<Inside the mansion>
The clamor of collapsing Buildings and fiery explosions echoed as Clara, Elanor, Silver, Himeko and Luna were facing off against Freja's elite.
It consisted of Kiruya, all the maids of the mansion and the other girls that were part of the harem. Not much was known about any of them except Kiruya and some of the maids, but they were certainly a strong force.
"Kiruya, are you aware of Freja working with the pope and sealing Shaman's parents?" Clara beat around the bush and immediately confronted Kiruya. This was a battle Clara wished to avoid, as Kiruya had helped them a lot, especially when it came to helping Elanor.
For a moment, Kiruya contemplated what she was going to say, but that small hesitation was already enough. There was a slight twinge of pain in Clara's heart, as she may have to kill Kiruya right here and now.
"I did... but I had no say in the matter." Kiruya readied her chakram, splitting it in two. She was currently sporting more casual clothes consisting of black jeans and a rather loosely done up shirt.
"Then do we have to fight right now? We can completely avoid this." Clara had her doubts on whether Kiruya would be willing to sit tight while Freja was in a life and death fight.
"If it were that simple, then Freja wouldn't be fighting. I trust in her ideals more than any words you have to say." Kiruya's face turned stern. It was clear in what direction this was going.
"I don't think you can talk this out, dear. As much as I would like to avoid killing anyone, it might be inevitable. The most we can do is try to knock them out." Himeko placed her hand on Clara's shoulder as the pain was evident on her face.
Himeko was right though, talking was pointless. Doing their best to limit casualties was all they could do for her now.
"Fine, if that's your choice, so be it." Clara clenched her fists and summoned her whip blades out of her inventory. She debated if she should go straight into her demon dragon form, but she wanted to figure out how strong Kiruya is now.
She was a Tier 8 eight months ago, but she very well could be much stronger now. It was quite hard to pinpoint how strong she exactly was, so perhaps it was safest to simply assume she was an equal opponent.
Clara figured her new form would most likely give her the edge, but right now Clara has not completely mastered her new strength, and didn't want to mistakenly kill Kiruya.
"I will sacrifice my life for Freja, so don't bother holding back, for I will not stop fighting until my last breath." Kiruya showed no sign of hesitation in her voice, as she was dead serious about dying for Freja. She pointed her chakram directly at Clara and bent down, ready to pounce.
"I'll take care of the small fry." Silver was quick to take action, sinking into the shadows. With just a glance, he could tell there was quite a lot of fodder as the maids were only around tier 6. Even the strongest of the bunch only reached tier 8, which made them prime targets for Silver's efficient assassination skills.
"Are you deaf? I am going to keep coming until I kill you for Freja." There was a bit of insanity in Kiruya's eyes, which reminded Clara of Elysia back when she was a lot crazier.
It was obvious that Freja had completely brainwashed Kiruya into unconditional love, which wasn't particularly healthy, but there was nothing that could be done about it now.
'Maybe killing her is for the best.' It was a tough decision, as that might be the only way to truly liberate her from Freja.
Kiruya stretched her body out, cracking every bone in her body, before she came sprinting back. This time her approach was a bit more reserved as she didn't attack head on, instead using her wind magic to throw some ranged attacks.
Kiruya bounced around the walls using her wind to become even faster while using her chakrams to send wind slashes.
Clara retracted her whips, turning them into swords so she could easily deflect all the wind slashes. Slowly but surely, they began to pick up speed and increase in volume, but with Luna's buff, Clara easily kept up.
The wind slashes themselves carried a considerable amount of power, but as their volume increased Kiruya could no longer put out as much mana, making them easier to deflect.
Clara got into a flow of dodging and deflecting as she spun around, dual wielding her retracted whips. She deflected everything that Kiruya threw at her, but as the barrage reached its peak, the attacks suddenly stopped, Kiruya herself having disappeared from view.
"Not so fast, you sly cheetah." From behind Clara, Himeko swung her greatsword like a baseball bat, sending Kiruya flying.
Kiruya had attempted to go for Luna but was stopped in her tracks by Himeko, who proceeded to handle Kiruya like a baseball. She managed to block the greatsword with her chakrams, but Himeko's overwhelming strength Easily sent Kiruya flying to the other side of the mansion.
Kiruya went crashing through one wall after another, leaving the rest to wonder if she could even stay conscious after such a hit. In fact, she was launched so violently that even sent tumbling some of the maids that Elanor was fighting.
"Whoops, did I hit her too hard?" Himeko realised the difference in power too late, never having intended to decide the outcome of the fight on her own.
"Jeez, I wouldn't want to be at the end of that." Sweat dripped down Luna's head, as she knew for a fact she couldn't handle a hit like that.
"ARGHHHH!!!" But a few moments later, a scream of pure rage came from the other side of the mansion, signalling that Kiruya was still alive and kicking.
"It looks like she still has some energy left." Clara focused on the hole in the wall, waiting for Kiruya to walk through. However, the silhouette that emerged was not that of the cheetah girl.