Freed roared indignantly. Uranus simultaneously launched a massive aurora at the two leaping men, but it missed. The two men immediately dodged to the left and right, as if they had foreseen this.

Fuyunford and Zwhite blasted feathers at Shia's head and side, respectively. Shia couldn't dodge and took damage, but black magic immediately enveloped her body, and she recovered completely.

Shia knew her wound would heal quickly, so she didn't care about it at all. She swung the kendama with great gravitational force and knocked away Dolito and Fiat who were about to approach Tio.

Esther seized the briefest moment, dodging the spinning kendama and the swung chains, and slashed at Shia with her two greatswords. But Tio intervened immediately, blocking the attack for her.

Although the dragon scales were damaged by this attack, it also bought a moment of time.

Shia took advantage of the opportunity to get into Esther's arms and swung the Veled Luken horizontally with the "Vibration Shatter" function activated.

Esther dodged upwards instantly, leaving only particles of light behind. Tio swung the black whip at the same time, as if she had known that Esther would dodge like this.

The target was Freed, who was rapidly approaching, and he was simultaneously releasing "Sky Shock".

Tio didn't seem to be planning to defend or dodge, as if she was willing to let him attack her, attacking recklessly. Her frantic behavior slowed down Fried's reaction for a moment.

The black whip stretched to an incredible length, approaching with the unpredictable trajectory characteristic of a whip. The front end swung even faster, even reaching supersonic speeds due to the centrifugal force.

At the same time, Tio fired a powerful dragon breath towards Uranus, who was flying side by side with Fried.

Therefore, Uranus could only deal with the dragon's breath and could not protect his master.

“Wuuuuuu!?”

The impact knocked Freed unconscious for a moment. Although he quickly covered his body with his wings, they were still ripped, leaving a straight horizontal wound on his chest.

──Tio's special weapon, the Black Slave Whip.

The handle's ultra-compact treasure chest allows the whip to extend to three kilometers in length. Fragments of black scales adorn the whip, allowing it to slash its target. Using transformation magic, it can be moved freely like a hand or foot. It also possesses the power to impact souls and sever space.

The whipping prevented Fried from focusing on controlling his "Sky Shock" magic, weakening its power. Tio, however, groaned in pain, sustaining only the damage to her black scales as she endured the attack.

Esther, who had been planning to chase Shia, suddenly broke away from the front line and rushed to the side of the falling Fried in an instant, using her shoulder to lift him up.

"Lord Freed."

"Oh, no problem!"

Fried shook off Esther and floated in the air on his own.

The other apostles paused. It seemed that Fried was a figure the apostles could not ignore. Perhaps his current status was similar to that of Yarbuheit.

"Miss Tio! Are you okay... Apparently not. Thanks for being a human shield!"

"Hmmm♪ Being called such a derogatory term by my friends is so exciting! It's even better when it's a reward from someone close to me! Thank you!"

Although Tio twisted her body in a daze as usual, her injuries were actually very serious.

Since the effect of regeneration magic on him was greatly reduced, the wound could not be healed immediately.

Dragon Scale Layered Armor itself is a derivative skill of Dragon Transformation, so it will repair itself. However, the repair speed cannot keep up with the serious damage. It has been beaten to pieces, and the damage beneath the armor must be even more serious.

Of course, the armored kimono was already badly damaged. If she removed the armor now, she would be very exposed.

"But I can't let you..."

"No, Shia, this is correct."

Tio gave her a suggestive look. "Ah, I see." Shia nodded, understanding what she meant.

"But you, Shia, are you okay?"

"Thanks to you protecting me, I can continue!"

"That's wonderful. As a 'Guardian', I couldn't ask for a better reward."

Shia and Tio looked around at the apostles surrounding them, but they weren't afraid at all. Instead, they chuckled defiantly. Far from despairing, their fighting spirit was even stronger.

As for Fried, he cast a recovery spell on himself while the two were whispering, and at the same time, as the leader of the legion, he checked the situation of dealing with the black dragon.

He ordered his subordinates in advance to prevent the black dragons from approaching the battle between Shia and Tio and to annihilate them.

The difference in combat power between the two was enormous. Even though Xia and Tio had eliminated a lot of monsters at the beginning of the battle, the difference in numbers was still more than ten times.

Therefore, Fried believed that during the battle just now, his subordinates could certainly annihilate all the black dragons with the violence of numbers. However...

(How is this possible!? The number has barely decreased? Not only that…)

Many of his monsters were defeated.

Only a dozen black dragons were knocked down, but more than a hundred monsters were unable to fight.

Individual performance differences alone cannot explain such results.

In this case, there is only one other possible reason.

(It’s the equipment! It’s that artifact made by that odd number that’s causing trouble!)

As he thought this, Fried saw a black dragon in front of him spewing black dragon breath, and the helmet it was wearing was shining at the same time.

The gray-white dragon directly in front of the black dragon also fired an aurora, but the effect of the helmet caused the black dragon's black flash to be "compressed and spiraled", and the performance was enhanced by the "sublimation function" of the armor. The powerful force directly swallowed up the aurora, as if it was quickly dyed black.

As expected, the gray-white dragon that had launched the aurora was pierced by the black flash. Several other monsters behind it also suffered the same fate, being tragically stabbed.

While the black dragon paused to release its breath, the centaur (Ahatod) swung its massive arms towards the dragon's body, simultaneously unleashing a black and red shockwave of magical energy. Its power was enough to shatter even ordinary creatures into shreds of flesh.

However, the moment the fist hit the black dragon's armor, it exploded instead.

Because the armor contains "Impact Reactive Armor", it will react to the impact and automatically send out "Magic Shock Wave" to counterattack.

Even after taking a punch, the black dragon didn't seem to be seriously injured. At the same time, it casually swept its tail, and the thick blade equipped on the front of its tail exerted its "space-breaking function", easily cutting the horse-headed monster in two.

Of course, the dragon claw part is also covered with external metal claws. Not only does it have the function of breaking space, it also has the skill of "Wind Claws", which can launch a wind slash and kill multiple Chimeras at once.

Above the bloody storm, another black dragon was showing off its flying stunts.

First it did a barrel roll, then flipped over, spun straight down, and then flew up rapidly.

The armor's "gravity mitigation" function allows it to fly so freely. Even though the Black Dragon itself is massive and heavily equipped, this function reduces the weight to about half.

The black dragon was incredibly agile. Even with the white leopard's tentacles and auroras attacking from all directions, the black dragon could dodge them one by one, just like Xia, as if it had already known where the attacks would come from.

That was due to the use of the helmet's second built-in function, 'Prediction'. While he couldn't see the future as clearly as Shia, the effect of sublimation magic was enhanced, allowing him to clearly sense the trajectory of the attack in advance.

While dodging, he continuously emitted dragon breath, and then Black Flash killed the monsters one after another like a magic sword, causing them to fall to the ground.

"How hateful! That man, even when he's not on the battlefield, is bringing disaster!?"

"This isn't just the master's achievement. This is the result of the concerted efforts of all my companions. Savor it!"

Tio said with a smug smile. Actually, it was Shia and Kaori who had gone to the bottom of the abyss to capture the wyverns and placed them in the Magic Orbs. Yu Hajime had prepared the weapons beforehand, and after the two returned to the secret village, Tio tamed the wyverns into servants. As she had said, it was the result of the cooperation of the companions.

Within the time-delayed space created by the Time Crystal, the black dragons were strengthened as much as possible within the available timeframe. Perhaps because they, like Tio, were dragons, their natures were particularly compatible, their power increased beyond expectations. Combined with various divine weaponry, these black dragons became a ferocious black dragon army, surpassing even the lowest levels of the abyss in strength.

Also, the reason they were black was purely Tio's personal preference. The dragons led by the Demon King's woman were, of course, evil dragons. Of course, evil dragons must be black—Tio declared this with a proud expression as she colored the dragons.

"Please calm down, Lord Freed. Allow me to offer a suggestion."

"Hmm...go ahead."

Esther spoke in an emotionless tone, and Fried barely suppressed the resentment toward Hajime that welled up in his heart. After confirming that Fried's injuries had healed, Esther narrowed her eyes and stared at Shia, like a hunter stalking a hare.

"Letting them join forces will be troublesome. We must find a way to separate them. Please leave Shia Hauria to us."

“…Is there any point in doing this?”

"When Tio Kuralus was hit by Uranus's attack, he didn't show any preemptive action. The two's combined attack was successful because Tio Kuralus's defense and recovery allowed Shia Hauria to move with more energy."

"Wow, I've been discovered~" Xia's frank reaction was tantamount to admitting her own guilt.

"...Okay, let's do it. Uranus and I suffered at the hands of that dragon man at the volcano, and we must get even."

"Yes."

Even if the two of them joined forces, it would only be a "trouble." Preventing them from joining forces would be relatively "easy" to deal with.

Esther said this deliberately to the two of them, and Xia raised the corners of her mouth.

"Miss Tio."

"Um, is everything okay?"

"No problem. My opponent is nothing more than a puppet of God. And since you don't have to protect me, you can fight more freely, right?"

This time, it was Shia who gave a meaningful look. Tio didn't deny it, but just shrugged.

On the surface, the two were just saying that there was no need to block the attack with their bodies. However...

For some reason, Fried had a bad feeling and frowned suspiciously.

However, before he could question her, Esther had already unfurled her two greatswords.

"A mere rabbit-man, yet you are so rude. I will show you firsthand what we are capable of."

She said this with a subtle hint of provocation. Simultaneously, a large amount of platinum particles erupted from her body, transforming into a beam of light.

"Hmph, great! If you can do it, give it a try!"

Xia also challenged defiantly and rushed out.

Tio didn't follow her, but just watched her leave. The pure white magic power in Fried's body swirled like a vortex, and he said to her:

"Why, you're not going to transform into a dragon?"

"It's easier to aim that way, isn't it?"

"Now you no longer need to protect your companions. In that case, I hope you will give it your all. Only by defeating you at your full strength can we avenge our loss and hold our heads high before the Lord."

"It's none of my business... I really want to say this, but I'll tell you first."

The Dragon Scale Layered Armor had been completely repaired by this time. Tio's entire body radiated pure black magic power, and she replied with a haughty attitude:

"Stop talking nonsense, you bastard. If you want me to use my full strength, then use your strength to find a way!"

Tio smiled, as if her opponent was simply inferior to her. So, Fried instantly put away his expression.

"Uranus!"

In this case, we will respond with an extra-large aurora.

Tio tried to avoid the aurora and move forward, but before she could do that, a "Space-Time Gate" blocked the rays, as if to protect Tio.

Of course, it soon became clear that this was not actually the case.

Tio looked up with a startled look and saw the aurora that had been diverted by the "Space-Time Gate" falling from the sky. Tio quickly dodged to the side to avoid it, but the aurora that had passed through entered another "Space-Time Gate" and shot towards her again from the "Space-Time Gate" that appeared to Tio's side.

It was as if the aurora dragon's breath was constantly reflecting around her. It was like a cage, really.

With just one dragon breath, Tio was repeatedly attacked by the [Space Jump Attack], just like the technique Hajime had demonstrated before.

Surprisingly, Fried was able to take advantage of this opportunity to unleash the Age of Gods magic.

He condensed and condensed his magic power, and even chanted spells specifically to increase its power.

“—Great Thunderclap!!”

Fried cast this spell in the center of the battlefield where the monster army and the black dragon army were fighting.

The space explosion, far larger than any previous one, erupted in all directions in a spherical shape.

This attack, which could shatter everything, ravaged the battlefield in an instant, affecting the Black Dragon Army and its own monsters.

This attack destroyed one third of the monsters, but the Black Dragon Army also suffered heavy losses, with at least 80% of them being shot down.

Most of the black dragons were able to barely survive thanks to the divine equipment on their bodies, but more than half of them lost consciousness, had broken bones all over their bodies, and were struggling in pain.

At the same time, the cage formed by the Aurora Dragon's Breath also disappeared as time passed. Although Tio barely avoided the attack, she did not completely dodge it. The armor on the right half of her body had fallen off, bleeding and the dragon scales peeled off.

Tio didn't care about her own injuries, but stared at the defeated black dragons with wide eyes.

“This is really…”

Fried snorted complacently and said to Tio:

“That’s what we do when we get serious.”

In order to fulfill God's mission, he is determined to win, even if it means sacrificing the demons he has trained.

No, he was definitely not just willing to sacrifice the devil.

"Win at all costs. Do you have the courage to do so?"

Even if his fellow demons had to be sacrificed, Fried would definitely choose to move forward.

No one knows whether he has chosen the path of Shura or is simply trapped in fanaticism.

Tio didn't respond to Fried's question, but only sighed sympathetically. Then, a miraculous scene occurred, as if to completely negate Fried's so-called "courage".

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