On the other side, within Tengu City, the situation on Tobiichi Origami's side had also beco increasingly difficult.
Originally, through cooperation with Yatogami Tohka, she had been able to fight Ellen Mathers to a draw. But after those Wizards using spirit power suddenly interfered, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
They felt no pain, feared no death, and possessed inexplicably powerful strength. Although they were still slightly inferior to Origami and Tohka individually, their numbers made them extrely troubleso.
As a result, under the Wizards's indiscriminate bombardnt, Origami was forced to separate from Tohka and face Ellen alone.
[Indeed, just as Ike said, you are a very interesting existence.]
Suddenly, Origami rembered Ellen's aningful evaluation from earlier.
(Wizards using Spirit power? Is this also Westcott's doing? And why are most of them attacking Tohka—)
At that mont, the blade swinging straight toward her interrupted Origami's thoughts.
Origami hurriedly placed Einherjar horizontally in front of her chest. The enormous pressure instantly bent the spear shaft into a crescent shape. The laser blade nad Caledfwlch burst with sparks, cutting through the double layered protective mbrane ford from spirit power and magical power, biting deeply into the spear shaft.
[Warning. Einherjar damage approaching 82%. Overall body damage at 41%.]
Hearing the warning from Brunhild, Origami's expression could not help changing.
"Mal'akh!"
Without hesitation, Origami used tatron to widen the distance between herself and Ellen at the very instant Einherjar was cut in two.
"Don't think you can run!"
Ellen clearly had no intention of letting Origami go like that. She increased the output of her thrusters and rapidly closed in.
"…Kuh."
Origami gritted her teeth sowhat awkwardly. While using tatron's teleportation to maintain distance from Ellen, she split off floating cannons from the wings of light to restrain her.
"Getting distracted in battle is a beginner's mistake."
Ellen stared at Origami with cold eyes.
"Without that weapon that gathered magical power and spirit power, let's see how long you can last."
"…"
Origami's expression grew grave. Einherjar was unlike a Spirit's Angel, which could be summoned again after so ti passed. Broken ant broken. Without Einherjar, Origami had already lost her close-combat option.
That said, Origami did not dare put too much distance between herself and Ellen. tatron's ability might indeed give her a chance to shake off Ellen, but if Ellen gave up on fighting her and turned her target elsewhere, Origami would be unable to stop her.
At that mont, Origami received a ssage from Maria through her communicator. Surprise flashed in her eyes. She imdiately shouted at Ellen:
"Ellen Mathers! Westcott is dead. DEM has lost. Even if you keep fighting, there's no aning anymore!"
"Tch… So it really turned out like that, Ike."
However, after hearing Origami's words, Ellen seed sowhat sorrowful and dissatisfied, but she did not show surprise. Her attacks did not stop in the slightest.
(What's going on?)
Origami frowned in confusion. To her, that reaction was not so much disbelief at the news of Westcott's death as it was that Ellen had already known he would die.
"Surprised? Did you think DEM would surrender on its own if you killed or Ike?"
Ellen looked at Origami with contempt and asked disdainfully.
"…What kind of sche are you still hiding?"
"I have no obligation to answer you. Think about it slowly in the underworld."
Ellen suddenly accelerated. Her fierce sword strikes knocked down tatron's feathers like a violent storm. Just as Origami prepared to use her Angel to evade, a burst of heavy cannon fire suddenly ca from behind her, interrupting her teleportation.
"Bad!"
Origami looked back and saw that several Wizards had appeared behind her at so point, their magical cannon muzzles aid at her.
Ellen did not let that opening pass. A highly precise Territory instantly wrapped around Origami and transford into imnse gravity, binding her movents.
"Sandalphon!"
At that mont, a loud shout suddenly broke in. A vast sword light burst out from the shattered wall of a building, aggressively locking onto Ellen's position.
"Tch."
Ellen clicked her tongue in displeasure. The sword in her hand changed direction, and she t Sandalphon's strike head on.
Boom!
The shockwave from the collision turned into wind pressure that scattered in all directions. Perhaps because Ellen's attention had shifted, Origami imdiately felt the pressure binding her body loosen.
"Origami!"
In the next mont, Tohka rushed out from the collapsed building. Following closely behind her were more than ten Wizards equipped with Astral Dresses.
Hearing Tohka's voice, Origami imdiately understood.
"tatron!"
Instantly increasing her spirit power output to break free of the restraint, Origami teleported behind Tohka and deployed floating cannons aid at the Wizards.
"Kadour!"
More than ten pure-white beams fired out, accurately piercing through the Wizards' Territories.
Although the Astral Dresses inside their armor blocked the aftermath, the destruction of their Territories still caused the Wizards to temporarily lose their ability to control gravity and remain airborne, forcing them to stop moving.
"Origami, are you all right?"
Keeping a wary eye on Ellen, Tohka stood back to back with Origami and asked.
"I'm injured, but not fatally. What about you?"
Origami nodded lightly and answered while staring at the Wizards.
"Umu! No problem at all!"
Tohka answered with abundant enthusiasm. However, if Origami had not seen wrong just now, there were no small number of damaged spots on her Astral Dress.
"…That's good."
"Princess, huh… I'm impressed you managed to survive my subordinates's pursuit. Fine, that saves the trouble of going to find you."
Looking at Tohka, who had disrupted the situation, Ellen sighed sowhat unhappily. While raising the magical output of her Realizer, she slowly approached the two of them.
If this continued, they would be surrounded by Ellen and the Wizards. Just as Origami was considering how to resolve the situation, Tohka suddenly spoke softly to her.
"…Origami, in a mont, I'm going to release my Astral Dress."
Origami raised her brow slightly in surprise.
Astral Dress release. It was a trump card Yutsuki had taught them during their training in the virtual world. By using the instability caused by spirit power being affected by emotions, they could reverse the flow of spirit power and draw a large amount of spirit power from Shido, allowing them to recover their full strength for a short ti. (TL:well..to my understanding, this work like Gohan Beast form)
In exchange, afterward, the spirit power channel between them and Shido would rebound and contract, turning them into ordinary people with no combat ability.
All sorts of situations could occur on the battlefield, so Yutsuki could only let Tohka and the others judge the timing for themselves. However, in exchange, she required everyone to act in groups of at least two, so that after one person lost combat ability, they would not be ambushed.
"…Are you confident?"
To Origami's question, Tohka watched Ellen's movents and answered:
"I don't know… But if we drag this out, I have a bad feeling. Besides, I'm worried about everyone else too."
"…Understood."
For a mont, Ellen also seed to sense so change in Tohka's gaze. She quietly raised her guard.
The atmosphere was stretched tight, like a bowstring pulled to its limit. But at that mont, a hearty laugh suddenly rang out, interrupting the tense mood.
Like golden thunder striking down from the sky, a Wizard clad in golden armor abruptly appeared before Ellen.
"Sorry, Tohka-san. Would you let be this person's opponent?"
"You are…"
Looking at the blond young man addressing her, Tohka froze slightly and frowned in confusion.
However, before she could recognize him, Ellen widened her eyes and roared the young man's na.
"Elliottttttt!"
Elliot? Elliot Baldwin Woodman? Origami could not help feeling slightly shocked. No matter how she thought about it, she could not have imagined that this imposing young man before them and the old man in the wheelchair were the sa person.
Furthermore, this was also the first ti Origami had felt such exposed anger and hatred from Ellen.
Regarding that, the young man rely smiled and spoke calmly.
"In any case, leave her to . Hurry and go help the others."
"…Are you sure?"
Origami glanced at the Wizards who had already recovered and asked.
The young man calmly nodded.
"Don't worry. These people won't attack . According to Maria, their only target is Spirits."
"Eh? What does that an?"
Tohka was clearly lost. But after hearing those words, Origami's eyes lit up, as if she understood sothing.
"Understood. Then be careful."
After saying that, Origami placed her hand on Tohka's shoulder and activated tatron to accelerate away. At the sa ti, the Wizards also stopped moving. After hesitating for a mont, they chased after Origami in the direction she had left.
Watching the two of them depart, the blond young man turned his gaze toward Ellen.
"It's been many years. You really have changed a lot. You look like a volcano about to erupt."
The blond young man spread his hands and asked with a relaxed smile, as if they were simply catching up.
"So? How did it feel, showing off as the strongest in a place where I wasn't around?"
Ellen gripped the hilt of her laser blade tightly, gritting her teeth as she glared at Elliot.
Those eyes overflowing with confidence, those arrogant brows, that insolent expression that seed to look down on everything—each and every part of him stirred Ellen's mories and rage.
A childhood companion from the village.
An ally who had once sworn with them to change the world.
The goal she had once chased after.
A traitor who had betrayed them for his own selfish desires.
That man now stood before Ellen in the form of his pri.
"Do you want to kill ? Go ahead. If you can, that is."
Hearing those words, the final string in Ellen's heart snapped.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Ellen roared without restraint, raising Caledfwlch in her hand and charging toward Elliot.
Her voice was filled with resentnt, hatred, anger—and a faint, almost imperceptible joy that even she herself did not notice.
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