Science/Magic

When Bloed and Regina arrived at the location of the fourth node, a battle had already begun there.

On a side, there were several clubs of Academy City led by the third-ranked club, Mage Tower, and the eighth-ranked club, Wings of Liberty; while the other side was made a group of monstrous-looking creatures thirsting for Blood.

The battle was very fierce, and casualties had appeared on both sides, but to Bloed's surprise, the students had the advantage.

It was due to the outstanding performances of Dino Campbell and Nathan Sigel, the leaders of Mage Tower and Wings of Liberty respectively. Both of them were showing abilities worthy of two of the strongest students of the city.

Dino Campbell was the most impressive. He had created a giant magic circle around the battlefield and used it to defend against the attacks of the creatures and restrain them, allowing the other students to face them more easily.

Nathan, on the other hand, was moving at great speed around the monsters, using his sword to injure several of them gravely, and every time that he found a suitable opportunity, he dealt a killing blow.

Thanks to that, the battlefield was slowly leaning in the students' direction.

Dino and Nathan recognized Bloed as soon as he arrived. After all, Bloed was a rather famous newcomer in Academy City. Plus, Nathan had dueled and lost against Bloed a couple of days ago, becoming Bloed's subordinate after that.

"Mr. Bloed. You came." Nathan greeted Bloed with a nod. "Are you here to help?"

The fact that Nathan had become Bloed's subordinate was not made public, so Nathan did not behave respectfully towards Bloed and instead greeted him normally to avoid it being revealed. Bloed did not mind it and just nodded, explaining the situation.

"The Headmistress sent me here to destroy this node. We already destroyed three of them, and this one is the next."

"So they are really nodes, huh." Dino nodded in understanding. "Mr. Bloed, how are you going to destroy it? I tested the barrier, and even I will need to use a lot of strength to break it."

"Don't worry about it," Bloed said and looked at Regina. "Take care of it."

The Valkyrie nodded indifferently and summoned an energy blade in each hand. She then swung them towards the creatures still alive, killing them in seconds.

When she was done, she aimed the blades towards the barrier.

*Slash!*

With just one attack, the barrier was cut into two.

"… So strong."

"Amazing."

Nathan and Dino looked at Regina in fear in admiration.

As two of the most powerful students, they understood how amazing killing so many creatures and destroying the barrier in an instant was.

This kind of feat was not something that a normal demigod could do. After all, these creatures were not simple beasts, but Blighted creatures able to devour energy, and the weakest of them was as strong as a peak A-Rank practitioner.

The fact that Regina could kill them so easily showed that she was very strong even among demigods.

Once the barrier was destroyed, the node appeared before the group's eyes.

However, just like the other nodes, there was someone protecting this node as well.

"That was amazing, big sister." A childish voice came from inside the barrier. "You are so strong. What is your name?"

Bloed and the others were surprised by the voice. When they followed it, they saw a little girl staring at Regina with curiosity and amazement in her eyes.

The girl did not seem very old, at around eleven or twelve years of age, and she was holding a doll in her arms with an innocent expression.

No matter how Bloed looked at her, she did not seem like a powerful person.

But Bloed did not dare to underestimate her.

Because through his eyes, he could see an immense amount of energy hidden in her body.

"A demigod," He muttered to Regina. "And she is more powerful than the last one you fought."

"Mm? Could it be that you killed one of the others?" The girl asked suddenly after hearing Bloed's words. "Was it twenty-one, twenty-seven, or thirty-three? I'm sure it was not eight. Eight is very strong."

Bloed and Regina became serious when they heard these words.

'This girl...'

She was too relaxed. Even when she learned that Bloed and Regina had killed one of her companions already, she did not seem to care about it.

In other words, she is either an idiot, or–

'Someone very strong.' Bloed came to that conclusion.

"Regina, don't underestimate her."

The silver-haired Valkyrie nodded.

"I know."

In the next instant, she materialized dozens of energy weapons around her and took one step forward.

"Wow, so cool!" The little girl's eyes sparkled. "Big sister, can you teach me that trick?"

Regina ignored her words. After taking another step forward, she suddenly accelerated and charged towards the little girl!

However, the little girl's reflexes were superb despite her silly appearance. Before Regina could reach her, she had already moved several meters away.

Unfortunately for her, Regina was faster than her. She remained calm as the girl moved away and kicked the ground, closing the distance between them quickly.

At the same time, she shot the weapons hovering around her towards the little girl!

"Scary…!" The little girl shouted and avoided the energy weapons skillfully, but Regina used that opportunity to reach her and attack with her energy blades.

But then, the little girl grabbed the doll in her arms and threw it towards Regina.

Regina leaned aside and avoided the doll calmly. But when she was about to continue attacking the little girl, her expression changed.

Without any hesitation, she jumped away, barely avoiding the attack that came from behind her.

And to Regina's surprise, what attacked her was the doll that the little girl threw just a moment ago.

"That is…" Regina furrowed her brows.

"A beautiful doll, right?" The little girl grinned happily. "I like to play with beautiful dolls, big sister. But I prefer making them. By the way, big sister, you are very beautiful. Do you want to be one of my dolls?"

Regina felt a chill on her spine.

Without hesitation, she jumped away again.

The next instant, the place where she was just a moment ago was cut by several invisible blades.

"Wah, you avoided it! Amazing!" The little girl shouted excitedly. "As I thought, you are not only beautiful but also very strong. Mm… It looks like I will need more dolls to fight against you."

Regina was confused, but then, her eyes opened wide in astonishment.

Because suddenly, the dead people and creatures in the surroundings stood up one after another.

"Impossible!"

But that was not the end.

In the next second, Nathan raised his sword.

"Huh? W-W-Wait… W-What am I doing!?"

And charged towards Regina.