Following Kotori’s orders, [Fraxinus] aimed its cannons at Getia.
[Itsuka Kotori. I thought you would make a more levelheaded judgment. Though you are not blood-related, you really are Itsuka Shido’s little sister.]
"That’s the highest compliment you could give me!"
Kotori answered Ellen’s remark that way, then looked at Kannazuki and gave him his orders.
"Kannazuki! Deploy [Yggdrasil] from 1 through 12! We’re up against the strongest Wizard, so get ready just in case!"
"I knew you’d say that!"
Kannazuki put on his headset and gave a thumbs-up.
Satisfied with his response, Kotori smiled and shouted to the crew.
"Let’s finish this quick and go help Hieta!"
[Kotori. The mana charge is complete. [Mistilteinn] can be fired at any time!]
"The enemy ship, Getia, shows no signs of movement!"
Hearing Maria say that Mistilteinn was ready, and that Getia still wasn’t moving, Kotori grew suspicious.
"Are they going to wait three whole minutes out of courtesy? They’re really looking down on us. Fire [Mistilteinn]!"
From [Fraxinus]’s main cannon, a powerful beam of light shot toward Getia.
If it landed properly, it had enough power to reduce Getia to dust.
Watching Getia remain motionless, Kotori smiled.
But then Getia suddenly accelerated and slid sideways as if teleporting, and the situation changed in an instant.
"What the— No way!? What kind of mobility is that!?"
An airship was supposed to move forward, and if it wanted to go sideways, it had to turn its hull.
And because it was huge, it had no choice but to start slow no matter how much speed it built up.
Yet Getia ignored all of that and moved anyway, so Kotori had no choice but to be shocked.
"It looks like... they’re thinning the [territory] surrounding the ship to the limit to improve maneuverability. And that last movement... probably used the territory to bounce the hull away."
"That’s possible!?"
Kotori shot back at Kannazuki’s analysis.
"In theory, it’s not impossible."
That was right.
In theory, almost anything was possible.
And flipped around, that meant it was only possible in theory.
A method of movement that existed somewhere between theory and impossibility in practice.
If anyone else had done it, it would have been dismissed as a lie, but the one who pulled it off was Ellen Mages, the strongest Wizard.
"I suppose that’s why she’s been called the ancient Mages."
"This isn’t the time to be admiring her! It’s coming!"
While Kannazuki was still marveling, Getia charged toward [Fraxinus].
Using the same movement it had used to dodge Mistilteinn, Getia reached the front of [Fraxinus] in a way that looked almost like teleportation and deployed its main cannon.
"Switch the territory to a defensive formation! Brace for impact!"
[Fraxinus]’s wings spread wide, and a barrier made from territory enveloped the ship.
Then a green beam from Getia’s main cannon slammed into the barrier surrounding [Fraxinus].
[Fraxinus] shook under the impact.
Kotori endured the shock and gave her orders.
"Tch...! Took one right to the face...! Counterattack immediately! Set [Yggdrasil] to mine mode! Get behind the enemy ship!"
"Roger!"
Kannazuki used [Yggdrasil] to try to get behind Getia, and [Fraxinus]’s barrier was lifted as it prepared to retaliate.
As usual, [Fraxinus]’s main cannons like Mistilteinn took an absurdly long time to recharge, so Kotori’s judgment was correct.
However, there was one thing Kotori had not considered: Getia’s main cannon reloaded at a speed beyond imagination.
Wiiing—! Wiiing—!
"What now?"
When Kotori frowned at the siren sounding again, Marina’s voice came through the speaker.
[This is... a second volley! Damn it, I didn’t know it could fire again this fast either!]
The moment Marina finished speaking, a blinding light swept over [Fraxinus].
[Kyah!]
[Kyaa!]
Maria and Marina’s screams, linked to [Fraxinus], spilled out through the speakers.
[Fraxinus] was now shrouded in smoke from Getia’s attack.
Kotori bit down on the candy in her mouth with a sharp crunch and said,
"What kind of ridiculous airship is this...! That insane movement and those rapid-fire mana cannons. It’s cheating!"
[The brain of the woman enduring that strain is cheating too.]
"Commander! The port-side territory has reached its limit!"
At the report that the port-side territory had hit its limit, Kotori frowned.
"Redeploy the territory! Recharge [Mistilteinn], hurry!"
"Roger!"
"Kannazuki!"
"Yes!"
She had only called his name, but Kannazuki understood exactly what she meant and sent [Yggdrasil] toward Getia’s rear.
Once the small units reached Getia’s rear, Kannazuki said,
"Commander! Now!"
"Right. Fire [Mistilteinn]!"
Mistilteinn fired again toward Getia.
And once again, Ellen used the same method as before to instantly accelerate Getia and dodge Mistilteinn.
She did it just before Mistilteinn could even reach Getia.
"That woman really has guts!"
Seeing the obvious trick meant to toy with them, Kotori clicked her tongue and glared at Getia.
"Getia is coming!"
Getia began closing in on [Fraxinus] again to attack.
However, [Fraxinus] still had one trump card left.
"Relax!"
Kannazuki said confidently and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
At the sound, the fired Mistilteinn bent its trajectory and headed toward Getia.
As the crew stared in shock, Kotori smiled and said,
"To force the trajectory using [Yggdrasil]’s territory... impressive."
The reason Mistilteinn’s path changed was Kannazuki’s split-second judgment.
"I’m honored. I couldn’t possibly leave a scratch on this beautiful world tree. Besides..."
"Besides?"
"I think you look even more magnificent when you’re attacking than when you’re being attacked, Commander~!"
It would have been better if he had stopped before the last line, but Kannazuki was Kannazuki.
Even in a crisis like this, he never hesitated to say something weird, and Kotori let out a long sigh.
"Haaah...."
Wiiing—! Wiiing—!
"Commander! Getia is coming this way!"
"What!?"
At Nagatsugawa’s warning, Kotori was startled.
Getia should have just been hit, and yet it was coming again.
Sure enough, on the screen, Getia had withstood Mistilteinn’s hit and was aiming its main cannon at [Fraxinus].
Then Getia fired once more, and a flood of bright light filled the vision of Kotori and the crew.
*****
Meanwhile, while [Fraxinus] and Getia were locked in battle, Shido was still struggling inside the ruins.
"Hey! Anybody there!? Is anyone there!?"
No matter how much he struggled, the chair was firmly nailed to the floor, and his arms and legs were tied to it, so unless someone came to untie him, there was no way out.
"Damn it, this is no time for this...!"
Thinking he had to get back to Tohka’s side as soon as possible, Shido struggled even harder, and then the door to the ruins opened and someone entered the room.
"Huh?"
The person who came in was Origami.
"O-Origami? You came back?"
Remembering what Origami had said before she left, Shido thought of the worst-case scenario.
"Don’t tell me, you...!"
The possibility that Origami had not returned to the moment when she acknowledged Tohka, but instead had come back after dealing with Tohka’s group, refused to leave Shido’s mind.
"Heh heh heh! Ahahahahaha!"
Seeing Shido like that, Origami suddenly burst out laughing.
"What’s with that face! That face!"
"O-Origami...?"
Her current behavior was completely unlike the Origami who had said she would kill Tohka, and Shido felt something was off.
"My stomach hurts from laughing~!"
In the end, Origami even collapsed from laughing.
Shido was still panicking over that when another person entered the room.
"S-Shido!"
"Yoshino!"
The room was suddenly filled with an entirely unexpected combination, and Shido’s mind went blank.
『Wow~! You really got kidnapped and locked up in style! Come on, Yoshino! Free Shido-kun and, as a reward, demand all sorts of things from Hai-kun—mmph!』
Yoshinon’s nonsense was muffled by Yoshino, and Shido looked at her and asked,
"Right, Yoshino! The Origami right now is dangerous! She’s not normal!"
Shido was telling the truth.
Whether it was the Origami who wanted to kill spirits, or the Origami currently crouched on the floor laughing in front of him.
Both were far beyond what anyone could call normal.
At Shido’s words, Yoshino glared at the Origami still giggling behind her.
"I-I think... it’s okay now..."
"Hah!"
Origami, who had finally stopped laughing, stood up and brushed back the hair at the side of her head, and her appearance changed.
"N-Natsumi!?"
From the start, the one who had entered the room wasn’t Origami at all, but Natsumi, transformed into Origami.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register