-1395- Let's form the contract

"————!"

In the instant the white-haired girl appeared, Edelweiss's form suddenly erupted, her hand somehow already gripping a white sword.

At that moment, an unprecedented and astonishing sense of danger surged from deep within Edelweiss's heart.

As the world's strongest swordsman, in the past, no one could approach this close without Edelweiss's consent and remain undetected.

Yet now, standing less than two meters away from her, the white-haired girl had appeared by Rozen's side without any forewarning.

And from her, an incredibly terrifying sword aura was emanating.

Combined with an instinctual sense of danger akin to that posed by a natural predator to humans, even if Edelweiss hadn't yet reacted, her highest-level swordsman's intuition made her realize it.

Someone capable of taking her life had approached right before her.

In such a situation, what would a swordsman of Edelweiss's caliber do? There was no need to think.

It was an instinctive reaction made by the strongest swordsman, completely beyond Edelweiss's conscious control.

Thus, the swordsman's instinct made Edelweiss act before thinking, unleashing her full power in an instant.

The white sword in Edelweiss's hand turned into a silent flash, tearing through the air, creating a vacuum, as the ultimate slash sped forward.

This was the pinnacle strike of Edelweiss, the strongest female swordsman.

This slash had once torn open space, slicing through it and almost forcing Rozen, who had merged with the space, out.

Now, Edelweiss had incorporated this strike into her instincts, able to reproduce it reflexively.

However, the opponent facing this pinnacle strike was no ordinary being.

Maybe, if it were anyone else, even one of the three great demons couldn't react to and successfully counter this strike from such a close distance.

But Altera could.

As a born warrior, Altera had encountered far more dangerous situations countless times, and her warrior's instincts far surpassed others, granting her an intuition almost akin to foresight.

So, this unparalleled strike was successfully reacted to and countered by Altera.

"Clang!"

As the sound of breaking air rang out, a tricolored sword light, like a rainbow, descended with an electric hiss.

This slash didn't contain the pinnacle technique like Edelweiss's.

This slash didn't possess the astounding swordsmanship prowess like Edelweiss's.

It was an ordinary slash, yet it was the most efficient and practical one.

Fast!

Fierce!

Accurate!

These were the only characteristics of this slash, but they were brought to their extreme in this strike.

Two female swordsmen, who stood at the pinnacle of the world, swung their peak slashes forged from a lifetime of training within a split second, at a very close distance.

The tricolored sword light and the white sword light collided abruptly.

"Clang————!"

The thunderous sound of metal clashing rang out.

Altera and Edelweiss faced each other across a table, their pinnacle slashes causing the collision between the Sword of the War God and the Testament to spark intensely.

"Boom————!"

The table under the collision point shattered with a loud bang.

"Woosh————!"

The impact from the clash of the two swords turned into a gust of wind, sweeping around.

In an instant, the ground beneath them cracked inch by inch, and the surrounding tables and chairs were blasted away as if struck by lightning, causing everyone present to be affected before they could react.

"Ahhh...!"

Suddenly, cries of pain and screams filled the air.

Seeing this, Altera and Edelweiss finally realized.

"This is bad!"

This thought simultaneously crossed their minds, and they retracted their swords without hesitation, pulling away as if repelled.

But it was already too late to react now.

The collision of their pinnacle slashes had already affected the surroundings, injuring those nearby.

Everything was already irreversible.

Unless there was a third person present...

"Snap!"

With the sound of a finger snap, an incredible scene unfolded.

A water spirit with the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a snake tail, with a crystalline body like flowing water and hair formed of countless snakes, appeared.

The water spirit was only the size of a normal person, but upon appearing, it transformed into a surging stream that swept through the scene.

As the stream swept through, time began to reverse.

The cracked ground restored itself as rubble flew back to its original place.

The blasted tables and chairs were repaired completely and returned to their original positions.

The injured people around were also returned to their seats, with their wounds disappearing under the wave of the stream.

Even the horrified and terrified expressions on their faces gradually faded.

Because...

"Forget."

With this simple incantation, the memories of everyone present were invaded by magical power.

The events that had just occurred were erased from everyone's minds.

People continued to sit in their original places, chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened.

Including Rozen, who was still sitting in his original spot.

"As a greeting for a first meeting, isn't this a bit too much?"

Rozen looked at Altera and Edelweiss facing each other and sighed in exasperation.

"..."

The two girls remained silent, aware of their overreaction, but their attention was already entirely captured by the other.

Seeing this, Rozen spoke in an unquestionable tone.

"Put away your weapons first."

Before the people around could notice the anomaly, Rozen instructed the two.

Altera and Edelweiss exchanged glances but obediently followed Rozen's instructions, dismissing their Noble Phantasms and Device.

However, after that momentary clash, they both realized something.

(Strong...)

That was the first impression each of the two pinnacle female swordsmen had of the other.

The difference was that Altera was calmly assessing her opponent's abilities, while Edelweiss relaxed her expression after realizing it.

After all...

"It turns out you've always had such a strong person following you. I thought you were always alone."

Edelweiss sat back down in front of Rozen as if reassured and as if she had made a decision.

"Edel?"

Seeing Edelweiss's behavior, Rozen was somewhat puzzled.

As for Altera, she neither commented nor spoke, silently standing behind Rozen and watching Edelweiss.

Then...

"Let's form the Absolute Contract."

Edelweiss spoke.

"But I can't leave with you yet."

This was Edelweiss's decision.