Raia and Raiden lunges at the Blood Demon. Still laughing, Tallulah throws her wooden sword and jumps, landing on top of Raiden's head. Before he even has time to react, the grinning Blood Demon slams her foot into his face.
Raiden catches his breath in a startled gasp of pain. As he falls backward, Raia catches a glimpse of his bleeding nose.
Sensing a threat approaching from behind her, Raia twists her body, and the spinning wooden sword breezes past her. She drops into a middle stance, anticipating the wooden sword to return to her, but it doesn't.
The spinning sword shifts its aim to Sunshine, who lets out a surprised yelp as its pommel smacks her square in the back. She crouches on the ground, clutching her shoulder.
The wooden sword reverses direction and returns to the Blood Demon's grasp. Raia releases the power of her Blessing and swings it sideways. A flame erupts from the blade, heading straight for Tallulah. The demon leaps backward and extinguishes the flame with a slash of her wooden sword.
Nathan lets out a roar and leaps at the demon, swinging his fist.
Tallulah dodges, then she attacks him with a high downward slash.
Nathan leaps out of the way and performs a series of front flips until he reaches the spear pierced in the wall and pulls it out. His face lights up as he spins his weapon and pounces on Tallulah once more. Dull metallic clanks fill the air as the spear and the wooden sword collide again and again.
Raia shoots Sunshine a knowing look as she prepares to strike.
The Blood Demon is faster than them, faster than Nathan and Sunshine. So they'll need Sunshine's Blessing to slow her down, which should be possible once her arrows have injured her enough to taste her blood. Once her speed is reduced, they will have a greater advantage in defeating her.
Raiden appears beside Raia, and the two of them exchange glances before charging toward the demon.
Sunshine, who is standing on the altar, shoots three arrows of light.
Tallulah notices the approaching threats and leaps out of Nathan's reach. The wooden sword vanishes from view, and she spreads her arms wide. A tangle of faint threads appears in front of her, resembling spiderwebs and emanating from her fingertips.
Raia and Raiden halt their momentum, a deep frown on their faces. The three gleaming arrows collide with the threads and disintegrate into light particles. The silver strings glow with a faint, ghostly light before slackening and falling to the ground.
Nathan snorts, his gaze lingering on the fallen threads, which are now slowly disintegrating. "So your Curse is manipulating threads, huh? I guess you're a spider?" He lowers his stance and grips the shaft of his spear. "Release thyself, Vlad!"
Tallulah's face flushes, as if insulted. "I'm not a spider!" The wooden sword reappears for a second time. She leaps into the air and throws her weapon. At the same time, she thrusts her arm out.
The spinning sword flies toward Sunshine, who is pulling on the string of her gleaming longbow and aiming at the Blood Demon. Left with no other choice, she fires the arrow at the incoming threat instead.
The arrow is deflected by the wooden sword and falls to the ground. As if that failed attempt wasn't going to stop it from attacking its original target, the spinning weapon accelerates toward the Sunshine.
Tightly grasping the metal grip of her longbow, Sunshine assumes a defensive posture. When the wooden sword approaches, she raises her weapon and deflects the blow. The sword ricochets off the shining longbow.
Raia kicks off the ground and swings her flame sword, sparks of purple ember swaying in the air as the fire blade waves and dances. Her weapon spews out flame bullets.
Tallulah spins and flips backward to avoid them. Raiden immediately follows Raia's attack with his own. He lunges at the demon, delivering a downward strike with his broadsword.
Giggling, the Blood Demon leaps up and raises her hand to reclaim her spinning wooden sword.
Raiden thrusts his weapon forward. Vines sprout from the rain-guard of his sword and stretch forward like green serpents.
The demon's eyes light up with sheer delight. She lands on the ground and uses her wooden sword to slice the vines.
"Nathan! What's the matter?" Sunshine's perplexed voice catches the attention of the two Aragons.
When they turn their heads, they see the aforementioned Aragon standing motionless, his crimson cross-shaped spear clenched in one hand.
Raia frowns. Nathan's weapon looks the same. But she remembers that the man only recently released his Blessing, so the appearance of his spear must have changed. Did he cancel the transformation? But that would be strange and stupid, and he is now just standing still.
Something is amiss.
Raia looks at Tallulah, who is now standing on a pew with an amused smile on her face.
One way to find out, Raia thinks, raising her flame sword. The fire blade flickers as it absorbs the surrounding purple embers, an invisible air spiraling around the weapon. She swings it down.
Nathan rushes toward Tallulah as soon as she moves her arm. At the same time, the purple flame surrounding Raia's weapon bends and twists into a shape. A sword
A clone of her flame sword.
The flame sword clone shoots like an arrow toward Tallulah.
The Blood Demon crouches down with a grin as Nathan positions himself in front of her with his arms spread as if to protect her. The flame sword clone pierces Nathan's chest. Fortunately, because a Blessing cannot hurt a human, it causes no harm to his body.
Nathan's pupils dilate as he stares at Raia. When he opens his mouth, no words come out.
"D-did you just defend the Blood Demon?" Sunshine blurs out in disbelief.
"Nathan?" Comes Raiden's confused voice, gaping at his comrade as if he has just been betrayed.
Tallulah, who is standing behind Nathan, laughs. "I'm sorry to inform you, but this young man is now my property." A grin splits her face. "He is now my doll."
Purple fire envelops Nathan's body, bathing him in holy flame. Despite having been burned, the disciple appears to be unharmed.
Four silvery threads connected to Nathan's limbs become visible as they loosen from the heat of Raia's flame. The flame around his body then goes out. He loses his balance and almost falls on his face, but Tallulah opens her palm and his body freezes, preventing him from falling. He straightens up and takes a defensive stance in front of Tallulah, protecting the demon once more.
A gasp of surprise escapes from Raiden and Sunshine, a look of horror crossing their features. Raia, on the other hand, maintains her cool as she examines Nathan and Tallulah.
Nathan raises his crimson spear, and the energy it emits dissipates. The spear gradually takes on a silver tint, washing away any traces of crimson. Then he leaps at Raia, propelling the spear forward.
Raia's stomach sinks. She jumps back to avoid the sharp spear tip, but the guy keeps repeating the attack like a bolt of lightning. She continues to dodge, her teeth clenched in frustration. Nathan's Blessing has turned into a regular weapon, which has become quite a trouble. Since his weapon lacks the support of a Divine Power, it will be vulnerable to another Blessing. Because of this, Raia is unable to use her weapon. His spear might be destroyed. The Aragon is under the control of a demon, so he has lost contact with his Blessing.
"R-Raia, I'm sorry," Nathan apologizes as he continues to attack her.
"No!" Raiden yells. He lunges at Nathan and wraps an arm around his comrade to restrain him, but Nathan elbows his chin hard and he slumps to the ground with a groan.
Raia grits her teeth as Nathan advances on her again. "Don't bother yourself with me; I'll handle him."
After giving Raia one last worried look, Raiden gets up from the ground and joins Sunshine in fighting Tallulah.
Raia tightens her jaw. She deactivates the Divine Power of her Blessing, and her longsword becomes an ordinary weapon.
A loud metallic clank resonates as Raia blocks Nathan's spear with her sword. She doesn't put much effort into it in order to avoid damaging both of their weapons - the vessel of a Divine Power.
"I'm really sorry for this, Raia. I really can't control my body," Nathan says, a look of guilt flashing over his face.
Raia flips her longsword in a reverse grip and slams the pommel into Nathan's chin, catching him off guard. She grabs the spear from him and tosses it across the aisle, out of his reach.
Nathan shoots her a look of disbelief. "T-that hurt!"
Raia ignores him and reactivates the Divine Power of her Blessing. Purple flame once more embraces the blade of her longsword. She avoids his attack as he swings his fist, then she slashes him four times in quick succession. Four dangling threads gleam and fall to the ground. Nathan loses his footing and collapses on his face. When he stands up, he bends and unbends his elbows. A smile spreads across his face as he realizes he has regained control of his body.
"Dammit! That was a horrible experience," he exclaims, looking up at Raia, who stands before him with a solemn expression. The smile on his face fades. "I'm sorry."
A crashing sound rings out. Nathan and Raia turn their heads to find Raiden sprawled on the floor. He has two cuts on his face, as well as a long one across his chest. He wipes the blood from his face with the back of his hand.
Sunshine is kneeling on the floor, breathing heavily. Her back has a deep wound.
"Damn you!" Nathan roars as he glares at Tallulah. He grabs his spear, activates its Divine Power, and pounces on her.
Tallulah looks at him, her jaw almost dropping to the floor. She glares at Raia. "You stole my doll! How annoying!" She thrusts her hand forward, and faint, almost imperceptible lines emerge from her fingertips.
Nathan swings his spear, barely cutting the glinting threads.
Tallulah spins around and delivers a turning kick, knocking Nathan backward.
Raia lunges at the Blood Demon. An invisible force propels her into the wall when Tallulah swings her hand. She winces, her back aching from the blow. Her left shoulder throbs in pain. She frowns upon seeing three claw-like gashes on her skin.
Raia lunges at her. When Tallulah swings her hand, an invisible force propels her into the wall. She winces, her back aching from the blow. Her left shoulder throbs in pain. She grimaces as she notices three claw-like gashes on her skin.
Vines emerge from the ground behind Tallulah. She hurls herself up and slices them with her wooden sword.
Sunshine gathers her strength and dashes forward, her shining longbow held high. The Blood Demon barely glances at her, looking unconcerned.
Then everything happens in a blink of an eye. A silver thread slices off Sunshine's right wrist, and blood sprays into the air. Sunshine falls to her knees and lets out a piercing cry. Her weapon and severed hand land with a metallic clunk on the ground. The longbow vanishes into thin air, returning to her left hand as a silver cross bracelet.
"Sunshine!" Raiden and Nathan both scream in unison as they rush towards her.
Raia's eyes widen in horror, but she quickly regains her composure and charges at the Blood Demon, who is giggling with delight. Tallulah deflects her attack without even blinking.
"If you haven't noticed, my Curse grants me the ability to freely manipulate threads." Tallulah smirks. "My threads gain strength by feeding blood from their victims." When she extends her arm, Raia immediately jumps backward and assumes a defensive stance. But nothing happens. Instead, four gleaming are stretching out from Tallulah's hand.
Tallulah grins, and Raia's heart pounds in her chest.
"Watch out!" Raiden shouts, and Raia looks over her shoulder.
Raiden charges at her like a raging bull, his broadsword pointing forward. Threads dangle from each of his limbs. There's no vine around his weapon.
Raia's face turns pale.
The Divine Power of his Blessing has been deactivated.
She jumps up instinctively, but Tallulah kicks her back, shoving her forward.
"No!" Raiden screams and thrusts the blade into her flesh.