The fierce, brilliant white blade swung toward Ellen's side. Almost the exact mont she noticed it, Ellen brought up her laser blade to block it.
Heavy!
That was Ellen's very first thought after parrying Sandalphon.
Bearing the heavy, crushing weight of the broadsword combined with the force generated by the Yamai sisters' Raphael, Ellen found herself being pushed back and actually placed at a disadvantage in the clash against the laser blade.
Dammit, my injuries are too severe!
Ellen couldn't help but grit her teeth. To suppress the negative effects of the abdominal wound inflicted by Yutsuki, the precision of her combat Territory had drastically decreased, leading to a significant drop in all her physical paraters. Otherwise, even facing the combined assault of two incomplete Spirit powers, she would have still been able to hold her ground.
Bzzzt! Clang!
Fierce sparks exploded between the clashing blades. As ti ticked on, signs of cracking and splintering actually began to appear on the blade of the laser sword.
How is this possible?!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!"
Under Ellen's shocked gaze, Itsuka Shido let out a ferocious, guttural roar from the depths of his throat. Sandalphon cleaved straight through the laser blade and slashed down hard against her body, resulting in a massive, thunderous explosion.
"Hah... Hah..."
With the Yamai sisters' help, Itsuka Shido landed on the ground. Using Sandalphon as a makeshift crutch to support his body, he barely managed to stay standing.
Wielding Spirit power with a human body placed an unimaginably massive burden on him.
"Shido, is your body unhard?" "Worry. Are you okay, Shido?"
The Yamai sisters tried to rush over to support him out of concern. However, Shido shook his head and declined.
"No... I'm fine. More importantly, how are Tohka and Yutsuki?"
"I say, Kaguya and Yuzuru, you two are really choosing love over friendship! How could you not co to help first?" Carrying the unconscious Tohka over to them, Yutsuki complained in an exasperated tone.
"Ah... My fellow comrade, how could I possibly ignore the ally with whom I have forged a blood-bound contract?" "Explanation. We were just coming to help you, Yutsuki."
"Hmph... At least you two still have a conscience." Although Yutsuki looked annoyed, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Yutsuki..."
Shido looked toward Yutsuki, but she imdiately turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.
"Shido-boy... I suppose I should express my gratitude for your help. But please, don't look at looking like that." Yutsuki's voice trembled slightly. "Are you trying to kill ?"
Eh? Shido tilted his head in confusion. He probably hadn't noticed that his clothes had beco incredibly disheveled during the intense battle, exposing a significant amount of skin—yet conveniently managing to hide anything that would expose his male identity. His wig was drenched in sweat, clinging tightly to his skin. His face was flushed red from the intense physical exertion, and he let out soft, alluring pants of breath every so often. He had basically pushed the concept of disheveled beauty to its absolute peak.
Why the hell is soone this cute a guy?! Did Lucifer send you here to force to surrender my soul?!
Yutsuki was absolutely certain that if she were still a man, she would definitely have dropped to her knees and stayed there unable to get up for quite a while.
Noticing Yutsuki's reaction, Yuzuru and Kaguya slyly nudged her waist with their knees, teasing her with playful expressions.
"Observation. Yutsuki's face has turned completely red!" "Shut up! W-Whose face is red?!" "There is no need to be shy, my comrade. Shido looking like that is beautiful enough that even I want to take her ho." "I told you I'm not!" "Zzz..." The unconscious Tohka let out a soft snore, as if to remind everyone she still existed.
"Hey..."
Just as Shido smiled bitterly and prepared to stop the Spirits from slipping into their usual codic daily routine, a miserable, battered voice suddenly coughed from within the smoke.
"Cough! Cough!... To think I would be injured to this extent, this is truly a first for ... Itsuka Shido."
Next, the pristine white figure flew out from the smoke. After stabilizing herself, Ellen hovered firmly in mid-air.
"Hey, hey, hey! You took all that and you're still not dead?! Just what the hell is your body made out of, you monster?!"
Yutsuki stared at Ellen, her mouth twitching uncontrollably. Shido completely agreed with that sentint.
However, Ellen's current condition was undeniably terrible. The abdominal wound previously pierced by Yutsuki had started bleeding profusely again. The sturdy armor had been slashed open from the front, leaving a long, deep fissure. Sparks violently crackled from the torn circuitry, spraying directly onto her exposed, bleeding flesh. Even Yutsuki winced in phantom pain just looking at it.
"Ho~ To survive even after taking a blow like that. Could you perhaps be the Beast of the Apocalypse?" "Intercept. Yuzuru and Kaguya will be your opponents."
"Berserk, huh?" Ellen muttered softly, staring at the twin girls currently dispersing the smoke with fierce winds.
Honestly, her physical condition had plumted to an unprecedented low. Facing these two Spirits in her current state would absolutely put her at a severe disadvantage.
Before the Yamai could launch their attack, Ellen's body was engulfed in a flash of light, and she vanished without a trace.
"Although it is frustrating, pushing any further will negatively impact Ike's plan. I will concede defeat for today. But I will not let this go next ti, Hacker... and Itsuka Shido."
Right before vanishing, Ellen looked at Yutsuki and Shido, issuing her declaration with a voice brimming with intense reluctance.
"Dammit, she escaped through a dinsional gate." "Search. Where did she run off to?" "Don't bother looking. She's already gone."
Yutsuki knew perfectly well that Ellen had used DEM Industries' spatial teleportation device to retreat. Smiling bitterly, she called Kaguya and Yuzuru back, then turned to Shido and said, "Stop forcing yourself to stay standing. I know you've already reached your absolute limit. Get so rest."
"Haha, you saw right through , huh?" Shido let out a pale, exhausted laugh. His consciousness gradually slipped into darkness, and the Sandalphon in his hand dissolved into particles of light and vanished into the air. Losing his only support, Shido finally collapsed.
Wielding the power of a Spirit with a human body, combined with the sheer terror of swinging a weapon at another human being for the very first ti—Shido had reached rock bottom both physically and ntally. After confirming that Ellen had retreated, he could no longer hold on and plunged into unconsciousness.
"You worked hard..."
Feeling himself being embraced by a soft, delicate body, Shido heard Yutsuki's incredibly gentle voice. Whether it was just his imagination or reality, he couldn't tell.
In the next second, Itsuka Shido drifted off into a deep slumber.
.......
"This is quite a terrible situation you've found yourself in this ti, Ellen."
Inside the headquarters of DEM Industries, Westcott looked at Ellen, who was currently receiving treatnt inside a dical pod, and smiled sowhat helplessly.
"I apologize for my unsightly display."
Ellen's completely flat, emotionless voice echoed from within the dical pod. Yet despite that, Westcott could still detect the faint trace of frustration hidden within her tone.
"Not at all, this was a miscalculation on my part. There is absolutely no need for you to bla yourself. For now, focus entirely on recovering from your injuries, otherwise, our plan will end up being delayed."
In reality, ever since the invention of Realizers, human dical technology had also experienced explosive advancents. Even though Ellen's injuries were extrely severe, with the treatnt provided, she would be fully recovered in just a few days.
Westcott saying this was simply a subtle reminder for Ellen not to let her pride as the strongest Wizard get the better of her and cause her to forget their primary objective.
"...Understood."
After a brief silence, Ellen gave a calm, steady response. Hearing this, Westcott nodded in reassurance.
Stepping out of DEM Industries' dical departnt, Westcott returned to his private quarters. Resting leisurely on the plush sofa provided by the hotel, he slowly pulled a file folder off the table.
"A boy capable of wielding the powers of Spirits, Itsuka Shido. And Hacker, the most dangerous Spirit to humanity, who is actually capable of defeating my strongest Wizard. This is truly far too fascinating!"
Looking at the docunts in his hand—probably because Ellen had never bothered to gather intel on anyone who wasn't a Spirit—aside from a few cropped screenshots from video recordings of various Spirits, there wasn't a single photograph of the boy nad Itsuka Shido.
"Well... it doesn't matter. We will likely be eting face to face very soon regardless."
Completely disregarding his usual elegant image, Westcott sprawled out sideways across the sofa, a deeply profound, calculating smile spreading across his face.
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