Inside the sterile, oppressive atmosphere of the Deus Ex Machina Industries headquarters, Isaac Westcott leaned back in his chair. His eyes were fixed on the flickering monitor, replaying the chaotic data from the recent skirmish. The images were a blur of silver, crimson, and the overwhelming radiance of the Goddess.
"So," Westcott murmured, his voice smooth yet devoid of warmth. "What do we have?"
A young woman stepped forward, her heels clicking sharply against the polished floor. She handed him a sleek tablet, the screen glowing with complex graphs and spiritual readings.
"Based on the Reiryoku signatures, the output is unprecedented," she reported.
"The maid's efficiency is off the charts. As for the other Codename: Red Hood she successfully manifested an Inverted form. Together, they managed to stall the Goddess before vanishing from the radar."
Westcott scrolled through the data, a faint, predatory smile touching his lips. "They caused a staggering amount of collateral damage in japan. And for the Goddess to manifest immediately after their appearance... this is no mere coincidence."
He handed the tablet back, his eyes narrowing.
"Prepare the craft," he commanded. "We're going to Japan."
The woman bowed deeply. "At once, sir."
Elsewhere, tucked away in the shadows of a quiet forest, the atmosphere was decidedly less tense.
"Yawn... well, that was a lovely bit of exercise," I muttered to myself.
With a flick of my wrist, a tear opened in the fabric of reality a Gap, dark and teeming with unsettling eyes. I reached in, not for a weapon, but for a cold can of beer. I popped the tab with a satisfying hiss and took a long swig, looking down at the broken landscape around me.
Dozens of AST members lay scattered across the forest floor, their combat suits sparking and their armor scorched.
"Honestly, I don't even know why you lot decided to jump me," I said, "I was just out for a stroll."
I turned toward a fresh Gap, ready to head home.
Zip—!
A bullet whizzed past my ear, clipping a strand of my blonde hair.
"You're not going anywhere, Spirit!" a voice screamed.
I looked back to see a lone AST soldier, trembling but determined, her rifle leveled squarely at my head. I sighed, a mischievous glint in my eyes.
"Quick! Look behind you!" I pointed urgently.
The soldier gasped and whipped around, weapons raised to face a phantom threat.
"What—!?"
She found nothing but empty trees. When she turned back, the space where I had been standing was empty, save for a single purple butterfly drifting in the breeze.
"YOU SNEAKY BASTARD!" her scream echoed through the woods.
I stepped out of a Gap back to apartment then i stretch my limbs. Then recounted the event's happened earlier to ruby
After leaving Shidou and his friends, I had just wanted a quiet moment to test out my Yukari form, only to be swarmed by those persistent jerks in mechanical suits.
They had opened fire without a word. Ten of them, a full tactical spread. I had simply opened Gaps in front of their muzzles, catching the bullets and redirecting them through exit points right in front of their faces.
"Bang," I had whispered.
I'd slowed the kinetic energy just enough to ensure the bullets felt like high-speed rocks enough to crack a helmet and knock them cold, but not enough to turn the forest into a death zone.
When they tried 'Formation Delta,' dropping two sword-users behind me, I had simply let myself sink into the floor.
"Hehehe... so close, yet so very far," I had teased, sitting perched on the edge of a floating Gap, my lace fan shielding my smirk. "Say, do you like trains?"
"What are you talking about!?" their leader had roared.
"This." I said before snapping my fingers then i had gestured toward a massive Gap. Out of the void, a multi-ton commuter train came barreling through the air at terminal velocity.
The AST leader had barely managed to jump onto the roof of the flying locomotive
"You!" She said weapon rise at me on top if the train chilling.
"Me?" I said which made the team leader mad before pulling out a smg and firing it at me.
"Firing guns won't get you far," I had told her as I ate her remaining bullets with a small, hungry portal. "And now, you're the only one left standing."
"Coward! Fight me!" She said dropping her gun and grabbing her sword behind her.
"tsk tsk tsk you can't beat me after all your the only one standing" I said before making the train crash with a dramatic closing of my fan.
Then it plowed into the earth, creating a spectacular, explosion.
"Yawn... well, that was a lovely bit of exercise," I muttered to myself. Before opening a gap and grab a can od beer.
"Honestly, I don't even know why you lot decided to jump me," I said, "I was just out for a stroll."
I turned toward a fresh Gap, ready to head home.
Zip—!
A bullet whizzed past my ear, clipping a strand of my blonde hair.
"You're not going anywhere, Spirit!" a voice screamed.
"And that's what happened Ruby~ Hic."
"Ruby~ I missed you~"
I slumped onto the floor of our apartment, leaning against a wall and nursing my tenth or was it eleventh? can.
"Miss Yukari, that's enough," Ruby sighed, snatching the remaining pack and hiding it behind her back. "You've had more than your share."
"Oh, don't be like that, Ruby-chan..." I pouted, my cheeks flushed. I reached out blindly, my coordination failing me. "Hic! Just one more. Please?"
"No. That is final," Ruby said, pinching her nose in disgust. "At this rate, you're starting to smell like Uncle Qrow. It's embarrassing."
As I opened my mouth to protest, a translucent blue screen flickered into existence before my hazy eyes.
[Power Output Increased]
[Assimilation progress: 45% > 45.5%]
"Hic. Eh?"
I tried to focus on the floating text, but the world gave a sudden, violent tilt. Before I could process the status update, my head hit the floor with a dull thud, and the world faded into black.
"Oh hi reader-san i didn't know that you were here could you please be a dear and..."
Boom!
"Hahahaha! Fear me! As i am the strongest person here! Hahahaha!" a person said holding a giant ice hammer.
"Cirno! Take this! Love Sign: Master Spark!"
Marisa said as the laser was about to hit Cirno, Cirno moved her head slightly to the left which made the lazer hit the author in the back of the head.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"You deal with that bye!" Cirno said before running away.
"Oh dear bye Marisa." Yukari said before opening a gap and entering it leaving Marisa all a lone.
"SO... bye!" Marisa said grabbing her broom and flying away.
"MARISA! GET BACK HERE!"