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"What!?"

Caught completely off guard, Natsumi could only stand frozen, her eyes wide with shock.

'Why hasn't her power been reduced? I've never seen this happen before!'

Her mind raced, but her body couldn't react in time. Ellen paid her no mind, swinging her sword down with the full force of her momentum.

But just as the blade was about to connect, a brilliant golden light flared to life around Natsumi, a power she didn't know she possessed. The laser sword was deflected, and the force of the rebound sent Ellen flying backward. Natsumi was thrown in the opposite direction like a kite with its string cut, collapsing to the ground as her Angel dissipated into motes of light.

"Strange," Ellen mused, her body glowing as she returned to her original form. With Natsumi weakened, Haniel's power had faded. "At that range, my strike should have gone right through you."

She looked down at the fallen Spirit. "Consider yourself lucky. You are not my primary target, so I will spare your life. However, your ability is a nuisance. To prevent any further trouble, I must take necessary measures."

A palpable killing intent washed over Natsumi. She tried to scramble away, her face etched with terror. But Ellen was already upon her, slowly raising her sword.

"This will only take a moment."

Ellen's expression was cold as she brought the blade down. Natsumi squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip to brace for the pain.

In that final moment, Kyoya's face flashed in her mind.

'He's probably with the other girls right now, having fun...' she thought, a wave of bitterness washing over her. 'He's already forgotten all about someone like me.'

She was filled with a sudden, sharp regret.

'Why couldn't I have been braver? Why didn't I just face my feelings? But... it's too late now.'

She resigned herself to her fate, waiting for the end.

But the attack never landed. Confused, she thought she heard a familiar voice cut through the silence.

"Yo~ To the sexy and tsundere beauty over there, isn't it a little late to be playing dress-up?"

Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted off the ground.

Slowly, Natsumi opened her eyes. She was being held princess-style.

'It wasn't a hallucination!?'

She had been so sure the voice was a figment of her dying mind, but now... She tilted her head up and saw the handsome, infuriating, captivating face she both loved and hated.

'It's Kyoya... He actually came to save me...'

Seeing him, feeling the warmth of his embrace, sent a jolt through her deeply insecure heart, making it pound against her ribs.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking down at the pitiful girl in my arms with a small smile. "It's only been a little while. Don't you recognize me anymore?"

"I..."

Natsumi's face flushed red, but she couldn't form a single word.

"Sigh," I said, my tone gently scolding. "I wasn't even done talking and you just ran off. You had me worried sick."

"Hmph~ You big liar," she muttered, her eyes growing misty. A classic tsundere pout formed on her lips. "It's not like I asked you to come find me... and... we're not even anything to each other."

'Heh...'

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I had to hide a smile as I looked at the pouting, contrary girl in my arms. I slowly lowered my head. As my face drew closer, I saw Natsumi's mind go completely blank. The world seemed to fade away until the only sound left was the frantic, thudding rhythm of her own heart.

'He wouldn't... Is he going to...?'

She knew exactly what was about to happen. A deep, burning shame washed over her, and yet, for some reason, she had no desire to pull away. In fact, she found herself leaning forward, just slightly, to meet me.

Our lips met.

The onlookers—DEM's elite wizards and their robotic support—were stunned into silence.

Ellen, who had always maintained an air of stoic professionalism, stared with wide eyes, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.

After a long moment, we reluctantly pulled apart.

"I've left my mark," I whispered, my gaze full of affection. "You're mine now."

Natsumi's blush deepened. She ducked her head, trying to hide her face in my chest, her heart overwhelmed with a dizzying shyness.

"Stay right here and be good," I murmured, gently tilting her face up to look at me. "After I deal with this little problem, you and I are going to have a talk about running away."

My words made her heart skip a beat. She couldn't meet my gaze, which seemed to grow brighter and more intense with excitement, as if I wanted to devour her right then and there.

For the first time, Natsumi realized just how fast her heart could beat under a man's gaze—but the fear was mixed with a thrilling sweetness. The strange new feeling was both exhilarating and wonderful. In that moment, she knew she could grow to love this kind of warmth.

And she was already addicted to the dizzying, stimulating feeling that only I could give her.

Finally, unable to bear my heated stare any longer, Natsumi let out a soft "Mmph" and gave a tiny, hurried nod.

I grinned and gently set her down. After a final, reassuring word, I teleported, reappearing directly in front of Ellen.

She immediately went on high alert, her entire body tense.

"Kyoya?" she demanded. "Why are you here? According to our intel, you should be at your villa."

"Hehe~ Take a guess," I said, my expression loose and cheerful.

Ellen's face went cold. "Since you're here, you've saved us the trouble of finding you. All we have to do is capture you!"

I shook my head, a sigh of resignation on my lips. "With what army? Do you really think you can?"

"It's not that I'm looking down on you," I continued, "but you're all so weak, I can barely bring myself to care. If you insist on this, I suppose I can spare a little effort and just destroy DEM."

"Kyoya, the enemy in front of you is the World's Strongest Wizard. Don't be careless."

Kotori's voice crackled through the earpiece I was wearing. Before she'd left for the Fraxinus, she had insisted I wear it so we could coordinate. I'd only agreed to shut her up.

I reached up and pulled the earpiece out.

"Destroy DEM?" Ellen finally managed, before bursting into a mocking laugh that made her impressive chest bounce.

'Nice.' I watched her, an amused smile on my face.

'Laugh it up,' I thought. 'You'll be crying soon enough. Let's see if you're still laughing then.'

"Ha!" she scoffed. "That's the funniest joke I've ever heard."

"Is that so? Well, try not to cry when I capture you in a few minutes, okay?"

"Hmph!"

Seeing that I wouldn't back down, Ellen's eyes narrowed, and she activated her Territory. In this state, her speed and power would be pushed to their absolute limits.

The next second, without any warning, she vanished. She reappeared in front of me, her laser sword slashing down with merciless speed.

But the blade met only empty air.

Ellen stared at the spot where I'd been, her expression confused.

"Commander, behind you!" one of her subordinates screamed.

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