Huff... Huff...
Never having exercised so intensely before, Shiori, after running out of the school, sprinted towards the restaurant at her fastest speed.
Gasping heavily to replenish the rapidly depleting oxygen, she looked at the surrounding bustling streets, now completely empty. Only at this moment did Shiori understand the true terror of a Spacequake.
The sight of the usually crowded city now devoid of people filled Shiori with a sense of disjointedness. Distressed by the situation and moving at top speed, she soon felt her calves swelling, pain in her chest, and her throat drying up.
This was the result of pushing her body without restraint.
But...
'I can't stop. I have to find Kotori.'
Although she was the older sister, in practice, she acted as a mother. Shiori clearly remembered the time four years ago when she was recuperating at home due to psychological issues, and the meticulous care her two younger sisters showed her.
Believing family was more important than anything else, Shiori's thoughts wandered for a moment.
Whoosh.
A fierce gust of wind rushed past her ears. Instinctively looking in the direction of the sound, Shiori saw several figures flash overhead.
"What are those..."
Although they passed by quickly, in that instant, Shiori saw that they were wearing combat suit-like armor. Moreover, they all seemed to be girls.
"Wait, that one girl looked a lot like Mana."
Catching a vague glimpse resembling Mana, Shiori shook her head, thinking, 'I must be seeing things. Why would Mana be here?'
While pondering, she was suddenly knocked over by a powerful gust of wind. By the time she realized what happened, she had been blown to the side of the street by the strong wind.
"What in the... Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
Looking at the several abrasions on her body, Shiori's body finally slowed down. Shaking her dizzy head, she was astonished when she saw the scene before her clearly.
"What happened here?"
As far as she could see, the street that was just empty moments ago now looked as if erased by an eraser. With the cracked, yellowish earth and the sizzling sounds of exposed underground pipes and wires, the destruction resembling a meteor impact made Shiori understand for the first time what a Spacequake truly meant.
As her mind raced, Shiori suddenly felt someone touch her from behind.
"Ah!"
"Shiori-nee, what are you doing here? Why didn't you evacuate?"
Looking back, Shiori saw that the person who touched her was none other than her younger sister, Mana. She was one of the girls in combat suits she had seen earlier.
"Mana, why are you here…"
"Never mind that for now, Shiori-nee. You need to leave this place immediately. It's very dangerous here."
Taking a spray bottle from a pocket in her combat armor, Mana sprayed it on Shiori's injuries. Soon, Shiori felt the pain subside.
Noticing that Mana was accompanied by several other similarly dressed girls, Shiori wisely didn't ask about Mana's identity at that moment. She simply explained her worry about Kotori.
"Kotori? She's fine. She should be at…"
Boom!
Her words were cut off. As a powerful pressure wave hit, Shiori, Mana, and the other girls were all pressed down by the force.
"Everyone, be alert! The Spirit, Codename: Princess, has appeared!"
Stabilized thanks to Mana, by the time Shiori regained her bearings, she saw that a... well, something like a throne had appeared in the crater not far away.
Yes, a throne with a crystalline, gem-like luster, resembling the most typical prop background in an RPG. On that throne sat a girl wearing crystalline armor and holding a massive sword.
"That girl is..."
"That girl is the Spirit, Codename: Princess. Shiori-nee, you go first. We'll talk about the rest later."
Stopping Shiori from saying more, Mana, while speaking, had already charged forward with the other girls.
As their equipment transformed, they wielded weapons and attacked the mysterious girl in the crater without hesitation.
However...
Oblivious to the attacks from all directions, the mysterious girl merely waved the giant sword in her hand lightly. Intense pressure waves erupted around her, blowing Mana and the others away.
"This... is a Spirit?"
Watching the mysterious girl's every move, Shiori couldn't believe this girl was an entity known as a Spirit.
She looked just like an ordinary girl, but both her crystal-clear, gem-like armor and the massive sword she held, taller than a person, indicated she wasn't human.
With just a single light strike, she rendered Mana and the others unconscious. The abnormal situation, the mysterious presence, the extraordinary being… everything about her captured Shiori's attention. But now...
"You too? Are you also someone who wants to kill me?"
Showing no interest in the unconscious Mana and the others, the girl now stood right in front of Shiori, her pure eyes, devoid of any impurity, fixed on her. Intimidated by the girl's presence, Shiori couldn't speak.
"Hmm, as I thought. You're one of them too, aren't you? Someone who wants to kill me."
The emotion revealed in her gaze was shockingly heart-wrenching, as if she were an existence abandoned by the whole world.
The girl raised the massive sword in her hand, aiming it directly at Shiori.
"Wait, I…"
At the brink of life and death, threatened by the giant sword, just as Shiori tried to say something more, the massive blade descended, and then...
"Tsk tsk, I got up a bit late, but still made it in time, didn't I?"
A magnetic voice carried a reassuring steadiness. The expected pain didn't come. Shiori opened her eyes and saw a figure from behind.
A man's back figure... who had blocked that giant sword with just his hand.