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"GYAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
"Shut up!!"
Red and silver lightning collided, enveloping the area in a blinding flash. Soaring through the sky with aerodynamic control, Hajime continuously fired Donner and Schlag from both hands. Two streaks of light, tearing through the air, closed in on Noint, but Noint, dancing through the sky at an extraordinary speed, easily evaded them. Furthermore, feathers scattered from her wings as she moved through the air attacked Hajime as if they possessed their own will. Hajime activated the barriers of his four Crossbits to defend himself, but noticing something, he abruptly spun his body.
A moment later, the feathers struck the Crossbit barriers and pierced them without any resistance.
"It pierced!? No, this is..."
Hajime's eyes widened at the force that effortlessly pierced the barriers, but he shuddered at the ability contained within the feathers as he watched the Crossbits crumble into dust.
"Disintegration ability... huh?... Are you serious, man?"
Hajime looked up to see over a hundred feathers spread across the sky. Each one, possessing an incomparably potent ability to pierce any barrier, rushed at Hajime all at once. ...But they never reached him.
'Azure Dragon'
A pale blue flame dragon, capable of reducing all things to dust, swallowed every single feather. The disintegration ability embedded in the feathers activated, but the flames consumed everything at an even greater speed.
"You mustn't forget about me."
A slightly displeased Aletiawaved her extended finger like a baton. Her target was Noint, who still gracefully looked down on them from the sky. Noint chose to evade the approaching threat, but she was clearly not moving at her previous speed. Pulled by the gravity magic generated from the dragon's maw, she couldn't fly as she wished. Still, she barely managed to avoid the Azure Dragon's direct hit. But Aletiawasn't manipulating the dragon aimlessly. Reading Noint's movements, she systematically eliminated her escape routes. Then, seizing a momentary opening, the dragon coiled around Noint, completely cutting off her escape except for the space above. The dragon's head plunged into the only open spot, and its massive jaws clamped down on Noint.
A tremendous roar filled the area as a blazing inferno enveloped everything. Hajime, who had instinctively covered his face with his arm, was slightly taken aback by the sheer power.
"What incredible power. Is everything around Aldias like that?"
He shuddered, wondering if the demon race, like Aldias and that girl named Aletheia, could so casually unleash terrain-altering magic. Honestly, those two were special; no one else could casually cast magic of that power alone. If other demonkin heard Hajime's words, they would vehemently shake their heads.
"...So? You took that and you're still not dead, what kind of body structure do you have, damn it?"
"Hmph, I can't believe she endured that."
When the explosion cleared, Noint appeared, having lost one wing and with her right arm completely carbonized. As Hajime said, it was surprising that she was still alive, but with only one wing, she couldn't move as before, and her attack power was halved. The fight should be over.
Hajime raised Schlag, which he had pulled from his Treasury, and Aletiawas about to cast a follow-up spell, whenââ
"KYAAAHHHHHHHH!!"
Again, Noint let out a shriek loud enough to echo across the battlefield. However, this was orders of magnitude louder than before, causing even Hajime and Aletiato stop their attacks and cover their ears with both hands.
"Ah, damn it!! What the hell is that!?"
"Ugh, so loud...!"
As the two suffered from the phenomenon that vibrated the air, making it seem as if the scream itself had a paralyzing effect, Noint suddenly grabbed her carbonized right arm with her unharmed left hand and ripped it off with brute force. As Hajime and Aletheia's eyes widened at the sudden bizarre act, a change immediately occurred. Noint's body began to swell and protrude, shattering her armor and tearing through her flesh from the inside, revealing a grotesque, deformed body.
A hideous, gigantic pair of demonic multi-arms, a single bat-like wing on her back, several sharp, mantis-like scythes protruding from her shoulders, two monstrous heads resembling a cow and a horse peeking from her abdomen, and four pairs of snakes glaring from her tailbone.
Having torn off all her clothing along with the dress armor, Noint was now completely naked. Coupled with her original beauty, this sight would have garnered much attention even on a battlefield. However, there would be no one here lusting after the monster before them. Hajime and Aletheia's expressions contorted in disgust at the repulsive appearance, as if various monster body parts had been grotesquely stitched together.
"What a freak show. Bad taste."
"Agreed."
As Hajime cursed under his breath, Aletiachimed in agreement. No trace of carelessness could be seen in their eyes. This was because they instinctively knew:
((One moment of inattention, and we're dead.))
The next instant, Noint's figure, floating in mid-air... vanished.
"!!ââBehind you!!"
Hearing Aletheia's voice, Hajime, without thinking, threw his body forward with all his might. At that moment, three claws swept through the spot where Hajime had just been.
"Too fast, aren't you!?"
"Don't let your guard down! More's coming!"
Noint, whose attack had been dodged, then swung a massive fist upwards in a scooping motion. Realizing he couldn't evade in time, Hajime used the Schlag in his hand as a shield and curled his body as small as possible.
"Guh!?"
The Schlag, used as a shield, was effortlessly shattered, and the fist struck Hajime. Hajime was sent flying by the force.
"Nagumo Hajime!?"
"Ugh! Damn it, I'm fine!! I can still go!!"
Hajime, regaining his balance in mid-air, powerfully retorted to Aletheia's worried cry. Just before the punch hit, Hajime had disengaged his aerodynamic control, placed a Crossbit with an activated barrier between himself and the fist, and intentionally allowed himself to be blown back to mitigate the impact. However...
(Damn it, two broken ribs! What kind of monstrous strength does she have!!)
This much power even after mitigating the impact. If he had taken it directly, he wouldn't have gotten off lightly. Even attempting to heal would be suicidal given that high-speed mobility; even a slight shift in gaze could be fatal.
"Don't get carried away!"
'Ice Dragon'
A massive dragon, no less formidable than the "Azure Dragon" from earlier, appeared, opening its jaws to devour the enemy, who was primarily causing harm, and attacked directly. But this time, Noint showed no sign of evading. Aletiafrowned at this, but the next moment, her eyes widened in shock. The horse-like head on Noint's abdomen opened its maw, and the dragon was sucked into its mouth.
"What!?"
Towards Aletheia, whose movements were momentarily frozen in shock, an ice laser was fired from the ox-like head. The thick laser swallowed Aletheia's small body. Hajime gasped at the power, but Aletiareappeared as if nothing had happened. However, she wasn't unscathed. Her clothes were torn in places, and parts of her body were frozen. Blood also flowed from the corner of her mouth, but to Aletheia, that was no problem. Her body would be repaired by "Auto-Regeneration." As for her clothes, they could be restored with regeneration magic. And then, she noticed something was off.
"...Huh? The wounds aren't regenerating."
Aletheia's unique magic, which should automatically begin regeneration regardless of her will, wasn't activating. No, upon closer inspection, regeneration was indeed occurring. However, its speed was abnormally slow. It was as if her body was being damaged simultaneously with the activation of "Auto-Regeneration."
"Could it be... a disintegration ability?"
It absorbs Aletheia's magic and fires it back with a disintegration ability integrated into it. It's not that "Auto-Regeneration" isn't activating. "Auto-Regeneration" is simultaneously nullifying the effect of Noint trying to disintegrate Aletheia's body. If anyone elseâHajime, for instanceâhad taken that hit, they would have been instantly pulverized without question.
"Magic attacks are useless! They'll just be returned!"
"Tsk, what a troublesome opponent! Just for a second, can you stop her!?"
"I'll try!!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than the air burst, and Noint charged at Hajime. He evaded by twisting his body to form an arc, deflecting the impact, and moving upwards.
'Shibara' (Binding Chain)
The moment the word was uttered from Aletheia's lips, the space around Noint was fixed.
"GUGYAGIGIGI...!"
Normally, this invisible barrier would render a target unable to move a single finger, but Noint was trying to shake it off with sheer brute strength. The air crackled and groaned, and it wouldn't last even five seconds at this rate. However, that was enough.
Hajime, pulling out a two-and-a-half-meter long cannonâa pile bunkerâfrom his Treasury, plunged its anchor into her massive multi-arm and slammed it down with an immense impact.
"Get crushed!"
Scattering crimson sparks, the blow of the Thunder God, which had even blown away Aldias, was unleashed with a roar. Noint, who had taken a direct hit to her back, was slammed into the ground with tremendous force. Honestly, it was remarkable that her body wasn't pierced after taking that blow, but it should have inflicted significant damage nonetheless. If she still stood, he would follow up with another attack from himself and Aletiafrom above. He wouldn't give her a chance to regenerate.
"It hurts."
A voice reached Hajime and Aletiaas they were about to pursue.
"...You've got to be kidding me?"
"...!"
Amidst the swirling dust from the crash, a silver flash shot out, slicing through the air.
"It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts."
Noint, muttering to herself with unfocused eyes, said "it hurts" with her mouth but showed no signs of actually suffering.
"Seriously, I'm losing confidence. This is my strongest close-range attack, you know?"
"...Don't worry about it."
"Magic gets absorbed, physical attacks are ineffective. Give me a break..."
Ignoring Hajime's cursing, Noint rapidly closed in on Hajime and Aletheia, swinging her fists and scythes. They barely managed to evade while considering countermeasures.
"Don't you have some kind of reversal artifact!?"
"I do, but it won't hit something as ridiculously fast as that!?"
Almost all of Hajime's artifacts were modern weapons that fired bullets or missiles powered by magical energy. Except for Donner and Schlag, which could fire rapidly, there was a slight lag before firing. While this lag was so minuscule that it wouldn't be considered an opening by ordinary people, against the monster before them, it would be trivial for her to get behind Hajime in that brief moment. Still, he wasn't completely out of options.
Aletiadefended against Noint's wide attack with "Holy Severance." The barrier was immediately pulverized by her disintegration ability, but stopping her for even a moment was enough. Hajime, having instantly gotten behind Noint, unleashed a blow from his prosthetic arm, enhanced with multiple skills. Noint plummeted to the ground but twisted her body in mid-air, recovering as if nothing had happened.
Hajime, who had been staring at his prosthetic arm after swinging it, suddenly looked at Aletheia.
"I have a gamble. There are still things I need to confirm, but..."
"...Tell me."
There was no time for leisurely conversation. Aletheia, having heard Hajime's concisely summarized plan before Noint could attack again, nodded without hesitation.
'Scarlet Spear'
A conical flame spear generated by Aletiawas fired at Noint. However, it was sucked into the gaping maw of Noint's horse-like head. Immediately, a magic-enhanced counterattack was fired from the ox-like head. Aletiabarely managed to evade it.
"Get blown away!"
From behind her, Hajime relentlessly fired Metzelei at Noint. Seeing this, Noint flapped her wings, effortlessly dodging the gatling railgun's 12,000 rounds per minute. However, factoring in Noint's movements, Hajime's lead-shot strategy resulted in a significant number of rounds hitting Noint's body and... shattering into pieces. Seeing this, Hajime nodded in satisfaction, muttering "Just as I thought," then signaled Aletheia.
Hajime had felt the magical power wrapped around his prosthetic arm disintegrate in the brief moment he punched Noint earlier. Most likely, she was currently deploying a magical armor over her entire body, imbued with disintegration capabilities. However, it disintegrated, but wasn't absorbed.
(Presumably, that horse head can only absorb things composed of pure magical power. And the disintegration ability only comes from her human part. Moreover, disintegration and absorption cannot coexist. In that caseââTch!?)
As Hajime became certain of this, Noint closed in and brought down her massive arm. Hajime countered with his prosthetic arm, but after a momentary standoff, Hajime was blown backward.
'Zanra' (Slashing Link)
The words flowed from Aletheia's lips. This magic, impossible to defend against, cut through the target without question by creating and shifting cracks in space. However, the space, which had been momentarily shifted, immediately returned to its original position, becoming part of the world as if nothing had happened.
"Monster...!"
A blow that was supposed to be undefendable was blocked. More precisely, its activation itself was obstructed. Noint, with her overflowing dense magical power and immense physical prowess, reconnected the displaced space. Aletiafrowned at Noint's outrageous body structure, which could even resist spatial division. With this, even if magic could hit, significant damage couldn't be expected. However, she immediately began to chant the next spell.
'Tenjaku' (Heavenly Blaze)
Several lightning orbs appeared above Noint's head, unleashing a lightning storm that encompassed the surroundings... but this too was easily absorbed. Aletheia, at first glance, seemed to be repeatedly performing meaningless actions against an opponent who nullified all magic, but Hajime, even while being blown back, observed her closely. And... he found it.
"Aletheia! Do it!!"
"!!"
Hearing Hajime's voice, Aletiaactivated her magic again.
'Ice Dragon'
The magic she activated was the same one Noint had easily absorbed once before. The ice dragon roared again as it closed in on Noint. Noint, once again, easily absorbed it. Just as the horse head's maw was about to closeââ
"Did you forget something?"
Hajime, who had suddenly closed in on Noint, thrust his prosthetic arm into the horse head's nearly closed mouth. If he did that, he would instantly become a meal for the disintegration ability, but Hajime was certain it wouldn't happen that way. Disintegration and absorption could not coexist. However, even a moment's delay would have caused the disintegration ability to extend not only to his prosthetic arm but also to his entire body. He had Aletiacontinuously cast magic to ensure he had that precise moment. After thrusting his prosthetic arm into the horse head's mouth, Hajime immediately pulled it out. His prosthetic arm was instantly reduced to useless scrap by the disintegration ability that barely activated, but his living flesh remained untouched. He immediately withdrew from the spot.
"It's a present from me. Enjoy it thoroughly, okay?"
The next moment, Noint made a gesture as if suffering, then a massive explosion occurred around her.
Mini Helios
This was a miniaturized version of "Zera Helios," which they had used at the start, reduced to handheld size. Hajime had left it inside Noint. Then, Noint's own activated disintegration ability removed the energy boundary, causing a massive explosion to occur spontaneously. Furthermore, that thing converted all surrounding energy, including magical power, into explosive force. In other words, all the magical power Noint had accumulated inside became fuel.
Being smaller, its power was less, but it was more than enough to target an individual. From within the flames, something fell to the ground. It was the carbonized remains of what had once been a person. No matter how much magical power she could absorb, no matter what armor she wore to withstand physical attacks, there was no way to endure an internal explosion. It was thought to crash into the ground, but it crumbled into pieces in mid-air, becoming tiny particles that vanished into the sky.
"...As expected of Aldias's magical power."
"Seriously, what is up with that guy, trying to compete with the sun in the first place?"
"Because he's Aldias."
"Lately, I've just accepted that as the answer."
"More importantly, the battle's still going, but is your left arm okay?"
"Can't be helped if it's broken. If the parts are pulverized, even 'regeneration magic' can only restore the shape."
"I see... Well, I'll go back to the front lines then."
"Alright."
Hajime, who had been gazing at Aletheia's back as she flew off to the next battlefront, roughly detached the remnants of his prosthetic arm that were stuck to his shoulder and returned to the front lines himself.