Chapter Twenty: Start of the Disaster [3]
Dead End Tohka
Double chapter? Yes.
Now she was closer.
He took a better look at the girl.
She was around Shidou's age, or maybe slightly younger.
Within her knee-length black hair was a face that possessed both beauty and dignity.
Not to mention, her outfit was very strange.
It was like a princess's dress made with a material which one couldn't tell whether it was cloth or metal.
Additionally, its seams and such were composed of a film of light that didn't seem to be made of physical matter.
What's more was that she was holding a huge sword that was around her own height.
Just what was going on?
He had no idea.
One thing he knew, however, was that his attention had been caught by her.
Yes,
So much so that he'd forgotten he'd been close to death seconds ago.
More so that he was forgetting to breathe as he beheld her.
It was that much.
This girl was just so beautiful.
"What's..."
Dazed, Shidou spoke for the first time.
Regardless of whether he would be cut down on the spot, just for speaking in front of her,
he felt like he needed to.
As he continued, the girl slowly shifted her gaze downwards as he finished.
"...Your name?"
That question came from the bottom of his heart. He didn't even know why he asked those words.
However,
"I have no such thing."
With a sad look, the girl replied.
It was then. Shidou's and the girl's eyes met for the first time.
At the same time, the nameless girl, with extreme melancholy, had a different expression.
If Shidou were to describe it,
to him, it appeared as though she were about to cry.
But as she did, she drew her sword again with a 'kachiri' sound.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Seeing that, he immediately snapped back to attention, trembling as he yelled out,
in desperation.
But that girl just cast a confused look at Shidou.
"What?"
Shidou gulped. "Wh-What are you planning to do!?"
"Of course, kill you quickly."
Hearing the girl reply so naturally prompted his face to turn blue in trepidation.
"E-eh? W-Why!"
"Why? Is it not obvious?"
She hung her head low as though weary before she then continued.
"Didn't you come to kill me too?"
"Huh?"
Faced with an unexpected question, Shidou's mouth dropped open.
"There's no way I would do that."
Rather, there was no way he could even do that to begin with.
"What?"
The girl looked at Shidou with a mixture of surprise, suspicion, and confusion.
However, she immediately narrowed her eyes, looking away from Shidou, turning her attention to the sky.
As if being brought along, Shidou also turned to look upwards…
"Whaa...!?"
His eyes widened as his breath caught in his throat.
After all, there were a few humans wearing strange suits flying in the sky.
To add to that,
Each of them held a large number of missile-like things as they launched at Shidou and the girl.
Fyunnn~
"W-Waaaaaaaaaah!?"
Instinctively, he let out a cry, covering his eyes.
However, even after a few seconds, Shidou remained conscious.
"Eh...?"
Astonished, his voice leaked out.
The missiles that were launched from the sky could not reach her.
It was as though they were held by a barrier.
Almost instinctively, he knew it was her doing.
Sure enough, the girl gave an exasperated sigh.
"This kind of thing is useless; why can't they ever learn?"
Saying this, the girl raised her free hand, tightening it shut.
As she did this, the countless missiles crumpled up, as though compressed.
Eventually, they exploded where they were.
… even the magnitude of the explosions was frighteningly small.
It was as if all of the power had been sucked away.
He could somewhat understand the confusion of those people in the air.
However, they did not stop their attacks. One after another, missiles were shot.
"Hmph."
The girl gave another sigh with a face which seemed like tears might come out at any moment.
It was the same face as when she had pointed her sword towards Shidou before.
Seeing that expression,
He felt his heart pound even harder than when he was on the verge of losing his life.
What a strange scene this was.
Who the girl was, he had no idea. Who the people in the air were, he also had no idea.
However, he understood the fact that the girl was stronger than those people flying in the air.
So why is it that she is making that kind of face?
"Disappear, disappear. Anything and everything... Just disappear!"
While saying that, she pointed the sword that gave off a glow as mysterious as her eyes towards the sky.
Tiredly, sorrowfully, she swung the sword.
Whoosh~! Whoosh~!
Whoosh~! Whoosh~!
As she did, the wind howled.
"...W-Wah!"
A fierce shockwave assaulted the area as the slash flew towards the sky along the path of the blade.
The people flying in the air hurried to avoid it and withdrew from their position.
But in the next moment, from a different direction, a light beam with a tremendous output was fired toward the girl.
"...!"
He involuntarily covered his eyes.
As expected, the beam of light seemed as if it hit an invisible wall in the air above the girl and was stopped.
Like a firework exploding in the night sky, it spread apart in all directions, sparkling beautifully.
However, as if the light beam had continued, something landed behind Shidou.
Crack-Boom!
"W-What the hell is going on?"
Since a while ago, Shidou hadn't been able to understand anything that had been going on.
He felt like he was watching a bad dream.
However, seeing the figure that just landed, Shidou's body stiffened.
It was wearing a machine, or something like that.
Covered from top to bottom in an unfamiliar bodysuit was a girl.
She carried large thrusters on her back and a weapon shaped like a golf bag in her hands.
The reason Shidou froze up was simple.
He recognized the girl.
"Tobiichi... Origami...?"
Shidou slowly muttered her name.
The girl with the overly mechanical appearance was his classmate, Tobiichi Origami.
Origami casted a glance at Shidou.
"Itsuka… Shidou?"
As though to respond, she also called his name.
Even though she was surprised, her expression didn't change.
However, it was just a bit, but her voice carried a puzzled tone.
"Huh? Wh-What's up with that suit—"
Even he himself realized that it was a stupid question, but before he could even comprehend it, he'd already said it.
It was normal.
He'd been overwhelmed by everything that had happened.
In fact, he didn't even know what he should be worrying about anymore.
However, Tobiichi quickly looked away from Shidou, towards the strange girl in the dress.
After all,
"Fmph."
The girl swung her sword in the same way as before towards Origami.
Origami immediately kicked off the ground, dodging over the direction in which the sword was swung.
After that, she closed in on the girl with amazing speed.
From the front of the weapon in Origami's hand, a blade made of light had appeared.
Targeting the girl, Origami swung that down with all her might.
"Ugh"
The girl knitted her brows slightly, stopping the blow with the sword in her hand.
At that moment.
From the point where the girl and Tobiichi crossed swords, a violent shockwave was formed.
Boom~
"Wa-W-Waaaah!?"
With a pitiful shout, Shidou balled up his body and somehow managed to withstand it.
Origami was repelled.
For a moment the two separated and glared at each other with their weapons poised.
Once more, they were about to close in for another clash when—
"̶H̶o̸u̷?̵ ̵W̵h̶a̷t̵e̴v̶e̶r̵ ̷c̷o̷u̵l̴d̸ ̴t̶h̵i̴s̶ ̶b̴e̴.̴"̵
A chilling voice resounded, or rather, a synthetic mechanical voice.
One that sounded fragile like glass, yet at the same time, immensely stronger.
That broken, static voice immediately silenced the battlefield.
It was impossible to tell whether they were male or female, both from the voice and from their figure.
"Wha—"
On instinct, everyone turned towards the source of the voice.
Sure enough, just above a decimated building that had been wrought under the blade of the mysterious girl, was a figure.
Clad entirely in black.
No, it was too casual compared to the bodysuit those girls were wearing.
An outfit made of a black hoodie and trousers.
Everything that figure wore was that color.
However, on that hoodie, an image of an Oni or Ogre could be seen, depending on the interpreter.
What also drew their attention were the two horn-like protrusions jutting from the hood.
And…
Even stranger was that no one here could make out their distorted or glitched-out face.
"Who…!?"
Origami winced.
Her hand gripped tightly against her sword, turning towards the figure.
A furious expression crossed her face.
Naturally, her line of thought was that this new figure was an ally of the nameless girl, or perhaps, different.
Regardless...
Going by that logic, she braced her sword towards him when she heard panicked voices from her comms:
"…huh? The hell you mean no spirit waves detected?"
"Yes. Those waves are more akin to a Wizard, if anything."
"Wait, it has been confirmed. Activation of Territory around target confirmed."
"Hah!?"
She could make out the words: he was not a spirit, but a Wizard, like her.
But outside of that, she couldn't make anything else out.
"Who are you? What's your purpose..!?"
With her attention now fully focused on the newcomer, Origami questioned.
However, said person said nothing, simply glancing at the Spirit.
No, he wasn't glancing at her.
Regardless, the nameless girl almost seemed to take it as though, he were the same as those that attacked her.
"Are you here to kill me too?"
It was as though she were locked in a facade.
One she couldn't escape.
The Spirit raised her weapon slightly and then, with vigor,
Vamm-!
swung it down.
Brilliant light exploded from the sword, shimmering in crystal light as it approached the building.
More so, the figure poised on it.
However, something weird happened.
Snap!
Tsuick~!
An odd sound like that resounded, perking the ears of Origami and the nameless Spirit.
Before that, they heard the sound of a snap?
Still, they ignored it because of the unbelievable scene displaying before their eyes.
Whirr~!
"…kchk!"
"Eh?"
Stupefied sounds escaped their lips.
The destructive light from the sword, which was supposed to have brought him down,
and wherever he was standing,
was suddenly beginning to approach them instead.
On the other hand,
The other AST members, who were awaiting orders, lost between whom to target, went wide-eyed seeing this when—
"Everyone evacuate!"
Commands came.
However, it was a tad bit too late. The bright light engulfed a radius of around fifty meters.
For a brief moment, the world seemed to go silent. And then….
Boom~!
A resounding explosion followed, sending tremendous shockwaves around that area.
"Kyaaa~"
"Kuh."
Screams escaped some of the girls as the explosion resounded, though it lasted for a brief moment.
And after a few seconds or more… the bright light dimmed as smoke curled around the area.
More destruction wrought the place.
However, amidst that, one place came unscathed, despite that.
Yes, the building the male was poised upon.
And now…
"̶H̶o̸u̷?̵"
Those words left the figure's lips as they slowly glanced upwards, as though looking at something in the sky.
"̴Y̵o̴u̷ ̵a̴r̸e̷ ̴f̶a̷s̵t̴.̵"̷
Having muttered that, they then glanced below as the smoke slowly cleared away, giving way to the scene.
About two of the AST members had been knocked out. The remaining two were barely standing.
Then… they looked towards the other side, and,
"̷A̵s̴ ̸e̶x̷p̵e̸c̸t̴e̴d̴,̶ ̸y̴o̴u̷ ̴a̵r̶e̸ ̵e̶x̸c̴e̵p̵t̵i̶o̷n̸a̷l̸.̴"̴
The figure said that, seeming to be looking at Origami, ignoring the Spirit who came out completely unscathed too.
"...what was that?"
With the anger she had displayed to the AST, directed at it, she spouted that.
However,
"̵I̵ ̴s̵i̵m̶p̶l̵y̴ ̵r̵e̵t̶u̶r̶n̴e̶d̸ ̶y̶o̴u̸r̵ ̷a̵t̴t̵a̸c̷k̷,̵ ̵t̵h̷a̶t̷'̴s̸ ̵a̶l̶l̵.̷"̴
«Beta System: Vector Manipulation»
The figure replied as though it were nothing, before coming to a pause.
After a second, once more, the figure's cold voice once again resounded.
"̵M̴y̸ ̶b̶u̴s̷i̶n̷e̵s̷s̶ ̷i̵s̵ ̶n̵o̶t̸ ̴w̵i̶t̸h̸ ̵y̵o̵u̷,̴ ̷'̶P̵r̷i̸n̴c̴e̶s̵s̸'̷.̷ ̵I̷ ̵h̸a̸v̵e̵ ̷n̸o̵ ̵i̵n̴t̸e̷r̶e̵s̵t̶ ̷i̸n̶ ̵y̶o̶u̴ ̸w̷h̸a̷t̴s̶o̴e̶v̷e̴r̷.̶"̵
"What?"
Slowly, they pointed to to the AST member sprawled on the floor.
"̷M̸y̸ ̸i̶n̴t̸e̴r̴e̵s̵t̷ ̷i̵s̸ ̶i̸n̵ ̶t̸h̷o̴s̷e̵ ̶p̶e̵o̸p̸l̵e̸.̶"̷
For now... that is.