Swoosh—!
With a razor-sharp sound, the Dragon Sword in "Reinhard's" hand tore through the air and came crashing down toward Shiro's head.
Such a straightforward attack could never hit him.
Shiro merely hopped slightly to the side and slipped past the blade.
However—
BOOOOM—!!!
The instant he dodged, a terrifying shockwave erupted where he had been standing.
A sword scar dozens of meters deep was carved into the earth.
"Both your strength and speed are way more than ten percent higher than before."
Shiro stared at the devastation.
"Don't tell me you can use even more Divine Protections than Reinhard himself."
A casual swing had produced that much destruction.
Reinhard did possess the [Divine Protection of Bloodshed], but he had used it during their previous battle as well.
Its enhancement was comprehensive.
There was no way it alone could raise his raw strength to this degree.
With this kind of power, taking a direct hit was out of the question.
Even being grazed could immediately put Shiro in serious danger.
Unless Reinhard had deliberately held back during their first battle, there was only one explanation Shiro could think of.
This thing could pile even more Divine Protections onto Reinhard's body while controlling him.
"Stop pretending."
"Do not think acting ignorant will make me spare you."
"As long as you carry that thing within you, you will never be allowed to openly enter my domain."
Speaking words Shiro could barely understand, "Reinhard" raised the Dragon Sword and pursued him.
Shiro had barely created any distance before he was dragged into another dense storm of attacks.
"Who's pretending?!"
"You're the one who started secretly following me after I left the royal capital!"
"Then the moment I killed Petelgeuse, you suddenly appeared and tried to murder me!"
"I wasn't even planning to do anything to you in the first place!"
"You still insist on playing ignorant?"
"Reinhard" clicked his tongue.
"Of all beings, someone like you obtained a human body first."
"Do you just not understand human language?!"
Forced into close combat, Shiro continued trying to communicate.
Unfortunately—The results were terrible.
There were plenty of people in the world who refused to listen.
But this was Shiro's first time meeting someone who had actively come looking for him and then refused to hear anything he said.
Still—It was not entirely pointless.
At least Shiro had learned something.
His opponent apparently did not possess a human body of its own.
That fact alone gave him plenty to speculate about.
It might even explain why this being was so obsessed with the Witch Factor.
However—As the battle continued, Shiro quickly lost the luxury of thinking about such things.
The reason was simple.
"Reinhard" was growing stronger without end.
He seemed to have abandoned any attempt to heal his wounds.
Instead, he deliberately continued bleeding to increase his combat strength through the Divine Protection.
And the effect was obvious.
At first—Ten slashes per second.
Now—A hundred.
Even as his speed multiplied, the strength behind every strike showed no sign of decreasing.
If anything, each blow had become even stronger than when Reinhard's body was completely unharmed.
In a battle this fast, Shiro could not even use Third Secret Sword: Madoka, the technique that had severely injured him earlier.
Redirecting and circulating force required time.
The current exchange allowed no room for such unnecessary movements.
Second by second—The battle tilted further against Shiro.
If he failed to find a way out, "Reinhard's" endlessly increasing strength might eventually overwhelm and kill him.
There was no longer any room to divide his attention.
Only one thing mattered now.
BOOM—!
The Dragon Sword ripped through the atmosphere and descended beside Shiro.
The earth shook violently.
Cracks spread outward from the point of impact, while the nearby trees were shredded by the aftermath alone.
But this time—After avoiding the strike, Shiro did not attempt to regain control of the battle's rhythm.
Instead—He deliberately stepped directly toward the pursuing Dragon Sword.
The next instant—
Swoosh—!
Like a magician performing a trick—Dragon Sword Reid passed straight through Shiro's chest.
The blade struck nothing.
"What?!"
"This is what it means for 'fate' to be severed."
There was no confusion in Shiro's eyes.
No hesitation.
Shlk—!
His Device pierced directly through "Reinhard's" chest.
Before his opponent could counterattack—The Device embedded in his body erupted with brilliant light.
Then—"Reinhard" suddenly felt the tremendous power filling his body recede like a falling tide.
Within moments—His strength returned to the level it had been at when the battle first began.
"What did you do to this body?!"
For the first time since gaining consciousness—
"Reinhard" experienced genuine confusion.
"Hmm?"
Shiro raised an eyebrow when he heard the urgency in his voice.
"You seem surprisingly concerned about Reinhard."
He casually answered—
"Nothing much."
"I just cut away some of those ridiculously numerous Divine Protections on him."
Shiro tossed out the shocking statement as though discussing something utterly insignificant.
Severing Divine Protections.
It sounded simple.
Actually accomplishing it was another matter entirely.
Divine Protections might resemble magic by granting people various supernatural abilities—But their true essence was the love this world bestowed upon an individual.
On the surface, Shiro had merely removed several special abilities from Reinhard.
In reality—What he had severed was part of Reinhard's connection to the world itself.
Only part of it.
Reinhard's ties to this world were simply too deep.
Even Shiro, within such a short opening, had only been able to sever a few of the Divine Protections that troubled him most.
And even that had been absurdly difficult.
Fortunately—He had succeeded.
He might have removed only a handful, but regaining them should not be nearly so easy.
At least—That was what Shiro thought.
The very next scene shattered his expectations.
"Hahahaha!"
"So that's what you did!"
"Reinhard" swung the Dragon Sword horizontally.
The attack forced Shiro backward and simultaneously pulled his body free from Shiro's Device.
That alone was nothing surprising.
What shocked Shiro was what happened next.
In less than a single second—Every Divine Protection he had just severed with his ability...
Returned.
Instantly.
"They are merely 'Divine Protections.'"
"So what if you sever them?!"
"Reinhard" laughed.
"But since you've given me such a wonderful surprise—"
"I should return a gift of equal value!"
BZZZZT—!
As though responding to his declaration—
Dragon Sword Reid began voraciously devouring the surrounding mana.
…