The wind swirled, splitting the sky.
Yuuto shot forward like a bullet of wind, his sword pulled back, ready to strike.
Sah Oni still had his arms crossed, one hand holding August Dragneel's staff,
a barrier spread out in front of him.
BOOOOM
The first clash happened.
Yuuto's sword struck that magic barrier at point-blank range.
Sparks scattered.
A shockwave spread out like a small sonic blast.
Sah Oni clicked his tongue, not expecting someone to rush him that fast.
Yuuto smiled faintly.
"Oh? Your protection magic is pretty strong."
Only then did Sah Oni open his eyes.
Seeing Yuuto right in front of his face, his eyes flew wide.
"Who are you?!"
Yuuto leaned in slightly, his gaze sharp.
"Your grim reaper."
And as if to drive his words in—
HIS HOOD CAME OFF.
Yuuto's face—so similar to Arthur Proto's—was revealed clearly.
The next second…
CRRAAAK
Cracks appeared on the barrier.
One crack… two… three…
CRAAAASSSHH
The barrier shattered like glass.
Sah Oni didn't have time to react. His body was blown backward until—
SPLAAASH
He crashed into the sea like a stone being thrown.
Yuuto stood in the sky, hair fluttering in the wind, sword still raised.
"That's all you've got?"
Sah Oni surfaced again.
Sea water splashed as he flew back into the air.
His red eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Who are you…?! Why do you have Arthur Proto's face?!"
Yuuto raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you have hearing magic?
Use it. Listen to my thoughts."
Sah Oni focused on him, activated August's hearing magic—then froze.
"H… how can something like this exist… a… chat group… and so many beautiful girls…?"
His gaze dropped to the Belfast.
He saw Lady Avalon, Irene, Yamato, Kuroneko, Belfast, and Hatsune Miku.
His eyes instantly turned lecherous.
Drool almost dripped from his mouth.
"Ehehehe~ so many beautiful gi—"
BOOOOM
Yuuto's kick smashed into the side of his head.
Sah Oni spun away and crashed into the water again.
Yuuto rested his sword on his shoulder and looked at him in disgust.
"Seriously? You can still think dirty in the middle of a fight?"
Sah Oni rose into the air again.
His hair whipped in the wind.
"Hey, you damn system!
How can there be someone else with a cheat like that?!
That should be mine alone—the child of destiny!!"
[The system has no information]
"Tch—useless system!"
Then he glared at Yuuto.
"Even if you have that body, you'll never beat me.
All your girls will become my—"
He didn't get to finish.
Yuuto was already right in front of his face.
The close-quarters battle began.
Yuuto tried to slash Sah Oni, but he dodged casually.
Yuuto tried something else and kicked Sah Oni, but he twisted his body aside.
Sah Oni grinned.
"Pointless.
With August's hearing magic, I know the direction of all your attacks."
Every swing of Yuuto's sword, every tiny movement of his body…
Sah Oni read all of it before it happened.
"Wow, you're pretty strong," Yuuto said.
"You're annoying."
Sah Oni then activated August's magic again.
He copied Yuuto's flight magic—
and at the same time neutralized the wind magic Yuuto used to fly.
Yuuto's body began to fall.
"Huh?"
Yuuto felt gravity grab hold of him.
Sah Oni gave a wicked smile.
Yuuto didn't panic.
He twisted his body midair, shifting his feet downward.
BOOOOM
Yuuto landed on the surface of the sea—but he didn't sink.
He stood on the water as if it were solid ground.
---
The wind roared around the ship.
Up in the bright sky, Yuuto and Sah Oni's battle looked like two stars colliding.
Kuroneko bit her lip, her face pale.
"You're not going to help him?!" she shouted, voice shaking.
Miku gripped the railing tightly.
"Yeah! He's fighting that guy all alone!"
Yamato smiled slightly, but her eyes were sharp, tracking the fight.
"No need. Believe in our captain."
But she herself looked ready to jump in at any moment.
Irene, standing beside her—red hair whipping in the wind—spoke coldly.
"He can't even use August's power properly."
Kuroneko and Miku immediately looked at Irene.
"But still… what if something happens?"
Belfast stepped forward.
"There is no need to worry. Lord Yuuto will surely win."
Lady Avalon slowly opened her eyes—their glow soft.
"Yuuto's victory is a given."
Then a small smile appeared.
"Look… it seems he's about to show us something interesting."
Every gaze fixed on Yuuto standing on the surface of the sea—
Just as Sah Oni looked down from above, trying to act like a king.
"Stupid mutt… know your place!"
Yuuto looked up, staring at him with open disgust.
"Hahahaha… what's with that way of talking?
Trying to sound like Gilgamesh? You just end up disgusting."
Sah Oni flushed red like a boiled crab.
"You—!"
Yuuto sighed.
"Since magic doesn't work on you…"
He lowered his center of gravity.
"…then I'll use something else."
Mana Burst.
BOOOOOOM
Energy exploded from Yuuto's entire body, the sea's surface trembling.
Yuuto leapt—his speed skyrocketing.
Sah Oni prepared to dodge, grinning.
"Pointless! Even if you use Mana Burst, that won't—"
BOOOM!!
Yuuto's fist swung past the side of Sah Oni's head without touching him…
Yet the shockwave slammed into his body from the side.
Sah Oni was blown away, a bit of blood spraying from the corner of his mouth.
Yuuto smiled faintly.
"If you can dodge all of my attacks…
then I just have to make every attack carry full power until it creates a shockwave.
You can't dodge a tsunami, even if you know which way it's coming from, can you?"
Sah Oni forced himself to steady in the air, panicking.
Shockwaves… even without a direct hit?!
Yuuto was already in front of him again.
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
Yuuto's blows hammered the air, not touching Sah Oni directly—
but each blast of compressed air smashed into his body from different directions.
"Damn it! That's enough!"
He tried to copy Mana Burst.
…Nothing happened.
Yuuto kept slashing, driving Sah Oni back again and again.
"What's wrong?
Trying to copy this?"
He gave a small shrug.
"Too bad Mana Burst isn't magic… it's Arthur's innate ability."
Yuuto's sword came in again.
Sah Oni panicked even more. For the first time, he felt real pressure.
He gripped his staff and shouted,
"RIP!"
A vicious wind formed a giant vortex, trapping Yuuto.
But…
That wind only spun gently around Yuuto like a loyal servant.
Irene raised an eyebrow.
Yuuto smiled.
"Too bad…
I have a close relationship with the wind."
His sword slammed in again.
"Hahahaha, come on, keep it up," Yuuto said.
The mana-charged slash struck Sah Oni's waist—he screamed, his body bending from the pain.
Desperate, Sah Oni chanted a new spell.
"BLAST!"
BOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion swallowed Yuuto.
Kuroneko and Miku gasped.
"Yuuto!!"
Smoke blanketed the sky for a moment.
Then…
WHUUSSH
Yuuto emerged from the smoke, his body slightly injured, but his face still relaxed.
"Wow… I really might be too strong."
Behind him, the wind wrapped around Yuuto's body like a god's mantle.
Yuuto kicked Sah Oni—
BOOM
Sah Oni's body went crashing down from the sky.
But he got up again, enraged, trying to rush Yuuto while preparing a new spell.
Irene suddenly widened her eyes, the magic around her flaring.
"YUUTO, GET AWAY!!
HE'S GOING TO USE FIRE DRAGON KING KILLING MAGIC!!"
Sah Oni grinned viciously.
"Too late."
His staff glowed blood-red.
"MELT!"
WOOOOSH
A giant pillar of fire roared toward Yuuto.
Irene stepped forward—ready to fly to Yuuto—
but a soft yet firm hand stopped her shoulder.
Lady Avalon stood behind her, her smile calm.
"Calm down."
Irene shook her off slightly, unwilling to accept that.
"How can I be calm? He took that head-on!"
Irene's voice cracked; something was thrashing in her chest.
Lady Avalon simply raised her staff, pointing toward where Yuuto stood.
"He'll be fine.
Don't underestimate Arthur's armor. Look… he's still standing.
And this fight… is nearing its end."
Irene fell silent, her jaw tightening.
But her eyes could not leave Yuuto.
Sah Oni laughed wildly, like a beast that had just ripped its prey apart.
"Hahahahaha! Die!"
But his laughter stopped the moment that figure stepped out of the flames.
Yuuto emerged—Arthur's armor half-destroyed, his face dusty, his body injured.
"Hahahaha…
You almost managed to kill me, you bastard," Yuuto laughed harshly.
Sah Oni stared in disbelief.
"H–How are you still alive?!"
"Thanks for dancing with me," Yuuto said, looking at the panicked Sah Oni.
He stabbed his sword briefly into the air in front of him.
"All right… let's finish this."
Mana Burst – Activate.
Energy wrapped around Yuuto's body again—stronger than before.
Sah Oni frantically raised his staff.
"Mana Burst again?! It's useless! That won't kill me!"
Yuuto only smiled faintly.
Suddenly—
THE SKY WENT DARK.
The blue light in the sky vanished,
Dark clouds swallowed the sun,
Lightning flickered everywhere,
The wind howled like a giant wolf.
Yuuto yelled toward the ship,
"Sensei! Protect the ship!!"
"Leave it to me!"
Merlin's voice rang out, her barrier spreading to cover the entire deck.
Sah Oni twisted around, panicking.
"W-What are you going to do?!"
Yuuto slowly raised his sword toward the sky.
Storm, waves, and lightning all moved… following his blade.
"Hahahaha… you'd better be careful if you don't want to die stupidly.
This is my first time using this ability."
Sah Oni began to tremble.
He tried to neutralize the storm with August's magic—
but nothing happened.
"N-No way… why isn't it working?!"
Yuuto looked at him.
"Oh… This isn't magic.
This is… a natural phenomenon. So you can't copy or neutralize it."
Sah Oni swallowed hard.
"M… monster…"
He tried to back away, but his legs refused to move,
as if the very air was holding him in place.
Something was binding him.
THEN THE VOICE CAME.
A formless voice—deep, heavy, yet calm—echoed across the entire sea.
Sah Oni froze.
He couldn't sense where the voice came from.
It was as if the world itself was speaking.
"Do you know…
that nature always gives to humans?"
Sah Oni trembled.
"Nature gives food to those who are hungry,
And when disaster comes, nature protects."
The sky rumbled.
"But humans are ungrateful.
They slowly destroy it… until even nature falls ill."
Sah Oni didn't understand—but his body refused to move.
"And when nature becomes angry… it chooses no one.
It erases… without distinction,
No one can stop its rage.
Humans can only receive it."
The world suddenly fell silent.
All those raging phenomena stopped.
Absolute stillness.
Yuuto lowered his sword a little…
and the world moved.
"And this attack…
is that RAGE OF NATURE ITSELF."
"CALAMITY!!" Yuuto shouted.
ZAAAAAASSSHHH!!!
A streak of blinding white light tore through space.
It didn't sound like a sword slash—
it sounded like the world itself being torn open.
"N-no, no way, how can I end up like thiiiis…" Sah Oni screamed.
His body was sliced from shoulder to hip,
then shattered into particles of light,
vanishing without a trace.
The storm faded, and the sea grew calm once more.
Yuuto stood on the surface of the water, sword lowered, his shoulders rising and falling from exhaustion.
The battle… was over.