Moments Earlier

“Huff… huff…”

Edward tightly gripped his blade like his life depended on it, because he knew the awry truth—it did!

Standing beside him was Ana who readied her most powerful array of Spells and simply waited for her opportunity.

The look on both their faces was that of tension… and fear.

Standing in front of them, in a position that showed she was protecting the two, was Aloe Vida. Her Light Attribute shield was erected, but everyone knew that her Spell would do little to nothing to stop the being that faced them.

Emerging from the darkness, amid a fearsome aura that could make anyone pass out, was a being of sheer power and utter wickedness.

It was a Shadow Demon. However, unlike the others they had faced, this was on a completely different level. In fact, comparing the two would be considered synonymous with madness.

It had a much larger build, spikes on its shoulders sharper horn-like ears… and a malevolent pressure, unlike anything they had ever seen.

Edward gulped, Ana shivered, and Aloe braced herself..

Unlike the two kids, the Dorm Master was determined not to show any weakness.

Not only was she responsible for them—as a Staff of Ainzlark—but she also owed Jared her life. These two were important to him, so the young woman had sworn to protect them.

Plus, the emergence of this powerful entity made it certain that their current location had some semblance of value to the enemy.

If they gave up now, the Demons would win. As a human being, Aloe couldn’t allow such a scary outcome.

“You kids… should run. Get inside the Museum and stop the rest. I’ll take care of this one.”

Edward and Anabelle were stunned to hear the older woman suggest this.

Her voice was quivering despite how she tried to control the fear swelling within her. Aloe must have known of her inevitable fate if she alone was left to fight against this monster.

‘Still… I can’t let these ones suffer the same—’

“No!”

“We’re not leaving!”

Aloe Vida widened her eyes in shock. If not for the fact that the enemy was right in front of their group, she would have sharply turned to reprimand them.

“B-but—!”

“We understand you’re trying to protect us, Miss Vida…”

“But, we’re no longer capable of turning back now. Trust us!”

The two spoke in sync, as though they had been reading each other’s minds.

“You can’t beat him… you’ll die…” Aloe muttered.

The Shadow Demon was watching them patiently, speaking in some unintelligible language that they couldn’t decipher. However, once it attacked, she knew they were done for.

“You can’t beat it alone either!” Edward barked back, gripping his blade tighter than usual.

The frustrated look on his face told the woman that he was probably feeling quite frustrated by his powerlessness.

“I-if we work together, isn’t there a better chance to win? If that thing kills you, it’ll come after us next. Alone, we can’t match its power…” Ana spoke in a trembling tone.

Though her voice and body made it obvious that she was frightened, Aloe could sense that she too didn’t intend to back away.

Besides, they were both right.

What could she do by herself? Ultimately, they were in the same boat. There was no turning back at this point.

“Fine… we’ll attack it together, but—”

“Got it! I won’t be holding back from this point on!” Edward declared, sheathing his blade for some reason.

“Yeah! Let’s give it all we’ve got!”

Aloe knew they were hiding a great deal of their power, which was why she was about to tell them to go all-out in the battle. It would seem that her worry was unnecessary.

Both students were prepared.

“$%^&^%#%#@” The Shadow Demon grumbled, finally taking a step forward.

Once they saw the monster move, the trio took a step forward.

So far, they had only been fighting at Base strength, but… it was time to switch things up a bit.

“BOND MAGIC!”

Both students raised their voices and, instantly, bursts of terrifying energy poured out.

Black and blue energy emerged from Edward and Ana respectively. Mana swirled around them—an intense amount of power was forming.

At this moment, Aloe was grateful that the students had offered to help. Unlike them, she didn’t have a Familiar to Fuse with or even use Bond Magic. Right before she died, her Familiar left. Even when her Soul returned, the contracted Bond Soul was nowhere to be seen.

That was why—seeing the kids display this level of mastery and coexistence with their Bond Souls—Aloe felt touched and encouraged.

With the power they currently wielded, maybe… just maybe… they stood a chance.

The darkness that swirled Edward was Mana—not Miasma. It was Dark Magic, an extreme aspect that was close to Miasma, but not quite the same. However, it was because of this essential aspect that the swordsman was confident.

He may not have been adept at Light Magic, but there was a concept known as fighting Fire with Fire. Using the Dark Magic of his Dullahan Familiar, he was ready to fight the Shadow Demon.

The blue energy that covered Ana belonged to her Naiad-Fairy. While it would seem that the current level of mastery she had achieved was not enough to face the opponent before them, the young girl didn’t give up hope.

To be honest, her Magic Specialty wasn’t related to the major weakness of the Shadow Demon, which was why Ana decided to play the support role. Leaving the offensive measures to both Edward and Aloe while she would handle their healing and also provide defense.

“You two, I’ve got you covered! Trust me and attack with all your might!” Ana declared to them.

Edward nodded without hesitation.

He trusted his best friend with his life. While Aloe didn’t share the same sentiment, the woman had no other choice but to go along with the plan.

She readied the surplus Mana stored within her and prepared a barrage of Ligh Javelins.

Edward slowly unsheathed his blade, which had already turned pitch black, with waves of purple around it.

Ana readied her Recovery Magic, with Defensive Magic also in tow.

The group of three readied themselves to fight the greatest opponent they had ever faced…

… praying for nothing less than victory!