Chapter 3

Lingmeng smiled and waved at the captain. "Bye-bye."

Before the captain could react, blue lightning erupted across her abdomen. The powerful shock dealt her a devastating blow.

"Damn it... How can you... have so many abilities?"

The captain forced out those words before losing consciousness.

Lingmeng merely smiled. "Because I'm cheating!"

Then she gently laid the captain on the ground.

"Cap-tain!"

The girls across from her cried out in distress when they saw their captain collapse.

"Relax! I made sure the voltage was within a safe range. She won't die. A few days of sleep and she'll recover."

Lingmeng stretched and explained it with an utterly carefree expression.

The Angel That Commands the Elements (Part Two)

"Damn you! You monster! How dare you do that to our captain!"

Grief and anger filled the AST members' faces at the sight of their injured captain.

"Why are you shouting so loud? Can't we just talk? Were you treating everything I said like background noise? Are you deaf? I told you your captain's fine! She just needs a few days in bed. Instead of wasting time yelling at me, take her to a hospital!"

Lingmeng was getting worked up. She had wanted to talk things out peacefully from the start, and even during the fight, she had held back to avoid hurting them. Yet they hadn't appreciated it. They'd blamed her instead. Who wouldn't be angry?

Man, being nice really isn't easy!

Lingmeng composed herself and sighed inwardly.

"Take this, monster! We'll avenge our captain!"

When Lingmeng came back to her senses, she found the AST members flying in from every direction, Light Swords raised to strike her.

"A numbers advantage? That's probably a smart choice here." Lingmeng's lips curved upward. "But flashy tricks like that won't work on me!"

The ground beneath the AST members suddenly split open. Huge green vines burst out and bound them in an instant.

"What are these things? Let me go!"

The AST members tried to tear the vines off by force, but after struggling for a while, they realized they couldn't break them.

Ohoho, now that's a sight for sore eyes! ＼(☆o☆)／

Lingmeng admired the bound girls before her, a lecherous smile creeping onto her face.

Her body might be female now, but she was still a man at heart! What man wouldn't get at least a little excited seeing pretty girls tied up?

"Ahem. Ladies, you might as well stop resisting! Those aren't ordinary vines. I made them with my powers, and you're not strong enough to break free."

Lingmeng cleared her throat and resumed a normal expression. Seeing that the AST members were still struggling, she kindly warned them.

"Oh, right. I should deal with your equipment too. Without it, you're more or less ordinary girls, aren't you?"

Lingmeng walked up to them and pointed Elemental Spirit at them. Blue lightning appeared again and surged into the AST members' mechanical suits.

Electricity crackled, and smoke rose from every suit at once.

The suits looked unchanged on the outside, but Lingmeng had wrecked their insides. They were nothing but scrap metal now.

"There. None of you can fight anymore. No point in continuing, right?"

Lingmeng looked at the AST members and spoke as casually as ever.

"Cut the crap! If you're going to kill us, get on with it! Spare us your fake concern. It's sickening!"

The AST members glared at Lingmeng. As far as they were concerned, she had only spared them so she could toy with them. If looks could kill, Lingmeng would have died a hundred times over.

What they didn't know was that Lingmeng had once been human and simply couldn't bring herself to kill anyone. That was why she had only destroyed their equipment, hoping they would stop harassing her.

"I really don't understand why you're so upset. Could you tell me why you're trying to kill me?"

"Because you're a monster!"

"...Okay. Asking nicely isn't going to work." Lingmeng lifted the chin of the nearest girl and looked into her eyes. "Then... pardon me!"

A vast surge of Spirit Power poured into the girl's mind. With it, Lingmeng read her memories—one of her abilities.

Lingmeng's Angel, Elemental Spirit, was nearly all-powerful. It could command Metal, Wood, water, fire, earth, light, darkness, wind, Lightning, space, time, and the mind.

That was why Lingmeng had been able to use so many different powers in the fight.

This time, Lingmeng used her mental powers to enter the girl's subconscious and learn why they were hunting her.

"Damn you! What did you do to Misako, you monster? Let her go!"

Seeing Lingmeng apparently do something to their teammate Misako, the others grew even more agitated.

"Relax. I didn't do anything to her."

Lingmeng released Misako and sorted through what she had learned.

Basically, I'm a creature called a Spirit. Whenever I come from a place called the Neighboring World to the human world, I cause a huge explosion called a Spacequake. After a while, I return to the Neighboring World, and the cycle repeats. These girls were sent by an organization called AST to eliminate me.

Having pieced it all together, Lingmeng looked up at the sky and sighed.

"If that's really how it works, then I... kind of sound like the villain?"

I Apologize, but It's Not My Fault!

"What have you been muttering to yourself about, Spirit?"

The AST members asked when Lingmeng suddenly looked skyward and started sighing.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering how you could be this weak. I barely tried, and you went down. Is that all AST members can do? If so, the world's doomed!"

Lingmeng turned back with a smile.

"How dare you mock us! Let us go, and we'll fight you for another three hundred rounds!"

Lingmeng had clearly gotten under the AST members' skin. If those damned vines weren't holding them, they would have rushed over and punched her.

"Bleh! No way!" Lingmeng pulled a face. "Besides, what could you do even if I let you go? I broke all your equipment. You're no different from ordinary girls now."

"..."

The AST members fell silent. It was true. Even if their equipment were still intact, they would have been powerless against Lingmeng.

They couldn't understand why they dared speak to a Spirit like that after being captured. Under normal circumstances, they would probably already be dead.

"Look, I know you've suffered. If Spacequakes caused by Spirits hadn't killed your families, you wouldn't have spent your childhood handling weapons every day."

Lingmeng scratched her cheek, looking apologetic. "Um... I know saying this won't make up for anything, but... I'm truly sorry!"

She bent at the waist and bowed to the AST members.

"..."

Lingmeng's gesture left them dumbfounded. They had never imagined they would receive an apology from a Spirit.

"Ahem. That said, there's something I need to point out." Lingmeng cleared her throat, apparently not finished yet.

"Yes, your families died in Spacequakes, but what does that have to do with me? As far as I know, I've only caused one Spacequake, and that was today! So we obviously don't have a personal grudge, do we? If you want revenge, go after someone else! Don't attack me for no reason just because I'm a Spirit!"

Lingmeng said exactly what was on her mind.

"..."

"Anyway, I won't keep rambling. I'm off! You can wait for reinforcements to rescue you." Lingmeng waved to the AST members and turned away. "See ya!"

The AST members could only watch in silence as Lingmeng receded into the distance.

"Ohoho! Where should I go have some fun now? I finally made it to Japan. It'd be a shame not to experience the culture!"

Lingmeng clapped her hands, having settled on a destination. "Ha! As a proper otaku, of course I have to visit Akihabara, the otaku holy land! No time to waste. Let's go!"

But just as Lingmeng was about to use Elemental Spirit to travel straight to Akihabara, she felt an irresistible force trying to pull her out of this world.

"What the—what's going on?"

Those were Lingmeng's last words before the force took her. When she came to her senses again, she could feel neither gravity nor any of her five senses. Her body seemed beyond her control, leaving her deeply uncomfortable.

So this is the Neighboring World? It doesn't feel great. Well, I should be back in the human world before long. I'll just wait.

With that thought, Lingmeng drifted off to sleep...

Danger Level B+

Two weeks had passed since Lingmeng first appeared in the human world. At DEM headquarters in the United Kingdom, a handsome white-haired man who looked around thirty lounged on a sofa with his legs crossed.

His name was Isaac Ray Peram Westcott. As one of the Realizer's creators and DEM's executive director, he was thoroughly bored.

"Yawn... Life's been dull lately. Ellen, do you have any ideas for passing the time?"

Isaac yawned and turned to the woman in a uniform standing behind him.

"Work would be the best use of your time. Lounging around all day is unbecoming of an executive director."

The woman answered coldly, clearly displeased with Isaac's behavior.

She had waist-length golden hair, purple eyes, and a tall, shapely figure. She was undeniably beautiful.

Her name was Ellen Mira Mathers. She was Isaac's secretary and the world's strongest Wizard.

"Tsk, tsk. You're so rigid. Leave the work to the executives. I have no desire to spend all day staring at reports and documents. I'm only interested in things that are fun."

Isaac waved a hand, dismissing Ellen's suggestion.

"Then forget I said anything."

Ellen gave a businesslike reply and fell silent.

"Ellen, would you make me a cup of coffee?"

"Of course. Please wait a moment."

Ellen nodded and left. Before long, she returned with a steaming cup of coffee.

"Here you are."

"Thanks."

Isaac took the coffee with a smile and savored it.

"That's Ellen for you! Even your coffee-making skills are the best in the world!"

He set down the cup, looking delighted.

"Thank you for the compliment."

Ellen responded to his praise with professional courtesy.

"Oh, right. A new Spirit showed up recently. She seems quite powerful. Interested?"

Something had apparently occurred to Isaac, and he brought it up with Ellen.

"Oh? What sort of Spirit caught your attention, Isaac?"

Ellen's expression softened. The new Spirit seemed to have piqued her interest.

"Here—this is her file. Take a look."

Isaac produced a folder from somewhere.

Ellen took it and calmly pulled out the documents, reading them carefully—

Identification Code: Element Make. First appeared in ** City, Japan. Her Angel possesses exceptional control over multiple elements; she primarily uses elemental attacks in combat. Danger Level: B+

"...Isaac, didn't you say she was powerful?"

"Yes. An Angel with so many abilities would be troublesome to face, wouldn't she?"