Mistress Of The Evil Forest

''Kuh...!''

''Minamoto! Are you good?!''

''...I'm fine.''

As Kyomu uttered those words, one can plainly see his arms trembling, likely still ringing from the hard parries he barely grasps earlier. Even for a master of close combat like him, facing an opponent with such sheer strength and speed remained a problem.

The battle with Yggdrasil has been going on for a curt five minutes, yet both he and Aurora feel as though their bodies are giving up. Time is precious, and the more they can stall, the bigger their chances will be. Thankfully, the beast hasn't gone all out just yet. It is one uneasy fortune, but a fortune nonetheless.

Yggdrasil, now seemingly under some sort of influence, appears almost amused, mirroring the mocking moon above.

'I wonder if Mister Slen and Blob is doing alright...'

As the seconds stretch to eternity and thoughts multiply, Aurora begins to worry about her friends, who volunteered for jobs they'd better not do. It's the dragon lords they're facing, so it would not be too strange if they don't return.

Aurora herself understands it. This is the turning point for just about everything. If they don't come out on top, then they never will.

Still, shouldn't she be worried?

'I—'

''...!''

As if saying, 'Do you still have time to idle around?' Yggdrasil suddenly fires off a blast of... something at Aurora. She does not know what it is, just that her body will instantly vaporize if she ever touches it.

She barely dodges it.

'A new pattern?!'

No, thinking back, this should be normal. A creature teetering on godhood can certainly do more than swinging its claw around. But the question is... how can they keep up with this?

And, without missing a beat, Yggdrasil starts its annihilation.

At once, barrages upon barrages—seas upon seas of light beams swarm the sky, raining down on Zircon as if a storm. In the state of absolute clarity—a moment of omnipotence provided by overloading her senses—Aurora has no choice but to save herself first. She sees no escape from this hell.

For just a moment, all hope is lost.

How is she supposed to do this?

'Ah, this...'

A ray of that deadly plasma heads straight toward her, but her body refuses to move—it has no strength to. Every decimal point of stats, every movement, sword technique, every overpowered skill—all seem useless.

''Hold on!''

As if a bolt piercing through the night, a petite figure suddenly emerges, bashing away the shots flying Aurora's way. When the brief smoke fades into the wind, a long, pale blue shade lingers.

''Ulaika...!''

''Heheh. I'm here to help!''

The Invincible Shield, Ulaika.

Perhaps noticing Aurora's sudden snap, the tiny grandmaster proudly snorts, ''Your guy is all good.''

Sure enough, Kyomu can be seen catching his breath below, hanging on the Tower of Horrors' outer wall. With this addition, hope finally becomes a word again.

But while that little peace persists, Yggdrasil hasn't stopped attacking. The rain of bullets is clearly taking a toll on Ulaika's stamina.

''Maskes Lady, we need a counterplay.'' She urges, holding her shield tight.

''I know.''

At this point, there is only one card left that Aurora can reliably play.

''Phew...''

Taking a deep breath, she aims her palm at the sky, fueling her authority into each fingertip. For an unknown reason, HE hasn't locked Aurora's domain expansion just yet, and she plans to fully take advantage of it.

''Whoa...''

Soon enough, even Ulaika's soft exclamation is swallowed by the massive void expanding in the sky. The crimson sea has been ripped apart, eaten whole by a circular disk the size of a city.

And from that rift, colossal tentacles creep out, gripping the edge of space tightly. Slowly and ominously, its only eye, one snuggly hidden behind a tube-like teeth, follows suit.

Perhaps during such a chaotic time, the unknown monster's entrance doesn't feel too out of place. Yet, that momentary distraction is enough to create a serious opening.

With Ulaika and Kyomu by her side, Aurora blitzes forward with the momentum of a swelling star, aiming her sword at the shining figure's throat.

At the same time, the monster crawling down from the sky also fiddles with its immense energy pool, clumsily pouring it into a hanging lance about to drop. One can see the sluggish and somewhat incoherent movements of the thing and guess that it is perhaps not in its right condition.

Sure enough, Yggdrasil soon loses interest in the giant creature and makes light work of it, throwing a rough fireball above her head and turning back to her opponents. The sheer firepower from that tiny gust is enough to light the whole sky, together with the monster, on a divine fire. Still, the very slight timing allows for the three to simultaneously hit the dragon from behind, which is still no more than a feint.

''Tch...!''

The real retaliation comes after Yggdrasil parries those sneak attacks away.

With a single wrist flip, Aurora's sword flings away... but she lets it fly out of her hand altogether. And when that palm opens, every bit of her being seems to come to life, manifesting as a jungle of thorns—dark, dangerous thorns.

The very essence of the Backrooms shoots out violently, surging toward Yggdrasil as if a tsunami, yet when it is about to engulf the slender figure—

''...!''

Like a gentle, clapping wave, Aurora sees the crimson wash away everything before her eyes. At the end of it, Yggdrasil's impassive, still pupils emerge.

A sense of sudden helplessness hits her.

She feels the moon's quakes ringing through her body, resonating in a mocking tone. In that rhythm, the dragon points a finger at her head, from which a flinch of mana gathers.

''Get ahold of yourself!''

''Ah.''

Aurora quickly snaps back to reality, backing away just in time. Nevertheless, the situation already seems almost lost. Without a meaningful way to create a counterplay, the hopes of coming out of this fight alive are slim.

But she still has to fight—no, she has to stall.

With a flick of her fingers, the Black Dawn returns to her palm, pulled by a string of ice attached to the hilt.

Aurora finally switches to defense, which she rarely ever does, and together with her two teammates, forms a rough strategy to fish for more time. Instead of clashing at close range, she begins to kite Yggdrasil around, firing magic occasionally.

It seems they might get away for now, but even evading attacks from such an opponent drains an immense amount of stamina. Gradually, the three's movements become more sluggish, and the number of close calls rapidly increases.

Meanwhile, the dragon appears relaxed.

''Hah... hah... huh...?''

But that composure is soon disturbed by a subtle change in the air.

The temperature gets a notch colder.

It isn't Aurora's own ice magic but one of equal, if not greater caliber. 

''Bianca!''

The wind blows violently, trees rustle, and winter soon arrives in Zircon, taking over the menacing crimson. It marks the arrival of Duchess Bianca Cecil—the ruler of ice.

Right after, a screeching shriek pierces the snow, catching Aurora's attention. Not so far away, she sees the lord dragon, on which Yggdrasil used to ride, free-falling onto the trees, its body littered with burning wounds and green smoke. A gloomy woman emerges from the rubble, shooting her a proud glance.

'Sikare.'

Yet, Yggdrasil itself seems apathetic to its kin's demise, staring at the cold corpse blankly.

''Do you still have the time to idle around?''

And when that righteous voice rings, the falling snow gets blown away and vaporized upon a quaking collision. Graham's blazing fist lodges into Yggdrasil's neck, sinking into its skin. From the other side, a gleaming claymore of mana is caught by the dragon's palm, nonetheless slicing into it stubbornly. Grandmaster Ivan Apollo has arrived.

'This is...''

The turning point.