What about his daughter?
Kanase Kensei stared blankly at the angel floating in the air.
Those crimson pupils, the adorable twitching cat ears, the fluffy tail swishing about, and those petite, angelic wings.
This silly appearance was unmistakably that of the cat things always hanging around the Fifth Primogenitor.
Aside from the silver wig, what part of it resembled his daughter Kanon at all?
Then why had he been mistaking this cat for his own daughter all this time...
'Was it a charm spell? A cognitive alteration? Or perhaps...' He slowly turned his head, teeth clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound. 'The power of a mystic eye.'
The power of mystic eyes could rival that of vampire Beast Vassals, so it was perfectly plausible to possess such an ability.
Which meant, he had been charmed half a year ago.
Kanase Kensei looked toward the other labs housing Faux Angels.
Since they were trying to raise a "gu," they certainly wouldn't have prepared just one vessel.
The marble tables that should have held the other Faux Angels were empty. Other researchers were gesturing and speaking into thin air, acting as if they were completely unaware of the chaos right here.
Just as he thought. They had been charmed too.
Now lucid, he silently clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fury.
"The power of the Faux Angel brought you back to your senses, huh." Arcueid gave a frank nod, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the blinding light emanating from the cat-angel, squinting in confusion.
Neco-Arc had truly undergone a change. The Faux Angel ritual was actually capable of affecting the second strongest being from the Type-Moon world?
"Fifth Primogenitor... why would you do this?!" Kanase Kensei scrambled up from the ground, taking a deep breath.
It seemed fury had burned through his reason. He glared coldly at Arcueid, words of accusation spilling from his lips.
"To do something like this..."
"Why would we do this?" Before Arcueid could even open her mouth, Minamiya Natsuki's icy voice cut in. "Using students for illegal human experiments, wantonly kidnapping people, and being implicated in inciting others to murder."
Her azure eyes glared at the man before her as she said disdainfully, "And you're asking us why?"
"It was a necessary sacrifice." Kanase Kensei remained standing where he was, his expression still frosty.
"Necessary sacrifice?" Minamiya Natsuki let out a scornful laugh. "For the sake of those Faux Angels?"
"No."
Unexpectedly, Kanase Kensei shook his head faintly.
With a look of grim determination, he stated.
"It was to let Kanon escape from here. To reach heaven."
Escape from here?
Minamiya Natsuki's brow furrowed slightly, tilting her head. "What do you mean..."
"Meow—!"
The pained cry of the cat-angel cut off her questioning.
Glancing sideways, the white light enveloping the seemingly transcendent cat-angel suddenly began to distort.
Blades of light that warped space shot forth from it, indiscriminately assaulting everything around.
The sturdy walls parted before these light blades as easily as butter under a hot knife.
Boom—
Dust billowed, smoke swirled.
The main building of Magus Craft collapsed under this single strike.
Amidst the wreckage, the cat-angel stretched its wings. The white light grew even more piercing.
Through the sound of the collapse came Minamiya Natsuki's questioning voice.
"Arcueid, what's happening to that Neco-Arc?"
Having relocated to a nearby rooftop, Minamiya Natsuki gazed perplexedly at the cat-angel. The people who had just been inside Mage's Industry lay scattered and unconscious behind her.
In her experience, the Neco-Arcs were practically omnipotent. But this one...
Spatial fluctuations rippled outwards like waves. Countless chains, serpent-like, coiled towards the cat-angel.
She gave a casual wave of her hand, a light motion that nonetheless distorted space.
Chains shimmering with golden light flew from around her, swiftly binding the stationary cat-angel.
That easily?
Minamiya Natsuki waved her hand lightly, intending to move the cat-angel away from this district.
The sound of rattling chains spread out like ripples, churning up spatial distortions as if forcefully peeling back a floorboard.
At the very least, to prevent further destruction...
After a slight tremor, they...
Remained exactly where they were.
"Can't budge it at all."
Minamiya Natsuki's eyes widened in shock and confusion.
Spatial translocation couldn't move the cat-angel.
"Feels a bit off."
Arcueid dusted off her clothes, looking at the cat-angel with some puzzlement.
As the summoner of the Neco-Arcs, she could sense, to some extent, the current state of her creations, and the cat-angel was no exception.
"The Faux Angel ritual hasn't really affected her much."
She folded her arms curiously, tilting her head.
The cat-angel's fundamental existence as a Neco-Arc hadn't changed in the slightest. The Faux Angel ritual had basically taken no effect on her.
That made the cat-angel's current appearance all the more strange. In the original story, the Faux Angels had an intense combat drive. But now...
Arcueid looked up. The cat-angel floating in the air was just sitting obediently within the chains, showing no sign of resistance... right?
The moment this thought crossed her mind, the cat-angel suddenly lifted its head.
Bewilderment.
For some reason, its expression was utterly lost, as if it didn't understand what was happening to itself either.
The next instant, the expression on the cat-angel's face froze stiff, its hands clutching its abdomen.
Boom—
Like a nuclear detonation, an invisible shockwave swept through everything around.
A colossal surge of magical energy erupted from within the cat-angel, shaking the entire Northern District violently.
Rubble flew, a fierce gale sprang up.
The massive magical energy easily whipped up a violent storm, the air currents smashing through the streets' buildings like a gigantic hammer.
"This is getting stranger and stranger."
Amidst the tremors, Arcueid watched the approaching concrete wall curiously, leisurely raising a hand to block it.
According to her senses, the Faux Angel ritual still shouldn't have affected the Neco-Arc at all.
But the cat-angel's bizarre expression now contradicted that perception.
The next moment, a terrifying vibration distorted the atmosphere.
A deafening roar flashed past Arcueid's vision—the oncoming concrete wall disintegrated into nothingness under this strike.
Arriving simultaneously was Avrora's stumbling, frantic shout.
"A-A-Appear now—Al-Nasl-Minium!" Avrora, tears welling in her eyes, came running from further down the street, clutching at her hair.
"That's right, just like that!" Root perched excitedly atop her head, gripping the hair tightly.
Beside her, a small crimson bicorn floated in the air, raising its head towards them.
Wow, a mobile suit pilot.
Arcueid grinned and waved at them. "You two, go with Neco-Arc and help evacuate the civilians around here."
If Neco-Arc really was out of commission, this fight wasn't suitable for them to be involved in.
"O-Okay." Avrora responded with a sob, and Kanon beside her nodded as well.
Sniffle... she really didn't want to be here. Kanon had just bought ice cream and was heading home. She wanted to be at home so badly...
Hm?
"Kanon? What are you doing here?" Avrora whipped her head around.
Why was Kanon, an ordinary human, here?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.