Dozens of vivid yellow streaks of light.
Bullets packed with condensed magic power rained down like a storm from the skies above [Eldorado].
Maybe because Noir had kept her tied down for four days, they were weaker than the magic she had used last time, but they still weren’t something anyone could take lightly.
Fwoooosh...!!!
That was only true if there wasn’t a [Primordial Demons] on our side.
"Hehe, so you still throw magic around recklessly, whether it’s in hell or here?"
The moment we stepped outside the castle, Ria smiled at the sight of those streaks of magic, then with a single casual gesture, she instantly spread a barrier over all of [Eldorado].
That beautiful white barrier easily blocked every one of the dozens of spells Jonne had fired.
'That barrier... Jonne’s magic has been slamming into it over and over, and there’s not even a scratch on it. As expected, when it comes to controlling magic power, Ria is on a completely different level.'
Normally, the barrier should have shown at least a few cracks by now.
These were spells cast directly by one of the [Primordial Demons], the very pinnacle even among demons who specialized in magic. There was no way a single barrier should have been able to absorb all of them so cleanly.
Even for another [Primordial Demons], it would have been extremely difficult.
And yet, Ria had done it.
The reason she was able to block every one of those spells was because she had already calculated where each attack would land and exactly when it would hit, then adjusted the magic power forming the barrier accordingly.
She had predicted how far each explosion would spread, the precise instant of impact, and how much power would be needed to stop it, drawing out the greatest possible defense with the least possible expenditure.
'At this point in time, aside from Guy and Noir, Ria is probably the strongest demon there is.'
If Ria could fight at full strength in hell, she would probably be stronger even than me with my [Ultimate Skill], and even now, restricted to using only a tenth of her power, she was still overwhelmingly strong.
The Homunculus and the name I had given her had definitely played a part, but the ability to wield that power so perfectly was entirely Ria’s own.
It was the result of her talent and sheer genius.
'No wonder I fell for her.'
Seeing this side of Ria—the side that looked every bit like an empress, so different from how she was when we were alone together—had its own kind of charm.
Maybe it was that sly, mature air about her.
KABOOOM!!!
Anyway, while we quietly waited for the barrage of light to stop—
'...And here she comes.'
A demon with flowing yellow hair dropped down onto the barrier.
"Blanc...!!!"
I didn’t need to guess who it was.
There was only one yellow-aligned demon who could direct that kind of killing intent at Ria.
Jonne.
**
"My, could you stop calling me Blanc and call me Ria now? I have a precious name now—one I received from him."
"...How dare you... As if getting a body wasn’t enough, you even took a name...!!!"
Cold killing intent and blazing killing intent.
Yellow magic power and white magic power tangled together with their murderous auras.
Neither of them could use even a quarter of a quarter of their full strength, yet the sheer pressure of the magic they released still made [Eldorado] begin to tremble little by little.
"You got your name already, so that should be enough...!! Hand him over to me!!!"
Jonne still hadn’t healed the wounds she had suffered when Noir captured her, and her whole body was covered in injuries, but she endured all that pain through sheer fighting spirit and rage.
"Hehe... What nonsense are you spouting? Adelio was my servant from the very beginning, and he’s my lover too. You never had any place between us to begin with."
Unlike her amused tone, Ria’s eyes were so cold they brought Velzard to mind.
She was furious too.
Some shameless stray was trying to steal the man who would become her husband, and the sheer audacity of it made it impossible for her to hold back her anger.
Even if Jonne was a sister-like existence born on the same day, even if she was one of the very few beings Ria considered her equal—
when it came to Adelio, she had no intention of giving him to anyone.
"...Lover? You? Blanc, of all people? Don’t make me laugh. You’re the one talking nonsense. The only reason he follows you is because he got tricked by that filthy tongue of yours."
But Jonne was no different when it came to refusing to give up on Hairo—on Adelio.
She still remembered those words he had spoken, the words that made her think he might become her companion. She remembered the answer Adelio had given her, the one that shattered her contradiction.
The answer that had felt like salvation, the answer that had let her break free from that damp, suffocating obsession.
That was why she couldn’t give him up.
At first, she had thought of him as little more than a possession.
But not anymore.
And because she couldn’t give him up, when Blanc obtained a body, Jonne had driven her own mind forward until it was almost like brainwashing herself.
That Adelio only followed Blanc because he had been deceived by her.
By lying to herself like that and turning her hatred toward Blanc, she convinced herself that she was the one trying to save Adelio.
All for one reason alone.
Because she wanted him.
"...Hehe. I deceived Adelio...? That’s a funny joke coming from you."
Jonne’s words, carelessly belittling the bond between Adelio and herself without knowing anything about it, made Ria’s anger bloom into a curse.
The curse [Frozen Flame].
Her voice turned as cold as her gaze as she wrapped magic power around a pure white whip.
"Think whatever you want. This is the last chance you’ll have to play dumb."
At that, Jonne also drew out her Abyss Core and prepared to clash head-on.
Tak... crack...!!
At last, the two [Primordial Demons] stared at each other with expressionless faces and made the same silent vow.
That they would personally destroy that insolent little cat in front of them.
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