“A date? Does that mean Qianye has returned?”
“Who knows? The Spacequake hasn’t appeared yet, so no one can predict which Spirit will make their debut next!” Kotori’s voice resonated through the headset.
“Speaking of which, Shido, you’re still thinking about her, aren’t you? Can’t you endure a little longer?”
Upon hearing this, Shido’s cheeks flushed slightly as he retorted, “That’s not it at all! I merely wish to save her!”
“That sounds rather insincere!” Kotori scoffed, a hint of amusement in her tone. “But that’s fine; it saves me the trouble of giving you a pep talk.”
“Since you’re determined to save her, then go on a date with her! Our love masters aboard the Fraxinus will provide support from the rear! All you need to do is follow their instructions.”
“No, *I’m* the one dating the Spirit! What exactly can they accomplish from the rear?”
“Dating works like this, Shido: you simply need to follow instructions and dedicate yourself entirely to dating the Spirit on the front lines. The personnel in the rear have a myriad of factors to consider!”
“It sounds as if my mission isn’t important at all…”
“Shido-kun, the Spacequake is imminent!” Reine interjected, her voice a calm warning.
“Hmm, in that case, we’ll simply use the Fraxinus’s spatial transfer device to send Shido over.”
“Wait, that’s a Spacequake!”
“Don’t worry, we’ll select a safe location for you to witness firsthand how a Spacequake manifests! This is a truly rare experience for an ordinary person!” Kotori declared, pointing at the monitor with her lollipop from the commander’s chair.
“Then let us begin now!”
“Whoa…”
Following a fleeting sensation of weightless suspension, Shido was instantaneously transported from the school grounds to a bustling street.
Then…
The previously deserted street was suddenly engulfed in a blinding flash of light.
Immediately, deafening explosions and fierce shockwaves ripped through the air.
“What?”
Even though Shido managed to evade the direct impact, the residual shockwaves, akin to a passing typhoon, knocked him off balance, sending him sprawling to the ground.
“Ow, ow, ow…”
Shido rubbed his star-struck vision, then forced his eyes open, only to behold a sight he would forever carry in his memory.
“That is…”
The street, which had been perfectly visible moments before, was now utterly devastated, as if a colossal meteor had just gouged the earth.
In the center of this street, now resembling a vast impact crater, stood a throne seemingly crafted from metal.
However, that was not the focal point.
The true emphasis lay on the girl standing upon that throne.
The girl’s appearance was remarkably similar to Shido’s, boasting long, flowing purple hair as smooth as silk and large, shimmering eyes like polished amethyst. Yet, within those beautiful eyes, a profound bewilderment swirled.
Her attire was exceptionally peculiar, a garment that merged the elegance of a princess’s gown with the resilience of armor, fashioned from an unknown material that seemed neither entirely metal nor fabric. Its seams, lining, and the very hem of its skirt were composed of an astonishing luminous membrane.
“…Mm…”
Shido was utterly mesmerized by the incomparably stunning girl before him, his mind a complete blank, rendering him incapable of articulating a single coherent word for a prolonged moment.
“Shido, why are you spacing out?”
Kotori’s voice, filtering through his headset, jolted Shido’s thoughts back to reality. Yet, the girl did not halt her actions merely because Shido was momentarily stunned.
Drawing a greatsword embedded in the throne, the girl advanced towards Shido step by step, the formidable blade now pointed directly at him.
“You’ve come to kill me, haven’t you?”
The girl’s voice was as melodious as a nightingale, yet the profound sadness woven into her tone imbued her words with an ethereal quality.
“I…”
Shido instinctively began to respond, but Kotori’s voice sharply interrupted him.
“Shido, the options have appeared.”
The Fraxinus’s main screen suddenly displayed three distinct choices, much like the interactive options in a visual novel.
â‘ [I… I’m just passing by, please don’t kill me!]
â‘¡ [I didn’t come to kill you; I came to save you.]
â‘¢ [I’m also being hunted; please protect me!]
“Everyone, cast your votes.”
Kotori issued the command with her lollipop, and the voting results swiftly materialized.
“Hmm, so this is the outcome!” Kotori mused, resting her chin in her hand while scrutinizing the screen, which prominently displayed option â‘¢ as having garnered the most votes.
“The first option appears to be the most realistic, but saying that would undeniably cause us to miss out on crucial plot developments later on.”
“The second option directly addresses the core issue, but considering this is Shido’s and her first encounter, it’s unlikely to secure her trust.”
“The third option is the most fitting. As the saying goes, ‘true feelings are forged in adversity.’ Using a shared predicament to bridge the gap between them is the most appropriate strategy!”
“Mhm, you’re absolutely correct!”
Kotori clearly endorsed the crew’s analysis, then picked up the microphone and declared,
“Shido, choose â‘¢.”
“Uh… I… I’m also being hunted, please protect me!”
Despite finding this option highly dubious, Shido couldn’t conjure a more suitable topic for the moment. He tried his utmost to project a pitiful demeanor, hoping to elicit the girl’s sympathy.
His response was met by the greatsword in the girl’s hand.
With a resounding “boom,” the girl’s massive sword carved a vast arc of purple light, narrowly grazing Shido’s hair, terrifying him into collapsing onto the ground. A few strands of his hair drifted before him, a clear testament to the sword light’s recent passage.
Mere seconds later, a thunderous roar echoed from behind him.
“Nonsense!” The girl’s face remained impassive, yet her voice was laced with palpable anger. “Don’t utter such obvious falsehoods. Tell me, who exactly are you?”
“Shido, her emotional value just plummeted!”
Kotori’s urgent voice pierced through his headset.
“Quickly, find a way to calm her down!”
‘What am I supposed to do?’
Shido was momentarily at a complete loss, yet, fortunately, a turning point swiftly emerged.
“Hey, Shido, hide quickly, they’re here!”
“What?”
Shido heard a familiar voice. Before he could even process its meaning, he witnessed a squadron of girls, clad in wondrous mechanical suits and armed with Gatling guns and lightsabers, appear in the sky, unleashing a barrage of missiles upon the purple-haired girl.
“These things are utterly useless against me. Why do you persistent creatures never learn?”
The girl sighed softly, extending the hand not gripping her sword towards the heavens, and gently clenched her fist.
Instantly, countless missiles contorted and warped on the spot like crushed cans, then detonated in a series of fiery explosions.
“Is this truly a battle between the AST and a Spirit?”
Although Shido had previously learned of the AST’s existence from Kotori, this was his first direct confrontation with their combat against a Spirit.
It was a complete annihilation; the purple-haired girl merely waved her hand, and the AST was forced to exert their full, desperate strength.
“Yes, this is the limited edition ‘cool and aloof’ Tohka! I absolutely must capture this for posterity!”
“Qianye, what are you doing here?”
Shido was utterly astonished to discover the familiar figure, unchanged from his memories, had suddenly materialized beside him.
No, only her appearance remained unaltered; her attire, however, was markedly different.
She was clad in a black lace-trimmed dress and wore a rose-adorned hair tie. Yet, what truly drew the eye were her eyes; she wore a medical eye patch over her left eye, as if to conceal her heterochromatic pupils.
“Are you referring to me wearing someone else’s clothes and using their possessions?” Qianye asked, using her free hand to flick her hair (the other hand was occupied with her phone, snapping photos).
“If one seeks thrills, one must see them through to the very end!”