“But, do you really think you can win against me for sure? If you get hurt because of overconfidence, don’t come crying to me…”
Burning.
Wherever her gaze reached, the very space seemed unable to withstand such heat and began to twist and warp.
“Burn, Camael (Scorching Annihilator)——”
In that distorted space, a cylindrical weapon over two meters long—barely still qualifying as a long staff—materialized.
The moment the girl grasped the handle, crimson blades emerged from the sides of the front section.
It was a battle-axe so enormous that even an adult would find it daunting, yet in the girl’s hands, it was swung effortlessly.
“…Not sure about the future, but the current Kotori,” Kyoumi lightly rolled her neck, a faint crack emanating from her body as those ferocious giant claws slowly raised a few fingers, “I could take on three of you without breaking a sweat.”
“…Hmph…”
Anyone would feel underestimated.
The girl’s matter-of-fact attitude proved it wasn’t provocation but genuine belief, and that was exactly what made it infuriating.
“Then don’t come crying when I’m the one teaching you a lesson!!!”
Precisely because they had crossed hands before, Kotori understood the girl’s strength even better.
Kotori Itsuka cast aside her remaining hesitations, swung the battle-axe, and pointed it at Kyoumi.
Flames that scorched the air black coiled around the front of the axe, enlarging the already broad blade even further, emitting a dazzling glow with the girl’s movements.
The howling of wind pressure tearing through the air rang out with Kotori’s swing.
It wasn’t just for show.
Though the girl hadn’t moved her feet and the distance to Kyoumi wasn’t close enough for the axe to reach,
In front of the burning blade, the flames flickered once, drawing a long line that shot toward the girl’s body.
Kyoumi’s eyes shifted slightly.
Without hesitation, she stomped the ground and explosively retreated.
The next instant, the fire line swung by the girl swallowed and engulfed the spot where she had stood, burning fiercely.
“Not bad, pretty fast on your feet. How about dancing a bit more—”
Intense battle lust surfaced on the girl’s face.
Kotori Itsuka swung the battle-axe again, and immediately, several flame serpents slithered toward Kyoumi in curving trajectories.
True, Kotori Itsuka had secretly trained in women’s self-defense and had her own unique insights into flying kicks and similar techniques, but when it came to battles 【between spirits】, she was far from experienced.
That was inevitable.
Kotori had sealed her powers the very day she became a spirit.
Until she reclaimed them to protect Shidou, she never had the chance to familiarize herself with her abilities.
And after regaining them, she suppressed her spirit power as much as possible because using it would let negative emotions flood her mind and spike her destructive impulses.
Yet even when guided purely by instinct, the flame spirit was one of the most destructive spirits of all.
Naturally, she could sneer and mock her opponent.
“If you don’t have an excellent dance partner, even the most gorgeous solo steps are just amusement for the audience below the stage~”
Even surrounded by fire serpents, Kyoumi showed no panic.
She crouched low, pressed her purple-black sharp claws against the ground, and the orbs of light on her arms fired cutting beams of extreme power, slicing the ground into pieces.
With a burst of strength, she shattered the chunks of earth and hurled them at the incoming fire serpents.
The purple-haired spirit smashed through the encirclement of flames.
Metallic footsteps rang out as sparks scattered everywhere.
“May I have the honor of having the lovely Miss Kotori as my dance partner?”
Red light flared in her pupils.
As the invitation left her mouth, lasers fired from Kyoumi’s eyes pierced Kotori’s shoulder.
Yet white-hot flames immediately surged over the wound.
Before the girl could even loosen her grip on the battle-axe, it healed completely.
“That depends on whether you’re capable—”
Kotori Itsuka raised the battle-axe.
The flame-wrapped blade abruptly expanded in size.
At the same time, with a violent explosion of the ground, Kyoumi accelerated and closed in right in front of the girl.
“—Scorching Annihilator!!!”
Kotori Itsuka knew her advantages.
Going toe-to-toe with a spirit whose power level was obviously absurd would mean the participant had water in their brain.
Thus, raising the battle-axe wasn’t to gather spirit power for another long-range flame attack, but to… burn herself—
Blaze cascaded down from the blade, engulfing Kotori Itsuka entirely.
As the flame spirit, she wouldn’t be burned by her own flames.
But if Kyoumi, who clearly intended close-quarters combat, touched those flames, her Angel would naturally be coated and tormented by the fire.
Taking a bit of damage in exchange was completely acceptable for Kotori, who possessed healing flames.
In the end, the most effective fighting style for her regenerative abilities was trading injury for injury.
“Great improvisation~”
Along with the girl’s frivolous voice, beams of light crisscrossed.
Before Kotori could understand what her opponent had done, a sensation of weightlessness hit her feet, and she lost balance.
“But unfortunately—”
The instant the flames poured down, the girl’s target was no longer Kotori herself.
Seraphic Armor swiftly finished slicing the ground. Kyoumi kicked up the already-separated section beneath Kotori’s feet—along with Kotori herself—flipping it into the air.
Then, even faster, she used the raised slab like a shield, slamming Kotori into the ground and pressing down as if sealing a manhole cover.
Burying Kotori Itsuka in the ground—this was the second time.
From start to finish, the girl never physically touched those scorching flames.
The scene fell silent.
Ordinary fires could be smothered with dirt, but the flame spirit clearly didn’t fall into that category.
If it were still the usual Kotori, she should have physically erupted in rage and burst out of the ground fuming.
…Unless…
“Aah… Kotori’s endurance still needs work… Giving up so quickly does save some effort…”
Kyoumi slowly stepped back twice, sighing lightly and lowering her eyelids.
“It’s a bit unsatisfying after all…”
“Because the Kotori I like is the strong and cute one, not some mad dog only good for burning trash~”
This could no longer be called ordinary burning.
It was an eruption of heat.
The ground turned to drifting ash.
The girl’s figure slowly rose from the inferno, her face twisted with ferocity, glaring at Kyoumi with those gleaming crimson eyes.
The surging negative emotions and hostility were obvious to anyone.
If the usual Kotori could be called a cute little demoness, this one would require striking the precious word 【cute】 from the description.
“…I really don’t know why something so troublesome exists in Kotori’s heart (spirit core)…”
“Scorching Annihilator——”
“…I hope this doesn’t leave any aftereffects on Kotori…” The girl stretched her body.
Seraphic Armor trembled lightly as if alive.
The orbs of light atop the armor lit up one by one, flickering faintly…
“After all, if I only use twenty percent of my power, even I can’t let loose—”
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