The piercing Spatial Quake alert, like a desperate wail, instantly tore through the afternoon tranquility of Raizen High School.
"Students! Do not panic! Follow the evacuation drill route and proceed orderly to the underground shelter! Hurry!"
Although Teacher Koboshi's voice was tense, she still tried her best to maintain order.
The students remaining in the classroom, despite their faces being filled with nervousness and anxiety, reacted relatively calmly.
At least, no student fell into a state of panic.
After all, this street had suffered significant damage from a Spatial Quake thirty years ago, so ever since kindergarten, they had been continuously subjected to one tedious evacuation drill after another.
Furthermore, this was a high school. It was equipped with an underground shelter large enough to accommodate all faculty and students.
Moreover, it was only a warning; the Spatial Quake hadn't arrived immediately. Usually, the Spatial Quake would only occur some time after the alarm sounded.
Koushi Hōoin, mixed in with the crowd, subconsciously glanced at Itsuka Shido, who was diagonally ahead of him.
Shido's face was pale, and he was anxiously dialing his phone repeatedly.
(Oh! It's here! The version updated! Bros, we're entering the instance! Oh wait, we're entering the shelter!)
The call remained unanswered. Shido's brow furrowed tighter and tighter as he quickly manipulated his phone, pulling up a certain location tracking application.
— — It showed his sister, Itsuka Kotori's, location, which was conspicuously not at school, but at a family restaurant several blocks away!
His sister's unusually serious words from the morning, "You absolutely must keep your promise!"
Now echoed like a curse in his mind, overpowering the alarm sound.
"That idiot..."
Shido cursed once, shut off his phone without dismissing the screen, and slipped out of the line of students.
"Shido! Let's go!" Koushi and Tonomachi Hiroto rushed over to urge him.
Shido snapped back to reality, an expression of extreme struggle flashed across his face, eventually replaced by an unwavering determination.
"...Sorry! You guys go first! I have an urgent matter!" He shouted vaguely, giving the two no time to react, suddenly turned, and rushed out of the classroom against the flow of evacuees like an arrow shot from a bow!
"Hey! Shido! idiot! It's dangerous outside!" Tonomachi shouted in astonishment.
Koushi watched Shido's disappearing back, his eyes flashing.
"Tonomachi, you go first! I'll go see if I can drag him back!"
Koushi yelled at Tonomachi and immediately ran out after him. He certainly wasn't going to pull Shido back; he was going to grab the best viewing spot!
As Koushi rushed out of the school building, he just saw Shido's back disappear around the street corner.
In the distance, the shockwave and dust cloud caused by the Spatial Quake were already slowly rising.
(Nice~! Lost him! Perfect!)
Koushi looked left and right, nimbly darted into the fire escape of a nearby commercial building, and rushed onto the rooftop at the fastest possible speed.
The view here was excellent, allowing him to clearly see the central area of the Spatial Quake from afar.
"Safety first, safety first..." Koushi muttered, his right hand making a loose fist, and a stream of azure data flashed by.
"I reckon, Optical Camouflage Anti-Peeping Film (Tent Type)!"
A faint force field, seemingly non-existent in real space, unfolded around him, distorting the light. From the outside, the rooftop appeared empty.
"I reckon, High-Precision Ultra-Range Observation Scope!" Another handful of data streams converged, forming a highly technological telescope in his hand.
Koushi lay prone behind the railing, adjusting the focus, and quickly locked onto the target — the girl standing in the center of the crater, wearing a magnificent spirit dress, her amethyst eyes filled with confusion and vigilance, and the stumbling idiot youth.
(Perfect! Clear quality, stable signal!)
Through the telescope, the plot was unfolding exactly as Koushi knew it would.
Shido was almost caught in the blast, and then encountered the Spirit girl referred to as "Princess" and attempted communication.
Then the girl placed Sandalphon against Shido's neck, her voice filled with deep sorrow and detachment: "— — Because you've also come here to kill me, haven't you?"
Shido opened his mouth wide in shock at the unexpected reply: "Huh — —? How could I possibly do something like that."
"— — — — — — What?" Hearing Shido's statement, the girl's gaze toward him was laced with surprise, suspicion, and confusion.
Perhaps due to the closer distance, or maybe the direction of the wind, an extremely faint aura drifted from the human youth before her, an aura that inexplicably stirred and reassured her soul.
That aura... was very, very faint, yet it possessed an inexplicable similarity to her own power.
This caused her subconscious hostility and vigilance to diminish by an insignificant fraction. The tip of her sword also seemed to lower imperceptibly by one millimeter.
(Oh? The conversation has started! The atmosphere isn't as tense as expected? Why didn't idiot Tohka just slice the building in half? Does Shido, this kid in this timeline, come with a'Spirit Affinity' talent?)
Koushi had no idea that the tiny bit of "Spirit scent" remaining from his transformation yesterday and this morning had inadvertently "rubbed off" on Shido, and was now exerting a miraculous effect.
However, this brief exchange was instantly interrupted by the sharp sound of something cutting through the air!
Several figures trailing exhaust flames descended from the sky, launching several missile-like objects from their weapons, flying towards Shido and the girl, accurately landing around the battlefield, encircling the pair.
The AST Unit! The high-tech weapons in their hands were unanimously locked onto the Spirit girl at the center.
The missiles launched from the sky halted in front of her, as if grabbed by a pair of invisible hands.
The girl then raised the hand that wasn't holding the sword and clenched her fist tightly. Subsequently, the missiles exploded on the spot.
Because Shido was too close to Tohka, the AST's actions were restricted; they dared not use high-powered weapons for fear of collateral damage.
Just then, Koushi's telescope locked onto a familiar figure — Tobiichi Origami.
She had already equipped her CR-Unit; the black tactical unit gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Her gaze was sharp as a knife, first sweeping coldly past the Spirit, and then immediately noticing Shido who was extremely close to the Spirit.
With almost no hesitation, Origami made the decision most consistent with her style. She abandoned long-range weapons, her engine roared, and the weapon in Origami's hand extended a blade made of light, which she fiercely swung toward the girl!
(Master Origami is going in! Choosing close combat? Oh~ Is she afraid stray bullets will hurt Shido? Tsk tsk, this cold dog food is just being randomly slapped onto our faces...)
Her tactical intention was very clear: engage the Spirit in close combat, creating an opportunity for her teammates to extract Shido.
Tohka immediately swung her sword to block, and the clang of metal against metal exploded! The battle instantly erupted!
The mysterious girl (Tohka) and Origami sandwiched Shido between them, their sharp gazes intertwining.
The situation was explosive. It seemed that the slightest movement would trigger another wave of fighting between the two sides.
(Oh oh oh, Shido, you're finally panicking, your forehead is covered in sweat. Moving your body slowly to the side, that's right, as long as you can reach that spot... your dear sister will teleport you out with a TP.)
Just as Tohka, Origami, and the AST Unit were maneuvering, appearing somewhat constrained because they had to worry about Shido nearby — —
Whoosh — — BOOM!!!
An incredibly thick beam of magic energy, containing terrifying power, suddenly descended like divine punishment, accurately striking Tohka's face!
The massive explosion and shockwave far surpassed any AST weapon, instantly blasting a deep crater into the ground. The scorching air blast violently flung the unprepared Shido away, and Tohka was also forced to retreat repeatedly, only stabilizing herself by plunging Sandalphon into the ground!
"What?!" "Where did that attack come from?!"
All AST members, including Origami, looked up at the sky in shock and uncertainty.
The telescope in Koushi's hand nearly slipped.
(WTF?! That firepower?! That color?! Wait a minute! I thought Origami was invincible in the AST! I didn't expect someone to be even fiercer than Origami! Whose subordinate is this?! Who is it?! Did the little sister just log in?)
High in the sky, a blonde woman was slowly descending.
She was clad in a streamlined, exquisitely crafted, pure white tactical Realizer Unit, far surpassing the AST standard equipment in both grandeur and power.
Her features were delicate but cold as frost, and her emerald eyes held an indifference that overlooked all living beings, coupled with absolute self-confidence.
When Koushi saw her, his eyes instantly widened, and he nearly spat out the saliva in his mouth:
(W-What the heck?! Blonde hair! White armor! This exaggerated power output and Queenly aura... Ellen Mathers?! The world's strongest magician from DEM?! Why is she here?! This wasn't in the script! Director! Someone is adding scenes randomly!)
As if to answer his question, that annoying system interface popped up with cheerful sound effects:
[Ding! Surprise Easter Egg delivered!]
[Ultra-high intensity target detected: [Ellen Mathers] has joined the battlefield!]
[Event Retrospection: Due to your magnificent 'City Sprint' activity last night, the abnormal energy reaction and maneuverability attracted the high attention of DEM Industries. Ms. Ellen Mathers, who was originally vacationing in Amamiya City, prematurely ended her holiday as a result, and her exclusive Realizer Unit [pendragon] and logistics team have been urgently transported and arrived.]
[Current Status: She happened to catch this Spirit manifestation event and decided to personally take action for assessment and capture. Furthermore, because her vacation was interrupted, and she failed to buy her favorite strawberry cream dessert cake yesterday due to the call ending her holiday, her rage is currently up, estimated combat power increase of 30%.]
[Wish you a pleasant game ~ (Laugh)]
Koushi looked at the system's prompt, then looked at the woman below whose aura overwhelmed the entire scene, and his expression completely broke: