Just as the powerful attacks tried to destroy each other alongside everything within Tokyo, a loud BOOM! Occurred at an abnormal interval of time, accompanied by dust filling the air.
Realizing that something was amiss, Aella dashed backward as she looked at her tails.
“The ritual? It was canceled? How did a human from this world manage it?” She asked, her tone semi-panicked and filled with confusion.
For someone to have the ability to negate her ritual was something she never considered as a possibility. She didn’t know how to cancel her ritual aside from simply stopping or killing the one performing it. She had never heard of the ability to prevent such a thing before.
She knew this individual would intervene, and as such, she planned to stop the ritual at the last moment, but this man managed to stop her ability forcibly. The only thought crossing her mind was, “This guy is dangerous.”
Sending her wind out to clear the dust and smoke, Aella’s eyes narrowed at the figure she saw. At first, it was just a silhouette, a man of large stature who was over twice her height. Then, a feeling of reassurance washed over her as the unknown being revealed himself.
“I was so busy saving the civilians that I couldn’t step in sooner. To think you [Kids of that Black Sun] really thought that you could do whatever you want? Do we, the SS-ranks who safeguard the world, not exist? Do I, Magnus Armstrong, not exist in your eyes?” He asked, looking at the cultists.
Stroking his white beard with a confident grin and hearty chuckle. His aged face turned to look at Aella with an expression she wasn’t used to. With his long hair whitened from age, he looked down on Aella with a wise expression.
Silence reigned in the world as law enforcement was finally able to close in, yet they dared not make a move carelessly now with the glorious figure on the scene.
Getting up from the ground, Dimitri ran over to Aymn, checking to see if he was alive before looking at the newly arrived Magnus Armstrong. He was the only one to speak, but he said the words that everyone was thinking.
“Magnus Armstrong? Why is the [Strongest Human], United Kingdom's SS-ranker, in Japan? No, didn’t you have an agreement with the High Priestess?”
With an annoyed look, Magnus turned around once again, looking at Dimitri. “You’re right, so? That little girl has gotten too confident after playing in the shadows these years, and from this point forward, I will no longer play by your rules. As my last sign of respect for little Marcella, I’ll let you two go. Scram and never reveal yourselves like this again.”
Calling his dragon to him, Dimitri wanted to give the order for his Dragon to attack Magnus but knew that’d lead to both him and Aymn dying. If it was for his lords, then giving his life was a simple price, but he wouldn’t sacrifice the life of his partner pointlessly.
“JUST YOU WAIT, ECHO! I’LL MAKE SURE TO HUNT YOU DOWN PERSONALLY SINCE YOU DENIED OUR OFFER!” He shouted, quickly fleeing the scene.
“Honestly, if you didn’t let your anger so visibly show, I bet we could have been friends.” Aella scoffed, her eyes not leaving the man in front of her. Truthfully, her mind was going wild right now.
‘An SS-rank? So he’s one of this world's 12 [Orion] rank powerhouses? The man who was deemed the strongest pureblood human in the world?’
She was so busy thinking of a way out that an important thought went straight into her mind and left just as quickly. This man, he wasn’t human. He was a Naturalis just like her… Or rather, it’d be better to say that something on his body was a Naturalis.
“Oh shit! That girl’s mom is dying! I need to go save her! Thank you for saving me, Mister!” Aella shouted before vanishing from her spot toward the location where she sent Hoshihime.
Despite clearing such a distance, a Dragon with a presence she could barely sense picked her up, causing her to smile a little.
“Fighting against those kids and going to try and heal that Naturalis’ mother? You’re an interesting one, little lass.”
Removing the smile from the face, she turned to face the old man. Looking at him again, he had a tattoo covering his entire body which seemed to pulsate with life.
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“Well, that was rather rude. I’m in a hurry, you know!”
Seeing how the little girl didn’t fear him at all but, on the contrary, challenged his gaze, Magnus continued to laugh.
“Yes, yes. To the Southeast Teleporter, right? Sage, speed up.”
The Dragon they were on let out a hoot before its speed nearly quadrupled, Aella nearly falling off. The moment she got her grip, she looked at the Dragon with [Apprasial]
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That confirmed it. A unique element that no other dragons had. Unless this somehow wasn’t his Dragon, he was absolutely a Naturalis.
In just a few seconds, several Kilometers were covered, and the duo made it to the outskirts of the city where the rest of Aella’s group was waiting.
Blair, relieved that Aella came out of that fight in one piece, quickly ran over to her. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere? Who’s that?” She bombarded her with questions.
“Yes. I hurt everywhere, and I don’t know, to be completely honest with you. Now move, please. I need to save that woman.” Aella answered all her questions quickly, rushing over to Hoshihime and Aimi.
“Mom! Mom! Stay with us! Please! You’ll be fine soon!” Aimi cried out, watching as Hoshihime tried her best to heal the woman to no avail. That was when Aella revealed herself.
“She’s right… You know. Your time in this world isn’t over yet.” She said, displaying how much her Japanese had improved in such a short amount of time. The Pronunciation still lacked polish, but she was getting close!
“You’re! The girl who saved me? What do you mean? Do you have a way to save my mother?”
Looking at the woman, Aella nodded. She had black markings encroaching on her from all directions, all slowly moving closer to her heart.
“You’ve amazed me, girl. You so willingly sacrificed so much of your Vitality to protect your mother. I'll return the favor since you’ve shown me such resolve.”
Once again, she conjured her flames in the same manner as she did in her battle against the cultist, this time minus the world crying out in agony.
Since all of her rituals used the planet she was on as a base, the strain was burdened mainly by the world itself. Even if [Forsaken Gambit] was a little unique in that the ritualist took most of the burden, the world still took a little bit.
Manifesting seven tails, even if it didn’t kill either of them, it’d take decades or perhaps even centuries to recover. Luckily, all she needed to heal this woman was her third tail.
‘At least I don’t have to use that half-assed chant. Surely the world won’t be that mad at me as long as I take some extra burden, right?’
“By the ancient pact, I call upon thee, Grant me strength, at the cost of myself. Oh world, forgive my transgression this day, Turn thy gaze away, as my life I fray.”
A large magic circle appeared with Aella at the center, large enough to cover the small park they found themselves in as she coughed out some blood.
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“In the shadow of power, I stand alone, Sacrifice of flesh, blood to stone. Hear my plea, in this desperate hour, Bestow upon me, your unbridled power.”
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“Let the winds whisper, let the earth sigh, As I embrace this fate, under your sky. World, forgive me for what I must do, Look away, as I rend my soul in two!”
The whips of fire quickly formed around Aella’s tails before forming into a third one. This blazing blue tail raged as she walked towards Hoshihime.
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“Ah… It feels good to have these abilities back. Now I just need to reach seven tails so I can permanently curse people.” Aella chuckled, walking closer to Hoshihime, the dragon naturally on guard.
“You realize it, don’t you? She has a weird curse on her. It seems you’re capable of using Holy Magic, so I could teach you the method of purification, but she would lose her life long before you managed to perfect it. Luckily for you, We Foxin are stupidly overpowered. If you wish to save her life, let me heal her.”