After receiving Toma's order, Tohka didn't hesitate for even a moment.
She kicked off the ground with both feet, her entire body shooting toward Derken like a cannonball.
As for why she wasn't flying?
Well...
Tohka actually 'was' flying.
The others simply couldn't tell.
Seeing Tohka charge toward Derken, Toma's expression immediately became serious.
He opened the System, exchanged for a skill, and activated it without hesitation.
[Skill: Focus — From the Super Robot Wars Series (System-Modified Version)]
[Effect: Concentrates the user's mind. For 60 seconds, reaction speed increases by 200% and agility increases by 100%.]
[Note: This is a one-use skill. Please use it carefully.]
[Price: 500 Exchange Points.]
It was certainly expensive.
But Toma didn't hesitate for even a second when purchasing it.
He knew this wasn't the time to worry about saving Exchange Points.
The instant Focus activated, Toma felt as though the entire world had slowed down around him.
'So this is what they call bullet time, huh?'
'Too bad I only have ten seconds. Can't waste them!'
With that thought, Toma immediately acted.
He controlled the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and sent it flying low toward the Fourth-Rank Warriors who had dodged its previous attack.
To Toma's surprise, he could clearly feel that Focus was also improving the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's abilities.
Now 'that' was an unexpected bonus.
Originally, Toma had planned to eliminate as many mercenaries as possible before Tohka finished her fight.
But now...
It looked like wiping them all out wouldn't be a problem.
Realizing this, a smile unconsciously appeared on Toma's face.
...
Before the Fourth-Rank mercenaries could even react, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon swung its enormous tail.
BOOM!
Several mercenaries directly in front of it were blasted away by the strike, disappearing completely from sight.
Whether they were alive or dead was anyone's guess.
At the same time, Toma controlled the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's claw and slammed an archer hiding in a tree straight to the ground.
Immediately afterward—
"Burst Stream of Destruction!"
A blast of destructive white light swept upward from the ground and through the trees, completely erasing several archers hiding among the branches.
While the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was displaying its overwhelming power, Derken pulled out his rare-grade enchanted sword and blocked Tohka's ferocious downward slash.
CLANG!!!
He managed to block it.
But the price was immediate.
The skin between Derken's thumb and index finger split open from the force, and one of his knees slammed into the ground.
Derken was shocked.
Then that shock quickly transformed into rage.
He was actually being suppressed by some little girl?!
"RAAAAGH!!!"
Derken roared.
A red aura suddenly erupted from his body.
BOOM!
The explosive force pushed Tohka two meters backward.
"Battle Aura Projection?! Fifth Rank?!"
Luna, who had basically been standing on the sidelines this entire time, stared at Derken in astonishment.
Tohka, however, had no idea what Fifth Rank or Battle Aura Projection meant.
All she knew was that after this strange aura erupted from Derken's body, something about him had changed.
For the first time, a hint of caution appeared in Tohka's eyes.
Normally, she wouldn't have cared.
One swing of Sandalphon would have been enough to turn someone like Derken into paste.
But right now, the Spirit Power inside her body was nearly exhausted.
Even Tohka had no choice but to be careful.
Although Tohka normally appeared somewhat airheaded and ridiculously easy to fool, combat was an entirely different matter.
When it came to fighting, Tohka possessed exceptional instincts.
Her expression became serious.
She was preparing to fight properly when something suddenly entered the corner of her vision.
Something that made her eyes widen in horror.
"TOMA-KUN~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The Spirit Power inside Tohka, which had already been on the verge of exhaustion, suddenly contracted.
And then—
It exploded.
==============================================
Toma, who was busy cleaning up the remaining mercenaries, had completely failed to notice something.
A transparent figure was silently approaching him.
Closer...
Closer...
Until it was only one meter away.
The mysterious figure suddenly lunged forward.
A dagger flashed through the air—
Straight toward Toma's neck!
The attack was so sudden that Luna didn't have time to react.
Even Toma himself failed to notice it.
His attention was almost entirely focused on controlling the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
His own body was practically defenseless.
And Zafei, the invisible thief, had noticed precisely that weakness.
Using Stealth, he had silently slipped beside Toma.
His plan was simple.
Kill the bastard capable of summoning that white juvenile dragon with a single strike.
A cruel smile appeared on Zafei's face.
He could already imagine Toma's head separating from his body.
The enchanted dagger swung down.
It struck Toma's neck.
And then...
It stopped.
Zafei froze.
What?
What the hell was happening?!
Why wouldn't the blade go any deeper?!
What was this guy's neck made out of?!
Dragon scales?!
His rare-grade enchanted dagger couldn't even cut him?!
Wasn't that completely ridiculous?!
While Zafei's mind filled with question marks, Toma was suddenly snapped back to reality by the System.
[Absolute Protection Barrier activated. Damage successfully prevented. Remaining shield energy: 2,000.]
Toma nearly suffered a heart attack.
'WHAT THE HELL?!'
'I almost died?!'
His entire body trembled.
If he hadn't had that barrier...
Wouldn't he already be dead?!
Fear immediately surged through him.
Then came anger.
The thought that he had almost become a transmigrator who died immediately after arriving in another world made Toma—
But before he could even finish that thought, a furious female scream tore through the battlefield.
And then...
Zafei disappeared.
Along with him...
Approximately one hundred meters of forest in front of Toma disappeared as well.
Gone.
Everything was gone.
As though none of it had ever existed in the first place.