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…It came as a sudden realization.
Freya had gotten careless during the fight, and was about to get caught up in the fiery attack from one of the orbs.

Crim noticed that, and decided that the only way to save Freya was to knock back the orb so the attack would miss, so she immediately used the Abyss Magic spell Stun Bullet.

And then…for just a split second, the orb’s movements stopped completely. It had actually gotten stunned.

“…Hinagiku, Lycoris, Kasumi, Setsuna!”

Having seen that, Crim quickly made up her mind and came up with a battleplan, shouting orders to her companions.

“I made an error in judgement. I assumed those orbs were Aery’s weapons, but I was wrong!”

Their robotic and synchronous movements, coupled with their resiliency that kept them in perfect shape no matter how many hits they dealt, made Crim believe they were Aery’s weapons, indestructible objects.

But after seeing that they could be stunned individually… Or rather, the fact that status effects applied to them, meant they were no weapons. They were more like Aery’s familiars… While very resilient, they were enemies of their own, which could be destroyed.

“They are foes of tight coordination, I shall entrust them to thy care. Split them asunder and deal with them!”
“Roger that!”
“Got it!”
“Leave it to us!”
“As you wish, Master!”

The four replied immediately and each ran after one of the orbs.

“Frey, Freya, support those taking down the orbs! They won’t be able to avoid the fire if they get close enough to attack, so they’ll need healing the most!”
“Okay, got it!”
“Don’t go dying on us now!”

As the two left as well, the only ones facing against Aery were Crim, Sorleon, Suzaku, and…

“Well, I’ll also be over there-”
“Shao, think not even of slipping away. ’Tis plain as day that we shall need thy aid here.”
“Ah, yeah I figured as much. Just please don’t go crazy. Having to support you is the worst when you just charge in blindly like usual.”

Crim took a break from exchanging blows with Aery to shout at Shao, who reluctantly returned, making it a total of four fighting against that girl.

…It was no exaggeration to say that those four players were the highest ranked players of the entire first server.

Their abilities would always shine when they fought against a powerful foe. Now they were moving around and switching weapons at a rapid pace, and coupled with the hell fire around them, it created an environment where no other players could even approach them.

And in the center…

“Got you!!”
*”Ack..!”*

Aery had been too busy dodging Crim and Sorleon’s attacks that she did not notice Suzaku, whose blade managed to graze her shoulder.
It was a very shallow cut, but for some reason, Aery appeared desperate for the first time, as she used her burning claws to parry away Suzaku’s blade.

As that happened…Crim noticed that Aery’s fire seemed to falter in a strange way when it touched Suzaku’s red sword.
Having seen that, Crim jumped forward, blocking Aery’s claws herself to free up Suzaku.

“…Suzaku!”
“..?! Ah, I’ve got it!”

Suzaku had not expected Crim to charge in like that, so it took him a moment to react and attempt to attack with Da’at’s sword again.
Aery clicked her tongue in annoyance as Suzaku’s sword grazed her again.

Seeing her squirm and jump back, even though it was barely a cut, confirmed Crim’s suspicions as she gave Suzaku new orders.

“Suzaku, I shall cover thee. Go forth, and serve as our main attacker!”
“…What?”
“I believe… thy sword, the one that displayed that peculiar power to absorb *aught*, doth work upon her as well!”
“..?! A-Alright!”

As soon as Suzaku agreed, they ran after Aery, heading in arcs to pinch her in.

“…Rin!”

Crim launched a swift attack with her black katana, but Aery instantly deployed a barrier to defend herself.
But by then, Crim had already let go of her katana, kicking the barrier and jumping up above Aery.

“…Resolution!”

Using her newly-made Bloody Weapon Greatsword, she drew a crescent moon in the air as she swung it down.
But the blade was blocked by Aery’s crossed arms, clad in Absolute Defense. Once again, Crim let go of her greatsword, and instead creating a Shadow Heavy-Weapon scythe in her hand.

“…Execution!”

She spun her body one more time, the blade of her scythe moving like a guillotine to cut through the moon she drew earlier.
This time she successfully broke through Aery’s defenses, leaving a long glowing line of damage starting from her right shoulder.

Crim’s acrobatic movements were frightening if anything, as she seemed to connect one attack to another effortlessly. By now, she had grown so used to those attacks, that she could launch them from any position.

Now that she could not rely on Absolute Defense anymore, a second shadow loomed over her.
It was Sorleon, who was running up to her from behind to block her escape path.

“You’re not going anywhere… Sword Mastery Art, Gale…Four times!”

Sorleon’s attack made him cover the distance between him and Aery in an instant, lunging to attack before retreating, and then coming again, repeating that four times.
Those swift attacks were deflected one after another by Aery’s fiery claws, at the cost of her own stance.

“Grahhhh, Yellow Dragon!!”

That was an opening Suzaku would not ignore, as he ran in while shrouded in a yellow aura shaped like a dragon.
The jaws of that dragon easily took hold of the right half of Aery’s body, biting into her.

*”…!”*

For the first time, Aery looked distressed.
She was shocked, afraid, scared…or not.

*”…So fun.”*

Hearing that mutter, Crim jumped back, realizing something had changed.
The girl’s shoulders were trembling, as her face…

*”Ahh…This is the best feeling ever!”*

…Turned into an expression of absolute glee.

After maintaining an unmoving deadpan face for so long, now she was smiling in bliss.
All of the fiery red flames around her seemed to revert, turning a dark blue.
And those flames no longer felt hot.
Quite the opposite, they sucked out the heat of anything that touched them, freezing it over.

Then…there was a light and satisfying clap as he held a fist to her palm, and slowly pulled out a greatsword.

…That sword looked identical to the one held by Master Swordsman Gazriel, one of the Red Lion Emperor’s Twelve Blades.

The only difference was that it looked like the colors were inverted, having a gradient of blue and black.
Crim had anticipated that much the moment she realized the orbs were not a weapon. In other words…Aery *had not yet shown her weapon during the fight so far.*

“…I guess we’re in the main stretch now, aren’t we?”
*”Heheh, ahahahah, yes, yes, you’re right. Now we’re finally heading for the true climax.”*

She continued laughing and giggling maniacally, surrounded by dark flames as she wielded and swung that greatsword around with ridiculous ease considering her small body.
Her servants that were still fighting a distance away noticed that as well, and became far more violent.

*”Now, singer, bring us more of your passionate voice, make sure my fire doesn’t freeze these heroes over too quickly!”*

Turning to the stage nearby, where Idol Order was still active, the *Devil Beelzebub* said that while laughing uncontrollably…