307 Business in the Arena (3/4)

"You better behave," I say while descending to the ground and preparing to set Ashley down.

"Whatever," she scoffs.

At this point, I am unsure of why I am keeping her alive. I've already gotten what I wanted from her - well, mostly. All the information I extracted from her was scarcely related to DEM industries and more about the actual organization she was a member of prior to getting sent over to DEM industries.

As Ashley put it, there are a few relatively huge organizations that are tasked with the sole objective of bringing an end to the chaos caused by spirits.

Ashley belonged to one such organization that mainly operates in the UN and goes by the name SSS, standing for 'Special Sorcery Service'.

Naturally, I got curious about the reason she would be here, somewhere so distant from her organization's base of operations, to which she responded by informing me of the 'shocking news' going around globally.

Said news was that the world's first and only male spirit has 'reappeared'. Not only that, but the spirit is planning to gather up the rest of the spirits for a finale against humanity.

Expectedly, the source of this information was DEM industries, or more specifically, its director, a man named Sir Isaac.

Upon further inquiries and analysis, I was able to conclude that this director is dead set on taking me down, no matter what it takes to do so.

Unfortunately for him, now that I have taken down two of their ships and have captured their ace, Ellen, most of the plans set to motion and those yet to be so have been thwarted, be it due to my actions creating unexpected factors or something else entirely.

Frankly, this is neither bad nor good for me, as it wouldn't affect any of my own plans.

If I want to, I could assail their headquarters with the assistance of Jeanne and some other spirits, but then again, there are many variables that I am to take into account, such as the anti-material weapons system and the enemy having a spirit or two among their ranks.

The possibility of the latter is somewhat high, considering the voice that managed to affect me back on the island when I had fatally injured Ellen.

Any rash decision could result in someone close to me suffering, which is something I would rather prevent.

As such, the safest choice to make would be to lead an assault along with Jeanne and have the rest stay somewhere safe during the duration of the attack.

Nevertheless, all this is to deal with DEM industries, but I shouldn't forget the rest of the organizations in the world.

Due to the reports regarding the 'male spirit' spread around, most if not all anti-spirit organizations will most likely be targeting me.

"I sure get a lot of hate wherever I go," I mutter to myself as I set Ashley down and look over at the injured Tohka in the air.

"My Lord," a firm voice reaches my ears from behind me as Jeanne approaches me and kneels.

"Well done," I say as I turn around to face her, "I was viewing your spar from the skies and I have to say that I'm fairly satisfied with your performance."

"I am greatly honored to receive such praise," Jeanne responds while remaining in the same position, "My Lord's blessings are what guide me."

A small smile forms on my lips as I take a step forth and set my palm down on her head.

As a response to my actions, Jeanne closes her eyes as her voice clearly resounds within my head.

[Oh Lord, I am grateful to serve you with my body and soul. May this last for all eternity, for even then I would still be indebted to Your Holiness.]

"I am glad that you're serving me as well, Jeanne," I state before drawing my arm back and turning around to gaze at Tohka who has also landed on the ground.

From her expression, I can tell that she is feeling no small amount of pain, so I take it upon myself to approach her and utilize Healing Factor.

"The pain is gone," she mutters with a slightly startled look on her face once I'm done healing her.

"How was it?" I question, "Did you learn anything from your fight with Jeanne?"

"Yes!" she responds almost immediately, "I-"

"Now, now," I say as I press my finger against her lips, "I would rather have you use the experience you gained practically than just telling me, alright?"

Tohka nods her head once as confirmation.

"Good."

Stepping back a few times, I peer into Tohka's eyes and say, "Prepare for battle. I will be on the defensive while you attack for now."

"Understood," she replies as a solemn expression replaces her casual one.

"Jeanne, you may rise," I say with a hint of exasperation upon noticing that she's still kneeling.

"As you wish," she responds before getting back on her feet and moving back a little.

Nodding my head, I utter, "Start," after which Tohka immediately dashes toward me with her sword raised high.

Assuming that she is planning to attack me directly, I prepare to cancel her attack through Vector Manipulation before throwing her off-balance by a kick.

However, my preparations are rendered useless the next moment, as Tohka simply hurls the sword forth, which misses me completely and flies into the distance.

Before I can take a moment to process her actions and reasoning behind them, Tohka arrives within a meter's range of me and proceeds to slam her palms together.

Following this, a burst of speedy purple energy escapes in between her palms and moves toward me.

To this, I respond by utilizing Vector Manipulation, planning to reflect the energy, but for some reason, which I assume is a lack of focus, I am unable to do so.

Nevertheless, I still prevent the energy to reach me by hastily moving back to avoid it.

Unfortunately, this results in Jeanne getting caught up in the trajectory of the attack, but she doesn't seem to find it bothersome at all as she pulls her rolled-up banner out of the storage ring and pummels it into the ground.

Along with this, Jeanne's voice briefly resounds within my head as she prays for protection, after which her body and banner get covered in a golden light for a split-second before the purple energy washes over her, only to dissipate the next moment.

What's left of the purple energy becomes a little chaotic before dispersing as well in the next few seconds.

At this moment, I sense something approaching me from behind, so I use Telekinesis to reform the asphalt beneath my feet into a wall protecting my back while using Clairvoyance to check out the incoming projectile.

As I suspected, the thing approaching me at an immense speed is Tohka's sword, which seems to be 'boosted' by a bit of energy stored in the handle.

Shaking my head, I decide to get a little more serious as I bend my knees before leaping to the sky.

The next moment, Tohka's sword smashes into the asphalt wall, resulting in numerous cracks to form along the wall as a small portion of it breaks down.

Tohka this opportunity to dash toward the asphalt wall and retrieve her sword before soaring into the sky.

Once her altitude is higher than mine, Tohka stops ascending and gazes at me with a sedate look on her face as she says, "Be prepared!"

Having said that, Tohka raises grips her sword with both hands as hazy purple forms around her body while the sword in her hands begins to feel like it's much larger than before, despite there being no change to its physical form.

Intrigued by her actions and state of body, I make use of Alchemy's corporikinesis, resulting in my vision to change from normal to one that lets me view inside her body.

Unexpectedly, I find something rather peculiar that I have never seen in any individual up until now.

At the center of Tohka's abdomen, there is a palm-sized crystal-like object which I am unable to make out the shape and color of properly, as they seem to change every moment.

A few seconds later, the crystal-like object seems to 'vanish' as Tohka releases her attack in the form of numerous giant blades of energy.

Seeing the incoming blades, I channel Holy Essence through my arms and make use of Holy Slash to counter with light blades of my own, albeit mine move in completely separate directions and are all vertical unlike hers, which are arbitrary.

Following this, I raise my left hand and snap my fingers, resulting in the blades I released to interconnect and form a multi-layer wall of 'thin' panes of Holy Essence.

The next moment, Tohka's blades clash with the wall and manage to break past the first layer through four strikes, but not being able to finish the second layer with the two blades of energy left.

Grinning at the outcome, I dash right into the center of the wall and use Light Manipulation to draw all the energy toward my hand, forming a somewhat long whip.

Most likely due to her vision of me being blocked by the Holy Essence, Tohka is surprised by my appearance as she prepares to release another barrage of blades.

Unfortunately, the moment she raises her hand, I make use of the whip and have it swirled around her arm before pulling her toward myself.

With that done, I catch Tohka's body once she is close enough before planting an abrupt kiss on her lips.

"You lose," I utter as I separate my lips from hers.

Hearing this, Tohka pouts and says, "You know I can't win against you."

"There is always room for improvement," I say, bringing a smile to her face, only for it to go away completely the moment I utter my next words, "Of course, that applies to me too."

"Come on," I say as I pinch her nose, "Don't be dejected. Let's just continue to get stronger together, alright? My cute little glutton."

Tohka's face gets completely flushed as she turns her head away and says, "Who is a glutton…"

Chuckling at her behavior, I give her another peck, this time on her left cheek before saying, "I will now spar with Jeanne. Would you like me to send you out of here?"

Just as Tohka is about to say something, the sound of a stomach growling reaches my ears while the blush on her face grows marginally.

Unable to hold back from laughing, I do so for a few seconds before smiling and saying, "Don't worry, I had already expected this. So, I cooked more than usual for dinner and had a portion of it stored off."

"Shido," Tohka says with sparkling eyes.

Hah~ In the end, nothing else seems to beat food when it comes to this lass…

--

"It's your turn now," I state as I land in front of Jeanne.

"Yes," she responds while tightening her grip on the banner's pole.

"Unlike with Tohka, I will be on the offensive while you defend."

It's about time that I tested just how powerful Jeanne's defense capabilities are. Along with that, there is her endurance and vitality.

Knowing that she is a woman that fought in many battles, they're all bode to be awing, especially now that she is being 'blessed'.