Terminal Spiral

Esper's ears filled with the whistling hiss of her sword-spear slicing through the air.

Under the fourfold empowerment of Forbidden Fruit, Beast of Blood, Crimson Scale Surge, and Winged King, every swing of her weapon felt like it could tear through anything.

But she couldn't keep up with Landon.

Every swing of her sword was dodged by Landon by a hair's breadth, only for him to counter with a punch.

She didn't dare block them directly, forced to rely on the explosive power of Winged King and the mobility of the Beast of Blood just to buy herself a fraction of a second to react.

This was not a long-term solution.

Kaylar had a hard time fighting this guy, and she was having just as tough of a time.

Actually, what kind of person could even fight against such a bullshit ability?

Esper took a deep breath, pushing aside her stray thoughts as best she could to focus entirely on the enemy in front of her.

Kaylar was far stronger than she had imagined; Louis shouldn't be a match for her.

So... she just had to stall until Kaylar finished off Louis and came to reinforce her...

But Landon saw right through her intentions.

The world warped. In the next instant, his true self appeared on the left side of the gryphon, his fist smashing straight toward the base of its wing.

Esper made a sharp turn to evade. Winged King sprayed a jet of blood in the opposite direction, forcing the gryphon to change its heading. The wind from Landon's fist grazed the gryphon's mane.

The second punch followed immediately. Afterimages generated from all directions, but his true self appeared directly above the gryphon, bringing his fist crashing down toward Esper.

Esper maneuvered the gryphon to turn around, so the fist struck its underbelly. The flesh forged from blood exploded under the blow, and before the splattering blood could even fall, it was blown away by the shockwave of a third punch.

The third punch hit its chest, and then a fourth punch caught up before the gryphon could regenerate.

The Beast of Blood began to break apart, the speed of its blood-based regeneration unable to keep pace with the destruction.

Landon gave her no room to breathe.

Attacks from the future and the past rained down at the exact same moment. Under the dense bombardment, the gryphon's massive body was smashed into a mist of blood that filled the sky.

Esper fell from midair, her back snapping a horizontal tree branch before she bounced off a second one and finally rolled onto the ground.

Landon landed on the ground and cracked his neck.

“Get up.”

Esper didn't stand up.

She could feel the wound on her shoulder seeping blood. The warm liquid flowed down her arm to the back of her hand, eventually dripping into the dirt.

Her body felt heavy, her head throbbed, and her heart beat so fast it felt like it would shatter her ribs.

She felt 『Blood』 leaving her.

With the manifested Authority destroyed, the power forcibly linked by the Holy Sword dispersed along with it.

It was all over...

————

“『Compatibility check in progress』”

“『Authority: Storm: -10% to 37%』”

“『Connected to "Storm"』”

————

The Holy Sword suddenly erupted with a crimson glow, which was instantly replaced by a halo of azure light.

Legend had it that the Wild Hunt King wielded an Authority named 『Thunder』, signifying "the first lightning strike that kindles fire before all."

—An interpretation from another world.

An interpretation born of fantasy, contradicting the legends of divine creation.

He who wielded the crimson thunder was a rebel against the gods.

—The king who hunted all.

All kings' blood must end by the sword.

And so, the crimson thunder was eclipsed by azure thunder.

『Wild Hunt Era Alignment: Arthur·θύελλα』

As the azure light flared on the blade, Esper felt a bone-chilling cold.

Something was watching her, scrutinizing her. It was like a sovereign sitting upon a throne, weighing whether a newly arrived subject was worthy of standing in his royal court.

A compatibility of 37%. In other words, that sovereign had given a reluctant nod, granting her a probationary period.

...In truth, this probationary period should have arrived long ago, but it had been preempted by 『Blood』 during her fight with Zhong.

Landon noticed the change on her sword, his eyebrows twitching.

“Oh? Still got another trump card? I suppose I shouldn't expect any less from the Hero. You sure have a lot of cheats.”

“Cut the chatter.”

She felt the power of the 『Storm』.

『Storm』 was unlike any Authority she had ever used before.

『Hope』 was an internal resonance, 『Blood』 was driven by instinct, and 『Gluttony』 was an endless devouring.

But 『Storm』 came from the outside—from the sky, from the depths of the clouds, and from the currents swirling high above.

She could feel the wind.

Every draft passing through the woods, every updraft rising from the depths of the valley, every gust that whipped up dust and swirled across the ground—it was as if they were all connected to the tip of her sword by an invisible thread.

And then came the thunder.

The speed at which the clouds began to gather completely defied common sense.

The sky had darkened as heavy storm clouds rolled in from all directions, piling up into a slowly rotating gray vortex directly above the battlefield.

The first bolt of lightning struck her sword-spear.

The azure light was illuminated by the clear lightning, crackling ceaselessly.

Esper pointed the Holy Sword at Landon.

“『Authority Manifestation: Terminal Spiral』”

A gale erupted from the tip of the blade, carrying countless tiny arcs of electricity as it crashed toward Landon.

Landon raised his left arm to block. The sleeve of his left arm was torn to shreds the moment it made contact with the storm, and dozens of fine scorch marks were burned onto his skin by the electrical arcs.

“The Terminal Spiral... how nostalgic.”

He took half a step back.

And with just that half step, the space in front of him was filled with afterimages.

『Terminal Spiral』. It gathered wind and lightning to the maximum extent, intertwining them upon the Holy Sword. Under the emperor's command, it transformed into a doomsday spiral that brought the end to all things.

...The only problem with this move was that it required charging.

The longer she condensed it, the more powerful it would become.

Controlling the storm along with a massive amount of Crimson Pierce and Supernova, she pushed forward with all her might. At the same time, she began to retreat, pulling back to put distance between herself and Landon.

Landon's attacks also required time to build up, but they were fundamentally different. This guy didn't need to worry about anything; as long as he stood there, his afterimages would infinitely replicate and multiply.

She had to be fast—faster than Landon. She had to push the Terminal Spiral to its maximum before he could condense all possibilities.

...It was impossible.

But she had to try.

Esper bit her lip.

Even if she could only charge it a little longer, she could stall Landon for just a bit more.

She didn't know how things were going on Kaylar's end, but the storm was still responding to her.

Landon didn't move at first. He squinted, watching Esper charge her attack.

Then he nodded and took a step forward.

In almost an instant, he closed the distance right in front of Esper.

The gales were fully released at this moment. Esper used the wind to accelerate herself and stall Landon, barely managing to pull back.

But with a wave of his arm, Landon swept the storm completely aside.

The clouds in the sky were still spinning, those high-altitude air currents still connected to the tip of her blade.

She released all of her blood, unleashing countless highly compressed Supernovas, instantly erupting into an endless web of crimson threads.

Landon brushed aside the blood, his figure turning into a flash of light as he swept away every obstacle Esper had set up.

The Terminal Spiral wasn't fully formed yet, but it was close. Just a little more time.

Only when all her teammates were gone, just like when she faced Zhong back then, leaving her as the sole survivor on the field, could Esper truly appreciate the sheer weight of the burden she had to bear.

Yet even as the Hero carrying the name of hope, as an Authority wielder, she was still outmatched and suppressed by Landon's sheer strength. Therefore, she had to condense her full-power strike faster than him, launching the completed Terminal Spiral before he could unleash his full power.

At least, that was how it should have been.

In that instant, Esper's eyes, filled with unwilling frustration, met Landon's, prompting a smile to spread across his face.

“Pass.”

He stopped.

Then, an infinite deluge of futures and pasts began to flood the battlefield.

To describe it as thousands would be far too modest; to say it covered the hills and fields would be an understatement.

If one had to use a word, it could only be described as overwhelming.

Then, the infinite futures vanished all at once.

At this moment, Landon didn't say a single word, only meeting the young girl's gaze with warm, expectant eyes.

The greed that yearned to experience everything in the world, and the burning gaze proportional to that greed, was slowly shaking Esper's heart.

The so-called greed was an evil, a sin that everyone desired yet bore.

An endless yearning, a thirst for wonders yet unseen.

Perhaps from this day forward, she would never again meet such a madman who truly yearned to go all out alongside his opponent.

Landon's eyes said as much.

Show me the limit of what you can reach.

He would wait—not because he possessed gentlemanly manners, but because he wanted to see a stronger Esper.

He wanted to know if he could catch that blow.

Esper took a deep breath.

The storm clouds in the sky spun faster and faster, wind gathering from all directions toward the tip of the Holy Sword as the pressure steadily mounted.

At this moment, the Terminal Spiral was fully formed.

The fully charged storm whipped up most of the clouds in the sky, drawing in all the surrounding air to condense a spinning vortex of wind and lightning centered around the Holy Sword in her hands.

“Then brace yourself,” Esper said softly.

She unleashed the Terminal Spiral.

The azure storm erupted from the tip of her blade, carrying gales powerful enough to tear apart mountains and thunder strong enough to cleave the earth, hurtling toward Landon in a spiraling trajectory.

Wind blades and electrical arcs intertwined, tearing everything swept into the spiral to shreds.

Landon charged straight into it.

At that instant, an incredibly sharp screech erupted from the point where he collided with the spiral.

It was the sound of flesh being sliced by wind blades, skin being scorched by electrical arcs, and bones starting to crack under unbearable pressure.

Yet, he still pressed forward!

A massive chunk of flesh was shaved from his chest, his ribs shattered, his left arm fractured into several pieces, and the skin and muscle around his right eye socket were torn completely clean.

Yet, he still pressed forward!

Plunging entirely into the storm, straight into the center of the spiral!

He broke through the final barrier of the spiral with his mangled, bloody fist, arriving right in front of Esper!

The azure storm dissipated between them, leaving behind traces of the Terminal Spiral's tearing on Landon's fist. His finger bones were completely exposed, the skin and muscle shredded down to a thin layer hanging from the bone.

But he was smiling.

The punch was already thrown.

Esper watched the fist grow larger and larger before her eyes, unable to block in time.

Clang.

A longsword flew in from the side, its blade interposing itself between Esper and Landon, closing the negligible distance between the fist and the girl's head at the absolute last second.

Landon's fist smashed into the blade, instantly shattering both the longsword and the golden flames on its edge until not even a scrap remained.

Kaylar stood not far away, panting heavily. She seemed to have rushed over at full speed, completely out of breath, to the point where her breathing technique had nearly faltered.

Yet, her voice was filled with a smugness she couldn't hide.

“Well, little sister Esper, what should you be calling me now?”

Esper let out a chuckle.

“...Dumbass.”

“You're cursing at me?!”