"This operation seems to have failed. The Spirit reaction nearby has disappeared. Does that mean Hermit has left here? This operation was very strange. Hermit had appeared before. Why didn't she display her current strength, but chose to escape instead?" Kusakabe Ryoko took out her device and saw that it showed no Spirit reaction, sighing helplessly. Looking at the dejected AST members around her, this operation would likely shake their confidence.
"Bang!" A sound of ice breaking came. Kusakabe Ryoko turned around and found that Tobiichi Origami, who had just been frozen, had now emerged from the ice, breathing rapidly and collapsed on the ground. It seemed the freezing had depleted some of her stamina, and after being frozen, her breath was visible as white mist. If she didn't take a hot bath immediately, she would definitely catch a cold the next day.
"Origami! Your body is so cold now; you need to go back quickly, or you'll catch a cold." With that, she picked up Tobiichi Origami in a dashing princess carry, turned around, and said to the other AST members, "This operation has failed! All members, return with me immediately!"
"Yes!" The AST members loudly responded to Kusakabe Ryoko, all activating their Realizers and flying towards the AST base. As for the scene damaged by missiles and Spatial Quakes, special personnel would clean up the aftermath later; that was not their concern.
"Captain, Hermit's actions this time were different from before. We need to re-evaluate the intelligence and report it to the higher-ups." The weak Tobiichi Origami remembered how she was frozen in an instant just now; she was no match at all. Moreover, she could feel that the opponent had held back. This feeling of powerlessness made Tobiichi Origami clench her fists.
On the other side, at Ratatoskr, everyone recovered from the recent scene. Itsuka Kotori frowned deeply. She had initially thought it was a reassuring target. Now, it seemed she was just a hidden beast. Previously, when Hermit appeared, she never displayed any aggressive behavior, so why was she acting so abnormally this time?
"Commander! The Spirit reaction at the scene has disappeared! It seems Hermit has left." The Ratatoskr members searched for the current spiritual power reaction, but the result was disappointing. The opponent's signal had disappeared, and they couldn't locate her.
"Are there any signs of Hermit in the surrounding surveillance cameras? Search thoroughly!" Itsuka Kotori waved her right hand. How could she disappear so quickly in such a short time? There must be some clue left nearby.
"Report! Most of the surrounding surveillance cameras have become inoperable due to the Spatial Quake, and no trace of the target was found in the operational cameras. Hermit is now confirmed to have completely disappeared, returning to the 'real world'."
"Ah~ It seems this operation failed. But acquiring new data on Hermit is not bad. Everyone, now compare this data with the previous database and create a new report. You must thoroughly investigate these new circumstances regarding Hermit." It was as if she had become a different person. What was going on? Why had she changed so much all of a sudden?
"Kotori, is this the Spirit that appeared this time?" Itsuka Shido, seeing Itsuka Kotori with a headache, came behind her with some concern and massaged her temples.
"You… yes, that's right. It's her. She's the Spirit who appeared before, identification code: Hermit. Each time she appeared previously, she brought a small Spatial Quake, and it always poured rain around her. This time, there was no such phenomenon. From the current data, it seems she can control water and cold, but her ability to instantly freeze someone completely has completely overturned our previous assessment of her."
Itsuka Kotori's face flushed when she felt those hands on her head, but as the pain lessened, she slowly relaxed, no longer caring about Itsuka Shido's 'disrespectful' behavior.
"...Is she very dangerous, Kotori? I don't feel like this Spirit is dangerous."
"Oh? Have you fallen for her so quickly? That's fast. At this rate, you're the type who'd get the police called on you, you dead loli con. But our next step is to have you capture this Spirit, so it seems my scumbag brother will be sent to prison. But it's okay, that pervert Kannazuki Kyouhei already said three years is a huge profit, and the death penalty isn't a loss. Go for it."
Itsuka Kotori was actually happy that Itsuka Shido could trust Spirits. After all, only this way could he properly capture Spirits in the future. But the annoyance in her heart made her lash out with harsh words again.
"It's not like you said at all. It's just that I saw her only moving those AST members, not harming them. Didn't you say she could freeze someone instantly? If she has such strong power, yet only chose to run away, it means she doesn't want to hurt others, right?" Just like the first time he saw Yatogami Tohka, even though he felt despair at the time, she didn't wield a fatal blade against the AST members. She chose to endure it again and again, disappearing before them.
"Heh, not bad, Shido. You've made some progress now. It seems capturing Tohka has made you grow a lot. Don't worry, all of us at Ratatoskr will help you capture this cute Little Girl."
Itsuka Kotori patted his shoulder and said loudly, ignoring his exasperated expression.
"Y-yes, thank you all very much."
Thinking about what happened during the last capture of Tohka, Itsuka Shido's mouth twitched uncontrollably. This kind of help, where he was the protagonist and they were like galgame players guiding him through choices, was truly unique. But these captures didn't have any save or load options. He still had to be clever.
On the other side of the city, Yoshino hid her spiritual power and sat down in a park. Her spirit dress had been replaced with a simple white dress.
"Yoshino, you should be past Ratatoskr's surveillance by now, right?"
"Don't worry, it's just satellite surveillance. Such machines can be blocked with a bit of power. However, you need to be careful not to let anyone detect your spiritual power. They can use special detectors to find the Spirits' locations."
"Hmm, I understand. But now, Shiina, I still need your help to block the surrounding reconnaissance. I'm going to summon them now."
Holding the necklace around her neck, she used its power as a guide, and a hexagonal magic circle appeared on the ground, shining with light.
"Oh my, you really do cause trouble for people. Are you that impatient?" She had only just escaped, yet she was so eager.
"Ah, it seems this child's situation is very interesting."
She didn't notice a pair of eyes watching her from the shadows. Those crimson eyes, gleaming with interest, stared intently at the magic circle on the ground.
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