"Damn it, do these bastards have no fear? They actually dared to attack here." On the other side, as the smoke from the explosion dispersed, Tohka stared at the blasted-open ceiling, her expression extremely grim. She had originally thought those people would wait until the concert was over to make a move. She hadn't expected them to be bold enough to attack in front of so many people.
"Miku, immediately control everyone here and make them leave." Amid the piercing alarm sirens, Tohka turned her head and barked at Miku, whose face was equally dark. After all, this was her concert, and now these people had deliberately chosen to strike here. If she could feel happy about that, something would be wrong with her. It was basically the equivalent of slapping her across the face in public.
"I know. Leave this to me." Hearing Tohka's words, Miku didn't say another word. She simply opened her mouth, and a song flowed out. In an instant, the panicking crowd fell silent. All their eyes turned vacant, obviously having been put under Miku's control. Then, moving in perfect unison, they began evacuating to the shelter.
"How the hell do they look like they're at military training? But they really are neat." Just as Tohka was about to fly out, she paused in surprise as she watched the scene below and couldn't help but mutter. These people, despite being all different ages and dressed differently, were moving with such precise coordination under Miku's influence it was no less impressive than a military parade—just short of goose-stepping.
After all, this was Miku's concert. If there were any civilian casualties, no matter the reason, it would severely damage her career.
"That bastard, seriously infuriating." Grumbling aside, Tohka hadn't forgotten what she needed to do. With the crowd handled and no one left to witness, she no longer needed to hold back. In a flash, the Raiden Queen armor enveloped her body as she shot into the sky. Before long, she came face to face with Ellen, who had been waiting there.
Obviously, she was the one who'd blown the ceiling open. But at least she had a bit of conscience—unlike Westcott, she hadn't immediately attacked Tohka. Instead, she'd watched quietly while they evacuated the audience.
"So, it's you again, World's Number One Magician." Narrowing her eyes at Ellen, who was watching her intently, Tohka couldn't resist a taunt. "Looks like the last lesson wasn't harsh enough. Did you forget how bad it hurt?"
"Hmph, last time was just because I was unprepared. Do you really think you can waltz into our base again? You're underestimating DEM far too much." At Tohka's words, Ellen drew the energy sword from her back and leveled it at her. Her meaning was obvious: no more chatter—let's fight. She wasn't good at verbal sparring anyway, and she had no interest in sitting around being mocked by Tohka.
"Hmph." Seeing Ellen's posture, Tohka let out a cold snort. She pulled the katana from her waist and charged straight in.
"Bang." The two of them clashed in midair, producing a deafening boom.
"Ugh." Tohka had to admit that Ellen truly deserved her reputation as the strongest wizard. Her strength was enough to fight a fully powered Spirit head-on. On their first collision, Tohka immediately came off worse. She was knocked backward by the impact, and her katana was left with a chipped edge.
"I don't know where you got that armor from, but this weapon of mine has anti-Spirit properties." Seeing the surprised look on Tohka's face, Ellen coolly offered an explanation.
"Damn you, you bastard—my armor..." Tohka's expression turned ugly. Like Ellen's energy sword, her weapon also required her spiritual power to function. It wasn't her Angel, so without her energy, it couldn't withstand the impact.
But Ellen had no intention of giving Tohka time to react. She lunged again, forcing Tohka, with no way to dodge, to meet her head-on.
Just like that, the two silhouettes collided in the air again and again—clashing, separating, then clashing once more.
"How is it on your end? Are you all ready?" Meanwhile, down below, Tengu City was an area prone to spatial quakes, so it was equipped with excellent evacuation infrastructure. Miku had quickly finished leading the crowd to safety and now came backstage, where she found the Yamai sisters clad in their Astral Dresses.
"Yeah, we can act at any time." Hearing Miku's question, the two nodded calmly. Today's battle hadn't been unexpected. They had been here all along, fully prepared to intervene.
"At first, I thought Tohka just planned to put on a show. But it seems she really can't beat that woman..." Yuzuru Yamai lifted her gaze to the sky with a worried look. Back on the island, even though they'd been fighting each other, she had still been watching the situation below. She'd never expected the woman who'd been so utterly defeated by Tohka to have such terrifying strength. She hesitated. "Maybe we should forget about plans and just rush up there to help Tohka take her down."
"No. We have to trust Tohka. Besides, she's not even fighting at her peak right now. There's no need to panic." But before Yuzuru could say more, Miku cut her off. Having spent so much time with Tohka, she knew she still had plenty of trump cards. No matter what, they couldn't disrupt Tohka's plan at this point.
"Bang." While the group below conversed, in the sky, Tohka's katana finally couldn't take any more punishment. Under Ellen's onslaught, it shattered completely into fragments.
"Damn it." With her weapon gone, Tohka didn't summon her Angel. In her current state, it wouldn't be stronger than the sword, and it would probably just be destroyed as well.
"Hmph." And the moment her weapon broke, Ellen darted forward, smashing the hilt of her own blade squarely into Tohka's stomach. The sudden blow made Tohka grunt in pain.