The Kurotama lunged at us, and the four of us scattered, dodging its attacks.

—"Purify!" I shouted, unleashing another burst of divine light. The spell struck it, but only forced it back slightly.

—"Not enough-nya!" Noko leaped, firing her own spiritual light attacks. They collided with the Kurotama but barely slowed it down.

Maya snarled, swinging her flaming sword:

—"If we can’t finish it in one hit, we’ll just have to distract it!" She darted to the side. —"Hey, ugly! Over here!"

The Kurotama turned toward her, drawn by her taunt. Zara seized the chance to unleash a barrage of lightning, but the bolts passed through it harmlessly.

—"Damn it!" Zara gritted her teeth. —"This isn’t an ordinary ghost."

We kept dodging and counterattacking, but exhaustion began weighing on us. Maya’s breaths grew ragged, and the Kurotama noticed.

—"Oh no!" I sensed the danger before I saw it. —"Maya, look out!"

The ghost surged toward her. Maya, on the verge of collapse, wouldn’t dodge in time.

—"Tch…!" She clenched her teeth and, with a final effort, ignited her sword with a power I’d never seen before. The flames weren’t their usual hue—now they blazed with golden flickers, as if fire itself had fused with her will.

CRASH!

The Kurotama collided with the flaming sword, and this time… it screamed. Finally, we’d hurt it.

Maya panted, staring at her blade in awe:

—"Ha… ha… Didn’t expect to pull that off here…"

—"Maya… Did you just…?" Zara studied her intently.

—"What did Maya just do?" I asked, confused.

—"That gorilla’s full of surprises. She awakened sacred fire."

—"Sacred… fire?"

—"Yes, look closely," Zara pointed to Maya’s sword. —"Normal fire manipulates mana to mimic natural flames. But what she did transcends that. You could call it spiritual fire, fueled by sheer will. That’s why it wounded the Kurotama."

—"Wow, Maya, you’re amazing!" I grinned in relief.

Maya flushed instantly:

—"A-Are you done talking about me?!" she yelled, leveling her sword at the recovering Kurotama. —"Let’s kick this thing’s ass already!"

The Kurotama, wounded but not defeated, rose once more.