The shadow that has descended before Beta and the rest flutters his longcoat and unsheathes his jet-black sword."You are——!" (Juggernaut)
"You are——!" (Yukime)
"——Shadow-sama!"
Beta quivers with delight.
Up to date, her master has utterly wiped the ground with every single opponent he faced, no matter how powerful they might have been. Ever since she and the rest were weak and young, their master had been fighting in front of them. Beta had grown up staring at that back.
That is why Beta"s faith in her master is absolute.
No matter what happens, everything would be fine if her master is present.
Due to that faith and rea.s.surance, or possibly due to not having seen her master for a significant while, her master"s figure seems a notch bigger in Beta"s eyes.
However, not everyone looks at Shadow in the way Beta does.
"Give it up, it"s impossible even for you." (Juggernaut)
"Shadow-han, be careful." (Yukime)
Juggernaut"s gaze is disparaging, and Yukime"s is anxious.
The sheer disrespect!
Beta glares sharply at the two of them.
Her master can handle absolutely anything and everything.
Even while this is going on, the air between Shadow and the Queen of Blood has been growing increasingly tense.
Shadow raises his jet-black sword, and the Queen of Blood deploys her red claws.
That moment, Beta notices it.
The pressure from the Queen of Blood is still climbing.
"Does that monster have bottomless power?" (Juggernaut)
"She still wasn"t fighting at full strength just now...?" (Yukime)
It seems that Juggernaut and Yukime have noticed it as well. The Queen of Blood has grown even more powerful than when she was fighting against Claire.
Her eyes blaze like red jewels, and the dress on her appears even fresher and wriggles even more energetically.
Shadow"s and the Queen of Blood"s tension rises further —— then tentacles of blood and jet-black blade make contact.
A countless number of tentacles a.s.sault Shadow, but Shadow cuts them all down.
Red and black traces clash repeatedly, the two"s movements being so fast that even sound cannot catch up.
However, this is but a diversion for the both of them.
Abruptly, the Queen of Blood"s figure seems to flicker, immediately after which she suddenly appears behind Shadow.
Red claws scream towards his back.
However, this time it is Shadow"s figure that flickers.
The claws swing wide, while the jet-black blade attempts to pierce the Queen of Blood"s chest from behind.
Bashah!
Together with the sound of spilling water, the Queen of Blood repels that, sending blood arrowheads flying in the process.
Shadow deflects them all with his sword, then the Queen of Blood returns to her original position.
Seeing the two stand in their starting positions, it is almost as if the previous exchange was just an illusion.
"What the h.e.l.l..." (Juggernaut)
"To think that he is this skilled..." (Yukime)
The high speed fight that no one could follow with their eyes leaves everyone in dumbfounded amazement and Beta in ecstacy.
This is her master.
However, at the same time, Beta feels a sense of wrongness that she cannot put into words. Before she can figure out what it is, the Queen of Blood moves again.
She cuts off two of her own tentacles, then uses the blood to create two clones of herself.
"This is the reason why Elizabeth-sama was called the strongest progenitor. Elizabeth-sama can create clones of herself with blood and manipulate them at will." (Milia)
With three Queens of Blood as the opponent, the fight resumes.
The tentacles" restraining attacks are all deflected by the jet-black blade.
The same scene from before is being replayed.
However, what"s different is that there are now three Queens of Blood launching surprise attacks.
She would at times appear in between tentacles, from the back, from above, from the side, a.s.saulting Shadow again and again and again.
But Shadow still manages to skillfully evade all of the attacks.
The scene almost looks like a struggle between natural forces that would continue for all eternity.
But Beta feels the sense of wrongness growing increasingly prominent.
Whatever can it be ——
Has she ever seen her master cross swords with an opponent for such a long time?
No, she has not.
Something is wrong.
There is something off with her master.
Unease suddenly creeps into Beta"s heart.
Beta stares carefully at the fight, seeking the cause of her seed of doubt.
A whole bundle of red tentacles a.s.sault Shadow, while three Queens of Blood attempt further surprise attacks.
As this is looped repeatedly, Beta finally realizes it.
Shadow is skillfully handling the attacks from the Queens of Blood with parries, but none of it flows into counterattacks afterwards.
Why does Shadow not retaliate? Or could it be that he can"t?
Shadow"s movements are sealed by the tentacles coming at him endlessly from all directions, such that he has entirely lose the initiative against the Queens of Blood.
How can this be happening.
The reason —— is because Shadow"s legs have stopped.
The master that Beta knows would evade using the barest minimal movement and then immediately s.h.i.+ft into counterattack. But right now, her master is only parrying the claws and tentacles with his sword. If he parries, then his counterattack would be delayed by a fraction of a beat. Within that time, the second and third Queens of Blood would attack, causing the window for counterattack to be lost.
Why——
Why do you not dodge, my lord——?
Her master"s feet are heavy. His movements are stiff.
This manner of fighting, of parrying tentacles and standing his ground, is almost like —— it is as if he is protecting something very important to him.
"——?!"
That instant, Beta finally realizes it.
Behind Shadow is Beta.
Furthermore, behind Beta is the grievously wounded 664 and 665, the 666 who is protecting the two of them, and also her master"s unconscious sister...
"Ah, aaa..."
Beta"s voice is stuck in her throat.
Her master has been trying to protect them throughout the entire fight.
That which is important to him...
Then abruptly, the equilibrium of the fight is broken.
Finally, Shadow falters.
Red tentacles push him off his balance, then all three Queens of Blood throw in their follow up attacks, sending Shadow cras.h.i.+ng through a wall.
"Sh, SHADOW-SAMAAAAAA——!!"
Beta ignores her body"s cries of pain, desperately trying to crawl towards the collapsed wall.
"I told you so at the start, it"s impossible even for you..." (Juggernaut)
"Even Shadow-han cannot do it...?" (Yukime)
That"s wrong!
If Beta and the others had not been behind him, if they had not dragged him down, then her master"s strength is not just this level.
"Shadow-sama, Shadow-sama!!"
Her desperate crawling brings Beta to the collapsed wall. That moment.
Violet magic spills out from the other side.
"Wha——?!" (Juggernaut)
"What is——?!" (Yukime)
That overwhelming power causes the air to shake and debris to float up.
The light from the Red Moon is stained violet by the overflowing magic.
Then Shadow appears from beyond the wall.
"Shadow-sama!"
Beta"s face is dyed with rapture.
For the master before her is finally the master that she knows.
Clad in violet magic, the figure of her master that somehow looks a notch smaller than before emanates only one word —— POWER.
He imbues his beautiful violet magic into his sword, then faces off against the Queen of Blood once more.
"It seems I have to get a little serious..."
That voice that sounds like a reverberation from the heart of the earth sends s.h.i.+vers of elation down Beta"s spine.
Not a shred of unease remains.
This. Is. Her. Master.
"Nn?"
Suddenly something glints at the edge of her vision, so Beta peeks behind the wall.
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For some reason, there is a large number of gold coins on the ground there.
Beta tilts her head in puzzlement.
Why in a place like this... oh well.
"Shadow-sama, go for it~~~~~!!"
Beta"s cheer becomes the signal for the fight to resume.