Ex-Machina on a Dimensional Journey

Xiu Er followed behind the rapidly fleeing Yoshino. No matter what she did, she could not shake his pursuit. Seeing this, the fear in Yoshino's eyes steadily deepened.

Sorry, but I don't have the patience to wait for the plot.

Yoshino had used it in the story, but if he waited for that part of the plot, Xiu Er would have to wait quite a while.

"—Codex Opening—Pseudo-Codex—Gokurokugai—"

As the golden energy faded, a uniquely styled Greatsword appeared in Xiu Er's hand.

Perfect timing to test this Pseudo-Codex's attack power.

That was Xiu Er's plan at the moment.

When Xiu Er revealed his weapon, Yoshino's emotions reached their peak.

She did not know what that weapon could do. She only knew that the ghost behind her was about to catch up and attack her.

"No... Don't come any closer!!!"

With Yoshino's terrified scream, Xiu Er's vision was covered by ice.

On this dim, rainy day, a strangely shaped ball of ice appeared in the air.

"Ugh..."

Heaven have mercy—tears had already appeared on Yoshino's face. It was clear just how badly Xiu Er had frightened her.

At that moment, the AST personnel also arrived at the scene.

"What is that?"

"No idea. It might be the one from the intelligence report that was chasing Hermit."

"We have it to thank for letting our equipment detect Hermit hiding in the city."

"Forget everything else! Everyone, prepare for combat!"

Seeing Hermit begin to flee again, the captain of the squad started issuing orders and led everyone in rapid pursuit.

Meanwhile, inside the ice ball—

"Even though she's this afraid, she can still hold herself back from using Angel to hurt others?"

"She really is a kind child."

Xiu Er looked at the solid ice beyond his shield.

As soon as the freezing air had formed an ice ball around Xiu Er's shield, it had fallen to the ground due to gravity.

His fingers tapped rhythmically against his cheek, making a "tap—tap—" sound.

In the original story, it was only after Tohka took Yoshino's rabbit plushie that Yoshino's emotions collapsed and she summoned Angel.

Knowing the girl's personality, even if others attacked her directly, she would not fight back. She would only think of running away.

But he had not expected that, even after being driven this far by him, she would merely use cold air to seal him in ice. Moreover, Xiu Er was certain that even if the ice before him were used on others, it would not be fatal. At most, they would catch a cold from the chill.

An attack of this level could not affect Xiu Er at all.

It had even allowed Xiu Er to analyze the ice before him, record Yoshino's spiritual power, and gain the ability to Shifuru ice.

He had already put Gokurokugai away. Since Yoshino had escaped, and his actions against her had only arisen on a whim after encountering her by chance, Xiu Er temporarily gave up pursuing her now that he had gained something.

"—Codex Opening—..."

Using the ability he had just acquired, Xiu Er removed the ice outside his shield.

Unharmed, he brushed the dust off his clothes, then turned and headed in the direction he had already chosen.

Natsumi Kyouno

What happened after Yoshino and those AST members left was not Xiu Er's concern. Of course, if he wanted to know, he could find out at any time.

To the current Xiu Er, anywhere in the entire country that could be observed by machinery and equipment could not escape his eyes.

The good news was that Yoshino had successfully escaped AST's pursuit. After that incident, those people had not put nearly as much pressure on her as Xiu Er alone had.

He stopped paying attention to that minor interlude.

Xiu Er recorded the experience of that interlude in his database. Right now, his highest priority was still Natsumi's Angel.

At that moment, he stopped a mature woman with a voluptuous figure and long, silky green hair.

Seeing Xiu Er suddenly block her path, she looked utterly confused.

Because of his height and the hood he wore, she could not see Xiu Er's face at all. Only his petite body and hanging long hair made her think that the one blocking her was an unfamiliar little girl.

"Little sister, what do you need from me?"

The mature woman bent down and asked gently, while also trying to see the child's face clearly.

However, Xiu Er did not answer her. He stood there silently, like a statue.

If she had not seen him walk over and stop her with her own eyes, the mature woman would have thought the "child" before her was a doll.

A strange feeling surfaced in the mature woman's heart. Her beautiful brows furrowed together, and her instincts told her to get away from this child as quickly as possible.

Just as the mature woman was about to walk around him, Xiu Er moved.

She saw a ring resembling an Angel Halo appear above the child's head.

"Inquiry: You are Natsumi, correct?"

Xiu Er raised his head, and only then could the mature woman see his true face.

Although Natsumi's name in the original work was indeed Natsumi Kyouno, in reality, Natsumi at this point in time did not know her last name was Kaguro.

Those inorganic eyes stared straight into hers...

"Hey, have you heard about that new urban legend lately?"

"Oh, you mean that terrifying robot that walks through dark alleyways?"

"Yeah, yeah. I heard the people involved were so scared they nearly died."

"Give me a break. Where did you hear that rumor this time?"

"Hey, hey, I'm serious."

During break time, the students naturally gathered into various little groups and chatted in the classroom about things that interested them.

Itsuka Shido sat at his desk, propping up his face in boredom as he stared blankly out the window. His friend and fellow troublemaker was still beside him, introducing him to his favorite 2D wife.

After the previous incident, he had begun to doubt the world he lived in.

Learning too many things in an instant had nearly caused his brain's CPU to burn out.

Fortunately, Shido was quite adaptable. Although he did not fully understand everything, he at least had a vague grasp of it.

Just as his thoughts drifted while he stared out the window, the Spatial Tremor alarm went off.

Shido immediately snapped back to his senses and ran out of the classroom, becoming the first student in the class to leave. Even his friend had not expected him to run that fast.

When he reached the rooftop, everyone else should have gone to take shelter by then, so the rooftop would definitely be empty.

The instant he arrived on the rooftop, before Shido could react, he was teleported aboard Fraxinus.

—Back to Xiu Er's perspective—

"What kind of monster are you?!"

Natsumi clutched her injured abdomen and continuously launched attacks at someone in the distance.

Stars formed from spiritual power smashed against Xiu Er's shield without causing even a ripple.

The moment Xiu Er revealed Natsumi's real name, she had used her ability on him.

This also caused AST to immediately sound the Spatial Tremor alarm after detecting spiritual power, evacuating civilians while dispatching combat forces to the target location.

In Natsumi's understanding, as long as someone was caught in the light of her ability, she could turn them into any form she wanted and then claim victory.

Unfortunately, Xiu Er would not indulge her.

"—Codex Opening—Traffic Control—"

Xiu Er activated another defensive armament of the Ex-Machina, one capable of deflecting incoming attacks.

Thus, Natsumi's scheme failed.

Xiu Er also used the moment Natsumi was stunned to reveal Gokurokugai.

If Natsumi had not reacted in time, that strike would have left more than just the wound on her abdomen.

Now, Natsumi had been running ever since she was injured.

What a joke. No matter how she attacked, she could not hurt him. Why was that monster's shield so strong?! It could block anything.

At this moment, Natsumi was filled with despair. She had no choice but to admit that she was scared.

Her attack crashed down beside Xiu Er, kicking up a cloud of dust that completely obscured what was happening inside.

Before Natsumi could make her next move, several streaks of sword energy flew out of the smoke and rushed toward her.

Seeing the sword energy flying at her, Natsumi, who had already been drained of more than half her spiritual power and stamina by Xiu Er, exhausted every ounce of strength she had to dodge.

But just as the sword energy reached her face, Natsumi suddenly sensed danger behind her!

"Wha...?!"

When she turned around and saw the face that had brought her despair, it still wore the same unruffled expression as before.

Natsumi tried to dodge, but at some unknown point, ice had formed around her feet, firmly locking her in place.

She could only watch helplessly as the Greatsword grew larger and larger before her eyes.

Boom!!!

Natsumi's body flew like a rag doll into the nearby mall, only stopping after smashing through a wall.

Xiu Er flew down before Natsumi, who was pinned beneath broken bricks.

"Cough... Cough cough...!"

At this moment, Natsumi's mentality had completely collapsed from Xiu Er's beating.

Because the battle itself had not lasted very long, Xiu Er had not yet finished analyzing Fake Demoness.

Natsumi's bedraggled state now appeared before Xiu Er's eyes.

Her originally mature appearance had vanished, replaced by a little green-haired girl crying her eyes out.

"Ugh..."

The girl's sobbing became the only sound in the surroundings.

Tap, tap, tap...

The sound of Xiu Er walking across the floor continuously tormented Natsumi's heart until he finally stopped in front of her.

No matter how pathetic the girl looked, the machine before her still wore that cold expression.

As Xiu Er approached Natsumi, he saw the girl's trembling body.

It seemed their Xiu Er had become a Nightmare she could not shake off. His entirely mechanical appearance would definitely become excellent material for her nightmares.

That was good. Once he was sure Natsumi would not move around anymore, Xiu Er decisively put away his armament.

Although beating someone into this state right from the start was indeed immoral.

But with Natsumi's personality, if he sought efficiency, this was the only method left.

Meanwhile, Natsumi lay trembling on the ground, having given up struggling.

When she saw Xiu Er walking toward her, she had no strength left in her body after the battle and could no longer run away.

Am I... going to die?

She had heard of those special forces that targeted Spirits. Those people's objective was to kill Spirits.

The robot before her might have been created by those people. Looking at it that way, its unprovoked attack on her made perfect sense.