Pale blue light cannons.
Even though Shidou didn't know much about those manifestation devices before, he could still feel the terrifying power radiating from them.
Right now, Kotori's condition was bad — if she were hit directly by that kind of attack...
"Kotori!—"
Shidou shouted, but since Tenqi Sanluo was sitting on top of him, he couldn't move at all. The only thing he could do was flail his hands uselessly, like an eel writhing in the sea.
"Be quiet."
Tenqi Sanluo said as she slightly lowered her Burning Immortal Flame .
The beam of light finally hit its target. And since there was no longer any protective barrier, some of the deflected blasts and shockwaves spread outward.
Tenqi Sanluo didn't move to avoid it. She simply lifted a hand and summoned another angel:
"Polar Ice Burst ."
Along with the appearance of the icy spear came towering walls of ice that shot up dozens of meters high, forming a circular barrier centered around the blast zone — the radius just enough to include Tenqi Sanluo.
Inside the frozen barrier, the ground was instantly coated in a layer of thick ice several centimeters deep. Every bit of residual light and every shockwave from the explosion were absorbed completely by the ice walls and the frozen ground, preventing any damage from spreading outside.
This wasn't because Tenqi Sanluo had suddenly grown merciful or didn't want to hurt innocent people.
The real reason was simple — she didn't want the battlefield getting too messy just yet. The real show had only just begun, and who would wreck the stage before the story reached its climax?
As for her own safety — this level of attack might be devastating to others, but for Tenqi Sanluo, even without summoning an angel, her spirit armor alone could easily withstand it. At most, it might leave a tiny scratch.
She had only used Polar Ice Burst to make herself look more graceful — nothing more.
A continuous series of explosions followed, one after another. The ice sheet on the ground took the brunt of the deflected blasts and shockwaves.
Before long, the layer of magically reinforced ice, several centimeters thick, was almost completely shattered by the repeated bombardment. Even the surrounding ice walls were cracked and riddled with holes.
Still, it was enough.
The central explosion had ended; there would be no further shockwaves.
Tenqi Sanluo glanced around, shook her head slightly, and dismissed Polar Ice Burst, letting the damaged ice and crumbling walls melt away.
---
Origami Tobiichi was panting heavily as she lowered her cannons, her face pale and grim.
Even though she had been the one attacking the whole time, she now looked more like the one who had been beaten down.
The strain of operating such a high-output manifestation device was far too great for her — pushing her mental capacity this far yielded little more than exhaustion.
Her expression was dark, but her brows eased slightly.
Even the Flame Spirit would surely be gravely injured after taking that hit...
However—
Just as Origami relaxed for an instant, Kotori appeared right behind her, wielding the massive battle-axe Camael.
"What—"
Origami turned in shock, raising her photon sword to block—
But it was too late.
For the berserk Kotori, Origami's movements were far too slow.
The enormous axe came down before Origami could even raise her blade and struck her full-force across the manifestation armor.
"Urgh—"
Suppressing a scream, Origami crashed to the ground along with her weaponry.
The real show had begun; from here on, Tenqi Sanluo had no need to protect the battlefield anymore.
"Ugh… Defensive Territory—activate!"
Biting her lip, Origami shrank her Territory Field, pressing it tightly around her body and equipment to maximize its defense.
The next second, Kotori's axe slammed down again.
"Agh—"
Thanks to that defensive field, Origami barely managed to survive the strike — but her brain felt like it was being stabbed with hot needles.
The pain was excruciating.
Still, Kotori did not stop.
She continued to swing the massive angel weapon effortlessly, over and over. Each blow might not have directly damaged Origami's body, but the feedback seared into her mind — a torment she couldn't escape yet had to endure to stay alive.
"What's wrong? Where did all that sharpness of yours go? You want to defeat me, don't you? You want to kill me, right? Then hurry up! Get up! Raise your blade—point your cannon at me again! If you can't… heh, you'll die first."
Seeing Kotori like that, Shidou cried out in anguish.
"Kotori—stop! If you keep going—"
"Shut up, useless trash."
Before he could finish, Tenqi Sanluo covered his mouth. All that came out were muffled whimpers.
"And what exactly could you do? Talk her out of it with your cheap words? Maybe that worked on Tokisaki Kurumi's clueless clones back then—but you're delusional if you think it'll always work."
Watching Kotori mercilessly beat Origami, Tenqi Sanluo's expression remained unchanged as she continued coldly:
"Even if your little speeches were perfect, so what? All I have to do is shut your mouth, and you're helpless. What use are pretty words without the power to back them up? Why would anyone believe in you then?"
"Mmmph! Mmmphhh…"
Shidou didn't seem to hear a word of what she said — his eyes were fixed entirely on his sister.
"Tch."
Tenqi Sanluo clicked her tongue. Since he insisted on being stubborn, she saw no reason to interfere anymore. Let him deal with the consequences himself.
A few strikes later, the Territory Field Origami had maintained with everything she had finally shattered.
"So this is all you've got."
Kotori's grin twisted briefly into a sadistic smirk before fading into an icy stare. She raised Camael once more.
"Camael—Megiddo (Cannon)!"
The giant axe shifted shape as Kotori chanted. The blade vanished, the shaft reconfigured, and soon the weapon had transformed into a huge arm-mounted cannon.
Kotori aimed it directly at Origami.
"Well then, since you can no longer fight—why don't you just die?"
"Mmmph! Mmmphhh—!"
Seeing that Kotori was about to unleash her ultimate attack, Shidou panicked, thrashing desperately beneath Tenqi Sanluo.
"Noisy."
She frowned, dismissed Burning Immortal Flame, and stood up slightly. Then she flipped Shidou over — before he could even speak, she drove her fist hard into his abdomen, precisely into the liver.
It was a technique she'd discovered in her past life: a blow there would cause searing, all-consuming pain from the inside out.
"Urgh—!"
Sure enough, his eyes went wide, nearly bulging from their sockets. His face twisted violently, muscles convulsing as he curled up like a boiled shrimp.
For an ordinary person, that one punch — delivered with a spirit's strength — would have completely destroyed their liver.
Even so, after a few moments of blank pain, Shidou forced himself to endure. Trembling, he tried to stand, eyes still locked on his sister, desperate to stop her.
"...Kotori…"
"Huh? You can still move?"
Tenqi Sanluo tilted her head. She truly didn't understand this man.
If taking a bullet for Kurumi could be chalked up to reckless bravery, then what was this? She'd nearly destroyed his insides, yet instead of dealing with the agony, he was still worrying about his sister?
Did this man even think about himself at all?
At that moment, Kotori's cannon was fully charged — ready to fire at any time.
Meanwhile, Origami, despite gasping in pain, stared back at her with fearless, hate-filled eyes.
"...Effect (Flame Demon)."