Chapter Thirty-Four: Impact
Thursday.
8:40 A.M.
That sound of disaster played.
UUuuuuuuuuu——
Immediately, every student inside the class froze.
Yes, it was just like this on Monday, but even then, this was unnatural.
While spacequakes did happen from time to time, they were never this close together.
A solemn expression crossed everyone's features, they knew the usual procedure.
"Everyone, keep calm, and file out in front of the shelter."
Practically jumping from her chair.
Ai waved her hand to ease the nerves of the classmates in the class, most of whom were females.
Just outside the class.
A hallway ran straight to the opposite end of the building, where a stairway led down to the underground shelter.
Like most drills everyone had observed in the past.
Students were expected to file in an orderly manner toward their respective shelters, but at this moment.
Screech~
The loud screeching sound of chair legs scratched the floor as a student stood up almost mechanically.
It was Origami.
"...I have to… go."
And without another word, she bolted out of the classroom toward the stairway.
"Origami–!?"
Ai had outstretched her hand towards the door as though to reach out for Origami.
But before she could even move from her position to try and stop her, Origami had already disappeared from the class.
"Oi, oi, oi, isn't that reckless?"
Tonomachi muttered, sliding his gaming console into his bag before clutching the bag like it was a lifeline.
His gaze drifted toward the half-open door.
But before anyone could comment further..
"I—I have to check on my sister!"
Another chair scraped violently against the floor as Shidou stood up and sprinted after Origami, leaving the others stunned.
Morgan, who had been quietly observing, shifted his eyes toward Tonomachi, who was already leaning close to him.
"Hey, do you think—"
"No. Don't speak."
Morgan's tone was flat.
He didn't need to hear whatever nonsense that idiot was about to say.
Knowing Tonomachi, it definitely wouldn't be appropriate for the situation.
With that in mind, he also stood up.
"Morgan? Not you too?"
He was already striding toward the half-open door, with his phone in hand, when Ai's voice stopped him mid-step.
At that point already.
The hallway was already beginning to fill up with the sound of shoes clattering and overlapping voices.
Usually, classes would start in about a few minutes, and because of that, the hallway quickly filled up.
"I have to make sure my Aunt stays safe."
Morgan tilted his head slightly, offering Ai a sidelong glance as he said that.
Then, without waiting for a reply, he slid the door open the rest of the way.
And he left.
Of course, it was a lie.
If Mana was with her, then she would be safe which only made him more curious.
But for now—
'Time to work.'
Loosening the top button of his uniform, Morgan casually walked through the crowded hallway.
…while that happened.
15,000 meters above ground.
Above the airspace of Tengu City.
Fraxinus.
They had also received the report, and in accordance, had also traced the source.
"Ugh.. this early in the morning?"
With an annoying cluck of her tongue, following the sound of the mechanical door to the deck opening.
From her tone alone.
Anyone could tell she was already pissed with this kind of thing happening so early in the morning.
More so, twice in a week.
Of course..
It was none other than the Commander, followed by the Head Analyst, moving to their stations.
"Tch."
Kotori clicked her tongue as she dropped into her command chair.
Already dressed in her crimson commander's uniform, she crossed one leg over the other,
..biting down on her lollipop with a sharp crunch.
"What about Shidou?"
"Yes, we're currently working on it," came the response from one of the crew.
Hearing that, Kotori slumped slightly into her seat.
She reached into her breast pocket, bringing out another of her favourites Chupa Chups sweets.
Unwrapping it, she popped it into her mouth.
"Location, Raizen High. That's... rather bad."
Reine managed to mutter through her dazed expression.
Typing away on her keyboard, she brought up a topological map on the main screen.
Seeing that,
Kotori's expression twisted.
"Deploy the optical cameras."
Kotori gave the order, outstretching her hand.
Immediately, the Fraxinus crew got to work as soon as those orders were received.
"Optical cameras. Preparing to launch."
While they might not have been the most professional-looking team in any way,
when it came to supporting an ordinary boy to make girls fall in love with him, however,
..they were the best in the world.
"Launching."
A crew member spoke.
It was a middle-aged man wearing a formal suit, with clean-shaven black hair and a white skunk stripe running toward his forehead.
Having experienced marriage five times.
Bad Marriage [Tired Too Early]
Kawagoe.
"Camera's deployed."
Despite his delinquent-like look, he quickly gave the report with great focus.
"...displaying footage."
Another crew member gave a report in succession as Kawagoe gave his.
It was another male.
One who looked to be in his golden years with grey hair falling down to his sides.
A man boasting great popularity with the Filipina in the stores at night.
[Company President]
Mikimoto.
He adjusted his glasses upwards with precision and focus as he continued his work.
"Calculating time till impact."
Then, a female-like voice came next.
Long black hair that reached beyond her shoulders, with frontal bangs that also covered the majority of her forehead and eyes.
And like the rest,
Wearing formal, military-like attire.
A woman who brings suffering to every rival in love. The woman who lives at 2 AM.
[Nail Knocker]
Shiizaki.
"T-minus 3 minutes."
"Good. All we can do now is hope they're all able to evacuate in time."
Kotori nodded.
Satisfied with the reports she received from the crew members, she turned toward another officer across the room.
"What about Shidou?"
"Ma'am, he has been successfully retrieved."
A firm voice replied.
It came from a man with short brunette hair that spiked forward slightly.
The man with a hundred waifus.
[The Dimension Breaker]
Someone who, for research purposes, two certain otakus would have gotten along with very well.
Nakatsugawa.
Just as he finished his report,
Tssss!
The mechanical door slid open with a hiss, followed by hurried footsteps.
"K–Kotori, I'm here."
Shidou stumbled in, panting hard, one hand braced on his knee as he looked toward his sister.
Having secluded himself at the back of the school where Fraxinus had locked as a teleportation spot.
It was easy to transfer in.
However… for some reason—
She was giving him that look.
The exact same stare Morgan would throw his way whenever he'd done something idiotic.
…right.
He was supposed to be making Spirits fall in love with him, not cheating.
It was complicated, really.
But according to his sister.
"You're on your own on that one, Shidou."
Even now, he could only sigh. And it was then…
"Confirming, the AST has begun mobilizing, their destination… locked: Raizen High."
"Spacequake incoming!"
Immediately, every eye turned towards the widescreen monitor that displayed the scene down below.
Shidou's eyes lingered there.
This was the first time he'd be seeing how a spacequake actually happens.
While he had seen it up close earlier this week, it was light, destructive, overwhelming and impossible to process.
It was nothing short of a miracle that he had managed to survive that.
BOOM—!
Right now however…
He saw it from a higher perspective.
A thunderous explosion tore across the screen.
The camera feed flashed pure white.
It flooded the bridge in its blinding light before fading back to reveal the aftermath.
While the impact was relatively small compared to what happened on Monday.
…it still easily laid waste to Raizen High.
The courtyard, gymnasium, the grounds, and even parts of the main building were left in shambles.
He could only hope for his classmates and the rest to be safe; in just a bit, he'll resolve the situation.
Thinking that,
He clenched his fist by his side.
Kotori cast a glance, noticing his expression and action, as a thin smile crossed her face.
'Good to know you're motivated.'
She thought that before looking back at the screen with a somewhat distant expression.
Adjusting the Chupa Chups between her teeth, she pointed it toward the main screen.
"Bring me the footage, show me our target."
"Yes, ma'am."
A woman answered, as the feeds constantly changed as though channels were being changed.
It was the last but not the least of the Fraxinus crew members.
One with short but wavy brunette hair and light brown eyes.
Due to her deep love, the law won't let her within 500 meters of her loved one.
Deep Love [Probation Disposal]
Minowa.
Seriously, each and everyone were as comedic as their names and titles, but that wasn't the issue.
"Commander, are you sure, after all, the opponent is a Spirit. Failure is equal to death. Itsuka Shidou hasn't fully—"
In the middle of his sentence, Kotori's fist sank into Kanazuki's solar plexus.
Gah!
He made a twisted scream as he buckled onto the floor, clutching his plexus in pain.
But more importantly.
With pleasure.
If Tonomachi was the number one enemy of women..
Then Kannazuki was even worse than a cockroach in their eyes.
"Are you questioning my decisions?"
Kotori, in full commander mode, clenched her fist with an expression filled with disgust.
"You've become quite a person huh Kanazuki. As punishment, until I say otherwise you will speak like a pig."
"O–Oink!"
Instead of writhing in pain.
Yes, he was enjoying it, like he was used to it.
A visible vein popped on Kotori's temple.
Truly, if there was ever a moment that defined the word pervert, it was this one.
But still, like Kannazuki had said.
It was dangerous.
Even with Fraxinus at his back, Shidou couldn't still help but feel a chill crawl down his spine.
It was still scary.
..thinking about facing beings like that who could easily flatten the city into sandwiches.
Perhaps, if it were someone else, they can handle this without fright.
But in the end, he clenched his fist.
'No, only I can do this.'
Meanwhile,
Fifteen thousand meters - On Ground
Raizen High.
To be specific, inside the men's bathroom, which couldn't even be called one anymore.
It was in complete shambles.
Were there words to fully describe how decimated this place was, then it would be exactly that.
The walls had spider-webbed cracks that looked like they would collapse anytime now.
Worse was its destroyed ceiling.
Most of the rubble from the ceiling collapsed onto the floor and piled up towards the destroyed ceiling.
Water spilled out from destroyed sinks, and even bare wires hung from above the ceiling, crackling.
Krack~
At this moment, a sound was made.
The rubbles made that loud noise as it slowly began unnaturally moving as though it were being pushed.
"Cough, cough, I really do have a death wish, don't I?"
Bam–!
It was Morgan, with a translucent-like barrier, forming a spherical barrier around him.
He straightened,
Brushing dusting his shoulder, as his territory pushed back against the rubble.
"We were able to survive using [Divine Oscillation], but sadly…"
«Yes. Without Anima, Master cannot maintain Territory for long unless Master uses [Avalon]»
Perhaps it was a bad idea.
He knew he was suicidal, but he simply wanted to try tanking a Spacequake.
Well… and it worked.
Using [Vibrations] and [Vector Manipulation] to disperse the impact within the surroundings, he satisfied his curiosity.
But of course.
"My head's beginning to hurt."
«You brought it on yourself, Master»
"Pipe it."
Having fully pushed the rubble aside with a thud that echoed through the now empty hall of the school.
Morgan paused.
He glanced at his phone.
"Where is Aunt?"
«Note: According to the tracker, Master's Aunt is still at home. But chances are…»
Beta replied with her synthetic voice trailing off.
They both knew that there was no way Maya would remain at home.
In the first place, his house didn't have any bunker for her to hide in.
And with how overprotective she was, she would have called by now.
Well, at the very least, she would have tried or sent a message.
In the end… all of this could only mean—
"Beta, send a message. Begin docking phase alignment. Deploy CR Unit: [Avalon]."
«With pleasure. It's finally time for Beta to make her appearance»
[Align Axis, Phase 1: Initializing Docking Ride]
[Avalon. Deploy]