A/N: Salutations! I am back! Although, far later than I want to admit…
I dislike excuses, so I'll be straight to the point. These months are the last months of my semester, and therefore the amount of assignments and activities were numerous- reducing my time to work on this. And then there are the final exams… in the end, I cannot work at all.
On top of that, I am also having an annoying nerve damage on my neck, which often cause episodic pain from time to time. To cure that, I'll have to follow some physical therapy for a month, give or take a few weeks.
I wish I can say "Time to catch up to my neglected fic!" to make up for the lost time, but I think I will be slowing down until I recover. I am really, really sorry.
Regardless, here is chapter 15; "An Image of Material B". It's a bit shorter than the last one, for the reasons I have said above. But… I'll make up for this. I promise!
"HAAAAAA!"
Tohka's battle cry echoed through the air as Shido swung [Sandalphon] down into the dome-shaped [Territory] that caged the [Cage of Judgment].
The instant the sword made contact, the invisible wall was cracked open like it was made of glass. In the next moment, the shattered pieces of the Territory had faded out of existence.
With a single strike, Sandalphon had made a large hole in the dome, large enough for [Hraesvelgr] itself to pass through.
Shido knew this was not caused by the Territory's weakness; it was Tohka's massive strength that was simply too overwhelming for the defensive wall.
"Splendid, Tohka-san. Thank you for the path you have opened~"
The alluring voice of the Nightmare Spirit was heard from the communicator as the Spirit flew past him and through the hole.
"Huh."
[Shido] really felt uncomfortable when Kurumi called him by [that name]. But, the consciousness of [Tohka] inside him also made it feel… normal. The contradiction didn't make sense, but that was exactly what he was feeling.
"What am I now? Am I Itsuka Shido? Or, am I Yatogami Tohka?"
"Don't worry! Papa is Papa. But, Rio can't deny that Papa is not being Papa completely right now…"
As his 'daughter' lowered her mental voice in embarrassment, Shido couldn't help but mentally smile at how Rio managed to contradict herself.
His mind felt like a mess. Two identities were inside his mind now -three if he counted Rio, but she was consciously separate from the other two- one belonged to himself, the other belonged to Tohka.
It was confusing, but slowly Shido began to understand. When he consciously exerted effort, this body was his own to control. Shido could tell by now, probably because his mind had 'adapted' of sorts to the essence of someone else.
When he was not focused though, the body moved and acted on its own- with Tohka's thoughts as its guide. Just now while he was not paying attention, Tohka had already expressed her hostility and distrust against Kurumi.
"If that's how it works…"
Shido let out a breath, calming his thoughts down.
"…"
The human with Spirit powers emptied his mind, allowing the [Princess] Spirit's thoughts and instincts to fill him.
Not even a few seconds had passed when Shido could sense Tohka influencing him. As if she already knew what to do, the Princess Spirit flew through the massive hole on the Territory dome to catch up with Kurumi.
Inside the dome, Tohka quickly spotted Kurumi. The gothic Spirit was flying straight upon the ground, far below her own altitude.
"...Hm?"
The Princess narrowed her eyes as she noticed that dozens of mechanical-looking holes suddenly opened on the surface of the ground, widespread across the forest.
Soon after, numerous missiles were launched out of them into the air, going after Kurumi.
Anti-air missiles installation. Shido recalled Kannazuki naming them as such during their strategy discussion earlier.
Tohka could never remember the complicated name though, she only remembered it because it was the most frequent projectiles she had ever seen.
"Why can't they ever learn…"
Tohka muttered to herself with a frown as the Spirit quickly stopped mid-air, and prepared Sandalphon with both of her hands at her side.
Charging the Angel with mana, Tohka aimed carefully so as to avoid hitting Kurumi from above, before a whisper escaped her mouth.
"Don't get hit, Kurumi."
Hearing the warning through the communicator, Kurumi immediately came to a halt and turned her body to gaze back on the Spirit above her.
Tohka quickly swung Sandalphon through the air with a large arc and released a large amount of glowing purple waves past Kurumi. The attack sliced most of the missiles in half, causing them to explode before getting anywhere to harm the Nightmare Spirit.
Eyeing the explosion below her, Kurumi shrugged.
"Fufufu… worried about hitting me? You have incredible power and unparalelled finesse, but no confidence in your own strength?"
Tohka frowned at the mocking tone that Kurumi used. Wasn't she grateful at all?
"I don't want to accidentally hurt you, okay? Be thankful a little!"
"Oh, I am thankful. There is no need to question my gratitude to you, Tohka-san."
Unable to discern whether it was sarcasm or genuine from the cheerful tone, Tohka resisted the urge to frown even more than she already did.
Dropping the conversation, the Nightmare Spirit comfortably descended upon an area of the surface ground that was not covered by the trees.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Kurumi's shadow grew in size and her body slowly sunk into the pool of darkness made from her powers.
"Just as planned, I will search underground for any hidden facilities."
Tohka nodded silently as Kurumi phased into the ground, disappearing along with her shadow.
"Good luck, Kurumi."
Watching from inside his mind, Shido mentally wished for Kurumi's safety.
Soon after the Nightmare Spirit disappeared, Tohka turned their shared gaze from the ground where Kurumi phased into to the vast forest that filled the island as far as the eye could see.
It really was a large island. The Princess Spirit was in a lower altitude than earlier when outside the dome, so her current view of the island had extended to reach the horizon.
"..."
However, both Shido and Tohka were aware that it was no time to let their guards down. Familiar presences could be felt from the forest below them.
They were humanoid robotic dolls with oversized arms, legs that were the reverse of human anatomy, and equipped with Combat Realizers. Called the [Bandersnatches], four or five dozens of them were crawling out from the missile launchers, and flew upwards to gain altitude.
"Those again…"
Recognizing them, Tohka readied the sword in her right hand-
"Disappear!"
-and killed the distance between her and the Bandersnatches below her.
In an instant, Tohka vertically bisected the first doll she approached. The movement was so fast that it produced a shockwave that devastated the forest around them. The trees and the dolls in its radius were either completely destroyed or blown away.
The Princess then turned around and swung her Sandalphon at the other group of dolls behind her, but they reacted quick enough to break their formation into two smaller groups to avoid the slash.
Tohka frowned.
"Persistent."
The two separate groups then moved through the air to flank Tohka from her left and right respectively, before returning fire with the laser cannons on their bodies.
Closing her eyes, Tohka dodged the storm of lasers by kicking the air below her feet, propelling her back into the sky high.
It was then, Shido decided to stop sitting at the back of his mind.
"I suppose it's time to put Kannazuki-san's tips into use…"
The vice-commander of Ratatoskr told him that the intelligence of these dolls were not very bright as their reactions to attacks were predictable. Even someone like Shido, who was not very experienced in combat, should be able to outsmart them.
With that in mind, Shido gripped the Angelic Sword in his right hand tight as he took over.
"How about this!
Shido pointed Sandalphon to the land below him as once again mana filled the blade.
He quickly swung the sword four times in a row; aiming not at the dolls but at the forest surrounding them.
The purple waves released from Sandalphon instantly demolished the trees, and the resulting explosions that surrounded the dolls caused them to react by clustering back together.
Not missing this chance, Shido quickly dropped his altitude to close the distance.
"I got you!"
As soon as he was close enough, Shido directed his left hand at his targets.
He then produced Tohka's signature barrier, but with a different purpose; instead of surrounding himself, the resulting mana dome surrounded the dolls.
It was an offensive use of the barrier Tohka usually used; Shido recalled that back when they first met, the Princess used this to stop and destroy a bunch of missiles mid-air. He simply copied the technique and spent more power into it.
Despite the protection their Territories had, the movements of the dolls stopped immediately once Shido's barrier surrounded them, as if they were held by invisible hands.
Shido proceeded to squeeze his hand shut, and simultaneously the barrier compressed the dolls inside of it with immense force. Their Territories immediately cracked, and even their bodies crumped with a metallic crunch before violently exploding.
"Phew…"
As he watched the Bandersnatches exploded into oblivion, Shido let out a sigh as he turned his sights into the surrounding forest once again, particularly the missile launchers.
It seemed that the DEM didn't expect their first squadron to be annihilated as quickly as it was, as there was no immediate follow-up attack.
Shido let out a relaxed sigh. He was acutely aware othat he was closer to the ground now, and thus more vulnerable to surprise attack, but for some reason he didn't mind that at all.
Maybe it was because Shido really didn't fear an attack at all.
"I should use this as a chance for communication…"
"Kannazuki-san. How are the others?"
Although it came out a bit more stern -as expected of Tohka's voice- than he intended to, Shido got the message across.
"Hmm. I suppose it's time for a status report."
Shido agreed with Kannazuki on that regard.
"Fine by me.
"I understand."
"Hihihi, sure."
Rinne and Kurumi seemed just as relaxed as himself, if their casual tones were any indication.
Shido decided to begin the report.
"I have destroyed DEM's first line of defense, currently on guard."
"I see. Next."
"Ruler reporting. I am currently still in the process of destroying the underwater Realizers that empower the island's barrier. I estimate I will be done in four to five more minutes as I'm circling the island."
"A little longer than planned, but that's fine. Next."
"Nightmare here. The DEM facility is indeed located underground, two miles under the surface of the island, to be exact."
"Just as predicted. Your status?"
"I have called my [City of Devouring Time] and spread my clones to attack as many locations as possible. However, the word 'underground facility' isn't fit to describe this place."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"This is no mere facility. It's a fortress with the size of a small city. I must say that I didn't expect it to be this massive."
Kurumi's tone seemed to be more impressed than annoyed.
Shido was baffled by the comment.
"Fortress? And city-sized, at that?"
How did DEM manage to build something of that size underground? And in a small island in the middle of ocean, at that?
"I see… I assume you are unable to stop the DEM from retaliating to our invasion?"
"Regretfully, yes."
It was a shame, indeed. If the facility was too large for Kurumi's City of Devouring Time to cover, then the DEM could respond.
"Well… I suppose I really have to fight my way through."
Shido steeled his resolve. He really didn't want to fight if he could, but this was to save the Spirit that was locked in this island courtesy of DEM.
And to save her, Shido would do anything.
As Shido was mentally preparing himself, Kannazuki let out a sigh.
"Then, we have no choice but to press our assault. Shido-kun, prepare for a switch."
"Heh, about time."
"Understood."
Kurumi let out a chuckle while Shido nodded in understanding.
He observed his surroundings once again. It seemed that there was little time left- he could sense the presence of more Bandersnatches from the forest.
Who proceeded to fire their laser cannons at him from behind.
"Che."
Tohka's thoughts instantly took over his body; the Princess Spirit reacted by gracefully twirling mid-air into her left, dodging the laser fire completely.
She then immediately retaliated by swinging her left arm -fully engulfed with mana- and sent a streak of purple light back at the dolls, destroying them along with several trees.
"That… was close…"
Realizing that the time for idle chat was over, Shido focused his thoughts once again to take control of his body.
"Rio, you know who to change into next, right?"
"Of course, Papa!"
His confidence in their combined strength grew.
But before he could transform, something had to be done. Shido needed to distract those dolls.
"If that's the case, I will-!"
Shido deactivated the Spirit's flight power and landed on the ground through the trees, before focusing mana on his feet.
"Sandalphon!"
Stomping one of his feet into the ground, Shido called out the name of Tohka's Angel, but he wasn't referring to the sword in his hand.
Responding to his summon, the ground below him rose and a large throne appeared from there.
"[Halvanhelev] (Sword of the End)!"
He then called it.
The true form of Sandalphon, Tohka's most powerful sword.
Several cracks appeared on the throne, before it shattered to countless pieces- the fragments then merged together with the sword in his hand, and formed a gigantic blade.
Its sheer size made it seem impossible to lift, let alone wield. However with Tohka's strength- Shido lightly shook the sword a bit.
Immense ammount of Spirit mana could be felt gathering within the massive sword, to a point where even the robotic enemy dolls seemed to sense it and decided to scatter away, as if aware of the imminient terror that would come upon them.
Shido paid them no heed as he kicked the ground and flew up straight into the sky, before slowly lifting up the massive sword over his head.
"Begone!"
Shouting with Tohka's grace and power, Shido swung down the Sword of the End upon the land.
"Kotori, what is the meaning of this?"
In the control room of Fraxinus, Tohka finally called out Kotori's name with a demanding -and confused- tone.
"How could Shido use my [Halvanhelev]? What is happening to Shido?"
It was the first time Kotori ever heard Tohka sounded so surprised. The disbelief in her tone and expression was so obvious that Kotori wanted to take photo of it..
The screen was displaying the ongoing battle in the Cage of Judgment through the several flying camera units that Kannazuki controlled from the Hraesvelgr. The cameras followed all three Spirits on their side, Shido, Kurumi, and Rinne.
Although from the moment Shido transformed, Mana and the other Spirits had been focusing on the Spirit he had become.
"Probably because of the disturbingly Tohka-like behavior that he is displaying."
Kotori hoped that they would simply assume Shido was simply using [Haniel] to copy Tohka's appearance and Angel. That wouldn't need her to explain anything.
But Shido's usage of Halvanhelev sealed the deal- someone finally questioned her, and it was Tohka, the one who probably deserved an explanation the most.
"What a fine mess…"
It was not that Kotori wanted to hide things from them… but the Commander wasn't sure that would be a good idea.
Kotori had just explained to them a few minutes ago about the deal Ratatoskr established with Nightmare and Ruler, and the ridiculous request from the two of them had shocked the Spirits bad enough.
While most of the sealed Spirits thankfully didn't really mind risking themselves to meet them, three Spirits in particular didn't seem to take the news well.
"And far worse than I expected."
Tohka nearly shrieked in terror and Yoshino looked like she was about to cry. Even Origami paled when Kotori informed them that they all were going to meet Kurumi and Rinne face-to-face, later.
It was rather obvious why. The Ruler Spirit- Sonogami Rinne, certainly caused this one way or another.
Seeing this, Kotori didn't want to risk their stability further by explaining about Shido's newfound powers- which would inevitably bring Rio to the topic, who was very similar -in terms of appearance, at least- to Rinne. The [Irregular] Spirit should be hidden until later.
With all of these in mind, Kotori cleared her throat.
"I am sorry, Tohka. But I don't really understand what is happening to Shido, either. We discovered that Shido suddenly have an unusually high control over his mana this morning, after he woke up."
"What?!"
"Is he overheating again!?
Kotori's answer made Mana and the Spirits tense up in alarm. They were reminded of the disaster that happened to Shido a few months ago.
The Commander wanted to kick herself- she should have worded that better.
"No, not like that. Our Spirit Paths remain normal, which is the abnormal thing. During the previous case, our Spirit Paths shrunk, and so the mana flow stopped on Shido."
Kotori paused to look into the faces of the others. Most of them looked surprised, and were paying attention to her without asking what she meant.
The Commander took that as a sign to continue.
"However, this time, the mana flow stopped without any change observed in our Spirit Paths. It also doesn't cause any damage on his body."
Kotori tried to explain that as simple as possible without giving away the true cause of the phenomenon.
The mana flow actually stopped on Shido because Rio could direct the Spirit mana. It also didn't cause any damage on Shido's body because the tremendous amount of mana was stored in Rio instead- but the others didn't need to know that yet.
At this explanation, Origami frowned.
"Wait. So you sent Shido off without full knowledge of his current condition? And into a battle at that?"
Origami said that with a unexpectedly venomous tone. She was clearly upset that Ratatoskr would allow him do such a reckless thing. But Kotori was prepared for the accusation.
However, before the redhead could say anything-
"No, that's understandable. It's something that I would do, if I was in Ni-sama's position, as well."
Mana suddenly interjected to defend her, surprising Kotori. The blue-haired girl then continued.
"Nightmare and Ruler offered us a Spirit to rescue. That's something Ni-sama won't pass up, even if he has to grind his body into dust for it. I am sure he said something about taking advantage of his current condition, right?"
As gentle brown orbs met fiery red, Kotori had to admit that Mana was thoroughly correct.
No matter how much Kotori would like to say otherwise, Shido wanted to save this captured Spirit.
And this time, Kotori couldn't even say that it was stupid for him to be reckless- since Rio was there to back him up, and she was more than powerful enough to protect him.
Kotori smiled, despite herself.
"Yes, that is right. He said that he couldn't possibly pass up an opportunity like this."
Hearing Kotori's answer, Origami appeared unsatisfied, but she kept silent.
"But… Shido-san will be fine, right?"
It was Yoshino who asked.
Her voice was soft like usual, but Kotori could almost taste the concern in her voice. The little girl was clearly worried for Shido, more so than the others.
Kotori couldn't help but smile sympathetically at Yoshino, but before the Commander could even speak, she was once again interrupted.
"Shido will be fine. No need to worry!"
Tohka smiled confidently as she made the declaration, prompting not just Yoshino but the others to turn their attention to her as well.
"Shido isn't alone fighting there. We are his strength. We are always protecting him. Right now, he is the safest he is ever be."
Tohka said that with such a calm and assuring tone, almost like she was before Shido sealed her.
That surprised everyone present, Kotori included. Nobody expected the normally bubbly and airheaded girl to be that confident, and her words felt powerful as a result.
"...You are right. There is no need to worry about him."
Kotori smiled as she turned her gaze back to the screen.
Shido had unleashed Halvanhelev to the land, and it was followed by a massive explosion of pure power that wiped out the forest within the radius of roughly two or three kilometers around the Spirit, perhaps more.
The after-wind of the attack had kicked up massive amounts of dust into the air and over the forest, limiting the vision of the flying camera units that were recording the scene. Kotori couldn't even find the position of the Spirit that caused all of this.
"Where is Shido?"
"Phew…"
Shido honestly didn't expect his attack to be this destructive.
Floating a few meters above the ruined land that was caused by the final form of Sandalphon, Shido was honestly speechless.
"I wanted a distraction… but it seems that I overdid it."
Shido recalled how Inverse Tohka used her version of Halvanhelev, and annihilated more than a city block.
Shido couldn't really tell if the regular Tohka's version was any weaker- as far as he could see, the land was totally devastated, and he couldn't even see that far because of the dust storm that his attack had caused.
"So this is what a Spirit can do if they ever pull out all the stops…"
The sheer amount of destruction caused Shido to mentally shiver. It reminded him of that day- 10th of April last year. The ruined scenery around was probably what Tenguu City would have become if he didn't stop Tohka that day.
For some reason, Tohka's consciousness was calm as their shared body moved to destroy. That frightened Shido slightly, but then again, she was probably used to seeing this.
He shook his head to brush the thought aside. Shido had no time to be mesmerized now. It was time to switch into [her]…
"Let's do this again, Rio!"
"Rio is always ready, anytime!"
The immense power locked within him were shaken. As if it was waiting to be released, light enveloped his body.
"[Aspect of the Sephiroth], [Army-Breaking Songstress]!"
The familiar sense of reconfiguration returned. Both his body and his mind felt like they were rewritten at its very core, something that Shido knew he wouldn't get used to feeling anytime soon.
All that felt like Tohka within him were gone.
But once again- he felt like someone else.
Maybe because it was the second time Shido went through this, but now he could sense the 'changes' in him more vividly than before.
Tohka's presence inside him before was… pleasant, despite the confusion it initially caused. How could he describe it? It felt like Tohka. Warm, energetic, and welcoming.
But now, it was slightly different; it was also warm and energetic, but it wasn't exactly welcoming- rather, it felt tempting and alluring, as if trying to entice him into drowning into it.
It definitely felt like Miku.
As he opened his eyes, Shido unconsciously turned his head down to check his new form.
A tall, long-haired girl with a voluptous figure, clad in a dazzling dress in yellow, blue and white.
Shido would normally be shocked half to death if his body transformed into someone like this- but just like before, it only felt natural.
So much, that Miku's thoughts immediately surfaced against his will.
"Ah~ I like this feeling! I can't believe I have darling's body all for myself!"
Speaking with an alluring, sing-song voice that definitely belonged to a singer, the indigo-haired Spirit proceeded to hold herself in excitement.
Shido quickly focused his thoughts, and stopped the Spirit from making any other embarrassing statement.
"Wow. I never expected her to comment about that."
"Hee hee, Papa's friends are strange!"
It seemed that Miku felt really pleased by this. The reason Tohka didn't manage to comment before was probably because Shido was a lot more focused during his first transformation, and that she was busy fighting.
Shido became worried- Miku's powers didn't need much thinking on the fly, so he thought he could sit back and allow the Diva to let loose. But recalling Miku's personality, he was more than a bit hesitant.
"Ah! I shouldn't be stopped by something like this!"
It was a little setback, but he didn't have much time to stand idly and think about it. Miku could embarrass him all she wanted now; for now he had to save the Spirit-
"Ara. Is that the idol's voice?"
His thought process coming into a halt, Shido widened his eyes in surprise as Kurumi's voice was suddenly heard from the ground, right below his feet.
It was followed by a sudden growth of the darkness that was Shido's shadow, and without a warning- Kurumi's head emerged from it.
Not expecting the surreal approach, Shido was unable to stop Miku's thoughts from speaking her mind once again.
"Y-you!?"
The Diva reflexively took a few steps back, prompting to keep a perceived safe distance from the Nightmare Spirit.
The latter seemed to be amused by the former's response, as her lips curved into a smirk.
"Fufufu… what's with the undignified reaction? I thought you were above such things, Miku-san?"
Kurumi snickered as her body fully manifested from the shadowy portal, standing before Miku.
"Are you ready to join me for a performance? I may not be a fan of your songs, but the same cannot be said for your fans down below, am I right?"
The gothic Spirit proceeded to bow her head in an exaggerated manner; it was a politeful tone, but both Shido and Miku couldn't interpret that as anything but insulting.
Knowing this, Miku suppressed a frown from forming on her face. She was not going to dignify the mockery with a response, but she wouldn't back down a challenge!
"...Humph."
Instead, after regaining her composure, the Diva huffed haughtily befitting her code-name.
"I don't need you to remind me that. In fact, my next performance might just change your mind about my music."
Kurumi's smile grew.
"I'm looking forward into that."
"Eh?!"
Before Miku or Shido could even think, Kurumi grabbed Miku's arm with an iron grip.
"Let us waste no time; your fans are waiting."
"Wa, wa, waiiiiittttttt!"
Miku's pleas were heard by none as both of them sank into the pool of darkness at a speed she never felt before.
It wasn't the first time for Shido and Miku to be swallowed by Kurumi's shadows; in fact, both of them were forcefully absorbed into her shadow by several Kurumi clones back then during the Tenou Festival.
However, it certainly didn't help them to get used to it. Kurumi's forceful tug only made the Diva's arm ache more than was necessary.
By the time Miku could see something other than a sea of darkness, the light blinded her vision for a moment. She was surely dragged through the sea of darkness for more than a few minutes.
"Oww… where am I…?"
Blinking a few times, Miku was finally able to regain her vision.
It took her a few glances to recognize where she was; she seemed to be in the middle of a very long and quite large hallway.
It was probably twice as large as the hallways in Miku's own mansion, and it had more lights on the ceiling than she expected for an underground passage.
There were several human bodies lying around. Judging from their uniform, they seemed to be DEM officers.
The Diva was a little alarmed seeing that, but considering the heavy atmosphere she felt and the fact that the hallway was dim despite the lights being on, the people were probably unconscious from Kurumi's City of Devouring Time.
It meant that she and Kurumi were beside themselves, in a darkened, quiet hallway filled with human bodies. The thought made Miku shiver.
Apparently realizing that Miku had gotten used to the light, Kurumi let out a chuckle before speaking.
"Hihihi, was the trip a little rough?"
Miku couldn't believe that was a serious question.
"Are you joking with me?! You don't have to pull me in like I am some lost child!"
Not having the patience with Kurumi's antics, the Diva yelled angrily as she pulled her arm off Kurumi's hand.
The Nightmare Spirit in question seemed to be even more amused- Kurumi merely smiled as her signature flintlock and musket were flung from her shadow into her hand.
"Time will tell about it. Anyway, should we start the performance? Preferably, I would like to hear the one that could increase the combat strength of my clones."
The idol halted her outburst. Kurumi was right. It was no time to be debating with this life-shortening demon.
She just recalled about the advantage that her sound-based powers had underground- her [voice] would echo, and reach much farther than normal. More so, in this kind of facility, there must be speakers for the times of emergency.
Miku had to prepare her [Solo] (Song of Commandment) and [March] (Song of Advance).
It would leave herself vulnerable, but if the Nightmare Spirit was with her, she could leave the defense to Kurumi.
Calming down and focusing the mana that had already waited to be unleashed within her voice, Miku approached one of the female officers that were lying around, and whispered to her ear an order that compelled both absolute obedience and the strength to do so.
"[Wake up]."
Almost immediately, the woman's body twitched. Before long, the woman's eyes gradually opened as if she just woke up from a deep slumber.
"..U..gh."
"Come on~ you don't want to keep me waiting, do you?"
Giving the half-conscious officer with another dose of [voice] that carried both her Solo and her March, the woman instantly rose to her feet, her expression full of energy.
"Y-yes! Onee-sama!"
Miku smiled bewitchingly at the officer.
"Good girl. Now, please tell me where is the room that controls the speakers for emergency."
"Um, there are a lot of rooms like that… the closest one from here is in the weapons hangar, at the end of this hallway."
The officer pointed at the direction behind Miku.
"Fufu. Honest girls are the best."
Smiling, Miku turned to Kurumi.
"You heard her, Kurumi. Let's go."
The Nightmare Spirit nodded before the two Spirits activated their flight powers and made their way through the hallway.
"Hum… so they attacked the Cage of Judgment, eh?"
The director of DEM, Isaac Westcott, smirked as he heard the news he just heard.
Two Spirits that were identified as [Princess] and [Nightmare] had invaded Cage of Judgment.
This was a pleasant surprise.
"What should we do, sir?"
A calm, almost robotic voice came from the interphone on his office table.
It belonged to Artemisia Bell Ashcroft, the Wizard who held the title Adeptus 2, which signified that she was the second strongest Wizard of DEM.
"Nothing's changed, Artemisia. Continue observing the invasion and refrain from intervening."
"Understood."
Satisfied with the answer, Westcott then leaned on his chair comfortably, as he began contemplating the opposition's moves.
All of his predictions were correct.
[Ruler] was indeed a pawn in [that woman]'s 'game.' The new Spirit probably didn't have a clue that her arrival was orchestrated by her.
And the purpose of sending Ruler to this city was… to retrieve her other pawn.
[Material B].
The Spirit that was found four years ago had many mysteries that even Westcott couldn't solve. The director didn't believe it at first, he knew about the Spirits more than anyone in this world, with very few exceptions.
Before he obtained the all-knowing Demon King, Westcott was always curious about Material B. He thought, once he had [Beelzebub] in his body, he would be able to unsolve the mystery regarding the Spirit at once.
To his surprise though, not even the Demon King could answer him. Even before the paradox of [Sister]'s [Rasiel] restricted his omniscience, all information regarding Material B were utterly incomprehensible.
He immediately understood why; Material B was a pawn, and she belonged to someone who had a hand behind everything.
And just yesterday, another Spirit whom Beelzebub could sense but not give information about appeared. Or in short, another pawn.
Westcott put the two together, and it became obvious. That woman sent Ruler to this city, in order to retrieve Material B which had been in DEM's hands since four years ago.
He had prepared to counter this, of course. But-
"That woman is really adept at what she does. I am impressed."
Westcott hadn't expected Nightmare to attack Cage of Judgment instead. On top of that, Princess - in other words, the Ratatoskr - was helping her.
This was outside of his calculations. How could Ruler gather them together like this? Did this Spirit had some sort of personal connection with both the Spirit of Time and the Ratatoskr?
More importantly, Princess had lost her powers to Itsuka Shido. In the previous encounter two weeks ago, the power container of the Spirits had indeed displayed improvement in his ability to command Spirit powers, but it was nowhere near perfect.
But just now, Artemisia had reported that Princess had displayed a level of destruction that could only be achieved by a fully-powered Spirit. How could Itsuka Shido perfect his control of Spirit powers in such a short time?
It was the same as four years ago, when he was examining Material B for the first time.
"...I am missing a piece of information. I suppose it's time I should stop playing around."
Westcott was excited. Really excited. The 'game' had just begun, and the situation was not favorable for him.
It made him happy.
Westcott rose from his chair.
"I must visit Elliot soon… I am sure he would appreciate a chance to play in this game, as well."
And… that's it! Thank you for reading!
As always, review if you have anything in your mind that you would want me to know. If there was anything strange, I can simply edit it. There are many possibilities ahead, anyway~
Thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!