Time goes back a little to 10 minute ago.
"Space shock alarm...! What about the surrounding spiritual wave reaction?"
On the bridge of the aerial ship Fraxinus floating 15,000 meters above the City, Kotori, wearing a crimson coat, raised her voice to ask.
While searching for the missing Shidou on Fraxinus, a space earthquake alarm suddenly sounded in Amamiya City.
"And...no obvious spiritual wave reaction was detected in the surroundings!"
The crew member operating the detection equipment below the bridge answered loudly.
Hearing the unexpected answer, Kotori frowned.
The Fraxinus is equipped with the world's highest level spiritual wave detection device, which cannot be inferior to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's device.
In that case, this is──
"A false alarm...?"
"...No, it might be dangerous to make such a conclusion without authorization." Ratatoskr's analyst Murasame Reine spoke with her waist slightly bent.
"What do you mean?"
"…Think back. Last month, when Katsu broke into the DEM Japan branch, didn't the space earthquake alarm sound like it does now?"
Kotori's eyelids twitched slightly when she heard what Reine said.
Indeed, all it takes is a single opinion from the DEM or the top brass of the Ground Self-Defense Force to sound the alarm.
"So - are they going to drive the crowd away? Are they going to do something that will require the residents of this area to evacuate?"
"…This possibility is very high. At least it is dangerous to conclude from the beginning that it is just a false alarm."
After thinking carefully about what Murasame Reine said, Kotori held up the candy in her mouth and gave the order to the bridge below:
"Investigate the situation within the alarm area immediately. Mobilize some of the automatic sensing cameras and radars used to search for Shidou."
However, before Kotori could finish her words, a piercing alarm sounded from the bridge.
"What happened!?"
"Report to the commander! This... this is because a strong reaction was detected near Raizen High School! Touka Miku and the others are there!"
"What did you say? Turn on the video!"
"Yes...!" While the crew was operating the control table, the main screen of the bridge showed the scene near Raizen High School.
However, when Kotori saw the scene on the screen, she was stunned for a moment.
The reason is very simple---
Because what was displayed on the screen was Tohka, Kakuya, Yuzuru, Miku, and — Tobiichi Origami, who was wearing Astral Dress, confronting each other in front of Raizen High School.
"Tobiichi Origami...?!"
Just as Kotori clenched her fists and was about to give an order, a crew member suddenly interrupted her, "This... is an astonishing amount of Reiryoku power! It is incomparable to her previous level! Without fully equipped Astral Dress, Tohka and the others probably have no chance of winning..."
Hearing this, Kotori frowned even more. She didn't know what happened between DEM and Origami.
But the only thing that is certain is that Tohka and the others are now in danger.
Kotori raised her right hand and pointed forward, shouting an order: "Fraxinus, move forward at full speed! Pick up Tohka and the others and bring them back to the ship! If there are any difficulties, unfold the [Leaves of the World Tree] and cover them!"
"Understood!" The crew members answered in unison, and the driving sound that slightly vibrated the bridge gradually became louder.
Then, Fraxinus changed the course towards Raizen High School.
However, something unexpected happened again - just as Flaxinus turned its bow, a cannonball hit Flaxinus's ship directly.
"What happened again?!" Kotori's right eyelid twitched slightly.
"It's... an attack from outside!"
"The enemy's shadow appears at three o'clock! This is an aerial ship!"
"What did you say...!"
As Kotori was furious, the image of a huge ship appeared on the main screen.
To be more precise, the empty space suddenly twisted and the airship appeared from it. However, it is impossible for a huge iron block to appear out of thin air.
I guess the other party has deployed invisible camouflage like Fraxinus.
"This is..." Seeing the ship appearing on the screen, Kotori was suddenly speechless.
It was a beautiful ship with a streamlined hull of the same size as the Fraxinus, and platinum armor dotted with decorations that looked like precious metal processing.
As long as there are only two companies in the world that can manufacture display devices, this is probably DEM's ship.
However, this ship was very different from the two ships Kotori and the others had seen before. If the two ships were considered combat weapons, then the ship in front of Flaxenas looked like a formal ship tailor-made for high-ranking people.
However, Kotori shook her head, as if denying her own thoughts.
The aerial ship uses a constant Territory field generated by a Realizer to make the huge hull float in the sky. It is a super technology that cannot be exposed to the world's public view.
No matter how beautifully decorated it is, it cannot be displayed publicly. And... even if they use their butts to think, DEM cannot send a purely ornamental ship to attack Fraxinus.
No matter how out of place its appearance was, the one floating before his eyes was undoubtedly the messenger of destruction sent by DEM Industry with the will to kill.
"Tsk, at this time... No... It must be this time on purpose... I guess."
Kotori gritted her teeth. It was hard to imagine that Origami, who appeared in front of the elves, had no causal relationship with this airship. Perhaps they had calculated that Kotori and the others would go to rescue Tohka and the others, and in order to prevent this from happening, they were waiting in the air for them to fall into their trap.
Although the Realizers can be used to cast invisible camouflage and make the hull blend into the surrounding scenery, this function can only be fully utilized when it is stationary.
If you deploy camouflage and start sailing, the space around you will look a little distorted.
Just as Kotori was gritting her teeth in regret, the loudspeaker suddenly rang loudly.
"What on earth happened?" Kotori is now feeling very anxious...
As Kotori asked the question, a female crew member sitting not far below the commander's seat operated the control console and then held her breath with a look of surprise.
"This is... communication! The ship is connected to the communication loop of Fraxinus!"
"Communication...?" Kotori frowned in confusion and replied, "Please answer it."
"Yes!"
After a series of operations, a window opened on the main screen, revealing the figure of a young girl.
She has light blond hair that represents European and American people, and a pair of blue eyes. From her stern expression, you can see that she has absolute confidence in herself.
"──Is this the first time we meet? Thank you for responding to my communication." The girl said in fluent Japanese.
Seeing her appearance, Kotori narrowed her eyes slightly.
"...Ellen Mira Mathers...!"
That's right. The person shown on the screen is none other than Ellen, the wizard of DEM Deus Ex Machina Industries.
"What...!" Then came the voices of the crew members below the bridge holding their breath.
However, this was only natural, because the girl on the screen was a wizard who possessed power on par with the spirits, was considered the strongest wizard in the human race, and was also specially marked as the most important target of vigilance.