Vol 7 Chapter 5 (1/2)

Chapter 10: Slaughtering Tyrant

Part 1

”Ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Diediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediedieeeeeeeeeeee!”

Along with the wild laughter, several hundred bullets were fired through the air

Mana increased the strength of her Territory, atteunfire

But, in that instant, Jessica created a limited Territory around Mana

”Tch—”

Mana clicked her tongue in an annoyed tone, as she twisted her body, and cut open the Territory with the <wolftail> on her right hand

But by that ti her Maryoku cannon She fired the giant cannon <blaster> at Mana

”Naive!”

But then Mana condensed her Territory, as though she was sending a stream of Maryoku towards Jessica

She then raised the <wolftail> and hacked towards Jessica

Jessica then changed the defensive properties of her Territory, as she parried Mana's strike The clash between a Maryoku blade and a Maryoku shi+eld resulted in a clash of shocking fireworks

But then, abnoran to show up on Jessica's body

”Eh…!?”

As though she underwent a convulsion, her breathing was blocked and blood began to flow froan to weaken

The weakened Jessica's Territory was no longer capable of blocking Mana's laser sword The blade began to slice open the criht hand was destroyed

Mana hardened her face and retreated from Jessica

”…You have hit your limits Jessica! The outcome has been decided! Surrender—”

But, Jessica ai her words Then, she fired a blast that didn't look like she had hit her limits

”Ku…”

Mana dodged the cannon's blast by a hair's width as she glared at Jessica

Then, Jessica laughed an to flow from her eyes

”—MANA MANA TAKAMIYA MANA I, I, I, I, I WIL, WILL NOT, LO, LOOOOOOO, SE THIS TIME, I WON'T LOSE I WON'T LOSE AGAIN AS LONG I HAVE <licorice>, I WILL, I WILL, I WILLLLLLLLL”

Her unfocused eyes continued to twirl as she repeated the same words repeatedly like a broken record It was clear that she wasn't herself

”Jessica…”

Mana bit her lips and clenched her fists

Although the exact conditions were unknown, it seemed her brain was treated with Maryoku She had compressed decades of her life to that day today It was understandable that she would have becoer

Mana looked at Jessica with a troubled and pitiful expression, before sighing lightly

She then silently placed a hand on her chest

—She had already heard it froh the same procedure

One mistake, and she could end up like Jessica

”…”

Mana went silent as she clenched her teeth

”MANA! MAMAMA, MANA TAKAMIYA, MANA ADEPTUS TWOOOO YOU WERE ALREADY THIS ANNOYING WHY, WHYYYYYYYYYYY WOULD WESTCOTT-SAMA AND OFFICER MEIXAZ RELY ON YOU EASTERNERSSSSS??? I, I, I… I AM DEFINITELY MORE SUITED, SUITED AAAAADEPTUS, NUMBER TWO, TWO!”

Jessica yelled as she began her berserk rae

But Mana did not dodge, as she spread her Territory and approached Jessica slowly

”…You were already like this fro You are jealous, materialistic, only because you would always say such hateful words”

She said so in a low tone as she shortened her distance Even when she saw Mana approaching, she did not leave, and continued firing her cannons wildly

”AH, AHAHAHAHAHAHA, MA, MAMAMAMAMAMANANANANA?”

Jessica looked at Mana with eyes that were incapable of focusing as she opened her aes and fired a stream of bullets

Mana advanced through the storht hand, and sliced open Jessica's chest

”Ah, gah, ah, ahhhhhhhh!”

She cut through the Territory, passed through the wiring suit, as though she cut through a body But Mana did not look back

The Territory surrounding Jessica began to disappear, as the large an to fall towards the ground

Jessica, held by Mana's Territory, began to purge a large amount of blood as she made a weak sound

”He, he, he, hey, Mana? I, I, I, I, I'ht? I won't, lose to anyone anymoreeeee Master Westcott will, finally, approve of ht?”

”…Mm, of course”

As Mana replied, Jessica made her final smile, as she slowly lowered her head

”…”

Mana closed Jessica's eyes as she carried her body, and looked towards the main offices of DEM

”—Isaac… Westcott…!!!”

Part 2

”…!”

shi+dou collapsed into a puddle of his own blood, as he looked at the sight in front of hi consumed by a flame

At the ht saber, Tohka let out a hysterical yell – before her body was consumed by a mass of dark particles

”Wha…, what in the…”

The flames had finally healed the wound on shi+dou's chest, as he suppressed the urge to vo his mouth, full of the taste of iron, to move

There was clearly so suspicious

Behind hi, but it was i No, to be precise, even if it was possible to hear his words, it would not be possible to co behind it

Coe to Tohka's body was much more apparent to shi+dou

There was a reason for it There was a massive difference between then and when Tohka deployed her liel

The inauspicious dark light that covered up Tohka's body dissipated with a glow

At that point, Tohka's full figure became visible to shi+dou

”What…”

But, when shi+dou saw Tohka's full figure, he couldn't help but hold his breath

Tohka was in her Astral Dress, surrounded by a black glamour

Even so, this was so that was not impossible Even if a Spirit's poere sealed, there was still an invisible bond linking the a partial backflow of their pohen their emotions become unstable

In fact, beginning from Tohka, Yoshi+no and Yamai may also occasionally defy Ratatoskr's intentions and partially summon their Astral Dresses

But, what Tohka earing noas definitely not her partial Astral Dress

Black armor on her shoulders and waist, and a black spectral veil covering her chest and lower half

There was no question It was a complete Astral Dress made from a heavy amount of Reiryoku

”Astral, Dress…”

But, the Astral Dress that Tohka earing then, was completely different froy, it was like the base of a photo

To add on, there was so – Tohka's expression

It wasn't the Tohka that was crying for shi+dou earlier – there was sih she was a monarch

Of course, there was no change to her body or face physically Despite that, shi+dou felt that the girl clad in a black gla from Tohka

Then

”That… is…”

shi+dou shakily raised his head, speaking in a surprised tone

The right hand of Tohka, clad in a black Astral Dress, ielding a giant sword

”Sandal…phon?”

No – no That sas clearly different from Sandalphon

It was a large sith a single blade The hilt of the sword, stained black like Tohka's Astral Dress, as well as the blade of the sword itself, left a trail of darkness in the sky

”—”

A chill ran down shi+dou's back as he inhaled sharply For so a sharp weapon, or a Spirit's h to make someone's body shi+ver in fear

”……”

Tohka surveyed her surroundings carefully Then, she let out a sigh

”—where, is this place”

”Eh…?”

shi+dou frowned What exactly is Tohka talking about

Tohka acted as though she didn't notice shi+dou's confusion, as she continued to look around the area, before pointing at the nearby Miku

”You Answer me Where is this place?”

”Eh? The japanese branch of DEM Industries… isn't that so?”

”I have never heard of this place – then, why am I here?”

”Huh, weren't you captured and brought here by the Wizards from DEM?”

Miku turned towards Ellen and Westcott with a confused expression As though following her line of sight, Tohka also turned towards them

Then, Westcott's face revealed a frightening expression

”Incredible This is the first time I've seen such a perfect Reversal –Look at this, Tohka That is the fruition of our dream!”

As he said so, he patted Ellen's back

”Alright, it's tiet to work Finally, the eneest Wizard Now is the ti stone to our greater heights”

”—mm, I understand, Ike”

As she said so, Ellen nodded, and her body disappeared like the mist

In the next instant, Ellen appeared above Tohka, and attacked with her laser sword

”…!”

shi+dou continued in his crouching position, trying to warn Tohka about Ellen's attack However, he had lost his voice due to shock

But, there was no need to worry Without turning, Tohka siht hand, and blocked Ellen's attack with her sword At the e explosion occurred, strong enough to send shi+dou flying to the wall

”Ku……”

As the brunt of the impact was on shi+dou's wound, shi+dou twisted his face and let out a pained wail Miku hurriedly came over

”Oi… are you alright!”

To even be worried about a man, it was extremely untypical of Miku It was possible that she was also in a panicked state

But it was nothing notable shi+dou hiht in front of his eyes It ht have been much more acceptable to say that it was an illusion

”Lawless”

Having parried the attack, Tohka said in a low voice as she sent Ellen flying Ellen's body spun before she regained stability and stopped in mid-air

”This is so[Princess] earlier If not, it would be troubling It would be less if it was a Spirit that could be easily dispatched by me”

”…what are you doing You fool Why do you raise your sword against me?”

”My apologies, but I'll need you to die here What we seek are your abilities Your character is just but a hindrance”

Ellen's eyes sharpened as she stated so, and she raised her laser sword again, ju towards Tohka

Tohka's left hand moved to the hilt of her sword as she parried Ellen's strike

But, Ellen's vicious attacks didn't just stop there From the left, froly fast speed

shi+dou was left speechless as he watched the light of the laser sword dance in the air To conificant difference in attitude and speed To fire off multiple attacks in an instant, a Tohka in a limited Astral Dress would have been defeated by the first blow

Despite that, Tohka was not inferior to Ellen at all She was able to parry every attack that was fired with an inhuman skill level

A battle between one that wasn't huh shi+dou himself was not involved, it was clear that he was crushed by an at intent

”—There!”

At this point, Ellenup Tohka's sword In that instant, a large opening appeared in Tohka's stance

Of course, the sahtly, modified the shape of the weapon on her left shoulder, as it extended froan to gather energy

”Pierce, [Rhongomiant]”

In an instant, the weapon began to unleash a blinding flash

It was a flash of light ih to possibly be able to burn someone's eyes if they were to look directly at it It simply wasn't comparable to the weapons used by the AST – this was a weapon that could easily el In an instant, Tohka's body was devoured by the light, and the walls and ceiling of the building were blown apart like a piece of paper, and the reh the air

That was slightly different compared to a cannon To be more precise – it was a ray

A ray of light that spans several hundreds of ure standing in the sky above

Then, Ellen slowly exhaled a breath and the gigantic ray disappeared with it As for the building, the entire walls and ceiling of the upper floor was co the iiant

”Tohka… Tohka!?”

shi+dou continued to call Tohka's nas, but he couldn't see Tohka anywhere

Could she have been obliterated by that ray – a terrifying thought like that swept through his mind

But, that theory was disproved thefuriously at the sky Fro, the view of the sky idened due to the destroyed roof Tohka was calainst thein the wind It appeared that she had parried the attack with her sword There was no trace of injury on her body

”…I see So it appears that you're more than just talk”

Tohka silently slanted her eyes as she slowly raised her right arm with the sword

”Don't think you've won just yet!”

But, Ellen didn't just sit there She raised her laser sword again and approached Tohka in an instant, slicing towards her body

”Hmph”

Tohka frowned slightly, and instead of using her right hand with the sword, she used her empty left hand to parry the attack

Even Tohka's Astral Dress was incapable of fully parrying that blow The strong remnants of Reiryoku scattered to the floor like sparks, while Tohka's right glove was destroyed at the sa on her slim hand

But then

”—[Nahema]”

Tohka said in a cold tone as she ignored the injury on her arh towards the moon — [Nahema]

She wasn't just ai for the , Isaac Westcott

”Tch—”

At this point, Ellen twisted her face and i

A sound strong enough to slice as followed by a crushi+ng noise from the air

In the next instant, the traces froenerate a powerful shock wave

”Uu, uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”

”Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa–!”

shi+dou and Miku let out a shocked cry as they were caught by the shockwave

Even so, it appeared that Miku had ed to inject some of her Spirit abilities into her cry An invisible barrier for most of the impact from the shockwave

”Are, are you alright, Miku…!”

”Met the idea that I intended to save you! This was just a coincidence!”

As shi+dou said so, Miku turned aith a face of displeasure

But, if it wasn't for the sound barrier created by Miku, it was likely that shi+dou would have been bloay by the shock wave shi+dou's face went pale at the state of the da's walls

”Is that really… Tohka…? That is—”

shi+dou looked at the black silhouette in front of him, with a face of fear

With a crushi+ng sound si Westcott underneath the rubble, came into view It seemed that at the moment before Tohka attacked Westcott, Ellen had already blocked the attack with her Territory

”My apologies Thank you for the help, Ellen”

”It's alright I can't let you die here”

Ellen looked at Tohka, as she answered Westcott

”What do you think of the [Princess]?”

”Mm, it's impossible to coh ere disappointed then, it can be truly said that she is an AAA-rank Spirit now”

”I see So—are you capable of winning?”

”Of course A being capable of defeating me, does not exist in this world”

Ellen answered without hesitation However

”However, that is under the assuht”

Having heard these words, shi+dou looked down, as he sed a bit of his saliva

There was a deep gash fro heavily

”I was careless while defending her attacks earlier, causing my wound to re-open I've already applied the pain suppressants, but fighting that Spirit would be a hassle in my current state”

”Hm… is that so”

Wescott put his hand to his chin as he sighed

”Then we don't have a choice Let us retreat now There's still time to slowly savor the feast”

”Wouldn't that be problematic?”

”No I' It's already an ied to Reverse the [Princess] And today—I've actually seen an unexpected face too”

As he said so, Wescott looked at shi+dou shi+dou felt a chill go down his shoulder

”—in that case, ill be taking our leave Survive until the day we ain Takamiya—no, Itsuka shi+dou”

”Eh…?”

shi+dou frowned at Westcott's words

Takairl who claimed to be shi+dou's true sister

”Wait, you, you know about me…?”

”No, nothing—nothing about Itsuka shi+dou”

With that, Westcott ht away from shi+dou, and placed his hand on Ellen's shoulder

Then, in an instant, the air around Ellen began to shake with a bang It appeared that she had concentrated her Territory

Then, Ellen used an invisible hand to hold Westcott, levitating him, as she fired up the thrusters and flew off towards the sky at an astonishi+ng speed

”Ah… oi, oi!”

The cries were ht, and vanished, leaving shi+dou's voice echoing in the darkness

However, even with the enemy retreated, the crisis was still not over shi+dou looked up again

After seeing Ellen and Westcott leave, Tohka looked down, and descended upon seeing shi+dou and Miku

”Next would be… you two”

She said with a cold glare towards theainst a Tohka that was definitely unlike her usual self, shi+dou's body stiffened immediately

”…wait, weren't the two of you friends? That said, this girl didn't see on?”

Miku asked in a low voice However, shi+dou was at a loss for words

”Even if you say so… I don't knohat's going on either”

”…aside froh? How are you still alive?”

”About that… let's just say, it's a special property I'll explain to you later”

Even so, nothing could be solved just by idle chatter shi+dou began to strike up a conversation with Tohka

Then, at that ht hand, and a shockas generated towards the duo

”Uwa!?”

”Kya!”

shi+dou was caught up in surprise and had to parry the attack with [Sandalphon] Although he was still standing, there was an intense pain that began to spread fro the sword's hilt

”Tch…”

shi+dou felt a shudder Although it appeared nothing to Tohka—the attack earlier was intended for shi+dou

If the attack wasn't blocked with [Sandalphon], shi+dou would've likely been killed from the impact

”So that's [Sandalphon]… why do you wield an Angel?”

Tohka's eyesight narrowed as she said so It was an expression that was clearly hostile

”Tohka! What… what's wrong with you! Do you remember me!?”

Tohka started to frown as shi+dou shouted

”Tohka…? Are you referring to me?”

Tohka stared intensely at shi+dou Indeed, it was unlike the usual Tohka It wasn't just limited to shi+dou, she could not even remember her own name

”What is… going on…”

shi+dou tilted his face in confusion At that point, his right earpiece began to emit a static noise, followed by Kotori's voice It appeared that the ja's roof

[shi+dou! shi+dou! Answer me! shi+dou! What happened!?]

”I don't know! Tohka began acting weird after I was stabbed in the chest! Is that also a backflow of Reiryoku?”

[No–I'm afraid not]

”Then, what should we do? Is it possible to seal Tohka's power!?”

[That… I don't know There isn't a precedent Before that, it's currently iiven her affection levels for you]

”In that case, what should we do…”

[We'll just have to pull her consciousness back here If there is a possibility–]

At the mention of ”possibility”, shi+dou's eyebrow suddenly twitched

”I see… in the end, I still have to do that”

[What are you blabbering about?]

Tohka let out a cold voice, as though she was interrupting shi+dou and Kotori's conversation

”–Hh I don't understand what you're on about, but that doesn't ht away You don't see as that woman earlier”

With those words, Tohka lifted up her greatsword and charged at shi+dou

”Kuwa…”

shi+dou barely parried the first strike but in the next instant Tohka waved her greatsword again, attacking shi+dou, whose hands were numb and unable to move

”Ku–”

”AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Just as the attack was about to connect, Miku let out a loud squeal, creating an invisible barrier, barely blocking the attack

”Miku…!”

”Please don't get the wrong idea Haven't I already said it? I hate those men who say [love], [important] and [to the end], yet they'll just as easily eat their words”

”Eh…?”

”You, haven't you said so? You'd try to rescue Tohka even if it'll cost you your life Then, carry that responsibility to the end Don't… disappoint me I… I came here to witness that”

”Miku–”

shi+dou looked at Miku, and then nodded firmly

”Yes… you're right”

shi+dou began to grip [Sandalphon] with renewed strength as he glared at Tohka

”Alright, Tohka It's alize now, I'll make you your favorite dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner”

”…What the hell are you talking about?”

Tohka tightened her eyebrows in shock shi+dou sighed slightly and ran towards Tohka But at that instant, Tohka waved her greatsword Although it was parried with [Sandalphon], shi+dou was knocked back to his original spot

”Ugu…!”

”What are you even doing– That was cringeworthy”

”Shut up, we don't have any better ideas! We have to approach her first, or we can't do anything…!”

Listening to shi+dou's words, Miku huffed as she touched her eyebrow

”So as long as you can approach Tohka, you'd be able to do so?”

”…, yeah, that's right Although I can't say it will be successful, on't know unless we try” ”Mm–hmph… is that so”

Miku answered, uninterested Then, she twirled once, as though she was dancing, and then stepped on the ground with her foot

”[Gabriel] — [Rondo]!”

Then, as though it was clustering Miku, several silver tubes appeared froh they were microphones

No, it wasn't just that Metallic tubes began to appear frohout the destroyed floor, with their heads bent and facing Miku

”…it's okay I' you, the blockhead who is stupid enough to run in here unarmed to rescue Tohka, just one chance”

”Eh…?”

”I'll use a defensive voice to pressure Tohka fro can I hold her, but her movements should be halted for a short while In that time, you can test what kind of method you intend to use”

”Miku, you…”

”Do you want to try? Or not?”

Miku said in a no-nonsense tone shi+dou glared at Tohka, beforehis head

”Let's do this!”

”Then, I'–”

Miku leant backwards to take a deep breath

”———————”

She let out a resounding, high pitched sound into her Angel's organ that surrounded the entire area

[Gabriel]'s tubes caused Miku's voice to resound in the area, and it seerabbed Tohka Her hands were held unnaturally and bound to her body as though it was being tied up

”Mou–what, what the hell is this”

Tohka frowned in displeasure and began to exert strength in an attempt to free herself At that point, Miku's voice increased by a few octaves due to the pain

”Mi–”

shi+dou stopped the urge to call out for Miku, as he regained his footing

There was nofor her In fact, it would just waste the valuable ti

Then, shi+dou could only advance Tohka stepped on the floor violently with her foot The floor's rated instantly, and the pieces fleards shi+dou like shrapnel

”Kuwaaaa–”

Although some of the materials were blocked by [Sandalphon], his body was soiled by mud everywhere A sudden pain caused shi+dou to nearly pause temporarily

But, he couldn't just stop for so as trivial as this He protected his face with his hand, resisting the inco towards Tohka

Then, with a ”tch”, an annoyed Tohka clicked her tongue

”–Annoying”

With that, Tohka inhaled deeply, and slowly h she was trying to break free of her musical bonds

”——!?”

Miku's voice continued to lower–and then

”—”

Miku opened her eyes in desperation

She had intended to increase her power to resist Tohka, to increase the strength of her bonds–at them

But at that point, she couldn't let out any sound

”–, –!”

Words formed in her mouth, but she couldn't vocalise it for some reason There was only a raspy sound from her throat

”Wha…!”

”Hmph”

shi+dou's panicked voice and Tohka's annoyed voice came simultaneously

The moment Miku's voice stopped, the silver tubes of [Gabriel] collapsed and the sound barrier binding Tohka vanished

It appeared that she had overused her power In a day alone, she had an unprecended usage of her [Voice] and her Angel Besides that, she had been fighting Tohka, a Spirit severalher with her sound barrier It was not unexpected for her to lose her power and voice temporarily

”H smart, I see”

Tohka huffed as she raised [Nahema]

–it wasn't aimed at shi+dou, but rather, at Miku

”Wha…!”

shi+dou held his breath He still hadn't gotten to Tohka's position

”You'd dare to constrain me Do you not know your limits?”

With that–Tohka struck with her sword

”–”

Even if she tried to shout, she couldn't vocalise anything Miku se, inal spot No… to be precise, she lacked the strength to even dodge

To think that in an instant, Miku would h her Astral Dress was still intact, it was unlikely for it to survive the next blow

But then, that was unavoidable

Fro She had absolutely nothing aside from that

Hence, a Miku without her songs, voice and music orthless

nobody would love Miku without her [Song] nobody would protect Miku without her [Voice] nobody would believe Miku without her [Music]

She was already aware of that since the start

To think of it, there was a high possibility of this occurring Having infiltrated into this Wizard-infested building In fact, it was her own fault for running in here on her own accord

She had already gotten three Spirits under her co this time to enjoy herself Why did she even come here?