"Shi... Shiori?! You... I won't forgive you this easily!"
Tohka felt a bit overwhelmed, but remembering the earlier grievance, she still spoke loudly.
"Don't say that."
'Shiori,' however, paid no mind to her tone and instead leaned in closer: "Don't you want to do something fun, Tohka?"
"Huh...!?"
Tohka instinctively sensed something was off.
Shiori had almost never shown this kind of attitude toward her, except when sealing her spiritual power. What was going on now...?
Watching that face draw nearer and nearer, Tohka's anger gradually faded. Her eyes closed, presenting a look of complete surrender.
'Shiori' was quite pleased with how easily she had gained the other's trust. A vengeful thrill washed over her.
See that, Itsuka Shiori! Your girlfriend is showing this side right in front of me!
Destroying your life starts right here!
Thinking this, 'Shiori' stopped dawdling and moved in for a kiss. But just as their lips were about to meet, an unfamiliar set of footsteps interrupted them.
Truthfully, 'Shiori' couldn't care less if they were discovered—in fact, being caught might even suit her plans. But Tohka's sense of shame suddenly flared, and she shoved 'Shiori' away forcefully.
"It seems I've interrupted your little moment."
It was a woman's voice—calm, yet tinged with an aloof detachment that made her sound rather unfriendly. And those approaching footsteps made it clear this unfriendly woman was here for them.
'Shiori,' or rather, Kyouno Natsumi, looked over curiously. What met her eyes was a woman in a Realizer unit, with long white hair.
Tohka immediately recognized her. She was the woman Durandal had easily crushed before.
That was the first impression, but Tohka also knew that being easily beaten by Durandal wasn't because she was weak, but because Durandal was simply too strong.
Not to mention, her own sealed self now couldn't even be described as weak—apart from decent physical fitness, she had almost no means to fight back.
"Ah~"
Natsumi knew this woman too.
After all, she'd declared her intent to ruin Shiori's life, so she'd done a bit of research into Shiori's past. She'd seen this woman in the files—something about being humanity's strongest Wizard or something.
However, Natsumi didn't hold humans in high regard. In her eyes, humans were easy playthings. So what if she was the strongest?
Right! She could stir up some trouble for Itsuka Shiori!
"You again."
Natsumi raised an eyebrow slightly, her expression carrying obvious sarcasm: "Didn't you learn your lesson after Durandal wiped the floor with you in seconds?"
"Heh, you really don't understand the situation, do you?"
A cold smile also rose on Ellen's face.
If it were two days ago, Ellen might have been provoked by those words.
After all, that was the defeat she least wanted to recall—everyone knew that battle was Ellen's complete failure, taken down by Durandal in just three rounds, a mere minute.
First round: beaten into a defensive scramble, barely holding on.
Second round: her Territory shattered, Realizer unit overheating, forced to rely on brain calculations alone.
Third round: Realizer unit completely destroyed. And Durandal's utterly relaxed demeanor seemed to say that this level of effort was as easy as kicking a stray dog.
But...
Just yesterday, Durandal had just as easily crushed the combined efforts of Artemisia and Mana, in even less time than it took to fight her.
Only lasted three rounds? She lasted three rounds!
"The one who doesn't understand is you, right? Careful, or I'll call Durandal right over and have her teach you a proper lesson."
Natsumi showed no fear of Ellen's cold sneer. Driven by her desire to get Shiori into trouble, she acted as arrogantly as possible.
Tohka felt something was off.
Durandal wasn't their subordinate; she was their friend. Why did Shiori make it sound like she could order Durandal around at will?
Though she thought this, the person before her was, after all, the one she loved. Even if Shiori's words and attitude seemed problematic, given the somewhat perilous situation, Tohka could internally justify it for Shiori—this was just a threat to scare the other party, what humans called bluffing.
Ellen really couldn't hold back a laugh this time.
Seriously, was this Itsuka Shiori actually an idiot?
Did she think she could avoid being captured before Durandal could arrive? Not to mention, the high-altitude signals in this area were already jammed by DEM. Until her operation was over, Itsuka Shiori had no way of contacting the Fraxinus.
"You'd better cut the chatter. Come along quietly, and I can guarantee a certain degree of safety for you and the Princess."
"Take us away? You think you can do that?"
Faced with repeated provocations, Ellen couldn't be bothered to banter anymore.
Though time was plentiful and her entry point perfectly timed, there was no guarantee Schicksal wouldn't notice. Plus, with the other's needling attitude, Ellen decided to teach her a little lesson.
Holding nothing back, Ellen appeared behind Natsumi in the blink of an eye. Under Tohka's wide, horrified gaze, she slashed a long gash across Natsumi's left side.
"…Huh?"
It wasn't until the pain hit that Natsumi realized, with a shock, that the woman had somehow vanished from her sight. Instinctively reaching for the painful spot, she only saw blood already soaking through her clothes.
"Shiori!!"
Tohka's spiritual power was completely sealed, but her enhanced senses allowed her to see clearly what had just happened.
"How surprising. You really do have something special about you."
Seeing that 'Itsuka Shiori,' an ordinary human, hadn't collapsed from that blow and hadn't even cried out in pain, Ellen felt even more certain of Westcott's conjecture.
However, not crying out wasn't because Natsumi felt no pain or was deliberately enduring it—her mind was simply short-circuiting.
Why? I'm injured? Why could this human break my defenses? Why didn't I react to her speed?
A turbulent, violent surge of spiritual power flowed back into Tohka.
Eyes blazing with fury, she glared at the one who had hurt 'Shiori.'
She was about to summon Sandalphon to buy 'Shiori' time to escape, only to find a blade—far faster than she could react—already resting against her neck.
"Don't move, Princess."
Ellen's expression had returned to cold indifference, like a machine executing a task:
"My target is only Itsuka Shiori. If you come along willingly, it'll save me trouble. But if you resist, I can't guarantee safety—not for you, nor for Itsuka Shiori."
Tohka's hot-blooded, impulsive defiance was completely doused by those words. If it were just herself, even dying for Shiori would be fine, but...
Seeing the situation finally under control, Ellen inwardly sighed in relief, followed by a satisfied smile. Snatching the person Durandal was protecting right from under her nose—this counted as scoring one back, didn't it?
"Um... if your target is Itsuka Shiori, can you let me go?"
"Hmm?"
A green light glowed around 'Shiori.' Ellen instinctively reached out to grab her, but the feel in her hand was completely different from before.
What reappeared before her eyes wasn't a high school girl, but a curvaceous woman with green hair, dressed like a witch.
"As you can see... I'm not Itsuka Shiori..."
Natsumi's voice carried a hint of caution: "Everything I said earlier was a joke... can we... call a truce?"
It wasn't that Natsumi didn't want to fight back. But she was here to cause trouble for Itsuka Shiori, and the other party was also here for Itsuka Shiori.
Even if she could actually win against this opponent, why should she help Itsuka Shiori solve her problems?
Ellen: …
"Then where is Itsuka Shiori?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 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.