A/N: Long time no see. It's been more than a year since the last chapter, isn't it? I am sorry for that. I won't waste time telling you my excuses, just because this year is my final year in college – with all that implies – followed by working as an intern, should not mean I can be lazy.

Enough of that~ Time for Chapter 21, "Breaking Free"

"Now then... may I help you?"

Mayuri had not expected her question to be answered. In fact, she had not intended to ask that question at all, it was not even a rhetorical question.

But when fresh blood and juicy flesh rich with Spirit mana – ones which had been harvested from her very own body for four entire years – had been returned to her... the taste, the sensation, they were so overwhelming, Mayuri couldn't contain herself.

The power which burned within her veins was a familiar, throbbing sensation. The mana flowing into her core was filling her up in waves, and its ripples had flooded into every inch of her body. It was positively delightful.

Still, it was a little amusing to see the faces of her saviors being so shocked at her little act of showing off.

Tokisaki Kurumi was, as Mayuri expected, the first one to recover her composure. Her lone crimson eye turned calculating, an obvious sign of experience. Though for the 'Spirit of Time' – it was a natural reaction.

Sonogami Rinne and the one which was called 'Tobiichi' and 'Origami' by the other two were more apprehensive though, Mayuri could sense it. That just wouldn't do; she didn't want them to feel uncomfortable with her, especially her true kin.

Luckily, Kurumi opened her mouth faster than Mayuri could.

"Mayuri-san..." Kurumi narrowed her eyes, "you should have warned us before you did that."

Mayuri felt sheepish at that glare, even though it contained no annoyance or anger. "Could you blame me, Kurumi-san? The moment I opened her eyes, I knew my body isn't what it used to be."

"All thanks to Deus Ex Machina people..."

To some extent, Mayuri felt she should thank them. Technically, they had been feeding her energy as fuel for regeneration in order to harvest her flesh – consequently, when she reabsorbed those Marinas, all the accumulated surplus mana added to her reserves.

"I am stronger now compared to the time I was captured, four years ago..."

Still, Mayuri wasn't about to say that out loud. "Naturally, after thanking you all... I must take back what belongs to me."

"Fufu." Mayuri hadn't expected Kurumi to relax and giggle in response. "I like that answer. But would you care to explain what you just did for my two shell-shocked companions?"

That moment, the other two immediately broke from their stupor. Mayuri could sense a wave of embarrassment from Rinne who averted her eyes, while a hint of shame was felt from Origami's blank face.

Mayuri suddenly felt the urge to tease them.

"I am not shell-shocked, Kurumi." Rinne defended. "I am just... surprised. I wasn't expecting that."

Origami nodded in agreement, albeit a bit stiffly. "How did you do that? What's your Angel's ability?"

For a moment, Mayuri considered her answer. Then, an idea popped in her mind.

"I am a vampire."

Origami widened her eyes ever so slightly, while Rinne let out a gasp she failed to stifle. Mayuri didn't need her ability to sense emotions to tell both of them were surprised.

"Pfft– what an innocent reaction!"

Mayuri had to resist the urge to laugh at them. Well, she couldn't possibly allow two of her saviors to fall for such a childish joke.

"While I am happy both of you are so open minded," Mayuri smiled, "I am rather concerned if someone could walk up and tell you she is a vampire, and both of you immediately believe her."

Much to Mayuri's inner delight, their reactions were instantaneous – annoyance and embarrassment suddenly spiked up in the air as Origami frowned and Rinne actually pouted at her... how cute.

"After what you just did and..." Rinne hesitated a bit, "drank, people are inclined to believe your alleged vampirism."

"Fair point." Mayuri admitted. "But Kurumi-san didn't believe me, right?"

Kurumi saw the opportunity for what it was and smirked at her two friends. "Not one bit. That's too childish, even for me."

The mockery was left unsaid – Origami rolled her eyes in disdain while Rinne turned her pout at Kurumi, and for several moments both of them had a silent battle of wills.

With a sigh, Rinne seemed to accept her loss before she turned away from Kurumi and directed her inquisitive gaze at Mayuri again.

"Alright then... Mayuri-san. Would you please explain what you can share about your Angel? It will help us greatly if we have a degree of understanding about your abilities."

...Hum?

Mayuri couldn't help but notice the careful choice of words. 'What you can'? That meant Rinne was essentially assuring her it was okay to keep secrets, things which she couldn't or didn't want to share, about her Angel.

"Rin-nee-san..."

It was a small gesture, yet it spoke of how considerate her kin was. It was relieving, since Mayuri did have a few secrets she could not share, for now at least.

"...I'm sorry."

To be entirely honest, Mayuri wanted to answer that kindness with eagerness. Sharing not just [Ariel], but herself. Telling about her past and present, to speak of the future together. But–

"Now is not the time."

Enough ice breaking. Small talks were appropriate between them – as fellow Spirits, branded as disasters by this world – but right now, relaxing was not something they could afford.

"The [child] which holds the key to this Cage is just right there, and she is not happy about losing all her toys to me."

Danger was still around the corner; right ahead of her, in fact. Locked behind the other side of this chamber, where the conveyor belt which used to transport her flesh would end up – the server which controlled everything in [Cage of Judgment].

"Normally I would be happy to share..." With a deep breath, Mayuri closed her eyes. "But for now, time runs short. I'll explain later."

Even with her eyes shut, she could sense Origami and Kurumi's suspicions in the air. But she wouldn't give them a chance to point it out.

Mayuri pointed a finger with the hand holding her grail, past her three saviors, to the gate protected by [Realizer] barriers, far behind them.

"Do you know about the server which controls this island's systems, including the Marinas?"

"We know." Predictably, it was Kurumi who responded first. "So it's behind that sealed door, after all."

So they didn't know about exactly [who] was in control of the server. A bit problematic; explaining about that child would be a long-winded explanation, which they had no time for.

No other choice, then. "The three of you, please step aside."

With those words, Mayuri willed the golden grail in her right hand to become something else. Instantly, the grail dispersed to golden dust – only for a moment, before they reformed into the image in her head.

It was a weapon she was used to wielding, even back during the days she pretended to be human.

Snapping her eyes open, Mayuri saw her Angel had taken the shape of a golden, stringless longbow in her right hand. Though its surface was unmistakably golden, it had no special design or motif – indeed, the coloration aside, it only appeared to be a mundane 2-meters long bow.

On instinct, Mayuri floated a meter above the floor, and lifted the longbow to her eye's level. She was not only adjusting her position – as her longbow was long enough to hit the floor if she stood on it – she was also testing Ariel's intimately familiar weight, it was an archer's reflexes.

Mayuri found she was unable to stop herself from smiling at the sensation.

"[Grigori] (Noble Sculpture)."

Spirit mana concentrated on her fingertips while Mayuri's free hand made a pulling motion from the bow's centerpoint, mimicking that of an archer drawing back an arrow to be shot. Smoothly, the mana in her hand materialized into an arrow, shining as brightly as the sun.

The arrow thrummed between her fingers, the Spirit energy compressing into a shaft of contained power. Her fingers trembled trying to contain it, which she took as a sign that her body was still recovering from long years of physical torture. She had to release it soon.

As she took aim, she found the three Spirits in front of her had already moved outside of her shooting path; Kurumi and Rinne to the left and Origami to the right. She could feel all three's feelings – they were anticipating.

Mayuri smiled. She would try not to disappoint, then.

Her target was a still, unmoving gate just ahead of her, at the other end of this chamber.

"I could hit it with my eyes closed."

And without wasting anymore time, her fingers finally let go.

It was such a simple, mundane action, in contrast to the result it brought. The golden arrow shot forth faster than the human eye could see, the very air around its path was very visibly torn apart by its advance.

The Realizer-powered green forcefields shielding the gate shattered as the attack simply pierced through as if the defense was never there to begin with, just as Mayuri imagined it would.

But it was no time to stay still and watch.

Mayuri unfurled the Spirit wings behind her shoulders – and with a burst of mana, she propelled herself forward.

Normally, it would be more prudent to be cautious, but she already knew what awaited behind that gate. In this instance, the wait-and-see approach she preferred was simply not suitable.

"[Marina]... I am coming for you."

If Kurumi was any less practiced in etiquette as an individual, she would have whistled seeing Mayuri's opening attack.

She had seen enough archers in her unnatural lifetime to tell if someone was experienced in archery. Though aided with Spirit mana to float and fire, the way Mayuri wielded her bow, her form, and her finger technique was excellent.

Just a small clue, but it showed Mayuri picked up archery in her human life, and it still carried over as a Spirit. This was no trivial detail; Spirits possessed natural talent to control their Angels, but skills and experience were entirely cultivated, not granted.

This meant there was a fair chance Mayuri remembered her past life as a human, like Honjou Nia, Rinne, and Kurumi herself did.

"Honjou-san, Rinne and myself could recover our memories because our Angels possess the power to do so..."

It was undeniable Rasiel, Cassiel and Zafkiel were Angels which could break laws of reality, more than any other Angel.

In other words, it was likely that Mayuri too, possessed an Angel with unimaginable abilities. And like Rinne's, it was one Kurumi never encountered before, in her days being used as a tool by that wretched Takamiya Mio.

"I don't want to make more enemies than I already do, but just in case..."

Kurumi closed her eyes. Looking out for their backs to avoid being backstabbed was fine, but as Rinne once told her, she would not forget what was already in front of her. Now was not the time to worry about assessing an ally as a potential threat, she could do that later.

Snapping open her eyes, Kurumi turned to the two Spirits by her side with a smirk. "Well, we don't want to be left out, do we?"

Rinne gave a small smile, while Shido-turned-Origami was already moving. The Crown of Metatron splitting into pieces around her, each feather-like construct was exuding Spirit mana and ready to fire at will.

"Let's get this over with." Origami said tonelessly. With a burst of mana, she followed after Mayuri, particles of light left behind where she once stood.

Kurumi had the same thought as Origami, but first– "Rinne."

Rinne perked up at the call of her name. Kurumi smirked.

"I already procured a Realizer Unit from the laboratory Mayuri-san was locked in. It should be sufficient for the next step in our plan."

"Really?" Rinne stared, surprise written on her pretty face. "I thought you haven't obtained it yet, given what Mayuri said earlier."

That was a natural assumption – Mayuri probed their emotions a few minutes ago, sensing feelings along the lines of 'let's get this over with' from both of them, which was indeed an accurate reading. The blond Spirit had guessed that meant they still had tasks left to do here.

Kurumi certainly felt like what Mayuri had sensed, but it was because she wanted to leave this island already; her primary objectives were already complete after all. She was simply unwilling to leave and depart on her own.

"Put another way, Mayuri-san's attempt to guess my line of thought is slightly off the mark."

The notion was quite amusing.

"If it's that easy to read my mind," Kurumi let a chuckle out, "I would not be called [Nightmare] by [AST] and [DEM]."

"Fair enough." Rinne smiled. "But that's not the only matter you want to talk about, isn't it?"

As expected, Rinne was sharp about reading her intentions...

Kurumi dropped the usual smirk plastered on her face. Rinne would know, it's a sign they were about to discuss a major concern.

Sharpening her tone, Kurumi cleared her throat. "I know we are still in enemy territory and we might still have to fight. But,"

A pause. It was on purpose, so Kurumi could look at Rinne in the eye.

"I see no reason not to talk about it, right now. How does that girl feel to you?"

At her question Rinne stopped smiling, her pulsing crimson eyes appeared deep in thought. Kurumi didn't elaborate further, this was a conversation they had a few times before.

Whenever Rinne met individuals with whom she felt strange, inexplicable connections with – which for some reason were often people Kurumi also felt vaguely familiar with – they often discussed how the other person felt. This time with Mayuri was no different.

"It's..." Rinne began, a weary expression on her face. "It's overwhelming."

Just for this moment, Kurumi allowed her concern to dictate her actions. She approached Rinne and put a hand on her friend's exposed shoulder – it was almost an unfamiliar gesture to her, to try and be reassuring.

"There is no need to talk about it now if you don't want to." It was not something she would usually say, but for Rinne – Kurumi meant it.

"Thank you." Rinne smiled, guiltily. "May I ask you to tell your experience first? How does she feel to you? I think I will be able to answer once you share yours."

"Gladly."

Taking off her hand from Rinne, Kurumi replayed that moment in her mind. From the moment she laid her eyes upon the Spirit she only knew as [Material B] at the time, to the instant she heard that name, [Mayuri].

There were many words Kurumi could use to describe the feelings she felt. But none of them compared to the tight, aching pang in her chest – in her heart – which she couldn't even understand at first.

Kurumi breathed out sharply. "It's almost the same as with you, the first time we met."

It was Rinne's turn to look at her concernedly. "Kurumi–

"Don't," Kurumi didn't want to let Rinne worry needlessly, "I said almost. I meant almost everything feels the same... except I don't feel afraid. She doesn't make me fear for my life."

'Like you did' was left unsaid. As much as Kurumi appreciated meeting Rinne, their first meeting was not exactly friendly – even by Spirit-to-Spirit meeting standards. She almost wanted to erase that memory so she could have a new first meeting impression.

Rinne gave her an almost skeptical look. Kurumi met it head on, she knew elaboration was needed.

"Instead, I feel pity. It is very unpleasant, as if I was watching a tragedy unfold before me."

Unsurprisingly, Rinne gazed at her with what could only be understanding.

"That's only part of what I felt." Rinne muttered.

Kurumi wasn't surprised. Whenever either of them met someone which felt vaguely familiar – Rinne almost always felt stronger, more complex feelings than her; the only exceptions were the Yamai twins and Izayoi Miku.

In fact, Rinne said she didn't even feel any sort of recognition with those three in particular. Kurumi did, but even then it was not particularly noteworthy. Not like with Rinne, not like with Shido, and not like with Mayuri.

But even so, Kurumi felt curious enough to ask a second time. "What does she feel to you?"

Rinne bit her lip, hesitation clear as day. Kurumi almost wanted to tell her to stop if it bothered her that much, but she eventually opened her mouth.

"...A long lost relative."

"...!?"

Kurumi felt her mind grinded into an utter halt at the quiet admission.

"What?"

For once, Kurumi found herself completely unable to suppress her surprise. She could not stop her eyes from widening, or her mouth from gaping, or her tongue from questioning what she just heard.

Rinne had the gall to chuckle at her. "That's a rare look on your face, Kurumi."

"You are not jesting, are you?" Kurumi narrowed her eyes. "This is serious, Rinne."

The amusement faded from Rinne's face, replaced with a melancholic solemnity Kurumi honestly didn't want to see.

"I know." Rinne replied softly. "I know I don't have any relative, we have confirmed that before."

"But that's how I feel. Everything about her, every little detail I could see on her, feels familiar to me. Her sleeping face was painful for me to look at, and I can feel my hands itching to brush her hair like she is a relative... a sister, if I dare say it."

Rinne's eyes looked wistful – more than Kurumi could ever remember witnessing.

"When I hear her name, I want to say it. It's like a forgotten tune... I don't think I can describe it any better, Kurumi."

Kurumi didn't need Rinne to. Those words were enough for her to recover her thoughts, her mind analyzing possibilities.

"It's comparable to Shido-san, then."

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case..."

Already, Kurumi could feel the tell-tale of a headache forming in her head.

"Seems we have yet another mystery to unravel."

"Origami, be careful."

"I am."

All of their shared body's senses were already on high alert from the moment Origami moved to follow after Mayuri. But she supposed they couldn't be too careful.

Setting her gaze onward, Origami found the tunnel beyond the gate was quite dark, in stark contrast to the chamber before.

It was also fairly long – Spirits could see in the dark, but she couldn't find anything significant in the tunnel other than the deactivated conveyor belt on the floor.

It took about a minute until they could see light at the end of the tunnel. Origami frowned, she didn't hear any sort of noise up ahead. Did Mayuri take care of any opposition quietly, or was there none to begin with?

"..."

The chamber Origami found herself in was much, much smaller than the one earlier which could easily house [Fraxinus] airship with room to spare. Roughly speaking, this one was probably only about as large as a basement of a moderately sized hotels.

It appeared to be some sort of laboratory... of the human experimentation kind. The walls were pure white like a hospital, and there were operating tables with several robotic arms attached under. It didn't take a genius of Origami's caliber to figure out what they were used for – even Shido could – thankfully, none of the tables were occupied by anything.

"Over here."

Mayuri's voice quickly grabbed their attention, and Origami quickly refocused their shared eyes ahead to look further in.

Roughly at the center of the lab, the levitating Mayuri had her body half-turned to face Origami, her bow still in her right hand. Her left hand was outstretched to behind her, aimed at a group of Marinas, all of whom seemed...

Paralyzed?

Seems like it, Shido.

Origami could identify 24 Marinas, all of whom in different positions – some were floating mid-air, others had their feet on the floor – but they all remained stationary, almost utterly still.

If not for the fact Shido had seen the effect of Kurumi's time stopping bullets firsthand, and the fact the Marinas were all glaring uniformly toward Mayuri, he would have thought they were frozen in time.

But no, that was not the phenomenon which paralyzed these Marinas in place. If Shido's guess was correct, Mayuri was... holding them in place, somehow.

"Don't worry about these puppets," Mayuri smiled, and Shido couldn't help but feel uneasy at how casual she looked, "My own flesh and blood... I can control it at will."

Mayuri's words made Origami's thoughts instantly click together. Then, that must be part of her Angel–

Before that line of thought could even finish, the Marinas suddenly flashed red – similar to the ones Mayuri dissolved earlier – Shido could see their eyes widening in horror just for a moment before the color and shape of their very bodies faded into blood red light.

Like before, the red lights gathered around Mayuri like eerie fireflies, but this time they moved not at the golden construct in her hand, but toward her empty hand. They condensed into a darker red orb, floating near her opened palm.

At that moment, it truly dawned in Shido's mind how easy Mayuri could deal with these specific foes. He couldn't help but feel relieved and grateful for Kurumi's initiative; choosing to go ahead and release the locked Spirit first was truly the right choice.

Origami's thoughts agreed with that assessment. However, she was also curious– "Your Angel... does it create and manipulate matter?"

Thus far, this Spirit could regenerate flesh and blood, create a grail to call her separated body parts back and dissolve them to mana, conjure a bow and arrow – it appeared to be a mixture of Kotori's regenerative trait and Natsumi's shapeshifter ability.

When compared with Spirits Origami was familiar with, Mayuri's abilities were something she could reasonably understand. At the very least, it made more sense than Tokisaki Kurumi, or Honjou Nia.

Mayuri stared at Origami, her eyes twinkling. "That's a fairly accurate observation."

For a moment, the blond looked like she was about to say more, but then she shook her head and turned around. "Never mind. Let's destroy that, first."

The aggressive choice of words made both Shido and Origami's thoughts halt. By reflex, Origami eyed Mayuri's surroundings again – but other than operating tables, the lab was barren... suspiciously so.

Origami, could it be...?

...Most likely stealth cloaking.

To be able to maintain a network server capable of controlling the movements of so many Marinas, it would require a mainframe on the level of supercomputers, similar to the one used to operate Fraxinus which required several operators to actually operate with.

Something so large could not be hidden with mundane means, especially not in a laboratory of this size. While it was possible the supercomputer was built into the walls themselves, at least part of it must be built outside for maintenance and operation purposes, including the interface.

If it was unseen, then it was likely the interface was cloaked with [Territory].

As if to confirm their internal musings, Mayuri lifted the dark red orb of condensed mana in her left hand to shoulder level. The orb's gloomy shine brightened for an instant, before Mayuri threw it forward like it was a grenade.

It was flung several meters onward before bouncing off something mid-air, as if it hit an invisible wall – or rather, an invisible Territory. Right after, the orb burst into an explosion of mana; to Origami and Shido, it appeared similar to a nasty combination of a grenade and a flashbang.

The explosion created a loud, ear-piercing soundwave which was made even worse as it echoed in the room, while the glowing red mana particles left scattered in the air was nearly blinding. Origami was certain only her innate nature as the Spirit of Light made her eyes entirely immune to light exposure.

Mayuri gestured by widening her arms, and as if following her command the mana particles scattered in front of her simply parted open like a curtain parting. As a result, what's hidden beyond the invisible Territory became clear for all to see.

This is...

...Is that a gem?

The illusion of a barren white room was entirely gone. Half of the laboratory had turned entirely black; the walls, the ceiling, and the floor were dark as if it was out of this world. The only sources of light came from the bright, blue-green lights which lined everywhere across the surface like electronic circuits.

Origami felt it was appropriate, she had seen something similar in her time with the AST.

However, that was not what Shido first noticed. As soon as their shared eyes could see, his thoughts focused on a dark green, spherical crystalline gem the size of a hand, glowing in the center of the wall ahead of them, embedded into the wall conspicuously like it was an eye.

On a closer look, the gem wasn't exactly dark green – its shade of green was very bright, but a great majority of its surface had turned into a dark red hue, as if... as if it was being tainted.

"Papa..."

Rio's thoughts stirred all of a sudden, surprise mixed in her mental voice. That, in turn, surprised Shido; Rio had never sounded this startled before.

"What is it, Rio?"

"That Crystal is..."

The hesitation in Rio's thoughts was almost audible in his mindscape.

But before Rio could continue-

"You bitch!"

Both Shido, Rio, and Origami's thoughts flinched at the sudden voice which rang in their heads.

It was a telepathic voice, Origami realized. It felt exactly the same as Mayuri's earlier when she was still physically unconscious. However, while the voice itself was beautiful and feminine, the tone was full of hate and anger.

It didn't take Shido and Origami more than an instant to realize the telepathic voice came from the crystal on the wall. The unmistakable sensation of Spirit mana was projected from it, as if it was glaring at them.

"I was wondering why you were being silent..."

In front of them, Mayuri spoke calmly as if in response to the voice.

"Did you think keeping quiet would have kept you hidden, Marina?"

Mayuri's tone was even, but Origami could detect a hint of mockery just beneath the calmness.

"Shut up! You are just a lab rat to create me... don't look down on me, Spirit!"

Shido could feel the scathing venom in every word – he didn't know what to feel hearing such genuine hatred from someone. Origami didn't pay attention to that however, she focused on the words.

A lab rat to create me, Marina said. Then, that crystal...

"Look down on you?" Mayuri drawled, "Nothing of the sort. I am here to save you, you know."

Both Shido and Origami immediately locked on to that statement. Save her?

"W-what? Excuse YOU?"

Even through the telepathy, Marina sounded dumbfounded. However, that confusion was soon replaced with anger.

"YOU-

Before Marina could say any more, Mayuri raised her left hand, and the telepathic voice was simply cut off.

Mayuri turned around to face Origami, her expression apologetic. "I am sorry you had to hear that."

"It's fine." Origami could care less about some stranger's outburst, much less an enemy. More importantly... "She said she was created from you? And you are here to save her?"

Mayuri's eyes looked conflicted for a moment, as if she was considering something, before her eyes became resolute. "In short, yes to both questions. However, we don't have time to speak about it at length, even now we are in danger."

Origami narrowed her eyes, Shido felt his attention sharpened. As one, they asked, "Danger?"

"Most likely," Mayuri said quickly, a grave expression on her face, "a ballistic missile has already been launched to hit this island-

"What!?"

Before Shido or Origami could even process that statement, Marina's telepathic voice pierced their heads again, and even Mayuri flinched this time. The blond Spirit looked surprised for a moment, before frowning.

"Bullshit! Don't spout nonsense! Father would never-

The wings curled up behind Mayuri's ears suddenly unfurled, releasing Spirit mana into the air and cutting off the voice. The released energy had blocked the telepathy from reaching their heads.

That action gave Shido and Origami enough time to sort their thoughts from what they just heard. "Ballistic missile, you said?"

"Yes." The bluntness in Mayuri's tone reinforced her answer. "As soon as I am free from my prison, there is an emergency measure in place to send an alert to the DEM headquarters. And as I am sure you know..."

Mayuri's gaze became dark. "That inhuman being who calls himself Westcott would rather destroy me along with everything else in this island than let me escape."

Origami wasn't sure if she agreed with that assessment, but Shido couldn't find it in himself to disagree. He had seen – no, he had recognized what hid behind Westcott's eyes, dead and devoid of anything he could understand as human.

Connecting the dots was simple after hearing that. Origami opened her mouth, "Then, do you intend to save that voice in the gem?"

"That's my intention." Mayuri softened. "Unpleasant her personality might be, and despite the things she had done to me..."

"I don't want her to die alone in this place at the hands of her creator."

Shido could feel the exact moment his thoughts halted, processing those words.

Mayuri still had it in her to save the one who was involved in her torment, despite everything which had happened.

Even though it was so horrible, so unforgiveable – Shido had to admit he felt genuine, nearly uncontrollable rage when Rinne told him exactly what had transpired in this damned place – Mayuri still went out of her way to save Marina.

"That's..."

Just like me, Shido wanted to say.

He wouldn't pretend to understand Mayuri's suffering. Obviously, he couldn't truly imagine the pain of being trapped and tortured for 4 years.

However, Shido was certain of one thing; he would have done the same if he was in Mayuri's shoes... Or rather, he was certain to feel disappointed – at least to some degree – if she had chosen to abandon Marina to die, even if she had a very reasonable grudge.

Maybe he was getting carried away by his emotions, especially since this was his first time meeting her... but Shido honestly felt he could connect with Mayuri, more than with anyone else, right this moment.

"You are..."

Someone like him, Origami had to agree.

Unlike her beloved, Origami didn't have the strength known as 'forgiveness'. If someone had wronged her, she would not let it go without a retribution by her own hands.

If, in some twisted alternate history, Origami had been the one imprisoned in this place, she was certain she would not even think twice about abandoning Marina to her fate.

Origami knew Shido would not approve of that. But she still wouldn't regret it, not one bit. But this Spirit... Mayuri, was different.

The realization... led to a complex blend of emotions. A part of Origami wanted to scoff at such naiveness. But another part of her felt humbled, she was fully aware that strength to forgive and accept was what made her fall so deeply for Shido.

But right now, it was no time for sentimentality. They were in danger now; a missile was apparently coming to strike this island. Even for Spirits, a ballistic missile which could destroy an island as fortified as this would have a decent chance of being lethal.

"Shido."

"I know."

Unified as one, Shido and Origami spoke their thoughts out loud, letting their detemination flow out. "Then, this is no time to waste."

"Exactly." Mayuri's crimson pink eyes narrowed, as she turned to face the crystal on the wall.

The winged Spirit levitated away from Origami, gradually gaining altitude until she halted right before the crystal. Her left arm suddenly lunged, and with a loud noise of crushed metal, the limb half-buried into the wall.

The sudden violence unnerved Shido a bit, but Origami knew being forceful was often necessary, especially now.

Mayuri made a satisfied noise before pulling her arm out, the green-red crystal grasped firmly in her hand, before turning around with a serious look on her face.

"Let's go."

"...Wait, Kurumi."

"Ara?"

Rinne was about to move and catch up with Kurumi, who had already sprinted onward, when she felt [it].

The strings of her Angel wrapped around her arms had suddenly tightened, squeezing her arms with more pressure than normal.

It could only mean one thing.

"Danger..."

And a fairly serious one, at that.

[Cassiel] was an Angel which could interact with the laws which made up 'causality' and 'destiny' – the Strings of Fate. As Fate Shaman, it could interact with destiny in many ways. In its true form, [Laharos], its connection to the flow of causality was strengthened.

The Angel sensed the currents of destiny: past, present, or future. While Rinne could only see the specific Strings which represented one life's fate after observing the owner in person, the general 'rhythm' of the Strings which made up reality itself was a different matter.

Every phenomenon in this world influenced Strings of Fate. From the most miniscule particle movement to the First Spacequake, everything created 'ripples' in the fabric of reality which left 'echoes' in the Strings – a neverending series of ripples as long as causality kept flowing.

Put simply, Cassiel gifted Rinne with a form of [precognition], the ability to sense events before they could happen. It was possible simply because not a single event in this world could happen without causing ripples in the Strings of Fate.

Much like Cassiel's other abilities, it still had limits. The Angel couldn't sense echoes which didn't reach it – meaning it couldn't sense anything without any direct influence on its owner. And if events occured faster than Rinne could respond, it would not be of use.

Despite its limitations, its usefulness could not be denied – it had saved Rinne and Kurumi's lives on a few occasions.

"And it seems like... it will save us again."

Rinne closed her eyes and allowed her Angel to guide her body's movements for a moment – then, as if compelled by instinct, her head turned to face upwards.

"I see..."

With a hum, Rinne snapped her eyes open, gazing up to the gaping hole on the ceiling through several floors, all the way to the floor where Shido-turned-Origami blasted the floor with [Metatron].

Mortal eyes could not see through, but Cassiel's 'eye' could see the ripple and sense the echo.

"A powerful source of phenomenon is coming to this island at high speed, Kurumi." Rinne stated matter-of-factly.

Kurumi's smile disappeared, replaced with a thoughtful frown. "...Most likely an attack. A missile, in all likelihood."

"Again?" Rinne couldn't help but fight back an urge to groan. "What is it with DEM and launching missiles toward their own facilities?"

Rinne and Kurumi had infiltrated and dismantled a number of DEM facilities before, and almost every time, a missile would always be sent where they were whenever it became clear the base would fall. To Rinne, it was annoyance of the highest degree.

"Better destroy everything than leave things for enemies to study and take advantage of," Kurumi shrugged, as if it was a minor concern, "do we have enough time to inform those two?"

That made Rinne sigh. "No, I suspect it will hit this island in less than 6 minutes. I will intercept it."

At that, Kurumi had the audacity to smirk. "Would you look at that, finally a chance to [Dance with Destiny]."

Something about Kurumi's nonchalantness actually cooled down Rinne's itching irritation, if only a little. Perhaps, it was intentional?

"...Well, no time to think about that."

Rinne tensed her arms, and the Laharos wrapped around her limbs twitched in response. Spirit mana concentrated around her legs, as she prepared to kickstart a flight.

"I'll be off, Kurumi." Rinne gave her only friend a glance. "Stay safe."

Kurumi's smirk widened. "I should be saying that to you."

With that exchange, Rinne leaped, and Kurumi sprinted.

"Two hours and four minutes since the start of our assault, and thirty eight minutes since Shido-kun and Sonogami Rinne lost contact..."

Seated calmly behind the pilot seat of [Hraesvlgr], Kannazuki found himself muttering those words as his eyes locked on to the screen before him, displaying real-time observation of the combat helicopter's main camera.

Honestly, it was more for himself than for the Commander, who had surely been listening in the radio since long before the operation began.

Considering the scale of the target, 2 hours were actually a very short time. Given the size of [Cage of Judgment] was enough for an underground city to be built within tthe island, a normal assault operation would likely take a dozen hours at the absolute quickest.

Not for the first time since arriving on this island in his personal military heli, Kannazuki felt grateful for the fact 2 Spirits, effectively 3, were the main force of this operation.

"Putting Shido-kun's improvement with his Spirit abilities aside..."

Nightmare and Ruler, Tokisaki Kurumi and Sonogami Rinne, had revealed quite a few of their cards. Nightmare displayed remarkable tactical acumen using her army of duplicates, which belied years of combat experience; while Ruler's mystery had just begun to unravel.

"But it's fairly unfortunate..."

The lower half of the Cage's facility blocked off communication with the world outside. Because of that, Kannazuki could not communicate with any of the Spirits, which meant anything could be happening down there and he wouldn't know.

"I doubt anything could truly endanger them down there, but this lack of information is troubling."

This operation was proposed by Nightmare as a form of 'trust exercise' with [Ratatoskr]. A chance to observe Ruler and gather more data to plan for a perfect date. But at this rate, it was possible [Material B] would be retrieved before any concrete info about Ruler came up.

Still, it was not exactly a major loss – Ratatoskr's top priority was to save Spirits, and being able to retrieve one from what would be undoubtedly experimentation and possibly torture was Ratatoskr's uncompromising duty.

Kannazuki just wished the Commander would punish him for not fulfilling all of their objectives. Hopefully... he didn't have much expectations, given this operation had been mostly a boon.

"As long as Material B is retrieved, this operation will be considered a success... hum?"

One of the communicators distributed to the Spirit combatants had suddenlybecome online; it was Sonogami Rinne, Ruler's.

Transmission came in, and a beautiful voice with it. "Kannazuki-san?"

He pressed a finger to the button to unmute himself before he replied. "Ruler. Have you returned from the jamming zone?"

A small chuckle, before Ruler spoke. "Take a better look at your screen, Kannazuki-san."

At that, Kannazuki snapped his attention to the main screen; he spotted a purplish dot a few hundred feet above the island. With a button press, the camera zoomed in and showed a close up look on Ruler's form.

The first thing Kannazuki noticed was the fact she was veilless, and her Astral Dress had changed from earlier from before entering the jamming zone – it was considerably shorter on the skirt and the headdress parts.

Her lyre was nowhere to be seen, instead very long metallic ribbons were wrapped on her arms and levitated around her; Kannazuki theorized her Angel had changed form for what was likely combat needs.

However, Kannazuki filed those minute details to think about at a later date in favor of one realization – somehow, the Ruler was above ground in almost the exact same time her communicator became online again.

"Her communicator should be online the moment she stepped out of the jamming zone in the lower half of the facility, yet here she is..."

"I didn't teleport, if that's what you are assuming."

Ruler's voice snapped Kannazuki back to reality; he had to admit, that was a surprise, for the Spirit to predict his line of thoughts.

"If not teleportation," Kannazuki forgoed his usual mannerisms in favor of being blunt, "what did you do?"

"Not now." Ruler replied, an apologetic tone in her voice.

"Not now?" Kannazuki questioned. "My apologies, but what do you–"

As if intent on cutting him off, there was a 'beep' sound from the pilot interface in front of Kannazuki. Any educated pilot would recognize that notification anywhere – it was the sound of radar.

Kannazuki found his eyes widening at what the radar was showing; Hraesvelgr's Realizer enhanced sensors had a detection radius of over 900 kilometters range, yet whatever entered the radar's detection radius was rapidly closing in seconds.

His quick mind quickly supplied the answer – a missile, and at the estimated rate it was going, the projectile would hit this island in about 5 minutes.

"I will have to intercept it."

Experience-honed instincts kicked in; Kannazuki pressed the button to activate Hraesvlgr's sub-cameras on the left and right side of the heli, as well as another button to activate the combat Realizers.

With but a steer, Hraesvlgr had turned to face the direction the missile would come from. Ruler's form was no longer displayed on the main screen, but on the left sub-screen which had popped up when he activated the side cameras.

Hraesvlgr's main camera quickly shifted its lenses into a long distance observation mode, searching for the incoming missile. With a beep, the camera confirmed his suspicion; a white-and-black ballistic missile salvo which already began its landing flight phase.

In sheer size, it dwarfed even the Hraesvlgr. Judging from the green force-field in the shape of an aerodynamic cone in front of the missile's tip, it was clearly designed to pierce through Realizer barriers and then detonate.

Judging from its size, it was likely packing enough power to easily obliterate the whole island. On his honor as the Vice-Commander of Ratatoskr, Kannazuki wouldn't let that happen.

Missiles of this type was designed to obliterate Realizer armed airships like Fraxinus, so the smaller Hraesvlgr's defenses couldn't possibly block it. The only option was shoot it down with a long range sniping before it got too close.

At this distance, it was difficult, but doable. At least, for Kannazuki Kyouhei.

With a quick breath, Kannazuki braced himself–

"It's fine, Kannazuki-san."

Ruler's voice, soothing and composed, halted him.

Then, just as she said that, the sub-screen showed the ribbons on both of Ruler's arms split themselves into countless strings. Thrumming with Spirit mana, each filament appeared to be quivering from the power poured into them.

Ruler widened her arms for a moment – the metallic strings following the movement like a twisted caricature of wings unfurling – before she swung both her arms into crossing each other.

With that motion, the strings released what Kannazuki could only recognize as a shockwave from the way it blurred the very air around Ruler; it was similar to a vacuum blast.

The wave travelled at an incredibly high speed. Even with Kannazuki's reflexes from his experience as a Wizard, it moved out of the Hraesvlgr's left sub-camera in the span of a blink.

The heli's mana sensors were able to detect it for what it was – the amount of Spirit mana concentrated into that wave definitely meant it was an attack.

"Watch carefully," Ruler spoke softly, "if I missed, I will strum again."

Strum. The word choice caught Kannazuki's attention, but he knew it was not an appropriate time to ask questions, so he focused at the real time feed of the still advancing missile.

5 seconds. 10 seconds.

Kannazuki wasn't an impatient man – just the opposite, actually – but in combat, every second counted and he couldn't help but count internally.

20 seconds. 30 seconds.

Then it happened.

Kannazuki could see the exact instant the vacuum wave-like attack hit the missile's Realizer edge, and the green forcefield simply disappeared upon contact.

Right after that, the wave burst upon hitting the missile, and then the salvo suddenly halted.

All the momentum it built from its flight simply vanished, as if the missile was never launched to begin with, in the middle of air. Then, before long, gravity took hold and the whole salvo simply fell down toward the sea.

It was not at all what Kannazuki had expected. He had expected the attack to prematurely trigger the missile's detonation, not to violate conservation of momentum and simply grind the missile to a halt midflight.

"It's not a question of how... Spirit powers can defy laws of reality. It's the issue of what; what's the principle behind her powers?"

Subconsciously, he glanced at the left sub-screen, where the Spirit in question was still floating hundreds of feet above ground and away from Hraesvlgr.

Ruler was tilting her head to glance at the sub-camera, a small smile on her face.

Kannazuki couldn't help but feel the Spirit was somehow staring at him.

And... that's it! How do you think? Point out anything you find off; I can rewrite the chapter as I need.

Honestly, I don't feel like explaining why this is so late. I feel like whatever reasons I have would sound like excuses. So I am just going to sum it up as a combination of writer's block, insufficient time management skills, and laziness.

All of them are flaws you can blame me with, so feel free to. I honestly won't blame those who think this has been abandoned – and I am truly grateful for those who still wait for this to update. I hope it delivered.

And with that said~ Merry Christmas, and Happy New Years!

Thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation"!