"Big sister, big sister, I found him—the big brother who saved me! Look, it's him! And big brother, this is Arisa's big sister."
After Arisa introduced them, the two pointed at each other in perfect unison and said,
"Ha! So this short-tempered woman is your sister!" / "So this pervert who broke into a girls' school is the one who saved you!" ×2
Then, after hearing the other insult them, they glared at each other and spoke in perfect unison again.
"Who are you calling a pervert who broke into a girls' school?!" / "Who are you calling short-tempered?!" ×2
The atmosphere turned awkward once more. Nozomi Tojo could only stare with a twitching mouth as her friend and the senior she'd met a few times traded barbs in perfect sync. If she hadn't known this was only their second time meeting, she would've thought they were a couple who got along wonderfully. But she knew Eli Ayase's personality well enough not to say that out loud. Someone else, however, had no such hesitation.
"Oh? Senba, are you and this blonde beauty a couple? You're so in sync."
Kuryu Tenkeiji looked at Senba Gari and Eli Ayase with a mischievous grin. But—
"Thump!" ×2
"Guh!"
They both punched Kuryu Tenkeiji in the stomach at the same time. Then they turned to him as he lay on the ground, not knowing whether he was alive or dead, and said,
"Who said we were a couple?!" ×2
Then they glared fiercely at each other and said,
"Why are you copying me?!" ×2
"Tch." ×2
At last, the two stared each other down for a moment, then turned away with sour expressions.
((ー△ー;) Seriously, you two are so in sync, you might as well go get married. "Shut up!" ×2 ?(?>^′?)?)`Д′))
Then a trembling hand grabbed Senba Gari's shoulder. Kuryu Tenkeiji clutched his stomach and painfully stood up, speaking to Senba Gari in a shaky voice.
"You two... hit... really hard..."
After hearing Kuryu Tenkeiji, Senba Gari pushed him aside and rolled his eyes.
"Could you have died like that if you hadn't been asking for it?"
Nozomi Tojo and Arisa watched the two of them finish their ridiculously synchronized exchange in speechless silence. Then Nozomi forced a smile, stepped between them, and said to Eli Ayase,
"Um, Eli, maybe you two should stop arguing. We're still trapped here, after all. You can keep arguing once we get out."
After hearing Nozomi, Eli Ayase realized this wasn't the time to argue. She turned coldly to Senba Gari.
"Hey, pervert. Do you have a way to get us out of here?"
Senba Gari replied irritably,
"Who are you calling a pervert? I told you, I got permission from the guard. Honestly, is that how you ask someone for help? Well, there is a way out, but it's a bit troublesome."
"Troublesome? What's troublesome about it?"
Eli Ayase frowned at Senba Gari and asked.
"It's just—"
Just as Senba Gari was about to explain, Silver Phantom's voice came through his earpiece.
Master! This is bad! There's a Mlortha reading below you, and it's almost right beneath your feet!
"What?!"
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake violently.
"Rumble!"
"This is bad!"
"Hey! What are you doing? Ah!"
"Crash!!!"
The shaking grew more and more violent. Some people fell to the ground, while Nozomi Tojo tightly shielded Arisa. Eli Ayase was still standing there, and Senba Gari, sensing that the Mlortha was about to burst out, rushed in front of her and tackled her aside. Then, with a tremendous crash, a vicious, humanoid Mole leaped out of the ground.
Symphony of Earth! Iron Armored Steel Fist!
"W-what is that thing?!"
Eli Ayase, who had been tackled aside by Senba Gari, stared at the Mole Mlortha in front of them in terror.
"Tch, I didn't think they'd try to wipe us all out."
Beside Eli Ayase, Senba Gari looked at the Mole Mlortha and thought to himself,
This is bad. There are too many people around. I have no chance to transform.
The people around them were already fleeing in terror. But—
When the Mole Mlortha saw a victim trying to escape in front of it, it swept its sharp claws across the person's neck.
"Slash."
"Thud."
"Ah!!!"
In an instant, the person's head flew away from their body, then landed in front of the crowd. Everyone screamed in horror and trembled. Arisa, her face deathly pale, buried it in Nozomi Tojo's arms. Nozomi was pale, too, as she stared at the blood-soaked head in front of her. Eli Ayase fought back the urge to vomit, buried her face in Senba Gari's chest, and clutched his injured left hand tightly.
Senba Gari's expression was grim, too. Not because he was scared—he'd seen scenes like this plenty of times before. It was just that—
"Hey, you touched the wound on my hand."
"Ah! S-sorry. A-are you okay?"
Seeing Senba Gari's expression, Eli Ayase hurriedly let go, then asked with a slight tremble.
"Forget it. This kind of thing really is terrifying for you. Don't worry. Once we get out, just treat it as a nightmare."
Seeing the terror on Eli Ayase's face, Senba Gari rested a hand on her head and spoke gently.
Feeling the warmth on her head, Eli Ayase looked up at Senba Gari's face, her cheeks faintly flushed, and murmured,
"Can we really get out?"
"Yeah. Trust me, we'll make it. We definitely will!"
As he spoke, Senba Gari looked toward the Mole Mlortha, surveying their surroundings and searching for a chance to break through. But the Mole Mlortha made another move.
Its nose twitched, as if it were sniffing for something. Then it seemed to identify its target. It pointed its sharp claws at Nozomi Tojo, who was right beside it, holding Arisa, and shouted,
[Divine! I know you're here. If you don't want everyone here to die, get out here now! Otherwise, I can't promise my claws won't send their heads flying!]
"Big sister Nozomi, Arisa's scared!"
Arisa seemed to be terrified out of her mind, so she clung tightly to Nozomi Tojo, trying to find some sense of safety. Nozomi hugged Arisa just as tightly and tried to keep her voice from shaking as she said,
"Good girl, Arisa. We'll be all right."
"Arisa! Nozomi!"
When Eli Ayase saw the Mole Mlortha pointing its claws at Nozomi Tojo and Arisa, she tried to rush over to them, but Senba Gari pulled her back and yelled,
"Do you want to die?! You'll be killed if you rush over there!"
Eli Ayase shook off Senba Gari's hand and shouted at him,
"But Arisa and Nozomi are about to die! They're important to me! What am I supposed to do?!"
Then Senba Gari said something that left her stunned.
"I'll save them!"
"Huh?"
Seeing Eli Ayase's confused expression, Senba Gari placed both hands on her shoulders and brought their eyes level. Then he looked into hers and said,
"What do you mean, 'huh'? I said I'll save them! Just stay here."
Then the Mole Mlortha's voice rang out in Senba Gari's ears once again.
[I'll count to three. If you don't come out, I'll send their heads flying!]
[One!]
I have no choice! I only get one chance! I can't fail!
After hearing the Mole Mlortha's voice, Senba Gari channeled all the spiritual power in his body into his legs and fixed his gaze on the Mole Mlortha—not the creature itself, but the pit behind it.
[Two!]
Then the Mole Mlortha raised its claws high, while Senba Gari crouched into a running stance, the muscles in his legs tensing. And then—
[Three!]
The Mole Mlortha brought its claws down toward Nozomi Tojo and Arisa. At the same time, Senba Gari surged toward it at a speed beyond an ordinary person's reach, driven by the explosive force in his legs and the boost from his spiritual power.
"Arisa, run!"
As the Mole Mlortha's claws came down, Nozomi Tojo shoved Arisa away with all her strength. Then she looked at the claws descending toward her and slowly closed her eyes. Two tears slid down her delicate face as she thought,
Goodbye, Eli. I'm glad I could protect your most important family member before I died.
"Bam!"
But she didn't feel her head being torn from her body. When she opened her eyes, she saw a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Just as the Mole Mlortha's claws were about to reach Nozomi Tojo, Senba Gari suddenly charged in and slammed into the creature's abdomen. Then he wrapped both arms around its waist, and the two of them fell into the pit behind the Mole Mlortha right in front of Nozomi Tojo's eyes.
"Senpai!"
Only after Nozomi Tojo recovered from her shock did she shout toward the pit. But all she heard from within was her own echo.
"Bang!"
"Hey! We found a group of victims here, some of them injured! We need medical personnel up here right away!"
Suddenly, a huge hole was torn open in the ceiling above them. Rescue workers climbed down through it, one after another, and someone spoke into a walkie-talkie.
As Senba Gari and the Mole Mlortha fell into the pit, he used all his strength to shove the creature away in midair. Then he pulled a card with silver-gray patterns from his pocket.
"Manifest!"
A flash of silver appeared at Senba Gari's waist, and a silver-white Beast Soul Driver appeared there. He then inserted the card into the right side of the Beast Soul Driver, which immediately sounded out several mechanical voices.
Vehicle armour appear (Armor manifest)
As the first mechanical voice rang out, the silver-gray phantom of armor appeared around the various parts of Senba Gari's body.
armed (Arm)
Then, as the second mechanical voice rang out, the silver-gray phantom armor armed Senba Gari.
Divine Fenrir (Fenrir)
"Bam!"
"Ugh!"
At last, Divine and the Mole Mlortha crashed onto the floor of the underground parking garage.
The Mole Mlortha stood up and looked at Divine before speaking.
[Divine, look at the state you're in. How pathetic!]
Divine was now on the verge of death. His spiritual power could barely sustain the armor on his body, and the fall from such a height had left him feeling as if every bone in his body had shattered and his internal organs were about to burst. The armor on him began to flicker and slowly fade away. One more hit might force him to transform back!
"Heh. So what? As long as I've still got a breath left, I won't give up!"
Divine unsteadily got to his feet, his bright yellow compound eyes fixed on the Mole Mlortha.
[Then die!]
"Slash!"
"Ugh!"
The Mole Mlortha's claws raked across Divine, throwing off three sparks. Then its blow sent Divine flying a short distance, and the force exceeded the armor's limit, forcibly stripping it away.
"Ugh, cough, cough."
Senba Gari struggled to his feet, then spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground. He looked up at the Mole Mlortha as it began to approach him and thought,
Could this really be the end? Damn it! I don't want to die!
At the same time, he took out a card with orange-yellow patterns and looked at its design.
Before you continue