At this point, she wasn't fighting—she was trying to survive.
Selina tried to create distance, dodging his greatsword as best as she could, letting out faint, exhausted breaths. She raised her rifle blindly, charging it with ether—
—and fired.
Ignis simply lifted his greatsword, deflecting the powerful shot to the side, where it exploded, the resulting wind brushing against them and stirring Selina's silver hair.
Selina tried to dodge again as Ignis moved in for another attack. The strike barely grazed her hair—
She had almost not made it again.
At this point, Ignis raised his greatsword once more, preparing to end the fight—
A crushing kick tore through the air—and through the wall of a nearby building. It all happened in an instant, nearly invisible to Selina.
With tears already forming in her eyes, she glanced toward the source.
Akira Hinokami stood there, his arm bleeding through his white clothes.
—"Hinokami…" Selina murmured, her voice trembling.
Akira walked toward her, stopping briefly as he spoke:
—"I can sense two large sources of ether a few kilometers away… I assume they're allies?"
Selina widened her eyes and let out a surprised breath.
—"Y-yes! They're coming from Ritharion!"
Akira let out a faint, weak laugh, but continued walking.
—"I'll… finish this."
—"W-wait!"
Akira slightly turned his gaze toward her.
—"What is it?" he murmured.
—"Um… could you make my brother stop fighting…? I mean, if you handled this one so easily, then I suppose—"
—"Relax. I don't intend to let anyone die. I'll tell him to come."
Without giving Selina time to thank him, he walked away.
Calius held a card in each hand, moving between rubble and collapsed pillars along the street, circling Gorath and searching for an opening.
—"If he can't see me… he can't react…"
At that moment, Gorath gripped his shield tightly—
It split in half.
Behind it, a heavy sword was revealed—one he wielded with ease.
—"…Huh?"
Gorath spun the massive blade around himself. Calius reacted instantly, ducking to avoid it as debris was sent flying by the sheer force.
Calius moved along Gorath's axis.
—"He wasn't… fighting seriously…?"
Calius threw both cards toward Gorath, clenching his fists. The cards exploded immediately upon impact—
—but Gorath walked out of the dust completely unharmed.
—"He hardened his body even more…? Does that even follow any kind of logic…? Wait… logic…?"
Gorath advanced toward Calius with overwhelming presence, his sword resting on his shoulder, his steps confident.
—"If this comes from a necromancer… am I wasting time looking for logic? I already thought about that…"
Calius narrowed his eyes, ready to continue the fight, summoning another card between his fingers.
However, Gorath completely diverted his attention away from him, reforming a shield with his sword—
—and tried to block the incoming attack.
A fist traveled at incomprehensible speed.
Gorath's shield meant nothing against the sheer force. His massive body was sent flying, crashing through nearly an entire building from a blow worthy of someone beyond a prodigy.
Calius raised his guard, startled.
Akira grabbed his wrist before he could rush forward.
—"What's your name?" Akira asked calmly.
—"Calius. Why?" Akira released his wrist and continued walking.
—"You should fall back. It's my turn to deal with this."
Calius stepped forward, his tone sharpening.
—"You couldn't even handle one of them earlier. How do you expect to—"
—"I said I'll handle it!"
There was anguish in his voice.
Calius stepped back, storing his card.
—"…Understood."
—"By the way… your sister is waiting for you."
—"…Yeah. Thanks for saving her."
Calius immediately ran off, heading down the next street in search of Selina.
Akira lifted his gaze.
—"There they are…"
Amaya clenched her fists.
Her cards manifested around her, floating high in the air, each one glowing and releasing small, deadly violet rays of ether.
Kaede advanced through them, her gaze fixed, determined to land a hit.
Above them, Shiro dodged blindly through the barrage, launching his thread again and again onto nearby surfaces, closing the distance.
Amaya's expression made it clear—this wasn't a problem.
She simply snapped her fingers.
All the cards detonated around Shiro and Kaede—quiet, but devastating.
Kaede hit the ground, but immediately tried to stand again.
—"…You're so irritating…" she muttered.
She lifted her gaze.
Amaya stood a few meters away. She raised her sword, positioning the blade toward Kaede—
With a slight motion, she unleashed a barrage of ether-forged lightning.
Kaede gritted her teeth and summoned her card to block. The lightning brushed past her, grazing her outfit. She could feel the pressure—the sheer weight of the attack straining her arm.
From above, Shiro watched with growing desperation, breathing rapidly, his eyes wide.
"I can barely keep up with them… I thought I'd at least improved my reflexes… wait…"
He anchored his thread to a pillar, gripping it tightly.
—"What if I react on instinct…?"
Shiro raised the hand wearing the ring, releasing the thread—
—and landed beside Amaya.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her expression serious.
Despite his fear, Shiro lunged forward.
"What do I even do now…?"
He raised his other hand, summoning Alma Rigel's card into his palm.
"That card… there's no doubt. It's him."
Amaya raised her own hand, summoning her card—
The two collided.
A small explosion rippled outward.
At the same time, the lightning assault targeting Kaede vanished.
Amaya grabbed Shiro by the neck, lifting him off the ground.
Shiro panicked, kicking wildly, trying to strike her, unable to suppress his desperate gasps.
—"You try to fight… but you're just a child playing with a card…"
With his free hand, Shiro summoned Alma Rigel's card again, raising it with force—
—and threw it at her.
Amaya slightly tilted her head, effortlessly dodging. The card struck the ground and vanished.
—"You can't even aim properly…"
She tossed Shiro into the air.
Shiro quickly searched for something to latch onto with his thread—
—but before he could, Kaede caught him midair, holding him with one arm while summoning her card with the other.
—"Sorry… this is going to hurt…"
she murmured.
Her card began to glow more intensely than before—
She hurled it at Amaya.
It exploded right in front of her—
—but did nothing.
In the next instant, Kaede burst through the smoke, appearing directly in front of Amaya.
She tried to strike—
—but Amaya effortlessly sidestepped, preparing a lethal counterattack.
A thread wrapped around Kaede's waist and yanked her away from danger, pulling her out of the smoke.
With a single motion of her sword, Amaya dispersed the smoke entirely.
—"How long are you going to keep this up? You're not even making me try."
From a distance, Akira watched the battle—
Then he moved.
—"I'll… take her down quickly and get them out of here."
He began walking—
—but suddenly felt a faint vibration behind him, just a few meters away.
He turned instantly, summoning his card—
—and blocked a completely azure dagger.
A purely instinctive reaction.
It saved his life.
—"I… managed to return. That's why we'll survive…"
Akira struck the air, dispersing the lingering smoke from the clash.
—"…The necromancer…?"
The figure stood a few meters away.
In his hands—two completely azure daggers, seemingly formed from ether.
One of his eyes was black—
—the other, completely white.
He wore a lightweight black jacket, fluttering in the night wind over a white shirt.
Without hesitation, Akira moved first—launching himself forward, aiming a kick at his stomach.
The necromancer jumped, twisting midair and attempting to counter with a kick of his own.
Akira blocked it with his arms, sliding back a few meters.
"He's strong…"
Akira surged forward again, throwing a punch toward his face.
The man's long black hair swayed as he slightly tilted his head, dodging—
His dagger shot toward Akira's chest.
Akira grabbed his wrist, stopping the blade.
They remained locked like that for a moment, both exerting force—
Then the man let out a faint laugh.
—"You made a mistake," said the necromancer.
—"…Huh?"
The man with mismatched eyes smiled faintly.
—"Pray to your god, Hinokami."
Akira immediately retreated and kicked backward—
A shadow creature had appeared behind him, raising a thin katana.
Akira barely dodged. His shirt tore slightly in the process.
The figure wore a shadow-formed kimono, its entire body concealed within darkness, hooded.
—"Another shadow…?" Akira murmured.
The shadow moved, circling around him to stand beside the necromancer.
Akira stared at them with a hunter's gaze.
—"My name is Ryouji. Our paths have crossed… and that makes this fight inevitable."
—"Ryouji, huh…?" Akira clenched his fists.
—"I don't know what your objective is here. I don't know why you appeared out of nowhere, but…"
His stance hardened.
—"…I will save this city."