Erika stood on the outskirts of Death City, Soul Protect dispelled and leaving the presence of magic heavy in the air.

If they came to her, she would fight, but otherwise she was content to keep to standing behind the veil. Watching them act through her mind's eye, gathering information for later in the game.

Because, all things considered...

-Erika was weak.

Not weak in the sense of winning or losing a fight, that is. She was rather confident there were few on Heaven or Earth who could challenge her, and none who could outright best her. But, if she attempts to simply use raw power, the resulting spells will be no better than average. Utilizing genius intuition and responsiveness, her spell executions, while not so much as powerful, are frighteningly "quick." Her efficiency is comparable to "a car that can run one thousand kilometers on a single liter of gasoline," but all the same in raw magical power she does not stand at the level of the "strongest" witches. The only spell she has in her arsenal which allows her to reach the plane known as "godly" is an arrow bearing the concept of death, and even that has its weaknesses, not to mention being an attack best called a Last Resort.

This was almost never a true issue. Her spells of the first and second layer were designed to achieve the greatest effect with the least amount of magical exertion.

However, it would be a momentary issue for the consideration at hand, because...

"Weeeell, guess the hunting'll be starting up pretty soon. So, just in case they come knocking on my doorstep..."

-She would be casting the second of her third layer spells. A spell that bore a fixed cost, but the cost for which was a full third of her entire magical capacity.

"Goshintai, release the restraint of Amaterasu's Blessing."

Preparations would need to be made for later in the game, after all.

---

"Funyaa..."

She stood where she had moments earlier.

The Eye of Truth was passively active, as always.

"Ah well, let's watch the party begin. The banquet of insanity to send the world crashing down."

Devil's Projection instantiated. Object: Simple steel blade.

Projected.

The blade formed in her hand, and was promptly swung down, cracking the ground it struck slightly before it was willed out of existence by its creator.

"And I'd better not miss a damn minute."