Bofuri (The Strongest Shield Of Tensura)

Glenda's scream was lost to the inferno.

The collision tore the sky apart.

A blinding sphere of white-hot magic erupted from the impact point, swallowing everything in light and silence. Mountains of violet sludge vaporized in an instant. The very clouds, even those far beyond the horizon, twisted and spiraled outward in concentric waves like ripples in shattered glass. The ocean buckled beneath the blast, rising into towering walls before collapsing again in torrential downpours of poisoned rain.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, the world stilled.

Glenda’s breath hitched. Her ears rang with phantom screams, and her eyes refused to focus. She blinked through the haze, legs wobbling under her, struggling to stay upright on the shadowy platform now fractured and groaning under the pressure.

Everything... hurt.

She could feel the aftershock rattling her bones, even though the cataclysm had already passed. Her throat burned with the echo of her scream. Her vision blurred, but she forced her gaze upward.

The sky was broken.

Cracks of light webbed the heavens like shattered glass. The clouds were gone, scoured from existence, leaving only a raw, burning sky that bled hues of gold, rose, and amethyst. In that fractured sky, two shapes remained, locked in impossible stillness.

Millim hovered midair, her arms outstretched, laughter still ringing in the bones of the world. Wisps of pink flame danced along her skin, and her eyes glittered like twin stars of chaos.

Across from her, the hydra still writhed. Four of its heads were gone, reduced to mist and memory, but three remained, burning, furious, and alive. But now she could see it. Its vast body had a thick tendril that connected it to... A person?

A black haired woman, wearing black armour. Her right hand held the tendril that was connected to the hydra.

Glenda's brain hurt. 'The hydra... Is just a construct?'

The hydra was just a phantom, just like the pink dragon from earlier. Both powerful creatures that could utterly crush anything Glenda or her masters could ever accomplish, and they were merely creations of the two beings who might as well be deities in her eyes.

And between them… a vacuum. A sphere of obliterated matter, where even the concept of existence had been peeled away.

“I’m impressed,” Ari murmured, her hand still resting gently on Glenda’s shoulder. “Most people don’t stay conscious after seeing that.”

Glenda’s body trembled violently, drenched in sweat and barely holding herself together. Her mouth moved, but no sound came. She couldn’t find the words. Couldn’t breathe properly. Couldn’t think past the overwhelming realization that nothing she knew could prepare her for this.

These weren’t monsters.

They weren’t weapons.

They were calamities.

Ari turned her gaze to the battlefield, her antennae twitching faintly as if tasting the air. “She’s holding back,” she added almost absently. “You should be grateful. If Millim got serious, then mother would have to get serious too.”

Glenda’s eyes widened, pupils shrinking.

This wasn’t them being serious?

Was this some kind of cruel joke?

She had been made to believe that the Saints were equivalent in power to the Ten Great Demon Lords. Each Saint was supposed to be able to match a Demon Lord single-handedly.

What a cruel joke.

Ari finally stepped forward, her silver hair flowing like liquid mercury in the unnatural wind. The shadows beneath her feet coiled in reverence, shifting to cradle each step.

“Still,” she said thoughtfully, “this should be enough.”

“I could return you,” Ari whispered, her voice almost gentle now. “A broken, shaken shell. One still alive.”

She leaned in, and Glenda saw the inhuman sharpness in her gaze, the strange, shimmer beneath the skin.

“You could tell them what you saw. And they’ll pretend to listen. And they’ll keep pushing, won’t they?” A cruel smile tugged at her lips. “They’ll never believe you, because they don’t care about you. All they see is their agenda. And depending on what that is… you’ll find yourself back here again.”

Glenda dropped to her knees.

“What am I supposed to do in a situation like this?” she whispered.

“It’s clear, no? You can either be cooperative…” Ari’s voice hardened. “Or you can make this very hard on yourself.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Glenda said quickly. “They’ll kill me if they even suspect I’ve turned traitor.”

Ari frowned. “You still think your masters are that powerful?”

Glenda shook her head. “No. After what I just saw, the Rozzos don’t even come close in power.” She paused, swallowing hard. “But summoned people like me… we’re bound by spells we can’t resist. The moment they decide I’ve fled from them, they’ll crush my soul. And that’ll be the end of me.”

“Ah,” Ari murmured, nodding slightly. “A summoned otherworlder. Like Mother, then.”

Glenda blinked, not even noticing that the shadowy platform was descending.

“Like… Mother? I mean, your mother?”

Ari nodded. “Yes. Apparently, she was summoned by the nation of Falmuth. They wanted to create a force of otherworlders to use as weapons.”

Her face twisted in rage.

“That they tried to enslave my mother, even if they failed, is reason enough for me to wipe that repulsive kingdom from the face of this world. But…” Her expression brightened. “Thanks to their foolishness, I was able to meet Mother. And together, we created Maple Tree.”

“So she escaped the locking curse?” Glenda asked, her voice trembling with hope.

“As if a mere curse could hold her,” Ari snorted. “Are your eyes working? Did you not just witness a glimpse of power beyond your imagination? What curse could possibly bind beings such as them?”

“Oh… But I don’t have power like them,” Glenda said quietly. “I can’t undo the curse that binds me.”

The shadowy platform beneath them slowly dissipated, and Glenda realized they were now standing on a beach. She looked around, dazed, just as she felt, more than saw, a flash of pink light shoot into the sky and disappear into the distance.

“Demon Lord Millim… is gone?” she asked no one in particular.

From the toxic ocean, the dark-haired woman stepped out, a small smile on her face. The woman addressed as the leader of Maple Tree. Lady Kaede Honjou. 

The silver-haired woman stepped forward, eyes gleaming with admiration. “Mother! That was amazing. It’s always a wonder to witness your power.”

The dark-haired woman, Kaede, laughed lightly, brushing a few wet strands from her cheek as she stepped fully onto the shore. “Enough, Ari. Now’s not the time to start praising me randomly. I heard the Saints were attacking Tempest. How did that go?”

Ari scoffed, folding her arms as if annoyed by the memory. “It went exactly as I expected, disappointing. Shifu and Crimara didn’t even get the chance to lift a finger. By the time they arrived, the battle was already over.”

Glenda blinked at that. 'The battle is already over?'

Only now did she realize that the sky was tinged with gold and crimson, the sun was already beginning to set behind the distant horizon. How long had she been unconscious?

Kaede’s gaze shifted past Ari, finally settling on Glenda with a curious tilt of her head. “And who’s this?”

Ari turned, a smirk playing at her lips. “Ah, yes. This is one of the Saints. I believe she was sent to ‘subdue the monsters in the forest.’”

Kaede raised an eyebrow, her smile widening just enough to show amusement. “Oh? And how’s that working out?”

Glenda instinctively shrank under their gaze, the weight of their presence almost suffocating. Her voice caught in her throat as she lowered her head, unable to meet their eyes.

“Honestly, I’m surprised she’s even alive, Ari,” Kaede remarked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she regarded Glenda. “I expected you to have tortured her for information and then disposed of her. Of course, I would’ve stopped you from going too far, but… this seems a bit unlike you.”

A faint pink hue bloomed across Ari’s cheeks as she glanced away. “I’m not sure what you mean, Mother.”

Kaede let out a soft chuckle, the corners of her lips curling into a mischievous grin. “Looks like Momiji’s more of an influence than I thought. Should I be expecting grandkids soon?”

“M-Mom!” Ari’s face flared a deeper crimson now. “Stop!”

Still laughing, Kaede turned her attention back to Glenda, her expression cooling into something more serious. “Now… what to do with you.”

Glenda dropped to her knees at once, her voice trembling with desperation. “Please, I’ll tell you anything you want to know, everything about the Rozzos, just… please, free me from the locking curse.”

Kaede blinked, her brows rising. “You’re an otherworlder?”

Glenda nodded quickly. “Yes. I’ve been enslaved since my summoning… almost seven years ago.”

“Seven… years?” Kaede echoed, her voice quiet with disbelief. “I’m so sorry. No one should have to endure that.”

Ari stepped in with a faint smirk. “I was going to undo the curse, but I figured I’d wait for your permission first.”

Kaede nodded. “Sure. Go ahead.”

“Alright then. Done.” Ari gave a light shrug, as though it were the easiest thing in the world.

“…What?” Glenda blinked in disbelief. 

“Yep,” Kaede confirmed, brushing her hands off as she walked past. “No need to worry. You’re free now. Pretty sure the Rozzos think you’re dead anyway. You still owe us that intel, though.”

“N-No, I mean, wait, you’re serious?” Glenda scrambled to her feet, eyes wide with realization. “You mean to say… the curse that ruled over me, it’s gone?!”

“Pretty much,” Kaede said with a smile. Then, pausing just a step ahead, she glanced over her shoulder. “But let me remind you, if you ever turn hostile toward me or anyone in Maple Tree, you won’t live long enough to regret it.”

“Please!” Glenda dropped into a full prostration, her forehead pressed against the damp earth. “Let me serve you! I want to work for you!”

Kaede stopped mid-step, turning back with visible confusion. “…Huh? But you’re free now.”