Golden clay-man shaped figures were getting sliced apart left and right, falling one by one.

Hikaru merely a blur that appeared and disappeared after delivering each slash.

Each slash was precise and contained enough power to cut through the solid form of mana and cut through the metallic hearts that were pumping out the crackling electric liquid.

Yuri was also going through a fair number of opponents, although her methods were less precise than those Hikaru used. She opted for activating the runes on her tiny shield and sending out powerful jets of water which would momentarily disable the solid mana creatures and reveal their cores.

She would then try and stab at it like her depended on it until she hit with her dagger. It was a reckless but strangely effective strategy.

She would then run around while evading her enemies, giving her time to redraw the runes on her tiny shield.

They were quickly going through the seemingly infinite line of creatures. When something interrupted their extermination session.

“Who are you. Did that bastard Rendel send you!?”

A furious voice came from behind them, where an average looking older man stood at the doorway.

“Who?”

Yuri asked while stabbing apart one of the metal hearts with loud clanking noises.

“Whoever sent you, I won't let you get in the way of my plans.”

The man held some sort of small device which he activated.

“You seem to forget that we are in the main point for where all of the cities magical energy passes through. Which means.”

As he said that, the creatures of mana that were previously fairly slow, suddenly sped up as if they were moving on fast forwarded video.

Yuri barely managed to dodge an attack and activated the runes on her shield, blowing away all the creatures surrounding her. Or that was her intention, but seems that none of the creatures were particularly affected by her attack when only a minute ago they would be gravely injured.

“W-what the hell!?”

The creatures surrounded her, glowing ever brighter with lightning crackling across their surface.

Hikaru appeared in front of her as if by teleportation.

“Yuri. They are absorbing the mana from the cables around them. They have grown quite powerful. I can't guarantee your safety if I were to fight them.”

“I know that! It's fairly obvious, I'm not an idiot, who is that guy anyway!?”

She snapped, glaring at the stranger.

“Surely you jest. I am only the one who created the beauties you see in front of you. My own original creations. Some parts of the designs may be inspired but it is still my creation. Mine!”

He spoke slightly frantically.

“Right right..yours...so you're the guy who stole the old man's designs huh..”

“I did not steal anything. I merely borrowed his idea in order to fulfil my creations! I am the great inventor Tane, behold my beautiful creations, be granted the honour of dying by their hands, dogs of Rendel!”

“Here I thought I was being kinda narcissistic...”

Muttering slightly, Yuri looked up at all of the mana creatures jumping at them from every side.

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“Oh crap..”

The awaited blows never came. Instead a soft wind brushed her face while the golden figures still in mid air disappeared one by one, their metallic hearts crumbling into pieces and showering the ground with sparkling bits of metal.

“Wow...that is...damn cool..I'm jealous...”

She stared with big admiring at the figure of Hikaru before her.

He stood with his sword drawn, having finished reducing the imminent threat to nothing in the blink of an eye.

What Yuri was admiring however wasn't Hikaru himself, although her eyes did shift slightly to his face, but his right arm.

It was covered in completely black bandages.

Even his wrist and hand were covered in them, connecting him to the sword he was holding.

The black bandages even covered the sword and strangely enough the blade of the sword. Making it entirely black.

It wriggled slightly, and that's when Yuri realised.

“It's Mr ribbon!?”

The black bandages wriggled slightly again.

“Indeed. Seems this ribbon sensed the urgency of the situation and absorbed my mana in order to amplify both my arm strength and the sharpness of the blade itself. An amazing creation.”

He admired the sword in his hand.

“W-what the! You won't get away with that.!”

The mad man named Tane yelled at them at the top of his lungs.

“They won't, but it won't be at your hands, but mine.”

Another person entered through the doorway.

“Bastard Rendel...what is the meaning of this!”

Tane stepped back, the mana creatures surrounding him.

“The meaning is I finally am able to get you for all of this. Stealing designs and then implementing them into dangerous creations. We may be open minded but we are not fools!”

It was the old man they talked to earlier.

Stepping into the room, he was followed by several people covered in plates and holding onto what looked like metal bottles.

“....bottles?”

Yuri observed them curiously.

“Fuck you Rendel. Your city will soon be no more. And I will follow its rules no longer! I received help from people who actually understood me, unlike the scum in this city, and I will make sure not to disappoint them!”

Tane took out two metallic hearts. These ones looked different than the normal ones, they looked like they were made of a strange green metal. One thing about them however got Yuri's and Hikaru's attention, on the hearts was a familiar white sun symbol.

“This is the culmination of my genius and their resources! With this I can continue my genius and repay them properly!”

“Who are they, what have you done Tane! Surrender yourself, I order you as mayor of this city!”

The old man who was apparently called Rendel yelled at Tane.

“Never! I rather end your pathetic ignorant life than do so!”

Tane clicked the device he had several times and then crushed it against the ground.

The mana creatures rushed forward.

“Guards, apprehend this criminal!”

Rendel ordered his men who ran forward while brandishing their strange bottles.

An incredible battle began to play out between the mana creatures and the armoured guards.

The mana creatures crackled with electricity, making it dangerous to even be near them. They moved strangely, like how when one would speed up the video of someone walking slowly.

The guards were more grouped and had an impressive formation which would have surrounded the mana creatures had they not been so quick. Their metal bottles shot bolts of fire and water at their enemies. Some of them even had a water lance appear from the bottle, which they used to keep the creatures at bay.

“Give this up Tane, you will never surpass the discipline and combined efforts of our people!”

“Screw off Rendel, You will taste the depth of power my creations can accomplish!”

As this amazing dramatic battle was going. Yuri and Hikaru were silently sneaking their way toward the Horn relic, hoping their enemies would be too distracted with each other to notice them.

“And what do you think you're doing!?”” Tane and Rendel turned and shouted at then simultaneously.

“Whaaaaat..nothiiiing..just...stretching a bit..”

laughing awkwardly, Yuri began to pretend to stretch her legs, while Hikaru attempted to copy her in confusion.

“That relic makes the city function, do not dare touch it!”

Rendel shouted at them.

“The city should have learned to survive on its own by now don't you think!?”

Tane shouted while he made one of the mana creatures fling him at the relic.

“Be impressed Rendel, this is what true genius is like!”

Tane threw both the special metallic hearts at the relic.

Instead of colliding with it, the two hearts instead stopped just before reaching the relic and began to slowly levitate around it.

The two metallic hearts slowly began to ooze electric liquid. Different from the mana creatures, this ooze was much more potent, looking almost like liquid gold.

“This can't be good...”

Said, Yuri, Hikaru and Rendel all at once.