Volume 7 - CH 3(2/3)
Mana shrugged at Kotori's words.
"Yes, but, if nii-sama were to be a useless fool who flees with his tail tucked between his legs, I won't admit to ever having such a brother."
Kotori sighed a few times at Mana's response.
[..alright. Since we are going to do it, there will be no giving up halfway. Rescuing Tohka, as well as ensuring Shidou and Mana's safety. We won't have it any other way]
Shidou nodded in response to Kotori.
Kotori then energised herself, and began.
[Then—let us begin our]
"Then—let us begin our"
Shidou and Kotori said at the same time.
[Date]
"Date"
At that, Shidou turned towards the first offices.
Few hours ago, at two o'clock.
Occasionally clenching and unclenching her fist on the hospital bed. Origami let out a sigh.
Right now a lingering pain was still in her brain. Even though she had accepted the hospital's treatment of Realisers earlier, her body was just able to move. But the doctor had told her to rest. How was she going to find Shidou?
".."
She silently turned her head right, there.
"Unu, O, Origami-san.. you have already committed a criminal offense.."
Beside Origami's bed, Mikie was sleep talking in a rather rude manner.
There shouldn't be any problem since she was in such a deep sleep. Origami sat up silently.
She needed to immediately confirm Shidou's safety. Although Jessica's group, which was targeting Shidou and Tohka, had been betrayed by Mana, she was more concerned about the revolution that Ryouko was speaking about. As long as Shidou was safe—
As she walked off the bed, Origami stopped as she was wearing her slippers.
That's right. Origami, who had been sent to hospital in a wiring suit, had no change of clothes.
What to do.. just as Origami was considering, Mikie sleep talked again.
"Origami-san.. no.. if you eat that you'll spoil your stomach.."
She silently looked at her. She was now in her high school uniform.
".."
Although the size was slightly different from hers, it was better than a hospital gown. Mustering all her speed, Origami placed Mikie on the bed, undid the ribbon in front of her chest, and unbuttoned her blouse. She then pulled down the zipper of the skirt, without alerting Mikie, as she was about to finish stripping her.
Then, at this point.
—WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—
A sharp sound came from outside.
"..A spacequake warning..?"
Origami's hands had already removed Mikie's skirt as she frowned in suspicion.
"Mm.. uuun.. What is that noise.."
Mikie then woke up. She yawned as she rubbed her eyes. She looked at Origami sleepily.
"Ah.. Origami-san. Good morni—hyaaa?"
She noticed her getup while greeting. Her body shook as her face went red and she took a blanket to cover her chest.
"O, o-o-o-Origami-san!? May I ask what are you doing!?"
"I'm stripping you."
There was no point in hiding it any further. Origami admitted to it. With that, Mikie's face turned redder than a tomato.
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!? What are you planning to do after stripping me!?"
"After stripping you.. of course, I'm stripping my clothes as well."
"Ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaahyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?"
Mikie let out a rate animalistic cry as she used her hands to press her cheeks.
Did she really hate her clothes that much. It felt like she had done a bad thing. Origami lowered her head as she returned the skirt on her hand to Mikie. Mikie's head shuddered for some reason.
At that time, a faint vibration came from the skirt returned to Mikie. It seemed that Mikie's terminal was picking up reception again.
"Ah, yes, yes."
Mikie hurriedly searched the pockets of her skirt, retrieving the terminal.
"Yes, Okamine here. ..Ah, yes..yes..eh, eeeeh!?"
Mikie widened her eyes in shock. After a few exchanges, the line was cut off.
"What happened?"
"Ye, yes.. that, DEM's Japan branch, was attacked by.. a Spirit, and an accomplice. AST members are to deploy immediately, to reinforce DEM."
"Attacked..? What is the codename of the Spirit?"
"Ni, [Nightmare].."
"..! Tokisaki Kurumi..?"
Listening to Mikie mention the name, Origami's vision immediately sharpened. That was the name of the Spirit that had transferred into Origami's class.
"Then, her accomplice is.."
"Thi, this.."
Mikie looked away at a loss of words. Origami held her face with her hands, and looked at her eyes.
"Tell me."
"Ye, yes.. that.. it's, Itsuka Shidou.."
"Shi, dou..?"
Origami muttered the name in shock—
"..!"
Then, in the next instant, with a PA sound, she rushed towards the door of the ward.
"O, Origami-san!"
But she couldn't make it in time. Mikie had managed to grab her left hand.
"You, you can't go! Don't you know what circumstances are you in now!?"
"It's alright. Although I'm not sure what happened, but as long as Shidou is there, I have to help him."
"Wha, what are you planning to do!"
".., go to AST's warehouse. They should have spare equipment."
Listening to Origami's words, Mikie shook her head violently.
"Impossible! Origami-san's ID has already been frozen! You can't use the equipment!"
Origami frowned, as she stopped and turned to Mikie.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly as it says! Now, don't mention about a CR-Unit, Origami-san isn't even allowed to use a wiring suit anymore!"
".."
Origami clenched her teeth. It was indeed as expected. Having used equipment without permission multiple times, exceeding the limits of her brain to execute actions. There were more than enough reasons.
"..Then, it's fine even with normal equipment. I can still take away a handgun."
"Are, are you insane!? Walking into a battlefield between Wizards and Spirits without a Territory, is akin to death! Please calm down!"
"..that place, the most important person to me, is there. Hence.. I must go there."
"Ku—"
Mikie's grip on Origami's hand tightened.
"Is that person.. really that important?"
"Yes."
"Even more.. than your own life?"
"That's correct."
She replied without hesitation.
"He is, the last spiritual solace for me, one who has lost everything. If he is to die, I will no longer be myself—so please, let go."
As Origami said so, Mikie's eyes sharpened.
"If I were to say, if you go, I'd kill myself by biting my tongue?"
Origami looked at Mikie's eyes before responding.
"You won't do that."
"..! Don't look down on me. For Origami-san, I can—"
"You know that if you do that, I will be very upset."
".."
Mikie widened her eyes—and lowered her head. Then, she held her hands to her face as though she was wiping her tears.
"..I'm so jealous.. so jealous of that person. Who is able to convince Origami-san to this extent."
Sighing, Mikie raised her head.
"..there's no point in me stopping you, right?"
"There is no point."
"You would go even if you're empty-handed."
"Yes."
Listening to Origami's words, Mikie laughed in sadness—as she fixed her appearance and got off the bed.
"..I understand. With this realisation, I won't stop you—but, I cannot see you die without accomplishing anything.. although I'm not sure if it'll work, I know another method. Please come with me."
"Method..?"
Origami tilted her head in amazement.
As the DEM wizards and <Bandersnatch> fired their magic cannons and mini missiles, they managed to hit some of the Kurumi clones in the surroundings, as well as the tiled ground and buildings around it. With every explosion, a shrieking laughter could be heard, as the shape of Kurumi's body was thrown about everywhere like debris.
But, in the midst of the explosion, black bullets were fired towards the sky, hitting the wizards in their units and the <Bandersnatch> in the brains.
It was an unimaginable and complicated fight. The wizards used all their strength, descending into the rain of million bullets at once, fighting against the limitless incarnation of a nightmare from the shadows. Both sides continued their slaughter mercilessly. If Shidou were to step into this fight, it would be difficult trying to put his body together for a funeral.
"...."
To imagine of the worst. Flying low with the help of Mana's territory, Shidou couldn't help but suck his tongue at his incredible imagination.
[—it's right here, Shidou]
Kotori's voice came from the earphone. Shidou raised his head. Mana, like Shidou, looked towards the same direction.
What was there, was a skyscraper that was taller than the buildings around it. It was at least 20 stories in height. The entrance should be the object that looked like a door. Because of the emergency, it was closed tightly by a shutter.
"Please wait."
As she said so, Mana landed on the ground. At the same time, Shidou's body which was surrounded by the Territory, began to slowly descend downwards as though gravity had returned.
Mana put her hand on the shutter, and gripped while letting out a small sound.
Then, the roughly 30-millimeter thick shutter was crushed easily, opening up a path wide enough for a human to cross.
"Alright, let's go."
"You are still as strong as before.."
Shidou laughed bitterly as he followed Mana through the shutter.
"But, the building is indeed too big. If only we knew which floor Tohka was on.."
Shidou said in a difficult tone. A sleepy voice came from the earphone – Reine's.
[..if they were to imprison Tohka, they would need to have the required facilities to isolate Spirits. Do you remember the separating area onboard [Fraxinus]? Find a facility that is similar to that.]
"I see.."
At this time, Shidou's body was surrounded once again by a strange floating sensation. There was no question. It was Mana's Territory.
"Mana? Why did you deploy your Territory—"
Shidou didn't get to finish. As though he was pressed by an unseen hand, his body was sent flying.
In that instant. The main entrance of the first office was twisted with a scrunching sound, and his vision was filled with light again – an explosion.
"Wha..!?"
Shidou was swept up by the strong wind, rolling on the floor. The back of his head, which hit the floor, began to hurt.
But, there was no time to bother about that. Shidou raised his head as he supported himself.
"Mana! Mana!!"
"..yes, I'm all right."
Following Shidou's call, Mana flew out from the thick smoke. It seemed that she wasn't injured. She must had cushioned the blow with her Territory.
But her expression was not one of calmness, but rather, nervousness and anger.
"..you, it can't be.."
Mana said in a low tone. At that point, as though cutting through a thick fog, in the interior of the research facility that had a large hole opened in it, stood a gigantic hulk of metal.
A large armed body the size of a large tree. It looked as bulky as a tank. And with it, a girl who was carrying all these on her back like some sort of military outfit.
Shidou widened his eyes. He had seen a similar equipment before.
"That is.. [White Licorice]..!?"
Yes. What appeared here, was the gigantic equipment of destruction used when Origami was trying to kill Kotori.
But there was one difference – compared to Origami's snow-white armor, the one in front of Shidou now, was as red as blood itself.
"..so you do know about that. But, this is slightly different. This is DW-029R [Scarlet Licorice], the sister machine of the test machine [White Licorice]."
Mana said in a disgusted voice, with a face of annoyance.
"Are you trying to change your image? You look way different from during the day. Isn't that a waste of such a disgusting face – Jessica."
As she said that, she looked at the pilot of the [Scarlet Licorice].
A red-haired girl in her late twenties, her notable trait being a pair of fox-like eyes.
But, it was difficult to see the full appearance of that face. The reason was simple, her hands, chest, forehead and face were full of bandages.
"Aha! Mana. Mana. Takamiya Manaaaaaaa? So? So? Look at my [Licorice]? With this, I won't lose. To you. Lose to you..!"
But the girl full of injuries – Jessica, laughed as she said in a stuttering tone.
"Do you know each other?"
"Former comrades. ..This idiot."
As Mana said so, she stepped out.
"—Jessica! Stop the [Licorice] now! Do you understand!? You can't use that!"
"Ahahahahaha! What are you talking about? I feel so good. Because—"
Jessica squinted her eyes, as she aimed her cannon at Mana.
"I can.. finally kill you now."
"Ku—!"
She understood her opponent's intention. Mana suddenly approached Jessica, activated the blade on her right hand, and began slicing at Jessica.
But Jessica had already pre-empted Mana's action. Using her high-power laser knife on her left hand to stop the attack, while opening the missile pack on her back, she fired a massive amount of missiles.
Several missiles detonated at point blank range. The area was full of the smell of gunpowder as her vision was filled with dust.
"Uu, uwaaaaaah!"
Still unable to balance himself, Shidou was blown backwards. What he could see was a green shadow and a large red machine in pursuit.
The two wizards moved their battlefield to the sky, as they began to fight. Exchanging cannons and blade blows. The dark sky was filled with flashes of magical light flashing like stars.
"Gu.."
Mana would have to handle Jessica. Even if Shidou went to help, he would just be a burden.
After making up his mind, Shidou immediately left the area, running towards the building.
[Shidou! It's too dangerous! Don't act alone! Wait for Mana!]
Kotori howled as she scolded Shidou. But, Shidou didn't slow down.
"They will only reinforce if we wait for her! I have to go now! Besides, it's more dangerous being outside by myself, right!? I could be hit by a stray bullet, or be held hostage by Jessica or one of the other Wizards! I cannot burden Mana!"
[That, that.. you may be right, but! Wait.. Shidou!]
Shidou passed the damaged door. In an instant, Kotori's voice was drowned by static, and soon she couldn't be heard anymore.
There was nobody in the wide lobby. What replaced was spread debris, interfering with Shidou's progress. Electrical wires were exposed from the broken ceiling, with the light hanging down. The occasional sparks were enough to cause one to feel weird.
According to Reine, there must be some facility isolating Spirits within the building. Shidou began to head upstairs.
"Ha.., ha..a, ha..!"
Second, third, fourth, Shidou ran up to the fifth floor in one breath. His legs began to feel tired, his lungs hurt, and it became difficult to breathe. But he had to continue on in spite of that.
—Tohka. Tohka was around here.
The girl who let herself be caught to buy Shidou time to escape, alone, caught by an organization against Spirits.
—At that point, Shidou didn't have the time to complain about the pain his body felt..
"..!"
At that point, he didn't know how far he had climbed. Shidou heard a strange noise, and frowned.
In the corridor, were a man and a woman. They did not look like regular employees or researchers. Both of them were wearing unknown wiring suits.
Because they were inside the building, they were only carrying a light gun-like weapon, and a small laser knife – but there was no question, they were Wizards.
"Intruders!?"
"Oi, you, who are you!? How did you get in—"
"Ku..!"
Shidou held his breath, and fled downstairs. The Wizards deployed their Territories, as they chased Shidou at an unbelievable speed. At the same time as gunshots were fired behind him, the shining magic bullets opened a few holes in the walls.
"Stop! Or I will shoot!"
"Aren't you already shooting!"
Shidou howled as he fled downstairs to avoid the bullets being shot into the walls, ceiling and floor.
But, the difference in speed was obvious. In a few seconds, likely having entered their Territory, Shidou's body was pressed by an unknown force, and pushed towards a wall.
"Gu..ga..!?"
"Really.. is that it. This youngster is the intruder?"
"How could that be. But, we can't just let him escape."
The woman continued to hold Shidou as she raised his other hand, while the man aimed his gun at Shidou's brain.
"Ku.."
Shidou clenched his teeth, and struggled, trying to break free.
"Tell me the truth.. we don't have a choice, let's faint him first."
Saying that, the man raised his hand, and walked towards Shidou.
"..! Damn..! How can I fail here..!"
Shidou muttered as he clenched his fists and hit the wall repeatedly.
—what idea, what can he do.
Shidou continued to think. If he was captured here, he won't be able to rescue Tohka.
"Tohka..!"
Tohka's face that was carved into his memory, appeared in his mind.
Tohka. Excluding the incident 5 years ago, she was the first Spirit that Shidou met.
Tohka laughed with him when he was happy. Tohka accompanied him silently when he was upset. Tohka helped him when he was lost.
That na?ve smile was the source of Shidou's courage. In fact, when Kurumi and the Yamai siblings appeared, when Shidou was lost, Tohka was always by his side.
Tohka's smile, may soon disappear forever.
At that point, a sharp pain erupted from Shidou's head.
"What kind.. of joke is this—!"
A yell that nearly ripped his throat out. –in that instant
[Wha..!]
The Wizards let out a surprised sound as their vision was filled with light – at the same time, Shidou felt the pressure on his body decreasing.
In an instant, as though separating Shidou and the Wizards, he noticed a strange object floating in the air.
—A sword. Glowing with a golden radiance, a large sword.
"Wha.. this is—Sandalphon<Slaughterer>..?"
That was right. Tohka's Angel. The sword of great power?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>.
Now, it was floating in front of Shidou.
"Wha, wha what..!?"
"An, an, Angel..?"
In contrast to the shocked tone of the Wizards, Shidou's heart was a strange calm.
Of course, this was because he had already experienced summoning?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>?before.
But, with that in mind. Why would?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>?appear in front of Shidou now. Shidou could understand part of the reason.
"Ah—that's right. Let's go and rescue your mistress."
Shidou muttered to himself. He held out his hand, and gripped the hilt of?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>.
At that point, the Wizards moved their hands, and released the magic-imbued bullets.
But, those things were meaningless in front of?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>. Before they hit the sword, the bullets vanished into the air.
"How could this be!?"
Shidou raised?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>?without hesitation.
Of course, not to talk about swordplay, Shidou was completely clueless on using combat tactics and weapons.
In truth, if someone were to hand him a gun and tell him "use this to kill the enemy", he would only know how to use it as a blunt weapon as he did not know how to fire it, and there was the possibility of accidentally killing himself due to misfire.
—But, in that world, there was only one sword in that world.
That would allow Shidou to use as he wished.
(—Haven't I said it before, the?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>?now was summoned from Shidou's wishes. The one that could use it now, is limited to only Shidou.)
As he started to wield?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>?Tohka's words ringed in his mind.
(Relax. And then think. What does Shidou want to do. What is Shidou's wish. Forget everything aside from that. Wield this sword as you wish. —If you do that, the Angel will surely respond.)
There was only this wish in his heart. Stronger, stronger. The wish to rescue Tohka.
Hence,?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>'s light shone even more brilliantly as it summoned his strength based on Shidou's wishes.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
He slashed with?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>?with a loud sound. Then, the radiant glow of the sword expanded, sending the Territory of the Wizards as well as the wall of the building flying.
"Gu, guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...!"
Following a spell of silence, one of the Wizards was thrown out through the wall.
But, there was still one more enemy remaining. The enemy intended on fighting to the end with Shidou as he armed his laser knife and looked at Shidou.?[7C 1]
"Tch..!"
Shidou raised?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>?with all his might, as he tried to block the attack. However, the Wizard clearly held the advantage in terms of speed. He suddenly lowered his body, and stabbed into Shidou's stomach with the knife, rotating it as though he was trying to cut deeper and right through his body.
"Ugaaaa..!?"
A scrunching pain came from his abdomen, as his eyes felt like they were burning with his brain.
But, Shidou didn't yield.
"You demons—don't interfereeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Shidou gripped Sandalphon with a trembling finger, as he hit the Wizard stabbing in stomach with the hilt of the sword. Although it wasn't the blade, the Angel itself was the manifestation of Spiritual energy. As?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>ended up hitting the Territory, it began to send out sparks everywhere.
"What!"
Not expecting the counterattack, the Wizard fell to the ground.
"Agah.. uu, ah.."
Shidou clenched his jaw as he retrieved the knife with his free hand. The resulting spill of blood tainted the ground red. The pain could not be stopped as his vision gradually began to blur.
"Kah, ha.."
But, Shidou, whose face was filled with sweat, did not fall. The knife, having lost its magical energy, was thrown to the ground with a clang sound.
At the same time, bits of fire began to appear from Shidou's abdomen wound. With the protection of the Spirit of Fire, Kotori, the flame was able to let Shidou's wound recover by itself.
But, there was no time to wait for it to heal completely. Shidou didn't wait for the flames in his abdomen to die down as he resumed walking.
"Wha, what exactly is going on?"
AST's captain, Kusakabe Ryouko, could not believe the sight in front of her.
Because, in the office street of Kagamiyama City, there were DEM Wizards, mechanical idols, as well as multiple similar-looking copies of the Spirit [Nightmare], engaged in a fierce battle.
In an instant, it was easy to forget that this was an office street in Japan. Bullets were fired, explosions of magic. The street was nearly reduced to rubble.
—Earlier, AST who were on standby, had finally received orders to deploy.
But, it was not to subdue the Spirit that was controlling humans in Tengu Square, it was to reinforce the Japanese branch of DEM, which had been attacked by another Spirit.
To ignore the unprecedented revolution in Tengu Square, but to assist DEM instead. Although the orders were contradictory, they cannot just ignore the presence of a Spirit. Ryouko and the AST members on standby quickly rushed towards Kagamiyama City's office street, where the Japanese offices of DEM were situated.
Ryouko breathed deeply to clear her mind, and ordered her members.
"Team, assist the Wizards from DEM, and eliminate the [Nightmare] on the ground.. although I'm not pleased with this decision, this is an order. Do it well."
"Understood!"
Obeying Ryouko's orders, the AST members in the CR-Units flew towards the sky.
For Ryouko, it was impossible to say that she fully trusted DEM. Because of them adding ten extra members without her approval and have them begun their fight while the citizens had yet to fully evacuate, her trust over them had deviated from what it was before.
Even if so, as long as these were orders from above her, she couldn't ignore it. If she were to defy orders here, her superiors would have an excuse to punish AST. In the worst case scenario, DEM Wizards may replace the AST completely.
And, there was Origami. Knowing that Origami had defied orders completely—yet she understood how dangerously the third unit acted. Using this as her trump, she had managed to reduce Origami's punishment from her superiors. At this point she couldn't let anyone else find a way to take advantage of them yet.
Ryouko followed behind her members, activated her thrusters, and joined the battle.
Her vision enhanced by the Territory, and noticing the shadows flying in the smoke-filled air, Ryouko aimed the trigger of her laser gun.
"Kehe, hehehehehehe!"
But [Nightmare] dodged expertly, yet did not retaliate, fleeing to another location. It seemed that she was toying with her opponents.
"What is with them, these guys. What are they after..?"
At this point, she heard a strange sound. Ryouko frowned.
"Eh..?"
To make an analogy, it was similar to a sound in a tornado. She came under the impression that a plane was flying past, but the sky was completely empty. And the airspace that had the spacequake alert was closed off, except for the defense force.
But, in an instant, as something that looked like a self-aware tornado passed, it raised a gust of strong wind, passing through Ryouko's line of sight in an instant.
"Wha..!"
She increased the intensity of her Territory without hesitation. As they were caught up in the tornado, a few Wizards and marionettes, as well as [Nightmare] were incapable of maintaining their balance and were sent flying.
"Wha, what was that, just now.."
In her confusion, she could not clearly tell what that was. Ryouko blinked.
But, the bullets from below sent Ryouko's consciousness back into the battlefield. She used her high-intensity Territory to repel the bullets and aimed her laser gun towards the ground.
Although she was wondering about the true identity of the tornado, the main priority now was to get rid of [Nightmare]. Ryouko activated her thrusters and re-entered the battlefield.
"Kuwaaaaaah..!"
The hand that was wielding?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>?emanated a searing pain. Then the feeling of heat began to envelop his wrist – healing the exhausted hand that would soon be unable to wield the sword.
As Shidou advanced through the building, defeating the Wizards along the way, he used Kotori's powers to somewhat mitigate the strain of wielding?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>.
Using a supernatural power to sustain the cost of using another supernatural power.
But, this vicious cycle, if kept repeating, would only prove fatal for the body. Against the constant barrage of Wizards, Shidou's regenerative abilities were soon failing to catch up – and soon Shidou was forced into a predicament.
"Ku.."
As he tried to wield?Sandalphon<Slaughterer>, his hand was no longer able to muster strength. He didn't release the sword but there was pain throughout his body, as his muscles had began to ache.
Shidou bit his teeth and looked at his surroundings.
There were 3 armed Wizards in front of him. 5 enemy Wizards were behind him. In total, eight of them had surrounded Shidou.
"You sure made us put in some work. But, this ends here."
The Wizards said as they held their guns. At the same time, Shidou suddenly had difficulties breathing.
"Ah, gah.."
It seemed that they were either using the Territory to enclose and suffocate Shidou's body, or lower the concentration of oxygen around him. Even if they didn't use their guns, it was easy to subdue a human at close range.
Even if Shidou tried to resist, his limbs were too heavy to raise. He then fell onto the ground.
"Ku, ugaaa, ah, haaaa.."
His vision began to blur as his consciousness began to leave him.
"Toh, ka.."
—But, just as Shidou's consciousness was about to descend into darkness.
The area around the fallen Shidou's back had begun to sound with a cracking sound. In the next instant, the windows along the corridor began to shatter as its shards fell like rain.
"Uwaaaah!" >