Anika felt her lungs burn as she evaded the fleshy arrow projectiles with a leap. However, another flying demon shot a drill-like beak at her mid-air.
Using her strings, she grabbed onto the clouds to maneuver out of harm's way.
The battlefield was chaotic, with attacks coming from all sides. Anika knew she had it better than others who lacked a Blaster affinity to sense their surroundings. How could other affinities even survive in a war without sensing others’ presences?
Flying demons clustered around her, grotesque in appearance—some with two faces, some with two heads, and some headless. Most were disgusting hybrids of birds and humans.
Her strings moved with precision and purpose, each slash leading to the next. They moved like razor-sharp whips, each with the power of a skilled swordsman.
While her teammates excelled in raw power and high attack strength, Anika's strength lay in handling multiple enemies simultaneously. She effortlessly shredded through them, even high-class demons posed little challenge.
Despite her powers, occasionally a demon would be fast or sneaky enough to strike her, causing injuries to accumulate as the battle dragged on.
Anika vividly recalled the words of the woman from Red Tails, explaining how Ord was not bound by physicality and could defy the laws of physics. She realized that the only thing holding her back was herself and her mindset.
She was one of the most talented exorcists of her generation!
She wrapped her body in silvery-white strings, forming an elegant dress, fancy hat, gloves, and heels. The silver strings provided complete protection, allowing her to withstand the attacks of the demons without any harm, except for the shockwaves.
{White Widow}
Unsatisfied, she continued adding more Ord, nearly depleting her reserves as her strings moved at supersonic speeds, causing the air to crack louder.
Yet, this was still not enough for Anika!
She craved more—greater speed, strength, and skill!
Fwish!... In an instant, all sound from her attacks vanished, leaving the flying monsters momentarily bewildered. Then, suddenly, they were sliced into minuscule pieces without even comprehending how.
Anika couldn't sense her own attacks, only catching glimpses of them after they had already happened. She realized that her strings hadn't exceeded the speed of her thoughts. As soon as she contemplated killing the demons, her strings moved instinctively and eliminated everything around her in less than a second.
Anika landed amidst the demon army, effortlessly chopping up every demon within a 10-meter radius.
"Huh? Who is this human?!" one of the demons exclaimed.
"Careful! She killed high-class-"
Before the demons could finish their conversations they were chopped up into bits and pieces. Anika continued to walk around, swiftly dispatching any demon that approached. Some of the more intelligent demons recognized the danger and backed off, while others took longer to instinctively understand the threat. Anything that entered her zone met its demise.
Finally, Anika felt like she had caught up with her monstrous classmates.
Even with Sei's sudden transformation in the distance, with his hair turning silver. He would then appear on the other side of the battlefield, seemingly breaking the limitations of his own ability to manifest his absorption mirror beyond its usual 2-meter range.
Abilities were typically created with iron-clad limitations that couldn't be broken, even as individuals grew stronger. Yet, Sei was disregarding such limitations.
Agon was also peculiar, his eyes now snake-like with a purple tinge. He relentlessly used his special ability, delivering a powerful punch to an armored rhino demon that clearly belonged to the high class. The impact created a massive explosion, splattering blood and meat chunks all around.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
But Agon wasn't finished; he charged up both fists and went on a rampage, easily killing any demon he struck. It seemed as if his Ord was limitless.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Star Exorcist slammed into a barrage of trees, rendering her unconscious.
"Damn, he barely grazed her, and she's already down!" exclaimed the Moon Exorcist. He maintained his distance, creating barriers to protect the others while attempting to restrict Shuten Doji's movements by forming barriers around his body. However, he was failing miserably.
Dodging Shuten Doji's lightning-fast attacks proved extremely difficult, while enduring a single blow seemed impossible. Anika had witnessed Uwabami's formidable strength in both human and giant snake forms, and yet Shuten Doji had effortlessly taken her down with one strike.
"Troublesome opponents," Shuten Doji muttered, causing the remaining special exorcists to tense up. Chariot stood as the final line of defense, with her arm contorted like an empty toothpaste tube.
Unexpectedly, Shuten Doji's gaze fixated on Agon. Before anyone could react, he changed course, honing in on Agon. The only one capable of intervening was the headmaster, soaring in the sky on a smoke cloud. "You will never hurt my student-"
But the old man's intervention was cut short as a spiked bat impaled his face. The attack not only pierced his brain but also exploded his aged head like a balloon.
Anika stood in shock, unable to fathom the sudden death of the old man she had known for so long. It was the perilous nature of battling an ultimate-class demon—one wrong move, and death was swift.
Amidst the chaos, The Tower Exorcist remained surprisingly composed, perched upon a mass of shadow. He employed a cautious strategy of evasion and self-preservation, seldom launching direct attacks.
However, despite the whirlwind of thoughts racing through Anika's mind, she sensed Shuten Doji closing in on Agon.
No! Agon was about to be killed too!
Though Anika often treated Agon with disdain and exploited his naivety for her own gain, she didn't wish for her simple-minded teammate to meet his demise.
Helplessly watching, Shuten Doji materialized beside Agon, swinging his bat downwards at his victim's head. An enormous explosion resounded as the bat connected, and when the dust settled, Anika couldn't believe her eyes.
A teenage girl, clad in miko priestess attire, had intercepted Shuten Doji's spiked bat with her bare palm. Her long, dark hair cascaded behind her as she wore a gentle smile. Glancing at Agon, she remarked, "You're one lucky kid. I just leaped across from the neighboring country but nearly ended up in the atmosphere by accident. Can you imagine? The Saint meeting her end because she jumped too high? That would be a foolish way to go out."
Shuten Doji narrowed his eyes, and his lip was tilted upward into something that could be mistaken for a smile, with his fangs in full view. "Xylia, I almost didn't recognize you. It seems you're growing younger every time we meet."
"Last time we met, you were about to start a war but was scared off by that bastard, The Magician," she snorted. Shuten Doji pushed his spiked bat, his Ord explosively pushing away everything around him as he powered up and enhanced his body. But the most surprising part wasn't his power; it was the teenage priestess who held her ground. Suddenly, her Ord burst out as well, and they reached a stalemate.
"You've grown stronger too, it seems," Shuten Doji pulled back his spiked bat and swung it again. Despite Xylia concentrating all her Ord on her arms in a split second, the attack still sent her flying, bouncing off the ground over a dozen times before crashing into a tree.
"Well, I can’t say the same thing for you. You haven't grown stronger at all," the woman emerged from the wreckage, brushing off tree splinters from her uniform's shoulders. She wore a small smile that quickly soured when she noticed a body on the battlefield. "Meleo... I thought he was the kind of old guy who would survive anything. It seems I should have pushed you harder to train when you were younger. Rest in peace, my student."
As she spoke, her Ord exploded. Though her words were few, the erratic sensation of her Ord made it clear that she was furious. She vanished, and the next time Anika sensed her presence was when she appeared behind Shuten Doji, delivering a powerful punch to the back of his head, and forcing his face into the ground.
But she wasn't finished. With one arm, she uprooted a tree and slammed it onto the downed Shuten Doji. Then, she kicked him in the back of his head. Despite the barrage of attacks, she had to step back as Shuten Doji rose, a small trickle of blood from his nose.
"You're quite the monster. If I were human, I doubt I'd be much of a match for you," his long tongue licked the blood from his nose as he smirked. While it was evident that the attacks had hurt him, it wasn't by much. "But then again, I'm not human, and you're not really a match for me. Let me show you how to throw a real punch."
An unimaginable amount of Ord gathered on the soles of Shuten Doji's feet. When he kicked off the ground, the rocks shattered and shifted beneath him. In the blink of an eye, he stood in front of the Saint, his fist connecting with her stomach, sending her flying like a firework, crashing into a distant mountain, causing a massive explosion and the clouds in the sky to shift away.
Anika's heart trembled, and cold sweat covered her body. ‘No matter how much I grow on this battlefield… I’m nothing compared to them!’
Against all odds, the Saint rose with a triumphant smile on her face. Blood trickled from her head and mouth, suggesting internal injuries. "Good punch, but I barely felt it. Try harder next time!"