Mecha-Kai Species in Dimensional Travel

Although pinned to the ground, Rigel was still attempting to break free from the chains.

However, it was like prey caught in a hunter's net; no matter how much it struggled, it could not break loose.

After confirming that the opponent's mobility was completely sealed, Xiu Er raised her arm and aimed it at Rigel.

No, if one looked closely, they would see that Xiu Er was aiming at Yoshino, who was on the back of Rigel's neck.

This was to prevent Yoshino from retracting her Angel to escape.

Although Xiu Er could catch up immediately, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Suddenly, the arm Xiu Er had raised began to change; the entire limb morphed until it finally formed the shape of a cannon.

The shoulder portion of that arm was replaced by a golden mechanical clock, and looking down, there were eight different ports along the arm, each with a canister engraved with a different number.

Beside each port was a thin pipe extending downward, converging at the bottom and connecting to the cannon barrel.

The pitch-black muzzle pointed directly at Yoshino on Rigel's back.

"—[Codex Opening]—[Bullet of Seven]—"

At this moment, the music that had been playing until now stopped, and immediately after, the clock on her shoulder let out a chime.

The canister engraved with the number "7" emitted a glow and then retracted into the port below.

Golden energy flowed from the pipe of the 7th port and finally reached the cannon barrel.

The entire process, from transformation to firing, took less than a second.

A golden light ignited within the barrel, and energy surged out from it.

Without any reaction time, the golden laser instantly pierced through Yoshino and the Rigel beneath her.

The wounds she had expected did not appear on her body, but Yoshino and the Rigel beneath her were eerily frozen in place.

Only then did Xiu Er descend, landing on Rigel, right in front of Yoshino.

Looking at her masterpiece, Xiu Er was very satisfied with the results of this modification.

Although as a Mecha-Kai species, updating and iterating one's own body was a common occurrence, this modification—integrating the abilities of a Spirit's Angel into her own body—was unprecedented.

Even though she had already calculated the final effect and success rate, the feeling of excitement still flooded Xiu Er's heart now that she had tested it in actual combat.

Someone might ask, what about the AST members who were hunting Yoshino earlier?

In fact, right from the start, Xiu Er had prioritized dealing with them.

In an instant, she hacked into and interfered with all of their Realizers, and then, against the AST squad that had lost the protection of their Territory, she used one of the abilities of Pseudo-Canon: War Song Diva—[Solo].

Furthermore, to be safe, Xiu Er even increased the power output of Pseudo-Canon: War Song Diva, and the result was that the minds of the AST members were completely controlled without any suspense.

Finally, after Xiu Er issued the command, "Return home to rest, and you will remember nothing when you wake up," she proceeded with the subsequent attack on Yoshino.

Xiu Er walked slowly toward the frozen Yoshino.

The analysis of her Angel—Rigel—was already complete.

Actually, during their first encounter, Xiu Er had already obtained her ice-based abilities.

This time was just to complete the data on Yoshino's Angel, Rigel.

Hmm, it truly is a defensive Angel.

Xiu Er's mind had already automatically organized and classified the relevant data; she understood everything in an instant.

Since the goal had been achieved.

She looked at Yoshino, who was still in a state of stasis.

With tears still on her face from fear and pain, she looked like a beautiful painting in her frozen state.

Xiu Er took note of the wounds on her body caused by the previous AST attack and the shot she had just fired herself.

Hmm, since I am partly responsible, I might as well help treat her.

She thought to herself.

"—[Codex Opening]—[Bullet of Four]—"

Raising her arm, which was still in cannon mode, the familiar chime rang out again, and the canister engraved with the number "4" on her arm glowed just as before.

Currently, she had no other healing methods, and using Bullet of Four for treatment was the only thing she could do right now.

"Wait!"

Ignoring the shout that had suddenly appeared, Xiu Er aimed at Yoshino's head, and the golden laser pierced through the latter's skull.

Only after doing all this did Xiu Er turn her head to look at the source of the voice.

She saw a young boy with short blue hair standing on a ruin beside the Giant Rabbit.

The Spirit girl named Tohka was holding a sword in one hand and pulling the boy with the other, supporting him so he wouldn't collapse.

Xiu Er stared at the two of them with an expressionless face.

He saw it.

Besides Tohka, who recognized him and was acting vigilantly with an unusual emotional state, there was also that blue-haired boy.

Xiu Er saw an emotion called "anger" in the other party's eyes...

Chapter 21: Shido's Attitude

Looking at the look in Shido's eyes, which was filled with extreme emotion.

Xiu Er was unexpectedly intrigued.

Itsuka Shido.

The protagonist of the original work, a classic Japanese "yasashii" lead who possesses the power to seal Spirits and is so kind-hearted that he cannot bear to see Spirit girls being persecuted for no reason, thus embarking on a path to save them.

The conflict between humans and Spirits in this world is, in truth, neither complex nor simple.

Many people have died at the hands of Spirits, but the Spirits themselves did not do so willingly.

Of course, with the exception of Kurumi.

But Kurumi also claims that she only kills the dregs of society; furthermore, she has self-awareness and knows how terrible the things she does are. Moreover, in her heart, as long as her plan succeeds, everyone she killed will be resurrected, and no one will be harmed.

Therefore, regarding this issue, Xiu Er offers no comment.

But one thing is certain: all of this is a mess created by that director of DEM, Isaac, and that so-called Origin Spirit.

So, looking at Shido's angry appearance, it was clear at a glance that he had no idea what Xiu Er had just done.

Xiu Er saw this immediately.

The current progress of the plot is only at the Yoshino arc, and because of his intrusion, he doesn't know if the sealing of Yoshino can still be successful tonight.

However, that is not something he needs to worry about.

Bullet of Four reverses the target's time, returning the target's physical state to a point in the past.

Therefore, for Yoshino, who was struck by the Bullet of Four, her physical state would return to before she was injured, and the wound would naturally disappear, thus achieving the goal of "healing."

But the only Spirits Shido has come into contact with so far are Tohka and Yoshino, so naturally, he knows nothing about Kurumi's abilities.

Therefore, in his eyes, the laser that Xiu Er fired through Yoshino's head had absolutely killed her.

That is why he felt such anger.

Ignoring his own battered body, Shido angrily questioned the other party.

"Why did you do that!"

"Shido..."

Feeling Shido's anger, Tohka, who was supporting him, could not find any words to calm him down.

She could only grip the sword in her hand tighter, guarding against a sudden attack from the guy opposite them.

Although her spiritual power was sealed, she could still manage to use it to a minimal degree, but the impression of the machine opposite her was still fresh in her mind.

Even the version of herself from back then could not inflict any damage on that guy; on the contrary, her Gokurokugai was stolen by him.

Now, Tohka's strength is far inferior to what it once was, so facing Xiu Er again, she felt the pressure.

Facing Shido's questioning.

Xiu Er did not respond.

That face, devoid of any emotion and lifeless, never showed any other expression.

A pair of golden mechanical eyes simply stared at the two people below, making them feel a chill.

Shido waited.

Ten seconds passed.

The stasis on Yoshino's body dissipated, and time began to flow for her once again.

Her petite body fell from the top of the Rigel toward the ground, landing exactly where Shido was.

This turn of events made it impossible for Shido to maintain his stance of confronting Xiu Er.

Right now, he only wanted to catch the "corpse" of that girl, but his body had not yet recovered; he needed Tohka's help just to walk.

Tohka naturally understood what Shido meant and hurriedly brought Shido along to catch the falling Yoshino.

At this moment, the Rigel also began to dissipate.

Having lost his footing, Xiu Er took the opportunity to land on the ground once more.

"Shido! Can you hear me! Calm down, quickly!"

Kotori watched the scene on the screen, shouting incessantly over the communication channel.

Only when she saw Shido and Tohka crawl out of the ruins did her mood stabilize. Although Shido was covered in injuries from protecting Tohka, Kotori noted that these were only minor issues.

However, when Shido went to confront that Spirit Hunter, Kotori's heart leaped into her throat once again.

That idiot brother of mine!

Yes, everyone aboard the Fraxinus had naturally witnessed Xiu Er's actions as well.

When he revealed his cannon arm, modified by fusing Spirit power, and actually unleashed the ability of Nightmare, their eyes had all widened in shock.

According to their scans, although Yoshino had been pierced through the head by that laser, she had not actually sustained any damage.

And when the stasis on Yoshino was lifted, the diagnostic results showed that the injuries on her body were recovering at an incredible speed.

The scars on her body gradually vanished, as if time were flowing in reverse.

Kotori naturally knew from this that the other party hadn't killed Hermit, but Shido didn't know that!

What if he were judged as an enemy by that Spirit Hunter?

She wanted to explain the situation to Shido via comms right now, but the channel was filled only with the sound of interference.

"Commander, I think his earpiece might be broken."

"Or perhaps the other party has jammed the communications in this area."

Either way, it was bad news.

Seeing that Xiu Er was just staring at him.

Ever since he had locked onto him, there had been a strange glow in the other party's eyes; was he perhaps scanning him?

Shido's mind, which had been clouded by a momentary flash of anger, finally calmed down. He then remembered that the other party was merely an intelligent machine, and all actions should be attributed to the operator behind it.