The Fraxinus was hovering high above Hitogami Island. To prevent DEM's people from causing trouble during this school trip, everyone was on edge.
Kotori was not on the Bridge because the organization had a round table meeting. She handed over command to Kannazuki Kyohei, while Murasame Reine was dispatched for on-site command.
As the Bridge crew went about their daily work, they suddenly detected a huge energy radiating in the air.
"Report! Detecting a massive energy signature!"
"Oh? Is it a Spacequake?"
"No, it's not Spacequake energy. This energy is the same as the energy produced when those mechs first appeared during Tohka's initial appearance!"
Long-distance teleportation through the power of quanta—as long as one can master the power of quanta, then no matter how large an object, it can be teleported.
Of course, this is not the technology of this world. The high-tech of this world is all explored through the power of Spirits, so even if DEM and Ratatoskr's people detect this power, they cannot analyze its principles, let alone use it.
"Those mechs back then… I almost forgot about that. Display the specific footage. This time, it definitely won't be those mechs appearing; there might be something big."
"Yes!"
Following Kannazuki Kyohei's command, the large screen displayed the location of the energy.
Similar to the dark blue light when the titan descended, the light gradually grew larger, eventually expanding to a size comparable to the airship Fraxinus.
"This is... truly terrifying technology. If this is truly long-distance teleportation using technology unknown to us, then this organization is truly formidable."
Kannazuki Kyohei stared blankly at the appearance of the Bridge. He remembered Illya from Laichan Middle School; from Illya's previous behavior, it was clear she was part of this organization.
Since Illya was part of this organization, did that mean this organization, like theirs, operated on the premise of peaceful coexistence with Spirits?
The dark blue light quickly vanished, and what appeared in the sky was a floating battleship, over two hundred seventy meters long, with a deck length of one hundred eighty-two meters.
This battleship was powered by nuclear energy, with as many as six nuclear fusion reactors. This was not a battleship that Fraxinus could contend with.
"What... exactly is this thing? A battleship? Isn't that a bit too exaggerated!"
Everyone on the Bridge stared dumbfounded at the sudden appearance of the steel battleship. Kannazuki Kyohei racked his brain, recalling the DEM Industries' Bridges, but found no battleship that matched this design.
In other words, this battleship was created by that mysterious organization? To be able to produce such a large battleship without any prior movement... who exactly was behind this organization?
Just as Kannazuki Kyohei was feeling indecisive, the suddenly appeared battleship changed direction, adjusting its left and right railguns towards the east side of Fraxinus.
The railguns had a caliber of four hundred thirty millimeters and a length of thirty meters, and two hundred seventy millimeters with a length of eighteen meters.
The main cannons of this battleship were originally designed to deal with Judgment-class Honkai Beasts, but they could also unleash formidable combat power against airborne battleships.
Students enjoying themselves on Hitogami Island suddenly heard a dull thud. Everyone looked up at the sky in confusion, wondering if it was a sign of thunder.
Near the pile of rocks by the beach, a blurry, pixelated mosaic, as if suffering from signal interference, was present, seemingly watching Shiori.
"It's really hard to find you, but as long as I stay by Shiori's side, I'll eventually find you."
A sudden voice made the mosaic visibly flinch, wanting to escape, but a magic circle that suddenly appeared beneath her feet prevented her departure.
"Don't even think about it. The moment you focused your attention on Shiori, I had already set up a magic circle beneath your feet. While it's nothing extraordinary, it's enough to trap you for a while."
Illya walked up to the mosaic. Looking at the mosaic that had stopped struggling, Illya smiled.
"What should I call you? Should I call you the Origin Spirit—Mio Takamiya? Or should I call you Murasame Reine? Or perhaps, the mastermind behind everything."
"...You know more than I imagined. Did Kurumi and Nia tell you?"
Without any hint of tension, as if everything was under her control, Mio Takamiya spoke in a cold tone.
"It has nothing to do with them; I was just too curious. Curious about who created the Spirits? Why does Shiori possess the power to seal Spirits? Who is pushing the development of events from behind the scenes?"
There were too many things she wanted to know in this world, which was why she rushed over immediately when she sensed unusual energy appearing near the beach.
"I don't know what others think, but I don't believe Shiori would gain the power to seal Spirits for no reason. Moreover, Shiori's power is less about'sealing power' and more about 'absorbing power.' Ordinary humans definitely wouldn't possess this power, so the only explanation is that the Spirits were born for Shiori to seal their power, thereby achieving some purpose."
"So... I asked Nia and Kurumi about the first Spirit. And it was from Nia that I learned a name, Mio Takamiya."
"I must say, your appearance has interfered with my plans. When you and Yoshino first appeared together, I was very surprised. I had never given you a spirit crystal, so why did you possess Spirit power? Later, I discovered that your power doesn't originate from a spirit crystal, but from a different energy system, unlike spiritual power."
"You, like me, are not from this world, but from another, aren't you?"
Mio Takamiya herself was not a human from this world; she was merely an existence summoned to this world.
Having this experience, Mio Takamiya thought that Inaba Tsukiyo might also be someone who came here from another world, just like her.
"I didn't look for you; I didn't expect you to come looking for me. Is it because of what happened on the Rooftop at school last time?"
Mio Takamiya's only appearance was on the Rooftop of Laichan Middle School. Originally, she just wanted to get some information about Illya, but she didn't expect to expose herself that time.
"It's alright. The main thing is that incident made me realize there was someone else secretly turning ordinary people into Spirits. Spirits born from the Sephirot of the kabbalah tree of life, so your identity wouldn't happen to be the energy ring outside the kabbalah tree of life, would it? After all, your identity could be considered the mother of all Spirits."
"It's just that your motherhood isn't kind. To refine spirit crystals suitable for humans, you've harmed quite a few people! Including Kurumi, who once trusted you deeply but was used by you!"
Kurumi was originally a human girl, but due to her adaptability to spirit crystals, she was chosen by Mio Takamiya to eliminate those girls who had turned into monsters due to the refinement of spirit crystals.
Facing Illya's words, Mio Takamiya fell silent, perhaps pondering reasons to shirk responsibility, or perhaps recalling what had happened at the time.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you speaking? The magic circle shouldn't have a speech-prohibiting function. Aren't you going to defend your actions?"
"...You're not wrong. Whether it's the girls who died to refine spirit crystals, or the tragedies that befell the Spirits, I caused them all. However, I truly regarded them as my own daughters."
The mosaic on Mio Takamiya disappeared, reverting to her original appearance. This appearance looked like a young Murasame Reine.
Recalling her past actions, Mio Takamiya felt remorse, but to achieve her goal, Mio Takamiya was willing to bear such sin.
"...Why are you doing this? For love? To revive Shinji Takamiya? But do you think Shido Takamiya would forgive you after knowing what you've done?"
Mio Takamiya trembled violently, looking at Illya in disbelief. She hadn't expected Illya to know the name Shinji Takamiya.
"Why? Why do you know that name?"
"Because Shiori and Mana Takamiya are sisters, but neither Mana Takamiya nor Shiori have memories of their past. Shiori also has no memories from before she came to the Itsuka family. So... I asked Nia to investigate using Mana Takamiya as a clue. And indeed, I discovered a very important piece of information."
"Mana Takamiya... is not fourteen years old. She is already forty-four years old."
Yes, that's right! Shiori's younger sister, Mana Takamiya, although possessing the appearance of a fourteen-year-old girl, was actually forty-four years old.
Mana Takamiya was Shinji Takamiya's younger sister. Mana was originally taken by DEM Industries as a hostage, but after Shinji Takamiya's death, out of Westcott's cruel amusement, Mana was put into cold storage and underwent extensive Transformation two or three years ago.
It was also through Mana Takamiya's identity that Inaba Tsukiyo, with the help of Nia and Kurumi, investigated many events from thirty years ago.
Oh, by the way, Mana Takamiya's best friend when she was a middle school student thirty years ago was named Haruko Hoshima, who is Kotori Itsuka's mother.
I must say, this move is truly mind-boggling. An old best friend becoming an older sister's adoptive mother or something, it's quite thrilling to think about.
"Although I don't expect you to answer my question, can you tell me what your true goal is? What is your purpose in having Shiori seal the Spirits?"
"...To make Xiao Shi immortal, like me."
"To make Xiao Shi and I stay together forever."
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