The storm of sword energy had dissipated, leaving behind nothing but ruin.
Itsuka Shidou looked as though he were engulfed in fire—eighty percent of his body wrapped in blue flames.
The flames belonged to Camael, the Angel of Flame known as the "Surgeon of the Sky." Its healing power shielded Shidou, mending his body, yet the pain of torn muscles and shattered bones lingered. The agony was nearing the threshold of what the human brain could withstand, nearly driving him unconscious.
But he endured it.
Because the pain in his heart far outweighed what he felt in his body.
Kurumi Tokisaki was unconscious in his arms, having expended all her spiritual power to help restrain the reversed Tohka, now transformed into the Demon King.
Yoshino, Yamai Kaguya, Yamai Yuzuru—they had all been effortlessly defeated by her.
And then—
The crimson light of the sunset overhead was suddenly blotted out. A shadow descended.
Shidou strained to lift his head. One of his eyes had lost its focus as he looked up at the Demon King looming before him.
"As I thought, I should kill you first… so you don't keep trying to confuse me with those words."
With cold cruelty, the Demon King raised her massive sword. Red-glowing veins ran along the pitch-black blade, pulsing like blood vessels.
The cutting edge gathered both a light sharp enough to sever anything in existence, and a darkness of violent gluttony that could devour all.
Her corrupted spirit power, born from despair, howled like countless unjust souls begging for death.
I'll die.
If that sword fell, he would definitely die.
Shidou understood that perfectly.
Even with Camael's healing flames, they couldn't bring him back from decapitation. The power could mend wounds—but not resurrect the dead. If his head was severed, that would be the end.
The fear of death sharpened his senses. He could feel every detail: the terrifying force radiating from that blade, the icy intent to kill pouring from the Demon King, the overwhelming weakness of his broken body.
He felt like a puppet barely held together. Even twitching a finger sent agony rippling through him.
Should I give up?
It would be easier.
It wouldn't hurt so much.
He'd done all he could—no one would blame him if he gave up…
"That's not it at all!"
Forcing his ruined body to move with sheer grit, Shidou let out a hoarse roar like a wounded beast, biting down hard enough to crack teeth.
"I made a promise to Kurumi… Even if no one else believes in her, even if no one stands by her—I will! I'll support her! I'll protect her!"
Bones creaked under strain as he held the unconscious Kurumi even tighter.
"I told her I'd prove that my feelings—my faith, my love—aren't lies! I swore I would save Tohka!"
"I promised Tohka too… Even if the whole world abandons her, I never will! If the world denies her, then I'll affirm her more than the entire world combined!"
"And Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru… I won't give up on any of them!"
His body was long past its limit, like a machine falling apart.
But somehow, miraculously, something answered his determination.
From somewhere deep within, Shidou summoned one last shred of strength. He stretched out a hand toward the descending blade—reaching for hope.
"Sandalphon—!!"
A faint glimmer flared in the deep, night-like darkness—small, yet impossible to look away from.
Spirit power roared like a tidal wave, cascading downward. A storm of sword energy ravaged the ground, annihilating everything in its path. Even the toughest steel would be shredded into dust.
The Demon King's eyes widened as she gripped her blade.
Her massive black sword—stopped mid-swing, just above Shidou's head.
That faintly glowing Sandalphon was clutched tightly in Shidou's hand, its blade driven two-thirds into the Demon King's weapon, Paverschlev.
But it was the remaining third—unbroken—that shielded both Shidou and Kurumi.
"You… damn human…"
The Demon King frowned, voice tinged with irritation and confusion. "Why can you use Sandalphon? Why would it go so far to protect you? You're just… human…"
Since the moment she awoke, there had been nothing but interference. First, a woman in shameless armor tried to kill her. Then this man kept spouting confusing, irritating words. When she tried to kill him, yet more women appeared to stop her. Now Sandalphon itself was protecting him?
One infuriating development after another—the Demon King's patience was at its end.
She asked the question aloud, but Shidou didn't respond.
Summoning Sandalphon and blocking her strike had drained him. He couldn't even think. Every nerve screamed in protest. His vision, hearing, and touch had all shut down. Only endless pain remained.
He was holding Sandalphon aloft purely through reflex.
The Demon King noticed—and knew.
She only had to push slightly harder. That would be enough to sever this vexing man and the woman in his arms.
Just a moment. Less than a breath, less than a blink.
She could cut off their heads.
And yet… the blade never fell.
Because someone stopped her.
That azure comet streaked through the blood-red clouds like a piercing spear.
It was a meteor spear, cleaving the sky.
Just as the Demon King caught the blue glint from the corner of her eye, a shimmering dagger, glowing like the surface of a lake, slashed toward her with unstoppable force.
She swung Paverschlev instinctively, just in time to intercept the blow before it struck her throat.
BOOM!
The clash sent shockwaves downward, slicing through the DEM building—and still, the shockwaves continued, carving deep scars into the earth.
Amid the whirlwind, the Demon King met Melusine's gaze.
Her sword hand trembled. The instant their weapons collided, an inhuman strength surged through her arm, leaving it numb.
"True Name—Disguise Release."
The cold whisper slipped through the storm, reaching the Demon King's ears and making her pupils contract sharply.
The short blade, which had dimmed after that initial strike, now flared once more with a luminous blue light.
The energy gathered in an instant.
"Arondight—Unsheathed! [Lake Light Yet Unseen]!"
No time to react. No way to defend.
Her last strength spent, no new strength yet born—the Demon King could only stare as the blade turned to light and plunged into her chest.
BOOM!
A torrent of spirit power burst from the blade, shooting skyward as a pillar of light that swallowed her whole.
When it faded, the lingering spirit energy fell like snowflakes—glimmering fragments of light drifting down.
Her silver-white hair blowing in the harmless breeze, Melusine descended gently and placed a hand on Shidou's head.
"You held out until I arrived. That's amazing… Leave the rest to me."
Shidou didn't respond. His broken body could no longer hear or speak.
But Melusine could still understand what he wanted to say.
"Don't worry. I'll save all of you—Kurumi, Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru… and Tohka. I'll save them all."
"So… rest now."
Her voice held a strange kind of magic. Shidou's tensed body slowly relaxed. The sense of safety finally allowed him to pass out.
After settling the unconscious pair, Melusine let out a quiet sigh.
"You really are… hopeless. Even I think this is reckless. Why try to shoulder it all alone? Why not call for me?"
She had told him before—someday, he'd face many dangers. And when that day came, he could ask for her help. She would come.
Melusine had marked Shidou with a spell. If he ever called out to her, she would be notified and rush to his side immediately.
But things had gone off script… Even facing such mortal danger, Shidou never asked for help.
If Kurumi hadn't sensed something was wrong and sent a clone to warn her… Shidou might have been killed by the reversed Tohka.
"Was it pride? Not wanting to burden me? Or something else? Maybe he just didn't think of it? Or… maybe he didn't believe I could defeat her?"
Melusine tilted her head, puzzled by his thinking.
"Still…"
Her eyelids lowered slightly. A faint smile curved her lips.
"Putting your life on the line to protect someone precious… to keep a promise… It was… kind of cool, actually."
At that moment, two girls descended from the sky—Tobiichi Origami and Takamiya Mana.
Melusine had spoken with Origami before, but this was her first time meeting Mana—Shidou's sister… or was it aunt? She wasn't quite sure.
For that reason, Melusine studied Mana for a moment longer, then quickly lost interest.
"I'll handle the enemy. You two take the wounded to Fraxinus for treatment."
The injuries weren't severe—just extreme fatigue from spiritual power depletion, especially for Shidou.
As long as they made it to Fraxinus's healing fields, they'd recover quickly.
Origami and Mana looked like they wanted to speak—but before they could, a light-screen appeared in front of Mana.
"Mana, what's the situation on your end?"
"Kotori! You're okay?"
Mana's voice brimmed with relief, making Melusine glance over.
"We're fine. Tohka's strike targeted Fraxinus's main cannon, so we only took a shockwave hit. No casualties. The worst damage was to our visual and scanning systems. Emergency repairs are underway."
No wonder Kotori's image wasn't showing—Tohka had destroyed the transmission systems.
Melusine had also been wondering… why hadn't Kotori—the ultimate siscon—shown up when Shidou was on death's doorstep? Now she understood. Fraxinus had been hit first.
With the scanning and display systems wrecked, Kotori had no idea what was happening on the ground… or that her brother had barely escaped death.
If she'd seen it—
She would've gone berserk and descended as the Spirit of Flame.
Because Kotori's Spirit crystal hadn't been completely refined. Its impurities made her far more prone to losing control.
Melusine stepped beside Mana and addressed the screen.
"Kotori, Shidou and the others need treatment immediately. Can you teleport them?"
"Shidou? Is he hurt? Did something happen?!"
Just as Melusine expected, the moment Kotori heard something had happened to Shidou, her calm shattered.
Melusine quickly explained, "He's fine. Just overused his Angel and passed out. He'll need a few days of bedrest. Honestly, I think that's for the best. After pulling a stunt like that, some quiet reflection would do him good."
"He's… really okay?"
Without a visual feed, Melusine couldn't see Kotori's face—but she could hear her exhale in relief.
"The good news is that Fraxinus's medical systems are intact and fully operational."
Kotori took a deep breath and resumed her commanding tone.
"However, with our scanning systems down, we can't locate Shidou's position. We can't teleport him directly."
"So we have to bring him to Fraxinus manually?"
Mana understood immediately.
"That's right. I'm counting on you two."
"We'll guide you in from our end," Kotori added.