The roar of azure thunder and lightning pierced through the concrete of the abandoned street. The reinforced concrete walls were penetrated as easily as tofu. The enchanting, blood-red flames, as if from the fires of hell, burned everything they touched. Wisps of fire brushed against a utility pole on the side of the street, instantly melting its metal casing and exposing the copper wires within.
One after another, abandoned buildings collapsed like rotten wood, the sound of their fall drowned out by the thunder and the roar of the flames. This was a battle between gods.
"Whoa! Why did those two suddenly start fighting!?" Kiana clutched her head, rubbing a large bump that had formed where she was hit by a flying rock during her retreat, looking annoyed.
"Well, they're gods, so it's normal for their thinking to be a bit off, right?" Li Xuan said quite calmly. The flying stones and dust created by Sol and Lucian were deflected by an invisible shield as they got close to him. "…That actually makes a lot of sense," the disheveled Kiana said, looking at the spotless Li Xuan with envy. She had the urge to go over and strip off his clothes.
"My flat chest… no, the honor of the Aesir shall not be defiled by demons! In the name of my lord Thor, I shall deliver the thunder of judgment!" Sol declared righteously, swinging her giant hammer. The hammer came crashing down, bringing with it a bolt of blue lightning from the sky. The dazzling light was so bright it was hard to keep one's eyes open.
"Such a dim light is like a firefly's glow compared to the thousand-year curse of my clan," Lucian's voice, tinged with a hint of sorrow and disdain, said as she bathed in the dazzling lightning. She was completely unafraid of the light that blinded Li Xuan and the others, the blood-red flames surrounding her hands burning fiercely, holding their own against the lightning.
"Damn it! Why is my power still not enough?!" Sol said in frustration as she found herself locked in a stalemate with Lucian.
"Hmph, a false god naturally cannot defeat the Night Clan," Lucian said proudly, continuously blocking Sol's attacks.
Standing far away, Mei said to Kiana beside her, "Kiana, they both came from your weapons. Can't you stop them from fighting? If this continues, they might destroy all of Nagazora City," Mei said, a worried look on her face.
"Uh… I…" Kiana glanced at the center of the now-ruined street where the two girls were engaged in a fierce and terrifying battle, and she secretly swallowed. Getting close would definitely be fatal, right?! Kiana, who usually courted disaster unconsciously, wasn't about to actually go looking for it.
"The Bronya calculates only a ten percent chance of Kiana stopping them… and a ninety percent chance of casualties from being hit by the aftershocks," Bronya Zaychik said seriously.
"Huh?! How could I die? I have protagonist plot armor!" Kiana puffed out her chest with a proud and confident expression. "Just watch me."
"So you're just going to use me as a shield?!" Li Xuan said, holding the Stone of Stellar Resonance, looking speechlessly at Kiana who was hiding behind him and clutching his clothes.
"Ahem… I can't help it~" Kiana said in a cloying, coquettish voice, which thoroughly grossed out Li Xuan, who was used to her usual boisterous personality. His body and soul took a critical hit.
"Don't worry, if you help me this time, I'll treat you to my treasured bag of potato chips that I opened a few days ago~" Kiana said with the air of a big sister, which surprised Li Xuan. He hadn't thought Kiana knew how to win people over; he thought she was just a clueless, tsundere young lady. But what's with the chips that have been open for days?! Is that something you treat people to?! And didn't I give you that bag of chips in the first place?!
Li Xuan was speechless, having already flipped the metaphorical table in his mind. The corner of his mouth twitched, but in the end, he said nothing.
"You two, calm down!" Kiana shouted from behind Li Xuan, her hands cupped around her mouth like a megaphone, towards the two girls facing off in the center of the ruins.
"Don't try to stop me! This one reeks of evil! She must be a demon sent by Loki!" Sol said, impatiently waving them away. However, her peripheral vision caught sight of the Stone of Stellar Resonance in Li Xuan's hand.
"Do not compare me to such a low-level being! I am of the noble Night Clan!" Lucian said angrily upon hearing Sol's words.
Hey! That thing… why does it make me feel a desire to obtain it? It's like I could get even stronger, strong enough to defeat this demon vampire in front of me,
Sol thought, her gaze drawn to the Stone of Stellar Resonance after just a glance.
"Kid! Let me see that stone in your hand," Sol demanded, holding out her hand to Li Xuan.
"In your dreams!" Before Li Xuan could answer, Lucian unexpectedly charged forward again, her hands manipulating the blood-red flames to engage Sol in battle once more.
"Damn you, demon! Eat my hammer!" Sol, having been sneak-attacked, raised her delicate eyebrows and lifted her giant hammer to strike at Lucian.
"Whoa!! What do we do now?! Do we have to wait until they're both exhausted!?" Kiana shouted, dodging flying debris from behind Li Xuan.
Heh, wait for them to get exhausted? Nagazora City will probably be half gone by then!
"..."
So this is a divine war caused by a single stone? Li Xuan thought, looking down at the Stone of Stellar Resonance with complicated feelings.