Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 5 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 5===

In the path of the spirit at the east side, are Lucia and Maria.

“Although girls do like tall men, taking it a tad too far would instead have the opposite results, you know – you marionette♪”

To the grinning little sister who delivered a strong punch to the spirit’s cheek and caused it to sway—

“Refrain from idle chatting in battle, Maria—“

Lucia who had also donned her battle wear said. She was standing on top of a streetlight, and the giant spirit was right in front of her.

“Also, you shouldn’t be hitting its cheek, but instead here.”

What Lucia then sent out, was the whip in her right hand. In that moment with the light and boom, the attack originating from below the spirit swept across its lower jaw. Receiving another attack on the opposite side of its face compared to Maria’s attack, the spirit struggled to maintain its balance.

“It is easy to rock the opponent’s head in this place. But to someone like you who is a melee fighter, how could you not know such basic knowledge…”

Lucia said while sighing:

“Furthermore, this is a defensive battle. Even if our primary objective is to defeat the enemy, you have to think through your actions to try to reduce the damage to the surroundings. Even if other people can’t do it, how can we not even try to protect our own home?”

After realizing Lucia’s intentions are to stop the spirits from destroying the city—

“Ah! I’m sorry, Lucia-oneesama. Then I’ll just—“

Maria hurriedly apologised, and ran towards the spirit on the wall. However—

【………………】

The spirit saw through her plan, swung out its left arm to hit Maria.

''「Hoom!」''The air resounded as the giant arm picked up speed aiming at Maria.

''…Damn!''

Lucia subconsciously wanted to lash out her whip to assist Maria, as there was no footing at all in mid-air for her – and thus her familiar little sister can’t avoid that attack. But—

“—Oh!”

Maria leisurely twisted her body around, using inertia to hit her tail on the arm – and using it as a pivot, she pushed herself under the arm, and only air passing by hit her, leaving her safe and sound.

<nowiki>「——————」</nowiki>

As Lucia was shocked at Maria quick reaction, having been forced under the arm away from her original target of its lower jaw, Maria still haven’t given up on her target and then grabbed onto the spirit’s left collarbone and forcefully did a vertical flip upwards, jumping up and—

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!”

Following up with a roar, she used her all to kick at its lower jaw from directly below, and then fell downwards—

“How was that, Onee-sama, was it good!?”

Turning backwards to look, Lucia saw an expression she was very familiar with on Maria’s face. No matter what, seeing her little sister all grown up after separating from her for a little while—

''…She had gotten, a lot stronger.''

It was probably the many battles she had been through together with Basara and Mio. Even though she had realised that fact from the reports she received, actually witnessing Maria’s growth made her feel proud – as well as some melancholy. However—

“All that did was to change the direction it will fall, so it will still just destroy the buildings in the city!”

Lucia sighed at Maria searching for a reaction from her: [What a silly child]. After that she jumped from the lamp post and landed on the roof of a building, and then lashed out her whip once again. With another boom, the spirit who received another attack at the back of its head once again stood upright.

“Listen closely, Maria – against a gigantic enemy like this one, you have to knock it down while trying not to knock him over.” 

“Uhh, wouldn’t that mean that we have to try to defeat it without defeating it, one-sama… <ref> The joke is that you have to do something to it while not doing that same something to it, with the something being a word/phrase with multiple sublimed meanings</ref> Is that really possible?”

“No, it isn’t. In the past when I was studying the books the humans read, there were many suitable methods for taking down an enemy like this described.”

''If I remember it right—''

“It something like after attacking its face on the right, attack its face on the left at the same time. In other words – if we attack it on both sides at the same time, there most likely shouldn’t be any problems. If there’s a right, there has to be a left; if there’s an up, there has to be a down; similarly, after attacking it from both sides, we just have to attack it on both side again.”

“I-I see. But I don’t think that it means what you think it means… <ref>a common trope not only in anime? Don’t really want to search it up right now, so do it yourself</ref> Speaking of which, coming up with a battle strategy like that just from that… as expected of onee-sama.”

“That’s of course. When I first read that line, I had first thought it meant that to get rid of a problem, you have to deal with it at its root. I had never expected for the Human’s literature to describe such an effective method for dealing with gigantic enemies.”

Lucia’s recollected, and then returned her sights towards the spirit—

“Although splitting up to attack would be fine, but since it is us two – match up with me well, Maria.”

“—Yes!”

Nodding, Maria gathered up her spirit and then began the attack on the spirit for real. Lucia’s whips, with Maria’s fists and kicks; the succubus sisters’ matched attacks explosively enveloped the spirit’s body. Within the heavy sounds of impact from Maria and sharp crackling sounds from Lucia’s whip, the contrasting sounds seemed to be part of a play, interacting with each other lively – progressively turning into a symphony – Lucia’s whip crackling being the riffs and Maria’s punches and kicks being the melody.

<nowiki>【————————】</nowiki>

Maria and Lucia’s combo gave no time at all for the spirit to defend itself, much less avoiding or returning attacks. But, seemingly as if having just too much fun, Maria who lept from the spirit’s shoulder to deliver a kick—

“Ahahahaha! – Another one!”

With the point of impact on its right cheek, an especially deep reverb resounded out. After eating such a great attack, the giant body of the spirit began falling over towards the left at a speed Lucia was unable to cancel it out with her whip. Hence—

“Mnn… This is bad.”

Lucia immediately moved without turning an eye at Maria’s performance, and shifted the target of her whip from the spirit to Maria. It’s not to attack, but after wrapping the whip tightly around Maria’s ankle after she had just sent out the spinning kick, in the next moment—

“Eh….HYYyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa<nowiki>------!!</nowiki>”

Maria released a shrill scream. Lucia had then forcefully swung her right arm, swinging the whip which had wrapped around Maria’s ankle, making the one who had momentarily forgot about her responsibilities take responsibility by slamming her into the spirit’s left cheek.

With a sound effect where [Pam!] would be exaggerating, the spirit which had begun to fall regained its balance. Maria’s body, was currently stuck on the spirit’s cheek in a 「大」 shape.

“Uuuu…Lucia-oneesama, how could you do this to me…”

“You’re the one who went wild while co-operating with me, and I only returned the favour to you.”

It was just as Lucia was coldly staring while answering the complaining Maria, a new development occurred across the city.

<nowiki>【——————】</nowiki>

The spirit invading Wildart City from the west, went down on its knees after receiving an attack. And after that – a shadow descended at high speed towards the spirit.

“…They’ve made it.”

Lucia said while continuing to lash out her whip at the spirit right before her eyes.

There’s no mistaking it – they are, that pair of sisters who have just rushed to the battlefield.

Nonaka Yuki, and Nonaka Kurumi, the pair of Hero sisters.