"White light, electric light, and thunder—please grant my sword the protection of thunder!"
Muttering a strange incantation, a silver-white lightning bolt descended from the sky and struck the Cuore di Leone in Erica's hand. Immediately, the entire magic sword trembled with thunderous sound and crackled with electric light.
This was one of Erica's summoning magic spells. Although it wasn't as terrifying as the golden thunder pillar summoned by Sora using the [Goat] power, its power was still extraordinary, instantly multiplying the sword's aura several times over!
"Hahaha… amazing, Erica-san! You've already made Ena so excited she can't contain herself!"
"Then Ena will also show her true strength and fight you!"
With an excited and determined expression, as if she had made up her mind, Ena's body radiated a deep, mysterious glow.
It seemed she had activated some special ability. A divine power descended from the void and directly poured into Ena's body. At the same time, Ena's aura surged rapidly, surpassing human limits in the blink of an eye, with no sign of stopping!
Not only that, the divine artifact in Ena's hand, the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi sword, began to change. The straight blade slowly curved, and the originally holy white blade turned black. The blade looked like it was burning with dark flames—taking on a form full of calamity!
"This is…"
Feeling the aura on Ena that was no longer human, even Erica couldn't help but show a look of surprise.
"An Incarnation Mage. This is the ability Ena has as a Miko. She can freely wield divine tools that ordinary people cannot use and communicate with supernatural beings who exist between life and undeath. Because of this ability, Ena can hear the voice of the gods and borrow some of their power."
"Sa, Erica-san, the King has granted you his blessing, right? Use it to settle this with Ena!"
After explaining her ability, Ena raised the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi sword, now transformed into its calamity form, pointing it at Erica with a fierce fighting spirit.
"So she really is an Incarnation Mage. An ability even rarer than Enhanced Spiritual Sight!"
Erica was amazed. Every Miko had her own specialty, but some abilities required unique talent to possess. Erica never expected Ena to have such a rare and powerful ability!
"Ah, ah, little devil brother, you've found another treasure!"
Watching Ena on the field, the Great Witch Zola's eyes flickered strangely. She hooked Sora's neck with one hand and smiled coquettishly.
"Tch, that girl is so reckless. I'll have to talk to her later."
Sora didn't show any happiness or excitement but frowned slightly.
Now that most of his memories had returned, Sora already knew Ena had the Incarnation Mage ability. Although it was indeed a rare and powerful ability that allowed mortals to wield a bit of divine power, it came at a cost.
Unlike blessings, this divine power, while increasing Ena's combat strength, also eroded her body and shortened her lifespan!
Most people would hesitate to use such an ability unless in dire circumstances, but Ena was different. She was never the type to hesitate over such "small matters."
Seeing Ena's carefree and indifferent expression not far away, Sora couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
That reckless girl really doesn't cherish herself!
What Sora didn't notice was that while he was watching Ena, the Great Witch Zola, the little maid Karen, Liliana, Loli Athena, and the nine secret sword maidens all looked at him with astonishment.
Even the Demon King, who never showed anger or concern no matter how dire the situation, getting angry over such a small thing felt strange!
However, while feeling this strangeness, the girls also felt a strange stirring in their hearts…
"Hmm, what's this?"
Suddenly, the divine power that had been poured into Ena split off a pillar and flew over. Sora immediately felt his body sinking. Looking down, he saw that the once solid ground had mysteriously cracked open with a dark, eerie fissure, pulling him, Zola, and Karen inside!
Throwing Athena into the air, Sora grabbed Zola and Karen, one in each hand, and threw them out. He was about to jump out himself, but suddenly realized this thing seemed to be targeting him specifically—he couldn't escape!
"King!"
"Lord Sora!"
The women nearby finally snapped out of their shock. Although they didn't understand what was happening, they prepared to rush over to save Sora without hesitation.
"Don't come over!"
Seeing Zola and Liliana preparing to rush in, Sora, almost fully trapped, shouted to stop them.
"Sora, grab my hand."
Athena appeared above Sora in an instant, reaching out anxiously.
"Heh… no need, Athena. Someone invited me over, and I can't just refuse."
With a mischievous smile, Sora dodged Athena's hand and let the mysterious suction pull him in.
Recalling everything in his mind, Sora realized this was a trick by the bearded uncle who gave Ena the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi sword. Although he wasn't interested in the uncle, Sora was curious to meet the legendary princess!
"Don't worry about me. I'll leave the house in your hands."
Leaving these words to Athena and the others, Sora's figure disappeared without a trace…
"Liliana, Zola, Lady Athena, I'll follow and take a look too."
Before the others could react, a fiery red figure leapt down—it was Erica.
"She abandoned the fight with Ena to chase after the King? Erica-san is so cunning! Ena will follow too!"
Ena's voice came along, and seeing Erica chasing Sora, she followed without hesitation.
As Ena's figure jumped down, the mysterious dark fissure on the ground completely healed and vanished…
Staring at the now completely vanished Sora, Erica, and Ena, the women were dumbfounded, unable to recover for a long time.
"Lady Athena, where did the King and Erica go?"
Liliana, having regained her senses, asked anxiously to Athena, who was still hovering in midair.
"The Netherworld, the boundary between life and undeath."
Athena furrowed her brows as if pondering something but answered calmly.
"The Netherworld?!!"
Upon hearing Athena's answer, Liliana's face immediately showed a look of shock.
It was no wonder Liliana was so surprised. The Netherworld—the boundary between life and undeath—is a strange realm. Ordinary humans simply cannot survive there; even breathing is difficult.
Sora, possessing the body of a Demon King, naturally had no problem. Erica and Ena, both protected by divine power, didn't need to worry too much in the short term. However, that space was the retreat of many powerful figures. No one knew how many troublesome individuals resided there. If they encountered danger…
"Liliana, don't worry too much. Didn't you hear what the little demon brother said? Someone just invited him as a guest. And with him there, Erica and little Ena will be fine."
Seeing the girl's worried expression, the Great Witch Zola came over to comfort her. Although usually careless and carefree, Zola was generally reliable when it really mattered.
"But…"
Although she knew Zola made sense, Liliana still couldn't fully calm down when she thought about the countless dangers in the Netherworld.
"Lady Liliana, please don't worry. The one who summoned the master over should be the old gentleman who bestowed Lady Ena's divine artifact—the legendary heretic god Susanoo."
At this moment, the secret sword maiden Ichibei seemed to have realized something and said to Liliana.
"That lord ordered Lady Ena to be master's little… concubine, so he shouldn't trouble the master."
Ichibei's companion, Nanabei, blushed faintly and added.
"Susanoo…"
After a moment of contemplation, Liliana felt much more at ease hearing Ichibei and Nanabei's words. If that was the case, there was no need to worry too much. They just needed to wait safely at home.
However, just then—
"Ha… ha… Lady Liliana, Lady Zola, Lady Athena, something's wrong!"
The voice of the miko Yuri suddenly appeared at the training ground's doorway. The girl leaned one arm against the wall, panting heavily with a look of urgency.
As if to confirm the sudden abnormality, the once bright and sunny sky instantly darkened!
Not only here, but simultaneously, the entire Earth experienced the same phenomenon. Patches of dark twilight spread across the sky, and in the blink of an eye, the whole Earth was shrouded in endless darkness!
"Princess Alice's prophecy—the Starless Night…"
Everything happened too fast for the girls to react. Liliana, seemingly recalling something, murmured with a shocked and horrified expression.
The girl couldn't understand. Wasn't Athena, who brought the Starless Night in the prophecy, already conquered by their king? What was going on now?
"Witch, I have to handle something. Stay home and don't act rashly until Sora returns."
Athena's expression was grave as she looked toward a certain direction in the sky. Without waiting for a reply, her figure turned into a streak of light shooting toward the horizon…