✦ ✦ ✦
“—!”
That was the signal.
The girl and Origami launched themselves off the ground and clashed right in front of him.
“Eeeeaaaaaah!”
Shido screamed as the overwhelming blowback flung him up into the air. And then he slammed into a wall and blacked out.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Status report,” demanded a girl sporting a bright red military jacket draped over the shoulders of a white shirt as she stepped onto the bridge of the warship.
“Commander.” The man waiting next to her saluted neatly, like something out of an army manual.
The young woman called commander merely glanced at him and kicked his shins.
“Ungh!”
“Forget the greetings,” she barked, sitting down in the captain’s chair. “Give me a status report.”
The man’s expression had been less agony—more ecstasy. He snapped back to attention. “Yes, ma’am! The Spirit appeared at the same time as the attack began.”
“AST?”
“It appears that way.”
AST. Anti-Spirit Team. Modern wizards clad in mechanical armor, more than human, not quite monsters. They hunted, captured, and killed Spirits. That said, the reality was that even their superhuman abilities didn’t stand a chance. The power of the Spirits was on an entirely different level from anything the AST wielded.
“Ten confirmed on the scene. Currently, only one is attacking.”
“Get me video,” the commander ordered, and a real-time feed was displayed on the warship’s largest monitor.
Two girls were visible in the center of the scene, brandishing massive weapons on a wide road about two blocks away from the shopping district. Each time their blades clashed, beams of light shot out, the ground cracked, and buildings collapsed. It was an impossible sight.
“That AST girl is not too shabby, hmm?” the commander noted. “But, well, she’s got no hope up against a Spirit.”
“That is indeed the case. But it’s also a fact that we are unable to do anything, either.”
“…” The commander lifted a foot and jammed the heel of her boot into the top of the man’s foot.
“Hngh!”
Ignoring the look of sheer bliss that spread across his face, the commander sighed softly. “I already knew that. I’m getting sick and tired of just sitting back and watching.”
“So then, you mean?”
“Yes. Rounds finally gave the go-ahead. We’re commencing the operation.”
This announcement drew gasps from every member of her crew.
“Kannazuki.” The commander leaned back in her chair and slightly raised her right hand, snapping her index and middle fingers up. Almost as if she were asking for a cigarette.
“Yes, ma’am!” The man immediately put a hand in a pocket and pulled out a small piece of candy attached to a stick. He peeled off the wrapper—quickly but neatly. Then he knelt down next to the commander and placed the lollipop stick between her fingers. “Here you are.”
The commander thrust the treat into her mouth and flicked the stick back and forth. “Oh, that reminds me. What about the critical secret weapon? Didn’t answer the phone before. Tell me our weapon managed to evacuate, right?”
“I’ll investigate. Here—hmm?” Kannazuki tilted his head to one side.
“What?”
“Oh, there.” He pointed at the screen.
The commander turned her eyes in that direction and then let out a short cry. “Oh!”
A boy in a school uniform was laid out next to the Spirit and the AST member crossing swords.
“Perfect timing. Collect him.”
“Roger that.” Kannazuki bowed at the precisely correct angle once more.