Saikyo Nene was utterly confused, as though she'd been blown around by the wind.
On one side, sword flashes interwoven, shaking the heavens and earth—a fierce gale struck her body.
On the other side, human figures intertwined in chaos—passionate sounds of ragged breathing filled her ears.
She had no idea which side to look at anymore.
And the real kicker... Did Rei Ao not realize she was still here?
She trembled where she stood.
Saikyo Nene had had enough of being the third wheel. She desperately wanted to go home.
Rei Ao called to her.
All right. At least this proved she hadn't been completely forgotten—she wasn't so transparent that no one could see her.
Watching Rei Ao showing off with that incredible...whatever it was, she was far past wanting to ridicule him.
"I see you standing there by yourself looking bored. Why not join us?"
"Join you my foot!!!"
Saikyo Nene could no longer hold back, crying out sharply. Then she angrily turned her head toward the battle between Esdeath and Edelweiss.
"You're quite impressive. Relying on swordsmanship alone to reach this level."
Standing atop an icy peak under her feet, Esdeath looked down proudly at a panting Edelweiss.
Edelweiss spoke even less than Esdeath, but right now, she felt a deep satisfaction.
There was nothing she enjoyed more than giving her all in a fight against a superior opponent.
She faintly sensed the bottleneck in her swordsmanship loosening.
"You think I'm strong?" Esdeath let out a self-mocking laugh, implying she didn't fully agree.
That "strength" was only in comparison to Edelweiss, and Esdeath knew quite well that she was still not strong enough.
She understood the gap between her and Rei Ao, and between her and a dragon, was immense, like a bottomless chasm.
With those thoughts, Esdeath—who'd fought up to now—lost interest in continuing.
"This battle was decided from the start. Time to end it."
Edelweiss's gaze turned razor sharp. She prepared for an even stronger onslaught, clutching her twin swords, holding her breath, focusing on every move Esdeath made—fully ready for the next attack.
She only saw Esdeath sheathe her rapier and place one palm against her own chest.
No lunge forward, no sign of ice power being used.
Of course not. Because Esdeath had activated Mahapadma—Time/Space Freeze.
Instantly, space became frozen in place.
Edelweiss was locked in midair.
Saikyo Nene was locked on the ground.
Only Rei Ao—grabbing Akame's arm—could still move freely amid the battlefield.
Leone popped her head up from below, wiped her mouth, and remarked with feeling, "That Esdeath move is such a cheat."
They watched Esdeath walk across the ice toward Edelweiss.
Misaka Mikoto: "What happened? Why isn't Edelweiss moving?"
Yotsuya Miko: "Wow, Esdeath just drew her sword!"
Bibi Dong: "That's really strange. Feels out of place."
Shiba Miyuki: "Yes, and Saikyo Nene isn't moving, either. It looks like only Rei Ao and the others, plus Esdeath, can move."
Sakurajima Mai: "This is the power Esdeath showed us before: freezing space."
Kato Megumi: "We saw it during a previous livestream."
Hiiragi Shinoa: "That was in my world at the time. Esdeath used this move to kill a... Seraph."
When mentioning Seraph and Hyakuya Yuuichirou, Shinoa felt troubled. That target of hers, Hyakuya Yuuichirou, was now dead, so her mission ended. She'd been recalled by the Imperial Demon Army for an investigation into what happened. She was currently going through withdrawal from school and related procedures.
Misaka Mikoto: "Freezing space? Tch! How powerful do you have to be to do that?!"
She refused to believe a Level 5 could do anything like it.
Esdeath's rapier opened a blossoming wound of blood in Edelweiss's chest.
Space resumed its flow.
Edelweiss coughed up blood. In shock, she looked down at the sword that had pierced her heart, eyes trembling.
Esdeath pulled the blade out without mercy, letting Edelweiss's body fall limply from the air.
Yotsuya Miko: "Sh-she's dead?!"
Huddled under her blanket, Miko trembled from head to toe. She'd just seen Esdeath stab her sword into Edelweiss's heart. Who could survive that?
Misaka Mikoto: "Weren't they just sparring? Why did she kill her?!"
People in the chat were stunned—this was obviously meant to kill Edelweiss.
Just as Edelweiss was about to slam hard into the ground, Rei Ao appeared beneath her, catching her.
Edelweiss's once-beautiful face was now pale, her every cough bringing fresh blood to the corners of her mouth.
She looked up at Rei Ao. There was no sadness or pain in her eyes—only a slight regret that the final understanding of her world's limits was about to slip away.
"Hey, her wound reached the heart... That's fatal, right?!"
With her mobility restored, Saikyo Nene hurried over, seeing Edelweiss at death's door. For some reason, she felt a sudden surge of anger.
She glared at Esdeath, who'd landed from above. "Why did you kill her?"
Esdeath felt no need to explain. From the very start, it had been a fight to the death. It was either kill or be killed.
That attitude only stoked Saikyo Nene's anger further. But before she could say anything else, Rei Ao raised a hand to calm her.
"Relax. She won't die."
"How can she possibly live? That's her heart!"
A pierced heart was obviously a fatal injury—how could Edelweiss's feeble life-signs be faked? A wound like that was lethal even if a deity appeared.
Yet Rei Ao's next action shattered her understanding.
In his arms, Edelweiss was enveloped in a bright green glow teeming with life. Beneath that glow, the torn flesh of her chest visibly knitted itself back together.
Someone about to die suddenly regained color in her cheeks.
Saikyo Nene's mouth fell open. She smacked herself on the cheek—smack!
It stung like fire. This was no dream!
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