Hoist with One's Own Petard

In the command center, Wescott gazed intently at the silver-haired girl on the screen, a cold smile tugging at his lips. "Even the strongest Spirit would take damage from such a nuclear assault, and in doing so, she'll deplete a significant amount of her spirit power. At that point, with her weakened state, our new magic-condensing cannon will have the ideal opportunity to strike. Then… I'll bring out that secret weapon."

His chilling words drew no reaction from Ellen beside him, who stared blankly at the screen, lost in thought.

The blue sky was scattered with clouds, and soft beams of late summer sunlight filtered through the yellowed leaves, casting bright patches of light on the ground. The air was cooling, and a gentle autumn breeze rustled through the endless sea of trees, filling the silence with the occasional chirping of birds. Wildflowers, still in bloom, swayed in the breeze, heightening the tranquil beauty of the woods.

Amidst a clearing in the forest, two beautiful young women lay together.

One girl was holding the other gently, her delicate fingers tracing softly over smooth, white skin, sending the girl in her arms into a subtle tremor. The two girls were none other than Kaguya and Ellen.

Ellen was still catching her breath, her chest rising and falling as crystalline drops of sweat trickled down her face.

"How about now? Do you understand your mistake?" Kaguya smirked, her fingers tightening slightly, a mischievous smile on her face.

Ellen didn't respond, her gaze hazy, as though shrouded in mist.

Seeing Ellen's dazed look, Kaguya paused, chuckling as realization dawned. "Oh? Could it be that I broke you? After all, that was quite the experience for you just now." A mischievous smile spread across her face as she gave Ellen a light squeeze.

"A-ah!" Ellen gasped, her body shuddering slightly. That one touch brought her back to her senses.

"You… you…" Ellen bit her lip, glaring resentfully at Kaguya. If she could, she would have struck down this troublesome Spirit on the spot, but she knew her strength was no match for Kaguya's.

Watching Ellen's glare, Kaguya's smile turned sly, as if she'd just thought of something entertaining. She pulled Ellen closer, brushing her fingers softly over her skin, making Ellen flush with embarrassment. Just then, Kaguya whispered, "I like you."

Ellen blinked, momentarily stunned, as if wondering if she'd misheard.

"Yes, I like you." Kaguya moved closer, her gaze serious. "Ellen."

"H-huh?" Ellen's eyes widened in disbelief.

"It's because I like you so much that I couldn't help but do what I did," Kaguya continued in a tender tone. "Can you forgive me?"

"H-how could I…" Ellen stammered. "After all that, I could never forgive you. You were so mean to me."

"I know, I know I hurt you." Kaguya's voice softened, her expression sincere. "But I'll make it up to you for the rest of my life. I'll make sure you're happy, I promise. So please, don't turn me down."

"Answer me," Kaguya said, her gaze unwavering.

Ellen had never faced anything like this. Her composure began to waver. "Answer…?"

"Yes. Say yes." Kaguya held her by her shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes. "Marry me."

"M-marry you?" Ellen's face went slack with shock, her mind struggling to keep up.

"Yes," Kaguya whispered, running her fingers over Ellen's soft skin, her words soft by her ear, "Marry me, Ellen."

"N-no, no way," Ellen stammered, her face flushed, her words coming out in a flustered rush. "We're both girls… How could we?"

"What's the problem with that?" Kaguya's body moved closer as she chuckled softly. "Who says two girls can't get married?"

"But, but…" Ellen's cheeks flushed a bright red as she fumbled for words, her entire face as red as a ripe apple.

"No buts." Kaguya leaned in, her voice a soft murmur by Ellen's ear. "I like you very much, Ellen. And you like me too, don't you?"

"W-what? No, of course not!" Ellen's face turned an even deeper shade of red, her embarrassment spreading down to her neck, her whole body turning rosy pink. "Stop joking around."

"I'm not joking," Kaguya said, her arms wrapping around Ellen's waist. "Marry me, Ellen."

Ellen's mind was a muddled mess, as if her brain had stopped functioning. Her thoughts spun in all directions, the feelings of anger and frustration mingling with memories of Kaguya's earlier gentleness, twisting her thoughts and feelings beyond recognition.

Did she… did she like her?

That couldn't be true, right?

Even if Kaguya's face often lingered in her thoughts, even if she found herself recalling Kaguya at odd times… It wasn't love, was it? After all, Kaguya had treated her so harshly, humiliating her so callously. But then again, if she said it was all because of love…

She wavered, torn between forgiveness and bitterness, unable to reach a decision.

Finally…

"Y-you…" Ellen muttered after a long silence, her voice soft and uncertain. "You can't treat me like that anymore. You have to be… nicer to me."

"Absolutely not."

"Huh?" Ellen's head snapped up, confusion flickering in her eyes.

"Of course not," Kaguya said with a mischievous grin. "You're just too cute, Ellen. There's no way I'll stop teasing you."

Absolutely unforgivable.

Ellen bit her lip, fury blazing in her beautiful eyes as she clenched her fists tightly.

With a crack, the carbon pen in her hand snapped in half.

That vile person who dared toy with the heart of an innocent girl deserved nothing less than the harshest punishment.

Suddenly, an alarm blared through the airship, red warning lights flashing throughout.

"Alert! Alert! Incoming missiles detected! Incoming missiles detected!"

"What's happening?" The sudden alarm jolted Westcott out of his chair as he barked, "What's going on here?"

"Scanners are showing missiles heading straight toward us, sir," a crew member rushed over, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. "And they're coming from the direction of the nuclear missile battalion."

Westcott's face darkened as he seethed, "What the hell is Nakaya Motoharu up to? Connect me with him now—I want answers!"

"Yes, sir!"

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away in the operations command center—

The previously bustling room had fallen silent. Dim lights flickered sporadically, casting shadows across shattered monitors, many riddled with cracks and occasionally sparking with bursts of electricity.

The flashes of light revealed a grim scene: corpses strewn about in every direction, bodies with gaping wounds down to the bone, flesh torn open, blood pooling around them, filling the air with a sickening stench. Dark crimson blood stained the walls and floor, still fresh and wet.

Everyone in the operations room had been killed.

Except for one young woman, who lay on her back, blood trickling from her lips. Her chest was exposed, pale and delicate, but marred by a brutal gash stretching from her left shoulder to her right hip, deep enough to expose bone. The sight left no room for desire, only horror.

"Help… please, help me," she whispered hoarsely, eyes brimming with a desperate will to live.

At that moment, a fat man approached her. Without hesitation, he seized her by the neck, lifting her off the ground.

"Ugh… ugh…" The girl choked as she struggled for air, her weak cries stifled.

Without a hint of expression, the fat man drew a military-grade knife and, in her despairing gaze, drove it into her heart.

Blood splattered everywhere.

He yanked the knife out, and the girl collapsed to the floor, crimson blood pooling beneath her, splashing onto the man's face, which remained cold and indifferent.

That man was Japan's Minister of Defense, Nakaya Motoharu, and the chief commander of this operation against the Spirit.

Just then, the eerie silence of the command center was shattered by the abrupt ring of a phone, echoing ominously in the dark.

Nakaya Motoharu glanced dispassionately at the lifeless body on the floor, then walked over and picked up the receiver.

"Nakaya Motoharu, what's the meaning of this missile launch? Are you declaring war on me?" came Westcott's enraged voice from the other end.

A sinister smile crept across Nakaya Motoharu's face as he replied, "Long time no see, Westcott."

Though the voice was Nakaya Motoharu's, there was something off—his tone was unusually light and playful, nothing like the voice of a hardened man in his fifties.

Westcott fell silent, his face darkening. "You're not Nakaya Motoharu. Who are you?"

"Surprised you recognized it so quickly," Nakaya Motoharu's voice oozed with eerie malice, a chilling sound against his grotesque, bloated face.

"Just who are you?" A sense of dread crept over Westcott.

"Soon enough, you'll find out." Nakaya Motoharu chuckled.

"Could it be…?" Westcott's eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"That's right, it's me," Nakaya Motoharu's tone turned taunting. "And since we've known each other for so long, it'd be rude not to leave you with a gift. Consider this my farewell present—it'll be quite unforgettable."

"What…?" Westcott's stomach sank.

"They say this hydrogen bomb has the power of a thousand Hiroshima bombs, truly a force to be reckoned with. Why not try it out and see for yourself?"

"You bastard, you wouldn't dare—!"

Before Westcott could finish, Nakaya Motoharu hung up. Then, picking up a finely crafted handgun, he pressed it to his temple, a twisted grin on his face as he pulled the trigger.

A loud bang.

Blood and brain matter sprayed across the floor as Nakaya Motoharu's corpulent body collapsed, his ghastly smile frozen in place.

"Damn it!"

Westcott hurled his phone to the ground, his face a mask of rage.

"Captain, this is bad!" a crew member yelled urgently. "The missile is less than 100 kilometers away and closing in. We have fifty-eight seconds until impact!"

"Use the convergent magic cannon—take it down!" Westcott ordered, his voice cold and tight.

Inwardly, though, he was simmering with frustration. Procuring these nuclear weapons had been no small feat—Japan, after all, was prohibited from possessing them. Even with the relaxed restrictions due to the threat of spirits, they had only been permitted smaller, tactical nukes, nothing with this kind of destructive power.

After all, Daddy America was always watching.

Westcott had used DEM Corporation's influence to obtain this nuclear weapon, investing considerable effort to sneak it into Japan. Destroying it now stung profoundly, but there was no choice—it was better than being struck by the weapon himself.

Just then, a crew member cried out as if he had seen a ghost, "It's no use! The missile has split into multiple warheads. We've intercepted eight, but four are still coming straight for us!"

Westcott's pupils contracted as he cursed inwardly, realizing his own strategy had turned against him. To ensure the highest precision, he had opted for a MIRV, or multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle. Now it was backfiring, as the extra warheads turned his own weapon into a perilous trap.

Boom!

In a deafening roar, a massive nuclear explosion erupted 20,000 meters in the air, a towering mushroom cloud rising as the shockwave, interlaced with air currents, swept through the atmosphere. The clouds scattered, revealing a pure blue sky beyond.

Though the people on the ground couldn't see the blast, Kaguya's Star Eyes took in every detail. The nuclear warhead's detonation in the sky lit up with fierce flames, turning the heavens into a radiant fireworks display.

After a short time, a colossal object, blazing with fire like a meteor, came hurtling down toward the earth—it was none other than one of DEM Corporation's airships.

With a thunderous crash, the airship slammed into the ground, triggering a massive explosion. A fiery sphere bloomed upward, the sound earth-shattering, and the blast waves radiated in all directions like tidal waves of heat. The shattered remains of the airship lay strewn about, pieces of the vessel hurtling into the sky only to come crashing down again.

Even from several kilometers away, Kaguya could feel the explosive shockwave ripple through the air.

"It seems a hydrogen bomb can't be taken lightly," she murmured, estimating that the bomb's explosive yield had almost matched that of a Tailed Beast Bomb. If she had been directly hit by the hydrogen bomb, even Kaguya might've sustained injuries.

But she wasn't foolish enough to take the hit head-on. Only an idiot would stand still in the face of an attack like that. Hitting a moving target with ballistic missiles was challenging, especially without the advanced tracking technology.

At that moment, a shadow plummeted from the sky like a shooting star, trailing smoke as it plummeted toward the ground, moments from shattering into pieces.

Kaguya glanced up curiously and saw a familiar face: it was Ellen.

She was tumbling downward, head first, her eyes closed and face pale, as if she had lost consciousness. Falling from such a height, she would be lucky if her head didn't split open like a melon upon impact.

Seeing the beautiful woman about to become a human pancake, Kaguya wasn't about to just stand by. After all, they had a close connection; they were... friends, certainly not casual acquaintances. How could she let Ellen just die like this?

With a single step, Kaguya launched herself into the air like an arrow, reaching Ellen just before she hit the ground and catching her in her arms.

Ellen had clearly been severely affected by the blast. Her Realizer Unit was completely damaged, spiderwebbed with cracks, and still sparking slightly—clearly beyond repair. It was thanks to the device's Territory field that she'd survived the blast at all; otherwise, she'd likely have been incinerated.

"Hey, wake up," Kaguya called, gently shaking the soft body in her arms. But Ellen seemed completely unconscious, showing no response. Fortunately, Kaguya didn't find any external wounds, a small blessing amid her misfortune.

Kaguya shook her a little more, checking her breathing. Though weak, Ellen didn't seem to be in serious danger.

Finally, Ellen's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Awake now?" Kaguya chuckled, pinching her soft cheek with a playful grin. "I almost thought you'd died on me."

Ellen stared at her blankly for a few moments before her head lolled to the side, and she promptly passed out again.

"Hey, don't fall asleep again! I've still got things to do—what am I supposed to do with you?" Kaguya sighed, looking at the unconscious beauty in her arms. She would've thought Ellen was faking if she hadn't sensed her actual aura.

At that moment, three small figures peeked around a corner, sneaking down the street with hushed footsteps and furtive glances.

The girls wore black blazers over white blouses and pleated blue skirts—a typical school uniform. Judging by the badges on their chests, they were students of Raizen High School.

These three girls were familiar characters from the original story, classmates of Shido Itsuka: Ai Yamabuki, Mai Hazakura, and Mii Fujibakama.

"That looks like AST up ahead," Ai Yamabuki whispered, crouched in the bushes.

"We're so busted! What do we do?" Mai Hazakura whispered back nervously. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't insisted on sneaking here to take a look, we wouldn't be in this mess! If we get caught, I heard we'll be put in detention."

"Oh, come on," Ai chuckled, a forced smile on her face. "You two agreed to it too, didn't you?"

"I think we should just leave," murmured Mii Fujibakama, the normally quiet girl, tugging gently at Ai's sleeve.

"Since everyone wants to leave, I guess we should head back," Ai said, laughing it off.

"You're the one who's scared!" Mai scoffed. "Stop trying to pin it on us."

"No way!" Ai puffed out her chest proudly. "There's nothing in this world that could scare me!"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

A voice rang out suddenly behind them.

The three girls froze, their eyes wide with terror as their faces drained of color.

"Aaaaaah!" A piercing scream split the air, catching Kaguya off guard and leaving her ears ringing. She didn't understand how teenage girls could reach such a high-pitched tone—it was enough to shatter glass.

"W-who are you?" The three girls backed away, their faces full of panic.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Kaguya's expression darkened. "This is a war zone. What are three high school students doing in such a dangerous place?"

"W-we…" Ai stammered, scratching her head, struggling to find an excuse. Then, suddenly, she yelled, "Run!"

And with that, the three girls dashed off like startled rabbits, bolting so fast they were out of sight in moments.

Kaguya watched them flee, a vein throbbing on her forehead.

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