Chapter 304

Nana and Leah began their battle inside the castle. As loud noises echoed, causing a commotion around them, Leah started transforming the castle's interior with a tottentotten flair.

First, she threw Forge Flame Material at the walls separating the rooms within the floor, igniting Forge Flame, and then smashed them down with a long-handled hammer, tearing them apart. Meanwhile, Nana knocked out the soldiers that emerged during this process, rendering them unconscious.

Thus, encompassing the upper and lower floors, they created a magnificent arena that fully utilized the height of three floors and the breadth of one castle floor.

Incidentally, the soldiers knocked out by Nana were buried in the spectator seats around the arena with only their faces visible, while non-combatants like servants were seated normally for the time being.

The time it took to construct the arena was a mere five minutes. Thanks to the level of Smithing Skills, raw technical prowess, and the addition of All-Seeing Eye, such a grand undertaking was completed in an instant, like magic, yet with far more intricate and refined craftsmanship than magic could achieve.

“Impressive work, Leah!”

“Hehe, thank you very much. I’m quite fond of that part over there, but what do you think, Nana?”

“It’s certainly well-crafted and stylish. But if we’re talking about that, I’d say—”

In the center of the arena, Nana, having activated True Form, and Leah were excitedly discussing the structure’s quality when soldiers stationed in the castle began pouring in from one of the two entrances, located toward the castle’s rear.

They were shocked by the transformed castle interior and even more startled by the row of what appeared to be severed heads—actually the buried soldiers—in the spectator seats. The space, previously filled only with the voices of the two girls, suddenly grew noisy.

“Noisy bunch, aren’t they? Shall I turn them all to stone?”

“Haha… that might be a bit much.”

Given Nana’s strength, she could indeed turn ordinary soldiers into statues in an instant, so Leah could only give a wry smile, knowing the remark was no joke.

“You! You’re the ones who did this to the place!”

“Is there a problem? I went to the trouble of building this, so mere mortals should be weeping with joy.”

“What did you say?! That’s it! No need to hold back—capture them!”

“Capture me? You lot?”

“Hahaha! You’re quite good at jokes, aren’t you? Hahaha!”

Nana burst into laughter, and the soldiers, including those not directly addressed, took offense at being mocked and rushed toward her all at once.

Finally calming her laughter, Nana’s lips curled innocently as she thought of a good idea.

Though Leah didn’t know what Nana had in mind, she clasped her hands together, offering a silent prayer for the soldiers’ fate.

“Leah, I’d like you to create a wind that flows only at ground level toward them.”

“Only at ground level? Alright, got it. Let’s see… popoi no po—i!”

Interrupting her prayer, Leah responded to Nana’s sudden request by pulling grenades from her Item Box that could generate the desired magic. She removed the safety pins and casually tossed three of them forward, scattering them.

As Nana timed her move, the moment the grenades hit the ground and a stream of wind began flowing toward the soldiers’ feet, she unleashed Mineral Breath.

The white powder carried by the wind surged through the soldiers’ feet, turning only their feet to stone.

Amid their panicked screams, Nana doused the soldiers with Poison Magic.

Though their living flesh remained unaffected, the petrified feet began to crumble, leading to utter chaos and cries of agony.

“Whoa… isn’t that a bit gruesome?”

“But since we only target the stone parts until they break off, there’s no need for hemostasis. It stops their movement, and even if the petrification is undone, they can’t walk without Life Magic to restore them. It’s the quickest way to neutralize them without killing while showing our strength.”

“Well, just putting them to sleep with Poison Magic would allow them to recover quickly if it’s dispelled. But I doubt those guys can dispel it…”

“Exactly. Now, let’s clear the stage of these immobilized fools!”

As she spoke, Nana enveloped her right hand in ice, expanding it into a massive arm.

With a sweeping upward motion, she sent the soldiers with crumbled feet flying into the spectator seats, where they rolled helplessly.

“Phew, all clean—oh?”

Tch.

Satisfied with the cleared arena, Nana nodded, but from the shadows of the spectator seats to her left, a cross-shaped shuriken flew toward her head.

She caught it effortlessly between her index and middle fingers and turned her head toward the source.

There, a black-haired woman with a ponytail, dressed entirely in black, emerged, clicking her tongue.

Then, from the spectator seats directly behind Nana, a faint metallic jara sound rang out, and before she realized it, a heavy weight was nearly upon her.

“There’s another one? Quite good at hiding, aren’t you?”

“Kh!”

But Nana flicked the approaching weight away with a snap of her index finger, and the assailant hurriedly dodged to the side.

“Twins, perhaps? They look identical.”

“Seems so.”

The second figure, identical in hairstyle, appearance, and attire to the shuriken-thrower, appeared, each wielding a ryūseisui: a throwing weapon with a heavy weight attached to a long, thin chain.

“Well, well, have you started without me? It’s no good for side characters to begin before the main star arrives.”

“When did you become the main star, huh?”

“Exactly. Besides, we need to finish here quickly and go take down that dragon outside.”

As the twins glared at each other, three new figures—two men and a woman—entered from the same entrance the soldiers had used.

The red-haired, handsome man who spoke first sauntered in with a casual demeanor, hardly suited for combat, shrugging his shoulders.

Following him, a blonde male elf, holding a staff warily, let out an exasperated remark.

Beside him, a blonde female elf calmly scanned the arena, assessing the situation.

“The first twin who attacked uses Throwing. The second twin wields Whip Arts. The red-haired man is a Guardian Knight class, decent in both physical and magical defense. The male elf uses Fire Magic, and the female elf is a Curse Magic user.”

“A Guardian Knight… like a cheap imitation of Sister Jeanne?”

“More like a downgraded version. He has the Holy Sword skill, not Dragon Holy Sword.”

“Hmph, a fake after all.”

Unwilling to entertain the idea that her sister resembled such an insufferable man, Nana dismissed her interest in him entirely.

As they observed the newcomers, the twins hidden in the spectator seats attacked again—one with Throwing and the other with Whip Arts, sending ryūseisui flying.

The difference lay in one throwing the chained weight directly and the other snapping the chain like a whip.

To Nana, however, their speed was unimpressive, and their power wouldn’t even scratch her if they hit.

Ignoring them, she focused on fortifying Leah’s defenses.

Nana activated Spirit Division: Curse Doll, and simultaneously, three dolls sprang from three different dollhouses. A Western doll and a stuffed animal flanked Leah, while a Japanese doll perched atop her head.

Now, even in an unforeseen situation, the dolls would protect Leah.

Glancing to confirm this, Nana noted the twins’ attacks combined Trajectory Correction, a Throwing derivative, and Curse Vision, a Whip Arts derivative, along with a boar’s right foreleg Beast Spirit Technique for increased power and a snake’s body Beast Spirit Technique for writhing chain control. Their twin synergy made it a clever attempt to destroy her weapon without touching her claws.

However, the timing was so tight that while they dodged Nana’s attack, they couldn’t land theirs either.

Though she swung lightly, the fact that her attack didn’t connect showed Nana a glimpse of their strength through experience and skill, not just stats. Excited, she grinned deeply, pondering how to fight the twins.

But then, the Guardian Knight with his exaggerated reactions interrupted.

“Hey, hey, as I said, those twins are just here to make me shine. I’m the main star, so don’t get carried away over there.”

“Then join in if you want. If I deem you worthy, I’ll treat you as the main course.”

“Hmm, sounds good. Alright, back me up!”

“Fine, let’s do this.” “Yeah, yeah.”

Seeing Nana still fending off the twins’ relentless ryūseisui and shuriken attacks, the Guardian Knight realized he had to step in and activated his skill.

From his casual attire, he donned a golden full-body Armor resembling Athena’s Dragon Armor, summoned from nowhere.

He then pulled a white Greatsword, slightly taller than himself at about 190 cm, and a white Shield from his Item Box.

The female elf Curse Magic user began applying status-enhancing magic to him, while the male elf started channeling Fire Magic.

“Here I go! Haaaaaaa!”

He infused his white Greatsword with the Holy Sword skill, making the blade glow brilliantly. The golden Armor also took on a holy aura, likely unpleasant for evil beings to behold.

However, as Nana was of the Evil Dragon class, among the top tier, and even beyond that, the effect wasn’t significant.

Still, intrigued by the Holy Sword skill on his sword, Nana layered Dragon Evil Spear onto her claws.

Her claws, now enveloped by Dragon Evil Spear, formed small black conical spears at her fingertips, emitting an ominous black aura.

“Let me have a go too.”

At that moment, the male elf unleashed a mixed Fire Magic and light spell—multiple Laser Cutter beams, a signature move of Tatsuro’s that Nana knew well.

Testing it, she swiped at the lasers with her Dragon Evil Spear-clad fingertips.

They vanished effortlessly upon contact.

While dealing with shurikens from the twins running around the spectator seats, the Guardian Knight’s boastful Greatsword finally came within striking range.

“If you wield evil power, my Holy Sword must terrify you!”

“Huh?”

If it were Jeanne’s Dragon Holy Sword class, it might be fearsome, but compared to a blazing inferno of a Greatsword, the Guardian Knight’s Holy Sword was like an unlit matchstick.

Even a direct hit from such a pathetic matchstick would only break it.

Mistaking her exasperated look for bravado, he laughed grandly and swung his Greatsword to behead her.

The twins timed their ryūseisui attacks to coincide, and the male elf, enhanced by the female elf’s magic, unleashed a bifurcated flamethrower of light and Fire Magic, arcing toward Nana while avoiding the Guardian Knight.

To summarize: ryūseisui from above and behind, flamethrowers from both sides, and the Guardian Knight’s Holy Sword-infused Greatsword from the front—a perfect encirclement.

“Hahaha! Take this, my Holy Sword strike!! …Huh?”

“No way…”

“Impossible!”

“It can’t be!”

Objectively, Nana seemed at a disadvantage; at least one attack should have hit, especially since an evil spear-like skill should be vulnerable to a Holy Sword strike.

Yet, by deploying ultra-fine Dragon Evil Spear needles around herself like a sea urchin, Nana nullified all attacks.

Naturally, the Guardian Knight, who had closed in directly, suffered the most.

“Gaaaaaahhh!?”

“What a noisy man. I should make him drink some of Father’s claw dirt.”

“No, Nana, even Big Brother would scream in that state…”

“Father isn’t that weak!”

“No way…” Leah stepped back, skeptical, watching the screaming man.

The Guardian Knight wore full-body Armor from his unique Celestial Gear skill, resistant to both physical and magical attacks.

Yet, fine Dragon Evil Spear needles pierced his eyes, ears, cheeks, shoulders, sides, arms, and lower body, including his groin.

His Holy Sword-infused Greatsword, supposedly invincible, lost all holy aura and crumbled into pieces, shattering upon hitting the floor.

Nana deliberately avoided vital areas like the head and upper body organs to prevent instant death.

The magic dissipated upon touching the Dragon Evil Spear, and the ryūseisui weights vanished, their chains shortened.

If Nana retracted the Dragon Evil Spear, the Guardian Knight would bleed out from his perforated body.

So, she used Ice Magic to freeze and seal all the holes. The pain, however, was unimaginable, and he writhed on the floor like a caterpillar.

Seeing this, the twins and elves, not particularly close to him nor even calling him by name, felt pity but prioritized their survival instincts.

The elves were straightforward: the female elf fully enhanced the male elf, who cast a wide Fire Magic wall, and they bolted for the exit—choosing to flee.

The twins, believing showing their backs to Nana would be fatal, turned their attention to Leah—choosing to take a hostage.

Nana doubted the twins could bypass her three dolls, so she cloaked her feet in a wolf’s Beast Spirit Technique, pierced through the fire wall with a three-meter-wide Dragon Evil Spear, and leaped through in one bound.

Confirming the fleeing elves, she kicked off the ground, jumped diagonally to overtake them, and slammed a Dragon Evil Spear fence in front of them.

With the fence between them, Nana faced the two elves.

“Please, don’t kill us!”

“Nooo!”

The male elf wept, begging for his life, while the female elf, half-mad, covered her ears and collapsed.

(Perhaps I overdid it…)

Nana had only meant to play the villain a bit, but their sheer terror made her reconsider. She dispelled the Dragon Evil Spear fence, placed her hands on their heads, and used Life Magic to knock them out.

Looking at their sleeping faces, they bore expressions of torment, as if facing the end of the world.

Meanwhile, with Leah, the twins saw Nana’s departure as their chance and rushed to take her hostage.

Their speed was too fast for Leah’s eyes to follow, and they gleamed with hope, believing their choice was correct.

But that hope was quickly crushed.

As they approached to wrap the shortened ryūseisui chains around Leah, the Western doll clung to the Throwing twin’s arm, and the Japanese doll to the Whip Arts twin’s.

They hadn’t expected mere dolls to match their speed, and as they reeled in shock, a change occurred.

The Throwing twin’s right arm petrified and crumbled, while the Whip Arts twin’s right hand began to rot.

“—Hhh!”

Reflexively, they tried to brush off the dolls with their free left hands, mirroring each other, but touching the dolls caused the same petrification and decay.

“Ah… aaah…”

Witnessing their arms crumble and rot, the twins fell to their knees before Leah, losing all will to fight.

For the sake of non-lethality, the petrification and decay stopped at their arms.

Just then, Nana, having put the elves to sleep, appeared before them.

The twins, resigned, bared their necks, as if begging for a quick end.

With an expressionless face, Nana reached out, simultaneously placing her hands on their necks and using Life Magic to put them to sleep.