"Big sister! You're not following the script. You're making things very difficult for me!"
Kurumi fired a bullet that hit the ground at Illustrious's feet. Illustrious couldn't help but be startled; this Kurumi was truly fierce.
"What nonsense are you talking about! Don't think that just because you're a Spirit, I won't dare to shoot you. If you don't want me to kill you, speak up quickly."
Originally, Kurumi had planned to kill Illustrious to obtain the spirit crystal and absorb her spirit power. Now, she planned to ask about Mosaic's location before killing her.
Illustrious spread her hands and shook her head. "Yare yare! Fine! I'll tell you the truth! Actually, I don't know where she is either. She just gave me the spirit crystal and ran off."
Hearing that Illustrious didn't know Mosaic's location, Kurumi was very disappointed. She had originally wanted to kill the Origin Spirit of this time period as well, to avenge being deceived by her in the past.
Although she couldn't kill the current Origin Spirit, Kurumi had to absorb enough spirit power to return to the past and kill the Origin Spirit from thirty years ago, thereby changing the future.
To realize her long-cherished wish, Kurumi didn't intend to leave Illustrious in this world. "I see. You're useless now. So, please become one with me!"
"Become one? What do you want to do! I'm telling you, I'm a decent person." Illustrious's face flushed with fear.
"Ha! What's going on in your head? Forget it, I can't be bothered to waste more words with you. Die!" Kurumi Tokisaki pulled the trigger of her flintlock pistol.
"Bang!"
The bullet from the flintlock pistol was fired. The power of this bullet, imbued with spirit power, created a series of sonic booms as it passed.
Facing this bullet, Illustrious was full of disdain. She simply raised her hand and gave it a light swat. With a bang, the bullet was sent flying sideways.
"Astral Dress: Tenth!"
After swatting the bullet, Illustrious immediately transformed into her princess-like Astral Dress. She summoned Sandalphon in her right hand and charged toward Kurumi.
Seeing Illustrious charging toward her, Kurumi immediately fired spirit power bullets continuously.
"Bang bang bang...!"
"Useless, useless, useless! Your bullets can't hurt me." Illustrious continuously swung Sandalphon while advancing rapidly, cutting the bullets in half.
In the blink of an eye, Illustrious closed in on Kurumi and aimed a diagonal slash at her.
As a long-range fighter, Kurumi knew the consequences of being closed in on by a melee fighter. She kicked off the ground and leaped lightly into the air, dodging Illustrious's sword.
The greatsword fell heavily but caused no damage. Illustrious looked up at Kurumi flying in mid-air. "Don't think you're so special just because you can fly. Don't forget that I'm a Spirit too, and I can fly as well."
"Bang!"
Illustrious frantically circulated the spirit power in her body and kicked off the ground. The ground immediately caved in due to the powerful force. Her entire body left the ground and shot toward Kurumi.
The two Spirits began a battle in the sky. Illustrious held her greatsword and tried to get close to Kurumi, while Kurumi retreated continuously and fired spirit power bullets to keep Illustrious away. Seeing these bullets, Illustrious swung her sword to shatter them. Both sides entered a stalemate.
The spirit power erupting from the two Spirits immediately triggered the spirit power detector alarm, and a female voice began to broadcast.
"Spacequake precursor detected in this area! Residents, please evacuate to the shelters. This is not a drill! Repeating, this area...!"
Nearby residents immediately ran to the shelters and took elevators down. Elevators near cars and trains began to descend and close.
Ten thousand meters above Tengu City, there was an aerial battleship named Fraxinus. It belonged to a mysterious organization called Ratatoskr. Ratatoskr dealt with Spirits through dialogue, believing that humans and Spirits could coexist peacefully.
"Control error, exceeding conventional indices!"
"Confirmed as strong spirit power fluctuations!"
"Two spirit power sources discovered. Targets identified as Empress and Nightmare!"
Kotori, wearing black ribbons and sitting on the high platform, ate her lollipop with a solemn expression. She then took it out of her mouth and said, "Have the Spirits appeared? It seems they've arrived earlier than expected! It looks like we'll have to send our secret weapon, Shido, out ahead of schedule."
Illustrious swung two six-meter-long spirit power sword slashes at Kurumi. Once unleashed, the sword slashes caused the surrounding space to vibrate.
Looking at the two sword slashes ahead, Kurumi showed no fear. She pulled the trigger of her flintlock pistol twice.
"The Second Bullet!"
Two Second Bullets hit the two sword slashes. The slashes, which had been flying like lightning, immediately became as slow as snails after being hit.
Looking at the slow sword slashes, Kurumi easily dodged them and pulled the trigger of the flintlock pistol against her own head once.
"The First Bullet!"
With a bang, Kurumi's flight speed increased. In an instant, she flew behind Illustrious. Sensing this, Illustrious tried to perform a spinning slash, but Kurumi was faster. She pulled the trigger of her flintlock pistol.
"The Seventh Bullet!"
With a bang, The Seventh Bullet hit Illustrious. Illustrious immediately stopped in mid-air, unable to move her sword.
Kurumi came before Illustrious and stroked her face with an excited expression. "This is truly surprising! I didn't expect you to have such massive spirit power inside you. Well then, I'm digging in!"
Watching Kurumi do as she pleased with her, Illustrious was furious. Dammit! I was careless just now and accidentally didn't dodge. I actually got hit, and it was Kurumi's Seventh Bullet. Once hit by The Seventh Bullet, one becomes temporarily unable to move, and it only disappears after some time.
Kurumi kissed Illustrious's lips, and Illustrious's spirit power continuously flowed into Kurumi's body.
So much spirit power entering Kurumi's body caused her cheeks to flush, her legs to press together, and her eyes to moisten. Her body couldn't help but tremble.
After a while, Illustrious, whose body had been drained of one-tenth of its spirit power, was finally able to move. She pushed Kurumi away forcefully.
"Dammit, had enough? Take this!" With a flushed face and a look of shame, Illustrious raised her sword and slashed at Kurumi.
Kurumi was very surprised that Illustrious had broken free so quickly. After being hit by The Seventh Bullet, according to the timing, it should have taken more time to break free.
Sigh! What a pity. I still need half of the spirit power to be able to activate The Twelfth Bullet. It looks like I can only absorb it next time, because the annoying flies have arrived.
A dozen AST members arrived in the sky. Flying at the front was Ryoko Kusakabe, the captain of the Tengu City Anti-Spirit Team. Beside Ryoko was the team's top ace, Origami Tobiichi.
"Origami, listen. Don't act on your own later. Wait for us to..."
Before Ryoko could finish, Origami left the team and took the lead, flying toward the two Spirits.
"Spirits! All of you must die. Disappear!"
Arriving before the two Spirits ahead of time, Origami fired six missiles that streaked toward Illustrious like lightning. These missiles came with aggressive force, making Illustrious, who was halfway through her attempt to slash Kurumi, stop. "Tch! You AST people again. Aren't you annoying? I didn't even cause a Spacequake to destroy the city."
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