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Piles of rubble fell down from the sky.
…All of that from just one attack.
As the destruction settled down…a large glowing dome emerged from within the explosion.

“…Is everyone okay?!”
“Yes, somehow. Thank you Freya.”
“Oh good, I’m glad I made it in time.”

As Freya heaved a sigh of relief, that dome, which had appeared to cover everyone from the explosion of Aery’s Dark Prominence, The Lance attack, finally opened up.

It was called Holy Cradle, born from the combination of Holy and Strengthening Magic. It created a protective barrier that blocked a certain amount of damage around the caster, and could only be learned through a scroll dropped by some bosses, making it a really rare spell that only a handful of people across the entire server possessed.

That rarity made it extremely useful…but it was relegated to only be used in emergencies, as it had a long cooldown, and would be out of commission for the rest of this fight.
On the other hand…

“Aww man, that was too close.”
“I would fain question why thou lookest so entertained, yet in truth, this is far more perilous than I had foreseen.”

Crim glanced at Sorleon for a moment, who looked thoroughly entertained by it all, and then glared at the author of all that destruction, Ba‘al Zəbûl Aery.

…She was strong.

As frustrating as it was to admit, there did not seem to be a way to beat her.
She was swift, resilient, and her attacks were overwhelmingly powerful. She was strong on all fronts, leaving no openings to attack her.
In short, she was the strongest enemy they had encountered yet. And on top of that…

“We hardly have any resources left…”

Even if they still had various cards up their sleeves, Crim and her friends were already exhausted from the previous fights.
And more importantly…a resource far more important than MP, the overall fatigue afflicting the players, was nearing its limits.

“…We’ll just have to do it.”

Still, she held onto their weapons with heroic determination.
Hinagiku and the others also stood around Crim with similar expressions, ready to fight until the bitter end…

*”…Please stay strong, my heroes, my Demon Lord!”*

…A loud voice echoed through the whole battlefield, breaking through the tension.

◇◇◇

“Huh…was that Haru?”

The grim atmosphere of the battlefield was broken as she descended like a kimono-clad angel from the heavens. They had thought Haru had left earlier…only to come back as the pink-haired Kirisu Sakura.

Crim was so taken aback she accidentally called her by her real name, as Sakura landed on top of a stage that emerged from the ground (it was a type of terrain summoning Skill unique to her special character.)

*”Who will protect the elven village if you fail here now?!”*
“You do realize that’s one of the worst flags to bring up for the longest time!!”

Suzaku had also not been expecting that, so he shouted back to confront her, but she just struck a pose and ignored him.
Meanwhile, Crim fearfully turned to look at Aery, worried that she would snipe Sakura…

“I’m invested, keep going.”
“Ah never mind.”

…It turned out she would wait. For once, Crim was thankful for her aloof and unpredictable personality.

*”Huh…Ahem, I’ve been watching your struggle this far, and not just me, there’s many others as well, all rooting for you to succeed.”*

As she said that, a large window appeared showing the official broadcast of the Defense of Weisswald, alongside the comments from many viewers.
She looked at it for a moment, holding her hands up like she was praying.

*”That’s why…I’ll officially enact the Idol Order here!!”*

That was another Skill unique to Kirisu Sakura’s character, which had been created exclusively for official events.
It was only available when an official live stream was on air, and required a high number of viewers and impressions, as well as *permission from management*. That explained why Haru left to talk with them earlier.
And then…

*”You got this!”*
*”Don’t give up, keep going!”*
*”Ughh, I wish I could’ve been there too..!”*
*”We’ve been watching you the whole time, you’ve come too far to give up.”*
*”Good luck Ditzy Lord!!”*
*”You’re almost there!”*

As countless messages cheering Crim and the rest appeared behind her, and the stage began to produce the BGM, Sakura took the microphone with one hand and began to dance.

*Keep moving forward, no matter what.*

With that song pushing the players to move past their exhaustion, the light of Idol Order enveloped all of the players in the battlefield.

…In terms of stats, there really had not been much of a difference.

In short, it was similar to most other singing Skills, increasing the MP regeneration speed within the battlefield, it just covered a bigger area.
As much as that buff was appreciated, all it did was to extend a little how much Crim and the rest could fight before they ran out of resources.
And yet…

“…What should we do, Demon Lord?”
“Is there even a need to ask? We can’t afford to lose, there’s nothing more to it.”
“Sounds good.”

A final boss coupled with a high energy song. It was a bit of a cliche, but it still served to reinvigorate everyone there.
Suzaku asked that, standing next to Crim, and she replied with a bit of a laugh.

They were still in that largely disadvantageous situation, but at least mentally…they no longer felt like they would lose.
So after taking a deep breath, they reaffirmed their grip on their weapons and looked at the devil girl standing in front of them.

“Sorry for the wait, Aery. Time for round two.”

As Crim announced that, the eyes of everyone standing with her also lit up with newfound determination…