Endou felt her whole body tense up and the air around her freezing.
"You've come this far... and you still want to fight?"
Hands casually tucked in his pockets, Dimitrie Vatler chuckled, "You guys at the Lion King Organization must have my file, right?"
"You already know exactly what kind of guy I am."
Endou let out a long breath and rubbed her temples. She could already feel the headache coming.
She couldn't let this guy do whatever he wanted!
Her eyes sharpened. With a wave of her hand, a massive shikigami the size of a mountain appeared out of thin air!
And without missing a beat, it threw a massive punch straight down!
BOOM!!
The shockwave of the punch exploded through the air!
Dimitrie Vatler lifted his head, a bright spark of excitement flashing in his eyes.
"Now that's more like it!"
At his mental command, Sagara and Upananda charged in!
Sagara slipped past the shikigami's attack and wrapped its massive body tightly around it.
A crushing pressure, like the weight of the ocean itself, bore down on the shikigami!
Boom!
Forced to one knee, the shikigami slammed the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Seeing the opening, Upananda lashed its tail like a whip!
Screech
The sound of blades cutting into flesh rang out as the shikigami's enormous body was slashed, leaving a gruesome wound!
Clap clap clap.
Dimitrie Vatler clapped his hands cheerfully."Looks like my familiars are still better than yours."
Endou didn't react to his gloating. Expressionless, she simply raised her hand and tapped the air.
A streak of golden light shot into the shikigami's body!
ROAR!!
The shikigami suddenly let out a deafening roar, rising back to its feet!
Its massive hands grabbed Sagara's body, squeezing it with terrifying force!
Hisss~
Sagara let out a miserable shriek!
And the next instantCRACK!
Its body split apart, a flood of water pouring down from the sky!
Though Dimitrie Vatler's smile remained on his face, his eyes had turned noticeably colder.
He clapped his hands again.
Hum
Countless giant serpents began to manifest around him.
Endou raised an eyebrow. "Going all out now, huh?"
Dimitrie Vatler kept smiling: "Try not to die."
"Heh."
Endou let out a cold laugh. "Guess you're really underestimating us."
Just as she was about to make her move, a familiar voice suddenly shouted from outside.
"Master!"
Startled, Endou turned toward the soundand saw Yukina Himeragi rushing in, wielding her Snowdrift Wolf Schneewalzer and charging straight at Dimitrie Vatler!
Endou's eye twitched. "Wait! You're no match for him!"
Vatler turned his head, raising an eyebrow in amusement as he watched Yukina come at him.
"Ah, the fearless spirit of the young."
But as he felt that she didn't have the aura of a true powerhouse, he quickly lost interest.
What he didn't know was that she was the Anti-Demons Devil.
—
[Anti-Demons Devil]
Gained control over the spear "Snowdrift Wolf Schneewalzer."
Divine Punishment Eye (Passive: Senses magical energy/malice within 300 meters; can mark up to 3 targets with their anti-magic weak points.)
Anti-Magic Barrier: Eightfold Holly (Deploys eight magic-inscribed gunblades to form a barrier that reduces all magic effects by 70%.)
Divine Core Resonance: Critical Breakthrough (Activates the Snowdrift Wolf's divine core, adding space-shattering power to attacks.)
Bonus damage against all evil creatures (Vampires, demons, etc...).
Devilization (Divine Punishment Spear: Summons a massive Snow wolf avatar for a piercing strike that causes "Divine Core Collapse" along its path.)
—
Still thinking of Yukina as weak, Vatler waved a hand dismissively. "Upananda."
At his command, Upananda turned its deadly focus onto Yukina, its eerie green slit-pupils locking onto her.
Yukina's eyes narrowed sharply, and she whispered under her breath, "Snowdrift Wolf!"
Fwoosh
In that instant, a swirling torrent of energy erupted from Snowdrift Wolf!
At the same time, Yukina spotted a faint red glowing spot on Upananda's massive body.
Divine Punishment Eye!
That's the weak spot!
Fixing her gaze on the target, Yukina gripped her weapon tightly and took a deep breath.
Swish!
With terrifying force, she hurled Snowdrift Wolf forward!
A brilliant light exploded from the weapon, violently distorting the very air around it!
Divine Core Resonance: Critical Breakthrough!
Yukina wasn't holding backShe went all out from the start!
Upananda's green pupils were instantly filled with light!
Sensing the danger, it instinctively twisted its body, trying to dodge. But Snowdrift Wolf was way too fast!
In the blink of an eye, it pierced straight into Upananda's lower abdomen!
The radiant light instantly swallowed Upananda whole!
"Gyaaahhh!!"
Upananda thrashed wildly, letting out a pitiful screech!
But against the overwhelming force of Yukina's attack, it didn't take long before Upananda was utterly annihilated.
Seeing the familiar vanish completely, Yukina let out a few quick breaths and held out her hand.
Swish~
Snowdrift Wolf flew right back into her hand, settling quietly.
Across from her, Dimitrie Vatler stared at the spot where Upananda had disappeared, his face stiffening slightly.
He tried to reestablish the connection with his familiar but there was nothing left.
.
.
.
Full Power Vatler
Dimitrie Vatler fell into silence.
No response from Upananda.
Which could only meanhe didn't even make it back to the Otherworld. He was just gone?
Vatler couldn't quite believe it.
Normally, when a familiar is defeated in this world, it just gets sent back to the Otherworld.
But this time, one strike. Just one hit wiped out his familiar completely?
Didn't even give it a chance to return?
""
Vatler's eyes grew darker.
That familiar of his wasn't some low-level creature.
If it had been the Warlord, maybe he wouldn't be surprised.
But this...?
He narrowed his eyes and studied Himeragi Yukina carefully.
This girl clearly looked like a nobody.
Was it because of that spear?
Vatler's gaze dropped to the Snowdrift Wolf in her hands.
A sudden wave of unease surged in his heart.
That spear is definitely not normal.
—
Meanwhile
Endou was even more shocked than Vatler.
That was Yukina just now? She just took out one of Vatler's familiars in a single hit?
Holy crap.
Was that really her sweet little disciple?
Endou clicked her tongue but kept her eyes on the Snowdrift Wolf and Yukina's strange connection with it.
That last strike she could clearly sense the energy from the "Divine Core."
But the one she remembered didn't pack that much power. That strike just now was clearly way stronger than the usual Core stuff!
When did the Snowdrift Wolf gain that kind of ability?
Endou's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
But more than that, what really caught her attention was the bond between Yukina and the spear.
Yukina just lifted her hand, and the Snowdrift Wolf flew right back to her, like it belonged there.
That scene
It reminded Endou of the previous owner of the spear.
Fujisaka Touka.
Had Yukina really reached the same level as her already?
Maybe She has even surpassed Touka's control over the Snowdrift Wolf.
After all, Yukina had just used an ability no one had ever seen before.
Endou tried to calm her racing heart, her eyes gleaming with a strange light.
She'd only been gone for one day, and already Yukina had undergone some kind of incredible transformation.
She couldn't help but think of Lynnthe Devil King.
Had Yukina already come into contact with him?
Or maybe, had she already become one of his followers?
That thought made Endou carefully inspect Yukina from head to toe.
She even used her spiritual power to check.
"The scent of a devil"
Endou muttered softly.
That confirmed it!
Yukina had become one of Lynn's people!
Her heart thumped uncontrollably.
Yukina nice work!
Endou was honestly thrilledand relieved.
Even though Lynn had never directly interacted with the Lion King Organization, the pressure he gave off was far greater than the vampire standing in front of them.
If Yukina had really become his follower, then things would go way more smoothly with the plan to have Sayaka infiltrate Lynn Group.
And besides, Endou was certain nowYukina's sudden strength and her tighter bond with the Snowdrift Wolf were definitely tied to Lynn.
Just what the hell did he do?
They spent years training people at the Lion King Organization, and none of them grew as fast as Yukina did after spending one day with Lynn!
After some time...
Vatler also caught the scent of devil energy coming off Yukina.
His eyes twinkled with amusement, and he said teasingly, "Well, well The Lion King Organizationsupposedly humanity's top weaponcollaborating with devils now? That's a surprise."
He'd heard her call Endou "Master" earlierloud and clear.
Endou didn't bother replying. No point explaining anything to a damn vampire.
And Vatler wasn't really expecting an answer, either.
Whether or not they were actually colluding with devils didn't concern him much.
If someone had to worry about that, it'd be the Warlord, not him.
He had only one thing on his mindTatakae!! (Fight!)
Vatler squinted, locking eyes on the breathless Yukina.
He thought she was just some bug on the road, but apparently, she had some serious firepower.
He spoke in a low, eerie tone. "You killed one of my precious, adorable familiars. I can't just let that slide."
As his voice trailed off
Whoosh!
Behind him, several massive snake-like shadows began to form.
Adorable?
Yukina's lips twitched at the word.
You call that snake adorable?
She wanted to complain, but her gaze stayed sharp, locked on Vatler.
She understood clearlythis vampire was way out of her league.
That last attack had drained almost all of her magic.
And all she managed to do was take out one of his familiars.
She glanced past him
The snake phantoms had solidified completely.
One, two, three, four.
Four massive snake familiars stared her down, their green slit-pupiled eyes glowing with menace.
Yukina: ""
Wow.
He really thinks highly of me, huh?
"Kinryu."
Vatler's voice was cold and flat.
As soon as he spoke, one of the giant serpentsradiating golden lightshot into the air!
Then it came crashing down toward Yukina with terrifying speed!
She kicked off the ground just in time to dodge.
A second laterBOOM!
Kinryu slammed into the ground, cracking it wide open as dust flew everywhere.
Yukina raised her arms to shield her eyes.
Kinryu raised his head from the crater, shook off the dust, and began scanning for Yukina again.
Yukina tensed, trying to summon the Snowdrift Wolf's power one more time.
But
"Nngh"
A groan escaped her lips as she staggered.
She was running out of magic.
Endou quickly caught onto her state.
When the golden snake lunged again, Endou raised her hand, launching a golden spell to intercept it.
The next moment
Yukina leapt to the side with the help of her teacher.
The snake's attack was dodged once again.
Vatler's eyes gleamed. "Monas," he said calmly.
Hissss~~!
Another huge black serpent roared to life at his command.
—
Endou stepped in front of Yukina.
Seeing her student completely drained of magic, she handed her a recovery potion.
But honestly, these things weren't that effective.
She sighed. "Yukina, you should fall back. This fight's way beyond you now."
She hadn't expected Yukina to take out any of Vatler's familiars, so that alone was impressive.
But Vatler just had too many.
Unexpectedly, Yukina didn't leave.
She shook her head and softly said, "He's already locked onto me."
And it was true. Even with Endou standing between them, Vatler's gaze never once left Yukina.
Endou raised an eyebrow and looked at him mockingly.
"What's this? The famous battle maniac himself, getting his kicks from bullying the weak now?"
"Weak?"
Vatler chuckled. "She's anything but weak."
The moment she killed one of his familiars, he'd already started treating her as an equal.
Endou narrowed her eyes, about to say somethingbut Yukina gently tugged at her sleeve.
"??"
Endou turned toward her in confusion
Only to see Yukina quietly pull out a small can.
Was that milk?
.
.
.
Devilization
"...?"
Endou's gaze fell on the canned milk in Yukina's hand, her expression unreadable.
Milk... at a time like this? Since when did Yukina pick up that habit?
And seriously if you're gonna drink it, finewhy the heck are you blushing!?
Yukina pursed her lips, staring at the can as her lashes trembled slightly. Her cheeks gradually turned red.
This was apparently one of the perks of joining Lynn's faction. According to Shiina Mahiru, it was some sort of magic-recovery item?
But thinking of Mahiru's warning, Yukina hesitated.
This stuff was really made by one of her seniors in the familia?
She instinctively glanced down at her own chest, and her face flushed even more.
Do... do I really have to drink this? And how the hell did this senior make this much milk?
Yukina was still hesitatinguntil a sudden gust of wind whipped through, scattering her hair.
A gigantic golden serpent crashed through the ground as it was about to reach her at terrifying speed!
Okay, no time to hesitate!
Yukina popped open the can and chugged it in one go!
Thump-thump!!
She clearly heard the pounding of her own heart. And right afterA rush of power surged up from deep inside her!
Her magic, which had already been depleted, instantly refilled as if flipping a switch!
BOOM!
A burst of magic exploded from Yukina's body. Her black hair flew wildly as she raised the Snowdrift Wolf without hesitation!
Whoooosh
"This is"
Endou was stunned by the sight in front of her.
Her magic... actually recovered? And at that speed?
Her eyes drifted to the now-empty can in Yukina's hand, suspicions forming in her mind.
A magic recovery item?
As someone experienced in these things, she quickly saw through the milk's true nature.
But wasn't this effect a bit too good?
And as far as she remembered, Yukina didn't have access to this kind of item.
