The Mecha-Kai Species During Dimensional Travel

"Ha↗ Of course it's a date, a date."

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

"B-but, that's..."

Hearing this request, Shido tensed up on the spot.

Kotori was his little sister, and he had always seen her as such. Suddenly being told to date his own sister, win her over, and then kiss her at the end...

To be honest, even Shido, who had long braced himself, couldn't accept this premise so quickly.

Then, catching sight of the unhealed wound on Kotori's face, he thought of a good excuse.

"No need to rush. After a fight that intense, your body probably hasn't recovered yet, right? Let's wait a few more days."

Stalling was the plan. It wasn't that Shido didn't want to do it—he just needed some time to convince himself.

Seeing Shido like this, Kotori's mood soured even further.

"Big brother..."

Kotori placed her hand over Shido's. Head bowed, she spoke in a low, dejected tone...

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

"Kotori..."

She was, of course, referring to the great fire she had unleashed during her rampage back then. In her mind, she believed she had killed many people, and that was the knot in her heart.

Now that she faced the possibility of going berserk again, she didn't want to hurt anyone else because of herself.

Shido, through the materials Kannazuki and Reine had given him earlier, had also recalled what happened that year.

He understood the worry weighing on Kotori's heart now.

Raising his hand, he patted Kotori's head and gave his answer.

"Trust me."

On the other side, a golden passageway appeared in a secluded alley.

Xiu Er, carrying faint wisps of azure flames, flew out from the passage and closed the path behind her.

She leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down to sit on the ground.

After the Phantom had appeared, Xiu Er fought her in the Neighboring World for nearly ten-odd minutes, but throughout the process, she had been passively taking the opponent's attacks.

This was intentional—it was her plan. By analyzing Mio's complete data, Xiu Er had no intention of dragging the fight out this time.

In the end, after successfully obtaining most of Mio's data, Xiu Er used the already-analyzed Neighboring World data to replicate Rin-ne Eden, broke the spatial lockdown, and left the Neighboring World.

But to be fair, as far as Xiu Er knew, at this point in time, Mio should still be carrying the Spirit Crystallization meant for Origami that had yet to be delivered.

That meant the Origin Spirit should currently have the Extinction Angel ability.

Yet, for some reason, in this encounter, the opponent hadn't used it even once.

'Could she have known my goal?'

Xiu Er had to consider this possibility, because only such a reason would cause the opponent to deliberately hold back.

Still, although the opponent had concealed something, the data obtained before leaving was not insignificant. It would definitely be useful in the next battle against Mio.

Thinking this, Xiu Er looked toward the sky, which was gradually brightening on the horizon.

So many things had happened tonight.

Now Mio had her sights set on her too. She would have to be careful in her next moves. At least there wasn't much left to do.

After quickly establishing her future course of action, to avoid Mio continuing to track her down, Xiu Er opened another Teleportation Gate and left the area.

Chapter 27: The Girl in Space

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

She was currently in outer space, beyond the planet.

Without any protective gear, the first time she had come to space, it had been a novel experience for someone who originally could never have touched such a thing.

But this trip wasn't just for a one-day space tour.

One Spirit was located here.

Rokugou Hoshimiya, identification name: Star Palace.

She was in the cosmos beyond Earth, having sealed her own heart using her ability.

Her angel was named Seal Breaker.

Its ability...

Closure, had the power to seal away a certain object or concept.

[Codex Opening], which also has the ability to unlock seals and perform spatial movement.

[Release], which fully unleashes the body's potential.

[Disintegration], which can sever the bonds between molecules.

Regarding the intelligence on these abilities, Xiu Er couldn't determine the opponent's actual strength either.

Fortunately, that [Closure] ability requires Rokugou to insert her Angel into the target's body before it can be activated.

So, against Rokugou Hoshimiya, Xiu Er absolutely would not let her guard down.

As long as she didn't let the opponent stab her Angel **into her own body, the seal couldn't be triggered.

After all, no matter how powerful the damage or effect, if it doesn't hit, it's as good as nothing.

Using the search capability of the [Codex of the Whispers], Xiu Er easily located Rokugou's specific coordinates in space.

After opening a passage with [One-Way Street], she arrived at a position where she could observe the target.

She chose not to rush in recklessly.

Xiu Er opted to first briefly observe the target's state.

There, a golden-haired girl in a pink qipao, her legs clad in armor-like boots reminiscent of medieval knights, floated idly, her chest exposed through the cooling vents built into her clothes, revealing her fullness.

So this was the state of having sealed her own heart.

No emotions, no loneliness.

Just emptying her mind and body, drifting through space.

As Rokugou silently gazed down at the blue planet below, as usual.

An uninvited guest appeared before her.

She saw a girl with blue-violet hair, bare-armed, appearing before her without any protective gear.

When she spotted the halo above the other's head, Rokugou's first thought was of the [Angel] she'd heard of in memories.

But the mechanical structures on the other's body made it clear she was neither an Angel nor a human.

A robot?

She had recollections of such things from her memory.

Those amber eyes merely glanced indifferently at the mechanical girl before her, without generating any excess emotion.

As for who made these things, to Rokugou, as long as they didn't cause her trouble, she wouldn't bother with them.

Unfortunately, that robot wouldn't be as peaceful as Rokugou imagined.

"Target contacted. Beginning combat mission."

"—[Codex Opening]—[Speed Violation]—"

From the other's mouth came words utterly devoid of emotion, just like her appearance—completely mechanical.

Without a word, Xiu Er gripped the greatsword coalescing in her hand and charged straight at Rokugou.

Watching Xiu Er approach at extreme speed.

Rokugou understood the other's intent and summoned her own Angel.

[Seal Breaker] materialized.

Just as the blade was about to strike her, a massive key appeared between them, blocking the attack.

Rokugou gripped both ends; in terms of raw strength, she found herself outmatched.

And she saw it—the other's golden eyes glowing with light.

Seeing the first strike fail, Xiu Er immediately launched attacks from other angles.

Clang, clang, clang...

Each attack was barely blocked or dodged by Rokugou, leaving no chance to use her abilities.

She couldn't let this continue. She quickly realized the problem.

Then, she made her next decision.

When Xiu Er's greatsword came down again, Rokugou met it head-on, offering no defense.

The blade finally cut through her Astral Dress, slicing a gash into the skin beneath.

But in the moment the other struck her, Rokugou drove the head of Seal Breaker's key into Xiu Er's body.

Got it!

She immediately activated [Closure]. Xiu Er's eyes dimmed, the greatsword in her hand began to dissipate, and she stopped moving, as if drained of energy.

"Ha..."

Finally dealing with the intruder, Rokugou gasped for breath.

But before she could relax for even a few seconds.

"Data collection complete. Beginning Plan 2."

Though she couldn't hear any sound, some instinct made her turn.

Rokugou quickly looked back and saw a machine girl identical to the one from before.

She immediately glanced again at the one she had just sealed, only to see it dissolving into golden particles of light.

A decoy?!

Was that one fake?

Or were there multiple machines of this model?

With no time to think further, realizing the enemy was still a short distance away, Rokugou made a snap decision and reversed the Seal Breaker, pressing it against her own chest.

"Seal Breaker, Release."

A surge of red energy suddenly appeared, enveloping her. When she reappeared, her outfit and weapon had both transformed.

Her qipao had changed from pink to red, the style bolder than before, and armor plates now covered parts of her body that had been bare.

The key-shaped [Seal Breaker] in her hand had also become a long halberd.

Gripping her weapon tightly, Rokugou's gaze turned serious.

This was the form of Rokugou Hoshimiya after using [Release] to unleash her full power.

This time, Rokugou was the one to strike first.

Seeing that her opponent hadn't drawn a weapon, she seized the chance to end the fight in one blow and charged forward without a second thought.

"-[Codex Opening]-[No Passage]-"

A transparent wall of golden energy materialized between them, barely blocking Rokugou's attack.

Several minutes into the battle—