“What an unprecedented crisis!”
Ryouko Kusakabe said with a bitter smile.
All ten AST members on standby had entered the fray. Yet, they couldn’t even get close to the Spirit, let alone inflict any damage.
No, it was more accurate to say the Spirit hadn’t paid attention to anyone but Origami from the very beginning.
With a mere flick of her hand, the Spirit sent the approaching team members scrambling to get away.
It was like a lion casually flicking its tail to ward off flies.
“Uwaaaaaahhhhhh…!”
As if pouring her sorrow into the sound, the Spirit roared loudly. She hoisted her massive greatsword high above her head, then brought it sweeping down.
“…”
Origami activated her thrusters, twisting in the air to evade the strike.
She succeeded, but the residual shockwave from the sword’s light still reached her, penetrating Origami’s Territory.
—Then, in an instant.
Origami realized her judgment had been far too naive.
Her initial plan was to gauge the opponent’s strength by the sword light’s residual wave. However, she hadn’t anticipated that even a mere aftershock would be beyond her Territory’s ability to withstand.
By her estimation, it had only lasted one and a half seconds…
Origami’s Territory…
Her proudest, most unyielding fortress…
It shattered, silently.
Clearly, Origami had misjudged. The Spirit’s power and her own belonged to two entirely different realms.
It was laughable that she had harbored hopes of killing the Spirit for revenge. She now realized the only reason she was still alive was that the Spirit held no true malice toward her.
Only a lion’s annoyance at a bothersome fly.
Regrettably, there was no reloading a save in this world; the outcome was already sealed.
“Die!”
The Spirit swung her greatsword, pointing it directly at Origami.
Her Territory was shattered, and her teammates were too far to provide support—even if they could, it would be futile. Origami had no means left to save her own life.
However, she had nothing left to care about.
“Mom, Dad, I’m coming to join you!”
Origami slowly closed her eyes, feeling no regret for the life she was about to lose.
After all, this was her atonement for killing Shido.
Yet, just as Origami embraced the thought of desperate surrender…
“Do you desire power?”
Origami heard a voice that was neither male nor female.
“Huh?”
Upon hearing the unknown voice, Origami’s eyes snapped open.
Then, she saw it.
It was like a humanoid mass of pixels, floating before Origami.
“What… are you?”
“What I am is not important. What matters is, do you desire power? Do you desire power that rivals any, as strong as a Spirit, capable of achieving your goals?”
“…”
Origami had long held the answer to that question in her heart.
“I want it… I want power. No matter the cost, even if it means striking a deal with the devil, I must have power. Power to fulfill my tragic wish, power to undo everything.”
“Is that so? Then I shall grant you the power you desire!”
The humanoid pixel mass seemed to smile, extending something towards Origami.
It was a crystal, radiating dazzling white light, like a precious gem.
“If you desire power, then touch it!”
“…”
Origami remained silent, yet instinctively reached out and touched the crystal.
At that moment, a sudden anomaly occurred.
****
“Tohkaaaaaaaaaaa…!”
Shido screamed, plummeting from the sky, calling out that name with all his might.
“Hm?”
Tohka seemed to hear Shido’s cry. Still holding her greatsword, she instinctively flew up and caught him.
Without a moment’s delay, Shido felt the sensations of floating and gravity on his body gradually subside.
“Shi…do?”
As if struggling to comprehend the situation, Tohka murmured softly.
“It’s me, Tohka!”
“The real you?”
“Yes, that’s right. The genuine, unmistakable Shido himself.”
“It’s wonderful, Shido!”
Tohka tightened her embrace around Shido, and two streams of clear tears welled from her eyes.
Origami seized this opportunity to escape Tohka’s attack range.
However, Origami’s attire at this moment seemed different from before, but no one was paying attention to that now.
All eyes in the vicinity were fixed on Shido and Tohka.
“Shido, Shido, Shido…”
“Ah, what is it…”
Just as Shido was about to respond to Tohka’s call, the greatsword she held aloft suddenly erupted with an intense purple light.
“[This is bad! Sandalphon is out of control. We must release
“Otherwise, what will happen?”
“[The energy will uncontrollably surge outwards, obliterating everything in its path.]”
“No… Tohka, you can’t do that!”
“[Then tell me, what should we do? It’s already at a critical point!]”
At this juncture, Shido recalled what Kotori had told him: the only way to seal a Spirit’s Reiryoku and stop Tohka.
A blush inevitably crept onto Shido’s face at the thought.
“[You idiot, Shido! Blushing at a time like this? You’ve already done far more aggressive things, yet you’re hesitating over this? Are you just a weakling who can’t speak when facing a girl? Weakling, weakling, weakling~]”
Qianye’s disgruntled voice crackled through his earphone, compelling Shido to make a decision.
“I understand! Tohka, there’s… still one way. We can try it… perhaps it might solve the problem… who knows.”
“What did you say? What method?”
“It’s… just… kiss me… Tohka!”
“What…”
Tohka furrowed her brow.
“What’s a kiss?”
“It’s… when lips touch lips…”
Before Shido could finish his explanation, Tohka leaned in and kissed him.
“[Oh, a classic scene! We need to record this quickly. By the way, doesn’t this system have a screenshot function?]”
“[You’re arbitrarily pressing my buttons!]”
Kotori’s and Qianye’s voices rang out one after another in his earphone. However, Shido had no energy left to pay them any mind.
For Tohka’s lips were incredibly soft, moist, and carried a sweet taste.
One second later.
The towering greatsword gradually developed cracks, then disintegrated and vanished into the air.
Immediately after, the armor plates and strange light membrane that formed Tohka’s Astral Dress also transformed into particles of light and dispersed into the sky.
“What?”
Tohka had lost her power. The two of them, still kissing, slowly descended to the ground.
After remaining intertwined for a brief moment.
“Puh-ha!”
As if gasping for air, Tohka’s lips parted from Shido’s.
“I’m so-so-so-so… sorry, Tohka, I didn’t know this would happen.”
To this, Tohka’s response was…
“Come closer, or others will see us!”
****
“Lance Corporal Origami Tobiichi, officially reporting back for duty!”
Origami Tobiichi, now once again before Ryouko Kusakabe, dressed in her standard combat suit and thrusters, saluted.
“It’s good that you’re safe, Lance Corporal Tobiichi. Return to your squad!”
Seeing Origami return unharmed, Ryouko Kusakabe breathed a sigh of relief.
“Yes, ma’am!”
Origami crisply returned to her team, her voice devoid of any superfluous inflection.
“[Strange? Is the observation device broken? Why is it displaying two Spirit signatures?]”
A teammate from the observation unit voiced their findings with a puzzled tone.
Ryouko Kusakabe concluded, “[There’s nothing strange about it. It’s probably just detecting the Reiryoku of the unseen
“[But the wavelength of the other Reiryoku is a new type, never before recorded!]”
“What…?”