"W-what...!?"
Zaharias's expression changed drastically.
"Ugh..."
Number Two, with the Roman numeral "II" carved into her forehead, was no longer expressionless. As though she had been attacked, she bent over and let out a faint groan of pain.
Her Beast had been blasted apart in a single strike, and the impact on its host was not nonexistent.
The damage itself was not reflected back onto the host, but the Beast formed from her own magical power had been destroyed. The sudden backlash of magic naturally placed a burden on her.
"Roar!"
After blasting Number Two's Beast apart, Hokuto lowered her head and looked at the girl, a trace of coldness and savagery flashing in her eyes.
Just then...
"Neigh!"
A shriek rang out from high in the sky. A storm-like shockwave descended from above, slamming toward Hokuto's position like an invisible spatial tempest.
This caught Hokuto's attention. She raised her head and looked into the sky.
Feeling the astonishingly powerful vibration wave, Hokuto did not retreat. Instead, she advanced, transforming herself into a beam of light once more and soaring into the sky to meet it head-on.
"BOOM----!"
Amid an explosive roar that made hearts clench, the beam of light shooting skyward collided with the storm descending from above. The shockwave spread outward in a ring, seeming like razor-sharp blades of light.
If that shockwave had erupted on the ground, everything within several kilometers would have been flattened.
Yet within the shockwave, the beam of light continued advancing unstoppably, gradually forcing the descending storm back.
Then...
"Bang----!"
With an explosive blast, the high-frequency vibration wave was finally scattered, transforming into a gale that swept outward together with the shockwave.
The dazzling beam of light did not slow down. It flashed past like a genuine streak of light and, just as