"────"
On the battlefield developing over the skies of the peaceful residential area, Tobiichi Origami reached her hand out to catch the girl who had collapsed after using up all of her strength.
It was a beautiful girl wearing a custom CR-Unit made by DEM Industries. Her brilliant blond hair glistened underneath the sunshine.
Artemisia · Bell · Ashcroft. A DEM Wizard with the call sign number of Adeptus 2
──and also an opponent who had clashed blades with Origami just a moment ago.
"Ku..."
The moment her arm felt the additional weight, Origami semi-reflexively winched her eyebrows in pain.
But that came to no surprise. After all, the pure white CR-Unit and limited Astral Dress covering Origami's body had been cut apart from a diagonal slash across her shoulder. From there, a tremendous amount of blood was overflowing.
"Fu──"
Origami exhaled out lightly as she manipulated the voluntary surrounding herself. While applying hemostasis and anesthesia, she supported Artemisia's body through an invisible force.
Immediately afterwards she heard a loud voice coming from the front.
"Like I said, don't force yourself. Even if the pain can be ignored, it doesn't mean that the wound has healed."
"That's right! It has to be treated properly..."
With the standard Self Defense Ground Force equipment, the former captain of the AST, Kusakabe Ryouko, and her subordinate Okamine Mikie stared at Origami's wound with a worried look.
"...It's okay. I'm use to this level of injury."
"Idiot. "I can bear it" and "it is okay" can be two completely different things. ── Come, give her to me. Although it is possible to support her body with that field, but doing so will also strain your concentration efforts even further."
While saying that, Ryouko expanded her own voluntary territory to help support Artemisia's body.
Thanks to this, the burden placed on Origami's brain felt a little reduced, allowing for somewhat easier area maintenance of the territory. Once again, Origami breathed out a sigh of relief.
The voluntary area territory generated by the realizer manifestation is literally "a space that the user desires". Yet in spite of this, it was by no means omnipotent. If the load on the field was too much, the user's brain would be inflicted with a
corresponding amount of damage. "Anyway..."
Ryouko let out a small sigh as she watched Artemisia become enveloped in the invisible area.
"Although it was a one against many fight, I really didn't expect to beat that Artemisia Ashcraft...what kind of magic did you use?"
As the former top ace of the SSS, Artemisia was known to all Wizards. It wouldn't be difficult to image that her strength was on par with Ellen Mathers in the ranking of most powerful Wizards among humanity. To be able to defeat her, no wonder Ryouko was so surprised.
That being said, what Ryouko just retorted was not completely accurate. Origami slightly shook her head.
"The person who landed the decisive blow was not me." "Eh? Then..."
As Origami moved her head in a small retort, a voice was heard coming from the distance.
"Origami-san, are you okay...!?"
"Mun, tis appeared to been successful."
A gentle girl riding a giant rabbit puppet and a long haired girl holding a key- shaped staff glided through the sky as they turned to Origami.
Yoshino and Mukuro. Alongside Origami, they were the corresponding Spirit group sent to capture Artemisia.
In particular, Mukuro was literally the key person for this strategy.
Her Angel
Artemisia had been manipulated by the enemy due to her memories being altered by DEM. At the moment when Origami provided an opening, Mukuro would pierce Artemisia's head with
As Origami briefly explained this strategy, Ryouko widened her eyes in surprise. "Ha...are you? I guess then you guys are Spirits..."
Then, with a complex expression, Ryouko carefully observed the faces of Yoshino and Mukuro.
The other AST members who were behind Ryouko also curiously surrounded them.
"Then, you are
"Wow, no way, no way. I think this may be the first time I've seen a Spirit this close."
"...Say, isn't that one so cute?"
The members wearing black CR-Units began chatting excitedly like female students.
"Mun?"
"T-that...umm."
Although Mukuro remained composed at the situation, Yoshino had shyly averted her eyes.
"Ahh, sorry. Seeing you guys at this distance, you look just like ordinary girls. It's not clear why they said you were hostile organisms that were unable to talk..."
Ryouko nodded her head with a wry smile.
The Spirits who were regarded as the enemy of mankind and the captain of the squad responsible for hunting them were now talking at such a close distance.
...it was truly a deep scene of reconciliation.
However, they did not have all the time in the world to chat idly. Although Artemisia's large combat strength had been disabled, the battle was still
continuing and Origami had not completed all of her objectives.
"Captain. Sorry for getting you involve again, but I have a request. Please bring Artemisia to
"
"That's right. It's the airborne battleship of
"Huh〜?..."
Ryouko sharply distorted the tips of eyebrows before quickly turning to raise the corners of her lips.
"Although I don't know what is going on, it seems interesting. We've always been frustrated by DEM. If we can teach them what that is like, I'll gladly cooperate."
"Thank you. That's a great help."
Seeing Origami express her thanks, Ryouko waved her hand to show she didn't mind before giving instructions to the other AST members.
"Alright. Form a defense formation centered around me. Set the voluntary territory to defensive mode to prevent attacks from the surroundings. It's sufficient to carry out only the minimum amount of counterattacks. Our priority is the protection of Artemisia."
"Understood!"
Having received their instructions, Mikie and her team members dispersed into position. As a team that specialized in coordinated attacks, their movements were quite nimble and rehearsed.
"Well, let's go, Origami." "Please."
As Origami nodded in response, Ryouko responded while raising an eyebrow.
"No, that wasn't a question. You're coming too. Are you planning on leaving that injury untreated? I don't know what kind of battleship
However, Ryouko's voice suddenly stopped short.
No, to be exact, her voice was drowned out by the screams coming from the behind.
"──Origami-san!"
A girl wearing a cyan colored CR-Unit screamed out Origami's name while moving at a breakneck speed.
Her hair was bundled in a ponytail and there was a tear-shaped mole underneath her left eye. There was no mistaking these characteristics; it was Takamiya Mana, a Wizard of
alongside Yoshino and Mukuro.
With strained bloodshot eyes, it was a menacing look unimaginable of the usual Mana, as she tried to shout something.
Just then──
Finally, Origami noticed.
Behind the front line there was a terrifying power, "something" had emerged. "What──"
"...!?"
As they turned around, Origami and the others fell speechless.
──It was a sphere.
In the midst of the fierce battle in the sky, a large round object had appeared.
A peculiar feeling of oppression. The premonition of death. Even though there was a considerable distance from it, just gazing at "that thing" produced the sensation of being trapped in lethal poison.
However, that was not the end.
The sphere began to stir until it began blossoming like a flower bud. Afterwards, numerous particles of light began scattering from the center.
And its direction──quickly approached Origami and the others.
"...! Defensive formation!" "Understood...!"
Upon Ryouko's command, the AST members responded by expanding the
voluntary territory in order to protect Origami and the others.
However──it was useless. Origami felt a chill strike her stomach as she yelled in trembling voice."
"...! No. Escape!"
"It's okay...! Origami-san, you come with us──" Just at that moment.
A descending particle of light easily slipped through the voluntary territory that should have been protecting them and touched Mikie's body, who had been
extending her arms to protect Origami.
Immediately afterwards, Mikie's body lost all of its strength as she fell to the ground like a broken puppet with its strings severed.
No, not only Mikie. Several AST members that came into contact with the particles of light all fell from the sky as well.
"...!" "Wait──"
Origami and the surviving Wizards fled from that spot while expanding the territory to catch the bodies of their teammates who were falling.
"What's wrong? Are you okay!? What happened──"
Ryouko tried to stir awake the members who were being pulled up by the voluntary territory──but then she suddenly turned speechless.
"W-what's going on, this is... death...?" "...!?"
Origami furrowed her brow as she used to the voluntary territory to drag Mikie's body to her hand, reaching out to touch her neck.
No sign of pulse or breathing.
Life activity had completely stopped. "────"
Reasons, unknown. Principle, unknown.
The only certainty was that those who touched the particles of light emitted from the giant sphere had all just died.
The place where the sphere had emerged, it was the direction where Shidou, Tohka, and the Yamai sisters went to clean up the
"...! Shidou!"
Origami clenched her fist while shooting a quick glance towards Ryouko.
"──Captain, please take Mikie and the others to
"Ah, alright...! You mean──"
Origami kicked against the air and flew towards the distance without finish listening to what Ryouko had said.
◇
──If there is an encounter, there will also be a farewell. Although this expression was stale, it was undoubtedly the truth.
Both the time of meeting and parting are truly the same. No matter how intimate the relationship, as long as he and I are no longer the same people as before, any positive encounter will someday be eclipsed by negative farewell.
No matter the result, it will eventually return to zero. Regardless of the process, everything will eventually offset each other.
But of course, the human heart is not so simple.
The more noble intentions one might have, the more negative emotions the other will feel during the time of parting.
That is all that can be done for a person once acquainted on the same side as yourself.
Parents, siblings──or even a childhood friend.
There was an encounter. There was an encounter for even those who did not recognize it at the time.
An unexpected meeting, before even one noticed, it felt natural to stay together side by side.
──If such a person disappeared from one's side, what sort of emotions would the other remember?
Under these circumstances when not recognizing the blissful times and struck by an unexpected misfortune. One would be unable to resist against unjustness. It would leave a deep scar in a person's heart.
That being said, if it was caused by the rapid progress of a rival, people would feel lonely, but keep the light of hope lit in one's heart.
If this were the result of a separation caused between life and death, people would be struck by grief, but they will still keep the warm memories in their hearts.
However, if this separation was caused by the other sides' betrayal──
There was no doubt it was similar emotion to what Ellen Mathers feels when remembering Elliot Woodman.
"──Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
With a scream similar to a roar, Ellen waved her laser blade
A slash released from humanity strongest Wizard who was attacking with all of her might. Even a Spirit's Astral Dress would be splintered from such a blow.
"Fu──"
In comparison, Elliot had used his laser rifle to parry the blow.
"Ha, what an amazing amount of maryoku. But the attack is too straightforward. I understand the happy reunion after so much time has passed, but please calm down a bit, Ellen."
"Shut up!"
Ellen roared as if her throat felt nauseous. Then, she gripped ever once of her strength into her sword hilt as she prepared another slash.
Two times. Three times. Four times──several times. Flashes of magical energy fluttered like fireworks.
In the eyes of an ordinary person, one would only see a glimmering light. Yet, by the time the brain recognized this beautiful moment, one's body would already be severed into more than ten pieces of mincemeat.
However, Woodman accurately captured the trajectory of the invisible sword swings, dodging, blocking, and warding off each blow.
An exceedingly terrifying reaction time. At this level, perhaps even Artemisia would not be able to properly respond to all of Ellen's attacks.
Despite that being said, this was not the case here.
Ellen's eyes were now focused onto one of the founding members of DEM, Elliot Baldwin Woodman.
One of the few genuine Magicians left on this world──and also the first artificial Wizard in this world.
Although it is Ellen who now deserves the title of the World's Strongest Wizard, she had learned how to use the Realizer manifestation device from Woodman. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that, in a sense, he was Ellen's teacher. Although Ellen had the advantage in total magical power generated, Woodman was far superior in controlling the realizer manifestation device and manipulating the voluntary territory.
But──no, this was why Ellen's passion was further incensed. "Why...why did you betray us!? Elliot...!"
Yes, that's right.
Ever since Woodman and the others left Ellen, it was a residual dissatisfaction that concealed within her chest.
The memory of that day was still burned into her mind. Ellen, and her sister Karen, Westcott, and Woodman, the four them sworn while watching their hometown set ablaze.
Retaliation against human beings, revenge on mankind. Against the world──a rebellion.
The creation of a new order for magicians. Rewriting the old world. In order to realize that dream-like tale, Ellen and the others continued their meticulous research until their blood began to boil.
Realizer manifestation device. Wizards. Aerial warships. Artificial dolls. ──The multitude of supernormal techniques that made up DEM industries were nothing more than a byproduct of that.
Everything for the sake of the new world.
Everything to dispel the lingering regrets of their compatriots. Perhaps, it was because of that.
"You...betrayed our vow. Not only that, you've deceived Karen and usurped the results of our research. And appearing before us as an enemy. This sin can only be redeemed through death...!"
Indignation. Curses. Resentment. While conveying all of the negative emotions she could think of into words, Ellen screamed.
Then, Woodman, who had been successfully parrying Ellen's blows, let out a small sigh.
"I feel quite sorry to you guys. ...No, I don't remember ever deceiving Karen. Well, before I even noticed, she had already packed everything up by my side. No matter what, I don't want to be your enemy. It's just that my path and yours came into conflict in a strange way."
"Nonsense...!"
"It's not nonsense. The hatred of our village being burned down. The hatred of our compatriots being killed has not completely disappeared. It's just──"
At that moment──Woodman suddenly cut off his words. " "
But Ellen also noticed his reason.
"Thump", the sound of the world's pulse. A flow of mana that border on impossibility. It was the same feeling as the primordial Spirit that Ellen and the others had created.
Perhaps──it had appeared. That woman. And it was somewhere not far from here.
"..."
Woodman continued to speak while ruefully narrowing his eyes.
"...When I first saw that Spirit, I thought to myself. '...Ah, how beautiful.'
Afterwards, I considered it. Although it was for revenge, was it truly okay to sacrifice this unrelated child. No, what's different from that, then those who burned down our hometown...ah."
As Woodman said that, Ellen tightly shut her eyes. Facing against that line of sight, there was some sadness and pity.
"...!"
Hearing those words, looking at that gaze, Ellen felt the feeling of frustration as if her heart was roasted in an inferno.
There wasn't the slightest expectation that the source began with the primordial Spirit. However, for the current Ellen, those sorts of words lacked any meaningful request. Since killing the traitor in front of her was the meaning for Ellen's
existence right now. "Don't...screw around!"
Ellen let out a scream as she raised her arms and manipulated the voluntary territory with her mind.
"
Immediately afterwards, numerous razor edges installed in the back of CR-unit injected out and flew spinning out like shuriken at Woodman as their target.
"Tch──"
Even for Woodman, at such a close distance he would be unable to handle a
barrage of that intensity. Woodman squinted his eyes as he assumed a defensive stance by increasing the strength of the voluntary field.
However, that sort of behavior was predictable. Ellen sharpened her gaze as she issued out an instruction from her brain.
At that instant, the magical missile mounted on the razor edges of
Although this was an auxiliary weapon, it was still a missile of sufficient power and quantity. An ordinary Wizard would have already died in the explosion just now.
However, the opponent was Woodman. Even if it was Ellen, she didn't think that he would be fatally wounded.
The real purpose of the offense was to use the sudden explosion to capture Woodman's momentary attention and use the resulting smokescreen to bind his field of vision.
While Ellen was operating the voluntary territory to release
The Cr-Unit
If someone who was unaware had seen this, they might have confused it with an enormous muzzle.
However this was not a huge cannon.
It was──
"Penetrate!
──just a long, long spear of light.
Upon Ellen's command, light it up from the unit as a massive chunk of maryoku propelled forward.
It was a simple weapon that concentrated all of Ellen's magic into a single point.
But. No. Because of this──it was the strongest.
It wasn't a complex mechanism for one seeking a spear. It was only a force designed to penetrate the enemy.
And there was no such thing in the world that cannot be penetrated by Ellen's spear, which was strongest among the human race.
But. "...!?"
Ellen's eyebrows began to twitch back and forth.
Just before
Woodman had already shed away his defensive stance.
And also──facing forward with towards Ellen with his unit at hand. It took Ellen to realize that it was the previous laser rifle.
That being said, such a reaction was to be expected. After being deformed, the laser rife assumed a completely different shape than before.
Rather than a rifle, it was now more similar to an enormous artillery unit. Yes, as if just like ── Ellen's
" Accompanied by Woodman's voice, magical light was released from the unit he held. It clashed against Ellen's ◇ "...Ha, ...ha." Tohka took in deep breaths in order to adjust her heartbeat that was pacing like hasty alarm bell. However, in every direction, her heart could not calm down at all. Her throat tightened. The hands holding her sword were trembling. Every cell in her body was sending a warning signal to not fight the enemy before them. That's right. There was no such thing as those without fear on this earth when faced against Mio's overwhelming power. No──if said more correctly, there were no survivors left except for Tohka, the Yamai sisters, and Mio herself. The grains of light emitted from the giant flower in the sky had killed off all of the surrounding No, not only that. Even inorganic matter like the It was an abnormal sight that disobeyed nature's providence through taking the lifetime of a target in an instant. Although there were still fierce battles fought in the sky far away, it was only this area that resembled the eye of a typhoon. "..." As Tohka took in a breathless gulp, she felt a small pain in her parched throat. Mio. Takamiya Mio. The Spirit bearing the name of God. A woman who had just scattered death. Just being caught in her gaze caused an illusion of her skin being torn apart. However, Tohka and the others couldn't retreat. Tohka loves Shidou. Because of Shidou, Tohka was saved. Because of Shidou, Tohka had changed so much. Because there was Shidou──Tohka was able to understand such affection. If Tohka failed to stop Mio here, than all this would be treated as if it had never existed. The man known as Itsuka Shidou would be erased without the slightest hint of jest. Such a matter was absolutely unforgivable. Therefore, Tohka continued forward with her sword pointed at her enemy despite her body trembling in fear. "Kaguya, Yuzuru. ...Can you continue?" Tohka quietly whispered as she continued her gaze onto Mio. Kaguya and Yuzuru, who were beside her left and right side respectively, replied back while slightly shaking their shoulders. "Who are you talking down to? Of course there is no problem...!" "Agreement. No matter how powerful the enemy, the Yamai sisters will not retreat." "...Umu." Tohka gave a slight nod after hearing the reliable words of the two. Then, while keeping her gaze on Mio, she kicked against the ground. "Haaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" She raised "..." However, Mio did not attempt to dodge. She kept a calm look as she looked up at Tohka. Then, "Ku..." However, Tohka did not yield. Placing even more power on her grip holding With a fierce cry, Tohka had already lost track of the number of slashes that were already released. Kicking against the sky, she made a bold leap towards Mio. She lunged forward, with the tip of But──the results were the same. "...Sorry, but you can't beat me with this." Mio muttered quietly as she looked down at "──" While accepting the declaration, Tohka let out a smile while raising the corners for her mouth. "Ahh──that's probably right." "...What?" Mio sensed an unfathomable feeling as her eyebrows twitched. But that reaction was natural as well. While distracted by the barrage of hits, the Yamai sisters had snuck up behind Mio, with a huge bow carried between the two of them. Yes, the strongest blow of the Yamai sisters' A bow and arrow formed from a combination of Kaguya's And its name was── "── "Agreement. ── Kaguya and Yuzuru called out the name in unison as they fired the arrow. The huge conical arrow with violent wind pressure blew away the surrounding rubble as it approached Mio. "..." Mio let out a gentle sigh as she raised her hand for the first time to defend against the attack. ──Direct hit. The outrageously strong shockwaves sent from the arrow pried the paved road open like a carpet being lifted up. All of the surrounding objects scattered away like ammunition, flinging against each other before crumbling away. However, even that was not enough to break Mio's barrier. Even amidst the storm of the hurricane, Mio had stopped the attack to the point where her hair didn't even flutter about. "...It's a brilliant surprise attack. But──" Mio suddenly cut herself off just then. Perhaps, she had just noticed it. Tohka's persistent attacks served as a distraction for the Yamai sister's But even this Tohka cried out that name as she plucked out a towering sword from the earth and raised it to the heavens. That's right. Tohka had summoned her throne and combined it onto There was neither prior consultation nor was there a signal they prepared in advance from any special training accumulated. However, Tohka was confident. If it were the Yamai sisters, who had also undergone life or death battles numerous times, than they would have surely reached this conclusion...! "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh──" As Tohka shouted to the point of her throat feeling crushed, she swung down the huge sword at Mio. The sky was split, The earth trembled, ──the world creaked. The destructive overwhelming power exploded behind Mio as she was preoccupied defending against the arrow of wind. Certainty, there was a sturdy barrier surrounding Mio's body. It would be impossible to damage her with a half-hearted attack. However, if she received the strongest blows from both the two angels "Fall...ahhhhhhhh!" "Pene──trate ! Tumble now...!" "Haaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Tohka's screams roared even inside the raging winds. "────Ahhhh...──" A few seconds later, Tohka, who had used up all of her strength in the last blow, fell to the ground in exhaustion. The enormous "U-ugh..." Her entire body felt a sharp pain in response to the attack. With trembling hands and feet, Tohka used exposing the large crater dug into the ground by Tohka and the Yamai sister's two way attack. But──Mio's figure wasn't over there. "...!" Tohka widened in her eyes in shock as she hastily checked her surroundings. If the opponent had been an ordinary Wizard, it wouldn't be unbelievable that not even a speck of dust remained. However, the opponent was the Spirit of Origin• Takamiya Mio. Of course, the blow was intended to break her barrier, but Tohka wasn't naïve enough to think that was enough to determine the outcome. Did she avoid it? Or perhaps, she hid herself after the barrier was destroyed in accordance to Tohka's plan── Then, at the next moment, " !" Having caught it at the edge of her sight, Tohka felt her breathing come to a stop. Immediately afterwards, she shouted. "Kaguya! Behind!" Yes, in about ten meters behind Kaguya, Mio stood there without any injuries. "Eh──?" Perhaps hearing what Tohka had said, Kaguya raised her brow. But──it was too late. Just as Kaguya was about to turn around, a tentacle like protrusion from Mio's astral dress had pierced through Kaguya's chest. "Ah────?: Kaguya's eyes fell wide open in horror as she look down at her chest. A thin and elastic sash of light, that seemed to have been an extension of her clothes. This unreliability thin cloth had run through Kaguya's body before exposing its tip to the air. No...perhaps it wouldn't be appropriate to describe it as a penetrative stab. In fact, there were no drops of blood dripping from her chest. But at the very tip. A fragment of a crystal emitting an orange glow was wrapped by the sash. "What..." Looking at the sight, Tohka's expression trembled in fear. ──Sephira Crystal. The source of a Spirit's power. There was no doubt. The Sephira Crystal she had heard about from Kotori and Miku had been instantly extracted from Kaguya's body. "..." Mio slightly raised her hand. Then, the piece of cloth that had pierced through Kaguya quickly retracted back to Mio in the blink of an eye. Of course, alongside the Sephira Crystal wrapped around as well. "Ka...fu..." Now free from the band of light, Kaguya breathing fell ragged before falling aside. As if in conformity with that gesture, the Limited Astral Dress she was wearing also disappearing into particles of light. "...! Kaguya!" Yuzuru immediately ran to support Kaguya before her body could touch the ground. "Yu──zuru." Kaguya faintly moved her lips while in Yuzuru's arms── But then, all strength left her body as nothing was said afterwards. "Kaguya...? Kaguya! What's wrong, Kaguya...!" Yuzuru began to desperately shake Kaguya's shoulders, but her flaccid body still didn't show any signs of response. Yuzuru gently pressed her ears against Kaguya's chest, ──while listening, there wasn't even the small hint of breathing left. "Kagu, ya..." Then, while looking on at Yuzuru, Mio quietly announced. "...This area is already under the control of "────" While listening to those words. Yuzuru gently swayed her body. "...!" It was a moment later that Tohka realized. As Kaguya fell to the ground, Yuzuru had disappeared────or rather, she blitzed towards Mio at speed that even Tohka's eyes could not follow. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh───!" It was the roar of the beast that was completely unimaginable from the usual Yuzuru. Using the wind to guide her pendulum, Yuzuru directed it at Mio. "...! Don't do it Yuzuru! Run──" At one beat too slow, Tohka cried out. However at that time, another band of light spiraled past the pendulum before catching── "Gu──ah...!?" The tip was buried in Yuzuru's chest. "Yuzuru!" As Tohka yelled out her name, Yuzuru turned to Tohka's direction for a moment. "Apolo…gy…sor...rry, Toh...ka...Kagu...ya..." Yuzuru responded weakly before collapsing down. Then, just like Kaguya before her, the limited Astral Dress covering her body faded away into particles of light. "...Now." Mio manipulated the band of light, hauling back the fragment of the Sephira Crystal that she had snatched away from Yuzuru. Then, after superimposing with the piece in her hand taken from Kaguya, she merged the two pieces into a whole crystal before pressing it against her chest. With a glimmering light, the Sephira Crystal was swallowed into Mio's body. Immediately after the Sephira Crystal completely disappeared, one of the ten stars behind Mio gave off a dim glow. "...That makes two." "──Mio, you...!" Tohka gritted with the back of her teeth as she stood up again while ignoring the pain of using up all of her might and tremendous fatigue. Too unexpectedly and easily──both Kaguya and Yuzuru had been killed. It was a scene detached from reality. There were no wounds on either of their bodies. From another perspective, it looked like they had fallen asleep. However, the feeling of reiryoku coming from the two of them up until now was now being emitted from the body of the enemy. "..." There was tremendous anger, sorrow, and despair swirling in Tohka's heart. However, those feelings would only hinder her right now. Tohka took in a deep breath to suppress the burning passion in her heart. This was not an opponent she could defeat by losing herself in the fight. While the fiery passion was needed to give her all, what she needed most was a sense of calmness. Neither forgetting nor ignoring the anger for the one that killed them, she had to carry on with those thoughts in mind. The next moment, Tohka felt her body increase in heat. Yes, that was the sensation of when a complete Astral Dress had manifested── "...I can't allow that." However, after hearing that while narrowing her eyes, the flow of reiryoku that caused Tohka's body to increase in temperature gradually grew slower. "What...!" "...If the spiritual pathway is completely reversed, than it will take more time to seal it into Shin again. Sorry, but I've temporarily narrowed down your pathway." While speaking, Mio slowly raised her hand. "...You are a bit troublesome, originally I wanted to postpone that, but── With a flick of her wrist, several bands of light coming from Mio formed a gooseneck shape. "...It's over." As Mio finished that remark, the bands of light honed in on Tohka. "Ku──" Tohka distorted her brow as she used No──it was only an attempt at cutting off the bands of light. The bands of light, contrary to its fragile appearance, boasted a terrifying strength and willpower. Even if struck, by "──!" Tohka twisted her body in order to shake off the bands of light. However, due to the constant release of attacks, she couldn't maintain her posture as her movements fell a beat too slow. For Mio, that momentarily lag was more than enough to easily catch Tohka. A band of light quickly approached Tohka's chest. But "What...!" At that moment, Tohka's eyes widened. But that was a natural response. Suddenly, a hand pulled her back her as her vision grew dark. Even if it wasn't Tohka, everyone else would have likely made a similar response. A moment later, Tohka was able to see the light again. "Ah...? T-this is..." Tohka blinked as she felt a sense of incongruity. What spread before her was the same battlefield as before. Mio was in front of her, and However, everything was positioned at a distance farther than before her vision grew dark. In the fact, the bands of light that were once quickly approaching her were now at a considerable distance away. "Mun...are you alright Tohka?" Tohka turned around as she heard a voice coming from behind. "! Mukuro!" That's right. Despite not knowing when she appeared, Mukuro was standing beside Tohka while holding her signature key-shape staff. Then, she finally noticed. Just as Tohka was about to be pierced by the band of light, she was pulled out of that dilemma by a "hole" opened in space by Mukuro. "Are you okay, Tohka-san...!" Immediately afterwards, Origami, Yoshino, and Mana all descended down towards Tohka. They had also likely recognized the anomaly and rushed here. "──Tohka, Kaguya and Yuzuru are." With her pure white clothes still blemished from blood, Origami spoke while calmly looking at the two people lying on the floor. "..." Tohka gritted her teeth before silently nodding. "...Yes." Origami's response was simple. A brief word and a light breathe in. No change could be seen from her expression. However──she understood. Tohka glanced at Origami's face as she was biting against her lip. Tohka, who had known Origami for a while, and even crossed swords against her, knew that there was a burning fury igniting underneath her calm expression. Of course it was not just Origami. Yoshino, Mukuro, and also Mana, although everyone's reactions weren't the same, they all glared at their enemy with hostility. "So this is the Spirit of Origin. Hmm, that unpleasant atmosphere sure is loathsome." Mana spat out while still glaring at Mio. "...Ah, long time no see, Mana." "...What did you say?" Mana gave a distorted glare at the reply. However, Mio continued without paying heed to that and continued. "...I have to collect the Sephira Crystals right now. There's no need for you to die. You should leave here from a bit." Mio spoke as if urging Mana to retreat. But of course Mana did not relent. Rather her attention was focused on her enemy as she strained her facial expression. Having likely foreseen this reaction, Mio gently sighed. "That frankness hasn't changed a bit. ──It can't be helped. Shin will be able to come back if I'm too carefree. I'll have to finish this quickly." As Mio said that──she raised her hand in the air, as if to beckon ◇ "Please──catch up..." While manipulating the wind surrounding his body, Shidou was moving a tremendous speed past the mountains of rubble. Just above, around his path. Since he had already used Mukuro had used it to open holes in space in order to move around instantaneously. However, there was also a high risk of failure. It had only been recently that Shidou sealed Mukuro's reiryoku. He had never experimented with long distance travel using certain the correct location from the exit. If the exit led to an even further location, it would waste precious time. In a race against the clock, this could lead to a fatal mistake. Therefore──Shidou had chosen Although the distance from the shelter and that site was still far, it was still a distance traversable on feet. The fastest Angel capable of manipulating wind, for Shidou who was rushing through the ground using that power, it was not a long distance. "...!?" At that moment. While pushing forward towards Tohka and the others, Shidou frowned as an uncomfortable feeling attacked his body. For a moment, his concentration wavered and his speed weakened. "What happened…..what is this..." With tension written on his face, Shidou placed his hand against his chest as he adjusted his breathing. It was neither a stray bullet that struck him nor stress from overusing the Angel. In fact, there appeared to be no irregularities with his body. But something definitely happened. Yes, it was as if the wind of "Kaguya...Yuzuru...?" Shidou felt his throat tighten from the ominous premonition. Shidou held his breath before once again kicked against the ground to push forward. But──at that moment. As if trying to block his way, an explosion came rolling ahead. "...!?" At that time, he thought it was another flashy stray bullet──but that wasn't it. This was a deliberate attack aimed at Shidou. What's more, Shidou could see it clearly. Just before the explosion occurred, there were several pieces of paper flying from above. "── Shidou shouted that name as he assumed a more guarded stance. Then, from the several pieces of paper fluttering from the residue smoke, several girls with the same appearance emerged out. "Found you, Itsuka Shidou." "Is it true that you choose to come back here?" Despite joking around just now, the However, that was to be expected. After all, the number of "Ku..." Shidou clenched his teeth in irritation. He had to return back to Tohka and the others' side a soon as possible. But at the worst possible timing, he had encountered the most undesired opponent. However, it would have been a bad move to allow the adversary to recognize this. Shidou relaxed his expression as he smiled at the "──Did you want to see me that much, koneko-chan?" "Hiii──" Hearing Shidou's words, the expected, the words landed on target and made the Although it would be in bad taste to dominate the opponent through words, it was in his best interest for the "──Calm down A voice was heard that interrupted Shidou's thoughts. "Wha..." Shidou could help but frown. ──That voice sounded familiar. He heard it once before in September in DEM's Japanese Branch Office. He heard the voice once again in January inside As if to confirm his premonition, a man came out from the shadow of the rubble. Dim ash-gray hair and eyes with a dull metallic hue, there was a strange threatening atmosphere coming from him that was different from confronting a Spirit or Wizard. Yes, he was the executive director of DEM industries and the starting point for this battle. The first man that started the conflict over the Spirits. "Now then, Itsuka Shidou. Let's decide here. ──Decide who is more qualified for the power of the Spirits." Isaac Westcott gently spread his arms out as he spoke.