In the past, Yutsuki had read a very interesting question in a book.
A teacher drank half of a glass full of water, then placed it in front of his students and asked:
—What is this?
So students answered: a glass with half its water remaining.
Other students said: a glass with half its water drunk.
So cleverer students said: a glass that can hold another half of water.
The teacher didn't confirm or deny any of the answers. However, upon hearing one student's answer, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
—A container that can hold anything.
Even though it was the exact sa object, completely different answers were derived from different people's perspectives.
And in reality, Yutsuki had encountered a similar situation not too long ago.
In November, facing the inverted Spirit Origami who had fallen into despair, Yutsuki concluded at the ti that she "could not be saved."
Yet, facing the sa problem, the answer Shido gave was "can be saved," and he proved his thought to Yutsuki through his actions.
So now, Yutsuki began asking herself a question.
What situation is Shido in right now?
Answer: Spirit power paths congested, power berserk, lost his reason, surrounded by an unapproachable, high-density Spirit power barrier. If left alone, everything around him will be destroyed.
What is everyone's physical condition right now?
Answer: Powers sealed, unable to receive Spirit power supply from the paths. Judging from Natsumi's situation earlier, deploying a partial Astral Dress for five minutes with the remaining Spirit power in their bodies is the absolute limit.
Then, can Shido be saved?
Yes.
Yutsuki gave a resolute answer.
To Kotori, Shido going berserk was the most dangerous situation she had always desperately tried to avoid. To the higher-ups of Ratatoskr, it was rely a pawn slipping out of their control.
But to Yutsuki, this was simply a crisis disrupting her everyday life. Honestly, in her view, Origami's situation back then was much more dangerous than this.
Since that's the case, they just needed to overco it like they always did.
Looking ahead, Yutsuki saw a "beast" wreathed in dazzling light charging straight through the forest.
"Ratziel."
Following Yutsuki's call, the familiar chanical bow appeared on her right wrist rely as a bracer. This was her current mode that guaranteed efficiency while saving the most Spirit power.
[Calculation initiated—Future Prediction activated.]
Vision, hearing, touch, sll, the sixth sense—all the information her body could gather was collected by Ratziel at this mont for ultra-high-speed processing. Finally, it handed Yutsuki an answer sheet that bordered on precognition.
"...Yuzuru, Kaguya. Get ready."
Pressing her earpiece and whispering, Yutsuki held her breath, her full attention focused on Shido.
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
The dense forest was crushed and pushed aside by the Spirit power barrier, leaving exaggerated trails behind. Rather than running, it was more accurate to call it trampling. With every step Itsuka Shido took, the earth trembled and roared.
But none of this could make Yutsuki waver in the slightest.
"...5."
Yutsuki began so kind of countdown.
"4... 3... 2... 1!"
As the countdown ended, less than a ter in front of Itsuka Shido, a massive explosion suddenly occurred. A giant assault lance burst out from the ground in front of Shido, and dirt spewed out like a geyser.
Before Shido could react, several sturdy chains tightly bound his limbs.
"Kuku—Where do you think you're running, my possession?"
"Capture. I won't let you escape from Yuzuru's grasp now."
Ignoring the indestructible Spirit power barrier surrounding Shido, the Yamai sisters, having deployed their partial Astral Dresses, appeared right in front of Shido.
According to the results calculated by Ratziel, the probability of successfully breaking through Shido's Spirit power barrier was extrely low. Even for the Yamai, who possessed the fastest speed and strongest breakthrough power, the success rate was no more than ten percent. For the Spirits whose Spirit power was nearly exhausted right now, it was practically a suicidal choice.
But so what? Yutsuki retorted calmly in her mind.
Taking the enemy's strong points head-on was never Yutsuki's style.
Indeed, the Spirit power barrier completely enclosed Shido from above and all sides without any blind spots. However, this barrier did not cover the bottom; the fact that Shido was running on the ground right now was the best proof.
Fortunately, Tengu City and its surrounding suburbs had been modified by Kotori and her team. Less than twenty ters underground was the Ratatoskr underground facility.
Then the problem beca simple. Relying on Ratziel to calculate Shido's trajectory, the Yamai sisters ambushed him at the corresponding location in the underground facility. Upon receiving the signal, they broke directly through to the surface.
Facts proved that compared to that Spirit power barrier, twenty ters of dirt was as fragile as paper before Kaguya's Angel El Re'em.
"But... wasn't there any other way? My comrade, the feeling of being covered in filth is quite uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable. Yuzuru definitely needs to take a good bath."
Slling the earthy stench emanating from their bodies, Yuzuru and Kaguya complained with bitter faces.
[You should be thanking your lucky stars there was a way at all. I don't have the luxury of giving you choices right now.]
Hearing the retort from their bad friend through the earpiece, the two exchanged a glance and couldn't help but show helpless, bitter smiles.
They naturally had no reason to miss the perfect opportunity Yutsuki had painstakingly created for them.
"Shido—Now, we have co to save you."
"Repaynt. Just like back then, when you did the sa for us, Shido."
Pressing their bodies close to Shido's front, Kaguya and Yuzuru spoke as they approached Shido's face from both sides—and kissed his lips.
In an instant, Kaguya and Yuzuru felt a faint heat in their bodies. As if halted blood resud flowing, their entire bodies were filled with power.
"This is... does this an the paths have been opened?"
[Fall back quickly!]
Before the Yamai sisters could finish marveling, Yutsuki's urging voice rang in their ears. Without hesitation, the two jumped back, creating distance between them and Shido.
"—Aaaaaaaaaaah!"
The next instant, with a roar from Shido, a powerful shockwave was released from his entire body.
Compared to breaking in from the outside, getting out from the inside was obviously much easier. Yuzuru and Kaguya rode the force of the shockwave out of the Spirit power barrier, and quickly stabilized their posture.
Having cleared the obstacle before him, Shido once again sprinted towards the city.
However, the mont he took his first step, Itsuka Shido felt a massive resistance. He looked down; the chains currently wrapped around his limbs had not been shaken off by the shockwave just now.
A hundred ters behind Shido, four long chains had already wrapped around the trunks of nearly a hundred large trees. The forest beca a heavy burden, dragging down Shido's movents.
"Reiteration. I will not let you escape from Yuzuru's grasp."
Gripping the Angel El Nahash tightly, a rare gleam flashed in Yuzuru's usually listless eyes.
"—Uwaaaah!"
Yet, even bearing the resistance of dozens of tons, Shido continued to advance step by step relying on his unimaginable imnse strength. However, his speed was undoubtedly drastically reduced compared to before.
—Whirrrrrrrr!
Imdiately after, a helicopter suddenly appeared directly above Shido, advancing in parallel with him. The cabin door slowly slid open, and Yoshino's petite figure appeared inside the helicopter.
"Yo, yo~ Yoshino-chan, set your mind completely at ease. I will definitely deliver you to Shido without a single scratch."
"Mhm... I will do my best too... Yoshinon..."
Hearing the reliable answer from the rabbit puppet on her hand, Yoshino nodded firmly.
...
Seeing the situation unfolding smoothly according to plan, Yutsuki secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Kaguya, how is your Spirit power recovery?"
[Kuku, right now, I have no rivals before !]
Ignoring Kaguya's still very chuunibyou line, Yutsuki asked Yoshino, who was waiting in the helicopter.
"Yoshino, are you ready?"
[Mhm... no problem... I'm counting on you, Yutsuki-san, Kaguya-san...]
[Rest assured. Your path shall be carved open by the Child of the Typhoon.]
The geological structure of the land in this area wasn't very solid. The tunnel Kaguya carved out was quickly filled by the surrounding collapsing dirt, and the passage to the underground facility was surely blocked by dirt by now. It was impossible to get close to Shido from underground again in a short ti.
So this ti, they had to attack from above.
"At this mont, I wager everything I have on this strike—"
Chanting in a low voice, Kaguya floated in the air not far from the helicopter. The Spirit power within her transford into a piercing, raging hurricane, coiling around her assault lance. Then, Kaguya twisted her body like an athlete preparing to throw a javelin.
"—Tear everything apart! Raphael—El Re'em!"
As her voice fell, the released assault lance instantly turned into a fierce gale, plumting straight down and bombarding the Spirit power barrier wrapping Shido. The raging hurricane tore apart everything in the vicinity, carving out a passage.
"Zadkiel—"
Almost at the exact sa ti Kaguya launched her attack, Yoshino unhesitatingly jumped from the helicopter, entrusting her body to gravity for a free fall. The rabbit puppet on her hand transford into a giant ice and snow rabbit.
"—Shiryon!"
Imdiately after, the massive Zadkiel gradually shrank in mid-air as she fell. Icy blue light wrapped around Yoshino's delicate body, transforming into crystal-clear ice armor.
The passage carved by Raphael didn't last long. Massive Spirit power quickly flooded into the breach, and the size of the hole shrank rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"—!"
Relying on the advantage of her petite body, Yoshino slipped into the thick Spirit power barrier in the nick of ti.
Raging Spirit power churned within the barrier, as if she were in the middle of a hailstorm tornado. Energy blocks ford by Spirit power relentlessly battered Yoshino's ice armor with loud clangs. Even though it was just the aftershock, it still brought unimaginably massive pressure to Yoshino.
Defend.
Defend.
Defend.
The path leading to Shido had already been carved out by Kaguya's Raphael, so Yoshino didn't have to worry about losing her way in this Spirit power storm. What she needed to do right now was to pour the only Spirit power she had in her body into defense without holding back.
Boom—!
Passing through the thick Spirit power barrier, the crystalline ice armor transford back into the massive ice and snow rabbit, landing heavily in front of Shido.
"This ti... it's my turn to protect Shido-san..."
Making Zadkiel lie flat on the ground, a sowhat disheveled Yoshino leaned forward, approaching Shido's face.
"So... please, Shido-san... return to your normal self."
After a soft plea, Yoshino and Shido's lips slowly overlapped.
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