Whoa—dangerous!

Uoooooh!

That was seriously close!

『Hmm, safe by a hair’s breadth.』

With Konie-chan at my back, I brandish my scythe.

Opposite me stands Miyume-chan, now in a state of hunger.
But there is nothing left for me to fear.

Because I have stolen—no, hacked—well, obtained all the necessary information.

A mysterious beauty with knowledge is invincible.

『Not even rewording worked. A thief in broad daylight—how far you have fallen, Sorciera.』

For the sake of a beautiful girl, I do not hesitate to dirty my hands.
Only through love for beautiful girls can a mysterious beauty be truly complete.

In other words, as long as beautiful girls exist, a mysterious beauty will never lose.
Everyone’s (beautiful girls’) support empowers Sorciera! Cheer with your glowing Demonsgear at the theater!

『Do your best!』

And this time, we have a guest—Nana-chan has joined us!
Her cyber-specialized abilities are practically a natural counter to Zilnius Academy, which deals in data clusters.

While investigating, I discovered that while Nana-chan was in the Professor’s grasp, the Doctor was secretly at work.
Now that I’ve used her, I completely understand—there’s no way the Doctor could have moved with her around.
The fact that she was in the Professor’s hands? Absolutely the worst.

『Thanks to Shieru, we have all the information. As her sister, I couldn’t be prouder.』

『With me here, no security is meaningful. That said, Sister, I have a request.』

Inside my head, the two started conversing on their own.
Uh, could you keep it down?

『Speak your mind.』

『I wish to synchronize my consciousness with Kei. Without that, I cannot use my full capabilities.』

『That is impossible.』

Wait, Nana-chan and I aren’t linked?
I can hear her, but it’s one-way?

『Even as a Starreader, if you synchronize as well, you might become a husk. It’s enough that I can wield you as a weapon like this.』

『No, my calculations show no such—』

『Silence! Sorciera’s contracted Demonsgear is me! A latecomer little girl has no place here!』

Whoa… Starreader’s Staff, that’s too much.
What if she starts crying?

『I simply don’t want her to be corrupted by your “beautiful girl” delusions.』

Starreader’s Staff whispered this only to me.
Ah, I see! Wait—hey!

『Master’s orders will be given verbally or through me. There is no issue without synchronization.』

『…I see. Hmph.』

She looks so dissatisfied.

『One more request. Please return me to my original form—I am not a scythe like you, Sister.』

『Sorciera wields a scythe. Any other weapon would be incorrect! Look upon Sorciera, holding a jade-colored scythe—isn’t it beautiful?』

『…In a confined indoor space, a scythe is hardly—』

『Tch… Rational types like you are so annoying. Whatever, let’s go.』

Sorry, Nana-chan…
Starreader’s Staff has an intense obsession with Sorciera.
How did things even end up this way?

『That’s rich, coming from you.』

■

With Sorciera’s arrival, the atmosphere visibly changed.
Perhaps sensing her overwhelming strength, Miyume did not lunge but instead circled her cautiously, measuring the distance.

Sorciera, on the other hand, remained motionless, her gaze fixed on Kanon.

“Has the Doctor’s installation been completed? Without it, you can’t possibly face me.”

“How rude. I don’t need that to deal with you—Divided Death Must Die.”

Black butterflies manifested around Sorciera.
Divided Death, which absorbs magic, should have been her natural nemesis.

“Hmph. How uninspired. Is this what they call a one-trick pony?”

“…Ahaha. You really are amusing. Ugh, I hate it.”

As the butterflies swarmed Sorciera, Miyume pounced at the same time.
A simultaneous attack—draining magic while launching a physical assault.

Normally, this would be impossible to counter.

However, Sorciera merely took a step forward, a cold smile on her lips.

Then, with a light swing of her jade-colored scythe—

A pale light radiated, and lightning surged through the battlefield.

In the next instant—

“…Huh? What is that? I’ve never seen it before.”

Lightning streaked across, tearing through the area.
One by one, the butterflies fell lifelessly to the ground.

Kanon instantly understood—her connection to Divided Death had been severed.

That was all she could comprehend.

Even the esteemed Doctor couldn’t decipher how Divided Death had been neutralized.

“No way… Divided Death lost, just like that…?”

“My, what a wonderful expression.”

Seeing Kanon frozen in shock, Sorciera smiled.

Meanwhile, Miyume, already in close range, slashed downward.
A deadly strike—her claws sharp enough to rend iron with ease.

Without even looking, Sorciera stepped half a pace forward, dodging.

Then, grabbing Miyume’s outstretched arm, she struck her with the scythe’s handle.

“—!”

The impact sent Miyume stumbling back.
Sorciera closed the distance with effortless precision, landing strike after strike.

Shifting from long-range bombardment to close-quarters combat, her relentless physical attacks steadily pushed Miyume into a corner.

Panicked, Kanon summoned additional butterflies.

“Divided Death!”

“Still haven’t realized? A butterfly’s wings can never reach the stars.”

As the butterflies approached, they fell one after another.
Unable even to touch her, it was as if they were truly facing a celestial force.

“—!”

Miyume lunged, roaring.

Sorciera drove her scythe into the ground, using it as a pivot to unleash a kick.
Then, abandoning the embedded scythe, she surged forward.

Still, she never clenched her fists.

Instead, another powerful kick followed.

“Shall we dance for a bit?”

Her skirt twirled as she spun, delivering strike after strike.
Each movement flowed seamlessly, forming a deadly dance.

Miyume could do nothing but endure the relentless assault.

“Stop bullying Miyume-chan!”

In desperation, Kanon sent Divided Death surging forward.

Yet, before a single one could reach Sorciera, lightning burst from the scythe, striking them all down.

Watching this, Kanon clutched her head in a frenzy.

“What is that?! That’s cheating! That’s unfair!”

“Throwing a tantrum? How disgraceful. Aren’t you an elder sister? Then smile, even in moments like these.”

With those words, Sorciera gracefully spun, delivering a final roundhouse kick to Miyume.

Her pale, slender leg swung upward, striking Miyume’s jaw—rattling her brain.

“Kill.”

“Go ahead and try, onee-chan.”

Sorciera laughed provocatively.

In response to Kanon’s anger, an unprecedented number of butterflies were summoned.

Each one was a deadly weapon designed to absorb magic and kill explorers.

“Die! I don’t care about the Professor or the Doctor anymore! I’m killing you here!”

“How childish.”

As countless fragments of death shot toward her like bullets, Sorciera pointed the handle of her jade-colored scythe forward.

A grip extended from the side, and she grabbed it.

It was her favored cannon-style stance.

Simultaneously, a magic circle spread beneath her feet.

“That is…”

Recognizing the familiar formula, Luka raised his voice.

It was Sorciera’s signature convergence bombardment.

Seeing this, Kanon smirked.

“Ahaha! Are you stupid? Convergence bombardment won’t work against Divided Death!”

“Is that so?”

(No, something’s different about the magic formula…! This is a new bombardment derived from convergence!)

Having studied Sorciera’s magic formulas for so long, Luka was the first to notice.

Though the structure was mostly the same, new elements had been added.

Jade-colored symbols supplemented the spell.

“One shot is enough.”

Magic condensed in Sorciera’s hands.

The converged energy transformed into a single bullet—

A beautiful round, as if carved from pure jade.

Simultaneously, a section of the scythe opened, and Sorciera loaded the bullet inside.

She assumed her usual stance.

“I’ll pierce through you.”

The trigger was pulled.

In that instant, a single flash tore through the air.

A jade-colored streak, like a bolt of lightning, cut through the fragments of death and shot straight—

Piercing Kanon’s head.

It happened so fast it defied perception.

“Next time, come yourself. Coward.”

“S-Sorciera…!”

The point of impact spread from Kanon’s body, causing the fragment of death to malfunction and fall to the ground.

Like a chain reaction, every airborne butterfly followed suit.

At the center of the falling butterflies, Sorciera exhaled quietly.

Then, she turned on her heels.

She walked toward what was once Konie, still inside the barrier.

“Heh, facing such a tragedy alone… how foolish. Foolish, and yet, so precious.”

Deactivating the barrier, Sorciera stroked Konie’s head.

Then, she cast a spell upon her.

Luka’s eyes widened at the sight of the jade-colored geometric magic circle.

“Again…?! I’ve never seen this before… A completely new formula…!”

Until now, Sorciera’s magic had always followed a unified structure.

It was based on the principle of interference—

But this was something entirely different.

“Sleep for a little while.”

Her voice was gentle.

Konie collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.

Sorciera caught her, then softly laid her on the floor.

Everything seemed to be over—

Until—

“—”

Behind Sorciera stood Miyume, already healed and back on her feet.

Her mouth opened wide as she raised her arm for a surprise attack.

“! Behind you!”

“Haa…“

Sorciera stood but didn’t evade.

Instead, she spoke, still facing away from the attack.

“I’ll leave the rest to you—Narou Kei.”

Miyume’s strike landed—

But at the same time, black feathers scattered, and Sorciera vanished.

It was her second teleportation spell.

“!?”

Miyume’s attack hit nothing but air, leaving her confused.

Above her—

Narou Kei emerged from teleportation, short sword in hand.

“!?”

A gravity-enhanced strike pierced Miyume’s shoulder.

The pain made her reflexively attempt a counterattack—

But her limbs quickly went numb.

“It’s useless. This paralytic poison is special. No one escapes it.”

Kei spoke coldly, withdrawing the blade.

He caught Miyume as she collapsed.

With a trembling voice, she forced out words.

“K-Kei?”

“…Yeah, it’s me. Now, sleep.”

Perhaps reassured by his voice, Miyume closed her eyes.

As unconsciousness took her—

Steam rose from her monstrous form.

By the time the mist cleared—

Miyume had returned to her human self.

Her torn clothing from the transformation left her bare.

Kei took out his spare uniform and draped it over her.

Then, exhaling as tension faded, he turned to Toa.

“Sorry. Did I keep you waiting?”