Their gazes locked.
Esdeath's expression flickered with a momentary daze.
The next second—
The world spun!
In an instant, the snowy battlefield vanished, replaced by a vast, boundless desert. The ground was littered with sun-scorched red gravel, the scene so vivid it felt real to both sight and smell.
"…'Shangri-La's' spatial teleportation?"
"No, something's different…"
Esdeath scanned her surroundings discreetly, sensing something off.
But before she could analyze further, Hikari, floating mid-air, raised her right hand in a grasping motion.
Under the power of her eyes, invisible threads materialized in the air, weaving into a deadly net of killing intent.
Then…
They snapped tight!
Esdeath, standing at the desert's center, was instantly bound by layers of threads, from her neck to her arms to her legs, until even a finger couldn't move. A massive cross appeared behind her, pinning her body firmly in place.
The threads outlined her striking figure, leaving red marks on her skin. But her physical resilience was too great for them to break through.
Then, Hikari waved her hand again. Sharp blades formed in the air, and after a brief charge, they shot toward Esdeath like a volley of arrows piercing the heart.
Swish, swish, swish—
The sound of slicing air rang out.
Dozens of blades impaled Esdeath's body, turning her into a pincushion, then retracted and struck again seconds later!
Blood sprayed!
In the Tsukuyomi space, a person's essence is a mental construct.
Pain and sensations are real, and wounds bleed, but their severity and healing speed differ vastly from reality, depending on the victim's mental fortitude.
Those with weak wills carry these wounds indefinitely, potentially becoming catatonic or even dying from the mental torment.
But those with strong enough wills can shrug off the wounds, even making them vanish as soon as they appear.
So far, Hikari had only met one person like that.
Shaymin, or rather, Jörmungandr.
—Perhaps the White Snake Sage or Cat Sage could do it too, but Hikari hadn't tested them.
And Esdeath…
Was the second.
This sadistic general was well-versed in torture, and though she was now the one being tortured, she wore an indifferent expression, even flashing Hikari a reckless grin.
"You're definitely stronger than the others. No wonder even General Budo fell to you… But is this really the extent of your torture?"
"Too tame."
"Sword stabs are the simplest form of torment. Only the weak would break under this. If you want me to feel something, try something harsher!"
"…"
Hikari didn't respond, only waving her hand to unleash more blades.
She'd anticipated this.
Esdeath's mental resilience was extraordinary. The Teigu "Demon's Extract: Manifestation of the Devil" could erode the mind, driving most people mad with just a sip. Yet Esdeath drank an entire canister and subdued it in moments, merging with its power.
That kind of iron will and mental strength far surpassed trash like Honest or Sheila.
Even Brand and Akame likely couldn't compare.
So…
Hikari never expected a single Tsukuyomi to end the fight.
Her plan was to use it to wear down Esdeath's fighting spirit, ideally forcing her to use "Mahapadma" so Hikari could see its effects firsthand.
But…
Plans were one thing.
Reality was another.
Having endured the "Demon's Extract," Esdeath's resistance to Tsukuyomi was formidable. At first, her wounds lingered like real blade cuts, slowly scabbing and healing.
But as time passed, they vanished faster, appearing and disappearing almost instantly.
And the smirk on Esdeath's face grew wider—
"I get it…"
"This isn't a real place. It's a cage you built with your mental power, isn't it? A nice trick, but your execution's a bit crude… Need me to teach you how to truly break an enemy's mind and body?"
With those words, Esdeath's body surged with strength.
The threads binding her stretched taut, and the cross in the desert began to wobble.
As she exerted herself, a blood-red shadow of a corpse-strewn battlefield loomed behind her, radiating chilling killing intent that spread outward!
—Demon's Manifestation!
At this moment, Esdeath was no longer just human—she was closer to a humanoid Danger Beast. Empowered by the Demon's Extract, she unleashed an indescribable, overwhelming force!
Whoosh—!!
A piercing wind roared, carrying swirling snowflakes!
"So this is what merging with a Teigu looks like…"
"It's similar to Incursio, but the aura's way stronger than Tyde's…"
Hikari narrowed her eyes, locking onto the blood-red shadow behind Esdeath.
From that shadow alone, she could imagine the terrifying Super Danger Beast that birthed the "Demon's Extract."
But…
"Word Spirit: Black Sun!"
Hikari took a deep breath, clapped her hands, and her dark hair whipped upward. A massive black sun erupted behind her—not just a few meters wide this time, but a colossal orb that blotted out the sky, wreathed in golden flame-like clouds. Bathed in their glow, Hikari radiated a divine aura!
—This was a clash of god and demon!
"You're strong, I'll give you that. But this… is my turf!!"
A storm roared!
A blazing hurricane of flames formed around Hikari, surging toward Esdeath!
This clash had no room for finesse.
It was pure mental domination and crushing force.
Esdeath's will was like bedrock—cracking it even slightly to glimpse her past was near impossible, let alone altering it with "Yasakani no Magatama."
But…
In this Tsukuyomi space, Hikari was invincible!
The howling winds swept through.
As Hikari unleashed her full mental power, the storm slammed into Esdeath.
Even the war goddess struggled, pinned to the cross. The blood-red shadow behind her shrank, barely holding on within a tiny radius, like a lone boat adrift in a raging sea, on the verge of sinking.
The storm ravaged the space, turning it into chaos!
Finally…
Just before Esdeath and her blood-red shadow were fully submerged, Hikari exhaled softly, her tomoe spinning as she released Tsukuyomi.
…
Back in the real world, Hikari opened her eyes, instantly forming a shadow clone hand sign. Across from her, Esdeath snapped out of her momentary daze, reflexively raising her hands into a pyramid-like gesture.
"…She's using that move?"
As if to confirm Hikari's thought, Esdeath's voice echoed faintly: "…Before me, all shall freeze. Ma… ha…"
—Mahapadma!!
A deep blue frost exploded from Esdeath's body, standing on the icy ground, spreading like a circular light curtain at incomprehensible speed in all directions!
Wherever the curtain passed, everything was coated in a thin layer of frost, like a delicate veil.
Then…
Everything froze.
Hikari, inside her Susanoo, hovered motionless.
The ice meteor, shattered into countless fragments and falling to the ground, hung suspended in mid-air.
Blood, smoke, sand, metal shards…
Even sound itself vanished, plunging the space into dead silence.
Thump…
Thump!
Thump!!
In this eerie quiet, a heartbeat grew louder, until it thundered like a drum in the chest!
At that moment, the "Demon's Extract" mark on Esdeath's chest glowed brighter than ever.
Bathed in a crimson light, the blue-haired general flashed forward, appearing before the Susanoo, and delivered a high, cleaving kick!
Bang—!!
A dark red barrier appeared meters from the Susanoo, and together they crashed to the ground like a cannonball! As they fell, massive ice spread from where Esdeath struck, encasing the blood-red barrier in a giant ice sphere, fifty to sixty meters wide.
"…What's this now?"
Esdeath frowned but didn't dwell on it, raising her hands again. "Ice Purgatory!!"
Countless ice pillars materialized in the air.
Then they plunged toward the ice sphere on the ground!
Crack—
The sphere shattered!
Frost shards sprayed outward like scattering bullets!
The surrounding rock layers broke apart too!
The battlefield's ground, already battered by Hikari and Esdeath's fight, couldn't withstand the ice pillars' impact. The loose soil collapsed, sinking deeper into the earth! The Susanoo was dragged underground, pierced, surrounded, and buried by countless spear-like ice pillars!
From above, it looked like a deadly forest forged from ice!
After all this, Esdeath exhaled heavily. "…That move takes more out of me than I expected. I can only use it once a day."
"To push me this far, I'll admit you're a worthy opponent. But…"
The frosty "veil" dissipated.
The frozen time resumed its flow.
Only then did Najenda and the others, kilometers away, notice something wrong. "…What happened? Where's Miss Hikari?"
"Why is Esdeath the only one up there…?"
"…Boss, it's likely Esdeath used that time-freezing ability Hikari warned us about. We need to move, now."
Brand was the first to react, leaping onto a flying Danger Beast and urging it to take off.
Akame and Mine jumped onto another.
Najenda, along with her newly acquired biological Teigu, Susanoo, followed.
Esdeath caught sight of the approaching figures, a faint smile curling her lips. "Night Raid's little rats, huh? I'm not at my peak, but dealing with you should still be manageable. If you've come, be ready to die… Hm?"
Suddenly, Esdeath sensed something and turned, her expression shifting to surprise as she looked at the ground.
In the bottomless pit below, a light flickered.
Then…
A deep purple lightning bolt erupted from the pit, rising like a blazing flame into the sky!
It was a massive lightning pillar, dozens of meters wide, piercing the clouds a kilometer above, connecting earth and heavens!
"?!"
"What's that…?"
Brand and the others, flying toward the battlefield, paused instinctively. Their eyes locked onto a petite figure rising within the lightning pillar.
It was Uchiha Hikari!
Her body was enveloped in lightning, her outline blurred.
But her aura was stronger than ever.
In the silent stillness, Hikari slowly opened her eyes.
Purple electric arcs danced around her, illuminating her pale face and exposed hands as if they were translucent. Her dark hair was wreathed in deep purple plasma, each strand writhing like a serpent.
Countless faint purple threads, like a spider's web, flickered in and out of existence, as if static were sparking through the air.
But most striking of all was the six-pointed pinwheel in her eyes.
The six tomoe, now a dark purple, shimmered with electric glints.
"That feeling I couldn't quite place before… it came from this?"
Under Esdeath's and Brand's gazes, Hikari raised her head slightly, lifting her right hand.
A blue-purple spear, forged purely from lightning, materialized in her palm, gripped tightly.
Spiritual Weapon: Fire Thunder God!