Chapter 25: A Wizard Casting Fireball? Unforgivable!

"WHERE THE HELP AM I?!" Kyo's frustrated voice resounded from over a thousand feet in the air. "These instructions must be wrong or something; I've spent more time flying around town than I did on five chapters of manga! AUGH!" He scratched his head in frustration. Next time, I'm getting Nia to guide me even if I have to carry her sleepy bass on my back. At this rate, I might as well just sit and wait for Yoshino to summon [Zadkiel]…

BOOM-

"Right on cue, huh." Kyo turned to his right, where a giant rabbit had just burst out of a department building about a mile in the distance. 

——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————

"Spirit waves confirmed! All units, fire at will!" First Lieutenant Ryouko's voice sounded through her earpiece. Origami grit her teeth and began raining down bullets at [Hermit], who was perched on the back of her Angel. 

"AaaAUGH!" [Hermit] let out a strangled cry as the beginnings of a mist began to form around her. 

"Ice barrier confirmed. Switching munitions." Origami calmly swapped her gun out for the custom RPG that had recently been distributed after [Hermit] displayed her ability to control ice. Firing rockets filled with a magically-treated napalm solution, it had previously demonstrated the ability to melt through [Hermit]'s shield quite effectively by a foreign team of Wizards. As such-

"AAAH!" Origami watched with grim satisfaction as [Hermit] plummeted to the ground, the air itself burning around her as she fell. From the corner of her eyes, she seemed to see a shadow fall from the mouth of the Angel. I'll have to check that later.

"Returning to conventional weaponry," she reported, reholstering her gun and beginning another round of fire. As long as Delta Squad can get the adhesive net down on her, we might actually manage to kill her this time!

However, her hope was quickly stifled as the Angel's eye glowed a bloody red and burst into a thick fog, obscuring [Hermit] from sight. The Spirit wave readings are gone. She disappeared. Origami gave a disappointed sigh and began to descend to check on what fell from the Angel before suddenly stiffening. Something isn't right. What is i-

"WHAT THE FORK WERE YOU DOING?!" That voice. Origami looked up in the air. [IX] stared back into her eyes, fury evident on his face. "SETTING A CHILD ON FIRE?! SURELY THAT'S A WAR CRIME!" 

"This is an emergency! All units, fall back! We can't afford to engage with a Spirit of his caliber!" Origami ignored Ryouko's orders and drew her blade. No, there's no point. We'd best make our stand here and now. [IX]'s eyes widened.

"Oh, that's cute. You think you stand a chance." She stayed silent, ready for him to advanc-

"Think again." Her eyes widened as [IX]'s breath grazed her ear. I'm… still too slo…

Before she could complete her thought, darkness overtook her.

——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————

What the fork is happening? Kyo raced through the battlefield, trailing violet sparks behind his path. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he breezed past each AST member, each one sharing a similarly horrified look as he slashed through their equipment with unnatural ease. [Naught]'s scabbard pulsed with an overwhelming energy, instantly eliminating everything it came in contact with.

Why was [Zadkiel] on fudging fire? Turning his attention upwards, he saw the last member that still had functional equipment. Hm, Kusakabe Ryouko. She'll have answers. Their gaze met, and her eyes widened. 

"You." Kyo rushed forwards and bisected her equipment, then gripped her by the neck. "What is happening here?"

"Captain!" Vaguely, he heard someone crying out behind him. Oh. Convenient. Throwing the captain to the ground, he turned and directed [Naught] at the nameless AST member's neck.

"Answer me, or forfeit her life." His eyes gleamed with a stormy darkness as he observed Ryouko's increasingly horrified face.

"Captain… run…" The AST member weakly reached out her hand. Cliché much? Well, that's fine. After all, this is when the other person inevitably says…

"Don't hurt her! I'll tell you everything. Just put the blade down," Ryouko spat out. Thank you for being so unoriginal. 

"You don't have any jurisdiction over me, Captain. Where [Naught] ends up depends on your answer to this question: Why are you using rocket-propelled napalm on that child?"

Ryouko went quiet, though her face betrayed her confusion at the question. "We… eliminate Spirits. That's our job."

Kyo's face went black. Yeah, no shirt, Sherlock. "Where did the napalm come from?" He elaborated, making his displeasure known by severing a lock of his hostage's hair.

"Hey, you- tch." Ryouko held back her objection and took a deep breath. "It should have been developed in Germany around two weeks ago, following the appearance of [Hermit] showcasing the ability to create an impenetrable ice barrier. However, we only have one, due to its nature as still a prototype. I think the researcher responsible was named Dr… Stroheim?"

German science? Really? Kyo clicked his tongue. "And you were fine firing experimental napalm on a child."

"..." Ryouko stayed silent, but he could read her unspoken words from just her malevolent eyes alone: You're all Spirits. Inhuman monsters that destroy the world. Of course we were fine.

"...I see. I apologize." Both members of the AST widened their eyes in confusion at his sudden apology.

"W-what are you-"

"I seem to have mistaken your incompetence for lack of resolve. From now on, that will change." Kyo pushed the AST girl towards Ryouko, dispelling the Nihility that silently pulsed from [Naught]'s scabbard and looking straight into the captain's eyes. "Next time, when one of your members points a gun at me, I will not hesitate to end their life."

"!!" Ryouko's expression tightened. "You…!"

"I've been merciful. After all, despite the difference in power, I've only made you suffer financial losses so far. But since you have shown me just how far you will go, even against a child… it would be wrong of me not to reciprocate in kind."

Ryouko didn't speak. Kyo continued to look at her dead-on, before sighing. "I respect your dedication to the preservation of humanity. Perhaps if I were human, I would've been a fan of yours. But fate has placed us on opposite sides, and now I am telling you this: if you continue to deploy against Spirits under my watch, there will be nothing left to bury in your graves."

With that, Kyo activated the concealment technique [White] and flew off into the air, leaving the battered and broken AST squadron on the ground. Overhead, the gray skies boomed with the sound of thunder.