Several Minutes Earlier
At that moment, Kojou was being pulled along by Yuuma once again, just like before, running forward at full speed.
Only this time, the two of them weren't rushing to get somewhere—they were running for their lives.
"Hurry up, Kojou!"
Now it was Yuuma urgently shouting with a panicked tone.
"Damn it!"
Kojou, too, wore an expression of distress. Even though his stamina was nearly depleted, he could only keep running for dear life.
Looking closely, both Kojou and Yuuma had visible scorch marks on their bodies.
The reason was simple.
As they fled, fireballs were chasing after them from behind.
Boom!
One of the fireballs crashed beside Kojou and Yuuma like an artillery shell, exploding the ground and sending waves of heat and flame blasting at them, forcing them to change direction.
Yet even as they veered away, the barrage of fireballs relentlessly continued.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions were continuous, one after another.
The fireballs pursued Kojou and Yuuma without pause, bombarding them with explosive waves that packed devastating force.
The two of them looked like they were running across a battlefield under constant bombardment, darting through the chaos in a desperate bid to evade the enemy's aim, hoping the incoming fireballs would miss.
It went without saying—if they stopped for even a second, those fireballs would obliterate them instantly.
Unfortunately, their stamina was not limitless.
Huff… huff… huff…
Before long, the sounds of labored breathing came from both Kojou and Yuuma, making their exhaustion painfully obvious.
In contrast, the pursuer, perhaps due to being an artificial lifeform, still had plenty of stamina left.
"Let's see how long you two can keep running!"
Rogi was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, chasing the pair as they ran down the streets below, launching fireballs continuously.
He was like a mobile flamethrower. For Kojou, who had only the physical strength of a typical high school athlete, even getting grazed by one of those attacks would be fatal.
Yuuma, on the other hand, could still muster some resistance.
"Haa!"
As she ran with Kojou, she occasionally released mana, causing the air in front of her palm to ripple and vibrate, sending shockwaves toward Rogi.
Given Yuuma's current mana reserves and capabilities, this was the only counterattack she could manage—generating spatial vibrations from her palm and turning them into shockwaves.
Naturally, such attacks were trivial to Rogi. With just a wave of his hand, he conjured a wall of fire to cancel out the shockwaves effortlessly.
Still, the continued resistance annoyed Rogi.
"You might as well give up already!"
He shouted irritably, sending another blast of fire crashing down toward the street.
"Never!"
Yuuma shouted back, launching another shockwave that once again clashed with the flames, dispersing them.
But her movements were slowing, and her breathing was growing more ragged.
That was a clear sign her mana was nearly depleted.
Seeing her like this made Kojou frantic.
He could only shout at Rogi in desperation.
"Who are you!? Why are you attacking us!?"
But Rogi answered him with more merciless explosions.
"You don't need to know that much," he said coldly, still raining fire from above. "All you need to know is that your existence is too dangerous for this world."
With that, he blew up a streetlamp next to Kojou, shattering it in the flames.
Kojou narrowly dodged it—purely thanks to the instincts honed from years of playing basketball.
Even so, the blast wave sent him flying, tumbling several times across the ground.
"Kojou!"
Yuuma tried to run to him, but her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees.
Clearly, her mana was completely spent.
"Yuu… ma…"
Kojou forced himself up, stumbling to her side.
But that was it—the last of their strength was gone. They couldn't move another step.
"So, you've finally stopped?"
Rogi dropped down from a nearby building with a heavy thud, landing in front of them.
Flames ignited around him, lighting up the sunset-drenched street.
"Well then, it's time to finish you off," Rogi said as he extended his hand toward Kojou. "Sensei is still waiting for me. If I take too long, the Divine Child of Origin might seize the opportunity."
Hearing that, Kojou's eyes widened in response.
"Divine Child of Origin…?" he growled at Rogi. "What are you planning to do to Nichiyo!?"
That only earned him a mocking laugh from Rogi.
"You're really worried about others at a time like this?" Rogi sneered, radiating killing intent. "You should be more concerned about yourself, Divine Child of Cain."
With those words, Rogi released the flames in his hand.
"Kojou…!"
Yuuma tried to push him away in a last-ditch effort.
"Yuuma!"
But Kojou moved first, shoving Yuuma aside.
The flames engulfed Kojou.
"Kojou!!!"
Yuuma screamed in horror and despair.
And at that moment—
Clang!
A sound like a blade cutting through space rang out, and a flash of black light suddenly burst forth, slashing through the oncoming flames aimed at Kojou.
Boom!
The blade of darkness cleaved through the flames, scattering them into countless sparks that fizzled away.
"What…!?"
Rogi's eyes widened.
Then, a voice filled with malice—but strangely pleasing and melodic—rang in his ears, mocking him.
"If that's the best fire you've got, don't bother showing your face. If you want to burn someone alive, at least make it this scale."
As the voice fell, a roaring surge of fire suddenly erupted like a blazing tornado, rushing straight toward Rogi.
Compared to the flames Rogi had been using, this was like heaven and earth.
"...!"
Rogi didn't even have time to process it. His body moved on its own, leaping to the side in panic to avoid the oncoming firestorm.
The explosion tore through the area like a dragon of flame, scorching the earth, evaporating the air, and setting the entire street ablaze.
Amid the inferno—
"I told you to save them, not to have fun burning the place down, Firestarter."
"And you've got no right to talk—charging in with a sword and no introduction? Anyone would think you came to finish the job, Hedgehog Girl."
The voices of two bickering figures echoed through the scene.
Having braced himself for death, Kojou looked up in astonishment.
Before him, two black-clad figures had appeared without anyone noticing, cloaked in dark mana.