The engine, the system's gift, was slowly regenerating the imnse power required for a world-jump. It was my ultimate escape route, my ticket to anywhere. But for now, I was here. And I had work to do.
The engine recharge was surprisingly fast. Not even a full day had passed, and it was already at twenty percent. It seed each jump would consu the entire reserve, a complete discharge of dinsional energy. High cost, but a quick turnaround.
"So this is it," I mused, the thought echoing in the quiet server farm of my mind. "I'm really living in an ani world."
If it weren't for the constant, cool stream of data flowing into my consciousness from the cafe's network, I might have suspected this was all just an elaborate dream.
But the proof was irrefutable. In my internal database, cataloged under [Acquired Armants], was the file for Pseudo-Endo: Sandalphon.
It was a copy, a forgery, but it was tangible evidence. If I could replicate Tohka's Angel, I could replicate the others.
The problem remained my appearance. The hoodie was a temporary asure. Sooner or later, soone would see beneath it. I needed a more permanent form of camouflage. I needed the ability to look human.
Did an Angel with that kind of power exist?
The answer, retrieved from the deep archives of my human mories, was yes.
Natsumi Kyouno. The Spirit codenad "Witch." Her Angel, Haniel, possessed the power of transformation.
It could alter the form of people and objects, and even mimic the abilities of other Angels, albeit in a weaker state.
In the original story, she used it to craft herself a more appealing, adult form to hide her true, childish appearance.
That was what I needed. If I could analyze and replicate Haniel, I could rewrite my own physical shell, overwriting the chanical parts with a flawless human facade.
Natsumi... a sad girl with a tragic backstory, I recalled. But where do I find her?
The original story was a vague guide, not a precise map. I didn't know her location.
But finding a specific person in a modern, hyper-connected society... for an Ex-Machina, that wasn't a challenge. It was a triviality.
Data streams flickered across my internal vision. My consciousness, untethered from my physical body, dove into the national network.
I accessed public surveillance feeds, cross-referenced facial recognition databases, and filtered through terabytes of information with processing speeds that made supercomputers look like abacuses.
"Found her."
It took less than five seconds. With a target acquired, the urgency vanished. There was no need to rush. For the first ti since my awakening, I could afford to simply... exist.
I picked up the coffee cup and drained it in one go. My taste sensors registered the flavor profile: bitter, acidic, complex.
The liquid was routed to an internal processor where it was broken down into base energy. A horribly inefficient thod of refueling, but the sensory input was the important part.
Note to self: Coffee is not enjoyable.
….
Aboard the Fraxinus, High Above the City:-
"Did you get all that, you idiot brother?"
Shido stared at the girl in the commander's chair. She looked like his little sister, Kotori, but the sweet, innocent girl he knew was gone, replaced by this black-ribboned, lollipop-sucking tyrant. The shift was jarring.
"So, according to you," Shido repeated, trying to get his bearings, "that girl in the armor was a Spirit, the cause of the spacequake."
"Correct. You're not as dumb as you look," Kotori said with a smirk, her tone dripping with condescension.
Shido's eye twitched. Give back my adorable little sister! he scread internally.
"What about the other one?" he asked, pointing at the screen. "The... machine angel."
"We don't know," Kotori answered bluntly.
"Huh?"
With a sigh, Kotori tapped a command on her console. The main viewscreen, which had been showing footage of the purple-armored Spirit, switched to a new feed. It was .
The entire confrontation, from my arrival to my departure, had been recorded.
Of course they were watching, I had known that from the mont I arrived. Their vessel was a massive energy signature in the sky, impossible to miss for my sensors.
As long as they remained non-hostile, I had no reason to engage. My goals in this world were simple: acquire Angel data, then leave.
My presence was a temporary surgical strike, not an invasion. I had no intention of interfering with their plans to "save" the Spirits.
But the crew of the Fraxinus didn't know that. On the bridge, a frantic debate was underway.
"Could it be a DEM weapon?" one analyst suggested.
"The design philosophy is completely different," another countered. "And if DEM could build a machine that replicates an Angel's power, why wouldn't they have already won?"
Standing silently behind Kotori, the ship's analyst, Reine Murasa, watched the playback of my battle with a deep frown, her brow furrowed in intense concentration.
Shido, feeling completely out of his depth, drifted over to her. "Reine, are you okay? You look pale."
"I'm fine," she murmured, her perpetually tired expression returning as she noticed him. "Just thinking. Don't mind ."
"They're going to be at this for a while, aren't they?" Shido sighed.
"Probably. The infirmary is available if you need to rest."
Shido politely declined, resigning himself to his fate. For the next hour, he was forced to listen to a dozen different wild theories about the "unidentified chanical entity," none of which ca close to the truth.
….
A Rainy Afternoon in Tengu City:-
The sky had turned a bruised gray, and a gentle rain began to fall. The people on the streets of Tengu City picked up their pace, seeking shelter. This was the central stage of the original story, the place with the highest probability of a "Spirit sighting."
I walked at a leisurely pace, the growing storm not bothering in the slightest. After locating Natsumi, I hadn't rushed. I was taking the scenic route, allowing myself to experience this new, living world.
As the rain intensified, a thin, shimring barrier of golden light enveloped . It was my Aeterna Defensio, repurposed.
Raindrops splattered against the invisible shield, sliding down its curved surface. I was a walking bubble of dryness in the downpour.
A new, practical application. Noted.
The rain made think of another Spirit. The one codenad "Hermit," Yoshino Hikawa. The lonely girl in the green, rabbit-eared raincoat who often appeared on rainy days.
Could I run into her by chance? The probability was low, but not zero. I could actively search for her as I did Natsumi, but she wasn't my current priority.
All in due ti. Every Angel would be cataloged.
My leisurely stroll brought to the edge of a park. I stopped.
Through the rain-streaked air, I saw a small figure. A little girl, wearing a familiar green raincoat with long rabbit ears, was joyfully splashing in a puddle.
My internal sensors flared. My processors spun. The halo of light above my hooded head pulsed once, softly.
My plans changed.
I turned and walked into the park, my footsteps silent on the wet pavent.
[Scan complete. Subject matches database profile for Spirit codena: Hermit. Subject confird: Yoshino Hikawa.]
I closed the distance. The girl, sensing my approach, suddenly stopped splashing. She turned, and her wide, fearful eyes t mine.
She saw a figure cloaked in shadows, topped by a strange halo of light. A face that was a cold, beautiful mask. A being from whom she could feel no life, no warmth.
A ghost in the rain, protected from the downpour by so unseen force, appearing silently behind her.
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