"Ugh, my head hurts so much." At this moment, Tohka also woke up. Of course, after being knocked out, it would be strange if she didn't hurt. But very soon, she realized something was wrong. Because right now, she was restrained to a chair, with metal cuffs around her wrists and ankles. And Tohka could clearly feel that these restraints not only kept her from moving, but the sensation coming from them told her that they were suppressing her spirit power.
"So, this guy is Westcott..." But Tohka had already expected to end up in this situation. After all, these people weren't going to just leave her alone. So, after twisting her body in the restraints a few times, she lifted her gaze and looked at the man sitting opposite her, a middle-aged man who looked about thirty. But Tohka knew full well this guy was definitely older than that.
"Oh my, looks like you're awake, Your Highness the Princess." Just as Tohka was studying Westcott, he also noticed she had come to. Then he shifted his gaze to the battle raging outside, speaking to Tohka with great interest: "It seems you really do have quite a few friends. All at once, you stirred up four—no, three Spirits. Plus, that Mana Takamiya. So, it looks like you weren't entirely unprepared for us."
But what surprised Tohka was that this man wasn't immediately performing some experiment on her like in the original story. Instead, he was acting interested in negotiating. So, at this moment, Tohka quietly calmed the inverse version of herself within, deciding to hear what he had to say. After all, she had no inclination toward masochism, and she had zero interest in being tortured. She'd come here precisely to meet this man, and now that purpose was fulfilled.
"You must have seen it for yourself—the power of the Spirits. What do you think? Are you interested in working with me to obtain the Spirits' true power?" Tohka might have been thinking a lot, but Westcott never stopped his speech. Instead, he extended an invitation to her, which left Tohka a little stunned.
"I have to say, your armor truly impressed me. So? Would you consider cooperating? This way, the forces backing you could also gain access to our Realizer Unit technology. You know, in this field, even Ratatoskr can't compare to us."
"I think you're just trying to get your hands on my armor tech. What's the matter—going to use it to deal with your board of directors? After all, those guys have zero interest in Spirits like us, and instead keep trying to shut down your operations." What a joke—Tohka would never cooperate with this man. She was certain that if he ever achieved his goals, he'd kick her aside without hesitation. That wouldn't be the worst of it—once he got her technology, the very first thing he'd probably do was annihilate her. After all, his true aim was to kill Spirits to obtain their power. And even if Tohka wanted to give him the tech, she couldn't. Just in case, she'd blown her armor to smithereens herself. She'd even crushed the control device Tony had given her, so even if she wanted to hand it over, she couldn't.
"Looks like you know quite a bit about me. As expected of someone who used to be a noble young lady before becoming a Spirit." Hearing Tohka's words, Westcott narrowed his eyes. The reason he hadn't immediately begun his research to forcibly reverse her was partly because he feared the powers backing her. And partly because he himself faced plenty of obstacles within DEM. Those board members only cared about the company's profits. As for provoking Spirits—something with no clear benefit but massive risk—how could they possibly approve it? So, seeing that Tohka not only instantly understood his purpose but also rejected him outright, he lost interest. After all, this was just a passing notion. DEM itself was merely an organization he'd built as a means to an end. Even if it were destroyed, he wouldn't care, as long as he accomplished his goal. That was also why, when Ellen asked him for instructions earlier, he hadn't hesitated before ordering her to attack Tohka directly.
"Negotiations have broken down, have they? Looks like you've made your decision." Just then, as she watched Ellen out of the corner of her eye, Tohka also noticed Westcott's expression. It didn't take her long to guess what he was thinking. But she had no interest in becoming someone's test subject, so she spoke up coldly: "Do it."
In an instant, a girl clad in black armor almost identical to Tohka's appeared before Westcott. Without the slightest hesitation, she swung her sword straight down at him.
"Boom." In that moment, a slash of black sword energy erupted from within the building, blasting skyward. Anyone unlucky enough to be caught in it—whether Kurumi's clones or DEM operatives—was instantly swallowed by the massive wave of destruction. Even the previously roaring sky fell into sudden silence.
"Wh-what was that?" Elsewhere, Mana Takamiya—locked in a fierce battle with her former colleague Jessica—froze in shock. If that attack had landed on her, unless she'd fully focused on defense, it could easily have killed her outright. At the very least, if it had come at her without warning, she wouldn't have fared any better than the DEM troops.
"That was… it looks like she's finally come out. Heh, heh—begin." But Kurumi wasn't particularly surprised. She already knew there was another Tohka within. After all, she'd secretly followed the two Tohkas that time they went out together.
"Damn it—Westcott!" Up above, the heavily bandaged Ellen also stiffened in alarm. She immediately abandoned her battle with the Yamai twins and rocketed straight for the top of the building.
"This feels strange. Why does it seem so much weaker than before?" Compared to everyone else's shock, the one who'd unleashed the attack looked dissatisfied. She even frowned in displeasure.
"Quit fooling around. This world doesn't have that kind of high openness. Hurry up and break these iron restraints off me—it's so embarrassing being stuck like this." Being tied to a chair, Tohka couldn't help imagining all sorts of shameful scenarios. So right then, she called out to her other self.