The surrounding prana was as responsive as it was plentiful. If Edmond did not handle it with particular care, it made for a situation in which he could easily take himself out, but that could not have been less of a concern. In the current situation, what he needed most was speed.

  The unique discomfort carried by spellcasting hardly registered in his mind, not even as he shot five fist-sized shells of orange prana. To say they were faster than Hellbound was generous, but their spread alongside Edmond’s preemptive aim were sufficient compensation.

  Only one of the prana bullets missed Hellbound, another landed on his shoulder spikes, while the remaining three managed to hit his face, making for a satisfying series of ‘pops’ and leaving sizable trails of smoke.

  How much of his success had been due to the Unmasked possibly forgetting his presence? How much due to somehow hitting his eyes? Either way, Edmond could not have felt more ecstatic as he saw Hellbound come to a forceful stop, his tremendous mass gouging deep marks on the floor.

  His mind was assailed by an entirely different feeling as he saw the criminal not only stop, but fully turn in his direction as well. Eyes more terrifying than any weapon settled on him immediately.

  “Oagkh…”

  His speech was grossly distorted, twisted due to his fangs, his snout… Everything to do with the transformation of his jaw area. But the relevant emotion was conveyed effectively; more than enough for Edmond to understand him.

  Roach.

  Hellbound charged right after, heading toward him while shaking off the remains of Tatyana’s silver flames without regard. If she had survived his earlier blow, then Edmond’s small interruption was likely enough for her to mount a counterattack. Having lost that opening, it was only natural for him to target the more vulnerable enemy who had stupidly decided to interfere.

  Pursued by a far more dreadful opponent than any he had faced before, Edmond understood what it meant to be ‘stared down by death’. He was slower, much weaker, exceedingly frailer, and his options with superior range had proven to be a mere nuisance. Still, he did not doubt what he had to do for a moment, nor did he hesitate to take action in front of walking destruction. After all, if that juggernaut went after his life, it meant he was not going after Tatyana’s, or anyone else’s.

  Nothing else mattered. If it meant driving it away from another person, then he would gladly fight against death itself.

  Bring it, Hellbound!

  His Gamma-class shortsword already unsheathed, Edmond’s will overpowered the shivering in his legs and he dashed not one second after the enemy’s movement; not away from the Unmasked, but toward him.

  Hellbound greatly outclassed him in almost every sense, and to get closer was to forgo range, one of his very scarce advantages. However, it was not the only one.

  Almost the entire clash within the crater had been a battle between Tatyana and Hellbound, one that Edmond had borne close witness to at the risk of being caught up in it several times. Most importantly though, he himself had been ignored, remaining a significant unknown while observing and understanding Hellbound’s movements.

  This gap in knowledge was his other edge against the Unmasked. One that let him know he would be crushed or torn to shreds by that crystalline arm or the crystals from the ground should he try to retreat, and also that if he stepped forward while reading properly ahead, he could avoid a direct hit and maybe find one of his own.

  Edmond brought his head and torso down as he ran, swerving toward Hellbound’s right where the eye most affected by the prana bullets was located, and further away from that dreadful left arm. He felt the crystal spikes reach his right shoulder and waist, tearing cloth and skin alike; superficial wounds he could easily ignore.

  He could not help but grin, his gray eyes wide open in exhilaration as he felt the enemy’s attack go right past him. But it was not over; he had not stopped looking even as he dodged, and only now could he finally settle on a target.

  Hellbound’s right arm had long since started to change as well, but it was hardly comparable as a threat to its parallel counterpart. Their differences were many, but one that particularly stood out was that flesh, while sparse, remained present in that right arm.

  More time to choose the right target would have certainly helped, but Edmond did not have it. Aided by the momentum of his evasive maneuver, he gripped his short blade with both hands and drove it into an exposed part of Hellbound’s elbow area.

  Then, Edmond felt his arms stop.

  “—!?”

  Had he hit bone? No way. He had barely broken through the skin, and in all truth, even a Gamma-class weapon was plenty capable of slicing through bone when swung with this much strength. But there was another reason for such resilience, a possibility that came to mind right after.

  Is he also laced with crystals under his skin? Down to his insides, maybe? How is he even human!?

  If there was no time to pick a better attack target, there was even less to gripe about the enemy’s unexpected resilience. Edmond would come to a complete halt in no time, and that alone would be an inescapable death sentence.

  All he could do now was power through to his best.

  Come the fuck on!

  Edmond gritted his teeth and focused all the prana he could on his weapon, compressing it almost as if a cover for the blade.

  Hellbound’s blood spurted violently under the whirring orange prana, splashing on Edmond’s hands and cheek as he felt some of that ‘wall’ inside the arm beginning to give.

  Just a little more!

  Even more prana was forced into Edmond’s blade, making his body feel like it boiled from the inside out. All of his strength went toward his arms, steadily sapping sensation away from them due to sheer strain.

  Then, something like a ‘crack’ was felt. And with it, the Gamma-class shortsword finally broke through, slashing through more of Hellbound’s elbow as increasing amounts of blood gushed out…

  … Only to stop once more, at around the halfway point.

  Edmond’s body went ice cold, no matter how much this level of prana usage seemed to burn. He had not diminished his output at all, but he could already see the tendril-like left arm approaching out the corner of his eye, so if this mesh of crystal was as strong or even stronger than the last one—

  He did not get to complete his thought, nor did he need to. At some point, Hellbound’s massive arm had disappeared from his view, alongside the whole rest of him. Even Edmond’s shortsword had left his hands, dragged alongside the criminal to wherever he had gone.

  Smothering his recent panic the best he could, Edmond raised his body and looked around frantically for the missing enemy. It took him less than a second to find him, as well as Tatyana.

  Judging from their current positions, she had wasted no time after returning and punched him away with her Dullahan gauntlet, continuing her offense immediately as a strange buzz briefly distorted the air behind her.

  Hellbound had become impervious to her flames, and her armored limbs could push him back at most. It was easy enough to know that if Tatyana had any hopes of injuring him, most attacks from now on would come from Blutgang, and he acted in consequence.

  Forcing those twisted wings of his down onto the ground, Hellbound killed his backward momentum and even seemed to use the recoil to his advantage, thrusting his left arm forward with all tremendous might.

  If Tatyana could not rely on her spells anymore, it was obvious who held the reach advantage between his left arm and her sword. It did not matter if she could block or parry, as merely reaching an effective range, let allowing getting to attack, had become an extremely dangerous task for her.

  Nonetheless, it was not a risk that would ever make Tatyana hesitate, and she continued her advance relentlessly with Blutgang held tightly in both hands.

  Despite the brutal hit she had just endured, her approach was somehow faster than before, though not nearly enough to avoid both Hellbound’s arm and the crystals sprouting from the ground. Even after slipping past the criminal’s initial lunge, his arm’s unique flexibility allowed it to turn and catch her once she leapt to avoid the spikes.

  Tatyana was forced to parry with Blutgang, locking out her remaining offensive tool as expected. But a surprise did come when one of her hands let go of the sword, allowing the momentum of Hellbound’s arm to push her even more.

  There was obviously no need for her strongest grip if she did not plan on contesting the attack, but the intentions behind such a move remained confusing until that same hand reached for the Gamma-class shortsword, still lodged within the Unmasked’s right elbow.

  As soon as Tatyana held it, a rippling mass of silver prana sparked around the blade and into Hellbound’s arm, causing his blood to spurt once more. The force of Hellbound’s attack did nothing but help her as she added her own strength, causing another ‘cracking’ sound to reach even Edmond as the shortsword finally slashed through what remained of its path.

  The criminal had stepped back at a very impressive speed once he noticed Tatyana’s true goal, sparing his arm from being completely severed off. But the flesh and crystal it remained attached through were quite thin, and his attempts to counter Tatyana’s relentless offense only showed a serious issue in its ability to move.

  In contrast, the girl had smoothly followed into a spinning motion, wasting none of the momentum she had gathered. Now holding a weapon in each hand, she swung both toward the vulnerable Hellbound.

  The Gamma-class shortsword reached his chest, but its shorter length and inferior strength only managed to leave a relatively shallow trail of red across whatever bits of flesh were still exposed. Blutgang was longer and sharper, but Hellbound was blatantly aware of this as he wholly dedicated his left arm to blocking it.

  The eidolon clashed with the mass of purple crystal with a shrill noise, pushing both combatants back and leading into a simultaneous, though likely unintentional retreat. It was only when Tatyana landed a mere four meters or so away from Edmond, aided by an unprecedented smoothness in her aerial drift, that he could finally take a good look at her after Hellbound’s fierce attack.

  An ethereally luminous, vaguely insectile pair of wings fluttered at her back, answering any doubts about her swifter and more flowing movements. With all she had shown until now, it came as no surprise that Tatyana could also employ the salamander-contrasting air elementals, sylphs.

  But there was no way Edmond could focus any more on that, not when she had been wounded to this extent.

  The upper right of the Dullahan’s torso was cracked like a spiderweb, spreading jagged lines all the way to its waist and shoulders to the point that pieces may fall off before they were struck again. A thick red color was smeared across the cracks and surface alike, but the worst of it was definitely on Tatyana’s face, where the corresponding side of the armored mask had indeed fallen off.

  The outer part of her ear had been mangled, while two gashes of different lengths but undeniable depth marked her forehead, cheek and lower jaw. By some miracle, or maybe her own presence of mind, her eye had been spared from such injury, but it was difficult to know if it could see much past the blood that tainted almost half of her face.

  That was just for what wounds were visible, with any blunt force and less obvious damage she had suffered remaining hidden. It came as no surprise that Tatyana would try to restrain any pain from showing, but the slight instability in the hand that threw Edmond’s shortsword back to him revealed far more than any aching groan might.

  The expression he saw as he picked the bloody blade up from the floor, despite dripping fresh, red warmth, was as brash and arrogant as ever.

  “You’ve got no right to call me crazy now; not after that stunt you just pulled.”

  Honestly, Edmond could no longer find it reassuring.

  “But it worked, so please, lay back for now. You’ve done more than enough, so try supporting me now and—”

  “We both know that won’t work. You got him once because he barely knew anything about you, and while it was amazing to see, things aren’t the same anymore. If you try to fight him head-on again, he will kill you.” Tatyana said without a hint of sympathy.

  She was simply being reasonable; even now, only one she could clash directly against Hellbound. But with her injuries, how could anyone just let her jump right back in?

  “Then let me back you up directly! I know it’s not ideal, but are there any better options when your flames don’t work anymore!?”

  “Would you be surprised if I said yes?”

  Tatyana uttered with utmost confidence as she eyed Hellbound in the distance, who seemed to be similarly preparing to resume battle at any moment. Edmond did not have a reply yet for her words, but she followed on without trying to hear one.

  “Edmond, you did quite a bit more than just save my skin by facing him like that, so trust me for now. I’ll show you something incredible.”

  “…? What do you—?”

  Again, he could not finish speaking. Leaving him with only a brazen smirk and her sharp turquoise look, Tatyana finally set off to meet Hellbound around thirty meters away.

  Their clashes echoed with more speed and force than ever before, causing the air to roar as if they were the eye of a wild storm. Despite winds fierce enough to make him feel he would be blown away, only that strange promise remained in Edmond’s mind.

  What did she even mean? Does she still think she can bring him down?

  It was absolutely ridiculous. Hellbound would only become stronger the more they fought, while Tatyana’s strongest weapon had been neutralized. If she had been unable to take him out before, she certainly could not do it anymore. No one in Seyfelt could.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  The sylph at her back had allowed her to recover the initiative, with movements that were again faster and more fluid than Hellbound’s. They should have made for a significant advantage in combat when combined with her superior fighting technique, but she still failed to demonstrate any of her dominance from earlier in the battle.

  She could deal with the Unmasked’s superior range, but even Blutgang’s slashes were leaving unusually shallow marks the few times she managed to tag him. Meanwhile, not only was Hellbound likely getting closer to another brutal increase in strength; he was seeing through Tatyana’s moves more and more.

  And this time, the tools she could use to exploit her own learning were finally running low.

  Tatyana swung Blutgang. Hellbound lunged with his left arm. An echo strong enough to burst eardrums reached far and away as they clashed, with Tatyana forced to block again after a masterful read from the enemy.

  She narrowly avoided being pinned down like before but was still pushed back, her balance compromised. Still worse than all that was her hands had finally reaching their limit, losing their grip on Blutgang as the sword flew far into the air.

  Edmond’s heart sank. Blutgang was an eidolon, so there was no doubt it could return to her on its own should something like this ever happen. But with Hellbound’s arm so close to Tatyana, as well as the crystals that would follow through from underneath, did that even matter?

  If Blutgang could not return in time, there was no chance any spell from Edmond could, but he still tried to raise his arm. He almost wished he had not, as it only made his bottomless despair swell uncontrollably.

  Hellbound’s arm would reach her before anything else. Its rear back offset by the Unmasked’s full body charge, Tatyana now faced an unavoidable touch of death.

  It was over. It should have been over. And yet, as if the world itself had changed, a flash of vast silver seemed to paint everything over.

  Not like Tatyana’s Area of Influence, not like her flames, nor even like the full moon that had yet to arrive. Edmond had seen it only for an instant, but he already knew this was something incomparable. More powerful, more beautiful; wholly transcendental.

  So effortlessly, the memory of when that girl had saved his life resurfaced with utmost vividness.

  That’s…

  It was only when the silver world returned to normal that such copious amounts of blood became worthy of attention. Hellbound’s blood, from his left arm that had been pierced deep, dripped onto the floor-sprouting crystals that had now crumbled away. His eyes went wide, shellshocked; pain did not even seem to play a part in his reaction.

  “Step back, cur.”

  Tatyana did not just state, but rather commanded such a thing. It was only when she pushed that new handle even deeper that Hellbound seemed to return to his senses, his mangled left arm producing cracking and squelching sounds as he pulled it off, then leapt so far away one would think he had touched the sun itself. The amount of blood left behind hinted at a perforation well past its elbow.

  Still, not a single drop remained on that lance. Reaching two meters in its fearsome length, it reached over a meter and a half just from vamplate to tip. Whether orichalcum, organite or anything in between, there was no material Edmond could think of that seemed to account for its make. He would have sooner believed that entire silver world from before had condensed into its shape, itching to spread its expanse once more per the luminous, wispy trails the back of the vamplate faded into.

  “That’s a big wound. Should be plenty enough for you to adapt again.” Tatyana said in a vindictive, jeering way as she brought her weapon back; ready to attack again whenever needed. “Not that it’ll be of much use now. No matter what stands in its way, Areadbhair will pierce the ‘essence’ of whatever it’s pointed at.”

  The runes that lit up on the lance were rather inconspicuous, enabling a more utilitarian design by remaining around the weapon’s base. But they did not need anything more to assert their power, something Edmond understood instantly despite their lack of similarity to anything he had ever seen.

  And if he could notice that, there was no way Hellbound would not.

  “Khrohn…”

  Crown. One out of a set of only eleven; the pinnacle among the treasures of this world, with a history and nature beyond current understanding.

  While the specifics of Hellbound’s power still remained a mystery, Tatyana was at least correct about its ability to invalidate that which had hurt him before through increasingly mightier transformations. In the hands of a true survivor like Hellbound, it was beyond terrifying.

  But if Tatyana had one of the eleven Crowns on her side, then her boast was in no way a bluff. No one would doubt its ability to remain effective against any enemy, and Hellbound was no exception.

  For the first time in this entire battle, his hesitation over what to do was obvious. He had gone on the defensive, focused on dodging at times, but even those times there was undeniable conviction in every move he made. Confidence that he drew closer to victory with every passing second no matter how many of his attacks failed, how many injuries he received. Now, he simply faltered, to the point that for a moment, Edmond thought he might try to escape.

  He did not, though. As the Unmasked raised his left arm, having made its crystals grow further to make up for the tunneling hole, he rushed bravely forward once more. Only this time, there was the notable change of not only his right arm similarly readying itself, but even his grotesque crystal maw parting away.

  The tactics behind his approach were desperate enough that Edmond could instantly understand his reasoning, but ‘desperate’ certainly did not mean flimsy or foolish.

  While Areadbhair was a Crown, a lance was still a thrusting weapon, and Tatyana proved that through her usage of it. In return for reach exceeding that of other close-ranged arms, spears and lances had the weakness of only covering a relatively small area. Target selection with such a weapon was much more committal, as both its form and weight distribution made it unfit for the sweeping motions that numerous simultaneous threats warranted.

  Hellbound’s body had grown to such an extent that Tatyana could not reach his vitals before dealing with his arms, and if she pierced one and its following crystal trail like before, the other would have a clear path toward her. And Hellbound had thought even further ahead, being fully prepared to deliver death with his fangs should Areadbhair still manage to sweep both his arms and the sprouting crystals away.

  A gamble with the highest risk possible, one that would sacrifice something for sure. Hellbound was determined to end everything in this move and had become more dangerous than ever as a result, leaving Tatyana with limited options that were just as risky.

  A thrust, left or right? A sweep, up or down? Maybe a similar gamble, willingly stepping into the enemy’s range to pierce his vitals before he could grasp her?

  She chose none of them. Instead, she went for something completely illogical, and raised her lance straight into the air. Her body left completely unguarded save for the Dullahan, it was like she had given up.

  But that idea was even more nonsensical than her choice in movement. So nonsensical in fact, that it led Edmond to lift his gaze reflexively. As if searching for the reason behind her action, in the direction that felt most likely to hold it.

  He saw a group of radiant spots, lined up toward the sky. The same spots he had seen in her shadow when she called forth Blutgang, and that must have appeared at some point with each entity she had unleashed. Now, they shone high in the air, each surrounded by what looked like… spell circles?

  That was the most Edmond could distinguish, as by the next moment, he was briefly blinded by a peerless light.

  It might have taken his consciousness away, had it not been firmly rooted by the bone-rattling echo and tremoring that followed right after. Edmond instinctively shielded himself with his forearms crossed, then made a truly colossal effort to simply open his eyes again.

  When he succeeded at last, his sight was greeted first by Tatyana with Areadbhair still upraised, and then by Hellbound, who was now pinned to the ground by a massive, rippling pillar of light. Large enough to dwarf even the enormous Unmasked, it may have surpassed ten whole meters in its diameter, while reaching so far into the heavens that no end to it could be discerned. Though in all honesty, the light from it was so brilliant that Edmond could not be sure about anything.

  “…! G-Grkh… kghih…!”

  The criminal seemed to be using every last bit of his everything to not be ground into a charred pulp, but from what Edmond could see, had he almost dodged the pillar? It seemed to be the case, slipping just past its edge from his shoulders up.

  An attack that Edmond had failed to react to, despite facing nothing like the pressure the Unmasked was enduring, and the man had still managed this much…

  “Forget alive, you’re still whole? You really don’t know when to quit.” Tatyana spoke ruthlessly to the downed Hellbound, showing nothing like the brief, instinctive admiration Edmond felt for the enemy. “Did you think Areadbhair’s ‘true’ piercing was its only power? Well, you’re not exactly wrong. This is actually sorcery; a spell of my own making, in fact.”

  Even in his current situation, the disbelief in Hellbound’s eyes was noticeable, one probably present in Edmond’s as well if anyone looked at him.

  Tatyana was nothing short of a top-notch cadet; she had proven that much and more in front of both Hellbound and Edmond, but this was incomparable to anything that had come before. He would be shocked to see even a platoon captain performing something of this scope, let alone her.

  And yet she had. The proof was as clear as it could be, dazzling him with its sheer brilliance and intense enough to feel like an earthquake. One that was quickly making the clouds themselves vanish.

  “Not that you need to know anything else. Or do anything else, for that matter.” Tatyana continued without a shred of pity. “Enough is enough, and you passed that mark long ago, Hellbound. Lives ruined, families destroyed… Your survival, at the cost of spreading fear and suffering every second of it.”

  Her words were as fiery as any spell she had cast, and her glare severe enough that it seemed to make the pillar… No, the enormous lance of light even stronger. It heaved and swelled, pressing Hellbound even deeper into the ground as his crystallized limbs struggled to hold on, each finger gripping the ground as if the wavering of just one would do him in.

  Despite his position, no different from a condemned man before the guillotine, he returned her glare with the same intensity. In his gaze alone, no matter what, the full extent of his strength seemed to still reside.

  How…? Why? Just what keeps him going!?

  Tatyana’s spell had wiped the sky clear, made the earth shiver and cry; Edmond was struggling to simply stand, let alone remain in place. And yet Hellbound, whom the unforgiving might of such sorcery lay upon, could still show such eyes?

  She gritted her teeth in raw fury, like such defiance at the end, regardless of what he had done, was the worst insult of all. Her hand finally moved, ever so slightly, and the spell dug even deeper as if responding to its ‘image’ in her grasp.

  “Of course you don’t care. You’ve never cared, so why would anything change now? You’re nothing but a rabid mutt, living for yourself, by yourself… And now, you will die by yourself. Go down!”

  At long last, her hand, with Areadbhair held tightly in it, descended alongside judgment.

  “Tathlum Airgeadlámh!”

  The words of power, carrying the last bit of conviction she might have needed, were spoken. And with them, the enormous, blazing lance was fully unleashed at last, drowning any response from Hellbound in a strident torrent of light. Speech or otherwise.

  Edmond had been able to hold on before, but now it became too much. Between the tremoring and the raging wind, he lost his balance and found himself blown away.

  Shit!

  He did not hit his head, but the impact on his elbow and hip was still far from pleasant. Nonetheless, in the time it took him to get back up and blink the light spots out of his eyes, things seemed to have mostly settled down around him. The lighting was back to normal, silence reigned for the most part, and the amount of dust and dirt that had risen was less than expected.

  It did not take long for him to figure out that most of it had likely not been allowed to spread, instead being shoved deeper into the hole that had just appeared on the ground. Just over ten meters in diameter, displaying a strangely uniform circumference and glowing red-hot even now. Rather concerningly, the heat from it reached all the way to Edmond in thick waves.

  He's… gone.

  Now matter how striking the sight was, Edmond could only think of what he could not see. Hellbound.

  Regardless of justification or way of thinking, it was hard to say such a man’s death was regrettable. He was a despicable criminal, a constant source of tragedy to the city as long as he lived in it, and so evil as to lead that kind of life without any regret. There was no way things would not improve without him… But still, he likely had not always been like that.

  At some time, in some place, he may have been someone crippled by helplessness. Even if too long ago, even if too far away… Someone who Edmond would have done his utmost to save, like so many others.

  Without a doubt, he hated him. But more than that, he hated not being able to bring about an outcome in which that was not the case.

  He was still taken out of such thoughts by the armored figure standing a bit closer to the giant pit on the ground. Or rather, by her very concerning attempts to retain some proper footing; she was shaking like a leaf, from her feet to her fingertips, looking like a scarecrow without proper support.

  “Tatyana!”

  Edmond ran worriedly toward her as soon as he could, and in that brief time she had already begun to fall. Despite catching her before she could drop halfway to the ground, he almost let go when touching the Dullahan. It felt like a boiling pot, but fortunately, the sensation lasted for only a couple of seconds.

  “Hah…” The girl exhaled deeply, very likely responsible for the armor’s subdued response. “You stayed so close by…? I didn’t think I had to tell you to scram…”

  “Good thing I didn’t when you can’t even stand! Just how much did that mess you up!?” Edmond’s voice was a tad louder than it probably should be with someone’s ear right by him, but he could not even worry about that now.

  Tatyana’s uncovered eye closed slowly, her breathing slow and erratic. At least his loudness did not seem to be a concern for her.

  “More than I expected… Less than you probably think. I’m just… so tired. I want to rest, Edmond. Can you… help me with—”

  He nodded, not needing more of an explanation before he carefully helped her back and down onto the ground. She was not entirely helpless, properly moving her legs to sit comfortably and making Edmond’s job easier as he knelt down, still supporting her upper body in his arms.

  “Good enough?” He asked somewhat frantically, briefly glancing back at the massive hole in the ground.

  It should be far enough. Heat aside, even from here it looks almost bottomless. If she were to fall there…

  “As good as it’ll get here.” Tatyana’s chuckle dispersed his dark thoughts. “Human pillow beats ground pillow every time, you know?”

  “Very funny. You better stop, before I drop you from laughing too much.” Sarcastic as his reply may have been, Edmond could not stop a grin from forming on his face. “If you’re okay enough to joke around, can you let me know just what that was?”

  Tatyana turned slightly, just enough to look back at Edmond for a moment, then spoke.

  “As I said, it’s a spell I made myself… Though it’s only possible due to me possessing Areadbhair. You could say I repurposed it, or rather devised a new, different function from the same base.”

  “… I see. And the ‘function’ is…?”

  Tatyana chuckled again, more briefly than before as she continued.

  “Areadbhair’s prana is like no other. It’s not only potent, but also dense enough to almost be toxic, threatening to corrupt anything near it by mere exposure. When you get down to it though, ‘corruption’ from something so powerful is not very different from ‘amplification’.”

  “… So, like particle fusion? Or more like mixing water with a drink powder?

  “Pfft!”

  She held herself back from a full cackle, then shrugged. Edmond quickly regretted mentioning the first analogy he thought of, but Tatyana followed on before any real embarrassment could form.

  “I’m not sure; it’s not the easiest thing to assess such minute details. What matters is that the sorcery’s structure is of my own making, but it’s tinging it with Areadbhair’s prana that makes it evolve into something of such scope; not just in its output, but also in its qualities. Honestly speaking, it’s a spell even I would not be able to handle normally. Not without an overlay of sixth-tier or above.”

  “… And that’s where your ‘entities’ come in, right? Each one acting as a makeshift replacement for a spell circle, then linking them together...?” Edmond asked, nearly at the same pace that his thoughts on the matter formed.

  It was only natural when he thought about it. A sixth-tier overlay; six spell circles structured specifically to manage the same sorcery, held up simultaneously. Even a fourth-tier overlay was something Edmond would only expect from the instructors, not a cadet. But Tatyana did not have to work alone, and making use of magical entities like elementals and eidolons as makeshift catalysts for spells was not unheard of.

  Tatyana’s widened eye, followed by an impressed smile, awoke a strange pride in his heart.

  “Right on the money, though even while having the proper ‘barrel’ to ‘shoot’, bearing so much of that prana still messes me up quite a bit. It was also difficult to pull off without Hellbound noticing, but those fireworks I set off were enough of a smokescreen to send them forth.”

  The new reveal caused some confusion to also make itself known.

  “Huh? That early? But wouldn’t that risk him wising up even more?”

  “I obviously needed the time, twerp. Even in the best conditions, I still need at least a full minute to load up the spell. More than the structural needs and the burden on my body, that’s its greatest weakness. I almost got killed before it was ready…”

  Edmond’s question had made Tatyana frown initially, but the tone she gradually took, coupled with her singularly arrogant smirk, blew away any semblance of panic and replaced them with a different feeling.

  “… If not for someone interfering at the worst possible time for that giant asshole~.”

  Something almost decadent, just like that pride from earlier.

  “Huh… Really? So that bit of time you still needed, I somehow got it…?”

  “You sure did.” Clearly recognizing Edmond’s barely disguised ‘brag’, she seemed wholly willing to support it. “Isn’t it nice working with someone else for once? We make a pretty killer team.”

  Edmond felt his cheeks warm up just a bit from her words, without any chance to resist.

  It would be a lie to say he did not regret putting her in danger, that the extent of her injuries did not make him shiver with each look. But it would also be a lie to say he could have ever taken Hellbound down on his own, or to say that on some level, her presence had not made him feel more at ease.

  His face heated up just a tad more as his sigh gave way to a small smile. Indeed, despite her ignoring the massive part of the job she handled on her own, just to make him feel better… Relying on Tatyana, and having her rely on him was something he liked.

  That epiphany took an undeniable center stage in Edmond’s mind for a few seconds, until something almost incomprehensible crushed it to bits.

  An erratic, percussive sound, repeated so many times in just a second or two. The grating, sharp, ear-splitting echo of something that seemed to crack in response. Trembling of the ground, wild blowing of the air; the ascent of something massive. And with it, a shadow of enough size to cover Edmond and Tatyana along with their immediate surroundings.

  Instinctively looking up, he saw a jagged silhouette almost blotting out the moon.