Chapter 94
Having failed in her first attack, Ellen slightly withdrew and re-examined the girl who had caught her blow. She looked very young, probably around the same age as Origami Tobiichi... Damn it, why does Schicksal always seem to produce so many geniuses one after another?
"I'm sorry, although Shier doesn't know what happened yet, Schicksal does not accept the act of killing elves without prior discussion."
A girl with short black hair, dressed in a Valkyrie outfit resembling Rita, stood between herself and the elf. Ellen was in a hurry, and the armor on the black-haired girl was clearly not a mass-produced type, nor an upgraded type like Origami Tobiichi's. As everyone knows, only two such custom-made Valkyrie Armor have ever appeared.
Both of them belong to the S-rank Valkyrie.
The S-rank Valkyrie already had the leverage to provoke her, so Ellen was naturally unwilling to waste time on her. She casually remarked, "DEM doesn't intend to kill, but rather to capture. What, is it that only Schicksal is allowed to capture elves, but DEM isn't allowed to do the same thing?"
Anyway, this Spirit Base doomed, and I can finish it off with one strike. Besides, if it obediently moves aside, I don't even need to kill it; I can just capture it and take it back.
"If DEM also has a way to prevent sprites from causing Spatial Quake, please raise it at the public meeting."
Black Amber didn't even bother to reply to the other person's nonsense.
Seven Deadly Sins was a little unsure about the current situation. She had thought she was saved, but judging from Ellen's words, Schicksal was no pushover either... and... so many people had seen her in her current state!
"Then there's nothing more to say."
Knowing she couldn't fool them anymore, Ellen snorted coldly, raised her greatsword, and pointed it at Black Amber: "I'll give you one last chance. How do you think you compare to Rita Yulande?"
She didn't believe that the other party, as the Valkyrie of Schicksal, wouldn't know what she meant and her battle record.
As the Strongest Magician in human history, she easily defeated Rita and then held her own against Yulande for three rounds. As a fellow Valkyrie, this girl should be well aware of the strength of Rita and Yulande, right?
Black Amber:... I'm too lazy to talk to ignorant people.
Chapter Sixty-Two: Is Shier an Elf?
Seeing that the two were focused on each other and that Tohka's attacks were no longer directed at him, Seven Deadly Sins took a few deep breaths, his mind, which was almost a jelly ball, trying to figure out the situation.
She didn't want to be killed or captured. One of them wanted to kill her and the other wanted to capture her. No matter what, they were her enemies. Although they couldn't cause her trouble right now, it was uncertain what would happen later.
Escaping might become a shared goal for both of them, so the best course of action is... to strike first.
Thinking of this, and looking at the Valkyrie with her back to him, Seven Deadly Sins quietly shrank behind her, forming a three-point line.
Then, the Counterfeit Witch instantly cast a spell on the two of them that could temporarily change their ages.
"Watch out! Shier!"
Just when Tohka thought the situation was under control, things changed again, and this time her blood pressure really spiked.
Although she disliked Shier, who was competing with her for Shiori, she hated Seven Deadly Sins even more for toying with her feelings. Even so, Tohka didn't want to see Seven Deadly Sins killed, and of course, she didn't want to see anything happen to Shier either.
Just now, because of the grudge, she didn't go to Shier's side to unite with her immediately, and didn't even say hello. Tohka felt regretful.
She had already let her emotions cloud her judgment twice in a short period of time, making things worse. At this point, the distance between them meant that Tohka had no way to get there to help.
But she felt more anger than regret.
How could this spirit be so wicked? Not only did she transform into Shiori to toy with her, but now she's even trying to ambush Shier who helped her. She's the worst person Tohka has ever met.
However, Tohka's anger was utterly insignificant compared to Black Amber's anger at this moment.
Black Amber was so angry she almost laughed. When she arrived, she had roughly guessed what had happened. As for Seven Deadly Sins, the culprit who had ruined her plans and even caused her to fail, she was so angry she wanted to kill her.
As a result, this fool not only didn't know how to save himself the trouble, but also betrayed her?
Okay, okay, this is a good way to play.
It just so happens that Tohka, that idiot, was rude to me before. If everyone's playing this game, then I won't pretend anymore.
As the spell struck them, in the blink of an eye, Ellen and Black Amber, who had just been facing off against each other, were transformed into six or seven-year-old children, seemingly completely incapable of fighting.
Ellen was also surprised by Seven Deadly Sins' sudden move. She was furious, but she did not lose her mind. Although her physical condition dropped to an extremely weak level in an instant, even if it hadn't dropped, her physical condition was still very poor. Not to mention comparing herself to female gorillas like Valkyrie, she couldn't even compare to Arutemi, that sports student.
What truly makes her powerful isn't magic. If we're talking about magic alone, Ellen admits that she's not particularly outstanding among her old acquaintances; she's basically at the bottom.
What made her the Strongest Magician was the emergence of the Imaginary Domain. With her extraordinary computational power and control over the Imaginary Domain, Ellen leaped to become one of the world's top combatants.
Therefore, although the body limits its magic and power, the actual impact on itself is negligible.
Ellen glanced at the black-haired girl who had also been turned into a child and had a stunned expression on her face, and sneered.
The Valkyrie's situation is completely different from theirs. Physical fitness is one of the most important fighting forces for these gorillas, and in this state, they probably have lost more than one-tenth of their strength.
If she wasn't forced to, Ellen wouldn't want to kill the Valkyrie. DEM and Schicksal are just competitors on the surface, not mortal enemies, so she didn't kill Rita when she shot her down. But if there were casualties, the situation would be different.
Ordinary Valkyrie might be able to be fooled, but this one with independent Valkyrie Armor is probably a favorite of Möbius. Unless there's a need to fight to the death, it's best not to provoke her.
Thinking this, Ellen abandoned her plan to continue attacking the black-haired girl and instead focused her attention on the elf behind her, who had a look of relief and relief at escaping death.
"Stop!"
Tohka flew rapidly from the ground toward the three of them. Ellen ignored her and bypassed Black Amber, slashing at Seven Deadly Sins.
However, a sudden chill ran down their spines, and an overwhelming sense of danger froze the three of them in an instant.
Black and red muddy water appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the four of them in a sphere. The sticky, suffocating feeling made them feel as if they had fallen into water.
The light was completely obscured by the Black Mud, and the darkness lasted for less than two seconds. Then, a faint red light, almost invisible, slowly began to flicker inside the sphere, allowing them to see the minimum amount of light in front of them.
"What's going on!?"
Tohka looked around in shock and disbelief. The unprecedented terror made her subconsciously raise her greatsword, covering her entire body with Spiritual Power for defense.
Her doubts were not uncommon in this space; after all, of the four people present, three were currently filled with confusion.
Ellen was also sensing the state of the Imaginary Domain. As a 'personal world,' everything within the Imaginary Domain —temperature, humidity, and any physical law—could be altered based on the user's will, provided there was sufficient computational power. Yet, she was experiencing discomfort.
But... there's nothing wrong with the Manifestation Device, is there?
Seven Deadly Sins was completely bewildered. Who am I? Where am I? What happened? Did I accidentally use the Counterfeit Witch on myself?
"Hmph... Hehehehe..."
A low, cold laugh echoed in the space, but the source of the sound did not prevent the three people present from distinguishing it.
"Shier?"
Tohka's serious expression relaxed slightly. So it was an ally's skill? Then it's alright.
However, before she could feel reassured, a black-red substance that looked like octopus tentacles appeared around her, binding her limbs tightly and pulling them in different directions. Not only her, but the other two people also made the same move. Three figures arranged into the character "big" were quickly arranged in front of Black Amber one by one.
The girl, who was just a six or seven-year-old child, has returned to her original form, but her scarlet eyes and the malicious and mocking smile at the corner of her mouth mark the difference between her now and before.
Ellen was half incredulous and half puzzled. She was puzzled because the Imaginary Domain and the Manifestation Device were working properly, so why was she so easily bound? Even if her body had degenerated, shouldn't it be possible to tell if there was a problem?
What she couldn't believe was... why had she been so easily defeated by the Valkyrie of Schicksal again? It was one thing when it was Yulande, the world's strongest, but who was this one? Shier? A nobody whose name she'd never even heard of!
If it weren't for the lack of Spiritual Power in the other person, Ellen would have wondered if the other person was an elf. But if they weren't an elf, something was still a bit off. They had completely changed their personality. How could it not be Inversion?
Is it because Möbius could control the spirits' Spiritual Power and use it for his own purposes that he stopped killing them?
It's really numb.
Chapter Sixty-Three: Yulande asked me to pass on a message to you.
"What exactly is going on?"
Looking at the 200-meter-diameter sphere floating in mid-air on the screen, Kotori Itsuka stared wide-eyed but still couldn't make out its true form.
She had witnessed everything that had just happened, and based on her judgment, it must have been created by the Valkyrie of Schicksal. However, the feeling this thing gave off was far too ominous, which made Kotori worried about the situation inside.
I originally thought that as long as that Valkyrie could hold out for a while, I wouldn't have to shamelessly call Yulande again, but now it seems that I still have to make that call.
But thinking about it carefully, Yulande has probably already made her move, so it's impossible to get through by phone.
Previously, they could still communicate on the channel in this situation, but now that Fraxinus and Schicksal have no cooperative relationship, he naturally can no longer use this channel.
"Tohka alright?"
Shiori had already been taken to the airship, looked worried. Like Kotori, she didn't think that black and red sphere was harmless. After all, the color scheme gave it a dangerous and eerie feel.
Kotori couldn't give a definite answer to Shiori's question; all they could do now was wait and see.
Muramasa Reine's gaze wasn't on the screen, but rather on the ground below it, her eyes piercing through the airship to observe the black sphere's location in reality, and even its interior.
She didn't care whether the elf lived or died. Since the elf was dead, she could just give the Spiritron Crystal to the next person, but that was on the condition that the elf hadn't been captured yet.
If the spirits have already been captured, Reine still hopes that they can live a safe life. Otherwise, if they die easily, Shiori will have to go through the trouble of capturing them all again, which is undoubtedly a waste of time.
After seeing the situation inside the black sphere, Reine was relieved. Although the Valkyrie was currently torturing the three people inside the sphere both mentally and physically, she was mainly frightening and teasing Tohka, and did not really hurt her.
As for what happened to the other two, she didn't care.
Not receiving a reply from Kotori, Shiori became even more worried. Although she felt that the Yulande had summoned wouldn't be any dangerous individuals, and based on her interactions with Valkyrie, she didn't think Shier was a bad person, she was still somewhat concerned. "Can you send me in?"
"No! Are you serious?!"
Kotori frowned and looked at Shiori.
The blue-haired girl then realized that her words were practically sending her younger sister, who cared about her, into a fire pit. This was dangerous for her and equally cruel to Kotori.
"I'm sorry... we... have we no other choice...?"
Shiori felt a surge of helplessness wash over her.
Kotori couldn't offer any comfort in response.
Just when everyone was at a loss, Kotori's phone suddenly rang, and this ringtone wasn't for work, but for her personal life.
Who's calling me now? Yulande? Hasn't she made a move?
Kotori was puzzled, but she still answered the number.
"Hello, are you Kotori Itsuka from Fraxinus?"
(WC! Box!)
"It's me, that's right... And you are?"
Knowing that she is a person of Fraxinus, and that she is also a living telephone, the only people who should know both of these are Fraxinus's people, her sister Shiori Itsuka, and Yulande.
But Fraxinus's people and Shiori Itsuka are all here, and it's not Yulande's voice on the other side.
"My name is Kurumi Tokisaki, or you can call me... Nightmare, Commander."
"Ha?!"
Nightmare? Is it the Nightmare I'm imagining? No, since they've already mentioned Fraxinus, it's impossible that he doesn't know what Nightmare represents.
What's going on? Why did Nightmare suddenly call?
As she had gotten the other party's surprise, Kurumi's smile widened. She had been living with those innocent spirits lately. Although it was not wrong to tease them for fun, she couldn't bring herself to do it to Yoshino. After doing it too much to Kaguya, Yuzuru had started to be wary of her, which made her a little bored.
Although she must have really enjoyed that kind of life before, people change because of their experiences. It's simply a fantasy to expect Kurumi to suddenly become some kind of Hero of Justice.
She could transfer the Spiritron Crystal to her original self, making that self her true form, but Kurumi also wanted to witness the end of everything.
"Where did you get this phone number, and from Fraxinus? What do you want with us?"
Kotori was sweating profusely. Just a moment ago she was worried about Tohka's condition, but now she had been killed by Nightmare. This was the worst-case scenario.
Unlike other elves, Nightmare killed countless humans not because of Spatial Quake, but because of her own will. Now that she knows about Fraxinus, who knows if she will turn on them and the others.
He was alright; his near-death state was enough to reverse his Spiritual Power, giving him the power to fight back. But the others from Fraxinus didn't have such a robust body.
"Hehehe... Don't worry, Miss Commander, I have no ill intentions towards Fraxinus."
Kurumi smiled contentedly, seemingly realizing that her words hadn't been very comforting, and added, "Yulande asked me to give you her regards."
"Yulande?"
Hearing this, Kotori's tense nerves finally relaxed a lot, and she was impressed by the blonde girl's reliability. Even though she had already launched an attack, she still thought of sending her a message.
As for why they were able to find Nightmare to deliver the message, it became clear when they thought of what Möbius said about several elves being under the protection of Schicksal: "Are you also under the protection of Schicksal now?"
"As you said, I am currently in the process of Schicksal, but we are simply collaborators with shared interests."
Although the facts were the same as what Kotori said, Kurumi chose a different explanation because she thought that her actions might have a negative impact on Schicksal.
The feeling of being suddenly pulled back from a beautiful dream to reality and having to confront one's bloody past was not pleasant. Kurumi lost interest in continuing the conversation and said directly, "I've brought good news for the Commander. Don't worry about that dark thing in the sky. Shier Fulei is a qualified Valkyrie and will know how to handle things, even if it's another Shier."
"Another Shier?"
Shier Fulei is clearly the name of that Valkyrie, but what about the other Shier? Is she a split personality?
Kotori made a fairly accurate guess in her mind, then nodded. "I understand, thank you for the reminder, Ms. Tokisaki."
"It's nothing, I was just repeating what was said."
Kurumi casually replied, "The rest is not my responsibility. See you next time, Commander."