The Royal Palace's Audience Chamber.
There, the humans who had become Monsters—Demonic Beings—swarmed toward us.
Ceres, looking down on us from near the throne, didn't even lift a finger. She didn't care how many of her own forces were lost. For Ceres, victory wasn't about her allies winning. It was about her own victory.
Because she was too strong, she had no interest in anything else. Now, she even thought that the parents she had once loved so much could simply be revived immediately, and that would be fine.
"—Map Model, Real Spec."
When I whispered the two skills, a three-dimensional map of the audience chamber materialized in my mind. And Real Spec precisely captured the enemies surrounding us.
"I won't hold back. —Select… Limit Burst, UpDown."
One after another, I activated the skills. The Skills left behind by the Successive Heads, I used them via Connection on everyone linked through the Line.
Then, everyone grasped the surrounding situation and received the physical enhancement from the skills.
"You're in my way!"
Aria took the lead. She swung her spear horizontally, sending a slashing attack flying that tore through several Demonic Beings, sending them flying. Clad in red armor, Aria's movements were sharp and immensely powerful.
Miranda, who had started running, had a Golem at her side. Shannon rode on the Golem's back, and Shannon's field of view was being shared with everyone.
The flow of mana that I alone couldn't perceive, Shannon was supplementing. Thanks to that, the positions of the dead soldiers and others could also be accurately recognized as enemies.
"Once we scatter them, it's over, right?"
Miranda said that with a smile, then from her left hand she released threads to capture a Demonic Being, and then tightened the threads, tearing it apart.
It was a truly horrific sight. Shannon, riding on the Golem's back...
"Whoa, that's brutal."
...was looking away, stunned.
When the Demonic Being opened its huge mouth, it fired magic toward us.
When we fell back, the one who stepped forward instead was Novem. She raised the staff that was a family heirloom of House Foxes, and a Magic Shield deployed, blocking all the magic.
Immediately after, the Magic Shield vanished and three people burst out.
The one providing support was Eva. She loosed an arrow and drove it through the temple of the Demonic Being that had come charging out; the arrow then detonated.
"That should finish things," Eva said.
When she did, I was certain it was over. The three who had burst out were Ludmilla, Gracia, and Eliza. These three — to put it plainly, each of them was a troublesome fighting force on their own.
Ludmilla swung her slender, long-bladed crimson sword in a horizontal arc.
"I suppose I should deliver on expectations, then."
The red blade looked as though it were glowing. It flexed, then struck at the Demonic Beings with razor-sharp precision, shredding them apart. The slashes were so fierce you would swear she was wielding a whip rather than a sword.
"Be blown away."
Gracia drove the spear she was holding into a Demonic Being and incinerated it on the spot with a pale blue flame. Flames erupted outward and spread to the Demonic Beings that lunged at her, turning them to ash.
"If you freeze them, they're all the same."
That's what Eliza said as she slammed her staff hard against the floor. As the Demonic Beings drew close to her, their movements suddenly grew sluggish. Their feet had been encased in ice, leaving them unable to move. Gradually, the ice crept up their bodies.
Those that had pushed themselves too far had their lower halves shatter into a horrible state. Once everything was frozen solid, Eliza used her staff to destroy it all. The Demonic Beings crumbled to pieces.
"Trivial. They're only slightly tougher than humans, that's all."
It was terrifying that Eliza could say that so casually, but her friend Shannon was cheering her on.
"Nice one, Eliza!"
Quietly, Eliza gave Shannon a small wave.
Without needing to do anything myself, I confirmed the Demonic Beings had been completely wiped out, then looked up toward the throne room.
"What will you do, Ceres? You're the only one left here, aren't you?"
Putting on a provocative smirk, I decided to goad Ceres. She moved her eyebrows ever so slightly, then slowly took one step forward — and in the next instant, she vanished.
Before I knew it, she was holding a sheath shaped like a staff in her left hand and gripping a rapier in her right. In the blink of an eye, she had closed the distance and was thrusting the rapier toward my chest. The rapier's blade was glowing red. It had to be some kind of Skill Agrissa had prepared for her.
But I just laughed.
"—Shuffle."
The second-stage Skill of the Seventh Generation. It was a position swap.
Ceres had been about to drive her rapier through me, but I swapped my position with Ludmilla's. Ludmilla understood immediately and blocked Ceres's strike with her sword.
When it came to swordsmanship, I was inferior to Ceres. And to Ludmilla as well. Of all of us, the most skilled swordsman was Ludmilla.
"Leave it to me. Well then — nice to meet you, sister-in-law."
Ceres's eyes widened, though she didn't seem particularly surprised. Just...
"Queen of Cartaphus, was it? Looks like you've acquired quite the capable pawn. But... you've gotten awfully bold hiding behind a woman's shadow, you trash. I'll take this one out first."
Ceres quickly broke away from Ludmilla and pressed the attack with her rapier. But Ludmilla was smiling.
"You're certainly strong. But — not strong enough that I can't win."
In terms of swordsmanship alone, Ludmilla was not inferior to Ceres. Between the multiple layers of Skill support she was receiving, Ludmilla was able to hold her own.
Ceres accelerated and flanked Ludmilla from behind.
"Don't get cocky!"
But it was exactly there that Eva loosed an arrow. Ceres deflected it with her rapier, but the arrow detonated on impact, forcing her to leap backward.
As Ludmilla closed the distance, Ceres pointed the staff in her left hand toward her.
Watching her movements, I was able to predict what she was about to unleash using the information I'd gathered from Shannon's eyes.
"Shuffle — Eliza, create a wall!"
Ludmilla and Eliza swapped positions, and Eliza swept her staff to the side. A massive wall of ice materialized, and the temperature in the room plummeted in an instant.
And beyond the ice, I could see flames erupting.
Eliza stared with a look of mild surprise.
"That's impressive. The firepower is comparable to Gracia's flames."
In other words, it was still weaker than Gracia's firepower. Ceres, not expecting the ice wall to hold, forced her way through by shattering it.
She tore it apart with her rapier, and I raised my left hand, then brought it down.
"Everyone — attack all at once!"
I drew a gun from the holster at my back with my right hand and fired at Ceres as she burst through.
Novem, Miranda, Gracia, and Eliza launched their magic.
Aria and Ludmilla struck with their blades.
Eva and Clara attacked with arrows and the cannon Porter had loaded.
Concentrated fire on a single point. With the Select skill, I had a lock on the target, so there was no missing. But Ceres deployed a Magic Shield to block it.
It held, but the force sent Ceres flying.
Ceres hurtled backward and slammed into the wall. She hit it hard, crumpled to the ground, then fixed me with a glare.
"Hiding behind a woman's back and acting all tough. What — you thought you could win just because you've got numbers?"
Despite the fear creeping through me at that glare, I holstered my gun.
"I'm winning, aren't I? And there's nothing shameful about it. You beat me before — I won't deny that. But that was one-on-one. If anything, it's your fault for keeping nothing but trash around you. Did you think we'd honor some kind of duel?"
I was goading her. I was deliberately provoking Ceres. That was the better play.
Ceres tightened her grip on her weapon, eyes burning into me. Yellow magic pulsed around her like a corona, and her power surged.
"Scum. Don't think you can just sit back and call it strategy because you can't win on your own!"
Ceres moved faster than before, closing the distance in an instant. I caught her strike with my katana.
A look of shock crossed Ceres's face.
«Sorry. I've gotten stronger since we last met. And also—»
Ceres lunged at me, but Aria had already caught up behind her. She leveled her spear and swung it sideways; Ceres, sensing the approach, parried the blow with her staff. But in that moment of imbalance, I kicked Ceres away.
My kick connected with Ceres's abdomen, sending her flying backward.
«That was way too hard. Felt like I kicked a stone.»
Rubbing my sore foot, I grumbled as I watched Ceres tumble through the air. She regained her form mid-flight and landed, now completely expressionless. Her gaze shifted to lock onto Shannon.
«…So it was you.»
Ceres had noticed too. She started closing in to eliminate Shannon first—our other set of eyes.
«Don't even think about it. Shuffle.»
This time, Gracia appeared in front of Ceres, swapping places with Shannon. Gracia conjured flames to shield Shannon. Perhaps realizing a direct charge was futile, Ceres stopped in her tracks—only for Eva to fire an arrow at her.
Startled by the explosion, Ceres leaped back, but Ludmilla had already circled around to that spot.
Even without words, they could coordinate like seasoned veterans. That was the power of Connection.
«Sure, in a one-on-one, my odds would drop dramatically. But everyone here can resist your charm, and they're all skilled fighters. Besides, I don't need to insist on winning by myself. This is the answer I'm giving you, Ceres.»
Honestly, Novem had been the one preparing everything, but now it was my answer too. Getting needlessly injured would be foolish.
A true hero would probably challenge Ceres to a duel here and seize victory. But that's not my style.
Ceres flew into a rage.
«You filth. I knew I hated you. You take everything away and still dare to stand before me! I should have eliminated you from the start!»
As she snarled, Ceres charged toward Eva, who had been annoying her with her arrows. I snapped my fingers.
«Shuffle—Novem.»
Eva and Novem swapped positions, and Novem blocked Ceres's rapier with her staff.
«I won't let you, Lady Ceres.»
"Novem!!"
Ceres's face twisted horribly. The resentment, the tangled emotions swirling behind it—those were probably Shannon's doing.
And then, Ceres's aura shifted.
"I'm sick of every last one of you!"
What erupted from Ceres was something like a beast made of condensed magic. The instant it materialized, it lunged at everyone.
Shannon shouted.
"Those things are going to explode!"
They were essentially bombs packed with compressed magic. Agrissa's handiwork, no doubt? I sheathed my katana, gripped the Jewel, and readied my bow. I fired a light arrow, but Ceres leaped up to the ceiling of the audience chamber.
"You think I'd let you? Idiot!"
With a flick of her rapier, she sent a shower of fiery sparks that shattered the light arrow, negating the chain reaction among the magic beasts.
"Damn it! Everyone, intercept!"
All of them tried to destroy the beasts, but the creatures dodged spells and attacks alike, closing in on their targets. A few detonated, and the blast force was considerable.
Then Miranda screamed.
"Shannon!"
"...Huh?"
A magic beast had burst through the shockwave and was lunging at Shannon with its fangs bared. I reached out in a panic, but I was too far.
I tried to use Shuffle, but another beast was barreling toward me, and I had to loose a silver arrow from my bow. Ceres clung to the ceiling and let out a laugh.
"Ahahahah... There! One down!"
Miranda shrieked, and the beast's razor-sharp fangs sank deep into Shannon.
——The streets of Central.
Marina, even in tatters, kept hammering her fists against Rumeru. Her fists were bloody, and the rare-metal gauntlet she wore was shattered.
"Enough already... just die!!"
A blow so powerful it warped the air itself struck Rumeru, but the creature quickly regenerated and swatted Marina aside with its massive hand, sending her flying.
Marina crashed through a building's wall and tumbled inside. Rumeru then regenerated the parts of itself that had been crushed and gouged out by Marina's blows.
"Guf, gufufufu."
It continued to regenerate, subtly changing from its original form. Some parts swelled oddly, while others sprouted spikes.
Amidst this, May stepped in front of Rumeru, a gash across her forehead having shut one of her eyes with blood.
Panting for breath, May and Rumeru faced each other.
The area around them was almost devoid of standing buildings. May's right hand began to glow faintly.
"Marina bought me some time, but I'm finally ready. Seriously, you're way too tough. Thanks to that, I've had to play my trump card."
May said this, clenching her right hand into a fist.
Rumeru's oversized single eye watched that fist.
"Does it bother you? It does, doesn't it? Fine then... I'll show you!"
She planted her foot, cracking the ground. Rumeru lunged in response, opening its huge maw to swallow May whole. There were few Dead Soldiers nearby, so it was trying to eat her to recover.
But that was just what she wanted.
(It was worth it, hunting down those Dead Soldiers. I really hate pain, though.)
Thinking this, May thrust her right arm into Rumeru's mouth. Her right hand gripped the creature's eerie tongue, and Rumeru clamped its massive jaw shut with tremendous force.
May's right arm was severed just above the elbow.
Holding the stump at her shoulder, she endured the pain.
"...Now explode from the inside."
Gritting her teeth and managing a smile, she leaped backward — and the bewildered Rumeru swallowed May's right arm whole. Swallowed it completely.
And then, May pressed her severed wound with her left hand.
"If only you'd been just a little bit smarter. But maybe you were only that strong because you didn't have the brains to think."
Immediately after, the upper half of Rumeru's body exploded. Blood sprayed outward, and fragments of flesh scattered across the surrounding buildings.
May's body was stained red with Rumeru's blood, so she quickly conjured water with magic and washed herself clean.
Then Marina slowly emerged from the building, panting through her mouth, and punched the remaining lower half of Rumeru until it was crushed.
Both of them were breathing through their mouths, gasping for air.
The two of them collapsed to the ground, and May looked toward the royal palace. The sounds of guns and cannons could still be heard, and several times she felt tremors like earthquakes.
Then, watching a section of the royal palace blow apart, May whispered.
"...Shannon..."
May's eyes went wide. Swaying on her feet, she stood up. Slowly, she began to walk, trying to make her way toward the royal palace.
Marina scrambled to her feet and grabbed May by the shoulder.
"You idiot, seal that wound right now! Just because you're a Kirin doesn't mean you can just leave it like that — it's dangerous!"
May stared blankly at Marina's face for a moment.
"You're right. But I have to go..."
When May tried to go anyway, Marina hoisted her onto her back and headed for where their allies were —