A Familiar Foe

By the time we rushed back to the school, the scene was one of utter devastation. The ground was riddled with craters from explosions. Two dragon-shaped monsters, nearly as tall as the school building, stood poised amidst the destruction.

They posed an immense threat. However, for now, we couldn’t spare a moment for them.

In the distance, a red-skinned demon was visible, raising a massive club. She was poised to strike down the pink-haired girl before them, ready to end her life with a single, decisive blow.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the Young Miss drew her sword the instant she witnessed the scene. She streaked forward, swift as an arrow loosed from a bow.

It was a hair’s breadth escape. The Young Miss angled her sword, forcing the massive club to alter its trajectory and slide harmlessly to the side.

“Thud!”

The bone club slammed into the earth, gouging out a deep crater.

Judging by the sheer force, had it not been for the Young Miss’s quick thinking, the club would have undoubtedly shattered. Both she and Sophina would have been crushed flat.

Worry, however, was a luxury I couldn’t afford. It was time to act.

“Ice Lance!”

A dozen ice lances materialized around me instantly, hurtling towards the demon.

At the sight of them, the demon pushed off the ground, soaring high above the reach of my magic.

Yet, my attack wasn’t so easily evaded.

With a subtle application of wind magic, the ice lances defied all logic, swiveling mid-air to target the demon once more!

“Oh?”

The demon’s brow subtly arched, a flicker of surprise crossing her features. Still, she remained utterly composed, exuding an air of effortless mastery.

With a casual flick of her massive club, the sheer force of the displaced air was enough to shatter every single ice lance.

“Is that even possible?”

While hastily conjured, I had imbued those ice lances with a considerable amount of magical energy. Their strength should have been far from negligible.

They were capable of piercing through medium-sized monsters, even shattering the armor of larger beasts!

Yet, she had shattered my ice lances with such apparent ease?

“Eileen… I’m coming to assist you!”

Thankfully, Luomei immediately followed up with her own assault, as colossal vines erupted from the earth!

“I’ll lend a hand too.”

Concurrently, Margaret readied her crossbow, loosing bolts at the airborne demon.

What unfolded next, however, proved even more astonishing.

Before our very eyes, the demon pushed off the air itself, gaining even more altitude and effortlessly evading the combined attacks!

“Double jump!?”

If someone claimed it was magic, I might believe it… but I detected not a single trace of mana!

This was pure physical prowess! A physique that brazenly defied the laws of physics!

Leveraging this superhuman physicality, the demon landed with unwavering stability.

The moment her feet touched the ground, her gaze snapped to the Young Miss. Was she truly disregarding our attacks?

It appeared she didn’t consider any of us a threat.

“To think you knew how to use your sword to deflect the force. Otherwise, you’d be nothing but a bloody pulp. Was that instinct, or a split-second decision?”

“A bit of both.”

“Hmph… interesting!”

She propped the massive club on her shoulder, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

“My name is Yue, what’s yours?”

“Katerina Anis.”

“Oh…? The Young Miss of a ducal house? No wonder you seemed so familiar. Humans certainly change a lot as they grow.”

‘…?’

‘She’s met the Young Miss before?’

I hastened to the Young Miss’s side, scrutinizing the red-skinned demon.

“Isn’t she the demon who killed Lilith back then?!”

“So it’s *her*,” the Young Miss murmured, her expression hardening.

It appeared the Young Miss had also recognized her.

“It seems you remember me. In that case, there’s no need for further pleasantries.”

Without another word, she charged at the Young Miss, club held ready.

“Young Miss! Be careful!”

I instantly stepped before the Young Miss, conjuring a stone wall a full five meters thick.

‘Surely, she couldn’t shatter this so easily…’

“Boom!”

Yet… my stone wall didn’t even last a second before it was utterly pulverized.

The Young Miss had to quickly intervene, pulling me back with a retreating step. Had she not, I would likely have been utterly annihilated.

However, this maneuver inadvertently widened the gap between us and our allies.

“Thud!”

At that very moment, two dragons suddenly sprang to Yue’s side, effectively blocking Luomei and her companions from reaching us.

“Roar!”

They roared towards the heavens, their thunderous cries serving as a clear warning.

None of them possessed the means to bypass the two colossal dragons and come to our aid.

Nevertheless, their voices could still reach us.

“This demon is an Oni! Her ability is immense strength! And her body is incredibly resilient! Remember to be careful!” Sophina shouted to us.

Yue, however, remained utterly unconcerned. Instead, she merely bared her teeth in a wide grin, letting out a boisterous laugh.

“Hahaha! It doesn’t matter! You’ve probably figured it out anyway!”

The Young Miss nodded slightly.

“More or less.”

“Hahaha! I knew it! Only a battle against a true strong opponent is interesting! And only when undisturbed can I truly savor the fight!”

It appeared she had deliberately split the battlefield in two.

“Though a spoilsport managed to intrude… it matters not. The two of you, come at me together. Only then can I truly enjoy myself.”

‘“Is she truly underestimating us?”’

A flicker of displeasure crossed the Young Miss’s face.

Then, she met my gaze, and with a silent understanding, we both nodded.

Our strategy remained unchanged: the Young Miss as the vanguard, and I providing support from the rear.

The Young Miss stepped forward, and Yue immediately reciprocated with her own advance.

My task, then, from the rear, was to unleash magic and disrupt Yue!

An ice bow materialized in my grasp. I nocked an ice arrow, aimed it diagonally upwards, and drew the bowstring taut.

“Whoosh!”

The ice arrow soared into the sky, then fragmented into countless smaller projectiles. For a moment, a storm of icy arrows rained down upon Yue.

She decisively raised her arm, swinging her massive club with brutal force. The resulting wind pressure alone was enough to shatter every ice arrow.

Precisely as I had anticipated!

Yue’s movements were always grand and sweeping, leaving her unable to recover to a neutral stance immediately. This was the perfect opening for an attack!

The Young Miss, of course, recognized this as well. Seizing the chance, she slid to Yue’s flank and thrust her sword forward!

A direct hit!

“Clang!”

‘…?’

‘Why did that sound like striking metal?’

No, it *was* the sound of striking metal. The Young Miss’s sword was visibly warped.

Simultaneously, Yue’s lips curled into a mocking grin.

“An attack of this caliber barely counts as a tickle, you know?”

Immediately after, she stomped her foot with explosive force!

“Thud!”

In that instant, the earth fractured, fissures spiderwebbing across the ground as countless shards of rock erupted outwards!

“…!”

Left with no choice, the Young Miss swiftly retreated. Still, several projectiles pursued her, forcing her to raise her sword in defense.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

She managed to block them, but the Young Miss’s blade now bore several noticeable nicks.

Combined with its earlier warp, the sword was clearly beyond further use.

“…”

The Young Miss, with a decisive motion, cast the ruined blade aside.

“Eileen.”

“Right away, Young Miss!”

Comprehending the Young Miss’s unspoken request, I immediately handed her all the daggers I carried.

Years of shared experience had forged an understanding between us, allowing us to grasp each other’s intentions with just a few words, or even a glance.

Even so, the current situation remained far from optimistic.

Daggers were not the Young Miss’s preferred weapon, which would undoubtedly hinder her performance. Moreover, facing such a colossal weapon with mere short blades was an overwhelming disadvantage.

Furthermore, based on her previous attacks, the demon named Yue possessed incredibly resilient skin.

‘How, then, could we possibly hope to defeat her?’