I Became a Spirit in Date A Live, but I Refuse to Date

While Lingmeng and Shiori were still trying to make sense of things, a sound they both knew all too well rang out—

"Woo—woo—woo—woo—"

That was an alarm neither Lingmeng nor Shiori would ever forget. It warned of an approaching Spacequake!

“Lingmeng, the Spacequake alarm's going off. Does that mean a new Spirit has appeared?”

Shiori's expression turned troubled.

He still hadn't resolved things with Lingmeng. If another Spirit showed up now, he would have more than he could handle.

"No. I haven't sensed any unusual fluctuations in space. The alarm probably isn't because a Spirit has appeared. It's likely just to evacuate the nearby residents."

"Then who set it off?"

“Shiori, give me a second.”

With that, Lingmeng used Mind Detection again. Sure enough, she found what she had expected.

They had machines more advanced than those used by the national Self-Defense Force's AST, and they could issue a Spacequake alarm at will.

Other than Shiori's Ratatoskr, the only organization capable of both had to be DEM.

“I've already taken care of your teammate! How long are you planning to hide, DEM?”

Lingmeng shouted at the sky. She now knew who had attacked her.

No sooner had she spoken than a gale swept across the sky, and several hundred young Wizards slowly emerged from above.

There was no doubt about it. These Wizards belonged to DEM.

"Clap, clap, clap..."

At the center of the formation, a curvy European beauty with long, wavy red hair and red eyes began to applaud. She wore a black-and-gold Realizer.

"So you're Element Make, the strongest Spirit we've seen so far—the one who defeated Lady Ellen! You took down our teammate with a single blow and spotted us immediately. Your physical abilities and powers really are top-notch."

The red-haired beauty's praise did nothing to please Lingmeng. She merely looked at her with disdain.

"Save the flattery. If that was your best teammate, is she really such a pushover that she couldn't take one casual hit from me?"

Honestly, Lingmeng would never have said that to the AST, no matter how weak they were.

Why did she speak to DEM that way? Because they had opened fire without a thought for Shiori, who was standing right beside her.

"Tch! Show you a little respect, and you get this arrogant? I'm Anlia Finlander, one of the world's top five Wizards. I'm here on Lord Isaac's orders to capture you."

Lingmeng's attitude clearly irritated the red-haired woman. Her expression hardened at once.

"Huh? Is being in the top five supposed to impress me? Bring Ellen, the so-called strongest Wizard, along with you. I'd still wipe the floor with both of you!"

Lingmeng gave as good as she got. It might have sounded arrogant, but it was true.

"Hah? You really are full of yourself, Spirit. Are you saying you don't take me, Emilia Relos, seriously either?"

A little girl stepped out from behind Anlia Finlander. She wore silver-white armor, had blonde hair in twin tails and blue eyes, and bore a striking resemblance to Airi. She had the air of a little princess who would never admit what she felt.

Like Anlia Finlander, Emilia Relos was one of the world's top five Wizards. Mocking Anlia the way Lingmeng had was as good as saying Emilia was no match for her either.

"Little girl, your hair and face are a dangerous combination."

Looking at the girl who called herself Emilia Relos, Lingmeng couldn't help remembering Airi Akizuki, the heroine of an adult anime she had seen in her previous life.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Emilia Relos, who had no idea what Oni Chichi was, looked utterly confused.

"Ahem. Nothing. If you know, you know. If you don't, you're better off."

Lingmeng coughed awkwardly twice and brushed it off.

"What a weirdo..."

Emilia Relos muttered in disdain.

"Hey, that's pretty cold. You kept asking me to lead the way, and now that we're here, you just leave me behind?"

A listless voice rang out. Another girl appeared, with long silver-white hair, golden eyes, golden armor, and a slack expression.

Her name was Amabane Shizuna, and she shared fifth place in the world rankings with Emilia Relos. Being half Japanese and half English, she had naturally been pressed into service as their guide after arriving in Japan.

Seriously, another one? Are top-five Wizards that easy to come by? I've run into four of them myself!

Lingmeng stared at the Wizards who kept popping up, completely baffled. Not only did these extras get so many lines, they even got character introductions. Was the author padding the word count on purpose?

Zhongsheng: "Ahem. These three are my original characters. They'll probably appear for only a few chapters in Lingmeng's arc, and you'll hardly see them again after that. Don't worry about them.

Oh, and a friendly warning: everyone's going to get a forced intelligence downgrade next chapter. Read at your own risk?"

Bomb

Why did villains in TV shows and anime always introduce themselves when they showed up to cause trouble? Hadn't they heard that talking too much got villains killed?

Lingmeng looked at the hundreds of Wizards in front of her, then at the three fools claiming to be among the world's top five. She was at a loss for words.

"Lingmeng... Can you handle this many of them?"

Seeing how bad things looked, Shiori tugged anxiously at Lingmeng's clothes.

Shiori answered with a confident smile.

"Of course I can. I'm the strongest Spirit!"

Then Lingmeng shouted up at the Wizards in the sky.

"Come at me head-on if you've got the guts, you blockheads! I'll beat you so badly your own mothers won't recognize you!"

Lingmeng sounded unusually cocky. She rarely acted like this, but she had already started showing off in front of Shiori. She might as well see it through.

Besides, Lingmeng had the strength to back up her words.

If she used every ability she had, she was confident she could win even if ten more Ellens joined them.

That was right. Ellen had become Lingmeng's unit of measurement for combat strength in this world.

Meanwhile, at DEM headquarters, Ellen suddenly felt irritated for no apparent reason.

"Damn you! What a filthy mouth! Didn't anyone teach you manners?"

A vein throbbed on Emilia Relos's forehead. She looked ready to charge in and give Lingmeng a beating.

Anlia Finlander quickly stopped her.

"Emilia Relos, don't be rash. We need to follow Lord Isaac's instructions."

Anlia Finlander's expression was scarcely better than Emilia Relos's, but she held herself back.

"Fine..." Emilia Relos swallowed her anger and backed down.

"Huh? Weren't you here to capture me? What, getting cold feet?"

Lingmeng couldn't understand why the girls who had wanted to attack her had suddenly stopped.

"Element Make, I suggest you curb that arrogance. We might not be able to beat you in a straight fight, but we do have a way to hold you back."

So said Anlia Finlander.

She clearly understood the gap between them and Lingmeng. Why they had come here anyway, apparently to throw their lives away, was beyond Lingmeng.

"Hah. Hold me back? You?" Lingmeng gave a soft laugh.

At that moment, Amabane Shizuna, who had been silent for some time, spoke up.

"Looks like you still don't understand the situation. I'll tell you straight.

"Before we came to meet you, we planted a bomb in the center of this city.

"If you use even a trace of spirit power, or use your abilities to escape, it'll detonate. It isn't powerful enough to threaten you or us, but it can destroy Tengu City."

"!!!"

Lingmeng's eyes widened. If they were telling the truth, DEM was using every resident of Tengu City as a hostage.

Though panic churned inside her, she forced herself to sound calm.

"A bomb? Anyone can make up a story. Besides, I'm a Spirit. What makes you so sure I'd put myself in danger for a bunch of strangers?"

"We can't be sure you'll give up using your powers for their sake. But as for whether the bomb is real..."

Amabane Shizuna produced a metal sphere the size of a marble from somewhere.

She activated it with her Territory, then casually tossed it behind her.

Boom! The moment the sphere landed, an enormous blast erupted, sending out a wave of heat.

When the blast subsided, the buildings and even the ground where it had landed were gone. Its destructive power was nearly on par with a Spacequake.

If Lingmeng remembered correctly, the explosion had hit Dingding Tower, the hotel she had visited recently. Now it had vanished completely.

"This..." Cold sweat beaded on Lingmeng's forehead as she stared at the scene in the distance.

"Well? What I just used had only one percent of the power of the bomb we planted downtown. Whether you believe us is up to you."

Amabane Shizuna spoke in her usual sleepy voice and shrugged.

"Lingmeng, I think they're telling the truth! What do we do?"

Shiori's brow was tightly furrowed. If the bomb they spoke of really exploded, Tengu City would be finished.

"You scum are so obsessed with capturing Spirits that you've lost your minds! Why put a whole city at risk just to catch me?"

Veins stood out on Lingmeng's forehead. She had never imagined DEM would pull something like this. Compared with them, the AST practically had hearts of gold.

This tactic might not have worked on other Spirits, but it was painfully effective on Lingmeng. She remembered her previous life and never wanted anyone hurt because of her again.

Seeing that Lingmeng seemed shaken, Amabane Shizuna's expression barely changed. She simply gave a small yawn.

"Say what you like. All we have to do is complete our mission. The rest isn't our concern. Even if the bomb goes off and people die, DEM will take care of it for us."

"..."

Lingmeng clenched her fists. She wanted nothing more than to give them a Personality Correction Punch, but using even a trace of spirit power would set off the bomb. She had no choice but to swallow her anger.

Having the power to beat them senseless but being unable to use it for a reason like this was maddening.

"So all I have to do is not use spirit power..."

Lingmeng spoke quietly, her face twisted with more anger than Shiori had ever seen.

"Lingmeng, you're not thinking of—" Realizing what she intended, Shiori hurried to stop her. "No! If you give up using your powers, they'll capture you!"

"But if I use them, everyone—including you, Shiori—will die in the explosion, won't they?"

Lingmeng gave a bitter smile. She cared far less about being captured than about whether her actions would hurt anyone else.

"..." Shiori fell silent. He hated to admit it, but Lingmeng was right. Either she would be captured, or Tengu City would be blown apart.

"But you still can't just give up and let them take you—"

Shiori spoke with a conflicted expression, but Lingmeng placed a finger against his lips before he could finish, signaling him to say no more.

"Idiot. Who said I was giving up? Even without my powers, I can still fight them with a Spirit's maxed-out strength."

Lingmeng tried to comfort him with a smile, though it looked painfully forced.

Even without her powers, she had physical abilities comparable to Ellen's when Ellen used a Realizer. Facing three of the world's top five Wizards and hundreds more who were considerably stronger than ordinary AST members, Lingmeng couldn't say she would win. But she could hold out for a while.

"Anyway, Shiori, hurry and get away. I'm the only one they're after, so they probably won't attack you. And with things the way they are, you might only slow me down if you stay..."

Lingmeng kept up her forced smile. Normally, she would have had no problem with Shiori staying, but with her powers off-limits, she could barely manage this herself.

"I..." Shiori hesitated. He knew that staying would only put Lingmeng in more danger.

But for some reason, he felt certain he would regret leaving her for the rest of his life.

"Didn't you hear me? I said go!"

The shout broke Shiori's train of thought. When she came to her senses again, Lingmeng was on the verge of tears.

Unlike the times before, Shiori could clearly feel how much pain Lingmeng was in. It was the one expression he least wanted to see on her face.

"Please... I... I never want anyone to get hurt because of me again..."