Carissa, second princess of Britain.
The Femme Fatale, holy woman of France.
The action they took was a simple one.
✦ ✦ ✦
They charged directly for Misha Kreutzev.
✦ ✦ ✦
B-b-b-b-boom!!!!!! The burst exploded after their movement had already taken place. The identity of the loud reverberation, similar to an artillery blast, was a shock wave due to breaking the sound barrier. Carissa and the Femme Fatale, fanned out to either side of the archangel, both aimed for Misha Kreutzev’s neck like a huge pair of scissors.
Everyone’s eyes opened wide.
Their two swords each sunk into Misha’s icy wings.
But even that only lasted a moment.
The blades shaved off the countless wings with the effortlessness of mowing grass before attempting to end Misha’s life in one fell swoop.
Misha Kreutzev’s hands moved. It pointed each of its palms outward, as though holding open a train door.
That was all.
The Curtana and the Durandal, which had sliced through one death-inducing ice wing after the next, couldn’t even deal a grazing blow to the archangel’s palms. The swords’ motions were gently halted, as though adhering to them.
The angel’s head shifted smoothly, setting its hollow eyes on Carissa.
A moment later:
Roar!! A thunderous booming echoed.
It was the sound of Carissa and the Femme Fatale having their respective swords’ energies explode. The two were thrown out to the left and right in a large arc. They didn’t fall to the ground, but their soles slid over the snow, and the sting of impact remained.
“hboirgPRIORnbugbITIZEvoraghv”
Misha Kreutzev spoke, its head tilting slightly with a pop.
Its body turned to face Carissa again.
“nriosgnPRIORITIZEiorseog”
The archangel’s palm was thrust out.
And then:
Krshhh!!!!!! Something grazed Carissa’s cheek and instantly exploded behind her, shattering an entire hill.
Her reactions couldn’t keep up.
She could do nothing but realize that fact as Misha slightly adjusted its palm.
It had corrected the trajectory.
“…!! Out of the way, barbarian!!”
Just before it fired, the Femme Fatale moved faster than the speed of sound. Traveling in an arc around the supernatural being, she came in at Carissa’s side and delivered a flying kick. A normal person might have blown up in that situation, but for them, even something this insane was an act of kindness.
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
A moment later, something fired from the archangel’s palm.
Clumps of snow and dirt exploded spectacularly, but they both still had all their limbs attached.
“What was that? I couldn’t even see it.”
“Gabriel is a messenger angel. She probably excels in the sending and receiving of information. She uses the information of intuition and indication as a clever decoy, then sends it out in any direction, at any distance, and with any timing. Rely on your normal senses. If you trust your sixth sense, your timing will be off.”
“hbwioraEFFECnbsitbgTIVEoargwerge”
“This isn’t good. She’s gotten a taste, and now she wants more, so.”
“No, you just fell for her schemes, you barbarian.”
Shwahhh!! Many wings unfolded from Misha’s back. They all seemed off. They’d probably been changed so that the speed at which one read indications from the wings would be faster or slower, just like whatever it was that had fired from her palm before.
They couldn’t get ahead of them.
If they tried to predict them, it would backfire.
Right after they made sure they knew that, Misha’s wings moved.
With speed surpassing sound, over a hundred wings assaulted them at once.
“…!!”
Ba-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-za-za-za-za-za-ga-ga-ga-ga-gi-gi-gi-gi!!!!!! Countless sparks flew. It was akin to a situation of repelling every shot from a gatling gun, but when the bullets moved around like living creatures, the difficulty soared higher. Just keeping up with the motions was plenty praiseworthy for humans, but Carissa and the Femme Fatale wore ill expressions.
Since decoys hid within the indications they used to get a read on the wings, they always had a timing lag during their initial movements.
Because of that, while they could intercept, they didn’t have room to turn things around.
The battle situation stalled, with them only receiving attacks from Misha one-sidedly, descending into a war of attrition.
The battle stalling was not a good thing.
All it did was show how they hadn’t found any way to counterattack.
“Something wrong, barbarian?! Didn’t the Curtana eat up as much archangel power as the enemy?!”
“Shit. It seems like it’s gobbled down enough of the quantity, but I don’t know anything about angels. Seems like I’m losing in technique, not strength. What about you?”
“I can’t keep up with the power—just with the relic embedded in the hilt! And our objective wasn’t to kill an archangel; that would be a pipe dream!!”
Skree!! went the sound of something scraping.
On its face, only recognizable from indentations, the piece corresponding to its mouth squirmed around.
“bzsoINCRgzEASINGeuipghSPEEDerug”
“This…thing…!! We still haven’t seen the most of i—!!”
Carissa’s face drew back, but Misha surmounted her expectations further.
Over one hundred wings of ice, big and small.
It took them…
…and suddenly aimed not at Carissa or the Femme Fatale—but at the forces of Academy City and Russia.
Damn this thing…!!
A moment later, as the second princess was moving at a supersonic speed, she twisted her body to change direction, diving between the archangel and the soldiers.
To protect the lives of the people from this angelic tyranny.
Misha Kreutzev showed no mercy.
For the archangel had been expecting this opening.
I see.
In that instant, Carissa, time passing unnaturally slowly for her, realized, Military actions utilizing the martial strength of an archangel. It really goes to show you how worthless my revolution that I forced upon the people was.
A hundred wings swung down at once.
Someone let out a shout.
And then.