"Haaah..."
On the rooftop of a departnt store building, nearly a hundred ters above the ground, a Nibelcole floated in the air like a ghost, yawning with a look of utter boredom.
"So few people~ So cold~ So boring~"
Complaints tumbled effortlessly from her lips.
Unlike the Bandersnatch—drones that rigidly followed programd instructions—the Nibelcole possessed a certain degree of emotion and autonomy. Though their appearance and tone gave the impression of high school girls, their personalities leaned much closer to hyperactive, restless children. Whether this was a flaw or by design was up for debate.
Of course, they would still execute Father's orders without a shred of hesitation, but waiting on standby in such a deserted, freezing place was genuine torture for them.
"One hundred and one... one hundred and two... one hundred and three... Found him!"
Counting the pedestrians on the street below to kill ti, the Nibelcole finally spotted the boy nad "Itsuka Shido" walking in her direction, exactly as the intel had stated.
"What a carefree expression, completely lacking any sense of danger~"
The Nibelcole chuckled lightly. Rousing her spirits, she floated a few steps backward, took aim at a small flowerpot near the edge of the roof, and raised her right hand, preparing to snap her fingers.
(Itsuka Shido's walking speed, the height of the building, changes in wind direction... gravity amplification sequence constructed... OK.)
Having completed the simulated calculations in her mind, the Nibelcole snapped her fingers. A pitch black bullet of Spirit power shot toward the flowerpot.
Like a water balloon bursting upon impact, the Spirit power scattered the mont it touched the flowerpot, transforming into a thin, luminous film that enveloped it.
Imdiately after, the flowerpot's mass increased a thousandfold. Unable to bear the sudden, exponential surge in gravity, the concrete ledge beneath it crumbled. The heavy projectile plumted violently toward the ground below.
"Alright, he should be dead now."
The Nibelcole stated confidently.
Even if he had sealed the Spirit power of over a dozen Spirits, without manifesting an Angel, Itsuka Shido's physical durability was no different from an ordinary human's. A weight of several tons dropping from this altitude would instantly crush him into at paste.
However, several seconds passed, and the Nibelcole didn't hear the expected commotion or the sickening sound of impact.
"Eh? That's strange."
Looking down toward the base of the building in confusion, the Nibelcole realized that the heavy stone she had just dropped had vanished into thin air for so inexplicable reason.
"My, my. Dropping stones from a rooftop onto the streets is such atrocious behavior. It is exactly like a child's prank. It was so simple-minded that it actually caught slightly off guard."
Without warning, a high-pitched, elegant laugh echoed right behind the Nibelcole.
"You—"
—BANG!
Before the Nibelcole could even turn her head, a flintlock bullet rcilessly pierced straight through her forehead.
The Nibelcole's body instantly reverted into a single page of a book, which then dissolved into a wisp of blue smoke, vanishing into the air.
"Taken care of."
"However, the enemy suffered zero actual losses."
"As long as Beelzebub remains in Westcott's hands, he can replenish any lost Nibelcole at any ti."
"Ah, no matter how many we kill, there is no end to them. How truly vexing."
"I can sowhat understand Mana-san's feelings of constantly being hunted by 'us' now."
...
"Hm?"
Passing by the entrance of the departnt store, Shido suddenly tilted his head and looked up at the sky for so reason.
Of course, he didn't have any specific intention behind it. Rather than noticing sothing, it felt more like a conditioned reflex, an instinctual reaction from his body.
In reality, the sky was completely clear. Nothing had happened.
"What is wrong, Shido-san?"
Kurumi, walking right beside him, asked curiously.
"Oh, it's nothing... I was just thinking, the sky is really blue today."
Shido answered awkwardly.
————————————
"Um... Yutsuki?"
Natsumi scratched her cheek and finally couldn't hold back her question.
"Hm? What is it, Natsumi?"
Yutsuki asked without turning her head, her eyes locked onto Shido and Kurumi in the distance.
"What we're doing right now... isn't this basically stalking?"
Natsumi roasted, a bead of sweat dropping down her face.
Currently, both she and Yutsuki were disguised using props like wigs and fake glasses, maintaining a distance of about fifty ters behind Shido, quietly tailing them.
"No matter how you looked at it, this was totally stalking, wasn't it?"
After a mont of silence, Yutsuki spoke slowly.
"...I get what you an. It definitely looks that way, but the person who specifically requested to do this is the very Kurumi walking up ahead. So strictly speaking, this should be considered an undercover bodyguard escort."
"Oh..."
Natsumi nodded, her expression complicated.
"They're moving. Let's keep up."
"R-Right."
Seeing Yutsuki walk forward, Natsumi hurriedly followed.
"Yutsuki... can I ask you another question?"
After hesitating for a while, Natsumi finally spoke up.
"What is it?"
"Why did you ask to co help?"
This afternoon, while Natsumi was huddled in her room at the Spirit apartnt with the curtains drawn, playing an MMORPG by herself, Yutsuki had suddenly contacted her through their friends's chat channel, asking for her assistance.
It wasn't that she was upset about her private ti being interrupted. Actually, being relied upon felt pretty good to Natsumi.
But what surprised her was that this ti, Yutsuki had only asked her.
"Origami,Tohka... everyone else is so much stronger than . They'd definitely be way more useful. As for , I might even end up dragging you down."
Hearing Natsumi's confession, Yutsuki sighed helplessly and affectionately ruffled the smaller girl's hair.
"If I had to point out your only flaw, it's your lack of self-confidence. Don't worry, you're far more capable than you give yourself credit for—well, even if I say that, you probably won't be convinced without a solid reason, right?"
So, Yutsuki began to explain.
"First of all, unlike the flashy, large scale battles from before, DEM's operation this ti is a covert assassination. Therefore, our goal is simply to quietly stop them from the shadows. Having too many people would only draw unnecessary attention. Furthermore, your control over your Spirit power is incredibly high. Haniel can mimic the abilities of other Angels, and your personal observation skills are excellent. You're perfectly suited for a stealth mission."
"I-Is that so..."
Not expecting Yutsuki to hold her in such high regard, Natsumi felt flustered and didn't know how to react for a mont.
"Well, there's also another reason..."
Yutsuki looked forward with a speechless expression.
"Shido-san~"
"I-Idiot! Kurumi, don't just hug my arm in public like this!"
"Hehe~ Shido-san's face is so red. What does it matter? I do not mind in the slightest."
"If it were Tohka and the others... seeing that scene, they definitely wouldn't be able to hold back from charging right in, and our cover would be completely blown."
"That... is highly likely."
Imagining that chaotic scenario for just a second, black lines ford on Natsumi's forehead as she deeply agreed.
"That idiot Shido, to actually get so flustered from being teased by the very woman who declared she was going to kill him..."
"Well, for a boy in puberty, that reaction is actually quite normal. More importantly, Natsumi."
Suddenly, Yutsuki's voice turned dead serious.
"The crowd density is increasing. Stay on high alert. I'll focus on scanning for anything resembling a trap. You observe the crowd and check if anyone is in disguise or acting suspiciously."
"Understood."
Replying to Yutsuki, Natsumi took a deep breath and calmly began scanning their surroundings—especially the pedestrians near Shido and Kurumi.
Children playing with toys, exhausted salaryn, a pregnant woman carefully holding her belly, an old man leaning on a cane... After sweeping her gaze over the area, Natsumi quickly spotted a suspicious target.
"Yutsuki, that woman in the brown trench coat. Her footsteps are strangely hurried, she keeps glancing toward Shido's direction, and she's obviously hiding sothing inside her coat."
"Got it."
—Future Calculation.
Shifting her gaze to the target Natsumi pointed out, Yutsuki activated her ability.
Then she saw it: about seven seconds from now, that woman would rush right in front of Shido, pull out a dagger, and stab it straight into his abdon.
"OK! She's hostile."
Exactly as the vision projected by Ratziel showed, a look of pure hatred gradually twisted the woman's face. Accelerating her pace, she reached her hand into the inner pocket of her coat.
Yutsuki stepped forward, seamlessly blocking the woman's path, and said with a beaming smile,
"Congratulations, ma'am! You've just won the grand prize!"
"Eh? Ugh—"
Before the woman could even process the words, Yutsuki discreetly delivered a swift, hard punch right to her gut.
"Oh my? Are you alright, ma'am? You don't look so well. Let help you to a place to rest."
Catching the collapsing woman, Yutsuki acted the part of a well aning good citizen, supporting her and guiding her into a deserted alleyway.
"Scary..."
Witnessing the entire flawlessly executed sequence, Natsumi muttered in awe.
"Natsumi, do it."
"Right, Haniel."
Natsumi nodded, using her Angel to conjure ropes that securely bound the woman's hands and feet.
Taking advantage of the mont, Yutsuki retrieved the dagger the woman had been holding.
However, to both Yutsuki and Natsumi's confusion, the woman wasn't holding a real blade, but a plastic toy dagger.
"What's going on? Did I make a mistake?"
Natsumi felt a sudden wave of panic.
"Well, not necessarily. Her murderous intent toward Shido was undeniable. Besides, even if it were a real knife, logically speaking, it wouldn't be enough to actually stab Shido to death."
Harboring a mix of doubt and vigilance, Yutsuki picked up the toy knife and ordered Ratziel to analyze its internal structure.
A mont later, Natsumi watched as Yutsuki's expression turned terrifyingly dark.
"What is it, Yutsuki? Is it a dangerous weapon after all?"
"Yeah. The plastic is just a shell. Housed inside is a miniature Realizer embedded with a detonation sequence. Upon receiving a certain amount of impact, it'll violently obliterate everything within a ten ter radius to dust."
"—Eh!"
Hearing Yutsuki's explanation, the color drained from Natsumi's face, and she instinctively took several steps back.
"Natsumi, can you use Mukuro's Michael to seal this thing? I could disarm it manually, but there's a risk of failure."
"R-Right. I'll try. Kaleidoscope—Michael—."
Natsumi nodded, having her Angel transform into a small, intricate key.
"Segva!"
Inserting the key into the toy dagger and turning it, Natsumi asked anxiously,
"Is this enough?"
"Yeah, we're good. Thanks, Natsumi."
After confirming the dagger's status, Yutsuki nodded.
Natsumi let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.
"Ugh..."
Just then, the woman let out a soft groan and slowly opened her eyes.
Since Yutsuki knew she was an ordinary civilian, she had held back her strength, allowing the woman to wake up fairly quickly.
"Who are you people?! Let go! Give back my knife! I'm going to kill that man!"
However, before Yutsuki could speak, the woman began struggling violently. She glared murderously at Shido in the distance, looking as if she wanted to slice him into a thousand pieces.
"Say, what exactly did Shido do to you? Why do you hate him this much?"
Yutsuki asked, genuinely bewildered.
"That bastard! Three years ago, when we were dating, he promised to make happy. In the end, he scamd out of over three million yen, then ran off to find a new woman!"
"Wow~ How cruel..."
Yutsuki couldn't help but offer an exaggerated, deadpan response.
Setting aside whether this woman's story was even remotely true, three years ago Shido was in his second year of middle school. Dating an annoying, chuunibyou middle schooler—was there sothing seriously wrong with this woman's brain?
"Yutsuki, I found this photo in her outer pocket."
Natsumi handed the photo to Yutsuki with a bizarre expression.
Seeing the contents of the photo, Yutsuki almost burst out laughing.
"Is this the scumbag who dumped you?"
"Yes!"
"Are you absolutely certain that this tanned, blonde guy wearing a flashy host suit is the exact sa person you're trying to kill right now?"
Yutsuki asked incredulously.
"Of course! They look exactly the sa! I'd recognize him even if he turned to ash!"
The woman spat out angrily.
Alright, lady, before you visit the psychiatric ward, you might want to stop by an eye doctor first.
"Yutsuki, she doesn't look like... she's lying."
"Yeah. She has her ID and driver's license on her too; she shouldn't be from DEM. It looks like she was subjected to so kind of hypnosis or brainwashing. Let's hand her over to Kotori for confirmation later."
Saying that, Yutsuki applied a mild electrical shock to knock the woman out again. Then, she furrowed her brows, falling into deep thought.
"What's wrong, Yutsuki?"
"It's a bit strange... Using hypnosis to make an ordinary civilian assassinate Shido, I can understand that. But the execution is way too stupid, right? Furthermore, there was no need to deliberately disguise the bomb as a toy and then hypnotize the woman into believing it was a real knife, was there?"
"Now that you ntion it..."
Prompted by Yutsuki's logic, Natsumi also sensed that sothing was fundantally wrong.
(If making it a toy knife was ant to lower Shido's guard, why send a woman reeking of murderous intent to attack him? Wouldn't that instantly put him on high alert instead? Wait—a toy?!)
Suddenly realizing sothing horrifying, Natsumi frantically recalled the pedestrians she had seen earlier. Imdiately, she rembered a small child playing nearby holding the exact sa toy sword.
In an instant, a chilling dread shot down Natsumi's spine.
"This is bad, Yutsuki! This was a dec—"
———BOOM!!!!
Before Natsumi could finish her sentence, a deafening explosion ripped through the air, followed by a searing wave of heat blasting from behind them.
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