306 Business in the Arena (2/4)

Looking at the girl's face, I notice that she has returned to normal, and whatever it was that was affecting - no, possessing her earlier is gone.

"Well then, how did it feel? Dying, that is," I say in a relaxed tone as I cross my arms.

Upon hearing my words, the girl's eyes widen as she hurriedly gets up on her feet and examines her body frantically.

"Don't worry - Your body is in perfect condition; after all, I can't have you truly dying on me.

"You have something that I want, and I will stop at nothing to get it."

Perhaps affected by the sudden change in my tone from casual to distant and aloof, the girl's expression turns into that of trepidation as she gazes at my face and asks, "What do you want?"

"I thought I already made that clear," I respond in a tired tone, "I want information."

"Just kill me inst-!" the girl exclaims before she swallows her word as the terror on her face grows.

"You're right. I should 'kill' you to obtain that," I say while smiling.

"No way, right?" she mutters in an uncertain tone.

Proving her worries right, I use Alchemy to turn the asphalt underneath me into small particles and having them float to the air.

Then, I slowly have them form giant spikes with the tips pointed at the girl.

"Now then, I better make the current situation clear for you," I state, "Frankly put, I will be asking you questions, which, depending on your answer, could result in you getting skewered by these things."

And for this, I will depend on my lie-detecting ability and my sight, as there is a chance she will attempt telling me a half-truth, which might be taken as her not lying, so I will look out for something that could give away such attempts.

"For starters," I begin my questioning, "What is your name?"

"Ashley Sinclair," the girl responds after a brief moment of hesitation.

Alright, I don't recognize any lie in her tone, and the name checks out with her foreign appearance.

"Why are you here in Japan?" I question.

"On a mission to capture the SS-Class spirit, Prophet."

SS-Class? That is how dangerous they have deemed me as, huh? I bet that has changed now after all I've accomplished recently.

"What was the plan that you had before arriving on the island?"

This time, a troubled look appears on Ashley's face as she seems to contemplate whether to answer me or not.

Dissatisfied with her response I use telekinesis to skewer her left leg's calf with one of the asphalt spikes, causing her to release a shrill scream before getting down on one knee.

Following that, a thin line of moisture stems from the corner of Ashley's right eye as she clutches the spike and begins to slowly pull it out.

After a short while, she successfully pulls the whole thing out, revealing a gaping hole in her leg, through which quite an amount of blood pours out.

"That's the first one, so I went easy on you," I state in the most benevolent manner I can pull off.

"You jerk!" the girl barks as a response to my honest words.

"Make your answer short and easy to understand, and I may just patch your leg up," I say as I create a chair and take a seat on it.

"Just to be clear, I am already mostly aware of your plan, but would still like to know the details nonetheless."

This statement seems to be the final straw as Ashley harrumphs once before beginning, "I don't know much about the plan, but what I do know is that we were supposed to keep you occupied in one location for a minute, even at the cost of our lives."

"Oh? And why is that?" I inquire, intrigued about how doing so would benefit them.

"That battleship you destroyed, which I believe you have destroyed was equipped with an anti-material weapons system."

The heck? Why wasn't such a thing made use of earlier? Is the enemy faction comprised of idiots or is there more to it than this girl is letting on?

Seeming to notice my doubts, Ashley releases a sigh before wincing in pain.

"The cost of the weapons system is too high, so it can't be used freely."

"What do you mean?

"Well, not only does using it render most of a battleship's functionalities useless, but it costs an inordinate amount of cash for one shot."

From the way she is wording it, there are more of these but are kept away somewhere, only to be used when there is a 'special' occasion – such as me being somewhere optimal for an assault.

Not only that, but I believe the enemy was willing to use such a weapons system this time because of the location. I doubt they would use such a thing at the center of the city, but the possibility exists, so it wouldn't do me any harm to remain cautious.

Anyway, I suppose it's time to give her the carrot now that the stick has been made use of amply.

As such, with a broad smile on my lips, I take a few steps forth and crouch down in front of the trembling girl.

"Good," I simply say before reaching my left arm out to her injury and using Healing Factor to heal it.

It takes her a few seconds, but Ashley finally recognizes that I didn't come forth to hurt her this time, but the opposite instead.

"It sincerely pains me to be doing this to a cute girl such as yourself," I say in a melancholic tone as I reach my right arm out to rub her cheek before continuing, "But I have no other choice. The safety of those I care about depends on this. Innocent lives are on the line."

"Are you perhaps referring to spirits by 'innocent lives'?" Ashley says with a nettled expression.

"That's right," I respond.

"Of course," she mutters, "You are one yourself. A spirit. Who knows how many you have harmed, if not killed?"

"This," I say in a somewhat exaggerated manner, "This biased view of spirits is the source of all the pointless conflict between humans and spirits."

"Biased?! Have yo-"

"Shut it," I say, interrupting whatever she had to say as I already have a general idea of what it was.

"Enough of this," I say as I let out an exhausted sigh, "Just answer my questions from here on out. No more or less."

---

As I soar through the sky in search of Jeanne and Tohka while carrying Ashley, whom I have tied up once again, I come across a dazzling sight.

Below me, on the ground, a lengthy purple wave of energy cuts through the air and any obstacles in its way as it moves toward a motionless lady.

Just as the energy wave seems like it's about to slice through the lady, who is none other than Jeanne, a burst of golden energy exudes from within Jeanne's body and practically cancels the purple energy out.

Following this, Jeanne tightens her grip on the banner she is holding in her hand before dashing in the direction of Tohka, who is floating in the air with her sword in hand.

The next moment, Jeanne makes a sharp turn as she heads toward a building close by before leaping up five meters and plunging the sharp tip of her banner into the wall, after which, she sets her feet against the said wall before using an abnormal amount of strength and some energy to launch herself toward Tohka.

As a response to Jeanne's swift actions which were performed in less than five seconds, Tohka changes her stance to a defensive one as she grips her long-sword tightly.

[Oh Lord, grant me strength!]

Jeanne's voice which is full vigor reverberates within my head as I feel a small connection form between me and her.

The next thing I know, a white glow covers Jeanne's body as a pair of incomplete wings of light protrude from her back.

This doesn't last long, as the next moment, everything returns to normal apart from the banner in her hand, as it's brimming with a high amount of energy.

"Hyah!" Jeanne yells as she thrusts the spear at Tohka, who in turn swings her sword at her, resulting in a wave of energy similar to earlier to escape from the blade and move toward the incoming Jeanne.

Following that, the spear-top of the banner contacts the energy wave, which results in the purple energy dispersing, which, in turn, allows Jeanne to safely pass through and strike Tohka.

From what I can tell, Tohka's attire was able to briefly block the attack, but then it got overwhelmed by the attack and was successfully pierced through.

Having injured Tohka, Jeanne twists her banner a little before using Tohka as leverage to launch herself toward the ground.

"What the hell…." Ashley mutters with an appalled look on her face as she gazes down at Jeanne.

"Impressed?" I question while grinning.

"That girl is a spirit, right? I know of Princess, but have never heard of or seen the other one," Ashley mutters, seemingly to herself.

"Well," I remark in a casual tone, "That's most likely because she is not one – a spirit, that is."

"Impossible!"

I can understand why she would find that hard to believe. After all, the spirits are Codes, albeit 'weaker' ones than normal.

That's what it has been like for every spirit I have encountered so far, so I believe that it's safe to make such an assumption.

And so, despite Tohka being a 'weaker' Code, she is having a hard time facing off against Jeanne.

This could be either be because of their difference in experience when it comes to combat, or Jeanne is simply more powerful than her despite not being a Code.

Also, I can't leave out the fact that the maiden is burrowing something from me, be it energy or some sort of blessing.

In the end, all this only serves to make me more interested in her…