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“Raisa!”

Magritte Gautier deflected the Cadmus Knight’s downward strike with her knight sword and called out to Raisa Urnova, creating an opening for her to attack. The instant the Cadmus Knight brought its longsword down, Raisa appeared behind it. Twisting her body, she unleashed the power she had built up, driving the tip of her large dagger forward with tremendous force.

“Attack Boost.”

Mana surged into the dagger’s blade, dramatically increasing both its speed and strength. The spent magic cartridge that had fueled the spell was ejected from the chamber built into the gauntlet on Raisa’s arm. Wrapped in a trail of white smoke, it spun through the air before clattering onto the ground. The dagger sank deep into the armor covering the Cadmus Knight’s back, burying itself nearly to the hilt. The sheer force of the blow launched the undead warrior into the air. Without hesitation, Raisa poured another spell into her dagger, intending to finish the enemy before it could hit the ground.

“Holy Flame.”

The engraved lines running along the arm of her light armor glowed brightly. Another cartridge was ejected from her shoulder with a sharp click. A pure azure light flowed along the glowing lines of her armor and into the dagger. Then, with a booming sound, blue sacred flames engulfed the Cadmus Knight. Within moments, its body lost all strength and collapsed into a lifeless heap.

“Using up an entire Magic Storage Cartridge every single attack is way too much! This is completely unfair!”
“There’s no time to complain, Raisa! Here comes another!”

Raisa was breathing heavily, tears welling in her eyes, when Djimon Ritsman raised his round shield and knocked aside the thrust of another Cadmus Knight’s longsword.

“L-Look out!”

With a frightened squeak, Raisa darted between Djimon and the Cadmus Knight, thrusting her dagger toward its chest. The undead warrior caught the strike with its shield and knocked her blade aside. The ghostly flames burning within the empty sockets of the Cadmus Knight’s eyes flickered, almost as if it were grinning. In one fluid motion, it drew its longsword back and aimed the blade at Raisa. The next instant, its skull exploded. Helmet and bone shattered into countless fragments as Magritte’s knight sword, wrapped in pale blue holy power, smashed through its head from behind.

Magritte reset her stance and slowly exhaled, her guard never dropping as she scanned her surroundings. For some time now, she had felt an unsettling presence clinging to her. It sent a chill racing down her spine.

“Ghk!”

A deafening clash of metal rang out. A shower of sparks lit up the battlefield as Raisa cried out. Magritte and Djimon instantly turned toward the sudden disturbance.

“Heh… you’ve got pretty good reflexes.”

Standing there with a wicked grin was a woman with dark brown skin, her massive cleaver-like greatsword finishing its swing.

Raisa had barely managed to catch the strike with her dagger before throwing herself backward to lessen the impact. Twisting in midair, she landed awkwardly using both hands and feet.

“M-My… my hands… they’re numb…”
“Raisa! Pull yourself together!”

Djimon stepped in front of her, raising his round shield protectively.

“So… are you three actually going to entertain me?”

The dark-skinned woman, Joel, asked. She casually spun her enormous blade around herself in broad figure-eight arcs.

“You two! Infuse your weapons with holy power!”

At the same moment Magritte shouted, she activated one of the enhancement spells built into her Heavy Mobile Magic Armor.

“Boost Up.”

Every magical crest engraved into her armor lit up at once. With explosive acceleration, she shot straight toward her target.

But Joel had already moved. The instant Magritte shouted, Joel closed the distance in a blur, appearing directly in front of Djimon. Without slowing, she swept her greatsword sideways. Djimon and the round shield he had raised were sent flying. Carrying the momentum, Joel lifted her sword high overhead, preparing to bring it crashing down on Raisa. At that very instant, Magritte’s knight sword, glowing with pale blue holy energy, thrust toward Joel’s heart from behind.

However, it pierced…Nothing. Joel had vanished. Magritte reacted instantly, swinging her knight sword behind her. A thunderous impact exploded through the forest. Joel’s cleaver-like blade slammed into the back of Magritte’s sword. Joel’s eyes widened for just a fraction of a second.

Keeping the greatsword pinned behind her, Magritte twisted her body, hooked Joel’s weapon with her own, and threw it upward. The opening exposed Joel’s side. Magritte’s sword crashed into it. Joel’s dark skin split open. Fresh blood burst from the wound.

“Urgh…”

Joel’s cheeks flushed a faint red. The corners of her lips curled upward in obvious delight.

“So… you actually know a little about fighting us, vampires? Hehe!”

She immediately brought the raised greatsword crashing back down. Magritte angled her knight sword diagonally, deflecting the descending blade off to the side before smoothly turning the motion into an upward slash. Another cut opened across Joel’s skin.

“Ahh… holy power, huh? The wounds aren’t healing! Hihihi!”

Joel swept her greatsword again. Marguerite blocked. Deflected. Counterattacked. Joel parried in return before pressing forward once more. Their blades crossed again and again at blinding speed. More wounds opened across Joel’s exposed skin, covering her body in streaks of crimson. Magritte’s armor fared no better. Joel’s overwhelming strength crushed deep dents into the enchanted plate, and blood began seeping from the gaps where the armor had been torn open.

“Nnh…! This is good… So good…! Ahh… hih…”

The more wounds Joel received, the more flushed her cheeks became.

Her eyes grew moist with exhilaration. She looked as though she couldn’t have been happier. Her black hair whipped wildly around her as she swayed and danced, her massive sword spinning effortlessly in her hands. Blood sprayed through the air, wrapping itself around her dark-skinned body like a crimson veil.

“…Still…” Suddenly, all excitement vanished from Joel’s eyes. They became cold. Calm.

“You might have the knowledge, but lack the experience on how to fight us.”

Joel’s body blurred and disappeared from Magritte’s sight. Magritte instinctively raised her knight sword across her shoulder while focusing every ounce of her awareness on the air around her. Behind! She sensed it immediately. Twisting her body, she swung the sword behind her to shield her heart.

A sharp impact tore through her left thigh. Her body lurched. Her left leg refused to support her weight. She staggered helplessly to the side. As her vision tilted, Joel’s face emerged from the darkness as though seeping out of the shadows themselves. Leaning close, she smiled.

“That style of yours might work…against ordinary fools who rely on brute strength alone. But not against me.”

A crushing blow slammed into Magritte’s abdomen.

“GAAAH!!”

Joel’s greatsword struck like a full-power baseball swing. The blade slammed into Magritte’s armored stomach before launching her through the air. Magritte crashed back-first into a massive tree. The impact shook the trunk before she slid helplessly to the ground. Without even taking a step, Joel seemed to sway, and suddenly she was standing over her. As Magritte slumped against the tree, Joel violently stomped down on her shoulder.

“GAAAH!!”