Shen He glanced at the backpack at that moment.
Just by encountering these two high-priority characters, a silver treasure box had appeared.
It seemed that even in this mixed world, there were tiers of encounter significance—rescuing or defeating ordinary characters would only trigger low-tier rewards, but characters with a specific narrative weight triggered higher-level treasures.
And it wasn't just about defeating them. Even just engaging in combat with such figures might suffice.
An idea surfaced in Shen He's mind.
"We're not here for Index," Shen He said calmly, eyes emotionless. "I'm here to find Kamijou. His right hand is needed for something only he can help resolve. Of course... it would be ideal if the Index Librorum Prohibitorum assisted as well."
The addition was deliberately calculated. If the enemy's preconceptions leaned toward defensiveness, that statement would sound no different than a veiled confession—they were enemies intent on abducting the Church's living archive.
"They even know about that guy's right hand..." Stiyl Magnus exchanged a look with Kanzaki Kaori, instantly understanding the intent of this intruder claiming divine urgency.
"There's no choice."
The cigarette in Stiyl's mouth flicked out with a casual motion. Before it reached the ground, it exploded—an orange-red burst of flame flaring into existence, obscuring Shen He and the others in a roaring blaze.
"The Flame—!"
Stiyl began a chant under his breath, and a flaming broadsword materialized in his palm. With a fluid motion, he swung toward the figures ahead.
The air twisted and hissed—the temperature of the flame likely exceeded two thousand degrees Celsius. It would melt through steel with ease.
Of course, based on how easily the first barrier had been shattered, Stiyl knew such a simple attack wouldn't suffice. He was already layering more complex runes to invoke greater, forbidden incantations.
"One Side, take the rear!" Shen He's voice rang through the firestorm.
"Take it? Are you underestimating me?"
Accelerator stamped his foot into the pavement and dashed at Kanzaki Kaori. His hand extended forward, fingers splayed wide—like he was palming a basketball.
A single touch would be enough to crush her skull, to twist her spine like a ribbon—!
But—
Whoosh—!
A motion too fast for the naked eye. Kanzaki Kaori vanished in an afterimage blur, and a sudden boom echoed behind Accelerator. A devastating gust followed, a blade of compressed light cutting through the air like a laser beam.
She hadn't held back at all.
—Seven Flashes!
Kanzaki Kaori's trump technique, the "Seven Heavens Seven Swords," allowed her to slash seven times in an instant—faster than even Accelerator's vectors could consciously react.
Seven thin, curved cuts scored across the asphalt in a line stretching nearly 30 meters. Every strike had hit Accelerator dead on.
And yet—he stood there, completely unscathed.
"Crrrk... skrkk..."
The grind of clenched teeth. It was only now that Accelerator realized his vector field had autonomously deflected all seven attacks.
He hadn't even seen them.
"Tch. How annoying!"
A cyclone erupted with a roar. The street shattered. The shards of earth, cement, and glass became a tornado of shrapnel around him. Trees and lamp posts tore from their roots, spun and shredded like they were caught in a divine meat grinder.
If he couldn't match her speed—then everything would be erased.
The battle's sheer violence sent shockwaves through the neighborhood. Shen He's own stance shifted as she launched herself forward, her movement compressing air into a sonic burst. Her spear-tip screeched, splitting the sound barrier as it advanced.
Stiyl could barely duck and roll away. Her force ripped past him like a banshee, leaving his robes torn and fluttering like ash in a gale.
But he had already activated his next incantation.
With a thunderous snap, a massive fireball launched from his palm. It didn't burst this time—it began to distort, twisting like molten tar, flames licking along a human-shaped mass. It grew larger, two arms rising from the infernal goo, grasping a burning crucifix.
The Witch-Hunter King.
"I thought I could interrupt him..."
Shen He, who had already launched past him, looped back into the fray.
She'd spotted the hidden runes earlier—carved into the sidewalks, light posts, traffic signs. Per lore, to cancel the summoning, every rune had to be destroyed simultaneously. Otherwise, the construct would continually regenerate.
Just as expected, the silver treasure chest glimmered again in her inventory as the battle progressed.
Boom—!
The flame giant's cross slammed into Jeanne d'Arc's shining spear.
Light bent under the heat and pressure, but it was purity—not fire—that won. Under the sacred radiance of the spear, the Witch-Hunter King evaporated.
"What?!" Stiyl gasped.
Even as the runes attempted to reconstruct it, the blow had erased the giant's structure entirely.
It wasn't supposed to be this easy.
It was almost like facing another Imagine Breaker...
"No. I almost forgot—"
Shen He's eyes sharpened.
Due to her unwavering faith and divine origin, Jeanne d'Arc possessed a natural EX-level resistance to magecraft. Until now, they hadn't fought any magicians. But now—
"Even if we are both followers, you sought to harm my Master."
Jeanne rested her spear on her shoulder, her white flag unfurling behind her. Her palm extended toward Stiyl, eyes glowing.
"Lord, I beseech thee—let judgment fall upon this deceiver. Sanctum Iudicium—Divine Judgment!"
In an instant, holy light burst from her flag, engulfing Stiyl Magnus. The power was blinding, not merely destructive but absolute. At that moment, he didn't just see Jeanne.
He saw the Lord behind her.
—This was no mere saint. She was a vessel of divine sanction.
Stiyl trembled, and finally understood the source of the reverence he felt.
This girl's faith alone was powerful enough to channel the Lord's essence into this world.
All strength left his limbs. The cigarette dropped from his lips. He knelt.
Even if he hadn't meant to surrender—his magic was already gone.
Jeanne may have lost her Ruler title in the Holy Grail War, but summoned by Shen He, her divine essence remained intact. The original Command Spell authority had been sublimated into a skill—Divine Rule—a passive suppression of hostile magic.
Stiyl was no longer a mage. He had become what he was before learning magic—an
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