The Amphisbaena by Gakuto Mikumo

launched undulating, warped swords of light, shooting down one shimmering, mirage-like wall after another.
    When the swords of light fell out of the sky, they turned into incandescent flames, setting the buildings and streets below on fire one after another.
    The battle between the two intensified, instantly increasing the damage to the shopping district.
    “…I see. Certainly creepy. I do not know that type of magical formula,” Natsuki murmured in the casual tone of an irresponsible observer. “Yes. Rather than sorcery, it is more like…the divine possession that we employ…”
    Nodding at Natsuki’s words, Yukina drew her silver-colored spear from its guitar case.
    The spear’s shaft slid to its full length; the sheathed blade deployed, extending side blades to the left and right. It was a beautiful, all-metal spear that looked the part of a glossy, modern weapon.
    “A ‘Schneewaltzer’…perfect. Lend me a hand, Yukina Himeragi. We’ll knock them out of the sky.”
    Without warning or waiting for Yukina to reply, Natsuki made a wave of her right hand.
    That instant, the space around her seemed to warp with a ripple. Then, a giant, silver-colored chain shot out of thin air like an arrow, wrapping around the Masked soaring in the sky.
    The next moment, Yukina kicked off from a steel girder, leaping into the air.
    Kojou merely held his breath and watched.
    Yukina sailed until landing on top of a chain stretched across the sky. Paying no heed to the dizzying height, she sprinted along the chain.
    “…Snowdrift Wolf!”
    Responding to the prayer Yukina invoked, her spear became enveloped in a dazzling, holy light.
    The spear she had been granted, dubbed Snowdrift Wolf, was a Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Type Seven, aka “Schneewaltzer,” a secret weapon of the Lion King Agency. It was their trump card for anti-demon combat, able to neutralize magical energy and rend through any barrier. No ward sorcery could defend against its attack.
    With the Masked bewildered by the unexpected intruders, Yukina poised her spear and thrust its shining, glimmering blade into one of the warped wings… But…
    “Eh?!”
    The moment they clashed, Yukina sucked in her breath at the bizarre feedback to her hands.
    The ominous light covering the Masked had grown brighter. That radiance had repelled a direct hit from Snowdrift Wolf.
    Sparks ferociously scattered as the blade that was surely able to rend all barriers bounced off the invisible wall.
    The black, mismatched wings spread as the Masked cried out. The chains that bound them were blown off; Yukina, caught up in the shock wave, was sent flying as well.
    “…Himeragi?!”
    “They severed Laeding…?!” Kojou and Natsuki shouted simultaneously.
    Yukina, thrown into the sky, swung her spear, using the reaction to control her direction, and landed safely upon the cell tower once more. It was a beautiful, supple martial arts technique worthy of a hawk. However, she wore a steely expression. Her Schneewaltzer, able to slay without fail even a Primogenitor, was ineffective against the Masked.
    “Are you all right, Himeragi?!”
    “I’m all right. However…”
    Nodding back to Kojou as he rushed over, Yukina looked up at the now-free Masked.
    Both of the Masked had stopped fighting each other out of vigilance against Kojou’s group’s attacks. One of the two escaped to higher altitude while looking down at Kojou and the others; the remaining one trembled with anger as she charged the tower. Below her mask, her lips burst open into a shrill cry as her entire body emitted a red light.
    “No!”
    The attack by the Masked gouged a hemispheric hole out of the cell tower’s base. Natsuki’s expression froze over as she beheld the sight.
    No longer able to support its own weight, the cell tower leaned and slowly fell, girders snapping and scattering along the way. It was falling toward a thoroughfare brimming with traffic and a gaggle of buildings on the opposing