Shimamoto let out a dry laugh that echoed throughout the room, a laugh filled with arrogance—the laugh of someone convinced that victory already belonged to him.
"What's wrong, brat?" he mocked as a new golden sword of light began to form beside him. "What happened to all that confidence about knocking me out quickly? Let's see if your reflexes are enough to survive a second explosion."
The blade vibrated.
Golden particles swirled around it like a luminous swarm before finally stabilizing.
Then, with a simple snap of his fingers, he launched it. The sword cut through the air with a sharp whistle.
Mochi watched its trajectory. Her head was still spinning, and her balance had not fully returned, but this time she understood how the attack worked.
Even if she avoided a direct hit, the explosion would still reach her. She could not afford to take another blow like that—not in her current condition.
Her feline ears flattened against her head. She gritted her teeth.
She only had one option.
One single card left to play.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, feeling the flow of ether coursing through her body. She gathered it together, then violently pushed it into her fists—into her weapons.
The response was immediate.
Her weapons began absorbing the energy with terrifying greed.
It was a strange, uncomfortable sensation, as if the gauntlets were alive, as if something inside them wanted to devour every bit of ether it could find.
For a brief instant, Mochi had the feeling that if she kept feeding them, they would try to consume even her own life force.
But she ignored that fear.
This was not the time to hesitate.
The sword was already upon her.
"Now!"
Mochi threw her punch.
"CRITICAL STRIKE!!" she shouted with all her strength.
A thick black mist erupted from one of her weapons. The dark smoke completely enveloped her arm before condensing. It became solid and took the shape of a gigantic cat paw clenched into a powerful fist.
The image lasted only a fraction of a second, but the pressure it emitted was real.
That was her weapon's special ability.
Critical Strike—a name Mochi herself had chosen.
Its effect was simple and terrifying.
The ability multiplied the force of an impact according to the amount of ether supplied to it.
Exactly like a critical hit in a video game.
And this time, Mochi had wagered an enormous amount of energy.
Her fist struck the tip of the golden sword.
BOOM!
The sword did not merely stop.
All of the energy gathered behind it vanished instantly.
The amplified force of Critical Strike hit it like an invisible wall. The blade changed direction and shot backward at a speed far greater than its original one.
Straight toward Shimamoto.
The researcher's smile vanished.
"What!?"
His eyes widened.
For the first time since the battle had begun, fear appeared on his face.
He tried to react—
But it was too late.
The sword slammed directly into his chest.
CRASH!
The sound was similar to glass shattering. A golden barrier appeared around Shimamoto for an instant, then broke into pieces.
It was the same defensive spell Haruka had used during her battle against the giant ape at the inn—a protection designed to save its bearer's life from a lethal attack.
If it had not been active, the sword would have pierced straight through his body.
But Shimamoto's misfortune did not end there.
The blade turned red and began emitting the same beeping sound as before.
"No..."
BOOOOM!!
The explosion occurred directly in front of his face. Fire and smoke completely engulfed him.
"DAMN IT!!"
His scream mixed with the roar of the blast as the smoke began to clear.
Shimamoto appeared on his knees.
His body was covered in burns. Parts of his clothing were still on fire. His hair was scorched, and the skin on his arms and neck was marked with painful-looking red burns. He was breathing heavily, but he remained conscious.
And he was furious.
"Agh...! It hurts...!"
He staggered to his feet.
His face had twisted into a savage expression. Any trace of the rational researcher was gone.
Only rage remained.
Six golden swords appeared around him simultaneously, spinning in a small luminous vortex.
Now he understood that Mochi was a genuine threat, and he had decided to stop holding back.
"You brat!" he roared. "I swear I'll kill you!"
The swords spun, ready to launch.
But then something caught his attention.
The smoke from the explosion still covered part of the room.
And inside it...
There was no one.
"Huh?"
Shimamoto turned his head.
"Where are you?"
He searched frantically through the curtain of smoke.
Nothing.
His heart began to race.
He had lost sight of the girl.
A fatal mistake.
Because while he searched in front of him...
Mochi had already moved.
Using the explosion as cover, she crossed the distance between them.
By the time Shimamoto looked back, she was already there.
Right in front of him.
Close enough to see the fierce gleam in her pupils.
Close enough to feel her breath.
The researcher's face went pale.
And Mochi smiled.
A confident smile.
"Let's see if you can survive this..."
She concentrated ether into her weapon once more.
The black mist appeared again.
Thicker.
Denser.
More savage.
"CRITICAL STRIKE!!"
She put the full weight of her body behind the blow.
The punch landed directly on Shimamoto's torso.
The sound was brutal.
BOOOOM!!
The air exploded around the point of impact.
The man's feet left the ground.
His body was launched like a projectile.
He crashed through a wooden wall. The planks exploded into hundreds of fragments.
Then he shot out of the building before slamming violently into the ground outside.
He rolled for several meters.
And finally came to a stop.
Completely unconscious.
Little by little, silence returned.
Mochi remained still for a few seconds.
Using Critical Strike consecutively had consumed an enormous amount of ether.
But when she saw Shimamoto lying on the ground, a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
"And that..." she said while adjusting a scorched strand of hair, "was for trying to blow me up twice."
She let out a long sigh and finally allowed the tension to leave her body, her legs gave out.
She fell to her knees on the floor, which was covered in dust and splintered wood.
The fight was over. Only then did she truly feel the exhaustion.
Her breathing was heavy and uneven, sweat slid down her forehead as she tried to catch her breath. She looked at her hands. They were still trembling slightly.
"That was... way too close..." she murmured.
She opened and closed her fingers several times.
The feeling of emptiness inside her body was unmistakable.
"This technique is going to drain me dry one of these days..."
She lowered her gaze toward her brass knuckles.
The weapons had returned to their normal appearance, as if they had not devoured absurd amounts of energy just minutes ago.
"I got lucky," she admitted to herself. "That guy was way too arrogant."
She remembered how Shimamoto had spent a good part of the fight mocking her and underestimating her.
If he had used all his cards from the beginning, the battle would have been far more dangerous.
"If he had fought seriously from the start..."
The sentence was left unfinished when a loud crash suddenly echoed through the building.
BANG!
The doors burst open.
"MOCHI-SENPAI!"
A familiar voice rang throughout the room.
Miyu appeared, running at full speed. Her face was pale.
The worry was so obvious that she did not even try to hide it. The moment she saw Mochi conscious, she accelerated even more.
"Miyu...!"
Mochi barely had time to react.
Miyu threw herself at her.
"Uwah!"
The girl's arms wrapped around her body so tightly that they nearly squeezed the little air she had left from her lungs.
"Thank goodness!" Miyu exclaimed. "You're okay!"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"I was so worried..."
Mochi felt Miyu tighten the hug even more.
"When we saw the explosion, I thought..."
The sentence trailed off.
Miyu lowered her head for a moment.
Mochi could feel the relief mixed with concern.
Her smile softened.
"I'm okay, I'm okay..."
She awkwardly patted her on the back.
Miyu loosened her grip.
—Sorry.
Even so, she didn't move very far away.
She seemed to need to see with her own eyes that Mochi was truly safe and unharmed.
A few seconds later, a second figure appeared at the entrance.
Kotone, who unlike Miyu, walked in with apparent calm.
Her posture was impeccable, and her expression remained composed. Anyone looking at her might have thought she had simply taken a leisurely stroll to get there.
But there was one small problem: she was breathing slightly faster than normal, and a strand of hair had come loose.
Clear signs that she had run up the mountain alongside Miyu, though she would never admit such a thing.
Her eyes swept across the room, stopping on the massive hole that cut through one of the walls.
Then they moved to Shimamoto's unconscious body lying among the debris outside.
Finally, she looked at Mochi and crossed her arms.
—Hmph.
She turned her face slightly away.
—I'm surprised you managed something like this.
Mochi raised an eyebrow.
—Was that a compliment?
—Don't get carried away.
Kotone lifted her chin proudly.
—I'm just saying that maybe you're not as incompetent as I thought at first.
She paused briefly.
—Just... a little less.
Mochi couldn't help smiling.
It was probably the nicest thing the girl had said since they first met.
Miyu seemed to realize it too. She leaned closer to Mochi and spoke in a low voice.
—That's her way of thanking you for saving her from the Tengu earlier.
Mochi let out a small laugh.
—I see.
Kotone heard the comment perfectly.
—That's not what I meant!
The reaction was immediate. Her cheeks began to turn red.
—Don't put words in my mouth!
—So you weren't worried about me? —Mochi asked with a teasing smile.
—Of course not!
—Then why did you run all the way here?
—I didn't run!
—You arrived out of breath.
—I was not out of breath!
—A little bit, you were —Miyu added innocently.
Kotone pointed at them indignantly.
—You two are impossible!
The offended expression on the girl's face made both Mochi and Miyu burst into laughter.
For the first time since this trip had begun, the argument wasn't filled with hostility.
And although Kotone would never admit it out loud, seeing Mochi safe and sound had lifted a weight she had been carrying in her chest ever since she watched the Tengu take her away.