Shido’s resolute voice came over the speakers on the bridge of Fraxinus. Sitting in the captain’s chair, Kotori nodded slightly, her black ribbon-clad pigtails swaying as she set the tips.
“We’re counting on you, Shido,” she said, imbuing each and every word with her will, then squeezed her eyes shut.
The Spirit Mukuro boasted a level of danger on par with Kurumi Tokisaki or an inverted Spirit. Although Fraxinus was protecting Shido with the Territory, leaving him out there alone made Kotori uneasy.
However, closing in on Fraxinus now was Ellen Mathers, humanity’s most powerful Wizard, in the high-speed battleship she commanded, Goetia. In a different world, this ship had shot Fraxinus out of the sky. Against such an opponent, Kotori and her crew couldn’t afford to split their focus.
“All hands, battle stations!” she yelled. “We’re up against a real troublemaker! Give her everything you got!”
“Yes, sir!” The voices of the crew assembled on the bridge were tense.
Kotori nodded in response and turned her gaze to the rear toward the bridge of the battleship, where, looking quite out of place, eight girls stood—the Spirits whose powers Shido had sealed so far. They all stared worriedly at the bridge’s main monitor that displayed a live feed of Shido.
“Kotori!”
“Kotori.”
Two of them—a girl with hair the color of night and crystalline eyes, and the only girl among the Spirits to keep a cool expression—spoke up at the same time. Tohka and Origami.
Kotori knew what they were going to say. After a moment’s hesitation, she heaved a sigh. “…Well, I guess I don’t have much of a choice. I’d really rather not make you all fight, though.”
She grimaced for a split second as she sighed again. The objective of the Ratatoskr, the organization she belonged to, was to protect the Spirits. So it made perfect sense she would be reluctant to send them back onto the battlefield after their powers had finally been sealed.
It was clear to anyone and everyone, though, that their current predicament was dire enough that Kotori didn’t have the luxury of refusing their help. Plus, she could see a fire in their eyes that told her they wouldn’t listen even if she did try to stop them from jumping into the fray.
“You girls don’t mind?” Kotori asked to be sure, to which Tohka and Origami nodded.
And they weren’t the only ones to step forward.
“I. Will help. Too!”
“Kah-kah! We, the great Yamai sisters, shall make the winds gust in the airlessness of the vacuum!”
“Conformity. We will not allow you to tell us to sit back quietly at a time like this.”
“That’s riiight! How could I stay silent when all of my looovelies are out there fighting?!”
“…If Yoshino’s going, then I’m going.”
“Mm! Nice. Real final battle vibes. You know, the whole ‘everyone combines forces for the win’ kinda thing! My Spirit power’s pretty dicey, though, so I’ll take point on the bridge here. Sorry, gang!”
Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Natsumi, and Nia all spoke in turn to lend their support.
Kotori looked them over and nodded. “Got it. Then use your powers to help us out of this jam.”
“Yeah!” The Spirits threw enthusiastic fists into the air as their passionate battle cry echoed across the bridge and reached Kotori.
Perhaps also cheered by the Spirits’ passion, the crew visibly relaxed, the tension on their faces easing. They gritted their teeth with fresh resolve and enthusiasm, ready to take on the challenge of the most powerful enemy they had ever faced.
This optimism, however, did not last long. The reason was simple—the countless tiny shadows that shot out of the DEM warship were now displayed on the main monitor. They were flying straight toward Shido and Mukuro. A herd of twisted human forms in dark gray: DEM’s unpiloted weapons, Bandersnatches.
“Tch!” Kotori clicked her tongue. “Those little—”
“C-Commander!” Deep Love Minowa interrupted hurriedly. “This signal… It isn’t only Bandersnatches!”
The panic in her voice was understandable. There was something that stood out from the countless machines filling the main monitor. A blond girl, her body encased in a blue-and-white CR unit.
“Who the…?!” Kotori gasped.
“Artemisia Ashcroft,” Origami chimed in, her eyes fixed on the monitor. Although she spoke calmly, a muscle in her jaw twitched, and her hands were balled into fists. A rare visible reaction, given her usual stoicism.
This, too, made sense. The Wizard speeding toward Mukuro and Shido was second in power only to the world’s leading Wizard, Ellen Mathers herself.
They could not allow Artemisia to reach Shido and Mukuro.
“Hngh!” Kotori groaned, a note of panicked frustration bleeding into her voice. “Spirits, you’re splitting up. We’ll send you out in groups. First up, Tohka and Origami! Get on the transporter!”
“Mm!” Tohka replied immediately.
“Roger.” Origami followed Tohka.
As Kotori watched them out of the corner of her eye, she called out to Fraxinus’s AI, “And Maria, prepare AW-111.”
“Roger. AW-111 is still undergoing adjustment, however. Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Kotori replied. “Origami’ll be able to handle it.”
“…?” Origami tilted her head quizzically, just as a drawer on the lower part of the console slid open to reveal what looked like silver dog tags.
Kotori picked them up and tossed them toward Origami. She caught them with one hand and stared intently at the bits of silver.
“Is this…an emergency equip device?” she finally asked.
“Yes. An Asgard Electronics CR unit, AW-111 Brunhild. Our latest model. Make good use of it.” Kotori gave a thumbs-up and a cocky smile.
Origami tightened her grip around the device and nodded firmly. “Understood.”
“Good.” Kotori turned back to the display. “Here we go. Coordinates check. Transfer start!”
“Roger. Commencing transfer.”
Tohka and Origami began to dimly shimmer where they stood. But just as they vanished, there was a loud rumble, and the bridge of Fraxinus rocked back and forth from a tremendous impact.
“Eeek!” Kotori reflexively shrieked and nearly fell out of her captain’s chair at the sudden shock. She just barely managed to brace herself and stay upright.
She and the crew in their seats were still better off than the Spirits, however. Standing on the bridge, they had their feet knocked out from under them and fell to the floor one after the other.
“Eeep!” Miku squealed.
“Ow-ow-ow… What the heck?” Nia pursed her lips unhappily as she rubbed her forehead. She had apparently hit the floor face-first.