“Gyagyagya!”
“Force Shield!”
From Eri’s round shield, a wave of light expanded outward, forming a solid barrier. The Mermen’s thrusting spears were effortlessly stopped by the glowing wall. Still, some tried to circle around—
“Counter Saber!”
Blades of light materialized around Eri, spinning like saws, slashing through the Mermen that got too close. Without holding back, she unleashed wave after wave of attack. At the same time, she shouted, “Force Blast!” and converted her light wall into a beam of destructive energy, blasting through the stunned Mermen. She then dashed into their ranks, tearing through them with her swordbreaker.
The Mermen seemed to register Eri as a threat, swarming in her direction—Only to be blown away by a burst of foxfire from the side.
“Whoa… That tiny flame packs that much power…?”
Eri turned her eyes toward Inari, who was fighting some distance away. Despite wielding only a single blade and no shield, Inari struck her as overwhelmingly powerful.
Every swing of her sword bisected a Merman, every flick of her fingers launched deadly foxfire that felled enemies instantly.
And not just that—Inari was light on her feet, dodging gracefully, and even when attacks couldn’t be avoided, they were nullified by an impenetrable barrier.
Eri, a fairly rare “Magic Fortress” type tank, prided herself on her durability, but Inari’s performance was clearly on another level altogether.
Incredible offense, agility, defense, and magic. Honestly, she was strong enough to handle it all solo. Watching her now, it was easy to believe she’d cleared the Akihabara temporary dungeon at lightning speed.
But more than that—
“There’s no hesitation in her movements at all… Wait—wasn’t Miss Inari supposed to be a white-card rookie…?”
Her swordsmanship wasn’t classical or disciplined. If anything, it was raw and unrefined—something that couldn’t even be called a proper style. But in a way, that made it even more practical. Each strike was aimed to kill in one blow. No frills, just ruthless efficiency. The sword she called “Kogetsu” surely played a part in that, but regardless… she was powerful.
Ridiculously powerful.
And that wasn’t all. At the start of the battle, something had leapt out from Inari’s shrine maiden garb—the much-talked-about building block golem.
It ran alongside her, firing beams in support. It was the perfect backup.
“Maybe I wasn’t even needed… I’m kind of losing confidence here…”
Unaware of Eri’s thoughts, Inari continued slicing down any Merman that caught her eye.
“Eri seems fine on her end. The problem is… there be so many!”
She’d already slain twenty or thirty herself. Add the ones she’d burned with foxfire and the ones Eri had taken down, and the body count easily exceeded that. But a quick glance deeper into the harbor showed more Mermen still emerging from the Arakawa River, spurred on by the Merman Chief.
“I see now… They’ve amassed quite the force.”
This was far from resolved. The Mermen issue was still ongoing. That large Merman—the chief—was likely the field commander. If he was here, then this incident wasn’t ending anytime soon.
Worse still, their behavior had clearly changed. The enemies were uniform, coordinated, and organized. That could only mean they were operating under some specific strategic objective.
If a godlike being really was involved, as Yasuno had speculated, then this could no longer be dismissed as nonsense. The question was: What was the objective?
But Inari shoved that aside.
“The longer this takes, the more lives shall be lost. Which means…”
She readied Kogetsu, drawing her finger along the blade’s edge.
It began to glow with a pale blue light—then sparked, turning to electricity.
Inari raised the blade high overhead.
“Secret Sword: Raikiri!”
A lightning bolt shot skyward from Kogetsu—and then came crashing down.
Thunder surged across the battlefield, striking every Merman that had begun to attack, those emerging from the river, and even the river itself.
Panicking, Atsuage—the block golem—dived back into Inari’s garb, but it hadn’t been targeted. It was just being overcautious.
The Mermen were electrocuted, floating to the surface of the river, their bodies turned to scorched husks. All that remained were the drop items.
“Gya… gyagyagya…”
The Merman Chief, covered in wounds but still breathing, stood alone.
“Well done survivin’, even scattered as thou were. But—this is where it ends.”
Inari dashed toward the Merman Chief—and Atsuage peeked out from her garb again.
“Beam.”
“GYAGYAAAGHHHH!”
“Ah.”
The beam Atsuage fired landed the finishing blow. The Merman Chief fell, his body fading away, leaving only his spear behind as a drop.
Truthfully, the Chief had been on the verge of collapse anyway. He probably would’ve died even if someone had just poked him. But since Atsuage struck the final blow, he was the one credited with the kill.
The golem promptly climbed atop Inari’s head and began dancing joyfully. In Inari’s vision, a message popped up—Atsuage has leveled up.
Seeing this, she simply muttered.
“Well, fair enough.”
It didn’t matter who landed the final blow. What mattered was that peace had returned.
“Miss Inari!”
“Oho, Eri. Thou fought well—I caught a glimpse.”
“Ugh… it’s even worse knowing you’re completely sincere about that…”
“Hmm?”
As Inari tilted her head in confusion, reinforcements finally arrived—other Awakeners rushing to the scene.
“Wait… they already beat it?”
“There’s loot all over the place…”
“Hey—is that the building block golem and the maid and the fox shrine maiden?”
“That’s gotta be Inari-chan, right? The one from the rumors?”
Voices buzzed all around them.
Inari, however, turned her gaze once more to the river.
This matter was far from over. But then—what exactly should she do about it?
That answer… was not yet within her grasp.