By the time Inaba Tsukiyo arrived at the scene, the titans she had sent out to buy time had already been dealt with by Origami.
For the most basic titans to delay for such a long time was already very impressive, especially since Origami had even taken out the weapon she gave her to use, making the titans even less able to hold on.
Although Origami was very anxious, she hadn't reached the point of attacking indiscriminately. It was just that her attacks were extremely frantic, so much so that even Mana, who came later to stop her, was having some difficulty coping.
Mana, as the AST's current highest combat power, was first sent to stop Origami, who was using a forbidden weapon.
Although she couldn't inflict too much damage on Origami, she was very clear about the disaster that the visualization device Origami was currently piloting would bring to her body.
So, Mana continuously defended herself while using words to attack Origami's spirit.
Just as Mana and Origami were locked in an intense battle, a figure suddenly appeared between them.
The moment Mana recognized the other party as Inaba Tsukiyo, she was so startled that she quickly retreated a few steps, creating a safe distance between herself and Inaba Tsukiyo.
After being petrified last time, Mana had learned from Kotori about how she had turned into a statue.
Even if Inaba Tsukiyo hadn't transformed into Medusa, she didn't think that Inaba Tsukiyo, who could transform into Medusa, would be weak.
What's more, Inaba Tsukiyo had a record of taking on the entire AST force alone. Although her strength was greater than any AST member, she wasn't so arrogant as to think she could defeat Inaba Tsukiyo.
Furthermore, the visualization device she was currently equipped with wasn't very high-performance. She didn't want to be caught by Inaba Tsukiyo like other AST members and then have medicated oil applied to her.
Even though she had never experienced the power of medicated oil, she had seen the expressions of others who had, and she understood what a painful lesson it was.
Inaba Tsukiyo, who suddenly appeared in front of Origami, took out Mikazuki Munechika, the light saber Origami had used. After blocking Origami's attack, she rotated the hilt, intending to move behind Origami and knock her unconscious.
However, although Origami was in a state of frenzied attack, her mind was very clear. Knowing Inaba Tsukiyo's intention, she quickly used the visualization device's thrusters to create distance, dodging Inaba Tsukiyo's attack.
After pulling away from Inaba Tsukiyo, Origami turned and fired a barrage of gunfire at Inaba Tsukiyo. These gunfire were somewhat like the bullet-hell games Inaba Tsukiyo had recently been dragged into by Nia.
She remembered that after dying once or twice and being ridiculed by Nia, she used her Mystic Eyes ability to clear the game in one life. She then threw the controller to the stunned Nia, muttered 'boring,' and turned to leave.
Although this was reality and not a game, sometimes reality was easier to handle than games.
The visualization device Origami wore, though emergency equipment, had no effect if its bullets didn't hit a person.
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo thought Origami would make another move, Origami stopped her actions. Not far from Inaba Tsukiyo, she used her remaining energy to control the visualization device, allowing herself to float in mid-air.
"Are you going to stop me too?"
Although her voice was as devoid of emotion as ever, it was filled with weariness.
Perhaps because she had interacted with Inaba Tsukiyo several times and was somewhat familiar with her, she gradually relaxed.
Already nearing her limit, when she saw Inaba Tsukiyo blocking her path, she had completely given up.
She wasn't stupid; she wasn't like those idiotic villains who, upon acquiring a powerful weapon, believe themselves invincible.
"Yes, I'm here to stop you. Your current physical condition is very dangerous. If you don't get proper treatment, your body will collapse, which will affect your life, you know."
This was no joke; forcing her body to use a device it couldn't withstand for so long, if she didn't stop, both her body and lifespan would be greatly affected.
After calming down from her frenzied state, Origami felt the immense pressure on her body, and her brows furrowed tightly.
"Why? Why are you stopping me?"
Although the scene before her was starting to blur, Origami still wanted to ask Inaba Tsukiyo why she was stopping her.
She knew that doing this would result in severe punishment, but she hadn't expected Inaba Tsukiyo to stop her. It was just a little bit more.
"Why, you ask... Hehe~ Perhaps I don't want you to continue making mistakes. There's a truth about the great fire in Amamiya City five years ago that you don't know."
Thinking of the truth she had learned from Nia earlier, Inaba Tsukiyo began to sympathize with Origami, this girl who had lived until now for revenge.
One could say that Origami's life was a tea table filled with tableware (tragedies) and teacups (mishaps). Even Kiana hadn't suffered as much as Origami.
If Origami were to learn the truth of that year, she would surely break down. After all, humans are the most fragile, especially a girl like Origami, who appears strong on the outside but is actually very fragile on the inside.
Slowly flying in front of Origami, Origami at this point no longer had the energy to even fire bullets, and she couldn't even maintain her flight very well.
With a casual swing of her sword, she split open the visualization device on Origami's body, disregarding its value, and directly ignored Mana's gaze as she cut it into a pile of parts.
She steadily caught the falling Origami. With the visualization device on her body destroyed, Origami's taut spirit finally relaxed, but her consciousness gradually drifted away, and she slowly closed her eyes.
"Sigh~ Why... why would this world make you go through such things? My dear girl~"
Like an elder, Inaba Tsukiyo caressed Origami's dust-streaked cheek, speaking with a hint of pity.
After learning about Origami's past, the four of them no longer feared this girl who wanted to kill Spirits.
Compared to the pain she had caused Spirits by relentlessly hunting them, the suffering Origami had endured over these five years was clearly far greater than theirs.
"Take her back, Mana Takamiya. And have those AST people collect these scraps. These shouldn't be things that can be exposed to the public, right?"
"..."
Mana, from a distance, watched Inaba Tsukiyo warily. She cautiously approached Inaba Tsukiyo, took Origami from her arms, activated her visualization device, and flew into the sky.
She didn't quite understand Inaba Tsukiyo's code of conduct. Why would Inaba Tsukiyo help Origami? Origami was an AST member, she should be an enemy of the Spirits.
That gaze, like an elder looking at a junior. Mana was a bit curious about Inaba Tsukiyo's true identity.
After Mana left with Origami, Kurumi and the others, who had been hiding in the shadows, also emerged.
"I didn't expect you to just let Origami go. I thought you'd keep her. At least have Origami join our side."
"It's not time yet, Nia. We don't know how AST will deal with those who leave. If they find out Origami was taken by us Spirits, Origami's future life will be affected."
For Origami's sake, she needed to stay with AST for a while longer, and she also needed some time to think about Kotori's situation.
Kotori wasn't her enemy. As long as Origami understood this, then through continuous interaction, her hatred for Spirits could be reduced, and then a way could be found to get her to join.
"So what? Will Origami joining us later not affect her? No matter when she joins, she'll be joining the Spirit faction. Her actions will make her an enemy of AST and DEM, right?"
As someone who had personally experienced the cruelty of DEM, Nia didn't believe DEM would let Origami off the hook.
"Then do you think Origami will still have her current strength after joining us?"
Regarding DEM, Inaba Tsukiyo didn't think those people were unbeatable. So what if they possessed the latest visualization device manufacturing technology in the world?
So what if DEM members had technology to deal with Spirits? The strongest Magicians in this world were just a group of people using visualization devices.
If those arrogant guys really intended to cause trouble, Inaba Tsukiyo wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson, letting them understand that they had provoked the wrong people.
"Um... um, everyone, what should we do now?"
Yoshino weakly raised her hand, looked at the surrounding devastation, hesitated for a moment, and asked.
Because of the battle between her and Kotori, almost half of Amamiya City was destroyed. It had to be said that human-made weapons were truly powerful; ordinary humans could cause destruction comparable to a spatial quake.
"It's fine. Ordinary citizens have all gone to underground shelters due to the spatial quake alert. Although the buildings are severely damaged, Amamiya City's technology is very advanced, and it should be able to be fully repaired very quickly."
It has to be said, Amamiya City is amazing! o(￣▽￣)d Every time it suffers such severe damage, it can be repaired so quickly. Although it's not like Earth-kun, which is constantly being annihilated in some other world, it's still very commendable.
What? You're talking about property damage? Are you kidding? What does property damage have to do with them? Origami is with AST now, and Kotori is with another organization. No matter how you think about it, it has nothing to do with them, alright?
"Oh, right, Nia. There's something I need to tell you. The area affected by Kotori and Origami's battle seems to have reached our living place."
"...Huh?"
Nia, who was still organizing the photos taken here, froze when she heard this, her mind not yet comprehending what Inaba Tsukiyo was talking about.
Kurumi immediately understood, looking at Nia with a mix of schadenfreude and sympathy.
"So...all those personal belongings you kept at home are..."
Because it was too cruel, Inaba Tsukiyo didn't finish her sentence, but how could Nia not understand what Inaba Tsukiyo was implying?
Thinking of all the collectibles she had painstakingly acquired over this period now gone, Nia collapsed to the ground, her eyes vacant, staring at the sky with a broken expression.
"Ahhh!!! Why are you doing this to me!!!"
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