“Kur nu Gia.”
✦ ✦ ✦
But at that moment, the stadium fell silent.
Miasmic arms that Orphelia had woven together towered over the audience, more ominous and incomparably larger than anything she had unleashed up until now. The audience gaped at this spectacle—this overwhelming mass of power.
This heinous, violent force captured their attention and took hold of their hearts.
And this wasn’t just a pair of arms.
The number increased every few seconds. There were already five—no, six of them…
“Ha… Ha-ha-ha… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Wow! Wow! Awesome! Orphelia Landlufen! Erenshkigal! No way! No way!”
Amid the confusion, Zaharoula’s joy-filled laugh resonated throughout the stadium.
“Z-Zaharoula…?”
“Mico Yanase. Did the bulletin just now say anything about the championship match?”
“Huh? Er, no, not really…”
“That means the match will keep going, right? In that case, it doesn’t matter. I don’t know anything about these terrorist attacks, and I don’t care. I don’t want to miss a single second of what’s playing out down there!”
Mico was at a loss for words.
“You all out in the audience! Those of you who want to flee, do as you please. But ask yourselves—what are you doing here? You came to see the greatest tournament in the history of the Lindvolus—no, of the entire Festa. Right? Then you’d better sit back and keep your eyes peeled. Even if you wait out the rest of your boring lives, you’ll never have another chance to witness this miracle. I’m not going anywhere! Come rain or shine—even if the entire Sirius Dome is laid to waste—I’m staying right here!”
Zaharoula’s remarks were categorically insane.
But the passion in her voice was unmistakably real.
That passion soon rippled through the audience, painting over their anxiety and confusion and driving them into a whirlwind more frenzied and enthusiastic than ever before.
Hushed murmurs soon gave way to the scattered cheers—and from there, into louder cries and shouts. Soon screams and roars engulfed the Sirius Dome.
“Are you kidding me? The audience is just as crazy as she is…”
Julis smiled wryly. What else could she do?
“…Go.”
Orphelia, unperturbed by the crowd’s enthusiasm, gently raised her right arm.
That arm—covered in miasma and more terrifying than a demon risen from hell—swung down at Julis.
“Burst into bloom—Antirrhinum Majus!”
Julis released a flaming flower dragon, then boosted its strength with her remote Rect Lux.
After adding some pollen fuel to the mix, its power ought to have been close to ten times that of the regular version.
And yet the blow succeeded only in holding back one of the miasmic arms, while a second and third rushed in to crush her.
“What?!”
They were also considerably faster than before.
Th-this… I can’t…! I have to fall back!
Carried by the wings of her Strelitzia Petty, Julis glided across the stage—but even with her increased acceleration ability, the miasmic arms quickly caught up to her. She tried to escape by suddenly accelerating and decelerating and making sharp turns, but she managed only to buy herself a short reprieve.
In no time at all, she had reached the edge of the stage and was left with nowhere else to run.
Then, without the faintest hesitation, the miasmic arms hit her like a tidal wave.
“Wh-whoa! Riessfeld has been hit! Is it over?!”
“…No, not yet!”
Zaharoula wasn’t even trying to hide her excitement.
…It looked like Julis had no other choice.
Giving in, she squeezed her eyes shut.
This was her only option. She had hoped to hold out another five minutes…but at this rate, that was out of the question. She’d only die in vain, and there was no point in that.
And so with a mental apology, she resolved to fight only for herself from here on out.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Bloom—Queen of the Night.”
✦ ✦ ✦
As Julis opened her eyes, a series of huge six-petaled flowers erupted around her, their explosive flames pushing the miasmic arms back and burning them to cinders.
Her rose-colored hair paled in the light, her body itself blazing with roiling flames.
“Th-there it is! The move that overwhelmed Ayato Amagiri!”
The audience broke out into rapturous cheers.
…They really were stupid, the whole lot of them.
Large-scale terrorist attacks were taking place outside, their own lives were being threatened, and yet all they wanted to do was watch a couple of students fight? They were a vile, despicable, wretched bunch.
But even as she cursed them in the depths of her heart, a small smile spread across Julis’s face.
That’s right. Burn this sight into your eyes.
This battle is between Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld and Orphelia Landlufen.
✦ ✦ ✦
This will be our final contest.