— — — — — —
"...?"
Endou's gaze fell on the canned milk in Yukina's hand, her expression unreadable.
Milk... at a time like this? Since when did Yukina pick up that habit?
And seriously if you're gonna drink it, fine—why the heck are you blushing!?
Yukina pursed her lips, staring at the can as her lashes trembled slightly. Her cheeks gradually turned red.
This was apparently one of the perks of joining Lynn's faction. According to Shiina Mahiru, it was some sort of magic-recovery item?
But thinking of Mahiru's warning, Yukina hesitated.
This stuff was really made by one of her seniors in the familia?
She instinctively glanced down at her own chest, and her face flushed even more.
Do... do I really have to drink this? And how the hell did this senior make this much milk?
Yukina was still hesitating—until a sudden gust of wind whipped through, scattering her hair.
A gigantic golden serpent crashed through the ground as it was about to reach her at terrifying speed!
Okay, no time to hesitate!
Yukina popped open the can and chugged it in one go!
Thump-thump!!
She clearly heard the pounding of her own heart. And right after—A rush of power surged up from deep inside her!
Her magic, which had already been depleted, instantly refilled as if flipping a switch!
BOOM!
A burst of magic exploded from Yukina's body. Her black hair flew wildly as she raised the Snowdrift Wolf without hesitation!
Whoooosh—
"This is…"
Endou was stunned by the sight in front of her.
Her magic... actually recovered? And at that speed?
Her eyes drifted to the now-empty can in Yukina's hand, suspicions forming in her mind.
A magic recovery item?
As someone experienced in these things, she quickly saw through the milk's true nature.
But wasn't this effect a bit too good?
And as far as she remembered, Yukina didn't have access to this kind of item.
Lynn?
That name flashed through Endou's mind. Then she recalled the Lynn Group, known for dealing in supernatural gear.
Could it be this was another one of their products?
She made a mental note—if every member of the Lion King Organization could get their hands on this stuff, it'd be a literal lifesaver for them!
Pushing those thoughts aside, Endou refocused on the battlefield.
There were still two beast familiars. She had no intention of letting Yukina deal with them alone.
That said her own powers weren't exactly offensive; they were more on the support side.
She tapped her index finger in the air. A golden magic circle formed instantly, cryptic and radiant, before shooting into Yukina's body like an arrow.
Yukina blinked, then suddenly felt her magic surge in quality—like she'd broken through some kind of limit.
The swirling wind around the Snowdrift Wolf instantly intensified!
"Wolf of divine frost, slayer of demons—lend me the power to smite this evil!"
Yukina instinctively chanted the spear's attack prayer.
HUMMMM—
In the blink of an eye, the Snowdrift Wolf flared with intense light, far brighter than before.
Dimitrie Vatler blinked at the glow, a trace of fear instinctively creeping up his spine.
Just two of his snakes won't be enough now.
Realizing this, Vatler gave a sharp order, "Anavatapta, Nanda!"
As he spoke, the eyes of the two giant serpents behind him lit up.
A green and a purple beam shot out from them!
Seeing this, Endou rushed forward and raised a barrier just in time.
BOOM!!
The green and purple beams intertwined and slammed fiercely into the barrier!
ZZZZT—
The barrier shrieked under the pressure, trembling violently.
Still—though it looked like it was about to break, Endou remained calm and focused.
Yukina glanced her way briefly, then turned her full attention to the two giant serpents.
Activating her "Divine Punishment Eye," she quickly pinpointed each serpent's weak spot against magical disruption.
SWISH—
Without warning, Yukina vanished from where she stood.
A moment later! She reappeared right above the black serpent's head!
No hesitation—she plunged the Snowdrift Wolf straight into its skull!
At the same time, she activated the spear's special technique: Divine Core Resonance: Critical Breakthrough!
Facing two familiars at once, she didn't hold back—she used her high-efficiency energy mode instead of brute force.
Especially now with her master's buff and the spear's unique properties, even if she couldn't finish them off, she could seriously mess them up.
And she made sure to hit the serpent's weak point, too.
ROAAAR!!!
The black serpent screamed in pain as its massive body slammed into the ground with a loud crash.
Without missing a beat, Yukina spun and locked onto the golden serpent.
She went with the simple tactic—hurling the Snowdrift Wolf like a javelin!
But the golden serpent was quick. It whipped its head to the side, dodging the incoming spear.
It looked smug for a moment—but then, the spear whooshed back into Yukina's hand.
She threw it again—harder.
The golden serpent: "???"
Again?
It prepared to dodge again—but this time, Yukina triggered the Divine Core Resonance mid-throw, causing a ripple in the surrounding space.
FWOOOSH—
Like a spear with a booster engine, Snowdrift Wolf accelerated like crazy!
SPLURCH—
This time, the golden serpent didn't react fast enough. The spear pierced right through its jaw!
Sssssss~
Its eyes turned blood-red as it hissed furiously, then its massive form collapsed backward!
Seeing this, Yukina finally let out a breath of relief.
She hadn't expected to get the hang of her new power so quickly.
But now she could even use it on the fly—amplifying the spear's speed several times over without using up too much magic!
Of course, it wasn't as strong as the full-power Divine Core Resonance.
The fact that the serpents were still alive and squirming made that clear.
But Yukina didn't care. Her eyes turned to Dimitrie Vatler.
If they didn't take out the vampire now, who knew how many more beasts he could summon?
Take out the boss, and the rest fall apart—she understood that much.
— — —
Inside the Lion King Organization's meeting room
Shirona Kuraki and Koyomi Shizuka watched the battle unfold on a screen.
"Are we really just going to sit here and watch?"
Koyomi spoke calmly. With her strength, she could easily intervene and stop the whole fight.
But—
"Keep watching," Shirona said, her tone laced with intrigue.
She hadn't expected Yukina to show up again out of the blue. And she definitely hadn't expected her to be this strong.
Why? How?
Shirona was genuinely curious.
— — —
Bleach World — Hueco Mundo
Yotsuya Miko and her group were still exploring the desolate realm.
Lynn, however, wasn't too interested—he was passively watching them through the Devil's Piece skill.
Since becoming a Super Devil, his powers had evolved, and one of them was this:
He could observe any member of his faction through the space-bound Devil's Piece embedded in them.
Like now—he had a screen open showing Miko and her crew.
But that wasn't all. Through the same system, he could teleport to any of his subordinates instantly—even across dimensions.
Just as he was watching the others, Yukina's chess piece began to glow faintly, catching his attention.
He tapped it, and a new screen appeared beside him.
On it—Yukina and her battlefield.
"Huh…"
Lynn raised an eyebrow.
The guy facing Yukina—he vaguely remembered him.
A vampire who showed off quite a bit.
On screen, Yukina suddenly transformed.
Her long black hair turned white. Her eyes gleamed like the tip of her spear.
Chains lined with glowing runes wrapped around her neck.
Seeing her like that, Lynn's red eyes narrowed slightly.
"Ooh!!! She used Devilization."
.
.
.