Hajime stood near the leyline, shooting at the appropriate timings maximizing the damage, studying the creature which hadn't gone down even with their coordinated strikes.
"It's healing," Hajime muttered, sensing the leyline's rapid energy drain. "It's absorbing the power from the leyline to heal itself."
Sona checked their scans beside him. "Confirmed. It's pulling power straight from the planet."
Griselda moved in, slicing a tendril before it rooted. "We need to disrupt its connection to the leylines then. Only then can we stop it from gaining advantage."
Alice strikes a condense Anemo with multiple elements directly to the Fragmentum. "Removing its connection will also stop the spread of Stellaron corrosion."
Saji lunged forward, his Absorption Line crackling as it caught one of the tendrils. "Got it! hit it now while it's exposed!"
Tsubasa blurred past him, her gauntlets igniting with compressed bursts of mana. She drove a barrage of reinforced punches into the creature's leg joint, forcing it to stagger as cracks splintered across its blackened shell.
Tomoe followed, her katana glowing with a crimson edge as she danced through the shadows, slashing open a new wound across the creature's midsection. "Left flank exposed!" she called, already moving to its blind spot.
Ruruko sprinted behind them, Magic swirling around her limbs. She leapt upward, midair as she launched a kinetic burst from her palm slamming directly into the root. The force blew it back a meter, and the creature shrieked, stumbling.
However it didn't fall. It reared back, eyes glowing with amplified fury, and let out a scream that sent a concussive shockwave in all directions.
Tsubaki stepped forward, blocking the shockwave using the Mirror of Alice, absorbing the impact before redirecting it to the creature. "It's learning," she warned, voice level. "It's getting quicker at adapting every time we hit it."
Reya and Momo launched into synchronized spell, Reya conjuring focused blasts of ice magic imbued with cutting force, while Momo's flame blasts detonated with searing force. Despite the power behind them, the creature simply roared and planted its malformed limbs deeper into the ground.
"It's not giving up," Sona muttered through gritted teeth, as send multiple magic attacks at its limbs.
"No," Hajime agreed, eyes narrowing. "It's cornered and getting desperate."
He exhaled sharply, watching the leyline drain in faster speed under the creature. ".... If this keeps up, I'll have to end it myself…"
Hajime steadied himself, tapping into the edge of his Herrscher of Reason power. He didn't need much—just enough to turn the tide if things went worse.
But before he could even fully tap on his power, Anisphia' voice sweep across the battlefield, laced with casual cheer. "Hajime~ don't even think about it."
Alice followed up calmly, "This isn't the kind of threat that warrants you to take action. This battle is not worth of you to take a step."
Hajime blinked, then gave a dry chuckle. "Are you two reading my mind now?"
"You're easy to read," Anisphia said brightly. "You get that 'I'm about to wreck the world' look."
"We don't want you to erase half of the town just for a simple Fragmentum." Alice chuckled, "Maybe not really simple as it stands despite our efforts but still."
Momo, still mid-cast, glanced toward Hajime. "Was he really about to do something big?"
Reya with a thoughtful look. "Might be. If we assume what Anis-san and Alice said then..."
Sona's eyes stayed forward, but she answered quietly, "Nagumo-san is holding back. Allot."
-----
Anisphia raised her voice. "Alright, enough dollying around. I've got a plan!"
Hajime glanced her way, curious. "Let's hear it."
"Push it upward," she said, already moving toward the edge of the leyline fissure. "Get that thing into the air. High enough for me to finish it off without collateral damage."
She didn't elaborate further. Her tone is unusually serious, and there's a glint in her eye that made both Hajime and Alice twitch ever so slightly.
"…She's up to something," Hajime muttered.
Alice sighed, already prepping another barrier. "You think she's going to use that, don't you?"
Hajime gave a dry chuckle. "I know that grin. She's definitely planning to do something insane."
Sona blinked, watching Anisphia with clear skepticism. "You're not telling us the whole plan, are you?"
"No time!" Anisphia grinned. "We need to act fast or else the corruption will spread further."
Sona's eyes narrowed, considering the angles. "If we align our attacks just right, we can give you a temporary launch vector."
"Then let's do it," Hajime nodded. "Let's change tactics. Force it into the air. Anis will deal with the rest."
Tsubaki was the first to move, her naginata cleaving a clear path through the storm of tendrils. "Sitri team with me! Strike from three sides and drive it up!"
"On it!" Saji shouted, hurling his Absorption Line into the fissure's edge and pulling himself forward. He twisted mid-air, planting a heavy kinetic kick into the creature's midsection.
Tsubasa followed with explosive speed, channeling mana into her gauntlets and launching an uppercut that cracked through one of the creature's support limbs. "It's lifting!"
Tomoe flanked from the opposite side, her katana slashing a crescent arc laced with force magic that destabilized its footing further. Ruruko darted in and out of range, disrupting its balance with precise kinetic strikes.
Griselda advanced with poise, Excalibur Blessing flaring bright as she delivered a piercing thrust into the abomination's side, forcing it to stumble.
Then, Sona's voice came through, "Clear! launch trajectory open!"
With Momo and Reya's help Alice summoned a sweeping Anemo burst, a spiraling updraft coiling around the creature like a divine cyclone.
"Now!" Hajime shouted.
And with a final coordinated strike, they sent the creature upward but not high enough.
Alice shouted. "It was not high enough!"
"No, It's fine," Hajime said, already stepping forward.
He raised one hand, and for a brief moment, Hajime called on a fraction of the Authority he had taken from Enkidu—Blessing of Terra. This power let him draw directly from the earth's energy, boosting his defense and restoring stamina. It also let him tap into the natural strength of the land itself, not just to empower himself, but to support and heal others. Just like before, when he used it to save Alice. It answered him again now.
Now, he drew on a small part of it to boost his next move. He didn't need to cast or speak. The world responded on instinct.
Invisible force gathered under his skin, not seen but felt in every motion. The ground shifted just slightly under him. His strike will hit with the full might of the land.
Griselda, mid-step, faltered slightly. Her eyes widened faintly. "...That!..," she murmured to herself, a flicker of recognition across her expression. "....was that divinity?"
Not far behind, Sagiri narrowed her eyes. She didn't sense any magic, but something still felt off. The others glanced around, alert, as the air shifted briefly, then went still again.
But before anyone could ask, Hajime vanished from his spot, reappearing midair with his fist cocked back.
"Up you go."
With a single punch enhanced by his divine authority the creature rocketed higher into the sky, its screech echoing across the skyline.
The others looked on in stunned silence.
"…Did he just… punch it into orbit?" Momo muttered.
Saji exhaled slowly. "Okay… remind me never to spar with him."
Anisphia was already airborne, wings of light whirring softly as they beat against the disturbed sky. Her eyes locked on Hajime below, an mischievous glint flickering in them as knowing Hajime will launch the enemy just that little bit higher.
She hovered effortlessly, waiting at altitude with both palms aglow, preparing something she hadn't yet told the others. Her grin deepened as the abomination climbed into her range.
"Perfect," she whispered to herself, angling her stance mid-air. "Right where I need it."
Anisphia focused, gathering mana into her crest. The lines across her arms and neck lit up as energy surged through her, flowing into her core. She took a deep breath, wings stretching wide as her Impressed Seal flared to life. From her throat, a glowing heat built fast—bright and raw. What she was about to unleash wasn't normal magic. It was a copy of something born from the dragon magicite inside her.
A moment later, her mouth ignited with a brilliant flare—the mark of her Dragon's Breath.
Alice shielded her eyes with one arm. "She's actually doing it..."
Hajime didn't speak, but his expression tightened slightly. In anticipation... and resignation.
Sona's voice cut in quietly. "What is she—"
A hum rippled through the air.
With a roar that echoed from deep within her, she unleashed it. A blazing stream of incandescent breath—fire, mana, and raw willpower erupted skyward.
It cut through the sky like a divine lance colliding with the creature just as it reached the apex of its ascent.
It did have time to scream. Just torn by light, and then silence.
The void pulse collapsed.
The sky cracked with color.