Shido stared intently at the figure in the sky, like a white harbinger of death, and the more he looked, the more his heart trembled.
Origami's new Realizer not only far surpassed previous models in performance, but the design style of some of its components and the flowing energy arcs… always gave him a strange, unsettling sense of familiarity.
He unconsciously murmured, "That equipment... some of its structure... haven't I seen it somewhere before...?"
"...Your feeling is not wrong, Shido."
Reine's calm voice came through the earpiece, confirming his suspicion, "According to the intelligence analysis we've gathered, the new tactical Realizer equipped by Master Sergeant Tobiichi Origami, its core framework and energy conduction technology, was not entirely self-developed."
She paused, then dropped a bombshell that shook Shido to his core: "Its technical source is precisely the remnants of the mech that belonged to the Spirit previously known as 'Welt Yang'—the wreckage left after it was destroyed at the declaration of war. Humanity has clearly invested immense resources into emergency reverse engineering research on those remnants, which contained technology far beyond current levels, and prioritized applying its findings to this new equipment."
"Wh-what?! Reverse engineering... Welt's... technology?!"
Shido gasped. Weapons created from Spirit power, then used to hunt Spirits? This was simply... full of irony and paradox!
Kotori snorted coldly on the bridge, interjecting, "That's right. It seems the engineers on the human side were really pushing themselves. To produce an application-level product in such a short time, even if it's just the tip of the iceberg, to put it into actual combat so quickly can be considered'significant achievement.'"
She looked at the screen, at the excellent equipment interwoven with pure white and light blue, and with a tone that carried a hint of mockery yet had to acknowledge its threat, she spoke the newly assigned, mythologically-charged official codename:
"—Its official name, it is said, is 'gungnir.'"
"gungnir..." Shido repeated the word, the name of Odin's spear in Norse mythology, which always hit its mark. This name perfectly matched Origami's precise, efficient, and lethal fighting style, and also symbolized humanity transforming this technology, which originated from "gods" (Spirits), into a sharp spearhead to pierce the "gods" themselves, with the resolve of "always hitting" meaning "always killing."
At this moment, Origami, clad in the gungnir, seemed to truly embody the "Spear of God" enforcing humanity's will, wielding a sharpness forged from the enemy's power, and with an unstoppable momentum, she struck down upon the panicked The Hermit. The cruelty and complexity of the battle instantly escalated to a whole new level.
Origami, clad in the pure white gungnir, like a Valkyrie locking onto her prey, traced a sharp trajectory across the sky. Her right hand gripped a lightsaber, solid as a physical object, its edges pulsating with high-frequency energy, while her left hand was equipped with a simple yet destructive hand cannon.
Long-range suppressive fire and close-quarters lethal slashes seamlessly switched in her hands, integrating offense and defense, pushing The Hermit into perilous situations.
"Crack!" The lightsaber mercilessly slashed down again, and the thick ice shield that had just solidified shattered in response, turning into a sky full of glittering ice dust.
Fear intensified in The Hermit's azure eyes. She instinctively tried to condense Spirit power, attempting to unleash a storm of freezing air strong enough to propel herself out of danger.
However, Origami was faster! The moment The Hermit was gathering her breath, a precise and ruthless side kick had already struck her shoulder, not only interrupting her action but also fiercely kicking her small body to one side.
Almost simultaneously with the kick, Origami's left arm cannon had already adjusted its angle, continuously firing scorching energy bullets, forming a dense barrage that completely sealed off all possible escape routes for The Hermit, forcing her to endure the impact head-on, tumbling backward through the air.
The Hermit frantically tried to flee towards a not-yet-collapsed commercial building below, seeking cover. But several small units on Origami's gungnir system behind her instantly detached, swiftly encircling The Hermit like a swarm of drones with independent will.
They fired slender, precise energy beams, not directly attacking, but weaving a net of death, constantly crisscrossing and blocking in front of her, precisely calculating her every change of direction.
The Hermit, intent only on dodging and devoid of fighting spirit, could only hastily conjure ice shields to defend herself.
The energy beams struck the smooth, hard ice surface, emitting an ear-splitting sizzling sound and dangerously refracting, plowing scorched deep marks into the already dilapidated building facades and ground, yet they consistently failed to break through that desperate defense.
Seeing The Hermit use a refraction opportunity to once again create distance, a cold light flashed in Origami's eyes.
She swung her left arm, and the most conspicuous box-shaped device on her left side behind her rapidly shifted and disassembled, fluidly covering her hand cannon like a living thing, instantly reassembling into a heavy sniper weapon with a menacing appearance and a terrifying glow of energy converging at its muzzle.
She even inserted the hilt of her right-hand lightsaber inversely into a specific port on the side of the cannon body. The lightsaber's glow instantly dimmed, while the energy gathered at the muzzle suddenly surged, emitting a deep and dangerous hum.
Lock-on complete.
A thick, incredibly powerful beam of light, containing destructive energy, tore through the air, striking the distant blue figure like divine punishment! At the last moment, The Hermit finally summoned her giant, doll-like Ice Puppet, which erupted with a powerful torrent of freezing air in an attempt to resist.
Boom—!!!
The violent collision of energy and extreme cold exploded into a dazzling white light in the air.
However, the hastily engaged cold air was ultimately no match for this precisely calculated and enhanced sniper shot.
The beam of light penetrated the freezing barrier with overwhelming force. Although its power was greatly diminished, the residual impact still slammed squarely into the Ice Puppet and The Hermit behind it.
"Uwa!" Accompanied by a short whimper, The Hermit, like a bird with broken wings, fell helplessly from the sky, crashing heavily into the ruins below, raising a cloud of dust.
Origami did not pause.
The moment she confirmed the target had fallen, the right box-shaped device behind her quickly covered the hilt of her lightsaber using the same principle, while the hand cannon component on her left hand connected to and extended from the end of the hilt.
In the blink of an eye, it formed an even larger, exaggeratedly styled, double-headed halberd with blazing white blades extending from both ends!
Her thrusters engaged at full power, and with an unstoppable momentum, she dive-bombed towards where The Hermit had fallen, like a meteor!
The dust gradually dispersed, revealing the scene inside. The Hermit was half-kneeling on the ground, tightly clutching her rabbit puppet, completely enveloped within a thick, incredibly solid hemispherical ice sphere emanating bone-chilling cold.
Origami's figure descended, enveloped in a shockwave. She gripped the massive double-headed light halberd with both hands, thrusting one end of it like a battering ram fiercely onto the smooth surface of the ice sphere!
Sizzle—!!!
An extremely piercing sound of energy and solid ice friction rang out. The tip of the light halberd pressed firmly against the ice layer, furiously rotating and cutting, emitting countless tiny electric arcs and ice fragments, yet it could not break through for a moment.
Inside the ice sphere, The Hermit lifted her head in terror. Through the translucent ice wall, she could clearly see the ominous glowing weapon, and behind it, Origami's utterly cold, pure murderous gaze.
In the stalemate, Origami's eyes sharpened. Her hand, gripping the combined position of the light halberd's hilt, twisted sharply, as if pushing the throttle to the maximum!
Hum—!!!
The light halberd's energy output instantly surged to a new level! The core of the originally blazing white blade suddenly transformed into a deeper, more dangerous ghostly blue!
The point where the ice layer met the light blade began to emit a mournful groan under the strain, and fine cracks spread at a visible speed!
"How... how could this be...?"
The Hermit's azure eyes trembled with fear.
This was beyond her Understanding. Previously, AST attacks had never been able to shake her defenses.
This feeling of her defense being slowly, irresistibly, forcibly breached brought a profound sense of panic and despair, stemming from her perception being overturned.
She could clearly see the ghostly blue light of death penetrating the cracks, inching closer and closer to her pupils.
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