"Uh… forget it, nothing's wrong."
Tianqi Sanluo looked at Yuzuru Miku's smiling face and felt she ought to say something, but didn't know where to begin, so she gave up.
In contrast, she raised her flintlock pistol and aimed it at the hand Itsuka Shidouu had hooked on the edge of the high stage.
"Miss Miku, if you truly hate this guy, there's no need to show any courtesy to this crawling insect. If you want to insult him, you can be far harsher. Even if you want to keep up appearances, you can at least use more degrading wording."
At that, Tianqi Sanluo intentionally paused.
"Tianqi-san…"
Shidou swallowed hard, his eyes darting nervously between Tianqi Sanluo and Yuzuru Miku.
"No matter what, Tianqi-san, I don't want my image to be affected because of some ugly man."
Miku said this with a disgusted glance at Shidou.
"If only Tianqi-san had just killed him outright a moment ago…"
"It's fine. It's not too late now."
Tianqi Sanluo placed her finger on the flintlock's trigger, channeling her spiritual power into it once more.
"Well then—Itsuka Shidouu, goodbye."
"W-wait, Tianqi-san—!"
At that critical moment…
"!!!"
In an instant, the theater ceiling caved in. A massive explosion and shockwave followed, and the enormous lighting fixtures mounted above came crashing down.
"Ugh—uwaa…!?"
"Eh—?"
A slight tremor shook the air. Shidou clung desperately to the edge of the stage to avoid falling.
"What on earth…?"
Struggling, Shidou looked upward. The ceiling was no longer there—only a night sky decorated with moonlight and drifting clouds.
And not just that. Mixed into the darkness were several figures wearing mechanical armored suits.
"AST!!"
Shidou shuddered as he shouted.
"They finally arrived."
On the side of her face that Miku could not see, Tianqi Sanluo's lips curled upward slightly.
A shot rang out; the hand Shidou used to cling to the platform was blown apart. But the attack wasn't lethal.
"Gh—"
Pain surged through his body, making him convulse violently.
The platform was high. If he fell without landing head-first, he would likely survive.
But accidents happen.
To cushion the fall, Tianqi Sanluo fired another shot at the spot where Shidou would land. The explosion's recoil softened Shidou's impact on the ground.
She didn't want Shidou dying before he provided her with entertainment. From the interaction between Miku and Shidou moments ago, Tianqi Sanluo sensed a treasure trove of potential amusement.
So she went with the flow—now that the AST had arrived and things were getting more chaotic, she kicked Shidou out of the battlefield.
Tianqi Sanluo had noticed the AST long ago—she'd simply been stalling for time, chatting idly with the nearby spirit.
Once the AST arrived, Tianqi Sanluo used the intrusion as an excuse to "lose focus," deliberately shooting off-target so that Shidou fell but wasn't killed, leaving him to be retrieved by the others.
Then, Tianqi Sanluo slipped away through the smoke and dust, heading out a side door before the AST could notice her.
Though CR-Units weren't suited for indoor combat, the space here was large enough that it shouldn't cause problems.
Soon, several magicians armed with weapons surrounded Yuzuru Miku's stage.
But Shidou sensed something off.
Judging by their equipment, they were definitely AST.
But among them were many foreigners—Europeans and Americans—whom he had never seen before. Normally, as a unit attached to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, the AST should not have foreign personnel.
"Shidou! Shidou!"
When Shidou hit the ground, most of his consciousness faded.
But thanks to the healing flame, his wounds were visibly mending.
"Shidou! Are you okay!?"
As he regained partial awareness, he vaguely heard Kotori's voice.
"Ah… Kotori? I—I think I'm okay…"
"Don't say something so unlucky! I'm retrieving you right away!"
"Oh… huh?"
Shidou shook his head and suddenly sensed something was odd.
Unlike before, the spirit now clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling with excitement, as if she were extremely thrilled.
"This is wonderful… truly wonderful! Yes, now this is how guests should behave!"
Leaving behind her delighted exclamation, Yuzuru Miku vanished.
The next moment, she silently appeared behind one AST member—Tohka Origami—placing her hands overly affectionately on Origami's shoulders, whispering in her ear like an intimate lover.
Seeing Miku's reaction, Tianqi Sanluo would certainly have felt déjà vu—wasn't this exactly what Miku did to her during tea earlier?
"Ahh… how lovely, how lovely—tell me, won't you listen to my singing?"
Origami jerked her shoulder and swung her laser blade.
"Oh my, no need for that!"
Miku dodged gracefully, her sweet voice floating through the air.
Origami grew increasingly irritated and kept up the pursuit.
"This will never end. Move aside!"
A red-haired woman floating opposite the stage spoke, turning her gaze toward Shidou.
"That's…"
Something in her eyes felt strangely off. Shidou instinctively stepped back.
After communicating briefly with her teammates, the red-haired woman did something unexpected—not attacking the spirit, but charging toward Shidou with her thrusters.
"Eh?"
Shidou yelped as he saw the electric baton in her hand.
This didn't look like she was trying to protect a civilian at all—it looked like she intended to knock him out and capture him…
"! DEM?!!"
Like lightning, the company's name surfaced in Shidou's mind.
"What are you doing?"
The woman didn't answer, still rushing toward him with the baton raised.
Suddenly—gunfire.
The electric baton was knocked from her hand by a bullet from somewhere unknown, clattering to the floor.
"Hm?"
The red-haired woman frowned, scanning the area, especially Origami who had been pinned down by Miku earlier.
She didn't notice, but Shidou clearly felt the spiritual energy that had just grazed him.
"Kurumi? Or Tianqi-san?…"
Even so, the small interference didn't stop the red-haired woman. Seeing the baton gone, she simply went for close combat, aiming to subdue Shidou with brute force.
For Shidou, despite his vast spirit power, his close combat ability was terrible. Combined with his softness of heart, facing a fully armed AST member, he could be taken down in seconds.
At that moment, Origami—having finally shaken off Miku—stepped between them.
Her laser blade clashed with the woman's strange weapon, sparks showering everywhere.
"Hey now? Just what are you trying to do?"
The red-haired woman feigned surprise.
"That's my line. He's not a spirit, Jessica. What exactly are you trying to do?"
"…You don't have the right to know. Orders from above. Move aside!"
"I won't follow such orders. Give me a convincing explanation first—otherwise I refuse. Besides, you're not my superior; you have no authority over me."
"How troublesome."
The woman swung her weapon again. Origami raised her laser blade to block.
A stronger shockwave blasted outward.
"Ugh—uwaa!"
The next moment, Shidou's vision went completely dark—
—and when he came to, he was back inside the dim airship.