"Haa… haa… haa…"
Perhaps due to the excessive strain on her mind, Origami's face was drenched in sweat, her facial muscles stiff, and her breathing ragged.
Meanwhile, the barrier surrounding Kotori vanished into thin air, dissipating together with the lingering flames of the explosions.
However, when Origami finally saw the scene revealed after the fire faded, her eyes widened in disbelief.
Protected layer upon layer by flames, Kotori—though lightly burned in several spots—exhaled softly, her expression relaxed.
"What tremendous firepower. Is that a new model from AST?" Kotori remarked casually. With a wave of her hand, the flames brushed over her body, and her wounds healed instantly.
"Ugh…"
Origami glared bitterly at Kotori, who remained unscathed even after she had pushed her CR-Unit to its very limits. Her eyes were filled with frustration and rage.
"Itsuka Shidouu… what are you doing?"
Just then, from behind the boy sitting weakly on the grass, came a cold, menacing voice that made his hair stand on end. He instinctively turned around and scrambled backward, away from the source of the sound.
There stood Tenki Sanraku, clad entirely in her blood-red Astral Dress, her expression void of emotion as she stared at him.
"T-Tenki-san?"
"You really are useless."
Tenki shook her head at Shidou's pitiful appearance, then grabbed him by the collar, hauling him up effortlessly—only to toss him aside roughly.
Caught off guard, Shidou fell flat on his face, eating a mouthful of dirt and grass.
Because Tenki made no attempt to conceal her presence, both Origami and Kotori immediately turned their attention toward her.
"Miss Tenki? Why are you here?"
Kotori raised an eyebrow. If she could help it, she would have preferred not to see Tenki Sanraku—especially not while she was wearing her Astral Dress—in a situation like this. Now, with her hands tied, she couldn't protect Shidou.
"..."
Origami's expression darkened. She redirected the muzzles of her cannons and missile pods, which had been aimed at Kotori moments ago, toward Tenki instead.
Through the CR-Unit's built-in spirit-sensing systems, Origami quickly identified the spirit's spiritual signature. And within seconds, the data revealed the name associated with the being standing before her.
"...Genie (Asura)..."
Even for Origami, who had fought many spirits before, the moment she saw that codename, her face drained of color, and a wave of powerlessness washed over her.
The most brutal spirit—Genie (Asura).
Since this spirit's first appearance, AST-like organizations worldwide had drilled into new recruits a single doctrine: be prepared to lay down your life without hesitation should you ever face Genie (Asura).
Before Asura appeared, even though human soldiers rarely made much difference in spirit battles, casualties were surprisingly low—most spirits didn't go out of their way to massacre humans.
But the arrival of Genie (Asura) had plunged the world into sheer terror.
As someone who had sworn to annihilate all spirits, Origami naturally knew of this entity.
Her superior, Ryoko Kusakabe, had repeatedly warned: If you ever encounter Genie (Asura), do not engage recklessly. Sound the spacequake alarm immediately, evacuate civilians, and prepare to fight together with your team—even if it means dying.
Though Origami had seen Tenki Sanraku before on the rooftop, she hadn't paid much attention to the girl quietly observing from the sidelines.
Now that she knew Tenki's true identity, the realization hit her like a thunderclap.
Kotori, the spirit Efreet, was already formidable enough—and now Genie (Asura) was involved. The situation had turned overwhelmingly against her.
Worse yet, Shidou was standing right next to Genie (Asura). With Efreet also posing a threat, Origami couldn't ensure his safety if he were caught in the crossfire.
And given Tenki Sanraku's mere presence in Tenguu City, the implications were terrifying.
Perhaps because both Origami and Kotori were concerned about Shidou's safety near Tenki, they simultaneously ceased fighting, shifting their full attention to her.
"...You two..."
Tenki clicked her tongue, then extended her right hand, summoning her angel—
"Burning Immortal Flame."
The crimson, seven-foot-long crescent halberd materialized in her grasp. Tenki immediately leveled its blade at Shidou's neck, who was still lying helplessly on the ground. Her voice turned cold as she addressed the two girls:
"Keep fighting until one of you wins. Amuse me. If you stay idle like this, I won't mind making this useless man named Itsuka Shidouu my dinner."
Eating humans wasn't new to her, after all.
Half of what she said was truth, the other half—threat.
"Shidou!"
"Miss Tenki, we can—"
"Of course," Tenki interrupted them lazily, "you're welcome to try. Let's see whose move is faster."
Despite Origami and Kotori's panicked reactions, Tenki remained utterly unmoved.
"Th-this is…"
With the blade of her halberd pressed against his neck, Shidou didn't dare move a muscle. His arms trembled as he stayed frozen in place.
Although his head was still fuzzy from being tossed earlier, he had clearly heard every word Tenki had said.
He realized that she was using him as a hostage—to force Kotori and Origami to resume fighting.
"T-Tenki-san…"
"Shut up, you rooster. All bark and no bite."
Without warning, Tenki drove her foot hard into Shidou's abdomen.
"Ugh—!"
Caught completely off guard, Shidou took the full force of a spirit's kick. Pain exploded from his stomach as his body went limp, collapsing helplessly to the ground.
"Shidou!"
"Shidou!!"
Kotori and Origami cried out at the same time.
"If you two hadn't stopped fighting on your own when I arrived, Shidou wouldn't have had to suffer this small punishment."
Tenki's tone was flat as she glanced down at the grass beneath her. It wasn't particularly dirty, but sitting directly on it didn't feel appropriate either.
After all, she was female—and with her pride and status, she couldn't just plop down anywhere like in her previous life.
So she looked around casually, and finally, her gaze settled on the prone figure of Itsuka Shidouu.
"Ugh…"
As Shidou groaned faintly, Tenki simply sat down right on top of him. Surprisingly, it felt rather comfortable.
Keeping her legs tightly together to avoid exposing herself—given her blood-red dress—she drove the halberd's shaft into the ground beside them, its gleaming blade still poised near Shidou's neck, like an executioner's guillotine.
"Now continue," she ordered calmly. "If you want this boy to live to see tomorrow's sunrise."
Her crimson eyes reflected the images of Origami and Kotori as if she were watching a stage play.
"Spirit… let Shidou go. Even without you, I'll settle this with Kotori Itsuka—one of us will die today."
Though rage burned within her, Origami forced herself to speak in a steady tone. The power difference between them was too vast, and provoking a lunatic like Tenki would bring only disaster.
"If it weren't for your little feud with Kotori, I wouldn't have bothered showing up. I've seen enough battles between AST and spirits."
Tenki yawned nonchalantly, her tone utterly indifferent.
"Of course, I've also killed plenty of AST myself."
"!!!"
Her mocking words ignited Origami's fury. Her CR-Unit began to charge up energy, ready to unleash its most powerful strike against Tenki.
"..."
But in the end, Origami exhaled sharply, lowering her weapons—and turned them back toward Kotori instead.
Whether for her parents' sake or for Shidou's, she had to kill Efreet.
"Tobiichi Origami, you—!"
Kotori glanced at Shidou to confirm that he was still alive, then gritted her teeth and raised Camael, her flaming battle axe.
Suddenly, Kotori's expression twisted in pain. She clutched her head with her left hand and groaned.
"Damn it… power… overload…"
"!"
Though still on the ground, Shidou noticed her distress immediately.
It was the exact same reaction as the one he'd seen on the rooftop before.
"Oh? Now this is getting interesting," Tenki murmured with amusement.
Unlike Shidou's anxiety or Tenki's intrigue, Origami saw an opportunity she couldn't waste.
She turned, aiming the enormous cannons mounted on her CR-Unit squarely at Kotori.
"Disappear—Magic Cannon!"
With a roar, torrents of magical energy burst from the muzzles, surging straight toward Kotori Itsuka.