"You two stay in there. I'll knock down the enemies first before we talk."
As she fell, Zeroy pushed Rias and Shirone aside, then summoned H.A.M.P and stuffed them inside.
Seeing the White Dragon Emperor flying up toward her, before he could speak, Zeroy drew her Striker Unit.
"No need for words. I crave battle, the clash with the strong!"
With that, she swung her blade. Under the moonlight, the moonbeams seemed to form into an edge, a massive crescent slashing downward.
"—?"
The White Dragon Emperor below froze for a moment, then revealed delight.
Vali, the strongest White Dragon Emperor in history, a half-human, half-devil hybrid—undoubtedly a battle maniac.
He didn't know this woman's purpose or strength.
Nevertheless, faced with a challenge from another battle maniac, Vali had no reason to refuse.
The moonlight slash approached. Its sharpness, even from afar, gave the sting of blades cutting across skin.
A true powerhouse!
Vali instantly shifted aside, dodging the opening strike, then activated his Longinus, [Divine Dividing], entering Balance Breaker mode. Silver-white armor covered his entire body.
That one strike was enough—even without taking it head-on, he knew this opponent demanded his full strength.
The two clashed fiercely in midair.
This time, in the open wilds, with no barriers around to contain the shockwaves.
Thus, at their very first clash, the forest below was blasted by gales strong enough to uproot trees.
Whenever they drew too close to the ground, or the aftermath of their blows was too great, whole patches of forest were leveled.
Neither intended to bring the fight down, but the forest below suffered as if from endless bombardment.
For the moment, even Kuroka and the others, as well as Rias within H.A.M.P, were forced to retreat and observe from afar.
"So strong..."
Kuroka and Bikou both looked shaken.
They had only just formed this team. They knew Vali was powerful—that was why he was captain.
However, they hadn't known how powerful.
Arthur Pendragon, heir of King Arthur and one of humanity's strongest candidates, wore a grave expression.
"Vali... is being pushed back."
He was the strongest of the rest of them, and so he saw the details first.
That said, even without him saying it, Kuroka and Bikou quickly realized it too.
Vali's attacks were fewer and fewer, while the golden-haired girl's grew more frequent. The balance tilted visibly.
"Who in the world is that? To suppress Vali... and also..."
Kuroka glanced toward the distant giant robot-like fortress floating quietly in the sky.
She had seen it: that golden-haired girl had descended with two others.
And one of them seemed familiar... a presence she knew...
...
Battle—exhilarating!
Strike after strike, sometimes dodged, sometimes parried—the feeling was intoxicating.
Zeroy reveled in it. She could feel her blood boiling.
For the first time, she could clearly sense the battle techniques ingrained in her mind.
They were the innate gifts of a Sky Striker Ace, created as weapons of war—the knowledge that came with the body she had obtained.
Until now, Zeroy had hardly ever used them.
She had always been cutting down small fry, never meeting an opponent who forced her to go all out.
The Shark of the Sand Sea didn't count—it was just thick-skinned, relying on brute toughness to dodge and counterattack, hardly requiring true technique.
Nor did the reincarnators count—back then, she only wanted to kill them, with no thought of savoring battle.
Now, she relished it—melding technique, growing ceaselessly.
Through that growth, Zeroy seized on a flaw mid-exchange, striking Vali away with one slash.
Like a meteor, he crashed into the ravaged ground, blasting out a crater a hundred meters wide.
The boom sent shockwaves to the battlefield's edge, whipping dust into Kuroka and the others' faces.
Just as Kuroka, stunned, thought the fight was over, Zeroy drew two Vector Cannons.
—Dual sniper cannons!
Behind her, in the sky, countless other weapons materialized.
They were long-range arms from H.A.M.P and the Hercules Base. Now Zeroy could fully manifest parts of the Sky Striker arsenal without losing any effectiveness.
Then—charging.
Multicolored orbs of energy lit the night sky.
"H-hey, are we sure it's okay not to help?"
Bikou pointed at Zeroy overhead, his face aghast.
Wasn't she supposed to be a swordswoman? Why was she about to start a bombardment?
And those weapons—none of them looked simple, each radiating terrifying power.
If she let loose a few volleys, wouldn't the already battered Vali be reduced to minced Vali?
"...Emmmm."
Kuroka stayed silent.
She knew Bikou's concern, but she dared not intervene.
Even the White Dragon Emperor was being beaten down. What could she do?
Besides, they were only teammates by name, barely acquaintances.
A stray cat couldn't survive without some selfishness.
If anyone was to intervene, someone else had to lead the way...
"..."
Arthur also stayed still.
Not from fear. As a gentleman with knightly spirit, he would never hesitate to aid a teammate in danger.
The only reason he hadn't moved was because there was no need yet.
He could tell—the golden-haired girl bore no killing intent. And as the strongest White Dragon Emperor in history, Vali would not be beaten so easily.
As long as his life wasn't truly at risk, Vali would not want his help. To interfere would only insult him.
And soon, the tide shifted—
Zeroy's saturation barrage rained down, but at the fourth volley, beams fired back up from within the dust-choked crater, deflecting her attacks back at her.
Several of her cannons were destroyed by the reflected blasts. Zeroy halted her twin-cannon assault.
As the dust cleared, a white-armored figure stood tall in the crater. Zeroy raised an eyebrow.
"Hm? Already grasped reflection? No... was it a breakthrough in the midst of battle?"
...
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