"Is that all you got, Raiden of Ranmusia? Show your true powers!" Maka shouted, her eyes glowing red as she gripped her swords tightly.
"It's not fair. That's a thousand versus one... My mana is draining," I groaned, still firing at the incoming undead.
"There is no fairness on the battlefield, you fool!" Maka shouted again, her voice dripping with mockery. "Now show your real strength!"
Right... I haven't used Excalibur Laser yet, I thought, steeling myself to use my ultimate trump card. Transforming my dual guns back into a scythe, I unsheathed Excalibur from its case. The blade shimmered with a radiant glow, a beacon of destruction and hope.
Maka's smug smile widened as I shifted into battle mode, gripping both my scythe and Excalibur. I pointed the sword at her, its tip gleaming under the moonlight.
Her sadistic laughter echoed through the forest. The haunting sound sent a chill down my spine.
My mana—it's depleting too fast. I can't use the laser anymore. Why? I stared at Maka, my confusion evident.
"Hahaha!" The laughter—it wasn't feminine anymore. My eyes darted around, searching for the source. Maka's scleras turned black, her irises glowing red.
"This is my power," she muttered, her voice resonating with an eerie calm. "My all-out power!" She extended her arms, tossing her swords into the air. They spun violently before she caught them with precision. "DownSide World..."
With a sound like ripping fabric, the moon glitched, shifting from full to crescent. Eyes and a wide, sinister mouth formed on its surface, curling into a terrifying smile. The world around me warped as if reality itself had been rewritten. Gravity reversed. The forest loomed above my head, while I stood on a bed of clouds.
"That's your power?" I asked, my voice calm despite the chaos.
"Yes," she said, her grin widening. "This is a separate dimension. Even that white-haired maid of yours can't intervene here. And guess what? This world is saturated with anti-magic molecules. Your spells are useless."
She lunged at me, her swords gleaming as they sliced through the air. I barely managed to block her attack, the clash of Excalibur against her blade sending a shockwave through the distorted landscape.
The battle commenced. My scythe and sword swung in a deadly dance, colliding with Maka's dual blades. Sparks flew with every impact, the sound of metal against metal echoing in the oppressive silence. Above us, the moon's sinister laughter reverberated, an omnipresent reminder of the madness around us.
Maka's grin never faltered. Her black and red eyes bore into mine, filled with a twisted glee. She struck again, her strength forcing me back.
"You're not smiling now," she taunted. "You were smiling back in the dungeon."
Her words made me pause, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. "You... You were in the dungeon? How did you—"
"As you guessed," she interrupted, pulling a pair of glasses from her pocket. Placing them on, she smirked. "Um... Hi, my name is Lucia."
Her laughter rang out, sharp and mocking. My mind reeled.
"How's that possible? I only sensed that you were male," I said, baffled.
"These glasses," she explained, "can change a person's gender temporarily. But," she added with a smirk, "they're not reusable."
She tossed the glasses away. They floated upwards, vanishing into the forest above us.
"So, gravity in this dimension works the same, but you're the one making us upside down?" I asked, my tone cautious.
"Bingo," she said, readying her swords once more. Her grin widened as she charged. The clash resumed, each strike more ferocious than the last. The sound of blades meeting blades dominated the twisted, otherworldly night. Above us, the moon's laughter continued, a chilling soundtrack to our battle.
As she dashed toward me, her sword morphed into a scythe identical to mine.
"What the hell—?" I was caught off guard but managed to block her attack with Excalibur. "How did you—"
"It's one of my skills," Maka interrupted with a grin as sharp as her weapon. "Weapon Copy. Though, it seems I can't replicate your sword. Don't tell me—it's a silver-type weapon?" Her grin widened, gleaming like the eerie moon of her dimension.
"I don't know," I replied tersely, holding off her scythe with difficulty. The harsh screech of steel grinding against steel rang in my ears. "What are you?"
Maka's response came with a sinister laugh. "Death... Spell!" I chanted, hoping the skill would work on my first attempt.
Nothing happened.
"Death Spell, huh? Sounds magical," Maka sneered. "You've forgotten that my dimension is filled with anti-magic molecules." Her grin stretched unnaturally, from ear to ear.
"Tch!" I clicked my tongue in frustration as my ability was nullified. Maka swung her scythe again, but I blocked and countered with both my scythe and Excalibur.
Activating my Beast Mode did nothing; this upside-down dimension rendered anything magic-related useless. The laughter of the distorted moon echoed mockingly.
I shifted my focus, relying on my heightened sense of smell. Through the oppressive anti-magic, I detected something deeper... something powerful... something I could use.
Anti-magic molecules? I thought. They won't affect a necromancer like Maka. There—Star Dust!
Star Dust wasn't magic; it was a primordial power birthed from the Will of God, scattered across dimensions wherever stars existed. And this dimension had stars.
Menu, can I absorb Star Dust? I asked the system, desperate for an answer.
Yes, it is possible.
That's all I needed. I extended Excalibur toward the sky. "Let's do this."
The Star Dust in the atmosphere began to gather, drawn into Excalibur like a cosmic tide.
Maka faltered, her confidence wavering as she glanced around nervously. "What in the world?!" she shouted, panic evident in her voice.
The sword now pulsed with a divine aura, glowing brighter with every second. I aimed it directly at Maka.
"Excalibur... Beam!"
A beam of pure light erupted from Excalibur, splitting the skies and ripping apart Maka's dimension. The fabric of her prison-like world shattered, and I was free.
I descended gracefully into the forest, landing with deliberate elegance before clutching my cross necklace. Maka crashed to the ground in front of me, battered and defeated.
I pointed a finger at her.
Her wide eyes met mine as I whispered, "Death... Spell."
"No! No! Spare me!" Maka begged, trembling. Pain wracked her body as she clutched her arms and legs, her screams slicing through the night.
The moon returned to normal, no longer inverted. For the first time, I saw the true power of Death Spell unfold.
Maka's eyes exploded, blood splattering across the ground. Her agonized screams filled the air as her body broke apart piece by piece. Time seemed to stretch for her—each second in reality became a decade of torment in her perception.
Her limbs burst one by one, spraying flesh and blood in every direction. Her cries grew louder until, at last, she went limp, her face smashing into the dirt. Her final breath escaped in a broken, eerie whisper.
"What a terrifying skill I possess," I murmured, turning away. Without looking back, I ran into the forest to catch up with Emilia.
***
The sound of deliberate footsteps echoed through the dimly lit hall. Reinhard sat puffing on a cigarette when a man entered, his walking stick clicking against the stone floor.
It was Steinn Altzerber, the blind instructor.
"Steinn?" Reinhard's eyes widened in surprise as he rose from his chair.
Steinn paused, tilting his head slightly. "Let me tell you something, Reinhard."