“Whoever said there had to be just one trump card?” Kotori wiped away a cold sweat as she looked at the enemy ship shown on the monitor, the high-speed ship that had, for the first time, taken a direct hit from their magic guns, revealing the interior structure of its armor.
She was in her captain’s chair, leaning deep into its cushions. Wires stretched out to electrode-like devices plastered all over her body. To the rear of her seat was a pillar-like device the Spirits pressed their hands against.
“Thanks, gang,” she said. “Pretty sure my Spirit power alone wouldn’t have been enough.”
“It’s okay… I’m glad. I could help.”
“Kah-kah! We are indeed unrivaled when our powers are combined!”
“Assent. No enemies can stand before us.”
The Spirits replied happily, one after the other.
“So, all of our Spirit powers are miiixed together! That means we’re all one! Doesn’t it just make you sooo happy?!”
…One girl, at least, was happy for different reasons.
At any rate, the fact remained that Fraxinus had managed to strike a blow at Goetia, thanks to the help of the Spirits.
System Brot—the new trick up the sleeve of Fraxinus Excelsior.
Similar to the Spirit power gun Gungnir, this system allowed power to be charged up beyond the Territory’s maximum capacity—albeit for a brief time—with the help of the Spirits.
Naturally, Kotori would have preferred not to use it if possible since a certain amount of Spirit power had to flow back from Shido. The Spirits only produced a fixed amount of Spirit power after having it sealed. As a result, the effect was spectacular. They were presently using the power of five Spirits—Kotori, Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Miku.
The word “ship” didn’t quite describe Fraxinus at the moment. If Kotori had to say, it was a bullet with a will of its own, free to race across the sky.
“Pretty sad, huh?” she said. “In terms of Realizer performance, we come out on top at Ratatoskr, although just barely, and yet we have to go and use these kinds of illegal methods.”
It was, in fact, hard to say that they’d truly turned the tables given how wide the gap was between them and their foe.
“Still, this is a win for us. Fall, most powerful Wizard.” Kotori snapped her thumb up and then twisted it downward.
A second shot from Fraxinus’s magic gun pierced Goetia. The other ship’s reaction was delayed, perhaps because of the damage it had incurred.
Then the platinum airship that flaunted the title of “strongest” began plummeting toward the Earth, a stream of black smoke tracing its descent.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Aaah!” Shido clutched Haniel—now Michael—in both hands like a lance as he raced ahead, flying inside of the Territory.
Bandersnatches had already flooded the area around Mukuro. The Spirit waved Michael as she attacked the mechanical dolls closing in on her with beams of light and meteor showers.
This was good. Ironically, the DEM dolls formed a wall that hid Shido and Tohka. However, the Bandersnatches weren’t their allies. When Shido and Tohka leaped into the brawl, several dolls aggressively charged them.
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
Tohka danced out ahead of Shido, the greatsword Sandalphon in her hand flashing. “Haah!”
She sliced through the distorted gray human forms before the Bandersnatch attack could reach them.
“Shido,” she cried. “Go!”
“Right!” He threw himself forward onto the path she had opened, charging toward Mukuro, the tip of his key Angel poised to push forward. “Michael…!”
Just as the Angel was about to come into contact with her, her quiet voice rang out in the empty space.
“Lataib.” She had no sooner spoken than a small door opened and swallowed the tip of the Michael Shido had thrust forward.
“Wha—?!” he gasped.
“Did you assume the increase in enemies would allow you to escape from my line of sight?” Mukuro glared at him and brandished Michael. Particles of light popped into existence.
“Shido!” Tohka cried. “Get out of there!”
“Hngh…!” Shido tried to do exactly that, but he was too late.
Mukuro’s Michael fired several beams of light.
“Shido!”
“Hm-hmm?” Mukuro said curiously as an enormous object flew in from the right and blocked her attack.
An armored panel of the airship engaged in battle nearby had come flying all the way over to this battleground. Although it was enveloped by Fraxinus’s Territory, a mere hunk of metal could not defend against a Spirit attack.
It only prevented a direct blow from the light beam. The armor panel kept flying backward with enough momentum to crush Shido.
“Hngah!” he cried.
The panel shuddered, and its advance stopped after it was some distance from Mukuro.
“A-are you okay, Shido?!” Tohka asked. It seemed that she had come after him to stop the panel.
“Y-yeah… Thanks, Tohka.” He patted the panel that had sacrificed itself in the nick of time. “The timing was eerily good, though. I mean, this panel comes flying between me and Mukuro—huh…?”
Just as he started to speak, he stopped. He found something on the backside of the panel.