mtlumby2d Chapter 88, Shino's Arc: "The Unexpected Intervention"
Chapter 88, Shino's Arc: "The Unexpected Intervention"
The next day
"Urgent Notice! A strong space seismic signal has been detected in this area. Please note that this is not a routine drill. All residents must remain calm and immediately proceed to the designated shelters to avoid disaster!"
At this moment, Origami and Tohka are "mentally torturing" Shido by making him a bento box.
Outside the school, where it was already pouring rain, a spacequake alarm went off.
To keep Tohka safe and sound, and to prevent her from seeing the AST fighting the spirits, which could cause her spiritual energy to flow back due to excessive pressure, Reine made Tohka stay at school and then sent Shido to woo the spirits.
"Tohka, you and the teacher should go to the shelter first."
"Shido...but...but..."
"It's alright, Kanon~" Shido said and walked away without looking back.
"Shido..."
Seeing Shido leave without looking back, Tohka clutched her chest tightly, her face filled with worry, while Ms. Kotama called out beside her.
Onboard the Fraxinus
"You've arrived. This spatial quake was relatively small, which could be considered lucky, but if it were a [Hermit], such a scale would be normal."
Kyohei stared at the screen and reported to Kotori in a serious tone that, compared to Tohka's explosion, the center of this explosion was only a small crater with a radius of about eight meters.
"I know this girl..."
Looking at the girl in the green raincoat standing in the small ditch on the screen, Shido subconsciously said something.
What are you talking about?
“I saw her at the shrine the day before yesterday evening.”
Kannazuki approached Kotori and, for the time being, gave a fairly serious report on the spiritual energy fluctuations from the day before yesterday. After Kotori confirmed that it was very likely a silent manifestation like Tohka's, the topic ended.
"AST has arrived! Prepare for attack!"
With a muffled thud, a team of members entered the field like a flock of geese, and a hail of bullets rained down on the girl in the pit.
"No matter what, there's no need to do this to such a young child..."
Shido stared at Yoshino on the screen, who was being attacked by AST, his face filled with confusion. Meiji, who had been leaning against the wall listening, stepped forward and slowly spoke:
"How cruel! They're so driven by self-interest... Because the hermits, based on current observations, seem to have no ability to resist, they're going to eliminate them again, even though they're just children..."
"That's right, Mr. Ming is right, how could they lay a hand on a child..."
"But... don't forget, Shido, for them, spirits are a scourge. I ask you, if a wild beast that could be dealt with at any moment is standing in front of you, and you have a gun, do you choose to stand still and wait for it to bite you, or do you choose to strike first and take it down?"
Shido fell silent. He knew that this idea was not wrong from the perspective of humans, but he couldn't bear to look at the helpless Yoshino on the screen.
Just then, Kotori spoke up, continuing Ming's words:
"Just as the officer under Gangfeng said, pleading is useless as long as she is still an elf..."
"I understand, Kotori. Let me go and save her!"
Hearing Shido's unwavering answer, Kotori turned with satisfaction and gave an order to the Ratatosk members present:
"Everyone, Level 1 strategy, get ready!"
"Yes!"
“Then let our war begin!” Kotori bit the jewel in her mouth.
Afterwards, Shido was moved to the outside of the building where Yoshino had escaped, and then rushed in without hesitation.
The pervasive mist enveloped the entire building like a light veil, making it appear somewhat hazy from the outside. However, despite this, some details could still be vaguely discerned through the advanced monitoring equipment—Latatosk.
After careful observation and analysis, it can be found that there are two obvious heat sources inside the building, emitting a faint but not negligible light.
Ming leaned slightly to the side, lazily reclining against the heavy door of the Ratatosk command center. He appeared nonchalant, but his sharp, hawk-like eyes never stopped scanning the surroundings.
His gaze was drawn to something not far away. On the rooftop of the building next to where Yoshino was hiding, there seemed to be a blurry figure appearing and disappearing.
"Oh? Commander, could you please shift the camera's focus away from Shido's side for now? I'd like to check the situation on the roof of the building next door."
Upon hearing Ming's request, Kotori thought for a moment and then nodded, "Okay."
The scene shifts to the rooftop of the building next door, where a dark figure gradually comes into focus—a woman with brown hair holding a sniper rifle, observing the area.
Jessica Bayley.
"Gangfeng subordinate officer, do you know her?"
"I wouldn't say I know them, they're just people in DEM that I'm interested in, that's all."
Ming looked at Jessica Bailey on the screen, his brows furrowing slightly, as if he were pondering something.
"Her presence here is definitely not a good thing; she probably wants to take advantage of the chaos to harm Yoshino."
Kotori's expression turned serious after hearing Ming's words.
"If that's what you're saying, we absolutely can't let her succeed; we have to find a way to stop her."
"Commander, wait for me a moment, I'll take care of her."
After saying that, Ming left the door he was leaning against and walked toward the teleportation device in Ratatosk.
"Strange? I don't remember Jessica appearing at this time... Could there be some unexpected change? No... I have to find out the truth. I can't tolerate any changes!"
Before being teleported away, Ming picked up his phone and dialed into Miku Izayoi's call channel, saying, "I need your power. Now give me two audio clips of you using your spiritual power." He was then teleported away.
Ming teleported to a street not far from Jessica's building and walked there unhurriedly.
Ming quickly arrived at the foot of the building. He glanced up at Jessica on the rooftop, a cold smile playing on his lips. He climbed up the building's exterior wall like a ghost, moving with incredible speed.
The boy with enhanced physical body and spiritual power
When Ming appeared on the rooftop, Jessica was taken aback and immediately raised her sniper rifle to aim at him.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Jessica asked warily.
With his hands in his pockets, Ming slowly approached her. The moment Ming walked upstairs, the surrounding area was covered by a black, random field, forming an area that could not be observed.
"Who I am is not important. What is important is that you cannot lay a hand on the Hermit today."
"Hmph, you think you can stop me? This is my mission."
Jessica said, pulling the trigger, and a bullet flew toward Ming.
Ming dodged the bullets with a swift movement. He quickly closed in on Jessica, snatched her sniper rifle, and snapped the barrel in two. Jessica's eyes widened; she hadn't expected the person before her to be so skilled.
"Who exactly are you?" Jessica asked in terror.
“I told you, it doesn’t matter. If you leave now, I can pretend nothing happened,” Ming said coldly.
Jessica clenched her teeth, a resolute look on her face. Her slender hand swiftly reached for her waist, drawing a gleaming dagger! The sharp blade flashed with a chilling light in the sunlight.
In the blink of an eye, Jessica, wielding a dagger, pounced on Ming like a ferocious beast. Ming, however, remained calm and nimbly dodged the fatal blow.
Immediately afterward, Ming seized the opportunity and swung his fist, striking Jessica in the abdomen with lightning speed.
With a muffled thud, Jessica felt a sharp pain and was thrown backward. She crashed heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Jessica lay on the ground. Ming walked up to her, looked down at her, and coldly asked:
"In short, I want to ask you: who sent you? What is your mission?"
"Do you think I'd say that! Let me tell you, you can't afford to mess with DEM!"
"You're right, saying that was just a formality."
Ming crouched down, took out his phone, and played the audio that Miku had just recorded. Suddenly, Jessica felt as if she were hypnotized, and her eyes gradually became vacant.
“Now tell me, who sent you? What is your mission?” Ming asked again.
"It was Director Westcott. He told me to search for the extremely vicious spirit [Flame Beast] here and hand over the communication device in my pocket to him, or to obtain some experimental samples of other spirits..."
Jessica reached into her pocket, then lifted it up and took out a special communication device, which Ming accepted.
Ming stared at the communication device in his hand, his brow furrowed. He knew all too well that Director Westcott had been plotting something sinister; his constant search for cooperation with him must be a cover for a conspiracy.
"Alright, go to sleep then. Remember to forget everything you should forget."
Since Jessica might still be useful in the future, Ming didn't eliminate her. However, he still needed to thoroughly investigate Westcott's sudden contact with him later using the [God's Eclipse] manual.
Looking at the tall buildings next to him, Ming summoned the [Divine Eclipse Manual], tore off a page, and had Nibekol transform into his own image.
"Father, what are your orders?" As soon as he appeared, Nibekor knelt on one knee with a respectful expression.
"I'll play the role of someone going up to Ratatosk. I'm going to check it out over there. Remember not to give anything away, understand?"
"Yes, Father!"
Then, Ming walked through the door leading downstairs, and the random domain was instantly dispelled after Ming left. Nibekol waved to the camera above his head, and then he was transferred into the Vlaxinas.