"Did we win?" Tohka asked as she landed beside Shido, her voice tinged with lingering fatigue.
"I think so..." Shido replied, still catching his breath.
"Kurumi summoned her Angel at the last second and it blocked most of the attack. She should still be alive, but without Zaphkiel, she can't do much against us anymore."
"I see..." Tohka nodded, then let out a long sigh of relief.
They look at area where their combined attack landed before they look at a certain part of the part that had a deep crater on it. Polish this.
"Shido!"
"Nii-sama!"
Just as they were about to approach the crater, Tohka and Shido heard familiar voices calling out. They turned toward the sound and saw Origami and Mana flying toward them at high speed.
The two girls landed in front of them, their eyes immediately drawn to the thick smoke still hanging in the air.
"Did you do it?" Origami asked plainly, though her brows were furrowed showing her concern.
Mana on the other hand was more direct and looked at Shido up and down while showing her worry. "Are you alright, Nii-sama? You're not hurt right?"
"...Yeah, I'm fine."
Shido felt a bit overwhelmed by their excitement so he could only push Mana slightly.
Tohka, watching the exchange between the siblings, puffed out her cheeks in a silent pout but she didn't say anything.
"So, where is she?" Mana said, seeing Tohka was looking at her in jealousy. She was also curious if they had defeated Kurumi.
"She's over there," Shido said, pointing toward the back of the amusement park, where the trees thickened and smoke still lingered.
Beyond the treeline, inside the deep crater, Kurumi lay unconscious on the scorched ground. Her Astral Dress was torn and riddled with holes, her body covered in bruises and burns.
Though Shido, Kotori, and Tohka had aimed their combined attack at her Angel rather than Kurumi herself, the sheer power of it was overwhelming. Even with Zaphkiel shielding her from the worst of it, the force was still too much for her to fully withstand. Given that, the fact she was still breathing, and her injuries weren't critical, was almost miraculous.
All of them landed inside the crater and surrounded Kurumi.
"I can't believe she survived that." Origami said in amazement.
Even from a distance, when she and Mana had just finished evacuating all the people inside the Amusement park, they could still hear a deafening explosion that even caused the air to tremble.
"Well, she was durable and she always find a way to live despite her situation." Mana replied in a matter of fact.
As the others continued talking, Shido quietly knelt beside Kurumi and brought up the system interface only he could see. With a quick swipe, he purchased a high-level Vitality Potion which costed him 5,000 SP.
The girls around him stopped talking when they saw Shido's action. They were curious what he was going to do but then a strange bottle that had green liquid inside making them even more curious.
Shido gently parted Kurumi's glossy red lips, revealing her white teeth and the tip of her small tongue. With care, he uncorked the potion and slowly poured the glowing liquid into her mouth.
The potion lives up to it's name. A soft green light enveloped Kurumi's body, washing over her like a gentle wave. The bruises, burns, and wounds she had sustained during the final attack began to vanish, her skin returning to its usual flawless state.
However, the only part that wasn't restored was her Astral dress that could barely cover her pale white body.
"Shido, what's that?" Tohka asked curiously, leaning in a bit as she eyed the empty bottle. Something about the glowing liquid he poured into Kurumi's mouth looked oddly… tasty.
After confirming that Kurumi was no longer in any danger, Shido turned his gaze toward the three girls, all watching him with expectant eyes.
"It's a medicinal potion," he explained. "One that can instantly heal almost any physical injury."
"Amazing... This is the first time I've heard of something like that," Mana said, clearly impressed. "Even back at DEM Headquarters, we don't have anything like it. We just use glass capsules filled with medicinal fluid to treat injured bodies."
Mana said in surprise, however she didn't question how Shido got something so precious, instead she felt happy that Shido had a life saving item.
"Shido, do you have another one? I wanna taste it~" Tohka cooed, hugging his arm tightly.
She pressed herself against him, her soft chest squishing against his arm as she wiggled in place, almost like she couldn't sit still. Her flirtatious tone was completely at odds with the innocent glimmer in her eyes, it was clear she was more interested in the taste than Shido.
Shido let out a helpless smile. "That's not a drink, Tohka. And it's not cheap either."
Tohka pouted. "Booo! Stingy..."
"Heh. What a glutton." Origami didn't let this chance off and decided to annoy Tohka.
"What did you say?! Tobiichi Origami?!" Tohka was instantly provoked by Origami's words and glared at her.
"Maa, Maa. Calm down Tohka-san. Origami-san was just kidding." Mana step forward and tried to calm her down.
However, Inside, Mana couldn't help but smile wryly at the scene. She didn't quite understand how Tohka and Origami could start squabbling over the smallest things, but then turn around and have such a strong bond. It was as if their fights were just part of their friendship.
"I still have one with me, but it's a low quality one. Do you want it?"
"Yes!" Tohka's eyes shimmered brightly when she heard that Shido still had one. She didn't mind whether it was a low quality or not, Tohka just wanted to have a taste of it.
Shido took out the low grade Vitatlity Potion from his inventory and gave it to Tohka which she hurriedly opened and drink.
As Shido watched Tohka happily gulp down the potion, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his waist. He turned just in time to see Origami, who had silently moved up behind him, twisting his waist 180 degrees.
"Origami-san?"
"You're spoiling her too much."
Origami said without a change in her expression but Shido know that she was pouting about the fact that he give in to most of Tohka's request.
"How about I spoil you later."
"Good. Come to my apartment at night."
Origami nodded in satisfaction when she got Shido's words then she moved to her previous place as if nothing happened.
Meanwhile, Tohka let out a cheerful exclamation. "Delicious! It's sweet, it taste like a peach, and I feel my strength coming back!"
With that, she jumped into the air, her body glowing with a faint green light, though not as intense as Kurumi's had been.
"Don't jump around too much, Tohka," Shido chuckled, amused by her boundless energy.
Mana on the other hand was only watching everything on the sideline as she watched everything speechlessly.
Just as Shido was about to suggest they head back to the Fraxinus, he suddenly felt that something was off.
'Right! Kotori!'
Shido's eyes widened as he remembered that Kotori had been unusually silent since their final attack. In fact, she hadn't even come down to join them.
His gaze shot up to the sky, and his heart skipped a beat. A blazing ring of fire was rapidly growing in intensity, swirling ominously.
Before he could react, a sudden System announcement echoed through his mind.
Ding!
[Emergency Quest Issued]
[Emergency Quest: Seal Efreet's Spirit Powers]
Shido let out a wry smile. Of course, just when things were calming down, a new quest appeared.