"What in the world is going on with that guy?"
Far from the battlefield, in a laboratory established in Nagazora City, a blonde woman watched the recording, her voice laced with agitation.
On the large screen, a young man holding a short sword, with many expensive-looking gemstones floating around him, was constantly moving about the countryside.
Sometimes he appeared on the ground, sometimes in the air, and at other times, he would appear without any warning right on the armament named Armored Bunny.
His movement speed was fast compared to a normal person, but it couldn't compare to Armored Bunny, which was capable of supersonic movement.
However, the moment the armament named Armored Bunny hit him, his body would shatter like an illusion, or a gemstone would break, whisking him away.
Although Armored Bunny clearly had the upper hand in terms of power and speed, the enemy was inexplicably capable of instantaneous teleportation, creating illusions, and his position could not be detected.
As a result, the side that should have had the absolute advantage was forced into a defensive posture.
If this continued, let alone retrieving Raiden Mei, Bronya would probably have trouble protecting herself.
"I... I don't know." The researcher, completely unable to comprehend the current situation, was sweating profusely.
"Damn it!" Cocolia slammed her fist heavily on the table, making the entire table tremble violently. "Relay my orders! Mecha Battalion One, mobilize! Proceed to assist Bronya in retrieving Raiden Mei."
"Yo, Cocolia, you look pretty pathetic right now."
Just as Cocolia's order was given, an extremely flippant voice, like that of an uneducated ruffian, sounded from behind.
Cocolia and the researchers all looked over, and a figure walked into their field of vision.
It was a man wearing a hooded blue overcoat, holding a half-eaten apple in his hand. He glanced at the projection in front and spoke.
"Lord Sovereign, you've arrived." Almost the instant she heard that voice, Cocolia turned around and bowed to the hooded man, her words and actions humble.
"He's just a slightly more agile grasshopper, that's all," said Welt-One, a clone created from the genes of Anti-Entropy's first Sovereign, Welt Joyce, with an air of indifference.
"Not everyone possesses your power, Lord First Herrscher." Upon seeing the brainless fellow, Cocolia was inwardly ecstatic, but her expression was one of extreme difficulty.
"We weaklings are already struggling just to retrieve the test subject. Even though we desperately want to capture the kidnapper who holds so many secrets, we are powerless to do so."
"Please forgive your subordinate's incompetence."
"Tsk—utterly useless." Welt-One, who probably genuinely regarded Cocolia as useless, casually tossed the half-eaten apple onto the floor, his contempt palpable.
"Watching you lot handle things is laughable to me, the great me."
"We implore the Lord Sovereign to act," Cocolia requested of Welt Joyce's clone.
"Speak. Where are that fellow and the test subject?" Welt-One, who considered himself the First Herrscher, stretched lazily. "Just finished eating. Catching a grasshopper isn't a bad way to pass the time."
========Line Break========
Meanwhile, on the other side, where the magus and Miss Banya were engaged in battle.
"Giving up on moving so soon? How disappointing."
As Bronya was observing her surroundings with utmost concentration, wary of the elusive enemy, such a voice sounded.
Following that was a crisp snap of fingers, and then, strange ripples appeared in the air.
The young man, holding a short sword, walked out from them, resplendent gemstones floating around him.
Bronya stared at the bizarre, incredible fellow, not making any rash moves.
After experiencing a one-sided, bitter struggle, she had come to understand some of the opponent's abilities.
First were those gemstones floating in the air. They seemed to be some kind of automatically triggered medium; when she hit the enemy, they would release power, allowing him to teleport spatially.
Then there was that short sword called "Exorcist Attire: Kiritsugu." If hit by it, death by ruptured blood vessels was a hundred percent certainty.
And then there was his ability to create illusions and conceal his Honkai energy signature.
With such a configuration, he was undoubtedly a top-tier assassin. Like a cat playing with a mouse, he could toy with his prey until it was exhausted, then deliver a killing blow.
However, it wasn't as if there was no way to deal with him.
Bronya looked at the gemstones floating around him, her gaze unsteady.
Thinking of this, Bronya's eyes also sharpened.
"Annihilation Mode, activate."
A cold voice issued from the girl's mouth, followed by a drastic transformation.
Her military-uniform-like clothes disappeared, transforming into a pitch-black bodysuit. On her fair cheek beneath her left eye, blood-red patterns resembling circuit boards emerged, and her pair of gray eyes had been replaced by a deep, dark red.
Armored Bunny, whose overall color scheme was white and yellow, had completely turned black and red. Moreover, its overall form had undergone a massive change, completely adhering to Bronya's back, linking with her. Its right hand transformed into a giant iron fist, its left hand changed into a red-black cannon muzzle.
Just by looking at it, one could feel the cold and murderous aura emanating from it, as if all its structures and Honkai energy functions were entirely dedicated to aspects like slaughter and attack, possessing super-strong aggression.
A stream of data seemed to flash through Bronya's dark red eyes. Her randomly hovering body suddenly transformed into a red streak of light, ascending tens of meters into the sky!
The next moment, descending from the sky, the incredibly swift Bronya controlled Armored Bunny's transformed right fist to smash down heavily on the young man.
The powerful kinetic energy caused the ground within tens of meters to crack violently, while a shockwave swept outwards.
Crack—!
A gemstone shattered, and the surrounding space fluctuated with it.
The sound of something tearing through the air came from behind the girl.
Without a doubt, it was that bizarre, one-hit-kill armament.
Noticing this, Bronya's expression remained unchanged. In an instant, she swung her Armored Bunny-clad hand, striking the short sword that shot towards her.
Simultaneously, several streams of dark red light erupted.
And the target was no longer the magus who would teleport upon being hit, but the gemstones surrounding him.
The armament from the previous era easily shattered the casting mediums surrounding the young man.
The expression of the young man, who had lost over a dozen casting mediums in an instant, changed abruptly.
"You can't use spatial transfer anymore."
The girl, having destroyed all of the enemy's casting mediums at once, looked at the young man's face, her mood considerably relieved.
The young man, having lost his mediums, snorted coldly, then glanced back at Raiden Mei in the distance, and began to retreat rapidly, clearly preparing to withdraw.
Realizing this, Bronya's gaze focused, and she abruptly swung her iron fist.
She was going to completely incapacitate this fellow before her, drag him back to the base, and thoroughly interrogate him for information.
And then—
The magus before her disappeared once more, and the unique, icy touch of a blade reached her fair, slender neck.
Bronya's expression abruptly froze.