Ex-Machina on a Dimensional Journey Chapter 22

"Huh? Of course it's a date—a date."

"Just like you did with Tohka and Yoshino before, go on a date with me, win me over, and finally seal my power."

"B-but this..."

Hearing that request, Shido immediately grew nervous.

Kotori was his little sister, and he had always regarded her as such. Suddenly being asked to date his own sister, win her over, and then even kiss her...

To be honest, even though Shido had prepared himself mentally long ago, he still could not quickly accept that premise.

Then, seeing the wound on Kotori's face that had yet to heal, he came up with a good excuse.

"There's no need to rush. After a battle that intense, your body probably hasn't recovered yet, right? How about we wait a few more days?"

He would stall if he could. It was not that Shido did not want to do it; he just needed time to convince himself.

But seeing Shido like this only made Kotori feel worse.

"Brother..."

Kotori placed her hand over Shido's. Lowering her head, she spoke in a dejected voice...

"I don't want something like that to happen again..."

"Kotori..."

Naturally, Kotori was referring to the great fire she had unleashed when she went berserk years ago. In her mind, she believed she had killed many people, and that was the knot in her heart.

Now that she might go berserk again, she did not want to hurt anyone else because of herself.

Through the information Kannazuki and Reine had given him earlier, Shido had also recalled what happened back then.

He understood what Kotori was worried about now.

Raising his hand, Shido stroked Kotori's head and gave her his answer.

"Trust me."

Meanwhile, a golden passage appeared in a secluded alley.

Xiu Er flew out of the passage with faint azure flames clinging to her body, then closed the passage behind her.

She leaned against a nearby wall and slowly slid down until she was sitting on the ground.

After Phantom appeared, Xiu Er had fought her in the Neighboring World for nearly ten minutes. Yet throughout the battle, she had only passively endured the other party's attacks.

That had been intentional. It was her plan: to analyze Mio's complete data. This time, Xiu Er had no intention of continuing to entangle herself with her.

In the end, after successfully obtaining most of Mio's data, Xiu Er used the Neighboring World data she had already finished analyzing, along with the replicated Ain Soph, to remove the spatial blockade and leave the Neighboring World.

That said, as far as Xiu Er knew, Mio Takamiya should have possessed the Spirit Crystallization that belonged to Origami during this period—the one that had not yet been given away.

In other words, the Origin Spirit at this stage should have possessed the abilities of the Metatron.

Yet for some reason, she had not used it even once during that encounter.

Could she have realized what I was after?

Xiu Er had no choice but to consider that possibility, because only that would explain why the other party had deliberately held back.

Fortunately, although the other party had concealed something, the data Xiu Er obtained before leaving was still considerable. It would surely be useful in her next battle against Mio.

Thinking that, Xiu Er looked toward the sky, which was gradually brightening at the horizon.

So much had happened tonight.

Now Mio had her sights set on her as well. She would have to be more careful with her future actions, though fortunately, there was not much left to do.

After quickly establishing her future course of action, Xiu Er opened another Teleportation Gate and left the area to avoid Mio Takamiya finding her again.

The Girl in Space

Within the vast, boundless black expanse, Xiu Er looked down at the blue planet beneath her.

She was now in outer space, beyond the planet.

Without any protective equipment, her first time in space was incredibly novel for someone who normally could never have come into contact with such things.

However, she had not come here simply to experience a day trip through space.

A Spirit was here.

Mukuro Hoshimiya, identified as Hoshimiya.

Living in the universe beyond Earth, she had used her abilities to seal away her own heart.

Her Angel was called Michael.

Its abilities...

Segva possessed the effect of sealing a certain object or concept.

Shifuru, on the other hand, possessed the ability to untie seals and manipulate spatial teleportation.

Shifuru completely unleashed the body's potential.

Lataib could sever the connections between molecules.

Even with this information about those abilities, Xiu Er could not determine the other party's true strength.

Fortunately, Segva required Mukuro to insert her Angel into the target before it could be activated.

Therefore, toward Mukuro Hoshimiya, Xiu Er would never lower her guard.

As long as she did not let the other party insert her Angel into her body, the seal could not be activated.

As the saying went, no matter how powerful your damage or effect was, it meant nothing if it could not hit.

Through the search capability of the Pseudo-Codex: Codex of the Whispers, Xiu Er easily discovered Mukuro's specific coordinates in the universe.

After using One-Way Street to open a passage, she arrived at a position where she could observe the target.

She did not rashly approach.

Instead, Xiu Er chose to first observe the target's condition.

A blonde girl in a pink cheongsam floated idly there, wearing armor-like long boots resembling those of a medieval knight. The heat vents built into her outfit exposed her ample chest.

So this was what it meant to have sealed away one's heart.

No emotions, no loneliness.

She only needed to empty her mind and drift through the universe.

Just as Mukuro silently gazed at the blue planet below as usual...

An uninvited guest appeared before her.

She saw a girl with blue-violet hair appear before her with her arms bare, without any protective gear whatsoever.

Upon seeing the halo above the girl's head, Mukuro's first thought was of the Angels she had heard about in her memories.

However, the mechanical structures across the girl's body all proved that she was neither an Angel nor a human.

A robot?

There had been many names for such things in her memories.

Those amber-like eyes merely looked calmly at the mechanical girl before her, producing no unnecessary emotions.

As for who had created her, Mukuro would not care as long as the girl did not come looking for trouble.

Unfortunately, that robot would not remain as peaceful as Mukuro expected.

"Task target contacted. Commencing combat mission."

"-Codex Opening-Speed Violation-"

Emotionless words came from the other party's mouth. Just like her appearance, she was entirely mechanical.

Without another word, Xiu Er clenched the greatsword condensed in her hand and charged straight at Mukuro.

Watching Xiu Er rush toward her at tremendous speed,

Mukuro understood the other party's intentions and summoned her Angel.

Michael appeared.

Just as the other party's blade was about to smash into her, a massive key appeared between them and blocked the attack.

Mukuro gripped both sides tightly. In terms of strength, she realized she was no match for her opponent.

Then she saw the other party's golden eyes glowing brightly.

Seeing that her first strike had failed, Xiu Er immediately began attacking from other directions.

Clang, clang, clang...

Every attack was barely blocked or evaded by Mukuro, leaving her with no opportunity to use her abilities.

This could not continue. She quickly realized the problem.

Then, she made her next decision.

When Xiu Er's greatsword slashed toward her once again, Mukuro directly met it without defending against the attack.

The blade finally sliced through her Astral Dress, cutting a wound into the skin beneath.

However, taking advantage of the moment her opponent struck her, Mukuro inserted Michael's key-shaped head into the other party's body.

She had done it!

She immediately activated Segva. Xiu Er's eyes dimmed, and the greatsword in her hand began to dissipate. As though it had lost its energy source, it stopped functioning.

"Hah..."

Having finally dealt with the intruder, Mukuro panted heavily.

But before she could feel relieved for more than a few seconds—

"Data collection complete. Commencing Plan Two."

Although she could not hear the voice, some instinct told her otherwise.

Mukuro hurriedly turned around and saw a mechanical girl identical to the one from before.

She quickly looked back at the one she had just sealed, only to see it breaking apart into golden particles of light.

A decoy?!

That one had been fake?

Or was there more than one robot of this model?

There was no time to think further. Seeing that the other party was still some distance away, Mukuro decisively turned Michael around and inserted it into her own chest.

"Michael, Shifuru."

A burst of red energy suddenly appeared and wrapped around her. When she emerged again, both her attire and weapon had changed.

Her cheongsam had changed from pink to red, and its design had become far bolder. Armor that had not been there before now appeared across her body.

Michael, which had originally taken the form of a key, had also become a long halberd in her hand.

Tightening her grip on the weapon, Mukuro's expression became serious.

This was the form Mukuro Hoshimiya assumed after using Shifuru to unleash all her power.

This time, Mukuro was the first to attack.

Seeing that the other party had not drawn a weapon, she sought to seize the opportunity and defeat her in a single move, charging forward without further thought.

"-Codex Opening-No Passage-"

A transparent wall of golden energy appeared between them, barely blocking Mukuro's attack.

After the battle continued for several minutes—