The moment time returned to the world, the battle resumed.
Raizen's dimensional blade continued its swing. Ayame's kick completed its arc. Hiroshi's chains tightened through the air. The six members of the Dimensional Clan immediately noticed something strange.
Lady Chõko was no longer smiling.
Not because she was injured.
Not because she was exhausted.
Something had changed.
The woman who had spent the entire battle laughing and screaming "YAYAYAYAYA" now stood silently in the middle of a ruined battlefield. Her stone armor was cracked. Blood dripped from several wounds. Her breathing had become heavier than before.
For the first time since the battle began...
She looked tired.
The mountains surrounding them had long since been destroyed. What had once been forests and valleys now resembled a wasteland stretching toward the horizon. The shockwaves from their battle had carved enormous scars into the earth itself.
Yet despite everything...
Chõko remained standing.
Raizen clicked his tongue.
"Tch. You're still alive?"
His dimensional sword rested on his shoulder as he stared at her with irritation.
"You're annoying."
Lady Chõko slowly raised her head.
Then...
A small grin appeared.
"YAYAYAYAYA..."
The laugh was quieter than before.
Weaker.
But still there.
Raizen frowned.
"Why are you still laughing?"
The question echoed across the battlefield.
Ayame landed beside him.
Hiroshi's chains coiled around his arms.
Kaizen remained observant.
Haruto watched silently.
The remaining members prepared themselves.
Across from them, Chõko stretched her arms.
Several bones cracked loudly.
Then she smiled wider.
"Because..."
A strange golden light began appearing beneath her feet.
"...you finally made this fun."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Every member of the Dimensional Clan felt it.
The sky darkened.
The wind disappeared.
The battlefield grew unnaturally silent.
Kaizen's expression changed first.
Something in his instincts screamed danger.
A level of danger greater than anything they had experienced during the fight.
"Everyone..."
His voice became serious.
"...move."
The golden light exploded.
At first, nobody understood what they were seeing.
Tables appeared.
Thousands of them.
Then chairs.
Then candles.
Then enormous banquet halls stretching across the landscape.
The ruined battlefield vanished beneath endless dining tables extending beyond the horizon.
Golden chandeliers floated in the sky.
Silver plates materialized from nowhere.
An endless feast had appeared.
The entire world had transformed.
Raizen looked around.
"What the hell is this?"
Lady Chõko stood in the center of it all.
Arms spread.
Laughing.
"YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!"
The sound echoed across the transformed world.
Golden energy flowed through the endless banquet halls.
The smell of food filled the air.
Yet beneath the beauty...
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Ayame immediately attacked.
A powerful kick launched toward Chõko's head.
The impact never arrived.
Halfway through its path...
The attack transformed.
The force.
The energy.
The momentum.
Everything became a floating golden dessert resting neatly on a silver plate.
Silence.
Ayame froze.
"...What?"
The Dimensional Clan froze.
Chõko casually picked up the dessert.
Then took a bite.
Crunch.
The wounds across her body immediately began healing.
The cracks in her stone defense slowly repaired themselves.
Raizen's eyes widened.
"No way."
Chõko swallowed.
Then smiled.
"Delicious."
A chill ran down everyone's spine.
Raizen refused to accept it.
His arrogance wouldn't allow it.
"Don't play games with me!"
Dimensional energy exploded around his body.
The air shattered.
His sword swung.
A massive dimensional slash tore across the battlefield.
The attack possessed enough power to split mountains apart.
Enough power to destroy entire cities.
The slash raced toward Chõko.
Then transformed.
A gigantic silver ribbon of meat appeared across a banquet table.
The attack had become food.
Again.
Chõko immediately grabbed it.
Then ate it.
The energy disappeared into her body.
The wounds continued healing.
Her aura grew stronger.
The smile on her face widened.
"YAYAYAYAYAYA!"
Raizen's expression darkened.
The others finally understood.
Every attack they launched...
Every technique...
Every ounce of energy...
Was feeding her.
Kaizen immediately stepped forward.
"Stop attacking!"
Everyone looked at him.
His eyes remained fixed on Chõko.
"You're making her stronger."
The realization hit them simultaneously.
Haruto narrowed his eyes.
Ayame clenched her fists.
Even Raizen stopped moving.
For the first time in the battle...
The Dimensional Clan found themselves trapped.
Because attacking strengthened her.
And doing nothing allowed her to recover.
The battlefield had become a nightmare.
Exactly as Chõko intended.
She slowly walked forward.
The endless feast moved with her.
The banquet world itself seemed alive.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hungry.
"What's wrong?"
Her smile stretched wider.
"You wanted my full power."
Golden energy flowed through the banquet halls.
The tables began shaking.
The plates began rattling.
The entire world felt hungry.
"Then eat."
The words echoed unnaturally.
Every member of the Dimensional Clan immediately prepared themselves.
Because for the first time since the battle began...
They realized something horrifying.
The 1v6 wasn't over.
It had only entered its second phase.
And somehow...
Lady Chõko had become even more dangerous than before.