Ex-Machina in Dimensional Travel

That thin shield looked like it could be pierced with a single poke, yet it emerged completely unscathed beneath the charge of Kaguya's gigantic Assault Rifle.

No matter how much momentum Kaguya had built up during her charge,

the instant she struck Xiu Er's shield, she was brought to a complete stop. She caused no damage at all and did not even push it back the slightest distance.

Kaguya looked at Xiu Er inside the shield in slight surprise.

It had actually blocked her attack without a scratch. The shield's strength was unimaginable.

The Chains that had launched the earlier sneak attack were also knocked aside by the collision before Yuzuru recalled them.

Because of this, the two of them gained a basic understanding of Xiu Er's strength.

As expected of someone capable of hunting Spirits alone.

While Yuzuru flew through the sky, deliberately searching for Xiu Er's openings, Kaguya on the ground had already engaged Xiu Er in close-quarters blade combat.

Several minutes passed.

No matter what angle or method Yuzuru used, she could not interfere with Xiu Er in any meaningful way.

No matter how well she coordinated with her sister, he could easily evade or block their attacks, and even seize opportunities to counterattack.

While Xiu Er calmly defended against both of their assaults, Kaguya, who was fighting him at close range, gradually began to feel the pressure.

He ignored the storm and launched fierce attacks against her amid the howling winds. As time passed, his suppression only grew stronger.

At this rate, I'll really lose!

Kaguya was startled that such a thought had crossed her mind.

And while she was distracted by her surprise, Xiu Er noticed the opening exposed by his opponent's shock and exhaustion from the prolonged battle.

Seizing that opening, he poured more energy into the Pseudo Gokurokugai in his hand and slashed toward Kaguya's weak point.

A massive Golden Sword Qi flew toward Kaguya, knocking her back despite her hurried defense.

Xiu Er then raised his left hand and grabbed toward a certain direction. The instant he clenched his fist, Yuzuru's Chains arrived at that exact spot. He deliberately let them wrap twice around his arm before gripping them tightly.

The moment Yuzuru guessed what he intended to do, she immediately let go and recalled her Angel.

After blocking another attack from Yuzuru, Xiu Er charged at Kaguya again, just as she finished defending herself.

But this time, aside from the Gokurokugai in his right hand, something else familiar to the Yamisei Sisters appeared in his left.

"-Codex Opening-Pseudo-Codex-Binder-"

The golden Chains did not need Xiu Er to swing them. They flew toward Kaguya on their own.

Before she could react, they bound her firmly.

Before she could begin struggling free, Xiu Er immediately grabbed the Chains and pulled her toward himself. At the same time, he activated Speed Violation again and rushed toward her at a speed too fast for the naked eye to distinguish.

Kaguya felt the familiar yet somehow unfamiliar binding around her body as the blade of Gokurokugai gradually filled her vision...

Yamisei Sisters.jpg

What Is This Power?

"Pwah!"

The blade of Gokurokugai slammed solidly into Kaguya's abdomen. Fortunately, the defense of her Astral Dress kept her body from being sliced cleanly in half, but the tremendous force still made her bend over uncontrollably.

Xiu Er then gripped the hilt with both hands and spun in place once, carrying Kaguya on the blade.

Finally, he hurled Kaguya toward the forest in a baseball-batting posture.

But Kaguya did not simply wait for death. While flying through the air, she did her utmost to stabilize herself. Her feet stomped into the ground with all her strength, plowing two trenches over ten meters long before she finally came to a stop.

Yet before she could catch her breath, Xiu Er closed in again.

He raised his left arm, aiming the crook of it at Kaguya's neck.

Before Kaguya could react, Xiu Er's arm had already hooked around her neck.

At that moment, Kaguya felt herself being lifted into the air again. A powerful force surged from that seemingly slender arm, carrying her backward through the air.

After briefly hanging in the air, Kaguya felt herself falling toward the ground behind her. She wanted to break free, but Xiu Er's arm was like a pair of pincers and did not budge in the slightest.

Xiu Er had already wrapped his arms around her head.

Then...

Boom!!!

A tremendous sound echoed through the forest.

Only after the smoke dispersed could the scene within be seen clearly.

Xiu Er stood inside a massive crater. Beneath his feet was Kaguya, who had been smashed into the ground.

After confirming that she would be unable to get out for a while, Xiu Er immediately turned his attention toward Yuzuru, who had remained in the air.

Naturally, Yuzuru also understood her current situation.

Yuzuru had no advantage whatsoever in close combat against Xiu Er. Kaguya's fate was proof enough.

But her Angel was never a weapon with strong offensive power. Its primary purpose was to use extreme speed for control and support.

After Xiu Er temporarily subdued Kaguya, she had lost her frontline warrior and no longer had any hope of victory.

Wait, there was still one way.

But she needed Kaguya's help, and Xiu Er stood between her and Kaguya.

Having quickly formed a plan, Yuzuru abandoned Kaguya in Xiu Er's eyes and turned to swiftly flee the area.

Trying to lure me away?

Watching Yuzuru's actions, Xiu Er immediately reached that conclusion. Then he glanced at Kaguya in the crater beside his feet and understood at once.

So that was what she was after...

Although his face could not show any expression, Xiu Er was extremely excited at that moment.

Then let me see the complete Angel.

Thus,

Xiu Er played along and followed Yuzuru. Along the way, he merely swung out a few Sword Qi attacks symbolically, proving that the battle was still ongoing.

Yuzuru continuously used spiritual power to increase her speed. In her plan, Xiu Er would chase behind her, and she only needed to secretly lead him in a circle.

Then she could return to Kaguya's side.

But judging from Xiu Er's previous performance, Yuzuru had thought there was a high chance he would not fall for it. Yet now, he followed without the slightest hesitation.

There was no time to think about it further. Yuzuru could only rush toward Kaguya as quickly as possible...

"Hiss—ow, ow, ow..."

Kaguya finally pulled herself out of the ground. After extracting the last leg stuck in the earth, the girl simply lay down on the ground beside the crater.

"So what's going on now?"

She looked around. There was no terrifying robot, nor was there her sister Yuzuru.

It was as if the two of them had deliberately abandoned her.

Just as she was considering what to do next, a pair of feet appeared in her field of vision.

"I didn't expect you to get out by yourself. I thought I'd need to help you out."

Before Kaguya could reply, Yuzuru directly grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"There's no time to explain. Let's begin quickly. She'll catch up soon!"

"Wha... You're going to use that?"

Kaguya naturally understood exactly what Yuzuru meant. In her mind, that was probably the only thing capable of defeating their opponent.

"Do it? Now, here?!"

Yuzuru did not answer. She merely looked into Kaguya's eyes and silently nodded.

The meaning was clear. The two closed their eyes in tacit understanding, interlocked their fingers, and pressed tightly against each other.

A few seconds after they pressed together,

the wind in the area began gathering toward the center of the two girls. A cyclone even more powerful than before enveloped the Yamisei Sisters.

Then, a strangely shaped giant bow appeared between them, and they reached out together to grasp it.

Raphael - El Kanaph was the original form of the Wind Spirit's Angel, manifested after the two combined their Angels.

With Binder as its string, El Re'em as its arrow, and their wings as its body.

It possessed destructive and penetrating power far beyond either of their individual Angels.

The Yamisei Sisters controlled the Angel together, aiming at Xiu Er waiting far above them. Together, they drew back the Chains serving as the bowstring as raging wind gathered at the head of the massive Assault Rifle serving as the arrow.

Xiu Er's scans showed that the energy gathered within that Angel far surpassed the energy of the two Angels from before.

In terms of power, it was indeed the strongest attack the Yamisei Sisters could currently unleash.

Because of this, Xiu Er felt as though he had become excited. That stirring sensation gave him the illusion that his blood was boiling.

Thus, he made his next choice.

Under the Yamisei Sisters' astonished gazes, Xiu Er recalled Gokurokugai.

Not only did he choose not to evade or interrupt their charge-up, he was actually preparing to face the attack head-on!

Damn it, he's looking down on us.

Unlike the calm Yuzuru, Kaguya was visibly displeased by Xiu Er's attitude.

"Behold our blood-boiling combination technique!"

El Kanaph stopped charging.

The previous raging wind vanished, and the area fell into several seconds of silence.

Then the two released the string in their hands.

The arrow tore through the air. El Re'em shot toward Xiu Er alongside the raging wind, while the cyclone left turbulent wake streams behind it.

The surrounding trees were all snapped apart by the shockwave caused by the attack.

Facing El Re'em, wrapped in violent wind and both sides' spiritual power as it flew toward him with overwhelming force, Xiu Er chose to...

"-Codex Opening-Traffic Control-"

He adjusted Traffic Control's energy output to its maximum. At the instant El Re'em came into contact with Xiu Er,

the scene of Xiu Er being pierced through did not appear. Instead, an image that would absolutely become the most unforgettable memory of their lives appeared before their eyes.

The attack originally fired by the Yamisei Sisters suddenly turned around and flew back toward its original destination—the Yamisei Sisters!

Boom—!!!!!

El Re'em passed through the Yamisei Sisters with the raging wind, shooting straight into the ocean behind them. A sizable whirlpool formed afterward...

Meeting the Sister

In reality, El Re'em had not truly pierced through the Yamisei Sisters.

Instead, it passed between them. Only the raging wind that followed slapped against their stunned faces, waking them up.

Unfortunately, even though they had not been hit by that attack, the two still slowly drifted back to the ground looking half-dead.

After firing that attack, the Yamisei Sisters had exhausted all their remaining spiritual power.

"After talking about defeating her before, isn't she obviously cheating? With that kind of power, there's absolutely no way we can win..."