“…Hmm.” Ellen Mathers let out a short sigh on the bridge of the high-speed ship Goetia.
Actually, “bridge” might not have been accurate. In the center of a space filled with electronic equipment, there was a pod-shaped seat where Ellen sat, several cords snaking out of the pod to connect with her wiring suit.
This was as it should be. Goetia operated in an entirely different way from a normal airship; it could have been better described as an enormous CR unit for Ellen alone.
“That movement…” She narrowed her eyes at the video of the ship’s exterior projected before her eyes. “Did they copy Goetia? I see. It seems the ship is not new in name alone.”
The maneuverability of the Ratatoskr airship Fraxinus far surpassed Ellen’s memory.
And there was another annoyance—the Spirits inside of the vessel.
If she went ahead and destroyed Fraxinus, the Spirits inside would be caught in the cross fire. In the worst case, their Sefirahs would be scattered across the vastness of space.
Thus, Ellen would have to stop the Fraxinus model as she rendered the ship helpless. If Ratatoskr was keeping the Spirits on board because they were counting on this, then they, too, were fairly cynical in their methods.
“Well, that’s quite reasonable.” Ellen did not lose her presence of mind in the slightest. “In the face of the lion, the rabbit has merely become a fox.”
She put Goetia into high gear once again, picturing her body expanding outward through her wiring suit. Then came a sinking sensation, like leaping into an infinite ocean.
She was now one with the platinum airship. The enormous vessel raced through space exactly as she imagined. There was nothing in this world that could keep up with Goetia and Ellen.
“I shall amend my declaration, Fraxinus. Three minutes is more than enough.”
Dancing freely through space, she fired her guns at the enemy airship. Fraxinus was managing her attack for now, it seemed, but given time, the slightest difference in reaction speed would slowly but certainly generate an insurmountable gap.
“Hah,” she sighed.
The stars sparkling in the heavens carved a beautiful arc in her field of view. It was almost like she had wandered into a cluster of meteors.
She moved at dizzying speeds, but her brain perceived the world around her clearly. Her mind was racing; everything else seemed to move in slow motion. It was a transcendent sensation, the distinct feeling that no one in this world could stand shoulder to shoulder with her.
“Amount of magic generated, recharge time, and above all else, that maneuverability. It would indeed seem that this is an improvement over the previous Fraxinus. The most crucial element—strategy—has not changed in any meaningful way. How crude.”
She sniffed in disgust and charged toward Fraxinus as if gliding along on top of the torrent of magic awaiting release.
“I commend you on setting foot in my domain.” She turned her guns on the defenseless ship’s hull. “But those who seek to reach the heavens inevitably have their feathers plucked. Burn with the fire of the gods. Fall, Icarus.”
There was a flash of light as the generated magic recharged to near-critical levels and broke free, stretching out toward Fraxinus.
The Territory protecting the vessel had been dramatically weakened due to the contact with Goetia’s Territory. There was no way Ellen would let an opening like that escape her. At this distance, with this timing, it would be impossible for them to dodge this blow.
However…
“…?”
Ellen gasped.
The moment the blast made contact, Fraxinus shimmered for a beat, and Goetia’s magic bullet shot off to its rear.
“How are they capable of…?” Her eyes widened in shock, and she looked at Fraxinus anew. Well, she tried to.
Fraxinus was nowhere to be found. As if in its place, an incredible shock rocked Goetia.
“Wha—?!” Ellen braced herself to somehow keep from being thrown from her pod as the cockpit violently trembled back and forth. “What is this?!”
A Territory was stretched out across Goetia’s entire exterior surface. Even an asteroid slamming into her shouldn’t have caused such an impact.
The only thing that could damage the airship was an attack imbued with generated magic. And in the present moment, she was up against only one enemy airship.
Yes. Fraxinus. Cloaked in silver flames, every part of the ship shifting and changing, the airship had taken Goetia’s rear with unbelievable speed and attacked.
Just as Ellen realized this, Goetia’s sensors blared in alarm.
A Spirit signal. Rather than magic generated by Realizers from the ship before her eyes, Goetia was detecting the power of Spirits.
“Fraxinus!” Ellen cried out in a rage. She understood everything now, and the world before her was colored red.