Dark-clad demons with leering faces—two hundred of them—poured into the arena.

  These repulsive creatures were swarming toward Mina and Nox, two defenseless girls. Goosebumps crawled across Mina’s entire body.

  “Listen up! Come one step closer and you’ll regret it!”

  But the demons couldn’t hear her over their own surge. They crashed toward her like a tidal wave.

  “Mina… I’m going to take down that guy. Hold out until I get back.”

  “Got it, Nox. Don’t push yourself too hard either.”

  Mina looked Nox in the eye, reached out, and bumped fists with her.

  “I’m off!”

  Nox launched herself into the air and raced toward Balrog. Mina turned to face the approaching horde.

  She raised her voice.

  “Alright, you lot! You’re about to find out what pain feels like!”

  Mina thrust her arm forward.

  “Instant Maze!”

  Earth walls erupted all across the arena.

  “What the hell?!”

  “These aren’t just walls!”

  Unlike her regular Earth Walls, these connected and separated at intervals, forming a labyrinth. Mina climbed a wall section that had stairs built in. From her elevated vantage point, she surveyed the demons stumbling through the maze and grinned.

  “How do you like my new spell, Instant Maze? Do you have any idea how hard it was to design walls that form a labyrinth?!”

  Now they couldn’t reach her easily. Mina smirked with satisfaction.

  But her confidence crumbled in an instant. With so many of them, the maze was breached almost immediately.

  Worse, some climbed over the walls entirely, while others simply circled the maze’s perimeter. Mina fumed.

  “I worked so hard on that ultimate technique!”

  Her efforts had been wasted, and she was dejected.

  “Time for the nuclear option! Every pathway in the maze—Pitfall!”

  The corridor floors gave way.

  Every single floor inside the maze collapsed.

  Demons plummeted by the score, screaming as they fell.

  “AAAGH!”

  “WHOAAA!”

  Only about twenty remained—those clinging to the walls or capable of flight.

  “Figures—only the tricky ones are left.”

  Mina knew the remaining fights wouldn’t be easy. Still, she’d reduced the enemy to a tenth of their original number. That had to count for something.

  “I can do this too! I’m not going to be protected forever!”

  Mina restored the maze floors and dropped in herself.

  “If you want to catch me, come into the maze.”

  She vanished inside. Her new strategy: fight within the labyrinth.

  Several demons followed her in immediately—and the instant they did, screams echoed through the corridors. The moment their feet touched the puddles on the floor, they were hit with a devastating electric shock.

  “How do you like my Electric Trap?!”

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  Mina cackled.

  The remaining demons adapted, walking along the tops of the walls instead of entering the corridors.

  “I can see you from up here, you know.”

  Mina looked up and shouted.

  “Use the proper route! Walking on the walls is against the rules!”

  The demon glared down at her.

  “What proper route?! Your maze is nothing but pitfalls! Everyone—grab the girl!”

  Over a dozen demons launched themselves at Mina from every direction—from above, from the wall tops, from all sides.

  Mina screamed.

  “Thunder Armor!”

  Lightning instantly enveloped her body.

  She punched the incoming demons away. Her electrified fists sent them flying. Anyone who tried to grab her was shocked on contact.

  Demons went sprawling one after another. The rest pulled back, keeping their distance.

  “You’re not getting away! Thunder Wire!”

  Electrified wires lashed out at the fleeing demons, coiling around their bodies and shocking them. The demons panicked and scattered. Mina chased them down like a game of tag.

  “Hah… hah… well? Down to just you now.”

  Mina glared at the last demon standing. Taking on a hundred and ninety-nine opponents alone had been grueling. One more and it was over. She allowed herself a grin.

  “Not bad for my magic, right? I wish Arc could’ve seen that!”

  She puffed out her chest proudly.

  But this demon regarded her with an air of calm composure. He had green skin, a large build, and pointed ears.

  He produced a flute from inside his coat and began playing with a serene expression. The tempo was slow. The melody was soft and otherworldly—utterly out of place on a battlefield.

  Mina glared at him.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  He stopped playing and smiled pleasantly.

  “My name is Volterion. A pleasure, young lady.”

  “It is NOT a pleasure.”

  Volterion let out a booming laugh.

  “Quite the spirited young lady.”

  “Try getting attacked by two hundred demons and see how spirited you get.”

  He laughed even louder.

  “Ha ha ha! Fearsome indeed.”

  “Hmph! If you don’t want to fight, then get lost. I’ll let you go.”

  “How generous. But this time, I’d suggest worrying about yourself.”

  “You think you can beat me?”

  Volterion nodded.

  “The secret lies in this flute. Its melody creates a field that nullifies lightning magic.”

  “A flute can do that?”

  Volterion nodded.

  “The sound waves from this flute are highly specialized. They manipulate the magical particles in the air to eliminate electrical potential differences within the space.”

  “Then what if I attack you right now, while you’re busy chatting instead of playing?”

  “I’ll simply dodge with grace.”

  He smiled with easy confidence.

  “And what if I charge at you in my Thunder Armor? You can’t attack while playing, can you?”

  “Two answers to that. First—since I create a space where lightning magic doesn’t function, your attack can’t reach me.”

  Mina broke into a cold sweat.

  “Second—you’re correct that playing occupies both hands, limiting my offensive options. But this flute has a special feature.”

  Volterion pressed a switch on the instrument.

  “Auto-play.”

  His grin made Mina go pale.

  “Here I come!”

  Volterion launched himself at Mina. She fired a Thunder Wire in desperation, but it dissolved the instant it entered his field.

  “Wait—hold on!”

  “This is a fight! Who’s going to wait?!”

  Volterion raised the flute high. A sharp blade extended from its tip.

  “H-hey! That’s a weapon!”

  Mina ducked, and the blade whistled just above the back of her head. She threw herself backward, raising Earth Walls as she fled.

  “That’s dangerous!”

  “Stop running!”

  “Why do you even have a flute like that?!”

  “Do you know who we’ve been fighting? Lightning magic is the angels’ specialty. Of course countermeasures exist.”

  “Damn it! Earth Lance!”

  “Oops!”

  Volterion hopped back nimbly and fired a lightning bolt from his palm, shattering the Earth Lance.

  “How can YOU use lightning magic too?!”

  “Magical tools are built for the user’s convenience.”

  All the while, Volterion swung his flute in wide arcs. Mina threw up Earth Walls and ran for her life.

  “Now then, young lady—hand over the Regalia.”

  “No way! It’s for girls! It wouldn’t suit you at all!”

  “This isn’t about fashion!”

  Volterion raised his fist.

  “Take this! Insulation Barrier Fist!”

  A black membrane coated his fist. Mina activated Thunder Armor, expecting to shock him on contact.

  But he punched straight through without a single spark, sending Mina flying.

  She slammed into a maze wall, her back cracking against the stone. Her punched shoulder throbbed with pain.

  “If Thunder Armor doesn’t work, then it’s all over!”

  Despair crept across Mina’s face as she stared at Volterion. In that moment, Arc’s face flashed through her mind.

  “Arc! What would you do?”

  She closed her eyes and bit her lip. A memory surfaced—the day at the hospital, when she’d defeated the giant octopus creature.

  “I did that?” Mina had asked, and Arc had grinned. “Yeah. That’s your power.”

  Her hand drifted up to the round hair ornament.

  “That’s right—I still have this!”

  Her father Lucariel’s keepsake. The angel’s halo.

  “Please—angel halo! Activate!”

  The ornament blazed with light and rose above Mina’s head. Volterion stared at her in shock.

  “You’re not just the Queen’s granddaughter?!”

  Mina glared at him.

  “I am the Queen’s granddaughter—and the daughter of the angel Lucariel!”

  “Why would an archangel’s daughter be the Queen’s granddaughter?!”

  Mina locked eyes with the stunned Volterion and swung her arm. The halo hovering above her shot toward him like a disc.

  “AAAAAAH!”

  The halo drove into Volterion’s chest with a heavy impact. He coughed blood, his knees buckled, and he collapsed face-first onto the floor.

  “Damn it… so close…”

  He managed to lift his head slightly, fixed Mina with a final glare—and went still. Mina exhaled heavily, her ragged breathing slowly steadying.

  The angel halo drifted back above her head.

  Mina watched the pool of blood spread around Volterion’s body, and the color drained from her face. But there was no time to rest. She spun around.

  “I have to help Nox!”

  Mina broke into a run toward the sounds of battle.