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THUD! THUD, THUD, THUD—
The aerial battlefield was pure chaos. Tosca and Mirana stood firm atop a crimson Heavenly Dragon, the entire beast wrapped in the shimmering protection of Tosca's Blade Blacksmith. Outside, a dozen Evil Dragons of all shapes and sizes battered the barrier, desperate to break through.
"Let's clear these out first, Tosca."
Mirana pressed her palms together, halting her spellwork, and glanced over.
Tosca's lips curled into a confident smile. "Leave it to me."
She summoned her Sacred Gear's power, and spheres of force spun outward, each one swallowing an Evil Dragon whole. The monsters thrashed and roared, wings smashing against their prison, but Tosca's barriers held firm—nothing could break them.
"Balance Breaker: Inferno Cage."
Her voice was soft, almost cold. As the words left her lips, each sphere sprouted a forest of razor-sharp spikes. The Evil Dragons inside shrieked, impaled from every angle.
"Burst."
With a single thought, Tosca detonated every sphere at once. The sky flashed white, and when the smoke cleared, not a single enemy remained.
Mirana let out a low whistle. "Your Balance Breaker's something else, Tosca."
Tosca's eyes softened. "Lord Tenra told me my Sacred Gear could shield or strike. Thanks to his guidance, I finally reached Balance Breaker."
"All I have belongs to Lord Tenra. This power, too—it's his alone."
She gazed at Tenra's distant silhouette, her eyes shining with devotion.
"Let's keep going, Mirana. Draw more of them in."
"On it!"
BOOM! BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—
Midair, Mittelt and Kalawarner hurled spears of light, knocking Evil Dragons from the sky one after another.
"Lady Ravel, we're surrounded!"
Mittelt's voice was tight as she and Kalawarner pressed close.
Ravel's lips twisted in excitement, dark flames flickering to life across her armor. "Surrounded? Even better."
Startled, Mittelt and Kalawarner scrambled away as Ravel's aura surged. Black armor coalesced around her—a living shell of cursed steel. Vritra's Armor, her Balance Breaker.
Threads of darkness shot from Ravel's hands, snaking out and latching onto every Evil Dragon nearby.
"Die."
Her words were ice. Black fire raced along the threads, igniting her enemies. The Evil Dragons screamed and thrashed, wings beating furiously, but the flames wouldn't die—Vritra's curse burned until nothing remained.
Their agony mingled with Ravel's wild, twisted laughter, painting a hellish tableau in the night sky.
Mittelt and Kalawarner exchanged uneasy glances, keeping their distance.
She's losing it again…
Below, the vampires watched the battle unfold. Dragons clashed and tumbled, beautiful figures darted through the air, and the spectacle alone set hearts pounding.
But this wasn't their fight. They were just witnesses—spectators to a war they could never join.
On the Evil Dragon side, the massive, human-faced abomination hung back, directing its minions. On the Heavenly Dragon side, Tenra hovered in silence, still waiting to make his move.
Tens of thousands of dragons fought overhead. At first, neither side gave ground, but as minutes ticked by, the Evil Dragons began to falter.
Broken bodies and severed wings rained down, piling up against the shimmering barrier cast by Yata no Kagami. In just over an hour, the city's outskirts were ringed by a wall of corpses.
Some Evil Dragons, driven by animal instinct, tried to flee the slaughter. The human-faced monster—once Marius Tepes—caught several in its jaws and forced the rest back into battle.
ROOOAAARRR—
Its roar shook the heavens. This was the beast that had wounded Queen Carmilla and the elders. The vampires below quailed in fear, but Tenra just smiled.
"Finally lost your patience, huh?"
All eyes turned skyward as the abomination opened its maw and unleashed a tidal wave of flame.
"Scatter!"
Yubelluna and the girls shouted, spurring their dragons higher to avoid the inferno.
The firestorm rolled across the sky, incinerating thousands—Evil and Heavenly Dragons alike. Even Tenra's silhouette vanished in the blaze.
Screams echoed from the city. On the tower, Queen Carmilla and the elders braced themselves, ready to raise their shields at a moment's notice.
But the flames broke against the barrier of Yata no Kagami, turning the sky above the city into a crimson ocean—deadly, yet hauntingly beautiful.
The inferno faded quickly, and the view cleared. The vampires breathed sighs of relief. If not for the Red Emperor's protection, this one attack would have left nothing but ashes. For a fleeting moment, even the coldest hearts felt gratitude toward Tenra.
Up above, Tenra reappeared, untouched. His Blade Blacksmith had shielded him from harm.
ROOOAAARRR—
With another earth-shaking roar, the human-faced monster plunged into the fray, wings beating like thunder.
A shaft of golden light flashed in Tenra's hand—
The legendary True Longinus.
He locked eyes with his monstrous opponent, a fierce grin breaking across his face.
"My turn."
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