Before, in the Neighboring World.

Tenka was flying as fast as she could, mowing down anything in her path. She luckily didn't run through any NWET members, because everything that stood in her way, be it monsters, trees or even huge rocks, was simply obliterated.

"Gaaaaaah!"

And yet, she screamed as if she was in pain. It wasn't from running into things. No, the pain she felt wasn't physical, it was mental.

Ever since she met Origami and the others, no, more specifically, ever since she heard the name Tohka, she felt a stinging pain on her head. At first, it was nothing worth taking note of, but with time, it grew until it felt like her head was being split open.

And now, she was like this. She felt like she had to do something, otherwise her mind would break. But, at the same time, she didn't have enough leeway to calmly think of anything to do.

"Who is, this?! Tohka?!"

For some reason, a face showed up on Tenka's mind whenever she thought of this Tohka. She knew she had to find this girl, but she couldn't find her anywhere in the Neighboring World.

That's when Tenka had a sudden thought. What if she wasn't in this world? What if she was… in the other one?

Just as Tenka was thinking that…

"Hey hey, stop rampaging around."

"What are you going to do if someone sees you?"

"You have to obey father's orders."

Three girls showed up. However, they weren't normal girls. They had exactly the same faces. It's not like they were triplets, they really had identical faces.

Tenka knew who these girls were. They all shared the same name, Nibelcole. And there were much more than three, there were literal hundreds if not thousands of them, all of them exactly alike.

In a way, maybe they were like the monsters that spawn in this world. Or maybe not. For Tenka, it didn't really matter.

"Don't get in my way. I'm going to the other side."

"Eh? The other side? You mean…"

"Absolutely not! Father said that you're not supposed to get spotted by anyone yet! Astaroth, and Lilith already messed up the other day."

"Although he also sent you to fight off those girls… anyway, father said no, so it's no."

The Nibelcoles seemed intent on staying on Tenka's way. Getting annoyed, Tenka gripped her sword, Nahemah, whose name she shared, or at least it was how the Nibelcoles called her, harder.

It would be easy for her to get rid of these three and go about her own way, but the problem with the Nibelcoles wasn't their individual strength, but their limitless number. In a war of attrition, only Tenka could lose.

Of course, that would be different if she got rid of Beelzebub, who created the Nibelcoles. Once their numbers were no longer limitless, Tenka had enough confidence to last however long was needed against them.

That said, it would be more trouble that it was worth in the long run, so while it remained an option, it wouldn't be what Tenka would rush to do.

As she was thinking about what she could do to get the Nibelcoles out of her hair, they started acting weird. After a few seconds, they spoke.

"You're in luck, Nahemah."

"Father has given you permission to go to the other side."

"But we'll have to go with you. You better be thankful!"

Tenka couldn't help but be surprised at the sudden turn of events. What had previously been a problem was now the very solution she was looking for.

The man who created the Demon Kings, since he was telling her to go, no one would stand in Tenka's way.

In all likelihood, there was a Nibelcole next to him. Since their consciousness was shared, his orders were able to be relayed in basically no time. Though that still didn't really explain how he had given Tenka permission so quickly.

Was it just a coincidence and good timing, or did he have ways of knowing things besides what the Nibelcoles told him? Well, for Tenka, it didn't really matter.

"Alright then, let's go."

Tenka started to fly. She was aiming for the portal in the sky. The only reason why she and the other Demon Kings never left the Neighboring World is because that was prohibited by the man who created them.

"Ah, wait."

"Since this is a mission, father is going to take us."

"He'll put us in the right place on the other side."

The three Nibelcoles gathered around Tenka, and then they started to feel something weird. It was as if space itself was distorting around them. Well, Tenka didn't think of it more than a convenient transportation method.

At the same time, on Earth, a Spacequake was about to happen.

/

As soon as they heard the Spacequake alarm, Shido and everyone else from the Spirit Team rushed to where Mio was. It wasn't long before they were all gathered.

"This is strange, it's too sudden. I have a bad feeling, so I'm having everyone on standby while we wait and see."

Mio said. And indeed, this was quite the unusual procedure.

Normally, when a Spacequake happened, only the reconstruction crew was put on standby. The NWET members themselves only rarely helped when something was more dangerous than usual or needed to be done faster.

But of course, this Spacequake itself was already quite irregular. It gave barely no signs before it happened. But it still seemed like Mio was acting based mostly on her instinct.

Luckily, they didn't have to wait for long. Not even five minutes passed and the Spacequake took place. Needless to say, the city sustained great damage, but hopefully everyone had been able to get to a shelter in time.

"!"

Mio couldn't help but exclaim her surprise. Using drones, they were able to check on the situation soon after the Spacequake ended.

There were four girls where the disaster had just taken place. Three of them looked really similar, and everyone recognized the fourth. That was Tenka, and she was accompanied by the Nibelcoles, though they didn't know their names yet.

"Tenka!"

It was Tohka who shouted. Needless to say, everyone now understood where Mio's bad feeling came from.

A Demon King had come to Earth.

"Ellen, you go with the Spirit Team. I'll tell everyone else to stay put. I would like to hope that this won't be a fight, but we have to be prepared."

"Understood!"

At first, Shido didn't understand why they didn't just have everyone get ready if it came to a fight, but then he quickly understood. There would be no point in it. Far from helping, most NWET members would only get in their way. It would be more efficient for the Spirit Team and Ellen to act on their own.

Mio then told Karen to delay the reconstruction crew, and also had Maria and Marina take care of deleting any footage or data that might be catching evidence of Tenka and the Nibelcoles.

"Shin, Tohka, please wait here for a second."

Lastly, Mio called out to the two of them in specific. Everyone else scattered to do the mission they had been entrusted with.

Once the two of them were the only ones in the room with Mio, she took out two things. One was a ring, another was a purple plugsuit.

"I had these prepared in advance since I thought Tohka would want to get hers soon after she learned of Tenka. Of course, I don't need to tell you what you should do now, right?"

Shido looked at Tohka.

"Tohka, if you think it's too hard for you-"

"No, I… I want to do it. Shido, I-I'm too embarrassed to do these kinds of things myself, but I don't mind if you do it."

Shido could see the resolution in Tohka's eyes. At this point, it would be tactless of him to do anything but help her with his ability.

Tohka took the plugsuit and Shido took the Sephira ring. They then walked to the changing room.

For better or worse, they had just been training, so no one else needed to change. That meant they had the whole changing room to themselves.

At first, Tohka went in alone, as would only be obvious. But then Shido remembered what she said before, about being too embarrassed to do this kind of thing, but that she didn't mind it if Shido did it.

There was also the matter that they couldn't afford to waste any time. So Shido steeled his resolve and entered the changing room.

"...! S-Shido…"

Of course, the sight that greeted him was of an undressing Tohka. She hurriedly covered her breasts, but it was still quite an erotic scene. It would most certainly help when it came time for Shido to use his ability.

Tohka was surprised at first, but she soon understood why Shido had come in, and part of her was happy that he was taking the initiative. As if he was watching a show, Shido took a seat behind Tohka.

She did her best to continue changing, but she sometimes had to stop for a second out of embarrassment. She sometimes wanted to let Shido see her, sometimes wished he would look away. But all Shido did was silently stare.

Eventually, Tohka finished putting on her new plugsuit. It was like a purple one-piece swimsuit, but the middle was open, giving a good view of her cleavage and navel. From behind, the suit went right between Tohka's buttcheeks, which bothered her and made her feel like her back was naked, which was the reason why she quickly turned to face Shido.

"U-um, I'm done, Shido."

"... Ah, sorry. Tohka was so beautiful I got distracted for a moment."

Tohka blushed in embarrassment, but she was also happy to be told that by Shido.

Shido approached Tohka. Then, he put his hands on her arms. For his ability to work, he needed to be sexually aroused and needed to touch the person whose compatibility he wanted to raise. The first part was most certainly achieved, and now all he had to do was achieve the second.

While the plan did work, it was nowhere near enough. Both Shido and Tohka could easily tell that.

"I'm sorry. We're running out of time, but I don't know-"

Shido's words were interrupted by Tohka hugging him. Not only was it a hug, she seemed to be doing her best to try and press her body on his.

"It's fine, Shido doesn't have to hold back. I… I love you. I've loved you for a while now, so this whole thing doesn't even bother me. But I'm too embarrassed to do things like Origami, so Shido can just do whatever you want to me. I want you to take me."

"... Tohka…"

Shido looked into Tohka's eyes. A second later, he kissed her.

Despite knowing what needed to be done, Shido didn't like the idea of forcing the girls into something they weren't comfortable with. He thought Tohka was just doing this for the sake of getting the Spirit CR-Unit. That's why he tried to get himself excited and then activate his ability just by touching her after.

But, if Tohka loved him as she said, then it was a whole different matter. There was no problem with them kissing or touching each other, which made everything easier… and more enjoyable.

Tohka's lips felt soft. Shido couldn't help but compare the taste he was feeling now to the taste he felt when he kissed Origami. He didn't know if it was due to using different lipsticks or some other product, or if it was just natural, but there was a distinct taste between them.

That's not to say one was better than the other, Shido wasn't even sure if he had a preference or anything like that. All he could tell now was the differences. For example, Origami actively seeked out Shido during their kiss, balancing it out with Shido seeking her out, but Tohka remains passive, letting Shido take charge.

After a while, they ran out of breath and ended their kiss. Shido and Tohka stared into each other's eyes, their noses touching.

As much as they would have loved to enjoy the moment, time was off the essence. Shido decided to do things as quickly as he knew was possible.

"Tohka, can I touch your breasts?"

"... Umu, it's fine."

Tohka still seemed embarrassed, but there was also something different. In her eyes, Shido could see the light of lust, and the same light was probably present in his own eyes as well.

Slowly, Shido moved his hands and groped Tohka's breasts. Even though they were mainly covered by her new plugsuit, it was still thin enough that Shido felt almost like he was touching her directly.

Or rather, maybe her wearing something was even helping him get more excited. He could clearly tell her nipples were getting harder, as the plugsuit did basically nothing to hide them.

"Aan! N-no, Shido~"

Shido was attracted by those, just like any boy his age would be. He wasn't content with simply playing with Tohka's breasts anymore, he also needed to tease her nipples and see how she reacted. Needless to say, the sweet voice reaching his ears was very much to his liking.

If he was being honest, Shido wanted to push aside Tohka's plugsuit and have her breasts come out of the opening in the center. The only reason why he didn't do that is because he wasn't sure if Tohka would be fine with such a sudden thing. He decided to save it for the next time.

Though, he did learn something very important while groping Tohka's breasts. While he certainly enjoyed all kinds of breasts, and he very much loved groping even Origami's small pair the other day, bigger was most definitely better as far as he was concerned.

"Tohka, I'm going to finish up now."

"Mmn. Shido~ do whatever you want."

Shido held Tohka's face with his hand, and then she put her own hand over his. That beautiful face, with crystal-like eyes, smooth fair skin, plump pink lips, it all belonged to a girl that said she liked him. As soon as Shido thought that, he felt like the happiest man in the world.

He wasted no time in claiming her lips again. But this time, he wasn't content with just that. He also forced his tongue in her mouth and turned their normal kiss into a tongue one. Tohka timidly tried to follow Shido's lead, but, despite the suddenness of it, it could not be said that Tohka wasn't enjoying it. In fact, in her hands going around Shido's neck and grabbing the back of his head were any indication, she seemed to be enjoying it just as much as him.

Shido also decided to try and find a better use for his hands. He ran them down Tohka's body, once again confirming the beauty of the girl that confessed to him just now.

His hands eventually ended up on Tohka's ass and thighs, which Shido began to play with as if he was a child playing with playdough. Between that, feeling her lips with his own, and her chest pressed on him, Shido was almost getting a full-course on feeling Tohka's body.

"Mmn! Nnn, ch, chuu."

"Mmh, mmm. Nnn."

The only reason why the changing room wasn't filled with Shido and Tohka's moans is because they were being drowned out by their kiss. Although, in its place, it was filled with an atmosphere filled with lust.

Shido and Tohka almost got lost in their own little world, simply enjoying each other's touch and body. It was only due to Maria and Marina's call that they remembered that they were in a rush for time.

[Shido, Tohka, you have already reached the required amount for equipping the Spirit CR-Unit.]

[Rather, if we don't stop you both now, who knows when you'll stop. We're in a bit of a rush here.]

Shido and Tohka were confused at first, but the memory of why they began this slowly came back to them. Blushing, they separated, but slowly, as if they were considering continuing.

Tohka began to fix her new plugsuit. That's when Shido remembered he still hadn't given her the Sephira ring yet, so he decided now was as good a time as any.

"Tohka, here."

Shido took Tohka's left hand and put the Sephira ring on her ring finger, just as he had done for Origami before.

Tohka didn't say anything, but she blushed and then timidly kissed Shido. It was just a peck of the lips, but it did a fine job of transmitting her feelings.

"Let's go save your sister."

"Umu!"

Shido and Tohka left the changing room, equipped their CR-Units, and then went to where the battle was currently taking place.