Things were not going well on the battlefield.
Saeko attacked with Kurokami, but the Herald teleported behind her. She had to roll to dodge the counterattack that would have cut off her head.
Jin-ah tried to surround them with a shield, but the Herald was too fast. She couldn't keep up.
Rei was bleeding from a wound on her arm where one of the arm swords had grazed her.
They were losing.
Saya peeked her head out from behind the car as she bit her lip in frustration.
She wanted to help but was afraid of making another mistake. Afraid of failing.
Then she took a deep breath.
"No."
Her furrowed brows relaxed.
"I already made a mistake. I won't make another."
She raised her hands and a submachine gun materialized in them. The compact, pink structure glowed faintly with blue particles.
"I see... if I create something smaller, it consumes less mana. But it still requires a lot of concentration."
Muttering those words, Saya jumped over the car and landed on the other side.
"Girls!"
After that shout, the girls looked at her. Then the Pathstrider connection kicked in.
Saeko, Rei, and Jin-ah responded immediately. They communicated through their connections to learn each other's intentions and strategies.
In these situations where they didn't know if this new enemy understood human language, the connection they shared was very useful.
Saeko moved to the left, Rei to the right, Jin-ah backed up, and Saya positioned herself in the center.
The Herald of the All-Devouring Void turned its head back and forth between them as if trying to decide which one to attack first.
"Ta! Ta! Ta!"
Saya pulled the trigger and the pink submachine gun spat out mana bullets that were condensed enough to be no worse than a normal bullet. In this case, they were even superior.
However, the Herald dodged them. It did so by teleporting, contorting itself, or moving in a way that would break a flesh-and-blood human if they tried it. Still, the bullets forced it to remain on the defensive.
Meanwhile, Saeko attacked from the left. Her katana was covered in a crimson aura when she activated her Exclusive Skill.
She attacked again and again, and although at first her attacks did no damage...
—Slink!
With a sharp sound, the blade cut through the Herald's sword arm.
It was the first real damage.
Because each time Saeko attacked, her next attack increased in damage by 10%.
The Herald screamed. Or rather, no one except Yuu could heard it because it couldn't really be considered a sound but rather the absence of sound.
After sustaining the damage, the monster teleported away.
Rei was already waiting where it appeared. Her spear pierced its chest, and electricity exploded from the inside out.
The Herald's body convulsed.
Jin-ah constantly cast speed and strength buffs on her companions every time the 2-minute effect wore off. Her face was pale. It seemed she had exerted herself so much that her mana reserve was almost depleted.
It was a team effort that was executed acceptably. That's why...
A bright holographic screen appeared in front of the four girls.
[Synergy Activated!]
[Condition Fulfilled: Mutual Trust]
[Effect: All stats x2 for 2 minutes]
The girls gasped simultaneously.
They could feel their power increasing. At the same time, their fatigue disappeared, the wounds on their skin and flesh closed before their eyes, and their mana reserves were filled to the brim.
"What...?"
Saeko looked at her hands, which now emitted a subtle glow. In fact, it wasn't just her hands, as her entire body was covered in that light, like starlight.
"I feel... incredible."
Rei moved her arms, which had previously been injured but now showed smooth skin beneath her torn clothing.
Jin-ah smiled.
"It's Yuu-oppa. He's blessing us."
The mechanics of Synergy.
Yuu had added it specifically because Pathstriders who work together should be rewarded.
The greater the mutual trust, the greater the bonus.
And apparently, these four trust each other quite a bit.
The activation was automatic since the Blessing activates it when the conditions are met.
Saya laughed as she adjusted her glasses.
"Then let's finish this!"
While Synergy was active...
Saeko moved twice as fast. Coupled with her Exclusive Skill that increased her damage and Jin-ah's buff, her Katana cut through the Herald as if it were butter.
Rei struck with enough force to create craters. Lightning spread from her body to cover the entire spear and crackled on the monster's body, making its movements more rigid and clumsy.
Having recovered her mana reserve when Synergy activated, Jin-ah no longer had any trouble buffing her companions and simultaneously launching light projectiles that automatically followed the Herald.
Her projectiles now damaged the monster because they were powered by Synergy. However, the monster was more resistant to her light than the zombies, which disintegrated the moment the light hit them.
That was to be expected. The void in the Herald was much more concentrated than in the zombies that had been corrupted.
Saya fired nonstop. All the bullets found their target, as the monster couldn't dodge them.
While it was true that she had never trained with firearms, her brain registered how to use them when she obtained Magical Creation.
Because of that she even knew every part of the firearms. Her Magical Creation only worked when she knew exactly what she wanted to create. Part by part. She couldn't lose focus for even a second.
Void Herald attempted to teleport, but Jin-ah located it the following moment by tracking the light projectile.
It attempted a counterattack, but Saeko blocked it.
It tried to focus on one target, but Rei and Saya attacked it from different angles.
The girls who had initially lost were now dominating.
After nearly two minutes of coordinated combat, Void Herald collapsed.
Its form began to break down, dissolving into particles of darkness that scattered in the wind.
The girls gasped as the accumulated fatigue showed on their faces in the form of beads of sweat.
[Synergy Deactivated!]
[Duration: 1 minute 58 seconds]
×××
"We did it... we really did it!"
Saya murmured those words as she let her arms fall to her sides. Her submachine gun dissolved at that moment.
Saeko flashed a small smile and waved her katana before sheathing it at her waist.
"Yes, we did it. Everyone did great."
Rei dropped to the ground next to her spear as she laughed.
"Haha, that was amazing! I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my body as I fought."
Jin-ah smiled.
"Yuu-oppa... do you think he's proud of us?"
Yuu watched the scene with Yue on his left and Shizuka on his right as the victorious girls talked with smiles on their faces.
"Mm... They've become strong."
"Yes, they have."
"Is Yuu proud?"
At Yue's words, he considered the question for a second or two.
'Am I proud?'
In fact, there was a small feeling of accomplishment in his chest.
"Yes. I'm proud."
Yue smiled and squeezed his hand.
"Nn. As it should be."
"Kami-sama is genuinely smiling. Sensei likes it~!"
"Am I?"
"Nn~. Your smile is cute."
Yuu touched his face. Indeed, he was smiling.
He wasn't pretending.
Because his Pathstriders had just defeated a Void Herald without his help.
They were growing and learning.
×××
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