Two shadows tangled and bumped into each other as they cut through the darkness of space.
Origami made minute adjustments to her trajectory using the Territory around her body and flew at Artemisia yet again. “Haah!”
“Too slow!” Artemisia cried, as her laser blade shot up to intercept Origami’s laser spear. A shower of magical sparks scattered, illuminating the emptiness around them.
“Ngh!” After a quick flurry of blows back and forth, Origami got some distance from Artemisia. Sweat rolled down her cheeks. Even in the most cutting-edge gear, she couldn’t make any headway. This pressure radiating from Artemisia was overwhelming, on par with what she had faced against Ellen Mathers.
“Hmm,” Artemisia hummed quietly, looking Origami over with deep interest. “Quite the kit you have there. That lance scrapes together the magic scattered by our fight and creates a blade? Seems like it could be cumbersome in a longer battle.”
“…”
Origami’s eyebrow twitched almost indiscernibly. It was true that the laser spear she held, Einherjar, did form its blade by collecting dispersed magic, just as Artemisia noted. This minimized the amount of magic the user had to generate and potentially exhausted their opponent.
“Haven’t seen that CR unit before,” the blond girl continued. “You’re a Wizard, yeah? Why help the Spirits?”
“…”
Origami frowned. Something was not quite right here. She had met Artemisia before. It was hard to imagine the other girl had forgotten her, unless she had amnesia.
“…Artemisia,” she demanded. “Why did you leave the SSS to come to DEM? You can’t actually think well of DEM.”
“…? What are you talking about? How do you know my name? And what’s this ‘SSS’?” Artemisia stared blankly, puzzled, then suddenly pressed a hand to her forehead with a grimace.
“Hngh… Unh…?”
She groaned in pain before shaking her head as if to extinguish a headache and turning her gaze back toward Origami.
“…Well, whatever. Looks like I won’t be able to execute my mission unless I defeat you.” Her eyes narrowed sharply, and she readjusted her grip on the laser blade. “Sorry. Looks like you gotta go.”
“…!”
In the next instant, Origami watched, stunned, as Artemisia abruptly grew larger in her field of view.
Motionless acceleration through her Territory. Before Origami could process the technique, she felt her body move.
She yanked Einherjar up to block the laser blade dropping down toward the crown of her head. Of course, this did not stop Artemisia’s attack. Up, down, left, right, front. Her slashing blade closed in from all directions, with almost no delay between one blow and the next.
“Hngh!” Origami grunted. It was indeed impossible for her to go on the offensive or even counter each of Artemisia’s blows. She took a direct hit to the stomach and was knocked backward.
Crossing blades with Artemisia like this, Origami could see once more the difference in their skill. She had confidence she was strong enough to beat most Wizards, but Artemisia’s power was far beyond that of the average Wizard. The amount of magic she generated, her control of that magic, the scale and precision of her Territory, and even her innate physical abilities—it was no exaggeration to say Origami was inferior in every way as a Wizard.
“…! But—” Origami also had a reason she could not allow herself to be defeated. Wincing in pain, she clenched her hands.
“Artemisia Ashcroft. You are strong. Much, much stronger than me,” she said, before taking a breath to focus. “As a Wizard.”
“…?!”
Just as Origami uttered that, Artemisia’s eyes widened, and she pulled back, laser blade still raised above her head.
It was understandable. Origami, too, may have put up her guard and leaped back if her opponent started to glow in the middle of battle.
“What are you…?” Artemisia stared at her, stunned. Origami was now clad in golden armor with layers of a shining, limited Astral Dress.
Origami’s limited Astral Dress affected whatever she was wearing when it manifested. When her outfit was a CR unit with its own battle functions, her Astral Dress would inevitably take this form.
A fusion of Spirit and Wizard, two utterly incompatible elements. A miraculous hybrid that most likely Origami Tobiichi alone in this world could manifest, as both Spirit and Wizard.
“Now I can fight you on equal footing.” Origami’s white Astral Dress fluttered as she looked squarely at Artemisia.
Eyes as wide as saucers, Artemisia spoke. “A Spirit. Ha-ha! I get it. Were you the Spirit who was there when I defeated Sister? I couldn’t tell because you were wearing the CR unit.”
She pulled her lips up into a grin.
“That’s great. If you’re a Spirit, I don’t have to feel guilty about killing you.”
“…”
Origami and Artemisia stared at each other silently. Then they kicked at empty space simultaneously, like magnets snapping together.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yggdrafolium one through ten, fire at the target coordinates! Maximum Territory deployment!”
✦ ✦ ✦
