Tsukiyomi Ruri added two spoonfuls of sugar to her coffee. As she stirred it, she controlled the Faceless to send Hino Kaoru a meeting location.
She hadn’t put much thought into the location. During a previous shopping trip, she had spotted a sewer passageway in a desolate alley off a main street. Placing the meeting point in the sewer seemed rather fitting.
The location wasn’t far, either. The straight-line distance from the cafe was less than a hundred meters. Tsukiyomi Ruri herself only needed to stay seated in the cafe and operate remotely.
After sending the location, Tsukiyomi Ruri also had the Faceless head swiftly to the destination.
Upon arrival, seeing no one around, the Faceless opened the sewer passageway and floated inside without any haste.
Not long after the Faceless arrived, another figure appeared in the little alley.
Brushing back her long, pale yellow hair, Hino Kaoru didn’t rashly enter the sewer. Instead, she raised a hand, and a fist-sized firebird coalesced in her palm.
Though the firebird seemed small, it was condensed from the SR Ability Card, 【Flame Bird】, possessing formidable destructive power.
The firebird flapped its wings and darted quickly into the sewer. Only after confirming there was no danger did Hino Kaoru step forward and personally leap down into it.
The sewer was pitch black, but the Flame Bird flying nearby provided sufficient light.
The moment she landed in the sewer, Hino Kaoru’s gaze shifted, fixing on a certain direction.
A figure was floating there. Hino Kaoru had the firebird move a little closer, its light illuminating the figure from the darkness.
“Inviting me to a meeting, yet you don’t even dare to show your true form?” Hino Kaoru recognized at a glance that this was an ability construct, and she didn’t hide her mockery.
Using the Faceless, Tsukiyomi Ruri spoke: “Leader of the Flame Bird Corps, you should know who we are by now. So, how did you originally plan to deal with us?”
A longsword with a glowing red spine materialized in Hino Kaoru’s hand. She sneered, “How else could I deal with it? The Flame Bird Group, including me, is down to just two people now. Whether a direct or indirect relation, this is inseparable from you. Between us, only one side can survive, isn’t that right?”
“You seem rather different now compared to when you were at the Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn,” the Faceless stated flatly.
Hino Kaoru narrowed her eyes.
Of course she was different. At the Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn, her beloved Fujiwara Misa was present, so she wouldn’t reveal her more violent side. But out here, she needed no pretense.
As a Senior Reincarnator, the blood on her hands had never been little.
“Have all your people come out,” Hino Kaoru said coldly.
Her reason for not attacking immediately was simply a desire for everyone to show themselves, so she could wipe them all out at once.
Tsukiyomi Ruri had the Faceless say, “Hino Kaoru, you’re not a Mid-Level Reincarnator, are you?”
The moment Hino Kaoru agreed to the meeting so readily, Tsukiyomi Ruri had harbored this suspicion. And now, seeing that Hino Kaoru had truly come alone, Tsukiyomi Ruri felt her judgment was basically correct.
Someone who would come alone, believing the enemy had multiple Mid-Level Reincarnators—how could such a person be a Mid-Level Reincarnator themselves?
Upon hearing this, Hino Kaoru couldn’t help but laugh: “So that’s it. You’ve deduced my strength, so none of you dare to show your faces, only letting this thing communicate with me, is that it?”
The truth was, of course, not what Hino Kaoru thought, but Hino Kaoru felt certain she was right.
Before Tsukiyomi Ruri could reply, Hino Kaoru continued, “If that’s the case, waiting any longer, you probably still won’t dare to appear. So I won’t waste any more time. In any case, there will be plenty of opportunities to deal with you all later.”
Hino Kaoru was confident she had already grasped the identities of everyone in the Urban Legend Club. Dealing with these people later wouldn’t be difficult.
Everything was under her control.
“You misunderstand,” Tsukiyomi Ruri controlled the Faceless to say slowly. “The reason only the Faceless is here is simply because the Faceless alone is more than enough to handle you.”
“Handle me?” Hino Kaoru sounded as if she had just heard an amusing joke.
“Yes, handle you. So, Hino Kaoru, you may begin.” The Faceless’s voice was utterly devoid of emotion. “Make your move. Let me see what your strength is like.”
Hino Kaoru’s expression turned icy, yet the temperature around her was rising.
She said no more. The longsword in her hand erupted with blazing firelight. With a swing towards the Faceless, a Flame Bird took shape in the arc of the swing, as large as a calf, and pounced swiftly before the Faceless.
“Boom!”
As the Faceless’s scythe swept through, the mass of fire burst apart on the spot.
But this was only the first firebird. Hino Kaoru’s assault was far from this simple. As the first firebird charged, she slashed her sword through the air repeatedly. A scorching aura surged, filling the sewer, as one firebird after another materialized, swarming in droves towards the Faceless.
In the blink of an eye, it seemed the entire sewer would melt.
This was Hino Kaoru!
This was a Senior Reincarnator!
However…
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…”
As the Faceless’s scythe swung, it seemed plain and unadorned, yet it produced the best results. No matter how scorching or fierce the swarming firebirds were, they were all effortlessly cleaved apart under that sharp scythe, collapsing into bursts of scattered flame-light.
‘Senior Reincarnator?’
Hino Kaoru stared at this scene, her gaze constricting.
If the opponent were a Mid-Level Reincarnator, it would be utterly impossible to withstand her attacks. The conclusion was obvious.
Did that Urban Legend Club have a Senior Reincarnator in it?
‘No matter what, since things have reached this point, there’s no escaping it.’
Hino Kaoru’s heart was resolute. Gripping her longsword tightly, she began to charge power.
Her 【Flame Bird】, aside from attacking enemies in batches, could also condense all its power into a single, ultimate Flame Bird through charging.
‘Hmm? Am I too late?’
Hino Kaoru looked ahead.
The scythe danced in the darkness, shattering one firebird after another. In the blink of an eye, all the firebirds were broken. The Faceless was still the Faceless, appearing effortlessly calm and unhurried.
“You’re charging power? Very well, then charge it to its limit. I won’t attack you before that,” the Faceless said calmly.
“Are you looking down on me?” Hino Kaoru’s face darkened as she continued her charging.
“No. I simply want to see what the strongest explosive attack of a current Senior Reincarnator can reach, and if it differs at all from the past,” the Faceless’s voice remained flat and cool.
