation—gave me some trouble. You guys too?"

"Yep, we faced Balance Breakers too."

"And you're all fine, so you took them out. Nice work."

As we confirmed everyone's safety—

Urp!

Rossweisse, in Valkyrie armor, was puking by a pole. Saji rubbed her back, asking, "You okay?"

"Did the assassins do that? Some sacred gear?" I asked.

Kiba gave a wry smile. "No, it's from her daytime drinking. Moving made her nauseous."

Splatter…

The sound of vomiting. Is she… emptying her entire stomach?

"Alcohol's scary," Kunou said.

"Don't look, Kunou. That's not for kids," I said, covering her eyes.

Ugh… we've got a battle ahead, and now I'm worried for a whole different reason. Puking Valkyrie—what a terrible nickname.

"No injuries, Onii-chan?" Miu asked.

"Clothes are torn, but I'm good. You?"

"I'm fine. Saji-kun helped."

"Good."

Miu's strong enough to handle most foes, and with Saji's Vritra powers, I wasn't too worried. Saji's training has paid off—he's mastering Vritra.

My real concern was…

"Asia, you're safe too?" I asked.

"Yes, Xenovia-san and Irina-san protected me," she replied.

"Leave Asia to us," Xenovia said. The source of thɪs content is N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt

"Yep!" Irina added.

I was worried the enemy would target Asia, the healer, but it seems my fears were unfounded.

Xenovia held Durandal, now in an ornate sheath. "That's the new Durandal?"

"Yeah, returned to me just in time," she said.

No aggressive aura leaking— the sheath must be suppressing it.

Urp!

Rossweisse was still vomiting. Is she okay? Should we send her back? If she pukes mid-battle—on an enemy's face, even—I'd feel a bit bad, terrorists or not.

Pointing at Puking Valkyrie, I said to Miu, "Can you do something?"

"Um, maybe a temporary fix…"

"That'll do. Just get her through this fight."

Resigned, I watched Miu cast a quick healing spell on Rossweisse, who looked conflicted.

Rumble…

The massive gate creaked open.

Kiba gave a wry smile. "They're waiting for us."

"Fancy setup," I said, exhaling and looking at everyone. They nodded back.

"Let's crash their party."

After waiting for Rossweisse's nausea to subside, we stepped into Nijo Castle.

Kiba said, running, "The assassins I fought mentioned Cao Cao's waiting at Honmaru Palace."

"Honmaru, huh? Feels like we're a hero party storming the Demon King's castle, like in an RPG."

"Except we're demons, and they're humans, so it's reversed. But the hero party part fits, right?"

Xenovia and Irina chimed in. "Yeah, we've got a real hero here."

"No way we'll lose to hero wannabes!"

Haha… they're expecting a lot from me.

We passed the Ninomaru Garden, reaching the moat around Honmaru Palace. Through the turret gate, we entered an area with old Japanese houses and a well-kept, lit-up garden. Their attention to detail is insane.

"You defeated our Balance Breaker assassins," a voice said. Cao Cao stood in the garden, Hero Faction members emerging from the shadows.

"Mother!" Kunou shouted.

A beautiful woman in a kimono stood there, fox ears and nine tails— Yasaka, the Nine-Tails' leader. Stunning, with huge breasts nearly spilling from her kimono.

"Onii-chan…" Miu glared.

Sorry! Not the time for perverted thoughts!

"Mother! It's Kunou! Wake up!" Kunou called, running to her, but Yasaka didn't respond. Her eyes were dull, expressionless—under some spell?

Kunou glared at Cao Cao. "What did you do to her!?"

"We told you—she's helping with our experiment," Cao Cao said, tapping his spear's butt on the ground.

Instantly—

"Ugh… argh… AAAHH!" Yasaka screamed, her body glowing and transforming.

ROAR!

A massive golden beast—a ten-meter-tall Nine-Tailed Fox—roared into the night sky, as imposing as Fenrir's parent. Its power rivaled Tannin or Tiamat. Dragon King-level.

Her eyes lacked emotion—completely controlled by the Hero Faction.

Worst-case scenario.

"Cao Cao!" I shouted. "Making a fake Kyoto, controlling Yasaka—what's your plan!?"

Tapping his spear on his shoulder, he answered, "Time to spill. We're using Kyoto's energy and the Nine-Tails' power to summon Great Red into this space."

"Great Red? The dragon? You're not planning to fight it, are you?"

Great Red, the strongest being, the True Red Dragon God Emperor. I'd be obliterated instantly. Even Azazel said no faction could beat it.

"Killing it's tough," Cao Cao admitted. "Even our boss struggles with it."

Their boss—Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God. She wants to return to the Dimensional Gap, but Great Red's in the way.

"This experiment is the first step to fulfilling our boss's wish," Cao Cao said. "Summoning it, studying its ecology—that's a big win. We also want to see how the 'Dragon Eater' affects it."

"Dragon Eater?" I asked.

(Never heard of it. Sounds like it impacts dragons somehow…) Ddraig said.

Even Ddraig doesn't know. Sounds bad.

I pointed at Cao Cao. "Doesn't change what we're here for. We're taking Yasaka back."

Xenovia raised her sword. The sheath's parts slid, transforming.

ZUSSHUU!

A massive holy aura erupted from the gaps, coating the blade in a thick aura sword. The aura was contained, not affecting the surroundings—the sheath controls Durandal's power.

"Your ideals and plans are dangerous," Xenovia said. "They'll harm more than just us. You're going down here."

"I agree," Kiba said, summoning a holy-demonic sword.

"Same!" Irina added, forming a light sword.

"No mercy for those who make Kunou-chan cry!" Miu said, her aura surging, whipping up wind. She's pissed.

"I'll do my part!" Asia said, determined.

"We're not sitting this out," Saji said. Black snakes appeared on his arms, legs, and shoulders, emitting black flames. A shadowy serpent formed beside him, also wreathed in flames. His left eye turned red, snake-like.

"Vritra, lend me your power," Saji said.

(Fine. Let's burn them all with our black flames,) Vritra rumbled, hyped.

Everyone's ready and raring to go.

"Alright, Xenovia, let's do this," I said.

"Got it."

ZOOOO!

Durandal's aura surged, its blade stretching skyward. A holy aura strong enough to erase high-class demons. A game-changer in Rating Games.

My turn. I wrapped aura around my hand, instantly forming Ignis, its blade blazing with heat.

And then—

"First strike—take this!"

A massive holy aura and scorching slash engulfed the Hero Faction.

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