The battlefield had finally become quiet.
Not peaceful.
Quiet.
The enormous ruins of Shanghai were still surrounded by smoke, distant explosions, and the fading sounds of battle. But the millions of alien soldiers that had once covered the city were no longer an endless army.
Only half of them remained.
And in the middle of that battlefield stood two exhausted warriors.
Shion Kisaragi.
And Chenwei's mother.
Shion was standing with her massive sword planted against the ground, using it to support herself. Her breathing was heavy, and the poison-enhanced aura around her body had become noticeably weaker.
She looked toward the remaining army.
"Damn…"
She wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"My spirit energy is draining way too fast."
A short distance away, Chenwei's mother was still moving between the enemy forces.
She raised both pistols.
"Spirit Bullet!"
Two shots exploded forward.
The bullets were not ordinary ammunition.
Spiritual energy had been compressed into every round.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two alien soldiers were knocked away.
She immediately turned, aiming at another group.
But—
Click.
Her magazine was empty.
She stared at the gun for half a second.
"Seriously?"
She threw it aside.
Her second pistol was already in her hand.
She fired.
One shot.
Two.
Three.
Then—
Click.
Empty.
She looked down.
The magazines attached around her waist were gone too.
"Damn it."
She threw the second pistol away.
There was no time to reload.
Her hand moved toward her waist.
A dagger appeared between her fingers.
"Fine."
She rushed forward.
The dagger flashed through the air as she used it to defend herself against the approaching soldiers, relying on movement, timing, and close-range combat rather than her usual firearm technique.
One attacker rushed from the front.
She stepped aside.
Another came from her blind spot.
She ducked.
A third attacked from above.
She raised the dagger and redirected the strike before kicking the attacker away.
But even she knew the truth.
Her ammunition was finished.
And without ammunition, her usual fighting style was severely limited.
She jumped backward, creating distance.
Her eyes immediately found Shion.
"Shion!"
Shion looked toward her.
Chenwei's mother pulled a small capsule from her equipment.
She tossed it.
"Catch!"
Shion caught it.
She stared at the capsule.
"What is this?"
"Eat it."
Shion raised an eyebrow.
"You expect me to trust a random capsule during a battle?"
"Do you want your spirit energy back or not?"
Shion immediately swallowed it.
Chenwei's mother took another capsule herself.
The effect came almost immediately.
A warm wave of energy spread through their bodies.
Shion's breathing steadied.
She looked at her hand.
"…Not bad."
Chenwei's mother smiled.
"It's a recovery capsule. It'll restore a portion of your spiritual energy."
Shion grabbed her sword again.
"Then let's keep going."
"Not together."
Shion looked at her.
"What?"
Chenwei's mother pointed toward the battlefield.
"You go close-range."
She pulled a final weapon from her equipment.
A compact rifle.
"I'll snipe."
Shion smiled.
"That actually suits me."
Chenwei's mother checked the weapon.
"My magazines are gone, but I kept a few emergency rounds."
She looked directly at Shion.
"Anyone who tries to surround you becomes my target."
Shion raised her massive sword onto her shoulder.
"Got it."
Both women looked toward the remaining army.
Then—
They jumped.
Shion landed directly in the middle of the alien soldiers.
BOOM!
Her sword swept across the battlefield.
She moved like an assassin.
One step.
One slash.
Another step.
Another slash.
She never wasted movement.
Meanwhile—
Chenwei's mother landed on the rooftop of a damaged building.
She immediately dropped into a firing position.
Her rifle locked onto a target.
BANG!
Another soldier fell.
She shifted her aim.
BANG!
Another.
She moved to a completely different angle.
BANG!
Another.
The alien soldiers began looking around desperately.
They couldn't determine where the shots were coming from.
Chenwei's mother smiled.
"You can't escape the world's best sniper today."
Shion heard her voice from across the battlefield.
"Don't get too confident!"
"I'm always confident."
"That's annoying!"
"Focus!"
Shion laughed.
Then charged again.
For several minutes, the two continued fighting.
Until—
The battlefield finally became almost completely still.
Shion stood with her sword planted against the ground.
Her shoulders rose and fell rapidly.
"Haa…"
She looked exhausted.
"I need water."
Chenwei's mother sat beside her, their backs resting against each other.
"No."
Shion turned her head.
"What?"
"This is not the time for water."
Chenwei's mother looked straight ahead.
"There is still one problem."
Shion followed her gaze.
Her expression immediately changed.
Standing in the distance—
was the Hell Dragon.
And sitting upon its enormous back—
was the Demon Queen.
The Demon Queen smiled.
"I didn't expect the two of you to eliminate millions of my soldiers."
She looked around the battlefield.
"And you did it in only ten minutes."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Wow."
She looked toward Chenwei's mother.
"You've improved."
Then her expression changed.
"It's been a long time."
Chenwei's mother slowly stood.
"Ten years."
The Demon Queen smiled.
"Exactly."
She tilted her head.
"Ten years ago, you weren't alone."
Chenwei's mother tightened her grip.
"My husband was there."
"And Chenwei's father."
"Yes."
She looked toward the Demon Queen.
"And together, we stopped you."
The Demon Queen laughed.
"But they're not here now."
Chenwei's mother stepped forward.
"So I'll stop you myself."
Shion raised her sword.
"Then let's do it."
The two women charged.
The Demon Queen remained seated on the Hell Dragon.
Her smile didn't disappear.
And then—
the scene shifted.
---
Elsewhere…
A flash of light appeared beside the Wind Temple.
Yuna stepped out of the teleportation field.
Behind her were several Wind Temple martial artists.
They had already evacuated the ordinary citizens from the surrounding area.
Chenwei's mother had warned them beforehand.
Yuna looked ahead.
Her eyes widened.
Standing before her was the gigantic figure of the Wind Temple Guardian.
Airi Kazehana.
Her body had grown enormously after becoming a demi-goddess.
Her eyes were glowing red.
Yuna stepped forward.
"Airi!"
The giant guardian slowly looked down.
Yuna clenched her fists.
"Don't you recognize me?"
Airi's expression remained empty.
"I don't know you."
Yuna's voice became louder.
"Airi! Wake up!"
The red glow in Airi's eyes intensified.
"I am a servant of the Wind Demon Queen."
She raised one enormous hand.
"I recognize only her orders."
A massive amount of wind gathered around her.
The air began screaming.
Then—
WHOOSH!
Dozens of enormous wind arrows formed around Airi.
Yuna's eyes widened.
"Everyone, get back!"
The arrows launched.
SHHHHHHHH!
Yuna immediately raised a spiritual barrier.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The arrows struck the barrier one after another.
The Wind Temple martial artists rushed forward.
"Yuna!"
"We're with you!"
Yuna looked around.
They had stayed behind.
They weren't running.
They were standing with her.
She slowly lowered her shield.
Then looked back toward Airi.
Her hands began trembling.
For years—
she had never released it.
Not once.
Her Spirit Beast.
The power she had kept sealed within herself.
Yuna took a deep breath.
"So…"
She looked at her own hands.
"It really has come to this."
The Wind Temple martial artists stared at her.
Yuna closed her eyes.
Then opened them.
"I've never released my Spirit Beast before."
A strange spiritual pressure began spreading around her.
The wind around the battlefield suddenly changed direction.
Yuna looked toward Airi.
"I'm sorry."
Her voice became quiet.
"When you return to yourself…"
She smiled sadly.
"Don't blame me for what I'm about to do."
Airi raised her enormous hand.
The wind began gathering again.
Yuna stepped forward.
"I'll bring you back."
Her spiritual energy exploded outward.
The entire Wind Temple shook.
And for the first time in the history of the story—
Yuna was about to release her Spirit Beast.
TO BE CONTINUED…