Clang—!
Brilliant azure light erupted from Dragon Sword Reid once again.
The sudden impact forced Shiro, who had been fighting "Reinhard" at close range, several steps backward.
Seeing the sword shine with mana again, Shiro's eyes widened slightly.
There was no mistaking it.
That phenomenon only appeared when mana was being mobilized.
But because of the Sword Saint bloodline's unusual constitution, shouldn't Reinhard automatically convert the mana within his body into physical enhancement?
More importantly—This planet's ambient mana had already been temporarily drained dry.
There had not been enough time for it to recover.
So where was the mana on Dragon Sword Reid coming from?
"Mana is ultimately a substance extracted and refined from life force."
Noticing Shiro's confusion, "Reinhard" laughed and explained.
"If humans can devise methods to squeeze more mana out of their own life force..."
"Then why should a planet be incapable of doing the same?"
There was something almost manic in his smile.
"Don't tell me..."
"That's right!"
"Reinhard" laughed louder.
"You merely need to use the same principle humans discovered and make use of the planet's Od!"
"Then mana can be produced endlessly!"
"Consider yourself honored!"
"The opponent you face now is the entire world!"
Shiro's expression changed.
Only now did he finally understand what his opponent meant by—The terror of the world itself.
In this world, magical energy was known as mana.
It normally existed in the atmosphere and within living creatures, and magic users could draw upon it to cast magic.
However—If someone ran out of mana during an emergency, there was another method.
They could forcibly convert their Od into mana.
The Od carried a person's personality, memories, knowledge—Their very soul.
And that was exactly what "Reinhard" was doing now.
Except—He was not consuming the Od belonging to the individual known as Reinhard.
He was forcing the entire planet to continuously create new mana for him.
And there was one particularly important detail.
As the soul of a living being, Od could not regenerate once consumed.
Once it was completely exhausted—That individual would lose their sense of self and ultimately become an empty shell.
In other words—
"Reinhard" was forcibly consuming the planet's lifespan to continue fighting Shiro.
There were only two possible outcomes.
Either "Reinhard" won.
In that case, whatever lifespan the planet lost during their battle would never return.
How much longer the world could continue existing afterward would depend entirely on how much mana their battle consumed.
Or—
Shiro won.
But unless he defeated his opponent quickly, the planet itself could still reach the end of its life by the time their battle concluded.
The problem was—Defeating "Reinhard" quickly while he possessed the entire planet's mana supply was almost impossible.
Unless...
Shiro tightened his grip on his Device.
He did still have one final method of increasing his combat power.
The stage beyond Desperado—A realm one was absolutely not supposed to enter.
Excessive Awakening.
If a Desperado was merely prevented from displaying their true power because they remained trapped inside a human body—Then Excessive Awakening released even that hidden strength.
But that power came with a price.
Those who entered Excessive Awakening had their physical bodies transformed along with their power.
One mistake could cause them to lose their humanity entirely—Turning them into beasts driven only by slaughter.
Even that was not Shiro's greatest concern.
What truly worried him was the possibility of repeating what happened at Roswaal Mansion.
The last time he entered Excessive Awakening—Instead of gaining control over overwhelming strength, he lost consciousness and simply stood there motionless.
If that happened again—How would it be any different from standing still and inviting his opponent to cut him down?
While Shiro hesitated over whether to use Excessive Awakening—The Dragon Sword in "Reinhard's" hands finished gathering power.
The atmosphere twisted inward.
Color once again drained from the world.
Only black and white remained.
The exact same scene from before appeared in front of Shiro once more.
It was almost as if death itself had returned to remind him that it was approaching.
Shiro could repeat his previous method—Sever space and redirect the torrent of mana again.
But that would only treat the symptom.
Not the cause.
He had no idea how many more times "Reinhard" could unleash an attack like this.
If his opponent dragged him into a battle of attrition—Shiro alone could never outlast mana created by squeezing the life out of an entire planet.
"We've already taken this this far, and you still refuse to let me leave?"
Shiro complained under his breath.
"Just how obsessed are you with that Witch Factor...?"
He stared at the aurora-like torrent of power roaring toward him.
Then—He finally made his decision.
Mana gathered.
Two horns appeared upon his forehead, swaying like trails of black smoke.
However—Just before Shiro stepped into Excessive Awakening—
"—Reinhard should not be here."
A clear, bell-like female voice suddenly rang across the battlefield.
"He is currently in the royal capital, accompanying Felt-sama while she chooses a dress for her next public appearance."
The instant those words appeared—
"Reinhard," who had been radiating an overwhelming presence moments earlier, abruptly vanished from Shiro's sight.
It was as though someone had taken an eraser and simply removed him from reality.
And with his disappearance—The surrounding landscape instantly returned to how it had looked before the battle began.
There were no shattered forests.
No massive fissures.
No ruined earth.
Nothing.
If Shiro could not still feel the mana missing from his own body, he might have wondered whether his magic had somehow failed and he had been trapped in an illusion from the beginning.
"What's wrong?"
The bell-like voice sounded again.
"You look as though you believe your eyes have deceived you."
This time—Shiro instinctively turned toward the source.
The person who had suddenly inserted herself into their battle and spoken to him after "Reinhard" disappeared—Was a petite young woman.
Translucent platinum-white hair cascaded down the slender lines of her body and flowed behind her.
Under the sunlight, it shimmered brilliantly.
Silver-white eyelashes fluttered lightly like feathers, giving her an almost otherworldly air.
And between those thick lashes—A pair of deep-blue eyes that seemed capable of imprisoning the entire world quietly watched Shiro.
Her entire body was wrapped in nothing more than a single piece of white cloth.
Yet because of the dreamlike presence surrounding her—It almost made one wonder whether anything else in this world was even worthy of touching her skin.
In short—She was a girl who perfectly embodied the concept of [Beauty].
While Shiro was still processing "Reinhard's" sudden disappearance and the restoration of the landscape—
The girl spoke first.
"Ah, that's right."
"I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"
She smiled faintly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, the new holder of the Witch Factor of Sloth."
"I am the one who holds the position of the Witch of Vainglory within the Witch Cult—"
"Pandora."
…