Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume13 Chapter7 (section)

===Part 7===

"O sacred sword that vanquisheth evil, thou shalt turn the enemy into ash&mdash;Murgleis!"

Releasing silver-white light, the blade tore through darkness to pierce Zirnitra's head.

&mdash;But that was all. Having melded with ice dragons, turning into a strange block of ice, the monster quickly regenerated.

"...Huff, huff... This monster!"

Luminaris was kneeling on the ground, panting. She had vanquished archdemon-class spirits before, but that was achieved while leading knights under her command.

(Also, this thing no longer counts as a spirit...!)

Clang&mdash;Clatter clatter!

Peeling off from Zirnitra's body, ice fell on the ground, causing noise and the scattering of dust.

"...!"

Luminaris instantly went pale in the face.

There were reasons why she could not leave this place which was under the falling ice.

Because of her subordinates from the Sacred Spirit Knights, trapped in cursed ice.

...They should still be alive, but taking them all away was impossible. At this rate, they were going to get caught up in Zirnitra's attacks eventually, or die from the cursed ice when completely drained of divine power.

(Before that happens, this monster must be exterminated...!)

But after sustained combat against ice dragons and one instance of waffe release, Luminaris had almost depleted all her divine power. Driving her current self was nothing but stalwart willpower.

No reinforcements. Fighting here, she was the last person remaining. The three Wolf Ritters sent from Winter Gulf were already devoured by the cursed ice after depleting their strength.

(...Oh well, at least it worked in buying some time.)

Staring at the pitch-black sky, Luminaris adjusted her breathing.

At this time, Zirnitra underwent changes in the air.

Unable to support its body weight after excessive expansion, it started to free fall.

Crash!

The landing impact shook the ground.

The wind pressure swept away the trees in its surroundings. The impact created a small crater on the ground.

"...Guh&mdash;"

Luminaris hastily released Shield magic to protect her frozen subordinates.

After landing on the ground, Zirnitra had released cold air from its giant body, freezing the surrounding land, causing the trees in the Forest of Ice Blossoms to wilt gradually.

"It has already become a monster that only knows to devour everything huh..."

Standing up unsteadily, she readied Murgleis again.

(But while it has fallen on the ground, there are still chances for victory&mdash;)

But soon, she realized that this notion of hers was too naive.

Suddenly, the ground swelled as countless ice blades rose up in the surroundings.

Assimilating the Forest of Ice Blossoms, Zirnitra was turning the very ground itself into blades of ice.

Caught unprepared, Luminaris reacted an instant too slow.

"Guh, ahhhhhh&mdash;!"

Pierced all over her body by the sharp blades of cursed ice, she screamed from her throat.

(...Is this... the end...?)

A tear slid down Luminaris's cheek. Ever since she suffered defeat three years ago at the hands of that Strongest Blade Dancer, she had vowed to never shed another tear again.

(...Sor...ry...)

Her final thoughts were with the subordinates who had followed her faithfully all along.

Her fingers had no more strength. The sacred sword fell from her hand to the ground.

The cursed ice invaded up to throat level. Just as Luminaris sighed in despair, at that moment...

"&mdash;Don't give up. Your past self never gave up back when you were fighting ''her''."

(...?)

A flash of white light. The cursed ice covering her entire body shattered with a crisp sound.

Thrown into the air, she was caught by a pair of powerful arms.

"&mdash;You look like you're struggling, Miss Paladin."

"...You... are...!"

Team Scarlet's male elementalist.

&mdash;Kazehaya Kamito.

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