"...Will this be okay....., Kotori?"
"Don't worry. I won't take all of Shido's Spirit power away."
Kotori gave Reine a simple answer.
No matter what, this was still a battlefield. If Shido lost all of his healing ability, he would be in real danger.
Gungnir was a cannon that used Fraxinus to convert and amplify a Spirit's power, then fire it with full force. It could be called Fraxinus's strongest weapon.
A burning torrent poured down from the airship.
Rather than a laser or a beam, it looked more like a solid pillar.
The Spirit power was so dense that it beca a huge pillar of light, connecting Fraxinus and Tsukuyomi.
The cannon was not aid at the point where the Angel touched the ground. If it had been, firepower that strong would have lted the ground in front of Shido, or even turned it into vapor.
"Uwaa!"
Even so, the blast wave was still so fierce that it blew Shido away, even though he had already kept his distance from the point of impact.
"Hah... hah..."
Kotori knelt on the floor.
A strong weakness and a light dizziness hit her body. The smooth curved screen projected the outside scene in real ti.
"How... can this be...?"
Even though it was Fraxinus's strongest shot, the result was enough to make anyone lose hope.
Through the live image, Kotori saw that, inside Tsukuyomi, two new torii gates had risen behind the huge torii gate. Several torii gates ford three layers of barriers.
Even Gungnir could only break through two layers before being stopped at the last one.
"I see. That Angel probably gave up all attack power. It is the strongest shield, the complete opposite of the strongest spear."
Reine said calmly.
It was not fierce, and it was not deadly. But for the side attacking it, it was an absolute nightmare.
"If that's the case... then fire one more shot."
Kotori pressed her hands against her knees and forced herself to stand.
"No. Gungnir puts too much strain on both you and Fraxinus."
Reine stopped her.
Because it was the strongest attack, it could not be fired over and over. And more importantly...
"According to the detection result, that Angel's Spirit power reaction has not dropped in any clear way. Even if Gungnir is fired again, it will probably only be blocked by even more layers of barriers."
Hearing Reine's report, Kotori could not say anything.
The result was too hopeless.
"Shido, return to Fraxinus. Right now, we have no way to get close to Mikoto. We can only wait until her next quiet manifestation and try to capture her heart then."
After a short mont of thought, Kotori realized that neither AST nor Ratatoskr had any way to deal with Mikoto's Angel.
In other words, Mikoto was currently in a state where she could not be approached.
[No, Kotori. I... can't just leave Yakumo-senpai like that.]
Shido's voice ca through the earpiece.
There was sothing like firm resolve in it.
"Wait... what are you trying to do?"
In the live image, Kotori saw Shido running.
He passed through the two shattered torii gates, then ran toward the third layer of the barrier.
"Uoooooooh!"
Shido raised his fist and slamd it into the barrier with all his strength.(TL:truly a protagonist mont huh?)
Of course, the sound of bones shifting reached their ears.
The barrier did not even ripple. The only result was Shido's wrist dislocating from the recoil.
[Stop it, Shido! An attack like that won't even scratch an Angel!]
Kotori's startled cry ca from the earpiece.
"I know... I know that!"
Flas burned around his wrist and fixed the part that had shifted out of place.
Shido stepped back a few steps, then charged at the barrier again. This ti, his shoulder blade let out a painful scream.
In the end, an attack from a human body had no aning at all.
But Shido did not want to see that face anymore.
Despair. Pain. Deep regret.
That look, as if she had been abandoned by the whole world, pierced Shido's heart.
"Uoooooooh—!!!"
Bam!!!
Because he used too much force, his head slamd hard into the barrier.
Blood dyed his forehead red, turning the world in his eyes into a red haze.
In his mind, he rembered the smile Mikoto had shown him not long ago.
Shido wanted to bring that smile back.
It had been such a sweet, bright smile that even just looking at it had made him feel happy.
[Stop! Shido!]
Kotori's anxious shout ca through the earpiece.
"Sorry, Kotori."
It was not that he did not know he was doing sothing useless.
But if he did not keep doing this act that was almost like self-harm, then the guilt of being unable to save Mikoto might break sothing deep inside him.
[Stop it!!! Onii-chan—!!!]
Kotori's cry, almost mixed with tears, kept sounding in the earpiece.
Even so, Shido gathered all his strength again and slamd himself into the barrier.
"Reine, prepare to forcefully teleport Shido back!"
Kotori returned to the command center and said this to Reine.
They could not let this go on.
Earlier, in order to fire Gungnir, they had already taken part of Shido's Spirit power. If Shido kept hurting himself like this, no one knew what might happen.
"No. Shin's actions are having an effect."
However, Reine shook her head.
"What do you an?"
"This is Mikoto's emotional fluctuation chart."
Reine showed the screen to Kotori.
Perhaps because Mikoto did not see Ratatoskr as an enemy, her Angel was not rejecting Fraxinus's monitoring.
"With each impact from Shin, Mikoto's emotional values show clear movent. There is no doubt. Shin's feelings are reaching Mikoto."
———————
[Why?]
Mikoto stood in front of the shrine hall, tears slowly running down her cheeks.
[Why won't he give up?]
Tsukuyomi was Mikoto's Angel.
Everything inside and outside the barrier, as long as Mikoto thought it was needed, Tsukuyomi would show it to her without hiding anything.
The AST mbers's full-power attacks.
The magic cannon from the sky.
And...
Shido, who kept ramming the barrier with his own body.
[Leave. I'm a Spirit. I'm soone who brings disaster to this world.]
Anyone who stayed with her would surely be dragged into trouble.
A Spirit had no right to happiness from the very beginning.
And yet Shido did not care about Mikoto like that at all.
Even though she had rejected him so firmly, he still used every bit of his strength to strike the barrier.
Even if his arm broke, it did not matter.
Even if his shoulder scread in pain, it did not matter.
Even if his skull cracked, it did not matter.
Shido struck the barrier again and again, as if he had thrown his own life away.
He absolutely could not give up here.
In his hand, he tightly held a small amulet.
He absolutely could not let Mikoto leave with such a sad misunderstanding.
He had to—he had to save her—even if he had to risk his own life.
"Uoooooooooooooooooh—!!!"
As if he was trying to smash his whole body against the barrier, Itsuka Shido threw himself into the wall with the resolve to die.
And in that instant, a miracle happened.
The barrier that even Gungnir could not pierce actually shattered under Shido's impact.
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