Immediately after dismissing Klimt out of the gate, the sky groaned with a clink.

　It wasn't that he was in pain. Rather the opposite. The amount of Klimt's soul flowing in through the heartguard was so enormous that his voice leaked out in a flash.

　After a short pause, a sensation of washing the body from the inside out ran through his entire body. The level had risen from '9' to '10'.

　Since Klimt still had breath, his level did not go up by three or four levels like when he struck down Jijinbo, but it was still a significant amount of soul stealing, no doubt. From the feel of the slash, there was no doubt that he had neutralized Klimt. Sora judged that.


''Klimt!


　Cryer's scream, which even paled to his voice, echoed.

　As expected, he didn't mimic turning his back to the sky and running up to his brother, but in terms of an opening, there's not much difference when you take your gaze off the sky.

　It wasn't Sora who missed that gap. Thrusting his heart-suit into the ground in front of him, he crossed his arms in front of his body and pointed his right palm at Goz and his left palm at Cryer.

　And then--


"Embrace my enemy in the embrace of death, Princess of Flame!


　He unleashed his own strongest magic with the greatest magical power.

　Three from his right hand and three from his left. Flaming tentacles that looked like logs rushed at Goz and Crya. Their speed and power could not be compared to the ones that had been fired at the basilisk before.


''Nah.''

"M


　Their reactions to witnessing the magic in the sky were contrasting.

　Cryer jumped away in astonishment, while Goz only raised his eyebrows slightly, not moving an inch from his spot to wait for the magic.

　After a beat, a deafening roar echoed through the streets of Ishka.

　Goz stood on a stick and took a direct hit from all three of them. The impact caused the cobblestones to crack and shatter, and a baleful cloud of dust to rise.


　On the other hand, Cryer, who flew backwards, quickly regained his position and looked at the approaching arm of fire with no inner surprise. Then, he held the jade long sword in his hand in his right eye.

　Immediately afterwards, a dignified and clear voice shook the air around it.


''--Get out, Kusa Nabiki!


　At that moment, Cryer's sword cloaks the wind.

　It's a violent wind pressure that seems to blow you away just by standing. It easily crushed and blew away the arm of fire that was closing in on Cryer.

　I'm not going to be the only one who has been in a position to do this. I'm not going to be the only one who can do that.


　If Klimt's heart is a sword of fire, then Crya's is a sword of wind. If he wanted to, he could create a tornado while he was there and half destroy Ishka.

　Sora knew that. And there was one more thing that Sora knew.


''-- Sora-dono. Please be prepared.


　Cryer doesn't even blink, but stares up at the sky with his blood-red twin eyes wide open.

　You can't feel the anger of your brother's murder in his Noh mask-like appearance.

　But if you look at the roaring roar of his heart, it's clear that he is furious inside.

　She misses her brother as much as, or even more than, he misses his sister. If Sora had killed Klimt, Sora's house would have been blown up without a trace by now.

　Underneath his gentle personality, there is more agitation than his brother. That was a woman named Cryer Berch.



　-- and therefore easy to take advantage of.



　After pulling out the mind gear propped up on the ground, Sora said mockingly.


It's my line. I don't want any recriminations.

'You slay demons for a reason.

Then die a martyr to the cause. And your brother who lies unceremoniously behind you.

I understand. No more questions, no more answers. The rest will be settled by the sword.

That's what I want.


　As soon as he said it, the black sword in the sky raised its magic power as if it were roaring. It was like a small dragon, swirling in a spiral, and a numbing pressure could be felt just by facing it.


　--how could it be like this?


　Cryer murmurs inwardly.

　He never meant to underestimate the sky. However, knowing the sky he once knew, Cryer couldn't help but think of the young man in front of him as the boy from five years ago. It reminds him of Miken Sora, who was defeated and stunned by the trial ceremony.

　Two skies that do not overlap. The sense of discomfort that arises from that is still clinging to Cryer's limbs as a small thread.

　Could it be that Sora exchanged words with Goz to give him this confusion? Did he make it clear in front of the three of them that he was definitely Gokensora - that's when Kliah had that question.

　It's not just a matter of time before you're ready to go. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

　The distance between the two sides was so great that the blade could not be reached by simply swinging it down. Perhaps Sora is trying to use the dashing - the flying slash - to do so.

　Although the dashing itself is a rudimentary jade technique, one cannot be too careful. When Klimt was cut, Sora had indeed counteracted the power of his brother's mind-dressing. It was dangerous to catch Sora's powerful technique head-on.

　Of course, it's not a good idea to cut off the heart-suits from each other.

　First of all, they used the wind of Kusa-Nabiki to repel Sora's attack. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about the capabilities of the other party.

　I'm not sure if I'm right. The gaze of the sky.

　It is not Kuria that Sora, who is about to unleash a slash, is looking at, but behind her--


Get Klimt!


　Hearing this, Sora's mouth opened in the shape of a crescent moon.

　The place where Cryer was currently standing was on the straight line connecting Sora and Klimt. Before long - no, the sky moved to become such a position. The magic ahead is a foothold for that.

　I'm not going to be able to get it right.

　I'm not sure I'm going to be the only one who can do that.



　The only way to protect Klimt is to counteract the air attack from the front.

　Realizing that, Cryer bit his lip.

　He was trapped. Coincidence?　It couldn't be. But if it wasn't a coincidence, where was the plot coming from?　How long have you been dancing in the palm of your partner's hand?

　If the fact that Klimt is even alive is a stepping stone to slaying Cryer....

　A shiver ran down Cryer's spine as a chill ran up his spine.

　Immediately after, a voice as sharp as a needle pierced Cryer's ears.


'Try to stop it, Golden Generation.'


　With those words, an invisible slash was released.