Blonde hair danced wildly as her slender body kicked up a violent gust of wind.
Ais's expression didn't change at all. Her beautiful face showed no hint of emotion.
"?!"
Faced with the blonde girl charging straight at him, Bell instinctively twisted his body aside and narrowly avoided her.
Whatever Ais was trying to do, it definitely wasn't something like holding hands or hugging.
From that strange atmosphere surrounding her, Ais gave off an unsettling sense of being out of control, as if she might suddenly lash out.
But this was different from the Jewel Fetus incident. Right now, she felt more like someone who was drunk.
"Syr, what did you put inside those potato balls?!"
Bell snapped back to his senses and shouted.
The girls who had been making noise earlier also noticed something was wrong and hurried over.
"Mm… originally it was liqueur-filled chocolate along with some other ingredients. And because of my love, the outside turned yellow."
Syr explained calmly from behind the crowd.
"Love or whatever doesn't matter, nya! This person has completely lost it, nya!"
Chloe stressed how serious the situation was.
"W-we should leave quickly…"
"That's right! We can't let Artemis-sama stay here!"
Heith's words struck a chord with the other girls, and they all prepared to distance themselves from the trouble.
Seeing everyone move away from Ais, Syr suddenly spoke up.
"Ais-san was rushing straight toward Bell. Could it be she wanted to grab him and do something… embarrassing?"
"....?"
At those words, the group led by Artemis stopped in their tracks.
"You're right. We can't just ignore this."
"Artemis-sama?"
"I… I understand. Please wait here. Leave this to us."
A surge of fighting spirit rose from Artemis as twenty girls stepped forward to stand in front of her.
Heith clenched her fists, her crimson eyes filled with envy.
She took a step forward and spoke up.
"The Sword Princess actually wants to do something like that? Not even I have… no, we have to stop her! Airmid-san, let's go together!"
As the boy's lovers, Airmid and Laurier naturally realized that Ais was heading straight for Bell.
They didn't say a word, but they were already prepared to fight.
"...."
Asfi let out a sigh and pulled out various tools she had prepared in advance.
"At this rate, if our holiday time doesn't get doubled, it won't be worth it at all…"
Lunoire cracked her knuckles, a helpless smile on her face.
The true holy war was about to break out.
Ryuu escorted Artemis and Syr toward the safer area in the back.
Because Ais's reaction toward the boy was far too intense.
Bell and Lefiya retreated to the side of a wall together, watching how the battle would unfold.
Ais stood alone.
Yet the overwhelming pressure she radiated, like that of a Demon King, made no one dare to approach her lightly.
The blonde girl faced off against dozens of people for a brief moment.
Suddenly, a clear, sharp voice shattered the silence before the storm.
"The boy's body belongs to me, nya!"
Chloe charged straight at Ais.
"Huh nya?! Wait a second, nya!"
Anya didn't quite understand what was happening, but she still followed after her companion, spinning forward like a wheel.
The wind roared, and killing intent surged.
At the instant the two sides clashed, the holy war reached its climax.
...
"Huh, nya? Why am I staring at the ceiling, nya?"
Anya couldn't remember what had happened at all.
Golden hair filled her vision, and in the very next moment, she found herself lying flat on the ground.
"Ugh, nya… my phantom magic was completely broken through, nya…"
Chloe lay not far away, unwillingly replaying the brief clash in her mind.
She had used illusions to draw Ais's attention, lured her into turning around, then slashed with her dagger at the critical moment.
Just a scratch should have been enough to put Ais to sleep.
Chloe had been wary of abnormal resistance, but never expected Ais to completely nullify her attack with nothing more than a spinning flying kick.
"For Artemis-sama!"
After the two cat people fell, twenty girls formed a monster-hunting formation, surrounding Ais at the center.
What they didn't realize was that the one standing inside their encirclement was far more terrifying than any monster.
"W-what?!"
Under stunned gazes, Ais swept across the battlefield like a raging gust of wind.
Faced with absolute power, the carefully woven net shattered instantly.
In just a few seconds, all twenty girls were down on the ground.
"As expected of the Sword Princess. My apologies."
Asfi seized the opening and threw a bottle filled with green liquid.
It shattered at Ais's feet, the contents splashing outward at once.
The gelatinous fluid rapidly changed shape, sticking Ais's shoes firmly to the floor.
"…?"
Caught by the extreme adhesive force, Ais froze in place for a brief moment.
But in the next second, she charged straight at Asfi.
"Oh no?!"
Asfi hadn't expected that even in her drunken state, Ais could react so quickly, abandoning the shoes stuck to the ground without hesitation.
She immediately activated her winged boots, trying to escape the blonde girl's attack range.
But Ais was faster.
She grabbed Asfi by the ankles and slammed her down onto the floor.
At that instant, an invisible blade struck from behind Ais.
This was the tactic Laurier and Asfi had agreed upon.
While one drew the blonde girl's attention, Laurier would slip in under invisibility and launch a surprise attack.
But Ais didn't even look back. With a simple movement of her arm, she knocked Laurier straight to the ground.
"So sneak attacks don't work after all."
Lunoire charged in head-on, closing the distance and throwing a heavy punch straight at Ais.
No tricks. No schemes. Just pure, straightforward close-quarters combat.
That was Lunoire's way of fighting.
Carried by sheer momentum, the force of the punch seemed to drag the surrounding air with it, distorting the space in front of Ais.
Ais didn't meet the attack head-on.
Despite her hazy expression, her eyes still retained the instinctive wisdom of a seasoned fighter.
...
"Huh?!"
Like everyone else, Lunoire was defeated in a single exchange.
Ais made full use of her [Agility] advantage, slipping past Lunoire's punches with superior speed and striking back immediately.
A defense without a single opening.
An offense that could not be stopped.
As one of the very few Lv6, the blonde girl overwhelmed everyone with sheer, absolute power.
Heith looked at the girls sprawled across the ground and cleared her throat.
"I just remembered I still haven't made dinner. I'll be taking my leave now…"
Airmid grabbed onto her clothes.
"Heith-san, let me heal you! Let's take her down together!"
"Ugh, let go! No matter how you look at it, she's not someone we can beat!"
"Besides, Syr and the others are already safe. I have to go back, or Freya-sama will scold me!"
"Let go of me! Let go!"
The fighting spirit Heith had shown earlier vanished without a trace.
In her eyes, now shimmering with tears, the blonde girl rushed in like a raging gale, ending their argument in a single blow.
Airmid fell to the ground.
As for Heith—before the blonde girl's attack could even reach her, she had already thrown herself flat onto the ground, lying completely still.