"ROOOAAARRR…!"
The Demon Dog roared again, clearly enraged that someone had stolen its prey.
Its howl practically became a shockwave, shaking the air itself and throwing the surrounding currents into chaos.
Sylvia floated in midair, wrapped in a swirling wind.
Behind her was the stunned Fubuki.
Around them, the unconscious members of the Blizzard Group were suspended by the wind as well.
Her purple eyes looked down at the Demon Dog below, which continued roaring and generating violent gusts.
"So that's how it is. It's not just a monster that fights with physical strength. Its roar can also affect the surrounding atmosphere, turning into shockwaves for wide-area attacks, huh?"
Sylvia smiled calmly as her gorgeous purple hair danced in the wind.
Starlike particles began appearing around her as waves of mana rose from her body.
"This is...!"
Fubuki's eyes widened once more.
As an Esper, she could use her psychic abilities to sense changes in her surroundings. And at this moment, she felt it with absolute clarity.
An astonishing power was surging from Sylvia.
''Could this be psychic power?''
How could that be? How could that even be possible?
The world's greatest diva being an Esper was something she had never heard of before.
And the strength of this power far exceeded her own. In fact, it was approaching the level of the figure she considered invincible.
Her older sister.
The psychic who ranked second in S-Class.
"Impossible..."
Yes, it was impossible.
There couldn't possibly be another monster like that in this world.
Knowing better than anyone how powerful her sister was, Fubuki refused to believe what her senses were telling her. But the scene unfolding before her eyes left her utterly shaken.
"Since it's a Mysterious Being, there's no need to hold back."
With that declaration, Sylvia began to sing.
Her beautiful voice awakened the power of miracles.
"Whoooosh, !"
Violent winds surged in from every direction. Like a raging rebellion of air currents, they swallowed the roaring Demon Dog whole.
"GRAAAAAAH…!"
The Demon Dog struggled frantically.
But the gales converging from all sides were like a raging ocean current, crushing and restraining it completely, leaving no room for resistance.
"Well then..."
Sylvia slowly raised a hand. The prana and mana around her body surged violently.
The next moment, the Demon Dog trapped within the storm shot into the sky at incredible speed, as if it had been blasted upward by a giant fountain.
The raging winds wrapped around its body suddenly compressed.
'Splurt…!'
The sound of flesh tearing apart echoed through the air.
As though countless invisible blades had sliced across its body, the Demon Dog was instantly ripped open from head to toe. Blood rained down from the sky.
"Wh-?!"
Fubuki stared in shock.
Only then did the whirlwind gradually disperse. The enormous Demon Dog fell from the air.
'BOOM!'
With a thunderous crash, the beast slammed into the rubble created by its own attack. Its body no longer showed any signs of life.
The Demon-level Mysterious Being that the Blizzard Group had been completely unable to defeat, and which had nearly wiped them out, had been eliminated in less than a few seconds.
Fubuki was utterly dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Sylvia acted as though she had merely done something ordinary. While slowly descending, she guided the wind to gently lower each member of the Blizzard Group back onto the ground.
Only after finishing everything did the fluctuations of prana and mana around her begin to fade. The winds carrying everyone dispersed as well.
Glancing at the blood-covered Demon Dog lying lifeless among the rubble, Sylvia murmured, "That should be worth 100 Killing Points, right?"
The only thing she cared about was the points, not the fact that she had just killed a Demon-level Mysterious Being.
Just like Fang Li, Sylvia's strength had undergone a complete transformation.
Back when she was still Fourth Rank, she had already been capable of matching Third Rank opponents. Then came the year she spent in the world of 'A Certain Magical Index'.
Although Sylvia rarely fought during that time, it didn't mean she stopped improving. At one point, Fang Li had given her the original grimoire of 'The Gospel' as a reference to help her develop her abilities further.
From then on, while publicly continuing her idol activities, Sylvia secretly gathered power from ley lines around the world and constantly used every resource available to deepen her understanding of her powers.
As a result, while Fang Li's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception advanced through several stages, Sylvia's Omnipotence blossomed as well, evolving into even more powerful and versatile applications. Combined with the stat boosts and equipment upgrades she received after advancing to Third Rank, her growth was astonishing.
Even if she still couldn't compare to Fang Li, her improvement had been nothing short of explosive.
To put it another way, back when they were Fourth Rank, Fang Li had once said that Sylvia actually had a better chance of defeating Kanzaki than he did.
And now? If Sylvia really fought Kanzaki, her numerous rare abilities and their synergistic effects would make defeating Kanzaki far from difficult.
With that level of strength, dealing with a Demon-level Mysterious Being was effortless.
"Hm?"
Only then did Sylvia look up. She noticed Fubuki still hovering in midair, staring blankly at her.
With some concern, Sylvia asked, "Are you alright?"
Her pleasant voice reached Fubuki's ears, finally snapping her out of her daze.
"I-I'm fine..." Fubuki answered reflexively.
"That's good." Sylvia smiled in relief. "Just be more careful next time. If you run into an opponent you can't beat, take your companions and retreat. There's nothing shameful about that, you know?"
After saying that, Sylvia turned around and prepared to leave.
"W-Wait!"
Fubuki quickly descended from the air and called out to her. "Could you tell me how I can become as strong as you?"
Sylvia immediately stopped. Turning around, she looked at Fubuki.
The determination in Fubuki's eyes and expression was impossible to miss. She looked serious enough to stake everything on the answer.
"Well..." Sylvia said with a troubled smile, "if you keep training consistently, you'll definitely become stronger."
But that wasn't the answer Fubuki wanted.
"Keep training..." Fubuki repeated in a subdued voice. "That doesn't work. In this world, there are geniuses that can never be surpassed through hard work and effort, no matter how much you try."
The heaviness and pain in her words made Sylvia look at her more closely.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Sylvia suddenly smiled.
"First, let's get your companions settled somewhere safe."
Hearing that, Fubuki nodded.
---
'(End Of This Chapter)'
You can read ahead up to 70 chapters on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395