Boom—!
Taking the focused magic cannon head-on, the Goetia was completely destroyed. Billowing black smoke rose from various parts of its hull as it fell uncontrollably toward Earth.
Seeing this scene, the crew in the Fraxinus EX's command room imdiately erupted into cheers.
"Ooh! We won!!"
"Hahaha! Look at you, DEM! Weren't you acting so arrogant? Now you've seen the power of the Fraxinus EX!"
"Today is a good day. When we get back, I'm opening a bottle of champagne to celebrate properly!"
Perhaps because the pent-up frustration they had been holding in was finally released, the crew's current state was as rowdy as students welcoming a vacation after grueling exams.
"Ahem—"
Although she could understand her subordinates's feelings, as the Commander, Kotori deliberately coughed twice and said,
"Quiet! Rein in your emotions! It's too early to celebrate! Maria! What's the situation on the others' side?"
[Report: Tohka, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Yoshino, and Miku have no major injuries; Natsumi suffered minor injuries. Origami is still engaged in combat with Artemisia. Shido also successfully used Michael to unlock Mukuro's heart just now. Currently, Mukuro seems to be in a daze, and based on our current assessnt, she harbors no hostility.]
Receiving Kotori's inquiry, Maria appeared on the screen and reported the Spirits's current status.
Although the news of Natsumi's injury worried her a bit, the overall result was quite good. Kotori breathed a sigh of relief and began issuing orders thodically.
"Attention everyone. Prepare to recover Shido, Tohka, and the others now. Reine, you're in charge of preparing the dical bay to treat Natsumi's injuries. Maria, notify Origami to prepare for retreat. Also, please contact the Ratatoskr forces on Earth to see if they can capture Ellen Mathers."
"Understood!"
"...Understood."
[Acknowledged.]
"...Strange."
Unlike the command room, which was filled with the atmosphere of victory, Yutsuki, waiting in the connection room, frowned peculiarly.
[What's wrong, Yutsuki? You look conflicted, did you notice sothing strange?]
In the holographic screen beside her, Arusu Marina asked curiously.
"The number of airships doesn't match."
Yutsuki stared fixedly at the two DEM battleships she had hacked in space and replied.
"Counting Ellen's Goetia, DEM dispatched a total of four airships this ti. One of them hasn't been infected by my virus and is currently nowhere to be found."
Scanning the area around the Fraxinus EX, Yutsuki couldn't find any trace of that airship.
[Well. Maybe they saw things going south and fled back to Earth. After all, their main force, Ellen, has already been defeated. Staying here any longer would only be seeking their own doom.]
"Mhm..."
Marina's guess was not without reason. If it continued its mission here, that DEM airship would face a powerful encirclent from the Fraxinus EX and the Spirits. Anyone with a functioning brain would choose to retreat at a ti like this.
However, even so, an inexplicable unease still coiled around Yutsuki's heart.
(Just in case, I should ask Kotori to use the radar to search for that airship's location.)
—Beep! —Beep!
Yet, just as she opened the communicator to contact Kotori, ear-piercing sirens suddenly blared inside the airship.
This was not the warning issued when detecting spacequakes or Spirit energy, but the alarm triggered upon detecting large-scale magic reactions.
[This is bad! Biri-chan, on the Boy's side—]
"—!?"
Hearing Nia's panicked shout through the communicator, Yutsuki's pupils contracted sharply.
———————————
Back in ti a bit.
While Tohka and Shido were dealing with Mukuro, Origami was fighting Artemisia, and the Fraxinus EX was confronting the Goetia. On a flanking battlefield, the flas of war were also quietly igniting.
"Kuku! What's wrong? Such lukewarm shooting can't possibly hit the Children of the Typhoon, who reign supre even in the cosmos!"
"Mockery. DEM's combat power is nothing more than this."
Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru were currently speeding through space, dodging magic cannons fired from three airships while making faces and taunting them.
"D-Damn it—"
Looking at the detestable faces of the Spirits on the screen, the commander inside the airship gritted his teeth in anger.
"Useless! You bunch of useless fools! A full three airships, and you can't even land a single shot on Berserk. You've completely disgraced our Second Executive Departnt! You've disgraced Lady Ellen Mathers—no! You've disgraced all of DEM!!"
"...Haniel..."
Just as the commander was berating his subordinates rcilessly, a tiny voice sounded. Accompanied by a 'Duang!' sound effect like in a cartoon, the sturdy tal door instantly turned into crispy, delicious chocolate, easily opened from the outside.
"Phew... finally here."
"Witch!? Why is a Spirit here?"
Seeing the Spirit suddenly appear before him, the commander panicked. Stumbling as he hastily retreated, he scrambled to hide in a corner.
"Despicable Spirit! To actually launch a sneak attack on , how cowardly!"
"No... I didn't actually do anything."
Natsumi retorted with a sweatdrop.
Seeing the Spirit take a step toward him, the commander's face turned completely pale.
"D-Don't co any closer! There are many elite patrolling Wizards and Bandersnatch on this ship! They'll arrive shortly to put you to death!"
"Oh my, are you talking about them?"
Miku chuckled and stepped out from behind a disgusted-looking Natsumi.
Behind her stood a group of DEM Wizards (female only) who, after being baptized by Gabriel's sweet singing, had turned over a new leaf. They now regarded Izayoi Miku as their one and only idol, an onee-sama whose orders could not be disobeyed.
"D-Diva?!"
Seeing another Spirit appear, the posturing commander froze, his already pale face draining completely of color.
Miku showed a very blatant expression of disappointnt.
"What's this~ So the commander of this airship is a man, what a buzzkill. My lovely girls, I'll leave this guy to you to clean up."
Hearing Miku's voice, the Wizards all showed joyful expressions.
"Yes! Leave it to us! Onee-sama!"
"Wait! What are you doing? Don't co any closer! I am your superior! Believe it or not, I'll have you fired!"
"Go to hell! Disgusting fat pig! Don't think your bureaucratic tone still works now!"
"Filth like you shouldn't sully Onee-sama's eyes! Turn into dust and disappear quickly!"
"Perfect ti to settle our usual grudges! Sisters! Beat him to death!"
"Ouch! —S-Stop! That hurts! I-I surrender—at least stop hitting my face!"
Soon, the commander's insignificant pleas for rcy were buried under a flurry of punches and kicks.
"Um... the drones outside... have all been taken care of..."
A step behind, Yoshino ran in, breathing a bit raggedly. Behind her were rows of drones frozen into ice sculptures.
"Are you guys... okay..."
"Mhm! We're fine, we can just leave this place to Miku! Let's finish our task quickly!"
To protect Yoshino's eyes from being poisoned, Natsumi pushed Yoshino past Miku's side at a brisk pace.
Arriving at the airship's console, Natsumi and Yoshino pulled away the brainwashed pilot and took out a small tal USB drive from their pockets, inserting it into the console's USB port.
Soon, a progress bar popped up on the large screen in the command room. After taking about ten seconds to reach full, the airship ceased its attacks on the Yamai sisters.
[Alright, I have successfully hacked and seized control of this airship.]
As the voice sounded from the speakers, the screen flashed, and Ryougi Yutsuki appeared on the screen.
[My, long ti no see. Natsumi, Yoshino, and Miku too.]
Hearing this, Natsumi couldn't help but show a strange expression.
"Long ti no see? Didn't we just see each other a few minutes ago?"
[Ah... speaking of which, the flow of ti in the computer world is different from yours. I've been pulling all-nighters for several days without sleeping over here.]
"What's with that setting that sounds like a certain ti chamber from a manga?"
"Well, I understand what you want to say. I'll explain it to you guys slowly later."
"...Alright."
Seeing the dark circles under Yutsuki's eyes, which almost rivaled Reine's, and the mountain-high pile of unknown tal parts behind her, Natsumi hesitated for a mont but tactfully decided not to ask further.
[Miku, how are you handling the crew over there?]
"The task Honey entrusted with, I completed it perfectly, of course. Everyone on this ship is willing to listen to now."
Miku playfully blinked and answered confidently.
[That's a huge help. Next, please order them to board the escape pods and evacuate. Make it quick.]
"Understood~"
"Is this really okay? Yutsuki-chan~."
Yoshinon raised her hand and asked.
"If we want to control this airship, wouldn't it be easier to just have Miku-chan order them? Yutsuki-chan looks very tired, it's better not to push yourself."
"Are you okay...Yutsuki-san..."
Regarding Yoshino and the others' concern, Yutsuki could only offer a helpless, bitter smile.
[Thank you. I appreciate your kindness, Yoshino. But unfortunately, having these people pilot the airship won't be enough to stop Ellen Mathers. Haa—]
Mid-sentence, Yutsuki couldn't help but cover her mouth and yawn.
[It really is a bit too much... I'm going to catch up on sleep now. I'll leave things over there to you. I've already prepared the hacking program; just inserting the USB drive will complete it automatically. Rember not to push yourselves, retreat imdiately if you encounter danger. Well then~ Goodnight.]
With that, the screen went black.
(Even though we're racing against the clock, why does talking to her make all the tension disappear?)
Feeling like she had just been told by her mother not to stay up late, Natsumi couldn't help but feel a wave of exhaustion.
However, thoughts aside, as soone who had suffered at Ellen's hands before, Natsumi knew exactly how much pressure Yutsuki was under to face that Wizard head-on.
Although she felt her power was insignificant, she still wanted to do her best to lighten Yutsuki's burden.
(Two more ships. Let's do this.)
Natsumi silently muttered in her heart.
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