Chapter 346: Itsuka Shido

Honjo Nia...

Her Astral Dress released a faint, dreamlike radiance, designed like vestments.

A cross-shaped design appeared at key areas, along with a veil covering her head, decorated with pens, making it look altogether like a nun's habit.

This individual became a Spirit about twenty-eight years ago, so her appearance still remains that of a seventeen-year-old girl.

—Because her body stopped growing...

—Just like a certain girl king who pulled the Sword in the Stone, her body forever remained at age fifteen.

"Eh, so DEM Industries has been taken down now? I see..."

Honjo Nia has short gray hair and blue-green pupils.

She seemed to accept very easily the fact that the underground facility holding her was destroyed and someone came to rescue her.

This Spirit stood on an island flattened into desolation, with roaring flames and black-smoke-filled sky as the backdrop behind her.

Ruins, destruction, and death...

The base on this island has been thoroughly destroyed; whatever secrets it once kept, whatever sins it carried, have all turned to nothing now.

Facing two peers opposite her, Honjo Nia acted very calm and relaxed, even giving off a sense of turning the tables.

Space beside this Spirit distorted, and a massive book resembling some kind of scripture quietly emerged, letting her flip through it.

Precisely speaking, the pages began releasing a faint light and started turning automatically.

As if in sync with its master's intent, receiving some command, it was conducting information retrieval.

"So many things have happened, I actually didn't know any of it..."

Honjo Nia's gaze fell on the page; she struck her palm, her expression one of sudden realization, her eyes also unable to hide threads of surprise.

"Mm, damn, feels like I missed a whole lot of episodes..."

—Indeed.

She rapidly retrieved the intelligence she wanted to know, then diverged further from the retrieved intelligence.

Tracing back ceaselessly like this, the aggregated information grew more and more, making this Spirit increasingly surprised the more she read.

At first, she thought Kurumi Tokisaki came to find her, bringing another peer to launch a surprise attack on this unknown DEM secret base.

Just a small tactical victory.

Amounted to nothing.

However, once she started retrieving intelligence, she suddenly discovered her idea was completely wrong; DEM Industries had actually become a thing of the past.

Although not yet completely wiped out materially, the reckoning from all sides was already a foregone conclusion.

Branch companies, affiliated institutions, and such across various countries had all been divided up cleanly.

From actual Realizer units to technical data, even relevant users or research talents... useful or not, all were packaged and taken away.

Not to say one whale falls, ten thousand things live.

But it also let quite a few major powers rapidly take this as resources, beginning to actively attempt to master Realizer technology themselves.

As for progress, that depends on what heritage each obtained; everyone definitely got different things...

If they had directly seized the entire intact headquarters, perhaps they could have packaged the whole technology directly; pity that was ultimately not too realistic.

Because right now even the British can't easily find anything valuable from those ruins, except pure destruction and ruin...

Moreover...

They also can't organize manpower to search the ruins; even though that's the British's own territory and capital, they no longer have the final say.

Various countries are settling accounts with DEM while dragging the UK into it...

By the way, flying the banner of humanitarian concern, they dispatch rescue teams straight in to help the British with "disaster relief"...

—The latter couldn't refuse in any form at this point.

From air force to navy, the little family assets left from the imperial era were already meaninglessly exhausted in the previous battles.

Moreover, even if not exhausted, they actually couldn't get on the table anymore.

An old power's focus isn't being a power, but being old; more precisely, it's that word "old"...

If the British insist on showing their true skills, everyone would find the British really have no skills... this is already the twenty-first century, the sun-never-sets empire died long ago.

So the UK might still naively think beating DEM means they can't be beaten further...

But for various countries, this is just a convenient matter.

Moreover, even for interests, they must pin the UK down; who let DEM's headquarters and that magical great battle's main battlefield be in London?

Such a major excavation site, no reason to let a cripple beaten half-paralyzed occupy it, right? Wouldn't that be a waste?

So this is already far beyond the importance level of fighting over oil.

—Especially now the whole world's situation deteriorates day by day, disasters frequent, anomalies everywhere...

—Don't know if it's Spiritual Energy Revival or Mythology's Return, a group of Cultivators from Beyond the Heavens and a Monkey King wielding a fake Golden Cudgel fighting inseparably...

—Fighting until the heavens burn, the earth flattens, a huge city reduced to scorched earth and leveled, both sides only temporarily halted, yet didn't completely end the war...

Even that isn't all.

Even outer space has clearly shown anomalies, constantly bursting with intense energy flashes, making one's heart palpitate.

Yet no observation yields results, eerily displaying everything normal.

As if those were merely vague and illusory mirages, pure coincidence, actually having no meaning.

However...

At this time, such an explanation has absolutely no persuasiveness, and no one believes nothing really happened outside.

Some suspect it should be that invisible planetary ring orbital megastructure, creating astronomical-level optical phenomena, shielding planetary lifeforms' observation of outer space.

If not for the problem arising now, contending with some force in space...

Perhaps they'd have to wait until human civilization steps off the mother star to perceive this.

In short, it was internal troubles and external threats, beset on all sides, causing endless headaches, as if the End of the World were imminent and Human extinction only a moment away.

All nations were at a loss, yet they could not just watch idly.

They could only try to grasp as many bargaining chips as possible, hoping for more turning points in the upcoming gamble.

………………

………………

"This situation looks quite spectacular, but it's not Optimistic either……"

Honjou Nia's Eyebrow twitched, reluctantly moving her Gaze away from the book pages, sticking out her Tongue.

"It feels like it's completely no longer the World I knew."

"So, you came to find me because of the First Spirit matter?"

She Raised Head, looking at the two Peers on the Opposite Side.

"……"

"……"

Kurumi Tokisaki had been waiting patiently, and while Tohka Yatogami was somewhat bewildered, seeing the former not speak, she also waited patiently.

It couldn't even be called patience or impatience.

For her, this kind of time where she could quietly wait for someone or something was currently still a very Xin Shi sensation and experience.

It was far better than every time she opened her eyes, she would Damage, and then had no choice but to fight Humans.

"Seems you've already understood……?"

Kurumi Tokisaki Gently exhaled, her Gaze fixed tightly on Honjou Nia's Angel of the Book.

Seeing the other party's Sample, it saved the Necessity of explanation.

"Pretty much, my 'Ratziel' is an Angel that can see through all things in this World, knowing everything."

Honjou Nia nodded easily, Admitting——

"It can tell me all things of the myriad phenomena, what is happening in which Place of the World, who is doing what, and of course it will also tell me why you came."

"That's quite nice……"

Kurumi Tokisaki smiled and said: "Zhiyou, if that's the case, then how did you get caught?"

She raised this question.

"Mm…… it can only provide Intelligence I want to know, it can neither foresee the future nor automatically Perceive crises."

Honjou Nia Helplessly Explained: "DEM Industries' attack was truly unexpected, I naturally had no way to predict it in Advance."

Her Angel of the Book would have great Advantage in Intelligence.

But mainly for things that have already happened, and things currently happening, it has superb retrieval capability.

For things that haven't happened yet, there's no way to predict them. ——Just considering the existence of "Future Entry", it's actually not that there's no capability for future Intelligence.

A certain "Xian Artifact" that would shine brilliantly in the future and become Legend……

Was precisely the result of the two Forms of Angel of the Book and Demon King of the Book, then receiving massive enhancement.

"That doesn't look that strong either……" Kurumi Tokisaki Hearing this, couldn't help but Frown, "Meaning there are many Restrictions, right."

"Don't look down on people, I was just Careless……"

Honjou Nia Squint Eyes, despite lacking Awe-inspiring Composure in this aspect, still chose to talk tough.

"And the woman who ambushed me was also very formidable, I remember she seemed to be called something, Ailian…… Ailian something……"

She couldn't recall for a moment, and glanced again at the Angel of the Book pages Mors Beside.

"Ah, right, it's Ellen Mira Mathers, she's a…… is a……"

As she spoke, Honjou Nia's Expression suddenly became strange, her subsequent words turning into mumbles, not continuing.

"Is a what?" Kurumi Tokisaki Frowned and asked.

"Ellen Mira Mathers…… she's a Spirit……" Honjou Nia opened her mouth, saying with some Incredible tone.

"Hah?"

Kurumi Tokisaki felt she had heard something absurd.

Just an Instant, she had already Reacted, shaking her head repeatedly: "Impossible! Absolutely Impossible! How could she possibly be a Spirit……"

"Wait!"

"Would It Be that she converted recently?! You know, the original forms of Spirits are all Humans!"

——————

——————

Air Battleship "Fraxinus".

Kotori Itsuka was holding a meeting, pooling ideas.

"Current Progress is extremely extremely poor, I'm embarrassed to even mention our performance, let alone successfully Completing an Operation Plan once, we haven't even touched the Strategy Guide Target……"

Biting the Corner of Mouth lollipop, Kotori Itsuka Switched to black-bellied Personality mode, a complete contrast to the weak Younger Sister's forceful display, reaching out and slamming the captain's chair armrest with a bang.

"I think we must change our previous strategy now…… who agrees, who opposes?"

"……"

"……"

Shido Itsuka standing beside, calm and composed, silently Raised Hand.

Then——

As expected, he received Younger Sister's murderous Gaze.

But Shido Itsuka still firmly held his hand up, he felt this absurd farce should end here.

Before, he was shocked by massive information, worldview couldn't Adjust in time, muddleheadedly boarded the pirate ship, holding a chest of hot blood Forced to step onto the so-called Road of saving the World……

After this period of calm, he suddenly "came to his senses."

The sensation of his overheated brain cooled down.

That's right, this is too absurd — saving the world through dating, capturing Spirits through dating — it sounds utterly magical...

How could such a thing possibly exist!

Am I the male protagonist living in some galgame?

Facing his younger sister's sharp gaze, Shido Itsuka spoke honestly: "I oppose it."

(Chapter End)