"Tch, pretty fast reflexes—you actually dodged the finishing blow of the Sword of Demise." Rubbing her arm and standing up from the chair she'd been strapped to, Tohka looked at Westcott across from her as she spoke. At this point, he was no longer wearing his suit but was instead clad in armor-like Realizer equipment. Watching this, Tohka couldn't help mentally complaining: These so-called Realizer Units are basically just fanservice, aren't they? Look at this full-body armor, then look at what those women wear—practically indecent. She was this close to asking, "Are you people short on materials or what?"
"Huff…huff…" Right now, Westcott no longer looked as calm and composed as before. Instead, he stared at Tohka—no, at the girl next to her standing like a bodyguard—with a somewhat fearful expression. This girl had appeared so suddenly that he hadn't sensed any warning at all. If not for his quick reflexes, he would already be dead. Even now, he covertly pressed a hand to his waist where blood was seeping out. The pain there made him draw in a sharp breath. Although he often called Ellen the strongest Wizard, his own strength wasn't weak—otherwise he'd never have dared to let Ellen go out alone to face Tohka. Even so, a glancing hit like this, catching him completely off guard, had still left him injured.
"Hmph, this world really is annoying. The last world was much more comfortable—if we were still there, this guy would be dead already." But the Inverse Tohka standing at her side couldn't help grumbling. Back then, she had annihilated the Apocalypse with a single sword strike. Even if that had been the nerfed movie version, she still felt that thing was far stronger than the man in front of her.
"You…hey, I haven't even scolded you yet. I told you to keep him alive—seriously injured was fine, but why did you go straight for a kill?" Hearing her inverse self-complain, Tohka also couldn't stop herself from grumbling. If they killed him outright, wouldn't Ellen outside go completely berserk? Not that she cared personally, but more importantly, she wouldn't be able to find out where Nia was. If that happened, she might end up imprisoned forever—after all, the one guarding her was someone who could even overpower her inverse form.
"Tohka, are you okay? I—uh, you're here too." Just then, Miku ran over. Never mind that there were still quite a few DEM operatives in the building—under her song's control, all those people had been turned into the best guide dogs. After all, even wearing Realizer Units, none of the small fry had any way to resist Miku's control. So, she had basically strolled in with a whole procession of controlled personnel and smashed through the mechanical defenses. But when she saw Tohka—and especially the Inverse Tohka standing protectively beside her—her expression turned somewhat awkward. Clearly, this more domineering version of Tohka still left quite an impression.
"That's your inverse form? But that's impossible—aren't the inverse and the original the same person? How can they appear at the same time?" But compared to any other reaction, Westcott was more concerned with the second Tohka. Although he'd done some research into reversals, he'd never imagined a scenario like this.
"That's not something you need to know. Everyone's here now—do it." Seeing that the group was assembled, Tohka didn't hesitate to issue her order. As for the reason, perhaps not even Reine Murasame, the First Spirit who split her power, could have explained it. But neither she nor her inverse self-had any intention of clarifying things for this man.
"Alright, alright, no problem. Relax. As long as I chop off his four limbs so he can't run, that should be good enough, right?" The Inverse Tohka dismissed the Sword of Demise, narrowed her eyes with a cold smile as she looked at Westcott. After all, the Sword of Demise was too destructive for this kind of "precision" work. Then, speaking softly to Tohka, she didn't wait for a reply and immediately charged at Westcott. Raising her greatsword, she brought it crashing down on his head.
"Bang." But the strike never landed. Because just then—not only had Miku arrived—Ellen also managed to rush back from outside. She had pushed her speed to the limit, arriving in front of Westcott to block the blow.
"Ugh…" Even so, Ellen couldn't suppress a pained groan. Against Tohka's reversal, whose attacks specialized in piercing defenses, this single strike was enough to rip open her wounds. The Yamai twins' attacks had looked ferocious—arriving on gusts of wind—but in true close combat, their pressure didn't compare at all. Before, Ellen could still hold them off, but against Inverse Tohka, she was outmatched. Blood was soaking slowly through the bandages at her side.
"Running away halfway through? Did you think I wasn't here? Stand and take it properly."
"Agreed—your opponents are us."
But just then, a violent gale swept through. The Yamai twins charged in right behind Ellen. As soon as they stepped through the doorway and saw her forced back by Inverse Tohka's slash, they didn't hesitate for an instant. Displaying the full spirit of berserkers, they came from left and right with fists surrounded by howling wind.
"Damn it!!" At this point, there was no way Ellen could maintain any pretense of calm. If she were at full strength, she might have been able to block them, but after Tohka's earlier sabotage left her half-crippled—and with fresh wounds reopened—there was no way she could hold back this combined assault. She had no choice but to retreat step after step, ending up back beside Westcott.
"This can't go on—we have to withdraw today." Even Ellen, with all her confidence, had to request retreat. Any longer and she really might die here.
"I understand—retreat." Seeing all the assembled Spirits before him, even Westcott felt enormous pressure. Every one of them seemed stronger than Nia, whom they'd captured before—especially the Inverse Tohka, whose presence weighed on him like a mountain. He had studied reversals extensively, and he knew what a threat they posed.
With that thought, he didn't hesitate. He pulled out a device from his hand, and at once a barrier sprang up around them. Clearly, they planned to teleport out. After all, if Ratatoskr had teleportation tech, there was no reason DEM wouldn't.
"Heh—did you really think I'd let you escape?" Coldly smiling at Westcott, Tohka had no intention of allowing it. On a battlefield like this, while the barrier protected them, it also interfered with teleportation. Having wielded the Space Gem for so long, she was extremely sensitive to spatial fluctuations. After gauging the timing and conditions of their escape, she turned to the others: "You want the power of the Spirits, to climb the true Kabbalah Tree of Life—just like that woman. Show them our power."
"My, my—so you can't hold back any longer, can you?" Inverse Tohka chuckled softly, unconcerned. Then, to the confusion of Miku and the others, she flung herself against Tohka—and vanished.
"That shell of theirs is clearly their trump card. With just your strength, breaking it would take time. This barrier is powered by spirit energy—it's got resistance to your attacks." Tohka explained briefly to her inverse self. Then a massive sigil appeared in the sky behind her. Inverse Tohka had helped her draw out this power.
In the original, it required consuming the strength of several Spirits within Shido to activate. This time, Tohka directly released it through the Kabbalah Tree of Life within her. A vast surge of energy poured into her.
"That's—the Kabbalah Tree of Life!!!" Inside the barrier, Westcott stared, transfixed—especially at the sigil behind her. It matched exactly the diagram described in the Bible. This was what he had pursued all along. Though, he found it strange—while Spirits were supposed to correspond to the Sefirot nodes, it wasn't supposed to literally exist. How could Tohka possess it? Yet he could see it wasn't complete, with some dim or flickering spheres.
"That's the Kabbalah Tree—the Angel System—how can this be…" Tohka hadn't hidden it at all. With all the world's top combatants here, there was no need to be cautious like she'd been in Marvel. This time, she made it grand and obvious. Even Reine Murasame on Ratatoskr's ship noticed—and she understood why Tohka had sought her cooperation. But now she didn't feel so pressed. Combining their interests, she realized their goals weren't fundamentally opposed, which meant their partnership could continue—and perhaps even thrive.
While everyone stared, Tohka's outfit transformed. Her performance dress vanished, replaced by a magnificent suit of armor no one had seen before. Wings slowly unfurled behind her, and with the influx of spirit power, an enormous purple feathered projection appeared. In one hand, she held the familiar massive sword, Sandalphon. In the other—a brand new greatsword.
And it wasn't just her armor that changed—her whole presence sharpened like a colossal blade. After all, this was reality, not some game where a new skin was just cosmetic.
"We have to be quick—like this, even we can't sustain it for long." Inverse Tohka's voice echoed inside her mind. To manifest this form required multiple Spirits' power—right now, with only the two of them, it couldn't last.
"I know. Don't worry." What, did they think she was like some Dragon Ball fusion, Vegito or Gogeta, all flashy posturing? No—Tohka didn't hesitate. Raising her twin swords, she struck down at the barrier protecting Ellen and Westcott.
"Boom." A deafening blast shook the floor beneath their feet, fissures spreading outward.
But that was only the beginning. Cracks snaked all across the shield, growing and multiplying—until finally, it shattered completely. The half-completed teleportation failed and winked out.
"Damn it—damn it all!" Seeing this, Ellen could no longer care whether she was any match for Tohka. She charged at her with suicidal intent—but a hurricane roared in. The Yamai twins, having anticipated this, swept her up in a torrent of wind, giving her no time to react as they hurled her away.
"Hmph." Watching Ellen vanish into the storm, Westcott knew there was no escape. He had no choice but to draw his own weapon to face Tohka's dual blades.
But it was hopeless. He barely lasted a few exchanges before she smashed his weapon to pieces. And she didn't stop—she pressed in, hacking off one of his arms cleanly. Then, with a flick, a wave of sword energy shredded it into pulp, making recovery impossible.
But he didn't even have time to scream. His defense completely collapsed. Tohka avoided his vitals, impaled him through the chest, and pinned him to the floor.
"Whew… It's over. He's yours, Miku." As the unconscious Westcott lay nailed down, Tohka's armor dissolved. The massive blade that had pinned him vanished as well. But it didn't matter—her goal was complete. She beckoned to Miku, who had stood by without interfering. The rest wasn't something violence could solve anymore.