Chapter 1044
Clang
Two attacks clashed against one another, the sonic shockwave felt like it could burst someone's eardrums.
The source of the sonic boom is covered by a storm of shockwaves.
"Ugh..."
Wu Yan, Yukari, Mikoto, Kotori, Tohka, and other tier 9 fighters weren't affected. The other girls who were below tier 9 had to cover their ears or risk temporary deafness.
That's what it felt like on the ground. The situation's worse at the source where Astrea and Ikaros clashed.
Bam
Before the other girls can recover, another dull thud came and this time they saw something new.
Ikaros' Aegis got destroyed by Astrea's Chrysaor.
Shatter
Astrea isn't too happy with this. She brushed past the Aegis fragments and she went straight for Ikaros' glabella.
When she starts fighting, she's the kind to take the battle seriously.
It's also proof that Astrea believed in Ikaros' abilities.
She knew her attack won't be able to touch Ikaros.
Indeed, she's right...
Ikaros is awfully calm in front of Astrea who attacked with all her might. Lines of data flew past her eyes.
She's calculating the optimal counter.
When the Chrysaor was about to reach Ikaros, she flapped her wings to unleash a wave of missiles instead of dodging.
She's planning to trade damage with Astrea.
"As expected of Ikaros-senpai..."
Astrea bitterly laughed. She jumped back without finishing her attack. She quickly retreated at a speed the mortal eyes couldn't perceive with her wings of light that went over dozens of meters in length.
Ikaros deployed her Aegis again. Her missile bombardment hit where Astrea once stood, hitting her own barrier in the process.
"Adjusting trajectory..."
She reflected her own missiles off the Aegis.
Astrea's expression changed when she saw the incoming missiles. She raised her shield to block.
Boom boom boom
"Argh..."
Astrea endured the missile salvo while moving forward.
Boom boom boom
Astrea flapped her wings and she pierced through the missile storm in a brilliant blur of white light. She charged straight for Ikaros.
However, Ikaros is holding a thorny black bow.
That bow had a flaming black arrow nocked and ready to fire. She aimed the arrow at Astrea.
Ikaros used Apollon.
Astrea's pupils shrank in response.
Ikaros blinked once before letting go.
Swoosh
The flaming arrow turned into a giant purplish ball of meteor that flew across the sky.
"Hiyaa!!!"
Astrea met the arrow with her enhanced Chrysaor. The two sharp objects collided in the sky.
Boom
The collision created a giant rumble in the sky.
"Kyaa..."
The girls went pale as they covered their ears.
"Those two girls..."
Wu Yan and Yukari exchanged a look. They couldn't help but laugh as they erected barriers at the same time. The barriers mitigated the shockwave that could kill.
"Ikaros, Astrea..."
Hinagiku rubbed away the sweat on her forehead.
"I know you girls are powerful but did you two have to duke it out like this? You aren't sworn enemies..."
"This is no longer a duel, right?"
Mikoto felt anxious.
"They are killing each other!"
The other girls were also worried. They didn't think they would go at each other like this. They didn't look like they are pulling any punches, each blow could severely injure the fighters.
Why wouldn't they be worried?
"Maybe that's just a difference in personal identity..."
Yukari mused out loud.
"I know it's not nice to put it this way. For tools of war like them, a brawl is no different than a struggle of life and death."
Yukari's words silenced everyone.
"Okay, let's not jump to conclusions..."
Wu Yan shook his head and he patted Hinagiku and Mikoto on their shoulders.
"They have grown beyond their past selves, I believe they know what they are doing. With their personalities, they would surely know when to stop, I don't think they will really kill each other."
"Moreover..."
Wu Yan glanced at Yukari.
"With Yukari here, we can limit any unwanted accidents..."
"Ayaya..."
Yukari giggled.
"That's no easy task, Yan-kun. You sure know how to keep me busy."
Yukari teased him but she took her last-minute job without much annoyance.
In her eyes, the duel might look no different than a scuffle between kids.
Wu Yan & co were speechless.
This seemingly young and elegant lady is probably the one who needed to learn how to restrain herself, right?
In the sky, deafening explosions continued to pepper the sky with the pink missiles dotting the bright sky.
At the center where hellish flames covered everything, a figure wrapped in light shot out. It's Astrea...
Not even Ikaros' Apollon can stop Astrea's Chrysaor charge.
However, Astrea didn't emerge unscathed. She's smoking all over. No injuries could be seen but she's heaving heavily. Her hands were shaking, it seems the Apollon did a number on her stamina and charging force.
This much is expected. Apollon is Ikaros' trump card, excluding her Uranus System. Although the two were evenly matched, Astrea is a specialized swordsman while Ikaros is a specialized bombing unit with ridiculous firepower, this made her slightly superior in this aerial fight.