“Is it, as expected, something akin to an illusion?”

  As the ndscape around her gradually transformed, the young girl realized the true nature of the battlefield she had just been in.

  “Yes, this is my skill. I’m responsible for the simutions iraining ground as well,” said Misako, her voice calm.

  “So you really did hold back, didn’t you?”

  During the ret battle, Misako had only used talismans for both offense and defehough the girl was not well-versed in this area, she could tell that these were merely basic teiques.

  “Demonic arts are not the same as talismanic arts. The tter is just a minor branch of the former. It’s like how yicludes basic spells like fireballs and water spheres, as well as powerful, unique self-created spells. Talismanic arts are those basid versatile teiques.”

  In faot only the bck demon race but also other races have learned and passed down talismanic arts for various reasons. It’s no longer exclusively sidered demonic arts.

  “As for true demonic arts, those are unique abilities inal teiques possessed by each bck demon. Teiques like ‘Star Shifting’ are examples.”

  From this, it was clear how much Misako had indeed held ba the ret battle. She had refrained from using unique demonic arts, and her skills were primarily used to shape the battlefield. Given her performan the training ground, she could have easily simuted numerous versions of herself to exhaust the oppo.

  “You did hold back too, didn’t you? Although, it might have been forced…”

  In trast to Misako, the girl had also refrained from using many skills and fought mostly head-on. Based oelligence Misako had secretly gathered before, if the girl had fought seriously, it would have been difficult for Misakardless of the oute.

  However, the girl’s memory was still fragmented. Despite regaining some sense of her abilities, many tactics remained elusive, and she might have even fotten the usage of her skills, relying only on the passive effects of a few abilities. This was also why Misako had murmured the tter part of her sentence.

  heless, Misako aowledged the girl’s strength. bining her performan the training ground and her past experiehere was no doubt she was qualified.

  “As the leader of the bck demon race, I hereby annouhat the bck demon race will join your ranks.”

  With these words, a surge of power flowed into the girl’s body.

  The demon race, being one of the most powerful fas even in the Abyss, tributed a freater than what the girl had ever gained from other monsters.

  “...?”

  “This is your i skill. Have you fotten?”

  “...I seem to have a vague recolle...”

  The girl remembered something about challenging other moo make them submit to her.

  “So, …”

  “Lady Priestess!!”

  Misako was interrupted mid-sentence by a shout from afar.

  Both turheir attention to the sourd saw a throng of people rushing toward them.

  “Lady Priestess! The training ground has been shut down! Are you alright?”

  “?”

  “Uh…”

  Fag the girl’s expressionless face, whily slightly tilted in fusion, Misako dispyed an embarrassed expression.

  “…Didn’t I say I was responsible for the training ground? Because of the battle, the simution couldn’t be maintained, so many people must have had their sessions interrupted abruptly, like the st time... Ah, no.”

  Misako had never before halted the training ground’s operations. The sudden appearance of such a situation naturally caused .

  “…Ah! Wait, now we…”

  “Lady Priestess! You…!?”

  Upon arriving at Misako’s side, the bck demon race members saw her in her ‘battle-damaged shrine maiden outfit.’

  The already short skirt now had holes, revealing the straps of her underwear underh. The red and white shrine maiden outfit artially bur the edges, with the remaining part of her chest almost exposed, creating an alluring effect.

  Those who came here felt their blood boil and, in the moment, blood literally spurted from their noses.

  Some with strong wills, though they didn’t fall, were drooling, almost pelled to lick her.

  “Looks like there’s going to be a real bloodbath.”

  It was a while before the medical team arrived with the news.

  ...

  “Some minor interruptions occurred. Let’s return to our previous discussion.”

  The girl, noed in bandages, sat silently across from Misako, listening.

  “There’s nothing more here to make you stronger.”

  With the pained from the bck demon race, the girl’s strength now surpassed Misako’s.

  “I’m probably the sed stro in this Abyss. , you’ll o find the stro one. By the way, let me tell you a bit about her.”

  Misako produced a red scale, emanating an intense power.

  “She is a dragon, one of the leaders in that war. Her strength undoubtedly reaches the peak of existence, and she is surrounded by many dragon guards.”

  “However… don’t worry too much. I know her; she probably won’t kill you.”

  ‘Although, I’m not sure about the path to her… those dragons be quite arrogant.’

  Misako thought this to herself, but sidering the girl’s past deeds, she gradually felt reassured.

  “Hmm… That’s about it. The rest is up to you. By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, what is that little creature of yours?”

  “?…Puu!”

  Misako looked at the small creature on the girl’s p, which, sensing her gaze, waved its two tentacles as if greeting her.

  “...I don’t know. I just happeo enter it.”

  The girl had fotten about it after startiraining, but after the battle with Misako ended and she was forcibly taken to the medical room, it reappeared. Its voice seemed quite angry.

  “Just happeo enter a it with you…”

  “?”

  “No, it’s nothing.”

  After a moment of thought, Misako spoke again.

  “Does it have a name?”

  The girl hesitated before shaking her head.

  “You... sigh...”

  Misako was surprised that the girl seemed to have lost all emotional e, probably addressing the creature with just ‘hey’ or ‘you’...

  “Since you keep it with you, why not give it a name?”

  “A name?”

  The girl looked at the small tentacled creature on her p and pondered.

  “…It keeps saying ‘Puu Puu,’ so let’s call it ‘Little Puu.’”

  “Puu!”

  Little Puu lifted several tentacles, making a sound that seemed pleased.

  ‘This... could it be...’

  Misako looked at Little Puu and the girl, seemingly making a e.

  ‘If it really is that, things might... get quite iing...’