Chapter 81

To reiterate, Möbius gives the impression of being an extremely ambitious person. You don't even need to meet her in person; just looking at photos of her in various settings gives you a sense of impending danger.

(Miku is looking at ID photos)

As long as this possibility exists, coupled with Schicksal's evasive attitude, Arutemi is forced to take the 'politically correct' action, which is to kill the elves.

Regardless of whether your purpose in protecting the elves is good or bad, killing the elves is certainly not wrong.

"I am no match for you."

Arutemi was very self-aware; she knew she couldn't beat Ellen, and Ellen couldn't beat Yulande, so she could easily conclude that she was no match for Yulande.

But...

She's not alone.

A blue light rose rapidly from the ground and then reached Arutemi's side.

Appearing before everyone was Mana, with her blue ponytail and a custom-made Manifestation Device called "Congyun," who looked incredibly Mana.

"Yulande..."

Mana frowned slightly, her face showing seriousness. She was clearly aware of Ellen's defeat at Yulande's hands, but... it was only a matter of seriousness.

As far as they knew, the battle between Ellen and Yulande ended relatively quickly. However, a quick end to a battle does not necessarily mean that one side is far stronger than the other. Compatibility and temperament can both affect the outcome of a battle.

Even if Yulande is indeed stronger than Ellen, it should only be a 70/30 split, with a gap, but this gap can be seen.

Their confidence at this moment stemmed from the fact that there were two of them.

The difference between two people and one person in a battle is completely different, especially in three-dimensional warfare like aerial combat.

Simply put, as for Ellen's claim that the other side also had an adjutant with combat strength comparable to an elf, they didn't take him seriously.

Their DEM Squad is a true elite force, fully capable of confronting elves head-on. As for the other members of the Blade of Immortality, the AST team, which is about to arrive, can handle them as well.

In this way, they only need to fight Yulande while looking for an opportunity to kill the exhausted elf.

A glint appeared in Arutemi and Mana's eyes.

Clearly, the advantage is on our side.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Tohka: It's a bit sudden.

"Step back, and I will show you the way. Shiori is waiting for you over there."

Amber whispered to Tohka.

"But..."

Tohka also wanted to confirm that Shiori was alright as soon as possible, but the situation here was obviously more worrying. If she left, wouldn't the other person be in an even more difficult situation?

"It's okay, don't worry about me."

Amber slightly raised the Black Abyss White Flower in her hand, and white and green light flickered around her. Then, the few half-meter-thick branches that had been there suddenly combined into an umbrella thousands of meters long, completely obscuring Amber and Tohka's figures and covering a large area of forest.

"We can't let her escape!"

Upon seeing this, Arutemi immediately raised her greatsword and charged towards the wooden umbrella. Mana did not follow immediately but instead provided shooting assistance in coordination with Arutemi.

This doesn't actually fit their fighting style. Normally, their teamwork involves the melee specialist Mana taking the lead in attacks, while the speed specialist Arutemi harasses and launches surprise attacks. However, Mana has just gone through a major battle. Although she seems to have recovered well, her magic reserves are actually not high, and her physical condition is not perfect. Rather than having her face Yulande like this, it would be better to have the faster Arutemi as the main force.

However, when Arutemi and Mana's attacks landed on the Tree Umbrella, their expressions changed.

That's too hard! Even though they didn't use their full strength, it's a bit ridiculous that the spot they hit didn't budge at all.

Seeing the massive obstacle, the two became anxious; if this continued, the Princess would surely escape!

"Alright, let's take this opportunity to leave."

Seeing that their attacks couldn't break through the Tree Umbrella's defense, Amber wasn't surprised and turned to Tohka.

"...no!"

Having regained some strength, Tohka propped herself up and stood up, her face stubborn. "I can't let you face them alone! Besides, that blue-haired human is no match for me! Even if Shiori is alright, the fact remains that she almost killed Shiori!"

"..."

Tohka's persistence was somewhat unexpected by Amber, but upon closer reflection, she understood her feelings.

Knowing that Mana is Shiori's sister, he probably regrets it even more than Tohka, but Tohka is unaware of this and sees Mana as the enemy who almost killed her best friend.

To be honest, from Amber's perspective as a human, there's no reason for her to attack someone just because they want to kill an elf. This is different from Ellen's situation before. Ellen had the desire to fight herself, while Mana and Arutemi simply wanted to kill the elves and solve the world's problems.

Even if Amber were to shamelessly explain her actions as 'cooperative work', she would still feel guilty for harming them.

In that case, it wouldn't be a bad idea to leave the matter to Tohka.

"I see."

Amber nodded, golden light illuminating her body, and under Tohka's somewhat puzzled gaze, she held the Black Abyss White Flower upright in front of her.

"I am black from the abyss, I am white descending from the clouds, born before creation, existing after annihilation. I will freely give the water of the spring of life to the thirsty."

Golden light slowly gathered around Tohka. Before Tohka could even be surprised by the situation, she felt a cool yet warm sensation coursing through her body. As this sensation flowed into her limbs and bones, her previously stiff and weak body felt as if a thirsty person had drunk clear spring water, becoming incredibly relaxed.

"What... what's going on?"

Tohka was filled with wonder and surprise, "Was Shiori healed like this too? I feel so comfortable all over, like I've become... a new person!"

With her body fully recovered, she regained control over her Spiritual Power. Her body, which had been depleted of Spiritual Power, was once again filled with a large amount of Spiritual Power as Tohka thought of it.

"The situation is different for Shiori."

Amber said, "I'll hold off Artemisia Mana Takamiya."

"Oh, you get the yellow one, and I get the blue one, right!"

Although she didn't know the two names, Tohka was still able to assign opponents based on the context.

With Tohka back to full strength, Amber also untied the Tree Umbrella that she had originally used to cover their retreat.

"It's open?"

Arutemi, who was attacking the Tree Umbrella, was a little confused, but as the branches slowly receded, she could see that Tohka, who had just struggled to stand, was now raising her greatsword with great vigor.

What's going on? It's been less than a minute since then, why did the sprite suddenly recover?

Mana frowned deeply and tentatively fired a shot at Tohka. Tohka, who had regained her strength, didn't even bother to look and simply blocked it with her Spiritual Power barrier.

'Really recovered...?'

The two were somewhat incredulous.

Well... that's a different story...

The two, who were originally planning to give it their all, are now hesitant. If before it was Arutemi + Mana vs Yulande, Dem vs Rita, and Ast vs The Blade of Immortality, then now it has become Arutemi + Mana vs Yulande + Tohka.

They don't need to win against Yulande, nor do DEM and AST. In other words, their victory condition is not to defeat Schicksal, but to kill the elves.

Victory is achieved by defeating the elf.

But by this time, the elf had transformed from a helpless lamb to the slaughter into a high-level combatant capable of fighting one of them.

Of the two, Mana is still in poor condition due to the recent battle, so she probably won't be able to kill the elf steadily, and she certainly won't be able to last until Arutemi kills the elf against Yulande.

Not to mention that AST won't last long against the Blade of Immortality. Soon the Blade of Immortality will be able to support Rita, and then Rita will come to help Yulande. This means that the two of them will have to face two elf warriors and the world's strongest at the same time.

There's no chance of winning.

"Human! I will never forgive the killing of Shiori!"

Tohka pointed the Orosk at Mana, her anger clearly visible on her face.

Kill Shiori? Is Shiori any kind of spirit?

Arutemi looked at Mana beside her with some confusion, only to find that Mana's face had turned extremely ugly. This made her realize that things were not so simple, and it strengthened her resolve to retreat.

Don't let your emotions get the better of you!

A teammate's reminder made Mana realize her loss of composure, and her face turned even uglier, but she also calmed down.

"You've been given a second chance at life, elf."

Calming down doesn't mean being devoid of emotions. Mana gave Tohka a deep look, then flew away into the distance without looking back.

"That's how it is, Yulande, you've won."

Arutemi took a breath and then announced the retreat, "But this is not the end. Schicksal's actions need to give the world an explanation. Hopefully, we will not go from being adversaries to enemies."

This is both a warning and a hope. Facing the world's strongest who quickly defeated Ellen, no matter how much you comfort yourself that "one battle doesn't prove everything," the pressure won't lessen.

"Huh?"

Seeing the guys who had just attacked her leave so quickly and decisively, Tohka was a little confused.

Should we go after her? She's still furious, and has only just recovered; she's planning to make a big move.

But... these people are, after all Shiori and Yulande's compatriots. If I attack them without explanation, it will put them in a difficult position.

So... why did you suddenly stop playing?

Chapter Thirty-Six: Tohka's Touching Moments.

Even more frustrated than Tohka were the Valkyrie arrived a step too late.

Although they already knew that the Blade of Immortality was an elite unit with the fewest combat missions, the experience of having to return to base immediately after an attack was still difficult for them to get used to, especially Origami, who was planning to show off her skills. She had originally wanted to use this opportunity to try to get a reward, but it was all ruined by DEM's retreat.

Rita understood the Valkyrie's frustration and could only think of persuading Yulande to organize some activities later to cheer everyone up.

"Being able to avoid fighting is a pleasant surprise."

Seeing that everyone was a little disappointed, Rita said at the right time, "The Valkyrie do not fight for the sake of fighting, but for the sake of ending fighting. It is something to be happy about no matter what, as long as it can be resolved peacefully."

That makes sense.

Rita's words brought everyone to their senses, and their disappointment was quickly dispelled.

On the other hand, DEM's decisive retreat was not too unexpected for Amber. After all, even though they were in a disadvantageous situation just now, they still had a chance of winning. But once Tohka fully recovered, the situation was different.

"Let's leave here first. Shiori must be very worried about you."

Amber spoke to Tohka, whose face was filled with complicated emotions.

"That's right! Shiori!"

Thinking of the girl who almost lost her life to protect her, Tohka's face showed worry. Even though she knew that the girl had recovered, she still felt a lack of reality until she saw the girl alive and kicking in front of her.

Kotori, who had been watching the whole thing from above, was equally curious about how Tohka had suddenly recovered, but now was not the time to dwell on that. Knowing that this was the perfect opportunity to win her over, she simply teleported Shiori from the edge of the forest to their side.

Sensing someone's sudden appearance, Amber looked in Shiori's direction. Following Amber's gaze, Tohka also saw Shiori running over, panting.

"Shi... Xiang...! Are you alright?"

His athletic performance wasn't outstanding to begin with, and the mountain terrain had been damaged time and time again, making even hiking incredibly difficult. Running all the way here naturally took a toll on his physical strength.

Shiori felt that all her exercise for the week was done here.

However, he was relieved to see that Tohka seemed to be unharmed.

When Kotori that Tohka was surrounded and attacked, she was so nervous that she didn't even care how she recovered from her own serious injuries. Her heart was full of worry for Tohka.

"I'm fine! Shiori, you're the one who's fine! You just suddenly pushed me away..."

Tohka was both pleased that Shiori was safe and sound, and angry that Shiori had just pushed her away and risked her life.

But more than anything, it was a feeling of being moved and the joy of something lost and then regained.

"I'm sorry... I didn't think much about it at the time, and then..."

Shiori belatedly realized that Tohka was an elf, and she was bound to be more resilient than a human like herself. However, at the time, she was so focused on protecting Tohka that she overlooked this obvious fact.

"Honestly! You made me worry so much! You idiot! Shiori, you idiot!"

Tohka could tell that Shiori valued her safety more than her own, which was why she pushed her away without thinking. Overwhelmed with emotion, Tohka hugged Shiori tightly.

Knowing that what was about to happen might be inappropriate for children, Amber quickly reminded the two of her presence, "I'm relieved to see that you're alright, Shiori."

"Yulande... thank you again this time."

Shiori, who was caught off guard by the sudden hug, quickly expressed her gratitude.

Having been defeated by Yulande twice, Shiori gained a deeper understanding of humanity's strongest fighting force, which also increased her sense of security and made her inclination to join Schicksal clearer.

After all, Ratatoskr was completely of no help this time, and the rescue was carried out by Schicksal. Moreover, although Ratatoskr claimed to be cooperating with Schicksal, the actual cooperation required him to be the core, but he was not even a member of Ratatoskr, but only a relative of the members.