In the pitch-black veil of night, the edges of two blades constantly crossed, their collisions emitting blinding sparks.
Wielding 'WolfTail' in her hands, Mana continuously unleashed fierce and rapid slashes at Ellen. Every place her blade fell aid for a fatal strike.
"Hmph—"
Letting out a disdainful snort, Ellen swung her Caledfwlch. The trajectory carved by the laser sword moved later but arrived first, flawlessly blocking and neutralizing Mana's attacks.
"..."
Seeing her attacks fail to take effect, Mana didn't show any signs of discouragent.
Her opponent was the strongest Wizard; it was impossible to defeat her so easily. Mana knew this better than anyone.
Her mission right now wasn't to defeat Ellen, but to buy ti for Kotori and the others. Since her initial strike failed to finish Ellen off, Mana's subsequent task was to stall. There was no need to risk her life to inflict damage on Ellen.
BOOM—!
However, right at this mont, from the Ratatoskr facility below Mana, a pillar of light suddenly erupted, shooting straight into the clouds. The accompanying intense wind pressure caused the caught-off-guard Mana to instantly lose her balance.
And Mana's opponent would absolutely never miss this mont of carelessness.
"Full of openings."
"Ugh—"
The laser sword woven from magical energy slashed down from the sky. Although Mana imdiately raised her weapon and deployed her Territory to defend, a passive defense clearly couldn't completely neutralize Ellen's strike. The remaining impact force sent Mana crashing towards the ground like a spiked volleyball.
"Wow... you hit really hard. By the way, what was that just now?"
Maintaining vigilance and scanning the surroundings, Mana looked up. The person who suddenly appeared out of thin air truly made Mana widen her eyes in surprise.
"Nii-sama?!"
"...Ah—Mana."
Seemingly hearing Mana's voice, Shido, floating in the air, turned his head.
"I'm so glad you're safe."
"Nii... sama?"
Mana frowned in confusion.
To her, her brother's current state was absolutely not normal. The fact that he was using Spirit power to float in the air went without saying, but his eyes were also extrely hazy and glazed over, as if he had been injected with so kind of drug.
Moreover, a question that superficially seed to show concern for her injuries... Mana faintly sensed another aning.
"After you were taken away by DEM... I was always... very worried about you. But. Thank goodness. Really..."
"...Taken away? Nii-sama, what are you talking about?"
"—Where is... Mio? Didn't she rescue you?"
"I'm asking, what are you talking about? Nii-sama—"
Her words were cut off midway.
For so reason, upon hearing the na "Mio," an inexplicably sharp pain pierced her mind. Mana couldn't help but clutch her head, her expression twisting in agony.
Accompanying the pain were unfamiliar images flashing through her mind.
A park where she played with a friend; a teacher giving a lesson in a classroom; her brother celebrating her birthday.
And—the figure of a girl with long hair.
"Ah... hah..."
Feeling a tightness in her chest, Mana couldn't help but gasp for air with her mouth wide open. Her face was already covered in cold sweat.
"What... is this?"
Even though she couldn't rember the long-haired girl's face, just like when she first t Shido, Mana's subconscious clearly told her that she knew this girl, that she used to know this girl—
"—To actually get distracted in front of , I'm truly being looked down upon."
A cold voice from above interrupted Mana's thoughts. Ellen raised her laser sword high and slashed at Mana.
"Crap—!"
She had already lost the ti to defend. Just when Mana thought she was going to be cut, Shido reached out his hand. His massive Spirit power, acting like an extended arm, blocked Ellen's slash.
"...Oh?"
Ellen let out a sound of surprise, her hate-filled gaze turning towards Shido.
"—Itsuka Shido. I see. Although I don't understand what happened, looking at you like this, it's no wonder Ike wants to get his hands on you."
"D—E, M..."
Seemingly touching so terrible switch. Shido's expression darkened.
"—Uwaaah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Like a maddened beast, a terrifying roar echoed through the clouds. The berserk Spirit power rose from the ground like a tornado with Shido at its eye, blowing away the surrounding vegetation, along with Ellen and Mana.
________________________
"Cough, cough—Is everyone okay?"
Choking on the kicked-up dust, Kotori coughed and shouted loudly to her surroundings.
"Over here. Tohka and I are fine."
"Reply. Yuzuru and Kaguya are also safe."
"Tada~ The banquet hall being destroyed was an unexpected developnt. But rest assured, Kotori-chan, Yoshinon and Yoshino are still alive and kicking!"
"Yes... I'm okay..."
"Uwaah—That scared . Kotori-chan, I'm fine over here too."
"I'm not fine at all over here... Miku... let go of ... I'm going to... suffocate."
"This is Origami. No external injuries on my body."
Hearing everyone's replies, Kotori sighed in relief.
"—Kotori! Yutsuki-nee!"
"Mana?"
Hearing Mana's voice, Kotori exclaid in surprise.
At so point, Ellen, wearing her CR-Unit, and Mana had landed in the sky above everyone. After stabilizing themselves from being blown away, they readied their weapons and confronted each other.
"I'll leave Nii-sama in your hands!"
Hastily leaving this sentence behind, Mana launched a slash at Ellen. The aura of their blades intertwined and clashed like sparks, then disappeared into the night sky.
"That girl... forget it."
It wasn't that Kotori didn't know Mana ca here to help. But because of the ergency, they hadn't t or even talked. Kotori had always complained a bit about Mana slipping away on her own after leaving a ssage with Yutsuki-nee without leaving her contact info.
However, now was not the ti to complain about this. Taking advantage of Mana holding off Ellen, Kotori turned her attention back to Shido.
But the mont she saw Shido, Kotori forgot to breathe.
"No way..."
The Shido before her was not the gentle and clumsy Shido from before, nor the cynical Shido from earlier.
The creature standing before her could no longer be described as human.
A dense vortex of Spirit power swirled around Shido, pulsing brightly and dimly like a heartbeat. The clouds, the forest, the earth, even the space itself trembled in fear of Shido's power.
Not only that. Parts of the Spirit power transford into a shimring veil or tallic fragnts, much like a Spirit's Astral Dress.
"Ah—"
Only then did Kotori notice the bizarre alarm sound that had been echoing in her ears all along.
She rembered this alarm sound. She hoped to never hear it. An alarm she had only heard during tests.
Up until just now, Kotori had instinctively ignored this sound.
"—————————"
For a mont, Kotori's consciousness blanked out for several seconds.
"Kotori-chan!"
Just then, Yutsuki's voice snapped Kotori back to reality.
"Now is not the ti to be surprised! We have to stop Shido quickly!"
"Ah..."
Looking up in the direction Yutsuki pointed, Kotori saw Shido on the ground, roaring while advancing in a certain direction.
His destination was unconfird, but if Shido continued straight ahead like this, he would inevitably pass through the city area. Kotori couldn't imagine what consequences that would cause.
Seeing everyone cast anxious glances at her, Kotori was at a loss for words. It couldn't be helped; this was already the worst-case scenario.
"...Everyone, stand by here. Don't worry, Ratatoskr has long prepared a counterasure for this situation. I... will figure sothing out."
Speaking a lie against her will with a trembling voice, Kotori didn't dare look at everyone's expressions right now and fled the scene in a panic.
The elevator was damaged due to Shido going berserk. She climbed the stairs of the ergency exit and arrived at the surface.
"..."
Exhaling softly, Kotori took a small device out of her pocket.
Fingerprint authentication, retinal scan, and finally the password—placing her hand on the device's button, Kotori's fingers trembled slightly.
"...I'm sorry, Onii-chan. For it to end this way..."
"Don't move."
Just as Kotori was about to press the button, a cold sensation suddenly pressed against her temple.
She was being held at gunpoint.Kotori realized this imdiately.
Shifting her gaze slightly, Kotori saw Origami holding a 9mm caliber handgun.
With her finger on the trigger, Origami stared at Kotori and questioned her in a bone-chilling tone.
"Answer my question. What is that in your hand? What are you planning to do to Shido? Itsuka Kotori, you—"
Her words stopped midway, and Origami's brow twitched slightly, a rare occurrence.
The reason was simple. Kotori was crying bitterly, her originally cute face twisting as if she was about to break down.
"...Explain your reason."
"I'm going to... kill Shido."
Probably realizing that Origami wasn't soone she could fool, Kotori completely gave up and spoke.
The orbital satellite weapon . The ultimate weapon prepared to kill Shido, who possessed regenerative abilities.
This was a failsafe. Naturally, Ratatoskr couldn't be a pro bono organization founded to realize an ordinary high schooler's boring delusion of saving the damsel in distress. At the very least, not all of them could be.
The reason Itsuka Shido was chosen was simply a coincidence; the boy's ability was highly suitable for accomplishing their goals.
Originally, as the chairman, Woodman had proposed other thods due to the potential danger of sealing Spirits' Spirit power within a human body. But unfortunately, by the ti they found out, Shido had already sealed Kotori's Spirit power.
Even if constantly sealing Spirits' Spirit power would only increase the possibility of Shido going berserk. However, Kotori still chose to let Shido seal Spirits.
One important reason was because of a certain research theory: after sealing all the current Spirits, the Spirit power in Shido's body would be expelled in the form of a Sephira Crystal.
Therefore, Kotori still risked Shido potentially going berserk and let him seal the Spirits' Spirit power.
And naturally, in exchange, when Shido truly went berserk and reached an irreversible state, Itsuka Kotori had to kill Shido personally.
"Let tens of millions of people die along with Shido. Or kill only Shido. I chose the latter—because Shido definitely wouldn't want to see himself cause the deaths of so many people."
"..."
Origami gritted her teeth in frustration. Although there were many questionable points in Kotori's words, she couldn't offer any rebuttal at this mont.
"Kotori! Origami!"
Hearing Tohka's voice from behind, Kotori looked over and saw that the Spirits had also arrived.
"Everyone—"
"You're treating us too much like strangers, Kotori! Why didn't you discuss this kind of thing with us?"
"Eh?"
Hearing Tohka speak with a tone that knew everything, Kotori couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.
"The earpieces. Did you forget, Kotori-chan?"
Yutsuki tapped her earpiece and reminded her with a speechless look. Only then did Kotori realize that to make the conquest easier, everyone was currently wearing earpieces tuned to the sa channel. In other words, her conversation with Origami was naturally heard by everyone. Due to her montary panic, Kotori had accidentally forgotten this.
"...Sorry, everyone. But, it's already over. Everything is over—"
"It's not over yet!"
Tohka shouted with a volu that overpowered Kotori's.
"I don't know the exact details. But, even if it's a despairing situation. That's only if you're alone, Kotori."
"...!"
In an instant, Kotori felt her heart being tightly squeezed.
"That's right, giving up just like this isn't like you at all, Kotori-san!"
"Kuku—You are not alone, you have us here. A reversal move in a desperate situation, the real battle is just beginning!"
"Let's... help Shido-san together."
"Every... one..."
Hearing everyone's voices, Kotori couldn't help but choke back sobs.
Back then, when she received this device. Kotori was incredibly afraid. Although it was only for the worst-case scenario. But the thought that the thod to kill Shido was in her hands kept Kotori awake for days.
But, she had to be prepared.
For the world. For humanity. And more importantly, for Shido.
Kotori had always used such voices to numb herself.
But—
"Origami, that's enough. Leave the rest to ."
"..."
Glancing silently at Yutsuki, Origami paused for a mont, then put her gun away.
"Kotori-chan, you're taking things a bit too seriously."
Gently stroking Kotori's head, Yutsuki said softly.
"Didn't I tell you? Multiple-choice questions bearing the weight of justice and evil are too early for you. If you really encounter a situation you can't solve alone, then rely on . Rely on everyone."
"Yutsuki... -nee..."
Tears slipped down her cheeks from the corners of her eyes, driven by different emotions.
She was already different from the her back then. Resolve, experience, and most importantly—incredibly reliable companions who shared her thoughts.
Moving her finger away from the button, Kotori lowered her head and sobbed uncontrollably as she spoke.
"I'm begging you... please help save... onii-chan..."
"Oh—Leave it to !"
To Kotori's plea, Yutsuki nodded readily.
However—
[—Activation confird, comncing attack on the target.]
"...Eh?"
Hearing the voice suddenly sounding from the activation device in her hand, Kotori let out a blank sound.
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