A... human...

The greater the force exerted, the stronger the counter-force generated by Polarity Reversal.

Enhanced by her augmentations and firm belief in "brute strength conquers all," Kurumi was flung high into the air.

Her eyes took in the desolate, blackened landscape below—faintly glowing with streaks of blue and blood-red—before Schwi, streaking toward her like a comet, intercepted her midair.

Schwi spun into acceleration and caught Kurumi with a jarring halt.

Kurumi felt her waist nearly snap in half and exhaled sharply.

So much for the movies—Superman catching falling people without consequences was a lie. Luckily, Kurumi was a max-defense build. Otherwise, she'd probably have to resort to a Fourth Bullet or burn through a Resurrection Coin just to stay alive.

As for Schwi, having successfully caught Kurumi and cradling her in a princess carry, her expression morphed into one of reverence.

For the first time... the first time ever, she was holding her Onee-sama like this.

An unknown error rippled through Schwi's circuits. Her neural network buzzed; her system temperature spiked, issuing an array of alerts—

The purification reagent within her, designed to neutralize black ash, threatened to boil over.

What was this feeling?

Schwi couldn't describe it, but she instinctively labeled the memory as "Most Precious" and stored it without question, a keepsake to treasure indefinitely.

However, this was still a battlefield. Their opponent? The Elves, rulers of this war's strongest allied faction.

—Polarity Reversal—

Nina's shout echoed, and gravity inverted once more, this time with increased intensity.

Kurumi and Schwi plummeted straight toward the ground.

Ordinarily, Schwi's exceptional processing abilities would have allowed her to react immediately. But her near-overload from unknown emotions rendered her momentarily unresponsive. As a result, the pair hurtled toward the earth unimpeded.

All living creatures are intertwined with spiritual energy, Nina recalled Lady Shinku's teachings.

Even the "Demonia" lacking intellectual capabilities were merely without magical aptitude and unable to connect with the Spiritual Corridor.

The stronger the species, the more pronounced the spiritual response in their soul and body. Creatures as fearsome as the Dragonia, for instance, were entirely composed of spiritual energy, and their corpses remained more durable than the hardest metals.

To the Dwarves, dragon remains were even more precious than Elves Soul Stones.

That being the case... that person must have concealed their spiritual energy through some extraordinary method. Nina looked skyward, her judgment clear.

A web of magic arrays fully unfolded across the ground, spreading a lush green brilliance that painted the landscape with vibrant hues.

Each array locked into place like interconnected gears, meshing and reinforcing one another to form a flawless, intricate construct.

As the two adversaries plummeted closer to the earth, the Ex-Machina' figure finally reactivated. Blue flames spewed from her propulsion systems as she struggled to decelerate.

"It's too late," Nina sneered, her expression brimming with contempt.

Raising both hands, she projected a complex, elaborate magic array, one of five Spiritual Disruption Formations created through the God of Forest Kainath's power.

——Terminal Heaven's Third Blessing——

The spell sealed an enemy's spiritual energy entirely, causing it to rupture, riot, or detonate—unleashing devastating destruction.

For any enemy of the Elves in this war-torn world, this spell was practically a guaranteed kill—unless the target could rip apart the seal with overwhelming power.

Of course... that didn't apply to those brutish Demonia.

Visible to the naked eye, green chains of magical arrays coiled around the pair, sealing away the blue luminescence emanating from them.

Kurumi and Schwi slammed into the ground with an earth-shaking crash, sending up a massive plume of dust.

A towering green pillar of light shot skyward. A cacophony of grinding noises emerged from the smoke, followed by shockwaves rippling outward, flipping the thin skirts of the gathered Elf magic users.

"Did we get them?" Nina and the others speculated.

At this spell's level, even a Flügel being would struggle to walk away unscathed. Those two, of unknown origins? Surely, they couldn't have survived intact.

The monkey-like woman clearly wasn't an upper-tier species, based on her characteristics. And the lone Ex-Machina individual was merely a rare and relatively weak Analysis Model.

"It should be over," Nina concluded, conjuring a gust of wind to disperse the lingering dust.

And then... a defiant silhouette emerged from the clearing haze.

The petite Ex-Machina lay sprawled on the ground, her body trembling faintly. Meanwhile, the other figure stood upright, cocking her head to the side and staring directly at Nina.

Eyes as red as blood. A momentary flash of carnage—mountains of corpses and seas of blood—before a vengeful demon, blade in hand, rushed toward her.

"Come, come~~~ Let big sister help you become a real girl." The ghastly illusion was vivid enough to make Nina shudder uncontrollably before she snapped back to reality.

Too terrifying.

Terminal Heaven's Third Blessing was undeniably a fearsome spell. As one of the Spiritual Disruption Formations powered by Kainath, its strength was beyond question.

Had Lady Shinku herself led its deployment, the spell might have rivaled the Flügel in power.

However, its mechanism relied on sealing and destabilizing the target's spiritual energy—unleashing it violently to cause destruction.

Unfortunately for Nina, though Kurumi bore the title of "Spirit," her existence was fundamentally different.

As a traveler from another world, Kurumi's body was entirely devoid of this world's spiritual traces.

In short, this ultimate spiritual disruption spell—Terminal Heaven's Third Blessing—was about as effective against Kurumi as a gentle breeze.

However, the spell inflicted significant damage on Schwi.

Kurumi glanced around, noting the scattered Elf magicians staring at her with expressions of awe and wariness.

Elves were a cautious and vengeful species, and their vigilance toward Kurumi was palpable.

Kurumi chuckled, raising her right hand.

A purple vortex erupted instantly, the armor she wore unleashing its unique ability.

The swirling vortex disrupted all surrounding spiritual energies, creating an enormous spiritual turbulence.

The higher a creature's magical aptitude, the greater the impact of spiritual disturbances.

For the Elves, the most magically adept species, the overwhelming turbulence rendered them "spiritually drunk," as if intoxicated.

And these magicians were the most sensitive of all.

Within moments, they collapsed to the ground. Emergency teleportation arrays activated, causing them to blink away in flashes of white light.

But poorly calibrated teleportation spells had poor accuracy. For a brief moment, it rained magicians across the Elves' capital ruins.

The purple vortex expanded fully, scattering radiant streams of energy and obliterating everything in its wake.

The ruins of the Elves' capital were thoroughly erased from history, leaving no trace—not even the underground Soul Stone Columns that Kurumi had already looted.

Kurumi crouched before Schwi, who lay sprawled on the ground, her concern evident. She reached for a Heavenly Elixir to heal her companion.

"Preservation system... activated."

Schwi tilted her head with a faint clicking sound, her upper body springing upright mechanically.

"Good, you're fine..." Kurumi exhaled, cradling Schwi in her arms.

"What I desire, I take by force. Is that not akin to divine providence? Meow!"

High above the ruined Elf capital, at an altitude even Schwi's sensors couldn't reach, a pair of iron-colored eyes coldly observed the flattened ruins.

There, Kurumi held Schwi close, preparing to leave.

Resisting the urge to swing her brilliant light sword, the indifferent girl's dual metallic wings gave a slight tremor before she veered off into the distance.

"She is neither red nor black but a shade far more resplendent."

"When the songs rise and the banners fall,"

"The breathtaking rose blooms under the moonlight."

Due to the effects of the Spiritual Disruption Formation, Schwi was temporarily unable to deploy certain weaponry. Kurumi carried Schwi in her arms, walking leisurely back toward the rocky mountain range.

As they left, Kurumi raised her head, her expression thoughtful. The crimson moon was now half-obscured by dark clouds, its dim red glow spilling faintly through.

"Onee-sama?" Schwi followed Kurumi's gaze.

"Nothing." Kurumi smiled, turning to head westward.

Just now... it felt like someone was watching her. She lowered her eyes. Was it merely her imagination? Of course, but no matter who it was, it didn't matter for now.

The expedition to the Elf capital ruins had been quite fruitful.

If Lady Shinku (Think Nirvalen) was the strongest Eighth-Tier Magician in Elf history, then her superior—God of Forest Kainath, the creator of the Elves—was an even more terrifying Magician.

The 186 engraved Divine Rune Pillars beneath the library, imbued with Kainath' blessings, formed the foundation of the elusive ace known as Void Zero Protection—a secret that appeared in no known records.

While these might not be immediately useful to Kurumi, who could say what opportunities the future might hold?

But persuading Rick to accept items imbued with spiritual energy at the settlement would be a challenge. Rick outright refused to bring anything carrying a spiritual trace back to the settlement, which only added to Kurumi's exasperation.

Thinking about this, Kurumi slowed her pace slightly, holding Schwi's hand as they made their way back.

For ordinary humans on horseback, the journey from the ruins would have taken five days. But for Kurumi and Schwi, who meandered and took their time, the trip was completed in under two.

The snow-covered forest was now in sight, yet Kurumi smelled something ominous in the air.

Smoke.

Black smoke—something that absolutely should not have been there.

The settlement, always so cautious even about cooking fires, would never have produced such thick black smoke. There was only one explanation.

Something had happened.

Kurumi was no saint and often leaned toward the mischievous, even malevolent. But when the truly weak, helpless, and desperate crossed her path, she couldn't help but take notice—and lend a hand.

Such naïve benevolence seemed utterly at odds with the persona of the most malevolent spirit, yet it was quintessentially Kurumi.

"Time to speed up~~~" Kurumi glanced at Schwi.

"Mm!" Schwi nodded firmly.

The pair streaked across the earth like thunderbolts.

Since they were near the settlement, Schwi refrained from activating her weapons. Instead, she simply increased the frequency of her strides, her legs spinning so fast they seemed like miniature fans. Kurumi, on the other hand, slid across the snow, her gunblade cutting through the drifts like a blade through water. She crouched low, turning herself into a streaking projectile aimed at the mountain range.

Before long, they arrived at the edge of the forest.

The scene before them was one of harrowing devastation. Most of the forest had been leveled, with the trees snapped cleanly at a height of about one meter above the ground, all lying in the same direction, pointing outward from the forest's edge.

"Analysis... This was caused by the shockwave of an explosion," Schwi reported swiftly, surveying the scene. Despite refraining from using spiritual energy or weaponry, her Ex-Machina capabilities remained intact.

Pointing ahead, she said, "There... That's the epicenter."

The explosion's origin lay further north along the mountain range, near the settlement.

Kurumi's sense of direction had never been great. After all, this was the same person who once lost her clones chasing a cat. With the landscape so drastically altered, she was even more at a loss.

Fortunately, finding the way was as simple as following Schwi.

Trailing behind with an air of nonchalance, Kurumi let Schwi lead the way.

The forest to the north was the most severely damaged, though faint wisps of black smoke rose from further ahead, suggesting incomplete combustion. Thankfully, the forest near the jagged mountain foothills surrounding the settlement seemed relatively intact.

The cave entrance that resembled a beast's lair came into view. At this moment, Kurumi confidently stepped forward to lead the way—only to be met with another obstacle.

The excavated tunnel leading into the settlement... had caved in.

From the shadows of the collapsed rocky crevices, a figure emerged with soft, careful movements.

The man was wrapped in shabby furs, crawling out with deliberate caution.

Pulling back his hood revealed a gaunt face scarred by a deep, dark slash—it was Rick's companion, Ale.

"You've returned quickly... Lady Tokisaki," he said with a strained, awkward smile.

Far away, in the birthplace of the Elves, the ancient city of Melryln, nestled within the Pure White Forest.

Beneath Nina's house lay a vast underground chamber, its walls glowing faintly with inscribed runes. The space expanded and warped, giving the impression of another dimension.

In a dizzy, drunken stupor from the earlier Spirit Intoxication, Nina plummeted from the sky.

Her safety spells—woven not by herself but by the most powerful magician in hiding—ensured her descent was soft, depositing her into a warm, fragrant, pale expanse.

"Lady Shinku... Let go of me!" Nina squirmed in protest. "I can't breathe!"

Despite Nina's protests, Lady Shinku's lifeless eyes betrayed a lack of focus as she cradled Nina.

"You used Terminal Heaven's Third Blessing, didn't you?" Shinku's gaze fixed on the altar of intertwined thorns, comprised of 86 massive columns. At its center lay a Destruction Lotus with 137 petals.

It had been awakened.

"...Yes..." Nina whimpered, her voice meek.

"I've warned you repeatedly that Spiritual Disruption Formations function by exploiting Kainath' blessings, invoking their power through engravings to extract and utilize that strength," Shinku said, her tone tinged with indifference toward the deity.

She gently wiped the blood and grime from Nina's face, her sudden seriousness unsettling the younger Elf.

"I prepared in advance! I even utilized the blessings of the old capital!" Nina murmured defensively.

"Oh?" Shinku's brow arched. Pulling Nina close again, she teased, "Well, well, little Nina's grown bold enough to talk back now?"

Despite her words, her smile radiated warmth and approval.

"But... did you forget? Without completing First Blessing: Motion and Second Blessing: Stillness, the Third Blessing cannot unleash its full destructive power," Shinku said, tugging lightly at Nina's pointed ear, causing the younger girl to shiver.

"It's useless... The Disruption Formation... didn't work against that person," Nina admitted in a trembling voice.

"Ha? Impossible." Shinku's expression darkened. "Who was the opponent? A Flügel? A Gigant?"

"A... human..."

"What?!"

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