Yutsuki wasn't actually all that surprised by Shido's appearance.
Even though this world had highly advanced forecasting systems for spacequakes, it wasn't impossible for so people to fail to evacuate in ti. Just like earthquake drills in her past life—no matter how perfect the training was, you couldn't guarantee a 100% successful evacuation rate every single ti.
While it was true that during her previous manifestations, civilians had almost always finished evacuating long before she arrived, situations like this could still happen.
Furthermore, seeing how calm the boy was, Yutsuki figured he probably just assud she was another civilian who hadn't managed to evacuate in ti, just like him.
"It's nice to finally run into a human I can actually talk to, but I can't just drag an innocent bystander into this ss..."
Sighing helplessly, Yutsuki allowed blue and white electricity to crackle across her body. If she had looked like a slightly eccentric girl a mont ago, right now, there was no doubt she looked like a powerful, imposing Spirit.
"Ratziel."
Countless arcs of electricity converged in her right hand. The previously wild, erratic lightning gradually stabilized. Soon, it materialized into a physical form—a dark blue longbow with limbs shaped like jagged lightning bolts appeared in Yutsuki's grasp.
"Eh? Ah, sorry, I'll answer you right away..." Seeing that she had drawn her Angel, Shido assud she had grown impatient waiting for his response and hurriedly tried to speak.
Ignoring his words entirely, Yutsuki issued a command to her Angel.
"Ratziel,completely cut off any surveillance feeds snooping on this area."
[Understood. Electromagnetic jamming field deployed.]
Okay! Now I don't have to worry about this kid's face getting caught on cara by any of those shady organizations.
"H-Hey! What's wrong...? Tell ... hurry up and tell what to do!"
The boy was now completely drenched in sweat, whispering frantically into the air with a voice that sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
He's terrified.
Seeing how pale Shido's face had beco upon looking at her, Ryougi Yutsuki silently made a deduction in her head.
Actually, it wasn't hard to understand. The true cause of spacequakes was deliberately covered up by governnts worldwide. To the general public, spatial quakes were simply natural disasters, much like earthquakes or floods.
The vast majority of people in this world possessed an incredibly normal worldview.
If a girl suddenly materialized right in front of you, crackling with lightning, wielding a deadly weapon, and glaring with what looked like hostility—well, putting herself in his shoes, Yutsuki thought his reaction was really justified.
"Man... it really is hard to just find soone to talk to..."
Hearing her words, Shido was sowhat surprised to realize that the expression on the Spirit's face right now held a mixture of disappointnt and profound loneliness.
"N-No! It's not like that! Actually, I'm—" Just as Shido hurriedly tried to explain, an intense, ear-piercing sound of tal clashing rang out right next to him, leaving his ears ringing.
Turning his head, he realized that at so point, a solid wall of iron sand had erected itself to his right, blocking a fierce hail of bullets aid in his direction.
She's... protecting ?
"The assault order ca down pretty fast this ti. Seriously... there's a civilian right here!"
Sighing as if she couldn't stand the sheer absurdity of the situation, Yutsuki turned to Shido and spoke with utmost seriousness: "Boy, trust . Everything happening in front of you right now is just a dream. When you open your eyes again, everything will be peaceful once more."
"Eh? Wait... Mmph!" Before Shido could protest, Yutsuki blurred behind him without hesitation and delivered a clean, precise karate chop to the back of his neck, instantly knocking him out cold.
Using the iron sand to gently move Shido to a relatively safe corner, Yutsuki even erected a defensive layer of iron sand around him just to be safe.
"Okay! Next up is the usual routine."
As if acting on cue, the AST mbers, fully equipped with their Realizers, flew toward Yutsuki, radiating fierce hostility.
.....
Kusakabe Ryouko was in an absolutely terrible mood today.
Every single day, she had to endure being yelled at for "incompetence" by that irritating, eternal-bachelor Colonel. And when she got back to the unit, her subordinates would frequently tease her about her age. She was only twenty-seven, dammit! Why did everyone act like she had already crossed the dreadful threshold of thirty?! The physical and ntal stress she accumulated on a daily basis was unimaginable.
She had finally, finally managed to book a trip to the hot springs for a rare vacation, only for it to be completely ruined by a series of inexplicable, bizarre incidents.
And even today, when she had miraculously managed to get off work early and just wanted to get so sleep, this sudden spatial quake alarm had shattered her dreams.
What does life have against ?! Why does the universe insist on making my life miserable?!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
As if converting all the grievances in her heart into pure kinetic energy, Kusakabe Ryouko charged forward, swinging her laser blade maniacally at the Spirit in front of her.
Yutsuki raised her longbow, easily deflecting the incoming beam sword. At the sa ti, she manipulated iron sand to block the heavy firepower raining down from the AST's ranged units in the distance.
Landing a swift kick to her opponent's abdon, Yutsuki knocked the charging AST Captain away. But almost imdiately, the woman raised her beam sword and charged at her again.
Yutsuki was slightly surprised. The kick she just delivered had been carefully calculated; the spiritual energy behind the blow was precisely calibrated to break through her opponent's Territory shield, with just enough leftover force to knock her unconscious.
Although the Territory shield generated by the woman in front of her was nowhere near Ellen's level, it was noticeably stronger than the average AST mber's. She must be the squad leader.
"Stupid Spirits... I'm already on the verge of collapsing from work stress... and now I'm not even getting enough sleep... I'm only twenty-seven, why does everyone call thirty..."
...How should I put this? I feel really, really sorry for her on multiple levels.
Hearing her opponent muttering complaints while attacking, Yutsuki couldn't help but drop a sweat.
Dodging another flurry of ferocious slashes, Yutsuki took a few steps back to open up so distance and pulled a tablet computer out from inside her trench coat.
"That's...?!" Ryouko's eyes widened. Even though she had slightly lost her temper, she was still a highly qualified Captain. Seeing the Spirit's bizarre action, a specific file imdiately surfaced in her mind.
According to current records, there was only one Spirit who would pull out sothing like that in the middle of a battle.
"All units, attack! Stop that Spirit no matter what!" Ryouko barked the order as she gripped her beam sword tightly and rapidly closed the distance.
"Very decisive judgnt," Yutsuki praised as she dodged the incoming slashes.
"Ratziel analysis comnce. Initiate invasion."
[Understood! Comncing task execution. Analysis complete. Password cracked. User privileges acquired. Please input command code.]
Following Yutsuki's command, text scrolled across the tablet's screen.
Using the limbs of Ratziel to block another incoming sword strike, Yutsuki seized the montary standoff and softly chanted, "Realizers. Deactivate."
In the next instant, the chanical suits equipped on every single AST mber present lost all functionality.
"So this is... Hacker."
A Spirit who had mastered the thod to disable humanity's ultimate anti-Spirit weapon-the Realizer. Among all Spirits, Hacker might not possess the highest raw combat power, but to humanity, she was undeniably the most terrifying threat.
Against other Spirits, humans at least had the ability to take up arms and resist. But in front of Hacker, they were reduced to nothing more than lambs waiting to be slaughtered. If she so desired, she could inflict unprecedented devastation upon humanity with a single thought.
"Don't get too cocky!"
Kusakabe Ryouko discarded her now-dead beam sword and external armor. Refusing to lose her fighting spirit, she drew the standard-issue handgun from her waist holster and aid it at Yutsuki.
"I have to say, Captain, you really are worthy of respect. Every other unit I've t completely lost their will to fight the mont this happened," Yutsuki said, a hint of genuine admiration in her voice. "But you guys should really stop now. Getting to bed early is good for your skin, isn't it?"
Before Ryouko could reply, Yutsuki blurred behind her and delivered a swift chop to the back of her neck.
After that, she ran outside to where the other AST mbers—currently trapped by iron sand but still conscious—were struggling, and delivered a clean knock-out blow to every single one of them.
...
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
As his consciousness slowly returned, Shido slowly pushed himself up from the ground, rubbing his throbbing neck.
Once he fully opened his eyes, Shido realized he wasn't lying in the warm, comfortable bed at ho, but rather on a cold concrete floor, half-buried under a heavy layer of iron sand.
What am I doing here...?
As he recalled the events, his mories gradually cleared up.
Right. I t a Spirit around here, and then she knocked out.
Shido hurriedly scrambled to his feet. Ignoring the dirt and dust clinging to his clothes, he rushed out of the room to search for Yutsuki.
It seed he hadn't been moved very far. Before long, Shido spotted Yutsuki's figure.
"Who's there?! Oh... it's you, boy. You woke up surprisingly fast. Did I hit you too lightly?"
Hearing Yutsuki's remark, Shido sweat dropped. "No, my neck is still throbbing."
"Ho~ Is that so? Then I truly apologize."
Despite saying that, Shido couldn't detect a single ounce of actual remorse in her voice.
Laughing bitterly, Shido didn't dwell on it. Looking at the unconscious won scattered across the floor, he asked with slight concern, "Who are they?"
"Oh, they are the A—... I an, they are just ordinary civilians who fainted inside this building because they couldn't evacuate in ti. I was a bit worried about them, so I gathered them all in one place."
Yeah, okay.Even Yutsuki doubt she will believes her own excuse. Why would a group of won wearing futuristic ch suits be hanging out in a departnt store? Was it a cosplay convention?
"I-Is that so?" Shido laughed dryly, clearly not buying it. In reality, Shido had crossed paths with the AST a few tis before, and aside from Origami, he recognized a few of the faces here.
Yutsuki blushed slightly, coughing twice to ease her embarrassnt. Then, turning to the boy, she said with absolute seriousness, "Boy, you are currently standing on the borderline between common sense and the supernatural. Everything happening in front of you is a dangerous elent that directly opposes your daily life. One wrong step, and your normal life will be utterly destroyed. At a ti like this, the smartest advice I can give you is to pretend you didn't see anything. Treat everything here as a dream. Waking up and completely forgetting it is the safest choice you can make."
Looking at her incredibly serious eyes, Shido instantly understood her intentions.
This is a dangerous world. I can't drag an unrelated bystander into it.
Sighing helplessly in his heart, Shido looked straight at her.
Her brown hair was as smooth as silk, her facial features were delicately, flawlessly beautiful, yet hidden within her amber, crystal-clear eyes was an indescribable, profound sorrow.
[Man... it really is hard to just find soone to talk to...]
In the pitch-black night, under the pale moonlight, this petite girl wearing a dark trench coat looked incredibly lonely and utterly desolate.
"Alright... Looks like it's about ti. I should be leaving now."
Seeing Yutsuki turn around to leave, Shido quickly reached out and grabbed her arm.
"P-Please wait!"
Though she didn't look annoyed at being grabbed, Yutsuki turned her head in confusion. "What is it, boy? Do you need sothing else?"
"My na is Itsuka Shido," Shido said, formally introducing himself with complete sincerity.
"Eh? The exact sa na as that garbage ga," Yutsuki said, looking genuinely surprised.
"Uh... Even though I also felt a deep, malicious intent regarding that fact at the ti, that's not what I wanted to talk about." After his face montarily twisted in exasperation, Shido quickly forced the conversation back on track. Looking at her with utmost seriousness, he declared: "Tomorrow... please go on a date with !"
Hearing those words, Yutsuki stared at him in utter shock. Then, as if suddenly understanding sothing, she gave him a polite, formal bow and said:
"I am sorry, but you are a good guy." (Note: Getting "Good Guy Card" = Being Friendzoned/Rejected)
Guh!
Feeling as if a sharp sword had just pierced straight through his heart, Itsuka Shido—after sixteen years of life—finally understood just how terrifying the destructive power of a "Good Guy Card" truly was.
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