---
"Biting the bait..."
Through the cameras, Jessica saw three people walking and immediately called her superiors.
Tenguu City had been invaded by spirits, presenting a good opportunity to hunt them. DEM was not going to let this chance slip away. The Hermit, the most cowardly of the spirits, had been very active lately and thus became the perfect target. However, DEM's ambition went beyond just capturing the Hermit.
Diva, who had also been active recently, was part of their hunting ground. Unlike the Hermit, who was easily detectable, Diva appeared out of nowhere without causing spatial tremors, making her difficult to locate. Fortunately, there was a way.
Diva seemed to be connected to the Hermit, and using that connection, the chances of capturing both were high.
"Very well, prepare the trap."
"Understood."
Thus, DEM set up the bait. They had not yet caught the Hermit, all to lure out Diva.
"But there's a problem, Captain."
"What is it?"
Despite Jessica's enthusiasm for the mission, she had to report what was currently happening.
"There's a human among the spirits. What should we do?"
"A human? It doesn't matter. Eliminate them."
Unlike AST, which is a government-affiliated public service that protects citizens, DEM didn't care about humans. They were focused on their goals and had no qualms about killing humans.
Some mages also frequently killed humans, Jessica included.
"Understood."
A smile formed on her face as she received the order, crushing a rabbit puppet in her hand.
The hunt had begun...
---
On the brightly lit street, three people walked hand in hand, drawing attention with their striking appearance.
"Ugh! I can't get used to this," Yuki shivered. The stares from men at Miku's body gave him goosebumps. Miku, on the other hand, rolled her eyes. This was perfectly normal for a woman and something he had to learn to live with.
After a while, the three continued searching, but they couldn't find the puppet.
"Yoshinon..." Yoshino grew sadder, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Any ideas on how to find it?" Even Miku was a bit worried and tired. Despite having Yuki's body, it was still a human body with limits.
"No..." Yoshino shook her head. They really had no way to bring Yoshinon back.
Yuki frowned. They had been searching the combat zone as Yoshino described, but there was nothing. The debris was still there, and it was unlikely that other humans had come near this restricted area, so no one could have taken it.
The chances that it had fallen into another area were slim.
"Yoshinon!!" Suddenly, Yoshino screamed. In front of them, her rabbit puppet lay on some debris. Yoshino's tear-filled eyes brightened, and she ran towards her friend without hesitation.
But just as she held her puppet in her arms...
*Tick, tack*
The sound of a clock echoed. Yuki's instincts kicked in, his expression changing. He stomped hard on the ground and launched himself at Yoshino.
"Watch out!!"
*Boom*
Several bombs activated, turning the area into chaos. The nearby building collapsed, and a curtain of smoke rose...
"Guhhhh?!"
Even Miku, outside the impact zone, was thrown back by the shockwave.
"The fish took the bait."
"Did it work?"
"No, the targets activated their barrier..."
"Good, don't let them escape until I arrive."
"Understood."
Floating with the help of her RC, Jessica calmly observed the destruction below. In the middle of the smoke, a pink barrier appeared, absorbing the impact.
"That was close... Very close!" Cold sweat ran down Yuki's cheek. If he had been a bit slower in deploying his astral suit and summoning Gabriel to protect them, both he and Yoshino might have been in very bad shape or out of action...
"Mages!!"
Looking up at the sky, Yuki spotted the attackers—a whole squad of mages surrounding them. Yuki quickly connected the dots; it was a trap.
"Yoshino, are you okay?"
"Um! Um!"
"Thanks for the help, Miku-chan ~" Yoshino nodded, while the puppet shook off the dust and spoke...
"..."
Yuki was silent for a few seconds. A talking puppet was a surprise. Since meeting Yoshino, he didn't know the puppet could do that.
"I'm not Miku... No, never mind," Yuki sighed, shaking his head. "Yoshino, I'm going to ask you a favor. Please promise me..."
*Bang, bang*
Before Yuki could finish, DEM attacked. Yuki took Yoshino in his arms and quickly dodged, searching for Miku.
"Ouch?! That hurts!" Miku held her head in pain. The bomb blast had thrown her, and her body ached. Just as she was getting up, Yuki suddenly grabbed her by the neck.
"Ehhh?!"
Miku could only scream in shock. Yuki moved swiftly, dodging projectiles.
"Haaaaaaaa!!" An iron pipe appeared in front of Yuki. He took a deep breath and shouted, the shockwave sending the projectiles and some mages flying. But it wasn't enough; more mages attacked.
"Tsk!"
Yuki clicked his tongue, searching for another route. But every time, he encountered DEM's attack.
"Hold on tight," With Yoshino and Miku clinging to him, Yuki didn't wait for a response and shot into the sky. Several DEM mages followed.
"You won't escape!"
*Ta-ta-ta-ta*
Jessica was one of them, her machine gun firing as Yuki twisted in the air, dodging. His flying speed had exceeded the speed of sound, but he couldn't shake off DEM.
"Yoshino, can you create ice? Help me out a bit."
"Eto... Yes..."
Yoshino shrank back but sincerely assisted. She didn't want to fight but understood the emergency. The temperature around them dropped, forming icicles that launched at their pursuers.
"Hiss... It's freezing!" Miku, in Yuki's human body, had low cold tolerance, so she hugged Yuki's waist tighter.
*Shiii*
Suddenly, a squad of what looked like robotic dolls appeared in the sky, along with a massive warship.
"Damn it," Yuki's expression was grave. The mages were already a headache, but now there were over a hundred robots and a warship. DEM had put significant effort into capturing the two spirits, sparing no resources.
"Hey! This is bad!"
"Do you think I don't know that?!"
"Hurry, control the mages!"
"If that were possible, I would have done it already!"
Yuki looked at Miku as if she were an idiot. Gabriel had the ability to control human and even spirit minds, but there were exceptions, like strong spirits or powerful mages.
The DEM mages were all prepared to counter Diva's ability, rendering mind control useless.
"Haaaaaaa!!" Despite this, thanks to his superior flying skills, Yuki continued to escape, causing chaos among the robotic dolls and mages.
"Yoshino, please."
"Huh?" Yoshino stopped attacking, tilting her head.
"Tch! Diva is so elusive," Jessica kept firing but still couldn't hit Diva. She was too fast and skilled at dodging. What angered her most was that Diva was carrying two people with her...
It wasn't supposed to be like this. It should have been an easy operation, but Diva was exceeding expectations.
"Hm?!"
Suddenly, Diva did something that stunned Jessica. She kicked a Bandersnatch, using it as a shield against her weapon.
*Boom*
The collision caused a small explosion, creating a cloud of smoke. Jessica protected herself with both arms, and when she lowered them to continue the pursuit, Diva emerged from the smoke and quickly closed the distance.
"...?!"
"HAAAAAAAA!!"
Holding her breath, Diva unleashed a terrifying scream, hitting Jessica hard.
---