The spirits caught in the tornado are shredded by the wind and return to the shared spirit realm, while the demons are captured by the wind and bound.
“That magic… could it be from Windstorm? It’s quite powerful,” Hera muttered, slightly surprised by the sudden appearance of a massive tornado, but quickly identifying its source. She glanced away and sprinted back towards her students.
Though she had already subdued three spirits and one demon, Hera showed no signs of fatigue.
‘That… is Aura. As terrifying a storm as ever. Truly, the bane of us dragonkin.’
“Is that really a divine spirit?”
A small Bahamut, perched on Hera’s shoulder, grumbled, and Hera, picking up his words, nodded as if she understood and asked him again.
‘Yes, without a doubt, it is a divine spirit. But… it’s even scarier than that old man Zeus. Whoever this Arthur guy is, he’s quite impressive if that thing favors him.’
“Shin-kun is hundreds of times more amazing, though,” Hera muttered back softly, retorting Bahamut’s praise of Arthur.
Bahamut, seeing her pout, laughed heartily.
‘Heh… you’ve really become a maiden in love, haven’t you, my master? But, you seem more alive now.’
“Ugh, shut up! Yes, I’m a maiden in love! Got a problem with that?”
‘Master, there’s a demon ahead.’
“I know—you’re in the way, take a nap,” Hera said as she swiftly struck the demon with the back of her black sword.
Killing the demon would mean killing its contractor too, so in cases like this, dealing with the demon could be quite tricky.
“I hope Shin-kun is okay…” Hera murmured.
‘Zeus is with him. There’s no way he’ll die. You focus on stopping the strongest one here. Tch… some of these greater demons are really pathetic.’
Bahamut grimaced in frustration as he spat out those words, causing Hera to stop in her tracks and ask him to repeat.
“Could you say that one more time?”
‘I’m saying there’s a greater demon who’s lost his mind. He was always eccentric and mentally fragile, so it’s not surprising, but unfortunately, he’s bad against both lightning and wind. That means we’re the only ones who can defeat him.’
Hera was left speechless at Bahamut’s words. She hadn’t expected a rampaging greater demon. But at the same time, it explained why so many demons and spirits were acting up all at once.
‘Be careful, master. When he’s lost his reason, he’s at his strongest.’
“…I understand. I’ll fight so Shin-kun won’t have to deal with this.”
Resolving herself, Hera followed Bahamut’s guidance toward the rampaging greater demon.
“—!?”
Hera arrived within seconds, but the horrific sight before her left her speechless.
Dozens of students were either unconscious or injured, spirits and demons lay around with their eyes rolled back, and two figures were desperately fighting to hold back the rampaging greater demon—Satan.
Salvatore, who was contracted to the greater demon of sloth that had just vanished, and Wilhelm, Satan’s contractor, were barely managing to stand their ground.
However—
“Guh—!”
“Damn… I can’t win with just possession…”
Wilhelm, unable to use Satan’s power due to their contract, was being beaten badly, while Salvatore’s demon, Belphegor, took the brunt of the attacks, acting as a shield for Wilhelm.
Sensing the danger the two were in, Hera immediately unleashed her full power.
“《Twin Blades of Black and White》!!”
Bahamut returned to his usual form, and two swords, one black as night and the other silver as moonlight, appeared in Hera’s hands. These blades were an upgraded version of the twin swords she had previously used, focused purely on offense with no regard for defense.
This was Hera’s ultimate technique, a culmination of her own talent and relentless effort.
The power imbued in the technique was immense—
“Haaaaaaah!!”
‘Gaaaargh!!’
With this overwhelming force, Hera managed to wound Satan, an enemy even Shin had struggled to hurt—this, despite Satan being in his complete form.
However, that attack drew Satan’s ire, and in an instant, he lunged at Hera with the intent to pierce her body.
She tried to evade, but—
(—Too fast! I can’t dodge it!!)
Hera’s physical abilities couldn’t keep up with Satan’s, but in the blink of an eye, Belphegor threw himself between them, taking the blow meant for her.
“—Guh… Damn it… This is why I didn’t want to move…”
“Student council president!! Wait—take this, drink it!” Hera cried as she caught the bleeding Belphegor and hurriedly gave him an elixir Shin had given her.
Salvatore, still barely conscious, began slowly drinking the elixir as it touched his lips.
Bahamut was shielding Hera and Salvatore from Satan’s onslaught, but even Bahamut, a transcendent spirit, was no match for a greater demon, and his body was riddled with holes.
“Bahamut!!” Hera shouted.
‘Sorry, master… At my current strength, I can’t defeat him…’
“What do you mean, ‘at your current strength’? Are you saying you’re not in your true form!?”
Standing protectively before Bahamut and glaring at Satan, Hera pressed him for answers.
‘…With your current strength, master… you wouldn’t be able to handle my full power… Only someone like Zeus’s contractor could.’
Upon hearing those words, Hera responded without hesitation.
“I’ll be fine. I’m the woman who will one day stand beside Shin-kun. I’ll endure it, no matter what.”
Confident in her talents and hard work, Hera spoke with certainty.
Bahamut, reminded of his past self, laughed heartily at her bold and arrogant attitude.
‘Gahaha! Very well! Then, master, prove you can handle my full power!’
Hera, undeterred, met his challenge head-on.
“Of course I will—no, I’ll make it mine.”
(And… I can’t let Shin-kun’s friends surpass me. I always want to be his number one.)
Hera’s determination shone through her eyes, now glowing a deep black, as she raised her voice in declaration.
“Come forth—Divine Dragon Bahamut!”
Once a lowly mock dragon, now a divine dragon who had risen through defeating the world’s strongest, Bahamut descended once more, this time to protect the weak.
