Elise nodded quietly. “I’m used to fighting in outfits that are hard to move in. I vow to bring victory to Saint Serephione!”
“So, you’re going to fight instead of the villainess? Okay, bring it on! And what does saint mean, anyway? That role should go to me!” Maribelle took out a golden wand from her waist with a sparkling spherical tip.
“I’ll fight for peace in Judore! Here goes!” Maribelle clutched her wand in both hands and pointed it at the sky.
“Goddess in heaven, come to me...” Elise closed in at blinding speed, her black cloak fluttering behind her, and swung the sword in her right hand right at Maribelle’s stomach!
It was a hit with the back of the sword, but it landed cleanly. Maribelle’s stomach had been wide open, after all.
Maribelle went flying and slammed into the wall. Elise remained in a low stance with her sword in her right hand, watching Maribelle carefully without going after her. Maribelle hadn’t defended at all.
“Oww... That... That really hurts! I can’t believe you’d just attack me like that...” She glared at Elise with annoyance, then muttered something and got back up immediately.
“She healed,” said Lou.
Maribelle was completely unhurt. Her healing magic was just that powerful. Can I defeat her by pummeling her so quickly she has no time to heal, or is my best shot at victory to knock her out cold with one blow?
“I’m not letting you get away with that... Schneider, bring out Terlnight!”
Huh?
“Maribelle... I don’t remember confirming with you that I’m working with Terlnight.”
“Just bring him out! The holy beasts are all on my side, after all!”
“She’s yelling Terl’s true name in front of the public?” Asu’s voice from above was tinged with irritation.
“Fine... Go ahead, Terlnight.”
In the next moment, ice dust sparkled next to Maribelle, then condensed and took shape.
Terl had made a second appearance.
“The holy beast of the north...” My brother’s murmur reached my ears. This was the being my brother had been looking for. My father and the other few who could see him were shocked.
“Terlnight! Crush that girl!” Maribelle glared at Elise. An overwhelming wave of fear came from Terl.
Elise staggered and lowered her sword out of the strength of her faith, gazing wordlessly at Terl.
She had no chance of winning now that Terl had come out. I went to step forward so Elise could retreat.
“Let me go out there, Miss Sere.” Miyu crawled out from my pocket. Her voice was quiet, but I could tell she was angry. We spoke as we both glared at Maribelle and Terl.
“But Terl is really strong. He half-killed me before.”
“I know. I was watching.”
“You know what’ll happen if you fight Terl, right? It’s taboo.”
“I know! But what kind of girl would I be if I wasn’t willing to help Elise anyway?”
I couldn’t stop Miyu if she was that determined, since she was a heavenly beast. “Are you going to go support her?”
“I’m gonna go all out!”
Elise was an actress, after all.
Lou sighed. “All right, then. Show Terl the bond we have with our contractor!” He released the illusion magic on Miyu.
Miyu transformed into her full size, spraying water forcefully. She was even larger than the last time I’d seen her, her azure body sparkling luminously. She landed at Elise’s left side.
The whole area was enveloped in clean air. Those who could see her were terrified at the sight, and those who couldn’t felt the crisp air on their skin and rubbed their arms.
Miyu gently supported Elise’s body and rubbed her long torso against her head. Elise drew in a breath, tears coming to her eyes.
“Beautiful...” Schneider let his genuine opinion out, his eyes sparkling.
“AZURE DRAGON? KILAMA...? NO...” Terl looked at his junior.
“I’m not gonna let you get away with being mean to my girls, old man! Kilama was super angry about it too! So cowardly!”
Terl appeared confused.
“Is Terl male?” I asked. Holy beasts had no inherent sex, with Miyu being an exception since she was born in this land and later became a holy beast.
“I don’t know, but no woman would let you get away with calling her an old man, Miyu...”
“Is that a dragon? For real? This really is a fantasy world! Come to me, now! I’m Maribelle! I’ve finally met a holy beast other than the turtle! Turtles are so boring.” Maribelle’s eyes sparkled as she held out a hand to Miyu.
Of course she can see her without the illusion magic...
“You think I would ever take your hand, with that dirty black curse on you?!” Miyu sent a wave of anger out!
“Eek!” Maribelle fell backward. Terl moved behind her to keep her from hitting the wall. “Wh-Why? The holy beasts are all on my side! I know, you’re being controlled! Don’t worry, I’ll help you!”
“They’re not communicating well.”
“She can’t hear us without being contracted.”
“I’m sick of you!” Miyu shot bullets of water! Maribelle and Terl were soaked.
Miyu instantly enveloped Elise in a thin veil of water and wrapped it vigorously around the holy sword she held in her hands. Miyu then swung her tail and created a pillar of water at Elise’s feet, and after placing her on it, she stretched it high into the sky in a swirling motion. Elise swung her sword from the apex of the water tower, and razor-like blades of water rained down on Maribelle and Terl with pinpoint accuracy!
“Terlnight, protect me!”
Terl stepped in front of Maribelle to protect her from the water razors with his shell. He was an iron fortress, as always.
“Lightning against water! Go!” Maribelle shot off an advanced lightning attack without an incantation!
“I’ll never let you use lightning magic on me!” Miyu would never forget the attack her father had faced. She instantly threw up a meter-thick wall of water between herself and Maribelle. Maribelle’s lightning hit the wall and fell to the earth.
“Why didn’t it go through?!” Maribelle yelled in confusion.
“I get it,” Lou said.
“How did that work, Lou?”
“It’s pure water. Water without any impurities doesn’t conduct electricity.”
“It doesn’t?”
“And the reason she can make pure water so easily is because she’s a holy beast. Normal water usually has some kind of impurity, so it conducts electricity. Good thinking, Miyu.”
Good job, Miyu! You must have trained hard with Renza. Miyu had reflection magic on her, so she should have been able to bounce the attack back, but Elise was also there.
Maribelle repeatedly attacked with fire, earth, and water, but none of the attacks could pierce Miyu’s wall of pure water. The four elements and healing... She wasn’t using any magic except for what she’d been taught in school.
She hadn’t created any new kinds of magic like Schneider and I had. That showed just how easy she’d had it in this life—she hadn’t been in a situation where she’d needed any.
Miyu blew a purple cloud from her mouth! Poison mist!
“Aaah!” Maribelle hacked and wheezed in the miasma. And Terl’s movements slowed as he was surrounded by the mist! The poison worked because it was from a fellow holy beast.
Elise plunged rapidly from the sky, aiming at Terl’s neck with her water-coated sword spinning at high speed! Terl, unable to move as usual because of the poison, retracted his head into his shell.
The tip of Elise’s sword just barely made contact! Terl’s legs weakened. She’d done damage to him. On the rebound, she slashed from Maribelle’s right shoulder to her solar plexus!
Bam! It was a hit with the back of the sword, but Maribelle cowered.
“Ugh... How do your attacks keep hitting me? I’m the strongest student at the magic academy! Why is Terlnight so weak?”
Of course, Terl wasn’t weak. They just weren’t cooperating.
Maribelle muttered something and detoxified herself. But she wasn’t using it on Terl...only herself. That was why she wasn’t strong enough. Terl probably could regenerate, but it would be more efficient to use detoxifying magic than to wait for that to kick in. It would be fatal for the key defender to move poorly, after all.
Isn’t it just the normal thing to do to heal a battle partner if you have the ability, anyway?
“There’s no such thing as partners in her world. There’s only herself and underlings. The heroine and the small fry.”
In contrast, Elise and Miyu had perfect coordination! They weren’t contracted, so they couldn’t communicate with words, only with eye contact.
I could see how much they trusted—no, how much they loved each other. They were real partners.
“How about you give up soon?” Elise called to Maribelle in a cold voice.
“I’m the heroine! I can’t lose! You’re supposed to act like you did in Wild Rose!”
Maribelle stood up. Some kind of black mass rose up from her body, and a chill ran down my spine.
“It’s a curse!” Asu shouted from above. The heavenly beasts wouldn’t let evil near them—but Elise was too close!
Elise was immediately surrounded by the black mass.
“Ah...” Elise’s face turned pale white, and she fell to her knees.
“Elise!”
“Elise!” Miyu’s eyes shone! But...
“This curse is tough... Oh, no...”
I could tell Miyu was struggling.
“You...!” Lou glared at Maribelle from my shoulder. But...I saw no change.
“Maribelle! Didn’t you want a peaceful resolution?” I shouted. “Are you going to kill her? She only hit you with the back of your sword! It wouldn’t be fair!”
“Shut up! Background characters who interfere with me deserve to die anyway!”
Maribelle’s makeup peeled off, perhaps reacting to her own curse, which appeared as an ugly black color on her face.
“Maribelle... Why don’t you just call it a win for you and end this?” said Schneider.
“Of course not! She’s been preaching at me all high and mighty, and she hurt my shoulder! I’m not letting her go!”
Elise quietly collapsed to the ground.
“Elise!”
Suddenly, a beam of light shot from below Elise into the heavens!
There was one behind us too! Lou and I turned to see the source...Sasara’s left hand!
They were Alma’s gold rings! The magic I’d used on them was set to release electricity when one of our lives was in danger of being snuffed out.
Elise was on the verge of death, and Sasara’s pain at seeing her one and only best friend hurt was enough to bring Sasara herself near death, so they both activated.