"Why is Princess here? Did she co to help Hermit?"
Kusakabe Ryouko fired her heavy machine gun at Tohka, who lightly dodged it and countered with a slash full of Spirit energy using Sandalphon.
For so reason, the AAA-rank Princess wasn't showing her usual overwhelming fighting power; she was just playing hit-and-run with the AST.
Beep— Beep—!!!
"Impossible? Another Spirit reaction?"
Hearing the alarm, Ryouko turned her head and saw that at one edge of the blizzard do, the daylight had turned into the dark of night.
"Miko! I see, not good!"
Instantly, Ryouko understood that Princess's goal was just to lure them away from Hermit.
"Everyone! Return to Hermit! Stop Miko's movents!"
The blizzard barrier could still be crushed by a building, but Miko's Angel was basically an unbreakable fortress. If Hermit was rescued inside it... Ryouko couldn't even imagine what the AST could do after that.
"Origami?"
A streak of light flashed past the rapidly advancing Ryouko. It was Origami, who had maximized the output of her CR-unit.
"Spirit..."
[...However, according to orders from the higher-ups, as long as we don't detect Spirit energy, we are to treat you as normal humans and not attack.]
Even though she had said that before, the Yakumo Mikoto in front of her was undoubtedly a Spirit who had manifested her Angel. In that case, there was no need to hold back.
The beam sword Nopain turned into an arc of light, striking straight at Tsukuyomi.
Clang!
But it was completely useless. As if hitting a solid wall, Nopain flew out of Origami's hand and spun to the ground.
"Don't act on your own! Listen up, everyone! Gather your magic into your rifles. Target coordinates (125, 79, 86). Focus all your firepower on a single point!"
Ryouko ordered the AST mbers to focus their fire. If one person's power wasn't enough, they would gather the whole team's magic and pierce that barrier like a needle.
[I see. Everyone in the AST is working really hard too.]
Sitting safely in front of the shrine, Mikoto easily saw through the enemy's plan. Because she had to focus all her power on the Torii gates, the part exposed outside the snow barrier wasn't as tough as expected. Their thod was perfectly correct. But...
"I won't let you—!!!"
A purple slash ca from behind, breaking up the AST formation.
"Princess!"
Ryouko turned around and saw Tohka, who had just rushed over.
"Change target! Focus fire on Princess!"
It couldn't be helped. Even though they had to stop Miko from saving Hermit, it was impossible to focus on a barrier made by two Angels while under Princess's attacks.
Ryouko's order wasn't wrong, but...
"Baaa—ka! Baaa—ka!"
Princess jumping straight into Miko's barrier was sothing she never expected.
"Ahaha! This is just like being at the arcade with Shido!"
Tsukuyomi blocked all the attacks from the AST for Tohka. In return, Sandalphon's slashes easily passed through the barrier from the inside, constantly hitting the AST. This one-sided attack really did feel like a ga of whack a mole.(TL: unstoppable force and unmovable object lmao)
[Am I having a nightmare?]
For a second, Ryouko hoped her alarm clock would ring so she could open her eyes and find herself lying in bed.
[No, this isn't a nightmare. This is the end of the world.]
Miko and Princess had tead up. Spirits, who usually acted alone, actually chose to work together. Miko put up an ultimate shield for Princess, while Princess acted as the barrier's guard, attacking the AST without any worries.
[The Earth is dood.]
For a split second, such a ridiculous thought popped into Ryouko's head.
[!!!]
Just then, the do made of a blizzard not far away began to fade. The sky stopped crying, the large raindrops stopped falling, the dark clouds cleared, and a beautiful rainbow hung in the sky.
"..."
As if drawn in by this strange and beautiful sight, everyone stopped fighting.
"Oh no!"
Even though it was just a short mont, when Ryouko snapped back to reality, she noticed that Hermit was nowhere to be seen where the snow barrier used to be. Not only Hermit, but Princess and Miko had disappeared too.
"Spirits, Lost."
Feeling a bit frustrated but also sowhat relieved, Ryouko gave the report.
[That's not a Lost.]
Origami thought as she looked at the spot where Hermit disappeared. For so reason, rather than being "Lost," she felt that the Spirit had been "saved" by soone, just like Yakumo Mikoto and Yatogami Tohka.
_____________________________
Two days after sealing Yoshino...
Like a castle built overnight, a massive building suddenly appeared in the empty lot next to the Itsuka house.
"Wh... what is this thing!!!"
Mikoto smiled wryly as she watched Shido shout in shock. It was understandable. Even she was startled by this building when she headed over to Shido's house this morning.
"It's a special apartnt for Spirits. Its physical strength and Spirit energy resistance are way above normal standards. It even has Realizers running. Tohka and Yoshino will be moving in in a few days."
Kotori, standing next to them, didn't look panicked at all. That was because the one who built this was Ratatoskr. As Shido saved more Spirits, a new place to live was needed.
"Huh, aren't you going to live there, Yakumo-senpai?"
Shido noticed that Yakumo Mikoto's na wasn't included on the list.
"As for , I prefer living at Obaa-chan's house. It's a place full of mories, after all."
Mikoto smiled. Because it was her first ho before she t Shido, she didn't want it to beco an empty place no matter what.
"You don't need to worry about Mikoto. Her mood levels are generally very stable. The only two tis her Spirit energy flowed backward were when Shido was in danger. Rather than being a hazard, you could say we were saved because of it."
Kotori nodded in praise. Because she had the mories from before crossing over to this world and was ntally mature, unlike Tohka and Yoshino, Mikoto could easily blend into human society.
"Ahaha..."
Hearing that Mikoto's Spirit energy flowed backward because she was worried about him, Shido felt his face get a little hot. He scratched his cheek and laughed dryly.
"Well then... I'll be heading to school first."
Even though the Spirit apartnt was amazing, if they kept chatting, they would be late for school. Thinking she should stagger her timing with Shido and Tohka, Mikoto decided to leave a step early.
"Yakumo-senpai!!!"
But she didn't get far before Shido called out to her.
"Is sothing wrong, Shido?"
Mikoto tilted her head.
"Ah... actually... I really wanted to say thank you."
Standing in front of Mikoto, Shido bowed deeply to thank her.
Whether it was calming Tohka down, looking for Yoshinon, or helping him get inside the snow barrier, Mikoto had helped him way too much. So Shido felt he absolutely had to say thank you.
"N-no need to be so formal."
Seeing Shido look so serious, Mikoto waved her hands in a bit of a panic.
"Ehehe, but thinking about it... I really did help Shido out."
Then, she smiled again. For the young girl, just being able to help Shido was already sothing that made her very happy.
"Yeah, you really saved . So... is there anything you want? Like sweets or books?"
"Eh? A reward? I do, I do."
Hearing Shido's words, Mikoto nodded obediently.
"What is it?"
"Hmm... Shido, close your eyes."
"Eh? Why..."
"Just don't ask and close your eyes."
"Okay."
Following Mikoto's request, Shido closed his eyes.
The next second, a soft touch pressed gently against his lips. The warm, moist, and sweet feeling made Shido's head turn fuzzy for a mont.(TL:damn...she really is more acceptance at being girl than yutsuku already, and much much more sweetness PDA)
"Ya... Yakumo-senpai!!!"
He didn't know how long passed, but he finally broke free from that overly happy feeling.
"Ehehe. Shido's reward... received."
Opening his eyes, Shido saw the girl touching her lips with her fingertips. Even though she was a little shy, she showed a warm smile, looking completely full of happiness.
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