𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞

Esterize of 『Fusion』 faces Albero of 『Total Assimilation』.

They confront each other in their most powerful forms.

Esterize mounts Arknight, transformed into a horse, holding twin blades.

Albero transforms into Jabberwock, with his enlarged right arm undergoing 『Hardening』.

And then━━Esterize makes her move.

ㅤ

“Haaah!!”

ㅤ

Arknight, in glide mode, dashes like a real horse.

Esterize raises her sword. She’s undoubtedly fast, but Albero can see her.

With a swing of her right arm, Albero strikes at Esterize.

ㅤ

“『Summoned beast Strike』.━━eh?”

ㅤ

The moment the punch extended, Esterize vanished.

She disappeared in a blink, too fast for Albero’s eyes to catch.

Then, a shock ran through Albero’s side.

ㅤ

“Wha?!”

“Hmph. It seems when you move, your 『Hardening』 wears off. . . . . .there’s a chance to win.”

ㅤ

Esterize slashed Albero’s side.

Jabberwock in its 『Total Assimilation』 state got cut.

Indeed, as Esterize said, while in Jabberwock form, if not moving, it remains in a 『Hardening』 state. But it deactivates when moving.

Esterize’s ability is 『Swap』. Supposedly, she swaps places with her Summoned beast.

But now, Esterize and his Summoned beast are one. So the swap doesn’t meet its conditions.

So, it’s not a swap. . . . . .?

ㅤ

“Your ability. . . . . .”

“Realizing it won’t help you now!”

ㅤ

Sleipnir starts running again.

This time, she multiplies. Multiple Esterizes come charging at Albero.

“Damn it! 『World━━Chi.”

ㅤ

『World Stop』 can’t be used. Esterize would be dead.

That’s why Albero overuses his right eye.

And with all his might, he moves at a speed that Esterize can’t capture.

But Esterize is also fast.

ㅤ

“Damn. . . . . .”

ㅤ

Esterize was faster than Albero.

More precisely, it’s not just fast. It repeats 『transfers』 in short distances. Its original ability was 『exchange of positions between Summoned beast and summoner』, but by fusing with the Summoned beast, Esterize can instantly teleport to the location specified by Esterize.

Unlike Arnaud, there is no time lag in the teleportation. It’s truly an instant teleportation.

By repeating this, it appeared as if it was splitting into multiple entities or moving at high speeds.

In a one-on-one situation, it’s not easy to defeat such an ability.

ㅤ

“Haah!”

“Guah?!”

ㅤ

She was slashed from behind.

If he doesn’t move, the 『Hardening』 will protect him. But Albero doesn’t do that.

He pushes himself further, aiming to overpower with sheer force.

ㅤ

“This is just the beginning!!”

ㅤ

Gritting his teeth, enlarging his right arm, and moving at full strength, even as he’s slashed.

But━Esterize had predicted Albero’s moves.

Esterize, like never before, became a formidable enemy.

Their compatibility is bad. Absolutely incompatible siblings. Kid and Ridelle might cope with this speed, but Albero, who prioritizes power, is at a disadvantage.

ㅤ

“What’s the matter?! Just let yourself be miserably slashed to bits!”

“Nuh, Gaaaaaah!!”

ㅤ

Albero is carved with the speed of light.

With the 『World Stop』 ability, movement can easily be stopped. However, that would kill Esterize.

Besides, Albero hasn’t acquired “it” yet.

While being engraved, he speaks to 『something』 deep in his heart.

ㅤ

『Mogu━━I won’t lose』

『━━』

『I can tell you’re scared of something. But. . . . . .I’m with you. Just as you are with me, I am with you. If we’re together, no matter the difficulty━━』

『━━』

『Mogu, let’s do this together. We’ll use everything to defeat Shin!!』

『━━. . . . . .』

“So, use all your strength!!”

『━━. . . . . . . . . . . .』

ㅤ

Thump━━. . . . . .Albero’s heart throbbed.

ㅤ

◇◇◇◇◇◇

ㅤ

Esterize was dominant. Victory was in sight.

『We can win━━』

ㅤ

Esterize’s blade can engrave Albero.

Literally, she couldn’t stand a chance before, but now it’s different.

Having acquired the 『Fusion』, she overpowered her younger brother with immense power━━.

ㅤ

“Huh?”

ㅤ

But, she saw it.

The carved right eye of Jabberwock, the whole body was shining━━.

ㅤ

“━━Oh.”

ㅤ

Before she knew it, her right arm was severed from the shoulder.

An impact hit her back. She spat out blood and, for some reason, couldn’t move.

Then, she saw.

ㅤ

“━━So this is my new. . . . . .I see!!”

ㅤ

Albero, who had returned to human form, was pointing his right arm.

He was no longer looking at Esterize.

He was smiling joyfully.

And then she realized. Albero. . . . . .wasn’t interested in her.

Including Wolve, an A-Class Summoner rushed over. Then, she was carried to Ripper━━the doctor.

ㅤ

“It’s a clean cut. I can heal it in three seconds.”

ㅤ

The smiling Ripper looked like nothing but the Grim Reaper.

Esterize lost consciousness here.